160 TRANSACTIONS OP ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



considerable quantity in the swampy lowlands only. In is a 

 well-established fact that the Sakhalin larch (Z. dahurica) is a 

 distinctly different species from the Japanese larch {L. leptolepis). 

 The Russians on the island pronounce the timber of the Sakhalin 

 larch to yield building material of the best quality, and say that 

 it is not liable to crack and split like the wood of Abies 

 sakhalinensis and Picea ajanensis, which are found with it. 



Mr Hawes made no special observation as to the occurrence or 

 otherwise of canker in the Sakhalin larch. Timber is not exported 

 from the island, at least from its northern portion. He men- 

 tions that on the east coast, during the winter, the thermometer 

 often goes down to - 40° R. (58° below the zero point of our ther- 

 mometers), the snow being from 7 to 9 feet deep, and the sea being 

 frozen to a distance of 3 or 4 miles from the land. The island of 

 Sakhalin lies between the parallels of 46" and 54° N. latitude, 

 54° being about the latitude of York. It seems probable that 

 this splendid tree might be successfully grown by us. Mr Hawes 

 has kindly promised to endeavour to obtain a sample of the seeds. 



Department of Woods and Forests for West Africa. 



A Department of Woods and Forests for West Africa is to be 

 established. Northern and Southern Nigeria and the Gold Coast 

 are at present the colonies in the sphere of the Department's 

 work, but as the scheme develops it is intended to include also 

 Gambia and Sierra Leone. Mr Thompson, of the Department of 

 Woods and Forests in Burraah, has been appointed by the Colonial 

 Office to be director of the new Department, and he has recently 

 sailed for the Niger to take up his duties. 



The Douglas Fir. 



Our National Parks, by John Muir, University Press, Cam- 

 bridge, 1901, contains the following remarks on the quality of 

 Douglas fir timber, as grown in its natural habitat : — 



"In proportion to its weight when dry, Douglas spruce timber 

 is perhaps stronger than that of any other large conifer in the 

 country, and being tough, durable, and elastic, it is admirably 

 suited for shipbuilding, piles, and heavy timbers in general ; but 



