272 THE LARCH. 



tion grows more and more faint, till it entirely disap- 

 pears ; and no one, not even the most acute observer, 

 can tell which are from home and which from foreign 

 seed. 



In the seedling beds the difference between home 

 and foreign produce is sometimes very distinct, and 

 at other times scarcely visible — the reason being, that 

 the foreign and home seed is at times (owing to the 

 seasons) of nearly the same quality. If in Britain the 

 seed has matured well, and in the Continent it has 

 ripened badly, the plants produced therefrom will be 

 nearer equal than when grown from seed produced 

 under the opposite conditions. Plants from foreign 

 seed, however, have the disadvantage of being more 

 liable to be frost-bitten both in spring and autumn 

 than those of home growth, and that is the only mate- 

 rial difference and disadvantage they possess. This 

 liability to frost, however, soon passes away, and then 

 there is no difference — at least none visible or of any 

 practical importance. 



Seventh. The bark disease or blister has ever been 

 to foresters a source of great alarm and anxiety, and 

 yet nothing like a general satisfactory conclusion has 

 been arrived at. It is my unqualified opinion that the 

 primary cause of blister is owing to the bark be- 

 coming injured by cold and wet in spring and summer. 

 In low, damp situations it is always worse than on 

 elevated ground with a dry soil. I find, too, that 

 while the bark is injured above the rough surface, it is 

 generally quite safe close to the ground ; and young 



