228 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, 
by the woods is for the most part undulating and devoid of 
marked elevations or depressions; the altitude above sea-level 
ranges between 150 and 500 feet. The soil of 3884 acres con- 
sists of sandy or loamy clay of good to moderate depth; 260 
acres are peaty soil, of which 60 acres are of inferior quality ; 
there are 130 acres of peat-moss, and 30 acres of poor, rocky 
ground. It may be said that for the production of Scots fir and 
spruce, the soil is on an average fully up to Quality II. (second 
best out of five), according to Weise’s scale. 
The mean annual temperature, taken during a period of forty 
years at six places in Fife, averaging 155 feet above sea-level, 
is 46°:6, the lowest mean monthly temperature, 37°:5, occurring 
in the month of December. The mean temperatures during the 
months of March, April, and May are respectively 40°:0, 44°°5, 
and 49°-1. From observations taken during a continuous period 
of seven years at Nookton, which stands at an elevation of 80 
feet above sea-level, and at a distance of two miles from the 
coast, it is seen that spring-frosts are of common occurrence 
up to the second week in May. Autumn-frosts are often 
experienced after the middle of September; indeed, they not 
infrequently commence earlier in that month, and frost in July 
was once recorded. The mean annual rainfall taken during a 
period of eighteen years at eight places, averaging 250 feet above 
sea-level, is 31°6 inches; it is well distributed. The winds 
prevailing in this part of the county of Fife blow from the 
south-west and west, easterly winds being also common, especi- 
ally during the month of May.! 
GENERAL ‘DESCRIPTION OF THE Woops. 
The total area included in the working circle consists of 808} 
acres, made up of twenty-six woods, separated from each other by 
agricultural land. Of this area, 621 acres, or more than three- 
fourths, are stocked with a mixture of Scots fir (pine) and spruce 
as the main crop, to which, in a large number of cases, a varying 
proportion of hardwoods (deciduous trees), such as oak, beech, 
Scotch elm, plane (sycamore), poplar, birch, and others, has been 
added. Of the remainder, 414 acres are stocked with Scots fir, 
for the most part mixed with hardwoods ; and 28 acres carry 
spruce, also, in some cases, mixed with hardwoods; while the 
The paragraph relating to meteorology was compiled from documents 
furnished through the kindness of Dr Buchan. 
