216 THE ALDEK. 



very pleasing scenes." Sir T. D. Lander is of the same 

 opinion. " It is," he says, " always associated in our minds 

 with river scenery, both of that tranquil description most 

 frequently to "be met with in the vales of England, and 

 with that of a wilder and more stirring cast which is to 

 be found amidst the deep glens and ravines of Scotland. 

 In very many instances we have seen it put on so much of 

 the bold, resolute character of the Oak, that it might have 

 been mistaken for that tree, but for the intense depth of 

 its green hue. Nowhere will the tree be found in greater 

 perfection than on the wild banks of the river Findholm 

 and its tributary streams, where scenery of the most 

 romantic description everywhere prevails." Trees of simi- 

 lar character are not uncommon on the banks of rivers in 

 other parts of Scotland, and in the north of England. On 

 the whole, though the Alder does not take a high rank 

 among our picturesque trees, we must recollect that it 

 often nourishes where no other tree would live, and thus 

 ornaments a landscape which would otherwise be tame and 

 naked. It retains its leaves, too, until very late in the 

 year ; and gloomy though their tone may be, we forget this 

 defect when nearly all other trees are bare. 



The principal use of the Alder, when growing, is to 

 prevent the encroachment of rivers on their banks, espe- 

 cially where a stream flowing through a loose soil makes 

 a sudden turn. Planters do not recommend its being 

 employed to fill up places in moist woods, but that such 

 ground should be drained and planted with other trees : 

 " For such is the nature of the Alder that it attracts and 

 retains the moisture around it. This effect is occasioned 

 by the nature of its roots, which are chiefly composed of 

 a huge mass of small fibres, whose capillary attraction 

 prevents the escape of a redundant water in the vicinity 

 or the plants. This property of creating swamps we have 

 repeatedly observed in the Alder, and, from experiments 

 we have made, are fully convinced that a plantation of 

 Alders would soon render the ground (even should it be 



