VALUE IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS OF INTRODUCED CONIFERS. 89 



It thrives fairly well in many parts of the country, especially 

 in Ireland and in sheltered places along the western shores of 

 Great Britain, preferring a moist climate and a well- drained soil. 

 It is a useful and very effective ornamental tree, but its progress 

 so far in this country does not give evidence that it will ever 

 attain with us the important position it occupies among timber 

 trees in China and Japan. The tallest tree recorded in the 

 United Kingdom grows at Coollattin, and is 67 ft. high and 5 ft. 

 in girth; another, on Fota Island, is 56 ft. high and 3 ft. 6 in. in 

 girth ; while the third, in Ireland, is at Powerscourt, 48 ft. high 

 and 7 ft. 6 in. in girth. The finest in England is at Boconnoc, 

 64 ft. high and 7 ft. in girth ; and the tallest in Scotland grows 

 at Eiccarton, and is 43 ft. high and 2 ft. 8 in. in girth ; another, 

 at Keir, Perthshire, being only 6 inches less in height, with a 

 girth of 9 ft. 8 in., the greatest girth recorded. 



Gitpressus Lawsoniana is among the most recent and valuable 

 of all the coniferous trees which have been introduced to Britain 

 from the North-west of America. It was sent home to Messrs. 

 Lawson & Son, Edinburgh, by William Murray in 1854, and 

 as it has proved one of the hardiest, and seeds abundantly, it is 

 now one of the commonest of the newer Conifers, and grows 

 freely in all parts of the country. Having spread from Edinburgh, 

 it naturally found its way over Scotland faster than in the other 

 divisions of the United Kingdom, and we therefore find most 

 of the large and vigorous trees in the North. At Dupplin it is 

 55 ft. high and 4 ft. 3 in. in girth ; Eossie Priory, 55 ft. high and 

 4 ft. in girth ; and Murthly, 50 ft. high and 3 ft. 8 in. in girth. 

 All these are in Perthshire, but numerous trees of 40 to 50 ft. 

 in height, and even greater girth than any of the foregoing, are 

 recorded in most parts of Scotland. The tree with the thickest 

 stem grows at Torloisk, in the Isle of Mull, and girths 8 ft. 6 in., 

 with a height of 34 ft. 6 in. The finest tree in England is at 

 Linton Park, 47 ft. 6 in. high and 4 ft. 5 in. in girth. The finest 

 in Ireland grows at Killarney, and is 46 ft. high and 6 ft. 2 in. in 

 girth. Seeing that the tree has been only thirty-seven years in 

 this country, these figures show a free growth of wood, and the 

 quality of the timber, so far as it has been yet available and 

 tested in Britain, indicates a useful forest tree ; and the orna- 

 mental qualities of its best varieties give it a high value as a 

 decorative Conifer, 



