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ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM.

PART III.

found in Hungary, in the Hartwold in Leimersiachle, in Germany; and itabounds on Caucasus, and in the south of Russia, and probably generallythroughout the south of Europe, and great part of the west and north of Asia.It does not appear to grow on the very poorest soils, or at very great eleva-tions ; and to require a deeper soil than P. sylvestris.

History. The Corsican pine was scarcely known in France, as a distinctspecies, in the time of Du Hamel; and was subsequently, according to Bose,confounded by authors with the Pinus sylvestris, under the name of P. s. altls-sima; and with the Pinus maritima (our P. Pinaster), under the name of P.m. Pinaster; from its, in fact, holding a middle place between these two species,The name of P. Laricio was first given to it by Poiret, in the Dictionnaire Ency-clopedique; and it was subsequently adopted by De Candolle, in the FloreFranfaise. P. Laricio was introduced into England under the name of P. syl-vestris i; maritima in 1759; and that name was adopted by Aiton, in the firstedition of the Hortus Kewensis; and afterwards changed, in the second edition,to P. maritima. The name of P. Laricio was first adopted in Britain in 1822,in consequence of the description, by Professor Don, of a tree in the ParisGarden, being published under that name in an Appendix to Neill’s Horti-cultural Tour through France and the Netherlands. Seeds were soon afterimported by Mr. Malcolm, from M. Vilmorin, and a number of plants raised,which have been distributed throughout the country, though we are not awarethat they have been planted anywhere in large masses. In France, accordingto Mordant de Launay, as quoted by Delamarre, P. Laricio first attracted thenotice of government under the ministry of Turgot, in the time of Louis XVI.;and the fine tree in the Paris Garden was planted where it now stands in theyear 1774, being then several years old. The government had great diffi-culty in procuring seeds from its agents in Corsica : the cones being producedonly in small quantities, and at the summits of the trees, it was difficult, andeven dangerous, to gather them ; and this circumstance tempted the dealersin these seeds to mix them with those of P. Pinaster, which they could pro-cure with facility. In 1788, the Corsican pines began to be employed formasts for the French navy; and, when the trees were cut down, the coneswere easily gathered. The late Andre Thouin was employed by the Frenchgovernment, about the year 1814, to draw up directions for cultivating this tree,which were printed and published, together with an account of its propertiesand uses in Corsica, and a strong recommendation for its culture in France.Nevertheless, the seed not having been procured in sufficient quantities, graftingwas resorted to, in the year 1822 ; and M. Larminat (as we have seen, p.2130.)grafted many thousands of P. Laricio on P. sylvestris in the Forest of Fon-tainebleau. Since that time, this pine has been strongly recommended for cul-ture by M. Vilmorin, who has planted all the varieties of it extensively on hisestate at Barres, and supplied all the principal seedsmen of Europe withseeds. It succeeds well in Scotland, even in the Highlands.

Properties and Uses. According to M. Thouin, the timber of P. Lariciois somewhat heavier than that of the P. sylvestris brought from Riga; but,being more resinous, it is less brittle and more elastic. Other authors assureus, on the contrary, says Baudrillart, that the wood of P. Laricio lias neitherthe strength nor the elasticity of that of P. sylvestris. Previously to theyear 1788, the wood was only used by the French government for the beams,the flooring, and the side planks of ships; but, in that year, the administrationof the marine sent two engineers to examine the forests of Lonca and Rospain Corsica, in which abundance of trees were found fit for masts. After this,entire vessels were built with it : only it was found necessary to give greaterthickness to the masts, in order to supply its want of strength and elasticity.The thickness of the sap wood in P. Laricio is greater than in most otherspecies of pine; but the heart wood is found to be of very great duration.In Corsica, it is employed for all the purposes for which it is used, when of36 or 40 years’ growth. It is easily worked, and is used both by cabinet-makers and sculptors in wood; the figures which ornament the heads of ves-sels being generally made of it. In Britain, the tree hitherto can only be