554? Hints on tJie Disease 



from hopeless. This stage of the subject, however, I reserve for 

 some future communication ; and, in the mean time, confine 

 my remarks to what has been termed pumping. 



The cause of pumping, hke that of canker, I believe to 

 be mismanagement in cultivation ; and though here, also, a 

 cure is hopeless where the disease has established itself in any 

 individual tree, prevention is in the power of the assiduous 

 planter. I have already stated, that, amongst the original 

 larches (that is, such trees as were planted previously to the 

 commencement of the second era), disease is unknown. May 

 not this be accounted for from the nature of the treatment 

 which plants supposed to be of delicate constitution might re- 

 ceive ? From this circumstance, there is just reason to suppose 

 that great attention was observed ; that the plants were trans- 

 planted, and, perhaps, retransplanted ; and not finally planted 

 out until they had attained a considerable altitude, and were 

 in some measure in possession of the perfecting capabilities. 

 By means of transplanting and retransplanting, previously to 

 the final removal, an effectual check would be given to that 

 vigorous growth so natural to young trees ; a less extensive 

 layer of young wood would be deposited, such as our short 

 and often cold summer is capable of converting into hard 

 durable timber. What tends to give these observations a 

 colouring of truth is the fact (if my information is correct), 

 that pumping has begun amongst the larch that were planted 

 in the second era, about Dunkeld ; whilst the original trees 

 are still perfectly sound. It then appears that, in this era, 

 the planters made the first false step aside from that path of 

 cautious and guarded treatment which was observed by their 

 more fortunate predecessors of the former period. They 

 having ascertained that the tree was more hardy than was at 

 first supposed, it was planted out in considerable numbers 

 from the nursery lines, one year transplanted ; a few, perhaps, 

 of them from the two-years' seedling-bed. At this tender age, 

 no check was experienced by the plants at removal ; they 

 struck down their roots at once, and rushed away in growth 

 with surprising rapidity. The proprietor, delighted at the 

 progress which they made, calculated upon a rich harvest for 

 posterity, little dreaming that decay had commenced the work 

 of devastation by the very cause which excited his fond an- 

 ticipations, a too rapid growth. 



I have consulted practical men as to disease in lai'ch, 

 all of whom were inclined to blame the soil.* " Oh !" said 



* " The common larch is very soon lost when planted above a sub- 

 stratum of red sandstone. In the vale of the Annan, wherever the sloping 

 banks have a substratum of this rock, or one composed of a sort of red 



