CONE BEARING, OR CONIFEROUS PLANTS. 
19 
two are at present generally found only on 
gentlemen's lawns. In softened scenes, the 
hemlock, spruce, and red cedar may be 
planted with propriety ; and again, in those 
magnificent, though at present deserted, sitesby 
the sea-side, two individ uals of the order are only 
waiting to be called upon to show that they 
are capable of resisting the usual effects of 
salt water. The Pin us Pinaster, and the 
P. Pinaster minor, or, as it is somttimes 
called, the P. maritima, are the two plants I 
refer to. 
But the order under consideration supplies 
us not only with beautiful and grand pictures 
to look upon, but the ear is often engaged in 
listening to the music caused by the trees 
when associated together. The waving to 
and fro of the tops of pine woods, when the 
winds are high, is calculated to fill the mind 
with an incommunicable idea of the majesty 
of nature, such as is excited only by a forest, 
or by the sea. The shouting of the tempest 
whilst traversing the vast sylvan regions of 
America, is described to be grand in propor- 
tion to the height and bulk of the trees, and 
always listened to with a feeling approaching 
to awe. AVhen a breeze is abroad, extensive 
woods and forests of the Scotch pine afford to 
some temperaments delightful music, such as 
could be listened to for hours with pleasure ; 
to others it is melancholy beyond expression ; 
whilst all agree that it is quite indescribable. 
The sound referred to is of a sweeping or 
hissing description, and is certainly best cha- 
racterized by the Scotch word sough. 
The uses of this order of plants are greater 
than that of any other ; and on this account 
alone every particle of information relative to 
the propagation and growth of the different 
species is worthy of the closest attention. 
Though the oak is justly prized as contribut- 
ing greatly to the strength of the wooden 
walls of England, yet the pine tribe has 
assuredly been of material service, along with 
the former tree, in all the purposes of naval 
architecture. The outworks, it is true, have 
been of oak, yet the no less necessary subsi- 
diary parts have been of pine and fir. In 
some parts, indeed, deal timber has entirely 
superseded that of the oak; and the larch in 
particular has been found to answer extreme- 
ly well for ship-building. The frigate 
" Athole," built in 1820, was entirely of the 
latter wood, and competent judges have pro- 
nounced it to be, in some respects, even 
superior to the oak. In domestic architec- 
ture, the trees forming the present order are 
universally in use, as preferable to all other 
ligneous products. In house-building, and 
in the construction of household furniture, it 
would be most difficult to find a substitute for 
the Scotch pine ; and if we extend our view 
to all the purposes to which pine and fir trees 
are assigned, such as scaffolding, railing, 
fencing, machinery, farmers' outbuildings, and 
such like, it may be safely asserted that they 
are positively indispensable. The spread of 
railways has given an importance to this order 
of plants which hitherto was not thought of. 
The vast quantity of timber required for 
sleepers, on which the rails are laid, has ope- 
rated very extensively in the northern districts 
of Scotland, in inducing proprietors to plant 
all, or, in some cases, a great proportion of 
their waste lands. It is not only the quantity 
required in the construction of a railway, but 
the timber, ad infinitum, that must be had to 
keep it up ; the sleepers having all to be 
removed and fresh ones inserted every seven 
years. This use alone would justify a publi- 
cation, at the present time, solely devoted to 
the best method of propagating and rearing 
the trees destined to occupy such an impor- 
tant place in helping forward the commerce of 
the country. Add to these uses, the products 
extracted from many of the trees, such as 
resin, turpentine, tar, and pitch. It is also to 
be remembered that they afford fuel to many 
persons living in mountainous districts, and 
that the roots of the Scotch pine, when split 
up into thin splinters, or lamina, are used by 
the Highlanders as a substitute for candles, 
which emit a clear and steady light, though 
requiring almost constant tending. The uses 
of such trees, in their living state, consist in 
their adaptation to situations where many 
kinds would not grow, and in their being ad- 
mirably fitted to protect others wherever 
exposed to the severity of the weather. Their 
use to man in sheltering his dwelling, is also 
well worthy of being noticed, for however 
exposed the situation may be, several of the 
species are ready to throw their sheltering 
arms around it. In truth, but for the Coni- 
ferae, the appearance of winter throughout 
hilly and mountainous districts would be ter- 
rible, and, to many, insupportable. 
The claims which this order has upon all 
those who are wishful to form arboretums, or 
to study certain sections of ligneous plants, 
will be apparent to every one. No order is 
more beautiful in the foliage, in the disposi- 
tion of the branches, and none more lofty. It 
would be difficult, therefore, to estimate too 
highly the importance of this class of plants, 
whether considered as objects adorning the 
landscape, or as supplying one of the first 
materials for the use of man. As the order 
Taxaeeas, including the yew tree, and its allies, 
is so nearly allied to that of Coniferse, it may 
be worth while, for the sake of completeness. t.> 
describe the few species belonging to that 
division, before proceeding with the Conifeite, 
or true cone bearing plants. 
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