DAMAGE TO FORESTS. 139 



Mr. J. B. Hamilton, of Leny, amongst others, informs me 

 that he has seen abundant evidence of their work and mis- 

 chief, and adds : " on Scotch firs of twenty to thirty years old. 

 My own impression is that they are not so injurious to young 

 Scotch fir plants of a foot or two in height as black game, 

 which are very fond of the leading bud in these, and are one 

 of the causes of that tufty appearance in these that you 

 allude to." 



There seems to be considerable diversity of opinion 

 amongst those inimical to the Capercaillie as to the ages of the 

 wood attacked. On the other hand, I have the following opinion 

 from Sir Eobert Menzies, which I quote in full : " Neither 

 do I blame them for being destructive to the plantations, a 

 fault that is frequently found with them, and in consequence 

 of which they are shot down. So far as my experience goes, 

 they do not injure newly planted young trees in the same 

 way that black game do, as they will not go to a plantation 

 where there are no trees they can roost upon ; they will not 

 pick out the tops while standing on the ground, 1 and it is not 

 till the trees in a plantation are somewhat grown that the 

 Capercaillies settle in it, and then, as they are heavy birds, it 

 is only the side shoots they can get at, as the top shoot is not 

 strong enough to carry them. I am of opinion that it is no 

 fault of the Capercaillies that plantations of Scotch fir are 

 found not to do well, but that a very bad sort of that tree is 

 now sold out of the nurseries that will never become trees ; 

 plants that do not make a leader like the true Scotch fir, but, 

 on the contrary, have no stem, and abound in branches, 'both 

 above and below. This sort of Scotch fir is an importation 

 from the Continent, now of some years' standing, and young 

 plants are now sold as 'true natives' that are seedlings taken 

 from trees originally grown from this imported seed. When 



1 This opinion from Sir Robert Menzies was received quite independently 

 of any suggestions of mine, or mention of other people's remarks. 



