512 



ABIES GEANDLS. 



made an excursion to the Columbia valley and collected seeds of this 

 and other coniferous trees which were received at the Veitchian 

 nursery at Exeter in the following year ; and about the same time 

 seeds were received by the Scottish Oregon Association from their 



collector, John Jeffrey, from 

 which originated the many fine 

 specimens growing in Perthshire 

 and adjacent counties. It is a 

 singular fact that another quarter 

 of a century elapsed before any 

 further consignments of seeds 

 of A. grandis reached Great 

 Britain, a circumstance that 

 can be partly accounted for 

 by the difficulty of procuring 

 cones that are produced only 

 near the tops of lofty trees 

 over 200 feet high. 



In Great Britain Abies 

 grandis is a fast-growing tree, 

 its leader shoot increasing in 

 height annually from 18 to 27 

 inches according to locality, but 

 much more in exceptionally 

 favoured spots such as occur 

 in parts of Scotland, in Wales 

 and in Ireland.'* The branches 

 spread mostly in a horizontal 

 direction, the tree presenting 

 in outline the form of an 

 elongated cone less formal than 

 A. concolor. As a park and 

 landscape tree it is one of 

 the best of the Abies, but 

 it is less suitable for the 

 lawn unless a space with a 

 radius greater than twenty-five 

 feet can be allowed for it. 

 The excellent quality of the 

 timber of A. grandis, its 

 rapid growth and hardiness, 

 and its adaptability to many 

 soils and situations, all point 

 to it as a suitable tree for 

 afforesting waste lands in this 

 country, especially in localities 

 in which the climatic conditions come nearest to those of Oregon and 

 British Columbia. The oldest trees in this country are cone-bearing, 

 and seeds are therefore easily procurable. 



* At Riccarton in Midlothian an Abies grandis grew 53 feet in twelve years, or an 

 average of 4 feet 5 inches annually (Conifer Conference Report, p. 82). Other remarkably 

 vigorous trees are growing at Penrhyn Castle, Revesby Abbey, Orton Hall, Eastnor Castle, 

 Madresfield Court, Monk Coniston, Dolphinton, Poltalloch, Castle Menzies, Abercairney, 

 Mnrthly Castle, The Cairnies, Carton, Curraglmiore, Powerscourt, and many other places. 



Fig. 133. Cone of AUes grandis. 



