74 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



8. Excursion to Whittingehame. 



By Geo. U. Macdonald. 



On the kind invitation of the Earl of Balfour and Miss 

 Balfour, members of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society, 

 to the number of thirty, paid a visit to Whittingehame Estate on 

 Saturday, 22nd September last. The party travelled by motor 

 charabanc from Edinburgh, halting at Haddington, where a 

 visit was paid to the old Abbey and lunch partaken of, before 

 proceeding to their destination. 



Arriving at the West Lodge at 1.30 p.m., the party was met 

 by Mr Fyfe, the head forester, who on behalf of Lord Balfour 

 extended a hearty welcome to the members. The party 

 immediately afterwards proceeded to Overfield Nursery, where 

 they inspected 80,000 transplanted conifers, all of which appeared 

 to be in excellent health and making a most satisfactory growth. 

 From there the party proceeded a short distance to a larger 

 nursery in close proximity to the forester's house. In this area 

 were seen large numbers of transplanted conifers and orna- 

 mental trees and shrubs. What, perhaps, attracted most 

 notice was a comparatively large brake of Barberry {Berberis 

 Thimbergii) with its beautiful bright yellow and crimson foliage. 



Thuja gigantea—\ki^ red cedar of British Columbia — is being 

 planted fairly extensively on the estate, the whole of the trees 

 being raised from seed produced on a tree which grows near the 

 West Drive. This tree is 67 feet high and has a circumference 

 of 7 ft. 10 ins. at 5 feet from the ground. It is a prolific seed- 

 bearer, and the germinating percentage of the seed has always 

 been of a high order. Members of the party were interested 

 to hear Mr Fyfe explain how at times it v/as difficult to get 

 the seeds to germinate under ordinary conditions, and how much 

 he was indebted to Mr James Kay, late of the Canadian Forestry 

 Department, who advised him to try sowing the seed in " muck 

 soil," instead of the usual mineral soil. Muck soil is a term 

 used for well-rotted humus. Mr Fyfe was able to demonstrate 

 the soundness of this advice, for he showed a bed where the 

 seeds had germinated in a most satisfactory manner. Seedlings 

 of eucalyptus grown from seed of a tree in the policies were 

 a source of interest to members, some of whom had heard for 



