62 FORESTRY IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 



Practically the whole of the remainder of Scotland consists of a 

 complex series of igneous and metamorphic rocks, which form the 

 wild mountain scenery of the Highlands. In it are many moun- 

 tains over 3,000 feet elevation, culminating with Ben Nevis, 

 4,406 feet elevation, the highest mountain in the British islands. 

 The western coastline is broken by numerous inlets from the sea. 

 The watershed Ues close to the western coast, and the rivers flow 

 towards the lower ground bordering the North Sea. The heavy 

 glaciation of the past has produced numerous lochs, as it has done 

 in the Lake district and in North Wales. 



In Ireland, a central limestone plain occupies about haK the 

 country marked by the presence of glacial deposits and peat. It 

 is surrounded by hills. The Wicklow mountains consist of Silu- 

 rian, granitic and metamorphic rocks, and they rise to 3,000 feet. 

 In the southern counties old red sandstone mountains rise to 

 about 2,500 feet ; the south-west country is rugged and broken 

 and composed chiefly of old red sandstone, mountain limestone 

 and millstone grit. In the Killarney district elevations of 3,400 

 feet are reached. 



2. Soils. 



Owing to the diversified surface of the country it is very 

 difficult to give even a general account of the soils. In some parts 

 they bear a fairly direct relation to the underlying strata, but in 

 other districts, and especially in the lowlands, that relationship 

 is frequently obscured by glacial drifts. In the mountainous 

 districts glacial deposits generally take the form of moraines or 

 of deposits of clay usually associated with peat. The question 

 of peat generally is of great importance ; it is of varying character 

 and covers large areas. Only in rare cases can such areas be 

 reclaimed for agriculture, but they are of special importance as 

 regards further afforestation of the country. 



3. Climate. 



The prevalence of the west and south-west winds and the inci- 

 dence of the warm waters of the Gulf Stream on the western shores 

 of the islands render the climate equable and moist. There are 

 no extremes of cold in winter and of heat in summer. The mean 

 temperature of January ranges from 38 degrees in the east to 44 in 



