THE ISLAND OF ARRAN AS A FIELD FOR PLANTING. 341 
XXIV. The Island of Arran as a Field for Planting. By 
W. A. Mackenzie, Strabane, Brodick, Isle of Arran. 
In Firth of Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland, lies the 
Island of Arran. It is about fourteen miles west from the 
Ayrshire coast, and about six miles east from Kintyre, the 
southern part of Argyllshire. Its form is that of an irregular 
ellipse, having its greatest length of about twenty miles from 
north to south, with an average breadth of a little over ten miles. 
A country in itself as regards its physical conditions, it may be 
said to contain on a small scale every characteristic of the 
adjoining mainland, from the bleak and sterile climate of the 
Grampian range of mountains to the soft and balmy breezes of 
the south of England—the high, heather-clad hills of the Scottish 
Highlands, to the gently undulating plains of the south. The 
great variety of its climate makes Arran an interesting field for 
botanists, for here are to be found specimens of nearly all the flora 
of the British Islands; and those who are lovers of botanical 
research will certainly be well rewarded by a visit to this 
picturesque and attractive retreat. To the arboriculturist, too, 
who mourns the amount of waste land that might profitably be 
clothed with timber, Arran would not be altogether devoid of 
interest. In it are many acres of wild, uncultivated land that at 
present yield no return, further, perhaps, than some grouse and a 
few deer, which could be planted with trees that in the course of 
time would well repay the cost, sufficient proof of which is seen in 
the several thriving patches of wood that already adorn some of 
its mountain slopes. 
Before entering into the arboriculture of the island, or its 
admirable adaptability as a field for planting, it will be necessary 
to consider for a little its geological formation, together with its 
geographical position and physical character, The physical 
character is practically due to the geological structure, for it is its 
geological structure that makes the physical features of the island 
of so marked a character, and gives rise to its extreme diversities 
of soil and climate. In the north are high and precipitous 
mountains, embosomed among which are wild and romantic glens, 
with beautiful streams rushing impetuously towards the sea. 
Towards the south the hills are much less lofty, and spread out 
below into broad undulating plains, which stretch on all sides 
seaward, and are divided into fields and meadows of considerable 
