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THE TREES OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND
PINUS LARICIO, FOREST OF BAVELLA, CORSICA
From an Original Sketch by the late Robert Elwes.
rees
of
Great Britain
& Ireland
BY
Henry John Elwes, F.R.S.
AND
Augustine Henry, M.A.
VOLUME II
Edinburgh : Privately Printed
MCMVII
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CONTENTS
List of Illustrations
Thujopsis .
^SCULUS
Common Horse-Chestnut
Red Horse-Chestnut
Indian Horse-Chestnut
Japanese Horse-Chestnut .
Ohio Buckeye
Sweet Buckeye
Californian Buckeye
TSUGA
Hooker's Hemlock
Western Hemlock .
Hemlock or Hemlock Spruce
Carolina Hemlock
Himalayan Hemlock
Siebold's Hemlock
Japanese Hemlock
Juglans
Common Walnut
Black Walnut
Butternut .
Texan Walnut
Manchurian Walnut
Cordate Walnut .
PACE
V
20I
206
210
217
219
221
223
224
226
227
229
239
a43
244
246
247
249
262
271
274
276
277
111
IV
The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
Narrow-Fruitkd Walnut
Siebold's Walnxtt .
Common or Stalked-Cupped
Sessile or Durmast Oak
Pubescent Oak
Larix
Common Larch
Russian Larch
Siberian Larch
KuRiLE Larch
Japanese Larch
SiKKiM Larch
Chinese Larch
Tamarack .
Western Larch
Lyall's Larch
PiNUS Laricio
Herzegovinian Pine
Gymnocladus chinensis
Gymnocladus canadensis
Cedrela sinensis .
Pterocarya
Pterocarya caucasica
Pterocarya rhoifolia
Pterocarya stenoptera
Cladrastis .
Yellow-Wood
Cladrastis amurensis
Cladrastis sinensis
Oak
PAGE
279
280
282
291
294
345
349
374
379
383
384
388
391
392
395
403
407
424
427
428
433
436
438
442
443
445
446
449
450
ILLUSTRATIONS
Pinus Laricio, Forest of Bavella, Corsica (from an original sketch by the late Robert Elwes)
Weeping Beech at Endsleigh .
^sculus, leaves
^sculus, twigs and buds
Horse-Chestnut at Colesbome
Weeping Horse-Chestnut at Dunkeld
^sculus indica at Barton
^sculus turbinata in Japan .
Hooker's Hemlock at Murthly
Western Hemlock at Dropmore
Western Hemlock at Murthly
Hemlock Spruce at Foxley
Hemlock Spruce at Strathfieldsaye
Himalayan Hemlock at Boconnoc
Juglans, leaves
Walnut at Barrington Park
Walnut at Gordon Castle
Black Walnut at Twickenham
Black Walnut at the Mote .
Quercus, twigs and buds
Quercus pedunculata, sessiliflora, and
Cypress Oak at Melbury
Self-sown Oaks at Thornbury Castle
Champion Oak at Powis Castle
Oak at Powis Castle .
Lady Powis' Oak at Powis Castle
Tall Oak at Whitfield
Oak at Kyre Park .
Tall Oaks at Kyre Park
Billy Wilkin's Oak at Melbury
lanuginosa ; leaves
Frontispiece
Plate No.
58a
61
63
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
7a
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
»S
86
87
88
VI
The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
Beggar's Oak in Bagot's Park
Oaks at Bagot's Park
King Oak at Bagot's Park
Sessile Oak at Merevale Park
Oak at Bourton-on-the-VVater
Oak at Althorp
Major Oak in Sherwood Forest
Brown Oak at Rockingham Park
Umbrella Oak at Castle Hill .
Larches in Oakley Park
Larches at Sherborne, Gloucestershire
Larches at Colesborne
Champion Larch at Taymouth
Forked Larch at Taymouth .
Mother Larch at Dunkeld
Forked Larch at Gordon Castle
Larch in the Alps
Dahurian Larch at Woburn .
Larch in Kurile Islands
Japanese Larch at Tortworth .
Sikkim Larch at Strete Raleigh
American Larch at Dropmore
Western Larch in Montana
Lyall's Larch in Alberta
Corsican Pine in Corsica
Corsican Pine in Corsica
Pinus Laricio on sandhills at Holkham
Pinus Laricio at Holkham
Pinus Laricio at Arley
Crimean Pine at Elveden
Pinus leucodermis in Bosnia
Gymnocladus canadensis
Pterocarya caucasica at Melbury
Pterocarya caucasica at Claremont
Pterocarya caucasica at Cambridge
Yellow-Wood at Syon
Pterocarya, Gymnocladus, Cladrastis, and Cedrela ; leaves
Liriodendron, Cedrela, Ailanthus Cladrastis, and Corylus ; twigs and buds
Pl.ATK No.
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
lOI
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
no
III
112
"3
114
"5
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
'25
1 26
^ THUJOPSIS
Thujopsis, Siebold et Zuccarini, Fl. Jap. ii. 32 (1842).
Thuya, Bentham et Hooker, Gen. PI. iii. 427 (1880).
Cupressus, Masters, /ourn. Linn. Soc. {Bot.), xxx. 19 (1893) and xxxi. 363 (1896).
This genus is considered by many authorities to be merely a section of Cupressus
or of Thuya. The foliage and cones, however, are remarkably distinct, and justify
its retention as a separate genus.
Evergreen trees, belonging to the tribe Cupressineae of the order Coniferae,
with reddish bark scaling off in longitudinal shreds. Branches in false whorls
or scattered, giving off secondary branches, which terminate in very flattened
branch-systems, disposed in horizontal planes. These resemble in their general
arrangement those of Thuya and Chamaecyparis, and are mostly tripinnate, all the
axes being covered with small coriaceous leaves, adnate in part of their length, and
arranged in four ranks in decussate pairs. The leaves on the main and ultimate
axes differ only in size.
The ventral and dorsal leaves are flattened and ovate or spathulate, with
rounded apices ; the lateral leaves are carinate, more or less spreading, with a
slightly acute apex, which is bent inwards. The dorsal flat leaves are shining green,
and marked with a central ridge, which is often hollowed in the middle line. The
ventral flat leaves have a central green ridge, with a concavity white with stomata
on each side. The lateral leaves, green on the dorsal side, exhibit a single stomatic
concavity on their ventral side.
Flowers monoecious, solitary, and terminal, the male and female flowers borne
on separate lateral branchlets as in Thuya. Male flowers cylindric, ^ inch long,
with six decussate pairs of stamens. Female flowers with five ovules on each scale.
Cones globular, almost erect, with eight clavate, woody scales, in decussate pairs
fromi a central axis, the upper pair abortive. Seeds three to five on a scale, laterally
winged, the wing not notched at the summit.
The seedling 1 resembles that of Tkuya plicata, but has broader and very blunt
cotyledons, with shorter and broader primary leaves.
' See Tubeuf, Somen, FrUchte, u. Keimlinge, 103, fig. 143 (189 1).
II 20I
20 2 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
THUJOPSIS DOLABRATA
Thujopsis dolabrata, Siebold et Zuccarini, J^. Jap. ii. 34, tt. 119, 120 (1842); Franchet et Savatier,
Enum. H. Jap. i. 469 (1875); Shirasawa, Icon. Essences Forest. Jap., text 27, t. xi. 18-34
(1900).
Thuya dolabrata, Linnaeus, Suppl. PI, System, 420 (1781)5 Masters, Jour. Linn. Soc. {Bot.), xviii.
486 (1881), and Gard. Chron. xviii. 556, fig. 95 (1882); Kent, in Veitch's Man. ConiJ. 236
(1900).
The species has been described in detail above.
Two well-marked geographical forms occur, both confined to the main island
of Japan : —
1. Var. australis (var. nova). A small tree 40 to 50 feet in height, or a
shrub growing as underwood in the dense shade of forests. As a tree it has a
slender trunk, with drooping branches and a narrow pyramidal top. Branchlets
very flat and only slightly overlapping, the lateral leaves ending in acute points
bent inwards. Cones broadly ovoid, with scales thickened at the apex, which is
prolonged externally into a blunt triangular process. This is the form which is
known in cultivation in Europe, and described and figured in the works cited
above.
2. Var. Hondai, Makino.^ A larger tree, attaining 100 feet in height, with a
stem of over 3 feet in diameter. The branch-systems are more densely ramified,
the branchlets being placed close together and overlapping one another by their
edges more than is the case in the preceding variety. The leaves also are smaller,
whiter underneath, and crowded more closely on the shoots ; those of the lateral
ranks being usually blunt and not curved inwards at the apex. The cones are
globular, with scales not thickened at the apex, which is devoid of the process so
conspicuous in the other form, or merely shows it as an obsolete transverse
minute mucro. The seeds appear to be more broadly winged, the wings being
more scarious in texture.
