20 HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF TREES. — PART I 
and mountains, for supplying timber for building and other pur- 
poses. The larch was a favourite tree among them; and instances 
are given by Pliny of the enormous size which it attained, of its 
durability, and its resistance to fire. ‘The positive knowledge of 
the Romans, with respect to trees, may be found in Pliny’s Natural 
History; and an enumeration of the species which that work 
contains, as far as they can be guessed at by modern botanists, 
is given by Sprengel in his Historia Ret Herbaria, vol.i. — It 
contains so few, in addition to those known to Theophrastus, that 
it seems unnecessary to introduce it here. 
CHAP. IL. 
OF THE HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF THE TREES AND SHRUBS 
NOW IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 
Tue trees and shrubs now indigenous to, or cultivated in, the 
British Islands, including Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the 
other adjacent isles, naturally form two divisions; viz., those 
which are of spontaneous growth, and those which have been 
introduced or originated by the art and industry of man. In 
order to convey distinct ideas respecting the number and nature 
of the native woody plants which may be considered as abori- 
ginal and permanent inhabitants of this country, we shall give 
an enumeration of them, arranged according to the natural 
orders to which they belong ; and, in order to show the progress 
of the introduction of foreign species, the number introduced, 
and the individuals to whom we are indebted for such intro- 
ductions, we shall treat of the native and foreign plants 
separately. 
Secr. I. Ofthe Native Trees and Shrubs of the British Isles. . 
TuE native plants of any island may generally be considered 
as the same as those of the continent to which that island belongs ; 
and hence we find that there are very few trees and shrubs which 
are indigenous to the north of France, Belgium, and the north 
of Germany, which are not also natives of Britain. In countries 
which have been long civilised, it appears difficult to determine 
what trees or plants are aboriginal, and what have been intro- 
duced ; and even in wild countries, the same difficulties may be 
said to occur, since the seeds of the plants of one country may 
be, and undoubtedly are, carried to another country by birds and 
other animals, and may spring up there, mature themselves, and 
continue their species like aboriginal plants. It is probable that 
this process has gone on more or less in every country from its 
