578 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 
from which these trees grew might have been brought from Norway in early times ; 
and Sir H. Howorth suggests that the existence of the Capercaillie, whose bones 
have been found in Tertiary deposits in the eastern counties, would have been 
impossible unless either pines or spruce existed to feed them in winter. 
The Rev. Leonard Blomfield read a paper before the Bath Antiquarian Field 
Club on December 9, 1885, in which he tried to prove that the numerous Scots pines, 
now growing in the neighbourhood of Bournemouth,’ are descended from aboriginal 
trees; and gave the following list of names of places in England in which the word 
fir occurs, indicating that these localities were in early days probably noted for woods 
of Pinus sylvestris :—Firbank in Westmoreland ; Furbecke or Firbeck, and Firbie or 
Firby, in Yorkshire; Furbie, Firby, or F irsby in Lincolnshire; Furcombe in the 
parish of Farnborough, Berkshire; Furle or Furleigh in Pevensey Rape, Sussex ; 
Furland, a tithing of Crewkerne in Somerset; and Furland Hill, between Brixham 
and Dartmouth. 
Loudon, p. 2167, says that the tree only began to be planted in Britain about 
the end of the seventeenth century ; but the following extract from a letter’ of James 
I. to the Earl of Mar, dated Oct. 30, 1621, shows that the introduction of the Scots 
pine into England was earlier. 
“The Marquis of Buckinghame, being desirous to have firre trees planted 
aboute his house at Burleigh on the Hille, hath earnestlie requested us to cause him 
to be furnished as well with the seede as with young trees, which his desire wee 
willinglie wold have performed with all expedition. And because wee know none 
who so readilie can give us satisfaction in this pointe as your selfe, we have thoughte 
good by these presentes to require you with all expedition to cause some store of 
seede to be gathered eyther in your owne boundes or in those of the Marquis of 
Huntlie, where it may be soonest had, and so soone as possiblie may be, sende a 
man of purpos to Burleigh on the Hille with so much of the freshest and fairest 
thereof as convenientlie may be caried. And that yee cause sette downe in writing 
at what time and in what kinde of grounde the same is to be sowed, and with the 
maner of sowing thereof; also when the time of year is fitting for removing and 
setting of plantes and young trees. Yee shall likewise sende one to Burleigh with 
four or five thousand of them, with the like instructions of time, place, and maner of 
setting and preserving.” . 
There is no reference to these trees in the Hustory of Burley on the Hill, 
published in 1901 ; and enquiries have elicited no information, except that there are 
now on the estate six or eight Scots firs, which are not more than 25 feet high. A 
local woodman, about 60 years of age, whose father was woodman before him, never 
heard of the existence of old pines at Burley. 
The common Gaelic word for Pine is gius. It occurs in a few Scottish names of 
places, as Craiggush, Kingussie Altnaguish, Dalguise. This word is commonly 
used for pine also in Ireland, and och¢ach occurs in books. In spite of the wide 
prevalence in ancient times of pine in Ireland, place-names with either of these words 
1 The submerged pine forest on the sea-coast at Bournemouth is described by Sir C. Lyell in Principles of Geology, ii. 
536 (1872). 
2 Historical MSS. Commission, Report on MSS. of Earl of Mar, p. 103 (1904). 
