COMPARATIVE VALUE OF EXOTIC CONIFER/E IX BRITAIX. 275 



on a great variety of soils and situations, from well-drained 

 peat at sea-level to thin, poor soils at great elevations. The 

 timber is soft, fine-grained, easily worked, and susceptible of 

 a nice jiolish. It is found in the Alps and Carpathian Mountains, 

 as well as in France, Italy, Austria, Hungaiy, and Syria. For 

 its introduction to this country we are no doubt indebted to the 

 Rev. J. Harte, who, in 1746, published "Essays on Husbandry," 

 in which it was strongly recommended, and we leai'n that in the 

 same year it was planted by the Duke of Argyll. It was not, 

 however, until 1833 that Messrs Lawson, of Edinburgh, imported 

 the first large supply of seed, although, several years previously, 

 in 1828, Mr Lawson brought from Switzerland a small number 

 of seeds which were distributed amongst his friends, the produce 

 of these being, no doubt, among the oldest trees of this joine in the 

 country. 



71. P. densijlora (Japanese Pine). — The pleasing bright green 

 tufted foliage of this pine renders it a distinct and desirable 

 species, and one that we can confidently recommend for orna- 

 mental planting, but particularly where contrast and variety are 

 of paramount importance. A native of Japan, and introduced 

 into Europe in 18.54. 



72. F. excelsa (Himalayan Pine) is one of great value for 

 ornamental planting, the long and lithe branches, elegant foliage 

 of a glaucous, bluish green, and graceful outline, being all recom- 

 mendations of the highest order. The wood, in its native country, 

 is highly valued, but, as grown in the less favourable climate of 

 Britain, it is never likely to attract attention in an economic sense. 

 It is a native of the Himalayas, from Bhotan to Afghanistan, and 

 was introduced into England about the year 1827. 



73. P. halepensis (Ale^ipo Pine) is well worthy of a gi'eater 

 amount of attention than it has yet received. For planting 

 along the seaside, and where the soil is of the poorest descrip- 

 tion, it is particularly valuable. The tree has rather a pyramidal 

 habit, with an abundance of long, slender branches, which are 

 somewhat scantily covered with bright silvery grey foliage. The 

 timber produced here is of fairly good quality, and fine examples 

 were shown at the Edinburgh Forestry Exhibition. Under 

 favourable circumstances the growth of the Aleppo Pine is by no 

 means slow, one specimen, the dimensions of which we took 

 recently, having attained to a height of 45 feet in thirty-seven 

 years, while the girth at a yard from the ground was 4 feet 