This form has not yet been introduced. Elwes has brought home excellent
specimens of it in fruit from the Uchimappe Forest, near Aomori, in the extreme
north of Hondo. These differ in the characters given above from specimens of
the ordinary form obtained by him in the forest of Atera, Kisogawa, and Yumoto
(4000 to 5000 feet altitude) in Central Hondo. The smaller leaves, set more
closely on densely ramified branchlets in this variety, may be due to the influence
of dense shade. The difference in the cone is paralleled by what occurs in the
fruit of the different geographical forms of Cryptomera japonica. I am inclined to
think that var. Hondai is not a distinct species ; but as it is very different, from
the point of view of cultivators, it may conveniently bear the name Thujopsis
Hondai.
* Tokyo Botanical Meclizine, 1901, xv. 104.
Thujopsis 203
Several horticultural varieties have been introduced, viz. : —
3. Var. latevirens, Masters, Jour. Linn. Soc. {Bot), xviii, 486.
Thujopsis leetevirens, Lindley, Gard. Chron. 1862, p. 428.
Thoujopsis dolabrata nana, Gordon, Pinetum, ed. 2, p. 399.
A dwarf shrub having no definite leader, with slender and much -ramified
branchlets, and very small and bright green leaves. This variety often shows acicular
leaves, spreading all round the shoot, and is apparently a fixed seedling form. It
was introduced in 1861 from Japan by J. Gould Veitch.
4. Var. variegata. This only differs from the ordinary cultivated form in
having the tips of many of the branchlets pale yellow or cream colour. It was
introduced by Fortune in 1861.
Distribution
Thujopsis dolabrata was discovered by Kaempfer,' who mentions it in his
Amoenitates Exoticce, p. 884, as "a kind of Finoki." His specimen is still preserved
in the Natural History Museum at South Kensington, and was figured by Lambert^
in his account of the species. ' Thunberg long afterwards (about 1776) sent
specimens to Linnaeus, who first gave a scientific description of the tree. Thun-
berg' cites the locality as follows : — " Crescit in regionibus Oygawce et FakonicB, inter
Miaco et ledo." (A. H.)
Thujopsis dolabrata in Japan is known under the name of Hiba, and is found
in a wild state north of about lat. 35°, and in the southern part of this area
is a mountain tree only, occurring in the forest of the Kisogawa district from
about 3000 to 5000 feet. In the vicinity of Nikko it is common between about
4000 and 6000 feet according to Sargent, but I only saw it here near Lake Yumoto
where it did not appear to attain such large dimensions as farther north. The
variety found in the forests of Atera is distinct in its fruit from the northern form.
The excellent figure on Plate xi. in Shirasawa's Essences Foresti^res appears to be
taken from the southern variety.
The northern form has been described by Makino as var. Hondai, but the latter
is not mentioned either by Goto or Shirasawa, nor is it recognised as specifically
distinct in any of the Japanese collections which I saw. Though the tree usually
occurs in mixture with Tsuga at Nikko, and with Sciadopitys at Atera, yet in the
extreme north of Japan, on the hills north of Aomori, it is found in pure forest on
hills of volcanic formation from near sea-level up to about 3000 feet. An
excellent account of the forest of Uchimappe is given in Forestry and Forest- Products
of Japan, where it is stated that the mountains are of Tertiary formation, and the
under-lying rock composed of tufa, sandstone, and slate. Pieces of this rock which
I brought home have been examined by Mr. Prior of the British Museum of
Natural History, who considers that in all probability they represent a rather basic
andesite or basalt, but owing to the weathered and decomposed state of the
specimens, satisfactory sections could not be made. I visited this forest in the
' See Salisbury, _/(»«-. Science and Arts, 1817, ii. 313. ' Genus Pinus, ed. 2, ii. tab. 68 (1842).
' Flora Japonica, 266 (1784), sub Thuya dolabrata, Linn,
204 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
company of Mr. Shirasawa in June, and after passing through the flat rice-fields
which extend from the sea to the foot of the hills, entered the forest, which consists
mainly of Thujopsis naturally reproduced, though here and there, trees of Quercus
glandulifera. Magnolia hypoleuca, and other species occur, whilst Cryptomeria and
Cupressus obtusa are planted in the valleys, and Larix leptolepis on those parts of
the hills where the natural forest has been destroyed by fire. From observations
taken at the meteorological observatory of Aomori, it appears that the climate of this
part of Japan is cold in winter and the snowfall heavy, the thermometer falling in
February to —15° Centigrade, and rising in September to sa's" Centigrade; the
average temperature for the whole year being 9°, and the average moisture 78
per cent. The average height of the trees here is about 70 to 80 feet, attaining
in deep shady valleys 100 feet or perhaps more, and about 2 feet in diameter when
closely grown, at the age of 150 to 180 years when it is considered ripe for felling.
The stems are often much curved at the butt from the pressure of the snow on
the young seedlings, which require eight to ten years to get above its surface in
winter, and these butts are usually cut separately and used for special purposes.
The tree does not seem to have the power of reproducing itself from the stool, but
produces abundant seed, which in dense shade germinates freely, though the
growth of the seedlings is very slow at first.
The undergrowth of the forest is very different from what I saw in other parts
of Japan, bamboo-grass {Arundinaria Veitchii) being much less prevalent, but in the
damp places tall herbaceous plants were numerous, with Aucuba, Skimmia, and Ilex,
and other evergreen shrubs on the drier ground, and many pretty liliaceous plants
and orchids in places.
Goto says of this tree,* that it formed under the old regime, together with
Cupressus pisifera, C. obtusa, Thuya japonica, and Sciadopitys, the so-called " Goboku "
or Five Trees, which enjoyed careful protection at the hands of the feudal autho-
rities ; he also says that it is rarely planted, being regenerated naturally by seed,
and that it forms extensive forests in a mixture with other conifers such as
Thuya japonica and Pinus parvifiora, in the mountains on the northern frontier of
the province of Rikuchu, in Goyosan, and in the mountains of the Tone districts,
Kozukd. It has lately come to be in great demand for railway sleepers.
Plate 60 (in Vol. I.) represents a dense growth of trees of this species in the
forest of Uchimappe very similar to what I saw in the Kisogawa district at about
3000 feet. I am indebted to the Japanese Forest Department for the negative from
which it was made.
The wood of Thujopsis is highly valued in those parts of Japan where it grows,
on account of its great durability. This is proved by specimens shown at the
St. Louis Exhibition, one of which had been used as a gate-post for eighty-three
years, another as a plank in a fishing-boat for eighty-four years, others as railway
sleepers in use for fourteen years. The wood has an aromatic smell, takes a fine
lustrous polish when planed, and is yellowish white in colour, showing a fine grain,
which makes selected planks from the butt length very ornamental. Exceptional
' Forestry of Japan, :8 (1900).
Thujopsis 205
cases occur in which the wood is curiously mottled and freckled. A ceiling and
a screen made of such wood, which I saw in the Forestry Bureau at Aomori, were
very beautiful.
The wood weighs about 30 lbs. per cubic foot, and is worth at Aomori from
40 to 50 yen per 100 cubic feet, or about is. per cubic foot. It is much valued not
only for joinery and building purposes, but for foundations, ship and boat building,
as it is stronger and more resinous than other woods of the same character.
The bark also, which is thin, tough, and durable, is much used for roofing and for
partitions and walls of out-houses, fences, etc.
Cultivation
T. Lobb sent a plant from the Botanical Garden at Buitenzorg in Java, to Exeter
in 1853, which died ; and soon after, Capt. Fortescue, a cousin of Earl Fortescue,
brought a plant from Japan which was planted at Castlehill in 1859. But this tree,
as I learn from Mr. Pearson, the head gardener, has been dead for some time,
though plants raised from its cuttings are still growing at Castlehill and elsewhere.
In 1861 Mr. J. G. Veitch and R. Fortune sent seeds from Japan to the Chelsea
and Ascot Nurseries, from which plants were raised and generally distributed, so that
the tree is now common in England.
From what I have said of its habitat in Japan it is clear that though this tree is
hardy as regards frost in winter, it requires conditions which are rarely found in
England to bring it to any size, and, as a matter of fact, it has not yet become a
tree anywhere except in Devonshire and Cornwall, though perhaps if seeds from
North Japan are obtained the results might be better.
Though no doubt it has ripened seeds elsewhere, I have never obtained any
which germinated, except from a tree planted about 1881 by Queen Alexandra in
the Earl of Northbrook's grounds at Stratton Park, Hants, which I gathered in
October 1900. One of these grew, and is now a healthy plant about 9 inches high.
It seems to suffer less from spring frost than many Japanese and Himalayan conifers.
The finest tree that I have seen in England is at Killerton, which in 1902
measured 35 feet 6 inches in height and 2 feet 4 inches in girth. It is growing
on a slope facing south-west in a peculiar soil, which Sir C. T. D. Acland describes
as " Trap, soft below the surface, but hard after exposure. This trap overlies red
sandstone, but is rather darker and more porous." This soil evidently suits most
conifers admirably, as I have seen no other collection which contains so many fine
specimens as this.
