Cultivation of Coniferous Trees. 
15] 
field Court, in Worcestershire, Cupressus goveniana, about 17 
feet high, was, in 1863, covered with clusters of its quaint- 
looking cones ; but from two large seed-pans sown with their 
produce, only one plant was raised. Now, although, these seeds 
may sprout and grow well enough in the border or pot to which 
they are committed, they are the progeny of a tree bearing fruit 
in an abnormal condition ; for in their native habitats, these 
pines take many years to arrive at such maturity as to produce 
healthy and abundant crops of cones ; and they cannot be ex- 
pected, under equally healthy circumstances in this country, to 
produce cones at an earlier age, nor is it prudent to sow the 
seeds of such precocious parents. The cost of importing fresh 
seeds the produce of hardy full-grown trees, will be more than 
compensated by the vigour of the young plants, and their 
after condition will probably be such as to free the species 
from the stigma of being thought unsuited to the climate of 
Britain. 
One word as to the soils which seem best adapted, and have 
since their introduction been found most suitable, for the healthy 
development of these beautiful plants. Most of those in our list 
have thriven best upon an ordinary average loam, of sufficient 
depth to form a bed for their branching rootlets, with a dry 
subsoil. The Abies do not require so deep a soil as the Larix, 
Pinus, Cupressus, Taxodium, or Picea. In too rich soil, they 
are apt to acquire the habit we have mentioned as so pernicious 
to their welfare, of making annually too rapid growths of young 
wood. In a poor soil, if well-drained, their habits are sturdier, 
and although their progress may not be so rapid, it is neverthe- 
less more satisfactory ; and when the value of the timber comes 
to be tested, it will be found that the more slowly the tree has 
been allowed to develop its timber, and the less it has been 
induced by overcrowding in too rich soils to attain too early 
maturity, the harder and more valuable will be the quality of 
its wood. This must hold good of every variety. 
Several species, such as Abies morinda, Abies menziesii, 
Cupressus lawsoniana, and Wellingtonea gigantea prefer a rather 
damp soil, upon a wettish subsoil ; and all of these varieties, we 
have observed, have thriven best in such situations. Upon the 
chalky and limestone formations, if near the surface, none of 
them will thrive ; and where coal crops out near their roots, 
they linger out a miserable stunted existence. The Abies mari- 
tima, and Pinus lamhertiava have been noticed to grow most 
vigorously in a sandy free soil, while such a position does not 
suit most of the varieties we have named. 
