994 



PBAGTIGAL GUIDE TO GABDEN PLANTS 



PINUS 



is very rarely met with. It is said to be 

 a difficult Conifer to transplant, on aoeount 

 of its long bare roots, and the best plants 

 are those from seeds which have been 

 sown in permanent positions in deep dry 

 sandy soil. Seedhngs should never be 

 allowed to go more than one year before 

 transplanting. There are a few good 

 specimens here and there, that at HeweU. 

 Grange, Warwickshire, the seat of Lord 

 Windsor, being probably the finest. It is 

 a grand tree, nearly 90 years old and 

 70 ft. or more high. Other good speci- 

 mens are at Woodstock, Kilkenny, and at 

 the Earl of Aberdeen's, Haddo House, 

 N.B. 



P. Pinea (P. maderensis). — Parasol 

 or Stone Pine. — A native of both sides of 

 the Mediterranean, attaining a height of 

 50-60 ft. in Greece, where its seeds form 

 an extensive article of commerce. It is a 

 picturesque Pine, with spreading branches 

 and branchlets chiefly confined to the top, 

 giving the appearance of a huge umbrella. 

 The deep green stifflsh leaves are half 

 cylindrical, about 6 in. long, with slightly 

 rough edges. The cones are 4-6 in. long 

 and about 3 in. in diameter, composed of 

 stout hard woody scales ending in a re- 

 curved bluntish prickle. 



Culture and Propagation. — The Stone 

 Pine is rather slow in growth, and, more- 

 over, somewhat tender, so that it should 

 be planted only in warm localities, shel- 

 tered or screened by hardier trees firom 

 bleak winds. 



P. ponderosa (P. bentharrdana ; P. 

 hrachyptera ; P. Beardsleyi ; P. parry- 

 ana; P. s'molairiana).—A gigantic Pine, 

 native of California, where it reaches a 

 height of 200-300 ft. with a trunk 12-15 

 ft. in diameter, but much smaller in some 

 localities. It has thick horizontally 

 spreading braaches in distant whorls, and 

 flexible, sometimes twisted, more or less 

 glaucous leaves 8-12 in. long, 3-angled 

 and flattish. Cones ovoid, 3-6 in. long, 

 with scales ending in a short spine. There 

 are many good specimens in the British 

 Islands, that at Linton Park, Maidstone, 

 about 45 years old and 65 ft. high, being 

 one of the best ; it has «, bare stem for 

 20 ft. up. 



Culture lie. as above, p. 990. 



P. pyrenaica (P. Brutia; P. carica ; 

 P. paroUniana). — Calabrian Pine. — ^A 

 handsome, quick-growing tree with a 



pyramidal outline, native of the Pyrenees, 

 where it grows 60-80 ft. high. It has 

 numerous close- set branches and thin 

 smooth leaves about 4 in. long. Cones 

 about 2^ in. long, slightly curved and 

 tapering to a point and borne in dense 

 clusters. It grows 30-40 ft. high in the 

 British Islands. 



Culture do. as above, p. 990. 



P. sabiniana {Nut Pine). — A native 

 of the Califomian Sierras at an elevation 

 of 4000 ft., forming a large tree 80-100 ft. 

 high with a trunk 2-4 ft. in diameter. It 

 has a loose, widely branching habit and 

 thin flexible glaucous-blue slightly twisted 

 leaves, rounded on the outer, prominently 

 ribbed on the inner side, and 8-12 in. long, 

 drooping in handsome loose curved tassels. 

 The cones are 5-8 in. long, and almost as 

 thick, and of a rich chocolate-brown colour, 

 protected by the strong recurved hooks of 

 the scales. The Indians prize the seeds 

 highly as an article of food, but they have 

 to roast the cones before the bracts or 

 scales wiU open sufficiently to allow the 

 hard-shelled seeds to fall out. 



Culture amd Propagation. — The Nut 

 Pine flourishes in sandy loam, and should 

 be grown in warm sheltered spots. It 

 makes an excellent lawn tree owing to its 

 pyramidal habit and drooping tassels of 

 glaucous leaves. Some of the best speci- 

 mens in cultivation are only about half 

 the height recorded for wild trees. 



P. Strobas {Weymouth Pine). — A fine 

 North American tree, 80-170 ft. high in a 

 wild state, with a trunk 4-12 ft. in dia- 

 meter. It has soft slender leaves 3-5 in. 

 long, pale green, striped with silver. The 

 cones are 6-8 in. long, cylindrical, taper- 

 ing, sUghtly curved, with smooth scales 

 thickened at the apex. The variety najm 

 is a small, compact, bushy shrub with 

 short slender branches and leaves. Alba, 

 argentea, or nivea has more or less erect 

 spreading leaves, deep green when fuUy 

 developed, but of a beautiful silvery white 

 when young. Other varieties are known 

 as compacta, densa, fastigiata and pro- 

 strata, all names referring to peculiarity 

 in habit of growth. 



The Weymouth Pine is not only 

 valuable as an ornamental tree, but of 

 late years it has been regarded as one 

 of the finest of timber-producing trees. 

 It derives its popular name from the fact 

 that it was extensively planted, soon after 

 it was first introduced in 1705, by Lord 



