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[ 6 P I N E T U M BRITANNICUM.
Mr M'Nab, of the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens, as occurring on the estate called the Whim, in the
Pentlands. Peeblesshire, the property of Sir Graham Montgomery, Bart., whose grandfather purchased it
in 1762 from the Duke of Argyle, of arboriculture! celebrity, by whom
it was planted, chiefly with Spruces, about 1730. Most of these were
cut clown about fifty years since, but one in the part of the grounds
called the Wilderness had taken this habit upon it, whence it had
received the name of the Travelling Fir, although, says Mr M'Nab,
" it might have been more appropriately called the Banyan Spruce,
on account of its branches having taken root whenever they have
come in contadt with the spongy soil." [Fig. 29.] Mr M'Nab
accounts for this natural layering by suggesting the probability of an
excessive weight of snow bending the branches towards the ground,
and perhaps slightly sinking them into it, during a severe season ;
the branches being thus held in contact with the spongy peat for a
considerable time, causing them permanently to assume this position.
The depth of the peat soil where the Banyan Spruce grows is about
14 feet. It is also to be noticcd that "that portion of the branch
between the stem and the ground, sometimes several feet in length,
does not appear to increase in diameter after the extremity has
rooted" [fig. 30]; the exception being when it has rooted close
to the parent stem. When Mr M'Nab wrote, it had formed
a double series of concentric circles of young trees round the
parent trunk. Mr M'Nab mentions that some of the branches
proceeding both from the main stem and from primary substems,
vary from 2 to 6 feet in length, by ii to 2 inches in
diameter, while some of their extremities, which have rooted in
the ground and assumed the appearance of stems, reach 2 feet in
circumference. Mr M'Nab speaks of other specimens at the
Whim also striking by natural layers, far inferior to the first in
size, from cattle having got access to them. In the largest, the
stoloniferous branches had rooted themselves 18 feet from the main stem. The same disposition shews
itself at the Whim in Spruces which have been blown down, the trunk resting on the mossy ground
sending out roots, and the branches on its upper side growing into trees, so large as to have occasioned
one specimen to be called the Man of War Tree, from stems like masts growing out of the large trunk.
A similar case occurs at Blair Drummond, where, under similar circumstances, a number of Spruces
have naturally struck root, and formed fine trees around the mother plant, a circumstance which Loudon
says he had " often observed to take place with the black American Spruce in mossy soil, but never had
observed to do so with the Norway Spruce till he saw it in Blair Drummond." One of these Spruces
produced Fir trees from natural layers, all as high as the mother plant. By the weight of a heavy
rain in the summer of 1855 the mother plant gave way, but the motherless children are still standing,
a beautiful group.
The rearing and management of the Spruce is very similar to that of the Scots 1' ir. 1 he cones arcgathered
in winter, and should only be taken from healthy trees. The seeds are easily removed from them,
the mere keeping the cones in a warm place being sufficient to cause the seed to drop out when
shaken. Fifteen gallons of cones produce about 2 lb. of seeds with their wings, or ij lb. without them.
Like other Conifer seeds, they will keep for three or four years. Their treatment in the nursery is the
same as that of the Scots Fir ; but, being more prolific in fibrous roots, they will bear transplanting
oftener, and so may be kept in the nursery until they arc larger trees.
A B I E S EXCELSA. 17
In this country it seems free from any special diseases; but in Sweden and Norway Le Breton
mentions that patches of dead trees frequently occur. For example, " near Lessox, saw nothing deserving
of notice except two lakes and a great number of dead trees. No plausible explanation of the latter
circumstance seems to have been given, although it is one of common occurrence both in Norway and
Sweden, where we find at certain spots 50 or 100 trees, many of large size, all apparently blasted at the
same time." ('Scandinavian Sketches,' p. 279.)
The Spruce, as every one knows, is thoroughly suited to the climate of the greater part of Britain.
It is perfectly hardy, and in the winters of 1860-61 and 1866-67 w e have heard of no instance in which
any plant was seriously injured by the frost. In late spring frosts we have seen the side branches all
along one side of a road or plantation browned as if by lightning, but the trees have soon recovered.
In Mr Palmer's tables, the only death which we find recorded is one instance where a plant of the variety
Clanbra.silia.7ia gave way in 1860-61 ; but it was due to exceptional circumstances.
There are many magnificent specimens scattered over England and Scotland. Some trees at
Studley, in Yorkshire, are amongst the largest (if not the largest) and most interesting trees in Britain.
These are said to have been planted by Eugene Aram, who was steward of the Studley estate, about the
middle of the last century. Mr Loudon gives the details regarding one of these trees, which in 1837 was
132 feet high (it is now 136), with a trunk 6 ft. 5 in. in diameter, regularly clothed with branches from
the base to the summit
"This Spruce,"'says he, "stands in the pleasure-grounds near one of the cascades. We remarked its great height and fine appearance when
we visited Studley in 1806; and Mr Jukes informs us that it is still in a state of vigorous growth, and adding to its height yearly. The lower
branches form an ample canopy, beneath which a person may stand, and look up close to the bole of the tree to its very summit; the insertions
of the branches being naked, the trunk perfeftly straight, and the remainder of the branches being densely clothed with leaves, and forming a
thick casing which excludes the light, and acts on the vision of a spe&ator below like the tube of a telescope."
The largest specimens mentioned by Loudon are:—
Y^,
Height. i^ofTWV. Hr- lldglit. T t T
At Syon, Middlesex IOO At Kilkerran, Ayr . 55 95 3 6
„ Whitton 90 „ Dupplin Castle, Perth . 107 3 0
„ Kingsweston, Somerset 95 3 0 ,, Taymouth, Perth 100 4 0
„ Cowdrey, Sussex . 80 3 9 „ Blair Drummond, Perth . 120 98 2 6
„ Longleat, Wilts 80 99 4 0 „ Sauchie, Stirling 96 2 6
„ Hatfield, Hereford . 105 71 2 6 „ Mackree Castle, Sligo . 96 2 8
„ Merton Hall, Norfolk 87 3 6 „ Baron's Court, Tyrone 60 100 2 6
„ Trentham, Stafford 90 3 4 „ WOrlitz, Saxony . 60 80 4 0
„ Finborough Hall, Suffolk 60 100 3 0 „ Sans Souci, Berlin 40 60 0 0
To which we may add some very fine examples at Blair Adam, in Kinross-shire. M. Jcegcr
(Gartenflora, 1858, p. 367) mentions some remarkable trees of this species in the park at Wilhelmsthal—
one with seven trunks, each bearing a large top, and each of size sufficient to supply planks of considerable
dimensions; another 16 feet in circumference at 3 feet from the ground, and another 99 feet in
height divided at 21 feet into two stems, each nearly 3 feet in diameter.
Of the varieties nigra and Carpathica, fine young examples are growing at Castle Kennedy, in
Wigtownshire. A remarkable specimen of the variety Clanbrasiliana, believed to be 40 years of age, and
only 3i feet in height, may be seen at Grange Park, in Hampshire. It is very quaint, its diameter being
5 feet 8 inches. Loudon mentions another of the same height which, when he wrote in 1837, was 30
years old, at Cashiobury, near Watford.
Commercial Statistics.—Loudon says that in 1837 the price of seeds at London was 3s. per lb.,
and of plants, one year's seedlings, is. 6d. per 1000; three years' seedlings, 8s. per 1000; and trans-
[ 24 ] 1 planted