THE PLANTATIONS ON THE PENRIIYN ESTATE, NORTH AYALES. 173 



larch, oak, and birch. Tliinning has been regularly attended to, 

 and in consequence the trees are clean and valuable, many of the 

 larches, although only thirty-four years planted, containing about 

 10 cubic feet of timber. 



No. 15 contains 29 acres, is situated on rocky ground at 500 

 feet altitude, the soil being a light, sandy loam. This plantation 

 is composed entirely of oak, but owing to the elevated site, the 

 open exposure to the south and west, and the poverty of the soil, 

 the trees are not of great size, although planted neai-ly half-a- 

 century ago. They stand thin on the ground, about 1 8 feet apart, 

 and are short of stem, with flat, bushy heads. 



Although the timber is of small size, it is hard and of excellent 

 quality, and sells readily in the immediate neighbourhood for boat 

 building. 



No. 16, about 16 acres in extent, is composed principally of 

 Scots fir and larch of nearly one hundred years' growth, and is 

 situated in a sheltered valley at 700 feet altitude. The soil 

 throughout is of excellent quality, being decayed vegetable matter 

 and loam resting on slate-rock. Many of the Scots firs are 75 

 feet in height, with stems girthing 8 feet at a yard from the 

 ground, and contain about 100 cubic feet of excellent timber. 

 The larches are fewer in number and of less size ; but a few 

 specimens are nearly as tall, and contain as much wood as the 

 Scots firs. The trees standing thin on the ground, rhododendrons 

 and laurels have been planted for effect in irregular-shaped clumps 

 throughout the wood. In one corner ai'e a few sycamores and 

 beeches of large size, the former in particular containing some 

 clean and very valuable timber. 



No. 17, containing 12 acres, is a young oak plantation of 

 twenty-seven years' growth, and situated on ground gently sloping 

 to the north, at 250 feet altitude. The soil is a stiff loam, border- 

 ing on clay, the underlying rock being the Aher fault. A stream 

 runs through, the entire length of the plantation, and into which 

 the drainage of the ground has been carried ; but owing to the 

 stiff, retentive nature of the soil, water lodges for a considerable 

 length of time on the surface. The oaks have done fairly well, 

 considering the unkindly soil, and that they are fully exposed to 

 winds blowing both from the south and west. They are now 

 about 20 feet in height, well branched, and standing at 10 feet 

 apart. A few spruces have, likewise, been planted in the dampest 

 corner of the wood, and these have grown and thriven in a very 

 satisfactory manner, being now fully 30 feet in height. 



