PROTECTION OF YOUNG SPRUCE FROM FROST. 287 
XXVI. Protection of Young Spruce from Frost. 
By Gro. U. Macponatp, Forester, Raith, Fifeshire. 
Considering the frosty nature of the weather which we have 
experienced throughout the whole of the present spring (1906), 
and the amount of damage which it has caused to young conifers 
which have been planted either on an exposed situation or in 
damp hollows that are naturally predisposed to hoar-frosts, it 
has occurred to me that it might not be out of place if I briefly 
described, for the benefit of readers of the Zvransactions, two 
instances on this estate where the most satisfactory results have 
been obtained by preserving for a certain time after the young 
trees were planted a portion of the growth which had previ- 
ously covered the ground. In both cases the natural covering 
was self-sown birch. 
As is well known, the Norway spruce, commonly considered 
to be one of the hardiest of our conifers, is nevertheless very ~ 
susceptible to damage by frost in the earlier stages of its growth. 
Whether in the nursery or in the forest, it is amongst the first of 
its kind to show signs of awakening life in early spring, and, 
provided the weather and other conditions are favourable, a com- 
paratively good growth is often made by the second week in May. 
Hence the reason why late spring and early summer frosts have 
such a disastrous effect on the young plants of this species. 
The injurious effects of frost are readily seen in the red and 
scorched - looking appearance of the young shoots, which 
they retain throughout the whole of the succeeding summer. 
A considerable time elapses before the plants have so far 
recovered as to show signs of returning life; and generally they 
are so weakened constitutionally that they become a ready 
prey to the spruce aphis, which gives such an unhealthy and 
distorted appearance to the young trees. 
Having had experience of the injurious effects of frost on young 
spruce plantations in this as well as in several other districts; 
and having heard of experiments being carried out in certain 
parts of Germany with a view to prevent, or at any rate to 
lessen, the damage done by frost to this particular species; and, 
further, being convinced that such injury is more prevalent and 
more destructive before the plants have reached a given height, 
I resolved to begin experimenting in the first place on a plot of 
