2IO TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



March 26. — Sunday. 



March 27-28. — The programme for these two days was to 

 measure up and calculate the volume (total and by quarter- 

 girth) of the Dundonald Muir wood of 32^ acres, consisting of 

 Scots pine and spruce with a few hardwoods ; age, 49 years. 

 The diameters of the trees were taken with callipers, and the 

 heights of a certain percentage of the Scots pine and spruce 

 measured with the Brandis hypsometer. 



The students were first put into a section of the wood, and 

 worked as one party, with three callipers, in order to make them 

 acquainted with the methods of using the instruments. The 

 four parties were then told off to different sections, and caUipered 

 the whole of the trees in their own compartment, and took' a 

 percentage of the heights. In carrying out the latter piece of 

 work, the orders were to take the height to the top of the trees 

 and also at the 3-inch diameter limit in the stem. Thus two sets 

 of calculations were made to obtain the volume of the trees. 

 The results noted down in the field books were worked out at 

 home by each party, and handed in towards the end of the 

 week. 



The field work in the Dundonald Muir wood was finished by 

 midday on the 28th ; and the party spent the afternoon inspect- 

 ing some fencing work under the guidance of Mr Graham, clerk 

 of the works, and the haulage of logs by the traction engine, 

 being conducted by Mr Ritchie, assistant factor, and Mr Grant. 



March 29-31. — The work to be done consisted in thinning a 

 portion of the New Garden young wood, 32^ acres; age 27 

 years. This wood consists of Scots pine, spruce, and a few 

 larch, oak, beech and ash. The wood was very thick. A 

 section was taken in hand, and the first operation consisted 

 in removing all the lower and dead branches from the trees so as 

 to be able to get about in the wood. The parties then marked 

 all dead trees with chalk. After inspection by the lecturer and 

 Mr Grant, to see that no green trees had been marked, the 

 whole of the dead trees were felled, cleaned of branches, and the 

 poles taken out on to the neighbouring sides. These operations 

 took the party two days to perform. A few notes were then 

 given on the principles of thinning in a wood grown for pit 

 props, etc. The students were then subdivided into pairs, and 

 each pair took a narrow strip and marked with chalk all the 

 trees which they thought should be removed in the thinning. 



