CHAPTEE IV. 



SOILS AND SITUATIONS ADAPTED TO LARCH. 



It is of fundamental importance to know what soil 

 and situation the larch delights in, and what are 

 injurious to it. In the first place, the soil should be 

 dry — that is, a free circulation of air should pass into 

 it or through it, and no larch should be planted in 

 soils where the air cannot freely enter, which it can- 

 not do if water stagnates in it, or remains so long 

 upon it that the air is excluded for any considerable 

 length of time. Second, there must be nothing in the 

 soil to prevent the roots from pushing and extending 

 rapidly in all directions, and this suggests the necessity 

 of breaking up and rendering it open, if it be naturally 

 close, hard, and compact. Third, the soil essentially 

 adapted to larch should contain an appreciable quantity 

 of sand ; for although pure moss, and pure clay if kept 

 dry, will grow larch to good and useful dimensions, yet 

 they do not bring it to the same degree of perfection, 

 nor does the timber remain sound to old age upon 

 such soils. Fourth, there is no necessity for the soil 

 being deep — three inches deep, or even less if the sub- 

 strata be open : gravel, loose stones, slaty rock, or such 

 like, suits it well. Although in some respects tender in 



