4 
PINETUM BRITANNICUM. 
Loudon repeats and adopts a ftatement made by General Napier, that Sir Frederick Adam, in fpite 
of his remonftrances, neglected to take fteps to preferve the foreft on the Black Mountain. “ He (General 
Napier) was particularly anxious that the foreft ridge fhould be inclofed fo as to exclude the goats, and to 
allow the trees to grow up and to become timber; and, when he was Governor, made many remonftrances 
on the fubjecft to Sir Frederick Adam, the Chief Commiftioner, but without effedi” But General Napier, 
at the time he publifhed “ The Colonies,” was in a ftate of open and violent hoftility to Sir Frederick Adam. 
The book was written, as he himfelf virtually tells us, as an attack upon Sir Frederick; and although he 
afferts that Sir Frederick negledted his reprefentations, his own ftatement fhews that the charge was without 
foundation. He fays,—“ The whole time I was at Cephalonia, I in vain endeavoured to call the attention 
of Sir Frederick Adam to its great value. The vaft number of goats which range at pleafure, deftroy 
the young trees. . . . This foreft is of great importance; yet Sir Frederick Adam preferred the opinion 
of thofe whofe flocks of goats paftured on it to that of what he pompoufly calls ‘ his reprefentation ,’ 
meaning the reprefentative of the Lord High Commiffioner. The goat proprietors are rich and powerful, 
and no doubt proved to his Excellency the total ufeleffnefs of a foreft, and the great advantage of goats to 
cultivation ! One of thefe proprietors affured me, gravely, that the goats, by biting off the leading flioot of 
the young fir, instead of harm, did good, and made the tree more vigorous. I fuppofe thefe men were believed, 
for the foreft was abandoned!” (p. 337). Rather hard meafure thus to condemn a man upon fuch poor 
evidence as ‘ no doubt’ and ‘ I fuppofe’—the more fo when it appears that Sir Frederick actually did pay 
attention to his ftatements, for we alfo read, “When I came away, I fpoke once more to Sir Frederick 
Adam on this fubjedt, and he fent to have a report upon it, which was made by Captain Kennedy; but 
nothing has been done” (p. 336). 
Taking the matter thus on General Napier’s own lhewing, and without any other knowledge of it, it 
would be difficult to attach any blame to Sir Frederick; for, putting afide the rights of the inhabitants to 
the pafturage of the foreft as unceremonioufly and defpotically as General Napier feems difpofed to have 
done, there remains the queftion of expenfe, who was to bear it, and where the money was to come from: a 
foreft 26 miles in circumference is not inclofed for a trifle. The whole charge refolves itfelf into this, that 
General Napier drew Sir Frederick’s attention to the ftate of the foreft, that he made inquiry into the 
matter, but did not do what General Napier recommended. This was fufficient for the General. One of 
his idiofyncrafies seems to have been, that whoever differed from him muft be in the wrong. 
But although Sir Frederick did not follow the General’s recommendation, he was perfectly alive to 
the importance of the foreft, and did take fteps to protedt it. He made his inquiry into the ftate of the 
foreft at the right time—viz., when General Napier was leaving the ifland, and when the care beftowed on 
the foreft by him was about to be withdrawn : for we learn from a report by Mr Curling to Colonel Conyers 
on another fubjedt, publifhed in “ The Colonies,” that fo long as General Napier was in the ifland he took 
fteps for the protection of the foreft. He fays, “ This foreft at one time contained fome of the fineft trees in 
the world, but was unfortunately burned down by the negligence of fome Greeks in fetting fire to their 
lands ; and fince then the goats have effedtually prevented anything like a good tree from growing. These 
animals always eat off the leading flioot, and thus entirely ruin the tree; for the fir does not renew its lead¬ 
ing flioot if it is injured; and thus only ftunted crooked trees are to be found, except a few that have fprung 
up fince Colonel Napier took the pains to keep the goats out ” (p. 282). On receiving this report from 
Mr Curling, Sir Frederick did take fteps for its protection. Inftead of inclofing it, he appointed guards 
to look after it, and took fuch other fteps for its confervation as the refources at his difpofal would permit. 
We have taken the trouble to inquire into the matter, and have received the following reply from Count 
George Metaxa, who is well acquainted with everything connected with the ifland, and knew Sir Frederick 
Adam well:—He informs us that, so far from negledting the foreft, Sir F. Adam named a perfon with the title 
of Capitano del Bofco, and gave him fix men as guards to watch and protedt the foreft, and made fevere 
laws againft all that cut or deftroyed the trees. Count Metaxa adds, that Sir Frederick Adam was ex¬ 
traordinarily fond of trees, and if his fucceffor had taken the fame care of this noble foreft as he did, the 
Black 
