40 
A BUNCH OF FIB CONES. 
[Nature and Art, February 1, 18G7. 
proud, were not, even before the days of iron inno- 
vation, entirely “ hearts of oak,” for we learn that 
in the year 1809, larch timber, grown by his Grace 
the Duke of Athol, was first used for the British 
navy in building at Woolwich Dock yard the 
Serapis store-ship, the Sibylle frigate, the bottom 
of a lighter, and for piles driven into the mud, 
alternately wet and dry ; and in all the various 
situations proved a strong durable timber. We 
find it recorded that the Athol , of twenty-eight 
guns, was also built entirely of larch, of the same 
growth, whilst the Niemen, a ship constructed at 
the same time, was built of timber from Riga. At 
the expiration of their first course of service, both 
vessels were officially examined, when the Niemen 
was found so much decayed as to be condemned 
forthwith, the Athol was re- commissioned, completed 
her second term of service, pronounced sound, and 
made a store-ship of, when, for a period of more 
than thirty years she was subjected to the wear 
and tear of almost every climate. 
The Dukes of Athol paid great attention to the 
cultivation of the Larch, planting it on th“e rugged 
slopes and mountain-sides, where land was well 
nigh valueless. Some idea may be formed of the 
unwearied industry devoted by them to larch cul- 
ture when the reader learns that 14,096,719 young 
trees were planted in the neighbourhood of Blair 
Athol and Dunkeld, covering a space amounting to 
10,324 imperial acres. The trees grew rapidly, 
and one felled at 95 years of age was 100 feet high, 
10 feet 6j inches round the trunk at five feet from 
the ground, and contained 368 cubic feet of timber. 
The Duke who first turned his attention to fir- 
culture did well for those who were to follow, and 
sowed the seeds of a golden crop. The value of 
these vast plantations has been roughly estimated 
at <£6,500,000, without taking into consideration 
the value of the thinnings, which would be rather 
over £7 per acre. His Grace was buried in a 
coffin made from one of the trees he loved so well. 
That selected for the purpose was of stalwart 
growth, measured 106 feet in length, and was 
stout in proportion. « 
Although the Larch is now so extensively culti- 
vated in the British islands, it is not an indigenous 
tree. The first mention we have of its growth in 
England is made by Parkinson in 1629, who speaks 
of it as a rarity. 
Evelyn, writing in 1664, mentions a larch tree 
of “ goodly stature,” growing at Chelmsford in 
Essex, but evidently considers it an uncommon 
tree. Ben Jonson thus notices it : — 
“ Yes, I have brought to help your vows, 
Horned poppy, cypress boughs, 
The fig-tree wild that grows on tombs, 
And juice that from the larch-tree comes.” 
The substance known as Venice turpentine is 
procured by tapping the larch-trees, and many 
parts of France, especially in the Brianconnais, 
the Valois, and the Pays de Vand, yield it in con- 
siderable quantities. Large augers are used with 
which to perforate the trees. The holes usually 
commence about three feet from the ground, and 
reach as high up the trunk as from twelve to 
thirteen feet. Into these holes small wooden 
spouts are fixed, through which the liquid resin 
flows into little vessels conveniently placed to 
receive it. The south side of the tree is supposed 
to yield better than those exposed to the other 
points of the compass. Ovid thus writes of the 
resinous firs : — • 
“ Tlie new-made trees in tears of amber run, 
Which harden into value by the sun.” 
And we are also informed that when Tiberius 
Caesar built his “Naumachia,” or aquatic amphi- _ 
theatre for exhibiting a naval action as a public 
spectacle, an enormous larch was brought to Rome, 
which measured 120 feet in length, and 2 feet in 
diameter at the smallest end. It is said that the 
Emperor was so much delighted with the beauty of 
the tree that he would not permit it to be used, 
but retained it as an object for public admiration. 
Nero, however, took a more utilitarian view of 
things, and when about to erect an amphitheatre 
for himself, had it cut up for the purpose. 
The Forum on which Augustus sat was com- 
posed of larch, as were many of the Roman bridges 
in his day. 
Our friends the Russians are so conservative in 
the matter of larch timber, that its exportation is 
prohibited. Oak you may have by paying for it ; 
but larch is a government monopoly, not to be 
lightly parted with. The consumption of American 
pine in this country is enormous, and serves to 
impart a most valuable impetus to the commerce 
of the British American colonies and the United 
States. The lumber trade, as it is called, is a vastly 
important one ; and the lumberers, or woodmen by 
whom the trees are felled, hewn into form, launched 
on the rivers and sped on their way to the port of 
shipment, are just as peculiar in their habits and 
customs as soldiers, sailors, or railway navvies. 
Bands of them are assembled in the autumn 
months, and regular expeditions organized. Oxen, 
horses, axes, provisions, and, in fact, every requisite 
for the coming campaign, is provided, and trans- 
ported up the larger streams, either in canoes or 
boats. Fodder for the cattle is collected on the 
way, being purchased from such settlers as may 
have it to dispose of. On the chosen locality being 
reached, the band, under a selected leader, proceed 
at once to hut themselves, and erect a cooking 
shanty and sheds for the cattle. Bark, poles, and 
fir-branclies are made available for constructing 
these rude dwellings and the stores for their 
necessaries. 
Three separate labour-parties, or gangs, are 
usually organized. One, with the dexterity only 
possessed by backwoodsmen, fell the trees, sending 
the white chips flying, and bringing the growth of 
ages crashing to the earth : — - 
“ Sharply sounds the ringing axe 
Far through forest glade and fell ; 
Sadly, tolls the wood-king’s doom — 
Forest monarch’s passing bell.” 
Others lop off the branches and hew the logs into 
