CHAP. CXIII.

CONl'FEttiE. Fl'CEA.

2337

by a hot dry summer. At the same time, they are, in other respects, amongstthe least delicate of any plants in the choice of their food; as the largest andmost flourishing trees of them I have ever seen, over the island, in general growon sour, heavy, obstinate clay, of all different qualities and colours; and thoughfor ten or twelve years, they do not advance so fast as several of the other pinesand firs, yet in twenty years they will outgrow them all, and continue that ad-vantage till they arrive to their greatest magnitude.” The silver fir requiresa low situation, comparatively with the spruce fir, not being nearly so hardyas that tree, either when in the nursery or full grown. The cones, whichare apt to shed their seeds in spring, ought to be gathered in October orNovember, and kept in a dry place till the sowing season. The seeds maybe easily separated from them by a very slight exposure to the sun, and thenby thrashing them, without having recourse to the kiln. The seeds should besown, according to Sang, in March, and at such A distance as to allow the plantsto rise 1 in. apart; and the covering, he says, should be a full inch thick.When the plants are 2 years old, they may be transplanted into nursery lines;and, after being 2 years in that situation, they may either be again trans-planted in the nursery, to a greater distance apart, or removed to where theyare finally to remain.

Accidents, Diseases, Sfc. The silver fir suffers more from extreme droughtthan any other species of the pine and fir tribe; whole forests being occasion-ally destroyed in this way in the north of France and in Switzerland . Whenthe trees are young, they are liable to have their leading shoot injured bythe frost; but this is not the case after the plants have attained the heightof 5ft. or 6 ft. The tree suffers from various insects, as has been alreadynoticed in our general introduction, p. 2139.

Statistics. Recorded Trees. The two trees at HarefieUl Park, planted in 1603, and one of which,in 1679, was 8l ft. high, and contained 146 ft. of good timber, have been already mentioned. Mitohelmentions scores of trees at Wardour Castle, “ whose aspiring heads,” he says, were far advancedbeyond all other trees there.” At Longleat, he mentions a grove of 16 trees, 22 ft. apart, 110 ft,high, and from 10 ft to 13 ft. in circumference. Each tree contained upwards of 200 ft. of timber.At the above distance of 22 ft., this would give 90 trees per acre, or 360 loads of timber; which, at thevery moderate price of SI. a load, is 1080/. In 1813, Mitchell felled three silver firs, which wereplanted in 1786: they stood in a line, 15 ft. apart, and were from 100 ft. to 112 ft. high. Each treehad lost its leader at 40 ft. high, and had formed a branchy head. The first tree contained 299 ft. oftimber; the second 273 ft., and the third,164 ft. The lop (that is, tops and lateral branches) made*88 hevans 2 cords and 88 parts of cordwood. A silver fir at the House of Polkemmet, in WestLothian, measured in October, 1799, was 10 ft. in circumference, at 4 ft. from the ground. One atBinning Wood, 70 years old, was, in 1812,10 ft. 4 in. in circumference, at 4 ft. from the ground. Asilver fir at Drumlanrig Castle, in Nithsdale, was, in 1773, 12 ft. in circumference. One at Wood*houselee, Mid-Lothian, measured in 1793, was lift. 1 in. in girt; and in 1835 it was 14 ft. 10in. in{jut, and 94 ft. high. Under this tree, now in a state of decay, we have often played in our boyish«?ys. A tree in Styria, growing on the Martinsberg, in the forest district of Zirl , measured 5 ft. indiameter, at 9 ft. from the ground ; and, at a height of between 90 ft and 95 ft. from the ground, stillretained a diameter of between 8 in. and 9 in. {Handbook for Southern Germany, p.262.) In theMuseum of Natural History , at Strasburg, is a section of the trunk of a silver fir, cut so as to form“seat, called there Le grand sapin du Hochwald, d Barr, departmentde Bas Ilhih. This tree was150ft. high, with a trunk straight and clear ofbranches to the height of 50 ft., at which point itbecame forked. The diameter of the trunk, at the surface of the ground, was 8 ft,; and, at theheight of 50 ft., 5 in. The estimated age of the tree was 360 years. It was cut down on the 16th ofJune, 1816, the trunk having begun to decay in the centre. We were informed, when we saw thissection in 1828, that there was a tree standing very near where this one stood almost as large. Therorest of Hochwald was composed entirely of silver firs, and before the revolution belonged to thetown of Strasburg.

Trees. In the environs of London , at Whitton Place, near Twickenham, it is 97ft.

high, with a trunk 3 ft. 9 in. in diameter ; at Syon, the tree figured in our last Volume is 96 ft high._

~?uth of London. In Cornwall , at Carclew, it is 99ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 3 ft. 9 in., and

tne^head 20 ft. In Devonshire , at Bicton, 104 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 3 ft., and of the^> at Luscombe, 21 years planted, it is 37 ft. high at Bystock Park, 41 years planted, it isX? 11 - high; at Endsleigh Cottage, 22 years planted, it is 65 ft. high. In Hampshire , at Alresford,si years planted, it is 83 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 3 ft.; at East Tytherley,80 years planted,vL} 8 120 ft. high, the trunk containing 230 cubic feet of timber, the diameter o/the head is onlyHi/* Strathfieldsaye, it is 120ft. high, with a trunk 4 ft. 6in. in diameter. In Kent, at Knowle,Uott. high, the diameter of the trunk 4 ft. 10 in., and of the head 187 ft. In Somersetshire , at Kings-it • .10*high, with a trunk 4 ft. 3 in. in diameter. In Surrey, at Bagshot Park, 12 years planted,

i 18 30 ft. high. In Sussex, at Cowdrey, it is 120 ft. high, with a trunk 4ft. 6in. in diameter, clear ofranches to the height of 55 ft.; at Kidbrooke, it is 80 ft. high, with a trunk 4 ft. in diameter. In Wilt-4tft e> a * ^ugleat, 180 years old, it is 138 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 5 ft. 8 in., and of the head.i "i a t Wardour Castle, 50 years planted, it is 60 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 5 ft. 4 in., and of42 ft.; at Longford Castle, it is 60 ft. high, with a trunk 2 ft. in diameter. — North of London ,is Ht\ r : ^dshire, at Woburn Abbey , the tree already mentioned, p. 2332., is 114 ft. high; at Southill, itTp i the diameter of the trunk 3 ft. 4 in., and of the head 54 fc. In Buckinghamshire , at

!2fi flu® ^ ous c, 40 years planted, it is 60 ft. high. In Cheshire, at Eaton Hal), 14 years plumed, it ish*gh. In Derbyshire , at Kcdluston, are several trees, from 130 ft. to 150 ft. high, and girting from

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