18-4 NOTE OX A WOOD DAMAGED BY CASES 



XIX. Note on a Wood damaged by Gases from Calcining of 

 Ironstone. By Andrew Slater, Forester, Loftus, York- 

 shire. 



The wood is within five hundred yards of the calcining hearths, 

 and is twenty acres in extent; it consists of oak, ash, elm, plane, 

 black Italian poplar, horse chestnut, Spanish chestnut, holly, lime, 

 alder, common spruce, "Weymouth pine, larch, Scotch fir, and silver 

 fir. The calcining hearths were in operation in the spring of 1870, 

 and as soon as the oak and holly were in foliage the leaves became 

 white round the edges, and soon after white spots appeared all over 

 the leaf. The other hardwood trees were little affected that year, 

 but all the pine tribe were much damaged the first season, and 

 although part of the foliage remained green, wood was not made 

 that season nor since, and last autumn (1872) they were all dead 

 except the Scotch fir, which retained a few green leaves till it was 

 felled this spring. The elm, ash, plane, alder, and lime were not 

 much damaged the first two years, but since then they have made 

 no wood. The Spanish chestnut had the same appearance the first 

 season as the oak, and the horse chestnut was sheltered by other 

 trees from the effects of the fumes, so that I cannot say what the 

 effects would have been upon them had they been exposed. 



The black Italian poplar is the only tree that is not affected in 

 any way ; it is as healthy as can be, and made good shoots this 

 season (1873), although exposed more than the other kinds, being 

 at least 40 feet higher than the other trees. 



There are two acres of wood, ten years old, consisting chiefly of 

 black Italian poplar, with larch and Scotch fir as nurses. The 

 poplars are all in robust health, without the least sign of blemish 

 on their leaves, but the nurses are nearly all dead or dying. The 

 wood was very healthy previous to 1870, but now it has the appear- 

 ance of being burned with fire, and that part of the estate looks 

 very desolate. 



The twenty acres were sold and a portion cut down and barked, 

 part of which had the bark as adherent to the wood as at mid- 

 winter ; it is still standing. 



"We cut and barked four acres of oak adjoining the above planta- 

 tion, and the bark came off well ; it is the same distance from the 

 calcining floors as the other, but is screened from them by a rise in 

 the ground, and I believe that if screens were erected round the 



