ot aN is AN yee SONS Bh i i hates ip) fy) PVG Ua eiaatee Denna Hite ae bay eit ROC aH Mees ag {ia ett UB BiSENOINAh ee a i ee te eM Aten uy with ath : a Pe RTSN GH a Si in oH Ne % aa ste wi ri a ; ne ed eh vi ie ”, i Mi ee Ma Se ie i ys ja ae a a ‘ . i psn 4) ne NAY ane b) al bol 1} 2 yan REN? nf ee M98) ; heen ae fy aT aN " yt tee a a NGA As i i f : Bae ey WH ATK RK RLY BR AP Sh FN yy ee Bi ‘) Meat as ‘yt WING a den Watts i ye a is at aR statin atid oot Piel ihe Mer f ry ey “ Whe ae * veh ii Ie oe Poets pit hha ie me AK Po Pain De + * A 4 ea ay bs ‘ Ree rit iia ila M 4,0 t, | aN) $ tnt ary : : hh Rees HH A ee) j ‘ 5 eae! 5 fy o ¥ oC state 9, iirhbatiiiae "| Den (homies) Bix Eg SRE UO 4 Ke i. i ey LIBRARY NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARTER LIBRARY NEW YORK wv 1.2: wal GARDEN are ay rari | fn : H {) i e) ae NA) Gd Poa TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. SECRETARY AND TREASURER, ROBERT GALLOWAY. VO Le EV, Been BU RG: Bat N Ee On TIL. SOC Le T ¥. SOLD BY DOUGLAS & FOULIS, CASTLE STREET. 1895, LIBRARY NEW YORK BOT/.2 ICAL GARDEN re a ts ng i cis ne or ee eed - a : a Ae oe » oo cs] : - ) | a : 7 Lo 7 " = . . i i< ; a TATON a 7 eA: TMTUTITOIOGL.. a = . a a PRatieey. Ove vRaringne . AON Ah, TREO VI uhOV Shea) al (S ri ALG CDOT OCA iE ve eae LATS AYES Eee POM ORIFES ahs” GN L | PAL ae) 8h 2 oe PC am a CONTENTS OF VOL, XIV. The Society, as a body, is not to be considered responsible for any statements or opinions advanced in the several papers, which must rest entirely on the authority of the respective authors. I. Address delivered at the Fortieth Annual Meeting, 7th August 1893. By Isaac BayLtEy Batrour, Se.D., M.D., F.R.S., Queen’s Botanist in Scotland, Professor of Botany in the University of Edinburgh, and Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden, . II. A Brief History of the Arboriculture of the New Forest, Hampshire. By the Hon. Geratp LascELuEs, Deputy Surveyor, New Forest, . Ill. Sections of Woods grown in Britain. By D. F. Mackenair, Factor, Mortonhall, Midlothian, EXCURSION OF THE SOCIETY TO THE RoyAL DOMAIN AND ForEst oF WINDSOR; CLIVEDEN, DROPMORE, AND BurRN- HAM BEECHES; THE NEW Forest; THE ROYAL GARDENS, Kew; THE Forestry EXHIBITION, LONDON; AND Har- FIELD, 1893. IV. Address delivered at the Forty-first Annual Meeting, 6th August 1894. By JoHn MeErTHVEN, Vice-President of the Society, V. Forestry in Britain: An Address to the Biological Section of the British Association, delivered at the Oxford Meeting, 1894. By Professor I. BayLey Batrour, M.A., M.D., F.R.S., President of the Section, d : “ PAGE 39 49 V WAGE Vali XII. XIII CONTENTS. I. On the Preserving of Timber for Estate Purposes. By D. F. MAcKENzI#, Factor, Mortonhall, Midlothian, . British Forestry Literature, . EXCURSION OF THE SOCIETY TO STRATHSPEY, MoRAY, AND BANFFSHIRE, 1894. PROCEEDINGS OF THE RoyaL ScorrisH ARBORICULTURAL Socrery. Address delivered at the Forty-second Annual General Meeting, held on 28rd January 1895. By R. C. Munro Frreuson, Esquire of Raith and Novar, M.P., President of the Society, . On a Limited Liability Company to acquire a Timber Estate. Paper read before the General Meeting, January 23, 1895, by Professor SOMERVILLE, . . A Visit to the Thuringian Forest, within the Duchy of Saxe- Coburg-Gotha, Germany. By Joun Mucus, Forester, Balmoral, . Notes on the Physiology and Structure of Trees and Shrubs as shown by the Microscope; along with a Cabinet containing 100 Photo-Micrographic Slides illustrative of Plant Physiology specially relating to Timber. By D. F. Mackenzig, Factor, Mortonhall, Midlothian, . On Growing Timber of Clean Growth, Fine Quality, and High Commercial Value. By ArrHuR C. ForBEs, Wood Manager, Bowood, Calne, Wiltshire, The Formation of Plantations. By JAmEs Ropeer, Assistant Forester, New Scone, Perthshire, . A Short Account of the State Forests of Prussia (including Hanover), and Messrs Heins’ Nursery at Halstenbeck, visited by the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society, July-August 1895. Prepared from Official Sources by Dr SoMERVILLE, o 100 105 114 122 133 140 CONTENTS. XIV. Some Aspects of the Excursion of the Royal Scottish Arbori- cultural Society to Germany, July-August 1895. By ANDREW SLATER, Haystoun, Peebles, . : c i : XV. Report on the Excursion of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society to Germany in July and August 1895. By Donap RoBERTSON, Forester, Novar, NoTES AND QUERIES, PROCEEDINGS OF THE RoyAL ScorrisH ARBORICULTURAL Socrery. BEEP NDLX TO PET Ui: 1. Former Presidents. 2. List of Members, corrected to December 1894, PAGE 189° a. : a hem | a) ames ooo an ee) oe Be ee. i. ™ , ; ite , Ane aT ee: ° th ane et ai ae Clee Mieke a) Le Beh, ack: re, Ferg ; et Cook Trgre, 2 GET ited Ts (Cre eee — ee CMS el | acral a > r ae . a ’ ga an “=) Cyel Se ai ae , Canc . aT aks f partraw® dave os. Wh hot Coe ” 5 o 5 a= a! -_ —— 7 ries 4% 0 al A M is + 4 bAk rl ch. : anaes) ich in ib k Vi g a AY ak dl Ys eintvgel’ fs} vol 43 7 S aig - . ° / ; ‘a > 7 1 oe ; a%s » 4 ADVERTISEMENTS. A. & J. MAIN & CO'S | TRON an WIRE FENCING SPECIALITIES. MAIN’S “SPECIAL” CONTINUOUS BAR FENCING. PA etic it This Fence, as now made on A. & J. MAIN & CO.’S “Break-Joint” system, and with their Mlanged Standards and Patent Earth Plates, is undoubtedly the best bar fence in the market; it is also the cheapest if its durability is taken into account. WIRE FENCING with tron Standards and Patent Earthplates. Main’s Corrimony Wire Fencing. Ornamental Iron and Wire Garden Fences. Wrought-Iron Entrance and Field Gates, &c. ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUES FREE ON APPLICATION. Gu: MAIN’S GALVANIZED IRON ROOFING FOR ALL PURPOSES. Specifications and Estimates on Application. Made from For Rabbits, A SOUP =a eae x: — = = Superior jf Maoepeansoc anaes asec esebesesesaceeaeasssenssees Poultry, &c. () OO gD nD, ~ e) ; REO OLR OLLIE ESET AT ocetes Wire, well {2 oeee galvanized, Special of full gauge Quotations and correct for mesh. a wy, Quantities. on CITT DOL Sr 700) Lad 3, tone . en eS v ‘ € Eide MUMS a SO re GLASGOW —Clydesdale Iron Works, Possilpark. EDINBURGH—Corn Exchange Buildings. _ LONDON—77a Queen Victoria Street, E.C. ' DUBLIN—11 Leinster Street. + » ® ~ 7 « t ‘ - ADVERTISEMENTS. _SMITH'S “PERFECT” PATENT \POWDE R | _ - WEED : aiontigeticurel oa KL Lee All our Materatuce . An Tnportant Novelty just introduced. cr eo BEE Only One-Fifth the Bulk and Weight of the Liquid. Immediately Soluble in Cold Water. One Small Tin makes 25 gallons for use. ALL TINS FREE. NO RETURN EMPTIES. PRICE—1 Tin, ls. 9d.; 4 Tins, 1s. 6d. per Tin; 8 a te be per Tin; 12 to 20 Tins, ls. 4d. per Tin SMITH’S LIQUID "WEED KIEEERE The First Weed Killer ever Offered. Used in the Royal Gardens. NEVER FAILS. 4 Gallons Carriage Paid, 6s. 6d. A TRUE GARDENER’S FRIEND. USED IN THE GARDENS OF Her Majesty the Queen; H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught; H.R.H. Prince Christian. At the Royal Gardens, Kew, and the Royal Horticultural Society's Gardens; at Hampton Court Palace; and in the Gardens of all the leading Nobility and Gentry throughout the Kingdom. THE MOST EFFECTIVE PREPARATION EVER INVENTED FOR PERMANENTLY DESTROYING WEEDS, MOSS, DANDELIONS, Etc., On Garden Walks, Ete COMPLETE SATISFACTION GUARANTEED weep miter bearing our Trade Marks, without which none is genuine. REFUSE IMITATIONS. Write for full particulars and Price Lists, MARK SMITH, Lid., Louth, Lincs. May be had through Chemists and Seedsmen. Notice to Advertisers. - - The attention of Nurserymen, Seedsmen, Wood Merchants, Arboricultural and Horticultural Engineers and Implement Makers, Manufacturers of Ornamental Wire and other Fencing and Netting, etc., etc., is drawn to the favourable medium for advertising afforded by the annual publication of the Transactions of this Society, whose membership embraces Landlords, Factors, Foresters, Gardeners, and others interested in Land and its Management. For terms apply to the Secretary, 5 ST ANDREW SQUARE, EDINBURGH. v* a¥, . * > TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL | s SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, — VOL. XIV.—PART I. | . SECRETARY AND TREASURER, WILLIAM J. MOFFAT, FELLOW OF THE BOTANICAL SOCIETY, EDINBURGH, ) i | 5 | EDINBURGH: PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY. SOLD BY DOUGLAS & FOULIS, CASTLE STREET. MDCCCXCIV. Ue LIBRARY ~ NEW YORK _. BOTANICAL | AIAN! @ p 4079 BY SPECIAL APPOINTMENT. a el THOMAS METHVEN & SONS, WMurserpmen and Seedsmen TO THE QUEEN, NVITE the attention of intending Planters to their large Stock of Seedling and Transplanted Forest and other Trees and Shrubs. They are this season in a healthy and vigorous condition, and well suited for successful transplanting. EVERGREEN AND DECIDUOUS SHRUBS. SHRUBS FOR GAME COVERT, AND UNDERWOOD. TREES AND SHRUBS FOR SEA-SIDE PLANTING. THORN AND OTHER HEDGE PLANTS. Specimen Ornamental Trees for producing immediate effect on Lawns and AVENUES. RHODODENDRONS—all the Best Varieties. FRUIT TREES of the Best Kinds. ROSES—all sorts worthy of cultivation. SANMPLEHS ON APPLICA TrIe ss. Special Prices for large Quantities. Seed Warehouse: 15 PRINCES STREET. Nurseries: LEITH WALK, WARRISTON, AND FETTES. HDINBURGH. ADVERTISEMENTS. POUGLAS & ‘FOULIS ENGLISH AND FOREIGN LIBRARY 9 Castle Street, Epinsurcu ee ————————eeeeeeaeaEeaEeeEeeeeeeeess) TERMS OF SUBSCRIFTION FOR TOWN AND COUNTRY FOR THE NEWEST BOOKS 1 Month. | 3 Months. | 6 Months. | 12 Months. 4 Volumes | 40 5 0 | ZO 15 oO | Ese wb eeal ce alee BW, 6 9 Oro £O o 18 o Lr o 25554 © 10 a o 8 o Ts 10 2 2 0 2) .10) 10 15 9 012 0 Hi S10) ) PIN U5 (0) eS) 30 sp LAG Zi, O40 5 too I0 10 O and Three Volumes for every additional Guinea per annum Subscriptions may commence at any date and are payable in advance Library Catalogues, English and Foreign, gratis to Subscribers SPECIAL TERMS FOR BOOK CLUBS A Reference C&talogue of Publications on Forestry, Gardening and Farming 36 pages 8vo, containing about tooo Titles Post free to any address - OO DOUGLAS & FOULIS’ Catalogues of Surplus Library Books are tssued on or about the following dates in each year : February 1, March 15, May 1, June 15, September 1, October 15, and December 1 and will be sent gratis and post free to any address at home or abroad | DOUGLAS & FOULIS, BOOKSELLERS AND LISRARIANS, 9 CASTLE STREET, EDINBURGH. | MCFARLANE & ERSKINE, Lithographers, Engravers, & Letterpress Printers, 19 ST JAMES SQUARE, EDINBURGH, Having an efficient Staff of first-class Artists and Printers, execute every description of ARTISTIC & COMMERCIAL WORK, AND BOOK, LAW & GENERAL PRINTING, WITH TASTE, ACCURACY, AND DESPATCH. Printers to the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society, Royal Physical Society, etc. we ADVERTISEMENTS, BY SPECIAL APPOINTMENT TO H. R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES. Telegrams, a “HOTHOUSE, EDINBURGH.” 22 MACKENZIE . & MONCUR, HOTHOUSE BUILDERS AND HEATING ENGINEERS, Head Office and Works—Upper Grove Place, EDINBURGH. Branch—43 St Andrew’s Cross, GLASGOW. London Office— 50 =e a N.W. Telephone, No. 805, EDINBURGH. 9), a pre ppataeeRe se sisPrdeBeds bad Asked = Zr LIZZ yi RS =F rg ee : L = rs Ne b fe po ‘| | if LE: U/. al Wl cagicall ahs ig fof Fle Sakata i HORTICULTURAL BUILDINGS of every description erected either in Wood or Iron, in any part of the Kingdom. All latest improvements adopted. TEAK-WOOD HOUSES A SPECIALITY. PAVILIONS, SUMMER HOUSES, BAND STANDS, BOAT HOUSES, and all kinds of Wooden Buildings. Our Conservatories have been awarded 5 Gold and Silver Medals at Exhibitions in London and Edinburgh. HEATING. PuBLIc BUILDINGS, CHURCHES, SCHOOLS, MANSION-HOUSES, WAREHOUSES, COACH HOUSES, HARNESS ROOMS, &c., heated in most efficient manner, on the Low or High Pressure Hot Water Systems, or with Steam. Gs Will be pleased to forward copies of our New Illustrated Catalogue to Ladies and Gentlemen contemplating work in our line, or to their Gardeners. ADVERTISEMENTS, FOREST TREES AND SHRUBS, A Large Stock of Healthy, Well-grown Stuff. FRUIT TREES, The Finest Collection in Scotland. GREENHOUSE and STOVE PLANTS, IMMENSE VARIETY TO CHOOSE FROM. RK. B. LAIRD & SONS, BHDINBURGH. Telegraphic Address, ‘“‘ Laird, Edinburgh.” Telephone No. 2033. Grown from carefully selected - seed—robust, hardy, and finely rooted— In our New Grounds at THE CASTLE NURSERIES, LIBERTON. PrcrsOwNs 2 co. 1 WATERLOO PLACE, EDINBURG H. Established over a Century. Address for Telegrams, “‘ Dicksons, Edinburgh.” Telephone No. 1066. A complete collection of the most useful sorts, carefully grown and prepared for transplanting FORESTRY AND “GARDENING , TOOLS of every description. ADVERTISEMEN'S. SEEDLING AND TRANSPLANTED FOREST TREES. Ornamental Trees and Shrubs, Roses and Fruit Trees. JAMES DICKSON & SONS, 32 HANOVER STREET and INVERLEITH ROW, DIN BG dey Ga CATALOGUES FREE ON APPLICATION. JAMES DICKSON & SONS received the highest awards for ‘‘ Conifers”’ and ‘*Hardy Plants” at the International Chrysanthemum Exhibition, Edinburgh, 1889 ; and again at the great Chrysanthemum Exhibition of 1890. Grown from Seed collected in the = North of Scotland, on high-lying grounds, and under the exposure of a rigorous climate. Hardy Ornamental Conifers, Evergreen Trees and Shrubs, Plants for Game Coverts, Hedges, &c. All are Fibrous-Rooted, Robust, and Grown Unsheltered. SENT TO ALL PARTS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. SPECIAL OFFERS FOR LARGE QUANTITIES, and Carriage Rates Reduced, CATALOGUES POST FREE. BENJAMIN REID & CO, FOREST-TREE NURSERIES, ABERDEEN. ADVERTISEMENTS. SMITH’S ‘‘ PERFECT” WEED KILLER. A TRUE GARDENER’S FRIEND. All our Manufactures ee ee oe bear this registered Her Majesty the Queen. H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh. Trade Mark. H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught. H.R.H. Prince Christian. At the Royal Gardens, Kew, and the Royal Horticultural Society's Gardens. At Hampton Court Palace, and in the Gardens of all the leading Nobility and Gentry throughout the Kingdom. THE MOST EFFECTIVE PREPARATION EVER INVENTED FOR PERMANENTLY DESTROYING WEEDS, MOSS, DANDELIONS, Etc., On Garden Walks, Carriage Drives, Stable Yards, Churchyard Paths, Railway Stations, Cemeteries, Cinder Tennis Courts, Public Gardens, etc., without disturbing the Gravel; also for destroying Plantain on Lawns, ete. COMPLETE SATISFACTION GUARANTEED weep sruten bearing our Trade Marks, without which none is genuine. REFUSE IMITATIONS. It will keep the Weeds away for the whole season. May be applied with an ordinary Watering-can. Free from smell, leaves no stain, and makes the gravel bright. Saves many times its cost in labour, and eradicates the Weeds far more thoroughly than any hand-weeding. Sole Proprietors and Manufacturers— MARK SMITH, Ltd., Louth, Lincs. (Mark Smith, Louth, and the Horticultural & Agricultural Chemical Co., Glasgow, amalgamated.) NEW WORK ON FORESTRY Y D. F. MACKENZIE, Morton HA Lt, LIBERTON. Copies of Tue Micro-Puorocrapns, referred to in Paper pub- lished in this part of the Zransactions, or THE STRUCTURE OF THE TREES AND SHRUBS OF GREAT Britain, may be had from the SECRETARY OF THE SOCIETY, at a cost of Sixpence each, to order only. are wears aK eel oi vipa sale veanihgl » ee renee oe ee “= Le Tia. sat 3 naliamaiaylistheniattaneateaniimenanin USTMIVUI ABYZCWOITARASZAY FVLTIS348 200% : WUITORTaIA VITWEMAMSSY SOF wore .cMOLIAGKNAd ccOM 2a3 Previa) ete 6) ace ween’ Nodrviary nee feed wane! wha zashmetonst)-~nosns pawl me-phovea td o's Bitedyafash daodiive ode eoobisi hae 6 amo en ee, no iatual uaeroniaal iol Gelag oe, CHETAAHAUO HOTORADIRAR § eigieey BI 6oon Bolte foesiie Piel: ebatt wes f ie Giwe aie A ods-qoss. intl QM OCCA TIME Petri: ear litw. Lei a&i ‘cil -sroceoe-qlente eal > ' * La a fee imarectes fevedl liste coke owt we Vihafe ve Ni eee ali eo! Fee eon der Is pny esti BOWE tye aoa tiie mrintds Bw. sachseloo lf idl avivoiheas heath Bry | . : iiesw-Hrad Vie el : ( —yrsts ries) lun eve paen goni .jivot- bid ATiIMe AAA ~ ie Mellie) Lanettasivgs ¢& levolloodwS aéF tole tiwat tee | Jaen cama VoRsid ~ — en ee — S YATeSHOT VO xAOW Wa morssets ut cote TiS va OR ‘ oe Wi Wagar) Abe depicted nasi i.cmiM pw oa ; YiaTe SHY {oe wah Y wilt lo veg ect) of ee reat nd ¢eh RATA SURR)) Wl segue una ya gee ty) Jens & te) (Tat 462 SHYT iO ¥ LAT 23386 off ie | #4 Yahoo OF lias tna Ne TRANSACTIONS. y a CONTENTS, The Socicty, as a body, is not to be considered responsible for any statements or opinions advanced in the several papers, which must rest entirely on the authority of the respective authors. PAGE I, Address delivered at the Fortieth Annual Meeting, 7th August 1893. By Isaac BayLtey BaLrFour, Se.D., M.D., F.B.S., Queen’s Botanist in Scotland, Professor of Botany in the University of Edinburgh, and Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden, . ‘ Z II. A Brief History of the Arboriculture of the New Forest, Hampshire. 3y the Hon. Gerautp LAsceLies, Deputy Surveyor, New Forest, . 15 III. Sections of Woods grown in Britain. By D. F. Mackenzie, Factor, Mortonhall, Midlothian, ‘ F : ; 39 EXcURSION OF THE Socrery TO THE Royat DomMAIN AND FoREsT OF WInpDsor; CLIVEDEN, DROPMORE, AND BURNHAM BEECHES; THE New Forest; Tie Royat GARDENS, KEw; THE ForEsTRY EXHIBITION, Lonpon; AND HATFIELD, 1893, TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, I. Address delivered at the Fortieth Annual Meeting, Tth August 1893. By Isaac Bayitry Batrour, Se.D., M.D., F.RS., Queen’s Botanist in Scotland, Professor of Botany in the University of Edinburgh, and Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden. GENTLEMEN,—I confess to a feeling of diffidence in rising to address you from this Chair to-day, inasmuch as I am disposed to call in question, in the interests of this and indeed of any society, the policy of retaining, for a lengthened period, one individual in the President’s Chair; and I cannot but think that, in now for the fourth time choosing me to preside over your meetings, the limit to which such continuity of office is wise has been more than reached. T am fully sensible of your kindness, and I beg you will accept the warm expression of my appreciation of the honour you do me in again electing me to the Chair, and receive my acknowledgments of your continued confidence. I can only give you again my assurance that I shall endeavour, as far as is within my power, to promote the aims of the Society, and the progress of the science to which it is devoted. I have been reminded, by those who are responsible for the arrangements connected with the Excursion, that the hour of starting necessitates our proceedings here being of short duration, —a gentle hint, I take it, that I should be brief in any remarks I make to you now, and I will therefore endeavour, in as small a compass as possible, to touch upon several topics concerning our work during the past year which I desire to bring before you. It is my pleasing duty, first of all, to inform you that the Society is in a most prosperous condition. Last year I was able VOL. XIV. PART I. A 2 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. to congratulate you on a record year in the way of accession of new members, but this year we have again beaten the record. The Secretary tells me that no less than 85 new members have joined us, and the Society now numbers 600 active members, drawn from all classes in the realm. I say active members, measuring activity by the practical test of payment of the dues it is needful to levy for our administration; for you must remember that it would not be difficult to have a paper strength of greater amount, were our officers not vigilant in weeding out those, of whom it is inevitable there should be some, whose ardour in the cause has cooled to a degree that has closed the mouths of their pockets. And whilst we contemplate with satisfaction this increase in our membership, we have also to deplore losses from our ranks, and amongst those who have fallen since last we gathered for our annual meeting, I will mention one who, a member of the Society for twenty years, successfully managed, for I dare not say how long, an acreage of woodland one of the most extensive estates in the country, a portion of which we had the advantage of visiting a couple of years ago in our excursion to the south-west of Scotland. By the death of Mr Fingland, forester to the Duke of Buccleuch at Drumlanrig, a well-known member is lost to our Society. I am not sufficiently conversant with his work to speak of it to useful purpose; but I feel, as I have on a former occasion said, when a veteran goes from us ripe in experience, that we are at once cut off from so vast an amount of practical knowledge of facts bearing upon our science, and of historical interest, that I cannot but wish some means could be devised for recording them ere they are beyond recall. It is not, however, by its numerical strength alone that the prosperity of our Society is to be estimated. This proves how the Society has taken hold in the country, that its aims and work are recognised as being of importance immediately to a very extended community, and ultimately to the whole nation. Membership gives the Society its backbone. The other test of our prosperity, at which I have hinted, is the success which attends our efforts to promote the cause of forestry in the country, and I have very gratifying evidence to bring before you to-day, illustrating the powerful influence which an earnest body, as this is, knowing clearly what is required and what ought to be done, may exercise for the good of the country. ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT, AUGUST 7, 1893. 3 Many of you may remember that in his introductory address to the Forestry Class in the University, Colonel Bailey referred to the startling fact that, in specifications issued by the Board of Agriculture with reference to works to be executed under the Land Improvement Act, the use of home-grown timber was not allowed, without special permission. Colonel Bailey most properly criticised and condemned this restriction as a slur on the proprietors of forests of this country. The wording of the specifica- tion, as given by Colonel Bailey in course of a correspondence in the Scotsman, provoked by his exposure of the fact, is :—‘‘In all cases where fir timber is used, that obtained from Memel or Riga, and battens from Dram, St Petersburg, or other Norway or Baltic ports, is to be preferred, but if not procurable, the best quality of American red pine only may be substituted; or, if specially allowed by the Board, larch or ‘home-grown’ fir may be used, if thoroughly sound and well seasoned, in which case the age, size, and growth of the trees must always be specified.” The matter came before your Council at its meeting in November last, when the following letter from Mr Munro Ferguson was read, and the correspondence quoted ensued :— RairH, Kirkcarpy, N.B., 15th November 1892. Dear Sir,—The Lecturer on Forestry at the University of Edinburgh has commented, none too severely, upon the practice of the Board of Agriculture in framing its conditions of contract so as to prohibit the use of home timber. But this Board is not the only sinner. Two or three weeks previously, a wood-merchant handed me a post-office form of tender for telegraph poles, which entirely cut out any native products from the competition. I wrote to the authorities, who showed the utmost readiness to look more closely into the matter. This exclusion of home timber from contracts is the common practice of architects and others, and has been gradually established owing to the importation of prepared timber in bulk, and because the use of it may save a certain amount of trouble. We home growers may be remiss as to the manner we sometimes place our wood upon the market, but I know of nothing to justify our exclusion from free competition, and of nothing to make us afraid of it. I much regret being unable to attend to-morrow to ascertain whether it be the view of other members that the matter should be taken up by the Society.— Believe me, yours truly, R. Munro FEreuson. W. J. Morrat, Esq. 4 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 5 Sr ANDREW SQUARE, EpINBURGH, 8th March 1893. Dear Srr,—I submitted your letter of the 15th November last to a meeting of the Council held on the Ist curt., and have been requested te make the following observations thereon. The clause in the specifications of the Board of Agriculture, with reference to the timber to be used in buildings in Scotland, reads as follows :— ‘* Timber.—In all cases where fir timber is used, it shall be the best of its kind, and well-seasoned,—that obtained from Memel or Riga, and battens from Dram, St Petersburg, or other Norway or Baltic ports, is to be preferred, but if not procurable, the best quality of American red pine only may be substituted; or, if specially allowed by the Commissioners, larch or ‘home-grown fir’ may be used, if thoroughly sound and well seasoned, in which case the age, size, and growth of the trees must always be specified.” The Council are not aware of any reasons why such restrictions should be placed on the use of timber of home growth, especially for roofing purposes, as it is well known that such can be obtained of an equal lasting quality to any that is imported, and for couples, with the exception of pitch pine, none is equal to home-grown larch.. In these specifications, home-grown timber, if it should not receive a preference, ought at least to be placed on a footing equal to that specified for foreign. Were that done, stocks would be created which could, it is believed, be placed on the market on as favourable terms, and of as good a lasting quality, as any imported. If the clause quoted above were made to read as follows, it would satisfy all requirements :—‘“‘ In all cases where fir timber is used, it shall be the best of its kind, and well-seasoned. Home-grown timber to be cut from sound trees of suitable dimensions. Where imported timber is to be used, that obtained from Memel or Riga, and battens from Dram, St Petersburg, or other Norway or Baltic ports, is to be preferred, but if not procurable, the best quality of American red pine only may be substituted.” The Council are at a loss for the reasons why home timber should be excluded from Government contracts, and they feel that instead of giving the cold shoulder to the industries connected with the growth and manufacture of timber, the Government should be the first to encourage and foster them in every way possible, even by preferring timber of home growth, wherever it is suitable, to that of foreign. The postal authorities use imported timber for their telegraph poles, which, after being dressed, are creosoted. Importations of Pinus sylvestris for that purpose, before being dressed, have been examined by experts, and they report that Pinus sylvestris ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT, AUGUST 7, 1893, 5 of home growth is quite equal, if not superior, in growth and quality to the foreign, and, owing to its texture, it is more capable of being thoroughly creosoted. Were questions on the points mentioned put to the Minister of Agriculture and the Postmaster-General, the reasons for the absurd restrictions placed on home-grown timber might be made known. The foregoing statement was drafted by a Committee of the Council, and I trust it may be the means of righting what appar- ently is a great wrong.—I am, yours faithfully, W. J. Morrat, Secretary. R. Munro Fercuson, Esq. of Raith and Novar. 46 CADOGAN SQuaRgE, 11th March 1893. Dear S1r,—I am directed by Mr Munro Ferguson to thank you for your letter. He will forward it to the Postmaster-General and the Minister of Agriculture.—I am, yours faithfully, J. S. Smarr, W. J. Morrat, Esq. 46 CADOGAN SQUARE, 15th April 1893. Dear Sir,—I am desired by Mr Munro Ferguson to send you the enclosed communication from the Board of Agriculture.— Yours faithfully, J. S. Smarr, BoArRp OF AGRICULTURE, 3 St JAMEs’s SQuaRE, Lonpon, S8.W., 12th April 1893. Srr,—I am directed by the Board of Agriculture to inform you that they have had under their consideration the letter from the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society, which was forwarded to the President with Mr J. S, Smart’s note of the 16th ultimo. The paragraph quoted in that letter is not taken from the Minute and Specifications now issued by the Board, with reference to works to be executed in Scotland under the Lands Improvement Acts, as will be seen from the enclosed copy of the printed Minute ; but the Board are disposed to think that even the modified wording of the existing specifications is to some extent open to the criticism urged by the Society, and they propose to adopt the following paragraph in lieu of the present one :— “‘Where fir timber is proposed to be used, the specifications must state whether such timber is to be ‘ home-grown’ or imported, In the former case, the timber must be cut from sound trees of suitable dimensions, and the age and size of the trees, and the date of cutting, must be stated. Where imported timber is to be used, that obtained from Memel or Norway, and battens from 6 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. Dram, St Petersburg, or other Norway or Baltic ports, is to be preferred, but if not procurable, the best quality of American red pine only may be substituted. In either case, the use of any particular description is subject to the approval of the Board.” The Board think that the new wording proposed will probably meet the views of the Society. With regard to the specifications for contracts issued by the various public Departments of the State, the Board would suggest that any suggestions which the Society may decide to offer on the subject of the use of home-grown timber, should be brought directly under the notice of those Departments, by whom they will doubt- less be fully considered.—I am, Sir, your obedient servant, JacosB WILson, Director. R. C. Munro Fercuson, Esq., M.P. You will observe that the protest of the Society has had effect, and the objectionable limitation respecting home-grown timber has been modified for Scotland, so far as concerns work under control of the Board of Agriculture—a tribute to the usefulness of this Society as representing the voice of forestry interests in Scotland. What may be the nature of the specifications issued by the Board for England and other parts of the United Kingdom I do not know, but it is worth while calling the attention of our offspring, the English Arboricultural Society, to this matter. If the prohibi- tion exists in England, that Society should not be behind the parent Society in pressing for its removal. And our vindication of home forestry with the Board of Agriculture should be for ourselves only a first step in this matter. The Board of Agriculture rightly refuses to interfere with the work of other Departments of Government, and our clear duty now is to follow up what we have already done by a rigorous inquiry into the forms of specification issued by all other Public Departments involving use of timber, so that we may altogether remove the stigma which has become attached to our home products. In the immediate case with which we have dealt, we cannot but commend the zeal with which Mr Munro Ferguson has acted in the matter, and thank him for his active co-operation. One other and less satisfactory point regarding our procedure during the past year I must allude to. To a successful and influential Society, as to a similarly placed individual, there always attaches the risk of being exploité, and I fear that we must consider that—no doubt in very good company—we have given our patronage to an undertaking from which I personally do not ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT, AUGUST 7, 1893. 7 see that much credit can redound to us, nor real advantage to forestry. This is a matter, however, upon which every one who makes the Excursion of the Society will be able on Saturday to form an individual opinion. For myself, I may say that having twice visited the so-called Forestry Exhibition at Earl’s Court, once shortly after opening, and again last month, I grieve over the meagre display presented in the name of forestry, and regret that the Society’s name should be associated with it. The Exhibition, as every one knows, is essentially a place of entertainment—water show, Bastille, switchback, and so forth,—and as such is doubtless most successful, and supplies a form of amusement for which there is great want in London. But why not call it by its right name? Why should “Forestry” be exploité to give a name to the Exhibition? I allude to the matter in this place, because I feel that harm may accrue to the science from such exhibitions. Any one going to the Exhibition with a desire to inform himself upon forestry, its present position, its value, and its prospects, could not but receive, from the objects shown, a wrong impression regarding the importance of the subject; and in these days, when we are so strenuously endeavouring to force the attention of people in the country to the great interests involved in forestry, it is unfortunate that an affair of this kind, calculated to bring our science into contempt, should have developed. Turning now to educational questions :—When I addressed you last year I was able to announce that the scheme for teaching practical foresters and gardeners in the Royal Botanic Garden would come into operation towards the end of the year, and in conformity with the intention I then expressed, a circular, which had the approval of leading members of Council, was issued in the autumn, —a copy of it will be found appended to my address in last year’s part of our Zransactions. A most gratifying response came, in the form of no less than 67 applications for admission to the course. After sifting the list, and with the co-operation of Edinburgh nurserymen, members of the Society, whose action in this matter I desire most cordially to acknowledge, 44 of the applicants were admitted to the course, some being taken on the staff of the Royal Botanic Garden, some being provided for by nurserymen, and others had or found private employment in Edinburgh. The course was opened in November, and lectures have been given up till now on Chemistry, Physics, Entomology, Mensuration and Land Surveying, and there has been practical instruction in 8 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. Land Surveying and Plan Drawing. The attendance at the classes has been excellent, and the examinations satisfactory all round. Regarding the men themselves, it would not be easy to find anywhere a finer body of men, and every one of the lecturers has been impressed, as much as I myself have been, by their intelligent appreciation of the subjects brought before them, and by their diligent application and endeavour to master details. And if I may judge from what I have heard of the views of the men, they are no less satisfied with the instruction provided than we are with their reception of it. After the holiday months, from August to November, we shall recommence the course, and, with the promise of support which I have received from various lecturers, I look forward to a fruitful continuance of it. One pleasing feature of the opening of the course was a com- munication from General Michael, C.S.I., warmly commending it, and enclosing, as a mark of his sympathy with the movement, a cheque for £10, to be given, at the conclusion of the course, to the man who acquitted himself best in forestry,—a recognition which I need not say was warmly acknowledged, and which will be, I am sure, an additional incentive to the men to study. The path to success is never, I suppose, smooth, and ours, in this matter, has not been an exception. Before the course was opened an opposition to it cropped up unexpectedly in a quarter to which, so far as I know, none of us have hitherto had reason to look for special interest in forestry matters. What the inwardness of the opposition was I will not stop now to inquire, the avowed and sufficiently absurd reason was an assumed rivalry with the teaching in the University. The matter was dealt with in the Scotsman, and I had supposed and hoped its discussion there, and the practical working of our scheme, had given the story of rivalry its quietus. It was therefore with great regret I read in a report in an agricultural paper of a meeting of the Highland and Agricultural Society—a meeting my official duties prevented me attending—that the chairman of the Forestry Committee of the Society had again raised this bogey, and had indulged in some free oriticism of our course. Because only one student, who, as it happened, was not a pupil of the Edinburgh University lecturer, appeared for the diploma examination of the society, and obtained only a second class, therefore our course at the Botanic Garden was opposed to the University teaching. This ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT, AUGUST 7, 1893. 9 was in effect the argument, supplemented by the statement that our teachers are not recognised, upon which Sir Robert Menzies based a demand for the stoppage of our course. I don’t know what is Sir Robert Menzies’s idea of a recognised lecturer, but as Colonel Bailey, the University lecturer, in whose interest Sir Robert Menzies apparently believed he was speaking when he made this attack upon us, has kindly undertaken to lecture to our men on forestry, I must suppose that Colonel Bailey only speaks with authority from his official chair. I can pass by the suggestion of our rivalry with the University with a reference to previous utterances, and to the discussion in the Scotsman. I have hesitated to say anything about this matter to-day, because I hate such disputations, and the criticism of our work being so absurd and inconsequential, anyone in the smallest degree acquainted with the facts would see that the statement carried its own refutation; but as I had to allude to the carrying on of our course, I felt that expressions regarding it, used by one in so prominent a position as the chairman of the Forestry Committee of the Highland and Agricultural Society, might be accepted by those not conversant with the circumstances were I to pass them by without some protest. I must think it unfortunate that reckless assertions of this kind, which are not calculated in the least to promote the cause of forestry, should be made by those professedly speaking in its support. With reference now to University education (which I speak of after dealing with our garden course, because it leads up to a suggestion with which I shall conclude my remarks to-day), the past year has not been uneventful. Forestry has been assigned a place in the University curriculum for the degree of Batchelor of Science in Agriculture. The ordinance of the Commissioners regulating the degree in agriculture has now come into force, and though forestry is only an optional subject, we must be thankful, on the principle that half a loaf is better than no bread, that so much has been gained. With the realisation of the importance of forestry, further recognition of its right place will come. The University lecturer, Colonel Bailey, has vigorously carried on the course of lectures in the University, having an attendance of 13 students,—an increase on the preceding year, and a fairly-sized class for a subject not compulsory in a curriculum. He has kindly supplied me with information regarding his men, from which it appears that land agents and men of such status, » 10 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. whom it was expected would take advantage of such a class, are just those who attend. Under the new ordinances of the Commissioners for the estab- lishment of Boards of Studies, the forestry lecturer will, in the future, have a more intimate connection with University affairs than was possible under the old statute, but I need not tell you that the realisation of our hopes of a professorship foundation ought alone to satisfy our aspirations for the future of our science. And this leads me to the last point upon which I desire to say a word or two to you to-day. The mention of our contemplated professorship will naturally raise the question,—What of the tndowment Fund? How is it getting on? I see the Seeretary will afterwards make a statement thereanent, and I shall not, therefore, forestall him further than in expressing a fear that the account he will give us is not a very rosy one. We must confess it is a little disappointing that after those several years of effort, the endowment at which we aim is not nearly reached. It is a misfortune that our landed proprietors do not see their interest in the direction to which we point, but we cannot compel to contribute men who do not see their way to do so of their own will, and un- questionably the general circumstances of the times are not such as to favour the accumulation of such a fund as we seek to establish. But disappointment to the members of this Society who have laboured so long, and who are now beginning to achieve, is not discouragement ; and I have no doubt about an ultimate suecess. But possessed with this feeling, I am none the less awake to the circumstances of the hour, and I have put it to myself whether there is no other way by which we could gain a more advanced position towards our goal, which would enable us better at present to do what we realise as needful in our cause, and which would, at the same time, favour our prospects of securing what we desire. I think there is, and in the few minutes more I would ask you to allow me to detain you, I will briefly state a suggestion which I venture to think is not too chimerical for consideration, nor too ambitious for realisation. Technical education in our day is no longer the vague expression it was within the memory of many of those here present, covering the general exposition of the application of scientific method to arts and manufactures, It has passed far beyond that to the stage of specialisation, and it is, or ought to be, the aim of all those ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT, AUGUST 7, 1893. 11 in whose power the regulation of such education is entrusted, so to foster it that it shall most efficiently supply the needs of the population in whose midst it is established, and that cognate subjects with a common foundation be taught in combination. Now, here in Edinburgh, we may claim to be a great horticultural centre, and when we look at arboriculture and sylviculture—at forestry—one has to remember that the scientific principles we desire to inculcate in those who are to practise the art as a science, are fundamentally those which are required for men who purpose to devote their lives to horticulture, and that in a great many features the work of the agriculturist is founded on similar essentials. Thus, three practical subjects then, Agriculture, Horti- culture, and Forestry, form a group which by a well-organised equipment, might in their fundamental principles be taught in one school. When I look around me, in and about Edinburgh, I see that already there are agencies through which, in a greater or less degree, such teaching is provided for, and carried out. Such endowed institutions as the University, the Royal Veterinary College, and the Heriot-Watt College spend money on such objects, and there are benevolent fountains supplying revenues for this purpose—the Board of Agriculture, the Town Council, and the County Councils ; and, in addition to the three endowed institutions already specified, the Scottish Horticultural Association, the new Incorporated School of Agricultural Science, the Royal Botanic Garden, are agencies through which some of this money is expended; whilst the Highland and Agricultural Society and New Veterinary College are engaged independently upon work of a similar kind. Now, although it is an advantage to be able to dip into many purses for the wherewithal for carrying on any sound system of education, the multiplication of unregulated and uncon- nected outlets must result in a maximum of expenditure, without a maximum of result, inasmuch as overlapping in the work per- formed is inevitable; and it being manifestly disadvantageous to have such a dissipation of means to an end, as I have pointed out exists in Edinburgh, the question I ask is this,—Is there no way by which some concentration can be brought about? Can we not devise some method of combination of forces? I confess when I hear of and note the good work that is being done by co-operative effort, in such an institution as the Science College of Newcastle- on-Tyne—part of the University of Durham—which stole from us 12 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. Professor Somerville,—I sigh for the time when we here in Edinburgh shall have combined our energies, and in a similar, even more extended college, carry on with effect, and at minimum cost, education in the subjects I have mentioned. Is that time to be always in the future? Is the time not come now? Is it not possible for us to have now, in Edinburgh, a college representative of Agriculture, Horticulture, and Forestry— a College of Rural Economy ? I believe the thing is possible, and I think the time is come when an endeavour may, with some prospect of success, be made to accomplish the object. There are, of course, difficulties to be overcome, but I cannot think they are insurmountable. I mention the subject to you to-day because, were the idea realised, our forestry teaching would be influenced, and the question of horticultural education is also involved, and this audience, com- prising so many who are interested in both these branches of science, appears to me to be therefore specially fitted to discuss the matter with appreciation of the issue, How then, you may ask, do I suggest that this concentration should be developed, and the college I speak of be established ? What we want to get is a channel through which such public moneys as are now, or may in future become, available for such educa- tion, from whatever source they come, may be applied upon a definite and coherent system. Now with regard to the bodies from whom such moneys come at present—it is an open secret that the Board of Agriculture views with disfavour the sporadic doles it makes just now, and would be glad if some means could be arranged through which its contributions for education in this district should pass to a central representative body; and I do not suppose the Town Council or the County Councils would be one whit less disposed to contribute to the cause of education when it is better organised, than they are now, and I think we may therefore assume that on the creation of a central school of teaching, the money which has hitherto flowed in diverse channels for this kind of education would not be diverted from the subject, rather, I would contemplate, a more lavish expenditure upon them. It appears to me that this utilisation of existing endowed institutions would be the simplest and the right method of pro- cedure. When I look back on the history of our University, and remember that the noble institution we have at the present day took origin from the town, the Town’s College, and from supplying ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT, AUGUST 7, 1893. 13 a local, has now come to supply the world’s need, I ask, is it not possible that the Town Council, acting with characteristic liberal spirit, may give us the college I suggest? I think it is possible. The foundation of it appears to me to be already laid. We know that the Town Council is the Patron and Trustee of the Royal Veterinary College, and is therefore specially interested in that Institution, which has not yet, I believe, come into full use of its endowment. Is not this the college that should be utilsed as a centre around which a representative technical college could be built up? Under the new ordinances of the University, it would be possible to affiliate the Royal Veterinary College, and thus make it an integral part of the University, and the basis of the Rural Economy College I have spoken of under the egis of the University and the Town Council. To this Institution the various contributions for this special education could be assigned, and the staff could be increased to meet the requirements of the time. I cannot enter into the many details of arrangement which the suggestion involves. I would merely add that there appear no difficulties that could not be got over. It might be well, perhaps, that in the governing body of such a college the three societies representing the branches of science to be taught should have some representation—the Highland and Agricultural Society, the Scottish Horticultural Association, and the Royal Scottish Arbori- cultural Society. Then it would be necessary to have evening as well as day classes, to meet the needs of practical workers. There should be a curriculum of study. There should be some form of certificate or diploma to be awarded as a mark of merit to those who satisfactorily acquitted themselves throughout the curriculum. These and many other points would require careful consideration, but I cannot but think that in this direction is to be found a satisfactory solution of the difficulty that confronts us at present, the inharmonious diffusion of public moneys available for the teaching of these important subjects. So far as our forestry teaching is concerned,—which was the theme through which I have been led to make the suggestion just stated,—we should make a distinct advance. The subject would be established in a definite position, side by side with agriculture and horticulture, as a recognised part of University education. We should have a definite curriculum for foresters as well as one for agriculturists and gardeners with adequate teaching in the fundamental sciences, and the interest in the subjects which such a technical college of 14 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. the University would arouse could not but lead to further developments, through which we should attain to a full realisation of our hopes. And now, gentlemen, I have done, and you will all be eager to get off upon the extremely interesting Excursion that has been arranged. One thing in connection with it remains for me to say. You will remember the cordial reception aeeorded to the Society last year by Mr Edward Balfour, younger of Balbirnie. This year Mr Balfour is not able to join the Excursion as he had wished, but shows his and Mrs Balfour’s interest in our proceedings in the very practical way of an enclosure to the Secretary of a cheque for £11, 19s., to pay the expenses of the Excursion for two cadet foresters, members of the Society. Your Council have carried out Mr Balfour’s inten- tion in this way. The forester who has done best in the classes at the Royal Botanic Garden, and who was qualified as a member of the Society—John F. Annand—has been selected in the first instance as one of the two to go under this gift, and for the second place a ballot was taken, with the result that William Forgan, a young forester at Lynedoch, on the Scone estates, has been chosen. I need not tell you that your Council passed a special vote of thanks to Mr and Mrs Balfour for their generosity, and I am sure you will all heartily concur in that vote. It appears to me that this example is one which other proprietors might well follow, not necessarily acting through the Society, but sending young men from their own estates, for the small outlay involved in sending a young forester on these instructive excursions would be more than repaid by the increased interest he would assuredly take in forestry, and by the improvement which contact with experienced men necessarily brings with it to an intelligent mind. ! ? BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ARBORICULTURE OF THE NEW FOREST. 15 II. A Brief History of the Arboriculture of the New Forest, Hampshire. By the Hon. Gerratp LascreLugs, Deputy Surveyor, New Forest. I do not propose in this paper to enter at length into the origin and formation of the New Forest. We have all learnt at school the legend of the devastation of a vast tract of fertile land—the destruction of many churches and villages—by the ruthless Conqueror, in order to form a Chase where he might enforce the savage forest law for the preservation of “the tall deer which he loved as if he had been their father,” to quote the ancient chronicles. I say ‘‘legend” advisedly, for it is perfectly clear to all who have seen the district in question, and to the most elementary student of geology, that at no period could the New Forest have been a fertile plain, or have nourished the population which the Conqueror obtained the credit of evicting. The ancient name of the Forest was ‘ Ytene,” a Saxon word signifying the ‘‘furzy waste,” and this was probably a good de- scription then, as now, of the Forest. There is some evidence of its having been used as a Royal Forest in the days of Canute, a.p. 1017; and what really happened after the Conquest in 1066 was, that William selected this wild tract as a suitable hunting ground for himself, within easy reach of his capital city of Winchester, and enforced the forest law within its boundaries, thereby reserving the exclusive right of sporting for himself. Further than this it is not probable that he went, and men retained possession of their landg, their woods, mills, or other property, just as before, save only for the stringent regulations of the forest law. Of actual arboricul- ture there is not much trace at this remote date, except in so far as the rigid laws of the forest with regard to ‘‘ vert and venison ” served to protect all manner of trees or shrubs under the head of ‘‘ vert,” since, ‘‘to preserve well the venison of the forest, it is first to begin with the vert.”! Vert was of two kinds: ‘Over vert,” or Haut Bois, and ‘‘ Neather vert,” or Sous Bois; the first comprised every description of timber tree, or “ great wood” as it was termed; the latter, every kind of shrub or bush, such as underwood, gorse, thorns, or anything that afforded covert for the beasts of the forest—even fern and heath were by some 1 See Manwood’s ‘‘ Treatise of the Lawes of the Forrest,” 16 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. accounted vert. Under the prevailing law it was not lawful for a man to cut so much as a stick in his own woods within the regard of the forest, except ‘“ by view and allowance of the foresters.” These restrictions would no doubt have the effect of strictly preserving the existing trees and shrubs, but it would do nothing . towards replenishing them, when, in the natural course of events, they decayed and perished. Moreover, in so barren and bleak a tract, the greater part of which is altogether unsuitable for the growth of timber, it is probable that the amount of wood was small, compared with the present day. The present Forest com- prises in all a tract of 92,395 acres. Of this, 27,658 acres are private property, enclosed and cultivated, and are not a part of the public estate. The statistics of the Forest are as follows :— Acres. Open heath and pasture, . : : . 40,478 Open lands with timber, . : : ‘ 4,500 Plantations enclosed, : . 3 4 11,138 a open, . : : : : 6,532 Freebold and copyhold of the Crown, 3 : 2,089 Private property and encroachments, . : 27,658 92,395 Under the head of plantations, nothing is included of an earlier date than those which were planted under the Act 9 and 10 William III., that being the first date at which the plantations were enclosed under a Commission, which caused them to be properly * butted and bounded,” and made returns thereof to the Treasury. As we shall presently see, there were innumerable plantations made previous to that date, but what is left of them has either been absorbed into more moJern plantations, or else is included under the head of ‘open lands with timber.” The plantations subsequent to the year 1700 are divided thus— Acres. More than 100 years old, : : . 1377 From 75 to 100 soz, : : : 2230 a5 0 0)to 70 55 : : 4080 5, 20 to 50 5 : ; 4278 Under 25 AP ; , : 5705 Of the Crown freeholds, about one-half are cultivated land, and the other half—say 1000 acres—is under oak plantation of about BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ARBORICULTURE OF THE NEW FOREST. 17 sixty years’ growth. The remainder, of say 63,000 acres, may be termed the forest proper—the property of the nation in right of the Crown, subject, as to certain parts, to the rights of private individuals, termed ‘‘ rights of common.” Of this 63,000 acres, about 30,000 acres was described in 1849, by one of the most eminent firms of land agents in this country, as being “unfit for either agriculture, growth of timber, or pas- turage.” If this description was applicable at that date, it is infinitely more so now, when prices for all kinds of farm and forest produce are at their lowest ebb. Of the remainder, 4500 acres is occupied by old woods planted prior to the year 1700, 17,670 acres are under plantations of dates varying from 190 to 25 years of age, and the balance of 11,000 acres or so is devoted to rough pasture. With this brief description of the condition of the New Forest as it was, and as it is, we may proceed to examine what has been done, and is being done, in the way of arboriculture past and present. As has been stated before, the forest laws did something for the preservation of the crop of timber actually on the ground, but did nothing towards reproducing it, when by natural decay it perished. That encoppicements,* and even plantations, were made seems probable, because the preamble to the first statute passed upon the subject—that of the 22 Edward IV., in a.p. 1483—refers to the restrictions placed upon planting by the forest laws, which regarded the preservation of game as the fore- most consideration. But by subsequent statutes—those of the 35 Henry VIII., and 13 Elizabeth, the practices of encoppic- ing were made imperative in the royal forests, and many orders and proclamations were made in accordance with them, The records of the Court of Exchequer abound with memoranda of the cost of erecting fences for the exclusion of the cattle and deer from the various copses or woods in different parts of the forest, commencing with the reign of Henry VIII. In the seventh year of Elizabeth we have a return of ‘‘all Her Majesty’s woods in parks, forests, and chases,” in which is given a most complete list of the ancient woods of the New Forest, some of which can be traced at the present day, though in most cases the sites, being land well suited to the growth of timber, have been replanted with younger wood at some intermediate period. But VOL, XIV. PART I. B 18 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. there is hardly an acre of land which would grow timber naturally that is not referred to in this return, The practice of cultivation seems to have been that of ‘‘natural regeneration,” such as is advocated by the most distinguished foresters of the modern school. In old days it went by the name of “encoppicing,” and the process seems to have been simply to enclose the area by a fence against cattle and deer, and to rely on the natural reproduction of the seed from the existing crop of trees to replenish the wood. After the coppice was fairly established, it seems to have been the practice to farm it out on lease for a term of years, but under certain restrictions as to the preservation of the timber. Thus in a.p. 1571 we find a present- ment of the regarders of the forest to the effect that ‘‘a coppice called Ridley Coppice hath been spoiled by cattle by one John Marlowe.” To this careful attention, it may be, we owe it, that we are now able to enjoy the beauties of Ridley Wood—without exception the most beautiful of all the woods of the New Forest as it now exists. Such presentments, however, abound in the records of this reign, and it is clear that great pains were taken to keep the numerous young coppices free from all manner of cattle. These coppices are the old woods, which are the glory of the Forest at the present day. The leasing to which I have referred seems to have extended only to underwood, for in the presentments against those who were the tenants, are indictments ‘‘for felling five dotards contain- ing ten loads of timber, value 6s.;” for ‘‘shrouding (or lopping) 200 trees in the said coppice and selling the same;” again, “ for divers and many young oaks felled for stakes for the hedge” (this also in the same Ridley Wood, which seems most fortunately to have been a special object of care). Last, and perhaps worst offence of all, “the regarders and preservators of the Bailiwick of Fritham make oath and say in English words—that in the coppice called Hocknold there is felled by the grownd four oaks.” These records, trivial as they may seem, when taken with the story that the old woods tell for themselves, throw a flood of light on the origin of the most ancient of the woods we now behold. That they were first enclosed is certain from the heavy bills we find being presented to the Exchequer of the day for the charges of doing the work ; that they were farmed out is shown by the leases and grants to the various tenants ; how they were BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ARBORICULTURE OF THE NEW FOREST. 19 farmed we have to glean from the complaints as to breaches of contract ; that the underwood was regularly cut, either by the tenant or by the Crown, is shown by the receipts for sales of this kind. All timber seems to have been taken for the navy. But the presentment as to the ‘“‘shrouding” of trees, and as to cutting of certain (four) oaks ‘‘ by the ground,” shows, if the woods them- selves did not tell the tale, that pollarding the timber trees was a common practice. Thus in Mark Ash, perhaps one of the oldest of the beech woods, we find every other tree a pollard, which alone shows that the wood has from its earliest days been under cultivation. The same thing will be found in all of the grandest old woods; and in the case of Ridley Wood we have the actual facts of its cultivation, and of the abuse of that cultivation, put upon record. As this paper will be read by those who are far more skilled in forestry than myself, and as I know that Burnham Beeches will have come under their observation, I would ask them to consider, having such examples as that picturesque old wood and of Mark Ash, as well as Ridley, Bratley, and other New Forest woods of the same date, before their eyes, What is really the effect of pollarding upon our finest forest trees? Is it not the case that the finest specimens of old forest scenery, as regards beech at any rate, are pollards? Is not the ‘“‘ Knightwood Oak” in the New Forest an undoubted pollard? Would these trees have attained to their present age in a healthy condition if they had not—for no motive connected with arboriculture—been thus pollarded in early youth? And lastly, can any experienced member of your Society tell us, approximately, what addition to the life of a tree may be given by this process and:check in its youth? To return, however, to my subject. It does not seem certain whether in the Elizabethan days the foresters relied wholly on natural reproduction for their crop, or whether they also did some planting or sowing of seed. As the coppices were brought regularly under cultivation, it seems probable that they did plant or sow, especially in those cases where the woods were farmed out and the tenant had to make as good a profit as he could in a fixed term. It is hardly probable that so dense a wood as is found in Mark Ash or Ridley would be achieved by the self-sown timber over so large an area, and be all of the same age; such timber would vary somewhat 20 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. in age, and these woods do not. In the catalogue of the woods made in the year 1565, the expression, in the description of each wood, frequently occurs of “set” with oak or beech, as the case may be; and this seems to indicate that the crop was not wholly natural. However, as the woods were mostly enclosed, cultivated, cut, and farmed in rotation, there is nothing very extraordinary in their being, to some extent, planted as well, although it would seem that the self-sown crop was mainly relied upon. From what I have said, it will be clear that those who point to the New Forest as a specimen of “‘ primeval forest, untouched by the hand of man,” are sadly out of their reckoning. Itis alwaysa pity to destroy a charming and poetical vision, -but alas, the rude logic of facts is too much for this pretty theory. It is clear that the cultivation of the trees and woods of the forest was undertaken some time prior to the reign of Edward IV., say four hundred and fifty years ago. Now I suppose I shall not be very far wrong if I put the life of a beech at three hundred years; and though oaks, no doubt, live far longer, yet in the poor soil of the New Forest their lives do not attain to the average, except in a few favoured spots. It is our beeches that are the glory of the oldest woods, and it is very unlikely that any of those we now see are of older date than the records of the Exchequer in the time of Elizabeth, which I have quoted, at which period the forest was as much under a system of enclosing for planting as ever it has been since. In fact, there is not a single one of the beautiful old woods of the Forest that was not just as much a ‘Crown enclosure” as the most recent of the plantations made under the most recent Act. To those who are more familiar with the woods of the Forest than it is possible for visitors who have but a short time at their disposal to become, another fact points strongly to the presence of careful cultivation in the earlier days of the coppices. While the greater portion of these woods are of beech with a sprinkling of oak, precisely such an intermixture as we see springing up now wher- ever there is a bare portion of good land among the parent trees, by some means protected from cattle, yet there are several woods that are almost exclusively oak—one is absolutely so, and it is among the finest of the woods of that date. It is not difficult to account for the absence of oaks among the beeches, by the fact that these woods have been so often searched over by purveyors to the BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ARBORICULTURE OF THE NEW FOREST. 