PINOS. 
478 
is heat fufficiently fierce and ftrong to penetrate it forci¬ 
bly. On this point, fays Mr. Harte, experience alone 
can lead us to adopt the true opinion. 
To the other ufes of larch-wood, Mr. Harte adds, that 
becaufe it is not liable to be warped or to be attacked by 
worms, the Italians life it for back-boards, to place 
behind fine drawings, when they frame them ; as alfo 
for pifture-frames, table-frames, &c. becaufe no other 
wood gives gilding fuch force, brightnefs, and as it were 
a fort of natural burniffling; and this the main fecret 
why Italian gilding on wood is fo greatly preferable to 
ours, which has often a tarnilhed fpongy calf, and looks 
like gilt gingerbread. The Italians alfo prefer it for 
making the wheels of poft-chaifes and other carriages, as 
being very durable and unapt to crack. No boards make 
better wainfcotting, or take paint better. The application 
of it to fhingles for covering barns and other outhoufes 
would be invaluable in thefe kingdoms. The look of it 
would be far better than thatch; neither rains would 
rot it, nor winds ruffle it; and, if it will not eafily catch 
fire, it is a great additional recommendation. Whereas 
thatch is liable to all thefe accidents, and harbours fpar- 
rows, infedts, cobwebs, dull, and all forts of foulnefs, to 
the great detriment of the grain : and, though thatch be 
cheaper at firft, it is dearer in the long run than tiling or 
dating. The fflingles in the Grifons are half an inch 
thick and a foot fquare: being of a tough nature, and 
nailed down to the rafters, they are not liable to the 
inconvenience of being broken by forks, like tiles or Hates. 
On account of the valuable qualities of the wood there¬ 
fore, the larch deferves to be cultivated in this country. 
According to Mr. Harte, it grows flowly the firft four 
years ; but, in twenty years, will exceed a fir-tree both in 
height and circumference that is double its age. Nor is 
there any reafon, he adds, for doubting whether this tree 
will thrive in England : for fome larches about forty 
years ago came to full fize and perfe£lion near Chelmsford 
inEffex; and Mr. Miller mentions othersof a confiderable 
growth at Wimbledon in Surry, which produced a large 
quantity of cones every year. This was faid at leaft as 
far back as the year 1770: and Mr. Evelyn fpeaks of a 
larch at Chelmsford. The billiop of Landaff informs us, 
that from many experiments made by liimfelf, and col- 
ledled from others, he finds the annual increafe in cir¬ 
cumference of the larch, at fix feet from the ground, to 
be one inch and a half on an average of leveral years; 
and that this inference has been drawn from the a£lual 
admeafurement of larches in different parts of England 
and Scotland, and of different ages from ten years old to 
fifty. 
In making a plantation of larch, the thinnings may 
be applied to a variety of ufeful purpofes, whilft they are 
yet of a frnall fize. In fix, eight, or ten, years, according 
to foil and circumftances, the trees will have attained a 
fize fufficient to be made into hay-rakes. They grow fo 
llraight, and the wood is fo light, ftrong, and durable, 
as to be peculiarly calculated for this purpofe; and, from 
its fhrinking lefs than any other wood, thefe rakes will 
remain longer firm than thofe made from any other. 
About two feet cut off from the root-end will form the 
rake-head ; and five feet above that, with a very little 
taken off from the thicknefs of the under part, will form 
the handle. No wood is more proper for the teeth of the 
rake than fome of the red wood of an older tree, becaufe 
it is not only tough, but little liable either to fplit or 
fhrink. Nothing is fo fit for fhafts to hoes ; for it is 
nearly as ftrong, and much more durable than a(h. 