At Boconnoc, at Carclew, and ai other places in Cornwall there are trees
approaching this in height, but we have not seen any specimen above 15 to 20 feet
in other parts of England, though as a bushy shrub 12 feet high it exists in most
modern gardens. In Scotland it seems hardy in the west and in Perthshire, whilst
at Castlewellan in Ireland it has attained 30 feet in height. At Powerscourt and
Kilmacurragh, Wicklow, there are trees with the lower branches layering and
forming numerous independent stems. (H. J. E.)
iESCULUS
/Esculus, Linnaeus, Gen. PL 109 (1737); Bentham et Hooker, Gen. PL i. 398 (1862).
Pavia, Boerhave, ex Miller, Gard. Diet. ed. 6 (1752).
Deciduous trees and shrubs, belonging to the natural order Sapindaceae, some
authorities, however, making the genus the type of a distinct order Hippocastaneae,
Leaves in opposite decussate pairs, without stipules, stalked, digitately compound ;
leaflets five to nine, serrate in margin, pinnately veined. Branchlets stout, terete,
with large triangular leaf-scars. Buds large, of numerous decussately opposite scales
which are homologous with leaf-bases, the outer deciduous, dry or resinous, the
inner accrescent and often brightly coloured.
Flowers in large terminal racemes or panicles, appearing later than the leaves,
of two kinds, hermaphrodite and staminate, on the same plant ; placed in the axils
of minute caducous bracts on stout jointed pedicels. Calyx imbricate in bud, five-
or two-lobed, the lobes unequal, united with an hypogynous annular disc in the
hermaphrodite flowers. Petals four to five, imbricate in bud, alternate with the calyx
lobes and inserted on the disc. Stamens five to eight, usually seven, inserted on the
inner margin of the disc, unequal in length ; filaments filiform ; anthers two-celled,
sometimes glandular at the apex. Ovary three-celled, rudimentary in the staminate
flowers, each cell containing two ovules. Style slender, elongated, generally curved.
Fruit a capsule ; prickly, roughened, or smooth ; coriaceous ; three-celled, three-
seeded, and three-valved, or by abortion one- to two-celled and one- to two-seeded,
the remains of the abortive cells and seeds usually remaining visible. Seeds without
albumen, rounded or flattened by mutual pressure ; seed-coat brown and coriaceous,
marked by a large whitish hilum. Cotyledons thick and fleshy, unequal, cohering
together by their contiguous faces, remaining in the seed-coat during germination.
About twelve species of .^sculus ' are known to occur in the wild state. They
are natives of North America, Europe, and Asia. The genus was formerly divided
into two sections, Pavia, with smooth fruit, and Hippocastanum, with spiny fruit ;
but this division is not a natural one. The following synopsis groups the species
under sections, which are more natural, being dependent on the characters of the
flowers and buds : —
I. Hippocastanum. Buds viscid. Calyx irregularly campanulate, four- to five-
' The two Mexican species, which have tri-foliolate leaves, are now separated as a distinct genus, BilUa.
306
i^sculus 207
lobed. Petals four or five, claws not longer than the calyx ; stamens exserted.
This section includes all the old-world species.
1. /£sculus Hippocastanum, Linnaeus. Greece.
2. yEsculus indica, Colebrooke. Afghanistan, north-western Himalaya.
3. yEsculus punduana, Wallich, List 1189 (1828). Sikkim, western Duars,
Khasia Hills, Upper Burma, Tenasserim, Siam, Tonking. Large tree. Leaflets
six to seven, very large, thinly coriaceous, stalked, acuminate, serrate. Panicles
12 to 15 mches or more, flowers white or yellow. Fruit brown, smooth.
Not introduced and not likely to be hardy.
4. ^sculus chinensis, Bunge, Enum. PI. Chin. Bor. 10(1835). Northern and
Central China. A tree, 40 to 50 feet high. Leaflets five to seven, large, stalked,
obovate-oblong, rounded at the base, abruptly acuminate at the apex, finely serrate,
shining above, glabrescent below except for pubescence along the nerves, petioles
pubescent. Panicles, 8 inches long, pubescent. Flowers small, white ; sepals
shortly and unequally five-lobed, pubescent. Petals four, minute. Filaments
glabrous. Fruit ' pear-shaped or globular, small (f inch diameter), one-celled, three-
valved, brown, covered with warts, not spiny.
This species has been much confused with the next, from which it differs in
every way. The flowers, though small, are numerous in the large panicle, and the
foliage is very handsome. It is common enough in the mountains of central China,
in Shansi, and in the hills to the west of Peking ; and when introduced is likely to
prove hardy in England.
5. ^sculus turbinata, Blume. Japan.
H. Pavia. Buds not resinous. Calyx tubular, five-toothed. Petals four,
yellow or scarlet.
6. yEsculus glabra, Willdenow. North America.
7. y£sculus octandra, Marshall. North America.
8. yEsculus Pavia, Linnaeus, Sp. PI. 344 (1753); Bot. Reg. t. 993 (1826).
Middle United States. A shrub. Leaves with slender grooved petioles, the edges
of the grooves jagged. Leaflets five, obovate, acute at the base, acuminate at the
apex, finely serrate without cilia, slightly pubescent beneath. Flowers in loose
panicles, 4 to 7 inches long. Petals red, meeting at the tips ; upper pair longer,
with claws about three times as long as the small spathulate limb ; lateral pair
shorter, with claws as long as the calyx, and rounded limb equalling the claw
in length ; margin of petals beset with minute dark glands. Stamens as long
as the upper pair of petals. Fruit brown, without spines.
This species, though only a shrub, is mentioned here at some length, as it closely
resembles /Esculus octandra, and moreover enters into such important hybrids as
/Esculus carnea, versicolor, etc. All its hybrids may be recognised by the red colour of
the flowers and the glandular margin of the petals. It is readily distinguished from
.Esculus octandra by its smaller, leaves and peculiar petioles. In winter it shows the
following characters : — Twigs slender, glabrous, shining, with numerous lenticels.
' Cf. Hance iajeurii. Bol. viii. 312 (1870),
2o8 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
Leaf-scars obovate or crescentic on slightly prominent cushions, with three groups
of bundle-dots ; opposite scars joined by a linear ridge. Terminal buds long oval
or fusiform, pointed ; scales numerous, the upper rounded, the lower pointed at
the apex and keeled on the back, minutely ciliate in margin. Pith wide, circular,
green.
9. y^sculus austrina, S>ma\\, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club, 1901, xxviii. 359; Sargent,
Man. Trees N. America, 647 (1905); /Esculus Pavia, y9 discolor, Torrey and Gray,
Fl N. Anter. i. 252 (1838), in part. A small tree, attaining 30 feet in height,
occurring in Tennessee, S. Missouri, E. Texas, and north-western Alabama. This
resembles the last species. The leaflets, however, are usually more irregularly but
finely serrate, and pale tomentose beneath. Panicles pubescent, 6 to 8 inches long.
Petals bright red, meeting at the tips, unequal, oblong-obovate, rounded at the apex,
glandular, those of the upper pair about half as wide as those of the lateral pair,
with claws much longer than the calyx. Stamens longer than the petals. Fruit
brown, slightly pitted. Not introduced.
III. Macrothyrsus. Buds not viscid. Calyx five-toothed. Petals four to
five, white, claws longer than the calyx. Stamens exserted, very long.
10. y^sculus parviflora, Walter, Flora Caroliniana, 128 (1788), South-eastern
North America. A shrub. Leaflets five to seven, elliptical or oblong-ovate,
densely grey-tomentose beneath, finely serrate. Panicles erect, 8 to 10 inches long,
slender, narrow. Flowers white, faintly tinged with pink. The long and thread-
like stamens are pinkish white and very conspicuous.
This is a valuable shrub, as it flowers late, in July or August, some five or six
weeks later than any of the other species except californica. Occasionally it forms
a short single trunk, but generally it sends up a crowd of stems from the ground.
It is figured in Gard. Chron. 1877, viii. fig. 129; and is often known in gardens
as Pavia macrostachya, Loiseleur, or ^sculus macrostachya, Michaux, See Bol.
Mag. t. 21 18 (1820), where it is stated that the species was introduced by Mr.
John Fraser in 1785. Canon Ellacombe reported in 1877^ that he had at Bitton
a specimen, which was at least forty years old, but that it remained a bush, not
exceeding 8 or 10 feet in height.
IV. Calothyrsus, Buds viscid. Calyx two-lipped or five-lobed. Petals four,
pink or white, claws not longer than the calyx. Stamens exserted.
11. yEsculus californica, Nuttall. California.
12. ^sculus Parryi, A. Gray, Proc. Amer. Acad. xvii. 200 (1881); Sargent,
Garden and Forest, 1890, p. 356, fig. 47. Lower California. A small shrub,
resembling the preceding species ; but differing in the five-lobed calyx, and in the
leaflets, which are small, obovate and hoary pubescent beneath. It has not been
introduced.
V. Hybrids. The most important is ^sculus carnea, Hayne, which is a cross
between the common horse-chestnut and A. Pavia. This is described fully below,
' Gard. Chron. 1877, viii. 691.
