AMONG THE PINES AND FIRS = 209 
in particular, and also Scots pine (P. sylvestris) 
are distinctly light-demanding trees, while the 
two black pines, the Austrian (P. Austriaca) and 
the Corsican (P. Laricio), are less exacting in this 
respect. The Douglas fir and the Norway spruce, 
on the other hand, are capable of bearing a fair 
amount of shade, and are therefore suitable for 
being utilised for underplanting on soil favour- 
able to their growth. In some cases Corsican 
pine seems also suitable for similar use in the 
case of open woods of larch or Scots pine where 
the amount of overshadowing is not oppressive, 
and particularly on good sandy soils, or near the 
sea-coast. 
The pines are characterised as a genus by their 
ability to thrive on poor land, so long as it is 
deep and loose enough to let their strong tap- 
roots sink well into the soil. The necessity for 
free development of their deep root-system is 
characteristic of all three of the pines likely to be 
grown for profit in Britain—Scots, Austrian, and 
Corsican. Scots pine is the least exacting of all 
as to soil and climate. Though its finest develop- 
ment is perhaps attained on gravelly loams with a 
good permeable subsoil, it grows well upon deep, 
o 
