PKACTICAL FORESTRY. 



planted in a kind of haphazard way, and without any con- 

 sideration of their individual requirements. For all practical 

 purposes, with reference to tree-culture, soils, generally 

 speaking, may be divided into six distinct classes peaty, 

 chalky or limey, gravelly, clayey, loamy, and such as contain 

 ironstone, coal, etc. 



(1.) Peat. Few trees will succeed well on an unreclaimed 

 peat bog, but, where draining and soiling have been attended 

 to at the outset, the number that grow and produce a fair 

 amount of valuable timber is almost without limit among 

 our generally cultivated trees. Among conifers that have 

 proved themselves suitable for bog planting are the larch, 

 Scotch pine, and common and black spruces (Abies excelsa 

 and A. nigra). The larch grows rapidly, and is perfectly free 

 from disease on peaty soil indeed, I cannot remember 

 having seen a trace of any of the diseases which have 

 rendered the tree so precarious of late years in this country. 

 In thinning a larch plantation of fully sixty years' growth, 

 I found the trees felled to be perfectly healthy, and ot 

 exceptional quality, with, on an average, 72 ft. of wood in 

 each. The subsoil in this case was clay, and the bog, 

 previous to being planted, had been cut over for fuel. The 

 Scotch pine grows almost as freely as the larch the average 

 in over fifty trees measured being about an eighth less 

 under similar conditions. Natural reproduction of the 

 Scotch pine goes on so rapidly that it must be considered 

 one of the very best trees for planting on peat bog. The 

 spruces are excellent trees for planting on reclaimed peat 

 bog, where they produce a fair amount of timber and afford 

 excellent shelter to other trees. Of hardwoods, the beech is 

 one of the best for bog planting, as it grows rapidly and 

 produces a great amount of clean timber. The alder grows 

 luxuriously on peaty soils, and shows no traces of disease 

 nor canker. Another excellent bog tree is the Gean or wild 

 cherry, and this may likewise be said of the holly. Ash and 

 oak are not generally of large size, nor are they always 

 healthy on peat bog, even when it has received a great 

 amount of attention in the way of reclaiming. Birch, lime 

 and r>oplar of various iuds are all suited for planting on 

 well-drained bog. 



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