Trees for Economic Planting 67 



produced ; and in viewing the plantations from a distance 

 the leaders of the Corsican pines soar quite 6 ft. above those 

 of their neighbours. The Austrian comes next in the quan- 

 tity of timber produced, but not in height ; and the larch 

 and Scotch are of about equal size, the Weymouth being 

 equal to the latter in height but not in bulk of stem. But 

 the larch beats all in value of timber, for, while that of the 

 various species of pine was difficult to sell at a remunerative 

 figure, the larch wood was readily disposed of at a fair 

 valuation. 



My experience is that timber merchants fight shy of 

 purchasing any of the pine family excepting the Scotch. 

 This may be owing to prejudice or want of knowledge as to 

 the value of timber produced by the Corsican and Weymouth ; 

 but whatever the cause, the fact remains that the timber 

 of both these species is difficult to dispose of at any but 

 firewood rates. That of the Scotch being better known 

 finds a ready market at about half the price of larch, which 

 latter, after all, is the most useful and profitable of any 

 coniferous tree cultivated in this country, and one for which 

 the demand always exceeds the supply. 



