VOL. XIX. (l) 
EXCURSION— FOREST OF DEAN 
1 1 
up some of the waste areas iii Wales. It was considered advisable to have 
plants in readiness in case planting of waste lands is undertaken to reduce 
unemployment after the war. This is in addition to the 50 lbs. of seed sown 
for ordinary planting in Dean Forest. 'I'lie beds of seedlings — larch, spruce, 
ash, beech, etc. — arc in e.xcellent condition, and give, evidence of the best 
possible treatment. Manure has been recently used for the hrst time, but 
not animal mamue. Samples of soil are sent to London to l>e analysed, and 
suitable artificial manures are selected for use. Curious sports from beech 
seed were noticed, but these are very rare— about one in 500,000 seeds — and 
Mr Skinner said two of these trees, known as the “ fern beech,” ai'c to be 
seen at llorsepools, near Painswick. Reference was made to the hornbeam, 
which Mr Smith said was a good resister of frost, and is planted c.xtensively 
in 1 ' ranee. One pound of spruce seed has produced a line bed of seedlings, 
it being estimated that a thousand seedlings go to the yard. Passing from 
the nursery to the wood, attention was drawn to a clump of well-grown larch, 
about 50 to 60 years old, now in need of thinning. Members wei'e also in- 
terested in some felled oak timber v/hich grew among a crop of young larch. 
Ihe operation, although a dillicult one, has been successfully performed, and 
now in the opening it is proposed to plant Douglas firs and beech. Mr Smith 
said that the next awkward job would be to remove the felled oaks, but 
the purchasers are under agreement to make good any damage they may 
cause ! With regard to the larch disease, Mr Smith said the opinion now held 
was that it started from the branch and worked back to the tree. In proof 
of this it was a fact that no disease could be found on trees that had been 
pruned back. If branches were diseased the only remedy was to cut them off. 
The felling and regeneration of woods by the method of groups was 
noticed. Fellings were made in 1906-07 in groups, and the groups were 
then planted up in the following years. As the young trees now require 
more light, the groups are being enlarged by cutting strips round them. 
This method is a useful one on estates when large clear cuttings are undesirable. 
The natural beauty of the woods remains unspoilt. 
The next move was to Woodcastle Hill, a charming spot of the Forest, 
where the Members saw a large area which had been cleared and replanted. 
In the distance were groups of oaks and a windbreak. The Braceland Larch 
is a famous tree, the tallest and best of its kind in the Forest. Its dimensions, 
when last measured, were as follow : — Height to top, g8 ft. ; girth at 5 ft., 
10 ft. 3 in. ; estimated volume, about 200 cubic feet. The age is believed 
to be about 90 years. When examining some fine oak at Cope’s Wood 
varying from 100 to 160 years old, Mr Smith was asked when he thought the 
trees would be ready for felling. He humorously replied that if the timber 
belonged to him he would have no hesitation in naming the present moment 
as the right one, but the cutting of the oak really depended on the size of the 
beech undergrowth. When the beech trees were large enough to be used as 
pit-props, and therefore, were of commercial value, they might take it for 
granted that the oak would also be ready for felling. Mr H. W. Bruton 
capped Mr Smith’s humorous sally by recalling the remark of a landowner 
that ” trees are a natural excrescence provided by Providence for the pay- 
ment of debts.” 
Whilst in this part of the Forest the botanists made good use of their 
opportunity. Flowers, ferns, grasses, rushes, etc., were sampled and an- 
nexed, and those of the party who did not collect admired the line patches 
of blue hyacinths and woodspurge, the mingling of blue and pale yellow 
in the cheerful sunshine producing a striking effect. 
As on a former occasion, *' the Long Stone ” by the side of the Staunton 
Road was vi.sited. There was another stone at St. Briavels, but this suffered 