Handles for brufhes, brooms, fcythes, &c. would occafion 
a vaft confumption of thefe frnall fpars. Light, neat, 
and ftrong, chairs, for rulh-bottoms, might be made of 
larch-wood at this age. Nothing will anlwer better for 
hop-poles; for one fetof thefe would outlaft two or three 
fets of afh. Hurdles, fpars, and gates, may be made of it, 
both lighter and more durable than of any other wood : 
and, when the trees are of a fize fufficient, they may be 
fplit down for cart-fliafts: and in mining countries they 
might be employed as ports for fupporting the roofs of 
the mines. The frnall tops cut off in making thefe 
various works, would furnilh a neat, elegant, cheap, and 
durable, kind of railing, to be put upon the top of low' 
walls, efpecially. for preventing fheep from over-leaping 
them. One end might be let into the coping, whether 
of fod, clay, or lime; and the other end received into a 
flip of fawn larch-wood, with holes bored through to 
receive their points. From the ftraightnefs of the wood, 
this kind of rail would be very neat without much 
expenfe. In the fame manner hen-coops, crates for pack ¬ 
ing glafs, &c. might be made of thofe materials. 
But one of the moll extenfive and beneficial ufes of 
this kind of frnall wood, is for the purpofe of inclofing. 
Thefe fpars, when the root is thick enough, may be Hit 
up the middle by a faw, and cut into lengths of five or 
fix feet; or, if fmaller, they may be employed whole. 
As they are always llraight, and nearly of an uniform 
thicknefs, if driven into the ground for a few inches in a 
row, at the diftance of a few inches from each other, 
with the fplit fides all one way, they W’ould make one of 
the neateft and moft complete fences that can be feen. 
The tops of thefe uprights may be received into a piece 
of fawed plank, with holes bored in it for that purpofe; 
and fupported at due diftances by Hoping pieces reaching 
from the ground to the top. 
Thefe are a few of the ufes to which the frnall fpires from 
the firft thinnings of the plantations may be applied. As 
they advance to a larger fize, for windows, joifts, flooring, 
panelling, couples, rafters, and every other purpofe in 
building, they would be fuperior to any other kind of 
wood hitherto employed for thefe purpofes; and for ftiip- 
building, efpecially planks, it would be fuperior to oak 
itfelf. There is not a branch or a twig of the larch, that 
may not be put to fome ufeful purpofe. The larger 
branches may be employed in fencing, and the fmaller 
bruffi for filling drains and for fuel. In drains, it is more 
durable than any other wood; and though the timber 
will not burn readily, yet the brulh is found to make a 
fire almolt equal to the billets cf many other trees. 
The acknowledged utility of the larch induced the 
truly refpedtable Society for the Encouragement of Arts, 
Manufactures, and Commerce, at London, to offer very 
early both honorary and pecuniary rewards for the pro¬ 
pagation of this tree; and fo long fince as the year 1788, 
three gold medals and a premium of thirty pounds had 
been bellowed by the Society for planting larch, and 
giving an account of the utility of the wood. This at¬ 
tention of the Society, and a conviftion of the fuperior 
qualities of the larch impreffed upon the minds of gentle¬ 
men in various parts of thefe kingdoms, has induced 
them to make fome confiderable plantations; and we are 
informed by Mr. Drummond, of Blair Drummond in 
Scotland, foil to the late lord Kaims, that by the great 
plantations of larch, yearly made both in England and 
Scotland, the value of this excellent tree is now well 
underftood; and, if thefe plantations are continued for 
fome years with the fame fpirit, there can be little doubt, 
that in half a century, the many thoufand pounds an¬ 
nually fent to Norway for timber, will be entirely faved 
to this country. 
Mr. Anderfon has enumerated the particulars of 
599,621 larches planted in Great Britain between the 
years 1784 and 1795; andheadds, “ the duke of Atholl 
alone plants 200,000 larches every year; and one nurfery- 
man at Edinburgh has raifed this year (1796) above five 
millions.” See alfo, on this fubjeCl, the Tranf. ot the 
Soc. of Arts from 1788 to 1811. 
In the year 1808, the duke of Atholl tranfmitted to 
the Commiffioners of Naval Revifion fome “ Obfervations 
on Larch they were inferted in the Communications 
to the Board of Agriculture, vol. vii. and conftitute a 
very interefting document. The larch was introduced 
into Scotland in the year 1738 by a Highland gentleman. 
