168 THE DOUGLAS FIR. 
July, when the rich brown buds, with which all the branchlets are 
tipped, burst and reveal the young leaves. At first these are of a 
bright pale colour, and at a distance make the tree appear as if 
studded over with countless yellow blossoms, the contrast between 
this and the older foliage being strikingly beautiful. 
The appearance of the tree is usually very symmetrical, with an 
erect, taper trunk, smooth when young, but when old, covered with 
rough, rugged bark, thickly studded with receptacles full of clear 
yellow resin, as in the Balm of Gilead fir. The branches are 
long, horizontal or slightly pendulous, and clothed with innumer- 
able slender, drooping sprays, handsomely feathered with an 
abundance of short, dark vivid green leaves. The cones, which 
vary from 2 to 3 ins. in length, are, when fully matured, of a 
bright brown, at first nearly erect, but afterwards pendent. 
Scales of the cones are concave and persistent. The leaves are 
about 1 inch in length, flat, obtuse at the point, furrowed on upper 
side, and slightly twisted at base. The male catkins are usually 
numerous, of a reddish-fawn colour, and produced from the lateral 
and under sides of the branchlets. The cones should be collected, 
according to the season, in September or October, as, if left after 
that time, the seeds fall out and are lost. 
As regards the quality of soil, the Douglas fir. seems to adapt 
itself to almost any kind—wet or dry, smooth or rocky— 
provided that the subsoil is of an open, porous nature. In 
dry, sandy soils, where the larch and spruce are affected 
with dry rot, the Douglas fir is quite at home, and luxuriates 
admirably. 
On this estate the largest and finest specimens are growing on 
sandy loam, in a somewhat sheltered position along the banks of 
the Ogwen river, although many of almost equal dimensions may 
be found growing on soils of a more retentive nature. Even in well- 
drained clay and peaty soils this tree luxuriates and grows at a rapid 
rate, as many notable instances throughout the country amply 
testify. 
Excepting Pinus laricio, the Douglas fir has perhaps been more 
extensively planted on this estate than any other tree of recent 
introduction, but at an early date more as an ornamental tree than 
for ordinary plantation purposes. 
Within the park are some very fine specimens, which, judging 
from their large size, must have been planted within a few years 
after the introduction of the tree in 1827. 
