62 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



cast with oats which had been cut high on reaping, leaving the 

 straw as a protection to the young oak seedhngs. This method 

 had proved very successful, and the area was covered with a 

 dense crop of healthy young plants. In the course of discussion 

 Mr Gammell said that he had found a variation of this method 

 very successful with larch and spruce, his method being to 

 harrow in the corn, sow the conifer seeds, and then roll the 

 area. On another small area a thinning had just been made in 

 a plot of black Italian poplar, which had been planted as 

 cuttings in 1913 and were showing very rapid growth ; but the 

 plot was not yet old enough to give any assistance in deciding 

 the still doubtful problem as to whether this species is really so 

 profitable as its rate of growth would suggest — this being usually 

 offset by the great amount of space required for each tree owing 

 to its exceptionally great light requirement. 



Though everything on the estate was perhaps rather on a 

 small scale the party felt that it was packed with most interesting 

 and thoughtful experiments, and were grateful to the owner for 

 showing them round. 



Leemixg. 



The charabancs then conveyed the party to Leeming on the 

 shore of Ullswater, where the proprietor, Mr E. O. Bolton, 

 maintains a numerous and most eclectic collection of ornamental 

 conifers formed by his father. Some very fine and rare 

 specimens were seen, and owing to the absence of most of the 

 labels some most interesting discussions on identification were 

 entered into by the expert arboriculturists. By this time most 

 of the party were becoming pleasurably tired out, and on the 

 return journey, the coming into sight of the ridge of Saddleback, 

 which was already becoming a familiar landmark, even to those 

 who were making their first visit to the district, was hailed with 

 sighs of relief. 



Brackenburgh. 



The second day of the tour, 27th June, took the party first 

 of all to Brackenburgh Tower estate, which was reached after 

 a dehghtful run of an hour and a half through fresh countryside. 

 This is one of the largest estates in the county, and the owner, 

 Mr Joseph Harris, is carrying out a most energetic and extensive 

 scheme of afforestation over an area of 660 acres of woodlands. 