^sculus 209
^sculus plantierensis, Andr^, a supposed hybrid between yEsculus carnea and
y^sculus Hippocastanum, will be mentioned under the former species. ^sculus
versicolor, Dippel, a hybrid between ^sculus Pavia and ^sculus octandra, will be
treated under the latter species.
The following key to the species in cultivation is based on the characters of the
leaves and buds. In Plate 61 the leaves of all these species are shown ; and in
Plate 62 are represented the twigs and buds of six species, viz., Hippocastanum,
carnea, indica, glabra, octandra, and calif arnica : —
A. Leaflets sessile or nearly so ; buds very viscid.
1. j^sculus Hippocastanum.
Petioles glabrescent. Leaflets obtusely and irregularly serrate.
2. ^sculus turbinata.
Petioles pubescent, especially towards their tips. Leaflets regularly and
crenately serrate.
B. Leaflets stalked.
*Buds viscid.
3. y^sculus indica.
Leaflets finely and sharply serrate, pale beneath. Buds very viscid.
4. ^sculus carnea.
Leaflets obtusely and irregularly serrate. Buds only slightly viscid, the brown
scales having a dark-coloured margin.
5. ^sculus calif ornica.
Leaflets shallowly and crenately serrate, pale beneath. Buds viscid, glisten-
ing with white resin.
** Buds not viscid.
6. ^sculus parviflora.
Leaflets densely grey-tomentose beneath, finely serrate in margin. Buds
minutely pubescent.
7. j^sculus octandra.
Leaflets pubescent beneath, broadly lanceolate, shortly acuminate, with twenty
or more pairs of nerves in the terminal leaflet ; margin finely serrate
but not usually ciliate. Petioles without jagged marginal ridges.
8. yEsculus glabra.
Leaflets glabrous beneath, except for a slight pubescence along the midrib and
tufts in the axils, long-acuminate, with about fifteen pairs of nerves in the
terminal leaflet, finely serrate with ciliate tufts in the bases of the serrations.
Petioles with smooth marginal ridges.
9. ^sculus Pavia.
Leaflets slightly pubescent beneath, narrowly lanceolate, finely serrate but not
ciliate in margin. Petioles flattened on the upper side, with marginal
sharp ridges, usually jagged, i
n c
2IO The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
iESCULUS HIPPOCASTANUM, Common Horse-Chestnut
/Esculus Hippocastanum, Linnaeus, Sp. PI. 344 (1753); Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit. i. 462, iv. 2543
(1838); Gard. Chron. 1881, xvi. 556, figs. 103, 104.
A large tree, attaining in England a height of over 100 feet and a girth of 15
or even 20 feet. Bark smooth and dark brown in young trees, becoming greyish and
fissured longitudinally in old trees, at the same time scaling off in thin plates.
Leaves palmately compound, digitate, on a long stalk widened at its insertion.
Leaflets five to seven, sessile, obovate, cuneate at the base, abruptly acuminate
at the apex, unequally and coarsely serrate ; green above ; beneath pale, tomentose
at first, but ultimately glabrous, except for small tufts of hairs in the axils
of the veins and a few scattered hairs over the surface ; middle leaflet the
largest, with twenty-four or more pairs of nerves, lower pair smallest ; venation
pinnate ; petiole glabrous. The leaflets as they emerge from the bud are at first
erect, but soon bend downwards on their stalks. When nearly full grown they
rise up and become horizontal. In autumn they turn yellow or brownish and fall
early, each leaflet disarticulating separately from the petiole.
Flowers in large upright pyramidal panicles, the primary branches of which are
racemose, the lateral branches cymose. Upper flowers staminate and opening first ;
lower flowers hermaphrodite. Calyx greenish, five-toothed. Petals four to five,
crumpled at the edge, white, with yellow spots at the base, which ultimately
become pink. Stamens seven, longer than the petals, the filaments bent down when
the flower opens and the stigma protrudes, later moving up on a level with the
style. Fruits few on each panicle, large, globular, green, with stout, thick conical
spines, three-valved, usually one-seeded, occasionally two- to three-seeded. Seed
large, shining-brown, with a broad whitish hilum. Cotyledons two, large, fleshy,
distinct below, blended into one mass above.
Seedling ^
The cotyledons are large and fleshy and remain in the seed, which frequently
germinates on the surface of the soil or only slightly buried beneath it. The
cotyledons have long petioles (f-i inch), which are broad and flattened, with a
concavity on their inner surface. The caulicle, very variable in length ( i to 4 inches),
is stout, brownish, pubescent, and ends in a stout tap-root, which gives off numerous
branching fibres. The young stem is stout, terete, brownish, striated and marked
with numerous lenticels, puberulent or glabrous ; it has no scale-leaves, differing
in this respect from the young stem of the oak. In other respects the germination
of the oak and of the horse-chestnut are almost identical. At a varying height
Ci. Lubbock, Seedlings, i, 356 (1892), where it is stated that the seed is carried a considerable height above ground
during germination owing to the great length of the caulicle. So &r as I have observed, the seed does not change ite position
during germination.
j^sculus
21 I
above the cotyledons the first pair of true leaves are produced, which are opposite,
compound, digitately five-foliolate, and closely resemble the adult foliage except that
they are smaller in size. Successive pairs of similar leaves follow on the stem, each
pair being placed decussately with reference to the pair immediately below it.
Abnormal Flowering
The horse-chestnut sometimes produces a second crop of flowers in autumn,
which appear in much smaller panicles than those of spring. This is due to the
premature fall of the leaves in July or August, usually following an excessively
dry season. The buds are stimulated to premature energy and put forth young
leaf-shoots, which are terminated by flowers. This phenomenon, which is equivalent
to an anticipation of the opening of the buds by several months, as they would
normally open in the following spring, is frequently observed in the trees planted
in the boulevards of Paris.^ In the dry season of 1884, a single tree at Kew
produced small panicles of flowers in September, after previously shedding nearly
all its leaves. In the following year it produced a few panicles of the ordinary
size. At Hythe,^ near Southampton, a horse-chestnut is reported to have bloomed
and fruited three times in 1 868, once in spring, again after the rain which succeeded
the long drought, and a third time in September.
Identification
In summer the common horse-chestnut is unmistakable. The only other
species with large sessile leaflets, yEsculus turbinata, is easily distinguished by their
regular crenate serration. In winter the twigs and buds show the following
characters : — Twigs stout, brown, glabrous or minutely pubescent towards the tip ;
lenticels numerous. The large opposite leaf scars, flat on the twigs with no
prominent cushion, are joined by a linear ridge, and vary in shape, the larger being
obovate with seven bundle-dots, the smaller semicircular or crescentic with usually
only five dots. Buds very viscid, larger than in the other cultivated species ; the
terminal much exceeding the lateral buds in size, occasionally absent, and replaced
by the saddle-shaped scar of the previous year's inflorescence ; scales imbricate, the
external ones in four vertical ranks, rounded at the apex, glabrous, not ciliate, dark
red-brown. The buds contain the next year's shoot in an advanced state of
development, flowers being visible in them in October. The scales are morpho-
logically equivalent to leaf-bases. In the interior of the bud, scales are observable
with traces of leaf-blades, which gradually pass into the true leaves, visible in the
upper part of the bud.
Varieties
I. Var. flore plena, Lemaire, Illust. Horticole, 1855, ii. t. 50. A variety with
double flowers, the pistil even in some cases becoming petaloid. Mr. A. M.
* See article by Roze, translated in Card. Chron. 1898, xxiii. 228. ^ Qard. Chron. 1868, p. 11 16.
212 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
Baumann discovered in 1822, near Geneva, a horse-chestnut tree, of which a single
branch bore double flowers ; and from this branch the variety was propagated at the
Bollweiler nursery in Alsace.' The flowers last longer than those of the single kind,*
and no fruits are formed, which renders it useful as a tree in streets, where the fall of
fruits is an inconvenience. This variety is very hardy, and resisted well the severe
winter of 1879-80 in France.'
2. Var. laciniata (var. asplenifolia, var. incisa). Leaflets cut up into narrow
lobes. According to Beissner^ this variety has been in cultivation for over forty
years ; and a form of it was found by Herr Henkel of Darmstadt, which keeps its
foliage much longer than the typical form ; but this is not the case in some localities.
3. Var. crispa. Leaves short -stalked, with broad leaflets. Tree compact in
habit.
4. Var. pyramidalis. Upright in habit.
5. Var. umbraculifera. Crown densely branched, and globular in outline.
6. Var. tortuosa. Branches bent and twisted.
7. Var. Memmingeri. Leaves yellowish in colour, looking as if powdered with
sulphur.
8. Var. aureo-variegata. Leaves variegated with yellow.
Several other varieties of slight interest, which do not seem to be in cultivation
in this country, are mentioned by Schelle.'
Distribution and History
The horse-chestnut occurs wild in the mountains of northern Greece. Haldcsy,*
the latest authority, givea many localities in Phthiotis, Eurytania, Thessaly, and
Epirus ; but states that it is not found wild on Mount Pelion or in Crete. Baldacci,^
in 1897, found the tree growing wild on almost inaccessible precipices below the
lower limit of the coniferous belt near Syrakou in the district of Janina in Albania.
