SUITED FOR PLANTING. 83 



fitable crop of trees. Some good crops of sprnce and Scots fir 

 are grown at low and medium altitudes on peat wdiere the great 

 proportion has been cast off for fuel, and only about one foot in 

 depth left for surface ; and where this is practicable, it is the 

 safest way to secure a crop. Under such circumstances, neither 

 the spruce nor the Scots fir grow to a large size, and at from fifty 

 to sixty years old they may be considered at their best as a crop. 



btli, Peat on a soft tilly or " boiling " clay bottom is unsuit- 

 able for the growth of trees, especially if the " boil " is near the 

 surface. If there is as much surface soil as keep down the soft 

 clay, any of the surface-rooting varieties may be grown, but they 

 never grow to great dimensions, and are liable to be blown over 

 at all stages. If the " boiling " clay can be got under by drain- 

 age the case is different, and wood may be grown profitably ; but 

 it is of the utmost importance that the drains should be kept at 

 all times clear and in good working order. Spruce and alder 

 are the varieties that will succeed best. The former is the most 

 ]3rofitable, except in districts where a demand exists for alder. 



&th, Bog peat, or the natural accumulation of succulent 

 vegetable matter with a soft bottom. This, in its natural 

 state, is the most unsuitable of all for the growth of trees. 

 Still, if it is desirable to grow trees or shrubs, it can be made 

 suitable by thorough drainage, digging over and exposing the 

 peat to atmospheric influence, and adding sand. Treated thus it 

 will grow good spruce, alder, and lime. Taking everything into 

 account, it cannot be said that the undertaking would be profit- 

 able; but circumstances might arise where it would be very 

 desirable to have such ground occupied, or partly occupied, by a 

 crop of trees or shrubs and treated in the manner indicated ; 

 this has been accomplished at low altitudes. 



2. Loam is a soil consisting of clay, sand, and oxide of iron, 

 with more or less of chalk. The qualities are various, from a 

 light sandy loam to a heavy clay loam. If the subsoil and 

 situation are suitable for growing trees, all the different qualities 

 of loam are found to be adopted for the growth of some of the 

 ordinary varieties of forest trees. 



1st, Light loam on a sandy or gravelly bottom. This is a 

 likely soil for the growth of trees, and yet there is perhaps no 

 soil so unsuited for the profitable growth of the trees that are 

 generally found growing upon it, especially larch ; and it 

 is a matter of surprise that, with so many examples of failure, 

 larch is still persistently planted on such soils. Even when 

 they grow to fair sizes and present a fair exterior, we have found 

 upwards of three-fourths of them to be unsound at the root, and 

 consequently a great portion of the root comparatively useless. 

 This heart-rot is found to begin at an early period ; and if larch 

 is to be grown profitably on this sort of subsoil, they must be 



