FOREST PROTECTION. 75 



in Eastern Siberia, where it has a vegetative period of only three 

 months. On the other hand, it occurs in regions where the 

 winter rest is not more than three or four months. In Europe 

 it stretches from 37° north latitude in Sierra Nevada (Spain) 

 to 70° on the west coast of Norway. In Asia it ranges from 

 Siberia to Asia Minor, and is also found in Persia. 



A tree with such a wide distribution is bound to have pro- 

 duced climatic types or varieties, and it is well known to 

 foresters that seed from different regions give very different 

 results when sown and cultivated in one place under similar 

 conditions. Continental seed and seedlings, unless carefully 

 selected from a suitable region, are invariably more liable to be 

 attacked and damaged by the leaf-cast fungus than Scottish 

 seedlings from home seed, and there is every reason to believe 

 that the woods raised from continental seedlings subsequently 

 suffer more damage from snow-break than those from indigenous 

 seedlings. 



Again in the case of the larch, which has been cultivated for 

 several generations in Britain and has become established in 

 many parts of the country, it is found that the seedlings from 

 home seed give better results in the plantations than seedlings 

 from imported seed. It may be that the mother trees originally 

 came from a good strain, such as that of Silesia which is the 

 best type, or acclimatisation may have come into operation. 



Another very important forest tree for this country is the 

 Douglas fir, which has a wide natural range. It stretches from 

 43''-52° north latitude in west North America and covers an 

 area of 50,000 square miles. It occurs on the moist Pacific 

 Coast from the Island of Vancouver to Northern California. In 

 the coast mountain range of Sierra Nevada it rises to 2500 

 metres elevation in moist valleys ; it stretches into the dry 

 interior of Montana, where it occurs in pure woods and in 

 mixture with other species. It is, therefore, not surprising to find 

 so many types or forms — coarse and fine branches, smooth and 

 rough barked. No doubt the root-system varies in accordance 

 with stem and crown form. It is of great importance for us to 

 have a firm and strong rooted type which will give more security 

 against swinging and uprooting by wind. The Norwegians have 

 made a special effort to obtain a type suitable for their country. 

 They sent an investigator, who knew the Norwegian conditions, 

 to study the tree in its native habitat with a view to selecting 



