VALUE IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS OF INTRODUCED CONIFERS. 83 



measured by the owner, Sir James H. Gibson Craig, Bart., and 

 found to have grown 53 ft. in height in the last twelve years, or an 

 average of 4 ft. 6 in. annually — a most remarkable growth, and 

 showing what the tree can do in fair soil under good treatment. 

 The late Baronet of Eiccarton, Sir James's father, was a lead- 

 ing member of the Oregon Association, and the collection at 

 Eiccarton, which has always been tended with the greatest care, 

 is at present the finest in the county, and contains many beautifiil 

 specimens of new and rare Conifers. The next tallest tree 

 is at Dolphinton, a high-lying estate at the south end of the 

 Pentland hills, where the owner, John Ord Mackenzie, Esq., 

 an enthusiastic admirer of Conifers, has grown them with great 

 success for many years, and his Abies grandis is 68 ft. high and 

 5 ft. 5 in. in girth. The tree with the thickest stem in Scotland 

 grows at Poltalloch, Argyllshire, and girths 7 ft. 9 in., with a 

 height of 64 ft. The tallest tree in the English record is at 

 Eevesby, 70 ft. high and 6 ft. 6 in. in girth ; and the one with 

 the thickest stem is at Golden Grove, which girths 7 ft. 8 in. 

 and is 60 ft. high. This tree seems specially well suited for 

 Ireland, where it grows with great vigour and makes a fine 

 clean straight stem. The tallest recorded is at Carton, Kildare, 

 80 ft. high and 6 ft. in girth ; and the thickest stem is at 

 Curraghmore, Waterford, 8 ft. in girth and 68 ft. high. Planted 

 side by side with the Douglas Fir at The Cairnies, on a poor 

 moorish soil and tilly subsoil, it is now, at thirty years of age, 

 slightly the superior both in height and girth. As a timber tree 

 it will undoubtedly take a front place among the Firs. 



Abies magnifica is in truth a stately tree, and one of the 

 handsomest of all the taller-growing Conifers for ornamental 

 purposes. We are indebted to Jeffrey for its introduction in 1851, 

 through the Oregon Association, from that fertile region of 

 majestic Conifers — North-west America. No doubt, owing to 

 the source through which it first arrived in Britain, it is much 

 more common in Scotland than in England or Ireland, but its 

 desirable qualities as a decorative tree are appreciated by all who 

 have seen the many fine specimens scattered over the North, and 

 it will yet become a popular tree all over the country. Like 

 several of the beautiful Firs, the native habitat of which extends 

 over several degrees of latitude in North America, this species 

 exhibits considerable variety in habit, according to the locality 



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