THE COMMON LARCH. 505 



the field ; the plan succeeded to his wish, and he recom- 

 mends it to those who may have upland fences to form, 

 and Larches of nine or ten years old to spare from the 

 thinnings of other plantations. 



The tanning powers of Larch bark being considerable, 

 for some years it was largely used in the manufacture of 

 certain descriptions of leather, and this continued as long 

 as the price obtained for the bark remunerated the grower 

 for stripping his thinnings. Of late years, however, the 

 great fall in the price of oak bark, which was always 

 considered to be worth double that of the Larch, has so 

 reduced the value of the latter, as to render it an object 

 of trifling importance to the planter, as the expense at- 

 tending the peeling of the trees, and the moving and car- 

 riage of the bark would equal, and in many cases exceed, 

 the price that could be obtained from the tanner. 



The natural habitat of the Larch being the deep glens 

 and declivities of hilly regions, and the soils in which it 

 attains its greatest perfection those composed of the debris 

 of the older series of rocks, it is evident that the nearer 

 the situations selected for the cultivation of this tree re- 

 semble those of which it is a native, so much more certain 

 is the prospect of its succeeding and becoming valuable tim- 

 ber ; the Highlands of Scotland, and the mountainous parts of 

 England, where these conditions exist, are, therefore, those 

 best calculated for the extensive growth of Larch, and in 

 all these localities it ought to take precedence of every 

 other tree. Upon lower levels, and in the champaign parts 

 of the country, it also grows with great rapidity ; and, pro- 

 vided the quality of the soil be such as to suit its habit, 

 produces large and valuable timber ; there are, however, cer- 

 tain descriptions of ground upon which the Larch, though 

 it may grow with apparent vigour for the first twenty or 



