122 A MANUAL OF THE CONIFEBiE. 



a single piece 159 feet in length, 22 inches in diameter at the base, taper- 

 ing to 8 inches at the summit ; its weight is three tons, and it contains 

 157 cubic feet of timber. The tree from which this flagstaff was made, 

 was two hundred and fifty years old, as indicated by its concentric rings.* 



The Douglas Fir thrives generally in Great Britain, except in the 

 extreme north and in wet marshy places where its roots would get 

 water-logged. Its rate of growth differs considerably in different parts 

 of the country. In Cornwall and Devonshire, the average annual growth 

 is quite 30 inches ; in Hampshire and other southern counties it is 

 somewhat less. At an elevation of 600 feet in Perthshire, the observed 

 annual growth of a particular tree was about 18 inches; that of 

 another tree in another part of the same county was found to be 22 

 inches. In the South of Ireland, the rate of growth equals that in 

 Devonshire, and an instance is recorded of a tree in the county of 

 Meath having made an. annual growth of 33 inches. When planted 

 for ornamental purposes, the Douglas Fir should have a clear space 

 with a radius of more than 30 feet assigned to it. In an open place, 

 admitting of a free circulation of air, it is found to retain its lower 

 branches in health and vigour for an almost indefinite period — a cir- 

 cumstance which greatly enhances its value as an ornamental tree. 



The specific name was given to commemorate the services of David 

 Douglas, who successfully introduced the tree into Great Britain. It is 

 called the Ked Fir by the settlers in British Columbia and Oregon. 



Our article on the Douglas Fir would be incomplete without some 

 further notice of him whose name it bears. It has been said that 

 " there is scarcely a spot deserving the name of a garden, either in 

 Europe or in the United States, in which some of the discoveries" of 

 David Douglas do not form the chief attraction." The frequent mention 

 of his name in these pages as the discoverer and introducer of 

 some of the finest Conifers that adorn the lawns and parks of Britain, 

 affords abundant evidence that the above quotation contains very much, 

 if not the whole truth, and that to no single individual is modern 

 'horticulture more indebted than to David Douglas. His untimely end, 

 the unfortunate circumstances that prevented the publication of his 

 journals, together with the length of time that has elapsed since the 

 introduction to gardens of his finest discoveries, have all tended to dim 

 the memory of his great achievements. The noble Fir that properly bears 

 his name will, it is true, perpetuate it to distant ages ; but it is, 

 nevertheless, due to a brave and good man, that something more than 

 the mere name should be kept in remembrance, and therefore, brief 

 and inadequate as it is, the insertion in this place of a sketch of his 

 life needs no apology. 



David Douglas was born at Scone, near Perth, in 1799, where 

 his father was a working mason. He received a plain education at 



* Gardeners' Chronicle, May 11th, 1861. 



