84 ON THE SOILS AND SUBSOILS 



cut at an early stage for props and spars. During the summer 

 of 1868, on such a soil and subsoil, in a mixed plantation eight 

 years old, most of the larch and poplars died out; M^hile the 

 Scots fir, Laricio, Austrian pine, and plane stood apparently- 

 unscathed. The liirch and beech \\'ere seriously checked, and 

 have not yet recovered from the effects, but have still a languid 

 and sickly hue. The larch were taken out and the blanks made 

 up with Austrian pine, and they have stood the test of 1874. 

 The plantation referred to is at a medium altitude. Scotch fir 

 grown on this subsoil wants the dark green foliage that it has on 

 heavier soils, and does not grow so tall, but the timber is gene- 

 rally pretty clean and of fair quality. The Austrian pine and 

 Laricio do not change so much in the colour of foliage, and grow 

 more freely ; but we have not seen any of their timber cut up 

 into scantling. Larch generally grows pretty freely up to thirty 

 or forty years old, when it invariably begins to have a sickly 

 appearance, becomes shorter in tlie foliage, and sheds its foliage 

 from ten days to a fortnight before trees grown on heavier 

 soils. Beech are generally short in the trunk, with scraggy, 

 spreading tops, and of little value as timber trees. Birch and 

 plane do not lose much of their ordinary habits, only they are 

 of a great deal smaller dimensions than when grown on favourable 

 soils. If the subsoil is damp, although of sand, it is more 

 suitable for the growth of trees. Instances of this are invariably 

 met with in plantations with an undulating surface, where, on 

 the dry subsoil of the heights, the trees of all varieties are a 

 great deal smaller than those in the hollows and low portions of 

 the ground, — the only perceptible differences as to soil and sub- 

 soil being that the latter is more moist in the hollows. Of 

 course, shelter must not be lost sight of; but all the difference 

 cannot be attributed to it. This damp subsoil must not be con- 

 sidered as opposed to drainage for plantations, or apologising for 

 stagnant water, as no soil that is surcharged with water is suit- 

 able for the growth of trees. On the other hand, where the 

 water percolates freely through the soil and subsoil, it is not as 

 a rule injurious to the growth of trees, but rather favourable. 

 Under such circumstances, larch is the most profitable tree that 

 can be grown, provided the altitude and situation are such that 

 it will not be liable to be damaged by spring frosts. In inland 

 districts the larch suffers most from frosts on southern exposures, 

 and at altitudes ranging from 300 to 450 feet. In such situa- 

 tions, the crop should consist of two-thirds larch and one-third 

 of Scotch fir, plane, oak, or beech, for all of which the soil and 

 subsoil referred to is suitable, at altitudes not exceeding 1000 

 feet ; above that altitude, the Scotch fir alone is most suitable. 



2d, Light loam, with a hard clay or gravelly and clay 

 subsoil, on a granitic formation, and at low and medium altitudes. 



