264 TRANSACnONS OF ROVAF, SCOTTISH ARBORICUI/IUKAL SOCIETY. 



Mixed plantation (Scots pine, European larch, spruce and 

 Japanese larch), Japanese larch dominant, sixteen years' growth 

 since planting out : — 



Height, 31 ft. 2 ins., girth over bark at breast-height, i ft. 81 ins. 



31 » « , 



32 >. 2 , 

 36,, 3 , 

 36,, 8 , 

 37 >, 4 , 



2 „ o^ 



1 ,, 10 



2 ,. 2 

 i„ 8 



2 „ oh 



26. The Sitka Spruce in Ireland. 



By A. C. Forbes. 

 The value of Sitka spruce for planting on the exposed sites 

 and wet soils which occupy so large a proportion of the surface 

 of Ireland can scarcely be overestimated. Short of actually 

 submerged ground, no degree of moisture appears to be too 

 much for this species, and it bears the salt-laden winds of the 

 Atlantic as well as, if not better than, any tree capable of 

 growing in the low summer temperatures which characterise this 

 part of the United Kingdom. While common spruce will bear 

 wet ground, it cannot thrive in very exposed places. Corsican 

 and Austrian pines stand wind well, but dislike wet soils for any 

 length of time, and before the introduction of the Sitka spruce it 

 was difficult to find a conifer which could give a satisfactory 

 return on many sites with which the planter has to deal along 

 the western seaboard of Ireland or Scotland. Pimts insigiiis 

 and Pinus iiiaritima have been planted more or less generally 

 during the last fifty years, and leave little to be desired as regards 

 rate of growth and resistence to exposure; but the branches of 

 the former cannot stand against gales unless planted in thick 

 masses, while the stems of the latter are invariably crooked and 

 curved at the base. Sitka spruce possesses neither of those 

 defects, its branches being seldom broken or damaged, while a 

 leaning or crooked stem is practically unknown. Another disad- 

 vantage attaching to the two pines is the difficulty in transplanting 

 them successfully on exposed ground after they have attained a 

 foot or more in height, while small plants are difficult to keep clear 

 of weeds and grass. Sitka spruce, on the other hand, can be 

 transplanted with perfect safety when from 3 to 4 feet in height, 

 although sizes varying from i to 3 feet can usually be used in 



