152 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
southern continuation of these two blocks. The lowest point, 
in Soos on the river Eger, is 1170 feet above sea-level, while 
the highest, the Veitsberg, in Ploben, is 2130 feet, the local 
differences of hill and dale thus ranging up to 955 feet. The 
mean annual temperature is 45°°7 Fahr., but this gives little 
real information, as the winter cold is severe and the summer 
heat great, while the climate is rather damp than dry, except 
during the summer months. So intense, indeed, is the hard frost 
in winter, that only the Colorado species of Douglas fir thrives 
here, the cold being too severe for the Pacific species. These 
hills are chiefly composed of granitic rocks of coarser or finer 
grain, with small intrusive patches of eruptive basalt here and 
there. The soil produced by the decomposition of the coarse- 
grained granites yields in fairly level situations a deep, humose, 
and somewhat heavy sand, favourable to the growth of mixed 
crops of spruce, silver fir, and beech, while the finer-grained 
rocks furnish a rather poorer soil, on which Scots pine usually 
forms part of the crop. Despite its elevation, its extremes of 
winter cold and summer warmth, and its somewhat free exposure 
to the winds from the north and west, the situation is, however, 
favourable to the growth of mixed woodlands of most kinds 
of European hardwoods, softwoods, and conifers, as well as of 
exotic trees introduced for their ornamental effect. A suitable 
place can be found for everything, as the configuration of the 
land varies from almost level spots in the sole of the valleys, 
to sheltered coombs, or gentle slopes, and to steep hill-sides often 
abruptly diversified with rocky precipices, while the aspects 
of the different hill-sides vary as much in number as the points 
of the compass. There is, consequently, abundant opportunity 
for the forester to introduce picturesque groups of trees in the 
positions most suitable to their growth, and where their form 
and foliage appear most likely to be seen to the best advantage. 
These town-woods are under the management of a head 
forester assisted by six foresters, who have comfortable and 
picturesque houses situated near the centre of their respective 
charges, and whose duties consist not only in carrying out the 
ordinary woodland operations, but also in supervising the 
opening out and maintenance of the carriage-drives and foot- 
paths intersecting the woodlands in every direction. In these 
5 square miles of forest, there are no less than 12} miles of 
good driving-roads and 56 miles of well-laid-out foot-paths, for 
