1st day Visit notes to Forestry Areas
The document is courtesy of Glenbranter Forest office staff with particular thanks to Ian Adams who has stored these old files for many years.
This professionally produced booklet was provided as a hand out to a visiting delegation from the 12th Congress of the International Union of Forest Research Organisations. This record is the second of eight parts constructed to show the details of the various daily tour notes of the locations visited (See record numbers 4191-98). In this case the tour covers a quick run past Scone Palace and a mention of David Douglas, the 30m high Meikleour Beech Hedge and some of its history, Murthly Estate its history and experience in early forestry planting including many specimen tree measurements such as the Garden Hill Sitka spruce at 49m high, breast height diam of 147cm and volume of 28.1 cu. m.
The party then visit Dunkeld and were informed of the history of larch planting from the 18th century by a succession of Dukes of Atholl firstly of European larch and then the chance occurrence of a hybrid cross with Japanese larch that had been planted in Dunkeld in 1883. There is a brief note on the potential first 5 European larch trees planted in 1738 and then their felling or loss until in 1952 only one remained and was then being used by Forest Research as a source of many grafts. The party visited Kennel Bank where the larch there is believed to have been planted in 1850 possibly from seed of the original five trees. In this area also many examples of old Japanese larch with recorded dimensions.
Following on is a comprehensive history of the planting of hybrid larch on Atholl Estates and at Inver, the collecting of hybrid seed from trees at Glamis Estate and first generation plantations there as well as the early planting of a special seed production plantation at Birkhill, near Cupar in 1931.
Groups: Forestry Areas, Forestry Records, Booklets and Reports