394 SECTIONAL TRANSACTIONS.— K*. 



Friday, September 2. 



Discussion on Exotic Conifers and the factors governing their introduction 

 (Mr. F. R. S. Balfour ; Mr. A. C. Forbes, O.B.E.) :— 



Mr. F. R. S. Balfour. — Conifers in Scotland. 



Deals first with the two arborescent native species. In former days there 

 were great forests of Scots pine in many Highland straths, notably in the 

 Great Glen of Scotland, in Deeside and Strathspey. Yews are undoubtedly 

 indigenous, of which there are great trees in most Scottish counties, often 

 connected in fact or fancy with historical events. 



Instances of tree-planting from the records of the early seventeenth 

 century are given. 



The first exotic conifer to be introduced was Norway spruce, fo' lowed by 

 the Silver fir from Central Europe and early in the eighteenth century by the 

 Tyrolese larch. At about that time coniferous trees from the New England 

 colonies first made their appearance. 



In the first half of the nineteenth century came the introductions from 

 the Himalayas, Caucasus and other regions of the Northern Hemisphere of 

 the Old World. 



The expedition of David Douglas to the Pacific coast of North America in 

 1825 and following years was the most important event in the history of 

 conifers in Scotland. Mention is made of the fine species introduced by 

 Douglas and subsequently by other explorers from that region. 



The value of the tree species introduced by other Scotsmen is discussed, 

 the first being James Cunningham, who went to Amoy in 1698, and the last, 

 George Forrest, who died in S.W. China in January 1932. 



Mr. A. C. Forbes, O.B.E. — The silvicultural value of exotics in Ireland. 



Down to the end of the seventeenth century the Irish forest flora was 

 the poorest of any part of Europe, except possibly that of the far North. 

 Great Britain received additions to her native flora during Roman and 

 Saxon occupations, and trees like the English elm, Spanish chestnut, walnut, 

 and sycamore, had become acclimatised and widespread in Britain before a 

 tree was planted in Ireland. 



Few, if any, broad-leaved species thrive better in Ireland than in Great 

 Britain. In the case of conifers, the reverse is often the case. Conditions 

 generally favour the growth of many Western American species. The 

 Irish climate compares favourably with that of Wales, Cornwall, and 

 Devonshire for producing Douglas fir, Sitka spruce, Tsuga, Thuya, Japanese 

 larch, etc., but sea-winds off the Atlantic check the height-growth of many 

 species at a comparatively early age. 



Of the many species which can be grown in Ireland , only twelve or fourteen 

 are of economic importance, and three-fourths of these are exotics. A serious 

 problem which faces the forester is to decide where conifers should replace 

 broad-leaved trees, and how far indigenous species should be replaced by 

 exotics. In solving this problem diseases, hitherto unnoticed or dis- 

 regarded, will probably receive increasing attention. 



Dr. J. BuRTT Davy. — The cricket-bat willow problem. 



At the request of the Forest Products Research Laboratories, an investi- 

 gation into the systematy of the cricket-bat willow has been commenced by 

 the author . Complaints had been received from growers that, after spending 



