WOODLAND VEGETATION 145 



land connecting Britain with the Continent, and geologists tell 

 us that the whole of the coast line of Great Britain is more or 

 less fringed with submerged forests. It is believed that all of 

 our inland and mountainous regions up to the level of 1500 feet 

 were once covered with dense primeval forest, which has in 

 course of time been cleared away to make room for pasture and 

 agriculture. 



In the days of primeval forest the two most marked trees 

 were the oak and the Scots pine; the former characteristic of 

 temperate regions, the latter of sub-alpine. These two trees 

 must often have been in keen competition with each other for 

 the possession of a given area. Supposing the climatic condi- 

 tions of the area to have been exactly suitable to both, the oak 

 would have encroached on the domains of the pine, for it has 

 stronger branches and a deeper root-system. But if unsuitable 

 conditions were introduced, such as the grazing of animals or 

 the thinning of the oak forest, the pines would have tended to 

 oust the oak. 



In the present day there is very little primitive forest left, 

 and in order to understand our woodland vegetation as it is 

 at present, it is important at the outset to realise the influence 

 of man and of animals. The planting of trees unfortunately 

 not always scientifically combined with disforesting, has com- 

 pletely changed the character of our woodlands. Old oak woods 

 have been constantly replaced by coniferous trees, such as the 

 pine and the larch. This latter was not known in Scotland till 

 1738, and two of the first trees then planted still stand beside 

 the cathedral at Dunkeld. Between the years 1774 and 1826 the 

 Duke of Atholl planted as many as fourteen million larch trees. 

 At the present time the Scots pine has practically ceased to 

 grow spontaneously, and is now extensively planted. That it is 

 an indigenous species is certain for two reasons : first, because 

 occasional pine remains are found in peat ; and secondly, certain 

 herbaceous plants occurring in woods are known from observation 

 of primeval forests in other countries to be characteristic of 

 primitive pine woods ; amongst these may be mentioned Linncea 

 borealis, Pyrola minor, P. media, P. rotundifolia, P. secunda, 

 Trientalis europcea, List era cor data. 



VOL. IV. IO 



