AMONG THE PINES AND FIRS 209 



in particular, and also Scots pine (P. sylvestris) 

 are distinctly light-demanding trees, while the 

 two black pines, the Austrian (P. Austriaca) and 

 the Corsican (P. Laricio), are less exacting in this 

 respect. The Douglas fir and the Norway spruce, 

 on the other hand, are capable of bearing a fair 

 amount of shade, and are therefore suitable for 

 being utilised for underplanting on soil favour- 

 able to their growth. In some cases Corsican 

 pine seems also suitable for similar use in the 

 case of open woods of larch or Scots pine where 

 the amount of overshadowing is not oppressive, 

 and particularly on good sandy soils, or near the 

 sea-coast. 



The pines are characterised as a genus by their 

 ability to thrive on poor land, so long as it is 

 deep and loose enough to let their strong tap- 

 roots sink well into the soil. The necessity for 

 free development of their deep root-system is 

 characteristic of all three of the pines likely to be 

 grown for profit in Britain Scots, Austrian, and 

 Corsican. Scots pine is the least exacting of all 

 as to soil and climate. Though its finest develop- 

 ment is perhaps attained on gravelly loams with a 

 good permeable subsoil, it grows well upon deep, 



