46 TRANSACTIONS OF ROTAL SCOTTISH ARBORICCLTUKAL SOCIETY. 



humid hollows ; plaut rather wide apart ; thiu early and rather 

 sevei-ely ; and remove diseased trees to as great an extent as 

 possible during thinnings. It can do no harm, and may do good, 

 to destroy the branches of larches that have been felled ; and the 

 selection of seed from healthy trees is also a step in the right 

 direction 



15. Can any larch looods, formed within the last twenty years 

 or so, be pointed to as being in a perfectly satisfactory condition ? 

 Of the forty answers sent in, no less than thirty-six showed that 

 the writers had no personal acquaintance with any such woods. 

 Four gentlemen were, however, satisfied with the appearance of 

 certain larch woods with which they were familiar, though, on 

 further inquiry being made, even these four woods were not found 

 to be quite sound. 



16. In conclusion, it was suggested that the following points 

 should be further investigated, viz. : — 



(a) The comparadve resistance to attack of plants raised from 

 seed produced by diseased and by sound trees respectively. 



(6) The effect of raising woods from seed artificially or 

 naturally sown. 



(c) The result of planting larches some years in advance of the 

 other trees. 



{d) The eflects of strong thinning, and of lopping otf the lower 

 branches so as to prevent their being dragged down by 

 becoming partially enveloped in a heavy fall of snow. 



(e) Demonstration of the ease with which the disease may be 

 produced artificially by inoculation, so as to establish its 

 infectious character. 



(/') The comparative merits of larches raised from native and 

 foreign seed. A variety of larch, for instance, grows 

 abundantly in the neighbourhood of Archangel and 

 throughout Siberia, and it is possible that, through 

 having established its varietal characters in an exces- 

 sively cold climate, it may be corres]50ndingly resistant 

 to disease. 



