CONCLUSION. 2 J I 



"wliite-flowering variety, and found the heart-wood as 

 red and hard almost as mahogany, and also trees of 

 the red-flowering variety with the duramen very white 

 and soft. The four notable larches at Menzie Castle 

 are all of different varieties. The largest is of the 

 red, while the smaller ones are of the purple flowering 

 varieties, and of different shades of colour. 



&ixth. The opinions held respecting plants grown 

 from home and foreign seed are so conflicting, that the 

 subject requires more than a passing glance. 



If the old, magnificent trees first planted in this 

 country, already historical, are the direct products of 

 foreign seed, then we have positive proof of their 

 super-excellence, and what more do we require or wish 

 for ? But if asked how it is known the old trees are 

 the direct product of foreign seed, I answer, Because 

 the proof is all in their favour that they are so, and 

 nothing worthy of proof is advanced against them. 

 Some who favour the opinion that home-grown plants 

 are superior to foreign ones affirm that the red- 

 flowering and red-wooded varieties are all of home 

 growth, while the white, soft, and less valuable are 

 from foreign seed. Such theories are, however, un- 

 tenable, and do not stand the test of actual investiga- 

 tion ; for in a bed of home-grown plants there are 

 many distinct varieties, and in a bed of foreign there 

 is also the same difference. There is generally a very 

 marked distinction between the seedlings of home and 

 foreign produce while in the seed-bed, and sometimes 

 even in the nursery line ; but every year the distinc- 