21 navy, who have stripped them of the fine oaks suitable for ship- building. But this will not account for the total absence of beech from among the oaks of some of the woods, and as we know from daily observation that that is not the mode in which self-sown woods will spring up in this district if left to them- selves, it is impossible to resist the conviction that in certain cases great care was taken either to plant or to sow (probably the latter) oak alone, or else to eradicate the beech that spon- taneously sprang up with it. In either case, the hand of man is clear, and the theory of the ‘primeval forest” becomes untenable. Like most of his countrymen, James the First of England, the Sixth of Scotland, was a careful forester. Much attention was paid to the New Forest in his reign. In addition to a survey of all trees fit for timber which he caused to be made, to which allusion will be made later, strict regulations were made both for the management of the coppices and plantations, which, with an eye to the main chance, the king was careful to farm out to the best advantage, and also for the preservation of the young timber trees springing up among them. Among the orders, we find the first definite mention of ‘‘ ploughing of the land for raising of new woods,” and this is naturally followed by an account of the cost of gathering acorns, and of that of planting them ‘‘ by men’s hands,” which would seem to indicate some method of dibbling. Great stress is laid upon the necessity of keeping the coppices well fenced from cattle and deer, and it would seem that in these ancient days more care was taken to exclude all cattle from the - enclosures than is admitted to be necessary now—by the owners of the cattle at least! A proclamation issued in the sixth year of James I., after setting forth that ‘‘ great spoils and devastations are committed within our forests, parks, and chases”. . . “we therefore have endeavoured to take course to stop the said abuses, and to work the means not only of the better preservation of our said woods in time to come, but of a present multiplication and increase of wood to all ages, and to the end that our care may appear to the preservation and increase of timber as well to others as to ourselves . . . we do straightly command and charge all our loving subjects in general that im their own woods they presume not hereafter to defraud the true meaning of our statutes by cutting and felling the young stores when they usually fell their underwoods.” . 22 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. However arbitrary and paternal these regulations may have been, they show a keen desire to preserve timber at all costs. In the year 1614 we find a list of regulations drawn up which were to be inserted in all leases for the letting of future woods in New Forest, among which it was provided that “all timber trees are to be excepted, and all saplings of oak that are likely to make timber, and that 12 standels be left in every acre.” Not very much more of special interest relating to the New Forest appears in the records of this reign, except a detailed account of the different coppices and plantations, with much fault found with the condition of the fences, and a note that Holmsley Coppice “ consisteth only of holly or holm, for the most part very old, and by reason that the country people have taken the bark off most of them to make bird-lime they are all decayed and dead”! Similar surveys took place during the reign of Charles the First, but more with a view to raising as much money as possible from the various woods than with that of expending money on their renewal. Troubled times arose, and the king had matters to attend to more engrossing than the cultivation of his woods. Under the Commonwealth we do not find much care bestowed on the Forest, and it may be concluded that great waste went on. Nor did this waste terminate with the accession of Charles the Second, for one of the most curious of the State papers relating to this Forest is that in which Charles is “informed that two coppices—one called King’s Copse . . . the other called New Copse . . . and that the underwoods of the said copses are valued at £1292 . . . besides the trees and saplings - growing thereon, to be preserved for our own use. We are graciously pleased, upon the humble petition of Winifred Wells, one of the maids of honour to our dearest consort and queen, to give unto her the benefit of the said underwoods.. . ete., etc.” The king five years after, in 1669, did, however, decree that 300 acres of ground should be taken for a nursery and supply of wood and timber, in three separate lots of 100 acres each, the situations of which are named in the order, It is this same order that provides for the “impaling and fencing of the park called New Park” . . . ‘for the preservation of His Majesty’s red deer coming out of France.” A commission of inquiry was again issued in the later days of BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ARBORICULTURE OF THE NEW FOREST. 23 Charles the Second to inquire into “ wastes, spoils, and abuses ;” but the forests suffered much on the whole during the times of the Commonwealth and later Stuart kings. This is proved by actual surveys. In 1608 the survey of James the First, referred to above, showed that there were in the New Forest 123,927 trees fit for the use of the navy, containing 197,405 loads of timber. In 1707, after one hundred years of neglect and waste, the return gives a total of but 12,476 trees, containing 19,873 loads, fit for navy purposes, This sad state of affairs had already roused attention, and the Act 9and 10 William III. was passed, for, to quote the report of the commissioners of 1789 (one of the best histories of the New Forest ever compiled): “the greatest part of the trees had been felled, the fences of the ancient coppices destroyed, and the deer and cattle everywhere admitted, so that it was found impossible to restore the forest to its ancient condition without the aid of an Act of Parliament.” Under this Act it was provided that 2000 acres should forth- with be enclosed and planted with timber for the use of the navy only, underwood and all other produce being excluded; that 200 acres should be enclosed annually for twenty years following ; and that as soon as any of the land thus enclosed was safe from damage by cattle it should be thrown open, and the like area enclosed in its stead. A provision was thus made for the planting of 12,000 acres at the least, and it was also held that a “ rolling power existed by which, when these 12,000 acres were thrown out, a second 12,000 might be started upon.” This power has been called in question, and it has been contended that the power extended in all to 12,000 acres only; the-point was never finally decided, and in fact never arose, so that it is not worth discussing now. Each enclosure, when made, was to be properly ‘‘ butted and bounded” by a surveyor, and the quantities thereof returned into His Majesty’s Court of Exchequer. There was accordingly an exact record of each plantation that cannot be contravened, and perhaps it is on that account that some have sought to make out that this comparatively modern Act was the first effort made by the Crown to form woods in the Forest. It was, on the contrary, an abridgment and modification of the power exercised by the Crown without let or hindrance from time immemorial. In this Act the powers are defined and limited for the first time, and the “rights of common” are also referred to and defined to some 24 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. extent. In fact, we have in it the first indication of that struggle between the Crown and the commoners which has always been the great impediment to all forms of arboriculture in the New Forest since the days of the Commonwealth. It will perhaps interest my readers to hear what was the precise form of cultivation employed. It is as follows: ‘‘ Pits or beds of three spits of ground each were dug a yard apart, and three acorns planted triangularly in each bed. Half a bushel of acorns were allotted for each person to plant in one day; two regarders attended every day during the time of planting to see that it was properly done ; and after the ground was fully planted with acorns it was sown with hawes, hollyberries, sloes, and hazelnuts, and drains cut where necessary, and traps were set to catch mice, and persons attended daily to re-set the traps and keep off crows and other vermin.” Whether from subsequent neglect or not, the plantations thus formed were never thinned at all, but allowed to grow up like a nursery quarter. Although contrary to every theory of plantation management, it cannot be denied that they were in this bad soil successful in growing a heavy crop of oak timber on moderate land. In fact, when some years ago the French professors of the School of Forestry at Nancy, with their pupils, visited this Forest, they expressed the opinion that nowhere had they seen a greater number of cubic feet of pure oak on the acre. We may thus learn a lesson from the mistakes, as they appear to be, of our ancestors, and note that where a heavy crop of timber, rather than handsome specimen trees, is the object, thinning may be easily carried to excess, especially on bad land. By this Act of William ITI. the pollarding of trees received its death-blow ; it was made a punishable offence for any keeper to top or lop any timber trees for the purpose of browsing the deer, and as the custom of farming the coppices had fallen into disuse, no one had any interest in thus dealing with the trees.) We may therefore assume that all of the old pollards are of a date of more than two hundred years ago; and the lover of beautiful scenery cannot fail to contrast their picturesque forms with those of the more modern woods—even of those as old as William III.,—while there is food for reflection to the forester as to the additional age and beauty of form that has been conferred on those trees that have been thus maltreated in their youth. However, this revival of forestry did not succeed so well as it BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ARBORICULTURE OF THE NEW FOREST, 25 deserved. About 1022 acres were enclosed and planted and well cared for up to the age of some fifteen years; but for fifty years after that time nothing more was done. The interest of the keepers to whom the Forest was entrusted was, owing to the defective system employed, all against the growth of timber. A divisum imperium existed by which the keepers were under the authority of the Lord Warden, who had control of all things con- nected with the deer, etc., while the actual management of the timber was in the hands of another department altogether ; naturally the two authorities were always at loggerheads. More- over, the keepers and other officers were still paid by the bad old system of perquisites (of which the rabbits formed one)!. Thus they obtained a vested interest in the Forest property, instead of being as now the paid servants of the public, and did not hesitate to petition against, when they did not openly resist, measures that they conceived to be injurious to their own interests. All this was against tree planting ; furthermore, to quote again the report of the commissioners of 1789: “the neighbouring inhabitants have been naturally led to partake in the spoil, and hardly to think it a crime to take what no one seemed anxious to protect.” That this is no idle word is shown by an item in a return of certain receipts from the Forest, which appears in the most matter-of-course way, viz., ‘“‘the like of casual oak trees found by the surveyor cut down, and by him seized and saved from being stolen. . . . Loads, 869. Value, £1526.” However, we find that after all, between the years 1761 and 1787, the Forest was capable of yielding timber valued at no less a sum than £87,952, of which £54,449 worth went for the use of the navy ; and these figures illustrate the value in all respects to the nation of this magnificent property. In 1750 a further enclosure of some 230 acres was made, and in 1776, 2044 acres more were enclosed, and this is, strictly speaking, all that was done under the Act of William III., which had for its aim the covering by degrees of the whole of the Forest with wood. The plantations of 1776 are remarkable in one respect, as com- mencing an era which has gone far to alter the whole aspect of the New Forest, and even of the whole of the county of Hants adjoining. I allude to the introduction of the Scots fir, previously to that time unknown in the New Forest as a timber tree, but which has now fully established itself as. the natural tree of this 26 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. part of England, where vast areas of land will really grow nothing else. The clump that was planted as an experiment, to ascertain if this tree would thrive in the worst soil and exposure in the Forest, is well known to every visitor as Ocknell clump. Ocknell enclosure—a very old encoppicement—was replanted in 1776, and it is probable that this clump, and those standing in Boldre- wood, were planted about this period. The tree itself appears in several of the plantations of that date, chiefly in the form of belts for protection of the plantation from the wind. In some cases these trees have attained good dimensions. Since that time it has been freely used as a nurse in all the younger planta- tions, and it reproduces itself with such great freedom, that tracts of the most barren open forest are gradually becoming wooded, sparsely at first, with this tree, in spite of cattle, fires, and every other obstacle. The use of Scots fir does not seem to have become universal till we come to the plantations made under the commissions of 1807 and 1809. These received an impetus by the Act 48 George III., which confirmed and enforced that of William III., and rectified certain irregularities in its execution. Under this power more plantations were made, until by degrees the whole 6000 acres authorised by the original Act of William ILI. were enclosed; but so slow was the progress, that this was not - accomplished until 1846. The purpose for which they were made still continued to be that of producing oak for the use of the navy, and in many cases this tree had to be planted on land where its success was, to say the least of it, uncertain. The Scots fir was used as a nurse to some extent, and in many cases it has remained as the permanent crop, owing to the failure of the oak. In some cases Spanish chestnut replaced oak plants that failed early, and some fine specimens are the result, but this tree is very apt to grow shaky timber in the soil of the Forest. During the seventy years in which these plantations slowly grew up, but little attention seems to have been paid to the New Forest, with the exception of some two or three Acts of Parliament passed to check and restrain the rights of common, which appear to have been exercised without much regard to law or order. A very different order of things was about to spring up. The first indication of this was the appointment of a committee, with Lord Duncan as the chairman, to institute a general inquiry Ny BRIEF. HISTORY OF THE ARBORICULTURE OF THE NEW FOREST. 27 into the management of the land revenues of the Crown. This committee sat in 1848 and 1849, but, owing to the interven- tion of a general election, never made its report to Parliament. It was followed by a commission in 1850, the report and sub- report of which form a most valuable account and history of the Forest and of its state at that time. Innumerable abuses seem to have crept in, both as to the management by the Crown officers, and as to the exercise of rights of all kinds by commoners and those who purported to be such. As the commissioners expressed it, ‘‘the condition of the New Forest may truly be termed mere anarchy !” These inquiries culminated in an Act known as “The Deer Removal Act,” by which the whole constitution of the Forest was changed. The tendency of the previous inquiries, and the dis- position of Parliament, was to do away with such large areas of waste land, and to bring them into cultivation of some kind. About that date very many commons had been, and were being, enclosed all over the kingdom, and were brought into cultivation, in some cases to the great advantage of the class of small free- holder that was called into existence by the allotments of common ; in other cases with less success. The whole spirit of the time was eminently utilitarian, and the legislation on the New Forest followed in the same line. The first step was to abolish the deer, which from time im- memorial had been the chief raison d@étre of the Forest, but which, however picturesque and charming, were very costly to maintain, and no doubt had a deleterious effect on the morals of the population of the locality. In return for this right to main- tain an unlimited quantity of deer, and thus to exhaust the feed to the last blade of grass, the Crown proposed to take the right to enclose 14,000 acres of land for the purpose of planting, and when this was free from damage by cattle, to throw it open and re-enclose 14,000 acres more. This arrangement was opposed by the commoners, whose rights had been year by year coming more into evidence, and the area to be enclosed was cut down to 10,000 acres, thus with the old 12,000 acres giving, without going into the question of the rolling power, an area of 32,000 acres to be enclosed for timber. The divided jurisdiction was also done away with ; the office of Lord Warden remained in abeyance, and the staff altogether was cut down to the most economical point. 28 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. At the same time an inquiry was held, at the request of the commoners themselves, into the extent and nature of their rights, which lasted some two years; and ultimately, at the expense of the Crown, a register was compiled and issued, which has ever since been decisive as to all claims, and the extent to which they may lawfully be exercised. As this paper is written for those who live at a “‘far cry” from the New Forest, and are probably not conversant with the customs of that locality, it may be well to explain who and what are the “commoners,” who have exercised of late years so restrictive a power upon tree cultivation. They are simply the landowners of the district—the proprietors of that 27,000 acres of private land that was mentioned as existing within the total area of the Forest, and of a considerable quantity more that lies outside its boundaries within a short distance therefrom. As in most other parts of the country, this land is mainly in the hands of the larger owners, and these do not, as a rule, cultivate the land themselves, but farm it out in the usual way, charging an additional rent for the land or house to which are attached the rights over the Forest, for in every case the right attaches to the actual Jand or house, and not to the individual owner or occupier. It is therefore clear to all who grasp the position, that the agitations which are conducted on behalf of the “poor commoner” are simply movements in support of rents in the first place, which are the fixed income of “forest rights,” and, in the second place, of the less certain profit that is made by the exercise of them. No one, however, can blame anybody for firmly standing up for his rights, but a good deal of talk about the “preservation” of the noble old Forest is seriously discounted when the more sordid side of the question comes into view. But as I said above, all these agitations are conducted on behalf of the “poor commoner” solely ; the rich one who owns nearly all the rights being kept in the background, though very active on behalf of his poor neighbour. You may therefore be tempted to ask, ‘‘ Has the poor commoner no real existence, or is he nothing but an imaginary stalking horse?” By no means; he has a very real, though a limited, existence, and a most praise- worthy hard-working prosperous specimen of the “small owner” he generally is. Too sensible as a rule to take part in the frothy agitations in which he is made to occupy so prominent a place, he is by no means averse to take advantage of anything that may be BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ARBORICULTURE OF THE NEW FOREST, 29 gained for him, though quite content, if he be let alone, not to raise abstruse points of law or to grudge to others the full benefit and enjoyment that can be got out of the Forest. From evidence given on behalf of the commoners before the Committee of the House of Commons in 1875, we find that the owners of holdings from 1 to 20 acres are about 580 in number, and own between them 4, part only of the whole of the land entitled to rights of common. Of the remaining $3ths, }4ths, or rather more than one-half, is owned by ten large proprietors who possess not less than 2000 acres of land to which common rights attach, besides other property. Of the remainder, considerably over two-thirds is owned by about twenty-one possessors of over 500 acres of the land with rights, and the balance of about 7000 acres is owned by those who possess less than 500 acres of such land. The value of the common right has been recently stated to add one-balf to the letting value of the land; a cottage with a turbary right fetches £1 a year more than one _ without it. These figures will show how large is the question of rent, as compared with any other which can be raised locally. There need be no difficulty in understanding why it is that the landowners of the New Forest! are so exceedingly alert to resist anything, whether for national or other purposes, that appears to touch, however remotely, the fringe of their rights over the Forest, and to invoke the aid of the public by the cry that the whole Forest is in danger, when some comparatively unimportant local question is under discussion. The rights of common are of three kinds: common of pasture, of turbary, and of estovers, or fuel wood. The first of these rights is in itself perfectly harmless; there is ample room for all those who desire to exercise it, to turn out their cattle to make the best of what can be got out of the Forest, where the feed is at best of the most inferior kind, only fit to nourish inferior stock, It is the abuse of the right that makes it hurtful from the national point of view, such as when the planting of a few trees in the open spaces of decaying woods is resisted, on the plea that they occupy space where enough grass might grow to increase the feed by a few mouthfuls. Indeed, of late years we have had such absurdities as proceedings taken against a golf club “for injury to the commoners’ pasture,” by the cutting of 9 holes 41 inches 1 The total number of Commoners who claim ‘‘common right” in the New Forest has been recently stated in evidence to be under 900. 30 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. in diameter! against a telegraph company for the loss of pasture by the space occupied by their poles! even against a converter of felled timber for the injury caused by depositing a heap of saw-dust! and all of these operations have had the sanction of the Crown as owner of the Forest. It is but fair to the actual exerciser of the right of pasture, to say that he is, as a rule, no party to these proceedings, caring like Gallio for none of these things so long as his right is not really interfered with, which he knows will never be done by such practices as have been described. It is his active friends who thus engage in warfare on his behalf, especially when an election is pending ! The other two rights, of turbary and estovers, are both entirely harmful. The “turbary” or turf right is practised by paring the surface of the heath lands, removing the heather with its roots and all vegetable humus, which make a kind of inferior fuel—there is no real peat in the Forest. The land, poor at first, is impoverised -by the removal of what little soil will grow even heather ; then, as in course of years it slowly recovers, and the roots of the adjoining plants spread over the denuded space, it is again pared, and so on year by year. Nothing can be imagined more injurious to land, and the only excuse for the practice is, that it is only performed on land of the very worst quality, and is a boon to the poorest of the population. It is greatly falling into disuse, to the public advantage. The common of ‘‘estovers” is also a most injurious tax on the property of the public. Every report or inquiry that has been held on the Forest, has recommended that this claim should be abolished. As long ago as the twenty-sixth year of Queen Elizabeth it was ordered, with the view of checking the growth of this practice, that “no inhabiters of any house newly builded since the beginning of the Queen’s Majesty’s reign that now is, shall be allowed any wood in the same forest to be burnt and expended therein.” The claims consist of so many loads of ‘‘ good fuel wood,” and each house now enjoying the right is supposed to be able to trace its existence back to the commencement of the reign of Elizabeth. But it is to be feared that this order has been frequently evaded, for it appears that in 1809 the number of loads had risen to 841, of which 160 were stopped as being unlawfully claimed. In former years this right was the subject of very great abuses. Whole trees of beech, or even oak, were assigned, and often more trees were cut than were assigned, while much damage to young timber was BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ARBORICULTURE OF THE NEW ForREST, 31 done in felling them. The wood is all now cut and stacked before it is delivered, and while abuses are thus prevented, a considerable charge is made on the public purse for the labour. The right is more destructive than formerly, for as it is limited to the “ waste of the forest,” and as all planting is now at an end, while the existing young plantations are subject to enclosure, and thus free from the right, it follows that it can only be satisfied from the ancient plantations of the Stuarts, or of Elizabeth, which are the very woods standing most in need of protection. In view of this destruction, the Crown authorities have lost no opportunity of buying up the rights of all who would sell them at a fair price. The number of loads, or “cords” of wood is thus reduced from 800 to 367 in the present year, which are held by forty-three owners, about one-third belonging to one landlord. In 1883 the Commissioner of Woods, Sir Henry Loch, introduced a bill to buy up all these fuel rights, at a price to be decided either by arbitration, or by the magistrates of the county in petty sessions. The bill was vigorously opposed by the commoners, and though it readily passed through the committee stage, yet owing to press of business it did not become law, and the Crown authorities have not renewed the good offer that was thus rejected. The right thus remains as a perpetual drain on the most precious part of the Forest. The origin of these common rights is obscure. By some it is contended that they were existent before the actual formation of the Forest. It is very probable that the inhabitants of the district did make what use they thought right of the whole of the waste land at their doors; but this is hardly consistent with the idea of a “right,” by which is implied a claim on the part of one man to make certain use of the property of another. Manwood says that the rights were granted by the Crown as a sort of compensation for the hardships inflicted by the enforcement of the forest laws. This seems probable, and is an explanation of the existence of the earlier rights. So little is heard of these rights up to about the year 1700, while there is so much written about the Forest, that it would seem that they were few in number, and, with the exception of the fuel right, not of sufficient importance to attract attention. During the 18th century they come prominently into notice, and as during the same period there is much said of the lack of order in the Forest, and the need for enforcing the law more strictly, it seems that the commoners availed themselves of 32 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. this state of things, to possess themselves of the various rights without any further claim than that of usurpation, upon which it is to be feared the original title of nine-tenths of these claims rests, Precisely the same state of things existed during the earlier part of this century, and the commoners seem to have multiplied exceedingly, so that we may take it that while some of the rights are very ancient, and held by grants from the Crown—as, for instance, the Charter of the Abbey of Beaulieu, given by King John—yet that most of them came into being during the one hundred and fifty years from 1700 to 1850, and were acquired by simple usurpation, which in time became a prescriptive right. This explanation will show what is the nature of the right claimed by the commoners, the extent to which it has grown, and the great impediment which it presents to anything like arboriculture, even in such form that the Forest might be handed down to posterity as a possession similar to that which we have inherited. To return to the legislation of 1850, which, as I have said, was eminently utilitarian. One of the first steps was to institute a survey to ascertain what amount of timber fit for the navy was standing in New Forest. It appears that none had been supplied since 1833, and consequently a large amount was found ready for use. During the next few years a very large quantity was felled, both to supply present wants and to clear the ground for the planting of the area prescribed by the Deer Removal Act. A second proceeding was to complete the planting of the William IIT. legislation, and to do this some 6000 acres had to be cleared and planted. As the commissioners were bound to select, in the first place, land suitable for the growth of navy timber, their choice was restricted to the better land, all or nearly all of which had, at some time or another, been enclosed and planted. It was at this time that the majority of the William III. woods were felled and replanted. Much blame has been showered on those in charge of the Forest for acting thus, but it is difficult to see what other course they could pursue. The plantations had been formed solely in order that when mature they might supply the navy; they had arrived at the mature stage, and contained a large amount of valuable timber of which the navy stood in need. It was impossible to resist the claim of the dockyards, although to grant it involved the sacrifice of many acres of beautiful woods, which were a source of pleasure to the inhabitants of the locality, who loudly protested against their removal. There was the more BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ARBORICULTURE OF THE NEW FOREST. 33 excuse, because authority had been given to replant, and every wood as it was cleared was replaced by a young plantation, which is in most cases now producing a crop of oak that, at an equal age, will vie with or surpass the older wood which it has replaced. The pendulum had, however, swung too far. Before the whole of the power obtained under the William III. Acts was fully exhausted, or very soon after that given by the Deer Removal Act had commenced to be put in force, it was apparent that the effect of the measure was to gradually cover the whole of the Forest with wood. The idea of this filled the commoners with apprehension, for they feared that, in spite of the removal of the deer, the amount of pasture, as the Jand became planted up, would be much decreased. Moreover, the new Act authorised the planting of trees other than those for navy use, so that the inferior land became available for the growth of Scots fir, while a provision inserted at the instance of the commoners to guard against good land only being taken, compelled the formation of enclosures not less in extent than 300 acres in each case, so that the inconvenience to the inhabitants was increased. Another important factor in the situation arose in the increasing apprecia- tion shown by the public of the beauties of the New Forest, and its value as a recreation ground. Perhaps most important of all was the change that occurred in the building of ships, whereby iron was substituted for wood, and British oak, from being of para- mount national importance, became a drug in the market. When, therefore, but 5000 acres out of the 20,000 acres authorised by the Deer Removal Act had been planted, and as soon as the deer had been removed and the register of the commoners completed, an agitation of the most active kind was instituted by the commoners against the further carrying out of the bargain of 1851. The public was led to believe that the enclosures, which were made against the cattle of the commoners for the protection of the young trees, were really intended to exclude it from the Forest altogether, and though nothing could be further from the truth, the idea caught hold, and the press were loud in their support of the commoners, and in their deprecation of the policy which Parliament had so lately ordained. There was much to be said in favour of an alteration of that policy. With the cessation of the needs of the dockyards for oak timber, the pressing necessity for a continuous supply came to an end. As population increased, the wants of more open spaces became more and more felt, and it was a reasonable thing for the VOL. XIV. PART I, Cc 34 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. nation to decide that as an open space the New Forest was of more value than as a timber farm worth so many thousands a year. The effect of the first great exhibition had begun to tell; the zsthetic education of the people had commenced, and one of its first effects was shown in the growing appreciation of beautiful scenery. All these causes, after being at work for some years, culminated in the practical repeal of the Deer Removal Act, and in the passing of the Act of 1877, under which the Forest is now administered. But just as in the former case, the pendulum again swung too far. A bitterness had been imported into the dis- cussion, which was as mischievous as it was deplorable, and, just as in 1851 the provisions of that Act, by the excessive planting they ordained, resulted in the long run in abolishing all planting whatever, so now, in 1877, an Act was passed which, while intending to provide for the preservation of the woods of the Forest, in reality prevented any steps whatever being taken for that end. A hard and fast line was drawn between plantations formed since the year 1700, and those made previously. The former alone were allowed to be re-enclosed or replanted, but as they were all well covered with a crop of trees, the provision was of little or no use. Under no circumstances may the whole of the crop be removed from a single acre, so that in the event of a last thinning being reached, or a failure of the crop setting in, the decaying trees must be left to perish at their leisure, and the wood will have to wait till, by the hand of time or some serious gale, it is cleared enough to admit of a chance of regeneration by enclosing and natural succession. As the time when this can for the most part be done is in the dim future, it is not worth while to speculate upon what may then take place. But the case of the older woods is widely different. These are naturally, from their greater age, the very ones that stand most in need of being specially protected, and call for some steps to be taken to provide that they shall be perpetuated in all their magnificent beauty. Unhappily, the Act that in so many words ordains that they shall be preserved, in the same breath prevents that object being achieved. Under no circumstances may one single rod of land outside the limits of the ‘‘ear-marked” plantations be enclosed against the cattle of the commoners. It would be waste of time for me to enter into the impossibility of arboriculture on land that is open to excessive grazing. Most of these woods are far past their best, BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ARBORICULTURE OF THE NEW FOREST. 39 and are hastening to their end ; every gale leaves gap after gap in their ranks; in all of the less recent of these gaps may be seen hundreds of the young saplings and scions of the ancient trees struggling up only to be gnawed down and destroyed or injured by the cattle, except where kindly thickets of blackthorn here and there save them from the injury, and show, as if in mockery, what a wealth of reproduction is in the soil if the simplest pro- tection be afforded, and Nature left to do her own work with a free hand. This is prohibited by a well-meant but ill-drawn Act. As things stand now, the old woods of the Forest, the glory of the greatest of our national estates, are being slowly destroyed by Act of Parliament! Nothing is more certain to the observant forester than that these woods, under the present system, are gradually diminishing, and that a second generation of trees will see them, from having become a mere remnant of their former selves, disappear altogether; and so the best land in the Forest will become denuded entirely of trees, and the property will be to posterity but a shadow of what we now enjoy, owing to the care and better management of our ancestors. Arboriculture may for the present be said to be dead in the chief national forest. It is practically restricted to the thinning of a certain number of plantations of no great age. From these, revenue has to be obtained to keep up the roads, drains, bridges, etc., over a vast tract of unremunerative land, and as long as they can perform the task, the country enjoys its vast park free of cost. Planting is restricted to replenishing the damage wrought by occasional fires or similar disasters. A certain amount of planting of single trees in the open spaces of the older woods has been done, in the teeth of strenuous opposition from the commoners or their allies ; but the great size of the trees that had to be used, so that they might be safe from cattle, and the consequent expense and numerous failures, have proved this to be but a broken reed to rely upon to stem the rapid decay of old woods past a certain stage of growth. For the latter part of this century the managers of the Forest are forced to assume that position of lookers-on at decay and deterioration which they were so heavily blamed for voluntarily taking up during the first years thereof. In fact, by a curious turn of the wheel, the Forest has gone back about four hundred years, and is again under rules such as governed it from the days of the Red William to those in which a revival first took place, and planting or care of some kind was bestowed upon the 36 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, woods. The position is, however, curiously inverted. As by the old forest laws no subject might cut woods, even on his own Jand, within the “regard of the forest” for fear of interfering with the prerogative of the Crown, so now the Crown may not clear timber ‘on its own land for fear of interference with the pleasure of the subject! Even the cutting of a few decayed trees will generally provoke attacks in the newspapers, and assertions that the law is being contravened! And as in ancient days no man might erect a house or building on his land, so now an enclosure of any kind, even the smallest, made by the Crown upon its own land, is held to be contrary to the latest law upon the subject, and the repre- sentatives of the commoners watch jealously for an occasion to put the letter of the law in force against it. Thus to set four hurdles around a group of young trees that are being destroyed by the cattle, or to protect a spring of water from pollution by a fence, would be held to be a heinous offence against modern forest law, just as in former days a man might “lose life or member” for the like offence. A village or a house may be reduced to the extremest danger for lack of a supp!y of water or for the means to drain its premises, where the necessary land can only, by reason of the circumstances, be found in the adjoining forest; but it may perish from epidemic disease before it can, save by the costly intervention of Parliament, obtain so much as one rod of waste land from whence to draw a supply of unpolluted water, or on to which to convey out of harm’s way its accumu- lating sewage. Nay, even in cases where the aid of Parliament has been sought, opposition has sprung up to prevent dwellers in this Forest from obtaining those advantages which they would readily obtain if they lived outside the verge. In this way we have a reproduction of the ancient hardships of the old forest law, such as were found intolerable in the days of Magna Charta, and may be said to have reverted to the condition of affairs that pre- vailed six centuries ago, both in sylvicultural as well as in other matters. What the next turn of the wheel may bring it is impossible to foretell; but it is to be hoped that the reaction from the present state of affairs may not, as on former occasions, be too great a one, and will be only such as may remedy the existing evils, and may tend to preserve the beauties as well as the usefulness, in all respects, of this magnificent national inheritance. To the student of arboriculture the New Forest will always be - BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ARBORICULTURE OF THE NEW FOREST. 37 a most interesting field for observation. In it, as I have ex- plained, may be traced the earliest efforts of our ancestors in the direction of tree cultivation, sometimes successfully, sometimes thwarted by adverse circumstances, The results of the various methods may be watched, from the first days of encoppicing and. farming out, with its attendant shrouding and pollarding. The later method of sowing mast broadcast, and leaving it to take its chance can be seen; but in this and the foregoing case we have only the successes to judge by—the failures have long been wiped out. Later on we come to the more modern methods of planting according to the style introduced by Evelyn, and of the introduc- tion of nurses of the coniferous kind. The effects of the too rapid removal of the nurse, and of its being left till too late, can all be seen by those who will observe and will take pains to learn the history of the district. Still later we come to those plantations that afford an object-lesson in the reclamation of waste land, and which show what can be done with land that is good for no other kind of cultivation, and in some cases will not even do to plant. We have also admirable specimens of natural repro- duction by the simple method of enclosure, and leaving the parent trees to seed the ground. Although for the present all progressive arboriculture is at a standstill, nevertheless, much may be learnt from what was done more or less continuously up to twenty yearsago. Many kinds of tree have been tried in the Forest by way of experiment. Some forty years ago large consignments of the seed of the deodar were received from India, and the experiment of growing them was well tried in the New Forest. Except in a few favoured spots where they have done very well, they have proved a failure, and the result of the experiment may be traced by any one desirous of testing it. The Douglas fir has also been largely tried, under rather rougher conditions than prevail in the well-kept pinetum of most ardent arboriculturists, and is a most pronounced success. Many others of the best of the coniferee have been planted in groups or in avenues, and form objects of great beauty, affording illustrations of varying success that are instructive. Possibly at some future time this Forest may be again available for experiments that are of interest to the whole world of tree planters, but until that time arrives a good deal may be learnt from what has been done before all enterprise of the kind was abolished. It is to be hoped that such visits as that of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural 38 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. Society may help to dispel the idea which has been so sedulously fostered in the public mind, that everything in the shape of planting is of necessity an injury to the public enjoyment, instead of, as is really the fact, tending to beautify their property and add to their pleasure. That young plantations will ever be as attractive as ancient woods is not to be expected, but there isa tender age that all woods must pass through at first, and had our ancestors pursued the selfish policy which prevails at the present day, and merely enjoyed their old woods without making any provision for their renewal, how different would be the Forest of to-day from the beautiful possession that the public so much enjoy, and which every endeavour should be made to improve and perpetuate to future ages. SECTIONS OF WOODS GROWN IN BRITAIN, 39 III. Sections of Woods grown in Britain, By D, F. Mackenzix, Factor, Mortonhall, Midlothian, In submitting this assortment of 160 sections of the woods of trees and shrubs grown in Britain, the writer is fully sensible of the incompleteness of the collection, and also of minor short- comings. As may be readily understood, the work is attended with some difficulties, even to the expert. Several beautiful collections of European woods have been made by Nordlinger and others,—Professor Hartrig is at present making a collection,—but, so far as the writer is aware, there is no collection of this kind, representing trees and shrubs of British growth, available for educational purposes, except, perhaps, in botanic gardens. Neither have these authors put their sections into media similar to the present collection, the advantages of which are very evident. They make the sections available for the microscope as well as for lantern work. By the miscroscope, analysis of the structures is rendered complete ; and by the lantern, the anatomy of the timber is made perfectly clear. The process, in a general sense, is simple, and comparatively inexpensive. If it does entail a good deal of patience and some expense, it is highly educative, and that fact alone should be sufficient recompense to the student, the collector, or the forester. Although it is attended with some difficulty, it can be performed by any person of ordinary intelligence who has the specimens, the tools, and the time to devote to it. By this process, all the various genera and species of wood or timber can be distinguished from each other—a point of very great importance to the student, and of much interest to the forester, even if he does know all about the trees and shrubs in their growing state. The method of preparing the sections is shortly as follows :— Procure samples of the woods, and see that they are all true to name. They should be freshly cut, and from plants of average growth, so as not to give an exaggerated impression when shown by the lantern. Any size will do from a quarter of an inch to three inches in diameter; and the sections may be cut either transverse, longitudinal, radial, or longitudinal circum- ferential, or in all of these forms, as the case may be. It is best to have one section of each form, because they will show the structural formation of the wood in all its phases. To cut a section,—fix the selected piece of wood firmly into a 40) TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. wooden mould, and with a very sharp, square, iron-soled plane, shave off a number of thin slices; placing the slices in pure alcohol, in order to free the tissue from air and water. After a few hours’ soaking, they may be removed and put between blotting-paper to dry, applying pressure to keep the sections flat and free from ripples. The slices or sections should not exceed 53, of an inch in thickness. When they are thoroughly dry, the slices may be stained. Any colour will do, but violet is best adapted for the purpose. The stain is prepared from the ordinary aniline dyes, a small quantity of which is dissolved in pure alcohol. The sections should be placed for about a minute in the dye, then removed and again placed between blotting-paper to remove any superfluous dye. When they are dry, place them in pure benzole. This will remove the last trace of water and air from the cells. The section is now ready for mounting between the glasses of the slides. This is best done with a mixture of Canada balsam, eight parts, and pure benzole one and a half parts. Mix thoroughly, and be certain that there are no air-bubbles in it. Place a little of the mixture on the main glass, and then take the section, now soaked and wet with benzole, and place it on the balsam; press down the cover-glass tight upon it, so as to squeeze out all air-bubbles, and then set it aside to dry. The main glasses should be of a uniform size, not larger than 34 by 2 inches. The cover-glass should be at least half an inch shorter, and a quarter of an inch narrower than the main glass. After the balsam is set and perfectly dry, which will be in about two months, the slides should be bound with slips of gummed paper. This will prevent the glasses from slipping past one another. This form of slide is only of use for the microscope, and for lanterns with micro-fronts. If a transverse section of the stem of any hardwood tree, and of any poplar, willow, or conifer, be examined with a microscope of even a low power, the great differences in their structure will be seen at a glance. The oak stands out distinctly in its structure from all the other broad-leaved trees, and the latter from the conifers, which in themselves form a distinct group, differing, however, more or less, in every genera and species. Generally speaking, every species of wood differs in the number, size, or position of the vasa, and the compactness of the vascular tissue ; the number and size of the medullary rays; and in the pines, the more or less frequency SECTIONS OF WOODS GROWN IN BRITAIN. 4] of the resinous canals in their structure. The general differences clearly indicate the genera; and while the distinctive features are not quite so constant in the species—the structure of which is modified by the soil, situation, and exposure, — still they are usually so clear and distinct as to demonstrate the species, and in many cases the’ variety. In the timber of the pine tribe there are no true vasa, but it exhibits numerous pores, which botanists call resinous canals, irregularly distributed in groups, or otherwise, in the concentric layers or zones, and varying in number according to the species. The pores in the duramen or heart-wood are usually in a congested state with resin, which prevents the free passage of liquids through the wood. Those situated in the alburnum or sapwood are generally quite clear and open. In the structure of the arborvite, cedar, cypress, yew, and silver fir, there are no resinous canals. As already stated, the tissues of the various kinds of wood are easily distinguished by the number, size, and position of the vasa and canals, together with the density of the zones, and the size and number of the medullary rays. The medullary rays in the pine tribe are extremely numerous, usually placed in groups (as seen in a vertical or radial section), cylindrical in shape, and very much compressed. With the aid of the process known as “ photo- microphy” this is made quite clear, and illustrations are given herewith of some of the leading species, which will explain the nature and usefulness of the sections. These illustrations are produced from photographs which were taken from the woody tissue, and are not of a hypothetical character, consequently they are the more valuable for reference. The tissue of the timber of conifers is among the simplest and most interesting. By reference to the illustrations (Figs. 1 to 7), it will:be seen that in its construction it resembles a network of rather regular meshes. The wood of the Wellingtonia gigantea (Fig. 7) is a good example of this, in which the resinous canals are situated at the union of the spring and the previous autumn growths, and irregularly arranged in more or less continuous circles ; yet at the same point in the growth, the canals are sometimes quite absent from several consecutive annual rings. The resinous canals of Abies Menziesti are somewhat similar to those of the Wellingtonia, but much more constant, and are distributed irregularly throughout the whole zone. Another characteristic of the structure of coniferous timber is 42 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. the open nature of the spring wood as compared with that of the autumn growth. The latter gradually closes up, and the timber produced in autumn is therefore much more dense, making the annual growths appear in concentric zones. A good example of this is seen in the illustration of a transverse section of the Silver Fir (Fig. 2), in which the dense autumn growth is very conspicuous. The medullary rays are very numerous in all the species of coniferous plants, as will be observed on carefully examining the illustrations of Conifers (Figs. 1 to 7), and they are specially noticeable in the Larch (Fig. 4). In the broad-leaved trees (Figs. 8 to 24) the tissue is altogether different, and more compact, than that of the conifers. The con- centric rings contain a large number of vasa, or pores, varying in size, number, and position, according to the species, but in most of them they gradually diminish in size and number from the spring to the end of the autumn growth. This is particularly the case in the Oaks (Figs. 16 to 18) and Elms (Figs. 23 and 24); while in the Maples (Figs. 8 and 9), Poplars (Fig. 14), and Willows (Fig. 19) they are nearly uniform throughout the growth. The medullary rays are a distinguishing feature of many of the genera of broad-leaved trees. This is well shown in the structure of the Oak (Figs. 16 to 18), in which the rays are generally very large, but not so numerous as in the Maples (Figs. 8 and 9). The size and number of the rays differ also in most of the species. It would appear that the medullary system regulates to a considerable extent the size, number, and distribution of the vasa. If this supposition is correct, it may throw some light on the commercial value of the timber of different varieties of the oak and other trees. This matter will be more easily understood by a reference to the illustrations of the transverse sections, especially if the observer has a practical knowledge of timber. If the structure of the timber of Quercus Robur (Fig. 18) be contrasted with that of Quercus Cerris (Fig. 16), and the latter with the wood of Poplar (Fig. 14) or Willow (Fig. 19), it may form a key to the cause of the longevity of certain trees over that of others grown under similar circum- stances. To the writer it is very evident that the durability of timber is regulated, in a general sense, by the size and number of the vasa and the medullary rays. In the oaks, both size and number of the vasa decrease with age, while the medullary ray-plates increase very much in size. This is not the case in the woody structure of the pines, willows, or poplars. SECTIONS OF WOODS GROWN IN BRITAIN. 43 In the Maples (Figs. 8 and 9) the medullary rays run straight out from the pith, and are very numerous. The vasa are uniformly distributed in groups of from two to five, and are nearly of the same size, giving the wood of the whole tribe that even consistency which makes their timber of so great value for certain purposes. The vasa in the wood of the Poplars (Fig. 14) and the Willows (Fig. 19) are extremely numerous, nearly of equal size in the spring and autumn growths, and regularly distributed throughout the wood. The medullary rays are also numerous, straight, and very small in all the species. In the Beech (Fig. 11) the medullary rays are large and numerous, the vasa being pretty uniformly distributed throughout the tissue. It is the oak tribe, however, which shows itself the most distinct. In it the vasa are very numerous, and of various sizes in the same group, gradually diminising in size as the season’s growth advances. These vasa or cells are surrounded by organised tissue. The latter is connected to the spiral filament contained in the cell, which in turn is connected with the medullary system. This, however, is true of several other genera of timber trees. The medullary rays in the whole of the oak tribe are very large, but comparatively few in number. Botanists have classified, in a general way, the vasa or pores, and the medullary rays, into six sizes. The vasa are arranged thus— those of the category of the Oak, large; Common Elm, mediwm large ; Whin, mediwm ; Maple, fine ; Spindle Tree, very fine ; and Holly, extremely fine. The medullary rays are classified in the same manner, viz.—those of the size of the Oak, very large; Alder, large; Sycamore, medium large; Common Maple, medium ; Ash, narrow ; and Birch, very narrow. If these woods are examined through an ordinary pocket-lens, this typical arrangement will be found to be pretty nearly correct. It will be found absolutely correct, if due allowance is made for age, and for the position in which the timber has been grown. For example, if the vasa and medullary rays of a stunted Oak are compared with those of a vigorous Spanish Chestnut, the vasa of the latter will be found slightly larger, but there is quite an outstanding distinction in the surrounding tissue, as well as in the medullary rays, pointing clearly to the fact that the wood is not oak, From the illustrations, it will be observed that some hardwoods resemble each other in their general features. For example, the 44 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. construction of the wood of the Beech, Oak, Walnut, and others, has a general resemblance; but if they are examined together it is seen, at a glance, to be entirely different. This difference is most marked in the tissues surrounding the vasa and bordering the medullary rays. An examination of a transverse section of timber by trans- mitted light shows that the concentric rings in an exogenous plant are not always representative of a year’s growth, nor is this notable feature confined to any particular family. The irregularity may be caused by chilling storms during the growing season, or by over-thinning the trees at the same period. The latter operation has a detrimental effect upon the production of timber, and an example of this is seen in the illustration of the Silver Fir (Fig. 2). It is there shown, that for several years after thinning took place, the tree made very little progress. Illustrations are also given of the wood of the Cedar (Fig. 3), Horse Chestnut (Fig. 10), Honeysuckle (Fig. 13), Pear Tree (Fig. 15), Theophrasta imperialis (Fig. 20), a tropical tree grown in a plant stove; Lime Tree (Fig. 21), and Whin (Fig 22), by way of comparison with those already mentioned, and to show the great difference that prevails in the structure of the wood between closely allied genera and species, as well as in those further apart in the natural system. The following is an alphabetical list of the Sections of Woods, in the same order in which they are numbered in the Cabinet of Micro-Lantern Slides which accompanies this report :— . Abies alba, 19. Amygdalus persica. . Abies Albertiana. 20. Andromeda floribunda. . Abies canadensis. 21, Araucaria imbricata. Abies Donglasii. 22. Ash root. . Abies excelsa. 23. Azalea pontica. . Abies Menziesii. 24. Beech root. . Abies morinda. | 25. Berberis dulcis. . Abies Nordmanniana. 26. Betula alba. . Abies pectinata. 27. Biota orientalis. . Abies Pinsapo. 28. Birch root. . Acacia Riceana, 29. Buxus arborescens. . Acer campestre, 30. Camellia japonica. . Acer platanoides. 31. Carpinus Betulus. . Acer Psendo-Platanus. 32. Carya alba. . Aisculus Hippocastanum. . Ailantus glandulosa. 3. Castanea vesca. . Cedrus atlantica. aya a aes ANFWNHrODOANAAFR WN eH Co co > CO 17. Alder root. 35. Cedrus Deodara, 18, Alnus glutinosa. 36, Cedrus Libani, 41. 65. 66. a HD aon 1 © ~] NADOAPFWNY HS aa aad saa a © oOo SECTIONS OF WOODS GROWN IN BRITAIN. 45 . Cerasus avium, . Cerasus domestica. . Cerasus Laurocerasus. . Cerasus Laurocerasus caucasia. Cerasus Laurocerasus colchica. . Cerasus lusitanica, . Cerasus Padus. Citrus vulgaris. . Clematis vitalba. . Cornus Mas. . Cornus sanguinea. . Corylus Avellana. . Cotoneaster affinis. . Crategus macrantha. . Crategus oxyacantha, 2. Cryptomeria elegans. . Cryptomeria japonica. . Cupressus Lawsoniana, . Cupressus macrocarpa, . Cytissus Laburaum. . Dimorphanthus mandshuricum, . Elm root. . Eucalyptus globulus. . Evonymus europeus. . Fagus sylvatica. . Ficus carica. . Ficus elastica. 64. Fraxinus excelsior. Fraxinus excelsior pendula. Fraxinus parvifolia. . Fraxinus pubescens. . Genista arglica. . Hedera Helix. . [lex aquifolium. . Jasminum officinale. Juglans nigra. . Juglans regia. . Juniperus communis. . Juniperus sinensis, . Larix europea. . Laurus nobilis. . Libocedrus decurrens. . Ligustrum vulgare. . Liriodendron tulipiferun:. . Lonicera Periclymenum. . Magnolia acuminata. . Magnolia americana. . Magnolia conspicua. . Oak root. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94, 95. 96. SIE 98. 99. 100. 101. 102. 103. 104. 105. 106. 107. 108. 109. 110. 111. 112. 113. 114, TSS 116. liv. 118. LAG: 120. 121. 122. 123. 124, 125. 126. 127. 128. 129. 150. 131. 132. 133. Pavia californica. Philadelphus coronarius. Pinus Austriaca. Pinus Cembra. Pinus excelsa. Pinus Laricio. Pinus mitis. Pinus montana. Pinus Pallasiana. Pinus ponderosa. Pinus pyrenaica. Pinus resinosa. Pinus rigida. Pinus Strobus. Pinus sylvestris. Pinus sylvestris (rad. sect.). Populus alba. Populus balsamifera, Populus balsamifera (rad. sect.). Populus monilifera. Prunus domestica. Prunus spinesa. Pyrus Aria. Pyrus aucuparia, Pyrus communis. Pyrus Malus. Pyrus pinnatifida. Pyrus Sorbus. Quercus alba. Quercus Cerris. Quercus Cerris argentea. Quercus Cerris suberosa ? Quercus Esculus. Quereus Ilex. Quercus Lucombeana. Quercus montana, Quercus palustris. Quercus pedunculata fastigiata. Quercus pedunculata hetero- phylla. G@uereus Rebur. Quercus rubra. Quercus sessilifiora. Retinespora pisifera. Retinospora plumosa. Rhododendron ponticum. Rhus typhina. Ribes Grossularia. Ribes nigrum. 46 134. 135. 136. 137. 138. 139. 140. 141, 142. 143. 144. 145. 146. 147. 148. TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. Ribes sanguinea. Robinia Pseud-Acacia. Rosa rubiginosa. Rowantree root. Salisburia adiantifolia. Salix caprea. Salix viminalis. Sambucus nigra. Sophora japonica. Staphylea pinnata. Symphoricarpus racemosus. Syringa vulgaris. Taxodium distichum. Taxus baccata. Taxus baccata fastigiata. 149. 150. 151. 152. 153. 154. 155. 156. 157. 158. 159. 160. 161. 162. 163. Theophrasta imperialis. Thuja gigantea. Thuja occidentalis, Thujopsis borealis. Tilia americana. Tilia europea. Tilia grandifolia. Ulex europea. Ulmus campestre. Ulmus effusa. Ulmus montana Viburnum Opulus. Viburnum Tinis. Vitis vinifera. Wellingtonia gigantea. The Album, presented to the R.S.A.S. along with this paper, contains a set of 62 highly magnified Photographs of Sections of Woods. except where mentioned in the following list, and numbered the same as the Album. FRONTISPIECE.—LEucalyptus globulus . Araucaria (Blue Gum), showing general structure of wood, cells, and medullary rays; x 40 diam. . Wellingtonia gigantea, showing general structure, resinous canals, and secretions in the tissue; x 40 diameters. . The same, with rays, resinous canals, and cells full of pig- ment; x 80 diameters. . The same, showing details of resinous canal; x 200 diam. . The same; a longitudinal cir- cumferential section showing cells, medullary plates, and tissue; x 200 diameters. . Cedrus Libani, showing tissue and rays; x 80 diameters. imbricata (Chilian showing tissue and x 80 diameters. Pine), rays ; . Pinus Strobus (Weymouth Pine), showing structure, resinous cana], and union of spring and autumn growths; x 80 diam. 8. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. . Pinus sylvestris (Scots They are photographs of transverse sections of the wood, which is arranged Pinus Laricio (Corsican Pine), showing resinous canal and rays; x 80 diameters. Pine), showing structure, rays, and . coagulated resin in canal; x 80 diameters. The same, showing resinous cells; x 60 diameters, Larix europea (Larch), showin structure, rays, and resinous canals; x 60 diameters. Picea pectinata (Silver Fir), show- ing structure, union of spring and autumn growths, and bad effect produced by over- thinning ; x 60 diameters. Pinus Cembra, showing structure, rays, resinous canals, union of spring and autumn growths, and malformation of tissue through injury to cells; x 60 diameters. Abies Albertiana, showing the general structure and rays; x 60 diameters, 15. 16. 17 18. 19, 20. 21. 22. 23, 24, 25. 26. 27. 28. SECTIONS OF WOODS GROWN IN BRITAIN. Abies excelsa (Norway Spruce), showing structure, canal, rays, and union of spring and autumn growths; x 60 diameters. Thuju occidentalis (American Arborvite), showing struc- ture, rays, and the effect of transplanting ; x 60 diam. Cupressus Lawsoniana (Lawson’s Cypress), showing structure, and union of spring and autumn growths; x _ 60 diameters, Salisburia adiantifolia (Maiden- hair Tree), showing the pe- culiar tissue of the tree, union of spring and autumn growths, and coagulated sap in cells; x 60 diameters. Quercus Robur (Oak), showing vasa; x 200 diameters. Quercus Ilex (Evergreen Oak), showing vasa and structure ; x 80 diameters. The same; x 100 diameters. The same, longitudinal circum- ferential section, showing vas- cular tissue and medullary plates; x 100 diameters. The same, longitudinal radial section, showing vascular tissue and medullary plates ; x 100 diameters. Pyrus communis (Pear), showing vasa and medullary rays; x 80 diameters. The same; x 36 diameters. Pyrus aria (White Beain Tree), showing vasa, tissue, and rays; x 80 diameters. Acer Pseudo-Platanus(Sycamore), showing vasa, tissue, rays, and union of two seasons’ growth ; x 80 diameters. Acer campestre (English Maple), showing vasa, tissue, rays, and union of two seasons’ growth ; x 200 diameters. 29. 30. él. 82. 33, 34. 35. 36. 387. 38. 39, 40. 