General Notices. 269 



and eats the pith ; Serotina, seven and a half feet, sickly and unprnmising ; 

 Abies Douglasii, 1832, sixteen and a half feet, most vigorous and hand- 

 some tree, has this year produced cones; Morinda, 1832, has failed ; Can- 

 adensis, 1832, five feet, mere shrubs, unadapted to climate ; Menziesii, 

 1836, eight feet, hardy and ornamental ; Picea cephalonica, three feet, 

 numerous specimens, produce of seed from Cephalonia, uninjured by frost; 

 Pinsapo, 1840, two feet, apparently hardy and growing well ; Pichta, 1836, 

 seven feet, handsome and healthy ; Webbiana, 1836, dead from cold ; Cedrus 

 Deodara, 1839, three feet, has been slightly protected in winter ; Libani, many 

 specimens promising well, but not above five feet high. — Professor Balfour 

 stated, as the results of Mr. Macnab's experience, that Pinus Pinea seems 

 to be quite hardy, but does not attain the size of a timber tree in b'cotland. 

 P. halipensis is too tender for this climate. P. Sabiniana appears to be 

 quite hardy. P. excelsa has suffered in several places from cold, but 

 thrives well in the Botanic Garden. Abies Morinda is perfectly hardy. 

 A. canadensis does not grow to the size of a tree here. Picea Webbiana 

 always injured by late spring frosts. Cedrus Deodara quite hardy. Pro- 

 fessor Balfour concluded by stating that a communication on the same sub- 

 ject had been received from Mr. Humphrey Graham. His pinetum, how- 

 ever, was not so far advanced as that at Ballindalloch ; and as he under- 

 stood that that gentleman intended afterwards to make a more detailed 

 statement on the subject, he would not occupy the time of the meeting fur- 

 ther than by stating that, between March, 1846, and March, 1847, Mr. 

 Graham had himself sown, and given to others to sow, no less than about 

 12,000 Himalayan seeds. Many of these were received from Col. Morri- 

 son, H. E. I. C. S., by whom above 40,000 seeds were imported from In- 

 dia, and distributed in 1846. — Mr. Lawson was happy to see that the atten- 

 tion of the society was directed to the growth of coniferous trees, as none 

 were more suited to the climate of this country, whether as regards shelter 

 or timber. He trusted that other gentlemen would follow the example set 

 by the Colonel Morrison and Mr. Graham in the introduction of seeds from 

 foreign countries ; and, with that object in view, he would direct the atten- 

 tion of the members to the quarters whence many of the Conifers have been, 

 and still might be, introduced, such as the Caucasus, from which we have 

 the Picea Nordmanniana, Siberia, and the Himalaya Mountains, where the 

 Cedrus Deodara, Pinus excelsa, and Abies Morinda, are found. In Ne- 

 paul, the Abies Brunoniana could be procured ; he considered it to be a 

 great acquisition, and well adapted to the climate of this country. Several 

 rare and valuable Conifera; have been obtained from California, such as the 

 Abies Douglassii and A. Menziesii, &c. That quarter, together with the 

 northern part of Texas, and, indeed, northwest America generally, were 

 well worth stricter investigation than had hitherto been bestowed upon 

 them. There was every reason to believe that very valuable Coniferse 

 might be obtained from the northern provinces of China and the empire of 

 Japan. One of the latest introductions — the Cryptomeria japonica — was a 

 useful tree, and promised to be suitable to this country. The mountain- 

 ous districts of Chili, whence had been obtained the Araucaria imbricata, 



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