1 68 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Over the area in question there occur many examples of oak 

 "Urwald," all more or less crumbling to decay. In these, as 

 the canopy becomes thinner, the ground-vegetation gradually loses 

 its woodland type, and approaches that of the surrounding 

 pasture, to form a " parkland "" association. Thus, although the 

 individual trees still remain typical, they are isolated to such an 

 extent, in many cases, that they fail even to form an association, 

 much less a wood. Some examples are — the " Hagg," in the old 

 Jed Forest, Roxburghshire ; AthoU woods, Perthshire ; Dalkeith 

 Park, Midlothian ; Cadzow Park, Lanarkshire ; and possibly the 

 final stage in this process of extermination is to be seen at 

 Bowhill, Selkirkshire. Here, although a few specimens still stand 

 (1883), the site only of the primitive oak forest of Ettrick can • 

 be said to remain. 



As in the case of birch and Scots pine, the more extensive 

 natural oak-woods of this area are obtained in the Highlands, 

 and while the origin of these may be taken to be oak "Urwald," 

 owing to the influence of coppicing, they might best be described 

 as "lineal descendants" of such. They consist essentially of 

 Quercus robur {= Q. peduficulata), while Highland birch, alder 

 [Alniis g/utinosa), holly {Ilex aquifolium), rowan {Pyrus aucuparia), 

 ash {Fraxinus excelsior), hawthorn {Cratcegus oxyacanthd) and 

 hazel {Corylus avelland) occur occasionally. Their lower limits 

 are usually sharply defined by natural barriers, e.g. lochs, rivers, 

 etc., while their upper and side limits are quite irregular, and 

 seem to be determined by depth of soil rather than by any 

 other influence. On the whole these oak-coppice woods present 

 a fairly uniform type, any variation being due to a difference in 

 the age of the coppice ; in which case the relative height 

 development of the woods differs. The individual trees, or rather 

 . stool shoots, are very similar in character, forming much cleaner 

 stems than the trees of the Lochwood type, but while showing 

 practically the same height development as that type, they evidence 

 a verj' much smaller development in diameter-growth. The density 

 of stock in the coppice is naturally very much greater than in 

 the other type. Of all the woodlands examined, this oak-coppice 

 has probably the most fertile soil, this being due no doubt to 

 the increased shade and leaf-fall afforded by the coppice allowing 

 a very deep humus-forming layer to accumulate. 



The ground flora of oak-coppice is naturally, up to a certain 

 point, influenced by the age of the coppice. In the woods of 



