I !
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9 4 8 A R B O R E T UM E T F R U T IC E T U M B R I T A N N I C U M .
vei-y close, the wood is elastic and resilient Being
general, very durable, and of great combustibility. Tb
^ 1, __ ...u:„,u ,To..,r crtmpwhfii-. in form, though the
Ig resinous, it is also, in
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t e t T t h e t e e d ^ p e n s , m ^ ^ ^ ^
a £ 0 £ 3 | i | s K s = t e »
l l i i l i i E è É s s f The pinaster arrives at maturity sooner than any o t h e r Em opean ^
iliS ili^ S
01 «nils whatever that are not surcharged with water. The roots ot all me
l i t e ™ ^mediately under the surface, and hence do not require a deep 1 l a n d a ! S needle'-like leaves do not L X m s i i s i s rnthPi- fhan elevated. A'bies commùnis grows naturally on moist soil, we
on neat bogs The only mode of propagating the pine and fir tribe on a larg
L a i! ft b! S^eds ; but ? 1 the species will succeed by layers, by marching o
closely allied kinds, and by herbaceous grafting ; and many, if “ ' y
iE n 3 ÌH 'F 3 S £ S S iéL % 3 from which frost ft excluded, throughout the winter ; and the S'®"" " tell
t o i L i l l send up shoots the following May or June, and may be transie nt
L x x vji. coniTæhæ : .z^b ie'tinæ . 9 4 9
The time during which any given species has its leading shoot in a fit state for
being broken over m this manner is not more than 15 days ; and, as the scions
from the species to be grafted are equally tender with the stock, they will not
remain longer in a state fit for the operation than about the same period
The scion is alwaj s inserted in the leading shoot ; the greater number of the
side shoots are either removed altogether, or shortened j and the young shoots
produced from the stocks during the season are pinched off with the finder and
thumb at about half their length. In the European Abiétinæ, the seeds begin
to drop from the cones, which remain on the trees, generally in March • for
which reason February is a good month to collect them. The cones of Pinus
sylvéstris, and of the allied sorts, soon open of themselves, after they have
been gathered from the tree, and spread out in the sun ; but the cones of P
Pinaster, P. Pinea, and the allied sorts, though treated in the same manner’
Will not open their scales for several months, or even a year. The cones of
Tedrus Libàni will not open till they have been three years or upwards on the
trees; and, when they are gathered, it is almost always necessary to steep
them in water for 24 hours, and afterwards to expose them before a fire or to
the sun. In Scotland, France, and Germany, the seeds of the Pinus sylvéstris
and of the Pànx europæ'a are very commonly separated from the
cones by kilndrying, and afterwards thrashing them : but, as the heat of the
kiln IS sometimes carried so far as to destroy the vital principle, it is con-
sidered safer to steep the cones before drying, in which case less fire is
requisite; or to split them by inserting an iron triangular-pointed instrument,
not unlike a shoemaker’s awl, into the axis of the cone, at its broad end. The
cones are also sometimes broken by passing them through a bone-mill or
between two cylinders ; or by putting them into a bark-mill. The cones of
the silver and the balm of Gilead firs, and also of the Pinus ¿tròbus, open of
themselves in a dry room, and give out their seeds with less trouble than those
", ^*^7 <!*Ûier species. The most general time for sowing the seeds of the
Abietmæ is in the end of March or in April. The ground ought to be in
good heart light, and sandy rather than loamy, and prepared as finely as
possible. The seeds may be most conveniently sown in beds; and, after
being gently beaten down with the back of a spade or a slight roller, they
should be covered with light soil or leaf mould to the depth of a sixteenth, an
eighth, or at most a quarter, of an inch, according to the size of the seeds;
and immediately afterwards covered with branches of trees or shrubs, fronds
of fern, wickerwork hurdles, or netting, to shade the soil from the sun, and
protect the seeds from birds. If, indeed, the seeds are gently patted in with
the back of the spade, and the beds kept shaded, and of a uniform gentle
moisture, no covering at all is necessary. When rare kinds are sown in pots,
It the surface of the soil is kept I in. below the rim of the pot, the pot may
be covered with a pane of glass, and the seeds will come up with certainty
and vigour. Traps ought to be set fbr mice, which are great devourers ofthe
seeds of the Abiétinæ. In very dry weather the beds should be watered in the
evenings; but in this case it becomes doubly necessary to shade them in the
daytmie ; because in proportion to the rapidity of the germination of the
seeds are they liable to be scorched bv the siin.*^ The precaution of shading
IS much less necessary in Scotland, than in England, or on the Continent.
Ine pine and fir tribe does not, in general, succeed so well when transplanted
as the broad-leaved trees ; for which reason, most of the sorts planted for
ornament, such as the cedar, stone pine, Weymouth pine, Siberian pine, &c.,
should always be kept by the nurserymen in pots. The Scotch pine, the
larch, the spruce, the silver and balm of Gilead firs, the Corsican pine, and the
v\ eymouth pine, may be transplanted into nursery lines, from the seed-bed,
in the second year ; and, after remaining one year in these lines, they may be
removed to where they are finally to remain. Very few species can be kept
'vuh advantage for a longer period in the nursery than 3 years ; viz. two in
ho seed^-bed, and one transplanted. Very little pruning is necessary for the
pine and fir tribe, whether they are grown singly or in scattered groups foe
3 u 3