THE FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS, 133 
XII. The Formation of Plantations. By James Ropaer, 
Assistant Forester, New Scone, Perthshire. 
The motto of the Society, “‘ Ye may be aye sticking in a tree, 
it will be growing when ye’re sleeping,” was, under the circum- 
stance, sound advice from the dying old Jaird to his son. Even 
at amuch more recent date than that at which the pen of Sir 
Walter Scott immortalised the phrase, the average Scottish laird 
who stuck in a tree or trees, whether under suitable circumstances 
or the reverse, felt that he was simply bequeathing to his future 
heirs a goodly number of cubic feet of valuable timber. Too 
often, however, it happened that the trees were either killed by 
stagnant water in the soil, or blasted by strong winds which their 
nature was unable to withstand. Spruce and poplar were often 
planted on dry ridges, while that lover of dry soil, the larch, was 
just as often planted in a marsh, 
Such injudicious and indiscriminate planting could only pro- 
duce the indifferent results so common around us; for if trees 
grow, they also become diseased and rot while we are sleeping, 
and the large areas of ill-thriven woods in the country, consisting 
of unshapely trees of inferior quality, are only the result of the 
“sticking in” system. But if these woods which are an eyesore 
to the passer-by have been the means of showing the way to a 
more successful system of forestry, they have not been altogether 
planted in vain. 
Success, however, comes often through failure; and through the 
failures of their forefathers, coupled with their own extended 
scientific knowledge, foresters have long ago discovered that trees, 
to come to good maturity, require to be, not “stuck in,” but planted 
carefully and methodically in soils and situations suited to their 
respective peculiarities and needs. And they have learned that 
soils full of stagnant water, and charged with poisonous gases, 
cannot maintain trees in a healthy state. 
The import of timber into the country at the present day is so 
great, that to many it may seem a matter of little importance 
whether home-planting be carried on or not; but let the trans- 
atlantic forests be ever so extensive, a day will come when the 
supply will run short, and this in itself is a sufficient reason why 
many of our moors and mountain sides at present lying waste 
should be devoted to tree-culture, 
