l'eOOLE FORESTIEEE DES BARRES. 123 



grown. The principal lot has been raised from seed furnished by Mr 

 James Eeid, a highly esteemed nurseryman in Aberdeen. 



" Of all the lots of sylvestris in the school, this is perhaps the most 

 difficult to class. It does not conform itself well to any of the divisions 

 which I have established. It shows an intermixtui'e of elongated 

 pyramidals, but these in but a small proportion, and of expanded pyra- 

 midal, some regular, others with strong gourmandes crowns, and 

 finally, of those of the race of Geneva, with horizontal branches ; the 

 bark in a pretty great number of specimens is of a questionable red 

 mixed with grey, a slightly preponderating proportion approach more 

 to the expanded pyramidal type than the others, and those I class 

 amongst the last lots of that division, in which I have been influenced 

 by this, that notwithstanding the extreme diversity seen in them 

 the Scotch firs have pretty generally the vertical trunks, and the crowns 

 of these, though strong, are rarely deformed by gourmandes as in the 

 Haguenau. In regard to quality this is upon the whole rather good 

 than bad. 



" Such is the estimate as exact as I could form it of the principal 

 lot of Scotch firs at Barres. I must however repeat what I have said 

 elsewhere, and speaking only of those trees which I have under my eyes, 

 I do not intend by any means to express an opinion in regard to all 

 the pines on Scottish soil, nor even of those of the county of Aberdeen 

 whence these were obtained." 



The Scotch firs, raised from seed furnished by M. Malcolm, and also 

 lots, consisting one of the ordinary pines, and the other of the 

 horizontal pine of Eui'ope, which he has classed here, were all too 

 imperfect to wan-ant the expression of an opinion in regard to them. 



Of the trees raised from the seed of a pyramidal specimen grown 

 at Verri^res, and of another lot which he has classed among the lots 

 intermediate between the first section and the second connecting 

 itself with the first by its habit, and with the second by its bark, 

 he says : 



" These were planted with a special view to determine by experi- 

 ment if the natural variation seen in individual trees would reproduce 

 themselves in their descendants in proportions so considerable that 

 there might be deduced from this useful applications in practice. It 

 is generally so in nature, but all species do not comport themselves 

 absolutely the same in this respect, and one cannot be assured in 

 regard to how it will happen with each but by direct proof. 



" This I had in my power to try with two trees of very diflferent 



