1 6 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTLRAL SOCIETY. 



tion is clear from the Act itself: one of its requirements being 

 that every landowner plants at least one acre of wood where 

 there is " na gret woode nor forreste." Apparently the wood 

 had not actually been all destroyed. The year 1535 gives 

 another strong measure, with provisions for further planting, 

 and going so far as to enact that destroyers of greenwood 

 should be punished with death for the third offence.^ In 1555, 

 the wood of Falkland being found old and decayed, is dealt 

 with, the Estates ordering that it be "new parkit, agane 

 keipit and hanit for rysing of zoung grouth." In the same 

 year, the earlier Acts are ordered to be published anew through- 

 out the realm, and enforced on all points. At later dates, 

 fresh Acts of a similar tenor are passed, and the older Acts 

 for planting and against destroying wood are ratified and 

 extended. An Act of the year x66i requires heritors to 

 enclose and plant four acres yearly with trees for the next 

 ten years, and is of additional interest in that it names 

 specific trees — "Oak, Elme, Ash, Plaine, Sauch, or other 

 timber." The Plane (Sycamore) is evidently classed as a 

 naturalised tree then. Contemporaneously with these general 

 Acts are others having particular application only. These 

 show that the continual reiteration of injunctions to plant 

 does not imply that the Acts were entirely without effect, as 

 has been perhaps sometimes inferred. Thus, in 1703, Lord 

 Ross is allowed to shut up a road through his park at Halk- 

 head, because it interfered with his planting and policy ; and 

 a similar provision is made on behalf of Lord Melvill at 

 Melvill House. In 1705, Sir David Cunninghame of Milncraig 

 is allowed to alter the highway about his house, for the sake 

 of an enclosure he had made; and, in 1706, Lockhart of 

 Carnvvath, to alter the highway in order to enclose a park (i). 

 Other documents, dating from the period of the Stuarts to the 

 Union (1707), show planting requirements laid upon individual 

 places and persons. For example, in 1616, certain of the 

 Western Island chiefs were bound over at Edinburgh (amongst 

 other things) to have " policie and planting" about their 

 houses (10). Donald Monro, who described these islands in 



' .\n Ayrshire rhyme slill current says : — 



" If you destroy Ash, Oak or VAm tree, 

 Tliy riyht hand cut off shall be." 



i/ide Mr John Smith, Uykes, Dairy). 



