place as a part of the whole. The model tree in question was
constructed of wire slightly twisted together, so as to form the main
body of a branch. It was then subdivided into branchlets, and finally
into individual twigs. All these, combined together by his dexterous
hand, resulted in the model of an old leafless tree, so true and
correct, that any one would have thought that it had been modelled
direct from nature.

The Duke of Athol consulted my father as to the improvements which he
desired to make in his woodland scenery near Dunkeld. The Duke was
desirous that a rocky crag, called Craigybarns, should be planted with
trees, to relieve the grim barrenness of its appearance. But it was
impossible for any man to climb the crag in order to set seeds or
plants in the clefts of the rocks. A happy idea struck my father.
Having observed in front of the castle a pair of small cannon used for
firing salutes, it occurred to him to turn them to account. His object
was to deposit the seeds of the various trees amongst the soil in the
clefts of the crag. A tinsmith in the village was ordered to make a
number of canisters with covers. The canisters were filled with all
sorts of suitable tree seeds. A cannon was loaded, and the canisters
were fired up against the high face of the rock. They burst and
scattered the seed in all directions. Some years after, when my father
revisited the place, he was delighted to find that his scheme of
planting by artillery had proved completely successful; for the trees
were flourishing luxuriantly in all the recesses of the cliff. This was
another instance of my father's happy faculty of resourcefulness.

Certain circumstances about this time compelled my father almost
entirely to give up portrait painting and betake himself to another
branch of the fine arts. The earnest and lively interest which he took