54 DISTRIBUTION OF 



ivhere nothing else would make a valuable cover. 

 It will even thrive in a soil rather damp ; but it is 

 observed that the largest and healthiest trees of 

 the species are always found upon a dry soil, 

 which circumstance at once points out that a dry 

 situation is most favourable to their healthy de- 

 velopment. The wood of the birch is not reckoned 

 a valuable timber ; it is principally sought after by 

 gunpowder manufacturers, who buy it after it is 

 stripped of the bark. 



The Alder Tree {Alnus gliitinosa) is, like the 

 birch, a well-known tree in Scotland, and very 

 common in its natural or wild state in many parts 

 of the Highlands. It is a tree particularly well 

 adapted for a damp piece of ground upon a high 

 situation, where notliing else more valuable could 

 with advantage be put in. The alder, like the 

 birch, is not considered a tree of much value, and 

 should always be dispensed with where any tree of 

 greater worth would grow. I have found it ex- 

 tremely useful when I have planted extensive plan- 

 tations upon high moor grounds ; in such situations, 

 there are often damp mossy spots included within 

 the bounds, on which it will succeed well after the- 

 ground has been partially drained. 



In travclUng through the Highlands of Scotland, 

 we often meet with large tracts of natural birch and 

 alder ; and upon examining the position of those two 

 different trees, as found in their native glens, it is 