The native country of the tree was long a matter of doubt ; but the whole
question was satisfactorily elucidated by Heldreich* in a paper, from which we
extract most of the following account. Linnaeus considered the habitat of the
tree to be northern Asia, and De Candolle thought that it came from northern
India. The tree is, however, not known wild in India, where it is replaced by
y^sculus indica. Boissier " states that it is recorded from Greece by Sibthorp, from
Imeritia (Caucasus),by Eichwald, and from Persia by various authors. It is, however,
unknown in the wild state in Persia ; and Radde '° mentions it only as a planted tree
• Rev. Belgique Horticole, 1854, iv. 216.
' See Garden, 1890, xxxviii. 601, where some observations are recorded on the periods of flowering of the single and
double horse-chestnuts, and of .Msculus carnea.
' Rev. Horticole, 1884, p. 98. < Mitt. Deut. Dendrel. Gesell. 1905, pp. 13, 14, and 1906, p. 10.
' Handbuch Laubholz-Benennung, 321 (1903). ^ Consp. Fl. Graca, i. 291 (1900).
' Rivista Collez. Botan. in Albania, 23 (Florence, 1897).
' Verhand. Bot. Vereins Prov. Brandenburg, 1 879, p. 139. The British Minister at Athens, Sir F. E. H. Elliot,
K.C.M.G., who kindly made inquiries, has sent us a letter from Professor Miliarakis of the University of Athens, dated
April 2, 1904, which confirms Heldreich's statements.
' Fltra Orientalis, i. 947 (1 867). '<• PflaHunverbrtitung in Kaukasuildiidern, 433, 434 (1899).
i^sculus 213
in the Caucasus. All the evidence goes to show that it is confined to northern
Greece and Albania.
Heldreich states that the horse-chestnut was first found wild in Greece by Dr.
Hawkins.' In his own travels in Greece in 1897 ^^ observed it in many stations, all
lying in the lower fir region, between 3000 and 4000 feet altitude, where it grows in
shaded moist gulleys, in company with alder, walnut, plane, ash, several oaks, Ostrya
carpinifolia and Abies Apollinis. These stations, situated in remote uninhabited
spots, establish the fact that the tree is really wild. Plants introduced into Greece
by the Turks are always found in the neighbourhood of towns. Whether the tree
was known to the ancient Greeks is doubtful.
The horse-chestnut was first mentioned ^ by the Flemish doctor Quakleben, who
was attached to the embassy of Archduke Ferdinand I. at Constantinople, — in a
letter to Matthiolus in 1557. The latter received a fruit-bearing branch, and pub-
lished the first description ^ of the tree as Castanea equina, because the fruits were
known to the Turks as At-Kastane (horse-chestnut), being useful as a drug for horses
suffering from broken wind or a cough.
The tree was introduced into western Europe from Constantinople, the first tree
being raised by Clusius at Vienna from seeds sent by the Imperial Ambassador,
D. Von Ungnad, in 1576. This tree quickly grew, and was mentioned by Clusius*
in 1601.
The horse-chestnut was introduced into France^ in 1615 by Bachelier,
who brought the seeds from Constantinople. Gerard mentions it in his Herbal
of 1 579' P- 1254, as a tree growing "in Italy and sundry places of the eastern
countries"; and in Johnson's edition of this work, published in 1633, the tree was
stated to be growing in Tradescant's garden at South Lambeth. It was probably
introduced into England about the same time as into France. (A. H.)
Cultivation
No tree is easier to raise from seed than the horse-chestnut. Its large fleshy
fruit are so little hurt by frost and damp that they germinate freely where they fall,
and do not seem to be eaten by mice like acorns and beech-mast.
Seeds which have been exposed all winter germinate more readily in spring
than those which have been kept dry, and should be sown early and covered
with about two inches of soil.
Though it is advised by French writers that the extremity of the radicle should
be pinched off before sowing in order to prevent a strong tap-root from forming, as
is done in the case of walnuts and chestnuts, I have not observed that they suffer
from removal if this is not done ; and if transplanted at one or at latest two years
after sowing there are abundance of fibrous roots which make the tree an easy one
' Sibthorp et Smith, Fl. Graca Prodromm, i. 252 (1806). Hawkins' observation has been disputed, as he records it.
from Pelion, where the tree does not, so far as we know now, occur wild. Orphanides was the first to establish beyond
doubt that the tree is indigenous to the mountains of northern Greece. Cf, Grisebach, Vegetation der Erde, French ed. i. 521.
' Matthiolus, Epistol. Median. Libri Quingue (Prague, 1561)-
' Matthiolus, Comment, in Dioscorid. Mat. Med. 211 (Venice, 1565).
• Clusius, Rar. Plant. Hist. 7 (1601). ' Toumefort, Relation d'un Voyage au Levant, i. 530 (1717)-
214 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
to move, even when five or six feet high. As the tree is liable to form large side
branches, the buds should be rubbed off the stem early in order to form a clean
trunk, though it bears pruning well as a young tree.
Though somewhat liable to suffer from cold winds and spring frost, which injure
the foliage and flowers, the tree is hardier in this respect than many of our native
trees, though coming from a warm southern country.
As regards the chemical nature of the soil it is quite indifferent, for though
it grows faster on a good loam and does not come to perfection on sandy soil,
it attains a large size on dry, rocky, calcareous soils, and even at an elevation of
800 feet and upwards resists wind better than many trees. I have seldom seen
horse-chestnuts blown down, though large heavy branches are often torn off by
violent winds.
As an ornamental flowering tree for parks, lawns, and avenues it has no superior,
though on account of its branching habit it requires considerable attention in order
to form tall shapely trees. Its principal defect is the tendency of the leaves to
become brown and ragged early in the autumn, but they fall quickly, and being
easily removed make less litter than the leaves of the beech, oak, or sycamore.
The large branches when allowed to rest on the ground in damp situations
frequently take root and become naturally layered, the best instance of this that I
have seen being at Mottisfont Abbey, Hants.
For town planting, on account of its beautiful flowers and dense shade during
the hottest months, the horse-chestnut is perhaps, next to the plane, one of the best
trees we have, and does not seem to suffer much from smoke. In parks it is
valuable for its fruit, which are so much liked by deer that they are eaten as fast
as they fall, and would perhaps be worth collecting for winter food.
The extraordinary hardiness of this southern tree is proved by the fact that
it will grow to a large size as far north as Trondhjem in Norway, lat. 63° 26', a
tree figured by Schubeler near this place being 37 feet by 8 feet 9 inches. Another
in the Botanic Garden at Christiania, which is considered the largest in Norway,
measured in 1861, 16.62 metres by 2.45 metres, and when I saw it in 1903 had
increased to no less than 28 metres high by 3 in girth, though it has been exposed
to as low a temperature as - 18° to — 20° Rdaumur.
As regards the age which the horse-chestnut attains we have few exact records,
but it does not seem a very long-lived tree. J. Smith states* that an avenue
running south-east from the front of Broadlands House, near Romsey, Hants, was
planted in 1735; but in 1887 only two trees remained, which were 11 feet and
12 feet 4 inches in girth.
Remarkable Trees
There are so many fine trees in almost every part of Great Britain that I need
not go into great detail as to their dimensions, but though it is possible that in
Bushy Park, or other places near London, taller trees exist, I have only at
1 Trans. Scot. Arb. Soc. xi. 540 (1 887).
i^sculus 215
Petworth measured one which exceeds in height the group of three which grow
near my own house at Colesborne, of which I give an illustration (Plate 63). The
height of these as measured in 1902 by Sir Hugh Beevor and myself was 105 feet,
and the girth of the largest 1 1 feet. They grow in a sheltered situation, on damp,
cold soil. One of these trees being inclined to split at the base, owing to the great
weight and length of one of its principal limbs, was chained up many years ago, and
though the iron band which was put round it has become buried in the wood the
limb has not broken off.
At Dynevor Castle, Carmarthenshire, the seat of Lord Dynevor, where the
park contains a greater number of fine trees than any I have seen in South Wales,
there is a very large tree which the Hon. W. Rice measured in 1906 and found
to be 109 feet by 17 feet 9 inches. For height and girth combined this seems
to be the largest tree in Great Britain.
The tallest tree I have seen is in a grove of beech, chestnut, oak, and
silver fir, which grows near the house at Petworth Park, the seat of Lord
Leconfield in Sussex, on a deep greensand formation. This tree, though forked
at six feet from the ground, has been drawn up to a great height by the trees
surrounding it, and though difficult to measure exactly, probably exceeds 1 1 5,
and may be 1 20 feet. The two stems are 9 feet 8 inches and 8 feet respectively
in girth.
In Bushy Park most of the horse-chestnuts are past their prime; many of the
old trees are dead and have been replaced by young ones. The largest, seen in
1906, was growing near the gate ; it had a bole of 20 feet giving off four great stems,
and measured icxd feet high by 16 feet 5 inches in girth. Another near the pond
was 10 1 feet by 16 feet i inch.
