THE ASH AND THE LARCH. 441 



SOME POINTS OF EXCELLENCE POSSESSED BY THE EUROPEAN" LA.KCH. — BY 



E. y. TEAS, OF INDIANA. 



It is nufortunate and detrimeutal to the immediate and general introduction 

 of the Larch to its rightful and proper position as a timber tree in our country, 

 that claims have been made for it that are apparently untenable, or at least un- 

 v/ise, and unnecessary to establish its surpassing value and excellence as a tim- 

 ber tree. We do not believe it was intended by our Heavenly Father to unite 

 all the desirable qualities and possible excellencies of timber, for all the varied 

 needs and uses of man, in one single tree ; but that many species possess nn- 

 doubted excellence in various respects. While we believe the European Larch 

 possesses definite, decided good qualities, in some respects superior to almost 

 any other kind of timber, these merits do not exclude many other trees from 

 positions of great value in timber culture. It was unfortunate for the Larch 

 that, in consideration of its great success in some parts of Europe, in certain 

 and peculiar situations, the same tree should be claimed to be equally well 

 adapted for all situations and all climates in our country, while we scarcely 

 possess a township of land, in our whole domain, similar to that on which the 

 peculiar virtues of the Larch were first manifested in Europe. The old Duke 

 of Athol, who first conceived the idea of Larch culture in Britain, was not at 

 first sanguine of success, but, with Scotch shrewdness, at first planted only a 

 few trees by way of experiment; and these he located not on his rough, high- 

 land cliflfs, that he most desired to cover with forest growth, but in the rich, 

 level land, where they could receive constant attention and care. 



These succeeded so well that other plantings were made at higher and still 

 higher elevations, with uniform and unvarying success; until during the life- 

 time of the Duke who began the experiment, many millions of Larches were 

 growing and flourishing on his estates near Dunkeld. When I visited these 

 plantations in the summer of 1867, I found Larches on the high rocky lands 

 in this picturesque region flourishing thriftily beside oaks planted at the same 

 time, — the latter being less than one-tenth the size of the Larches, and com- 

 pared with them, quite useless for timber. The Larch is found to flourish at 

 a greater elevation and on thinner soil than any other timber tree; the leaves, 

 dropping annually, enrich the soil more rapidly than the foliage of any other 

 tree, and the timber is more valuable in the market than any other products of 

 such soils. 



My inquiries, which were not as thorough as I now wish they had been, lead 

 me to the belief that the Larch attains its most rapid, healthy development, 

 and produces timber of the greatest value on the rough, hilly and rather barren 

 land of the Scotch highlands, and on similar lands in England, — about Bristol 

 and elsewhere ; that the growth, health, vigor and product are not as satis- 

 factory on the rich and more valuable farming lands of the level district. 



In regard to the durability of Larch wood, it seems to be a well attested and 

 undeniable fact, that in some localities it has proved to be the most durable of 

 any known wood. It is well known, however, that a given kind of tree varies 

 greatly in texture and quality, when grown in different kinds of soil, climate, 

 or under other circumstances affecting the growth of the tree ; and it is folly 

 to expect to grow Larch timber on the rich prairie soil of Illinois, similar in 

 texture or value to that grown on the Alps or Scotch highlands. In forest 

 ■culture, as in agriculture, in our L^nited States, a mixed husbandry will be 



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