REPORT ON AN ARBORETUM. 19 



III. Report on an Arboretum at Cluny Castle, Aberdeenshire. 

 By William Gilchrist, Forester. 



The premium offered by Messrs Lawson and Sons being for a 

 "Report on the most extensive, complete, and judiciously arranged 

 Arboretum," it is well to state at the outset that the arboretum at Cluny 

 Castle cannot lay claim to the two first requirements, and the third is 

 partly a matter of taste guided by local circumstances. However, as 

 it contains upwards of 360 varieties of ornamental trees and shrubs, 

 I submit a report thereon. It consists of two detached divisions ; 

 in the one, the plants are grown singly, to promote and exhibit their 

 ornamental capabilities ; in the other, most of the same species are 

 mingled with ordinary forest plants, so that their value as timber- 

 producing trees may be compared with the varieties now in general 

 use when grown under the same circumstances. The planting of both 

 divisions was begun in the spring of 1868, and the principal plants 

 were planted in the spring of 1869; but as the results are already 

 somewhat different, it will be better to note each division separately. 



1. The division containing the ornamental specimens may be 

 described as a belt about 400 yards long, with an average breadth of 

 21 yards, in the form of an easy reversing curve, exposed to the 

 south-east, and sheltered on the north-west by an almost parallel belt 

 of hardwood trees. The elevation is from 280 to 350 feet above sea- 

 level, as per Ordnance Survey. The soil is a light brown loam, and 

 the subsoil gravelly, of variable depth. In some parts it is very hard, 

 and almost impenetrable at from 12 to 15 inches from the surface. 

 Previous to being planted, it was old pasture land with a rough 

 foggage. There are a few old stone drains; but as the ground has a 

 rather steep declivity to the south and south-east, and shows no 

 symptoms of undue wetness, it was not thought necessary to put in 

 more drains. In December 1867, the ground was trenched from 15 

 to 18 inches deep, at a cost of about L.ll, 10s. per acre, and a few 

 of the specimen trees planted without any particidar arrangement. 

 During the early spring of 1869 all the plants were replanted, and 

 arranged in the following order : — 



A gravel walk, 4£ feet wide with grass borders, runs through the 

 centre, and on each side of the walk there are three parallel lines. 

 The first line is on the south-east or outside, and consists of 

 deciduous shrubs ; the second line, of coniferous trees and shrubs 

 alternately; the third line, next to the walk, of dwarf evergreen 



