A B I 
and while they are out, to guard their roots from the 
drying winds’. The fureft time for removing thefe 
trees is about the beginning of April ; for though 
they may be, and often are, removed with fuccefs at 
Michaelmas, yet the fpring is the more fure -feafon, 
efpecially in rnoift land. 
Moft of ' the' kinds of Firs may be removed at the 
height of fix or feven feet ; but thofe of two feet high 
are much better totranfplant,andwill in afewyearsgain 
the afcendant of taller trees : I would not, therefore, 
advife the tranfplanting of thefe trees when they are 
much above two feet high, efpecially if they have 
ftood in the nurfery unremoved. For then their 
roots will have extended themfelves to a diftance, 
which muft be cut in taking them out of the ground ; 
and where great amputation is ufed either to the roots 
or branches of thefe trees, the quantity of turpentine 
which commonly iftues from thefe wounds, will great- 
ly weaken the trees. There is another advantage alfo 
in planting them when fmall, which is that of not 
requiring (taking to fecure them from being blown 
down by ftrong winds, which in tall trees is a great 
trouble or expence. And whoever will give them- 
felves the trouble to obferve, how much trees of two- 
feet high exceed in growth thofe which are removed 
at a much greater height, will, I am fure, be con- 
vinced of the truth of what is here faid. 
The common Spruce Fir is what affords the white 
deals. The trees grow in the deep ftrong foils of 
Norway and Denmark ; but will grow likewife in al- 
moft any foil or fttuation in England, provided it be 
not within the reach of the fmoke of great cities, 
which is very injurious to all thefe forts of trees ; nor 
do they thrive near fo well in dunged land, as in frelh 
uncultivated foils. The difrepute thefe trees have 
been under for fome years paft, has been occafioned 
by their being planted too clofe together, or too near 
other trees, whereby the air has been excluded from 
their branches, which has occafioned moft of their 
under branches to decay ; fo that when viewed from 
the ground under their branches, they have a greater 
appearance of dead than living trees. But where they 
have been allowed a good diftance, and planted in a 
ftrong frefh foil, they have had their branches quite 
feathered within fix or eight feet of the ground, and 
that too in trees upward of fixty feet high •, therefore 
ihould not be planted nearer than twelve feet apart, 
nor Ihould they be fo near, where the plantation is 
more than three rows deep. In this cafe, eighteen 
or twenty feet afunder will be full near enough, efpe- 
cially where the trees are defigned to have their 
branches feathered near the ground, in which one of 
the beauties of thefe trees confifts. 
The Silver Fir requires a ftronger land than the. 
Spruce, for in dry ground they feldom make any 
great progrefs ; and many times, even after they have 
arrived to a confiderable fize, are deftroyed by very 
dry feafons, where the foil is lhallow, or too dry. 
But when they are planted in a proper foil, they grow 
to a very large fize, and are extremely beautiful, hav- 
ing the under fide of their leaves white, and the up- 
per fide of a dark green colour. 
This fort of Fir, however, is frequently injured by 
frofts, when they happen late in the fpring, efpecially 
while the plants are young. For when thefe are plant- 
ed in a warm fttuation, they are apt to fhoot pretty 
early, and if any fharp frofts happen after they have 
puffed, the young (hoots are killed ; fo that they 
lofe a year’s growth, and are rendered fo very un- 
ftghtly, that many times they have been pulled up 
and thrown away. In cold fituations, however, where 
they do not begin to (hoot fo early, they are not fub- 
jeft to this difafter; and, in many fuch places, thefe 
trees grow to a large fize, and have their beauty. I 
have fometimes feen fome fine trees of this fort of 
Fir, which grew upon natural bogs, where, by ex- 
tending their roots, they had drained the ground to 
a confiderable diftance round them. There were fome 
trees of this kind lately growing in England, up- 
wards of ninety feet high. 
A B i 
The method of ralfing the other forts of Firs . 
About the latter end of March, or the beginning of 
April (according to the forwardnefs of the feafon, by 
which every perfon muft be guided) prepare a very 
moderate bed, in length proportional to the quantity 
of feeds to be (own, and where there are frames which 
can be fparecl for this purpofe, thefe may be placed 
upon the bed j but where thefe are wanting, the bed 
(hould be cradled over with hoops, that they may be 
covered with mats or canvafs ; then plunge the bed 
full of fmall pots, fuch as are commonly fold about 
London for four (hillings and two pence per hundred. 
Thefe pots fhould be filled with light undunged earth, 
and the interftices between the. pots may be filled up 
with any other earth which is neareft to the place ; 
then fow the feeds in thefe pots, covering them about 
half an inch with the fame light earth. In drying winds 
the bed fhould be covered, to prevent the earth from 
drying too faft, which would prove hurtful to the 
feeds •, nor fhould the feeds have too much wet, which 
would be equally injurious to them : therefore the 
earth fhould be but feldom watered, and it muft ne- 
ver be given in great quantities. When there is any 
appearance of froft at night, the bed fhould alfo be 
covered. With this management the plants will ap- 
pear in five or fix weeks time, when they muft be 
carefully guarded from birds, as was before dir eft eel 
for the common forts, and alfo fereened from the fun. 
in the middle of the day ; but they muft now have 
frefh air admitted to them at all times when the wea- 
ther will permit. They may alfo be allowed to re- 
ceive any gentle fhowers of rain, but they (hould not 
have too great plenty of moifture, which will fre- 
quently rot the young plants, and caufe them to 
drop. Upon the judicious care of this, depends 
the whole fuccefs ; for I have frequently feen great 
numbers of thefe plants deftroyed in one day, by be- 
ing either too much expofed to the fun, or from hav- 
ing too much wet. 
It may, perhaps, feem ftrange to many, that I fhould 
direft the fowing the feeds of thefe trees which are fo 
very hardy upon a hot-bed but from many trials I 
have always found they have fucceeded much better 
this way than any other, for the gentle warmth of 
the bed will not only caufe the feeds to vegetate much 
fooner than they would naturally do in the cold ground, 
but the plants will alfo rife much ftronger, and, con- 
fequently, be in lefs danger of rotting in their (hanks. 
And as the warmth of the bed is only to bring up the 
plants, fo there fhould be but little dung employed 
in making it ; for after the plants are up, they muft 
be inured to the open air, and treated as hardily as 
the common forts. 
There may be others, perhaps, who will objeft' to 
the direftions given for fowing the feeds in fuch 
fmall pots, becaufe, where there is any quantity of 
the feeds, it is ufual to fow them in boxes, or large 
pots : but I can from many years experience aver, 
that moft forts of feeds fucceed better when fown in 
fmall pots, than in boxes, or larger ones, and there- 
fore recommend this praftice. 
As the feeds of the Hemlock Fir will frequently re- 
main in the ground four or five months, the pots, 
in which they are fown, fhould not be difturbed, if 
the plants come not up fo foon as may be expefted ; 
for unlefs upon ftirring the ground, the feeds tire 
found to be decayed, there may be hopes of their 
growing the feconcl fpring, for I have fometimes had 
the feeds remain a whole year in the ground, and af- 
terwards come up very well : this caution, therefore, 
is given to prevent the pots from being too haftily 
turned out. 
The plants of thefe forts of Fir muft be afterwards 
treated in the fame way as the common forts, with 
this difference only, that they ought to be tranfplant- 
ed into a more ftiady fttuation and moifter foil. For 
while the plants are young, they will not thrive if they 
are much expofed to the fun, or in a dry foil ■, but 
when 
1 
