54 AFFORESTATION IN SCOTLAND. 



less sloping ground facing the north, may he said to be a very 

 suitable area to bring under afforestation : the soil is for the 

 most part light, with sufficient depth, and is otherwise well 

 adapted for growing timber. Taking the coniferous woods 

 as a whole, they present a very healthy, vigorous appearance ; 

 the matured trees are well grown and contain a large amount 

 of valuable timber ; and with a full complement of trees to the 

 acre the crop should be a very valuable one. Both Scots pine 

 and larch have grown well, and taking these as specimens of 

 what may be expected from forest trees at the east end of Loch 

 Xess (Caledonian Canal), the prospects are splendid. In taking 

 note of small blocks of larch throughout the woods, it is satis- 

 factory to remark that on certain areas they contain up to 

 3000 cubic feet of timber to the acre. And taking into account 

 the value of larch thinnings up to about fifty years, when the 

 last thinning might take place, the return from this source 

 would in many cases be such that very little, if an}-, of the 

 sum realised by the final crop would be required to repay the 

 initial expenditure with interest thereon. 



Dochfour. 



The plantable area on this estate may be divided as follows : — 

 One half containing timber of various kinds and of various ages, 

 and the remaining half being ground from which the crop has 

 been felled a few years ago. In dealing with the area carrying 

 timber, the position occupied is on both sides of Loch Ness, and 

 therefore fticing either north or south. The trees are of very good 

 (juality and size, and while the crop of matured timber is thinly 

 distributed over the ground, the size of the trees shows that 

 there are prospects of a profitable return from planting. The 

 young crops of Scots ])ine and larch have also a very thriving 

 appearance, those on the south side being, however, the more 

 vigorous, and showing very few back-going trees. The only 

 defect is that numbers of the larches have their stems bent 

 by gales, and this spoils the apj)earance of the crop consider- 

 ably. The question, therefore, of shelter-belts must be seriously 

 considered, especially when forming larch plantations, as the 

 greater part of these woods will be on sloping ground, and 

 therefore greatly exposed to wind. Thi> is rather a difficult 

 problem, but it i.s one that must be attended to, the position of 