41 42, 47 Alnus glutinosa (Alder), showing vasa, rays, and union of two seasons’ growth; x 80 diam. sculus Hippocastanum (Horse Chestnut), showing vasa, rays, and union of two seasons’ growth; x 80 diameters, Tilia europea (Lime), showing vasa, rays, and union of two seasons’ growth; x 80 diam. Juglans nigra (Walnut), showing vasa, tissue, and rays; x 80 diameters. Llee aquifolium (Holly), showing vasa, tissue, rays, and union of two seasons’ growth; x 80 diameters, Cerasus domestica (Cherry), show- ing structure, and union of two seasons’ growth; x 40 diameters. The same, longitudinal radial section, showing medullary plates ; x 80 diameters. Clematis vitalba (Traveller’s Joy), showing structure of one year’s growth, including bark and pith ; x 35 diameters. The same, showing the tissue ; x 200 diameters. Berberis vulgaris (Barberry), showing vasa, tissue, and rays; x 80 diameters. Mahonia aquifolia (Mahonia), showing first year’s growth, bark, woody fibre, and pith; x 80 diameters. Populus monilifera (Black Italian Poplar), showing vasa, rays, tissue, and union of two seasons’ growth; x 80 diam. Salix alba (Willow), showing vasa, rays, tissue, and union of two seasons’ growth ; x 80 diameters. Castanea vesca (Spanish Chest- nut), showing vasa, rays, tissue, and union of two seasons’ growth; x 80 diam, 48 43. 44, 46, 47. 48. 49, TRANSACTIONS OF ait SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. Robinia Pseud- Acacia (False Acacia), showing vasa, tissue, and union of two seasons’ growth; x 80 diameters. Fagus sylvatica (Beech), showing vasa, rays, tissue, and union of two seasons’ growth; x 40 diameters, . Ulmus effusa (Elm), sbowing vasa, rays, tissue, and union of two seasons’ growth; x 40 diameters. Ulmus montana (Wych Elm), showing vasa, rays, tissue, and union of two seasons’ growth; x 40 diameters. Ulmus campestre (Evglish Elm), showing vasa, rays, tissue, and union of two seasons’ growth ; x 40 diameters. Sambucus nigra (Elder), showing vasa, rays, tissue, and union of two seasons’ growth; x 40 diameters. The same, showing pith cells; x 80 diameters. . Ulex europea (Whin), showing tissue, vasa, rays, and union of two seasons’ growth ; x 40 diameters. . Hedera Helix(Ivy), showing vasa, rays, tissue, and annual rings; x 40 diameters, 52. 53. 56. Ou “I 60. 61. Lagettalintearia(Lace-bark Tree), showing vasa, rays, tissue, and annual growth; x 40 diam. Ribes nigrum (Black Currant), showing vasa, rays, tissue, and annual ring ; x 40 diameters. . Lonicera Periclymenum (Honey- suckle), showing vasa, rays, tissue, and annual ring; x 40 diameters, Sophora japonica, showing vasa, rays, tissue, and annual ring ; x 40 diameters. Rubus fruticosus(Bramble), show- ing pith of one year old wood; x 200 diameters. . The same, showing wood and bark ; x 200 diameters. Genista anglica (Petty Whin), showing vasa, rays, tissue, and annual ring; x 40 diameters. Theophrasta imperialis, showing peculiar cellular tissue, vasa, and medullary rays; x 60 diameters. Ampelopsis hederacea (Virginian Creeper), showing one year’s growth, pith, vasa, rays, tissue, and bark; x 80 diameters. Bambusa Metake (Bamboo), show- ing the peculiar structure of the wood of endogens. Royal Scot. Arbor. Trans., Vol. XIV., Pl. I. HIGHLY MAGNIFIED MIGRO-PHOTOGRAPHS OF SECTIONS OF WOODS. , MorTONHALL. Factor NZIE, By D. F. MACKE Norway Spruce. ABIES EXCELSA. Trans. Sect. x 40. +s ABIES PECTINATA. Silver Fir. Trans. Sect. x 40. Royal Scot. Arbor. Trans., Vol. XIV., Pl. I. MICRO-PHOTOGRAPHS OF SECTIONS OF WOODS Cedar. CEDRUS ATLANTICA. Trans. Sect. x 40. Fig. 4. Larch. Trans, Sect. x 40. LARIX EUROPA. ee J22 > EnOIT Royal Scot. Arbor, Trans., Vol. XIV, Fi, oe: MICRO-PHOTOGRAPHS OF SECTIONS OF WOODS. Fig. 5. Pinus Laricio. Corsican Pine. Trans. Sect. x 40. Pixus SYLVESTRIS. Seots Pine. Trans. Sect. x 40. — 5 ey ; : So a f > am’ Cort hk O mi o 7 Ros ital) ye uy _ - * ’ : - Dae.) Minder sy Bketoys “ia Tad * _ : ° aaa Loe } 2 l= r a oo » = 7 ia ae b -_ I | he - = ie 2 Royal Scot. Arbor. Trans., Vol. XIV., PIE: MICRO-PHOTOGRAPHS OF SECTIONS OF WOODS. WELLINGTONIA GIGANTEA. Trans. Sect. x 40. Fig. 8. ACER CAMPESTRE. Maple. Trans. Sect. x 40. ft Royal Scot. Arbor. Trans., Vol. MICRO-PHOTOGRAPHS OF SECTIONS OF WOODS. Fig. 9. AcER PsvEpDo-PLATANUS. Sycamore. Trans. Sect. x 40. Fig. 10. AscuLtus HippocastaNnum. Horse Chestnut. Trans. Sect. x 40. XIV, Pl. . /* a wl niet Fri es £5)" Royal Scot. Arbor. Trans., Vol. MICRO-PHOTOGRAPHS OF SECTIONS OF WOODS. FAGUS SYLVATICA. Beech. Trans. Sect. x 40. Fig. 12. JUGLANS NIGRA. Walnut. Trans. Sect. x 40. XIV.. PLVE Royal Scot. Arbor. Trans., Vol. XLV... FU VGII. MICRO-PHOTOGRAPHS OF SECTIONS OF WOODS. LONICERA PERICLYMENUM. Honeysuckle. Trans. Sect. x 40. Fig. 14. PoPULUS MONILIFERA. Poplar. Trans. Sect. x 80. Royal Scot. Arbor. Trans., Vol. XIV., Pl.VIII. MICRO-PHOTOGRAPHS OF SECTIONS OF WOODS. Fig. 15. PYRUS COMMUNIS. Pear Tree. Trans. Sect. x 30. Fig. 16. Quercus CeRRIs. Turkey Oak. Trans. Sect. x 40. Royal Scot. Arbor. Trans., Vol. XIV., Pl. IX. MICRO-PHOTOGRAPHS OF SECTIONS OF WOODS. Fig. 17. Qumrcus ILEx. Evergreen Oak. Trans. Sect. x 40. Fig. 18. Quercus Rozsur. British Oak. Trans. Sect. x 40. 7) icITOse IC Royal Scot. Arbor. Trans., Vol. XIV., Pi. X. MICRO-PHOTOGRAPHS OF SECTIONS OF WOODS. Willow. Trans. Sect. x 80. SALIX ALBA. Fig. 20. THEOPHRASTRA IMPERIALIS, Trans. Sect. x 40. = a - pt Fe Wile y on” Weyiiz ae o's os palais vg ian Royal Scot. Arbor. Trans., Vol. XIV., Pl. XI. MICRO-PHOTOGRAPHS OF SECTIONS OF WOODS. Fig. 21. TILIA GRANDIFOLIA. Lime Tree. Trans, Sect. x 40. Fig. 22. ULEx EUROPaAUs. Whin. Trans. Sect. x 40. a i Rede Bn ae 4 ——= ee. « Royal Scot. Arbor. Trans., Vol. XIV., Pl. XII. MICRO-PHOTOGRAPHS OF SECTIONS OF WOODS. Uumus cAmprstreE. English Elm. Trans. Sect. x 40. Fig. 24. UxLmus MONTANA. Seots Elm. Trans. Sect. x 40. Roval Scottish Arboricultural Society. EXCURSION 10 THE ROYAL DOMAIN AND FOREST OF WINDSOR: CLIVEDEN, DROPMORE, AND BURNHAM BEECHES; THE NEW FOREST; THE ROYAL GARDENS, KEW; THE FORESTRY EXHIBITION, LONDON; AND. ERATY PEL: 1898. ~ v EVEL 23 THE QueEN’s Breakrast-Room CorTrace. Proceeding onwards, we emerge from Frogmore grounds into the open park near to a delightful cottage with a high-pitched red-tiled roof, and having its walls beautifully clothed with climbing plants and flowers. This was pointed out to us as the favourite breakfast-room of the Queen. When residing at Windsor, Her Majesty nearly every morning walks from the Castle to this charming spot to breakfast. Hard by the Cottage were two remarkably fine specimens of the evergreen oak, Quercus Zlex. The one on the right of the illustration, on the opposite page, was measured, and found to girth 16 feet 2 inches at 5 feet up. THe AVIARY. A little farther on a short visit was paid to the Royal Aviary. It is a simple Gothic-like structure, in which are kept all manner of domestic fowls, and many other useful and beautiful winged creatures; and ample provision has been made for their care and comfort in a state of captivity. THE DaIRY. The inspection of the Royal Dairy, which was the next item in the day’s programme, was a matter of great interest, particularly to those of the party directly connected with farming and the pro- duction of milk and butter of the finest quality. A more elegant dairy, in the Renaissance style, or one better adapted for all the purposes for which dairies are designed, does not, it is safe to say, exist. It is a model worthy in itself of going many miles to see. Built under the direction of the late Prince Consort, the dairy was erected in the twenty-first year of Her Majesty’s reign. The milk- room, which is 36 feet long by 20 feet in breadth, has a most pleasing aspect, with its open timber roof, and its walls beautifully lined with glazed ornamental tiles of tasteful designs. The frieze consists of Majolica bas-reliefs illustrative of agriculture, and at intervals are introduced medallions of the Royal Family. There are ornamental Majolica fountains at each end of the room, and on the south side, worked in white marble, stands a nymph pouring water from a jar into a marble basin. The tables, 24 on which the milk dishes are placed, are of white marble sup- ported on coloured marble pedestals. Underneath the tables are open channels laid with white enamel tiles, over which a stream of pure cool water is constantly flowing. The windows are of stained glass, with beautiful designs of spring flowers; the floor is laid with ornamental tiles of an attractive pattern ; and every- thing about this charming building was elegant, clean, cool, and sweet, the beau ideal of a dairy. THE GARDENS. Matters arboricultural and horticultural were now reverted to, the party being again under the able guidance of Mr Thomas, A short avenue of Wellingtonias was first visited, which was planted by the Prince Consort about thirty-five years ago. The most of the trees have thriven tolerably well, and the finest of them have now reached a height of about 50 feet. S Z TRIE WNeSs Bass aH i i ila Cah 3 (i '# iN (| ‘iat WA A SA Ih MY SA a | a Uy ‘ante 7 t ) i Mf Wt HE, { P a \ | BE TES eh A VNB HB i! Mak Y f t G uel NN ae i 2 HORTICULTURAL BUILDINGS of every description erected either in Wood or Iron, in any part of the Kingdom. All latest improvements adopted. TEAK-WOOD HOUSES A SPECIALITY. PAVILIONS, SUMMER HOUSES, BAND STANDS, BOAT HOUSES, and all kinds of Wooden Buildings. Our Conservatories have been awarded 5 Gold and Silver Medals at Exhibitions in London and Kdinburgh. HEATING. pus.Lic BUILDINGS, CHURCHES, SCHOOLS, MANSION-HOUSES, WAREHOUSES, COACH HOUSE}, HARNESS ROOMS, &c., heated in most efficient manner, on the Low or High Pressure Hot Water Systems, or with Steam. er Will be pleased to forward copies of our New Illustrated Catalogue to Ladies and Gentlemen contemplating work in our line, or to their Gardeners. ADVERTISEMENTS. FOREST TREES AND SHRUBS, A Large Stock of Healthy, Well-grown Stuff. FRUIT TREES, The Finest Collection in Scotland. GREENHOUSE and STOVE PLANTS, IMMENSE VARIETY TO CHOOSE FROM. RK. B. LAIRD & SONS, BDINBURGH. Telegraphic eed ‘Laird, Edinburgh.” Telephone No. 2033. Grown t= carefully selected seed—robust, hardy, and finely rooted— In our New Grounds at THE CASTLE NURSERIES, LIBERTON. DICKSONS & CoO., 1 WATERLOO PLACE, EDINBURG EH. Established over a Century. Address for Telegrams, ‘‘ Dicksons, Edinburgh.” Telephone No. 1066. A complete collection of the most useful sorts, carefully grown and prepared for franeplenting FORESTRY AND \ND GARDENING TOOLS of every description. ADVERTISEMENTS. Ystablished 1801. SEEDLING AND TRANSPLANTED FOREST TREES, Ornamental Trees and Shrubs, Roses and Fruit Trees. JAMES DICKSON & SONS, 32 HANOVER STREET and INVERLEITH ROW, FL DU ING Be bate ra. CATALOGUES FREE ON APPLICATION. JAMES DICKSON & SONS received the highest awards for ‘‘ Conifers” and ‘* Hardy Plants” at the International Chrysanthemum Exhibition, Edinburgh, 1889 ; and again at the great Chrysanthemum Exhibition of 1890. Grown from Seed collected in the S North of Scotland, on high-lying grounds, and under the exposure ot a rigorous climate. Hardy Ornamental Conifers, Evergreen Trees and Shrubs, Plants for Game Coverts, Hedges, &c. All are Fibrous-Rooted, Robust, and Grown Unsheltered. SENT TO ALL PARTS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. SPECIAL OFFERS FOR LARGE QUANTITIES, and Carriage Rates Reduced. CATALOGUES POST FREE. BENJAMIN REID & CO, FOREST-TREE NURSER/ES, ABERDEEN. Vide Lovpon’s *‘ ENcycLopaDIA OF GARDENING” (5th Edition, published in 1827).—‘‘The Aberdeen Nursery, Messrs Reid, an old and_ respectable establishment, chiefly devoted to the culture of Forest Trees, and especially to Seedlings of Scotch Pine, Larch, Fir, and Thorns.” A ADVERTISEMENTS. «Me, SMITH’S “PERFECT” PATENT (Manufactured by arrangement with Patentee.) K I L L E R. All our Manufactures An Important Novelty just introduced. bear this registered Qnly One-Fifth the Bulk and Weight of the Liquid. Immediately Soluble in Cold Water. One Small Tin makes 25 gallons for use, ALL TINS FREE. NO RETURN EMPTIES. PRICE—1 Tin, 1s. 9d.; 4 Tins, 1s. 6d. per Tin; 8 Tims, ls. 5d. per Tin; 12 to 20 Tims, ls. 4d. per Tin. SMITH’S LIQUID: WEED... KILLER. The First Weed Killer ever Offered. Used in the Royal Gardens. NEVER FAILS. 4 Gallons Carriage Paid, 6s. 6d. A TRUE GARDENER’S FRIEND. USED IN THE GARDENS OF Her Majesty the Queen; H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught; H.R.H. Prince Christian, At the Royal Gardens, Kew, and the Royal Horticultural Society's Gardens; at Hampton Court Palace; and in the Gardens of all the leading Nobility and Gentry throughout the Kingdom. THE MOST EFFECTIVE PREPARATION EVER INVENTED FOR PERMANENTLY DESTROYING WEEDS, MOSS, DANDELIONS, Etc., On Garden Walks, Ete. COMPLETE SATISFACTION GUARANTEED wens iruthe bearing our Trade Marks, without which none is genuine. REFUSE IMITATIONS. Write for full particulars and Price Lists. Sole Makers— MARK SMITH, Ltd., Louth, Lincs. _ May be had through Chemists and Seedsmen. Notice to Advertisers. - - The attention of Nurserymen, Seedsmen, Wood Merchants, Arboricultural and Horticultural Engineers and Implement Makers, Manufacturers of Ornamental Wire and other Fencing and Netting, etc., etc., is drawn to the favourable medium for advertising afforded by the annual publication of the Transactions of this Society, whose membership embraces Landlords, Factors, Foresters, Gardeners, and others interested in Land and its Management. For terms apply to the Secretary, 5 ST ANDREW SQUARE, EDINBURGH. ADVERTISEMENTS, Four Useful Books for Country Gentlemen, Land Agents, Farmers, Foresters, Ete. NOW READY. Price 5s. Demy 8vo (Illustrated), Cloth Gilt. SECOND AND ENLARGED EDITION OF WEBSTER’S...PRACTICAL FORESTRY, This popular work, dealing with the rearing and growth of trees for purposes of profit and ornament, has now been enlarged and revised by the author, Mr ANGUS D. WEBSTER, and is offered to the public, tastefully bound in an ornamentally designed cloth cover, price 5s. With the exception of one or two highly-priced books, this is the only standard work dealing with the subject. It is written by a recognised authority on the questions of which it treats, and the practical nature of the information conveyed renders it a complete forester’s vade mecum. NOW READY. Price 2s. 6d. Crown 8vo (Illustrated), In Stiff Cloth, Ornamental Binding. FARM VERMIN, HELPFUL AND HURTFUL. Epirep sy JOHN WATSON, F.LS. No. 5 of Rider’s Technical Series. This book is intended as a Guide to the Farmer in his treatment of the various forms of animal life that are met with in the rural districts of Great Britain. The failure of agriculturists to discriminate in these matters between friend and foe has led in many cases to grave damage being inflicted on the farm, and serious pecuniary loss being incurred. It is thought that a small practical handbook treating on this important subject will be of assistance to the farmer in enabling him to obviate the mistakes that have been cominitted in the past, and in teaching him how to exercise a wise discretion in determining which are likely to be helpful and which hurtful among his various field neighbours, CONTENTS: VOLEs, by Sir Herbert Maxwell, Bart., M.P.; THE WeraseEL Kinp, by O. V. Aplin; THE Fox AND THE BADGER, by John Cordeaux ; Rats anD Mick, by Cecil Warburton, M.A., and John Nisbet, D.dic.; HARES AND RaBpits, by C. B. Whitehead, B.A.; ENEMIES TO WOODLANDS AND NURSERIES, by John Nisbet, D.Gic.; THE MOLE AND THE HEDGEHOG, by O. V, Aplin; Bats, by the Editor. 64 pp., Crown 8vo, 54 Illustrations. Price 2s. 6d. TREE PRUNING: Treatise on Pruning Forest and Ornamental Trees. No. 2 of Rider’s Technical Series, Translated from the French of the Count des Cars by C. S. SARcEent, Professor of Arboriculture in Harvard College, U.S.A. 226 pp., Crown 8vo. Price 3s. 6d. THE. LB EES 0.Fs.C.0 MILE RCE By W. STEVENSON. No. 4 of Rider’s Technical Series. This handy volume is a Practical Manual, giving within reasonable limits, and in a popular form, an account of the trees that yield the staple of the British Timber Trade, with the uses to which they are applied. Any of these Books will be sent, post free, at the published price, or may be ordered from any Bookseller in the United Kingdom. WILLIAM RIDER & SON, Limited, 14 Bartholomew Close, London, E.C. ' \% Anas e a: 7 re - AEA Vix TRANSACTIONS. ¢ ’ v . y a oA” s 7 ot mye a r so ove, i 4 . iA i a . ce =" : et a cial ale a 7 r > ~a ae te no Bruel pee ee p sAiCli* oy Mas iss a q€ ae as ie), 3 t ‘ *, Nd <2 ; ct aa cz _s CONTENTS, The Society, as a body, is not to be considered responsible for any statements or opinions advanced in the several papers, which must rest entirely on the authority of the respective authors. PAGE IV. Address delivered at the Forty-first Annual Meeting, 6th August 1894. By Jonn Mernuyen, Vice-President of the Society, 5 : : . . : c 49 V. Forestry in Britain: An Address to the Biological Section of the British Association, delivered at the Oxford Meeting, 1894. By Professor I. Bayntey Batrour, M.A., M.D., F.R.S., President of the Section, 55 VI. On the Preserving of Timber for Estate Purposes. By D. F. MAcKENZIE, Factor, Mortonhall, Midlothian, . ; 7 78 British Forestry Literature, . : : : 5 : 89 EXCURSION OF THE Socrrry ro STRATHSPEY, Moray, AND BANFFSHIRE, 1894. PROCEEDINGS OF THE Royal Scorrish ARBORICULTURAL SOCTETY. TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. IV. Address delivered at the Forty-first Annual Meeting, 6th August 1894. By Joun Meruven, Vice-President of. the Society. GENTLEMEN,—In virtue of the honourable office I hold as senior Vice-President of the Society, I have been called upon, at short notice, to occupy this Chair and to address you to-day, in the unavoidable absence of the President, Mr Munro Ferguson of Raith and Novar, who greatly regrets that his official duties prevent him being with us on this occasion. It was only a few days ago that I received intimation that I might have to preside over this meeting, and deliver the Annual Address which you are accustomed to look for from the occupant of this Chair, and therefore I hope you will pardon me if I take up very little of your time in addressing to you the few short remarks I have to make on topics of interest to Foresters and Forestry. At the risk of being accused of speaking from a selfish view of the question as an interested party, I do think the time is near at hand when the Government of this country must face the solving of the Forestry question from a national point of view, and devise some practicable scheme by which the waste lands of the country can be utilised to the best advantage, by planting of forests or otherwise. Government after Government, both Conservative and Liberal, have declared with the greatest frankness that “the Science of Forestry has been much neglected in this country.” This remark I quote from the circular letter issued over ten years ago, by the late Earl Granville, to the representatives of foreign countries, and the British, Indian, and Colonial Govern- ments, asking them to contribute specimens to the Forestry VOL, XIV. PART II. D 50 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. Exhibition held in this city in 1884. Although various attempts have been made,—including a Parliamentary Committee which sat through at least three Sessions, taking evidence from experts, with the usual abortive result,—nothing of a useful and practicable nature, to improve our wastes and woodlands, has been evolved by the Government. True it is, that a comparatively small sum has been dealt out in driblets by the Government, in fostering the technical education of Foresters in a few select schools and universities ; but nothing of any value is ever likely to result from such meagre attempts and half measures to instruct those interested in the fundamental principles of practical forestry, as applicable to the woods and plantations of Britain. The Government of India no doubt does educate and partially train the candidates for appointments in the Forest Service in India, at the Engineering College, Coopers Hill, near Windsor; but they are still sent abroad to acquire in foreign countries a practical training in the working and management of forests, and, so far, no provision whatever has been made by our home Government for the practical training of foresters for employment in any branch of the profession in Britain, India, or the Colonies. This is not as it should be, and certainly would be, if our Government performed the duties of the State in regard to Forestry in the business-like manner in which most civilised States have treated the question for many years. Why the British Government lags so far behind in the promotion of this most important branch of national industry, in which the prosperity of the empire is so vitally concerned, passes the comprehension of any observant and thoughtful man. It does not arise from lack of space and adequate material to work upon, as we know has been stated by those who were ignorant of the extent and capacity of our forests, or who from some less worthy cause decry British Forestry and all connected with it. Nor can it arise, in a wealthy State like our own, which justly boasts of being the richest in Christendom, from want of ample funds to carry out a reasonable scheme of Forestry education and training commensurate with the needs of the country and the public welfare. As a matter of fact, students of practical forestry could not be better trained in the elements thereof in any country, than in that part of Scotland (Strathspey and Morayshire) which we shall have the privilege of visiting, and inspecting its forests, within the next few days. There you will find, and I desire it to be widely known, - ADDRESS BY THE VICE-PRESIDENT, AUGUST 6, 1894. 51 not only natural forests of great extent, and worked on thorough business principles ; but you will also see many thousands of acres of plantations adorning the rugged glens and steep hill-sides of “Caledonia stern and wild,” formed and managed on purely com- mercial principles, which yield a substantial return for the labour and capital expended in their formation, on land which otherwise must have lain waste and almost worthless to the owners, as well as serving no useful public purpose. An excessive denudation of forests has been going on, both by the forces of Nature and the hand of man, in many parts of the country for a considerable number of years, with little or no effort to restore the balance between woodland and treeless space. It is an open question, whether this denudation of forests has not an injurious effect on the climate of a country. On the low- lying seaboard this may be doubtful, but in upland and far inland districts, it is very possible ; and notable instances are on record of the ruinous effects following in the wake of the clearance of forests from wide areas. We will now turn to another aspect of the question, and ask,— What is to be done to make our waste lands more profitable to the owner and beneficial to the country? Plant them, we would reply, even although we are fully aware that it has been said “planting does not pay,” and whatever does not pay, or give good promise of paying, is at once thrown aside in this utilitarian age. Still, it is a fact that many statistics of undoubted accuracy have been pro- duced to show that planting does pay, when conducted with skill on suitable land, much of which could not be turned to any other purpose that would return one-fourth of the profits got from well- managed forests. Failures, no doubt, there have been in raising timber of sufficiently good quality to compete with foreign produce; but may not this have been the fault of the planter, rather than any drawback in the nature of the site, soil, or climate? I have often heard it stated by others than Scotsmen, that “trees won’t grow in Scotland,” meaning thereby not exactly that trees do not grow in our country, but that we cannot grow marketable timber in Scotland. As every member of this Society knows, this statement is a simple absurdity; but that timber of better quality, and consequently more value to the owner, could be grown in properly managed forests, skilfully formed, on much of the land now lying waste in this country, than is often met with in our woods, is a self-evident preposition. 52 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. Too often we find it to be the case, that sufficient attention has not been paid to the seleetion of the proper species of trees which suit the various soils and exposures. Larch and Scots pine are often mingled together, without any regard as to whether either of them are suitable for the soil in which they are expected to grow and thrive. It is seldom that the soil and other circum- stances are equally suitable for both those useful trees, so diverse in their nature and wants ; and here the knowledge of the properly educated and trained forester comes into play, with the most satisfactory results, in being able to decide before planting, which is the species of tree, or trees, most profitable to plant under ascertained conditions of soil aud climate. Costly mistakes, which it takes a generation to rectify, are thus avoided, and the plantations will grow and thrive in a satisfactory manner through- out their life, in accordance with a well-devised scheme of management, carried out on strictly commercial principles. Sir Henry Steuart, who published “The Planters’ Guide” in 1828, begins his treatise by saying—“ There is perhaps no epithet by which the inhabitants of the northern division of this Island in the present day can be more appropriately distinguished than that of a ‘Planting Nation,’ or to speak with more correctness a Nation of Planters. All men now plant trees who are possessed of landed property, from the wealthy citizen with his villa of an acre, to the powerful baron with his park of a thousand acres. The vast sums which are annually laid out on this useful and ornamental object, would exceed belief if fairly estimated. Yet of trees the Scottish landowner for the most part knows little, although he may possibly know as much as his English neighbours. But like them he lays out his money freely on the work, however executed, conceiving, and with justice, that he has done a great thing, if not for himself at least for posterity.” So wrote Sir Henry Steuart at the beginning of this century, and now, towards its close, we are meeting and endeavouring to carry out his ideas as a Society for the improvement of Arbori- culture. I think we may fairly ask ourselves the question— Are we doing*all we can for its improvement? Certainly, during the last ten years we have done wonders. The Forestry Exhibition, one of the most complete and instructive of modern times, was originated by and carried out under the auspices of this Society; we have offered prizes for, and published many valuable essays on Forestry subjects. There is one thing I ADDRESS BY THE VICE-PRESIDENT, AUGUST 6, 1894. 53 would suggest, and I think it is possible for the Society to carry it out, that we should have fixed quarterly meetings, at which papers might be read on matters connected with lands, more especially in relation to forestry, and followed by a free discussion on the points raised in the papers. By this means a friendly interchange of our views, on many matters of the greatest importance to forestry, would receive more thorough sifting and careful attention than they have hitherto got from this or any other Society. I have already touched upon the necessity for a Forestry School, and I would now like to tell, in a few words, what other countries are doing for Forestry education. In France and Austria there are first-class Forest Schools, supported by the State. In the seven principal States forming the German empire, there are nine Higher-Class Schools, and numerous Secondary Schools, employing fifty-two professors and eleven assistants. Italy, Switzerland, and Spain have all Forest Schools. Sweden is just starting one. In India, there is the Dehra Dun Forest School, established sixteen years ago. In fact, all civilised countries, including Japan, have thoroughly efficient Forest Schools. The nature of the instruction given at these institutions is varied and complete. Take the Forest School at Nancy, France, for instance. Each year of study at the School comprises six and a half months of theoretical, and two and a half months of practical instruction ; one month is occupied by examinations, and there are two months of vacation. During the period devoted to theoretical instruction, the following subjects are taught, viz., First year— Sylviculture in all its branches; botany, including vegetable anatomy and physiology, as well as the classification of plants, and their geographical distribution, special attention being paid to forest trees and shrubs; political economy, with special reference to forest statistics; law, including forest laws and rules, together with such general knowledge of the common law of the country as is judged necessary; surveying and the construction of roads; the German language; military science; riding. Second year—Working plans or schemes of forest management; mineralogy and geology, with special refer- ence to the chemical and physical properties of forest soils; zoology, especially that branch of it relating to the insects which attack trees; agriculture; buildings, including houses, saw-mills, and bridges; the treatment of torrent beds, including 54 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. the construction of masonry and other weirs. The teaching of surveying, law, the German language, military science, and riding is continued. During the last month of each theoretical course, weekly excursions are made into the forest; but with the exception of these and the riding drill, the whole of the instruction is given in the class-rooms. The practical course, which occupies two and a half months of each year, or five months in all, consists of tours made into the forests in the neighbourhood of Nancy, as well as into those of the Vosges and Jura mountains, and occasionally to other localities, for the purpose of studying forestry, natural history, and surveying; but a part of the time is devoted to military exercises. An area of 7500 acres of forest, situated near Nancy, and placed under the Director of the School, is used as a field of practical instruction, as well as for various experiments and researches, to carry out which an Assistant Inspector is attached to the staff. The subjects dealt with by him are, principally, meteorology, the growing of plants in nurseries, various methods of pruning, the effects of different systems of thinning, the rate of growth of various kinds of trees living under different conditions, and many other things connected with the science and art of forestry. For this information about the course of training and education in force at Nancy, I am indebted to Colonel Bailey’s interesting pamphlet on the “ Forest Schools of Europe.” I have now said enough, I think, to show you that we are very far behind other civilised countries in the provision they have made for the thorough education and training of their Foresters. This should stimulate us the more in going forward to urge upon the Government of the country the pressing need for the question being taken up and dealt with in such a thorough manner, as to bring us at least into line with foreign countries in all matters concerning the science and practice of Forestry. FORESTRY IN BRITAIN. 55 V. Forestry in Britain: An Address to the Biological Section of the British Association, delivered at the Oxford Meeting, 1894. By Professor I. Baytey Batrour, M.A., M.D., F.R.S., President of the Section. After referring to the death of Dr Romanes, and to the constitu- tion of the Biological Section, Professor Balfour said,— In selecting the special topic upon which I am to address you, I have followed the lead of those of my predecessors in this chair who have used the opportunity to discuss a practical subject. Forestry, about which I purpose to speak, is a branch of applied science to which, in this country, but little attention has been given by any class of the community. By scientific men it has been practically ignored. Yet it is a division of Rural Economy which ought to be the basis of a large national industry. There are no intrinsic circumstances in the country to prevent our growing trees as a profitable crop for timber as well as our neighbours. On the contrary, Great Britain is specially well adapted for tree-growing. We have woodlands of fine trees, grown after traditional methods, abundant in many districts. The beauty of an English landscape lies in its trees and its pastures. Nowhere in the world, probably, are to be found finer specimens of tree- growth. As arboriculturists we are unrivalled. But the growing of trees for effect and in plantations is a very different matter from their cultivation on scientific principles, for the purpose of yielding profitable crops. This is sylviculture. The guiding lines of the two methods of culture are by no means the same—nay, they may be opposed ; and it is the.sylvicultural aspect of the science of forestry which has hitherto been neglected in this country. The recognition of this is no new thing. But within recent years it has attracted considerable public attention, as the importance of wood cultivation in our national life has been more realised ; and although various proposals have been put forward, and some little effort made for the purpose of remedying the admittedly unsatis- factory state of forestry practice, there has been so far no great result. I attribute this in great measure to the apathy of scientific men, especially botanists, and I am convinced that until they devote attention to forestry, the great issues involved in it will not be rightly appreciated in this country. It is not the first time the subject has been before this Section. I find that in 1885, at the Aberdeen meeting, a committee was 56 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. appointed by it to consider “ whether the condition of our forests and woodlands might not be improved by the establishment of a forest-school.” The good intention of the promoters was not fulfilled, however. The committee did not meet. In the first instance, let me briefly refer to the national economic features of forests as they affect us. There are two aspects from which forests are of importance to a country—firstly, as a source of timber and fuel; secondly, on account of their hygienic and climatic influences. With regard to the latter, it is a popular notion that trees exercise considerable influence upon atmospheric conditions, but it is only within recent years, and as the result of long experimental research in Switzerland, France, Austria, Germany, and other areas where forestry is practised at a high level of excellence, and also in the United States, that any sufficient data have been forthcoming to form a basis of scientific conclusion upon so important a matter. Although many points are still far from clear, the evidence goes to show that the direct influence of tree-growth upon climate is no mere superstition. Stated in the most general terms, it is proved that forests improve the soil drainage, and thereby modify mias- matic conditions; whilst, like all green plants, trees exercise, through the process of carbon-assimilation, a purifying effect upon the air,—the existence of the increased quantity of ozone often claimed for the vicinity of forests is not yet established; by opposing obstacles to air currents, forests prevent the dissemination of dust particles with their contingent germs; they reduce the extremes of temperature of the air; they increase the relative humidity of the air and the precipitation in rainfall; and they protect and control the waterflow from the soil. To us these effects do not appeal with the same force that they do in Continental areas. Our insular and geographical position renders us in a measure independent of them. The data for these Continental results, it must be remembered, are derived from large forest areas such as do not exist here. For this country I know of no experimental evidence on the subject. As, however, the effects of forest influence are felt mainly in local modifications of climatic conditions, we are not justified in regarding the conclusions that have been reached as inapplicable to Britain. No little interest attaches, therefore, to a statement based upon these Continental observations to which Dr Nisbet has recently done well to call attention—that ‘“‘where the rainfall is over forty inches it is FORESTRY IN BRITAIN, 57 undesirable to increase the forest area.” The significance of this dictum, if it be established, to Britain, dependent so largely upon her agriculture, is evident. Wet years, unfavourable to farm crops, are, under existing conditions, more numerous than favourable dry ones, and any extensive tree-planting in agricultural areas might therefore prove disastrous. But I may here emphasise the point that, whilst for the growing of specimen trees we may agree with Evelyn when he says, “If I were to make choice of the place or the tree, it should be such as grows in the best cow-pasture, or upland meadow, where the mould is rich and sweet,” yet, the harvest which scientific sylviculture reaps comes from land unsuited to agriculture, which would otherwise lie barren and waste, and therefore schemes for the afforestation of such areas in non- agricultural districts need not be prejudiced by the prospect of an increased local rainfall. At the same time we must not fail to learn the obvious lesson that afforestation is not, as some suppose, a simple matter of employment of labour, but that it involves the consideration of weighty scientific problems. Forests, as a source of fuel, have not the direct importance to this country, rich as it is in coal-supply, that they have in States less favoured, but their economic importance to us as a source of timber needs no comment. ‘There are no means available through which to estimate the annual output of timber from our plantations, but indirectly we can gauge the insufficiency of our woodlands to supply the timber necessities of the country by reference to the returns showing the amount and value of forest produce annually imported. This has been steadily increasing, until in 1893 its value exceeded eighteen million sterling. Of course a considerable proportion of the materials thus imported could not in any circum- stances be produced in Britain. But, after allowing a liberal discount for these, there remains a large bill which we pay for produce, no small portion of which could be furnished at home. No one would suggest that in the limited and densely populated area of Great Britain timber-trees of kinds suiting our climate could be grown sufficient to supply all our demands; that would be impossible. But few would venture to deny that we could do very much better for ourselves than we do, and that our payments abroad might be materially reduced. It is admitted that well- grown home timber is, of its kind, equal, if not superior in quality, to that which is imported ; it is surely, then, legitimate to expect that a large supply of well-grown timber would enable us to hold 58 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. the market to a much larger extent than is presently the case, and that we might be very much less dependent than we are upon the surplus timber of other nations. The importance of this to the country is increased by the con- sideration of the continued appreciation of timber. There is abundant evidence forthcoming to indicate that the present rate of timber consumption of the world is in excess of the present reproduction in the forests of the great timber supplying countries, and with the persistence of existing conditions we would appear to be within measurable distance of a timber famine. Experience, too, teaches that we may expect not a-diminution but rather an increase in consumption. No doubt as civilisation advances the discoveries of science will, as they have done in the past, enable us to substitute in many ways for the naturally produced wood other substances prepared by manufacture; but this saving in some directions has been, and will probably continue to be, counter- balanced by greater utilisation in others—witness, for example, the enormous development within recent years of the wood-pulp industry abroad, and consider the prospect opened up by the manufacture of wood-silk which is now being begun in Britain. That the possibility of forest exhaustion is no chimera should be evident to anyone conversant with current timber literature. Taking North Europe for instance:—In Norway, ‘raw timber is yearly becoming more expensive and more difficult to obtain.” To Sweden “pitch pine long beams are taken from America, suitable ones of sufficient size and quality being unobtainable now in Sweden.” In Scandinavia, the virgin forests, “excepting such as are specially reserved by the Government in the districts where mills are situated, are almost exhausted.” In Russia, the Riga “supply of oak is exhausted.” These sentences, culled within the past few weeks from trade journals, show that this is a more pertinent question than some would suppose. In Sweden, which, it is remarkable, is actually importing logs from America, the situation is regarded as so serious that proposals are on foot for the imposition of a tax upon exported timber for the purpose of raising a fund for replanting denuded areas. But it is not only in North European countries that there are signs of the giving out of timber forests. As they fail, the demand upon Canadian and American stocks increases, and when we look at these, Canada “shows signs of beginning to find it hard to continue her voluminous exports to Europe, and at the same time send sufficient supplies to the United FORESTRY IN BRITAIN. 59 States.” But the most striking evidence is that furnished by the chief of the United States department of forestry, in his official report for the year 1892, in which he says: ‘‘ While there are still enormous quantities of virgin timber standing, the supply is not inexhaustible. Even were we to assume on every acre a stand of 10,000 feet B.M. of saw timber—a most extravagant average—we would, with our present consumption, have hardly one hundred years of supply in sight, the time it takes to grow a tree to a satisfactory log size. Certain kinds of supplies are beginning to give out, Even the white pine resources, which a few years ago seemed so great that to attempt an accurate estimate of them was deemed too difficult an undertaking, have, since then, become reduced to such small proportions that the end of the whole supply in both Canada and the United States is now plainly in view.” It must be owned that there are those who do not regard the suggestion of forest exhaustion as a serious one. They argue that the prophecy is no new one, and yet we are none the worse off than we have been; that, failing supply from one source, it has always been possible to tap another, and so it will probably continue ; and then the period when exhaustion is likely to take place is so far off, there is ample time for the growth of new forests to replace those being cut. No doubt there is time. But this is just the kernel of the whole forestry question. With proper conservancy of forest areas, the application of scientific principles to the recuperation of areas recklessly denuded, and the affurestation of barren and waste lands, timber sufficient to meet a greater demand than is now made could be produced. This is the aim of scientific forestry, and it is to secure this that those who have given attention to the subject are working, conceiving it to be a duty of this generation to hand down to its successors a heritage no less valuable than that which it received. With an acreage of wooded land amounting to only 4 per cent, of their total area, Great Britain and Ireland possess a smaller proportion so covered than any other European country. Den- mark comes near with only about 5 per cent., in France the percentage rises to 15, in Norway and Germany to 25, in Austria- Hungary to 30, whilst in Sweden the amount is over 40 per cent. The United States is estimated to have about 25 per cent. These figures do not, however, give a fair basis of comparison of the amount of timber area in Great Britain with other countries, inasmuch as in the Continental lands the bulk of the woodlands is 60 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. true forest, whilst a large part of the area included in the British return is merely pleasure ground, and another large portion is only plantation; of real forest the area is extremely limited. It is not surprising, then, that we are not able to furnish ourselves with an adequate supply of timber. But although there is so little land under wood, there are thousands of acres unsuited for any other crop, and these, for reasons I have already indicated, it is desirable to have planted. Hew to have this accomplished, and how to secure that woodlands already existing shall be tended so as to produce a maximum result, giving a profitable return, are the problems we wish to see solved. It will conduce to appreciation of the question if I briefly discuss the causes which have been active in developing the present con- dition of woedlands in Britain, and in bringing about the disparity between it and other countries in respect of woodland area. State ownership of Continental forests will probably occur to most people as the reason for the difference in area just pointed out. This is true, with, however, some qualification. In con- sequence of the circumstances of their situation, Continental States have been compelled to recognise the national economic importance of forests. This they have done, not so much by the creation of State ownership in vast forests as by the organisation of a State department of forestry and a State system of forestry education. It is altogether a mistake to suppose, as is often the case, that the whole or even a large part of the forests on the Continent belong to the respective States. The amount of State-owned forest is surprisingly small. Fernow gives it in Germany as about 33 per cent. of the whole forest area; in Scandinavia 15 to 20 per cent., in France some 10 per cent., in Switzerland 4 per cent., whilst in Italy it is not 2 per cent. The bulk of the forest is in the hands of private owners or corporate bodies, subject, though apparently not always, to some control or limitation by the State. But the example of the States in the management of their own woods, their readiness to give advice through their officials, and the education which is carefully provided for those concerned in forestry work, have resulted in those privately-owned forests being as well managed as those of the State. It is important to make clear this distinction, because it shows that a State system of conservancy and supervision of forestry is quite compatible with large private ownership in forests, and that efficient sylviculture upon a large scale is not inseparable from State ownership. FORESTRY IN BRITAIN, 61 But some one may say, ‘‘ We, too, have State forests!” Yes, but it is almost absurd to mention them in the same sentence with those of the Continent for any part they play at present in con- nection with forestry in Britain, The nine thousand acres at Windsor are mainly covered with specimen trees. Of the twenty- five thousand acres in the Forest of Dean, a portion is supposed to be cultivated for a profitable crop, but appears to result in an annual deficit. The New Forest, with its sixty-three thousand acres of soil-area, affords us one of the most interesting object- lessons, showing the triumph of sentiment over common-sense, that the country affords. Its history is well enough known, and I need only remind you that Parliament has decreed the major part of it to persist as a barren waste, whilst in the remainder which is covered with trees the practice of forestry is prohibited, so that slowly the whole is going to wreck and ruin. This illustrates the value to us of State forests! In the days of the ““wooden walls” the dockyards obtained valuable timber from them, but now their large area is, one may say, of no State service whatever as forest, if one excepts a small portion of Windsor Forest recently attached for instruction purposes to Coopers Hill College. There can be no question that if the State had set an example of scientific forestry in even a portion of these areas, the practice of sylviculture now throughout the country would have been very different. I need not dwell on the fact that the conditions of land tenure in the country have exercised an important influence upon the extent of wood-planting in the country ; and they must always do so. ‘The oak scorns to grow except on free land,” is a saw that sums up pithily the relationship between land-laws and woodlands in England. Copyholders could hardly be expected to plant much timber when the lord of the manor claimed the crop; and I believe it is possible in some counties to trace the boundaries of copyholds by the entire absence of trees on one side of a line and their luxuriant growth on the opposite side. The intricacies of entail, and the fact that liferenters had themselves to bear the expense of planting, except where necessary for shelter, without prospect of seeing a return for the outlay, must have operated prejudicially to an increase in woodlands. Happily since 1882 in England, and by an act of last year for Scotland, the last-mentioned restriction upon tree-planting is removed, Nor shall I pause over the question of game, which has been at 62 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, once the origin and the destruction of forests in Britain. Not that it is an unimportant element. But the instinctive love of sport in the British race is proof against all argument of utility, and the needs of sport will always be a barrier, as they have been in the past, to the planting of large areas well adapted for timber-growing. It cannot well be otherwise. Landowners can hardly be expected to forego large and immediate game-rents for what appear the long- delayed, even though possibly greater, profits of timber-cultivation. In this case the inevitable must be accepted. Nevertheless, there are large areas, the game-rent of which is infinitesimal for their acreage, which might be planted. The most potent factors in bringing about the present condition of our woodlands are probably to be-looked for in the nature of the crop itself, and in the want of appreciation of its character mani- — fested by landowners; in a word, in a want of knowledge of the principles of scientific forestry. Forestry is handicapped as com- pared with agriculture by the fact that the crop cannot be reaped within the year. The owner who plants and incurs the initial expense of stock, fencing, and perhaps draining, may after some years secure intermediate return from thinnings, but it will rarely happen that he reaps the final yield at maturity of the crop he has sown ; it will fall to his successor. It is this planting for posterity that makes demands upon the landowner to which he is unequal. Hence it comes about that woodlands, beyond what may be requisite in the way of cover plantation and for shelter, are often regarded as expensive luxuries, and, in the time of high agricultural values, landowners have even grubbed out trees to make way for annual crops yielding an immediate return. But scientific tree- growing for profit does not consist in the covering of soil-area indiscriminately with trees, without definite system and relation of its parts one to the other. Just as the farmer has to plan his rotations on a definite system with reference to his total acreage, so in properly managed timber-growing must areas be arranged in such a way that some part of the forest will be yielding annually its final return of mature crop, and cleared areas will by a natural process of regeneration replenish themselves without recourse to the expensive operation of planting being necessary. Scientifically worked, a forest area on suitable land, of which there is such abundance in Britain, should be capable of yielding an annual net revenue as regular as that obtainable by any other form of soil cultivation. FORESTRY IN BRITAIN, 63 It is nevertheless frequently urged as a reason for not growing timber, that wood will not pay in Britain. A landowner will tell you he has acres of land which do not return him more than half- a-crown, and if it would pay better he would be glad to put them under timber, but he does not believe it would; and he will point to rates on woodlands which must be paid although no crop is being reaped. He will demonstrate that there is no market for home timber, which seldom fetches its value, and that there is a prejudice agaiust it which increases the difficulty of any attempt to compete with the foreigner. There is some reason in the latter part of this contention. The wood-grower in Britain has, I think, just cause for complaint when he finds his produce not only handicapped by preferential transport rates to foreign timber, as has been the case in the past, but that it is also disparaged by exclusion from, or admission only under stringent conditions to, competition with foreign timber by the terms of building specifications. It is said to be the common practice of architects and others to debar the use of home timber in this way, and the Government itself has not been guiltless in the matter. The Post Office form of tender a couple of years ago for telegraph- poles entirely cut out native produce from competition, and the conditions of contract framed by the Board of Agriculture under the Land Improvements Act were until recently almost prohibitive to home timber. These latter are now modified, but whether or not the Post Office still boycotts home produce I cannot say. However it has come about—and there are no doubt various effective causes—this undervaluing of home-grown timber is quite unreasonable, and the slur cast upon it is undeserved, so far as its quality is concerned. At the same time, there is ground for saying that the difficulties occasioned in this and other ways, of disposing of home timber at remunerative prices, are due to causes not altogether beyond the control of landowners who grow timber. It is generally admitted that with a more regular and certain supply, as well as a larger amount in different districts, home timber would have a better chance of holding its own in the market. This is just what scientific forestry would bring about. Given a systematic cultivation of forest on scientific principles of rotation, and the conditions are prepared for a steady output of timber by annual cut, as well as for a supply of raw material for utilisation in the manufacture of the many subsidiary products derivable from forest growth. If landowners would ouly provide such supplies, 64 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. they would alter altogether, and to their own advantage, the con- ditions under which they dispose of so much of their home wood. The timber merchant who now travels hither and thither over the country picking up small lots where he can find them for transport to his, probably distant, mills, at a cost which eats a big hole in the value of the trees to the landowner, would find it worth his while—and, for that matter, it would be worth while for the Jand- owner himself—to erect, in the vicinity of the forest, mills for the purpose of converting and preparing the timber, and to put up machinery for the extraction of useful products from the waste wood. In such conditions a steady market could be created, in which the advantage would lie altogether on the side of the home- grown article, and materials, the débris of the forest, now thrown aside as useless, would be turned to account, to the greater benefit of the landowner. Encouragement, too, would be given to the establishment of local industries dependent upon forest growth, through which fresh outlets for forest produce would be provided. The amount of profit returnable from timber cultivation must, of course, vary with the circumstances of the area in each case, but in comparing values it must always be borne in mind that timber land is land which can yield no agricultural rent. The official statistics relating to Continental State forests show us the result of forestry on a large scale, and it is interesting to note how, under what we must believe to be an equally efficient system of forestry management, the net revenue from the several areas differs greatly. Thus from its two million acres of forest area Bavaria draws a little over five shillings per acre per annum; Wurtemburg, with nearly half a million acres, gets a return of about eleven shillings; and Saxony, with a somewhat less area, receives over seventeen shillings per acre per annum. For this country we have no such figures. Our State forests result in a loss. It is unfortunate, too, that no returns are available from private forests and woodlands, either in Britain or abroad. Estimates of possible profits in this country we have abundantly, but solid figures of expenditure and receipt in relation to timber-growing there are none. By the favour of Mr Munro Ferguson, M.P., who, as a landowner, exhibits a most enlightened spirit in regard to forestry, I am, however, able to cite the case of a pine and larch wood at Novar, in Ross-shire, twenty-four acres in extent, which was clean cut in 1883, and gives instructive figures. After sixty-one years’ growth on land similar to that which in the neighbourhood yields a grazing rent of from FORESTRY IN BRITAIN. 65 one to two shillings per acre, it is found to have yielded a net sum equal to a revenue to the landlord during the whole period of its growth of over nine shillings per acre per annum, or an increased . value of quite seven shillings per acre per annum. Although it refers to only a single wood of limited extent, this return shows how profitable waste land may become under timber. No doubt from the estates of others of our landlords who own extensive wood- lands, where, if there is not the highest scientific forestry, there is certainly good wood management, results of an equally instructive kind could be obtained—many would be better ; and it is much to be desired, in the interest of forestry, that they should be made known, as an object-lesson to those who doubt the profit of tree- growing. But in the return I quote from, there is another interesting point which I must not fail to note. During the period of growth of the wood, the outlay upon labour in connection with it amounted to a sum equal to an expenditure of over thirty-one shillings per acre per annum. That is to say, this sum was distributed in wages to the people of the neighbourhood. ‘This exhibits the benefits brought in the train of forestry, which are no less important to the community at large than is the profit of the crop to the landowner. The scientific treatment of woodlands, and cultivation of forests for profit on a proper scale, involve the employment of a considerable amount of labour, much of it at a time when there is little else doing in country districts, not only in the actual tending of the forest area, but in the manipulation and subsequent preparation of the timber, and in the manufacture of the numerous by-products obtainable from it. In these days of congestion in cities, the importance of the development of such an industry, which can provide occupation in the country, and thus may aid in restraining migration to the towns, has not escaped notice, and it cannot be too often or too greatly emphasised. The influences, to which we have just given attention, that have prevailed in bringing about the present limited area of woodland in Britain are, it will be seen, not wholly irremovable, nor are the obstacles to betterment insurmountable. And the question we have now to discuss is—-How are these to be counteracted and overcome? By what means is it possible to bring forestry in Britain more in line with that of other nations? At the outset I would say that if forestry is to be established on a sound com- mercial basis, the only one on which it should rest, if we are to VOL. XIV, PART II. E 66 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. have a national home-timber industry, it can only be when the issues involved are more fully realised than they are nowadays. . As in agricultural practice failure can only be obviated by the application of scientific methods in farm cultivation, so is it with forestry. To become a profitable industry it must be practised as an applied science, and not as an empirical routine. We live beyond the days when it would be possible to apply the autocratic remedy for want of woodlands introduced in Scotland by the Jacobean statute, which compelled the landlords not only to plant wood and forest and make hedges, but also enjoined them, under penalties, to see that each of the tenants planted one tree for every merke of land. Nor, indeed, can much be said, of the success of the compulsion. And I do not imagine anything could be gained nowadays by the method adopted in Scotland in the middle of last century by the ‘‘ Select Society,” as it was called, of offering a premium to farmers who planted the most trees within a specified time. That such processes were deemed unecessary is interesting as showing how old standing has been the recognition of the want of sufficient woodland area in the country. At the present time there are those who would reverse, as it were, the process of the old statute, and who look to the acquisition by the State of large areas of waste land, and their affurestation by it, for the solution of this forestry question. It is, no doubt, a wise policy which encourages private enterprise to deal with the details of industries, and only invokes State aid as a directive and con- trolling foree when its need can be clearly shown. That there is need for State aid in the case of forestry I do not deny, but it is not required to the extent just mentioned. I unhesitatingly say that the State ought to treat the forest areas now in its possession in a reasonable and scientific mauner, instead of leaving them as objects for the finger of scientific scorn. They might be made, in part at least, models of the best forestry practice. It is no use to dispute with the sentiment and taste which have prevailed in making the New Forest what it now is, and it is hope- less to expect an unanimous verdict as to the destiny of State woods and upon the method of treatment to which they should be subject. We have had recently, in the lively discussion regarding the management of Epping Forest, an illustration of how large is the number of people who have views upon the subject of the manage- ment of woodlands, and how the majority of them, if they had their way, would, through ignorance, defeat the very object they desire FORESTRY IN BRITAIN. 