1912-1913-] Edinburgh 's Park and other Trees. 5 



been pretty extensively used in the public parks within the 

 last thirty years or so. It is a vigorous grower and it forms 

 a handsome tree, but it resents interference from other trees, 

 and is therefore only seen at its best when it has ample 

 growing space. The only other willow which may be noted 

 as occurring in the city is the crack willow (S. fragilis), of 

 which there are several old specimens, but it is not such an 

 elegant tree as the white willow. Of the poplars, which are 

 very closely related to the willows, only a few species are 

 well adapted to town planting. About thirty years ago the 

 Ontario poplar (Populus balsamifera, var. candicans) was 

 largely planted in the public parks, but, fortunately, it has 

 mostly disappeared. It is a tree which should never be 

 planted where permanent effect is aimed at, as it soon cankers 

 and becomes very unsightly, and it has few good qualities to 

 recommend it at the best. The black poplars, too, seem to 

 become affected by canker in most parts of the city before 

 they reach middle age, although they are largely used for 

 town planting in London and many of the Continental cities ; 

 but possibly the plants which have been used in Edinburgh 

 are not of the same kind. The most elegant of the more 

 common species is undoubtedly P. alba, the white poplar, 

 and as healthy old specimens of the tree occur in the city, it 

 seems to be a kind which would give better results than any 

 of the others. 



In all cities conifers are disappointing trees, and few 

 succeed well even in the more open parts. In Edinburgh 

 it is only in the suburbs that they occur to any extent, and 

 even there the number of kinds which succeed is very limited. 

 The black Austrian pine and the yew (of the latter of which 

 there are some fine old specimens in Saughton Park) are the 

 two which seem to be best able to hold their own, but the 

 former is the one which thrives best, and it is found all 

 over the less central parts of the city, though none of the trees 

 are of any great age. 



Of the smaller trees, a considerable number of kinds succeed 

 well in Edinburgh, and, strange to say, some of those which 

 succeed best are species which grow naturally in alpine or 

 sub-alpine districts. Eor the most part, they belong to the 

 families Rosacew and Leguminosce, and are chiefly represented 



