PINACE^ 355 



Britain, thriving from sea-level in the mildest parts of the country 

 up to a considerable elevation in exposed parts of the Scottish 

 Highlands. Under mild climatic conditions it sometimes grows 

 very fast, forming leading shoots 4—5 ft. long in a single season. 

 It succeeds in sandy soil quite close to high-water mark and also 

 in wet, boggy land at altitudes of 1,000-1,400 ft. Planted in 

 places where European spruce has failed it is growing vigorously 

 and is giving good results on cold bogland in exposed places in 

 W. Scotland where cold weather is experienced until late spring. 

 Sir John Stirhng Maxwell is using it extensively at Corour at an 

 elevation of 1,400 ft. to plant very wet bogland where there have 

 been failures with other trees. On this estate, under the Belgian 

 or raised-turf system of planting, it is growing well and forming 

 shoots 12 in. or more long each year. The two best plantations 

 in Britain are on the Durris estate in Kincardineshire, belonging 

 to Mr. H. J. Baird. The larger of the woods, extending to 83 

 acres, lies on north and north-west slopes at elevations of 700-800 

 ft. The soil is deep peat, and at planting- time was so wet that 

 deep, open drains had to be made at frequent intervals. In this 

 case a mixture of Sitka spruce, common spruce, Scots pine, and 

 Douglas fir was planted. The other is a pure plantation of about 

 12 acres at an elevation of 900 ft. Planting in both cases was 

 carried out in 1878, and when one of us saw the trees in 1912 

 the Sitka spruce averaged 50 ft. in height and the larger ones 

 contained 16-18 cubic ft. of timber. In the bigger plantation 

 Sitka spruce had gained the ascendancy over other species, many 

 of which had been suppressed. The smaller plantation had not 

 been thinned, and most of the trees were of rather small girth. 

 Ornamental specimens exceeding 100 ft. in height exist in 

 Britain. In British Columbia the best trees are found at the lower 

 elevations in rich valley bottoms, and commercial timber is 

 rarely found at a greater altitude than 1,000 ft. It forms less 

 than 7 per cent, of the merchantable timber of the coast forests, 

 although single trees have been known to contain from 8,000- 

 10,000 board ft. and occasionally 15,000 board ft, of timber. 

 Seed of high germinating quality is produced in abundance and 

 reproduction is good in moist soils rich in vegetable matter. 

 Young trees withstand a good deal of shade. Unless grown close 

 together the branches live for a considerable time and the wood 

 becomes knotty. In British Columbia Sitka spruce is sometimes 

 seriously harmed by a bark beetle, Dendrocto7nus obesus, Mannh. ; 

 it is the host of one generation of Chermes cooleyi, GiUette, which 

 also attacks Douglas fir and is referred to under the description 

 of that tree. In Britain it is sometimes injured by the green 

 fly. Aphis abietina : see generic description. 



Sudworth, Trees of the Pacific Slope, p. 81 (1908) ; "Wliitford and Craig, Forests 

 of British Columbia, 199 (1918). 



