38 Mr.Arilmr Deane on 



the highest percentage for Europe as she should,' she produces 

 the smallest. Her hillsides hccome denuded hy water carrying 

 away a rich Imrden of soil, choking up rivers and, in some 

 places, making the lowland soil so boggy as to he unsuitable 

 for agi'iculturo. Where bogs have encroached, after cutting the 

 turf, the stunijis of ancient ti'ces aie sometimes found in situ 

 standing like sn)all monuments as if to remind us that Ireland 

 was formerly full of timbei- (see frontis])ieee). In fact, we 

 have shown in such a liog an excellent exain])le that where 

 a, forest had existed and had not been rei)laced, a change 

 to an inferior soil and climate resulted. It is for this reason 

 that we must not suppose tliat these tree-remains giv(! us an 

 indication as to what trees should now be grown ujioii such 

 sites. 



Before a i)eat l)og can l)c made to su|i])ort ti-ee growth, it 

 must be di'aiiied, and especially should this be done with live 

 peat in order to desti'oy the surface Aegetation. The fibrous 

 covering uuist also be completely broken uji, or better, i"enio\^ed 

 for a dei»th of :') or 4 feet so that the roots may dip into the soil 

 and the new surface weathered. On such a site one would not 

 expect to grow large timber, but poles for fencing and pit props. 



Soil should be regarded as the greatest natural economic 

 endowment of a country ; it is the primary source of wealth. 

 Our very existence depends ui)ou it and yet the loss of soil 

 capital by water attrition is enormous. Why should this 

 l)er[)etual waste of soil from hillsides go on when there is such 

 a demand for softwoods which will grow in Ireland and yield a 

 quick and protital)le i-eturn if carried out on a large scale ? On 

 better soils trees such as Oak, Ash and Chestnut might be grown. 

 Trees are soil builders and soil binders. Their root i-ange is far 

 and wide, and they act as wedges cleaving the rocky substratum 

 into the hollows of which water percolates, carrying with it the 

 soil i)articl(!s. The fallen leaves would create a modification in 

 the soil, which would be shaded and i)rotected fiom wind, 

 sun, and surface gro\\th by the continuous cauo])y formed by 



