130 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



motor charabanc, the route chosen being by Otiey and along 

 the valley of the Wharfe through Burley-in-Wharfedale and 

 Ilkley. On arrival within the precincts of the Abbey the party 

 were received by the agent, Mr A. Downs, and the head forester, 

 Mr W. Harbottle. Mr Downs kindly conducted the party 

 through the Abbey, a part of which is still used as the parish 

 church. The party then went to the Strid (said to be derived 

 from the Anglo-Saxon " stryth," meaning "a tumult"), where 

 for a distance of about fifty yards the river Wharfe flows through 

 a deep gorge in the rocks which it is possible to jump across. 

 This is the scene described in Wordsworth's poem "The Force 

 of Prayer," which tells how the Abbey was founded by Lady 

 Alice Romilly as a monument to her only son, the " Boy of 

 Egremond," who was drowned while jumping across the Strid 

 in an attempt to save the life of his favourite hound, as the 

 legend runs. 



The area of woods on the estate is about 1600 acres, of which 

 1000 acres are conifers. The Wharfe here runs from north-west 

 to south-east, and most of the woods are on the eastern slopes 

 of the valley. They range in elevation from 400 to 1250 feet, 

 hardwoods being on the lower and conifers on the higher 

 ground. The prevailing wind is south-west, but on the whole 

 the plantations are fairly well sheltered by the surrounding hills. 

 The average annual rainfall is 36 inches. 



The rock is mostly sandstone, giving rise to a sandy loam. 

 The lower slopes have a fair depth of soil, but the rock outcrops 

 at higher elevations. 



The conifer plantations vary in age from 5 to 55 years, and 

 consisted at the time of planting of a mixture of larch, Scots 

 pine, and spruce. Larch has not been a success on the higher 

 ground, where it has died off, leaving a rather thin crop of Scots 

 pine, especially in the plantations from 20 to 40 years of age. 

 In the younger woods a larger proportion of Scots pine has been 

 used, and they are doing well. 



Of the hardwoods the sycamore takes first place, followed in 

 order by beech, ash, oak, and elm. The plan has always been 

 to plant hardwoods without nurses 6 or 7 feet apart and all 

 pitted. Existing plantations of this class range up to 30 years 

 of age, and are all doing well. Very little thinning has 

 been done and the trees are straight in the stem and clean, 

 and there is a good crop on the ground. The following 



