2 2 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



canopy of the forest, and, as a result, trees so grown develop the 

 great height-growth and cylindrical clean boles desired by all 

 scientific foresters. Delicately adjusted combinations of shade- 

 bearers and light-demanders, as undergrowth and under-storeys, 

 complicate the problem considerably, and, when successful, are 

 naturally a source of special triumph to the silviculturist. But 

 the principle to be remembered is that the shape of timber-trees 

 is chiefly affected and controlled by the degree and intensity of 

 the light admitted. 



From the foregoing it will be evident that the effects of this 

 important factor in the development of forest-trees can only be- 

 properly studied when the latter are associated in masses and 

 blocks, extending over very considerable areas. The element of 

 light scarcely enters into the consideration of the arboriculturist 

 responsible for the production of what is popularly known as a 

 well-timbered park — viz., a fine open expanse of verdure, dotted 

 with gnarled and branching trees of great girth and gigantic 

 spread, but supported by a short bole, bifurcating into a 

 multitude of foliage-laden boughs. Consequently, it is hardly a 

 matter for surprise that, in the selection of Demonstration areas 

 for instructional purposes, the vital necessity for forests of 

 comparatively large extent, under systematic management, is 

 scarcely realised by those who have never had the privilege of 

 visiting the superb examples found on the Continent — and more 

 especially in France and Germany. The importance of such 

 areas can scarcely be over-estimated. Forestry is not an exact 

 science in the sense of chemistry, nor can the factors of 

 silvicultural problems be reduced to sediment in a test-tube, and 

 subjected to laboratory analysis. The very elements of any 

 forest question are primarily the trees themselves collectively, 

 and they must be studied as such /« situ^ after the theory has 

 been explained and discussed in the lecture-room. 



Demonstration Forests need not, and should not, be under 

 completely successful management throughout their extent. 

 Object-lessons of errors and mistakes, as showing what to avoid, 

 are no less essential than the ideals of silviculture presented by 

 the portions of the area subjected to correct silvicultural methods.^ 

 Both have their uses, and both are found in the vicinity of the 



' Past silvicultural errors are, unfortunately, too common here to render it 

 necessary to show examples of them on the limited area of the Demonstration 

 Forest. — Hon. Ed. 



