562 
THE SCOTCH PINE. 
then, may be traced, with profit to those who 
are ignorant of the best way of treating this 
common though useful individual. 
It is universally raised from seeds : the 
cones containing the seeds are generally ripe 
in the month of January ; but it is more cor- 
rect to state that they are not fit to be gathered 
until whitened by frost, for until this takes 
place they are not only not ripe, but it is im- 
possible with any moderate degree of heat to 
open them and get at the seeds. The whole- 
sale dealers, who supply the London seedsmen, 
live in the neighbourhood of extensive forests 
in the north of Scotland ; and their plan is 
to lay the cones about twelve inches thick upon 
a kiln, (not of brick, but of wood, for the 
former would roast the seeds,) for the space of 
twelve hours, turning them twice during the 
day, and subjecting them during that time to 
heat equal to 1 10 degs. Fahr. They are then 
sifted, and, in order to detach the wings which 
adhere to the seeds, spread upon an uneven 
clay floor to the depth of six inches, and 
rubbed with the feet. After undergoing the 
usual process of cleaning, they should be kept 
in a perfectly dry place till the time of sowing. 
The operation of sowing is performed in 
the end of April, or beginning of May, when 
the spring frosts are over. The soil se- 
lected should be light and friable, and it is 
very important that the ground should be dug 
deep, and finely raked. The beds in which 
they are sown are generally made four feet 
wide, with alleys between of one foot in width. 
The seeds should be sown so as to lie about a 
quarter of an inch apart from each other, and 
the covering should be to the depth of an 
eighth of an inch. In these beds the plants 
should remain for two years, when they will 
be fit to be finally removed. 
"Where will this tree not grow ? It is at 
home on sand, gravel, clay, peat, and chalk, 
though on the last mentioned soil it becomes 
an indifferent timber tree. It stands nearer 
to the sea than almost any other, and it is not 
scrupulous either as to heat or.cold. In short, 
so long as we have the Scotch pine, no pro- 
prietor can say that he has a tract of land too 
barren or exposed, or unfit in quality, to bear 
timber trees. 
The time of planting is the autumn or 
spring ; and the mode of planting is regulated 
entirely by the nature of the land to be planted. 
Where the surface is covered with luxuriant 
heath, it should be cleared away by burning it 
a year or two before it is to be planted ; but 
in all cases where the heath is dwarf, and does 
not entirely cover the soil, it is better that it 
should remain to shelter the young plants. 
Furze and broom should be stubbed up, as 
well as all undergrowths, which are apt 
to choke the young plants. When plant- 
ing the pine in land of this description, it 
is not necessary to make pits for their 
reception, but merely a notch with a small 
spade, technically a pla)iting-iron, which 13 
easily worked with one hand, whilst the other 
is employed in inserting the plant. In all 
cases, however, where the ground is covered 
with thick herbage, small pits should be made; 
and then plants of a larger size may be used 
with every prospect of success. Pines are 
generally planted about four or five feet apart 
from each other, — not that they are to remain 
long in this crowded state, but for the purpose 
of insuring a sufficient crop when they come 
to be thinned. 
The pruning of this tree should be regu- 
lated by the thinning. No knife should be 
used in removing a green and flourishing 
branch ; for no tree in the wide forest is so 
impatient under the infliction. Let each tree, 
then, have a surface of leaves sufficient to 
draw up and elaborate the sap, and let no 
branch be cut away until it has become (if we 
may so express it) a matter of indifference to 
the tree whether it be removed or not. Under 
such circumstances, the skilful forester will, 
for the sake of the timber he is rearing, cut 
off close to the stem all such branches as have 
become decayed and are inactive or useless 
agents. In those extensive forests in the north h 
of Scotland, where we have spent many a day | 
in collecting the seeds of this tree, no pruning 
is practised except such as Nature performs 
by excluding the air from the side branches, 
a process which in our opinion is infinitely 
superior to the plan of detaching healthy and 
vigorous branches from the trunk. But let it 
be remembered, and we state it as an incon- 
trovertible fact, that the timber so produced i/ 
not fit to be compared with such as has had 5 
free exposure to the light and air. On thij 
head, therefore, our advice is to let the treel 
be close enough to one another to discouraged 
vigorous growth amongst the lowest branches. ' 
which, when detached, will admit air suffi 
cient to circulate around the trunk in order to 
render the timber hard and durable. 
Our office is to urge the adoption of this 
tree in every respect ; but at the same time it 
may be well to observe, that in ornamental, 
grounds it must he used very sparingly by the 
landscape-gardener. It has a wild and solitar- 
character, and it is only in the far-off scenes 
a landscape where it can be appropriately ei 
ployed. The felling of this tree will be er 
tirely regulated by the description of soil o 
which it grows. The poorest land is thaj 
which has a thin layer of peat on an inipene 
trable crust of iron stone, through which tli 
rain cannot penetrate. On this land the Scotclj 
pine will be at its best in the course of twenty 
five or thirty years. It will then begin to b 
