288 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIKTY. 



of exposure another species is considered desirable, then the 

 beech is pre-eminently the best tree to associate with it. In this 

 case plant the oaks 10 feet apart, with a beech between, leaving 

 the plants 5 feet apart as formerly. Should the stems of any of 

 the young oaks get destroyed during the first or second spring 

 after planting, cut them back in the month of May, and allow 

 them to sprout from the bottom. When the sprouts have 

 reached a height of 2 or 3 feet, select the best one for the future 

 stem. 



Ash, another of the most valuable of our timber trees, to be 

 grown to perfection must be planted in a rich loam, with plenty 

 of moisture. Care must be taken, however, to drain away all 

 stagnant water. Along lower slopes, or the foot of glens and 

 valleys, the ash generally luxuriates. Being of little value as a 

 soil protector, owing to the openness of its crown, this tree should 

 not be planted on large aieas as a pure crop. It does best when 

 mixed with one or more of the following species : plane, horse- 

 chestnut, and maple, and in certain localities even spruce may be 

 profitably associated with it. If grown in groups as a pure crop, 

 it should be planted at a distance of G feet apart. The young 

 plants should be from 3 to 4 feet in height, with a stout, firm 

 stem, and should be taken from a nursery where they have had 

 plenty of room, both in the seed-bed and in the lines. When 

 grown closely together in the nursery lines the plants are apt to 

 be overdrawn and lanky, the stems remaining soft throughout 

 the winter, and, as a consequence, are more easily destroyed by 

 frost after they are jnat out in the forest. If to be mixed with 

 others, })lace the plants at distances of 12 feet apart, and till in 

 the intervening spaces with one or more of the species formerly 

 mentioned, so that, when finished, the plants will stand at about 

 an equal distance of 6 feet apart. 



Wych elm, to be grown sound, must be planted on moderately 

 rich, well-drained ground, with an open subsoil. It should never 

 be planted on very exposed situations, nor in cold, moorish soil. 

 Owing to the spreading and irregular nature of its crown, it is 

 best planted in groups or on small areas as a pure crop. When 

 pitting for this species, make sure that there is ample room to 

 receive the spreading roots without any chance of their being 

 doubled up in the holes. Use plants from 3 to 4 feet in height, 

 and plant at intervals of 5 feet. Kept together in this manner 

 they soon shoot upwards, and form straight, clean steins. 



