490 L Alien, NATIVE AND FOREIGN. [Dec. 



which cannot lie omitted without detriment to the thorough under- 

 standing of the question. This is, that close order and close leaf 

 canopy contribute and retain a greater proportion of fallen leaves and 

 litter to form a natural manure — the only one at present possible — 

 for the woods, and also so moderate the process of their decay as to 

 produce the greatest quantity of pov/dery black leaf-mould. This 

 powdered humus is added to the surface, enhancing the porosity of 

 the soil. Close canopy thus actively both manures and loosens 

 forest land. It has an appreciable active effect in addition to the 

 passive saving of minerals and preservation of porosity. 



Finally, close canopy, while it prevents heavy showers from beating 

 directly on the ground and washing it severely, also prevents the 

 evaporation of moisture from the ground. It prevents the sun 

 from drying up the ground ; it stores up the accumulated moisture 

 of the rainy weather to be of use to the trees in the hot season of 

 active vegetation and in seasons of drought. This is equivalent to 

 providing for the watering of the forest soil in the time of its greatest 

 need. 



Forestry is not like farming or gardening. It can do compara- 

 tively very little in the way of calling to its assistance labour and 

 extraneous resources. Even if it could be afforded, labour could do 

 very little to accelerate or increase the growth of wood ; and labour 

 freely expended on the woods would be by no means certain of 

 ensuring a commensurate return. It is therefore a pervading prin- 

 ciple of Forestry to let nature do as much of the work as she can 

 be induced or guided to do. In this sense it will be found that 

 close leaf canopy has claims on our attention which cannot be 

 overlooked. Close order of trees protects the chemical and physical 

 condition of the ground, and it is, as we have seen, an economical 

 substitute for the four important cultural operations — manuring, 

 delving, weeding, and watering — to the great and enduring advantage 

 of the forest soil. S. G. 



LARCH, NATIVE AND FOREIGN. 



THE question as to the points of distinction, if any exist, between 

 the so-called native and foreign larch is often a troublesome 

 one to answer. I have met with those who declare they could tell 

 which was which in any set of samples of say one-year seedlings 

 that might be submitted to them. But I have always had a 

 suspicion that in the absence of actual information as to the source 

 whence the different samples were derived, and the circumstances of 

 soil and culture under which they were produced, that such decisions 



