170 THE LARCH. 



of the trees are still growing within four feet of each 

 other (from centre to centre). This, however, is more 

 the case at Loch Hoshnie than at Loch Ordie, and 

 may be accounted for in various ways. Loch Hoshnie 

 being an out-of-the-way place, and far distant from the 

 home of the inspector (Mr. M'Crosty), the planters may 

 have been less assiduous. The ground being moory, 

 poor, thin, and cold, failure to some extent at least 

 might have been anticipated. Be this as it may, the 

 orders from His Grace were to plant six feet apart. 



The earliest planted portion — that at Loch Ordie — 

 now sixty-five years old, is a very fine crop of larch, 

 but must be seen to be duly admired. A hundred 

 acres or more may be met with in one place where 

 the trees bear a marked resemblance to each other 

 in straightness of trunk, with a gradual but im- 

 perceptible diminution of girth from the base to near 

 the top, cleanness of stem, as if polished by the hand 

 of art, to a height of 30 to 40 feet and upwards, 

 where a light canopy of drooping spray crowns the 

 elegant column. The trees, according to altitude, vary 

 in height from 50 to 70 feet and upwards. The 

 bark is peculiar. Where the ground is dry, it is of 

 a reddish-grey colour ; where somewhat damp and 

 sheltered, it is light coloured, almost to whiteness ; 

 and when situated at a high altitude, and where 

 the soil is damp or wet, the trees are covered with 

 moss and lichens, presenting quite a hoary and shaggy 

 appearance. 



The rule of six feet distant planting has been more 



