property in Co. Cork must have been 135 feet in height, as he measured them lying on the ground 120 feet to the small end, where they had been cut off at 6 inches diameter. There are still trees as large growing on the same property. Attempts have been made to plant pure larch on peat-bogs; but even when the bogs have been welldrained and good soil has been added to the pits at the time of planting, the trees have not grown. In such cases a preliminary plantation of Scots pine, or in localities with a mild climate the maritime pine, will prepare the bog for larch, which after a few years can be planted in amongst the pines. The conditions for success in bog-planting are delicate, depending apparently on moderate drainage, as when the bogs are quite dry the trees are starved for want of water, and when they are too wet, trees will hardly grow at all. Mr. Richards, forester at Penrhyn, who has had great experience, is confident that good larch can be grown on peat-bogs; and isolated trees doing well on peat have been seen by Henry in various parts of Ireland. Experiments with larch and various mixtures of trees that will grow easily on bogs should be attempted. The American larch has never been tried, and possibly might succeed better than the common species, as it is a swamp-loving tree.
The most remarkable old larches in Ireland are at Doneraile Court in Cork, the seat of Lord Castletown. The history of these trees, which were seen by Henry in February 1907, is obscure, but there is a tradition that they were sent in the eighteenth century to Doneraile by the Duke of Atholl. Five trees out of six originally planted now remain, all of peculiar habit, with numerous more or less weeping branches, the lowermost of which spread over the ground to a great distance, and in one tree are Jayering. This tree is about 70 feet high, and is 12 feet 7 inches in girth at 5 feet from the ground, the base of the tree below 4 feet being much swollen and covered with very thick bark, like that of old trees in the Alps. On one side the branches spread to 70 feet distance, and on the other side, where there was less room on account of other trees, to 30 feet. Another tree, 10 feet 10 inches in girth, has a spread of 91 feet in diameter. None of them attain more than a moderate height, which is difficult to explain, as ordinary larch grows very tall in the neighbourhood. From the seed of the old trees, sown in 1890, plants were raised, which were put out in 1893 on a hillside, seven acres in extent, and with good soil. This small plantation is now remarkably healthy, though the trees are very dense on the ground, and, at seventeen years old from seed, they average 37 feet in height and 20 inches in girth.
At Carton Park, the seat of the Duke of Leinster, there is a curious tree with the trunk inclined and pendulous branches, which was in 1903 60 feet high and 9 feet in girth. It is considered to be one of the original importations from Scotland in the 18th century. A fine tree in the same place with a Straight stem measured 98 feet by 10½ feet. At Abbeyleix House, the seat of Viscount de Vesci, a tree is growing on the lawn similar to those at Doneraile in having weeping branches, some of which are layering. At Dartrey Castle, Co. Monaghan, the seat of the Earl of Dartrey, there are three very old trees, also with more or less pendent branches, which were in 1903 13 feet 10 inches, 13 feet 8 inches, and 11 feet 7 inches in girth respectively. At Emo Park, Queen's