At Birchanger Place, near Bishop Stortford, the seat of T. Harrison, Esq.,
there is one of the largest and finest trees in England, which measures about
80 feet by 20 feet, with a bole about 15 feet high and a spread of 32 yards; a
beautiful photograph was taken in 1864 when the tree was in flower, but it is now
partially decayed on the north side, and has lost some large branches.
At West. Dean Park, Sussex, the seat of W. D. James, Esq., there is a large
tree about 70 feet by 16 feet, with branches spreading over an area no less than
36 yards in diameter.
At Hampton Court, Herefordshire, the seat of John Arkwright, Esq., there is
a very fine tree growing on deep alluvial soil in the big meadow south of the house.
Measured by T. Hogg in 1881^ it was 93 feet by 16 feet 6 inches. When I saw it
in 1905 it had increased about three feet in height and was 18 feet 7 inches in
girth, and still handsome and vigorous.
The largest trees I have seen as regards girth and spread of branches are in
Ashridge Park, on a bank near the lodge on the Berkhampstead road. The largest
of these is about 80 feet high and 20 feet in girth, with extremely wide-spreading
branches, and there are several others of 16 to 17 feet girth in the row. These
trees are growing on a dry, flinty, calcareous loam.
> Trans. Scot. Arb. Soc. ix. p. 151 (1886).
21 6 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
There is a fine tree at Syon, which in 1905 was 93 feet high by 15 feet
4 inches in girth ; and at Broom House, Fulham, there is a tree 95 feet high.
In the courtyard at Burleigh, near Stamford, the seat of the Marquess of Exeter,
there is a large and very beautiful tree, figured by Strutt, plate 37, which was in 1822
60 feet high by 10 feet in girth, with a spread of 61 feet diameter. When I saw it
in 1903 it was still in perfect health, and was about 80 feet by 12 feet 6 inches. It
had remarkably spiny fruit, and its trunk was covered with small twigs.
At Trebartha Hall, near Launceston in Cornwall, Mr. Enys reports in 1904
a tree 1 5 feet 6 inches in girth, with an estimated height of 70 feet.
In Scotland the horse-chestnut seems as much at home as in England, and
thrives in most places as far north as Gordon Castle, where there is a tree, measured
in 1 88 1 by Mr. Webster, 65 feet high by 13 feet 4 inches in girth, and 274 feet in
circumference of its branches.
At Newton Don, Kelso, the seat of Mr. C. B. Balfour, there is a tree which
was in 1906, 13^ feet in girth with a spread of branches of 165 feet in circumference.
In Perthshire there is a very beautiful tree, remarkable for its weeping habit,
in the park at Dunkeld, which measures 80 feet in height by 1 7 feet 6 inches in girth
(Plate 64). At Kilkerran, Ayrshire, Mr. J. Renwick has measured a fine tree 84
feet high by 14 feet in girth, with a bole 22 feet high. At Pollok, near Glasgow,
a tree measured, in 1904, 63 feet high by 13 feet 6 inches girth at 2^ feet from
the ground, with a bole of 5 feet, giving off four great stems.
None of these are equal to a tree in a group of seven standing at the west
end of Moncreiffe House in Perthshire, which Hunter ^ describes as the largest in
Scotland, and which then measured 19 feet in girth at five feet from the ground. At
ten feet it divides into three great limbs, one of which has become firmly rooted in
the ground, and extends so far from the trunk that the total spread of the tree is
90 feet in diameter.
The remarkable hardiness of this tree is shown by the existence of one,
reported by Mr. Farquharson of Invercauld, as growing at an elevation of 1 1 10 feet,
which was supposed to be 177 years old in 1864, when it was 8 feet 7 inches in
girth.'
In Ireland the horse-chestnut attains a great size, the largest we know of
occurring at Woodstock in Co. Kilkenny, on an island in the River Nore. One tree
measured in 1904, 93 feet in height by 18 feet i inch in girth, and according
to the careful records which have been kept of the growth of the many fine trees on
this property, measured in 1825, 10 feet 2 inches in girth ; in 1846, 13 feet 2 inches ;
in 1901, 17 feet 9 inches. Another about the same height, in a meadow near the
river, measured in 1825, 11 feet in girth; in 1834, 12 feet; in 1846, 12 feet 11
inches ; in 1901, 14 feet 4 inches.
• Woods and Fortsts of Perthshire, 1883. • Old and Remarkable Trees of Scotland, p. 115.
i^sculus 217
Timber
The wood of the horse-chestnut is one of the poorest and least valuable we
have, on account of its softness and want of strength and durability. Though it
has a fine close and even grain, white or yellowish-white colour, and is not liable
to twist or warp so much as most woods, it does not cut cleanly, decays rapidly, and
is only I'sed as a rule for such purposes as cheap packing-cases and linings.
It burns so badly that it is of little use as firewood, and though occasionally cut
into veneers or used as a cheap substitute for sycamore, poplar, and lime, in making
dairy utensils, platters, and brush backs, it cannot be said to have a regular market.
From 4d. to 8d. a foot is about the usual value in most parts of England, though
Webster says that it was worth a shilling in Banffshire some years ago.
Holtzapfifel says that it is one of the white woods of the Tunbridge turner, a
useful wood for brush backs and turnery, preferable to holly for large varnished and
painted works on account of its great size.
I am not aware whether it has been tried for pulp-making, but it would seem to
be a suitable wood for that purpose on account of its softness, and could, if required,
be produced in quantity at a low price. (H. J. E.)
iESCULUS CARNEA. Red Horse-Chestnut
/Esculus carnea, Hayne, Dendrol. Flora, 43 (1822).
^sculus rubicunda, Loiseleur, Herb. Amat. vi. t. 357 (1822); Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit. i. 467
(1838); Carrifere, Rev. Horticole, 1878, p. 370, coloured figure of var. Briotii.
/Esculus Hippocastanum, L. x /Esculus Favia, L., Koch, Dendrologie, i. 507 (1869).
A small tree, occasionally 50 feet, but rarely exceeding 30 feet in height. Leaves
resembling those of the common horse-chestnut, but darker green with an uneven
surface, the leaflets being shortly stalked and more or less curved and twisted.
Flowers red, showing as they open an orange-coloured blotch at the base of the
petals, which afterwards becomes deep red. Petals five, standing nearly erect, their
limbs not spreading horizontally at right angles to the claws, as occurs in the
common horse-chestnut ; edges of the petals furnished with minute glands, like those
present in Esculus Pavia. Fruits with slender prickles.
Identification
In winter, the species is distinguished as follows : — Twigs rather stout, grey,
shortly pubescent; leaf-scars as in yEsculus Hippocastanum. Buds slightly viscid
and smaller than in that species ; scales brown, edged with a dry membranous
dark-coloured rim. Lateral buds small, oval, pointed, arising from the twig at an
acute angle.
II »
21 8 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
Varieties
1. Var. Briotii. Flowers in larger panicles and more brilliantly coloured, the
filaments, calyx, and style being red. Fruits never developing fully, falling soon
after the flowers. This variety' was obtained in 1858, by M. Briot at the State
Nurseries of the Trianon, Versailles, as a seedling of ^sculus carnea.
2. Several variegated forms are known, as var. aureo-maculata and aureo-
marginata. Var. alba is a form with white flowers. Var. pendula is pendulous in
habit.
3. yEsculus plantierensis, Andr6, Rev. Horticole, 1894, p. 246, is supposed to be
a cross between A. carnea and the common horse-chestnut, as it is intermediate in
character. This variety arose in the nursery of Messrs. Simon-Louis Freres at
Planti^res-l^s-Metz, from a seed of ySsculus Hippocastanum. Other intermediate
forms, named by Andr6 ^sculus intermedia and ySsculus balgiana, were derived
from seeds of ^sculus carnea.
History
Nothing is known for certain concerning the origin of ^sculus carnea. Loise-
leur received the plant from Germany in 181 8, and there are no earlier accounts of
it. Its parentage, however, is undoubted : it possesses characters of both the
supposed parents. The leaves and slightly spiny fruit are derived from the common
horse-chestnut. The colour of the petals and the glands on their margins come from
yEsculus Pavia. According to Andrd ^ the seeds when sown usually produce plants
which bear whitish flowers and are of no horticultural value. The species is
accordingly always propagated by grafting. Koch,' however, reports that while
some seedlings are like those of the common horse-chestnut, others produce smooth
fruits. At Kew, according to Mr. Bean, it has come true from seed.
The largest specimen of this tree that we have seen occurs at Barton in Suffolk.
It was 50 feet high in 1904, with a bole, however, of only 2 feet, girthing 7 feet 9
inches at a foot above the ground, and dividing into three stems.
It does not seem to live long or to attain any great size in England, and is often
supposed to be a red-flowered form of the common horse-chestnut. (A. H.)
■ Rev, Hort. loc. cit. * Andre, Rev. Hort. loc. cit.
