REPORT OF THE MEETINGS FOR 1897 147 



Appendix III. 



Note on Fitzroya patagonica (Sir J. D. Hooker), at Belsay 

 Castle. By Geokge Bolam, F.Z.S., Berwick. 



This is a tree so seldom met with in the country, especially 

 of such considerable dimensions, that the following information 

 respecting the Belsay specimens, kindly supplied by Sir Arthur 

 E. Middleton, Bart., will prove of interest. In reply to my 

 inquiry, Sir Arthur wrote on 14th June 1897. 



"The specimen of Fitzroya you saw was planted about 

 1853. It is now 21 feet high, and measures 2 feet in girth at 

 3 ft. 6 in. from the ground. It grows in the sandstone quarry 

 refuse, and has been watched, and when inclined to make 

 two leaders, one has been pruned off. We have two other 

 specimens, cuttings I think from the first-named tree. They 

 have not been taken care of, and have developed many leaders, 

 and have bushy tops, but they are nearly as high as the 

 parent plant. It is possible that they are all from cuttings, 

 and that that is the reason why they do not make good leading 

 shoots. They are bearing a quantity of female flowers, in the 

 shape of young cones, of which I enclose a bunch. I see no sign 

 of staminate flowers. I read a few years ago, in one of the 

 gardening papers, (probably the " Gardener's Chronicle ") a 

 paragraph saying that the correspondent had specimens of 

 Fitzroya growing well in the rubbish of a sandstone quarry, 

 and that he knew others doing well in similar situations. 

 These here are all growing in sandstone rubbish. They are 

 very hardy, the frost does not affect them at all, so that, 

 given the quarry rubbish, I have no doubt they might be 

 grown anywhere in Northumberland, due care being taken to 

 prune out the superfluous leading shoots." 



On referring to Yeitch's " Manual of the Coniferse," we 

 find that the Fitzroya patagonica was only introduced to this 

 country about the year 1849, so that the large specimen at Belsay 

 must be amongst the oldest in the kingdom, as it is no doubt also 

 one of the largest. As far as is known all the plants at present 

 growing in Great Britain are females, pointing to the pro- 

 bability that all have originated from cuttings from the 

 original stock, and the staminate flowers are unknown in 

 this country, except as dried herbarium specimens. 



