IN THE HIGHLANDS 251 



Douglas firs, Abies Alberti, copper beeches, sweet and 

 horse chestnuts, Picea nobilis, P. PinsafO, P. lasiocarpa 

 and P. Nordmanniana, Cwpressus macrocarpa and C. 

 Lawsoniana, Thuja gigantea, bird-cherries, scarlet oaks, 

 etc., and now these trees appear almost as if they had 

 formed part of the original plantation. I am still pro- 

 ceeding in this style, and have dotted about a lot of 

 Eucalypti, tree rhododendrons, Arbutus, Griselinias, 

 Cordylines, and clumps of bamboos and Phormiums 

 which are giving a charming finish to the outskirts of 

 my plantation. 



Even the eucalypti I find much hardier than that bad 

 breed of Scots fir; no wind, snow, or frost seems to hurt 

 them here; and, in case it may interest my readers, I 

 shall name those I find thoroughly hardy — Eucalyptus 

 coccifera, E. Gunnii, E. Whittinghamii, E. cordata, 

 E. coriacea, E. urnigera, and one or two others; but I 

 warn all against trying Eucalyptus glohosa — the very 

 species that most people persist in planting ! 



I ought, perhaps, to mention what does not do quite 

 so well with me — viz., the common Norway spruce. 

 They will grow in low-lying hollows at the rate of nearly 

 three feet a year, but as soon as they get to about 

 thirty feet in height they look (as my forester very aptly 

 describes them) like red-brick chimneys among the 

 other trees, and even if not directly exposed to the 

 ocean gales they get red and blasted. I tried also a few 

 Pinus Strobus in the peninsula, but they quite failed. 

 I much regret not having experimented on either Pinus 

 Cembra or Pinus insignis. I know the first named would 

 succeed, and, as the Monterey cypress [Cupressus 



