238 TRANSACTIONS OI' ROVAL SCOTTISH ARHORICULTUKAL SOCIETY. 



timber is imported from abroad, if we except Siberian larch, 

 which does not possess the valuable properties of the home-grown 

 wood. We have therefore a virtual monopoly, and the price is 

 not likely to fall to any appreciable extent unless the tree is 

 planted on too extensive a scale, and this is not likely, for it 

 is only in certain well-defined districts that larch will flourish. 

 Larch pitvvood is probably the most profitable crop that can be 

 grown in our woods, and it has the great advantage of a short 

 rotation. 



Compared with Scots pine and larch the importance of other 

 coniferous timber grown in this country is insignificant. Spruce 

 rarely comes into the market, and when it does, it is usually 

 so rough that it cannot be sold at a profit. Some foresters 

 doubt whether it can be grown clean in our climate, but at 

 least the attempt might be made, for spruce of good quality 

 would be a more valuable crop than Scots pine. Douglas fir and 

 Menzies spruce have not yet established themselves as marketable 

 timber, but they are being planted in such large quantities that 

 a use will unquestionably be found for them by the time they 

 reach maturity. It is important that members should bear in 

 mind that no coniferous timber, however good its quality, can be 

 profitably sold unless grown in large lots. Railway rates are 

 so high that the lower-priced timbers must be manufactured 

 on the ground, and the cost of installing a sawmill makes it 

 impossible to deal thus with small lots. Even larch shows only 

 a narrow margin of profit if it has to be consigned in bulk. 

 When small quantities of coniferous timber are grown on 

 adjoining properties, an attempt should be made to market them 

 as one lot, so as to make it worth while for a buyer to erect a 

 sawmill. The Society is adopting this policy where practicable. 



With regard to hardwoods, the market depends entirely upon 

 quality ; oak, ash, sycamore, elm command a good price if 

 sound, clean, and of the proper dimensions ; even beech can 

 be profitably sold if it be sufficiently good, and there is a 

 prospect that the demand for beech may improve. Sycamore 

 and oak is most valuable when of large size. Ash, on the other 

 hand, need not be large, and many proprietors make the 

 mistake of allowing their ash to continue standing until long 

 past its best. 



The market for hardwoods differs from that for conifers in 

 respect that hardwoods are not usually manufactured on the 



