LXXVII. CONI'FER^E : ^BIE'TIN^:. 949 



The time during which any given species has its leading shoot in a fit state for 

 being broken over in this manner is not more than 15 days ; and, as the scions 

 from the species to be grafted are equally tender with the stock, they will not 

 remain longer in a state fit for the operation than about the same period. 

 The scion is always inserted in the leading shoot ; the greater number of the 

 side shoots are either removed altogether, or shortened ; and the young shoots 

 produced from the stocks during the season are pinched off with the finger and 

 thumb at about half their length. In the European ^bietinae, the seeds begin 

 to drop from the cones, which remain on the trees, generally in March ; for 

 which reason February is a good month to collect them. The cones of Pinus 

 sylvestris, and of the allied sorts, soon open of themselves, after they have 

 been gathered from the tree, and spread out in the sun ; but the cones of P. 

 Pinaster, P. Pinea, and the allied sorts, though treated in the same manner, 

 will not open their scales for several months, or even a year. The cones of 

 Cedrus Libani will not open till they have been three years or upwards on the 

 trees ; and, when they are gathered, it is almost always necessary to steep 

 them in water for 24 hours, and afterwards to expose them before a fire, or to 

 the sun. In Scotland, France, and Germany, the seeds of the Pinus syl- 

 vestris and of the Z/arix europae N a are very commonly separated from the 

 cones by kilndrying, and afterwards thrashing them : but, as the heat of the 

 kiln is sometimes carried so far as to destroy the vital principle, it is con- 

 sidered safer to steep the cones before drying, in which case less fire is 

 requisite ; or to split them by inserting an iron triangular-pointed instrument, 

 not unlike a shoemaker's awl, into the axis of the cone, at its broad end. The 

 cones are also sometimes broken by passing them through a bone-rnill, or 

 between two cylinders ; or by putting them into a bark-mill. The cones of 

 the silver and the balm of Gilead firs, and also of the Pinus tftrobus, open of 

 themselves in a dry room, and give out their seeds with less trouble than those 

 of any other species. The most general time for sowing the seeds of the 

 Jbietinae is in the end of March or in April. The ground ought to be in 

 good heart, light, and sandy rather than loamy, and prepared as finely as 

 possible. The seeds may be most conveniently sown in beds; and, after 

 being gently beaten down with the back of a spade or a slight roller, they 

 should be covered with light soil or leaf mould to the depth of a sixteenth, an 

 eighth, or at most a quarter, of an inch, according to the size of the seeds ; 

 and immediately afterwards covered with branches of trees or shrubs, fronds 

 of fern, wickerwork hurdles, or netting, to shade the soil from the sun, and 

 protect the seeds from birds. If, indeed, the seeds are gently patted in with 

 the back of the spade, and the beds kept shaded, and of a uniform gentle 

 moisture, no covering at all is necessary. When rare kinds are sown in pots, 

 if the surface of the soil is kept 1 in. below the rim of the pot, the pot may 

 be covered with a pane of glass, and the seeds will come up with certainty 

 and vigour. Traps ought to be set for mice, which are great devourers of the 

 seeds of the Jbietinae. In very dry weather the beds should be watered in the 

 evenings ; but in this case it becomes doubly necessary to shade them in the 

 daytime ; because in proportion to the rapidity of the germination of the 

 seeds are they liable to be scorched by the sun." The precaution of shading 

 is much less necessary in Scotland, than in England, or on the Continent. 

 The pine and fir tribe does not, in general, succeed so well when transplanted 

 as the broad-leaved trees ; for which reason, most of the sorts planted for 

 ornament, such as the cedar, stone pine, Weymouth pine, Siberian pine, &c., 

 should always be kept by the nurserymen in pots. The Scotch pine, the 

 larch, the spruce, the silver and balm of Gilead firs, the Corsican pine, and the 

 Weymouth pine, may be transplanted into nursery lines, from the seed-bed, 

 in the second year ; and, after remaining one year in these lines, they may be 

 removed to where they are finally to remain. Very few species can be kept 

 with advantage for a longer period in the nursery than 3 years ; viz. two in 

 the seed-bed, and one transplanted. Very little pruning is necessary for the 

 pine and fir tribe, whether they are grown singly or in scattered groups for: 



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