4 PINI-:TUM BRITANNICUM.
and well illullrates the gnarled appearancc which in age is charaL^riflic, not only of this Pine, but of
P. contorla, and many of the Pine trees of North-Weft America.
In its cariy youth, its refrefhing green and thick-packed fiender leaves make it a beautiful fhnib.
Geographical Dijlrihttion.—Apparently confined to California. It was found by Coulter in Upper
California, in lat 36°, near the level of tho fea, and growing almofl down to the beach; alfo in the form
!)oth of P. in/ignis and P. radiaia, in the neighboin'hood of Monterey, not far to the fouth of San Francifco.
It was alfo noticed hy Ilartweg, as above mentioned, on the defcent towards the fea on the mountains
of San Antonio, fixty leagues fouth of Monterej'. Laitly, it was found by the United St;ites' Exploring
Expedition on the mountains near Oakland ; alfo on the South Yuba, and on the Coaft Mountains,
California
llijlory.—Firft difcovered by Dr Coulter, and defcribed as P. radiata by Don in the " Linna;an
Society's Tranfac^ions," and immediately afterwards by Lambert in his " Genus Pinus;" then defcribed
both as P. in/igHis and P. radiata by Loudon, who has been followed by fubfe(iuent European writers.
The American authors have not recognifed the name radiata. but onl)- ufc itijignis. As already faid, the
former ought, properly fpeaking, to be the name; but the latter is now fo uni\'erfally a<lopted that we are
glad of any excufe for contravening the laws of priority-. We have done fo on the itrength of the form
called infignis poiTeffing the normal and more ufiial ciiara(flers of the fpecies; although the argument, we
are afraid, is not verj- found. It is ven,' much as if we fliouId fay that a man of thirt>- is a more normal
fpecimen of man than a man of fixty. He perhaps belongs to a more numerous fe<ftion, but the one is
not a whit more normal than the other.
It was introduced into Britain in 1833.
Properties and The moft important property- of this fpecies is. tliiit it thrives well in famly foil,
and expnfed to the fea-breeze. That heavy blafts do not difagree with it may bc gathereil from the fact
that at Point Pinos, near Monterc}-, the trees had become one-fided, from the north winds blowing upon
them for a great part of the yean
Of its ufes, unqueftionably the chiefeft is to pleafe the eye and beautify the fcener}- of our lawns and
country refidenccs, Don ftates (doubtless, upon Coulter's authority) that it " affords excellent timber, which
is ver>' tough, and admirably adapted for building boats, for which purpofe it is much ufed." More information
is required upon this point. We have heard it fiated that it is utterly worthlcfs, not even being
fit for firewood. Mr William Murray mentions* that " the ftreet planking in San Francifco ufed to be
done with Oregon lumber, but now (1855) it is being fuperfcded by the Monterey lumber (moft likely P.
it/figms), for the reafon that it is ver>' refincnis, and ftands the wear and tear of fuch a purfiofe better;" a
<|uality which we Ihould have imagined would increafe inftead of diminifh its fitnefs for burning.
It is to he obferved, however, that P. macrocarpa [Sabiniatid] and Coulterixrt^ alfo found in plenty in
the neighbourhcxid of Monterey; and we know, from the timber of trees of thefe fpecies which have been
cut down in this country-, that they are exceffively refinous, refin being extnivafated in ([uantities throughoui
the timber. It may, therefore, be of them that the refinous Monterey lumber aI)ove fpoken of cmlilt.s.
At any rate, it is a point to be indicated for future inquiries by thofe who have the opjjortunity.
Mr Rogers of Penrofe fays that if the cjuality of its timber in this countr>- can be judgeil of at fo early
an age, it is light and tough, and the knots are eafily worked, are foft yet firm; having the foftnefs of Limewood
rather than the fibrous rend of the Fir. At this age it is full of eyes, as Bird's-eye .Maple is.
Cultivation.—Its native habitat, "on the fliores of the fea," almoft clofe to the beach, indicates a fandy
foil.
' •• Ellin. Ni:w Phil. Journal." N<;i,v .Scries, April iS5o,
P I N U S INSIGNIS. -
foil, a marine odghbourhood, and a moift atmofpherc, as fome of the points to be attended to in cultivating
his lpec.es to the greateft advantage. Its fuccefs in the Ille of Wight juftifies this a priori conclufion.
When It was firft introduced, it was faid that it would prove perfectly hardy in Britain; and, indee<l, fo it
anc s recorded ilill m moft works on the fubjed of Conifers, This, however, is certainly by no means
.mcoml.Bomlly true. It has pi-oved tolerably hanly i„ the foath of F.rgl,„„l .and Ireland; but farther 1„
the north, efpee.ally !„ Scotland, its faccrfs-we Ihould rather fay its furvivance or exillence-is the e«cption,
not the rule.
Mr Palmer made \'cr>' full inquiries regarding this fpecies, an
I the refult (liews the effedof the winter
of 1S60 upon the trees growing at 109 places, as follows, viz. :—
KJW M.d l.jmi
England 6 J
•Scotland . ,
Ireland, . . . . . . ,
So that, of thofe places which came within his inquiries, the refult appears to be, that in England
the tree efcaped uninjured in only i out of 5 places: in Scotland at i out of 6; while in Ireland it efcaped
at 4 out of 5.
But a more detailed examination of his tables, as well as of the hiftory of the .attempts to eftablifli this
Pine in Britain, fhews tliat the only places where it can bc planted freely and fearlellly are the weft and
fouth-weft coafts. In the midland and northern counties, and throughout along the eaft coaft, although
occafionally a much-injured tree may have recovered, or even a favourably planted fpecimen or one i)r(>-
tected either by nature nr art (that is, by nature, by means of fituation (jr fnow; or by man, l)>' artificial
coverings), may have efcaped altogether; that has been the rare exception which proves the rule.
this is a tree naturally fo much defired, it may be ufeful to our readers to fee in more detail the
ftatiftics of its hardinefs. The following Abftmcl fhews fome refults arrived at by a critical examination
of Mr Palmer's tables:—
; VI. iNLAVr. Covs-T
Rerks'''.-
Oxford..
( 2000) (
1 killed I
nearly all killed
S art killed, l
I much injured f
Stafford
Cambcidre
Derby .
D nb 1
( 3 fome much in- 1 .
t jured.moftkiiled
i killed
1 killed
1 killed
2 killed
2 kaied
5 killed
2 killed
2 killed
I killed
. i i : ' t t l ' r ' [ f U r : i i 1 ] i , . f i ' M V M M i r ' U i l i a i l H i i i i i U i T h i F i r i - s - i i H!