67 to accomplish. We must be prepared, in any proposal for utilisation of State forests, to incur the opposition of those who regard all scientific handling of woods as vandalism, although I do not know that forestry in itself involves a want of recognition of the beautiful, or dulls the feelings which a sylvan landscape invokes in the minds of those in touch with nature. It is allowed there are areas in our State forests sacred by many memories, possessing a grandeur and picturesqueness with which no hand, whether of forester or land- scapist, would venture to meddle. But, on the other hand, there are tracts which, without damage to the natural beauty, and without depriving in any sensible degree the people of their privileges of recreation they prize so much, might be and should be dealt with as forest cultivated on scientific principles. These might serve as instruction areas, showing all that is best for the information of foresters. The creation of some such experimental teaching stations in State forests is one of the essentials for forestry in Britain. I would go further, and say that the area of State ownership should be increased to the extent of the establishment of forest stations, of an acreage sufficient to allow of a satisfactory rotation, in other parts of the country as centres of instruction. There have been, as you are aware, proposals for the afforestation of some of the three million and more acres of waste Jand in the Highlands of Scotland capable of growing timber, and we await with some interest the report of the Deer Forest Commission, which has taken evidence on the subject. If, as has been suggested may be possible, afforestation is attempted through any system of State-aided planting. an opportunity would be afforded for securing what would be of so much advantage to the country. Beyond this system of model experimental stations, the State ownership of forest in Britain does not seem to me to be necessary in the cause of forestry. Replying recently to Sir John Lubbock in the House of Com- mons, the President of the Board of Agriculture, after recounting what his Board is now doing for forestry in Britain, added: “I shall always be glad to receive and to consider any suggestion for . the increase of sound technical knowledge on this subject.” Well, now, I have a suggestion to make. In a practical science like forestry, ‘“‘an increase of sound technical knowledge” can only be possible when facilities for practical instruction are provided. I would, therefore, ask the President to consider what I have just said with regard to State forest experimental areas. These cannot, 68 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. of course, be created by a stroke of the pen, but the initiative for their formation would naturally come from the Board of Agri- culture. It is possible that, with betterment in forestry practice, landowners might be found who would be willing to devote portions of their land for the purposes of instruction, following for forestry the noble example of Sir John Lawes in his work for agriculture ; and everyone interested in forestry must hope this may be so. But when the State has already in its hands the means through which a large national industry can be fostered, it is surely incumbent on it to utilise them for the purpose. And mark you, in asking for this, one does not make a large demand upon the Treasury. The whole could be done at no ultimate cost, for the profits from the areas would unquestionably more than repay any outlay incurred upon them. The true solution of the forestry question in Britain is to be found in the diffusion of accurate knowledge of forest science. The landowner has to be convinced that through scientific forestry a sound and profitable investment for his capital is to be found in woodlands ; the factor or land agent must be instructed in the scientific principles of tree-growing for profit, to enable him to secure a steady income to the landowner from his invested capital; and the working forester has to be taught methods of cultivation based upon science, by which his faith in traditional practice, when it is, as is so often the case, unscientific, may be dispelled. It is through education alone that we can arrive at improved forestry. This was recognised by the Select Committee upon Forestry of the House of Commons in its report in 1887, which performed a _ very valuable service by its exposure of the prevalent ignorance of scientific forestry and of well-known facts of tree-cultivation amongst those professedly engaged in its practice and study—an ignorance the continued existence of which manifests itself in some of the writings in current periodicals. The remedy it suggested of a State Forest Board, including representatives of science and of bodies interested in forestry, charged with the superintendence of the formation of forest schools and the preparation of forest litera- ture, was superseded by the later institution of the Board of Agriculture, in which were absorbed such functions in regard to forestry as the Government of the day accepted. We are so accustomed to anomalies in our administrative system, that the discovery of an additional one hardly surprises us. Yet it is difficult to understand why it is that a Board which deals with FORESTRY IN BRITAIN, 69 subjects so essentially based on science as does the Board of Agri- culture, should not have on its staff scientific men representative of the fields of science within its purview. But I do not know that either agriculture or forestry is so represented. It seems odd that this Board should be dependent for scientific advice upon outsiders ; and now that it proposes to undertake the responsibility of the publication of a journal which, I take it, will be a means for the circulation of accurate information upon scientific questions, I do not see how its functions can be adequately performed without scientific help from within. No one of us would expect to see, either to-day or to-morrow, in this country a Board of Agriculture with an organisation like that of the similar department in the United States, which excites our admiration by the excellence of the practical information it circulates. But there is a wide interval between the completeness of the American department and the incompleteness of ours; and if I may make another suggestion to the President of the Board of Agriculture, I would ask him to consider whether it would not strengthen the Board in the dis- charge of its rapidly growing functions if it had competent scientific advisers upon its staff. Such a man for forestry would, I believe, do much for ‘‘the increase of sound technical knowledge” in Britain, and promote to no little extent its interests. Since 1887 we have made some advance along the lines of improved literature and of teaching pointed out by the Select Committee as those by which reform could be accomplished. If one looks at the literature available up to a recent period to anyone desirous of learning something about forestry, one need feel little surprise at the ignorance which prevailed. It was alike meagre in amount and deficient in quality, consisting chiefly of the records of empirical practice of men who had had no scientific training. It is satisfactory to note that these are now being replaced by works having some pretension to scientific method and accuracy. From Coopers Hill there is issuing, more slowly than could be wished, Professor Schlich’s excellent “‘ Manual of Forestry,” and from his colleague Professor Fisher we may, I believe, soon expect an important forestry book. You all know Professor Marshall Ward’s lucid little books on timber and _plant-diseases, and we are promised immediately, under his editorship, a translation of Hartig’s ‘‘ Diseases of Trees,” by Professor Somerville. A most valuable and interesting contribution to forestry literature is the book by Dr Nisbet, recently issued from the Clarendon Press, 7O TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. containing the lectures he delivered in the University of Oxford during the past year ; and to his marvellous energy we shall owe the new edition of “ Brown’s Forester,” which is shortly to appear, and an English version of Hartig’s ‘“ Text-Book” for foresters. All this activity shows an increasing interest in forestry, but it is only the beginning of a movement to make up for the preceding dearth. Botanists are greatly indebted to the Delegates of the Clarendon Press—and it is fitting I should here acknowledge the obligation— for the splendid series of standard foreign works on botany they have brought within the reach of English-speaking students, and which have done so much for the progress of botany in Britain. If we have now got beyond the stage of dependence in pure botany, we are far from it in scientific forestry, and I would hope that the Clarendou Press will add tv its botanical series some of the standard foreign forestry books, and thus aid in the dissemination of the knowledge so essential to progress in the subject. I must not omit to refer here ta the excellent opportunity that is afforded for the circulation of scientific information by the new journal of the Board of Agriculture, of which intimation has recently been made, and it is to be hoped that forestry will find a place in it side by side with agriculture. The attention paid to the teaching and study of forestry by Continental States, their many schools and copious literature of forestry, make it remarkable that, apart altogether from the econuinic side, forestry as a subject of study and investigation has not been long ago introduced in some of our teaching centres. I think the Sibthorpian Chair of Rural Economy of the University of Oxford was for long the only one through which forestry was recognised as within the sphere of university education. So far the limited tenure of this chair, in its new dress, has been held by agriculturists—iu their line the most distinguished men ; but I should like to think that one may look forward to a time when forestry shall have its turn, if by that time it has not come about that it is otherwise provided for. Ic was, however, only the necessities of India which, at a com- paratively recent date, led to the first starting of forestry teaching in Britain, and then only at the cost of India, and for those destined to serve there as foresters. Coopers Hill College, the outcome of these, with its excellent equipment—including now, I believe, a slice of Windsor Forest for purposes of practical work— possesses the elements of a successful forestry school, and it has FORESTRY IN BRITAIN. fu within recent. years opened its doors to outsiders who may wish to learn forestry. But, so far as I am aware, it does not draw the young landowners of the country as it should do. Possibly the expense of the special education, which equals that of the univer- sities without offering the advantages in other directions they afford, may be deterrent ; but I am inclined to think that if the authorities made the fact better known that men other than foresters for India are admitted to the College, more would avail themselves of the opportunity. Beyond this, and some slight notice of forestry at agricultural colleges, there have been no facilities for forestry teaching in Britain until within the last half-dozen years. I leave out of reckoning mere examining boards. Can we wonder, then, that there is a general want of intelligent appreciation of scientific forestry? Even now all that has resulted from the agitation in favour of more attention being given to this subject is—a lecture- ship on forestry in the University of Edinburgh, supported partly by the Board of Agriculture and partly by an endowment from subscriptions among landowners and others (and; I may mention here, forestry is now included as an optional subject in the univer- sity curriculum for an agricultural degree); a chair, or part of one, in the Royal College of Science at Newcastle, founded conjointly by the Board of Agriculture and the County Council ; a course of instruction in science for practical foresters in the Royal Botanic Garden at Edinburgh, maintained by the Board of Agriculture ; and a lecture course on forestry in the Glasgow and West of Scot- land Technical Institute, similarly provided for. I must not omit to mention, too, the beginning, just made, by the Surveyors’ Institute of the formation of a forestry museum in London, which should have an important educative influence. Little though it is, I think there is occasion for congratulation that even so much has been done to provide instruction, and I would have you note that in this education the different classes concerned with forestry are all recognised. Valuable as the teaching so being given is, it must have an effect in showing the need there is for more. In one way the teaching of all these bodies is incomplete, and must be imperfect, inasmuch as they have not the means for practical forestry work. Until this is provided, as I have indicated already, the teaching of forestry cannot be thoroughly carried out. But, after all, what has been done in the way of supplying our wants in the way of teaching is nothing to what is required if 72 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. forestry is to be adequately taught in Britain. Dr Nisbet, who, in his book already mentioned, has had the last say on this question, boldly states the requirements at six forestry chairs in universities, and four schools of practical sylviculture in the vicinity of forests. I do not think he put the needs one whit too high. I should be even disposed to add to them, because I note he has omitted to take into account the claim of Wales, whence there has recently been a request for the establishment of forestry teaching. But there are two questions strictly pertinent to this demand, which need answering if the proposals are to be brought within the sphere of practicability—firstly, whence are the funds to be obtained for this organisation; and, secondly, where are we to get the teachers? Dr Nisbet puts his hand in the Treasury pocket for the money— some five thousand pounds per annum—required by his scheme. I do not think many of us will be so sanguine as to expect the whole financial aid could be directly obtained in this way. But it may be, I think, of significance in regard to this to consider the sources from which money has been forthcoming for what has already been done. The Government, through the Board of Agri- culture, has given most, the remainder has come from the County Councils and from private contributions. There is no reason to suppose the Board of Agriculture will be less willing in the future than it has been to aid in the establishing of forestry teaching in suitable centres ; but its support from the limited funds—eight thousand pounds—at its disposal for educa- tional purposes, is always given as a grant in aid, and is contingent upon evidence of local effort towards the end desired, which we must therefore look to in the first instance. It is of no use to speculate upon the prospects of private munifi- cence providing equipment in any centre. We may hope for it, but I do not think times are such as to lead us to expect large pecuniary aid from landowners. After vigorous effort amongst them, extending over some years, to secure an endowment for a chair of forestry in Edinburgh, a sum a little over two thousand pounds is all that has been raised. But forestry is one of those subjects to the teaching of which we may be more sanguine of support from County Councils. It wiil always be a matter of regret to scientific men, and those interested in the industrial progress of the country, that the grand opportunity furnished by the fund dealt with under the Local Taxation Act FORESTRY IN BRITAIN. 73 (1890) was not taken more advantage of by the Government of the day. Distributed, even in part, through representative educational institutions, it could have provided equipment for technical educa- tion of the highest kind beyond our dreams. Thrown at the heads of the County Councils, before these bodies had had time to settle to their prescribed work, there has been, in the opinion of those well qualified to judge, no little waste. You could not create all at once the machinery requisite for the most efficacious expenditure of half a million of money on technical teaching. Much of the work done by these bodies is admirable. It is indeed surprising, in the whole circumstances, how efficiently technical instruction has been carried out, and no doubt it will improve. But it had a most extravagant start. It is difficult to trace, in the general returns of the technical education undertaken by the County Councils, the details of their work, and I have not been able to discover how far forestry has been treated as a subject of instruction. It has not, I think, been often included. But the example of Northumberland and Durham in respect of the Newcastle chair is one that gives encouragement for thinking that if the due importance of forestry to the community were made clear, County Councils, in districts favourable for forestry and its concomitant industries, might come forward with some of the financial support needed for the provision of the educational equipment. It appears to me that whilst we must obtain from the Govern- ment the institution of sylvicultural areas for practical instruction, our best chance of success in acquiring the necessary endowment for the rest of the teaching lies in the line of combination between the Board of Agriculture and the County Councils, with, it may be, aid from private benefactors. But if we were to draw financial support from County Councils, or from private sources, we must as a first step towards this make known, more thoroughly than it is, the nature of the national interests involved. We must disabuse landowners, land agents, and practical foresters of the notion that forestry consists in the random sticking in of trees, which anyone, no matter how unskilled, may accomplish. We must bring home to the people’s minds that in science is to be found the only sure guide to proper timber-growing, and that scientifically managed forests are alike a profit to the producer, a benefit to the community of the region in which they are reared, and a source of national wealth. Once we have got so far as to create this opinion, the funds for as extended a scheme 74 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, of forestry education as may be necessary will, I venture to think, be forthcoming. There is still the other question to answer,—Whence are the teachers to come? This is, I think, fundamental. For, given a competent teacher, he will soon find opportunity for teaching. If to-morrow the whole or even a half of the chairs suggested by Dr Nisbet as essential were founded, how should we meet the demand for men to fill them? We might, of course, draw upon the Indian Forest Service, but I do not know where you would find teachers in Britain. But if there is no prospect of such immediate requirement of teachers, that does not make the fact of their deficiency of any less moment. There is surely something wrong when men capable of giving scientific instruction in so important a practical subject are so scarce. This is how it touches us botanists, and upon our shoulders I am disposed to throw the blame for the present outlook. We do not seem to have realised, except in relation to medicine, that modern botany has an outlet. Perhaps it has been the influence of medicine that has engendered this. We find chemists and physicists devoting their science to the furtherance of practical aims. Zoologists have applied theirs to the elucidation of problems bearing on the fishery industry, and we see in that monument to the ability and energy of Professor Ray Lankester, the marine biological laboratory at Plymouth, an experimental station which, while it contributes to the nation’s prosperity, serves at the same time as a home of pure research. But where is the practical outcome of modern botany? I must not overlook such brilliant work as that of Marshall Ward, full of purpose, and significant as it is to many large industries, nor that of Oliver in its bearings on horticulture. - But it does seem to me that the general trend of botanical work in Britain is not utilitarian. Perhaps as good an illustration as could be given of the slight practical importance attached by the lay mind nowadays to botany is the fact that the Scottish Universities Commissioners have made it—though I must add it is bracketed with zoology— optional with mathematics for the degree in agriculture ! It is matter of history that its utilitarian side gave the first impetus to the scientific study of botany. The plant-world, as the source of products of economic value and drugs, attracted attention, and out of this grew, by natural development, the systematic study of plants. The whole teaching of botany was at the first, and FORESTRY IN BRITAIN. 75 continued for long to be, systematic and economic, and it was from this point of view that, the herbalist having become the physician, botany became so essential a branch of medical study. It is noteworthy that as an early practical outcome of the study came the establishment of botanic gardens, which, at their institution, were essentially what we would now style experimental stations, and contributed materially to the introduction and distribution of medicinal and economic plants, and to the trial of their products. If they are now in many instances simply appendages of teaching establishments, or mere pleasure-grounds, we at least in Britain are fortunate in possessing an unrivalled institution in the Royal Gardens at Kew, which still maintains, and under its present able director has enormously developed, the old tradition of botanic gardens as a ceutre in our vast empire, thruugh which botany renders scientific service to our national progress. In Britain, consequent perhaps on our colonial and over-sea possessions, the systematic side of botany continued predominant long after morphological and physiological work had absorbed the attention of the majority of workers and made progress on the Continent. Not that we were wanting in a share of such works, ouly it was overshadowed by the prevalent taxonomy, which in the hands of many no longer bore that relation to its useful applica- tions which had in the first instance given it birth, and had become little more than a dry system of nomenclature. The reaction of a quarter of a century ago, which we owe to the direct teaching of Sachs and De Bary and the influence of Darwin, many of us can remember: in it some who are here to-day had a share. Seldom I think is a revolution in method and ideas of teaching and study so rapidly brought about as it was in this instance. The morphological and physiological aspect of the subject infused a vitality into the botanical work which it much needed. The biological features of the plant-world replaced technical diagnosis and description as the aim of teachers and workers in this field of science. No weightier illustration of the timeliness of this change could be found than in the attitude of medicine. But a few years ago he would have been rash who would predict that botany would for long continue to be recognised as a part of university training essential to medical students. Its utility as ancillary to materia medica had lost point through the removal of pharmacy from the functions of the physician. But what do we see now? Not the exclusion of botany from the 76 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. university curriculum of medical study, but the recognition to such an extent of the fundamental character of the problems of plant- life, that it is now introduced into the requirements of the colleges. But if the old taxonomic teaching was stifled by its nomen- clature, there is, it seems to me, a similar element of danger in our modern teaching, lest it be strangled by its terminology. The same causes are operative as of old. The same tendency to narrowing of the field of vision, which eventuates in mistaking the name for the thing, is apparent. With the ousting of taxonomy, and as the Jaboratory replaced the garden and museum, the compound microscope succeeded the hand-lens, and for the paraphernalia of the systematist came the stains, reagents, and apparatus of microscopical and experimental work as the equip- ment necessary for the study of plants, the inwards rather than the outwards of plants have come to form the bulk of the subject- matter of cur teaching, and we are concerned now more with the stone and mortar than with the general architecture and plan of the fabric; we ave inclined to elaborate the minute details of a part at the expense of its relation to the whole organism, and discuss the technique of a function more in the light of an illustration of certain chemical and physical changes than as a vital phenomenon of importance to the plant and its surroundings. This mechanical attitude is quite a natural growth. It is a consequence of specialisation, and it is reflected in our research, But it must be counteracted if botany is in the future to be aught else than an academic study, as it was of old an elegant accomplishment. It has come about very much because of that want of recognition by botanists, to which I have already referred, of the natural outlets of their study—of their failure so far to see the lines through which the subject touches the national life. Modern botany has not yet found in this country its full applica- tion. It has not yet rendered the State service as it ought, and as was done by the taxonomic teaching it supplanted. It is from this point of view that I wish to point out to you to-day that through forestry—and although I have particularly dealt with this branch of Rural Economy, what I say is equally true of horticulture and agriculture—modern botanical study should find a sphere of application by which it may contribute to our national well-being, and which would have a directive influence upon its teaching, taking it out of the groove in which it tends to run. What we botanists need to do in this connection FORESTRY 1N BRITAIN. Te is to teach and to study our subject from a wider platform than that of the mere details of individual form, and to eacourage our pupils to study plant-life not merely in water-cultures in the laboratory, but in the broader aspects exhibited in the competitive field of nature. " If forestry is ever to thrive in Britain, botanists must lay the foundation for it in this way. We cannot expect to make our pupils foresters, nor can they yet get the practical instruction they require in Britain. In this we must depend yet a while on Continental schools ; the stream of Continental migration, which needs no longer to flow in morphological and physiological channels, must now turn in the direction of forest-schools. But we can so mould their studies and give bias to their work as will put them on the track of this practical subject. If we had only a few men so trained as competent foresters, and capable of teach- ing forestry, there would be an efficient corps with which to carry on the crusade against ignorance and indifference, the overcoming of which will be the prelude to the organisation of forestry schools aad scientific sylvicalture in Britain. The influence of the individual couats for much in a case like this. The advent of a capable man started forestry teaching in Scotland, which years of talk had not succeeded in doing. And so it will be elsewhere. I have endeavoured, thus briefly, to sketch the position, the needs, and the prospects of forestry in Britain. Its vast import- ance as a national question must sooner or later be recognised. It is a subject of growing interest. Its elements are complex, and it touches large social problems; bub the whole question ultimately resolves itself into one of the application of science. To botanists we must look in the first instance for the pro- pagation of the scientific knowledge upon which this large industry must rest. They must be the apostles of forestry. And forestry in turn will react upon their treatment of botany. Botany can- not thrive in a purely introspective atmosphere. It can only live by keeping ia touch with the national life, and the path by which it may at the present time best do this is that offered by forestry. 78 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. VI. On the Preserving of Timber for Estate Purposes. By D. F. Mackenzre, Factor, Mortonhall, Midlothian. On account of the scarcity of matured home-grown timber, as well as perhaps the difficulty of selling to advantage such timber as we produce, any process by which its term of “life” can be extended will be of considerable benefit to landowners, large and small, as well as to all others who use the home-grown article. There is no doubt that if timber was felled in its proper season, that season being from the middle of November to the middle of February, a little earlier or later according to the forwardness or backwardness of the seasons, the duration of wooden structures would be increased by at least 10 per cent., being a very consider- able saving in the cost of maintenance. Further, by the applica- tion of a thorough preservative process to the timber, the longevity of the structure would be increased over 300 per cent. As is well known, wood, or timber, consists of vascular or fibrous tissue built up of bundles representing masses of tubes distinct in themselves, but fused together by the medullary system. These tubes, vasa, or pores contain large quantities of albumen and other solid, liquid, or gaseous matter, stored up ready for the use of the plant, and by the very intricate way in which these cells or tubes are connected, and the arrangement for passing the ligneous matter from one cell or tube to another, the tree is enabled, when the other necessary conditions are present, to increase its length and thickness. It is the contents of these cells that give trouble, by attracting the various forms of fungi and insects, which are always ready to attack the tissue of plants and trees in searching for their food, and thereby causing decay. Hence the necessity of applying some preventative. The amount of “sap,” in the shape of water, that has to be removed in preparing the wood for the preserving process, is very considerable, being in young firs an average of 40 per cent.; in matured fir timber slightly over 28 per cent.; in broad-leaved trees from 40 to 45 per cent.; while willows and poplars contain as much as 50 to 595 per cent. of moisture in winter. In timber cut in spring and summer, the amount of moisture is much greater. When the sap is expelled, the wood shrinks considerably, both in the direction of the medullary rays and also at right angles to them. Hence the desirability of THE PRESERVING OF TIMBER FOR ESTATE PURPOSES. 79 having the wood submitted to the preserving process as soon as possible after it is cut off the root. When this is not done, or the timber is Otherwise seasoned, decomposition of the albumen and other matter in the cells is liable to produce carbonic acid, which shows itself in the fir tribe in the decay known as “ bluewood.” As the sap of most broad-leaved trees contains a certain quantity of astringent matter, it rather tends to preservation than decay, if the wood, while seasoning, is slightly protected from the weather. This is especially the case if the wood is cut down in winter. ‘‘Bluewood” is scarcely known to exist in this class of timber. Therefore any process by which the soluble matter in the cells can be coagulated, without diminishing the strength of the tissue,. may be adapted with great advantage. That is done chiefly by im- pregnating the cells with certain salts or oils. Various methods of impregnating timber with antiseptic substances, with the object of preserving it from decay, have been adopted at different times. Of these, Sir William Burnett's —immersion in a solution of chloride of zinc; Mr Kyan’s— immersion in a solution of corrosive sublimate; Mr Margery’s— a solution of sulphate of copper, applied under pressure; Mr Paine’s —a solution of sulphuret of barium or calcium, combined with a solution of sulphate of iron, injected successively into the wood ; and Mr Bethell’s—the use of heavy oil of tar, commonly termed ‘‘ Creosote,” injected into the wood—have been the most widely used during the last fifty years. Forsome time Mr Kyan’s process was the one commonly adopted, and to such an extent was it used that all systems of preserving timber for constructive purposes were popularly termed ‘ Kyanizing,” particular process employed. irrespective of the Experience, however, showed that the use of metallic salts was not successful in timber exposed to the action of water, as they were dissolved and washed out of the wood, leaving it unprotected, aud the processes in which these salts were used are now seldom employed in Britain, except as a preventative of dry-rot in buildings, where the smell of creosote would be objectionable. For all other purposes ‘‘ Creosoting” is practically the only method now in use in this country. At the same time, timber impregnated with salts, such as sulphate of copper, chloride of zinc, or other antiseptics, may be used with decided advantage in those structures which are protected, by painting, roofs, or otherwise. In the construction of farm- 80 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, steadings, greenhouses and buildings of that class, as well as flooring, joists, and roofs of dwelling-houses, the process may be adopted with very great advantage. It is simple and in- expensive; sulphate of copper being a cheap product, costing usually from 12s. to 14s. per ewt., which with 2 lbs. to 20 gallons of water, and half a gallon to the cubic foot, makes a cheap but efficient preparation, and the mode of applying it simple. The dry seasoned wood is placed in an open tank, covered over with the solution, and left in the tank till thoroughly saturated. It is then taken out and allowed to dry under cover. When dry it is ready for use. The term “creosote” is not quite accurate. Strictly speaking, creosote is the product of the distillation of wood, and has never been used for the preservation of timber. The “creosote” of commerce is distilled from coal-tar, which does not contain any of the true creosote. When the coal-tar produced in the manufacture of illuminating gas is distilled, it is exposed in an iron still to a gradually increasing temperature, which ranges during the process from 180° to 750° or 800° Fahrenheit. The tar yields three main groups of products, viz.,—oils lighter than water, or crude naphthas; oils heavier than water, called dead or heavy oils, or “oil of tar”; and lastly pitch, the latter being the residue left in the still. The products are obtained very nearly in the order of their specific gravities, the more volatile coming over first, and being followed at intervals by heavier and heavier portions as the heat increases. Each portion can, if necessary, be collected separately as it comes over. By further treatment, the first two groups can be resolved into their constituents. The light oils yield chiefly benzol, naphtha, and carbolie acid, but they are too volatile to be useful in the preservation of timber. The heavy oils, which in their crude form constitute the creosote of commerce, produce carbolic acid and other tar acids, the solid substances naphthaline and anthracene, and the heavy lubricating oils. There has been a guod deal of controversy on the question as to which constituent the preserving power of creosote is chiefly due. For some time after the antiseptic powers of carbolic acid were fully recognised, it was considered that the efficiency of creosote depended greatly upon the percentage of tar acids which it con- tained, and that the lighter portions of the dead oils were the best, THE PRESERVING OF TIMBER FOR ESTATE PURPOSES. 81 as they contain the largest proportion of these acids, while the naphthaline was considered to be of little value, and was excluded as far as possible. Further investigation, however, has not confirmed this view, but has shown that carbolic acid, being very volatile, soon evaporates, and that the best results are obtained with creosotes containing a considerable preportion of naphthaline and other semi-solid con- stituents, which do not distil over except at the higher temperatures ; and the later specifications for creosoting generally give effect to this view. Dr O. Meymott Tidy, the well-known chemist, speaking at the Institution of Civil Engineers, London, in 1884, said that he considered the process of creosoting to be of a three-fold nature: (1) a physiological action rendering the wood a poison, so that animals would not attack it; (2) a chemical action, consisting chiefly in the coagulation of the albumen; and (3) the simple mechanical action, practically choking up the pores of the wood, so that neither air, moisture, nor life could get inside, and this he held to be by far the most important action of the three. He considered that it was highly advisable to get the heaviest creosote for the work, and that the excellence of the creosote should be determined by the amount of those oils which did not distil over at a temperature of 600° Fahrenheit; but on the other hand, having examined a very large number of creosoted timbers that had been prepared for at least a year, he was unable to detect the slightest trace of carbolic acid in them. With these views he had framed a specification for creosote, which had been largely adopted, and in which, while providing for a large proportion of the heavier constituents of the oils, he had fixed the quantity of carbolic acid as low as was consistent with obtaining a genuine crecsote, Summarised, Dr Tidy’s specification provides,— 1. That the creosote shall be completely liquid at a tempera- ture of 100° Fahrenheit, and that no deposit shall take place until the temperature of the oil falls to 93° Fahrenheit. 2. That the creosote shall contain at least 25 per cent. of constituents that do not distil over at a temperature of 600° Fahrenheit. 3. That the creosote, when tested by the caustic-soda process, shall yield a total of 8 per cent. of tar acids. VOL. XIV. PART IL, F 82 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. The composition and consequent weight of coal-tar, and of the dead oils made from it, vary not only with the quality of the coal from which the gas is manufactured, but also with the temperature at which it is carbonised. Dr Tidy’s specification does not fix any specific gravity for creosote, but it is found that oils having specific gravities of 1040 to 1060 (water being taken as 1000) give the best results, though in some creosoting works heavy and light oils, and even shale oils, are used indiscriminately. The volatile nature of the lighter oils is clearly shown by the result of some experiments made at the railway works at Inchicore, Dublin, in 1885, by Mr J. A. F. Aspinall, M. Inst.C.E., and communicated to the Institution of Civil Engineers of Ireland in 1886. Mr Aspinall selected sixteen dried sleepers, each 9 feet by 10 inches by 5 inches, to be creosoted with heavy oil of 1055 specific gravity, and sixteen similar sleepers to be creosoted with light oil of 974 specific gravity. When creosoted, the thirty-two sleepers were carefully wiped clean of superfluous oil, weighed, and laid flat on skids on the ground, exposed to the weather. At the end of seven months they were immersed in a large tank of pure water for four weeks, care being taken to keep them below the sur- face, and the water being changed once a week. They were finally placed on end, exposed to sun and rain, for a further period of four weeks. The sleepers creosoted with heavy oil absorbed 8°77 lbs. per cubic foot, or 27-4 lbs. per sleeper; and those creosoted with light oil absorbed 10°26 lbs. per cubie foot, or 32 lbs. per sleeper. The final result, two months after immersion, was that while only 0:25 lb. per sleeper of the heavy oil was lost, 2 lbs. per sleeper of the light oil had disappeared, either washed out or evaporated. As usually practised in Britain, the process of creosoting is as follows:—The timber to be treated is placed in a cylinder or receiver constructed of iron or steel plates riveted together, and resembling in appearance a steam boiler. In large establishments, where railway sleepers, telegraph poles, or heavy timbers are creosoted, these receivers are from 50 to 60 feet long, and 6 feet or so in diameter. One or both ends of the receiver are made movable, for the purpose of inserting and withdrawing the timber. Where large quantities of timber have to be handled, this is most conveniently done by stacking it in the open on small, low-wheeled bogies, which are run into the receiver on rails laid on its floor, and though the capacity of the receiver is considerably lessened by the space occupied by the bogies, it is found that the facility with THE PRESERVING OF TIMBER FOR ESTATE PURPOSES. 83 which the timber can be placed in position and withdrawn, permits of a greater quantity being dealt with in a given time than when it is placed by hand into the receiver. The proportion which the quantity of timber in each charge bears to the total capacity of the receiver varies with the size and form of the timber, and the manner in which it is stowed, but may be stated as being approximately 75 per cent. on the average, for such timber as railway sleepers. The timber requires to be loosely packed when placed in the receiver, so as to permit the creosote to have free access to every part of its surface. The creosote is stored in a tank (or series of tanks) placed below the level of the receiver, so that the latter may drain into it. The storage tank may be constructed either of wood or iron, and for convenience is usually sunk into the ground immediately below the receiver. The tank requires to be large enough to contain sufficient creosote to fill the receiver after the timber is placed in it, as well as the quantity required for injection into the wood in the process of creosoting. As the naphthaline contained in the creosote becomes solid at ordinary temperatures, it is necessary to raise the temperature of the oil to 120° Fahrenheit, in order to dissolve the naphthaline, and render the creosote perfectly fluid. This is effected by means of pipes of cast or wrought iron laid in the tanks, through which steam circulates from the boiler of the steam-engine attached to the apparatus. Similar pipes are sometimes laid inside the receiver, to keep the creosote from cooling down too quickly in cold weather. From the lowest point of the receiver, a pipe, provided with a stop valve fixed at a convenient place, is led directly to the creosote tank. This pipe serves the double purpose of conveying the creosote to the receiver, from which the air has been exhausted, and of draining the surplus creosote from the receiver back to the tank when the process of injection 1s completed. The receiver is connected by other pipes, each having a stop valve, to an air-pump, and to a force-pump, both driven by the steam-engine which works the whole apparatus, and it is also pro- vided with a safety valve, a vacuum gauge, and a pressure gauge. The timber having been placed in the receiver, the end door is closed and securely bolted up, a suitable packing being used to make the joint air-tight; the valves on the connecting pipes, except that leading to the air-pump, being at the same time closed. The air-pump is started and kept going until the air is exhausted 84 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. from the receiver, the degree of the vacuum produced being shown by the gauge provided. The object of creating this vacuum is to exhaust the air from the pores of the wood, but it has no effect in extracting either natural sap or moisture in the wood. When the air has been exhausted as far as possible, which takes from fifteen to twenty minutes according to the sizes of the receiver and air-pump, the valve on the pipe leading to the air- pump is closed, and that on the pipe which communicates directly with the creosote tank is opened. The pressure of the atmosphere operating on the surface of the creosote forces it up the pipe, and completely fills the vacuum in the receiver. The valve on the direct pipe is then closed, and that on the pipe connecting with the force- pump is opened. This pump being set in motion, more creosote is driven into the receiver, but, as it is already filled, the pressure forces the oil into the pores of the wood. The force-pump is kept going until either the desired quantity of creosote has been injected into the wood, or until the safety valve, which is usually loaded to a pressure of 120 lbs. per square inch, begins to rise. When the safety valve rises, it may be due to the creosote being forced in more rapidly than it can be absorbed by the wood, or to the pores of the wood being filled by moisture, in which case the limit of absorption in the timber is quickly reached. The quantity of creosote injected into the wood is ascertained by noting the extent to which the level of the creosote in the storage tank falls during the time the force-pump is working. The size of this tank being known, the quantity of creosote represented by each inch of depth can readily be calculated. Thus, each inch of depth of a tank 12 feet by 8 feet would represent 50 gallons of creosote, and if there were 500 cubic feet of timber in the receiver, and it were intended that each cubic foot should be injected with one gallon, or 104 lbs., of oil, the foree-pump would have to be kept going until the depth of the creosote in the tank was 10 inches less than it was when the pump was started. The pressure is kept on for an hour or two after the desired quantity of creosote has been injected, then, the valve on the direct pipe being opened, the surplus creosote is drained back into the tank, after which the end door is removed and the timber withdrawn, and stacked till required for use. The usual works and appliances for creosoting are generally on a very large and costly scale. The writer has therefore designed asmall creosoting apparatus, represented on the accompanying Plan (see Plate XIII.), which is suitable for estate purposes, and costs THE PRESERVING OF TIMBER FOR ESTATE PURPOSES. 85 only a moderate sum. This apparatus is designed to be worked in connection with an estate saw-mill, or by a farm steam-engine of 8 to 10 horse-power, which is quite sufficient for the purpose. The receiver (Fig. 1) is 5 feet 6 inches in diameter for 14 feet of its length, the total length over the egg-shaped ends being 19 feet 8 inches, so that, in the central portion, it would take in timber nearly 19 feet long. The shel] should be built of riveted steel plates, the door joint being fermed by two heavy cast-iron rings securely riveted to the barrel and the egg-shaped end respectively, a projecting fillet on the face of the one ring fitting into a groove in the face of the other, and, being properly packed, they form a perfectly tight joint. When the door is closed, these rings are drawn tight up by eighteen steel bolts, with an eye in the end, and having cross pins fitted into snags marked A (Fig. 1) cast on the barrel ring. The door is carried by a crane (I, Fig. 1) fixed to the side of the shell, stepped into a stene on the ground, and stayed at the top te the receiver. The height of door is adjusted by means of the screw B (Fig. 2). The fittings of the receiver consist of a lever safety valve {C, Fig. 1) with a connection for returning any overflow into the tank, a vacuum gauge, a pressure gauge, and a draining cock, with a pipe (J, Fig. 2) from the bottom of the receiver into the tank. The valve of the air exhaust-pipe (D, Fig. 1) is placed on the top of the receiver, and the pipe is carried up about 4 feet higher to guard against any creosote being drawn into the air-pump. The charging pipe from the ferce-pump is connected to the valve E (Figs, 1 and 2) fixed on the side of the receiver. The air and force pumps and the gearing are driven by a belt and pulleys as shown on Figs. 3 and 4. The cast-iron chamber of the air-pump # should be 8 inches in diameter and 10 inches of stroke, having the bucket fitted with a brass valve and seat. The foot valve of air-pump (G) should be of brass, set in a separate casting, so as to be easily accessible. The force-pump H should be 24 inches diameter and 10 inches of stroke, with a solid cast-iron plunger and brass valves. These pumps should be fixed to a pair of cast-iron frames, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, secured to a east-iron sole-plate, and they would also carry the guides for the pumps and the plummer blocks for the gearing shafts. Both pumps would be driven from the main shaft on the top of the frames, which would be driven by spur wheels and pinions from the counter shaft carrying the driving pulleys, and each pump can be thrown out of gearing as required. 86 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. The receiver should be supported at the required height by timber blocks; and the creosote tank, constructed of wood, should be sunk into the ground immediately beneath it (K, Figs. 1 and 2). In the tank there should be a coil of 3-inch steam-pipes (L, Figs. 1 and 2), with inlet and blow-through cocks, to heat the creosote and render it quite fluid. Mr Robert Melvin, Engineer, Sunnyside Foundry, Alloa, who has erected several large creosoting works, states that he could supply and erect a small apparatus like that described, including receiver and its fittings, air and force pumps, steam coil, and all connections fitted up complete, for £280. The purchaser would have to cart the apparatus from the nearest railway station to the site, provide any unskilled labour that might be required for lifting and handling, and supply timber for the supporting blocks and for the tank for holding the creosote. The price does not, of course, include the cost of any alterations which might be necessary on existing engines, or buildings, with which the apparatus may be connected. A light wooden shed, for protection from the weather, and to enable creosoting to be carried on when outdoor work was impossible, would be necessary. Should it be impracticable to use power from an existing engine to drive the pumps, they could be made direct-acting at a slightly increased cost. The apparatus described would be capable of creosoting about 300 cubic feet of timber at each charge, and would require the labour of two men, who could easily deal with one charge per day. With proper facilities, and additional hands for bringing forward and removing the timber, two charges per day could be treated. Assuming that only one charge per day was treated, and that 1 gallon, or 102 lbs., of creosote per cubic foot was used (less than half being often sufficient), and taking the cost of creosote at 3d. per gallon, and coals at £1 per ton, to cover long railway carriage and cartage, then the maximum cost per charge might be stated as follows :— 300 gallons of creosote, at 3d. per gallon, . £3 15 0 Coals, say 15 ewts., at 20s. per ton, . ¢ oOid Ouse Wages, two men at 3s. 6d. each, : if On iad Engine oil and sundries, say. é : Overs a0 20. OG or an expenditure for labour and material of 4d. per cubie foot. THE PRESERVING OF TIMBER FOR ESTATE PURPOSES. 87 The process presents no difficulties, and any man of ordinary intelligence, accustomed to work saw-mill or farm machinery, could, with a little experience, carry it on successfully. To ensure good results with the process described in the foregoing pages, it is essential that the timber should be properly seasoned, and free from moisture. By creosoting unseasoned timber, the result is that decay is hastened in place of being checked, for the creosote can only penetrate into the dry outer portion of the wood, and closes up its pores, while the sap is retained unchanged in the centre of the wood, where it ferments and causes decay. Young wood, containing a large proportion of sap-wood, can be creosoted without difficulty, if care be taken to have it thoroughly dry before treatment. Care must also be taken that creosote of proper quality is used. Genuine creosote can be made only from coal-tar, and the shale oil and bone oil which are sometimes used in place of it should be avoided. The durability of timber, when properly creosoted, is very great. Telegraph poles which were standing for thirty-five years, railway sleepers embedded in ballast for from twenty-five to twenty-eight years, and fencing—erected for thirty years—have all been found perfectly sound when taken down. The timber in each case was Baltic redwood, which had been properly seasoned, and then creosoted with heavy oil. In practice, the quantity of creosote injected per cubic foot of timber varies with the purpose to which it is to be applied. Red pine, used for railway sleepers, bridges, fencing, etc., receives from 8 to 10 lbs., but when it is to be used for marine purposes, and exposed to the attacks of worms, it receives from 10 to 12 lbs. per cubic foot. All timbers are not equally absorbent, and the quantity of creosote which can be injected into them varies considerably under different conditions. Beech has been known to absorb 18 lbs. per cubic foot ; Scots pine in small pieces has taken 19 lbs. ; bat red pine will generally absorb about 16 lbs. when dry, though only 6 or 7 lbs. when moist. Spruce and silver fir are somewhat difficult to creosote uniformly. Some experiments made by Mr Aspinall at Dublin with large blocks, showed an absorption of 74 lbs. per cubic foot ; others with small pieces of dry wood gave results varying from 9 to 134 lbs., but only about 7 lbs. when the wood was moist. Pitch pine will not take more than 6 or 7 lbs. ; oak about 6 lbs.; and some hard woods not more than 2 or 3 lbs. 88 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. per cubic foot. Timber of this class should therefore remain in the cylinder under pressure for twenty-four hours. Various modifications of the creosoting process have been pro-— posed. Some of the softer woods have been treated by being dried and then immersed in hot creosote in open tanks for a time, but this has not always proved successful. Mr H. Aitken, of Falkirk, introduced a process in 1882, in which the timber was soaked in melted naphthaline for a period of from two to twelve hours, according to its bulk. With the view of getting the creosote to penetrate the wood as thoroughly as possible, its iatroduction, first in the form of a vapour, followed by the injec- tion of the oil itself in the ordinary way, has been tried, but the method has been abandoned. As the solutions of metallic salts, mentioned earlier in this paper, penetrate the heart-wood of well- grown timber much more readily than creosote, the experiment has also been tried of impregnating the wood with a salt solution, and afterwards creosoting the outer portion, to keep the salt from being washed out. Some American authorities consider that a compound process of this kind gives better results than creosoting alone. The most important modification which has been intrcduc>d is that patented in 18729 by Mr 8S. B. Boulton, Assoc. Inst. C.E., by which the moisture in the timber is got rid of during the creosoting process, so that newly felled or wet timber may be treated. In this method the creosote, after being introdaced into the receiver, is raised to a temperature slightly exceeding the boiling point of water—212° Fahrenheit. By this means, the water in the timber is volatilised, and drawn off by the air-pump in the form of vapour, and the creosote takes its place. The heat, being communicated through an oily medium, does not injure the timber. The vapour may be passed through a condensing ap- paratus, and collected, when the quantity extracted can be measured. With charges of very wet sleepers, Mr Boulton has succeeded in extracting water equal in volume to 1 gallon per cubic foot, and replacing this water with an equal volume of creosote by the action of the air-pump alone. If necessary, the force-pump can be afterwards applied in the usual way. The apparatus is of course more costly, and a good deal of additional time is required for dealing with wet timber by this process; but its advantages are very great in those cases in which time for seasoning the timber cannot be given, or where storage THE PRESERVING OF TIMBER FOR ESTATE PURPOSES. 89 room cannot be conveniently procured, although in general estate work these considerations are not likely to give trouble. The advantages of creosoting timber, and the most suitable kinds of oil to employ, have been fully discussed in many publications. Of these, Dr C. Meymott Tidy’s “ Handbook of Modern Chemistry ;” a valuable paper by Mr 8. B. Boulton, Assoc. Inst. C.E., on - “The Antiseptic Treatment of Timber,” in vol. lxxviii. of the Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers ; and a useful paper by Mr W. Greenhill, M. Inst. C.E.I., on “A Creosoting Yard for Railway Purposes,” read before the Institu- tion of Civil Engineers of Ireland in 1886, may be mentioned as worthy of reference to those interested in the question. In concluding, the writer warmly acknowledges how greatly he has been indebted to several kind friends for many useful hints and practical information, and especially to J. B. Bennett, Esq., Assoc. M. Inst. C.E., Edinburgh, and George Bell, Esq., District Engineer, North British Railway, for their valuable assistance and facilities afforded for carefully inspecting Creosoting Works in full operation. BRITISH FORESTRY LITERATURE. The recent publication by Messrs Wm. Blackwood & Sons, Edin- burgh, of a thoroughly revised and brought up to date edition of Dr James Brown’s standard work, “The Forester,” marks an epoch in the literature of Forestry, worthy of note by the Members of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society. The origin and improvement of the work have been almost coeval with the institution and progress of the Society. The first edition of the book, which appeared in 1847, was followed by a second edition in 1851, a third in 1860, a fourth in 1871, and a fifth in 1882, good evidence of the popularity of the work and the demand for information on Forestry subjects, even with the limited knowledge of the scientific principles of Forestry whieh prevailed in this country till latter times. The fact that the author of “The Forester” was elected the first Presedent of the Seottish Arbori- ° cultural Society, on the 16th of February 1854, and re-elected to the honourable office in the three folowing years, retiring on the 6th October 1858, lends an additional interest to the Members of the Society in noting the success of his efforts to spread a sound knowledge of Forestry in all its branches among the public, as 90 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. well as for the particular benefit of his professional brethren. Of the nineteen Members who formed the first Committee, or Council of the Society in 1854, over which Mr Brown presided, only the name of one Member, Mr James Rutherford, Agent on the Kirk- leatham Estate, Yorkshire, appears now, after the lapse of forty years, on the roll of Membership. In the course of that long period many changes have taken place, and much improvement has been initiated in every branch of British Forestry. The literature, which previous to the advent of “The Forester” was of a very elementary type, has been advancing with rapid strides, especially within the last decade, until Forestry has now become a fertile subject for literary efforts, and scarcely a week passes in which something original, or trans- lated from foreign languages, does not appear for the edification of the public and the benefit of Forestry. These, as a rule, deal with some speciality, or a particular section of the wide field occupied by Forestry in its fullest sense; and Brown’s “Forester” continues to be the most comprehensive and complete among British works for the guidance of the Forester in every branch and detail of his profession. The revision and bringing up to date, in accordance with the advanced knowledge of the times, of such an important work, has been skilfully performed by Dr John Nisbet of the Indian Forest Service. His intimate knowledge of European Forest literature, and his practical experience at home and abroad, have been made good use of in revising and compiling the materials for this, the sixth edition of Dr Brown’s work, which through his able treat- ment has been brought completely abreast of the popular methods and practice of the day. All that was of any practical service in the present knowledge of the science and technics of forestry has been retained, while much valuable information has been added, particularly in regard to the more recent improvements and advances made in British Forestry, and the best of the econo- mical methods of Sylviculture practised on the Continent. As a standard book of reference on Forestry subjects, “The Forester” thus still maintains its position in British literature. ¢ ; $ § > Oe eee oe TRANSACTIONS ROYAL HH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. VOL. XIV.—PART III. SECRETARY AND TREASURER, ROBERT GALLOWAY. EDINBURGH: PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY. APPOINTMENT. VEN & SONS, NURSERYMEN AND SEEDSMEN c TO THE QUEEN, 5 NVITE the attention of intending Planters to their large Stock of Seedling and Transplanted Forest and other Trees and Shrubs. They are this season in a healthy and vigorous condition, and well suited for successful transplanting. Evergreen and Deciduous Shrubs. Shrubs for Game Covert, and Underwood. Trees and Shrubs for Sea=Side Planting. Thorn and other Hedge Plants. SPECIMEN ORNAMENTAL TREES for producing immediate effect on Lawns and AVENUES. RHODODENDRONS— all the Best Varieties. & FRUIT TREES of the Best Kinds. ROSES—all sorts worthy of cultivation. SAMPiES OWN APPLICA Lees SPECIAL PRICES FOR LARGE QUANTITIES. —__+0+- Seed Warehouse: 15 PRINCES STREET. Nurseries: LEITH WALK, WARRISTON, AND FETTES, EDINBURG FEI, ADVERTISEMENTS. DOUGLAS & FOULIS ENGLISH AND FOREIGN LIBRARY g Castle Street, Epinsurcu eee TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION FOR TOWN AND COUNTRY FOR THE NEWEST BOOKS | 1 Month. 3 Months. 6 Months. | 12 Months. 4 Volumes £0. 5 ‘ao (1 Sorry -e Lrigen os hfes2Vo Ge 0 60 o 18 o TiI2nG 2°15 0 Hie = NE | OS) OF iy glide) 21624 -O 3 10 oO |} 15 99 ls 3219 I 10 oO 205 407, |, 75 hy SO | 30 5 aa ar ed "a if 5°ro"6” Pte 10" 6 | and Three Volumes for every additional Guinea per annum Subscriptions may commence at any date and are payable in advance Library Catalogues, English and Foreign, gratis to Subscribers SPECIAL TERMS FOR BOOK CLUBS eee DOUGLAS & FOULIS’ Catalogues of Surplus Library Books are issued on or about the following dates in each year : February 1, March 15, May 1, June 15, September 1, October 15, and December 1 Gratis and post free to any address at home or abroad, and also CATALOGUE OF BOOKS: Ancient and Modern Including many Rare and Curious Works in SCOTTISH HISTORY, BIOGRAPHY, TRAVEL, AND TOPOGRAPHY and Numerous Publications relating to Great Britain and the CONTINENT, also Theology and Foreign Literature eee STANDARD WORKS ON FORESTRY; Priced List Free on Application | DOUGLAS & FOULIS, BOOKSELLERS AND LIBRARIANS, 9 CASTLE STREET, EDINBURGH | MCFARLANE & ERSKINE, Lithographers, Engravers, & Letterpress Printers, 19 ST JAMES SQUARE, EDINBURGH, Having an efficient Staff of first-class Artists and Printers, execute every description of ARTISTIC & COMMERCIAL WORK, AND BOOK, LAW & GENERAL PRINTING, WITH TASTE, ACCURACY, AND DESPATCH. Printers to the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society, Royal Physical Society, etc. a ADVERTISEMENTS. Telegrams, ‘““HOTHOUSE, EDINBURGH.” Telephone, No. 805, EDINBURGH. er = yy) ) Br } MACKENZIE & MONGUR, Limrep HOTHOUSE BUILDERS AND HEATING ENGINEERS, Registered Office and Works—UPPER GROVE PLACE, EDINBURGH. Branch—43 Victoria Road, GLASGOW. London Office—8 Camden Road, N.W. All latest improvements adopted. TEAK-WOOD HOUSES A SPECIALITY. PAVILIONS, SUMMER HOUSES, BAND STANDS, BOAT HOUSES, and all kinds of Wooden Buildings. Our Conservatories have been awarded 5 Gold and Silver Medals at Exhibitions in London and Edinburgh. HEATING.—pustic BUILDINGS, CHURCHES, SCHOOLS, MANSION-HOUSES, WAREHOUSES, COACH HOUSES, HARNESS ROOMS, &c., heated in most efficient manner, on the Low or High Pressure Hot Water Systems, or with Steam. > Will be pleased to forward copies of our New Illustrated Catalogue to Ladies and Gentlemen contemplating work in our line, or to their Gardeners, ADVERTISEMENTS. FOREST, FRUIT, AND ALL OTHER “ort TREES AND PLANTS. BEVERGREENS, ROSES, DECIDUOUS SHRUBS. 3% HERBACEOUS PLANTS. &. STOVE anD GREENHOUSE PLANTS, SEEDS ror FARM anp GARDEN. JOHN DOWNIE, Pydt 4a: Ei IN Ce So Sod By Bok, EDINBURGH. Telegraphic Address—‘‘ DOWNIE, EDINBURGH.” Telephone, 2155. Grown from carefully selected 32 seed—robust, hardy, and finely rooted— In our New Grounds at THE CASTLE NURSERIES, LIBERTON. KSC NB re ee), 1 WATERLOO PLACE, EDINBURGH. Established prior to 1770. Address for Telegrams, ‘‘ Dicksons, Edinburgh.” Telephone No. 1066. FRUIT TREES, ROSES, and SHRUBS. Fine Plants of all the best Varieties. Clean, healthy, and well grown. DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUES FREE. FORESTRY AND GARDENING TOOLS of every description. ADVERTISEMENTS. Established 1801. SEEDLING AND TRANSPLANTED FOREST TREES. Ornamental Trees and Shrubs, Roses and Fruit Trees. JAMES DICKSON & SONS, 32 HANOVER STREET and INVERLEITH ROW, EIDE OR Geee CATALOGUEHS FREE ON APPLICATION. JAMES DICKSON & SONS received the highest awards for ‘‘ Conifers” and ‘Hardy Plants” at the International Chrysanthemum Exhibition, Edinburgh, 1889; and again at the great Chrysanthemum Exhibition of 1890. Grown from Seed collected in the North of Scotland, on high-lying = > grounds, and under the exposure of a rigorous climate. Hardy Ornamental Conifers, Evergreen Trees and Shrubs, Plants for Game Coverts, Hedges, &c. All are Fibrous-Rooted, Robust, and Grown Unsheltered. SENT TO ALL PARTS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. SPECIAL OFFERS FOR LARGE QUANTITIES, and Carriage Rates Reduced. CATALOGUES POST FREE. BENJAMIN REID & CO. FOREST-TREE NURSERIES. ‘ABERDEEN. Vide Loupon’s ‘‘ ENCYCLOPZDIA OF GARDENING” (5th Edition, published in 1827).—‘‘The Aberdeen Nursery, Messrs Reid, an old and _ respectable establishment, chiefly devoted to the culture of Forest Trees, and especially to Seedlings of Scotch Pine, Larch, Fir, and Thorns.” ADVERTISEMENTS. DAVID W. THOMSON'S FOREST TREES. An extensive Collection of Seedling and Transplanted Forest Trees, comprising SCOTS FIR, LARCH FIR, SPRUCE FIR, SILVER FIR, ABIES DOUGLASII, and other trees in great variety, and in splendid condition. FOREST TREES, ETC., PLANTED BY CONTRACT. VINES, ROSES, AND FRUIT TREES. My Stock of the above includes all the best Varieties grown, in fine condition for removal. Ornamental Trees and Shrubs, Rhododendrons, Ete. In fine condition for removal, having been all recently transplanted. GATALOGUES FREE ON APPLICATION. CHOICE VEGETABLE SEEDS AND CHOICE FLOWER SEEDS. See Catalogue of Selected Seeds for 1896, Post Free on application. Murseries—WINDLESTRAWLEE, GRANTON ROAD. Seed Wlarebouse— 24 FREDERICK STREET, EDINBURGH. Telegraphic Address—‘‘ LARCH, EDINBURGH.” Telephone, 2034. ADVERTISEMENTS. THE CELEBRATED “ACME” WEED KILLER For Destroying Weeds on Garden Walks, Carriage Drives, Stable Yards, Moss on Stonework, etc. Saves more than twice its cost in Labour. No Smell. One application will keep the Walks clear of Weeds for at least Eighteen Months. Mr W. G. HEAD, Superintendent of the Crystal Palace Gardens, says: —‘* We were so satisfied with your WEED KILLER and its price, that we have used it absolutely. I have every confidence in recommending it.” PRICES—In 1 and Q2-gal. tins, 2/— per gal. (tins included) ; 5-gals., 1/6 per gal.; 8-gals., 1/5 per gal.; 10, 15, 18, and 20-gals., 1/4 per gal. ; 40-gals., 1/3 per gal. Used in the proportion of 1 Gallon to 25 Gallons of Water, and applied with an ordinary Watering Can. DOUBLE STRENGTH. 1 Gallon to be mixed with 50 Gallons of Water. PRICES—In 1 and 2-gal. tins, 3/— per gal. (tins included) ; 5-gals., 2/6 per gal.; 8-gals., 2/4 per gal.; 10, 15, 18, and 20-gals., 2/3 per gal.; 40-gals., 2/— per gal. Carriage Paid on 5 Gallons and upwards. “ACME” POWDER WEED KILLER, SOLUBLE IN COLD WATER. Sizes, Prices. No. 1. Sufficient to make 25 Gallons, . 1/9 per tin. ” Di; ” »” 50 ” . 3/3 ” 9 a ” ” 100 9 . 