2230 ARBORETUM AND FRUTJCETUM. FART III. 



dentally either the stem or any of the larger branches take a larger sweep 

 than usual, that sweep seldom fails to be graceful. It is also among the 

 beauties of the stone pine, that, as the lateral branches decay, they leave 

 generally stumps, which, standing out in various parts of the stem, break the 

 continuity of its lines. The bark is smoother than that of any other tree of 

 the pine kind, except the Weymouth ; though we do not esteem this among 

 its picturesque beauties. Its hue, however, which is warm and reddish, has 

 a good effect ; and it obtains a kind of roughness by peeling off in patches. 

 The foliage of the stone pine is as beautiful as the stem. Its colour is a 

 deep warm green ; and its form, instead of breaking into acute angles, like 

 many of the pine race, is moulded into a flowing line by an assemblage of 

 small masses. As age comes on, its round clumpish head becomes more flat, 

 spreading itself into a canopy, which is a form equally becoming; and yet I 

 doubt whether any resinous tree ever attains that picturesque beauty in age 

 which we admire so much in the oak. The oak continues long vigorous in 

 his branches, though his trunk decays; but the resinous tree, I believe, de- 

 cays more equally through all its parts, and, in age, oftener presents the idea 

 of vegetable decrepitude than that of the stout remains of a vigorous con- 

 stitution ; and yet, in many circumstances, even in this state, it may be an 

 object of picturesque notice. Thus, we see in the form of the stone pine 

 what beauty may result from a tree with a round head, and without lateral 

 branches, which requires, indeed, a good example to prove. When we look 

 on an ash or an elm, from which the lateral branches have been stripped, as 

 is the practice in some countries, we are apt to think that no tree with a 

 head placed on a long stem can be beautiful; yet in Nature's hands, which 

 can mould so many forms of beauty, it may easily be effected. Nature herself, 

 however, does not follow the rules of picturesque beauty in the production 

 of this kind of object. The best specimen of the stone pine I ever saw grew 

 in the Botanical Garden at Oxford ; but, for the sake of the ground it occupied 

 I never heard any other reason suggested), it was lately (1791) cut down." 

 Gilp. For, Seen., i. p. 83.) Sir Thomas Dick Lauder adds to this passage, 



!i 



that he quite agrees with Gilpin as to the picturesque beauty of the stone 

 pine. " We frequently find it introduced into the landscapes of Claude ;" 

 he continues, "the artist availing himself of its heavy deep-toned mass of 

 foliage to give effect to the brilliancy of his sky and distance. It is quite as- 

 sociated in our minds with Italy, and her magnificent remains." (Laud. 

 Gilp., i. p. 169.) 



Soil, Situation, Propagation, and Culture. The soil should be deep, sandy, 

 and dry, and the situation sheltered, though the plants should not be crowded. 

 The seeds are procured from foreign cones, which are generall}' purchased 

 in the autumn, or at the beginning of winter, and the seeds taken out of them 

 by throwing them into hot water, and treating them like those of pinaster. 

 They are frequently sown in pots in the course of the winter, and preserved 

 in a frame, and kept gently moist, till the spring ; when most of the seeds will 

 come up, though some will remain in the ground till the second year. Their 

 tardy germination is owing to the thickness of the shell of the seed, which some 

 cultivators break before sowing, though at the risk of injuring the seed. The 

 plants which come up should be transplanted into small pots, after midsum- 

 mer of the same year, or, at all events, not later than the following spring ; 

 and, for two or three years, they should be kept during winter in a frame, 

 quite close to the glass. The plants are very tender for the first two or three 

 years ; but in the fourth and fifth years they will endure the open air, in the 

 climates of London and Paris, without any protection. The leaves of this 

 species, as well as of several others, have quite a different appearance for the 

 first two years from what they have ever afterwards : they are very glaucous, 

 ciliated on their margins, very short, and very sharp-pointed. During this 

 period, they are single and without sheaths ; but afterwards they come out in 

 pairs, with sheaths, these pairs being what are considered by botanists as 

 abortive shoots, as already mentioned, p. 2108. The nursery treatment of 



