38 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



the risk of conflagrations in coniferous woods by establishing belts 

 of hardwoods along the lines of greatest danger, and by reinforcing 

 them with interior lines where such appear necessary. 



PAST MANAGEMENT. 1 



All woods which have now reached the age of ninety-five years 

 or upwards were planted by General Sir Hector Munro, who also 

 brought much waste land on the estate under agriculture. Most 

 of the remainder of the older woods were planted by Mr Hugh 

 Munro between about the years 1830 and 1850, from which latter 

 year and up to 1881 no planting was done. In 1881, extensions 

 were resumed by the present proprietor, who has planted the 

 whole of the younger woods, covering an area of 1819 acres. 

 The estate has, on the whole, been fortunate, in that out of five 

 successive owners, Sir Hector Munro, Sir Alexander Munro, 

 Mr Hugh Munro, Colonel Munro Ferguson and the present 

 proprietor, all but Sir Alexander Munro, Colonel Munro 

 Ferguson and the Trust which followed his death have been 

 extensive planters; but the breaks which occurred render it 

 impossible now to arrange for continuous fellings throughout 

 the whole of the period that must elapse before the oldest of 

 the younger woods has attained the felling age. 



The fine old Scots fir trees, such as may still be seen in parts of 

 Dail Gheal, Meann Chnoc, Cnoc Fyrish, Cnoc-na-Croige, Cat Hill 

 and Badger Hill, must have been raised in a dense crop until at 

 least the period of middle age, when the woods were probably 

 thinned heavily in order to meet a demand for squared timber, 

 which, forty or fifty years ago, realised from lOd to Is. per cubic 

 foot f.o.b on Foulis beach. It is said that in Mr Hugh Munro 's 

 time all woods were grown as dense crops ; he would not permit 

 the breaking of the canopy, and restricted thinning to the 

 removal of dead, dying or damaged trees. 



The worst of the older woods, such as Temple Park, were 

 planted by Mr Hugh Munro after the previous crop had been 

 cleared off; but weevil, rabbits and squirrels ruined his young 

 plantations, which, the vacancies thus caused not having been 

 regularly filled up, resulted in thin crops of low-crowned, branchy 

 trees, grown in a more or less complete state of isolation. 



The rough trees now keeping back younger crops in Claisdruim 



1 Compiled from information supplied by the Estate Office, and also, in 

 part, by Mr D. Robertson, formerly forester on this estate, but now at 

 Dunrobio. 