6/- ” Tins Free. Carriage Paid on No. 3 Size and upwards. When ordering No. 1 tin, 444. inust be remitted for postage, and for No. 2 tin 73d. SPECIAL QUOTATIONS FOR LARGER QUANTITIES. SOLE PROPRIETORS AND MANUFACTURERS— The Acme Chemical Company, Limited, TONBRIDGE, Kent, & Carlton Street, BOLTON, Lancs. ADVERTISEMENTS. NEW BOOKS ON WILD FLOWERS. By M. C. COOKE, M.A., LL.D., AUTHOR oF ‘‘A MANUAL OF STRUCTURAL Botany,” Etc. Post 8vo, fancy boards, 1s.; or cloth extra, 1s. 6d. DOWN THE LANE AND BACK IN SEARCH OF WILD FLOWERS. By Uncte Marr. With Tweaty-three Illustrations, and Two Beautiful Coloured Pictures. THROUGH THE COPSE. Another Ramble after Flowers with UNcLE Marr. With Twenty-three Illustrations, and Two Beautiful Coloured Pictures. A STROLL IN A MARSH IN SEARCH OF WILD FLOWERS. By Uncte Marr. With Twenty-five Illustrations, and Two Beautiful Coloured Pictures. ACROSS THE COMMON AFTER WILD FLOWERS. By Uncie Matr. With Forty-two Illustrations, and Two Beautiful Coloured Pictures. AROUND A CORNFIELD IN A RAMBLE AFTER WILD FLOWERS. By Uncte Marr. With Twenty-six Illustrations, and Two Beautiful Coloured Pictures. ‘Nothing better in the way of a minor prize for girl or boy could be chosen than one or more of this dainty little series of books about wild flowers. In these bright and pleasant pages the children are taken by the hand by ‘Uncle Matt’—a character cheerily and sympatheti- cally impersonated by Dr Cooke—and led on various rambles around the neighbourhood of the home or holiday centre, however it may be imagined, in search of wild flowers. These when found are made a note of, with picture and in merry chat; and so, besides getting a good time generally, the young people pick up a great deal of elementary knowledge of botany. . . . Uncle Matt knows exactly what to expect on each occasion, and when he has found a flower he knows all about it, though he manages to put his knowledge in such a pleasant way that it doesn’t seem like teaching at all. And he doesn’t try too many things at once, but lets the children talk—as children love to do—as well as listen. With such company a country holiday or a country walk unfolds new and undreamed of possibilities of pleasure.” —School Board Chronicle. ‘The author aims at writing such books as shall prove interesting as well as amusing to little folk, and he is avowedly careful in his use of scientific terms and long names, lest, by their excessive use, he should disgust his readers. Those who like reliable information con- veyed in an informal manner should appreciate Dr Cooke’s style.”— Gardeners’ Chronicle. T. NELSON & SONS: LONDON, EDINBURGH, AND NEW YORK. Baking Boards, Bread Plates, Butter Plates, Butter Spoons, Rollers, Prints, Cooking Spoons, Potato Beaters, Rolling Pins. Jen —— & COCKBURN OTREE hy ——— EDINBURGH &*: List of Prices on Application. ‘SL9PAO [[B O} UOTIUE?1E [BUOSUeg « as yo MADEro ORDE Also large assortment of JAPANESE AND RUSSIAN WARE GOODS. PHOTO FRAMES AND ALL THE LATEST NOVELTIES. ADVERTISEMENTS. BAYLISS, JONES, & BAYLISS’ HURDLES, FENCING, GATES, ETC. eaena PATEST SELF ADJUSTING UNCLIMBABLE STEELRAILING N2 2762 WIRE FENCING FOR DEER PARKS . a seattle : <_ TREE GUARES, & ‘i t - sctigieceeia LAWN TENMISEPOULTRY FERSES. "Coe L PIVETLESS HURDLE Aol) * All at very low Prices SUPERIOR JET VARRISH. Averages | From 1s. 3d. per gal. about Cheaper than Ordinary | Netting. ig | Casks included. Write for Price List. i | Carriage Paid. WROUGHT [a eae IRON SEAT WROUGHT-IRON WIRE GAME-PROOF FENCE, No. 52 W. ETAT L ity} | ; HHL : Mihi T | | | il i Lists Free. Also POULTRY and LAWN-TENNIS FENCING. lllustrated Catalogue of ail kinds of Hurdles, Fencing, Gates, etc., free. MANUF ACTORY—VICTORIA WORKS, WOLVERHAMPTON. London Offices and Show Rooms: 139 and 141 CANNON STREET, E.C. Please mention this Publication. TRANSACTIONS. CONTENTS. The Society, as a body, is not to be considered responsible for any statements or opinions advanced in the several papers, which must rest entirely on the authority of the respective authors. AU VIII. IX. X. XI. XII. XIII. XIV. XCVEe Address delivered at the Forty-second Annual General Meeting, held on 23rd January 1895. By R. C. Munro Frreuson, Esquire of Raith and Novar, M.P., President of the Society, . On a Limited Liability Company to acquire a Timber Estate. Paper read before the General Meeting, January 23, 1895, by Professor SOMERVILLE, A Visit to the Thuringian Rorest) ae the BNC of so Coburg-Gotha, Germany. By Joun Micuir, Forester, Balmoral, Notes on the Physiology and Structure of Trees and Shrubs as shown by the Microscope ; along with a Cabinet containing 100 Photo-Micrographic Slides illustrative of Plant Physiology specially relating to Timber. By D. F. MAcKEnzI£, Factor, Mortonhall, Midlothian, On Growing Timber of Clean Growth: ing Quality, and High Commercial Value. By ArrHur C. Forses, Wood Manager, Bowood, Calne, Wiltshire, : 2 : ; The Formation of Plantations. By Jamrs Ropcer, Assistant Forester, New Scone, Perthshire, A Short Wecoant of the State Forests of Pract Guvindine Hanover), and Messrs Heins’ Nursery at Halstenbeck, visited by the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society, July-August 1895. Prepared from Official Sources by Dr SOMERVILLE, Some Aspects of the Excursion of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society to Germany, July-August 1895. By ANDREW SLATER, Haystoun, Peebles, Report on the Excursion of the Royal Scottish Avhoricuitnrel Society to Germany in July and August 1895. By DonaLp ROBERTSON, Forester, Novar, . = ‘ ; ; Nores AND QUERIES, PAGE 91 100 105 122 133 140 163 180 189 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL Soaniten Anon ICULTURAL SOCIETY. SPECIAL NOTICE. BACK NUMBERS OF “TRANSACTIONS.” WANTED TO PURCHASE— Part 2 of Vol. I., Parts 2 and 3 of Vol. IIL., Part 1 of Vol. IV., Part 3 of Vol. V., and Part 3 of Vol. VI., or the Volumes containing these parts, Apply to THE SECRETARY. TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, VII. Address delivered at the Forty-second Annual General Meeting, held on 23rd January 1895. By R. C. Munro Frereuson, Esquire of Raith and Novar, M.P., President of the Society. GENTLEMEN,—TI find that the next item on the programme is my address as President, and I regret that it has been so long in being delivered. I must express the very great pleasure I feel in finding myself among so many Scottish foresters. Our numbers, apparently, are about to be largely increased; and when I heard sO many new names read over just now by the Secretary, I really thought we were re-electing the whole Society. At the close of my address, I see that we are to be engaged in the election of office-bearers. We must all of us hope that in the matters of membership or finanee, or in the conduct of our business generally, we shall unite together as one man, in order to forward the interests of Forestry in Scotland. After all, the interests of Forestry are greater than the question of whether our accounts have been kept with absolute accuracy in the past; and I hope that the effect of our meeting here to-day will be judged less by any shortcomings in our system of keeping accounts, or in our way of doing business, than by the zeal which I feel sure is in each one of us, to do what we can to secure progress in a calling we all have at heart, and which many of us pursue as our means of livelihood. Some observations were made to-day upon the manner in which the Z'ransactions are presented to the Society. I am inclined to agree with those who think that the Z’ransactions might be VOL. XIV, PART III, K 92 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. made fuller with advantage. No doubt, to have a fine account of the trip gives those who have been at the Excursion all the pleasure that we feel when we see our names in print after attending some public function; and it makes those of us who have not had the good fortune to be present, sit with watering mouths while we read of the pleasures which those who attended the trip enjoyed. But still, the publication of our trip is not the chief end of the Scottish Arboricultural Society, and I think we might have something fuller than that. As to the present Transactions, there is, at any rate, one subject which is most interesting. I do not know whether it attracts me more parti- cularly than others because I have lately started a creosoting plant. I refer to the paper of Mr D. F. Mackenzie upon “ Creosoting.” That is a subject which is of intense interest to all of us, I hope to see the forester and the joiner supplanting to some extent the mason and the architect. I do not think that the returns from land in these days will support the present generation of architects in their works, and I believe that, by the production of suitable timber, and by adopting means for its preservation, we may be able to house man and beast on as liberal, and far more inexpensive, a scale as we have yet attempted in this country. I think this paper, therefore, a very valuable contribution towards the Transactions of the Society. When I was informed I had to make a Presidential Address, I took one or two notes of subjects which I wished to speak on at so representative a gathering as I am glad to see here. I did so with all the more pleasure, because I feel that our Scottish Society is the chief centre and the best meeting ground for all who are interested in the future of tree-growing in the United Kingdom. It is not practised in many parts of the country as a money-making undertaking, but I do think we have a better idea of the practical nature of Forestry in Scotland—that may not be saying much, but it is saying something—than they have in any of the other portions of the United Kingdom. And I think that this Society can best provide the requisite force which will be necessary for making further progress in Forestry. I am not speaking of ornamental Forestry. It is not that with*which we need concern ourselves so much. I think we understand ornamental Forestry as well in Scotland as it is understood in any part of the world. I think I may say it is better understood here than in any other part of the world. I would not speak lightly for one moment of the science ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT, JANUARY 23, 1895. » Wa of Conifere, or of any portion of the forester’s art. But what I wish to say a word or two upon this afternoon is the money- making part of Forestry, because, unless you can make money out of timber-growing, you will not have any great extension of the forest area, I wish to speak upon Forestry as a paying undertaking, because I think extension will follow profits. There are one or two general principles which I think we may safely follow. One is, that trees should be grown wherever they are the best paying crop. One of the results of Free Trade has been to make the timber crop a more important one than it was, and one which offers more prospect of being paying in its results as com- pared with other crops which have hitherto been raised on land. I know it is held by many people—I heard it held by a very practical and highly-respected country gentleman, Mr Dundas of Arniston— that timber-growing was not a paying concern. That was in his examination before the Forestry Commission in the House of Commons. I think, however, that that view will not stand cross- examination. If you plant trees as shelter strips; if you plant strips of trees along the side of a hill, they are not likely to pay; but then they are not planted to pay as timber: they are planted to pay as shelter. But if you plant timber in sufficiently large breadths, and plant it irrespective of shelter, it is a paying crop. I think that has been shown sufticiently, and over and over again. At any rate, to me it has been shown so sufliciently—that I shall not venture to trouble you with any figures—that the growth of timber is in many cases by far the most profitable use that can be made of land. Mr Robertson, who looks after my woods at Novar, submitted to the Society some figures, which showed a profit of some 10s. an acre on growing larch. Well, I have no reason to doubt the truth of these figures; but I know this for certain, that the fee-simple value of the land upon which that larch is growing would not be worth, if it were put into the market, more than 20s. an acre. What is true of larch is, I think, also true of some kinds of hardwoods. Certainly where plane tree has been grown there has been a full return for the land so occupied in recent years. We might compare the return from the growth of timber with that from arable land. If you take the net rent from arable land, you will find that it does not repay much more than interest upon the capital which has been expended upon buildings, drainage, and roads. Now the profit from timber, if it is not very great, is at any rate net profit; and therefore I think 94 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. that if a comparison is made between land rented at anything below 10s. an acre which is now under arable farming, and land which is properly cultivated as timber land, the balance of profit will be shown very much in favour of the land which is under timber. It is certain there is a large area of land in Scotland that might be profitably planted. There are two parishes in Ross-shire which I have estimated myself carefully, along with Mr Robertson, and our conclusion was that two-thirds of these parishes might be planted, and would pay better under trees than in any other way. At the present time I think only one-eighth or one-tenth of these parishes is planted ; and I believe there are parishes all over the country where, in similar proportions, planting might be done to the good of the owners and to the great good of the country. I may mention one or two of the drawbacks and disadvantages under which Scottish Forestry labours at the present time. First, the facilities for Forestry education in this country are practically nothing. ‘There are lectures—and very good lectures—given not a hundred miles from where we are now, and there are half-a-dozen large estates where good practical work can be done by being attached to the staffs upon these estates. But compare Scotland with Bavaria, which is a country very much the same in size. Why, in Munich there are several Forestry chairs, and there are schools, other than the university, where education in connection with Forestry can be obtained. I should think that as large a proportion of Scotland might be planted as a forest area as there is in Bavaria. Bavaria is not one whit better adapted to timber-growing than this country, but the provision for Forestry education is on a far different scale. Then, I think in this country we are under the wrong department of the State. We cannot expect very much to be done by the Board of Agriculture for Forestry. I opposed Forestry being put under the Board of Agriculture, because I was satisfied that little or nothing would be done for Forestry by that Board; and it is impossible for the Board of Agriculture, as it is at present constituted, to be of much use to Forestry, or to do much for Forestry education. Then, I think the allowances to Scottish establishments—say to the Botanic Gardens—are on a much lower scale than the corresponding allowances in England. The forest area of England is not so very much larger than the forest area of Scotland, and yet grants are given to institutions and to purposes which are helpful to Forestry in England, very much larger in proportion than the grants given ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT, JANUARY 23, 1895. 95 to Scotland. I think a larger proportion might be given to Scot- land by the State. Then again, even our methods of advancing the science of Forestry are somewhat scantily developed. There are not many places, even where there is a good growth of timber, where you find the Forestry staff is properly organised. I doubt whether owners of land in this country have done all they might have done to have efficient Forestry staffs. The Forestry staff on an estate is not always so efficient as the staff on an arable farm, and it is just as much needed in the one case as in the other. If you have a “blow” of timber, such as we had the other day, unless you have a staff which is able to deal promptly with an emergency like that, there must be a great loss. It is much more expensive for the timber merchant to cut up the timber than it is for the owner if he has a sufficient staff. Then the irregularity of the supply of home timber is greatly against its continuous employment for building and other purposes. The timber merchant cannot depend on a regular supply of home timber. The home market is supplied in great measure by gales of wind, or according to the necessities of the owners of the estates. If the supply were more regular and larger, dealers in home wood would be far better able to compete with dealers in foreign wood, and would be able to give much better prices for what they buy. Then I think that the State should grow timber, because private owners, on account of the long time they have to be out of capital before getting a return, are less able now than ever they were to invest their money in creating large plantations. I doubt whether Forestry in this country can be sufficiently developed unless it be by the power of the State. We are at a disadvantage in not having the State as a grower of timber; and I think the reason for the State not growing timber is probably the general belief that Forestry does not pay. It must be fully recognised in Scotland that Forestry is a national interest, before we can have any great improvement on the present system. We all of us feel very much indebted to Sir Robert Menzies for his action in trying to create a Chair of Forestry in the Edinburgh University. At the same time, I cannot help thinking—I do not speak as a member of the Treasury Board, but as a member of the Scottish Arboricultural Society, which, at the present moment, is the somewhat more important body of the two—I cannot help thinking that it should be unnecessary to ask for private subscribers 96 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. to create such a Chair, if things were well arranged in the world. The State is already supposed to equip the Scottish Universities; and I cannot say that I think any Scottish University is properly equipped where Forestry is not taught. Therefore it is my private opinien that the State ought to supply a Forestry Chair, or perhaps more than one Chair of Forestry in the Universities of Scotland; and I think we shall have to see to it—without trying to propagate any Separatist sentiment—that Scottish arboriculture, so far as it is supervised by the State, shall be supervised by some Scottish Department, er some department of the Secretary for Scotland’s office, which will make it a purely Scottish branch of the administration. JI think we should profit by this in more than one way. In the matter of Crown lands, for example, the State has sold a quarter of a million sterling of Crown lands in Scotland, and the money has been invested in London ground- rents. That is no good tous. If the meney had been invested in plantatiens in Scotland, that would have been te the great good of the country. I have alluded te “blow downs.” Let me just say this about them. I do not think that these “blow downs” need necessarily be a loss to the grower of timber. Suppose we take the value of the “blow” last year. I suppose if the value of the woed blown be taken at half a million sterling, that would be accepted as a fair estimate. Well, take it that our imperts are £16,000,000 or £18,000,@00; it is only a fortnight’s or three weeks’ supply of timber, That should net disturb the market very much. I had a good many trees blown dewn at Raith by the first gale; and we had them lotted and seld—the sale brought about £700@—within four weeks after the blow occurred. I do not think the depreciation of price was more than 10 or 15 per cent. I am at present cutting up a large lot of blewn timber in Ross-shire, and I hope we may be able to give some figures applying te it. Then there is another point. I think much might be done to improve the timber trade by reduced railway tariffs for the carriage of home timber. It would pay better to grow timber if the railway service was better. That service is well enough laid out for the large towns; but it is net so well laid out as it might be fer the country districts. There is a great want ef communicatien in many districts well fitted for growing trees; and I think that anything connected with the extension of the railway system and with railway rates should have a good deal of interest for us. ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT, JANUARY 23, 1895. 97 Then, gentlemen, even if the State was not to undertake the management of forests itself, it might, at any rate, be able to advance money under some Lands Improvement Scheme to private owners. Money might be advanced on plantations for the first thirty years on the bare rate of interest; and if it were paid up during the following thirty or forty years, I think in that way great encouragement would be given to private owners to form plantations. These plantations would have to be under inspection, but I think there need be no difficulty about that. I should like to see the State not only planting land itself, but advancing money to help private owners to plant; because I am sure we are so far back in Forestry, and the difficulties of finding capital for improve- ments by land-owners is so great, that nothing but some such encouragement on the part of the State will enable Forestry to be extended as it ought to be. It is, of course, in the Highlands that the extension of the forest area can be most easily made. I regret, for my part, that there was not a plain and specific reference made to the Deer Forests Commission to inquire into what land was suited for Forestry. It is a matter on which there are two opinions—whether the Highlands are benefited socially and economically by the extension of the small farm system. I tell you frankly my own opinion is, that socially it would be an advantage, but economically I do not expect any very great advantage from it. But I think you may justify most strongly a great extension of the area under timber; and I think it would have been most interesting if this Commission, after its journeyings in the Highlands, especially if it had had one or two practical foresters upon it, had been able to give an opinion as to what area in the Highlands was really fit for the growth of trees. That is a thing which has yet to be done, and I hope this Society and others interested in timber-growing will try to help to secure the constitution of a Committee or Commission for inquiry into what area of country now under grazings, or lying waste, might be profitably devoted to the growth of timber. The labour given by plantations is necessarily very much larger than the labour given by grazings or shootings. If you allow one family to a hundred acres of plantation, that would not be an excessive allowance; and besides the men who are actually employed in the plantations, there would be a great number of other people employed in auxiliary industries—in wood manufacture, in joiner work, in carving, in the nurseries, in planting, 98 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. in creosoting, in getting the timber to the market, and in other ways. In that way we might have a large forest population; and if you want to keep the population on the land, I am sure that in Scotland there is no better way in which that can be done than by a great extension of the forest area. Whether we are Free Traders or not, we have to recognise fairly and squarely what the effect of Free Trade has been in this country. One effect of it has been to throw a much larger area of land into grass, and it has made inferior land comparatively unremunerative. Where land comes into grass, labour must be necessarily much less abundant than if you put the land under timber. You add very largely by Forestry to the number ef people that can live upon the land as compared with those who can live upon it under the grazing system. So long as grass pays best, land will go under grass. All I contend for is, that where grass is not first-rate, it is far better to put the land under timber—better for the owner, and certainly far better for the labouring population of the country. I think, too, by planting more largely it will have a very good effect upon farming. I have often noticed that where plantations are round a farm, crops are from ten days to a fortnight or three weeks earlier than on land in an exposed situation where there are no plantations. We have a healthy occupation in Forestry. Nobody looking round this room would suppose I was speaking to a town population. A country population is certainly a healthy population, and it is a danger to the State that the bulk of the population should be thrown into a few large towns, leaving the country comparatively uninhabited, and with a population which is rapidly diminishing. I deplore the thinning of the population in the country districts, and if I were asked to give a remedy for it, I could not offer one which in my opinion is better, or which can be more amply justified, than the extension of the forest area to the waste places of Scotland. We must, of course, plant upon a sufliciently large scale. It is of no use to plant in small quantities. You don’t get the timber what it should be. You cannot grow timber upon the same principle as you can have small farms. If you grow timber at all, I believe it must be in large quantities, and it is to that I look when I speak of getting a return from Forestry. There is one matter, in conclusion, which seems to have created a certain panic amongst owners of trees, and that is that they would be adversely affected by the Death Duty clauses of the Finance Bill of last year. As the Bill was first presented to the House, I ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT, JANUARY 23, 1895, 99 imagine that it would have been severe upon timber; but as it was passed it was not so, and I don’t think anybody can complain of the Death Duties as they now affect timber. Gentlemen, I may have taken a rather prosaic view of our arboriculture ; but I would urge, nevertheless, that the commercial view of Forestry should be the predominant view. I do not disparage ornamental work. I think the parks and policies of our country are perhaps the greatest of our national works. There is nothing so beautiful in the world as a Scottish or English park. There are few spots where you will find so great a value of timber in single trees; there are few spots more beautiful to behold; and when these parks can be open to the public they are of infinite value to the nation. But at the same time, they are a luxury in which every landowner cannot indulge in these days. Neither do I undervalue pinetums, because many kinds of trees have been introduced into this country by reason of the interest which has been taken in strange plants. Let every branch of our science be developed ; but if the wastes of Scotland are to be clothed, if her country people are to be kept in the country, and work is to be found on the land for an increasing population, these ends will only be properly achieved if timber pays to grow. As I said, that may seem a prosaic conclusion to many as a basis to the growth of our romantic woodlands ; but it is because I love trees so well, and it is because I seek to have more, and to: make Scotland what she ought to be—one of the chief timber-producing countries in the world—that I have ventured in my address to lay so much stress upon this consideration, that timber should be a paying branch of our industry. 100 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. VILL. On a Limited Liability Company to acquire a Timber Estate. Paper read before the General Meeting, January 23, 1895, by Professor SOMERVILLE. During the past ten years the cause of Forestry has made great progress in this country. I will not say that it has made a@d/ the progress that the members of this Society could have desired, but at the same time I do think we have considerable reason to be satisfied with the measure of success that has attended our efforts. The past decade has witnessed two Forestry Exhibitions, the labours of a Special Committee of the House of Commons, the institution of several centres where education in Forestry can be obtained, the formation of a Board of Agriculture, which gives such support to the subject as lies within its limited powers, the appearance of a large addition to the literature of the subject, and last, but not least, the selection of Forestry as a theme for the presidential address in an important section of the British Associa- tion. All this activity is extremely satisfactory, but, after all, has it perceptibly advanced the object that was largely instrumental in stimulating that activity? For it must not be forgotten that one of the chief objects of our Edinburgh Forestry Exhibition, of the Committee of the House of Commons, and of the pamphlets, articles, and addresses that have from time to time appeared, has been to induce private owners and the State to turn their attention to the millions of acres of poor pasture lands that abound almost everywhere, and to devote a considerable portion to the cultivation of woods. Well, then, have we as individuals, or as a Society, succeeded in con- vincing the owners of suitable land that it is for their best interests to plant such land with trees, and do we find that our unproductive hill-sides ave rapidly being covered by a vigorous growth of young forests? I think it will be admitted that, as a rule, the extension of our woodlands is not progressing at a rate proportionate with the enthusiasm of the advocates of extended sylviculture. For this state of things there are one or two obvious reasons. The first is that very few landlords are able or desirous of dispensing with a part of their present income, even with the prospect of their capital being returned, plus a satisfactory rate of interest, fifty LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY TO ACQUIRE A TIMBER ESTATE. 101 or more years hence. This reason in itself is sufficient to prevent any very large proportion of an estate being placed under wood by a single owner, for a surfeit at the end of half a century would be a very poor recompense for fifty years of starvation rations. But there is another, and quite as potent a factor at work in deterring landlords and the State from turning a larger proportion of pastoral land into forest, and it is this, that even with all that has been written before them, prospective tree-planters are still in great uncertainty as to what the true profits of Forestry really are. Nor is this uncertainty surprising, when we consider how divided opinion is in the matter. One man says that in no way can land be so profitably utilised as by planting it ; while another maintains that, when all the charges are met, the profits from his woods approach uncomfortably near the vanishing point. And the reason for this diversity of opinion is a very simple one, namely, that there are few things so scarce in this country as authentic and reliable accounts dealing with any specified forest or woodland during a lengthened period. Of course, a mere statement of outgoings and incomings connected with the land under wood upon most estates would not serve the purpose, for where plantations are in small patches or narrow shelter-belts, or where they are managed largely for appear- ance or for game, it is a matter of very small moment to the cause ' of Forestry whether such woods furnish any nett revenue or not. Nor does a bare statement of the amount realised by the sale of the timber when a block of wocdland is finally felled afford a satisfactory basis for calculating the profits of sylviculture, for it is quite con- ceivable that an acre of forest may in two distinct cases sell for £100, which in one case may mean a handsome rental for the rotation, and, in the other, may mean a dead loss. Toestimatethe profits of Forestry correctly, we must bein possession of the following data. We must know the approximate pastoral or agricultural value of the land which has been planted, and capitalise such annual value at compound interest during the whole period of the rotation. We must also know how much was expended in fencing, draining, and planting the land, and also capitalise this initial expenditure at compound interest on till the period of the final felling. We must be in possession of a statement of the annual expenses incurred for taxes and management, and of the periods when thinnings were made, with the price which these intermediate returns realised. With all these facts and figures before 102 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. us, there would be no difficulty in constructing a true balance-sheet, and of definitely ascertaining what revenue the land has been yielding when utilised for sylviculture ; but if such a balance-sheet is available for a wooded area of any considerable size in this country, I must confess to having been unfortunate enough not to have come across it. Now, gentlemen, I will ask you if the advocacy of extended sylviculture in this country would not have much more weight than it has, and rest upon a surer basis, if we could at any time refer inquirers to a complete set of forest accounts dealing with a specific case, and, better still, if we could exhibit the forest from which these accounts were derived. And if it be admitted that the existence of such accounts and of such a forest would be desirable to-day, you may depend upon it that they ‘will be not less desirable fifty years hence; and it is also just as certain that they will not be forthcoming at that time, or any other, unless someone sets about forming the wood whose balance-sheet it is so desirable to obtain. But however desirable it may be for the country to possess a small forest about which every item of income and expenditure is accurately known, I hardly think I would have come forward to advocate its formation had its potential usefulness been limited to its accounts, But it is self-evident that a small forest, formed and managed upon strictly scientific, practical, and economic principles, with the production of timber of the highest quality as the first object of its existence, would, in many ways, exercise a beneficial influence upon the Forestry of the whole country. It would be managed by a committee of practical men, perfectly untrammelled by any considerations of game or esthetics, and it would thus be a standing model of all that is best in modern sylviculture. It might be the practical training-ground for young foresters who had passed through such a course of scientific training as is offered by the Edinburgh classes. Its usefulness in this respect, in fact, can hardly be over-estimated, and yet it is so self-evident that I need not stop to emphasise it. If it were established on joint-stock principles, as it should be, it would afford every forester in the country, and everyone interested in forestry, the opportunity of becoming a partner in the concern, and thus of feeling that, in accordance with his means, he had as much at stake in British forestry as the owner of 10,000 acres. If it is ever insinuated that ‘LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY TO ACQUIRE A TIMBER ESTATE, 103 but few of the prominent advocates of extended sylviculture belong to the landed class, a forest on the lines suggested would at once afford the opportunity of putting the cynics to silence. And, lastly, I see no reason why the venture should not be a practical illustration of “philanthropy and five per cent.” If we are sincere —as I believe we are—in advising landlords under certain circum- stances to invest their thousands in tree-planting, we cannot refuse to contribute to a scheme which offers everyone the chance of supporting his opinions to any reasonable extent from a pound up- wards. If a feasible scheme is submitted to the country, and if it should happen that it is not heartily taken up, it will at all events have served one good purpose, in exposing the insincerity of the arguments of those who advise others to do what they would not do themselves. The scheme, then, that I would beg to submit to the con- sideration of this meeting, and to all friends of Forestry, is as follows :—A few men who heartily approve of the proposal should, formally or informally, associate themselves together to ascertain where an area of land suitable for sylviculture is to be found, and when such land is found, and the selling price ascertained, a company, registered under the Limited Liability Companies Acts, should be formed to purchase it and to work it as a timber estate. The price of the shares should be £1 each, so that all may have the fullest opportunity of participating in the undertaking. No doubt the shareholders will have to wait some years for their dividends, but as I should hope that no one will invest so much as to seriously affect his income, this objection can have no particular weight. The argument that the returns will be so long deferred as in some cases to confer no benefit upon the originators of the scheme, applies, of course, to all tree-planting undertakings, and if the scheme were to hang fire from such a consideration as this, we need not expect the existing area under wood belonging to private individuals ever to be materi- ally extended. And even although many years may elapse before returns come in, it only puts the case on a level with many other conditions that people enter into voluntarily. Life insurance, for instance, is a case in point, where, as is well known, we voluntarily enter into an agreement to pay a certain sum annually in order that we—or, what is more usual, our heirs—may ultimately benefit from our self-sacrifice. 104 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, - On the assumption that the forest would become at least self- supporting in twenty-five years, I estimate that £7000 would be sufficient capital to meet all requirements, made up as follows :— 500 aeres, rent 3s. per acre, at 25 years’ purchase, £1875 Expenses of transfer, registration, ete, . 2 BUG Planting, draining, fencing, ete.,at £3 per acre, 1500 Management for 25 years, at £100 per annum, 2500 Balance to meet contingencies, : . . | 620 Total, «2-0 Such, then, are the outlines of a scheme that I cannot help thinking is capable of conferring benefits on British Forestry far in excess of the outlay involved in its accomplishment. The first step to take is to secure the promise of the necessary capital, and I should be glad if members and others desirous of supporting the scheme would communicate with me on the matter. At the same time, the project would be immensely advanced if we were in receipt of a definite offer of suitable land, and perhaps some landowner may not be averse to parting with a few hundred acres of his estate in the furtherance of the object indicated in this paper. I have the less hesitation in making these requests, seeing that subscriptions are in no sense of the word donations, but are purely of the nature of a perfecily sound, though it may be deferred, investment. A VISIT TO THE THURINGIAN FOREST. : 105 IX. A Visit to the Thuringian Forest, within the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Germany. By Joun Micuig, Forester, Balmoral. Much has been said of late years in laudatory terms about Con- tinental forestry—more particularly that of Germany and France —recommending its adoption in the British Isles. Some favour the adeption of the Continental system in its administrative, scientific, and practical entirety, while others hold that although it could not be carried out as a whole, there are certain parts which might be imitated with great advantage to forestry in this country. My purpose at the present time is, not to extol the Continental methods of sylviculture, nor to attempt to depreciate them—for my knowledge of them is by far too meagre for such a task—but to put before you in concise form what of the practical part of German forestry I had the privilege of seeing last year; when, through the goodness and by the command of the august patron of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society, Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen, and by the kindness of His Royal Highness the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, I was enabled to visit the Thuringer Wald. To begin with, I shall briefly go over the route taken :— Embarking at Dover on the evening of lst August and landing at Ostend, my line lay through Belgium vzd@ Brussels to Herbesthal, where the action of the Customs’ officers reminded one that the German frontier was at hand, By this time the British forester will have received some slight impressions from the views obtained through the windows of a railway carriage. The surface is flat or gently undulating, while the trees scattered over it are very tall. There is no sign of the common English practice of pollarding, but, on the contrary, periodical pruning of the lower side branches (clearing them off) close to the stem to encourage length and cleanness of bole is the rule, more or less. The side or lower branches before ' pruning are never allowed to develop to any great size, and thus the individual tree is prevented from occupying more than the least possible space of ground. I had seen no woods of important extent up to this point, but I had noticed that every available spect unoccupied by agricultural or other crops sustained its tree 106 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. or small clump of trees. These were chiefly deciduous, and mainly of the different species of the European poplar, although oak, elm, sycamore, ete. were frequent, swampy ground being occupied thickly or bordered by willows and alder. Proceeding by Aix-la-Chapelle, the ground surface here is more broken, and the banks of a rather rapid-running stream are covered with oak coppice, apparently treated much in the same manner as coppice in this country. The Rhine is reached at Cologne, where the land surface is again flat, but as we follow this grand river upwards the country soon gets narrowed into a deep valley worn out by the heavy current. From here all the way up stream by Coblentz and Bingen to Mayence, grape-vines, carefully cultivated for wine-making, occupy the ground on both sides of the deep valley, even on slopes so steep that they verge on the precipitous, but in such places retaining walls terrace the declivities and prevent land- slipping. The scenery is romantic—steep, projecting rocks jut out here and there, forming the sky-line, except where their summits are crowned by buildings, any one of which, we con- jecture, may be a fort, convent, or prison. Low down in the valley by the railway are hamlets, and orchards hanging with fiuit of great variety, while the river is laden with moving merchandise and passenger steamers. A timber raft, several hundred feet long, was being towed down from the upper reaches by a steam-tug, and steered by men who, judging from the huts erected on its surface, evidently lived on it. Beyond some clumps of very tall beech trees closely studded on the ground, and of no great size, I noticed no growing timber on this portion of the Rhine of much interest to the forester. After Mayence my route lay through Frankfort-on-the-Maine and Bamberg to Coburg, which was reached late at night, twenty- three and a half hours from Brussels. Around the ancient town of Coburg the country is hilly and well covered by forest. J spent the night of August 3rd at the Schloss Rosenau, or Castle of Roses—the birthplace of the great and good Prince Consort—which is situated a few miles from the town, and immediately south of the Thuringian range of mountains, famous for forests and forestry. In the pleasure-grounds of ‘‘ the Rosenau” are splendid speci- mens of trees common to Britain. J, however, saw none of very A VISIT TO THE THURINGIAN FOREST. 107 outstanding or exceptional girth; but, towering to a height which is seldom seen in our country are the oak, elm, beech, Scots pine, etc., with clean and stately columns of 50, 60, or 70 feet. Next day, with the retinue of the Duchess, I proceeded several hours by rail to meet the Duke at Reinhardtsbrun, another beauti- ful mansion, situated on the north-east verge of the Thuringian Forest, about eight miles south-east of Gotha. In Gotha there is also a very large and ancient palace belonging to the Duke. At the railway station near Reinhardtsbrun a grand reception was given by the populace to their Royal Highnesses the Duke, Duchess, and family. Military were mounted, cannon fired, speeches of welcome made, and the school children turned out to the number of six hundred—the girls wearing wreaths of real flowers round their heads. Triumphal arches spanned the road- way at different points, while the ducal route to the Schloss or castle was strewn with green twigs of the pine. The castle of Reinhardtsbrun is picturesquely situated within pleasure-grounds, over which are scattered in tasteful variety many fine specimens of both deciduous and evergreen trees, a few examples of which may here be given :— The most colossal is a lime tree (Zilia Luropea) about 80 feet high, and girthing at 5 feet above the ground 25 feet 9 inches, length of clean bole 15 feet, diameter of spread of branches 93 feet. This grand tree spreads out into a ponderous, umbrageous, well-balanced head, ramifying very equally on all sides, showing a rugged dome-like outline from every point of view. Standing, as this tree does, atop of a small rounded knoll about a hundred yards south of the Schloss, it forms one of the most imposing specimens of the vegetable kingdom we have ever seen, and is the finest of many examples of the European lime within the grounds. Abies alba, or white American spruce, 60 feet high. A. excelsa monstrosa, growing near the chapel, 70 feet high, 6 feet 3 inches in girth. The peculiarity of this speci- men is its branches, which depend all over the tree in swinging, thong-like tassels, 10 feet or more in length, lending to the tree a most graceful though sombre appearance. Betula incisa, or cut-leaved birch—a fine young specimen, 3 feet 8 inches in circumference: of stem, VOL. XIV. PART III, L 108 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. Fagus sylvatica purpurea (purple beech), girthing 10 feet 3 inches at 5 feet up, with beautifully rounded head of very dark shade, being the largest of many specimens. Quercus asplenifolia, or fern-leaved oak—a young tree with pleasing feathery habit, 33 feet high, Q. variegata argentea—a beautiful object on the lawn, girthing 3 feet 9 inches, with healthy, well-marked foliage. Q. pyramidalis, fifty years old, and fully as many feet high. Its branches press upward close to the stem, imparting to the tree the habit of the Lombardy poplar. It is said to be the best specimen of this variety in Germany. Liriodendron tulipifera, or tulip tree, 60 feet high and 7 feet in girth. We also observed a 40 feet high weeping beech, with 10-feet pendants; also a tall weeping ash, having a bole of 6 feet 4 inches in circumference, and covering a space of 36 feet diameter with its gracefully hanging branches. Elms, planes, and maples of various kinds and goodly sizes, with black Italian and other poplars about the ponds, diversify the landscape in these beautiful grounds; while bordering on them are many fine silver firs running up to over 100 feet high, and often measuring 3 to 4 feet in diameter and upwards at a man’s height. Now and again all over the neighbourhood the common oak is met with in trees of fair proportions, containing excellent timber. The castle of Reinhardtsbrun, including the grounds in which these trees grow, is far inland, and stands at an altitude of about 1200 feet above the sea. The soil is chiefly a deep sandy loam. That portion of the Thuringian Forest which I had the privilege of going over extends principally to the southward of Rein- hardtsbrun, spreading out to east and west for many miles. The forest proper, which covers a mountainous range stretching north- west and south-east, is many miles broad, and rises to an altitude of over 3000 feet. The range is broken up into rounded hills, and intersected by glens and hollows. The hill-sides are often steep, but there is a great deal of easy, undulating ground. The geological formation consists of sandstone and the conglomerate rock, mural cliffs of which are frequently seen cropping out in the depths of the forest. The soil in general is composed of finely reduced sandstone, | with a considerable admixture of decayed vegetable matter, forming a close, sandy loam, moist without being wet, often A VISIT TO THE THURINGIAN FOREST. 109 very deep, but seldom rough from the presence of boulders or stones, The flora resembles that of the lowlands of Scotland, but is more extensive, including many of our hill plants, which, how- ever, are more luxuriant than in the Scottish glens and hill-sides. The various trees grown are all common in Britain, and consist mostly of Norway spruce, silver fir, Scots pine, beech, oak, and hornbeam. Of these the Norway spruce may be considered the tree of the forest, covering, as it does, a much greater area than all the others combined. It shall therefore take the premier place in the following attempt to describe the practice of sylvi- culture in this forest land. What the stranger is most struck with on entering this vast range of woodland, is the tallness and cleanness of the trees, and the great wealth of timber on a given space. If, as we shall suppose, he has first dipped into a portion where the trees are full grown and ready to fell, let him proceed eastward, which is the course of the prevailing strong winds, and he will soon come to the open where the last belt of trees, running at right angles to the wind, has been clean cut. Let him continue his course eastward, and in the space of a hundred yards or two he will come on young plantation lately formed, stretching away to right and left. This little experience shows that the Thuringian forester cuts his mature timber clean off the ground in narrow belts, and he follows up two years, or so, later by planting, generally with the same variety of tree, the long narrow belts which he has been clearing of the old timber, perpendicular with the course of the strong winds, always working against the wind belt by belt. Felling is carried out in winter or early spring, the trees being often peeled of their bark (which is used in the manufactures), and the trunks in many instances allowed to lie on the ground as high and dry as possible until removed at convenience in course of the summer. There was very little appearance of rot or decay of any kind in several belts of thrown timber examined, We have already seen that the mature timber is composed of trees of great height. They show clean stems of 50, 60, 70, and frequently more feet from the ground to the first branch, producing beautiful cylindrical columns with very little taper to the eye, the finer and taller trees being grown on the lower parts of steep hills, in glens and ravines. When at the age for clearing, which is a hundred years or a few years more, 110 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. according to any lack of demand or a desire not to cut, they stand at an average distance apart of from 12 to 16 feet, and range from 12 to 20 inches diameter at the butt end. “The quality of timber is excellent, being slowly and uniformly grown. ‘The average tree of 16 inches diameter at the base will be found to measure 10 inches diameter at 40 to 50 feet up, and will, I estimate, contain by quarter-girth measurement 31 cubic feet. Allowing an average distance apart of 14 feet, the result is 222 trees and 6882 cubic feet of timber per acre. It is not pretended that these figures are strictly accurate, but they are as nearly so as I can calculate. Every part of the tree is made use of; even the smallest branches are gathered up, bound into sheaves, and stacked to dry for fuel, large ricks of which may be seen in the neighbouring villages. When driving through a distant part ef the forest one day, two women were seen engaged loading sheaves of brushwood on a rather primitive-looking four- wheeled waggon drawn by two cows, which, my companion informed me, would be milked when they got home with their load, probably half a score of miles away. Saw-mills are found on every stream, containing frame as well as circular saws and other wood-working machinery. The motive- power is generally obtained from the water of the rivulet, but that when insuflicient is supplemented by steam. Cattle are largely used in the haulage of both the rough trunks from the forest and the manufactured timber from the mills. Having dealt with the clearing of the old wood, we now proceed to refer to the method in common practice for re-afforest- ing the cleared ground. The old roots or stools are generally grubbed out, and utilised, like the brushwood, for fuel, and the ground is thus left perfectly clean, and almost free of vegetation —which, however, has begun to cover the surface by the time planting is commenced, two years after felling. Meantime, cones have been collected from the old forest during winter, the seeds extracted either by spreading in the sun’s rays or in a kiln con- structed for the purpose, and gentle thrashing. The nursery part of the work is carried out on the spot. Small square patches are selected on the cleared ground for that purpose at regular intervals, and say thirty yards on the side. They are thoroughly enclosed by high close fences ; the soil within is care- fully tilled, and the seeds sown about April in little tracks 2 inches broad and 9 inches apart. The seedlings, when two A VISIT OF THE THURINGIAN FOREST. Hail years old, are lifted and laid in nursery lines, being thickly set in rows 14 inches between, and the following year they are planted in their permanent sites, PLANTING. The ordinary course pursued is to plant in nearly straight lines the long way of the cleared ground, the lines being from 3 to 4 feet apart. Along these lines little pits are dug (of a like distance apart, centre to centre), a foot, or even less square. The top soil is removed, and neatly laid on one side, and the under soil on the other; part of the top soil is then placed in the bottom of the pit, and from 3 to 5 plants set on it. The remainder of the top or good soil is put round the rootlets, and the operation is completed by the under soil being placed upper- most, and the whole deftly pressed down by the foot. Thus, instead of using, as we do, from 3000 to 5000 plants per acre inserted by the notch system, we find the Thuringian forester putting in 103 to 154 thousand by the method just described. If was informed that, on account of drought in early summer, all the plants in a pit oceasionally die (if one survive it is considered sufficient), but the ground is carefully gone over the following season, and blanks made good. It has already been indicated that the forest floor, from dense canopy, is almost entirely devoid of vegetation. Then, after the final cutting of old wood, several years elapse before the cleared ground becomes covered by the natural herbage of the district, but even this covering does not last long, for in a few more years the young trees so thoroughly occupy the surface that scarcely any other green thing can retain a footing on it. There is no fencing to protect young plantations from the browsing herds of cattle, ete., belonging to the neighbouring villages. Instead of using so costly a means of protecting his trees of tender age, the forester fixes a pole of perhaps six feet in height, at each corner of the lately planted area, having a few twigs tied to its upper end, and the owner of any destroying animal found within these bounds is Hable to be fined. So strictly, however, is this law adhered to and respected, that seldom has the fine to be imposed. Many tree-planters in this country will be surprised, as I confess I was, at the great number of plants used, but surprise approaches near to alarm when we come to examine the practice of thinning, 112 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. The plantation is allowed to grow on in a thick, almost impenetrable mass, till from twenty-five to thirty years of age, when the first thinning takes place. By this time large numbers of the young trees have died, but there are still as many left as we foresters of Scotland put into the ground to begin with. In this first thinning all dead plants are removed, and as many of the weakest of the living as are required to allow just a little light to percolate through. There is sometimes another mode adopted in the first thinning, viz., the entire removal of every alternate line, which, we would say, has at least one recommend ation over the other—namely, that of facilitating the clearing out of the thinnings, which are dragged to the nearest road along the lines on which they grew. The appearance presented by a piece of woodland just after the first thinning suggests a forest of fishing-rods with tufts of green branchlets at their apices. I here ventured the remark to one of the officials, who understood and spoke a little English, that a heavy fall of snow such as they have—and three feet deep on the ground at a time is not uncommon—must be apt to bend and break these slender stems. I was told, in reply, that their very closeness on the ground was their safety, because the one could not get down for the other. The best of these thinnings are used for fencing in the rural districts, and, although slender, they last, it is said, from ten to fifteen years. The second thinning is made six to eight years later, and is carefully performed. The tallest and best trees are always left as nearly equidistant as possible, and there is thus maintained a damp, dark, and stagnant atmosphere beneath their living heads, which prevents lateral branches from developing to any size, and encourages the process of decay and dropping off the stem to follow the growth upwards. By this means a bole tall and clear of large knots is secured. Light subsequent thinnings are taken every ten to fifteen years up to the age of ninety, after which no further cutting takes place till the crop is completely removed, at the age of a hundred years or more, in the manner already described. This mode of culture has been practised for many generations on the same ground, with the same variety of tree—Norway spruce—but in different parts of the forest natural reproduction has been adopted, and there is ample evidence that the freedom from herbage of the lately cleared ground admits readily of the A VISIT TO THE THURINGIAN FOREST, 113 germination of the natural fall of seed from the adjacent trees. This is plainly seen in the large number of seedlings which appear on the lately cleared areas and through the recently formed plantations, Next to spruce in extent of ground occupied comes the beech, which is found growing equally thick on a given space. Having inspected a piece of forest composed of this tree, the stems were found to be tall, straight, and clean up to 60 or 70 feet, being about four-fifths of their total height. Few of them exceeded 12 to 15 inches diameter near the roots, but tapered very little, having grown very close together when young. The original soil in this wood is deeply overlain by humus, the decomposed foliage of many years. There was no trace of green herbage underneath, but in the outskirts seedlings from the mast appeared in quantity, showing that the seed matured well, and germinated readily. I looked anxiously for the larch, but was informed that it did not succeed in those parts. Giving great promise till about ten years of age, it then became diseased: its cultivation had therefore been discontinued. To sum up ina word. The outstanding points in the practice of forestry in the Thuringian Forest are—thick planting or sowing, long deferred and gentle thinnings, and regular clearing of mature timber, followed closely by re-afforestation. 114 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. X. Notes on the Physiology and Structure of Trees and Shrubs as shown by the Microscope ; along with a Cabinet containing 100 Photo-Micrographic Slides illustrative of Plant Physio- logy specially relating to Timber. By D. F. Mackenziz, Factor, Mortonhall, Midlothian. The micrographic slides! which accompany this paper, having — been photographed direct from the actual tissue of the plants, are far superior for lecture and lantern purposes to natural-wood sections mounted in any medium. The natural-wood sections require a high-power micro-front lens in the lantern, while these slides give much better results with the ordinary form of lantern lens. They are also much cleaner to handle than sections mounted in Canada balsam or other media, and are noé liable to damage through damp or heat. The slides being bound in metal, and closely fastened with cement, are dust and damp proof, and are, in every way, well suited for lectures having for their object the identification of woods, as well as the illustration of the physiology of trees and shrubs. The following is a list of the slides, and, except where otherwise stated, they are all photos of transverse sections :— Willow, Salix daphnoides. Honeysuckle, Lonicera semper- viTens. 1. The Upas Tree of Java, Antiaris | 15. toxicaria. 16. 2. Stem of Maize, Zea Mays. 3. Footstalk of Fern frond, Péeris | 17. Judas Tree, Cercis Siliquastrum. serrulata. 18. Pith, wood, and bark of young 4, Fungus germinating, Podisoma Ash, Fraxinus excelsior. juniperina. 19. Two-years’ seedling Elm, Ulmus 5. Pith, first year’s growth of Black campestris. Italian Poplar. 20. First year’s growth, Cluster Pine, 6. Pith of Vine, Vitis vinifera. Pinus Pinaster. 7. Pith of Elder, Sambucus nigra. 21. First year’s growth, Norway 8. First year’s growth of Vine, Vitis Spruce, Abies excelsa. vinifera. 22. Long. rad. sect., pitted cells, . Pith, wood, and bark, first year, Ficus elastica. 3. Pitted cells, Abies excelsa. Weymouth Pine, 10. Evergreen Oak, Quercus Ilex. Pinus Strebus. 11. False Acacia, Robinia Pseud- | 24. Rad. sect., double rows of pitted Acacia. cells, Wellingtonia gigantea. 12. Laburnum, Cytisus Laburnum. 25. Pitted cells, Thuja ortentalts. 13. Cherry, Cerasus vulgaris. 26. Pitted, or bordered cells, Arau- 14. Lace-bark Tree, Lagetia lintearia. caria excelsa. 1 The slides may be inspected by members of the Society on applying, in writing, to the Secretary. PHYSIOLOGY AND STRUCTURE OF TREES AND SHRUBS. . Pitted cells, Mulberry, Jforus nigra. . Scots Pine, Pinus sylvestris, . Larch, Larix ewropea. . Norway Spruce, Abies excelsa. . Resinous canals in Wellingtonia gigantea. . Resinouscanalsin Abies Menziesii. . Thuja orientalis. . Cedrus atlantica. . Taxodium sempervirens. . Abies pectinata. . Abies Pinsapo. . “sculus Hippocastanum. . KRhamnus catharticus. . Celtis australis, . Ulex europea. . Ilex aquifolium. . Quercus Suber. . Fagus sylvatica. . Tang. sect., Cedar of Lebanon, Cedrus Libani. . Tang. sect., Indian Cedar, Cedrus Deodara. . Tang. sect., Chili Pine, Arau- caria excelsa. 48. Tang. sect., Oak, Quercus pedun- culata. 49. Tang. sect., Beech, Fagus syl- vatican. 50. Tang. sect., Sycamore, Acer Pseudo-Piatanus. 51. Tang. sect., Horse-Chestnut, A sculus Hippocastanum. 52. Tang. sect., Pear, Pyrus com- munis. . Tang. sect., medullary tubes of Wellingtonia gigantea, 54. Tang. sect., Weymouth Pine, Pinus Strobus. 55. Long. sect., pitted cells in Nor- . Lawson’s way Spruce. . Long.sect. medullary raysin Oak. . Seedling, Common Oak, Quercus Robur. Cypress, Cupressus Lawsoniana. Bark, wood, and pith, Pinus Pinaster. aS ST Ss i tS mS NID OV wmorHo 7 ive) 115 . First year’s growth of Oak. . Bark, wood, and pith of young Scots Fir. . Alder, Alnus glutinosa, . Elm, Ulmus campestris. . Aleppo Pine, Pinus halepensis. . Root of Hawthorn, . Root of Beech. . Root of Alder. . Root of Cedar of Lebanon, . Root of Birch. . Root of Mountain Ash. - Root of Whin. . Root of Oak. . Root of Scots Fir, first year’s growth, . Root of Fern. . Adventitious root of Ivy. . Petiole of leaf of Magnolia. . Petiole of leaf of Magnolia grandiflora. 78. Leaf of Ficus elastica. a I we) . Leaf of Pinus Pinaster. . Leaf of Pinus sylvestris. 81. Spiral tissue from Vine, Vitis vinifera. 82, Spiral tissue from leaf of Crinum amabile. 83. Leaf of Luculyptus globulus. 84. Leaf of Boxwood, showing stomata. . Acer campestris. . Acer Pseudo-Platanus, . Pyrus communis. . Sambucus nigra. . Long. sect., Ilex aquifolium. . Pith of Aralia papyrifera. . Phillyrea media, . Traveller’s Joy, Clematis Vitalba, . Lime, T%lia parvifolia. . Weymouth Pine, Pinus Strobus. . Blue Gum, Zucalyptus globulus. . Fungus from a Geranium. . Hippuris vulgaris. . Ovary of Rhododendron. - Root of Common Dock. . Tree Fern, Dicksonia anti- artica, 116 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. If we examine the structure of plants, we find that it is com- posed of minute cells, formed by an elastic transparent substance called cellulose, having a chemical formula of C24,H20,010. This is considered the base of vegetable tissue, of which there are two kinds, cellular and vascular. These constitute the elementary organs, and by their union in various forms the different functions of plant-life are carried out. Botanists divide the vegetable kingdom into four great divisions, viz.,.—Exogens, Endogens, Acrogens, and Thallogens. The exogenous plants include all trees and shrubs from the tiniest heath to the great Wellingtonia gigantea. The stem of Exogens, as a rule, consists of six parts, viz, (1) epidermis, (2) epiphleum, (3) mesophleum, (4) liber, (5) alburnum, and (6) duramen or heart-wood. Plate 1, which shows transverse section of the stem of the Upas Tree of Java, Antiaris toxicaria, is a very good example of this. The four outer parts are, generally speaking, composed of fibro-cellular tissue, and are blended into one mass, with the liber resting on the alburnum. All Exogens have a pith and medullary rays. Endogens, on the other hand, show no pith, medullary rays, wood, or bark in their stems, but are formed of an intermixture of bundles of fibro- vascular tissue, all held together by a zone of woody tissue attached to, and inseparable from, the stem. A typical illustration of this is the section, shown on Plate 2, of the stem of the Maize, which is almost identical with the Bamboo. These plants increase their bulk by the distention of the vascular bundles of the centre forcing outwards the bundles which were first formed. These latter, by and by, lose their vascularity and become the cortical integument or woody zone in all this division. Plate 3, the leaf stalk of Pteris serrulata, represents the structure of the Acrogens, which includes all the ferns, It will be observed that their structure is very distinct from that of both the Exogens and the Endogens. Plate 4 shows an example of the Thallogens, which form the lowest order of vegetable life. This plate shows Podisoma juniperina in the act of growing from a fracture in the bark of the Juniper. As a rule these plants are parasitic, and are generally mere expansions of cellular tissue, and they may be considered one of the great scavengers provided by Nature for reducing matter to its natural elements. In dealing further with the subject, we will confine ourselves PHYSIOLOGY AND STRUCTURE OF TREES AND SHRUBS. 