37

H.—sb

We may find this apply in India, though it certainly does not in replacing the natural wood by the Australian Eucalypti and Acacia on the hills, and it will be noticed, in the remarks on Lord Mansfield's woods, that Mr. McCorquodale, with the experience of 30 years, does not agree with Mr. Thomson, although he admits that young trees, planted in the usual method, will not do, owing to the attacks of the beetle. The Bengulapin Plantation, 1,000 to 1,200 acres, in Duthil district is particularly noteworthy, from the fact that here we find the Scotch fir planted and doing well up to a height of 2,000 feet above the level of the sea. This large extent of moorland has been gradually planted, the oldest plants having been out six and the youngest only two years. A belt of old Scotch fir has been judiciously left as a screen to the young trees standing on the westerly side, whence come the prevailing winds. Those at the summit were planted out last, as Mr. Thomson finds from experience that they will only grow in such situations, where they are exposed to wind from all sides, if the lower portions of the hill are first planted, and a certain amount of shelter thus derived. This fact should not be lost sight of in our hill plantations in India, where we suffer so much damage from the high winds. The young trees on the summit are not growing fast, but are healthy and strong. I did not observe a single casualty, and, when once firmly established, have no doubt of their " coming away " and eventually clothing the mountain even to its top. I attach much importance to this, as I have often heard it questioned, particularly in this country, whether trees could be grown to any advantage at such an altitude, and exposed to strong winds and storms. On the easterly side of this hill there are a good proportion of larches doing very well, the situation having been judiciously chosen. It may here be noticed that Mr. Thomson has entirely given up the rigid system so much in vogue at one time, and with some wood managers, of planting alternately a Scotch fir, a larch, a spruce, or hard wood at certain distances, the interval of space being filled up with " nurses " of fir, spruce, or larch, in equal quantities, without any reference to the nature of the soil, expense, &c, and has adopted the much more sensible plan of putting down the tree which is most likely to do best, which in his opinion, fully borne out by appearances, is the Scotch fir on heather land and all exposed situations, and the larch on grass land and in sheltered spots, where the spruce will also do fairly. I have now only to allude to the Advie Plantation, Abernethy district, of about 300 acres, in which the trees were planted out last autumn and this spring. They were then, as is the rule throughout, one year seedlings, one year bedded, and one year transplanted; and those put out in spring do not now average more than 6 or 8 inches from the ground, whilst those of last autumn, having made short shoots this year, may be 8 to 10 inches high. Still, they are all healthy, and Mr. Thomson is quite satisfied if they establish themselves during the first twelve months. It struck me at first that they might be put out taller, but Mr. Thomson informed mo that this had been tried, and the result was greater difficulty and risk in moving from the rows in nursery, and a large percentage of loss by their getting wind-shaken when planted out on the hill side, the extra year in the nursery without retransplanting representing an upward growth of 6 to 8 inches. It cannot be too clearly borne in mind that the great aim in the nurseries in this country is to grow root fibre, and check the upward growth of the young tree, which is effected, as already detailed in the description of Messrs. Lawsons' nurseries, by frequently transplanting and cutting over the roots. Whether this might not, in some cases, be advantageously introduced into our Indian practice I am not competent to say, but think it merits attention and experiment. All the trees are planted out by what is termed " slitting," as clearly explained in " Brown's Forester," " Grigor's Arboriculture, &c," viz., two cuts with the spade at right angles, thus or IA A ' the plant being inserted at the point A, where both meet, and the earth then firmly pressed down with the heel. Before inserting the spade the man removes a small sod of the coarse heather or turf, which might otherwise choke the young tree. The distances are not measured, or even roughly pegged out, but there is wonderful uniformity, the men being drawn up in a row before starting, and each taking his own line. One woman is told off to every two men, to supply plants, and she in turn is supplied by other women, who bring the plants from the place where they are stored. In this manner two men and a woman can plant at least an acre per diem, and the cost, including leading of young plants from the nursery, does not exceed 3s. 6d. per thousand, or, say, 10s. per acre of 3,000 trees. Self-soivn Fir and Larch. The natural reproduction of the Scotch fir and larch is seen to great advantage in Strathspey. Wherever the natural herbage or vegetation has sprung up in places formerly covered with coniferous trees, and in the vicinity, the seeds appear to germinate, and a crop appears, sometimes thick and even enough to render replanting unnecessary. Mr. Thomson's plan is to enclose (by wire fences) tracts where he sees this natural reproduction commencing, and in some cases, where the surface is mossy or covered with rank coarse grass, to assist nature by removing sods every few paces, thus giving the seeds and seedlings a chance of coming on. This promises to be very successful. We found several young trees coming up in every space thus bared. For the same reason, as well as for shelter, as already explained under " Plantations," clumps of old trees are left on the ground, the cones of which disseminate the seed. I visited several tracts where the process of natural reproduction had taken place, and though the growth is not rapid at first, and the tracts naturally present a very uneven appearance compared with those artificially planted, the young trees after the first few years appear to " come away " with fine straight and strong shoots, some of which we measured, and found that for this year the growth had been two and even two and a quarter feet. In a large tract of self-sown forest in the Grantown district, enclosed six years ago, the Scotch firs average certainly 6 feet high, whilst individual trees run up to 10 feet. The growth of the larch is not quite so good, but I saw some fair specimens.