306 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
slope, but at a more northerly point, and saw the last year’s 
fellings. The logs had been removed by tram-lines and a timber 
slide. Only the firewood remained, and this lay piled on the 
ground in bundles 3 ft. 3 ins. long by the same in circumference, 
and tied up by wire. ‘The soil from which the cuttings had been 
made was already showing its prolific nature by the close crop 
of seedlings which was appearing, and we were told that planting 
never yields the same timber and growth as natural regeneration 
does. I visited the Scots pine plantation on the toth June, and 
we were told that in this forest they always grow Scots pine 
mixed with silver fir, spruce, and beech. To show how few 
plants they raise in the nursery, we were shown a nursery of 20 
square yards, and the forest to which it applies extends to 1000 
hectares. Herr Ulrich Meister, who had returned from the seat 
of Government at Berne, impressed upon us that from the long 
history of the forest, and from his own experience, the safe and 
sure maxim in forestry which one should study was to grow the 
indigenous trees. The growing of these to perfection was 
certain in the end, he said, to produce better results than any 
imported ones would do, and, as an example, he gave us the 
case of the larch, which was introduced into these forests in 
1797. Although a few good specimens of this tree are to 
be seen, they do not seed, they are unthrifty in appearance, 
and cannot be regenerated naturally, and Scots pine far out- 
grow them in height when they are seen together. He 
also confirmed the information I had already received, that 
woods naturally regenerated were far superior to those which 
were planted. 
In these Scots pine woods the process of regeneration 
goes on in the same way as is described above in the case of 
the hardwoods. The trees are gradually removed, and the 
young growth quickly follows the operation, so that by ‘the time 
the last mother-trees are removed the ground is stocked. ‘The 
heavier pieces are cut into the most useful lengths, ready to be 
slid or rolled down later on, and they are dealt with at the mill 
as described in the opening paragraphs of this Report. The 
Scots pine is worth, when well grown, about 60 francs 
(42, 7s. 6d.) per cubic metre (= 35 cubic feet). Higher up 
the slope I was shown a place which was originally a wide, 
sour, grass-grown bog. It was planted with spruce, and that crop 
grew on it until it was about 30 to 4o years old, when the trees 
