4 



PINACEiE. 



CHAPTEE I. 



CULT I VAT 10 If. 



As a sine quel non^ a timber tree, to be adapted for profitable planting 

 in the climate and soils of Great Britain and Ireland, must have a 

 perfectly hardy and sound constitution ; be of large dimension and 

 rapid growth ; produce good and durable wood ; and not be fastidious 

 as to soil or situation. For ornamental planting the tree or shrub, 

 whatever its peculiar beauty or usefulness, must be sufficiently hardy 

 for our climate. The hardiness, rate of growth, and peculiar likes or 

 dislikes of soil and situation of any of the firs and pines can in a few 

 short years after their introduction soon be determined ; not so easily, 

 however, the quality or quantity of the timber they are likely to pro- 

 duce in our various soils and changeable climate. Yet, from the many 

 and trustworthy sources of information which of late years have been 

 afforded us, by the admirable and numerous collections of foreign 

 specimen woods, which were shown at our International Exhibition ; 

 and from our now large and increasing imports of foreign timber, and 

 the very numerous and fast accumulating collections of specimen 

 woods both public and private, we have perfectly reliable data whereby 

 we can form a very correct estimate of the quality and quantity of the 

 timber of most of the firs and pines. 



The first or primary consideration — perfect hardiness — being secured, 

 the next in order is perfect health ; and here we are at the very pith of 

 the matter — the causes which produce the effects which we term 

 success or failure in our introduction and cultivation of the firs and 

 pines. 



JN'o sounder maxim is there in the arboricultural art than that to be 

 successful in our introduction and cultivation of the firs and pines, we 

 must have more than our first essential — perfect hardiness. Our 

 second requisite is perfect health ; and, this secured, we must then see 

 to it that we not only collect but select healthy seed ; this attended to, 

 our next step is the preparation of the seeds to be sown, and the 



