Specimens of Timber, ^‘c. 
163 
him. No practical forester in Great Britain is such a high 
authority on Forest Entomology as Mr. Gillanders, and the 
work he is just publishing on this subject should be of great 
value to all foresters in this country. In this section, but not 
for competition, Lord Moreton showed specimens of a moth 
attacking the larch (Tinea Icevigatella) that has recently been 
attracting attention. 
In Class 6 Mr. Reid, Forester to Lord Burton, showed fair 
but not fine samples of larch, to show the effect of different 
soils and situations, that grown on a north aspect being the best. 
In Class 8, showing the effects of good and bad pruning, 
the Duke of Northumberland was first with some very instruc- 
tive specimens, though such are easier to show on the growing 
tree than when taken off. Sir Montagu Cholmeley was second 
in this class. 
In Class 9, Mr. Havelock showed specimen stems from the 
Earl of Yarborough’s extensive plantations, showing the effects 
of dense and thin cropping on the quality of timber, but they 
were hardly large enough to do full justice to this very impor- 
tant and, for English foresters, difficult subject. The Marquis 
of Exeter showed specimen stems of ash and larch in the same 
class, but I thought that neither the ash or the larch from open 
situations were fair samples of what might be found on any 
estate whei-e the land is suitable for either of these trees. 
In Class 10, Lord Yarborough sent one of the most extensive 
and meritorious exhibits in the whole series, showing the 
damage done to various trees by squirrels and mice, whose 
ravages are in some places as extensive, and much more difficult, 
to prevent, than those caused by rabbits. In this class he also 
showed a remarkable collection of the abnormal tufted growths 
known as witches brooms, from no less than fifteen kinds of 
trees, and an interesting collection of burrs, from thirteen 
species, most of them, however, too small or not sound enough 
to have any commercial value. 
In Classes 11 and 12, a number of oak and other gates 
were shown from the estates of the noblemen already named. 
Excellent gates most of them were, but the cost prices given 
seemed to me higher than ordinary proprietors would be 
justified in paying, unless the superior durability of these 
costly gates could be proved by experience. My own experience 
is that in a hunting country a lighter and cheaper gate is better, 
because if made to open and shut itself as easily as a horseman 
requires, a heavy gate gets shaken to pieces before it is decayed. 
I have excellent farm gates made at half the cost of some of 
these, with split ash poles for the bars, and oak heads and 
tails, and I have also had light durable gates made from tough, 
slowly grown wj’ch elm poles. Allowing 12s., or even 15s., for 
