578 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 



from which these trees grew might have been brought from Norway in early times ; 

 and Sir H. Howorth suggests that the existence of the Capercaillie, whose bones 

 have been found in Tertiary deposits in the eastern counties, would have been 

 impossible unless either pines or spruce existed to feed them in winter. 



The Rev. Leonard Blomfield read a paper before the Bath Antiquarian Field 

 Club on December 9, 1885, in which he tried to prove that the numerous Scots pines, 

 now growing in the neighbourhood of Bournemouth,^ are descended from aboriginal 

 trees ; and gave the following list of names of places in England in which the word 

 fir occurs, indicating that these localities were in early days probably noted for woods 

 of Pinus sylvestris : Firbank in Westmoreland ; Furbecke or Firbeck, and Firbie or 

 Firby, in Yorkshire ; Furbie, Firby, or Firsby in Lincolnshire ; Furcombe in the 

 parish of Farnborough, Berkshire ; Furle or Furleigh in Pevensey Rape, Sussex ; 

 Furland, a tithing of Crewkerne in Somerset; and Furland Hill, between Brixham 

 and Dartmouth. 



Loudon, p. 2167, says that the tree only began to be planted in Britain about 

 the end of the seventeenth century ; but the following extract from a letter '^ of James 

 L to the Earl of Mar, dated Oct. 30, 1621, shows that the introduction of the Scots 

 pine into England was earlier. 



"The Marquis of Buckinghame, being desirous to have firre trees planted 

 aboute his house at Burleigh on the Hille, hath earnestlie requested us to cause him 

 to be furnished as well with the seede as with young trees, which his desire wee 

 willinglie wold have performed with all expedition. And because wee know none 

 who so readilie can give us satisfaction in this pointe as your selfe, we have thoughte 

 good by these presentes to require you with all expedition to cause some store of 

 seede to be gathered eyther in your owne boundes or in those of the Marquis of 

 Huntlie, where it may be soonest had, and so soone as possiblie may be, sende a 

 man of purpos to Burleigh on the Hille with so much of the freshest and fairest 

 thereof as convenientlie may be caried. And that yee cause sette downe in writing 

 at what time and in what kinde of grounde the same is to be sowed, and with the 

 maner of sowing thereof; also when the time of year is fitting for removing and 

 setting of plantes and young trees. Yee shall likewise sende one to Burleigh with 

 four or five thousand of them, with the like instructions of time, place, and maner of 

 setting and preserving." 



There is no reference to these trees in the History of Burley on the Hill, 

 published in 1901 ; and enquiries have elicited no information, except that there are 

 now on the estate six or eight Scots firs, which are not more than 25 feet high. A 

 local woodman, about 60 years of age, whose father was woodman before him, never 

 heard of the existence of old pines at Burley. 



The common Gaelic word for Pine \% gius. It occurs in a few Scottish names of 

 places, as Craiggush, Kingussie Altnaguish, Dalguise. This word is commonly 

 used for pine also in Ireland, and ochtach occurs in books. In spite of the wide 

 prevalence in ancient times of pine in Ireland, place-names with either of these words 



The submerged pine forest on the sea-coast at Bournemouth is described by Sir C. Lyell in PrituipUs of Geology, ii. 

 536 (1872). 



2 Historical MSS. Commission, Report on MSS. of Earl of Mar, p. 103 (1904). 



