44 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



cleared areas, would be advantageous. There is no doubt 

 whatever that careful planting, with due attention to the 

 manner of placing the roots, would reduce the liability to 

 attack. As a last resort, areas might be left unplanted until 

 the stumps and roots had reached a certain stage of decay 

 when they might be considered as harmless. 



Those who advocate that the replanting of areas felled during 

 war years is of first importance, would do well to consider 

 whether, on account of the risk of root disease, replanting of 

 such areas of ground should not be postponed to some future 

 date, preference being given to equally good areas not previously 

 planted. Such ground is not by any means rare in Scotland. 



Care in the selection of species is undoubtedly an important 

 point, especially on agricultural and glacial soils. A second 

 crop of European larch on most glacial drift soils is certain to 

 be badly attacked. The same thing holds true of first crops 

 of this species on old agricultural ground. Norway spruce on 

 light sandy soils of glacial origin, and even on heavier tills, 

 usually succumbs about middle age. Scots pine seems to be 

 most frequently attacked on the heavier soils of glacial origin. 

 As hardwoods are more resistant than conifers, it might be a 

 sound policy to plant beech, or sycamore, or ash around all old 

 stumps on an area to be replanted, the main crop being conifer- 

 ous. On heavy glacial soils and agricultural ground a good 

 percentage of hardwood should be planted. On some heavy 

 soils ash does extremely well and is frequently a paying crop. 

 On lighter glacial soils and agricultural ground, Douglas fir is 

 probably a safe crop. European larch should only be planted 

 on very carefully selected sites, and never on typical glacial 

 soils, nor on light residual soils from some sedimentary rocks, 

 e.g. Old Red Sandstone (certain of the series). It is probable, 

 however, that well-scattered individuals of this species in 

 mixture with hardwoods, etc., may be immune from attack on 

 the better classes of glacial soils. In some cases a short rotation 

 of some hardwood species may be beneficial as a soil improver, 

 to be followed by a coniferous crop. 



As it seems likely that we are to have in a few years a much 

 larger and much more varied area of young coniferous planta- 

 tions in this country than ever before, and as they will be planted 

 on many different types of soil and under varying conditions, 

 we must expect heart-rot and other forest diseases to occur 



