THE PINE TREE. 159 
Mr. Don’s description of the cones of No. 1 accords exactly 
with that of the third or fourth generations of the tree 
degenerated by cultivation away from its native soil and 
climate, in which case its cones are always long and tapering, 
while the more pure the tree is, as in its native locality, the 
shorter, rounder, and lighter in colour are the cones ; so distinct 
in appearance that any seed-collector of experience has not the 
smallest difficulty in knowing at once from their appearance 
whether they are gathered from the native Highland forests 
or from degenerate plantations. Cones are always most 
abundant on the latter. Though Mr. Don’s description of the 
trees as they appear is very correct; though he speaks of the 
“defect” and “decline” of the Scotch fir, and recommends 
the cultivation of the well-marked variety ; and though his 
remarks have been of great use in directing notice to the tree, 
yet it does not appear distinctly that he attributed the defect 
to degeneracy, but to the cultivation of a bad variety, although 
he adds, “May I here be allowed to conjecture that the fir 
woods, which formerly abounded in every part of Scotland, 
and the trees which arrived at a large size, had been of this 
the best variety ?” 
Several instances are known of plantations grown from 
seeds during last century from the celebrated native forests 
on the Spey, and although they occupy soil of various quali- 
ties, the timber in all these woods has been famed for its 
quality, while, in several instances, adjoining woods of the 
same age, and on the same description of soil, grown from 
degenerate plantations, yielded wood very inferior ; the march 
boundary of the lands sometimes forming the line between 
the good and the bad timber. 
Botanists generally agree that none of the differences which 
the tree assumes are sufficiently distinct and permanent to 
constitute a specific character; but of this tree, Loudon, in 
the Arboretum Britannicum, justly remarks, page 2150, “The 
reason why we wish to keep every variety and sub-variety as 
distinct as possible is, that in the practice of arboriculture, 
whether for useful or ornamental purposes, a variety is often 
