THE HISTORY OF GLENMORE FOREST. 85 



II. The History of Glenmore Forest. 



( With Plate) 

 By P. Leslie. 



Glenmore Forest, the property of His Grace the Duke of 

 Richmond and Gordon, is one of the most celebrated woods in 

 Scotland ; and as a large part of it has recently been sold the 

 present time may not be regarded as inopportune for reviewing 

 its history. 



In the present paper the writer has collected some old records 

 relating to the forest, and arranged them, with explanatory notes, 

 in the order in which they were published. As some of the 

 records are of considerable historic interest, and have not 

 hitherto been reprinted in the Transactions, this method of treat- 

 ment has obvious advantages, although some items of informa- 

 tion may appear in more than one account. 



Glenmore forms a glen surrounding Loch Mhorlich, the 

 source of the Druie, a tributary of the Spey, which drains 

 Rothiemurchus and Abernethy. This glen is sheltered on all 

 sides, except the west, by lofty mountains — Cairngorm, the blue 

 mountain, on the south, Meall a Bhuachaillie on the north, and 

 a ridge, 2500 feet high, on the east. The situation as a whole is 

 therefore exceedingly well sheltered, and trees attain large dimen- 

 sions at considerable altitudes. The woods extend from Loch 

 Mhorlich up the sides of the mountains in all directions, at 

 elevations ranging from iioo to 1400 feet. 



Public interest was first aroused in Glenmore Forest about 

 1786, when two English merchants purchased the forest and 

 started felling operations. 



In Sir John Sinclair's Statistical Account of Scotland (1794), 

 the ministers of the parishes of Abernethy and Speymouth 

 allude to the busy scenes associated with the felling and floating 

 of the timber, and the shipbuilding industry, at the mouth of the 

 Spey, as follows : — 



" Abernethy. 



" Glenmore Wood. — About eight years ago the Duke of Gordon 

 sold his fir woods of Glenmore in the barony of Kincardine for 

 ;^io,ooo sterling to an English Company. There were some 

 inferior companies tried it formerly, but they were not successful. 



VOL. XXX. PART H. G 



