72 transactions of roval scottish arboricultural society. 



Death Duties on Woods. 



(See articles on pp. 133-137 of Vol. XXIII., and on 

 pp. 36-40 of Vol. XXVII.) 



Further letters have passed between the Secretary of the 

 Society and the Estate Duty Department on this subject, and 

 the Department has now agreed that the deductions to be allowed 

 from the proceeds of timber sold in respect of " necessary 

 outgoings since the death of the deceased," will be held 

 to include all expenses necessary to maintain the woods in the 

 condition in which they existed at the death, such as the wages 

 of foresters and woodmen, cost of pruning and cleaning, of 

 fencing for protection, and of the killing of vermin, and outlays 

 for seeds and plants, and the upkeep of a nursery, besides the 

 cost of the felling where borne by the seller, the restoration of 

 damage to fences, etc., and rates and taxes applicable solely to the 

 woods ; but not rent unless actually paid. The cost of replanting 

 denuded areas is thus covered by the Act, but unfortunately the 

 cost of planting new or extended areas is not covered. 



Where the deceased owned different estates they form an 

 aggregate for determining the rate of duty. 



Only the net moneys received on sale are chargeable vi'ith 

 duty, so that timber used for estate purposes does not require 

 to be accounted for, because that timber goes to increase the 

 value of the other property. R. G. 



Diseases of the Common Spruce {Picea excelsa) : 

 Observations in Darnaway Forest. 



Fungi claim many victims in a close-grown spruce crop. For 

 example : Trametes radiciperda seems to attack the healthiest and 

 best-developed specimens. This fungus is always present in the 

 plantations, and sporophores are freely produced in burrows, 

 and on the sides of open drains. The spruce needle-rust, 

 Chrysomyxa abietis, is found in different localities here, but seems 

 confined to old mature trees or stunted suppressed specimens. 

 Alongside one of these mature infected spruces, a small area 

 was planted two years ago with five different species of Picea, 

 but as yet no signs of susceptibility to this fungus have been 

 shown. Lophodermium macrospori/m is somewhat virulent on 

 the needles of a pure spruce crop of thirty-eight years of age. 



