MISCELLANEOUS. 203 



' them under cover in the night-time, and 

 ' only exposing them when tlie sun shines. 

 ' This soon makes the cones expand with a 

 ' crackling noise. When any quantity of the 

 ' seed is shed, it must be separated from the 



* cones, otherwise the first dropped seeds 

 ' would become too dry before the cones 



* 3'ielded their whole quantity, which often 

 ' takes up a considerable time ; so that we 

 ' are sometimes obliged to dry the cones in 



* kilns, to make them give their contents in 



* time for so win o- — which ouoht to be done 

 ' by the end of April or the beginning of 



jAIay." 



After all that has been advanced with 

 regard to the varieties of soil, climate, and 

 circumstances beino; the causes of the declen- 

 sion of the Scotch fir, I confess myself un- 

 convinced, while I find the remnants of the 

 original character flourishino^ under all those 

 varieties in our own country ; and while the 

 broad distinction in the Baltic timber corro- 

 borates, in my opinion, a fundamental dif- 

 ference beyond what such varieties could 

 produce. 



The Quarterly ReviewofMonteith's Plant- 

 er's Guide laments, in common with myself. 



