122 TUAXSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBOUICULTUHAL SOCIETY. 



just stated that the larch at present is in such an unsatisfactory state 

 that I would not advise a proprietor to invest largely in planting 

 larch. It is so diseased." 



" Are not proprietors prevented by the danger of losing many of 

 their trees by gales of wind in Scotland from planting ; you men- 

 tioned a very great number that were destroyed in 1879 1 " " We 

 have had a series of gales since 1879." — " Is not it the fact that 

 proprietors may lose a number of trees in that way, and does not 

 that deter them from investing money in planting ? " "I do not 

 think so." — "It seems a reasonable thing that it should do so "? " 

 " They were not entirely lost, although they were blown down. 

 Of course it glutted the market, and it was an extraordinary 

 occurrence." — " The price was very much lowered by the multitude 

 of trees in the market through those gales 1 " " Yes." — " You 

 think it is the slow return that prevents the planting 1 " " That is 

 one reason." — "What other reason are there?" " When sheep farms 

 are let, and when shootings are let, sometimes the sheep farmer and 

 sometimes the shooting tenant objects to the proprietor taking off a 

 slice of land and planting it." — " That means that sheep farming 

 and shooting rents are much more lucrative than planting 1 " 

 " They are more immediate." — " You think sporting rents have dis- 

 couraged planting in Scotland; they have been an obstacle to 

 making new plantations'?" "I do not think they have encouraged 

 it at all events." — " Do you suffer much from squirrels?" " Yes, 

 a dood deal." 



" If there is any evidence which you would like to give on any 

 special point, which will assist the Committee in the consideration 

 of this subject, we shall be glad to hear it 1" "I think there is 

 nothing else." 



In giving evidence on the same date, Mr John Grant Thomson, 

 Forester to the Dowager Countess of Seafield, at Grantown, Strath- 

 spey, replied as follows : — • 



" In what counties are the woods belonging to Lady Seafield 1 " 

 " They' are scattered over the counties of Inverness, Banff, and 

 Moray." — " What is the extent of the Strathspey district in which 

 you have special charge?" "Between 60,000 and 70,000 acres of 

 woodlands alone." — "A considerable sum of money has been ex- 

 pended on the estate since you took charge of it?" "A large 

 amount of money; somewhere about £90,000 or £100,000." — 

 " What do you consider the cost of planting in Scotland, including 



