248 
5 feet high. - 
The finest timber on the estate, however, is to be seen in Lochiel 
Old Forest. This is almost exclusively Scots pine. It is of large 
extent, and occupies rough, uneven ground on steep hill-sides. 
Many of the trees have clean trunks from 50 to 70 feet in height 
and girth from 9 to 11 feet. One remarkable old specimen divides 
at 6 or 8 feet from the ground into four enormous limbs, each one of 
which would form a large tree. The union of the limbs forms a 
ind of basin in which a seedling pine has grown which is now 
quite 20 feet high with a diameter of 6 or 8 inches, as near as could 
be ascertained from the ground. The girth of this tree is 18 feet 
4 inches below the limbs, whilst at the limbs it is 27 feet in girth. 
The following is Mr. Mackenzie’s account of Lochiel Old 
Forest :— 
“This forest is the finest of the few remaining natural Scots pine 
forests in Scotland. It extends to about 1,500 acres, running for six 
miles along the mountain slopes. The trees are nearly all very old, 
mostly from 200 to 300 years, and many of them are of an immense 
size. The largest in the forest has a circumference of 18 feet 
4 inches at 5 feet. The heaviest of the trees are in Glenmallie, 
about 5 miles from Achnacarry. A few are now dying and dead, 
and although some are still growing well, the forest has long since 
ceased to make a profitable growth. 
‘The timber when sawn is of splendid quality, being very close 
in the grain and resinous, and resembling in outward appearance 
good pitch pine more than Scots pine. When used for estate 
e. 
“This timber was largely used in the construction of houses 100 
years ago, and among the houses where it was so used was the 
present house at Achnacarry, where the joists and doors were all 
constructed with it, and they still remain as good as ever. Telford, 
in 1827, reported this timber as being finer and more durable than 
the best Baltic timber. 
“ Natural regeneration is not proceeding to any considerable extent. 
There are a great many seedlings showing in some parts of the 
forest, but it is only in certain small areas that they promise to grow 
to any size. In other parts the dense herbage on the ground and 
the deer grazing effectually destroy them. 
“At Gusach, a little further up Loch Arkaig side, there are the 
remains of another large forest of the same class. This wood was 
cut down 100 years ago, but there is still a sufficient seeding crop 
on the ground, and in some spots the seedlings are doing well. The 
extent of this part is about 900 acres,” 
