SUITED FOE PLANTING. 87 



masses tliau in mixed plantations. To plant this sort of soil 

 successfully, good-sized well-rooted plants must be used, as 

 small plants are always stiff to grow on clay soils; but when 

 once they are fairly established, they grow rapidly. 



Qth, Sand. Until recently sand was considered to be nn- 

 suitable for the growth of anything but bent, but the success 

 that has' attended the planting of tlie Culben Sands, in Moray- 

 shire, has proved that sand is capable of growing a fair crop of 

 Scots fir. The Pinaster also grows well on the Continent on 

 sandy soils, and there is no reason why it should not be con- 

 sidered as suitable in this country. The successful growing of 

 Scots fir on sand has been attended with a good deal of expense, 

 but the results have been very enconraging, and such as ought 

 to induce the proprietors of such lands to turn them to some 

 better account than lying waste, exposed, and carried away by 

 almost every wind that blows. 



Conclusion.- — Such is a description of the soils and subsoils 

 suited for the various species of forest trees, coniferous and hard- 

 wood. The conclusions arrived at are the result of careful 

 observation of the different varieties of forest trees under all 

 circumstances. More species could easily have been enumerated, 

 but our study in this report and our object in daily practice is 

 to recommend the varieties from which the largest amount of 

 revenue can be obtained, coupled with the varieties for the 

 growth of which the soil and subsoil is most suitable. We feel 

 that had the nature of the different soils and subsoils been more 

 scientifically described and designated, this report would have 

 been more interesting and readable to the savans of tlie Highland 

 and Agricultural Society ; but we believe that the soils and sub- 

 soils, along with the altitudes and situations as described, will be 

 understood by the greater part of those who are interested and 

 engaged in the planting of forest trees, or the management of 

 plantations and w^ood lands. 



ON ENGLISH WATER MEADOWS, AND HOW FAR THEY ARE 

 APPLICABLE TO SCOTLAND. 



By David Robie, Bedford. 

 [Premium— Twenty Sovereigns.] 



What are called meadows in Scotland are different from those 

 known by that name in England. In the former, natural meadows 

 are swampy flats, soaked and often overflowed by water, and 

 yielding a coarse forage, which was at one time the only hay 

 known in Scotland. In England, on the other hand, fields of 

 pasture or hay, whether the spontaneous growth of the laud or 



