THE ANNUAL EXCURSION. 89 



upwards. Very few of the trees are as yet of a profitable size, 

 but all have fine long clean stems and promise to become valuable. 

 The timber is of excellent quality with very little sapwood. 



Lochiel Old Forest. 



" This forest is the finest of the few remaining natural 

 Scots pine forests in Scotland. It extends to about 1500 acres, 

 running for 6 miles along the mountain slopes. The trees are 

 nearly all very old, mostly from 200 to 300 years, and many of 

 them are of an immense size. The largest tree in the forest 

 has a circumference of 18 ft. 4 ins. at 5 feet high. The 

 heaviest of the trees are in Glenmallie, about 5 miles from 

 Achnacarry. A few are now dying and dead, and although 

 some are still growing well, the forest has long since ceased to 

 make a profitable growth. The timber when sawn is of splendid 

 quality, being very close in the grain and resinous, and 

 resembling in outward appearance good pitch pine more than 

 Scots fir. When used for estate purposes it is found to be very 

 durable. This timber was largely used in the construction of 

 houses 100 years ago, and among the houses where it was so 

 used was the present house at Achnacarry, where the joists and 

 doors were all constructed with it, and they still remain as good 

 as ever. Telford, in 1827, reported this timber as being finer 

 and more durable than the best Baltic timber. Natural 

 regeneration is not proceeding to any considerable extent. 

 There are a great many seedlings showing in some parts of the 

 forest, but it is only in certain small areas that they promise 

 to grow to any size. In other parts the dense herbage on the 

 ground, and the deer grazing, effectually destroy them. 



" At Gusach, a little farther up Loch Arkaig side, there are 

 the remains of another large forest of the same class. This 

 wood was cut down 100 years ago, but there is still a sufficient 

 seeding crop on the ground, and in some spots the seedlings 

 are doing well. The extent of this part is about 900 acres. 



Beech Avenue. 



" At Achnacarry Castle there is an interesting and historical 

 beech avenue, which was planted in 1 745 by the Lochiel of the 

 day. At this time Lochiel, following the fashion of that day, 

 had been preparing to plant a long beech avenue. He had all 



