200 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



" has any man, I think, a right to depreciate 

 " the Scotch fir, till he has seen it in a per- 

 " feet state of nature."* 



The author of these remarks, though he 

 regrets the contempt generally manifested 

 towards the Scotch fir, does not appear to 

 have been aware of the radical change whicli 

 I cannot but conceive to have taken place in 

 the plant itself To account for this change, 

 as a means of restorino; the original character, 

 would be a work worthy of those whose 

 knowledge and opportunities of investigation 

 fit them for the inquiry ; and this not only 

 in a picturesque point of view, but also as 

 connected with profit, in providing a useful 

 and durable substitute for the worthless plant 

 now adopted. 



Evelyn, in his Sylva, throws no light upon 

 this subject ; but Dr. Hunter, in his edition 

 of that work, gives the copy of a letter from 

 Mr. James Farquharson, in which are the fol- 

 lowino; remarks : — 



" It is generally believed that there are two 

 " kinds of fir trees, the produce of Scotland, 

 " viz. the red or resinous large tree, of a fine 



* Gilpin's Remarks on Forest Scenery. 



