REPORT OF THE ANNUAL EXCURSION. 59 



explained that he was not going to show them only the successes 

 but also some of the mistakes or failures of the estate, as he 

 thought that more might be learned from them and that the 

 discussion of them might prove of value both to the Society 

 and to the estate. The first two plots seen certainly belonged 

 to the category of successes and consisted of two small areas 

 of beech, the first, ij acres, 93 years old, with 78 trees of an 

 estimated cubic content of 124 cub. ft. per tree and 6448 cub. ft. 

 per acre, and the second, ij acres, with 67 trees of the same 

 age, with 146 cub. ft. per tree and 7825 cub. ft. per acre. 



These were on low-lying ground close to the river Eamont, 

 were planted pure and show the fine results obtained on this 

 estate with beech on a light gravelly loam on damp gravel 

 overlying carboniferous limestone. Though, as a rule, there is 

 little demand for beech, a good market is obtained here in 

 supplying rollers for the Lancashire cotton mills. 



In going from one beech plot to the other a strip about 

 42 years old was seen containing some fine Douglas fir, 

 Abies Nordmanniana, A. nobilis, and Lawson cypress all over 

 60 ft. high. The next area visited was Yanwath wood, 99 acres 

 in extent with a soil of deep red loam over clay. This consisted 

 originally of mixed hardwoods with a small proportion of 

 conifers, but is now partly felled and replanted. The lower 

 portion of 3 acres was planted in 19 17 with Douglas and 

 beech, but all the latter were killed by hares, and it was filled 

 up with Lawson cypress and Thuja gtgafitea in 1920. The 

 Douglas are now so far ahead that it is very doubtful if the 

 plantation will ever be a success. The ride leading to the next 

 strip was bordered by named experimental plots planted in 

 1920, containing among others the following species — Austrian 

 pine and walnut, Japanese larch, Sitka spruce, Ficea pungens, 

 and a larch labelled Dahurica but maintained to be Kurilensis 

 by some members of the party. This last had been badly 

 frosted, the leaves being completely browned, and it did not 

 seem at all happy in that locality. 



The party then skirted a protection belt about 40 yrs. old 

 containing chiefly sycamore with some black Italian poplar and 

 other species, passed a fine plot of 42-year-old Douglas, and then 

 reached an area of 6 acres which had been planted in 19 15-17 

 in ten experimental plots with the object of finding the best 

 nurse (conifer) for oak. The plots contained the following as 



