CHAI>. CXI1I.

CONl'FEItiE, Pl'NUS.

2183

sound wood (see p. 2161.). This, I presume, is by far the largest specimen ofP. syivestris on record; at least, I have never seen or heard of any at all likeit.— Aberdeen. Haddo House, September 4. 1837.”

Thinning and pruning in England. We have already noticed (p. 2134.) thepractice of Mr. Salmon and Mr. Pontey in England, both strong advocatesfor thinning and pruning. On applying to the Duke of Bedford, to know the'results of the practice carried on under the direction of these arboriculturistsin the woods at Woburn, His Grace’s forester, Mr. Ireland , informs us thatMr. Salmon, by cutting off large branches rather carried the practice too far;hut that the trees pruned under the direction of Mr. Pontey, about the years1802 and 1803, were not in the slightest degree injured, as only a few of thesmaller branches were taken off. On examining the timber of such trees aswere cut down, Mr. Ireland found the places where the branches had beencut off quite sound, with new wood formed over them ; but this new wood,though closely covering the part cut offj yet did not incorporate itself with it.On the other hand, he found the timber of some trees, where the brancheshad died off naturally, in which the wood was unsound, though the woundformed by the decayed branches was closely covered over with new andsound wood ; thus, as Mr. Ireland remarks, showing the advantage ofcutting off the branches close to the bole when they are quite small, andbefore they begin to decay. His Grace the Duke of Bedford, after informingus that Mr. Ireland ’s statement as to the effect of pruning the Scotch pine iscorrect, adds: “ From pruning to thinning, the transition is obvious andnatural; and I must confess myself a decided advocate of bold but judiciousthinning, in opposition to the practice of the Duke of Portland, at Welbeck.Perhaps I may inherit this from my grandfather, John Duke of Bedford ,who was, even in those early days, a decided friend to thinning plantationswhen young. I will state an anecdote on this subject, which is much at yourservice, and may possibly amuse the readers of your Arboretum. In theyear 1743, my grandfather planted the large plantation in Woburn Park, nowknown by the name of the ‘ Evergreens’ (to commemorate the birth of hisdaughter, afterwards Caroline Duchess of Marlborough); being something™ore than 100 acres, and having been before that time a rabbit warren,without a single tree upon it. In the course of a few years, the duke per-ceived that the plantation required thinning, in order to admit a free circula-tion of air, and give health and vigour to the young trees. He accordinglySWe instructions to his gardener, and directed him as to the mode andextent of the thinning required. The gardener paused and hesitated, and atlength said : ‘ Your Grace must pardon me if I humbly remonstrate againstyour orders, but I cannot possibly do what you desire: it would at oncedestroy the young plantation; and, moreover, it would be seriously injurious to■ny reputation as a planter.’ My grandfather, who was of an impetuous anddecided character, but always just, instantly replied : ‘ Do as I desire you, and1 will take care of your reputation.’ The plantation, which ran for nearly a™ile along the road leading from the market town of Woburn to that ofAmpthill, was consequently thinned according to the instructions of theduke, who caused a board to be fixed in the plantation, facing the wood, onwhich was inscribed, ‘ This plantation has been thinned by John Duke ofBedford , contrary to the advice and opinion of his gardener.’ — Bedford.Ge Boune of Kothiemurchus, September 2. 1837.”

Felling. The age at which the Scotch pine should be felled depends onhe degree of perfection which the tree will attain in the particular locality'.7? toin poor soils, where the trees are planted thick, it may be most profit-hle to cut the whole plantation down, like a crop of corn, as Mr. Main re-c °Kimends (p. 2132.), at 20 or 30 years’ growth ; while, on deeper and moreuustantial soils, the trees will gain in dimensions for double or treble thathumher of years ; and they ought to be left accordingly.

]. : ™ c idents, Diseases, S[c. We are not aware of the Scotch pine being more“ ® fo accidents, diseases, or insects, than any other species of dbietinse,'hat it has any which are peculiar to it. Mathews states that the red-