106 THE BOOK OF EVERGREENS. 



It is one of the fastest growing species of the genus, 

 and in regard to this particular, Loudon gives the follow- 

 ing instances : " The seeds of the Scotch Pine come up in 

 about four weeks after they are sown ; the growth is not 

 above 3 inches or 4 inches the first year ; the second, if on 

 a good soil, they will grow from 4 inches to 6 inches ; and 

 the third year the plants begin to branch, and attain the 

 height of from 14 inches to 2 feet, according to soil and 

 situation. 



"In the fourth and fifth years, if not transplanted, or if 

 they have been transplanted carefully in the second year, 

 they begin to push strongly, making a leading shoot from 

 1 foot to 3 feet in length, according to soil and situation ; 

 and they continue growing vigorously for half a century, 

 according to circumstances. 



" In ten years, in the climate of London, plants will at- 

 tain the height of 20 or 25 feet ; and in twenty years, 

 from 40 to 50 feet. Evelyn mentions a Scotch Pine 

 which grew 60 feet in height in little more than twenty 

 years." " The largest Scotch Pine that was ever cut down 

 in Scotland is supposed to be one which stood in the forest 

 of Glenmore^ winch was called the Lady of the Glen, and 

 of which there is a plank in the entrance hall of Gordon 

 Castle, 6 feet 2 inches long, and 5 feet 5 inches broad." 



The rapidity of growth, great hardiness, and the facility 

 with which it may be grown on almost all soils, has ren- 

 dered this tree a great favorite with the arboriculturist ; 

 although it greatly prefers a cool gravelly subsoil, that is 

 well drained, and will then, in certain appropriate spots, 

 often form a handsome tree, but always inclining more to 

 the picturesque than the beautiful. Loudon, in his Arbo- 

 retum, devotes several pages to this species, and dwells 

 upon its use for ornamental purposes in quite a lengthy 

 article ; but readers in this country must remember that in 

 the large English parks and lawns, a great diversity of 

 situation abounds, and many of the most picturesque are 



