THE SCOTCH FIR, OR PINE. 369 



from our feet, mellowing as it recedes into the farthest 

 valleys amid the distant hills, climbing their bold sides, 

 and scattering oif in detachments along their steeps like 

 the light troops of some army skirmishing in the van ; 

 and, above all, the bold and determined outlines of 

 Benmachdhuie, that king of British mountains, and his 

 attendant group of native Al]3s, sharply yet softly deli- 

 neated against the sky, look down with silent majesty on 

 all below." 



These mighty forests are indebted for their renewal to 

 the membranous wings with which Pine-seeds are furnished. 

 By help of these the seeds are carried to a great distance 

 by the violent winds to which mountainous tracts are 

 liable, and everywhere find soil enough to supply their 

 slender wants. The rook, too, is one of I^ature's planters 

 of Pine-woods. Porsyth^ tells us that from the Highland 

 forests there come clouds of rooks in search of food, 

 sometimes in such heavy columns as to create alarm 

 among farmers as to where and on what they are to dine ; 

 and if it were not for the Pine, which yields them food as 

 well as lodging, they would soon be called by dishonest 

 names, which they would no doubt deserve. Yet of these 

 clouds of rooks, as they fly high, and glide harmlessly 

 overhead on their homeward passage in autumn evenings, 

 Scotland may be proud ; for these sable birds have had 

 their homes in the Highland glens time out of mind, and 

 have sown the seeds of almost all the Pir- trees that are to 

 be found in the natural forests. It is well known that 

 the rook has a natural propensity to steal away to some 

 lonely quiet place with its booty, such as a Pir-cone or a 

 potato, and there to eat what he can, leaving the rest: 

 which, in the case of the Pine-cone, is just what is 

 necessary for the production of timber ; for the first heavy 

 snow presses the shattered cone, with any seeds that may 

 remain in it, close to the ground, and these seeds, finding 

 themselves in good circumstances as to soil, moisture, and 

 * " Gardeners' Chronicle." 



r3 



