THE ARBORETUM. 79 



13. The Arboretum. 



In the course of an address to the Dumfries and Galloway 

 Natural History Society, delivered on the 17th March 191 1, 

 Mr W. H. Whellens, forester, Comlongon Nurseries, offered the 

 following advice regarding the formation of an arboretum, which 

 he suggested that every landed proprietor should possess. 



Kind of Trees. — Spruces and silver firs should be introduced, 

 for the foliage of some of the latter is magnificent. Take, 

 for instance, Picea nobilis (or the noble silver fir) with its 

 violet- tinted leaves, the silvery lines showing beneath; P. 

 JVordmanniana, with pale green leaves; or P. Pinsapo, with its 

 stiff prickly foliage. Others of the silver firs that are worth a 

 place in the collection are P. cephalomca, P. concolor, P. 

 balsamea (the Balm of Gilead fir), P. grandis, and, of course, 

 our common silver fir, which, after all, is one of the noblest 

 trees in this or any other country. 



Many of these have varieties or sports of their own which are 

 often obtainable. 



The list of spruces is too long to give in full, even if I were able 

 to do so, but some of the finest are the common Norway spruce, 

 Abies nigra (the black American), A. alba (the white American), 

 A. Alcocquiana, A. Menziesii, and A. Stnithiana. 



The two varieties of the Douglas fir, the Oregon or green 

 and the Colorado or glaucous, are worthy of a place in any 

 collection. 



The pines are so numerous that want of space and time 

 prevents my giving the names of more than a few of the better 

 known ones. The Scots pine, the Austrian and Corsican pines 

 (called the black pines), Pinus cembra, P. Pinaster, P. strobus 

 and Pinus insignis, the last a beautiful tree, are examples. 



The different varieties of the larch must have a place. There 

 are the European, Japanese, Siberian, American, and a newer 

 variety, the Occidental larch. 



The cedars, C. deodara, the Cedar of Lebanon, and C. 

 atlandca, with their varieties, cannot be overlooked. 



Other coniferous trees that I may mention are the Wellingtonia 

 gigantea, Araucaria imbricaia, the Arborvitaj and its varieties, 

 the many varieties of Cupressus, Cryptomeria, junipers, yews, 

 Retinosporas, the maiden-hair tree, and countless others. 



