1885.] NOTABLE TREES AT WHITTINGHAME. 285 



each could easily do all the planting necessitated by forest 

 denudation in the island. "Forest plants, such as the mirabow, 

 billian, petalling, timpinis, ressah, giam, medang, katanahan, timbesn, 

 pinngah, etc., are hardy enough to withstand a certain amount of 

 exposure, and could be removed from one locality to another to be 

 planted out provided tlie roots are not injured but are entirely 

 buried in and covered by the soil. If planted in holes of sufficient 

 depth and well shaded, these plants would thrive well enough. 

 Care, however, must be taken that they receive sufficient moisture at 

 the beginning, until the roots begin to spread in the subsoil." 



NOTABLE TREES AT WHITTINGHAME. 



AMONGST the many fine trees and shrubs which abound in the 

 beautiful grounds of Whittinghame, East Lothian, the pro- 

 perty of A. J. Balfour, Esq., M.P., we noticed on a recent visit a 

 handsome specimen oiArcmcaria inibricata, bearing eight female cones, 

 each as large as a cannon-ball. This tree, like most of the conifers 

 at Whittinghame, was in vigorous health, about 40 feet in height, 

 and clothed to the ground with healthy branches. Not many yards 

 distant stands, perhaps, the most remarkable tree of its kind in 

 Britain, viz. a gigantic specimen of the " Swamp Gum tree " of 

 Australia {Eucalyptus viminalis), quite the dimensions of a forest 

 tree. The tree in question was planted in 1846, and was brought 

 as a seedling from Australia by a member of the family. It grew 

 rapidly in its new home until the memorable winter of 1860-61, 

 when it was cut down to the ground by the severe frosts which 

 prevailed during that winter. During the following summer it 

 broke away into four limbs, which have now reached a height of 

 about 60 feet, forming a tree of a novel and striking character. 

 The girth of the stem below where the massive limbs project is 

 nearly 12 feet, and the branches are laden with flowers and an 

 abundance of last year's seed-vessels. The question arises, How has 

 this gigantic Eucalyptus escaped uninjured during the severe winters 

 which have occurred since 1860-61 ? Is this a hardier species 

 than others which have been tried in this country, or has the 

 constitution of this tree become hardened by acclimatization ? Mr. 

 Garrat, the able and intelligent head-gardener at Whittinghame, 

 furnishes a more satisfactory explanation regarding this matter. 

 He states that during severe seasons, when his neighbours' thermo- 

 meters register below zero, not more than 24 degs. are registered at 

 Whittinghame. The presence of such handsome specimens of 

 Cuprcssus funchris and Picca JVchhiana, — the latter at least 50 feet 



