HEREDITY AND FORESTRY. 9 



be much larger than in the other, in fact, there may at the end 

 of the rotation be all the difference between a satisfactory profit 

 and a dead loss. 



Although I have not troubled you with figures for plants 

 raised at what, on the Continent, would be called a high 

 altitude, I may mention that whereas seed from a low or 

 moderate elevation is clearly indicated as the best for cultiva- 

 tion at such elevations, this class of seed produced plants that 

 throve badly at high altitudes. For use at high altitudes, seed 

 from similar altitudes must be obtained, and it seems to be not 

 unlikely that in Scotland we might cultivate woods at greater 

 heights than we do if we made a point of securing high-grown 

 coniferous seed for the purpose. I am aware that Scots pines 

 from home-grown seed are much more highly valued than 

 so-called " German-Scotch," and I have not a doubt that the 

 prejudice against foreign Scots pine plants is thoroughly well 

 founded. But the home supplies of Scots pine seed are often 

 insufficient to meet requirements, and, in any case, we want to 

 have extensive experiments set a-going to see whether any 

 foreign locality can furnish as good Scots pines as we grow at 

 home. While we are probably sound in our belief with regard 

 to Scots pine, I fear we know but little as to where we should 

 turn for the best supplies of spruce and larch, and some other 

 important trees. If larches that possess crooked and buttressed 

 stems can produce plants having similar characters, the question 

 naturally arises, can the tendency to disease be similarly 

 transmitted? The tendency to injury from frost can certainly 

 be transmitted, as we have just seen in the case of the Swiss 

 experiments, and it is possible that some cases of want of 

 success with this tree are due to the unsuitability of the source 

 of supply of the seed. Similarly in the case of the spruce. 

 How often do we see young spruces almost standing still in 

 their growth, with foliage yellow, and branches covered with 

 galls ! These are exactly the symptoms that characterise some 

 of the experimental plantations in Austria, and it may well be 

 that our spruces also have sprung from seed ill-adapted to our 

 peculiar conditions. Pending the production of reliable experi- 

 mental results in this country, we cannot do better than take 

 care to obtain our seed from well-grown healthy trees situated 

 in the district where the woods are to be grown, or in a district 

 of similar character. 



