SUITED FOR PLANTING. 85 



is well suited for growing silver-fir, lime, plane, and beecli. 

 Scotch fir and larcli are also often grown — in fact, commonly 

 grown ; but on this soil the Scotch fir does not produce the same 

 quantity of timber as the silver fir ; and the larch only succeeds 

 for about fifty years, when it is very frequently affected with 

 heart-rot. On such a subsoil as this, very fine silver firs, plane, 

 and beech have been grown at medium altitudes. Compared 

 with the spruce, Scotch fir, larch, oak, and elm growing in the 

 same plantation, the silver firs were much healthier, and con- 

 tained at least one-third more timber than the other varieties ; 

 while the plane had grown as rapidly as the beech. The same 

 sort of soil and subsoil, over limestone or whinstone formation, 

 is best suited for the growth of oak, plane, elm, ash, larch, and 

 silver fir, provided the ground is naturally dry, or has been 

 previously drained. Under such circumstances the oak continues 

 to grow rapidly, until the hard subsoil becomes too hard for the 

 roots to penetrate, when its top loses the leading shoots, and be- 

 comes more bushy, and its growth as to height is generally at an 

 end. The wood is, however, tough at all periods of its growth ; 

 but in general it is from sixty to seventy years old before much 

 heart-wood is formed. On heavy loams, over limestone, we have 

 seen large oaks with only one inch of sap-wood; while on light 

 loams we have often seen the very reverse. Plane trees are more 

 surface rooters ; consequently they are not so much affected with 

 the quality of the subsoil, provided the soil is deep enough ; but 

 on a light, shallow loam, they are invariably of small dimensions, 

 unless they are supported and derive nourishment from the sub- 

 soil. Elm and ash grow freely, especially in glens or hollows ; but 

 neither of them attain the same size as they do on heavier soils. 

 The ash is, however, generally of good quality. Larch is not so 

 much affected with heart-rot on the limestone as it is on the 

 granite ; but it grows with more taper, and is shorter, and is very 

 frequently affected with blisters. The silver fir grows freely on 

 both, and the differeuce is not so perceptible. 



M, Medium loam, of good depth and open subsoil. This 

 variety of soil is well adapted for oak, elms, and planes, as also 

 most of the newer conifers, at low and mediimi altitudes. On 

 this soil the plane grows to great size, and being generally 

 sound, commands a high price. In fact, for some years back, 

 good plane trees of large size have been about the best selling of 

 our home wood. On deep loams they are proportionately larger 

 in size ; but we have not been able to detect much difference in 

 the quality of the timber. Elms also prefer a deep loam ; in 

 fact, the deeper the soil the larger is the elm, both Scotcli and 

 English ; but both require a considerable amount of shelter to 

 produce good timber. In exposed situations both varieties are 

 frequently affected with ring-shake, which is sometimes aggra- 