117 exclusively to the first division, Exogens. As already stated, the stems of exogenous plants, when in their normal state, are known by having pith, medullary sheath, medullary rays, woody ' tissue and bark, as is shown on Plate 5, which represents a section of the stem of the Black Italian Poplar. The pith occupies the centre, and is seen as small circular discs. On the outer edge of the pith is the medullary sheath, composed of true spiral vessels presenting a dark irregular line or band, having a zone of wood on the outside of it through which the medullary rays are seen projecting into the sheath, and connected with the cambium layer. This latter, which consists of cellular tissue, shows itself as a thin dark line lying between the wood and the bark. The outer band shown on the slide is the cortex. The portion between the latter and the cambium band consists of two layers of fibro-vascular tissue, known as the “live” bark. As above stated, the pith occupies the centre of the woody stem, as is shown by a transverse section of the Vine on Plate 6, and consists of cellular tissue, having spiral vessels originating in the medullary sheath, which itself consists of spiral vessels, and surrounds the pith connecting the medullary rays. The pith is in direct communication with the leaves through these spiral vessels. By the pith, or medullary system, the buds and leaves are supplied with oxygen, liberated by the decomposition of water, and its office is to nourish the young growth. This done, it either dies by “strangulation” or “surfeit.” The section of the pith of the Elder, shown on Plate 7, is a very good example of pith-cells. Plate 8, showing the first year’s growth of a Vine, is a repetition of Plate 6, but showing a much larger medullary sheath with its projections into the pith. Plate 9, showing the first year’s growth of the pith, wood, and bark of Ficus elastica, exhibits the young wood lying upon the medullary sheath. This wood is formed by successive layers of organised matter, descend- ing from the buds and leaves, interposed and regulated by the medullary rays, which, through the spiral vessels, connect the pith with the cambium. A section of Quercus Ilex on Plate 10 shows the woody layers perfected. They consist of vasiform tissue, which varies in appearance with the kind of plant producing it. The layers are concentric, and seldom or never alter their shape after once being fully formed. Their density is altered, however, by the secretions. These secretions form the duramen when deposited in the wood. When deposited in the bark and the 118 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. leaves, in the shape of gum, resin, oil, etc., they are extracted and used for medicine and other purposes. In countries having no regular summer and winter, concentric rings are seldom visible in the wood of trees; but in Europe generally each concentric layer may be taken as the growth of one season, although it is not an infallible rule. Plates 11 to 21 are exceedingly good examples of the healthy tissue of Exogens, and they show the difference in the bark and the wood of the different types they represent; the greatest difference being found in the bark, which is well shown in a transverse section of the Abies excelsa on Plate 21. Bark may be said to perform the functions of clothing—protecting the young and tender woody formation from cold, drought, and other injurious influences,—but its principal work is to filter the elaborated juices as they pass from the leaves into the stem, which they do in a horizontal, or slightly declining direction. The residue of these juices passes into the roots. Hence the reason why so many secretions are found in the bark and roots compared with any other part of the tree. The elaborated sap on its descent passes horizontally through the pitted cells, or the cells with marginal borders. Examples of these cells are seen in the sections of the genus Pinus, and in those of Wellingtonia gigantea, Thuja orientalis, and Araucaria eacelsa, as well as in the dotted cells of the Mulberry. In Plate 22, a section of a young spruce, we have a very good example of the pitted cells with marginal borders. In Plate 24 is seen the double-rowed cells of the Wellingtonia gigantea; and also in Plate 26, the double rows of the Araucaria excelsa ; while on Plate 27, a section of the Mulberry shows quite a different form of these cells to that of the Pine tribe. When the concentric layers of woody tissue pass from the alburnum stage to that of the duramen, these pitted or dotted cells, vessels, and pith become clogged and cease to perform their functions. This is very apparent in the duramen of the Pine and other timber trees, in which, after a lapse of time, the secretions begin to dissolve, and are carried away into the soil. At this stage what is known as “heart-rot” begins. This rot affects the spiral tissue in the medullary rays, which in turn affects the health of the plant. If Plates 28 to 37 be compared with 38 to 44, the great difference in the structure of Pine timber when compared with that of the broad-leaved trees, is PHYSIOLOGY AND STRUCTURE OF TREES AND SHRUBS. 119 very distinctly seen. The one cannot be mistaken for the other under any circumstances. Then if we examine a longitudinal radial, or a longitudinal tangential section of any of the trees, such as Plates 45 to 55,a much greater difference is observed than by transverse sections of the same trees. These ten plates show, in a marked degree, the very great difference in the medullary plates. These medullary plates or rays are a most important feature in the individuality of each species. The rays in the Oak, Plate 48, range from a few tubes to many hundreds of thousands in one ray-plate. In the Pine tribe, however, the medullary plates are composed of a single line of cylinders, varying from two to thirty cylinders in a plate. An exception to that rule is the Wellingtonia gigantea, the medullary rays or cylinders of which are very inconstant, ranging from three to one hundred cylinders in a plate, and from a single line to three lines, or irregular, as in hardwood, as shown on Plate 53. Among the Pine tribe, however, in both the genera Abzes and Pinus, the medullary tubes consist of single lines only; but at regular intervals there is a very peculiar break in this order of things, as is shown by a tangential section of Pinus Strobus on Plate 54. The same is seen on Plate 55, which is a tangential section of Norway Spruce. This plate also shows pitted cells in the longitudinal tangential section. Another distinguishing feature in the wood of the pine is the resinous canals. None of the Cedar tribe, with which we may group both the Cypress and Arborvite, have resinous canals, nor have the Araucarias. It is stated that the Wellingtonia gigantea has no resinous canals, but that is not strictly accurate. Although present, they are very incon- stant, and are produced in groups of many hundreds in a single row in the early spring growth. Plate 31, which is a transverse section of the stem of the Wellingtonia gigantea, shows an example of this peculiarity. Tt will be thus seen that the various classes of timber trees and shrubs are easily recognised, the one from the other, by the general structure of their wood—first, by the appearance of a transverse section; second, by the arrangement of the vascular tissue ; and third, by the medullary plates or rays, To demonstrate this, let us carefully examine Plates 58 to 64, and it will be seen that their identification is a comyaratively simple matter. No doubt, timber can also be identified by the external appearances, viz, the general contour, leaves, bark, blossom, and 120 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. fruit. These are fairly uniform and constant, but when we come to dead matter, such as a plank or log of wood, or a piece of furniture, we have not these appearances to guide us, and in the manufactured article staining and colouring, in imitation of choice and valuable woods, oblige us to appeal to the microscope, which shows us a constant uniformity in the appearance of the tissue of any piece of timber of whatever species. To illustrate this, we may take Plates 56 to 64, on which the different appear- ances, in section, of different woods can be compared. By comparing the transverse section of Quercus Robur on Plate 57, with the section of Scots Fir on Plate 61, the difference is clearly observed. Then take the transverse section of Cupressus Lawsoniana on Plate 58, and compare it with the sections of Pines on Plates 61 and 64, the great difference will be readily observed, there being no resinous canals in the Cypress. Again, taking the section of Alnus glutinosa on Plate 62, and comparing it with Ulmus campestris on Plate 63, an outstanding difference will be at once noticed. So uniform and constant are the appearances in the various genera that produce timber, that it is almost impossible for the student of forestry to make a mistake in identifying any piece of timber he may be required to examine. But when we come to examine the different species of the same family or genus, there is also found to be a consider- able relative difference. For example, Plate 43, Quercus Suber, compared with Plate 10, Quercus Ilex, shows much difference, The reasons for such differences are still involved in obscurity. This diversity is nct so apparent in the roots of trees; in fact, one might say there is an entire absence of difference, the roots of the various species of the same family constantly presenting the same appear- ance. In general appearance the roots of Exogens are usually the same as the stem. They have no pith, however, leaf-buds, nor stomata, but they possess all the other characteristics of the stem. The roots of the different trees may be easily distinguished one from another by the vascular tissue and medullary rays. Examples of this are given on Plates 65 to 73; while Plates 74 (the root of a Fern) and 99 (the root of the Common Dock) show a contrast in structure. It will be observed that the roots of the Beech, the Cedar, the Whin, and the Oak show, in the transverse section, all the characteristics of the stem. But while the roots have usually no normal leaf-buds, yet adventitious buds spring from the spiral tissue of the medullary rays. PHYSIOLOGY AND STRUCTURE OF TREES AND SHRUBS, 121 All those trees that freely produce adventitious buds on their stems, such as the Alder, Elm, Elder, Lime, Oak, Poplar, Willow, and other trees and shrubs, are also those most capable of producing adventitious buds on their roots; the only conditions that are required being air, heat, and moisture, From an adven- titious, or normal leaf-bud, roots may spring, and instead of a branch we have an adventitious root on the stem, such as that of the Ivy shown on Plate 75. Foresters will have often observed such adventitious roots springing from almost all the hardwood or broad-leaved trees in clefts of the bole, and more especially if the heart of the tree is decayed. Adventitious buds are found in the medullary system of all trees, but owing to the persistence of the cortex they are unable to develop into leaves. The beech “knots” are good examples of this, as are also the excrescences found upon the Elm, Lime, and Sycamore, and sometimes upon Conifers, especially the Cedar. Owing, however, to the resinous properties of the sap of most Conifers, and the dry corky nature of their bark, adventitious leaf-buds are very seldom found upon them. When they are present they are most frequently seen upon Cedars, Firs, and Spruces, when these are growing in a moist climate. Leaves are simply a continuation of the bark, and have the same forms of tissue, which is fully illustrated on Plates 76 to 80. There is also a very good example in the leaf of the Zucalyptus globulus on Plate 83. The leaves are connected with the medullary sheath by spiral tissue passing up through the petiole or leaf stalk, An example of this spiral tissue is that from the Vine, shown on Plate 81. It then passes out into the blade or lamina. The latter is traversed by veins, which consist of bundles of the same vascular tissue as the petiole, and the whole is covered over with an epidermis peculiar to the species to which the leaf belongs. The epidermis of the leaf is perforated with openings called stomata, shown on the leaf of Boxwood on Plate 84. These occur upon both sides of the leaves of many plants, but generally upon the under side only, and they are very numerous, ranging from 12,000 to 200,000 in a square inch. The respiratory functions performed by these peculiar openings are well known. The remaining Plates, from 85 to 100, illustrate the interior structures of various interesting classes of plants in a similar manner to those already described. 122 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. XI. On Growing Timber of Clean Growth, Fine Quality, and High Commercial Value. By Arruur C, Forses, Wood Manager, Bowood, Calne, Wiltshire. Tn order to produce home-grown timber which shall successfully compete with that imported from abroad, it is evident that the former must be both as good in quality and as low or lower in price than the latter. These conditions raise two fundamental questions: Ist, What is the quality of the imported article? and, 2nd, Can home-grown timber be remuneratively grown and placed in the same market as the foreign at the same price ? Take the former of these questions: The quality of imported timber. The chief timber imports which affect the price of home- grown coniferous woods are the shipments of Scots pine, known in the trade as ‘‘red deal” (or red wood) and spruce (white wood), which arrive at our ports from Sweden, Russia, Canada, ete. This timber is obtained from vast natural forests, grown under condi- tions which, after many centuries, have resulted in the survival of the species best fitted for the soil and climate. The timber selected for export is sawn from the cleanest and most mature logs, all rough or faulty stems being rejected, or used for purposes in which quality is of little importance. An examination of an average sample of imported deals reveals the fact that the tree from which it was cut must have grown very slowly, and large knots are entirely absent. ‘The annual rings are usually extremely narrow and uniform, and almost one-half of them are composed of what is known as ‘‘autumn-wood,” or wood formed after the grow- ing season has well advanced. Another important feature is its thoroughly seasoned condition, which enables it to be used for building purposes at once, while a distinguishing brand shows to the initiated the quality of the bulk from which it was drawn. If we take, by way of comparison, a piece of timber from an ordinary British plantation tree as offered at a timber sale, we shall probably find it composed of broad annual rings, in which the “ spring-zone,” or porous portion of the wood-ring, largely predomi- nates, especially in the rings formed during the first forty years or so. Large and coarse knots will be imbedded throughout its length, greatly weakening the strength of boards or rafters cut from it. As regards seasoning, it will in all probability be quite green, aud unfit for use for a year or more as the case may be. GROWING TIMBER. 123 Clean and uniform growth, and freedom from defects arising from large knots, together with thorough seasoning, are, therefore, the characteristics of imported wood, while the reverse is too often the condition of our home productions. The value of clean growth and seasoned condition is obvious; but we may briefly give a few reasons for supposing that a slow and regular growth produces better coniferous timber than that from rapidly grown trees. The annual wood-ring of a pine or spruce is composed, as already stated, of two distinct zones, the “spring” or ‘‘summer-wood,” formed during the early part of the growing season, and the ‘‘autumn-wood,” formed in late summer or autumn. These two zones differ little as regards their structure, the same elements being found in both; but the cell-walls are thicker and better lignified in the autumn than in the spring wood, and this raises its specific gravity and quality. The greater durability and hardness of this autumn-wood is nowhere better exemplified than in larch or Scots pine fencing posts. After a few years’ exposure, the spring-wood zones are found to have so far decayed as to leave shallow circular pits in the transverse surface of the post, while the autumn-wood is still intact. The exact causes which bring about the formation of this autumn-wood are not definitely known, but the general opinion is that it is due to the better nourishment of the cambium layer at the time of the formation of this zone, together with the pressure exerted by the bark upon the new ring. It is evident, therefore, that the greater the proportion of autumn- wood in the annual ring, the better the quality of the timber, other things being equal. Now, we invariably find that the relative breadth of the spring-zone is much greater in the case of a fast-growing tree than in one of slow growth, and it consequently follows that a piece of timber made up of narrow rings contains a larger proportion of autumn-wood than a piece formed of broad rings, and we may assume, in a general way, that the former is of better quality than the latter. But while slow growth may be an advantage so far as quality of timber goes, and timber produced by it in natural forests duly appreciated, it may be carried to an undesirable extent in planta- tions grown for profit, for rapid growth is a quality we cannot afford to undervalue or ignore. This brings us to our second point: Can home timber be pro- duced and remuneratively sold at the same price as that imported? When we consider that our foreign imports are almost entirely VOL. XIV. PART III. M 124 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, derived from vast natural forests which have simply to be felled and transported, it is clear that a timber crop in this country, artificially formed, tended, and fenced in, is burdened with many charges which have no influence whatever in regulating the price of the imported timber. It follows, therefore, that the price per cubic foot of the home crop must not fall below a certain minimum if a profit is to be forthcoming. The exact value of this minimum depends upon the rate of growth and the cost of producing the crop, but it must either be below or the same as that at which foreign timber of similar quality is quoted, if it is to hold its own in the market. Fortunately for us, the cost of felling and transport by land and sea are sufficiently heavy in the case of the imported wood to keep its price comparatively high, and by careful and economical management, and the planting of the right species, timber-growing in this couatry can still be carried on at a profit. We do not forget, however, that cases of profitable timber-growiog are not tod numerous. This is due, however, to causes which are under our own control, and not to the lowness of prices, or a lack of productive power in the soil. The Scots pine and spruce timber, which is at present such a drug upon the market, is in nine cases out of ten too rough and coarse to attract the buyer, and its low reputation prejudices him against it from the first. Again, almost all building specifications stipulate that foreign timber shall be used in buildings, simply because its quality and seasoned con- dition can be relied upon, whereas the greatest uncertainty exists as to what the quality or condition of home-grown timber would be if its use were permitted. Another factor which greatly affects the price of this class of timber is the irregular supply or spas- modic sales which are held in certain districts. Where a large and regular supply exists, buyers can make arrangements for the con- version and disposal of their purchases on a more economical and sounder basis than where the supply is erratic, for it cannot be denied that a large and constant supply of first-class timber creates and maintains a steady demand. We cannot find a better field for making investigations on this subject than the Scots pine and spruce-growing districts of Germany. That country is quite as liable to suffer from foreign competition as our own, and although the Free-Trade policy may not be so well developed there as here, yet it is the high quality of the produce of German forests that enables it to compete so successfully with foreign imports. There also, as here, the greater part of the timber GROWING TIMBER. T25 is of plantation growth, and costs of formation and management have to be borne, which render strict economy essential. Yet the annual net returns from these forests vary between five and fifteen shillings per acre where the State forest department brings its highly trained and efficient skill to bear upon their management. One thing is especially noticeable in these forests, and that is their comparatively unmixed nature. Mixtures of many different species, which are so common with us, are never seen in them; and although other species than that of the main crop may be introduced, yet the maturing and development of the latter is always kept in view. The importance of this latter point cannot be overestimated when growing timber for profit, when we consider that this profit is almost entirely dependent upon the adoption of the proper rotation. If, therefore, this point is neglected, a loss is bound to occur through cutting the crop either too late or too early, and this loss may be further aggravated by market fluctuations. One of the most important factors in growing a profitable crop of timber is the soil, which, of course, must always be considered with the situation. There are many soils and situations in which timber cannot be grown at a pecuniary profit. Amongst such may be mentioned thin peats or gravels overlying rock, on exposed hill-tops and sides, sour swamps which cannot be drained without a considerable outlay, and poor soils in high-lying and remote localities, where the yield is too small and the demand too poor to render a profit possible. The afforestation of such lands is an important question, nevertheless, but it is one which concerns the State rather than the individual proprietor, who looks for a reason- able profit in return for his outlay. Next to the soil itself, the selection of the proper species for planting it must be attended to. Although the precise geological formation has no material influence upon tree-growth, yet we often find certain species predominant on formations of a distinctly pro- nounced character as regards their mineral constituents—such, for instance, as beech on chalk or limestone, oak on soils rich in potash, or Scots pine on sandy or siliceous tracts. There is little doubt that the quality of a particular kind of timber, for which a certain district has a reputation, is closely connected with the soil, and although this and other conditions appear similar to those existing in many other localities, there is a something which neither soil analysis nor surroundings can account for, but which produces a certain crop better in quantity or quality than the average. 126 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. This being so, we should do well to give this point close atten- tion, and give that species the preference in planting which already possesses a good name in the district. Of course, this need not preclude the introduction of other species into sites which appear eminently suited to their known requirements, for the planting of one kind of tree alone is not in accordance with sylvicultural prin- ciples. Larch, for instance, may be present in a district to only a very slight extent, and yet if there appeared to be any chance of its succeeding, it would be good policy to introduce it on a more extensive scale, taking care to select such sites only as answer to its known requirements, In the case of all conifers, a moderate or normal rate of growth is more desirable than a rapid one, and in planting a coniferous species, too rich or forcing soils should always be avoided. It is doubtful if the Scots pine timber grown in Scotland is of better quality than that grown on poor gravels in the south. In the case of the latter the more favourable climate, which would naturally induce a rapid growth, is counteracted by the poverty of the soil, and practically the same results are obtained in both cases. We are aware that the colder winters of the north are con- sidered by some as chiefly responsible for the usual superiority of Scottish timber, but we have seen timber in the vicinity of Gordon Castle, and along the shores of the Moray Firth, which left little to be desired, and the climate in that district is proverbial for its mildness and freedom from frost. It is chiefly on the recent geological formations or diluvial deposits, where the soils are of the poorest nature, that Scots pine should be grown in the south of England, and away from these the quality of this timber is usually soft and spongy. For hardwoods, on the other hand, soil poverty is a disadvantage, as the timber is usually shaky and porous, the annual ring consisting largely of vessels which give it a low specific gravity. This is especially the case with oak and ash, in which these vessels are largely developed. In the case of beech, good soil is not such an important matter, as quality is not considered so much with this tree, and in many districts it is almost entirely used for firewood. In producing clean timber, the sylvicultural treatment of the crop is, of course, the point upon which everything depends. As we have mentioned the produce of natural forests as a commodity which satisfies the demand for timber of high quality, we may briefly glance at the conditions under which it is grown. In GROWING TIMBER. 127 all primeval forests regeneration occurs by means of patches of seedlings which arise in gaps formed by the overthrow of old and decayed trees by wind or by seedlings growing up under the parent trees, and eventually taking their place. In the case of light- demanding species, such as Scots pine, the former kind of regenera- tion is the principal one, and where the crop is almost pure, these patches will often be excessively thick and crowded. Of course, the individuals which compose these groups are not all of the same age, and those first in the field will stand the best chance of thriving. In most cases, however, even the biggest and strongest will not have things all their own way, but will be obliged to contend with their nearest neighbours, and in so doing will lose their side branches at an early age. This is the secret of the clean and slow growth of imported timber; but in growing timber of the same quality artificially, we must modify our methods to satisfy economic requirements. In natural forests, not only is the proportion of small, rough, and faulty stems much too great, but the irregular ages of the trees prevent the full yield of a properly-stocked area being obtained. To remedy this, advanced sylviculture grows most crops on the even-aged principle, and as this and other methods have attained their greatest development on the Continent, and especially in Germany, a short account of the way Scots pine and spruce are grown there may not be out of place. The planting or sowing of Scots pine differs with the soil and situation. In the loose sandy soils, which largely predominate in North Prussia, sowing is almost invariably the rule for restocking cleared areas. In this case the roots are usually grubbed, and shallow trenches are formed about four feet apart by means of the forest-plough, an implement somewhat similar to a double moulding- plough. In these trenches the seed is sown in the month of April, either by hand or with seed-barrows. About 24 to 3 lbs. of seed are used per acre, sometimes birch being mixed with it. Beyond keeping these seed-lines clear of weeds for the first year or two, the plants are left almost entirely alone until the twentieth or thirtieth year, when the wood is gone through in order to take out dead and suppressed trees. It is evident that by this time but a very small proportion of the original seedling crop will be in existence, and these will be the strongest and most vigorous individuals. Grown under such conditions, clean stems and small crowns will be the chief characteristics of the trees, and for the next twenty or thirty years this stem-cleaning 128 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. process will still be going on, so that by the fiftieth year or so, tall, clean, and moderately stout stems will form the remain- ing crop; the weak and suppressed trees having been removed at short intervals since the first thinning. Here, then, we have one condition assured—viz., clean growth—and we have now to consider its quality. As already mentioned, quality cannot be considered by itself in cultivated crops, but in relation to its cost of production and the increased selling value which accompanies it. Quality in timber consists in its size and maturity, as well as its freedom from knots. A crop of clean timber at fifty years of age may therefore be lack- ing in the required size and maturity which is necessary in order to command the most profitable price, and growth must be encouraged to proceed until these several conditions are fulfilled. The opera- tion usually employed for encouraging the growth of individual trees in a thick wood is thinning. In this country, so much importance has been attached to this work, that we find it carried out in plantations at all stages of their growth. Judicious thinning is always advantageous, but much plantation timber is spoilt during the early stages of growth by mistaken ideas on this subject. Unless the killing-off or suppression of side branches takes place before these have attained a diameter at the base of two or three inches, rough timber is produced, and no amount of skill in the after-treatment of the plantation can remedy this defect. We have seen that German foresters scarcely thin at all during the early stages, and the result is clean poles, with a certain proportion of fairly stout trees. It is the existence of a properly distributed pro- portion of the latter which furnishes a reliable criterion by which to judge of the value of the system and its correctness. On good soils and situations the growth of trees is fairly rapid, and the differences in individual vigour become more marked year by year, and weak individuals are quickly suppressed. In such cases the trees “thin themselves,” as some express it, fairly satisfactorily, and but little assistance is required from the forester. On poor soils and bad situations the struggle for supremacy is slow and pro- longed, and the trees are less able to bear the weakening tendency which accompanies crowding. The result may be, therefore, that too great a proportion of the trees are too weak and spindly to develop into good stems, and a crop of low value may be produced. While, in the former case, the forester may leave the thinning pretty much in Nature’s hands, and simply remove those trees which have GROWING TIMBER, 129 practically ceased to grow, a little anticipation of the natural result may be desirable in the case of the latter, and the re- moval of the smaller trees gradually effected before the main crop becomes too spindly. In either case the principle is the same, but the adaptation of the principle to concrete cases constitutes the real skill of the culturist. Of course the age at which it is intended to cut the crop, and the size of timber required, greatly modify the system of treatment. Where timber of less than 12 inches quarter-girth fetches as good a price per cubic foot as that of larger dimensions, thinning might almost be dispensed with altogether on the better soils, merely removing the suppressed trees at intervals of five years or so, according to convenience. Thus treated, the crop should be fit to cut about the seventieth year. Where additional size is accom- panied by an increase in price, however, it would be more profitable to thin the crop carefully, commencing about the fortieth year, or about the period at which height-growth usually culminates, and repeating the operation at intervals until from one-half to two- thirds of the trees have been removed. The final felling may be made about the hundredth year or so, according to the growth and health of the trees. On the best Scots pine soils in North Germany, rotations of one hundred and forty years are frequently adopted ; but this period would probably be too long for the poor soils in most parts of Scotland, where the height-growth is less, and finishes earlier. On poorer soils it is advisable to attend to thinning about tle twenty-fifth or thirtieth year, thinning most freely at high eleva- tions, so that the one operation may suffice, as there will be little danger of the trees developing a bushy side-growth in such situations. The total yield expected from an acre of Scots pine varies with soil, age, and climate; but about 8000 to 10,000 feet from the thinnings and final felling would be about the average on the better soils, falling to 4000 or 5000 feet on less favourable situa- tions with short rotations. At an average price of 4d. per cubic foot, this would represent a gross return of £130 to £150 per acre on the former, and £50 to £60 on the latter. In spite of the relatively low value of the timber, therefore, Scots pine probably yields a better return on poor soils than any other tree we could grow, except, of course, larch. This is greatly due to the low cost at which planting can be done, and the small rental charged 130 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, for poor, heathy land, which is only fit for grouse moors or planting. The same principles apply in growing spruce as in the case of Scots pine, and the former is usually grown on the damper portions which are not considered suitable for the pine. While the Scots pine thrives best in a fairly dry climate, the spruce prefers the moist atmosphere of hilly districts, where water is continually percolating through the soil. Few trees thrive better on damp sand, especially when it is mixed with or underlies a layer of peaty or humus-rich soil, and it also does well on a clay or chalky sub- soil, but dislikes dry gravels or stiff retentive soils with stagnant moisture. In the Harz Mountains of Hanover, large tracts of mountain land are devoted to the growth of spruce. Spruce forest is rarely raised from seed on the spot, as the slow growth of the seedlings renders them liable to be choked by grass and weeds; and they are placed at a similar disadvantage when planted as seedlings by the ordinary notching method, unless this is done in furrows, as in the case of Scots pine. On steep hill-sides or broken ground, however, ploughing is out of the question, and when using small plants the “hillock” system of planting is usually adopted, the seed- lings (three or more in number) being planted on small hillocks of soil raised above the general level of the ground. Few trees have a smaller spread of branches than the spruce, and a large number can stand upon an acre of ground without suffering from overcrowding. The very objectionable nature of the knots in this timber makes clean growth a more imperative feature than is the case with some species, if anything like a remunerative price is to be obtained, and the advantage of the natural system of thinning is nowhere better exemplified than with this tree. As the height- growth of spruce continues till an advanced age, no heavy thinnings should be made until the fiftieth or sixtieth year, and only then when soil and situation are favourable to a resulting increase in growth. Great care is needed, however, to prevent damage from gales, and large gaps should be avoided as much as possible. The low value of home-grown spruce is not an encouragement to planters to patronise it, but by growing it clean it would doubtless meet with a better sale. Its use in the wood-pulp manufacture is well known ; and where large areas of spruce woods existed, capitalists might be induced to erect mills in their vicinity, and no better way of utilising large tracts of poor, peaty land could be imagined. Without Government aid, however, it is doubtful if GROWING TIMBER. 131 owners of such land are in a position to plant extensively enough to keep such industries going, and at present they are monopolised by the foreigner. : Having sketched the cultivation of Scots pine and spruce in outline, we venture to make a few remarks upon what we con- sider some essential conditions for coping successfully with the flood of foreign imports which is annually poured into our markets. We have already mentioned that natural forests are the chief source of our imports, and this accounts for the low price at which the timber can be purchased here. We cannot, of course, obtain our own supplies from similar sources, but we can greatly cheapen the cost of production by resorting to natural regeneration as a means of restocking our woods. The prolific crops of seedlings which appear annually or periodically in woods of indigenous species, ought not, as is usually the case at present, to perish for lack of a suitable seed-bed and conditions favourable to their development. Accidental crops or patches of healthy young trees may be seen both in the broad-leaved woods of the south and in the coniferous woods of the north, and leave no shadow of a doubt in the mind of the forester that these patches might be the rule and not the exception, if only suitable measures were taken to bring them about. The beech woods of Bucks are largely restocked by natural seeding, not, it is true, under scientific control, but suffi- sciently well to prove what might be done. In Scotland, again, wonderful instances of natural regeneration of Scots pine may be seen on the Strathspey estate, and the same might be repeated wherever heather abounds. We do not, of course, imply that artificial planting can be dispensed with, but that it should be regarded as a supplementary operation, and one to be performed where the natural method fails. Regular supply of good, clean timber has been alluded to, and this is of the greatest importance. A little combination among the proprietors (or their agents) of a district might be the means of regulating the supply in accordance with the demand, and of thus preventing those gluts in the timber-market which invariably follow a heavy gale. By placing such wind-falls gradually upon the market, proprietors might obtain a better price, and not be com- pelled to accept the almost nominal offers made by merchants. One thing is practically certain, planters must set their faces against that invention of the last fifty years, the mixed plantation. Whatever the advantages of a proper mixture may be, and they are 132 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, doubtless important, the indiscriminate mixing of different species in plantations is fatal to the production of good timber. If the most suitable species for the prevailing soil and climate were extensively grown in every district, and grown with a strict view to its development as timber, an improvement would soon be perceptible in our home supplies, while variations of soil could be utilised for meeting the limited demand for other kinds of timber. Considerable attention has been paid of late years to various American conifers, such as Douglas fir, Zhuia gigantea, ete. ; but however desirable these species may be from an ornamental point of view, and as fast timber producers in favourable situations, we see little to recommend them for extensive planting on the poorer soils and exposed situations, where the afforestation of land is of the most importance in the national economy. After all is said, we do not see how economic forestry can ever thrive in this country without State aid of some kind or shape. The long period which elapses before the planter reaps any return for his work causes many to treat the economic importance of their woods and plantations with indifference, and to pay more attention to their ornamental and game-preserving features. A little of that generosity so freely exhibited towards the sister isle might be extended to Great Britain by the Government with good effect, and especially in fostering the industries which develop to the utmost the dormant capabilities of the soil. THE FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS, 133 XII. The Formation of Plantations. By James Ropaer, Assistant Forester, New Scone, Perthshire. The motto of the Society, “‘ Ye may be aye sticking in a tree, it will be growing when ye’re sleeping,” was, under the circum- stance, sound advice from the dying old Jaird to his son. Even at amuch more recent date than that at which the pen of Sir Walter Scott immortalised the phrase, the average Scottish laird who stuck in a tree or trees, whether under suitable circumstances or the reverse, felt that he was simply bequeathing to his future heirs a goodly number of cubic feet of valuable timber. Too often, however, it happened that the trees were either killed by stagnant water in the soil, or blasted by strong winds which their nature was unable to withstand. Spruce and poplar were often planted on dry ridges, while that lover of dry soil, the larch, was just as often planted in a marsh, Such injudicious and indiscriminate planting could only pro- duce the indifferent results so common around us; for if trees grow, they also become diseased and rot while we are sleeping, and the large areas of ill-thriven woods in the country, consisting of unshapely trees of inferior quality, are only the result of the “sticking in” system. But if these woods which are an eyesore to the passer-by have been the means of showing the way to a more successful system of forestry, they have not been altogether planted in vain. Success, however, comes often through failure; and through the failures of their forefathers, coupled with their own extended scientific knowledge, foresters have long ago discovered that trees, to come to good maturity, require to be, not “stuck in,” but planted carefully and methodically in soils and situations suited to their respective peculiarities and needs. And they have learned that soils full of stagnant water, and charged with poisonous gases, cannot maintain trees in a healthy state. The import of timber into the country at the present day is so great, that to many it may seem a matter of little importance whether home-planting be carried on or not; but let the trans- atlantic forests be ever so extensive, a day will come when the supply will run short, and this in itself is a sufficient reason why many of our moors and mountain sides at present lying waste should be devoted to tree-culture, 134 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. Extensive planting throughout the country would tend in some degree to raise the temperature and ameliorate the climate, while the benefits to stockmasters accruing therefrom would be very great indeed. To the ordinary observer it may seem a very simple matter to enclose a piece of ground and plant it with trees, but to the practical and conscientious forester it is an undertaking demanding his gravest consideration and best judgment. The purpose for which any given piece of ground is planted must at all times regulate the whole proceedings, It may be an effort to add to the timber-value of an estate, to provide shelter on an exposed hill-side, to form a game covert, or to improve landscape ; but whatever the object may be, the manner of procedure in the formation of plantations may be summed up as follows :— The forester plants the trees intended for the permanent crop at the distances apart which he considers sufficient for their habit and dimensions when they approach maturity. He then goes over the ground and fills up the interspaces with nurses, planting them close enough to draw up the future trees in moderatién and provide them with sufficient shelter, but far enough apart to allow the nurses themselves to be of some value when taken out at the second and third thinnings, although this must at all times bea secondary consideration. But even our most experienced arbori- culturists occasionally reckon without their hosts, and we some- times find, in cases of mixed plantations, the intended crop doing badly or becoming a total failure, and the actual crop formed from among the nurses, and therefore they should also be planted as carefully as possible. As before stated, estate planting is carried on under several conditions, and for several objects, and it may not be out of place to make a few remarks on each of them under their respective headings. I. Planting large areas to increase the extent and value of the woodlands, and to utilise more profitably land that is drawing comparatively little revenwe.—Although planting of this kind is performed on all sorts of soils and situations, yet generally speaking it is on soil of inferior quality, and at an altitude that renders the soil damp and cold, and exposes the surface area to strong winds. Now, it stands to reason that soil of such a nature holds only a very limited supply of plant-food in a soluble state, and large strong-rooted plants would be starved in it, to a certain extent, as regards obtaining food from the soil, while from their THE FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS. 135 proportions above ground they would be badly shaken and blasted by the prevailing winds. It may be argued that if a large plant requires more food than a small one, its roots are farther spread, which gives it more power to find its food. This may be quite true, but it is also very apparent that any single spongiole of a small plant has a more feeble capacity for absorbing food than that of a bigger one, and can be fully supplied in comparatively poor soil. It is therefore a safe rule to use in such situations plants of small size; and although the fact must not be overlooked that very small plants are easily choked by herbage, yet when not entirely overtopped by it during the summer, it is more beneficial to them than other- wise, as it provides them with good shelter from the storms of winter. It is, however, very seldom that the natural herbage in exposed situations attains a very luxuriant growth. In sheltered hollows, or on sunny exposures, even on high- lying ground, hardwoods may thrive well, but as a rule a mixture of larch and Scots fir are the trees best adapted for forming large plantations in exposed places, and this for two reasons: first, it is a point of great importance to make an exposed plantation as dense as possible, without overcrowding, to prevent the wind from blowing through it, and Scots fir, from its hardy nature and dense foliage, is invaluable for this purpose; and, second, it seems to be getting every day more difficult to grow healthy larch, so much so, that on all light dry soils at suitable altitudes the experiment is worth trying. When this valuable tree is planted in due propor- tions over large areas, the parts containing healthy trees can be preserved at the time of thinning, while the diseased portions can be cut out and the native pine left to form the crop. Of course, as the ground rises and the air gets colder, a larger percentage of Scots fir should be put in, and when extremely high ground is reached it should form the entire crop. Scots fir grows vigorously in cool soils and at high altitudes where larch would most certainly perish. On these high places it is imperative to plant thickly, and thickest on the most exposed side. (By thick plant- ing, 3 feet apart or less is meant, and moderately thick is from 35 to 4 feet.) | Where the ground has been previously drained, care must be taken to plant close up to the brink of the drains, to prevent the wind sweeping along their course, and retarding the growth, as well as possibly injuring the young trees before their branches closed up an extra wide space, 136 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORIBULTURAL SOCIETY. As regards the method of planting, the common L notch is the one usually practised, and is a reliable enough system of putting in plants of a small size, which should not exceed 12 inches in height for larch, and from 4 to 8 inches for Scots fir. The difference between a bad and a well-made “notch” is of very great importance, and almost amounts to the life or death of the plant. After the plant has been carefully inserted, the cut should be completely closed by treading with the foot, taking special care not to break the bark in the process, for it is very probable that the beginning of disease in many a larch was the reckless “heeling” it was subjected to at the time of planting. In forming the outlines of exposed plantations, acute angles at the corners, and concave bends in the sides should be care- fully avoided, as both tend to let the wind into the body of the plantation. II. Planting to provide shelter in exposed situations.—Wind attains its greatest velocity on wide uninterrupted plains, and although these are seldom far above the sea-level, shelter-belts are none the less necessary, and in such places they are com- paratively easy to rear. Oa exposed hill-sides, however, shelter raising is a difficult and slow process, yet it is a most necessary one for the wellbeing of the stock that has to subsist thereon, and means, when successfully grown, a considerable advance of - rent for that particular grazing. One great obstacle to successful and rapid growth for shelter is the fact that the site to be planted is often at an altitude where hardwood trees will not grow, and sometimes much above the level of larch growth. A close fence on the wind-swept side is the first and most important point to attend to, and as stones are generally plentiful in such places, this can be raised quickly and at a moderate cost by building a stone wall, and the higher the better. Failing a supply of stones, a stout wall of turf should be built as a means of breaking the wind. All natural growth, such as birch, mountain ash, broom, whin, and the like, should be encouraged to cover the ground, and where these are not plentiful they should be planted artificially in order to strengthen the plantation. Scots fir takes the first place among conifers for such planting, and here again large plants should be avoided, although immedi- ately behind the sheltering fence plants of moderate size may be used, but gradually diminishing their height as the distance from the fence increases, to make a gradual drop for the wind as THE FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS. 137 it passes over the plantation. Here also thick planting should be strictly adhered to, as it is most essential for success. A shelter-belt should not be less than fifty yards wide, if density and comparative wind-exclusion are to be hoped for. It is even more imperative that the plantation should present a more or less convex side towards the prevailing winds. III. Planting on low-lying ground.—This embraces a wide and varied range of work. The mild climate of such situations gives a larger choice of trees to the planter, and with so many different soils and variety of aspects, a forester on a fairly large lowland estate has a most interesting variety of work to accomplish. He can carry out many scientific experiments with much practical advantage in such circumstances, and to the benefit of the plantations under his charge. These favoured localities might appropriately be called the home of the hardwoods. Larch also grows well, although perhaps a little too fast to be of first-class quality; and the newer conifer generally attain their finest dimensions. The luxuriant growth of the natural grasses is one of the most persistent evils to be guarded against, in planting on such sites ; and an inexperienced forester might make very serious mistakes in determining the size of the plants to be used, if he did not carefully examine the natural growth, and consider the matter fully before planting. On high and exposed ground, the enclosing and planting of land make little difference in the crop of herbage, but it is altogether different in the case under notice, where operations are generally on soil inclined to be rich and strong, and carrying a crop of the more luxuriant grasses. Such Jand is almost always regularly pastured, and the parts showing the smoothest sward are the very places—when stock is excluded—that grow the biggest crop of grass; take for instance Cocksfoot, a grass very plentiful on lowland pasture. This grass when eaten close in early spring and summer—and cattle eat it greedily—shows a level sward, but when stock is kept off for even one season, it becomes one of our tallest of grasses, almost equalling wheat in its height. Many like examples could be given, all showing that in such situations tall plants should invariably be used. A large plant to be healthy should have correspondingly large roots, and consequently the process of transplanting is to it a much greater shock than to a smaller one, but the moisture in the soil, and 138 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. the general humidity of the climate, make its growth pretty certain, All such plants should be planted by the pit system, for let the soil be as soft as it may, the best made notch possible does not give the roots room to spread properly. Indeed, hard- wood plants of almost any size should be pitted, for although they may be small, the hard unyielding nature of their roots renders them ill adapted for the notch; not only because of the danger of breaking the roots in firming the plant, but from being so hard they have also a tendency to act as a spring and keep the cut from being made perfectly solid. In making pits, a few points should be attended to: the turf should be pared off thinly and cut in half, ready for replacing ; the soil should then be taken out to a depth of several inches, and deep enough, in any case, for the reception of the plant. Where the subsoil is inclined to be hard, the bottom should be well stirred up and left lying loosely in the pit, taking care, how- ever, to draw it slightly to the centre, and thus give a downward droop for the roots, Where a hard “pan” exists below the upper soil, the pits should be dug in the autumn or early winter, so that the frost and atmosphere may have time to sweeten and pulverise the earth that is to come in close contact with the roots of the plant. This also greatly accelerates the work at the time of planting, and yet the system is not without its draw- backs, for, if drought sets in before the planting can be overtaken, and continues for a length of time after, not only the earth that has been excavated, but also that on the sides and bottom of the pit, loses moisture to a great extent, and the plant runs a great risk of fatal injury from drought. In planting, great care should be taken to spread out the roots well in the bottom of the pit, and when the greatest number of them have a tendency to grow to one side of the plant, that side should be set towards the prevailing winds, as it helps greatly to keep the tree from being blown over. A little of the best soil procurable should be placed round the roots, the pit then partly filled up and carefully trodden with the foot, after which the turf should be replaced and set firm to the neck of the plant, to prevent it working loose at the surface of the ground, straining the roots and letting in the drought. There are exceptions to every rule, and on even the lowest lying ground there are many places that can be profitably and well planted by the “notch” system with small plants, THE FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS. 139 IV. Planting for landscape effect generally takes the form of clumps or hedgerows, and is often done with larger-sized plants. A proprietor who wishes to alter and improve the appearance of his estate, tries to do so as rapidly as Nature will permit him, and spares neither trouble nor expense to produce immediate and good effect. Both in the planting and preparing for the lifting of tall plants, much heavy work is necessary. To transplant a tree —say from 12 to 20 feet high—with a reasonable hope of success means much previous forethought and labour. It must be “ringed” or cut round the roots one or more years before- hand, so as to make it produce fine roots or fibres numerous enough to retain a good ball of earth when the tree is lifted and taken to its new position. After planting it in a wide roomy pit, it should be steadied by stakes or ropes until its roots get a firm hold of the ground. In the case of hedgerows, the plants should always be tall enough to be beyond the reach of cattle and horses cropping their foliage, and every individual tree should be protected from the ground to such a height that it cannot be injured by animals of any kind. Although planting can be generally performed according to stated rules, the forester must at all times exercise his own skill and judgment, combining in this, as in other things, good theory with sound practice. VOL, XIV. PART III. N 140 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. XIII. A Short Account of the State Forests of Prussia (including Hanover), and Messrs Heins’ Nursery at Halstenbeck, visited by the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society, July-August 1895, -Prepared from Official Sources by Dr SoMERVILLE, THE STATE FORESTS OF LINTZEL. 29th July. During the last nineteen years much has been done in the Province of Hanover in the direction of advancing the interests of Forestry. The State itself has spent considerable sums on the purchase of land suitable for tree-planting, and it has also created a special fund from which private individuals, associations, and communities may borrow at a low rate of interest—including redemption of capital—for the purpose of creating forests. At Lintzel in the district of Liineburg, and at Northeim on the Weper, the Hanoverian State Forests extend to 11,725 acres, and a recent purchase of peaty land near Gross Fullen (designed for forestry investigations and the establishment of a colony for the unemployed) embraces nearly 1092 acres. The amount of land placed under forests by the help of the loan-fund above referred to is at present 16,644 acres, so that it will be seen that the action of the Provincial Legislature has resulted in the afforestation of 29,461 acres. [The Special Forest Loan-Fund was created by an Act of the Provincial Legislature on 38rd October 1877, and on 16th October 1880 it was enacted that Associations formed for acquiring land for tree-planting should be able to borrow at 2 per cent. interest plus other 2 per cent. for liquidation of the debt. The amount to be borrowed was limited to the sum expended in forming the woods ; a further condition being that the management of the woods should be subject to the approval of the State Department of Forestry until the debt had been extinguished. Private individuals might borrow under practically similar conditions, at 2 to 3 per cent. interest plus 2 per cent. for extinction of the debt.] Since 1880 the fund has been drawn upon to the following extent :— Class of Borrower. Amount borrowed. Area afforested. 1. Forestry Associations, 2 SEY 2,334 acres, 2. Towns and communities, . > Songs 1,585 ,, 3. Private individuals, . : Sez2 7910 12,725 3) Total, £33,877 16,644 ,, STATE FORESTS OF PRUSSIA.: 141 - At present the forest of Oerrel, near Lintzel, visited by the Society, embraces 11,565 acres. The plan of afforestation was started in 1876 with the purchase of two estates which were found to be unsuitable for agriculture, and the area has since been extended by purchase as opportunity offered. The total purchase- money expended up to date amounts to £40,200, from which may be deducted £6778 as the value of buildings, and £3150 as the value of the growing timber, leaving £30,272 as the price of the land alone, which is equal to about £2, 12s. per acre. In the spring of 1878, the work of planting was energetically pushed forward, so that the oldest woods are now seventeen years old. It was found that the ground could be best prepared for planting by subjecting it to subsoil ploughing,—16 to 24 inches deep. This work, however, was done in narrow parallel stripes (83 feet ploughed, and 4} feet left undisturbed), an arrangement which saved money, prevented the formation of sand-drifts, and secured good aeration of the soil. Part of the work was accomplished by Fowler’s steam-plough, but most of it by horse labour,—two to four horses being yoked in the first plough, and four to six in the subsoiler. The number of horses depended on the presence or absence of a moor-pan, which, however, did not occur on more than 1 per cent. of the tatal area. The sandy-loamy. nature of the soil did not offer any great difficulties to the successful preparation of the land, the main objects kept-in view being the thorough mixing of the peaty superficial deposits with the stronger soil below, and the bringing up to the surface ‘of plant food that had been washed down beyond the reach of the young trees. Land that had at one time been arable was usually prepared for tree-planting by a shallow ploughing, followed by a crop of buckwheat, after which the young trees were planted on the stubble. Besides these two methods of surface preparation, other plans were tried, but it has been found that the:trees have invariably grown best where the land was deeply stirred and well worked. Of the total area under ‘wood, 80 per cent. has been established by planting and 20 per cent. by seeding. Situated as the afforestation works are in a thinly-populated district, it soon became evident that the local supply of labour would be insufficient. This difficulty has been partly got over by the importation of fourteen families, who have been given a small area on which to spend their spare time in raising farm:and garden crops. But the chief labour supply is derivable from a prison which has been erected at Oerrel, and which is capable of containing 150 inmates. The price paid to the prison authorities for such labour is 1s. per head per day in summer, and 9d. per day-in winter,—piecework at trenching, road-making, 142 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. etc., being paid for at the rates current for free labour. Experi- ence has shown that the amount of work done by a prisoner is only one-half that accomplished by a free labourer. Up till the end of 1894, £8732 had been paid over to the prison authorities in respect of such criminal labour, and the employment of prisoners at forestry operations has, economically and morally, been an unqualified success. The accounts showing the expenditure at Lintzel are specially interesting, because here we have to deal, not with a forest estate in full bearing, but with a forest in process of formation. The figures, too, may be presented in a much simpler form than is usually possible, and every item of expenditure is available from the very start. Charging compound interest at 3 per cent. from the time the various items of expenditure were incurred, and deducting the various items of revenue, we find (1st April 1894) that this forest has a present value of £85,005. EXPENDITURE. 1. Protection and Management, . - ° - . £6,879 2. Buildings and Repairs, - 2,237 8. Winning Wood and Birch Brndhed for ‘Tereeitie Lifting and Packing Plants, etc., . ° . 1,859 4, Game and Fishings, . - : . : 905 5, Forming Pastures, * - . * ‘ 802 6. Nurseries, 5 a - 5 F * 2,247 7. Rates and Taxes, 5 ‘5 a - ‘ 1,419 8. Costs of Cultivation and Planting, . - - 20,800 9. Light Railways (2 feet gauge, at 3s. per yard), - 2,648 10, Sundries, including up-keep of a Met2orological Station, 874 Total, £40,670 INCOME. 1. Sale of Birch Branches, etc., . ; : - £3,183 2. Rights of Grazing and Bee-keeping, Sale of Peat, Stone, Hay, etc., . - - = . * 2,170 8. Game and ean - - A . 370 4, Sale of Young Trees from Nannon Me : = 4,348 5. Sundries, ‘ F . . ; - 1,499 Total, £11,571 Charging 3 per cent. compound interest on expenses as incurred, and allowing the same rate on income from sales, the present capital value of the estate, with its growing stock of timber, comes to almost exactly £10 per acre. 1 Annually about 2} million plants for £375. STATE FORESTS OF PRUSSIA. 143 The whole forest area is subdivided by rides (23 feet or 164 feet wide) into rectangular sections of about 35 acres. These sections are one and a half times as long as broad, the rides running out to the main roads, and facilitating the transport of the forest produce. The bulk of the planting has been done with Scots firs and spruces, in the proportions of three or four of the former to one of the latter. One-year-old Scots firs and two-year-old spruces were employed, and blanks were filled up with larger specimens of these trees, including a few Weymouth pines, larches, and Douglas firs. On about 750 acres it has been found possible to introduce oaks as the principal species. The cost of planting about 5000 seedling Scots firs and spruces per acre (including beating up blanks for three or four seasons) has been found, in a large number of cases where the figures are available, to average 46s. per acre. A seeding of about 34 lbs. Scots fir, 25 lbs. spruce, and 12 lbs. larch seed per acre (including supplementary seeds for a year or two), is found to cost about 3s. per acre less. All the rides are bordered with stripes of hardwoods, in order _ to form some protection against fire.t For this purpose oak and birch are chiefly employed, the latter being stripped periodically to provide material for brooms, and also to admit of the oaks getting up. In order to determine the effects of forests on the climate, it was resolved in 1881 to erect, at a cost of £790, two meteorological observation stations, the one in the forest and the other in the open country adjoining, the latter being 311 feet above sea-level. Readings are taken daily at 8 A.M. and 2 P.M., and these are sent on to Eberswalde for comparison with the records of the other fifteen forestal meteorological stations of Prussia. A small stream which flows through the estate has been dammed at one point and converted into a pond of some 60 acres, the fishing of which is let for £25 a year. THE STATE FOREST OF LAUENAU. 