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ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM.

PART III.

2053

the Scotch forests are for the most part pastured with cattle and sheep, which,as well as the deer that are found wild in these forests, browse upon the seedlingtrees, and prevent them from attaining the size of timber. The forests of Sweden,Norway, and Russia are also pastured by cattle, but in a very slight degree; theproportion of cattle to the range of country open to them being incomparablysmaller than in the Highlands. In France and Germany, the native forests are,for the most part, carefully enclosed, and placed under the care of woodmen,who are under the general direction of scientific men; and, consequently, forwhatever trees are cut down, a succession of young ones, either supplied bynature or art, are protected.

In Norway, according to James White, Esq., an extensive proprietor of pineand fir forests in that country, the only tall straight trees, fit for exportation,as timber, either of P. sylvestris or /1'bies excelsa, are found in shelteredsituations on the plains, and on the sidesof the mountains; and always in a goodsoil, that would bring oak, or any otherkind of timber tree, to perfection. Onthe sea shore, and in all elevated exposedplaces in the interior, and also where thetrees stand singly, or in small groups onplains, they are stunted, short, or withbranchy heads, so as to be fit only for fuel.

In an estate belonging to Mr. White, of 5600acres, there are 250 acres of naked rockand bogs; of the remaining 5350 acres,one tenth part consists of the stuntedtrees already alluded to, or of trees onlyhalf grown. There remain 4118 acresof thriving wood, all situated on the sides of hills, in narrow valleys, oron plains; and all the trees are growing close together and sheltered, ongood soil, the basis of which is the debris of granitic rock. On each acreof this good soil there are from 320 to 500 trees, of which above 30 in eachacre are considered full grown, and fit for timber; that is, from 130 to 200years of age. The diameter of the trunks of these trees, at about 1 ft. fromthe ground, is from 16 in. to 20 in.; and at from 52 ft. to 63 ft. in height, from

4 in. to 6 in. Thus the average dimensions of the Scotch pine and sprucefir timber produced by such an estate are as follows:—Length of the log, ortree, 57ft. 6in.; diameter, at the lower end, 18in.; and, at the upper end,

5 in. Each log, or tree, may be sawn up into two deals, 9 in. wide, and 3 in.thick, fit for the English market; and two other deals 8A in. wide, and A in.thick, fit for the French market. The manner in which these deals are cutso as to include only a small portion ofthe sap wood, is shown in the cross sec-tion, Jig. 2053., in which the shaded part,a, represents the sap wood; b b, the twoEnglish deals ; and cc, the two Frenchdeals. Another mode of cutting thesetrees into planks is shown in Jig. 2054.,in which d is an English deal, 9 in. by 3 in.,and e e are two battens, each 7 in. by2£ in. When the timber is intended formasts, the tree is simply barked, and aportion of the sap wood is cut off, afterwhich it is sent down to the seaport,and shipped. (Reports, &c., for 1821 and1835; and MSS. communicated by Mr. White.)

By far the greater quantity of pine timber employed both in civil and navalconstruction in Britain is imported from the Baltic, and from the coast ofNorway. One London builder alone (the Mr. White mentioned above), who