544 The yournal of Forestry. 



got from tlie nurseries, the difference both in quality and appearance 

 was very marked. The " native " seedlings were much harder to cut, 

 richer in quality, more compact and beautiful in appearance, the 

 branches being smaller and more horizontal, and the foliage of a darker 

 green, while the leading buds are a much brighter red, and the bark 

 is clearer and redder in colour than either the spurious or foreign 

 varieties. In the neighbourhood of this plantation there is another, in 

 which the Scotch firs are of the very coarsest description, and not 

 worth groMnng (though got from a respectable firm for the true native), 

 and when compared with the seedlings in the former case the difference 

 is more marked still. Instead of the compact-headed, rich-foliaged 

 Braemar variety, they are a coarse, long, straggling-branched fir of a 

 very difi'erent type, the most distinguishing feature in this case 

 being that the seedlings are shorter in foliage and more glaucous in 

 colour. There is yet another variety of fir, which I take to be foreign, 

 and is distinguished by its strong and coarse habit of growth, the 

 foliage of which is longer, and inclined to twist like that of Pinus laricio- 

 There are many other instances which might be quoted in the same 

 direction, but enough at present. 



The cause of this degeneracy, &c., may be variously accounted for ; 

 for example, by gathering seed from stunted, unhealthy, and deserted 

 trees, and by the introduction of foreign seed, the produce of which 

 has got so mixed up with that of home origin that it is difficult to dis- 

 tinguish the true variety from the spurious in the young state ; and I 

 fear we shall have more and more of the foreign element introduced 

 into this country, seeing that the vast native Scots fir forests are being 

 ruthlessly cut down, which, if much longer persevered in, will soon 

 render true native seed a scarce commodity, and increase the demand 

 for seed from abroad when Scots fir will be found to have lost its real 

 character and worth. Let us hope, however, that all concerned will 

 do what they can to propagate and increase the produce of the true 

 native variety of Scots fir, Pinus sylvestris. 



An Observek. 



