Conclusion: The results of this study are encouraging for the development of a set of interpretable diagnostic criteria for a reasonably reliable identification of some species. The present study has been limited in the characteristics studied and was made on relatively poor photography. Further study on high quality photography, over wider areas and including such additional characteristics as crown texture and shadow intensity should prove useful. A preliminary examination has been made of some photo-image characteristics of a number of important tree species on large scale (1:9,000) contact prints of panchromatic mm. The characteristics studied were crown image tone, and shape. Image tone was estimated against a standard grey-scale and shows within-species consistency and a range between species. Crown shapes were subjectively assessed but there appears to be a within-species consistency and interpretable between-species differences. The results of this trial suggest that it should be practicable to make a number of important species distinctions by photo-interpretation with a useful degree of reliability. Other characteristics beside those studied might be usefully examined. Photography: Hand-printed glossy contact prints of vertical 1:9,000 scale panchromatic photography of Kwangnung Experimental Forest flown May 1964. The filter used is unknown (probably minus-blue). The camera is unknown but was probably a military type K-17 or K-22 with 6"(apostfophy) lens. The photography shows notably poor resolution. Species: 143 individual trees ranging through 11 species (7 softwood, 4 hardwood) were included in the study. A range of size classes were included for each species.