Volume 9 - Electric Scotland

44 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY
roughly oblong in shape, five miles from north to south, and
one and a half miles from east to west. It is made up of
heath, pasture, marsh, and loose sand dunes, according to
the prevalent conditions of soil and moisture. On the
landward side a series of woods runs from north to south.
These are mainly composed of Scots Pine and Birch, and
some of the trees are of considerable age, many bearing an
abundance of seed. They are freely exposed to the full
force of the prevailing south-west and west winds, which
before encountering them have an uninterrupted sweep over
a number of miles of low, rolling country.
In the spring of 1899 a careful survey was made of the
northern part of the moor on the eastern side of Fettersloch
Wood. Although at first sight the moor appears to possess
no higher vegetation than the uniform heather and heaths,
Pine and
a closer examination shows a number of young
Birch trees a few feet in height. There is no record, so far
as I am aware, that this part of the moor ever possessed
mature trees, and the Ordnance Map of the year 1866 shows
it to have been much the same as at present. There can
be no reason for supposing that any one has planted these
few and scattered young trees. Fettersloch Wood is the
nearest possible source, and doubtless the true source, of the
seeds which have given rise to them. The wind is the most
likely agent of transportation, since both species are provided
with seeds bearing winglike expansions. Since birds
eat these seeds, they may aid in the dispersal ;
but it is
unlikely that this has happened in the present case, where
all the conditions are in favour of wind transportation.
The following observations were made at distances
measured from the nearest point of the wood along a line
running in a north-easterly direction. Although the measurements
were made by pacing, they may be regarded as of
sufficient accuracy for the present purpose :
Yards.
1-48. Cones of Pine, and dead branches (absent beyond this point).
At 192. 2 Pines
(1) Height 7 feet, circumference 14 inches, about
seventeen years old, in good condition.
(2) Broken across, circumference 8 inches, still living.