282 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. 2. There are of the Fir two principal species ; the Picea, or Male, 

 """"^^'^"^ which is the bigger tree, very beautiful and aspiring, and of an harder 

 wood, and hirsute leaf ; and the Silver Fir, or Female. I begin with the 

 p I R first : The boughs whereof are flexible and bending ; the cones de- 

 pendent, long, and smooth, growing from tlie top to the branch ; and 

 where gaping, yet retain the seeds in their receptacles, when fresh 



This grows naturally in most parts of North America, where it is called ihe White or Masting 

 Pine, and is one of the tallest trees of all the species ; often growing a hundred feet high in 

 these countries. Of this tree the best masts are made, and Dr. Douglass, in his "Historical 

 and Poliiical Summary of the British Settlements in North America," says, that upon the 

 banks of the river Merimack, in the year 1736, there was cut a White Pine that was seven 

 feet eight inches in diameter at the butt-end. The bark of this tree is very smooth and del.- 

 cate, especially when young ; the leaves are long and slender, five growing out of each sheath ; 

 the branches are pretty closely garnished with them, so make a fine appearance ; the cones 

 are long, slender, and very loose, opening with the first warmth of tiie spring, so that if they 

 are not gathered in winter, tiie scales open, and let out the seeds. As the wood of this tree 

 was generally thought of great service to the navy, there was a law made in the ninth year 

 of Queen Anne fof the preservation of the trees, and to encourage their growth in America ; 

 it is not much above half a century since these trees began to be propagated in England in 

 any plenty, though there were some large trees of this sort growing in two or three places 

 long before, particularly at Lord Weymouth's, and Sir Wyndliam KnatchbuU's in Kent; and 

 it has been chiefly from the seeds of the latter that the greatest number of these trees now in 

 England have been raised ; for although there have annually been some of the seeds brought 

 from America, yet these have been few in comparison to the produce of the trees in Kent; 

 and many of the trees which have been raised from the seeds of those, now produce plenty 

 of good seeds, particularly the trees in the gardens of his Grace the Duke of Argyll at 

 Whitton, which annually produce large quantities of cones. This sort, and the Scotch Pine, 

 are the best worth cultivating of ail the kinds for the sake of their wood ; the others may be 

 planted for variety in parks, &c. where they make a good appearance in winter, when other 

 trees are destitute of leaves. 



3, PINUS ("pinfaJ foliis geminis ; primordialibus solitariis ciliatis. Lin. Sp. PL 1419. 



Pine-tree with two leaves coming out of each sheath, and the Jirsi leaves single. Pinus sativa. 

 C. B. P. 490. The cultivated Pine-tree, commonly called The stone pine. 



The Stone Pine is a tree of which there should be a few in all plantations of ever-greens. It will 

 grow to a considerable height, and arises with a straight and fair stem, though with a rough 

 bark. The leaves contribute to the diversifying of the scene, as they differ in colour from 

 the other sorts, and are arranged in a different manner. The cones which it bears are large 

 and turbinated ; they strike the eye by their bold appearance when hanging on the trees, and 

 when closely examined, exhibit a beautiful arrangement of scales. They produce a kernel 

 as sweet to the taste as an almond, with a slight flavour of the turpentine. This tree is a 

 native of Italy, where the kernels are served up in deserts at the table ; they were formerly 

 kept in the shops, and thougiit to be salutary in colds, coughs, and consumptions. The 

 Stone Pine may be sawed into good boards, though the timber is generally allowed not to be 



