l68 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



always to count the cost, and to consider if success might not 

 be had by cheaper methods. Pre-war charges for trenching, up 

 to ^20 per acre, do not leave much chance of direct financial 

 profit from planting. 



For fixing drifting sands preparatory to planting several 

 excellent methods are given, but the treatment of this matter 

 is not so exhaustive as it might be. 



The recommendation that planting should not be done till 

 late spring is sound, since it would not seem wise to expose 

 newly inserted plants unnecessarily to the rigours of the winter's 

 storms. The need for protecting the roots of plants during 

 planting operations is rightly emphasised. Among conifers the 

 author considers the most suitable for seaside planting are : — 

 Pinus Pinaster, P. Laricio var. austriaca, P. Laricio, P. montana, 

 P. insignis, Cupressus macrocarpa ; and among hardwoods Quercus 

 Ilex, Acer Pseudoplatanus, A. platanoides, and a few species of 

 poplar and willow. It cannot be agreed that, " For planting 

 along the most exposed part of the coast of Scotland and the 

 Isles the palm of honour must be awarded to P. Pinaster." Its 

 hardiness, under all the conditions that prevail there, is open to 

 doubt. Unfortunately also, contradictory statements are made 

 as to the best methods of raising P. Pinaster. On p. 31 it is 

 stated that, "Although seed-sowing has been found a cheap and 

 excellent method of getting up the cluster pine on the Continent, 

 yet in this country planting young trees, unless in a few instances, 

 has been found preferable"; and on p. 57, "Seed-sowing is 

 preferable to using young plants in the case of Pinus Pinaster, 

 gorse, broom, and several of the sand-binding grasses." 



The author probably pays too little attention to Pinus 

 Banksiana, although from the description given it might be 

 doubted if he has any accurate knowledge of this tree. Certainly 

 it would be difficult to recognise it as a tree " of low, straggling 

 habit, rarely exceeding 20 feet in height, and much in the way 

 of the better known P. mofitana." 



There is a considerable amount of unnecessary repetition 

 throughout the book. Crataegus is twice described, and the 

 Culbin Sands are, in particular, referred to with some redund- 

 ancy. Slips or errors in geography are not unknown. It has 

 not been possible to trace a Forres, or an Island of Scurba, on 

 the west coast of Scotland, nor a Lewis in Skye. 



The author is not happy in his chapter on insect and fungus 



