440 CONIFERS. 



years 1 growth, had reached a height of thirty-three feet 

 and a circumference of nearly four feet, was hroken off 

 in this manner, and the appearance of the crown of the 

 root was similar to that represented in the figure. 



To succeed and become an ornamental tree the Pinaster 

 requires room and air on every side, and it is, therefore, in 

 vain to place it in mixed plantations, as it either dies in its 

 infancy, choked by its more hardy and enduring neigh- 

 bours, or lingers for a few years, a feeble and unsightly 

 object. Even when planted in masses by itself, the young 

 trees, when first put in, ought to stand at least from eight 

 to twelve feet apart, and should afterwards be thinned out 

 as soon as they interfere with or touch each other. 



Greatly, therefore, as we admire the Pinaster for its 

 massive and clustered foliage, its bold form, and the rich 

 appearance of its large nut-brown cones, we consider that, 

 upon soils not expressly adapted to its habit, it would be 

 more advantageous and satisfactory to substitute some of 

 the other species of a similar character in regard to foliage 

 and general effect, such as Pinus laricio, Pinus pallasiana, 

 or Pinus Austriaca, which have the additional advantage of 

 being more hardy in their constitution and of producing 

 timber of a superior description, reserving the Pinaster 

 as a tree wherewith to shelter and adorn maritime sandy 

 tracts, upon which it is known to flourish, and where few 

 other trees can be made to succeed. 



It possesses an extensive distribution throughout the 

 south of Europe, occupying a zone considerably lower than 

 the Pinus sylvestris. In Spain it is an abundant s])ecies, 

 and in the maritime districts of the south of France covers 

 a large extent of surface, but it cannot be cultivated, with 

 a view to profit, to the north of Paris. It is, also, common 

 to Italy and Switzerland, to Greece and the western parts 