' Vtrhand. Vtr. Beford. Cart. Konig. Prmss. Stoat, 1855.
i^sculus 219
^SCULUS INDICA, Indian Horse-Chestnut
Aisculus indica, Colebrooke, VVallich, List 1188 (1828); Bot. Mag. t. 5117 (1859); Hiern, in Flora
British India, i. 675 (1875); Bean, in Gard. Chron. 1897, xxii. 155 and 1903, xxxiii. 139,
Suppl. Illust.; Collett, Flora Simla, 97 (1902); Gamble, Man. Indian Timbers, 193 (1902);
Brandis, Indian Trees, 185, 705 (1906).
Pavia indica, Wallich, ex Jacquemont, Voyage dans I'Inde, iv. 31, t. 35 (1844).
A large tree, attaining in India 150 feet in height and 40 feet in girth of stem.
Bark in old trees peeling off in long strips. Leaves large, glabrous, dark green
above, pale, almost glaucous beneath ; leaflets five to nine, stalked, obovate-
lanceolate, acuminate, finely and sharply serrate, with about twenty pairs of nerves
in the terminal leaflet. Panicles 12 to 15 inches long, loose, narrow, erect.
Flowers large, about i inch long ; calyx \ inch long, irregularly lobed, often
splitting so as to appear two-lipped. Petals four, white, of two unequal pairs ;
the upper pair narrow and long with a red and yellow blotch at the base, the
lower pair flushed with pink. Stamens seven or eight, scarcely longer than the
petals, spreading. Fruit brown, rough, without spines, irregularly ovoid, one to
two inches long, containing one to three dark brown shining seeds.
Identification
In summer the viscid buds and the large stalked leaflets with finely serrate
margins distinguish it from the other species in cultivation In winter the twigs
show the following characters : — Branchlets coarse, shortly pubescent ; lenticels
like brown raised warts, numerous; pith circular, white; leaf- scars on slightly
prominent cushions, each pair wide apart and joined by a raised linear ridge, obovate
or semicircular with a raised rim and three groups of bundle-dots. Buds viscid,
greenish, the lower scales only being brown ; terminal buds ovoid, pointed, the
two lowest scales having projecting beaks ; scales not ciliate, the outermost four
pubescent ; lateral buds small, arising at an acute angle.
Distribution
It is a common tree in the north-west Himalayas from the Indus to Nepal,
occurring at elevations of from 4000 to 10,000 feet, and also occurs in Afghanistan.
Sir George Watt informs me that he has measured many trees 150 feet in height
with trunks of enormous size, a girth of 40 feet not being uncommon. The wood is
used in building and for making water-troughs, platters, vases, cups, packing-cases,
and tea-boxes. The twigs and leaves are lopped for use as fodder. The fruit is
given as food to cattle and goats ; ground and mixed with ordinary flour, it is part
of the dietary of the hill tribes. The bark of old trees is very remarkable in
appearance, exfoliating in long flakes, which remain attached at their upper ends and
hang downwards and outwards. (A. H.)
220 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
Cultivation
Colonel Henry Bunbury brought seeds from India in 1851, from which plants
were raised by Sir Charles J. F. Bunbury* at Barton in Suffolk. The large tree*
now flourishing on the lawn at Barton (Plate 65) is one of the original seedlings,
and measured, in 1904, 66 feet high by 7 feet 9 inches in girth. Another tree in
the arboretum at Barton measured 65 feet high by 7 feet 2 inches in girth ; and
divides into two main stems at 7 feet above the ground. This tree flowered for the
first time in 1858, producing twelve panicles, being then only seven years old from
seed, and 16 feet in height. It did not suffer in the least from the terrible winter
of i860, and flowered as usual in the summer following. In 1868 it ripened fruit,
and four thriving plants were raised from its seed. There are no records of the
tree on the lawn, which is now the finer of the two. Other trees were planted
apparently at Mildenhall,^ which is about fifteen miles distant from Barton ; but these
never throve, and none remain. The soil at Mildenhall is a light loam on chalk,
and probably did not suit the tree.
I saw the beautiful tree at Barton in full flower on June 24, 1905, when it did
not seem to have received the least injury from the severe frosts and cold north-east
winds which had occurred a month previously, and which ruined the flowers and
destroyed the fruit of the common horse-chestnut in many places.
It seems incredible that this species should be so rare and have remained so
little known in England, where it ought to be planted generally in the south and
west. Mr. Bean says that the seeds soon lose their vitality if kept dry, and that of
some scores received in ordinary paper packets from India in recent years, not one
has germinated at Kew. He recommends that the seeds should be gathered as soon
as ripe, and be sent packed in fairly moist soil. Mr. Walker, the gardener at Barton,
informed me that it ripens seed in good years, -and showed me several seedlings
raised from them which appeared to grow as well as the common horse-chestnut.
The only other place except Kew, however, where we have seen it, is at
Tortworth, where the Earl of Ducie planted in 1890 a few seeds which were sent
to him by the late Duke of Bedford. The seedlings were planted at first in sunny
places in the open, but did not thrive until moved to a sheltered dell in 1900,
where they are now growing well, the best being about 1 2 feet high.
At Kew there are two or three small trees which have flowered a few times.
It seems, therefore, that it only requires a good deep soil and a sheltered situation
to succeed as well as it has done at Barton. The late Lord Morley informed me
that there was a tree recently planted, but growing very well at Saltram, his place
in Devonshire.
According to Jouin,* this tree is quite hardy at Metz. (H. J. E.)
• Arboretum Notes, 73 (1889). ^ Figured in Gard. Chron. 1904, xxxvi. 206, Suppt. Illust.
• Gard. Chron. 1903, xxxiii 1 88. * Mitt. Deut. Dendrol. Gesell. 1905, p. 12.
i^SCuluS 221
^SCULUS TU RBI NAT A, Japanese Horse-Chestnut
^sculus turbinata, Blume, Rumphia, iii. 195 (1847); Andre, Revue Horticole, 1888, p. 496,
figs. 120-124; Bean, Gard. Chron. 1897, xxii. 156, and 1902, xxxi. 187, fig. 58; Shirasawa,
icon. Essences Forestiires du Japan, text 113, t. 71, ff. 16-28.
/Esculus chinensis, Masters {non Bunge), Gard. Chron. 1889, v. 716. fig. 116.
A tree attaining in Japan, according to Shirasawa, 100 feet in height and 20 feet
in girth of stem. Bark thick and scaly. Leaves resembling those of the common
horse-chestnut, but much larger, mainly differing in the serration, which is finely
crenate. Leaflets five to seven, sessile, obovate-cuneate, occasionally as much as
15 inches long, abruptly acuminate, pubescent beneath. The terminal leaflet has
fifteen to twenty-two pairs of nerves. Petiole remaining pubescent towards the tip.
Panicles 6 to lo inches long, dense, somewhat narrow. Flowers yellowish-white,
smaller than those of ^sculus Hippocastanum. Fruit slightly pear-shaped, i|^ to 2
inches in diameter, four to five on a verrucose rhachis, brown, warty, without spines ;
valves three, thick ; seeds usually two.
Identification
In summer only liable to be confused with the European species, from which it
is distinguished by the character of the serration of the leaflets. In winter the twigs
closely resemble those of that species, but are not so stout ; they are similarly
pubescent towards the tip, and are marked with smaller but similar five to seven
dotted leaf-scars. Buds smaller, equally viscid, the scales, however, not being
uniform in colour, but partly light chestnut brown and partly dark brown. Pith
large, irregularly circular in cross-section, and yellowish in tint.
Distribution
The tree is known in Japan as Tochinoki, and is common in the forests at
1500 to 5500 feet elevation in the mountains of the main island, descending to lower
levels in Yezo. It is recorded by Debeaux, Fl. Shanghai, 22, from the provinces
of Kiangsu and Chekiang ; but no one else has seen the tree in China, and
Debeaux's identification is probably incorrect.
The exact date of the introduction of the tree into Europe is uncertain, but it is
supposed to be about thirty years ago. It has often passed under the name of
y^sculus chinensis, an entirely different species. It first produced fruit in 1888
in the arboretum at Segrez in France. It flowered in 1901 at Coombe Wood.
As only small trees are known to exist in England, the hardiness of the tree
and its suitability for garden decoration are as yet unproved ; but at Tortworth
it is growing vigorously, and has ripened its buds well whilst still quite small ;
222 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
and the great size of the leaves on the young trees give it a striking and distinctive
appearance. (A. H.)
In Japan I saw this tree planted in gardens and parks near Tokyo, where it
does not seem to grow so large as in its native forests and in higher, colder situations.
Sargent says' that in the forests of the interior of Hondo, at 2000 to 3000 feet, it
attains 80 to 100 feet high, with trunks 3 to 4 feet in diameter, and that these were
perhaps the largest deciduous trees that he saw growing wild in the forest. It reaches
its most northern point of distribution near Mororan in Hokkaido at sea-level, and I
did not see it near Sapporo, in the Aomori district, or near Nikko. At a tea-house
called Hideshira, near the village of Sooga on the Nakasendo road, Central Japan,
I saw the largest trees of this species growing in a dense grove with Zelkova
acuminata. They attained over 80 feet high, with clean trunks 40 to 50 feet long,
and a girth of 14 feet.
