40 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



extensive planting in any given locality usually turns out to be an 

 indigenous one, and it is not difficult to see why this should 

 be the case. In the first place, all risks incidental to climatic 

 variations are reduced to a minimum, thus favouring the 

 growth of a sound and healthy crop of timber. In the second 

 place, all industries which regulate the demand for home-grown 

 timber confine themselves almost exclusively to the timber of 

 native trees, and therefore the market value of a crop composed 

 of the latter is usually higher than one consisting of introduced 

 species, although there are exceptions to this rule. In any case, 

 we think the planting of our native trees has been, and is, too 

 much neglected in England. Larch is still our most profitable 

 coniferous tree where it thrives well, and a sound and healthy crop 

 of it doubtless gives a better return, time considered, than one 

 of Oak or Beech. But how many stunted and diseased planta- 

 tions of Larch do we see standing on sites eminently adapted for 

 one or both of the others in the lowlands, or for Scotch Pine in 

 hilly districts. Even where Larch does succeed, however, it is 

 doubtful if its value as a timber-tree exceeds that of the Ash, 

 which grows almost as rapidly and fetches a higher price at any 

 age than Larch does. The craze for novelties in the shape of 

 introduced coniferous trees, which have little but a rapid growth 

 to recommend them to the economic planter, has proceeded at 

 such a rate that it is quite a rare sight to see a young plantation 

 of indigenous hardwoods, although hundreds of coniferous ones 

 have been planted during the last few years. The result is that 

 our future supply of home-grown timber consists of species 

 which the buyer will probably reject or view with suspicion, 

 while our woods are crowded with exotic Conifers which may 

 possess many attractions when in a healthy condition and 

 grown singly or in characteristic masses, but when mixed in- 

 discriminately present too confused an appearance to please 

 the eye of good taste, and render the production of good timber 

 impossible. Both from aesthetic and economical points of view, 

 therefore, we advocate the choice of indigenous or European 

 trees for forming the backbone of our plantations, confining 

 recent introductions to groups in those sites which our limited 

 experience points out as being most suitable for them. 



Of course the particular species decided upon for a plantation 

 must depend upon soil and situation, and as these often vary in 



