SUITED FOR PLANTING. 81 



years old, and the latter is not a profitable tree at the best. It 

 may, however, be grown as copse wood with advantage. 



On low altitudes this sort of peat generally requires to be 

 regularly drained from 2 to 2h feet deep; but on medium and 

 high altitudes it seldom requires to be close drained, except 

 where the formation is flat. 



2(1, Peat containing a proportion of sand, and resting on a 

 clayey bottom. This, at low and medium altitudes, will grow 

 oak, lime, and elm to fair sizes, but not so profitably as it would 

 Scots fir, spruce, and larch. The latter often succeeds very 

 well and grows to good sizes on light soil, provided it has a cool 

 subsoil such as referred to. What a number of contract planters 

 €all "fern ground" comes very near to this description, and it 

 is invariably selected by them as a soil suitable for the gi-owth 

 of larch. No doubt, it is also quite suitable for the growth of 

 the other trees mentioned, but larch is the most profitable and 

 remunerative crop when the sitiiation is suitable. The timber, 

 when matured, is generally clean grown, with very little taper; 

 tough, but only a small proportion of heart- wood, as compared 

 with larch grown on heavier soils. Elm grown on this soil is 

 soft and open in the texture, and more brittle than when grown 

 on stronger soil. The same remarks apply to the ash; and a 

 strange coincidence is, that both shed their foliage from ten to 

 fourteen days earlier, when grown on peat soil, than they do on 

 loam, — especially is this the case if the bottom is damp. On 

 peat soil the timber of the oak — even the heart- wood — is brittle, 

 soft, and open, with a comparative small, proportion of heart- 

 w^ood. The bark is also more corky, and does not contain the 

 same percentage of tanning properties. However, the soil is 

 quite suitable for its growth; and where it is desirable to grow 

 oak as an ornamental tree, or for variety, a peat soil with a pro- 

 portion of sand need not be considered any drawback; but it can- 

 not be grown profitably on such soil. 



The lime tree and willows (Huntingdon and Bedford) also 

 grow to fair sizes on this soil, but in general they are very 

 branchy, except when they have been artificially pruned. The 

 former is the most suitable tree for the soil, although the willows 

 at from forty to fifty years old are the most profitable, especially 

 when grown at low altitudes. One of the chief drawbacks to 

 growing willows on this sort of soil is their tendency to be 

 blown over. Thorough drainage, so as to allow the roots to get 

 down into the subsoil, is the only remedy. Of course, the tops 

 can be lightened, but that is taking away the vital energies of 

 the trees, and besides, the remedy is only temporary. The 

 poplars do not succeed so well as the willows, and are liable to 

 all their drawbacks, although they are often planted, and some- 

 times even grow to fair sizes. At low and medium altitudes 



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