NOTES AND QUERIES. 255 



has disappeared, the Douglas present a bushy appearance for 

 the first 10 or 12 feet from the ground, and many have more 

 or less crooked boles. A further factor contributing to the bad 

 shape of the Douglas is probably the sheltered position in which 

 the plot stands. The rank growth produced was frequently 

 accompanied by twisted and pliable leaders, which did not 

 attain sufficient rigidity to bear their own weight until late in 

 the season. 



The failure of the plantation in question, therefore, cannot be 

 entirely attributed to planting distance alone. The question 

 whether a pure crop of Douglas, planted at 4 to 6 feet apart, 

 would not have produced better results may probably be 

 answered in the affirmative, so far as this particular site is 

 concerned, but from a number of plantations scattered over 

 Ireland our experience has been that a 50% mixture of European 

 larch, with a planting distance of 4 to 6 feet, gives results 

 which are sufficiently satisfactory in average cases. The use of 

 European larch as a mixture probably has no silvicultural 

 advantage, but during the first and second thinnings the value 

 of the larch poles, or at any rate the demand for them, is much 

 greater than that existing for Douglas fir. The rate of growth 

 of both species is usually about equal during the first 

 twenty years in Ireland, but the larch can be pruned back 

 without difficulty during the first few years if it is inclined 

 to encroach too much upon the Douglas, and a little pruning 

 will avoid gaps in the canopy, which cannot be avoided if 

 ordinary thinning is resorted to. 



The precise distance at which Douglas fir should be planted 

 to obtain clean timber cannot be laid down with absolute 

 confidence. The rate of height-growth during the first ten 

 years is an important factor in this connection, as the faster the 

 height-growth the less the side branches develop in relation 

 to the main stem. Individual trees will vary considerably in 

 this respect, but it is obvious that the formation of a full canopy 

 by the eighth or tenth year after planting will do the greater 

 part of what is necessary to produce timber clean enough for 

 ordinary purposes. If this result is obtained, it is doubtful if 

 any advantage is gained by close planting at 4 feet apart, as 

 there is always a certain amount of irregularity in the develop- 

 ment of the trees which cannot' be eliminated from any fast- 

 growing crop, and coarse timber at one stage or another in 