30th July. This forest occupies a spur of a range of low hills called the Deister, which attain a maximum elevation of 1300 feet. The steep south-west slope consists of highly calcareous soil, belonging 1 There is a fire watch-tower near the station, from which a look-out is kept at certain seasons, 144 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. to the Jurassic formation, which is well suited to the growth of beech, while the summit of the hills, and the north-east slope, belong to a Wealden sandstone, which at the hill-foot gives place to the Wealden clay. This sandstone forms a good sandy loam, which, where sufficiently deep and moist, is well adapted to the growth of all trees, but is chiefly stocked with oak and spruce. Where grown in pure woods, the length of the rotation is 160 years for the oak, 120 years for the beech, and 80 years for the spruce. Pure oak woods, however, are only found on the strong loam near the base of the hills; elsewhere this tree is generally mixed with beech, sycamore, and ash. Beech is, on the whole, the principal tree of the Deister, and is propagated entirely by means of self-sown seed. In this district seed is borne every third year or so, and with proper management there is no difficulty in obtaining an abundant supply of young plants. The usual plan is to introduce strong periodic thinnings —removing about 1000 cubic feet of timber per acre each time— from the eightieth year onwards. This encourages the trees to bear abundance of seed, and, by admitting light and rain, induces more rapid decomposition of the leaf-mould that covers the ground, . and so prepares a good seed-bed. The spruce is cultivated entirely by planting, seedlings or trans- plants being used according to the character of the ground. The former are usually planted in bunches, a style of planting practically unknown in Scotland. The spruce woods are thinned for the first time when they are about twenty-five years old, the operation being repeated every six or eight years. The beech woods, on the other hand, are not thinned for the first time till. they are about thirty-five years old. The annual yield per acre over all averages about 43 cubic feet quarter-girth measurement, which is equal to about 57 cubic feet of actual wood, slabs included. Of the total out-put, 65 per cent. of the oak, 25 per cent. of the beech, and 75 per cent. of the spruce is classed as timber, the rest being used as firewood. The average prices for timber during the last few years—calculated on the English system of measurement—have been Oak, . 4 “ - about 1s. per cubic foot. Beech, : : - » 64d. FS Spruce, 5 ’ . 55 2 OG a Beech wood for burning purposes sells at about 17s. per cord. 1 In converting cubic metres per hectare into cubic feet per acre, I have taken. 35°83 cubic feet as being equal to 1 cubic metre, and 2°47 acres as equal to 1 hectare.” I have then reduced the volume so found by 25 per cent., because our system of measuring timber (the quarter-girth system) gives only about three-quarters of the volume got by the German system (the middle sectional area multiplied by the length). : ; STATE FORESTS OF PRUSSIA. 145 THE WILD-PIG PARK AT SPRINGE. 30th July. This park forms a part of the State Forest of Springe. In the years 1836 to 1838 it was surrounded by a wall, which encloses a total area of about 3500 acres. Some 500 acres on the north side is fairly level, the rest being hilly, and reaching an elevation of fully 1200 feet. The geological formation is the Jurassic, which here produces excellent soil, capable of offering very favourable conditions for the growth of the beech, ash, and sycamore, some of which attain a height of 120 feet. In the lower parts, where the soil is deepest, the oak is also found represented. The spruce is only grown-on the poorest, steepest, and shallowest part of the area. The woods of the park afford shelter to about 160 fallow deer and 700 wild pigs. Formerly the park also maintained 120 red deer, which, however, by peeling the trees, proved so destructive to the beeches that the animals had to be exterminated. In managing the woods in the park, but little attention is paid to the game. The only special modification of a regular system of forestry that is introduced for the benefit of the game is the leaving of clear-felled areas for afew years unplanted, so: as to increase the grazing ground of the animals. The large herd of game, however, makes it necessary to fence in all newly formed woods. Most of the woods are managed on the even-aged high forest system, only about 500 acres being managed on an uneven-aged system. The oak woods are mostly formed by artificial sowing, the acorns being either placed in the furrow made by a “ Botzel” forest plough, or spread on the surface of the ground and after- wards covered with soil obtained from shallow parallel trenches. When acorns cannot be obtained, recourse is had to planting, the young trees being two years old, and set out 2% to 3 feet apart. Blanks, however, are filled up with much larger trees. The oak woods, which are all worked on a rotation of 160 years, are thinned early and frequently, so as to stimulate growth and protect the young trees against over-crowding. The beech woods are exclusively regenerated by self-sown seedlings, and are worked on a rotation of 120 years. On account of the rank growth of ground-herbage that appears in light woods, the beech forests are kept very dense, and are but sparingly thinned till sixty years old. The ground is usually prepared for the reception of the seed by the use of harrows, ploughs, and heavy hoes. The preparation of the seed-bed by means of horse 146 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. labour costs from 3s. 3d. to 6s. per acre, while hand labour entails an outlay of 10s. to 16s. per acre. The results got by the former method are quite as satisfactory as under the latter system. In regenerating a beech wood, about 3 to 1 lb. per acre of the seed of ash and sycamore is worked into the soil, though if mother-trees of these species should be present on the area, no artificial addition of seed is necessary. The period of actual regeneration generally occupies from fifteen to twenty years. Should any blanks occur, these are filled up with well-grown plants of ash or sycamore, and in some cases a few spruces are introduced. It is not the custom in this forest to retain any standards at the end of the normal rotation, the system having proved unsatisfactory. Where specially heavy trees are wanted, it is found better to abstain from felling certain portions of the forest till the trees have attained te the desired size. The spruce woods are all formed by the use of three or four year-old transplants. The felling of the trees is all undertaken by the regular forest hands, the buyer in no case being allowed to fell. The timber is generally sold by auction, and last year the following prices were obtained per cubic foot, English measurement :— Class I. Class II. Class III. Class LV, Class V. Oak, . Is. 44d. Ue ole 94d. 64d. 6d, Beech, : 62d, 74d. 64d. bid. 43d. Spruce, 4 Ae a. 62d. 54d, 3gd, Beech firewood fetched about 18s. per cord. * Of the total felling, 60 per cent. of the oak, 25 per cent. of the beech, and 75 per cent. of the spruce was classed as timber, the rest being small-wood and firewood. Most of the beech timber was employed in the manufacture of chairs and staves. The sporting rights of the park are retained by the Emperor, who usually shoots here once a year. The chief attraction centres in the wild swine, of which about 300 head are killed annually. Fallow deer also furnish about 40 head of the total bag. The wild swine require supplementary food (maize, potatoes, etc.) during the whole year—with the exception of the autumn of good seed years, when beech mast and acorns are abundant; but the fallow deer only require attention in the matter of food during winter, when they receive beans, chestnuts, oats, hay, and maize. STATE FORESTS OF PRUSSIA. 147 TOUR THROUGH THE UPPER HARZ. 31st July and ist August. The Upper Harz (Oberharz) is that portion of the Harz district which includes the Brocken and the high district to the west, and comprises a total area of about 330 square miles. Part of it lies in Brunswick and part in Hanover, and, with the exception of certain portions adjoining the towns and villages, the whole consists of State Forests, comprising nearly 132,000 acres, which are under the administration of the Prussian Government. The highest point in the Harz is formed by the Brocken, which rises to a height of 3747 feet. The streams of the Upper Harz drain into the Weser, with, the exception of some insignificant streams on the eastern side, which find their way to the Elbe. The eastern declivities of the Brocken consist of granite, which, to the west, is overlayed by shale and greywacke. In other parts of the district, however, we meet with sandstone and limestone, which belong partly to the Devonian and partly to the Lower Coal-Measures. The district is rich in minerals, which include silver, copper, zinc, lead, etc. - In winter the weather is usually very severe, the ground being generally covered with snow from October till April. The average annual temperature (taken at Clausthal, 1930 feet above sea-level) is 43° F., as compared with 47°5 in Scotland; while the rainfall aggregates 53 inches annually, compared with about 40 inches in many parts of Scotland. The climate does not admit of the cultivation of cereals in any part of the Upper Harz, and fruit-trees are found only in a few favoured spots. The potato, however, is cultivated with moderate success in the patches and gardens attached to the cottages. Most of the surface not under wood is devoted to pasture and meadows, but even these do not yield well without abundant manure, and this is seldom available. During the summer the cows graze in the woods, while in winter they subsist entirely on hay. The only kind of bedding used for cattle is sawdust, of which large quantities are produced in the numerous saw-mills. The cow of the Harz constitutes a distinct breed, and much attention has been devoted to its improvement during recent years. It is essentially a “cottar’s cow,” giving a comparatively large yield on poor fare, and being for the most part in the hands of the miners and woodmen of this district of Germany. In the Upper Harz the climate makes the cultivation of delicate trees impossible, and the tree par excellence of the district is the common Norway spruce (Picea excelsa). In the higher and more exposed situations even this tree grows only in a somewhat 148 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. stunted form, and it may be said to reach its maximum elevation at about 3300 feet. The other trees of the Upper Harz are not numerous ; but below 1600 feet a considerable area is occupied by woods of beech, and the same tree is met with to a greater or less extent in mixture with the spruce up to 2300 feet. A few oaks, birches, and alders occur naturally in the few places that suit their growth. Sycamores and rowans are the species usually employed for planting along avenues and roads. The yew, at one time very common in the Harz, has now entirely disappeared. So far as pure woods are concerned, the following figures show the area occupied by the principal trees :— Spruce, ., : . : > 103,590 acres, Beech, = : : : 2° "28;600" 3 Oaks - : . : : 5;a60! 9 5 Alder and Bireh, . . . : IDO: The woods in this district suffer to a very serious extent from snow-breaking, and especially spruce woods at an elevation of 1200 to 2000 feet. If the snow falls in large flakes, and especially if rather damp, it accumulates on the crowns of the trees in such quantities as sometimes to break down and completely destroy whole forests. In 1883, when the last severe visitation of this kind occurred, nearly 25,000,000 eubic feet of wood was broken down in this district alone, the whole of the damage being done in a few hours. This calamity is accountable for the scarcity of old trees, and for the comparative absence of close pole-woods, and the leaderless condition of many of the trees is also to be attributed to this cause. Storms, on the whole, do comparatively little damage in this district ; even the tornado of February 12, 1894, was accountable for but 730,000 cubic feet of blown timber, which is equal to about 5} cubic feet per acre. The pine weevil (Hylobius abietis) is found to be best combated by stubbing out the stools soon after the trees are felled. Bark beetles (Scolytide) are kept in check by peeling the trees as soon as felled, by removing all dead and unhealthy trees in the thinnings, and by laying down “catch trees” in suspected localities. A much more serious matter is the peeling and nibbling of young trees by deer. Whereas damage by nibbling the branches is chiefly confined to the places where the deer congregate in spring, there is scarcely a spruce tree in the whole district that does not show bark wounds caused by these animals. In 1892 the Upper Harz yielded 2299 red deer and 772 roe deer; but last season the numbers were much smaller, the severe winter having killed the animals by hundreds. The red stag of this district seldom STATE FORESTS OF PRUSSIA. 149 exceeds 18 stones, but his antlers are massive, though rather deficient in points. The streams of the Harz abound in trout, and the supply is well maintained by the action of the Government in distributing ova every year amongst the various forest districts, each of which is provided with a hatchery. The permanent staff of forest workmen at the disposal of the administration numbers about 1000. At busy times, especially when sowing and planting are in full swing, additional hands, mostly women, are engaged temporarily. As much of the work lies in remote parts of the forest, it is found necessary to erect sheds for the accommodation of the labourers, who, at such times, only visit their homes on Saturday nights. The permanent workmen are all registered, and each must work in any part of the district where his services may be required. They are all members of the Clausthal Mutual Provident Associa- tion (established 1713), which provides annuities for widows and orphans, pecuniary assistance during sickness or when incapaci- tated by accident, free medical advice and medicine, old age pensions, etc. The annual income of the society is about £3750, of which the State furnishes £1500, and the members the balance by monthly contributions. Day labour is paid at the rate of about 2s. 3d. per day, while contract labour—and this is most general—yields from 2s. 6d. to 3s. 6d. per day. At present a considerable amount of labour is being employed on road-making, much attention being at present bestowed on this important element in the development of a forest district. The markets in the Harz for spruce timber are very good, and prices run high. Firewood is not sold, because the various towns and villages, having the right to be supplied with a certain amount of firewood annually, it practically takes all the wood of this kind available to meet their requirements. As showing what a serious matter this servitude is, it may be mentioned that the two small towns of Clausthal and Zellerfeld alone have a right to over 17,000 cords of wood annually. To supply this firewood, timber has often to be cut before it is mature; but an arrange- ment has now been come to by which the villages are paid 18s. for each cord of wood that they are entitled to, but which they have not received. During the financial year 1893-94 spruce timber 20 inches in diameter sold for an average price of about 83d. per cubic foot, English measurement. The average annual gross revenue from timber sales in the forests of the Upper Harz for the three financial years ending with 1892 was £141,175. During the same period the average annual expenses were £47,784, the nett annual income being thus 150 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. £93,391. These figures being derived from forests covering 131,880 acres, it follows that the average annual nett income is just over 14s. 1§d. per acre. In one district (Torfhaus) it is as low as 4s. 8d., while in another (Elend) it is as high as 28s. 6d. Of the 103,590 acres of spruce forest in the Upper Harz, nearly 99,000 acres are worked as even-aged high forest, and the rest on the shelter-wood selection system. The latter system is practised only in the higher parts of the Brocken, on very steep declivities, and in the neighbourhood of the mines, where the smoke proves troublesome. The general rotation-period is now 120 years, though formerly it was only 100. Taking the whole forest area into con- sideration, it is found that the average annual out-put of timber amounts to about 35 cubic feet (English measurement) per acre, besides which, branches, tops, and small-wood produce about 10 cubic feet. The yield of timber varies considerably in the various forest divisions, being as low as 20 cubic feet in Torfhaus, and as high as 46-cubic feet in Osterode. Under favourable cir- cumstances the spruces at 100 to 120 years of age attain a height of 120 feet, and at the final felling furnish 6500 cubic feet of timber (English measurement) per acre. In the higher districts, however, where many of the trees have lost their tops through snow- breaking, and where the conditions of growth are altogether less favourable, the yield will not exceed 2500 to 4000 cubic feet ; while near the upper limit of tree growth the yield will seldom exceed 700 or 800 cubic feet. Where the woods are managed on the even-aged high forest system, it is the custom to clear off the whole of the trees at the end of the rotation. Care is taken, however, not to make any single clearing very large. In order to guard against the attack of the pine weevil, a clearing is never undertaken in the neighbourhood of a young wood, for were such done the beetles would increase rapidly in the old stools, and afterwards move on to the young wood. When an area has been cleared, the stools are rooted out as quickly as possible, and after lying bare for three or four years the ground is restocked. The shelter-wood selection system consists in the removal of mature trees wherever they occur in the wood, and it is expected that the seed naturally shed by adjoining trees will furnish plants enough to fill up the blanks. In this way it is evident that an uneven-aged wood will result, that is to say, we shall have trees of all ages growing irregularly throughout the wood. It sometimes happens that the desired object is not attained, in which case assistance has to be given by means of seed artificially sown, and even in some cases by the insertion of young plants. This system is only practised where it is undesirable to completely clear an area, such a case occurring, for instance, on a steep declivity with STATE FORESTS OF PRUSSIA. 151 shallow soil, where the action of the rain and melted snow on a denuded surface, might soon result in all the soil being washed off. The time of commencing thinning, and the approximate number of trees to be removed, are determined according to circumstances, but it may be laid down asa general rule that spruce woods at low elevations are thinned for the first time when they are about thirty years old, while those high up the hills are left undisturbed till they have reached their forty-fifth year. To Scottish foresters these times of commencing thinning must seem unduly delayed, but this is one of the points where sylviculture at home differs so much from that practised abroad. After thinning has once been started, the operation is repeated every six or eight years. The great majority of the spruce woods in this district are established by planting, the young trees employed being either four to five year-old transplants, or untransplanted seedlings, in the latter case three or four plants being put into each hole (“bunch-planting”). This latter system of planting is at present rising in favour, owing to the fact that the resulting woods furnish a very large quantity of thinnings, which prove useful in satisfying the demand for firewood. All the young trees are reared in temporary nurseries, which are formed wherever planting operations are to be carried on. The seed is sown in rows, and if the trees are to be transplanted in the nursery, this is usually done when they are two years old, after which they stand other two years. THE ACADEMY OF FORESTRY AT EBERSWALDE AND ITS SURROUNDING WOODS. 2nd and 3rd August. The Forestry School at Eberswalde was founded in 1830, for the purpose of affording a thorough technical education to those intending to enter the State Forest service of Prussia. Prussia has also another Forestry School at Munden, which, however, was not founded till 1868. These schools are also attended by students qualifying for the management of private and communal forests, as well as by foreigners, notably Russians. At present there are from 50 to 60 students at Eberswalde, though in 1880 there were as many as 216. The decrease in the attendance is due to the scarcity of appointments, as a con- sequence of so many men having qualified during last decade. 152 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. The permanent staff at the Academy of Eberswalde consists of the following:—Dr Dankelmann (Director), Dr Schwappach, Forstmeister Runnebaum, Forstmeister Zeising, and Dr Kienitz, all of whom attend to the various branches of Forestry. Then we have Dr Remelé (Chemistry, Mineralogy, and Geology), Dr Altum (Zoology), Dr Muttrich (Physics and Meteorology), Dr Ramann (Relation of Trees to Soil and Situation), and Dr Schwarz (Botany). These senior members of the staff have all assistants, who attend to the demonstrations, but usually give courses of lectures as well. Instruction in Forest Law is attended to by Dr Dickel from Berlin, and Agriculture by Dr Canstein, formerly of the Agricultural College in Berlin. Eberswalde is the centre of a large system of forestal investiga- tion and experiment, which is carried on throughout the whole of Prussia, and embraces Technology, Geology, Mineralogy, Meteorology, Botany, and Zoology. Extensive collections, libraries, nurseries (30 acres), fish hatcheries, seed-kilns, and the neighbouring forests (40,000 acres), constitute important adjuncts to the teaching of the lecture-room. Visits to the forest two or three times a week form a regular part of the training, and a fortnight’s excursion to some more distant wooded area is usually arranged at the end of the summer session. Candidates for entrance to the Prussian Forest Service must first of all furnish a school “leaving certificate,” and produce a doctor’s certificate of physical fitness. They then spend a year at practical work in the woods under the direction of a State Oberforster. During this year of preparation, the candidate gains some knowledge of practical detail, and is able to convince himself, before too late, whether a forester’s life is likely to suit him or not. At the end of this period, the aspirant is ready to begin his scientific training, which consists of two years at the Forest Schools of Eberswalde or Munden, and of one year in some university where Law and Political Economy may be studied. At the end of these three years the student presents himself for his first examination, and should he be successful in getting through, he is designated a Forstreferendar. The next step is to select a State Forest with as varied conditions as possible, in which two years are spent, fifteen months of which are specially devoted to Forest protection, Forest administration, and the preparation of Forest working plans. During these two years the candidate has to keep a diary, in which he makes a short record of his observa- tions, and which serves as an index of his diligence. Then follows the second examination, after which the young forester is called a Forstassessor, and enters upon active employment. The soil of the district round Eberswalde consists of alluvial STATE FORESTS OF PRUSSIA. ,as sands and marls. The quality of the soil for the growth of trees depends largely on the depth of the marl and onits degree of weathering. The surface geology of the whole district has been very carefully worked out, so that it is known exactly which trees will thrive best in the various situations. The silver fir and spruce are not indigenous to this district, but the latter is used to some extent in filling up blanks. Here, asin East Prussia generally, the Seots fir and oak are the most important trees, the beech being found growing in pure woods only in the most favourable situations. The hornbeam also is largely used for filling up in Scots fir woods, and for protecting the soil. Alder, too, is profit- ably cultivated in marshy places. According as the soil is loamy or sandy, so do we find the oak or Scots fir predominating. It is found that the timber of Scots fir grown on loam is much inferior in quality to that furnished by trees growing on sand, although, so far as yield is concerned, the former situation may produce more than the latter. At the age of 120 to 140 years, woods of Scots fir yield from 4300 to 4800 cubic feet of timber per acre (English measurement), which commands an average price of about 63d. per cubic foot, though for wood of very fine quality 10d. or more is obtained. The oak forests take 200 to 240 years to reach maturity, and then they yield 2150 to 2500 cubic feet per acre, which sells for from 10d. to 1s. 1d. per cubic foot. The tendency in this district at present.is to reduce the area under oak, and to increase that under Scots fir, for it is believed that although oak timber is getting scarcer, its price will not rise in proportion, owing to its being supplanted by iron and many foreign woods. Leaving alder coppice aside, we have, in this district, to deal with three principal systems of sylviculture, namely—oak mixed with beech and Scots fir, Scots fir mixed with oak and beech, and pure woods of Scots fir. 1. Oak, with Beech and Scots Fir as a Mixture.—This mixture is managed according to the quality of the situation. On the best class of soils the object is to gradually remove the Scots firs and beeches in the thinnings, so that at the end of the rotation practically a pure oak wood remains. On poorer soils, on the other hand, the Scots firs are allowed to compete on equal terms with the oaks, while the beeches are kept under, and serve the purpose of a soil-protection wood. At the end of 120 years the Scots firs are felled, while the oaks are left for another period of 120 years, making the total length of the rotation 240 years. In some cases, also, the beeches are allowed to get up to the same height as the oaks and Scots firs, in which case the firs are removed at the end of 120 years, and the oaks and beeches at the age of 240 years.. 154 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. This form of mixed wood is established in three different ways, according to the circumstances of the case. If both oaks and beeches are present at the end of the rotation, so-called “seed- fellings” are undertaken, and the regeneration takes place by means of self-sown seed. A few firs scattered up and down the wood will furnish a sufficient number of seedlings of this species, or, otherwise, young plants are brought from the nursery. During the period of regeneration, great care must be taken to protect the young oaks from being crowded out by the more vigorously- growing beeches and firs. The second method of regenerating such a mixed wood occurs where oaks are very scarce at the end of a rotation, the bulk of the trees consisting of beeches and Scots firs. In such a case the wood is strongly thinned, and the oaks are introduced in rows or bands by means of acorns or two-year-old plants. The rest of the stocking is secured by the self-sown seed of the beeches and Scots firs. If, on the other hand, seed beeches are scarce, this species is also introduced by means of artificially sown seed. The third case occurs where it is found that an area is so irregular in character that only certain small circumscribed portions are suitable for the growth of the oak. When this is the case, small patches--say 40 yards in diameter—of the old wood are cleared, and these are stocked, artificially or naturally, with oaks. After seven or eight years the adjoining portion is naturally regenerated by means of seed-fellings in the usual way. 2. Scots Firs, with Oak and Beech as a Mixture.—This sylvi- cultural system is practised on land which is only indifferently suited to the growth of oaks, as, for instance, where good strong soil is overlaid by five or six feet of light sand. The length of the rotation is here 120 years, at the end of which time 70 to 90 per cent. of the trees should be firs, and 10 to 30 per cent. oaks, the crowns of the beeches being all at a lower level, so that these trees are chiefly fulfilling the functions of a soil-protection wood. At the end of the rotation, a small number of the best-formed oaks and firs may be retained as standards to grow for some years longer. In regenerating this form of wood, small areas, round or oblong, are cleared in the wood, and these are stocked with oaks and beeches, which are usually introduced as seed. When the trees on these regenerated patches have attained the age of ten to fifteen years, the adjoining wood is renewed by seed-fellings. 3. Pure Scots Fir Woods.—These are chiefly confined to the tracts of pure sand, the rotation extending to 120 years. Regeneration takes place by clear-felling narrow bands of the old trees 60 to 80 yards broad. The clearing begins on the east side of the STATE FORESTS OF PRUSSIA. 155 forest, so as to protect the old trees against being blown down by the violent west gales, and the denuded stripes run from north to south, in order that the ground may be preserved as much as possible from the drying influence of the sun, A new clearing is never undertaken till the last one is fully stocked and in vigorous growth, so that an interval of ten years usually elapses between two such fellings. The ground is restocked by artificially sown seed (5} lbs. per acre), or by means of one-year-old seedlings which are placed in a furrow made by the forest plough, or are inserted in stripes that have been trenched to the depth of 12 inches. Whether sowing or planting will be adopted depends on the abundance of seed, or the abundance of hand labour, but, speaking generally, a surface free from weeds is restocked by sowing, and a grassy or weedy surface by planting. Blanks are filled up either by deeply stirring a patch a foot square and inserting a year-old seedling plant in each corner, or by using plants with balls of earth on their roots. In the immediate neighbourhood of Eberswalde, the forest is managed on the uneven-aged selection system. There are two reasons for the adoption of this system—the first, the uninterrupted maintenance of the beauty of the woods, by avoiding the necessity of making clear-fellings ; and the second, the providing of a system not common in the district, so that the students may have the opportunity of becoming familiar with it. The method of pro- cedure is as follows :—Patches of a diameter of 30 to 50 yards, at intervals of about 80 yards, are cleared in the woods, and, having been surrounded by a deer-proof fence, these patches are partially stocked by beech seed sown in wide rows. Two years later the seed of the Scots fir is sown between the rows of beeches, and when the young trees are fairly established, a few of the old marginal trees are removed, and the patch under regeneration correspondingly enlarged. At the instigation of Prince Bismarck, who was considerably influenced in the matter by Herr Booth, the Prussian Government has, since 1881, devoted much attention to the introduction of exotic trees. Up till 1885 attention was only given to American and European trees, but since then the Conifers of Japan have been largely experimented with. From 1881 to 1885 a sum of £2500 was annually voted for this work, while for the period 1886-90 the allowance was £1500 a year. During the ten years 1881-90, £12,500 was spent on the purchase of the seeds of exotic trees. In 1890 it was considered that enough had been done to give most of the likely exotics a chance to prove their value on Prussian soil, so that since then the annual vote has been only £350. During the experimental decade ending with 1890, the VOL. XIV. PART III. Oo 156 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. following trees were dealt with:—Pinus rigida*, P. ponderosa, P. Jeffreyi, P. laricio, Pseudotsuga Douglasii*, Abies Nordmanniana*, Picea sitchensis*, Cupressus Lawsoniana*, Thuja Menziesir, Juniperus virginiana, Carya alba*, C. amara*, C. tomentosa, C. porcina, Juglans nigra*, Acer californicum, A. sacharinum*, A. dasycarpum, Fraxinus pubescens, Betula lenta*, Quercus rubra. Thuja Menzesir would succeed very well but for the attack of a fungus (Pestalozzia Ffunerea) which has brought all the plantations of this tree into a very critical condition. Since 1890 the following additional trees have been planted:—Prunus_ serotina, Fraxinus alba, Pinus Banksiana, Picea pungens, Abies concolor, Larix leptolepsis, Chame- cyparis pisifera, and C. obtusa. Up to the present about 1730 acres of State Forest have been planted with exotics, which are under the control of the Central Investigation Station of Eberswalde. This is over and above numerous areas that have been stocked by means of seed got in other ways, so that practically no State Forests now exist in Prussia that do not contain a greater or less number of exotic trees. In the neighbourhood of Eberswalde exotics have been extensively tried, where it has been found that they thrive well in the cleared patches that are made in woods worked on the uneven- aged selection system. In preparing the above account of the Sylviculture and Arbori- culture of the districts visited by the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society on its Excursion of 1895, I have, on behalf of the Society, to express my warmest thanks for assistance rendered by Herr Landesforstrath Quaet-Faslem of Hanover, Herr Forstmeister Hesse of the Saupark, Springe, Herr Regierungs- and Forstrath Betzhold of Hildesheim, Professor Schwappach of Eberswalde, and Messrs Heins of Halstenbeck. The Society is specially indebted to Professor Schwappach, who not only supplied the whole of the matter for Eberswalde and its neighbourhood, but who also secured the assistance of the other gentlemen named above. As all the above information dealing with State Forestry was derived from official sources, and is therefore thoroughly reliable, it constitutes evidence of the very greatest value in regard to the management and returns of Prussian forests. For kind assistance with the translation, I have also to thank Professor I. Bayley Balfour and Dr Smith of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, Mr A. C. Forbes, Bowood, Calne, and Mr Robert Ferrier of the Durham College of Science. Wi... Be The species that have succeeded best are indicated in the above list by a star. BERLIN AND POTSDAM, ery BERLIN AND POTSDAM. 4th August. Berlin, the chief town of the German Empire, with a population of about 1,660,000, stands on the river Spree, about 100 miles due south from the Baltic Sea in the neighbourhood of Stettin, and 110 feet above sea-level. Situated nearly in the middle of the Empire, it is a centre of great commercial activity, as well as the seat of the Imperial Government, and the residence of the Emperor and his Court. Built in the midst of an extensive sandy plain, it suffers in picturesque beauty when compared with most other European capitals; but, nevertheless, it contains many busy and well-edificed streets, numerous handsome buildings, with spacious squares, parks, and open spaces skilfully laid out and well kept, which add much to the beauty and attractiveness of the city. In Berlin the objects of most interest to arboriculturists are the public parks and gardens, the Unter den Linden, and the various museums of natural science and rural affairs. The chief public park, and the largest, is the celebrated Thiergarten. It lies on the west of Berlin, the main entrance from the city being the Brandenburg Gate, at the top of the Unter den Linden, and it extends about 2 miles west towards Charlottenburg, with an average breadth ‘of half a mile, and a total area of over 600 acres. The surface is comparatively level, but it is well diversified with plantations, which exhibit the character of natural forest, and occupy about two-thirds of the space, while the remainder is devoted to formal avenues, neatly kept lawns and flower-gardens, and a series of lovely sheets of water, which add considerably to the beauty of the scene. Roads and walks traverse the park in every direction, so that all parts are easily reached and seen to the best advantage. The semi-natural style is rather pleasing at the first glance, but, to British tastes, soon becomes somewhat monotonous from the want of contrast and variety in the size and species of the trees and shrubs employed in the arboreal embellishments, and the dull sameness of the foliage and contour presented to the eye at every turn. The famous Unter den Linden extends about a mile in length, from the Brandenburg Gate to the Royal Palace, with a width of about 200 feet, the centre of the street being adorned with several rows of lime trees, from which it derives its widely known name. It is one of the busiest streets in Europe, and the most fashion- able promenade in Berlin; and when brilliantly lighted up at 1 By Mr Dunn. 158 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. night it is a pleasing sight to see the multitude of people passing to and fro, or quietly sitting beneath the limes, every leaf and twig being clearly outlined by the brilliancy of the electric light. The lime trees in themselves are not remarkable for either size or beauty, the stir and dust amidst which they exist being against their luxuriant growth; still they present a tolerably thriving appear- ance, and afford a grateful shade and pleasant rendezvous to the fashionable crowds who congregate and promenade beneath them. The Botanic Garden in Potsdamer Strasse, Zoological Garden on the south-west side of the Thiergarten, Humboldt’s “ Hain,” or wood, in the northern, and Frederick’s “Hain” in the eastern suburbs of the city, are all well worth a visit. The Agricultural Museum, containing probably the most extensive and complete collection in the world of agricultural specimens, implements, and appliances, stands in the Invaliden Strasse, near the Stettin Railway Station, and close to it are the Natural History and the Geological Museums, both full of objects of great interest to the arboriculturist. PoTsDAM. The town of Potsdam, with a population of 55,000, is built on an island of the same name in the river Havel, which in this neighbourhood expands into a series of large and beautiful lakes, amidst scenery of the most charming nature. In the vicinity of the town are numerous extensive parks and palaces, the residences of the past and present rulers of Germany and their families. In fact, the whole district may be said to be one magnificent Royal domain, extending for miles around Potsdam, and forming a richly diversified and picturesque landscape, in which beautiful trees and rich woodlands form a leading feature. Distant about 16 miles south-west from Berlin, Potsdam is easily reached by several lines of railway. The plan for visiting the chief objects of interest in Potsdam had been carefully arranged by Mr John Booth, of Berlin, who courteously acted as Cicerone to the party. Leaving Berlin, the inspection began at New Babelsberg. In carriages the party first visited the Royal Park and Castle of Babelsberg, the summer residence of the Emperor William I., which stands at a considerable altitude in a beautifully-wooded domain, and commands extensive views of the most charming scenery of the district. The grounds were laid out by Prince Puckler in the British style of landscape gardening, and present an ever-varying and highly-attractive appearance, as they are maintained in the most perfect order. Deciduous trees and shrubs prevail in the composition, as the winters in this part of Prussia are too severe to permit of the free use of evergreens. BERLIN AND POTSDAM. 159 Driving across the valley to Klein Glienicke, the park and castle of Prince Frederick Leopold of Prussia, brother of the Emperor William I., were inspected by the special permission of His Royal Highness. The park and gardens are in the British style, and present many features of rare beauty. Charming views are obtained through delightful vistas of the broad waters of the Havel and the Jungfernsee, o’erhung by low hills wooded to their summits, with many palaces, castles, towers, and villages nestling in the sylvan landscape, or standing picturesquely on the shores of the lakes, and reflecting their shadows in the placid waters. In the pleasure-grounds are many rare and beautiful trees and shrubs, chiefly of deciduous species, which are found to thrive well in the high summer temperature, and are able to withstand the rigours of winter in this sheltered locality. Among them were noticed American and Japanese maples, hickories, oaks, and poplars ; the almond, tulip-tree, catalpa, Azlantus glandulosa, Pterocarya caucasica, and magnolias of several species, scenting the air with the perfume of their flowers; and Aristolochia Sipho, with its striking foliage climbing to the top of the tallest trees. Passing the newly-erected palace of a member of the Imperial family, situated on the northern shore of Glienicke lake amidst beautiful gardens and grounds, the road leads over Glienicke bridge. A long and interesting drive along the southern shore of the Jungfernsee, and, by special permission, through a portion of the Imperial Gardens, and past the Marble Palace on the Heiligen See ; Potsdam was reached about noon, and a halt was called at Schloss Platz for an hour. Among the most notable objects in the town were the “ Schloss,” or Royal Palace, built by Frederick the Great, to whom Potsdam and its neighbourhood mainly owe their characteristic features and historical fame. On the south of the palace is the Lustgarten (Pleasure Garden), with the spacious parade ground on which Frederick William I. used to drill his famous regiment of gigantic guards ; on the east, the Barberini Palace, another of the palatial erections of Frederick the Great, and near it the Rathhaus, or City Hall; on the north, the chief ecclesiastical building in Potsdam, the Church of St Nicholas ; and a little farther off, in Wilhelm Platz, a noted statue of Frederick William III. Beyond the square on the west, in Schloss Strasse, the Garrison Church was seen, where lie the remains of Frederick the Great and of his father, Frederick William I., the founder of the church. The interior walls are hung with military trophies, chiefly captured in the wars with France. Leaving the town by the Brandenburg Gate, a visit was paid to the Friendenskirche (Church of Peace) and the beautiful Mausoleum erected by the Empress Victoria, Princess Royal of 160 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. Britain, in which rest the remains of her husband, the Emperor Frederick III. Passing on, the gardens and pleasure-grounds of Marly presented many charming features in the best style of landscape design, and were richly embellished with choice trees and shrubs, and a profusion of beautiful flowering plants. Immediately beyond Marly, the far-famed Park and Gardens of Sans-Souci were entered near the main gate, at which stands the Great Obelisk. Sans-Souci owes its origin to Frederick the Great, who spent much of his time here in designing and building the palace, and in constructing the magnificent terraced gardens and extensive pleasure-grounds which lie around it, in nearly every style of landscape art. Approaching the palace through the winter garden, in which clipped hedges and formal banks of shrubs, with choice conifers from North-west America and Japan, are the most striking features, the Great Fountain is seen near the foot of the terraces, throwing its waters into the air to a height of fully a hundred feet. The way to the palace lies up the spacious flights of the grand stair, leading from terrace to terrace until the grand plateau in front of the palace is reached, at a height of about seventy feet above the basin of the Great Fountain. From this coign of vantage a glorious view is obtained of the magnificent panorama, with the Great Fountain in the fore- ground, and, as a whole, forming a masterpiece of landscape beauty. The grand terraces, six in number, extend far to the right and left, and are richly decorated with ornamental piers, balustrades, vases, and statuary. The walls of the terraces are covered with narrow, old-fashioned glass-houses, in which peaches, figs, and other fruits and plants are cultivated; but these houses are much out of harmony with their surroundings, and add nothing to the interest or beauty of the scene. The flower-gardens are in the Italian style, and are richly decorated with handsome vases, statues, groups of sculpture, and fountains. Among the most striking embellishments are the large number of fine orange trees set in tubs, and the brilliantly coloured flowers and foliage which enliven the parterres. To the right, on the way to the Northern Garden, or Pinetum, the famous Windmill is seen, which, says popular tradition, the owner doggedly refused to sell to Frederick the Great, but it has now long been Royal property. In the Northern Garden are specimens of all the coniferous family that will bear the rigours of a Prussian winter, with many fine examples of the best species and varieties. Turning to the left, the way was through the Sicilian Garden, richly embellished with rare and choice plants, statuary, vases, and fountains. Proceeding southward through the richly wooded pleasure- BERLIN AND POTSDAM. 161 grounds and park, the Hauptweg, or Grand Avenue to the New Palace, was crossed, and the route lay through the spacious park, where many stately specimens of trees were seen standing singly on the greensward, or tastefully grouped in clumps and groves with charming effect. Passing the Sea-Horse Fountain, the Japanese House, the Roman Bath-House, and many other notable objects, Charlottenhof is reached, a handsome villa in the Italian style, standing in the midst of beautiful gardens and pleasure-grounds, in which the choicest kinds of conifers are an effective and pleasing feature. Here is preserved the celebrated chair made of steel and silver by Peter the Great of Russia. Bearing to the right, the route passes the Hippodrome, now tastefully laid out with charming avenues, grass walks, and alleys; and on through a wide stretch of lovely park scenery till the New Palace is reached, standing on a fine site at the end of the Grand Avenue, which runs eastward for about a mile and a half to the Great Obelisk, at the main entrance to Sans-Souci. The prospect from the grand entrance, abutting on the spacious esplanade in front of the stately edifice, is extensive, beautifully varied, and harmonious. The palace was erected by Frederick the Great, at a cost, it is said, of £450,000, and is elaborately decorated with sculpture, statuary, and other works of art, while the interior contains two hundred apartments, many of them richly adorned, in a somewhat florid style of decorative art, and containing numerous celebrated paintings by the most famous masters. Among the largest and most attractive of the rooms are the Marble Saloon or Concert Room, the Theatre, and the Ball Room, each over 100 feet long and about 60 feet wide; and the gorgeous Shell Saloon, the walls, roof, and floor of which are richly inlaid with the rarest and most beautiful shells, precious stones, and minerals. The rooms formerly occupied by Frederick the Great remain intact, and contain many interesting relics of that distinguished monarch. The palace was the favourite residence of the late Emperor Frederick III., who died here in 1888; and is now occupied by the reigning Emperor, William IL., and his family. Returning through the Brandenburg suburb to the town, a glimpse was got, in passing the Royal castle, of the famous lime tree, now carefully protected, at which petitioners were wont to station themselves, in order to attract the attention of Frederick the Great. Crossing the Lange Briiche, or Long Bridge, a substantial stone erection, with artistic groups of statuary decorating the piers, beautiful views were obtained of the wide expanse of the Havel, dotted with umbrageous islands, and oerhung by the sylvan heights of Brauhausberg in front, 162 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. and of the loftier Babelsberg away to the left. Passing out by the Teltowe Thor, the railway station was soon reached, and the visit to Potsdam ended. M. D. THE NURSERY OF MESSRS HEINS AT HALSTENBECK. 5th August. This nursery, which is situated a few miles from Hamburg, embraces about 125 acres. It furnishes every year about 100 waggon loads of plants, over and above a large number which are sent out in hampers and bundles, the total number despatched annually being approximately 40,000,000. The species of trees raised are in general those that are met with in Scottish nurseries, but of late years somewhat of a specialty has been made of the Douglas fir, Menzies spruce, and the Weymouth pine, which have been largely planted all over Germany, the last-mentioned tree being greatly in favour in Bavaria. The hawthorn is also raised in enormous quantities, the firm having the reputation of possess- ing a very fine strain of this plant. From fifty to sixty hands are regularly employed, but at times, when work is pressing, the number is increased to a hundred or more. Close proximity to the railway enables the Messrs Heins to despatch the plants in very fine condition, most of the small Conifers being loaded straight into the trucks without previous packing. Hardwoods, and large trees generally, are made up into bundles by means of a special machine, and trees packed in this way are found to stand a long railway journey in an exceptionally satisfactory manner. In spring, when sowing and transplanting operations are in full swing, a cold dry east wind prevails in this part of Prussia, which does great damage to young nursery-stock. In order to counteract the effects of this cold drying wind, Messrs Heins, two years ago, laid down a system of water-piping over a part of their nursery, the pressure being derived from a petroleum-engine of two-horse power. The results of the irrigation have been very satisfactory, the death-rate amongst the plants in spring having been greatly reduced. The nursery is thoroughly equipped with all the modern appliances for cultivating the ground, sowing, planting, and removing the stock, cleaning and storing of seeds, and for the general despatch of business. SOME ASPECTS OF THE EXCURSION TO GERMANY. 163 XIV. Some Aspects of the Hxcursion of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society to Germany, July-August 1895, By Anprew Starter, Haystoun, Peebles. To those members of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society who were fortunate in being able to join the Excursion to the forests of Northern Germany, the opportunity was afforded of gaining much valuable information, not only in forestry, but also in agriculture as well. Those interested in municipal and county government were also able to draw valuable information from what was to be seen and learned in the various cities and districts visited, which might be beneficially applied at home. In the cities and towns, advantage is taken of every available spot for the growth of trees, and these, along with the open spaces and gardens, which are freely utilised for arboreal and floral growth, combined with the general cleanliness of the surroundings, add to their attractiveness. Such vegetation seems to be religiously protected by the inhabitants, as in the busy thoroughfares it seems as perfect and undisturbed as could be found in any private domain in this country. In forming streets of new buildings, among the first operations appears to be the planting of a line of deciduous trees on each side, these being chiefly limes, and, owing in a great measure to the absence of smoke during the summer season, they, when in leaf, look fresh and vigorous. Country roads are treated in a like manner. Trees, frequently fruit, are planted at intervals along their margins, and while shading the traveller from the summer sun, yield heavy crops of fruit, which, owing to the forbearance of the public, come to full fruition. The physical features of the provinces of Hanover, Brunswick, and Brandenburg which were passed through, may be charac- terised as a series of sandy plains interspersed with tracts of marsh and loam, and with slight undulations nowhere rising more than 1300 feet above sea-level, excepting the Harz moun- tains—the Brocken, which is 3747 feet, being the highest peak. These plains have, where possible, been rendered fertile by culti- vation, and, as a rule, fairly luxuriant crops are reaped. They consist chiefly of rye, barley, oats, beans, beet, and hay; and adjoining or convenient to large towns considerable breadths of asparagus are grown, Cattle, owing probably to the absence of fences and the limited size of the holdings, are mostly all “ soiled ” 164 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. indoors, and consist mainly of the Holstein breed. On the Harz, however, the cows, which belong chiefly to the woodmen and miners, are of a distinct class, brown in colour, of a size and make between the Ayrshire and shorthorn, and their appearance would indicate them to be fair milkers, and susceptible to easy fattening. The roads being on the whole of a level character, the haulage is easy, and the horses, for that and other reasons, are light, and are usually worked in pairs in four-wheeled carts. Cows, how- ever, are also used as draught animals, and dogs are frequently yoked in suitable vehicles, especially in towns. Small holdings appear to be the rule, and are either owned or rented by the peasantry. The system of peasant proprietorship has, it is said, been found to work well, and it is the intention of the Government to extend the system as opportunity offers. Large estates are, where possible, bought up and divided into 50 to 70 acre holdings. These are taken up by the peasantry, who pay a fixed sum annually for the holding until its original cost, with interest, is paid off. With the view of preventing these holdings being subdivided among the families of deceased owners, it is enacted by statute that the eldest son becomes the inheritor. The houses of these peasants are usually in groups or villages, and their ground-floors, as a rule, are occupied by the families in one end, while in the other, on each side of an open passage leading to the living rooms, are located the live stock, the upper storeys being used for storing grain, fodder, ete. The poor are treated very much in the same way as our own, but there are old-age pensions which tend to lessen the number of those in need of relief in their old age. Others again are assisted by the State in colonising sections of land provided for that purpose. The climate of Germany is perhaps not so diversified as one might be led to expect, as the greater heats of the southern latitudes are modified by the hilly character of that part of the country, while the cold of the more northern plains is mitigated by their vicinity to the sea. The following figures give a com- parison of the average annual temperatures of Germany, as taken at various stations, with those of the British Isles over the last twenty-nine years :— Summer. Winter. Average. Rainfall. Germany, . . 64°°66 F. 29° FF. 46°83 20 ins. British Isles, . 54°°75 F. 42°-1 F. 48°:42 34°7 ins, The question of wind-force has an important bearing on forestry SOME ASPECTS OF THE EXCURSION TO GERMANY. 165 in all countries, and it would have been of interest had informa- tion been obtainable in that respect. It, however, appears, owing to the imperfect iustraments at present in use, that no reliable data can be obtained as to the velocity of severe storms of wind, such as, during late years, we have experienced. No doubt other countries are liable to be visited in a similar way, and Germany, it appears, is no exception to the rule, as was evident by the photographs noticed in the Academy at Eberswalde, showing the devastating effects of such storms on her woodlands.! The various states of Germany interest themselves in furthering and encouraging agriculture, by means of colleges, experimental stations, and otherwise. In a like manner, equal attention is paid to forestry, as is apparent from the highly equipped academies maintained in suitable centres for its teaching, and for investiga- tions and experiments in connection therewith. Take for instance that at Eberswalde, which is equipped with a Director and nine Professors. The Academy itself is a three-storeyed brick building, the lower flat containing a reading-room, a chemistry and minera- logy lecture-room, a chemical laboratory, an experimental work- room, chemical and geological collections, weighing-room, geological museum, etc. The second flat contains lecture-room, forestry and chase museums, geological and physical collections, meteorological workroom, ete. On the third floor are lecture-rooms, workrooms, room for drawing, botanical and zoological museums, etc. These collections of geological, mineralogical, botanical, and other speci- mens are highly instructive and interesting, and the same may be said of the models of forest machinery, tools, timber-slides, etc., a3 well as those demonstrating the various uses to which the produce of the forest may be applied. With the addition of experimental nurseries, and the surrounding forests, the students of such academies have every opportunity of being thoroughly trained in everything connected with forestry. A duty, and an important one, that devolves upon the repre- sentatives of a nation, is that of developing its various resources. Where, therefore, land unfit for profitable agriculture exists, but which might, by systematic afforestation be utilised, they cannot, 1 On 12th and 13th March 1876, about 30 million cubic feet of timber were blown down in the State and communal forests of Hesse, or 84 cubic feet per acre ; and the same storm cleared 24 cubic feet in the Saxon forests, or 40 per cent. of their fixed annual yield. ‘ On the Ist August 1877, a whirlwind, fifty miles to the north of Berlin, destroyed 34 million cubic feet of standing timber over a breadth of 24 miles, See Schlich’s ‘‘ Manual of Forestry,” vol. iv., p. 466. 166 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. or at least ought not, to lose sight of the fact that they fail in their duty, if advantage is not taken of that method of increasing the revenue of the nation, and at the same time of affording a means of employment to many who, where such land exists, eke out but a precarious livelihood otherwise. Such a charge cannot be laid against Germany, for not only has she elevated forestry to the rank of a science, but she practises what she teaches, with the result that what might be called the waste places of the empire are being gradually afforested, and she can show what excellence the growth of timber, under scientific and systematic management, on inferior soils, can be attained, with profit to the State, and a means of livelihood to a large section of the community. Doubtless there are other countries that have become alive to the necessity of protecting and extending their forests, and are following in her footsteps ; but, whether through lack of forethought or through carelessness, certain nations, which are dependent on others for the bulk of their supply of timber, all but ignore the necessity of encouraging and fostering forestry, with the view of utilising the waste lands within their borders. It may be said that drawbacks exist which act as a hindrance to decided action being taken, but such can be surmounted, not, perhaps, by costly commissions, but by follow- ing the dictates of common prudence. No better object-lesson to those desirous of taking advantage of what might be considered next to worthless land, could be afforded than that which was witnessed at the forest of Oerrel, near Lintzel, in the province of Hanover, where the province has procured by purchase a large tract of the Liineburg heath for afforestation. As opportunity offers that area is increased, and by the aid of the Special Loan Fund,! which is elsewhere noticed, associations, communities, and private individuals are following the example which the State has placed before them in afforesting similar land. This land, where ploughing operations were in progress, had a thin covering of heather, with a surface-layer of about six inches of sandy peat, ’ the subsoil underneath being a dry, fine yellowish sand. A pair of Fowler’s engines were at work with a large plough, turning over about 18 acres per day to an average depth of 20 inches, at a cost to the province of 20s. per acre. Such operations on this class of land might be viewed by some as burdening the initial cost of formation with unnecessary expense. It may, 1 See ‘‘Short Account of the State Forests of Prassia,” page 140. SOME ASPECTS OF THE EXCURSION TO GERMANY. 167 however, be pointed out, to show the justification for that pro- cedure, that the surface, or partly organic layer, is turned down and incorporated with the inorganic one beneath, which will thus assist in promoting a more vigorous growth in future years than would be possible if the ground were left undisturbed. Another advantage is also gained, in that seeding can be resorted to instead of planting, or smaller plants can be used than would otherwise be necessary on an unbroken surface. As a matter of fact, after the ground is harrowed, 80 per cent. is planted with one-year seedlings and the balance sown with seed. Scots fir is the principal crop, but, where the soil is suitable, oak is sown along with a sprinkling of Scots fir, the fir being introduced to form nurses for the oaks ; and when they have served that purpose, the former are cut out, tied up into bundles, and sold as fascines for protecting river banks. Before planting or seeding takes place, the ground is divided into rectangular blocks, each having a distinct number, by broad rides or roads which diverge into a main thoroughfare. A strip of oak mixed with birch is planted round the margin of each block, as a wind-break and for protection against fire. There are about 1000 acres laid down here annually under a forest crop, and the existing one, at the present moment, varies from one up to seventeen years of age. The trees are, on the whole, healthy and vigorous, but damage to some of the leading shoots of the Scots fir was apparent, caused probably by the larve of the pine shoot Yortriz moth. The bulk of such woods in this country would have been freely thinned ere this, but that operation is not likely to be instituted with those under review until their principal height-growth is attained, which will be, in the case of the older sections, in the course of probably ten or a dozen years, and the thinning will be prosecuted sparingly every five or eight years thereafter. By such means, tall clean- grown timber, such as was afterwards seen, is obtained. It may be as well, before proceeding further, to briefly sketch some of the methods adopted by the German foresters in raising and planting out their plants. For supplying plants for such operations as have just been noticed, a considerable breadth of nursery ground has been laid out, convenient to the scene of operations, and that was stocked with the various kinds of plants likely to be required. In other districts where planting, either after clear felling or otherwise, is to take place, patches of 30 or 40 yards square are cleared 168 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, of timber in a suitable and convenient position within the forest. The roots are then grubbed out, the ground trenched and laid out in beds three feet wide with alleys between. The seeds are usually sown in rows across the beds, and covered with specially prepared soil, and afterwards their surface is covered with a thin layer of spruce leaves, or with well-decomposed Jeaf-mould, to prevent too rapid radiation. As a protection against frost, they are then covered with spruce branches, over which may be placed a thin layer of grass, but after all danger is past the covering is removed. In transplanting seedlings into the nursery rows, great care is observed in placing their roots as far as possible in their natural position, and in giving the plants sufficient room for development. Two crops are usually pro- duced from these temporary nurseries, and advantage is at once taken of ‘introducing the future forest crop, by planting in each alley, as soon as formed, a row of trees two to three feet apart. An advantage is thus gained of four or five years’ growth, which would otherwise be lost if the planting of the area was postponed until the final crop was removed. As it is with nursery work, so it is in planting outside. Everything that has a tendency to further the success of the operation is carefully attended to and methodically earried out. In planting sandy soils, where Scots fir is to be the crop, one year’s seedlings are generally used, and for these the surface is previously stirred, either with the plough or spade. For plant- ing, a broad wedge-shaped spade is used, which is pressed by the workman down into the soi!, and a wedge-shaped opening formed, A woman or boy is at hand, who carries the plants in a basket, and who has also a dish of water convenient, into which the roots of a couple of plants are dipped, and these are: then sprinkled over with a little fine soil. One is held, with its roots perpendicular, in each end of the opening, and the spade is then sunk about three inches back, but parallel with the opening, and the soil pressed forward against the roots. The whole then receives a gentle tramp, when the work is completed. Where the surface and soil are of a rougher character, as, for instance, on the Harz, larger plants beeome necessary, and are placed about three feet apart, the surface sod at the position of each plant being pared off by a light mattock, and the subsoil loosened. The planters (women) scrape out a hollow with their hands and place the plant im situ, and cover its roots with a couple SOME ASPECTS OF THE EXCURSION TO GERMANY. 