On the Plantlmj of Forest-Tree^. 277 



Strathspey, Mar, Morriston^ Stratbglass, and Glentanner : these 

 are all upon gneiss, except Glentanner and part of the forest of 

 Mar, which appear to be on granite. They seem to be fast 

 diminishing; and perhaps some of those mentioned above have 

 already disappeared. The timber is said to be quite equal to 

 any brought from the Baltic : its colour is red, and the wood so 

 resinous as to be substituted for candles. The true Scotch fir, or 

 montana, grows with tortuous branches^ somewhat resembling the 

 oak ; arrives at a great age, and is often from two to three feet 

 in diameter. A plank was cut from one in Glenmore Forest, 

 measuring 6 feet long and 5 feet 5 inches broad, which is now in 

 Gordon Castle. I have seen a tree of this kind in the south of 

 England, which contained 5 tons of sound timber : it grew in 

 calcareous sand. The other and inferior varieties of this tree 

 may be distinguished by their conical heads. One of these is 

 found in the same forests with the montana ; the others are said 

 to be brought from America; and their inferior quality Kas brought 

 the true sort into disrepute, by being substituted for it. Though 

 the native sites of the Scotch fir are in mountainous valleys and 

 sandy soils, yet it succeeds well upon almost any soil, except such 

 as are very wet. Though the fir tribe seem no longer native to 

 South Britain, there is unquestionable evidence that they were 

 indigenous at some very remote period, as I have seen trees of this 

 kind of very large size, in a complete state of decay, deeply em- 

 bedded in the bog earth or peat of the greensand. The Scotch 

 fir flowers in May and June. The seed is sown in April. 



The spruce or Norway fir {Finns ahies) is one of the most 

 valuable of the resinous tribe, for the straightness of its growth, 

 and the durability of its timber even when young, which renders 

 it very serviceable for masts, spars, and scaffold poles. It yields 

 the white deals brought from Norway and the coasts of the Baltic, 

 but is considered not equal to the red deal, the produce of the 

 Pinus sylvestris. As a plantation-tree it is admirably adapted for 

 a nurse, by its numerous boughs and thick foliage. When stand- 

 ing alone in all its natural proportions, it often presents an object 

 of great beauty. It is not suited to very exposed situations as a 

 single tree, or in small groups, but in large masses grows with 

 great luxuriance on the elevated plains of transition rocks, par- 

 ticularly the mountain-limestone. It does not succeed on very 

 dry soils, but will thrive well in damp and even swampy situa- 

 tions. 



The silver fir {Pinus Piceci) is scarcely deserving of notice as 



a forest-tree, as its timber is of but little value. Thouofh it srrows 



..... ^ 



more slowly than any other of its tribe in its earlier stage, it makes 



more rapid advances afterwards, and ultimately towers above all 



