482 ABIETIA DOUGLASII. 



and was described by them in the narrative of the expedition. It 

 was re-discovered by David Douglas in 1827, and introduced by him 

 in the following year. Shortly afterwards Dr. Lindley, setting aside 

 Lambert's name, selected this tree as the most suitable subject for 

 commemorating the intrepid explorer and the eminent services 

 rendered by him to British arboriculture and horticulture. 



The Douglas Fir is unquestionably one of the most valuable tree& 

 ever introduced into Great Britain. It has been planted throughout 

 the length and breadth of the land, but not with unvarying results. 

 Where exposed to the force of gales and high winds, breakage of the 

 leader shoot often occurs ; and when exposed to piercing winds from 

 the north-east and east, or planted in land with insufficient drainage- 

 or where the soil is too shallow, the Douglas Fir, notwithstanding its- 

 marvellous constitution, does not thrive satisfactorily. Hypothetically 

 the cause of failure in such situations has been assigned to the- 

 fact that all, or nearly all, the older trees in Great Britain were 

 raised from seed produced by trees growing in the alluvial lands in 

 the neighbourhood of the Pacific coast in the comparatively mild 

 climate of Washington and Oregon where cold, piercing winds are- 

 unknown. In most parts of this country where not so exposed,, 

 especially in the south and south-western counties of England ; in 

 Wales and Ireland ; in Perthshire and the south-western counties of 

 Scotland, the growth of the Douglas Fir is very rapid during early 

 life, and it has gained the confidence of many foresters as a valuable- 

 tree for afforesting waste lands suitably situated. Some of the most 

 thriving plantations of Douglas Fir are to be seen in Perthshire, the 

 native county of Douglas, where the tree has been planted with no- 

 unstinted hand, especially on the estates of the Earl of Mansfield at 

 Scone and Lyiiedoch. Two fine trees at the last-named place, planted 

 in 1834, are among the oldest in the country; the tallest is 100 feet 

 high (97 feet in August, 1896) ; the other is over 80 feet high, and 

 has produced cones freely from which hundreds of seedlings have been 

 raised. At Murthly Castle in the same county, the Douglas Firs are 

 a prominent feature of the grounds ; trees from 80 to 100 feet high form 

 two long vistas of imposing aspect, and a belt on the south side of 

 the Tay river is remarkable for the uniform and stately growth of 

 the trees composing it.* 



The annual rate of growth of the Douglas Fir during the first 

 thirty thirty-five years varies with the locality. In Devon and 

 Cormvall it is quite 30 inches ; in Hampshire and other southern 

 counties it is somewhat less ; in the eastern and northern counties 

 (Cambridge, Lincoln and Northumberland) it is about 18 inches ; in 

 the western counties (Shropshire and Wales) it is from 24 to 27 inches ; 

 in Perthshire the annual growth ranges from 18 to 27 inches 

 according to locality ; in Argyll and the western counties from 

 15 to 20 inches ; and in Ross and Sutherland from 12 to 15 inches. 

 In Ireland the rate of growth equals that in Devonshire, and an 

 instance is recorded of a tree in the county of Meath having made 



* Other noteworthy specimens of the Douglas Fir upwards of or exceeding 100 feet in 

 height are growing at Dropmore, Bowood Park, Bicton, Powderham Castle, Carclew ; in 

 Scotland at Castle Menzies, Dunkeld, Rossie Priory, Dorris ; in Ireland at Castlewellan. 

 Coollattin, Powerscourt. 



