94 PARKS AND PLEASURE-GROUNDS. 



duced into tliis country in 1818 by Dr. Govan^ of 

 Cupar, who presented seeds of it to the late General 

 the Earl of Hopetonn, grandfather of the present noble 

 earl. One of the original seedling plants, growing on a 

 lawn in the gardens at Hopetoun House, is now thirty- 

 seven feet high, forming a fine tree, feathered from the 

 ground upwards. This spruce, as weU as many others 

 of the fir tribe, may be grafted with success-^. It is 

 somewhat remarkable that the Himalayan spruce has 

 been found to stand the smoky atmosphere of London 

 better perhaps than any other fir. 



The Larch is now a very common, but also a very 

 valuable tree, for the purposes both of utility and orna- 

 ment. It has the spiry pyramidal form of its class, 

 which, perhaps, is too slight in its proportions when 

 young ; but it acquires a grace and dignity in its broad 

 and vigorous old age. Its main peculiarity in relation 

 to its class is that it sheds its leaves, and its decorative 

 properties reside less in its form than in its beautiful 

 tints, which vary through a wide range with the revolv- 

 ing seasons. 



(3.) Upright or Oblong at ed Trees. — Of these we may 

 enumerate the Lombardy poxDlar, the upright oak [Quer- 

 cus fastigiata stricta), the upright cypress {Cupressus 

 sempervirens) , Irish yew, arbor vitgeTredT^edar, and 

 Swedish juniper. The last five are suitable only for 

 the dressed grounds. 



Trees or shrubs of this form cannot be anywhere 

 extensively planted by the improver. Their peculiar 



* At Hopetotm, in the autumn of 1827, the writer of this work 

 grafted several of the Morinda on the common spruce, at about 

 four feet from the ground: they are now twenty-six feet in 

 height, and apparently as vigorous as if on their own roots. 



