109 



Some varieties of pine are much more subject to 

 produce cockscombed crowns than others. The Pro- 

 vidence and Enville appears more subject to it than 

 most other varieties. The Queen varieties are but 

 rarely subject to such deformity ; at least we have not 

 observed such to be the case. 



Very Large Crowns are not admired, and to 

 obtain smaller ones, under the circumstances of a 

 very high temperature, combined with a very consider- 

 able amount of atmospheric moisture, artificial means 

 must be resorted to occasionally. These means are, 

 in the first place, to pierce, or screw out by a small 

 instrument, the centre of the sucker, soon after the 

 pine has done blossoming : another plan, that has 

 been successfully practised at Oakhill, is to thrust a 

 penknife through the base of the crown, about the 

 same period as that before named. Such treatment 

 will check the size of the crown ; but leads occasion- 

 ally to distortion, unless the process has been very 

 tenderly performed. This consequent distortion is, 

 or ought to be, as a matter of taste, more unsightly 

 than the large crown. The most reasonable way after 

 all of keeping the crown in check, so as to avoid dis- 

 tortion, seems to be to give air more freely, to avoid 

 extremes of temperature and of moisture in periods of 

 comparative darkness, and to persist in coupling high 

 temperature with much solar light. Whatever condi- 

 tion of atmosphere draws," technically speaking, 



