34 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



accompanied by Picea sitchensis only, racing away from larch, 

 spruce, and Scots pine. While averse to moisture in the 

 soil, a considerable amount of humidity in the atmosphere is 

 certainly beneficial to the tree. The average annual rainfall on 

 the low ground amounts to 35 inches, and the aspect being 

 northerly, the air is cool and moist; but a very considerable 

 increase in the amount of rainfall above stated would, I feel 

 convinced, give a correspondingly good result on the growth of 

 the tree. On good forest soil it is no infrequent occurrence to 

 see trees in the pole stage making growths of 4 feet and 

 upwards in the course of a single season. This rapid growth, 

 however, is not maintained for long ; but under favourable 

 conditions an average annual growth of about 2 feet would 

 seem to be well within the possibilities of the tree up to its 

 sixtieth year. 



In North America the timber is known as Oregon and 

 Columbian pine, and exported under those names. According 

 to the author of The Forests of Canada, it is used for almost 

 every purpose, from wharf- and ship-building down to the 

 manufacture of household furniture, and, owing to its great 

 durability when air is excluded, it is especially valuable for 

 pile work in the building of bridges. The average cut per 

 acre is calculated at 50,000 cubic feet, and as all trees above 

 5 feet diameter and below 2 feet are not included in the 

 cut, it would be interesting to know the limit of production. 

 Whether under cultivation in this country it will ever approach 

 either the volume or the value attained in its native habitat, 

 is a question frequently asked, but which it would be idle to 

 speculate upon. In the first place, the requirements of our 

 home trade do not demand a heavy class of timber, and 

 secondly, no one would consider a rotation based on the period 

 required to bring those trees to their matured state within the 

 limits of practical forestry. Any comparison, however, between 

 the quality of the home-grown and foreign Douglas fir must, in 

 the meantime, be greatly to the disadvantage of the former, as 

 while the oldest trees in Britain are still in an immature state, 

 the imported timber usually is the product of several centuries 

 growth. 



In appearance the timber of home growth resembles larch, 

 but in a young state it is not possessed of the density and 

 toughness of fibre of that timber. For standing in contact 



