no TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



many parts of our country, fortunately, is quite a reasonable 

 propaganda, but, taking our country as a whole, I think it is a 

 gross mistake to go in for the planting of spruce wholesale, or 

 even to a large extent. Take the eastern part of Scotland, as 

 defined by a line drawn somewhere through the centre, from north 

 and south, and you will find that the rainfall in the growing 

 months of the year is of such a nature that the growth of spruce 

 is absolutely out of the question in these areas. At a very 

 early age, to the east of that line, the tree begins to die off. 

 It is not only attacked by the disease popularly called spruce 

 needle-rust, but it begins to decay very early in the roots, and 

 this rust and the decay I attribute to the want of rainfall in 

 the growing months. If that is so it behoves us to put in 

 something that will withstand the dry seasons and will give a 

 very speedy return. Poplar is very useful for paper pulp, but I 

 do not know if it is so suitable for pit-wood. Colliery managers, 

 I think, have an objection to it unless in the root cuts. Further 

 up in the branch the wood will not stand the strain. 



" Sitka spruce demands even greater rainfall than the 

 common spruce, and Sitka is a plant that does very well on an 

 acid soil, and will stand a great amount of moisture, but it 

 requires a soil altogether different from a dry soil. The Douglas 

 is a very fast-growing tree, no doubt, but there are a great 

 many districts in which it will not grow. It requires a great 

 rainfall too. Nothing comes near the Japanese larch, one of the 

 fastest-growing trees that we have introduced into our country. I 

 could point to Japanese larch that is quite suitable for pit-wood at 

 sixteen to twenty-two years of age. The trees are able to withstand 

 an enormous amount of overshadowing with their own species, 

 and are therefore able to stand very thickly, and the return per 

 acre is equal to, if not superior, to anything that can be 

 produced for pit-wood. I am not advocating the Japanese 

 larch where European larch will grow, because my experience is 

 that if you find European doing extremely well, as for instance 

 in the Stewartry, I would never attempt to put in Japanese to 

 take its place. Go to Argyllshire and you find European 

 larch luxuriant there, but there are many places in Scotland that 

 could be planted with Japanese where European would be 

 entirely useless through disease. The production of hardwoods 

 does not call for immediate attention. We have, fortunately, 

 still excellent suppUes of hardwood in this country, and, I think, 



