seed--the plant is deciduous and slow growing;
Cephalotaxus and Torreya are propagated by seeds, cuttings, or layers.

TAXUS (the Yew).--There are only three or four species of Taxus, but
there are a great many varieties of the Common Yew, many being very
handsome. The species are easily raised from seeds, layers, or cuttings.
The first two methods are the best, cuttings being very slow in growth,
but as seed is very plentiful in most years this is the quickest and
best means of propagation. Some of the varieties will come true from
seed; the Irish Yew, however, must be struck from cuttings, as seedlings
never come true. The more highly variegated Yews grow quickest when
grafted on the Common Yew, and as they always keep good in after years
this method can for once be recommended. A very good species for a lawn
is _T. cuspidata_; it is strong in growth and spreading.

Propagate PRUMNOPITYS and SAXEGOTHEA by seeds, cuttings, or layers.

CONIFERS AT MURTHLY CASTLE, PERTHSHIRE

[Illustration: _AVENUE OF ANCIENT YEWS AT MURTHLY._]

The following account of a great Conifer garden in Scotland is
important, as showing how certain of the better-known species have
behaved during the last fifty years or so. It is taken from the _Garden_
of May 19, 1900:--

The second quarter of the present century saw the introduction of a
large number of Conifers hitherto unknown to English gardens. Their
cultivation was eagerly taken up, and especially in Scotland, a land
whose general conditions seem highly favourable to a considerable number
of species, much success has been attained. It may still be premature to
state with any degree of assurance what may be the ultimate suitability
of many of these Conifers for growth in our islands. The lifetime of a
tree is not comprised within its first sixty years, and such a length of
time is all too short to prove the ultimate success of any new tree,
though within that space it may come to a magnificent size and apparent
promise. Such a state is shown by the splendid Douglas Firs in the
grounds of Murthly Castle, Perthshire, where also many another exotic
Conifer is grown in quantity.

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