76 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



at their disposal. Mr E. Lees, factor, and Mr Stewart, head 

 forester, acted as guides. The most interesting and instructive 

 plantations seen were at Strathgyle. The larger of the woods, 

 over 80 acres in extent, lies on the north and north-west slopes 

 of the hillside at an elevation of from 700 to 800 feet. The 

 soil for the most part consists of deep peat. Thirty-four years 

 ago the area had been planted with a mixture of Scots pine, 

 Norway spruce and Sitka spruce. The growth of the Sitka 

 spruce, under the adverse conditions prevailing, has been 

 wonderful. The other species have remained far behind, and 

 merely serve as packing in what will ultimately be an almost 

 pure Sitka spruce plantation. The Sitka spruces average over 

 50 feet in height, while some of the larger individuals contain 

 from 16 to 18 cub. feet of timber. At a still higher elevation, 

 about 900 feet, there is an area of 10 or 12 acres which had 

 been planted at the same time as the last (1878) with Sitka 

 spruce alone. It has been left unthinned. The consequence is 

 that while the total cubic contents of the wood is large, none of 

 the individual trees have any great bulk. The problem of 

 thinning the wood now presents great difficulties. As a 

 demonstration of the possibilities of the tree at high altitudes, 

 these woods are invaluable. The object lesson was all the more 

 striking, as between the two plantations there was to be seen 

 Scots pine and some larch, all of which were wind-swept and 

 broken down by snow. 



The nurseries are extensive and are fully stocked with a variety 

 of conifers, including Douglas fir, Thuja plicata, Chamcecyparis 

 hnvsofiianaf European and Japanese larch, and many other 

 exotic trees. All the seed sown in the nursery is collected on 

 the estate. 



The park is full of arboricultural interest. Two previous 

 proprietors of the estate, Mr MacTair and Mr Young, were very 

 keen planters, and both had collected trees from all quarters of 

 the northern hemisphere. There is thus a great variety of 

 conifers, and besides, most of them are very well developed. 

 Some of the biggest and best include Cupressus nutkaensis, 

 Thuja plica ta, Abies graiidis and Fseudoisuga Douglasii. One of 

 the last-named, a tree of 72 years old, contains over 300 cubic 

 feet of timber. It is 106 feet high and measures 12 feet in 

 circumference at 5 feet from the ground. 



