SOME REMARKS ON BRITISH FOREST HISTORY. 1 97 



their learning smacks very much of the arboretum. As M. de 

 Buffon said, "all their experiments had been in smalls; in 

 gardens, nurseries, or at most in some inclosures, where they 

 could dress and take care of the young trees ; but this is not 

 what is wanted when we would plant woods." ^ Still it was a 

 necessary stage on the road : without the eager curiosity about 

 exotic trees of Evelyn and his contemporaries, without their 

 appreciation of the aesthetic value of woodlands, the plantations 

 of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries would not have been 

 made. 



25. The Geographical Range of Sitka Spruce, 

 Western Larch, and Douglas Fir. 



By James Kay. 



At the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society excursion this 

 summer some of the members were anxious to know something 

 about the geographical range of Sitka spruce, western larch, and 

 Douglas fir, in their natural habitat, and, in the case of the 

 Douglas fir, something about the varieties or forms in the 

 different regions. 



Sitka Spruce. — The general range of this species is from 

 south-eastern Alaska to northern California. It grows from sea- 

 level up to 3000 feet, or occasionally 5000 feet, rarely extending 

 more than 50 miles inland, and then only in proximity to the 

 numerous inlets and moist river-valley bottom-lands. The 

 name "Tideland spruce" refers to its commonly being found 

 near the seashore, or along the lower reaches of the large rivers 

 on the coast. 



Alaska. — Sitka spruce is the most important timber tree in 

 Alaska, being followed by Western hemlock. It is somewhat 

 paradoxical in its habits, reaching higher elevations in the 

 northern than in the southern part of its range; this is contrary 



' Op. cit., p. 93. 



