220 OUR FORESTS AND WOODLANDS 
the British forester at present are the Common or 
Norway Spruce (P. excelsa) and the Menzies or 
Sitka Spruce (P. Sitkaensis). The former is by far 
the better known and the more largely cultivated ; 
but the latter, a tree of giant dimensions like our 
other Californian immigrant, the Douglas fir, is a 
species deserving of equal consideration as a profit- 
able crop. Its timber is hard, firm, and durable, 
ranking between spruce and Douglas fir in general 
quality. Indeed, on mild, fresh, loamy, or sandy 
soils a crop formed mainly of Douglas fir and 
Menzies spruce, with larch sprinkled here and there 
having some advance in growth, might perhaps 
prove one of the most profitable woodland crops 
that can be grown in Britain. The larch would 
probably have to be cut out at an early age, as 
unable to hold its own against the two quicker- 
growing trees, though not before it might be of 
marketable size; and this method would diminish 
the existing risk of the poles being spoiled by 
canker. The full advantages of trees like Douglas 
fir or Menzies spruce, or any other conifer for 
that matter, can only be obtained, however, where 
there is likely to be a regular supply of their 
timber, because mere small lots offered from time 
