a) 
288 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
eight acres which, as already stated, was partially covered with 
a growth of self-sown birch. The area referred to is the western 
portion of the Begg Moss, which is part of a considerable stretch 
of ground that is practically flat, is difficult to drain, and stands 
at an elevation of 300 feet above sea-level. The situation and 
local conditions are such as to make it one of the most ‘“‘rimey ” 
areas in the district, and therefore the most suitable for my 
experiment. 
It was in the autumn of 1899 that operations were begun to 
prepare the ground for the reception of a pure crop of Norway 
spruce, which was planted in February and March of the follow- 
ing year. At that time the average age of the self-sown birch 
was about ten years. In certain parts it grew in dense thickets; 
in other places the distribution was more uneven; while else- 
where the ground was quite bare. 
Wherever practicable, the method employed was to thin out 
the birch to a distance of from 6 to 8 feet apart, and afterwards 
to roughly strip up the stems with an ordinary hedge-bill, until - 
the trees gave the appearance of possessing umbrella-shaped 
crowns. Where the natural crop was thin, only the heaviest 
and roughest of the trees were removed, the stems of those 
remaining being dressed up in the above manner. It was 
under these conditions, then, that in the spring of 1900 
the present young spruce plantation was formed. The trees, 
which were two-year seedlings twice transplanted, were notched 
in at an average distance of 3 feet apart, or at the rate of 4840 
to the imperial acre. No beating up of any description has 
been necessary, the whole of the young trees having practically 
held from the time that they were planted. The rate of growth 
from 1goo till now has been remarkable, but this description 
applies only to those parts where the birch covering was fairly 
evenly distributed. Under these conditions, the young trees 
at present show an average height of from 6 to 7 feet; they are 
in perfect health, and show no evidence whatever of having 
been damaged by frost. But where the ground was altogether 
bare at the time of planting, the difference in growth is very 
noticeable, the young trees being only half the height of those 
grown under the more favourable conditions; while there is 
ample evidence in these parts that successive annual frosts have 
very seriously interfered with the natural development of the 
young plants. Here the plants are short and stubby, the average 
