122 FORESTS, WOODS, AND TREES 
valuable timber. In countries like our own the only hope 
of salvation for forestry is In growing timber rapidly; and 
we have been helped in that by the introduction of fast- 
growing conifers like the larch, the Corsican pine, and the 
Douglas fir. But it is essential to grow the more valuable 
classes of non-coniferous timber. The difficulty of growing 
ordinary species of oak, ash, and walnut is the long period 
required for their maturity, which renders hopeless, except 
on the best soils, all chance of an adequate financial return. 
Without vigorous first-crosses, the most valuable classes of 
timbers can only be grown in limited quantity.” 
As we are largely dependent on exotic trees for the 
success of our plantations, the proper selection of seed is a 
matter of primary importance, The seed from which young 
trees are raised should be gathered from the best trees in 
the best localities. Species, if widely distributed, are not 
uniform over the whole territory which they inhabit, but 
consist of few or many distinct races, each confined to its 
own district. These races vary much in their qualities. 
It is well known how superior in vigour the Douglas fir, 
growing close to the Pacific coast, is to the same species 
growing in the mountains far inland. The larch at high 
altitudes in the Tyrol is inferior to the larch growing in 
the lower Swiss valleys. Seed from straight well-grown 
trees should always be selected, and that from suppressed 
or crooked-stemmed trees be avoided. Commercial seed is 
often collected from inferior trees; and the establishment 
of seed-collecting stations by the Forest Services of Canada 
and of the United States, in British Columbia, Washington, 
and Oregon, would be a great boon to sylviculture in this 
country. 
The principal forest trees will now be briefly considered, 
with special reference to their adaptability to different 
conditions of soil and situation. The conifers being the 
most important class for planting in water catchment areas 
will be first dealt with. 