169 of handfuls of prepared soil, which is pressed firmly down. The ordinary soil is then drawn round the neck of the plant, and the whole firmed by a pressure of the foot. The prepared soil just referred to consists of a mixture of humus soil and the ashes of sods burned at a low temperature, and this is deposited in heaps, until required, at various intervals all over the ground. Although it was expected that something phenomenal in the way of timber-growing would be seen, no little surprise was felt at the magnificent, tall, clean-grown, and full-wooded stuff that was everywhere invariably met with; not on the whole of great diameter, but of fine commercial quality. The taper on each bole, whether of hardwood, pine, or spruce, was slight, and the texture of the coniferous timber, owing to the equal and dense character of the annual growths, testified to its quality. The hardwoods, e.g., oak, such as could be examined, were pethaps not so dense or tough in texture as those grown in open situations in this country, but very similar to what is imported from abroad. Beech, however, after thinning had taken place, showed fairly broad and equal rings, such as go, among hardwoods, to make timber of the best quality. he appearance of the ash, when growing, led one to form a similar opinion regarding it. The sylvicultural principles, and the systems of management obtaining in the districts which were visited, are typical, it was understood, of those practised throughout Germany, and might, with modifications, be advantageously adopted in this country. Indeed, it may be said that until proprietors and others lay down systematic working plans, based on similar sylvicultural principles and methods of working, for the management of their woodlands, the results will, as by the past and present haphazard methods, be anything but encouraging or satisfactory. There are certainly drawbacks existing here, affecting financial results, which do not obtain in Germany, but these are within control and can easily be removed. That being so, there is no reason, so far as soil and climate are concerned, why timber of as good quality, and with equal results financially, should not be grown here as on the Continent. The most important consideration in the formation of woodland crops is the selection of species that will produce a maximum of timber of the best quality. A soil that may be of the first quality in a particular situation fcr one species, may prove only of a second or third quality for a different one. For example, a soil of the 170 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. first quality for the Scots pine would be very much lower in the scale for the oak, and vice versa. It will thus be seen that soils are classed, apart from their general constitution, according to their situation and capacity for producing to perfection or otherwise one or more species of tree. The choice for one soil, therefore, may be limited to a single variety which would produce the desired result, and it would therefore be necessary to form a pure crop of it alone. Other soils, again, are capable of meeting the requirements of a variety of species, and it is here that some difficulty arises as to whether one or more should be chosen to form the crop. Probably in one locality it might be desirable, for financial reasons, to fix upon a pure crop, while in another, for a similar reason, a mixed one would be favoured. If one is to judge by the appearance of the crops, the German foresters seem to thoroughly understand this question, and to adapt the crop to the soil, and, unless something unforeseen occurs, each crop is of similar composition to its predecessor. On the Harz, pure woods of spruce form the prevailing crop, up to an elevation of 3300 feet. Above that level the ground becomes peaty and swampy, and the trees thinly scattered and stunted, and attain only the form of bushes. The greatest portion of the forest area is worked on the even-aged high forest system, with a rotation of 120 years. At the end of the rotation the trees stand about 220 to the acre, and average something like 30 cubic feet each of clean measurable timber. Under this system, when clearing is commenced, a strip 30 to 40 yards in width, but which may be of any length, is cut on the east side, and each successive felling is made against the prevailing west wind. As felling is done in winter, the trees are cut level with the surface of the snow. Clearing, however, may start, simultaneously or in successive years, in the same way at various points about 1000 yards apart, so as to accelerate the work of regeneration, and at the same time obviate the denuding of too large an area in any part at one time, which would tend to deteriorate the soil by exposure to drying winds, and thus interfere with the growth of the young trees used in restocking the cleared section. When the wood, including top- wood, is removed from the ground, the roots are grubbed up and split into firewood. ‘The sum realised for the firewood obtained by this operation is about two-thirds less than the cost, but that apparent loss is counterbalanced by the absence of beetles, which would prey on the young plants used in restocking the cleared SOME ASPECTS OF THE EXCURSION TO GERMANY. 194 ground if the old stools were left to form a harbour in which they would multiply and spread. In the course of three or four years after clearing, the ground is planted with six-inch spruce plants, three feet or so apart, and frequently in bunches of three or four in each. The system of bunch-planting has been adopted in districts frequented by browsing animals, so that if most of the leading shoots are nibbled, one, at least, may chance to escape. Another advantage is, that in wide planting the side branches are suppressed at an earlier stage than would be the case if plants were put in singly, and thus clean stems free from large knots are produced. On the other hand, when all but one stem are cut away, decay is apt to spread from the decomposing roots into those of the tree that has been left, and there is thus a tendency for the latter to be affected with rot in the stem. As the stem enlarges and presses, or grows into the stumps of those cut away before they have decayed, an abrasion at the base of the stem is likely to be caused which might tend to generate heart-rot, or at any rate cause a defect in the timber. Upon the whole, it is a system not to be recommended, and it is one gradually losing favour with those who have practised it. On the higher limits of the Harz, where it is necessary to protect the soil from winds and from being washed away by rains, melted snow, etc., no clear felling is practised, but the selection system of working is adopted. The procedure is, where the area is divided into blocks, to cut out diseased, dead, or dying trees, and such others as may have become matured, periodically in each. In the spaces formed by these removals, a portion of the surface is broken up so as to form a suitable seed-bed for seed falling from adjacent trees, or failing that, for artificially-sown seed, or otherwise for transplants that may be used instead. The growth of these, owing to the necessarily narrow limits in which they exist, will be restricted, and it is therefore necessary to partially open up, by thinning those surrounding the plot, in order to stimulate their growth. The uneven-aged selection system, which is practically the same as that just noticed, is worked at a lower elevation, and is typical of the primeval forest growth. That is to say, when matured or diseased trees are removed, others, either naturally or artificially introduced, spring up, and as trees of all ages cover the ground, an uneven-aged wood is the result. Owing to soil, VOL. XIV. PART III. P 172 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. elevation, and other considerations, which operate against free growth, the outturn of timber is decidedly lower than that obtained by the even-aged high forest system. As a rule, spruce, as well as other woods, receive no thinning until about the thirtieth year after their formation, It will, how- ever, be understood that on favourable situations it may take place earlier, and on unfavourable somewhat later. The first thinning is generally a light one, but it is repeated every fifth or sixth year until the end of the rotation. By that means the trees, as may be imagined, are, when thinning begins, tall and spindly, and probably not a third of the size of those of a similar age in this country. After thinning, the stems lay on an enhanced increment, which is stimulated by each of these operations, and in order to prevent soil exhaustion, the overhead canopy is, as far as possible, kept unbroken, As has already been remarked, tall clean trunks with little taper are the result. Such timber finds a ready market, and is used for structural, pulping, and mining purposes, there being numerous mines and pulp-mills in the vicinity of the forest. The latter manufacture the pulp by a purely mechanical process, and in the form of cardboard large quantities of it are annually imported to this country, the price received by the manufacturers being at the rate of £8 per ton. The woods, on the whole, are comparatively free from diseare, but considerable damage to their stems is occasioned by the deer, either by nibbling with their teeth or tearing the bark with their horns. Perhaps the fumes from smelting-works that are situated in the forest do greater damage to vegetation than all other agencies combined. Near Altenau a large area, which at one time was covered with thriving spruce woods, is now quite depleted owing to this cause. During the process of smelting silver, copper, and lead, which are combined in the form of sulphides, sulphur dioxide is given off in large quantities, and here, as well as in other districts where such works are located, it has, during the last fifty or sixty years, proved extremely hurtful to tree growth. Efforts have been made to convert that gas into sulphuric acid, and so retain it, but only with slight success, so that the fumes given off are practically as injurious as in their original form. Large masses of Scots pine have usually a rather sombre appearance, but those on the German plains, as viewed from an elevated position, contrasted favourably with the lighter greenery SOME ASPECTS OF THE EXCURSION TO GERMANY. 173 of pasture and meadow, and the rich yellow of the ripened corn, and tended to relieve the monotony attaching to a level tract of country. The Scots pine seems to find a congenial home on the poorer soils of these plains, as it occupies large areas, sometimes wide apart, sometimes c’oser together, thus showing the varying quality of the soil to be met with—the pine occupying land unfit for agriculture. The bulk of these pine woods, where pure, are worked on the even-aged high forest system, but occasionally with standards, as well as with a soil-protection wood. Young Scots pine woods are slightly thinned for the first time at the age of twenty-five to thirty years, and every fifth or sixth year thereafter. The young wood, up to a certain stage, will in itself improve and protect the soil, but after being opened up by thinning it will cease to act in this way ; and in order that the soil may not“be reduced in quality at the end of the rotation, a soil-protection wood is frequently introduced. That takes place when the wood reaches the age of sixty or seventy years, and is usually of beech or hornbeam, the former being the most common. Seeding is generally adopted, the ground being prepared according to its condition, either by hoeing or digging patches a couple of feet wide, at two or three feet intervals, over the area to be stocked. The seeds are sown in these, and as a rule a good undergrowth springs up, which succeeds wonderfully under the shade of the firs. The rotation of the Scots pine ranges from eighty years on low-class soils to one hundred and twenty years on the higher class, and strips of eighty yards or so in width are cut from north to south on the east or lee side of the wood. After the roots are extracted, and the ground prepared by plough- ing, harrowing, or otherwise, an insect trap is made round the section in the form of a narrow trench about six inches wide by nine inches deep, with perpendicular sides, and at intervals of about ten yards, openings are formed in the bottom, as a pitfall into which the beetles drop as they move along the trench in their endeavour to escape. This, as was evident by the numerous insects seen in these openings, proves a most effective method of excluding them from the cleared ground. The restocking is either by seeding or planting, but in either case no further fellings are made in the neighbourhood until the young growth has been fairly established, when another section adjoining is taken in band. For the purpose of obtaining timber of a large size, a few selected trees per acre are left as standards over another rotation. 174 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. These do not to any extent affect the growth beneath, as their tops are light and well elevated. Scots fir mixed with oak or beech are managed according to the class of the locality. Where the overlying soil is more suitable for fir than for the others, but where that underneath is of a better quality, this mixture is sometimes adopted. At the end of the rotation of 120 years, about 80 per cent. of the wood is composed of fir, and the balance of oak, with a soil-protection wood of beech. When beech takes the place of oak, the relative percentages are the same. Such a mixture, one hundred years of age, was noticed near Eberswalde, the cubic contents of which per acre, beech and fir combined, amounted to 6130 feet quarter- girth measure. Another mixture obtains on soils of a better class, consisting of oak, beech, and Scots fir. The Scots fir and beech“are gradually thinned out, so that at the end of the rotation the oak only occupies the ground. Where the soil is of a lower quality, the oaks and firs exist as the overwood, while the beeches act as a soil- protection wood. At the end of the rotation the firs are removed, and the caks remain for another period of 120 years. At the same time, it may be necessary, so that the ground may be fully stocked, to allow part of the beech to move up along with the oaks, and with them complete the final rotation of 240 years. These woods are regenerated in various ways, but the method of working is chiefly by the “group system.” Small sections of a convenient form are cleared, and these are restocked either by seeds or transplants, and when they are fairly stocked and established, other sections are taken in hand, and treated in a like way, until the whole wood is gone over. Again, where oak and beech occupy the ground at the end of a rotation, they are strongly thinned, so as to induce seed-bearing. When that is attained, and a seed year comes round, the soil is prepared by hoeing or harrowing for the recep- tion of the seed, and if a good stocking has resulted, nothing more is required, but if patchy, then seed may be artificially introduced, or plants removed from the stocked ground are inserted instead. Particular care has to be taken after regeneration that those plants of a vigorous habit do not choke out their neighbours, and that the parent trees are not removed until the young growth is out of danger from frosts. When a pure cak wood, which is usually under-planted with beech, fails to be naturally regenerated, the latter, with a few SOME ASPECTS OF THE EXCURSION TO GERMANY, 175 exceptions, are first removed, and then the oaks are reluced to about sixty per acre. When a seed year is apparent, the ground is prepared for the reception of the seed, the roots having been extracted previously. A few years later the oaks are reduced to forty, and the remaining beeches are removed, and six years later the whole of the oaks. By that method a good stocking is gener- ally obtained. Beech woods are generally worked on a rotation of 120 years, and on a soil of the first quality reach a height of over 100 feet, with a volume which sometimes approaches 9000 feet of measur- able timber, or 13,000 feet, including top-wood, per acre. Until about the age of eighty years these woods are kept pretty dense. Afterwards freer thinnings are instituted, until about the hundredth year, when the so-called seed-felling takes place, to admit of the surface mould being, by greater exposure, sufficiently decomposed for seed germination, and to place the crop in a con- dition for bearing seed. If the surface is free from vegetation, and of an open character, no artificial preparation is necessary in a seed year; if otherwise, it may have to be scarified by harrow- ing, so that a suitable seed-bed may be formed. Everything being favourable, a good stocking is generally obtained with the first seeding, but if imperfect, the next occurring seed year, which is usually three or four years later, has to be taken advantage of. When the grouad is fully stocked, and the young plants out of danger from frosts, the whole of the matured timber is cleared off, unless, as is frequently the case, a few selected trees per acre are left for another rotation, with the view of producing a heavy class of timber, In order to vary the crop, elm and other hardwoods are sometimes artificially added. It occasionally happens that the overhead canopy is opened up by windfalls, so that grass and other herbage covers the ground, and thus makes it impossible, unless at considerable trouble and expense, to secure a good seed-bed, and afterwards keep the seedlings from being choked by herbage. In such a case, if the canopy has not been too much interrupted, the trees are allowed to remain until they have again formed a close canopy, and the herbage, in con- sequence, has been killed out. During the last fourteen years the Prussian Government have annually voted considerable sums for the introduction of exotics, and, with the view of testing their qualities under sylvi- cultural conditions, they have been introduced into most of the 176 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. State forests throughout the country. The system in which they have been introduced is chiefly in strips in uneven-aged woods. That is to say, astrip 50 to 60 yards wide is cleared in the inside of a wood, and after the necessary preparation of the ground, the exotics are put in in the ordinary way, and with the usu i degree of density, probably two to three feet apart, according to the size of the transplants. Each species, as a rule, is kept in sections by itself, and is treated as ordinary forest growth. Their commercial qualities as timber under ordinary sylvicultural treatment will thus be ultimately fairly demonstrated. Those that appeared to be of a promising character were Pseudotsuga Douglasi, Picea sitchensis, Betula lenta, Prunus serotina, and Larix leptolepsis. It may not now be out of place to bring some of the hints that may be gathered from the foregoing pages to bear on British Forestry, so that those desirous of seeing a better system intro- duced may find no difficulty in their application. The results financially and otherwise of afforestation works depend on their initial cost, the adaptation of the plants to the soil, the manner in which the operations have been conducted, and the subsequent management of the growth obtained. Whether any improvement in our methods of afforestation or regeneration is desirable, is a matter on which opinions may differ, but there can be no difference of opinion on the necessity, especially with purely sylvicultural crops, that the burdens in connection with the initial cost should be as light as possible. Fencing is, of course, one of those burdens which is inevitable, and when it has to be of a vermin-proof character the burden is a serious one. If such expense, therefore, is necessary, the cost should be charged against the department which causes the necessity, and not form an addition to the cost of formation of the woods. In these respects such cost in regard to Prussian forests does not apply, as little or no fencing is necessary. As to the matter of plants, the forester should, perhaps, rely more than hitherto upon his own resources for raising and main- taining the necessary supply; and where circumstances are favourable, or where they could be made so at a moderate outlay, seeding could be adopted instead of planting, so that fewer nursery plants would be required. The question of preparing the ground, either for stocking with plants or with seeds, should receive greater attention. In afforesting fresh ground with a tough, compact surface, or where a strong vegetation exists, it SOME ASPECTS OF THE EXCURSION TO GERMANY. LT? seems desirable that the surface shou'd be skim-ploughed, and the subsoil stirred or treated in some other way, so that small seed- lings instead of large transplants could be used. The difference between the price of seedlings and of transplants would go a con- siderable way towards covering the cost of preparing the ground ; and the plants, although they might not make the same rate of progress at the outset as transplants, would have the advantage, if carefully inserted, of having their root-system naturally dis- posed in the soil, thus tending to their future stability. Their stems would also be more erect, and there would thus be fewer bent butts than is frequently the case in plantations where large transplants had been used. Seeding would be attended with similar advantages, and could be adopted on soils of a friable nature, where no difficulty would be likely to arise in forming a suitable seed-bed, and where the herbage would not be likely to. prove troublesome afterwards. In regenerations after clear felling, although the extraction of the roots seems desirable, owing to the expense of the operation it would have to be abandoned unless they could be marketed to some advantage. In any case, precautions should be taken against the attack of insects; and where a clean surface, owing to a dense canopy having been maintained, obtains, it could be scarified either for the reception of seeds or of one-year-old pine seedlings. Where the surface had become covered with herbage, either larger plants would require to be used, or patches of the surface skinned off with a mattock, and the subsoil slackened, and seedlings inserted. Unless the conditions are very favour- able, natural regeneration, except, perhaps, in the case of the birch and beech, is not a system that has many advantages, owing to the necessary delay in awaiting seed years, and the generally imperfect stockings, as well as the slow progress made by the young growth in its early stages. It seems desirable for the production of close-grained clean timber, and to assist the productive capacity of the soil, that the young crop should form close canopy at an early stage of its existence. To obtain that object, close planting in the absence of seeding should be adopted. Experience, therefore, would point to the necessity of planting seedlings about 2 feet to not wider than 3 feet, and in the case of transplants not wider than 34 feet. The desirability need hardly be pointed out of dividing large areas into sections or blocks of a rectangular or other convenient 178 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. form, and surrounding these with wind-breaks of a suitable width —with trees of a wind-resisting character, which would also serve as a protection against fire. The latter is essential, especially along the sides of railway lines, where the sparks from passing engines are liable to fire the adjoining woods. A precaution adopted in Germany against fire from that cause is to plough a strip about 9 feet in width annually along each side of the rails or on the top of the embankment, so that no herbage exists to lead the fire into the adjoining timber. For future convenience and guidance, these sections should each have a stone block erected at a suitable point, with a number, the acreage, and date of planting cut into it. Par- ticulars of each should also be kept in the forest register. It may be confidently asserted that nothing has contributed, to a greater extent in Britain, to the production of inferior and in many cases unsaleable timber, than our methods of thinning. These need not be recapitulated, further than to point out that the effect is to produce coarse, knotty, uneven-zoned wood, which, as compared with that grown in Germany, would be considered, with few exceptions, of a very inferior class indeed. When young woods are freely opened up by thinning, the branches become unduly developed at the expense of the stems. It is therefore necessary, to obtain these of a tall clean character, to preserve density in the crop, so far as that is consistent with its health and vigour, so that the side branches may be suppressed before they become strong enough to form large knots in the timber, and that the ground may be shaded to prevent surface growth, and generally to maintain the productiveness of the soil. Whether it is desirable to delay thinning until the twenty- fifth or thirtieth year or later, as is the case in Germany, where the results, as was evident, fully justified that procedure, is a question that must be solved by wider experience. There is, however, no doubt about the necessity of maintaining such a density during the principal height-growth of the crop, that the ultimate yield of timber may be proportionate to the capacity of the soil, and be of a tall, clean, and full-wooded character. Where the overhead covering, in the later stages of thinning, becomes broken, it seems desirable, as for instance with Scots fir, to introduce a soil-protection wood. Financial considerations may operate against that course, but where the soil has been well shaded previously, the operation would be attended with small expense. Where large areas, after clear felling, fall to be regenerated, SOME ASPECTS OF THE EXCURSION TO GERMANY. 179 the soil becomes deteriorated, owing to exposure to the effects of the sun, winds, and other agencies, and the successful regeneration is frequently attended with anything but satisfaction. By adopt- ing the system of felling in strips, and regenerating these under the shelter of the adjoining wood, the soil is protected from drying winds, and to a certain extent from the rays of the sun, so that radiation is reduced, and the young plants are not so liable as when fully exposed, to be injured by frosts. The effects of shelter, apart from these considerations, upon the growing stock, is a more vigorous growth, which tends to an early formation of canopy. On areas, owing to xsthetic or other considerations, where it is desirable to retain continuously a sylvan crop, the uneven- aged selection system may be adopted with advantage. By doing so, a full stocking is kept up, and a regular yield of timber realised. In plantations kept up for ornament, large trees, owing to age, frequently become comparatively useless, and as the result of deaths and windfalls, the ground becomes imperfectly stocked. In such’a case, and where otherwise applicable, the foregoing or the group system could be adopted, in order that the ground might be fully utilised, its ornamental character preserved, if not improved, and an outturn of useful timber obtained. Working plans for the future administration of woodland estates should, after mature deliberation, be formed and systematically carried out, in order that a continuity of manage- ment may be observed, although the administrators be changed. In this paper the object has been to leave out all superfluous matter, and deal only with what might be of use to those who take an interest in forestry, and it is hoped that the object for which it was written may have that result. 180 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. XV. Report on the Excursion of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society to Germany in July and August 1895. By Dona.p RoseErtTson, Forester, Novar. This Excursion was proposed by Mr Munro Ferguson of Raith and Novar, and was very ably carried through by Professors Somerville and Schwappach, both of whom deserve the thanks of all those who attended it. The punctuality and strict adherence to the programme which characterised the whole trip were practical lessons which we, as individuals and as a Society, ought to try and imitate as much as possible during our future excursions. This will not be so easily accomplished at home as in Germany, especially if we have much railway travelling, because, although some of our trains at home run faster than the trains in Germany, the German trains are at the journey’s end to a minute, whereas our trains are very often from ten minutes to two hours late. Leaving Leith on the 26th of July, we experienced rather rough weather during the first part of our voyage. We arrived at Bremen on the afternoon of Sunday, the 28th July, and had a ramble through the town. In Bremen and in all the towns and villages which we visited in Germany, we found trees growing in many of the principal streets and promenades, the buildings very neat and tastefully got up, the people very clean and polite, and no appearance of drunkenness, although there appeared to be large quantities of light beers and wines consumed. Perhaps it would be too much to ask a Scotchman at home to drink anything so light as the Germans do, but the writer thinks that it would add very much to our pleasure and comfort if we had more trees in our towns and villages in Scotland and England. On the 29th of July we began our tour of inspection at the Agricultural Station of Bremen, where we saw samples of what can be grown on pure peat land with dressings of potash and lime. Large tracts of peaty land in the neighbourhood of Bremen have been reclaimed aud put under cultivation by the unemployed, and yield fair crops. The experimental station, which is upheld at the joint expense of the Government and the town of Bremen, must be of immense value to the cultivators of the land in the neighbourhood, seeing they can find out, by means of the experi- ments carried on there, exactly the kind and quantity of any substance REPORT ON THE EXCURSION TO GERMANY. 181 their land requires that it may produce the best crop. Our farmers at home would be very much benefited by such institutions to enable them to ascertain what their land requires in order to grow the different crops to the best advantage, and thus be the means of preventing them from spending money uselessly, as they doubtless in some instances do, in applying to their land a substance which it really does not require, or in giving more than is necessary of any particular dressing. We then visited the State Forest of Lintzel. This is an object- lesson which our Government might copy with advantage. The State has purchased a large extent of moorland, and has already planted over 11,000 acres, and operations are still going on, But the State has not merely engaged in planting operations on its own account, it has also adopted measures to encourage private owners of waste lands to plant. A fund has been created from which private owners of land ean borrow money at a low rate of interest for the purpose of planting; the only condition being that the management of the woods shall be subject to the approval of the State Forestry officials until the money is repaid. By this means, we were told, over 16,000 acres of moorland have been put under trees. In the Government plantations several methods of sowing and planting have been tried. In all cases the land has been ploughed to a depth of from 16 to 24 inches, the light sandy nature of the soil being very well adapted for such culture. In some cases they plough the whole surface, and in other cases they plough only strips 84 feet wide, leaving 44 feet unploughed between the ploughed strips. We could not. see that there was any necessity for plough- ing, as there was very little appearance of “ pan” where the ploughs were at work. The turning up of the light sandy land would make the soil liable to be very easily dried up to a considerable depth during a dry season, and would thereby cause a large percentage of deaths among the plants or seedlings. Our opinion was that the greater bulk of the land could have been planted by the Scotch notch or T system, and would eventually have produced as good timber, with fewer deaths among the young plants, and at a very much less cost. If that system had been adopted, the surface herbage would have prevented the soil from being so severely dried up during the summer months as it would be after having been ploughed. We were more confirmed in this opinion after having seen several very thriving seedlings growing upon 182 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. some of the drives near the older portions of the plantations, and these drives, we were told, had not been ploughed. In any case, ploughing could not be performed upon any great extent of moor- land in Scotland, the steep and rocky nature of our hill-sides in nearly all cases entirely precluding the use of the plough; but where it could be used upon land having pan, it would be a decided advantage to do so. The ploughing, as performed by the Germans, costs them about 20s. per acre. The plantations are laid out in sections of about 30 acres, having a ride of from 16 to 24 feet wide surrounding each section. A strip of about 18 feet on both sides of the ride is planted with birch and oak, the remainder of the section being planted with Scots fir, and, on the better class of soil, with oak. It costs about 46s, to plant an acre with two-year seedlings of fir and spruce, and about 43s, to sow an acre with seed. The greater extent has been planted, only some 20 per cent. having been sown. We consider the idea of bordering the sections with birch and oak as a protection against fire a capital plan; and we noticed that where railways passed a wooded area, a pretty wide belt of birch was planted along their sides as a protection against fire. It struck us that the belts of birch at Lintzel, and, in some cases, along the sides of the railway, were too narrow to prevent fire passing through them ; but when one considers the flat nature of the ground, we can believe the belts are sufficient. We think that such belts running across the line of prevailing winds would be a great protection against wind as well as fire in some of our large Scots fir plantations in Scotland ; but, to be of service, such belts would require to be 40 to 50 yards wide. We have generally seen, wherever a fire occurs in a wood, that if there is a rise in the ground, such as a hill-side, the fire makes - its way up the hill much faster than it does on level ground. We therefore believe that it would be a wise precaution to plant several belts of birch or other hardwoods across the face of a hill, and to connect these cross-belts with other belts running up the face of the hill in any large plantation of fir or spruce. These belts need not necessarily be straight lines, and might be so laid off as to give a very good effect. Some portions of the young plantations at Lintzel are damaged by the caterpillar of the pine-shoot Zortriz moth. One section in particular we noticed, where very many of the plants had lost their leading shoot by this pest boring into the pith. ~— REPORT ON THE EXCURSION TO GERMANY. 183 The Scots firs grown upon the finer sandy land appeared to us to be of a very rough habit of growth, such as one sees upon land that is too rich for Scots fir at home; but upon the land composed of a grittier nature the firs assumed more of the habit one sees on the gravelly hill-sides in the north of Scotland. On the other hand, the young oaks had a very fine clean and healthy appearance upon the finer class of sandy land. Taken as a whole, the State plantations at Lintzel are thriving very well, and give promise of producing good timber ; and those in charge have no doubt about their being a success financially. But apart from any question of profit, the land, which before being planted supported but a scanty population, has now a colony of workers established upon it. The Government has also a small convict prison in the wood, and the prisoners are employed at what- ever work is on hand, the institution receiving half the price paid to free labour.. What a wide field is open to our Government for the use of convict labour and the unemployed, in clothing the hill-sides of Scotland and Ireland with timber! Will our nation’s representatives make an honest trial with even 10,000 acres? Tue State Forest oF LAvUENAU. A very large area of these woods is composed of beech, and are, as a rule, raised from natural seedlings, which readily spring up after the wood has been thinned so as to allow the sun’s rays to get to the ground. We do not think it is possible for us in this country to raise beech woods by natural seed in the same way as is done in Germany, because, in the first place, wood-pigeons and other birds -would pick up all our seed as soon as it fell on the ground; and in the next place, we have as a rule so much herbage in our woods that it would cost less to plant with good sized plants than to prepare the surface for the seed. On the other hand, when the Germans begin thinning for the purpose of allowing seedlings to spring up, their woods are so thick that there is no herbage on the ground, and it is, therefore, a simple matter to scarify the surface, so as to give a good seed-bed ; and there are very few wood-pigeons to eat the seeds. On first seeing a section of young beech wood at Lauenau, the writer thought that the whole thing was ruined for want of thinning. The plants were about 20 feet high, and as thick upon 184 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. the ground as they could stand, the stems being so slender that they would not stand upright if grown singly. But on seeing the older sections where thinning operations had been carried out, one came to understand the utility of keeping the trees close; and on ‘seeing the timber when ready for the final felling, it was a pleasure to look upon the fine, long, straight, clean stems, from which one could saw almost any class of scantling or boarding without being bothered with the dead knots, holes, and other blemishes so prevalent in our home-grown hardwoods. Under the German system of growing hardwood, there is very little chance of blemishes from decayed branches, as they all die off when quite small. The main idea is to get the trees up in height first, and then thin very gradually to allow them to increase in girth. This applies to all classes of timber, excepting that in pleasure-parks and places of public resort, where the trees are grown in open order, but such trees are not grown with a view to producing marketable timber. We have no doubt a German forester would regard many of our English woods to be very good specimens of public parks if intersected by walks and drives. The spruce is grown upon the shallower soils, where it pays better than either beech or oak as a crop. The spruce woods are raised by planting, and the system adopted is, we consider, a very expensive one. The old roots are all dug out, and sold for firewood at a loss of something like seven shillings per cord. This rooting may be necessary to prevent the increase of insects and fungi, but this we are inclined to doubt, because they do not take all the roots up, and we should think that fungi at least would live upon the smaller roots left in the ground, although the stem and larger roots were removed. The planting is, we consider, very much more expensive than our Scotch mode of notch- planting. For three-year-old plants small pits are made, and into each pit they often insert five plants together. This they call bunch-planting, and they will require some 20,000 plants to plant an acre instead of 5000 required by the Scotch system, and even after planting so many per acre, they have to make up blanks. Bunch-planting is useful where deer are numerous, as there is a chance of one or two trees in the bunch getting away, the damaged ones surrounding the good plants protecting them from the deer until they are strong enough to resist their attacks. We are surprised at the Germans allowing the deer to become so numerous as to cause the amount of damage we saw done in very many of their REPORT ON THE EXCURSION TO GERMANY. 185 woods, the more so when we saw no appearance of Lares or rabbits, and were told that they would not tolerate them on any account. We presume the only reason is that the deer afford sport for the State foresters or private owners, as the case may be; and the trees must be to a certain extent sacrificed for this purpose. But after allowing for such damage, and considering the expensive mode of planting and the money paid to forest officers, the Germans make their woods pay a good yearly rent per acre; and what the Germans can do surely we can do. We have a better soil in our waste lands than the Germans have, and as good a climate for timber-growing. THE Upper Harz. This district contains over 130,000 acres of timber, about 103,000 acres being spruce, the remainder, grown upon the better class of land near the base of the mountains, being beech and oak. The matured spruce trees are as a rule very fine, long, straight, clean-grown trees, and when manufactured into battens and boards, produce superior-looking goods. In and near the Harz Forest many very elegant summer residences for visitors are built of spruce, and roofed with slate—that is to say, the framing and walls are wood—and they are in many cases artistically finished and painted outside. Upon examining some of the battens and boards turned out from the saw-mills, we were struck with the very small appearance of warping shown in the sawn goods as compared with what would be the case in the same quantity of home-grown spruce or Scots fir if sawn in the same way. We have no doubt this is to be accounted for by the trees in Germany being grown so close that the sun’s rays do not directly affect the stems, and in this way the trees are prevented from having what our saw-miller’s term a hard side; and the layers of wood are more evenly put on than in our thin home- grown woods. We are of opinion that we over-thin our woods before the final clearing takes place, thereby exposing the stems of the trees to the sun’s rays on the side, or half of the bole, facing the south, and causing a larger growth of timber upon that side, which is harder than that formed on the north side of the tree. When such trees are sawn up, the battens warp as they leave the saw, as if the hard side which faced the sun, expanded, or the 186 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. part which faced the north contracted. The writer has not enough scientific knowledge to explain this as he would like, but we know from practical experience that the trees cut from a thick wood where there is enough leaf canopy overhead to prevent the sun’s rays striking the stems, will saw into anything required without warping ; whereas trees that have had their stems exposed to the sun for any length of time are very difficult to saw straight, and very difficult to season without warping; this applies to conifers, and more especially to larch, Scots fir, and spruce. A large quantity of small-sized spruce is used in the Harz district for making pulp for paper-making; one factory which we visited was said to have sent in one year over £30,000 worth of pulp to a single firm in England. We are convinced that the great bulk of our home-grown spruce would not be so suitable for pulping as the German spruce, on account of the large branch knots which it possesses, caused by the trees being too thinly grown. We understand that where the branch knots are large, they are cut out with a gouge before the wood is put into the pulping- machine; but the billets of spruce we saw ready to go into the machines in Germany had very small branch knots, and there was no appearance of any having been cut out, but otherwise the billets were very particularly cleared of bark. The spruce is said to be by far the best paying crop in the Harz district. We were told that an acre of their best wood would pro- duce at the final clean cut from 6000 to 7000 cubic feet of timber. This is a long way ahead of anything we have seen produced at home, from either spruce, Scots fir, or larch; in fact, it is considered a heavy crop if we get from 4000 to 6000 cubic feet per acré at the final clean cut; and the writer has oftener seen 2000 than 6000 cubic feet per acre from the last clear felling of fir woods in Scotland. We were always under the impression that we over-thinned our woods, and since seeing the German method we are certain that this is the case. We cannot, however, always blame the foresters for over-thinning. In many cases a proprietor wants to have money out of a wood, and the thinning process goes on until there is only a skeleton wood left. Something may also be said for the advocates of thinning, if it is only timber suited for the rougher and cheaper class of goods that is wanted, as for instance railway and other sleepers. By thinning early, Scots firs can be got up to a size suitable for cutting into sleepers much sooner than is the case under the German system, REPORT ON THE EXCURSION TO GERMANY. 187 but the wood so produced is only fit for rough work, and is not so durable as the close-grown timber. We therefore maintain that we should grow our trees, especially spruce and fir, though also certain hardwoods, closely when young, so as to produce clean stems having timber of good quality, and thus we could compete with all classes of foreign timber, instead of, as now, being able to compete only against the roughest and cheapest classes of imported timber. The land throughout the Harz Forest is as a rule very steep and rocky; in many places the trees are growing on the bare rock, the roots finding nourishment in the clefts and fissures which abound. Comparing the land with our hill-sides at home, the writer thinks that, in Scotland at least, we have extensive areas of waste land much better adapted for timber-growing than the bulk of the forest lands of Germany. THe ACADEMY OF FORESTRY AT EBERSWALDE AND ITS SURROUNDING Woops. So far as the Academy is concerned, we had too little time to learn much ; but from what we saw and heard there, we would be very pleased and greatly benefited if we could enter as students for two years to learn the science of Forestry. The woods in the neighbourhood are utilised to give the students practical lessons in Forestry, and various methods of sowing, plant- ing, and felling are adopted. But everything is done, so far as the planting and growing is concerned, with a view to produce clean marketable timber. We consider the system of planting practised here, as elsewhere in Germany, too expensive, and the labour employed in preparing the land unnecessary. Regarding the system of trapping pine weevil which we were shown here, we do not think it could be applied in this country unless upon land of a pure sandy nature, such as obtained where the traps were in use near Eberswalde. The system referred to, is to dig a narrow trench around the patch planted, and to make holes about 12 inches deep every 15 yards. The weevils, in making their way to the young plantation, fall into this trench, and, from the sandy nature of the sides of the trench, they cannot climb out. They therefore find their way into the deeper pits, from which they are periodically gathered and destroyed. The piece of land, after being planted and surrounded by the trench, VOL. XIV. PART ITI, Q 188 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. is cleared of weevils by hand-picking. As already stated, this sort of trap is of service upon land of a sandy nature, but would be useless in the case of most of our woodlands at home, as the weevils would easily climb out of a trench made in our gravelly soils. f Generally, we are of opinion that Scottish foresters can very well hold their own with the Germans so far as planting is concerned, but we are a long way behind them in scientific knowledge. Nor do we produce the clean marketable timber which they do in Germany, and this simply because we over-thin our woods, and in some cases do not plant them thick enough to begin with. We did not learn that the German forest officers do anything in the way of manufacturing the timber. We think this is a question which our home foresters should study, because a man should know how to convert his crop to the best advantage after he has got it up; and unless a forester has a fair knowledge of what the crop he has for sale is best adapted for, and what it would cost to place it with the consumer, he cannot know whether he is receiving full value for his wood or not. We have heard it remarked that we have not enough sunshine in this country to grow our trees so thickly as they do in Germany. The pieces of natural grown Scots fir woods which we have seen at home were never thinned, and, when fully matured, a horse could not pass between the stems, and when cut and sawn up pro- duced boards the like of which we have never seen produced from thinned woods. We have also seen the same thing with planted beech woods. A piece which was in a remote situation, difficult of access, and was said to have been neglected, produced long clean stems of wood, the like of which could not be got in any of the woods which were supposed to be under good management. With the natural firs there had been sunshine enough to produce good timber, and if this was so in the past, why can it not be the same in the future? We are a long way from another Ice age, at least we hope we are. We have further noticed that there is not the indiscriminate mixtures of different kinds of trees in Germany that we often find at home. The Germans appear to believe more in grouping or planting an entire wood of any one kind, if the soil appears to be best adapted for that kind. NOTES AND QUERIES, 189 NOTES AND QUERIES. Insect Notes rrom WILTSHIRE. As every locality has its own characteristic flora, so we also find the fauna differing in regard to species and their relative numbers in every county in the United Kingdom. The following notes, with regard to those insects which attack forest trees either annually or at irregular periods, may therefore be of interest for purposes of comparison with other districts. Amongst moths, the most common is Zortrix viridana (Oak- leaf Roller Moth), which is a constant visitor in oak woods every summer. In 1894 the attack was particularly severe, but this year comparatively little damage was done. The heavy crop of beech seedlings this season was severely thinned by the caterpillar of a small moth, Tinea parenthesella, which eats the cotyledons, and in shady spots weakens the seedlings toa fatal extent. Colcophora laricella is also common on the larch, but with warm, genial springs does little damage. Two years ago considerable damage was done to the Scots pine in several young plantations by the larvee of Tortriz turionana destroying the terminal buds of the leading shoots. During the present season I saw no traces of this moth or its work, so that the damage is gradually being obliterated. I have also noticed 7’. comitana on spruce needles, but not to any serious extent. Coming to beetles, the most injurious here, as elsewhere, is the Pine Beetle (Hylurgus piniperda). In addition to the Scots pine, I have found it breeding in larch and Weymouth pine. It appears to have a double generation here, as is the case farther north. Amongst other Bostrichide may be mentioned Hylesinus Sraxint and crenatus, Hylastes palliatus (on larch, spruce, and Scots pine), Scolytus destructor and multistriatus (on elm), S. intricatus (on oak), S. carpine (on beech), Bostrichus bidens (on Scots pine), B. piceae (on silver fir), B. villosus (on oak), B. Lichtensteint (on Austrian pine), 4. domesticus (on felled elm, oak, etc.). Of these, B. bedens, H. palliatus, S. destructor, and 190 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. H. fraxini are by far the most common, but none of them are at all injurious to sound and fairly healthy trees. Among the Weevils, we have no very formidable foe ; the Pine Weevil, Hylobius abietis, which proves so troublesome in the north, being, so far as we know, a stranger in these parts. Orchestes fagi, the Beech Spring-Beetle, is present in greater or less numbers every season, but the damage it does is triflmg. Another species of weevil on dry elm branches is also common, but I have been unable to identify the one or two mature insects which I have been able to secure. During our acorn season, Balaninus turbatus seems pretty common. The Pine Saw-Fly caterpillars appeared in rather large broods in 1893, and a few were noticed last year, but this season they have been extremely rare. We found crushing them to death between wisps of rough grass the easiest and most effectnal means of extermination, the trees attacked being from 6 to 8 feet in height. Several species of Cerambycide are common here, the most common being Callidiwm violacewm, which often carves on the sap-wood of spruce slabs very interesting and artistic designs. I have also come across larch limbs with workings of what appeared to be Lamia fascicu- laris, but could never find a mature specimen, and the larve of other species are frequently met with in dry and rotting oak. During the past summer, swarms of the small chafer Phyllopertha horticola abounded everywhere, but appeared to do little damage. During August the rooks have been busily engaged in rooting out their grubs on meadow-land. Ratzeburg states that it appears in exceptionally large numbers about every five years. The May Bug, Melolantha vulgaris, is not common here. Amongst miscellaneous insects may be mentioned Cynips corticalis, Kollari, etc.; Sirex gigas; Sesia apiformis ; Chermes laricis, pint, abietis, piceae, fagi, etc.; Cossus ligniperda, ete., etc., the damage done by these being usually insignificant, or confined to dying trees. With regard to measures of prevention, they may be said to still remain where they originated—in books. ‘‘Jnsect extermination” is not yet allowed for in estate labour bills or estimates, and so long as foresters and woodmen have their enthusiasm extinguished, or their lives shortened, by the depreda- tions of rabbits, insects will probably regard civilised man as their best friend. A. C, Forses, Wood Manager, Bowood, Calne. NOTES AND QUERIES. 191 Drirtwoop AND Insect ATTACKs. As every ‘dweller by the sea” is aware, there is a large quantity of timber cast up on our shores every year. The most of it is either pine or fir, both sawn and round, and it is of all sizes. Most probably it has formed part of the deck cargo of vessels, and has been washed overboard in rough weather. A great deal of the round timber has the bark still upon it, and it is in this fact that a very serious danger lies to our plantations. As is well known, the inner bark of pine and fir trees is the breeding-place of many injurious forest insects, and under the bark of many of these stranded logs they are often to be found in hundreds. Ona single piece of pitwood, 6 ft. long by 6 ins, diameter at the small end, I have counted, of larve and full- grown insects, no less than 321 specimens of Hylurgus piniperda, and 25 of Pissodes notatus, all alive and apparently in vigorous health. A few logs carrying similar colonies would soon work havoc among sickly or backward plantations near where they are stranded, and no doubt many attacks around our coasts have proceeded from this source. My experience with this insect- infested derelict timber has been confined to the coast districts ; but woods in the inland mining districts are placed in the same danger where foreign pitwood is used, the insects hatching out while the timber is still on the surface of the ground. It is very probable that the parent insects deposit their eggs in the bark late in the autumn or early in spring, after the logs have been felled, and are lying in the forest before being conveyed to the port for shipment. They have therefore ample time to hatch out and develop into full-grown insects by the time the logs are landed in this country, well on in the summer. The wonder is that the sea-water does not destroy them, but they do not seem to suffer in the least from the immersion they have been subjected to on the derelict logs. The part of the country in which I am situated being on the Welsh side of the Bristol Channel, and quite close to the large coal-fields and coal-shipping ports of Glamorganshire, large numbers of these drifting logs are washed ashore in my neigh- bourhood. To judge from their bark and wood, the logs seem to belong to the maritime pine, Pinus Pinaster, and as extensive forests of that pine grow in the west of France, from whence 192 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. large supplies of pitwood are sent to this country, we may presume that we are indebted to our French neighbours for much of the trouble we have with insect pests in our young pine plantations. For several years we have had a recurrence of severe attacks of the Branded Weevil, Pissodes notatus, notwithstanding our constant efforts to root it out. This year, however, I have discovered what appears to be the real source of the attack, those insect-infested derelict logs, and since then I have carefully stripped off and burned the bark of every log washed askore. It is possible that similar attacks are occurring in other parts of the country, which, if inquired into, may perhaps be traced to the same source—imported timber, seriously infested with insect pests. ARCHIBALD MITCHELL, Forester, Dunraven Castle. THe DEPUTATION TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE BoaRD OF AGRICULTURE. At a meeting of the Council, held in the beginning of September last, Mr Munro Ferguson, the President of the Society, mentioned that the Right Honourable Walter H. Long, President of the Board of Agriculture, had agreed to visit Edinburgh for the purpose of conferring with the leading agriculturists of Scotland on agricultural matters, and suggested that advantage should be taken of this opportunity to ask Mr Long to receive a deputation, which should represent the views of the Society regarding matters affecting Forestry in Scotland. The suggestion was unanimously adopted, and on being appealed to, Mr Long very courteously agreed to receive the deputation in the office of the Secretary for Scotland, Parliament Square, on Wednesday, 23rd October, at 12 o'clock noon. A notice was inserted in the newspapers intimating the meeting, and inviting the members of the Society and others interested in Forestry to accompany the deputation. The result was a large attendance of members, and the Scottish office being too small for the meeting, the use of the New Court Room was obtained for the purpose. Mr Long was accompanied by his private secretary, Mr Arthur W. Anstruther, and Sir Jacob Wilson, Director of the Land Division of the Board of Agriculture. NOTES AND QUERIES. 193. Mr Manro Ferguson, in introducing the deputation, stated generally the points to be raised, and referred especially to the advantage which would accrue to Forestry by the establishment of a separate office in Edinburgh, under the Agricultural Depart- ment, as proposed by the agriculturists of Scotland, provided an official having a particular knowledge of Forestry were attached ‘to the office. The other points dealt with by the deputation were—the present condition of Forestry in Scotland, and the necessity for providing scientific training for young foresters, by Mr Andrew Slater, Haystoun, Peebles; the great and increasing importance of Forestry in Scotland, by Mr James Kay, Bute ; the afforestation of waste lands in Scotland, by Mr D. F. Mackenzie, Factor, Mortonhall ; the acquisition of forest areas for experimental and educational purposes, by Colonel Bailey, Lecturer on Forestry in the University of Edinburgh; and the limited facilities for obtaining Forestry education in Scotland as compared with Germany and other countries, by Dr Somerville, Professor of Forestry and Agriculture in the Durham College of Science, Newcastle-on-Tyne. Professor Bayley Balfour afterwards spoke of the success which had attended the classes for instruction in Forestry at the Royal Botanic Garden, and urged the necessity for a further extension of the facilities for education on popular lines; and Sir Mark J. Stewart, M.P., referred to the afforestation of waste lands which had been carried out on the Continent, especially in Germany and France, and pointed out that Scotland afforded excellent opportunities for similar experiments. Mr Long expressed his gratification at having had the cppor- tunity of meeting the deputation, listening to the expression of their views, and learning the experience of those most qualified to speak on the questions relating to Forestry. He then proceeded to reply to the various speakers. He did not approve of the proposal to establish a sub-oflice in Edinburgh, but thought it would be possible fur the Board of Agriculture to receive the assent of the Treasury to the appointment of a correspondent for Forestry, who might be able to collect information, and com- municate to the Board at different times what was required by those who were engaged in Forestry in the country, and he hoped that he might himself be able to give effect to a proposal of that kind. While admitting what bad been said regarding the great importance of covering our waste lands, he could not see his way {94 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. to advise their afforestation by the State, which would involve the risk of provoking competition between the State and private individuals, a result which, he thought, was undesirable. He would carefully consider the proposal for the acquisition of forest ‘areas for experimental and educational purposes, but such a pro- posal would involve a new departure on the part of a State department, and also considerable outlay. Before, therefore, he could be in a position to make any suggestion of that character to his colleagues in the Cabinet, he must be absolutely satisfied in his own mind that such a departure would be justified by the present condition of things, and by the prospect of satisfactory results. In regard to the education of the subordinate ranks of those engaged in Forestry, he could not help thinking that some- thing might be done through the medium of the County Councils, and he would keep that point in view and give the matter his careful consideration. He believed that they must bring the education to the people—they could not bring the people to the education. In conclusion, Mr Long referred to the difficulty of doing any- thing of a practical character which would help people eagaged in such pursuits as Forestry, and said that whether his power to help them was great or small, so long as he had the honour to fill his present position, it would be his duty, as it would be his pleasure, to do everything he legitimately could to help, not only the industry with which he was primarily connected, but any of those industries akin to agriculture, which, if they were successful, would cover the land with a fertile product, and would tend to help the producer and the labourer to make a fair living for themselyes. He requested the members of the deputation more particularly interested in the matter to furnish him with an estimate of the cost of the proposed State Forests, and this has since been done by the President, Professor Balfour, Colonel Bailey, Mr Mackenzie, and Professor Somerville. The President, in name of the Society, thanked Mr Long for | granting the interview, and for his interesting and sympathetic reply. The Deputation then withdrew, NOTES AND QUERIES, 195 Tue EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL EXCURSION. In a storm of wind and rain the ss. “ Prague” (Captain Jeflrey) left the pier of Leith about 4.30 on the afternoon of Friday the 26th of July 1895, bound fur Bremen, having on board thirty- three members of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society, being the majority of the members who had intimated their intention of taking part in the Excursion of the Society to the Forests of North Germany and the Forest Academy of Eberswalde. The remainder of the Excursionists travelled by different routes, and, with one exception, joined the main body at Bremen on the evening of the 28th. The party consisted of the following members :—John Barron, Borrowash; W. B. Boord, Waterloo, Middleham; Charles Buchanan, Penicuik; Councillor Cameron, Edinburgh; R. W, Cowper, Sittingbourne, Kent; Robert Douglas, Edinburgh ; Malcolm Dunn, Dalkeith; Wm. Erskine, Edinburgh; Malcolm Finlayson, Crieff; Robert Forbes, Clova, Lumsden; Wm. Forbes, Masham, Yorks; R. B. Fyffe, Lindertis, Kirriemuir; Robert Galloway, Secretary; James A. Gossip, Inverness; W. B. Have- lock, Brocklesby, Lincolnshire ; James Kay, Bute; Alex. M‘Rae, Manchester ; Samuel Margerison, Calverley, Leeds; R. V. Mather, Kelso; John Maughan, Jervaulx Abbey, Yorks; Alex. Milne, Edinburgh; William Milne, Foulden, Berwick-on-Tweed; Malcolm Morgan, Crieff; Wm. C. Orkney, Moncreiffe; Andrew D. Page, Culzean, Maybole; Walter Page, Myregornie, Kirkcaldy;