56 PLANTING 



Betiila alba, or the common birch tree, is worthy of a place in 

 ornamental plantations. Mr. Gilpin says of it, that *' The stem 

 being straight, the bark smooth and white, and the foliage neat, the 

 birch has a picturesque appearance, when properly placed, in orna- 

 mental plantations ; either in the openings here and there, to show 

 the foliage and hanging down of the twigs, or within, to display its 

 silvery bark through the gloom." 



Of the numerous tribe of willows there are none, with the ex- 

 ception of Salii' Babijlonica, or the weeping willow, that can come 

 under consideration. This species may be introduced with good 

 effect along the banks of a winding river ; its long slender pendulous 

 branches give it a peculiar character, and render it in such situations 

 a beautiful object ; it is also handsome as a single tree, in many 

 situations. 



Finns, or fir-tree, of which there are about thirty species, are all 

 worthy of cultivation. A fine collection of this genus is to be seen 

 at Dropmore, the seat of Lord Granville, where there is a portion 

 of ground allotted for the purpose, called the Pinery : in this spot 

 are collected most of the species known in this country. 



It would not be doing justice to many of the fine genera of 

 plants already noticed, to enter fully into a detail of all the species of 

 the pine; it is therefore proposed to notice such only as are best 

 known and cultivated, either for ornament or utility. 



