46 
putting the different varieties of the newer conifers to a com- 
petitive trial. The trees are planted in groups, and among 
others to be found here are Abies Albertiana, A. Menziesii, A. 
grandis, A. Douglasii, and A. cephalonica; Pinus strobus, P. 
Laricio, P. austriaca, P. Cembra, P. montana, and P. monticola. 
The palm was awarded to the Menzies spruce for luxuriance 
of growth and the production of the most timber; but Pinus 
monticola, Abies Albertiana, A. Douglasii, and A. grandis were 
also doing very well in this high locality, at the base of the 
Grampians. Time, however, did not admit of a very prolonged 
examination of this interesting spot, for the main body of the 
excursionists had turned off for The Cairnies at Harrietfield, 
and did not pursue their way so far as this up the glen. 
Crossing the river Almond again at the bridge of Buchanty, 
at the foot of the wildly romantic Sma’ Glen—near the top of 
which, in the narrow bottom of the rocky defile, stands Ossian’s 
Stone, said to mark the burial-place of the ancient Gaelic poet— 
the road turns to the left towards The Cairnies estate of Colonel 
T. M. Harris, and a stop was made at The Cairnies House, the 
residence of Mrs Malcolm Patton. Here the late Right Hon. 
George Patton, Lord-Justice Clerk, carried on extensively the 
planting of the newer Conifer for many years previous to his 
death in 1869, and most of them are growing with a freedom 
and luxuriance seldom seen in much more favourable localities 
for tree growth. This particularly applies to the species of 
- conifers from the temperate regions of North-West America. 
Abies Albertiana, A. concolor, A. Douglasii, A. grandis, A. 
magnifica, A. Menziesii, A. nobilis, A. Pattoniana—named after 
the Lord-Justice Clerk—and many others are all seen in large 
numbers, and thriving remarkably well. 
At The Cairnies the company were hospitably entertained 
to lunch by Mrs Malcolm Patton, and afterwards spent some 
time in viewing the sylvan beauties of the policies and the 
estate in the neighbourhood of the mansion, with which all 
were very much charmed. Just within the entrance gate 
nothing could be finer than the noble avenue of the most 
graceful species of coniferous trees, which led to a conifer- 
encircled lawn of great beauty, the charming aspect of which 
is probably unique in any part of Britain. 
The Cairnies was one of the earliest homes of the newer 
Conifers. The late Lord-Justice Clerk, who succeeded to the 
property in 1831, spared, we are told by Mr Hunter in his 
Woods and Forests of Perthshire, neither trouble nor expense 
in securing specimens of the rarer varieties, with the view of 
testing their adaptability to the climate of this country, both 
as ornamental and as forest trees. He might well be proud 
