Plantations  Competition,  1909. 
263 
we  say,  with  but  few  exceptions,  that  trees  unsuited  to  the 
situation  and  aspect  had  been  planted.  Even  where  Douglas 
and  larch  had  been  mixed  on  the  greensand,  we  found  that 
the  latter  were  holding  their  own  in  height,  although  it  may 
possibly  lead  to  ultimate  loss  of  vigour  in  the  larch. 
It  was  a striking  proof  of  the  value  of  beech  in  mixture  that 
the  only  plantation  upon  the  Hatherop  Castle  estate  in  which 
beech  had  been  used  was  one  out  of  a large  area  that  was 
chosen  for  the  competition.  This  mixture  of  beech  and  larch — 
sometimes  with  other  trees,  but  taking  these  two  as  the  basis 
— was  the  favourite  of  all.  In  some  cases  spruce  were  added, 
or  Scots  pine,  and  occasionally  we  found  a complicated  com- 
bination of  larch  and  beech  with  five  or  six  other  varieties. 
The  proportions  varied  considerably.  In  some  cases  in 
plantations  intended  for  hardwoods  the  deciduous  trees  had 
been  put  in  as  wide  apart  as  12  ft.  by  12  ft.,  and  between  that 
and  a proportion  of  three  conifers  to  one  deciduous  there  were 
several  variations,  but  the  best  results  will  undoubtedly  accrue 
from  the  plantations  where  the  hardwoods,  planted  7 to  8 ft. 
apart,  have  not  exceeded  a proportion  of  one  hardwood  to 
three  or  four  conifers.  In  the  Wolferlow  Park  plantation  of 
Mr.  W.  T.  Barneby,  where  the  trees  were  originally  planted 
3 ft.  6 in.  apart,  the  oaks  are  in  the  proportion  of  one  in 
eight,  the  ash  one  in  eight,  the  larch  one  in  two,  and  other 
conifers  one  in  four,  and  the  result  is  all  that  can  be  desired. 
In  the  part  that  is  sixteen  years  old,  the  oaks  average  about 
24  ft.  in  height  and  11  in.  in  girth,  whereas  the  larch  are 
22  ft.  in  height  and  about  10  in.  in  girth,  but  the  ash  are 
only  about  6^  in.  in  girth,  although  able  to  keep  their  heads 
up.  In  the  thirteenryear-old  part  of  the  same  plantation  the 
oaks  are  only  6 in.  in  girth  and  21  ft.  high,  whereas  the 
larch  are  10  in.  and  22  ft.  high,  but  it  is  anticipated  that 
the  oaks  will  ultimately  regain  their  lost  ground.  This  is  one 
of  the  best  managed  and  most  promising  young  plantations 
that  came  under  our  notice. 
Although  the  examples  of  pure  larch  were  two  of  the  best 
plantations  in  the  competition,  still  we  feel  assured  that  land- 
owners  should  in  future  plant  in  mixture,  and  where  the 
ultimate  intention  is  to  grow  hardwoods  they  should  not 
exceed  the  proportion  of  conifers  as  stated,  and  even  where  the 
final  crop  is  intended  to  be  conifers,  it  would  be  well  to  put  in 
hardwood  trees  in  the  proportion  of  one  in  six — or  one  in 
eight — and  of  these  hardwoods  we  especially  favour  sycamore 
as  an  experiment,  although  we  have  ample  proof  of  the  value 
of  beech. 
Planting  and  Plants.— We  have  found  that  the  planting  work 
has  been  done  well ; the  distances  have  been  in  accordance 
