1 1 1 8 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 



the boles having very thick bark, and tapering considerably. The tallest tree was 

 found by Henry in 1910 to be 93 ft. by 5 ft. Most of the trees were blown down 

 in the gale of March 24, 1895, the survivors being now scattered among Scots pines 

 which were planted with them. There is no natural reproduction, as the squirrels 

 eat every seed as soon as it is ripe. The present owner, Major B. J. Petre, states 

 that the timber is inferior to that of Scots pine, rarely selling for more than 4d. per 

 foot, while the latter is readily saleable at 6d. 



On the sandhills at Holkham this pine has been planted to some extent, and 

 reproduces itself from seed, but does not grow so well as P. Laricio. 



In Scotland, the finest tree we know is one 1 growing in a wood at Monreith, 

 Wigtownshire, which measured 82 ft. by 9^ ft. in 1905. At Smeaton- Hepburn, East 

 Lothian, there are three trees in a wood, about 70 ft. high by 6 ft. in girth. 



In Ireland the best tree which we have seen is at Curraghmore, Waterford, and 

 measured 91 ft. by 7 ft.' 10 in. in 1907. At Castlemartyr, Cork, there is a good 

 tree, 70 ft. by 9 ft. At Powerscourt, Wicklow, a tree 67 ft. by 9 ft. n in. was bear- 

 ing cones profusely in 1906. Capt. John Campbell reports that in an exposed 

 position on peat bog, near Moycullen, Galway, this species is thriving ; and it appears 

 to have been the only tree that survived in the disastrous experiment of planting on 

 peat bog at Knockboy. At Shelton Abbey, Co. Wicklow, there are four trees, 

 growing in a sheltered situation on a gravelly bank, the dimensions of which, as given 

 by Mr. Shivas in 1910, are 60 ft. by 10 ft., 80 ft. by 8 ft. 9 in., 50 ft. by 9 ft. 8 in., 

 and 60 ft. by 7 ft. 9 in. At Tullymore, Co. Down, there is a fine old tree in the 

 same valley where the Silver firs (Plate 211) grow. Being crowded among other 

 trees, I could not measure its height, which I estimated at 75 ft. ; the bole, io^- ft. 

 in girth, was clean to 40 or 50 ft. up. 



Timber 



The timber of this tree is one of the most important articles of export from the 

 south-west of France. Of late years great quantities of pit props have also been 

 exported from Portugal to South Wales, and as their local value is very small, and 

 the cost of transport to the shipping ports low, this source of supply cannot be 

 overlooked in considering the probable future value of pit props in our southern 

 counties. 



An account of the uses of this tree, quoted from a French author, was given by 

 Loudon in 1838, which is worth reading, though perhaps rather out of date. Resin 

 seems then to have been the most valuable product of the tree, but lamp-black was 

 also an important item, and the methods of extracting both are fully described. Now, 

 however, a great quantity of the trees after having been tapped until their resin is 

 exhausted, are shipped in the form of pit props to the South Wales coal ports at a 

 very low rate of freight, in the coal ships, which would otherwise return empty from 

 Bordeaux ; and are delivered on the wharf in suitable lengths, in such quantities, and 

 at such a low price, now 20s. to 21s. per ton, that they govern the price of home-grown 

 mining timber. It has been pointed out by Mr. R. Anderson of Cirencester in a 



1 Figured in Woods and Forests, 1884, p. 737. 



