30 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICUI/IURAL SOCIETY. 



the North of England ; and Mr J. M'Laren has been appointed 

 assistant lecturer at the college. In addition to giving instruction 

 in forestry to in-college students and to students in Chopwell 

 woods, Mr M'Laren will give lectures and demonstrations at 

 suitable centres in the North of England ; he will also assist in 

 the management of Chopwell woods and other demonstration 

 areas, and will generally assist the Adviser in Forestry in all 

 branches of forestry work. 



4. The Utilisation of Disused Pit-banks. 



An Account of the Planting of Charlev Pit-bank, 

 Mealsgate, Cumberland. 



( IViih a Plate.) 



By P. Murray Thomson, Whitehall Estate Office, Mealsgate. 



The present condition of the Charley Pit-bank, on the estate 

 of Wm. Parkin Moore, Esq., Whitehall, Mealsgate, Cumberland, 

 is an interesting and instructive example of what may be done, 

 in some cases, to beautify and at the same time to utilise the 

 unsightly refuse heaps which are left on the closing down of 

 collieries. The pit-bank in question covers about 4 acres of 

 ground, and the whole area now enclosed in connection with it, 

 so as to permit of fairly straight fences, is about 6 acres. The 

 height above sea-level is roughly 300 feet. The average annual 

 rainfall is about 41 inches. The axis of the bank lies east and 

 west, and the prevailing winds are from south-west to west. 

 All the northern part of the bank is therefore fairly well 

 protected from storms, and it is on that side that the most 

 successful early planting has been done. More recently, the 

 south and more exposed parts of the bank have been treated, 

 and the results warrant continued planting. 



The colliery was abandoned in July 1897, and as the bank is 

 situated close to the main turnpike road, and within half a mile 

 of Whitehall, Mr Parkin Moore was anxious to have it, if 

 possible, greened over. With this object in view he had 

 sweepings from the hay lofts, with the addition of rape seed, 

 freely spread — rather than scattered — over the surface of the 

 bank, for a number of years. The resulting grass has tended 

 to bind the loose material of the bank, and the roots have helped 

 ,in the disintegration of the surface. 



