i8 
Scotch acres, denominated Loch Horshnic. The preparations of fencing, clearing 
(where that was necessary), making roads and procuring plants from different 
nurserymen occupied the time till October, when the planting was commenced and 
carried on in such good earnest that the whole was finished by December, 1826. 
The planting of this forest appears to have terminated the labors of the Duke in 
planting. He and his predecessors had planted more than fourteen millions Larch 
plants, occupying more than ten thousand English acres. It has been estimated 
that the whole forest on mountain ground, planted entirely with Larch, about six 
thousand five hundred Scotch acres will, in seventy-two years from the time of 
planting, be a forest of timber fit for building the largest .ships. Before being cut 
for this purpose, it will have been thinned to about four hundred trees to the acre. 
Supposing each tree to yield fifty cubic feet of timber, its value, at one shilling a 
foot (one half its present value) will give ;^i,ooo an acre, or in all the sum of 
;f6, 500,000 sterling. Besides this there will have been the value of the thinnings, 
and the increased value of the whole ground for pasturage.” 
Before referring to the most important uses of the wood of the Larch, 
it may be of value to observe, that in view of the enormous consump- 
tion of Hemlock bark, by the leather manufacturers in this country, 
and the wanton destruction of young trees by the farmers who are 
clearing lands for agricultural purposes, and who consider the wood 
of the Hemlock of no present or prospective value, may result in 
causing a demand for other vegetable substances to be used as a sub- 
stitute for tanning purposes. One of the vegetable productions 
which may be required as a substitute for Hemlock bark, is the bark 
and twigs of the Larch, which, according to Louden, contain tannin, 
and is used in Europe in the process of manufacturing leather. 
The same authority also says, “ Venice turpentine is produced from 
the sap, and Manna de Brancon is a product of the young twigs and 
flowers of the Larch,” and that although “ the wood for fuel ignites 
with difficulty, but when dry, if properly managed, the wood of old 
trees produces intense heat, and that the charcoal weighs i6}4 pounds 
per cubic foot.” 
The principal uses of the wood of the Larch, as stated by various 
authorities, is for grape stakes, bean poles, hop and telegraph poles, 
ship knfees,' beams and top timbers, all kinds of dimension timber, 
fence posts and railway ties. 
On account of the tenacity of the fibres of the wood of the Larch, 
and its power of resistance to the weight of passing trains, and its 
durability, the wood of the European Larch is preferred in Europe 
to all other wood when it can be procured, and such has been the 
extiaordinary demand for Larch ties, for use in the construction and 
repairs of railways in Europe and India, that the supply of Larch has 
not been equal to the demand, and Scotch Pine has been substituted 
to supply the deficiency. 
The wood of the White Oak, when it can be procured, is used for ties 
in this country in preference to any other kind of native timber. It is 
a question as to the length of time the native forest will continue to 
yield a supply of White Oak. When the facts of the yearly devasta- 
tion of the forests by means of fire, the destructive agency of the 
uncaring for future generations, the Anglo-Saxon race, and the con- 
sumption by the various industries, in their constant demands, keep- 
