442 THE BOOK OF THE LANDED ESTATE. 



it very soon decays when exposed to the varying influences of the 

 weather. There is, therefore, no reason to suppose but that Mr Kennedy 

 may have been perfectly correct in introducing the deodara largely, 

 although some young trees in this country certainly show an inferior 

 class of timber, as nearly all young trees of any description will do ; 

 yet when it comes to a considerable age, it may prove itself a first-class 

 producer of timber, and at all events, if not so hard and durable as the 

 oak, it will probably be equally as good as the larch. It is a hardy tree 

 in our climate, and I consider it worthy of being more extensively 

 cultivated. I have planted a good number on the estate of Wass 

 some on a light loam soil with a stiff clay subsoil, but which has been 

 drained, and there the trees are doing well ; others I have planted on 

 a thin rocky soil, at an elevation of six hundred feet above sea-level, 

 and they are also growing fast. From the nature of the soil and 

 district in which they are found growing naturally, it may safely be 

 said that they will thrive best on the limestone, granite, and mica- 

 slate formations, provided the sites are not too much exposed, and 

 out of the influence of the sea-breeze, which they will not stand. 

 So far as my experience goes, the deodar has not had sufficient justice 

 done it in this country. Its side branches have been cut in with the 

 view of improving the leading shoot, and all this cutting and pruning 

 does it more harm than good, in my opinion. We should take the 

 tree as we receive it, and allow it ample room to develop itself, leaving 

 the remainder to nature ; and then it would have as fair a chance as it 

 has in its own native mountains, although, no doubt, our cold climate 

 is against it to a certain degree. 



Araucaria imbricata (Chili Pine, Pavor).- This is a native of the 

 mountains of Chili, where it is often found growing one hundred and 

 fifty feet high. It is of a dark-green colour, and very ornamental 

 iinique in its appearance, and this renders it a very attractive tree. It 

 was introduced in 1776. When young, the branches clothe the trunk 

 in whorls down to the ground. This tree has been planted extensively 

 in Britain, and it has proved hardy. In this climate it is a highly 

 ornamental tree, and there is some likelihood of its becoming a timber- 

 tree. 



Cupressus Lawsoniana (Murray). This is a native of California, where 

 it reaches a height of about one hundred feet, and two feet in diameter. 

 It is a beautiful, graceful, and delicate-looking tree ; the foliage is of a 

 sea-green colour, and it is very hardy. It is usually found growing in 

 the neighbourhood of rivers and streams in California. It was dis- 

 .covered in 1854, and a few of the first plants grown in this country 

 were reared in the nurseries of Messrs Peter Lawson & Son of Edinburgh, 



