LARCH. J5 



excellent fine crimson colour, which, standing 

 among the green leaves, allure the eyes of the 

 beholders to regard it with the more desire : 

 it also beareth, in natural places, (but not in 

 our land, that I could hear,) small soft cones 

 or fruit, somewhat like unto cypresse nuts, 

 when they are green and close." 



It was not likely that this tree should have 

 been cultivated during the commonwealth, 

 which was the age for destroying our forest 

 timber ; but at the Restoration of Charles the 

 Second, Evelyn stood forth as the champion 

 of the British Sylva, and tells the nation, that 

 there had flourished not long since a larch 

 tree near Chelmsford, in Essex, of good sta- 

 ture, " which," says he, " sufficiently re- 

 proaches our not cultivating so useful a ma- 

 terial for many purposes where lasting and 

 substantial timber is required." 



Mr. Evelyn then tells us that the young 

 larch tree that he had brought up with much 

 care in his garden, was supposed to be dead 

 by his gardener when the leaves fell off, which 

 proves how little the nature of the larch was 

 known in England even at that time. 



Mr. Drummond had some larches planted 

 in Scotland as long back as 1734; and two 

 larches were planted on the lawn of the Duke 

 of AtholPs seat at Dunkeld, in Perthshire, in 



