CONIFETl.^. 89 



This Fir I take as the prototype or representative of the S.D. 

 Larix, and excepting the Chinese form, Amahilis, — it is the most beau- 

 tiful tree in the group. Of its varieties, the only ones worth notice 

 are Alha, the white, and its many varieties ; and Rubra, the red, and 

 its suh- varieties ; but aH of these only differ from the species in the 

 colour of the flowers and cones when young. There is also a Pendula, 

 (pendent-branched,) Nana, (very dwarf,) and Rustica, (the rustic, or 

 monstrous-branched variety.) No tree ever introduced into this country 

 has been more extensively planted, and none has more quickly repaid 

 the planter for capital and interest ; which fact, doubtless, is the true 

 cause of the Larch Fir mania, which for some time ran so high, and 

 which reached its culminating point about the beginning of the present 

 century, when its merits were so highly extolled, its accommodating 

 nature so freely abused, its rapid growth so injudiciously accelerated by 

 every description of artificial stimulants ; for Larch ! Larch ! ! Larch ! ! ! 

 was the arboriculture password from Land's End to John O'Groat's ; 

 and even our antiquarians and botanic pedants became affected with 

 raving symptoms, and referred us to the world-renowned woods of our 

 venerated and enduring Cedrus Deodara, as the lignine produced by 

 Larix Europcea. Theory and practice, however, did not here agree; 

 and practice in this, as in many other departments of the cultural arts, 

 has put theory to the blush ; for we are now returning to the paths of 

 moderation and common sense, and even descanting upon certain causes 

 which have produced certain effects, which are popularly comprehended 

 under the heading, "Larch Disease;" a subject now so thoroughly 

 hackneyed that it has become perfectly nauseous. I hold, and have 

 always held, that the Larch is not only delicate in its constitution, but, 

 to use. a familiar phrase, likewise predisposed to scorbutic disease, or 

 that it is what might be termed a scrofulous-juiced Fir, Yes ; even in 

 its pristine beauty, in its native habitats, and when in its best 

 health, the symptoms of this disease will be found, and in such a 

 degree as to be unmistakably visible, oozing to the tree's surface, 

 whether in bark or foliage, and, as a matter of course, circulating 

 throughout the entire system of the plant. Need we wonder, then, 

 that this tree, so constituted, from such a climate, and such soils and 

 altitudes, and treated as it has been since its introduction into this 

 country : planted indifferently in any kind of soil, in any situation ; 

 the demand for it for a time far exceeding the suj^ply ; every means 

 resorted to to obtain seed, no matter from Avliat tree, altitude, or soil; 

 no questions asked, nor instructions given the collectors as to quality, 



