REMARKS ON THE EFFECTS OF GEOLOGICAL POSITION 

 ON CERTAIN CONIFERS. 



BY THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF DUCIE. 



Thk general diffusion of foreign Coniferse, and their importance, not only as 

 regards the effect which they will eventually produce in our landscapes, but as 

 regards their intrinsic economic value, induces me to hope that a notice of certain 

 peculiarities which I have had opportunities of remarking in a few si)ecies, may 

 not be unacceptable, and may possibly elicit papers on the same subject from 

 persons who are qualified to treat of it more fully. 



In and about Tortworth Park, at the extremity of the Bristol Coal Basin, the 

 underlying beds of carboniferous limestone and old red sandstone crop out at a 

 high angle, with occasional beds of the Triassic and Liassic formations resting on 

 their flanks, producing not only great irregularities of surface, but important dif- 

 ferences both in the constitution and quantity of the superincumbent soil. Over 

 the whole of this ground the more common Coniferse are planted in great abund- 

 ance, and, with a few exceptions (owing chiefly, I believe, to geological reasons), 

 they grow rapidly and well. 



As a general and sufficiently obvious rule, the Coniferae thrive in proportion to 

 the depth of the surface soil on which they stand. This is especially the case with 

 the Deodar and Pinus insignis. The rule does not, however, appear to apply in- 

 variably to Abies Douglassii, as I possess specimens growing as vigorously on the 

 cold and sterile shales of the carboniferous limestone, as others on the deep and 

 warm soil of the old red sandstone. 



The most fastidious of the Coniferce which I have had an opportunity of observ- 

 ing is, undoubtedly, Cryptomeria japonica. On the limestone its leading shoot is 

 always defective, and its growth generally devoted to the formation of a nest-like 

 mass of small shoots ; whilst, on the old red, a formation deficient in lime, its 

 growth is regular, upright, and graceful, and so rapid, that I have no hesitation 

 in affirming that, in this locality, it would outgrow the larch. 



The Deodar, on the other hand, appears to be the least discriminating, and the 

 most accommodating of all the Coniferse. No position, and no variety of soil, 

 appear to come amiss to it ; on lime or sandstone, rock, or clay, it grows with 

 equal facility, though depth of soil, as before stated, invariably contributes to 

 rapid growth. 



Pinus insignis appears to prefer the old red to the limestone ; on the latter 

 formation it maintains its health, but its annual growth is comparatively small. 

 The most vigorous specimen of this Pine which I possess, stands on a deep loam, 

 formed by the detrital matter of the overhanging hill, at the point of contact of 

 the old red sandstone and the clay of the lower lias. This tree, 'which was planted 

 about the year 1843, is now forty feet high, and, at one foot from the ground, five 

 feet in circumference. 



In Araucaria imbricata, though planted in considerable abundance, and in every 

 variety of soil, I have not been able to detect any decided preference for one for- 

 mation over another. It has an evident dislike to a wet locality, and it generally, 

 though not exclusively, thrives best upon a deep soil. 



Cuprcssus funebris, and Cupressus Goveniana, are both growing vigorously on 

 limestone rock, with but little surface soil. The former of these trees is thriving 

 lly upon a deep soil of the old red sandstone. Cupressus macrocarpa is 

 ing rapidly on the clay of the carboniferous limestone. 



