Aprit 1908. ] TREES ON THE DAWYCK ESTATE. 339 
their nests; and this is the remarkable riddle that they talk 
so much of—to have flesh, fish and fruit at the same time 
upon one tree.” 
(The herons are still at Dawyck, but nest now in some high 
beeches.) The planting of trees was not encouraged by the 
rural population about this time ; for Pennecuick writes :— 
“ There are some amongst them that will not ... . plant 
trees or hedges, for wronging the undergrowth, and shelter- 
ing the birds of the air to destroy their corn.” 
The first baronet died in 1720, and was succeeded by his 
son Sir James (second baronet)—a noted botanist and pupil 
of Linneus. To him we owe the introduction to Dawyck of 
oaks, horse-chestnuts, sycamores, larches, silver firs and other 
fine trees. He died in 1779, and during the following 120 
years Dawick remained with the Naesmyth family. 
In the hands of the present owner sylviculture is not 
being neglected. 
For a number of years Dawyck has been spelt with a y. 
Dawyck House stands a little over 600 feet above sea- 
level, in a part of Tweeddale which is recognised as being one 
of the coldest regions in Scotland. The annual rainfall is 
about 42 inches. 
The common larch (Larix europea) was introduced into 
Great Britain at an early date, being first mentioned as a 
rare tree in Parkinson’s Paradisus published in 1629. It 
was not until 1725 that the larch was introduced into Scot- 
land, a number of specimens being raised from seed and 
planted at Dawyck in that year. The Dunkeld larches were 
not planted till 1738. The surviving larches of 1725 are not 
as large trees as one might expect, considering their age, 
but are of weather-beaten appearance. 
The silver fir (Abies pectinata) grows well at Dawyck. A 
row of these trees was planted in 1735 at an altitude of 700 
feet. A number survive. The roots of others, long since 
departed, may still be observed. The largest of these trees 
is 115 feet high and 15 feet 9 inches round the base. From 
the valley below, the silver firs may be seen towering above 
the tall beeches of the Upper Terrace—a most impressive 
spectacle. Many of the branches have a tendency to grow 
out at right angles to the trunk and then turn up. Such 
branches are very liable to damage by storm. 
