ISO Account of some remarkable Trees 



of Lebanon, with their superb, horizontal, cloud-like branches. 

 I think that. the upright evergreen cypress is shamefully neg- 

 lected : no tree, when placed judiciously, adds more to the beauty 

 of the scene than this does; and it is much to be regretted that 

 it is not more frequently planted. See how finely Martin avails 

 himself of it in some of his beautiful illustrations of Milton's 

 Paradise Lost. 



Fmus Vicea L. [A^bies Vicea'], Silver Fir. No. 1. — I cannot 

 consent to divide the grand natural genus Pinus, by making use 

 of modern terms ; but give their old familiar names. Circum- 

 ference, 12 ft. 2 in. ; height, 90 ft.; elevation above the level of 

 the sea, about 600 ft. ; soil, sharp loam ; substratum, red sand- 

 stone, 



Phius Vicea. No. 2. — Circumference, 1 1 ft. 9 in. ; height, 

 100 ft. ; elevation above the level of the sea, 700 ft. ; soil, sandy 

 peat; substratum, flint and sandstone. 



The wind dispersing the seeds from a fine group of these 

 trees, several thousands of seedlings have sprung up, spreading 

 over a surface of many acres ; where they are vigorously making 

 their way upwards among the surrounding plantations : thus 

 forming a most beautiful verdant underwood in places where, 

 owing to the height and thickness of the original trees, no other 

 kind of undergrowth could exist. I measured one of these seed- 

 lings, and found it to be 35 ft. high, and 4 ft. 2 in. in circum- 

 ference. There are, indeed, many thousands of them from the 

 height of 6 in. up to 35 ft.; some of which have actually esta- 

 blished themselves upon the extreme summit of Haldon, a barren 

 exposed heath. The group from which I have selected the 

 above specimen stands on the north-east end of Haldon ; the 

 soil, now covered for many acres with thriving trees of various 

 sorts, was originally thin and poor, the substratum being nearly 

 all flint and green sandstone, with a thin covering of peat. We 

 thus have here a striking proof of the great benefits arising from 

 planting poor and comparatively valueless soils; for a surface of 

 full 4 in., and in many cases 6 in., of rich black vegetable mould 

 has been gradually formed by the fall and decay of the leaves 

 for many years : thus spreading, over a surface of many acres of 

 a previously poor district, a rich and valuable coating of the 

 essence of vegetation, which would require another Deluge before 

 it could be scoured away. 



The plantation thus alluded to is fully exposed to the north, 

 north-east, and easterly winds. On the summit of the hill, 

 800 ft. above the level of the sea, stands an obelisk, erected, in 

 IV'iS, by Thomas Ball, Esq., the then proprietor of this magni- 

 ficent demesne, " out of a regard to the safety of such as might 

 use to sail out of the port of Exon; or any others who might be 

 driven out to sea." This obelisk commands an extensive and 

 p'lorious view over a tract of country rarely, if ever, equalled in 



