THE SCOTS FIR 47 



became general after the establishment of the beauti- 

 ful Pinetum at Dropmore, at the beginning of the 

 last century. 



Though not so remunerative a crop as the Larch, it 

 will grow where that tree will not ; and, though the 

 primary use of the tree, from which, in fact, the name 

 of " Fir," i.e. fire-tree, is derived, viz. the making of 

 torches from its resinous wood, is with us a thing of 

 the past, the valuable shelter it affords from the wind 

 sweeping from the sea or over wide stretches of heath ; 

 its utility as a " nurse " to draw up young Oak trees ; 

 its timber; and its health-giving fragrance (to which 

 the town of Bournemouth owes its popularity as a 

 sanatorium), not to mention its beauty, are sufficient 

 reasons for the more extensive planting of the Pine. 

 It is liable to the attacks of various insects, of 

 which the chief are perhaps the Pinechafer 

 (Hylur'gus piniper da), the Fir-weevil (Hylo'biws 

 abie'tis), the Pine-sawfly (Ld phyrus pi'ni), and the 

 Si'rex. 



Whilst, in his sonorous verse, Milton brings before 

 us 



"the tallest Pine 

 Hewn on Norwegian hills to be the mast 

 Of some great aminiral " ; 



Mr. Ruskin, in his graphic prose, has described one of 

 the most wonderful effects of Pines in a landscape, 

 though, as he points out, it has only been noticed by 

 two of our poets. " When," says he, " the sun rises 

 behind a ridge of Pines, and those Pines are seen from 

 a distance of a mile or two against his light, the whole 

 form of the tree, trunk, branches and all, becomes one 



