138 CONIFEROUS TREES 



certainly had been drained after a fashion, but too 

 few water-channels had been cut, and the conse- 

 quence was that, owing to excessive dampness, all 

 the trees, excepting such as had been planted by 

 the ditch-sides, became covered with a lichen, and 

 gradually would have died out had they not been 

 removed. A number of fresh drains were cut, 

 the original ones cleared out and deepened, the 

 heather, bilberry, and other shrubby growth 

 cleared away, and the ground replanted with the 

 common Scots Pine and the present variety, 

 P. Laricio Pallasiana. These trees are now models 

 of beauty and health, the foliage being of the 

 brightest and healthiest description, and the rate 

 of growth rapid — all pointing out that they are 

 peculiarly suitable for peaty soil and a fully ex- 

 posed situation. 



P. Laricio pygm^a is of dense, compact, and 

 quite dwarf growth, but of no particular value for 

 ornamental planting. The leaves are short and 

 tufted, and of a greyish green colour. 



P. LONGIFOLIA, Roxburgh. Himalaya. — This 

 species is rarely found in collections of conifers 

 in the British Isles, it being tender, unless in the 

 most -favoured localities. There are good speci- 

 mens at Penrhyn Castle, North Wales, and at 

 Churchhill, in the north of Ireland, thus showing 

 that at least in certain districts its hardihood can 

 be relied upon. The trees that I have seen are 

 sparsely branched, probably from the distances 

 apart at which the various trees were grown, 

 thus showing off the trunk, the bark of which is 

 of a light and warm colour. The leaves are, how- 

 ever, very beautiful and remarkable, being i6 



