F O R E S T - T R E E S. 137 



year old, and drawing them, to proper diflances. This perhaps 

 a gentleman's gardener of reflection may be prevailed on to do, 

 but many nurferymen will, I am afraid, hardly fubmit to making 

 what they may think fo great a facrifice, as throwing away a 

 great number even of bad plants to procure a fevv^ good ones. 



It has been an old difpute, which ftlll fubfifts, whether there 

 are more forts than one of the Scots Pine or Fir, and 'tis com- 

 monly afferted, that the difference we fee in the wood when cut 

 down and polifhed, is owing only to the age of the tree, or the 

 quality of the foil where it grew ; but this affertion I am obliged 

 to believe is not juft, and proceeds from want of fufEcient obfer- 

 vation, as I have feen many Fir trees cut clown of equal age in 

 the fame fpot, where fome were white and fpungy, others red 

 and hard, which to me appears evident, that there arc two di- 

 ftindl fpecies of them ; and indeed the difference of colour may 

 eafily be difcovered by any one who walks through a new- 

 prun'd plantation even of young trees. But having dwelt long 

 enough on the Scots, it now becomes necelfary to review fome 

 of the other and more beautiful kinds of Pines, 



The fecond, third, fourth, fifth, fixth, feventh, and eighth 

 forts, may all be propagated after the fame manner. Thofe have 

 carroty deep roots with few fibres, which makes it indefpenfibly 

 neceffary to remove them at one year old, when their roots arc 

 tender, and will more readily admit of being fliortened than 

 when older, very few of them fucceeding at removal from the 

 feed-bed above that age. This being the cafe, you muft endea- 

 vour to make the plants as ftrong as pofTible the nrft year. The 

 feeds of thefe Pines do not rife near fo foon as thofe of Scots, 



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