22 FAMILIAR TREES 
contrast to the small wing of the large seed of the 
Stone Pine, an effective mechanism for seed-dispersal. 
It is most important that the. true Corsican Pine. 
should be accurately discriminated from its varieties 
or geographical forms: in few cases, indeed, is what 
is known as “critical” botany of greater practical 
import. Practical experience has shown the typical 
form to be one of our valuable forest trees, while 
some of the other varieties do not share its useful 
characteristics. Thus, J. Nelson, writing as “Johannes 
Senilis ” in 1840, says of it :-— 
“All things considered, it is one of the most valuable and 
generally useful species of the genus Pinus which has yet been 
planted in the British Isles, being thoroughly hardy, sound in con- 
stitution, of tolerably large dimensions, and of a very rapid and 
regular growth; and will not only grow, but will produce both 
quantity and quality of timber equal to any and superior to many of 
its congeners, when grown under the same conditions. We have it 
in almost every description of loam, clay, sand, gravel, peat, and 
compound earths—all, of course, made sweet and healthy by efficient 
drainage; and in situations the most sheltered and exposed, in mari- 
time and inland localities, on high and low altitudes, and everywhere 
—unless, indeed, in close, soft peat and spongy marsh—it is doing 
well. I know of no Pine less subject to the attacks or ravages of 
insects, fungoid enemies, game, or vermin; for frequently have I 
seen its congeners, the Austrian and the Scots Pines, cropped by 
hares, nipped by conies, and disbudded by black cocks and grey 
hens, while the Corsican remained untouched. This; doubtless, is 
accounted for by the peculiarly bitter, aromatic flavour with which 
its sap is impregnated.” 
Mr. John Simpson writes of it that it “ appears to 
have all the good qualities of the Scotch Fir, with the 
advantage that it beats the latter in bulk of timber 
from the first.” 
This most valuable form is distinguished by its 
