Exotic Conifers in Britain. 



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sixth-tenths in the south of England, and eight-tenths in the 

 north of Scotland, as contrasted with only four-tenths in 

 Austria. 



As regards annual rainfall it may be said that the east of 

 Britain receives 20 to 30 inches, whereas twice this amount falls 

 in the west, some small areas receiving more than 1 50 inches. 

 The larger part of Germany and Austria receives annually 

 about 30 inches of rain, 40 inches falling in the Harz and 

 Carpathians, and 60 inches in some parts of the Tyrol. 



The early introduction of exotic trees into Great Britain was 

 by no means a matter of chance. On the contrary, it was the 

 result of a strong demand on the part of landowners, to satisfy 

 which systematic expeditions were organised, either by (a) 

 existing societies, (J?) special associations, or (c) commercial 

 nurserymen. In all cases, other plants besides trees received 

 attention, though in some cases trees, and especially conifers, 

 were the main object. In 1823 David Douglas was engaged 

 by the Horticultural Society of London, and, after a short visit 

 to the Eastern States of North America, he sailed in 1824 for 

 North- West America, where he remained till 1827. After two 

 years at home, he sailed for California in 1829, and met with 

 a tragic death in the Sandwich Islands on July 12th, 1834. 

 To Douglas we owe . many of our most valuable conifers, 

 e.g., Pinus insignis, P. Coulteri, P. lambertaina, P. monticola, 

 P. ponder osa, Abies amabilis, A. bract eat a, A. grandis, A. nobilis, 

 Picea sitc/iensis, and Pseudotsuga Douglasii. 



It was also the Horticultural Society that sent Theodor 

 Hartweg to North America in 1845, the most notable of 

 whose introductions were Sequoia sempervirens, and Cupressus 

 macrocarpa. 



In 1843 the same society had sent Robert Fortune to China, 

 and to him we owe Cryptomeria japonica and other trees of 

 lesser importance. The cost to the society of despatching 

 collecting expeditions from 1840 to 1846 amounted to 



£3>837 X 3 S - ld - 



In 1849 an association was formed in Edinburgh which had 

 for its object the despatch of a collector to North- West America. 

 This association — known as the Oregon Botanical Expedition — 

 was supported by landowners and nurserymen, chiefly Scotch, 



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