CHAP, v.] Soil and Situation 105 



Moist, when water falls in drops from a clod on pressure being 



applied. 

 Fresh, when only traces of moisture are left on the hand, after pressure 



being applied to a handful of soil. 

 Dry, when the soil does not resolve itself into dust on being rubbed. 



Such soils lose their moisture within a few days after rainfall, and 



their colour is not much deepened by the moisture retained. 

 Arid, when, on being rubbed, the soil resolves itself into dust that is 



carried away by the wind. Traces of rainfall rapidly disappear 



from such soil, and the slight quantity of moisture it is able to 



retain does not much affect its colour. 



Most of our forest trees Oak, Beech, Maple, Spruce, Scots 

 Pine, Larch, Silver Fir thrive best on a fresh soil ; Willows, 

 Poplars, Ash, Elm, and Hornbeam prefer a moist soil, and 

 the Alder even a wet one ; but stagnating moisture is favour- 

 able to no kind of tree-growth. Dryness of soil is not an 

 essential for any of our forest trees ; but Birch, Rowan, Aspen, 

 Black Pine, and Scots Pine in general, and Beech on a limy 

 soil, appear to be able to accommodate themselves to less 

 soil-moisture than other species. 



The sylvicultural qualities of a soil are frequently, to a very great 

 extent, indicated by the nature of the forest weeds that grow upon it. 

 Thus the following characteristic species of plants may be recognized : 



i. On wet or boggy soil: Bog moss (Sphagnum^, hair moss (Polytri- 

 chum), cranberry (Vaccinium Oxycoccos\ bog bilberry ( Vaccinium uligi- 

 nosum\ heath or bell-heather (Erica Tetralix), marsh cistus or marsh 

 rosemary (Ledum palustre), cotton grass (Eriophorum), sedges (Carex\ 

 bulrushes (Sdrpus), rushes (Juncus), the last three genera in many 

 different species. 



a. On fresh fertile land, or soil rich in hu mus: Raspberry (Rubus 

 idceus}, bramble (Rubus fruticosus*) , red foxglove (Digitalis purpured), 

 willow herb (Epilobium angustifolium) , deadly nightshade (Atropa 

 Belladonna), balsam (Impatiens Noli-we-tangere], stinging nettle (Urtica 

 dioicd), hemp nettle (Galeopsis Tetrahif), vetches (Viad), and species of 

 clover (Trifolium), as well as ferns and broad-leaved grasses of different 

 sorts. 



3. On drier and more sandy soils : HeatheY or ling (Calluna vulgaris), 

 bilberry or whortleberry (Vaccinium Myrtillus\ red whortleberry or 

 cowberry (Vaccinium Vitis idea), whin, gorse, or furze (Ulex}, broom 

 (Cytisus scoparius), greenweed (Genista), groundsel and ragwort (Senecio], 



