PINETUM BRITANNICUM 
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fully late. The time of the cone shedding its seeds varies greatly with the season, as well as with the habitat 
and geographical position of the tree. 
The seed seems in general to come home sound, and not to suffer from the Megastigma Pini, which is 
so destructive to that of the Picea nobilis. The only indication that we have met with, which throws doubt 
on this immunity, is an incidental notice of the contents of the stomach of a bird which frequents the Douglas 
Spruce, made by Dr Cooper in his “ Report on the Land Birds collected in the Survey of the 47th parallel 
in the Pacific Railroad Explorations.” He says,“ that the favourite habitat of the Pyranga Ludoviciana, Bonap. 
(the Louisian Tanager), in those localities where he observed them, was among the tall Red Firs belonging 
to that magnificent species, the Abies Douglasii. These birds seemingly prefer the edges of the forest, 
rarely retiring to its depths unless for concealment when alarmed. In early summer, at Fort Steilacoom, 
they are generally seen during the middle of the day sunning themselves in the Firs, occasionally darting from 
one of these trees to another, or to some of the neighbouring White Oaks (Q. Ganyana) on the prairie. He 
found the bill of a specimen examined by him quite sticky, as if smeared with the resinous exudation of their 
favourite Firs. He opened the stomach of this bird, and found it filled with insects, principally Coleoptera. 
Among these he saw many fragments of the large green Buprestis, found generally on the Douglas Fir. 
H e saw no specimens of any other class of insects than Coleoptera among the fragments, excepting obscure 
indications of wasps or some other Hymenoptera ”—(“ Pacific Railroad Explorations,” vol. xii., 2, p. 183). 
The Buprestis would probably be an Ancylocheira, and the indications of Hymenoptera might be 
supposed to be the remains of a Megastima, such as that which is so destructive to the seeds of P. nobilis , 
were it not that the seed comes home sound, so we may reasonably believe it to be something else. In a 
note from Mr Robert Brown on this subject, he says :—“ The seeds are infected by the larvae of no insect, 
nor, as far as I ever observed, is the tree itself. The seeds of all the species of Picea are almost invariably 
destroyed before they are ripe, by coleopterous larvae, so that it is very difficult to obtain a few sound seeds 
even from a large quantity of cones.” 
Statistics :—In 1851, price of seedlings, 3 inches 2s. 6d. ; 4 to 6 inches 4s. ; 12 to 18 inches 10s. 6d. 
each. Grafted plants 9 to 12 inches 5s.; 12 to 18 inches 7s. 6d. each. In 1861, two years seedlings 6s. per 
dozen ; 9 to 12 inches transplanted 12s. 6d., and 15 to 18 inches 18s. per dozen ; 2 to 3 feet 5s. each. In 
1873, one-year seedlings 10s. ; 6 to 12 inches transplanted 25s.; 12 to 18 inches 50s., all at per 100. 
Specimen plants 2 to 3 feet is. 6d. to 3s. 6d.; 3 to 4 feet 3s. 6d. to 5s. ; 4 to 6 feet 3s. 6d. to 7s. each. 
Portrait of David Douglas. 
