CHAP. CXIII.

CONI'fERAJ. pi'nlts.

2181

age, and are planted in the same way, as the pines. The seasons of plantingarc autumn and spring; but the former is preferred, from the uncertainty ofgetting the work accomplished in spring, on account of snow and frost. Themen are paid l,s., and the women and boys 6 d ., per day, of six hours. TheScotch pine plants of the true kind (from Highland seed) cost 2s. per thou-sand of 1200, and the two-years’ seedling larches 3s, per thousand. Tothese expenses must be added that of fencing, which varies according tothe situation of the plantation. If near farms, stone walls or turf dikesfaced with stone are required; if further removed from the approaches ofcattle, turf fences are sufficient; whilst in the most remote parts, where occa-sional inroads from sheep are alone to be apprehended, fences are sometimesdispensed with, and a person resident on the spot is employed, at a small salary,(say hi. per annum) to protect the plantation by driving away any sheepor cattle that may encroach on it. A healthy plantation should be safe frominjury from sheep in 8 years, and in 12 years from cattle. In wet portions ofthe hilly ground, narrow surface drains are of great advantage, and may bemade at a small expense.

“In the natural forests of Scotch pine, the plants spring up of differentages; and, being consequently of various sizes, the stronger gradually destroythe weaker, until the wood is reduced to the distances at which the trees canultimately stand ; whilst the lateral branches gradually decay and fall off, sothat thinning and pruning are quite unnecessary. In short, a natural, orself-sown, forest of Scotch fir is left entirely to nature. Nature sows theseed, rears the tree, prunes and thins the wood; and the hand of man isapplied only to cut it down when fit for timber. In this manner, the exten-sive forests of Glenfeshie, Rothiemurchus, Dulnain, Gienmore, and Abernethy,on the Spey, and those of Braemar and Invercauld on the Dee, were pro-duced. The high price of timber during the war induced the proprietors ofthose fine woods to cut them down. Most of them are now exhausted ; andthe few trees which remain of the others scarcely suffice to convey an ideaof those that are gone. For several years, 18,000/. per annum was producedfrom the Rothiemurchus wood, after deducting all expenses of felling, sawing,and floating to the mouth of the Spey; and a sum not less than 250,000/.has probably been obtained from that forest alone. The ground which hasbeen cleared is rapidly regaining its covering of wood: wherever the heath isshort, and especially where the surface is broken so as readily to admit theseed, thousands of plants spring up ; nor do I know a more interesting sight,than this gradual progress of nature to repair the destruction caused by thehand of man .—Macpherson Grant. Ballindalloch, August 26. 1837.”

Thinning and Pruning, as at present practised in the Scotch Pine Plantations inthe North of Scotland . After perusing Mr. Grigor’s Report on the native pineforests of Scotland , of which an abstract is given in p. 2165., we wrote to himfor information on the subjects of thinning and pruning, as actually practised inthese forests, and also inartificial plantations ; and as to the effects of theneglect of either or both of these operations. To our application Mr. Grigorkindly and promptly sent us the following answer:—“ The old trees of thenative Scotch pine forests have trunks quite clean and free from old stumps, sothat the side branches must have rotted off' when the trees were young, and°f a small size. Some of the pines, grown on exposed situations, have strongside branches, but not very near the ground : such brandies are commonlyfound above large clean trunks of from 15 ft. to 30 ft. in length. When thetimber of these forests is cut up, loose knots are rarely met with : indeed,knots of any importance are seldom seen, except where such were attached tobve branches at the time the trees were felled. The wood of the old treesappears so clean and equal when sawn up, that, in many, only very slightmarks of lateral branches are visible. 1 he young trees, of from 25 to 40years’ growth, present regular tiers of decayed branches near the ground,"liicli fall away in course of time. The proprietors of the native forestssometimes prune and thin the woods, but not often : they thin when the

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