2166

ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM.

PART III

age, anil girting from 6 ft. to 12 ft. at 1 ft. from the ground, consisting ofexcellent timber, with the sap wood varying from 1 in. to 2| in. in thickness.The river Dulnain ornaments these glens, floats the timber, and impels sawmachinery.

Rothiemurchus Forest is the property of Sir John Peter Grant. The sur-face is irregular, the hollows for the most part marshy, and the soil and sub-soil of the elevated portions dry and sandy. The old trees are chiefly cut down,but many patches still remain. The pines are not so remarkable for their girt,as for their extraordinarily tall and smooth trunks. Mr. Grigor found trees mea-suring, at 6 ft. high, 4 ft. 6 in. in circumference, with a trunk continuing nearlyof the same girt to the height of about 35 ft. The average height of thetrees he found about 70 ft., and their age from 120 to 125 years. The treesstand so closely, that the surface of the ground, within the masses, is almostdestitute of herbage; and the largest trees are uniformly found on the out-skirts. The progress of young trees in this forest appears to be at the rate of9 ft. 6 in. in 15 years.

Glenmore Forest, the property of His Grace the Duke of Richmond, issituated in a glen surrounding a lake. The surface soil is a thin sandy peat;and the subsoil a rich brown clay, which feels quite soft to the touch. Thetrees grow slowly till they are at the age of 12 years, which Mr. Grigor con-jectures to be owing to their roots not penetrating earlier into the rich sub-soil. The average rate of growth of young trees, in 10 years, is 5 ft. 6 in.There are few old trees remaining ; the greater part having been felled andcarried away by Mr. Osbourne (see p. 2161.), who completed his contract in1804. Some scattered trees are yet standing at great distances, which arevery picturesque in appearance, with trunks measuring from 9 ft. to 10 ft. incircumference; but knotty, with bushy heads, and of no value as timber,having evidently been left on that account.

Plantations at Castle Grant. In addition to the natural forests, Mr. Grigornotices the plantations on the estate of Castle Grant, where the Scotch pinehas made extraordinary progress; trees, apparently still young, having trunks9 ft. 6 in. in circumference, and being from 60 ft. to 70 ft. high. These treesstand on a surface of rich black earth, on a subsoil of gravelly sand; but, un-fortunately, Mr. Grigor had not an opportunity of ascertaining their age, soas to calculate their rate of growth.

“ The Soil in the Highland Forests ,” Mr. Grigor observes, “ is found of verydifferent qualities, which, in some measure, regulates the quality of the timber.The richest ground produces the largest trees, consequently, the timber is notso fine in the grain as that grown on sand or poor gravel; but the quick-grown trees appear as full of resin, as healthy, stand to as great an age, andare as red when cut up, as those which grow on poor soil. In general, the soilof the native Highland forests is superior to that on which firs are commonlyplanted throughout the low country. Neither poor soil nor bad climate canaccount for the superiority of the Highland pine, as the forests are generallysituated in glens, or in the most sheltered slopes of the hills. Natural birchand alder are frequently met with in these forests, but none are large orvaluable ; the latter not being confined, as might be supposed, to the lowestgrounds, but frequently found at considerable heights on the hills. It isvery rare to see any other trees in the vicinity of these forests; but I ob-served an ash standing alone, and much exposed, on the western extremity ofthe parish of Inverallen, and on the north of the Spey, opposite Abernethy.Perhaps another hardwood tree is not to be found within a mile of this one.At 1 ft. from the surface, it measures 20ft. 9 in. in circumference; at theheight of 8 ft., it measures 14ft. 10in.; at the height of 13 ft., it is dividedinto five limbs; and its whole height is about 60 ft., several of its large brancheshaving been blown down. The trunk is hollow in the centre, but its leaveshave a healthy appearance. The surface of the ground where it stands isrendered fertile from its decayed foliage, and by the tree affording a shelterfor sheep, which pasture on the surrounding heath. The subsoil is of a sandy