122 FOEESTS, WOODS, AND TREES 



valuable timber. In countries like our own the only hope 

 of salvation for forestry is in growing timber rapidly ; and 

 we have been helped in that by the introduction of fast- 

 growing conifers like the larch, the Corsican pine, and the 

 Douglas fir. But it is essential to grow the more valuable 

 classes of non-coniferous timber. The difficulty of growing 

 ordinary species of oak, ash, and walnut is the long period 

 required for their maturity, which renders hopeless, except 

 on the best soils, all chance of an adequate financial return. 

 Without vigorous first-crosses, the mosfc valuable classes of 

 timbers can only be grown in limited quantity." 



As we are largely dependent on exotic trees for the 

 success of our plantations, the proper selection of seed is a 

 matter of primary importance. The seed from which young 

 trees are raised should be gathered from the best trees in 

 the best localities. Species, if widely distributed, are not 

 uniform over the whole territory which they inhabit, but 

 consist of few or many distinct races, each confined to its 

 own district. These races vary much in their qualities. 

 It is well known how superior in vigour the Douglas fir, 

 growing close to the Pacific coast, is to the same species 

 growing in the mountains far inland. The larch at high 

 altitudes in the Tyrol is inferior to the larch growing in 

 the lower Swiss valleys. Seed from straight well-grown 

 trees should always be selected, and that from suppressed 

 or crooked-stemmed trees be avoided. Commercial seed is 

 often collected from inferior trees ; and the establishment 

 of seed-collecting stations by the Forest Services of Canada 

 and of the United States, in British Columbia, Washington, 

 and Oregon, would be a great boon to sylviculture in this 

 country. 



The principal forest trees will now be briefly considered, 

 with special reference to their adaptability to different 

 conditions of soil and situation. The conifers being the 

 most important class for planting in water catchment areas 

 will be first dealt with. 



