THE SITKA SPRUCE AS A TREE FOR HILL PLANTING. II 



packing-cases, and it is now also becoming largely used for 

 wood-pulp. Its applicability for this purpose alone is of great 

 value, as, grown in this country specially with a view to the 

 production of pulp, it would, I have good reason to believe, 

 produce more than double the volume of any other tree suitable 

 for the purpose ; while as thinnings from growing planta- 

 tions also, a considerable volume of suitable material could be 

 reckoned upon. As a tree for hill planting, Sitka spruce has 

 proved here its superiority over larch, Scots pine, and Norway 

 spruce in a marked degree, its power of resistance against 

 winds and its general reliability on exposed sites far surpassing 

 those of any of those species. On Strathgyle, the eastmost pro- 

 jection of the Grampian Range, rising to about the looo feet 

 contour line, an extensive area of poor heath-clad land was 

 planted, thirty-one years ago, with a mixture of Norway spruce, 

 Scots pine, larch, and Sitka spruce. The soil, subsoil, and 

 geological formation are those common to the Grampians 

 generally, viz., peaty soil mixed with grit, boulder clay, and 

 gneiss, with an occasional outcrop of granite. The exposure is 

 from north-west round to south-east, and, in the higher elevations, 

 the conditions are particularly unfavourable. The north side of 

 the hill is open to both the north and the west winds, while the 

 east and south-east sides are exposed to the cold east winds off 

 the German Ocean, which is about six miles distant. The 

 planting was carried up to within about a hundred and fifty 

 feet of the crest, and as a sufficient period has now elapsed 

 to make possible a comparison of the relative hardiness of the 

 different species, it is important to note the result. The larch 

 and Scots pine at the higher elevations proved an entire failure, the 

 crop over a considerable part of the area having developed into 

 stunted lichen-covered scrub. The Norway spruce, although 

 slow in growth, forms a more hopeful crop, and may be expected 

 to grow in time to a useful timber size. But the Sitka spruce, 

 even at the highest elevation, has withstood the blast, and 

 indicates that on exposed moisture-holding soils, and sites, 

 such as are common to the highlands of Scotland generally, 

 the altitudinal line for economic planting may be raised to a 

 higher level than has hitherto been possible by the planting of 

 any other tree. On lower elevations and on better class soils, 

 where the species generally has shown a disposition to grow, the 

 Norway spruce has again taken the lead over Scots pine and 



