212 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



and the distance between the holes and the depth was what was 

 found most suitable for this particular kind of ground. These 

 details would need to be determined by a few preliminary 

 experiments in each case. The cost, including labour, worked 

 out at about ^6, los. per acre, but no doubt this could be 

 materially reduced when larger areas were treated and the men 

 became expert in making and charging the holes. A direct 

 trial of the method for clearing scrub or heavy undergrowth 

 is desirable and would furnish the necessary evidence as to 

 the cost of the method. 



27. Continental Notes— Germany. 



By Bekt. ]\iBi5ENTRor, CLE. 



Prof. Dr R. Albert, after most laborious, intricate, and 

 searching analysis and experiments, extending over several 

 years, has finished his investigations of the soils of the heather 

 regions of North-Western Germany, and is now engaged in 

 summing up the results arrived at, more especially in regard 

 to their practical application and utility in the afforestation of 

 waste lands. The eminent explorer of the secrets of soils 

 intends, however, to undertake, in the course of the coming 

 summer, a further inspection and re-examination of numerous 

 pattern areas and research plots, before publishing his summary. 

 We may expect many interesting and original conclusions, some 

 of which are, however, already foreshadowed in the reports 

 before the profession. 



The investigator finally and entirely does away with the 

 opinion, till quite recently widely held, that the heather tracts of 

 North-Western Germany were synonymous with sandy soils of 

 low productive value, and shows that the development of heather 

 growth is entirely due to climatic conditions, and is quite uncon- 

 nected with the character of the soil ; heavy loams and light 

 sands produce heather within the heath regions, whereas outside 

 their limits not even the poorest soils are heather clad, but are 

 covered with inferior grasses and other low herbaceous growth. 

 Dr Albert also explodes the equally widely spread misconception, 

 that the soils in heather-covered areas are, almost without 

 exception, bleached out in their upper layers, and rest on 



