These words of Sir William Thiselton-Dyer, that formed part of his opening address on the second day of the Conifer conference of the Royal Horticultural Society in 1891, may here be quoted:—

"Any one who had not travelled in Scotland could form no idea of the extent to which rare Conifers were cultivated in that country, and the splendid development which they attained. The chairman, by way of illustrating these remarks, directed the attention of the audience to some large photographs representing specimens of Coniferæ to be seen at Murthly Castle, Perthshire, where they flourished, and where stately and magnificent examples 70 feet, 80 feet, and 100 feet high were to be met with. Such trees could only be seen in Scotland, and were the result of a peculiar association of physical conditions. In the south-west of England it was impossible to find a parallel, though even on the sunburnt soil of Kew good specimens of the Pines proper were occasionally to be seen. With regard to the Abies, however—that section of Conifers of which the Spruces may be taken as a type—a state of things prevailed in Scotland which could not be rivalled in England. On the other hand, the climate in the south-west of the latter country was fairly suitable for some other Conifers, and many of the fine Mexican Pines could be grown there."

Of the remarkable Douglas Fir at Dropmore, Mr. Charles Herrin on the same occasion says: "The monarch Douglas Fir, planted in 1830, has attained a height of 120 feet, girth of trunk 11 feet 9 inches, with beautiful spreading branches sweeping the ground, covering a diameter of 64 feet. The leaves are also of a glaucous hue, equalling in that respect many of the plants now sold from nurseries under the name of Douglasi glauca.... Many trees have since been raised from its seeds and planted out on the estate; one, planted in 1843, is now 78 feet high, with a girth of trunk of 8 feet 2 inches, spreading 39 feet in diameter at base; a perfect specimen."

By comparing the growth of the latter tree with the Murthly table, it will be seen that the trees make their growth much more rapidly in Scotland. The Murthly Conifers were all planted by Sir William and Sir Douglas Stewart. The present owner, Mr. Steuart Fothringham, who measured the trees in 1891 in anticipation of the visit of the Scottish Arboricultural Society, on learning that we should be glad to know their increase of growth since that date, has been so good as to have the same trees measured again, the increase being shown by the subjoined table on p. 128.

Mr. Fothringham also furnishes the following remarks: "The measurements were all carefully taken by sending men or boys up the trees, not by dendrometers, and are, I believe, correct. There are something like eighty or a hundred different varieties growing at Murthly, but some of them are young and only experiments. Those measured and noted are the most striking; they are nearly all growing in large numbers. The remarks appended to the table are made by Mr. James Laurie, the gardener, who knows Conifers well. The only additional notes I have made are the following: Picea sitchensis will never, in my opinion, supplant the Spruce. Picea orientalis is not as free-growing as the Spruce, but quite as hardy. Araucaria imbricata.—Many of these were damaged by severe frost. Cedrus Deodara will not, in my opinion, live to great age in our climate. Cupressus thyoides.—This particular tree was so much broken by branches blown off its neighbour that I cut it down. Pinus monticola has been attacked by a parasitic growth that is likely to destroy all the young growth and probably the trees. Juniperus recurva was severely injured by the hard frost. By the hard frost I mean the winter of 1894-5. In February 1895, the thermometer was for several days below 0 Fahr., and on one night went to 11° below 0. This shows that all these trees will stand great cold at the time of year that it is likely to come, but late frosts in spring, when the sap has begun to rise, are detrimental to the young shoots of those that start their growth early in the season. There are at Murthly, besides Coniferæ, fine specimens of Yews, Oaks, Beech, Spanish Chestnut, Horse Chestnut, and Sycamore."

August 11, 1892.March 24, 1900.
Height.Girth at 5 feet.Spread of Branches.Height.Girth at 5 feet.Spread of Branches.
Wellingtonia, planted 1857[A]66.69.326 74.1110.728
Picea sitchensis, planted 1845[B]91.99.745 105.1011.3...
Pinus monticola, planted 1850[C]67 5.618 79.26.222
Araucaria imbricata, planted 1847[D]42.64 9 51 4.89.8
Abies Pinsapo, planted 184734.86.6... 42.67.10...
,, magnifica, planted 186731.92.79 43.33.811
Pseudotsuga Douglasi, planted 1847[E]86.68.1024 97.49.1027
Abies grandis, planted 185264.24.822.679.106.1035.8
Tsuga albertiana, planted 186056 5.532 72.16.440
Abies nobilis, planted 184775.46.1... 92.86.6...
,, nordmanniana, planted 185458.64 ... 74 4.9...
Tsuga hookeriana, planted 1862[F]30 4 15 39.64 15.4
Cedrus Deodara, planted 1842[G]51.36.826 61.27.436
,, Libani[H]65.1011.8... 67 12.5...
Cryptomeria japonica, planted 185236.34.226 41.74.3...
Libocedrus decurrens[I]34.83.610 38 4.514
Thuya gigantea, planted 186246 3.621 57 3.7...
Cupressus lawsoniana, planted 1859[J]... ... ... 48.74.2...
Spanish Chestnut... ... ... ... 17.10...
,, ,, [K]... ... ... ... 19.2...
Silver Fir[L]... ... ... 90 11.3...
Cupressus lawsoniana erecta viridis... ... ... 25 2.87
Picea ajanensis, planted 1885... ... ... 24 1.710.6
Abies brachyphylla, planted 1885[M]... ... ... 14 ... 9.7
,, Veitchii, planted 1885[N]... ... ... 20.91.410.2
,, amabilis, planted 1885... ... ... 14.11... 9.5
,, concolor violacea, planted 1885... ... ... 20.11.514.9
English Yew[O]... ... ... 30 14.380
English Yew... ... ... ... 10.8...
Tsuga albertiana (at Roman Bridge)[P]... ... ... 75 4.3...
Picea orientalis, planted 185230 2.7... 49 3 ...
,, morinda, planted 185747 ... ... ... ... ...
Pinus Jeffreyi... ... ... 57 4.9...

FOOTNOTES:

[A] At the ground this tree measures 16.9; cones freely.

[B] There are six others about the same size, and all are growing freely.