56 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



8. The Royal English Arboricultural Society's 

 Tour in Denmark, 1908. 



By Fraser Story. 



The English Society this year visited Denmark, and inspected 

 several typical forest districts in Jutland, Langeland, and 

 Zealand. They had the advantage of the very able guidance 

 of Herr Mundt, of the Danish State Forest Service, and of some 

 of the foremost foresters upon private estates. 



At Palsgaard, in the south-west of the peninsula, a remark- 

 ably poor tract of land was shown to the visitors. The soil is 

 of a sandy nature, but is rendered almost sterile by the presence 

 of an impermeable stratum or " iron pan." In treating the area 

 previous to planting, the natural herbage, which principally 

 consists of heather, is burned off, then the " pan " is broken 

 by subsoil ploughing to a depth of 2 feet, after which the 

 grubber and harrows are used. It takes from three to five 

 years to prepare the land, as the hard layer requires to be 

 exposed to the air for some time before it weathers. Complete 

 cultivation of the soil is practised, instead of the system of 

 ploughed strips alternating with uncultivated land, which is the 

 method adopted upon somewhat similar land in the Liineburg 

 Heath and many other parts of Germany. Spruce and 

 mountain pine are planted in the proportion of two of the former 

 to one of the latter. These are arranged in lines which are 4 feet 

 apart, while the plants in these lines are slightly ovgr 2 feet 

 from each other. The total number of plants per acre is 4320. 



The nature of the soil would suggest the planting of Scots 

 pine, but, strange to say, this species has failed, chiefly owing 

 to severe attacks of the leaf-fungus Hysierium {Lophodermium) 

 pinastri and the pine-shoot Tortrix moth {Tortrix buoliana). 

 Other trees, such as larch, various firs, and birch, have also been 

 tried without success. Pure spruce woods do not thrive well 

 either, but in association with the mountain pine fairly satis- 

 factory growth is made by this species. Probably the reason 

 for this is that the mountain pine kills the heather that would 

 otherwise impede the growth of the spruce. Some scientists 

 claim, in addition, that there is a useful exchange of food 

 materials between the mycrorhiza on the roots of the two species. 

 The Pyrenean mountain pine {Finus montana uncinata), which 

 has a much more erect habit of growth than the common 

 Pinus montana, is planted in pure woods to some extent, but 

 better results are expected from the spruce and ordinary 



