THE LARCH. 



La'rix europw'a DC. 



Though having no. claim whatever to rank as in- 

 digenous, the Larch has been far more extensively 

 cultivated in Scotland and the north of England 

 during the last hundred years than any other tree ; 

 and few trees are, therefore, more familiar to us at 

 the present day. 



Though now so largely grown, it was described by 

 Parkinson, in 1629, as "rare, and nursed up with a 

 few, and those only lovers of variety." In Evelyn's 

 time it was still but seldom seen in cultivation ; and 

 even in 1731, Philip Miller, in his " Gardeners' Diction- 

 ary," can only say " this tree is now pretty common in 

 English gardens." The introduction of the Larch as 

 a forest or timber tree is undoubtedly due to James 

 and John, Dukes of Atholl, between 1727 and 1774. 

 The story goes that the first Larches brought to Scot- 

 land were sent to Duke James, at Dunkeld, in 1727, 

 from Italy, with some Orange-trees, and were accord- 

 ingly planted in' a hot-house. Soon withering under 

 such treatment, they were thought to be dead, and 

 thrown on a rubbish-heap, where they speedily revived 

 and grew into strong trees. The planting operations 

 at Dunkeld and Blair AthoU were so perseveringly 

 carried out by Duke John, between 1774 and 1830, 

 as to cover nearly 10,000 acres with Larch planta- 

 tions, numbering over 14,000,000 trees ; whilst it 



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