On the Torii-toge Pass, between Wada and Yabuhara, at about 3300 feet, there
were many fine trees growing by the side of the road, of one of which I give an
illustration from a photograph taken for me by Masuhara of Tokyo in November
(Plate 66).
Timber
The timber of this tree, though not highly valued in Japan on account of its
softness and want of strength, is used for boat and bridge building, furniture making,
house-fittings, and for the groundwork of lacquer. It often shows a waved figure,
and when old assumes a pale reddish -brown colour, which makes it very orna-
mental. Such wood, which I procured at Aomori, has been used with good effect
in my Japanese wardrobe, and takes a good polish. It is also much used for trays,
and from the large burrs and swellings near the root very handsome trays, as much
as 18 or 20 inches square, are carved by the Japanese and sold in the villages at a low
price. Its value in Tokyo is given at 60 to 100 yen per 100 cubic feet. I saw a plank
of this wood in a timber merchant's shop in Osaka measuring 15 feet long and 58
inches wide, showing wavy figure all through. For this plank 90 yen, equal to about
;^9, was asked, these immense planks being much valued by Japanese connoisseurs
for house decoration. (H. J. E.)
' Forest Flora of Japan, 28.
i^sculus 223
iESCULUS GLABRA, Ohio Buckeye
^sculus glabra, Willdenow, Enum. PL Hort. Berol. 405 (1809); Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit. i. 467
(1838), Sargent, Silva N. America, ii. 55, tt. 67, 68 (1892), Man. Trees N. America, 644
('905)-
yEsculus pallida, Willdenow, loc. cit. 406 (1809).
A tree attaining 70 feet in height and 6 feet in girth in America. Bark dark
brown and scaly, becoming in old trees f inch thick, ashy-grey, densely furrowed and
broken into thick plates roughened on the surface by numerous small scales. Leaves
with long slender stalks; leaflets five, oval or obovate-cuneate, long -acuminate,
finely serrate in margin, with tufts of hairs in the bases of the serrations, glabrous
underneath except for a few hairs along the midrib and tufts in the axils ; petiolules
short. Terminal leaflet with about fifteen pairs of nerves. Flowers in pubescent
panicles, 5 to 6 inches long ; calyx campanulate ; petals four, pale yellow ; claws
shorter than the calyx ; limbs twice as long as the claws, broadly ovate or oblong
in the lateral pair, oblong -spathulate, much narrower and sometimes red-striped
in the upper pair. Stamens usually seven, long, exserted, pubescent. Ovary
pubescent. Fruit ovate or obovate, brown, i to 2 inches long, roughened by prickles.
The species is distinguished in summer by the glabrous leaves, which always
show some cilia in the bases of the serrations. In winter the following characters of
the twigs and buds may be recognised : — Twigs glabrous, shining, with orange-
coloured lenticels. Leaf-scars slightly oblique on obscure leaf-cushions, crescentic or
semicircular, with three groups of bundle-dots, the opposite scars wide apart and
often not joined by any linear ridge. Pith large, circular, greenish. Buds not
viscid ; terminal much larger than the lateral, the latter arising from the twig at an
angle of 45°; ovoid, acuminate ; scales keeled on the back, ciliate in margin,
acuminate, the pointed tips being raised outwardly, dark brown.
Van Buckleyi, Sargent {^sculus arguta, Buckley, Proc. Acad. Phil, i860, p.
448), is a geographical form, occurring in Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, and Texas,
and characterised by six to seven leaflets, which are sharply and unequally serrate.
No well-marked horticultural varieties are known.
The type occurs in alluvial soil in Atlantic North America, from Pennsylvania
to N. Alabama, and westward to S. Iowa, Central Kansas, Indian Territory, and S.
Nebraska. Sargent says that it is nowhere very common and from an ornamental
point of view very inferior to ^sculus octandra.
This species was introduced, according to Loudon, in 18 12, but appears to be
very rare in this country. At Devonshurst, Chiswick, a tree cut down in 1905
was 60 feet in height by 6 feet in girth, but though the tree probably exists in
some nurseries and old gardens, where it is mistaken for Aisculus octandra,
more commonly than is supposed, we cannot mention any which are remarkable.
(A. H.)
224 T^^^ Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
^SCULUS OCTANDRA, Sweet Buckeye
jEscuIus octandra, Marshall, Arbust. Am. 4 (1785); Sargent, Silva M America, ii. 59, tt 69, 70
(1892), and Man. Trees N. America, 646 (1905).
j£sculus lutea, Wangenheim, Schrift. Gesell. Nat. Fr. Berlin, viii. 133, t. 6 (1788).
/Esculus flava, Alton, Hort. Kew, i. 403 (1789).
/£sculus neglecta, Lindley, Bot. Reg. xii. t. 1009 (1826).
Paviaflava, Moench, Method. 66 (1794); Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit. i. 471 (1838).
A tree attaining in America 90 feet in height and 9 feet in girth of stem. Bark of
trunk f inch thick, dark brown, slightly fissured, separating on the surface into thin
small scales. Leaves with long slender petioles. Leaflets five, occasionally seven,
elliptical or obovate-oblong, cuneate at the base, acuminate, finely serrate, pubes-
cent beneath ; petiolules short. Terminal leaflet with twenty or more pairs of
nerves. Flowers in pubescent panicles, 4 to 6 inches long ; calyx campanulate ;
petals four, yellow, coming into contact at the tips, very unequal, the upper pair
much longer than the lateral pair, claws villose within and much exceeding the
calyx, limb of lateral pair obovate or round with a subcordate base, limb of upper
pair spathulate, minute. Stamens usually seven, shorter than the petals, villose.
Ovary pubescent. Fruit 2 to 3 inches long, brown, smooth or slightly pitted.
Identification
In summer distinguished from ^sculus glabra by the leaflets being pubescent
beneath and devoid of cilia in the serrations ; from yEsculus Pavia, by the larger
leaves, which have petioles with smooth ridges on their upper surface. In winter the
twigs show the following characters : — Branchlets glabrous, shining, with a few
scattered lenticels. Leaf-scars flat on the twigs (there being no cushion), obovate,
with usually three groups of bundle-dots ; opposite scars joined by a linear ridge.
Pith large, circular, green or white. Buds not viscid, terminal much larger than
the lateral, the latter arising at an angle of 45°, long-oval, pointed at the apex ;
scales brown, the cilia on the exposed margins minute or absent, upper scales
rounded at the apex and on the back, lower pair pointed at the apex and keeled
on the back.
Varieties
1. Var. hybrida, Sargent (Van purpurascens, A. Gray ; yEsculus discolor^
Pursh). This is a form occurring wild in the Alleghany mountains. The flowers
are purple or red in colour, and the under surfaces of the leaves, as well as the
petioles and panicles, are clothed with a dense pale pubescence.
2. yEsculus versicolor, Dippel. This is a hybrid between ^sculus octandra
and yEsculus Pavia, and is intermediate in character, the flowers varying in
• Figured in Bot. Reg. iv. 310 (1818).
i^sculus
225
colour from yellowish to pink. The edges of the petals show a few glands and are
tufted ciliate.
A considerable number of forms of this variety are known in cultivation in
which slight differences occur in the length and shape of the petals, ^sculus Lyoni
and ^sculus Whitleyi are apparently sub-varieties of this hybrid. The forms with
red flowers are often known in gardens as Pavia rubra, a name which belongs
properly to ^sculus Pavia.
Distribution
This tree occurs in alluvial soil of river valleys and on moist mountain slopes,
from Pennsylvania southward to Georgia and N. Alabama ; and westward to
S. Iowa, Indian Territory, and W. Texas. Sargent says that when at its best on
the slopes of the Tennessee and Carolina mountains, it sends up a straight shaft
sometimes free of branches for 60 to 70 feet, and reaches a total height of 90 feet.
(A. H.)
Cultivation
According to Loudon this species was introduced into England in 1764, but
though more common in cultivation than any ^sculus except A. Hippocastanum,
and apparently not particular about soil, it does not attain any great size. It is
perfectly hardy at Colesborne, and ripens fruit in most years, from which I have
raised seedlings, which, however, do not grow so fast or well as those of the
common horse-chestnut. A seedling raised from a tree at Tort worth in 1905
was 6 inches high in the first year, and some raised from seed which I gathered
in the Arnold arboretum, which germinated earlier, were much injured by the frost
of May 21-22.
At Syon there are two trees, probably of a great age, both grafted on the
common horse-chestnut. One is 65 feet high by 4 feet 4 inches in girth ; the other
is 56 feet high by 6 feet 4 inches in girth, with a bole of 7 feet, dividing into three
stems, which form a wide-spreading crown. A tree at Belton Park, Lincolnshire,
was, in 1904, 50 feet high by 3 feet 4 inches in girth, with a fine straight stem,
drawn up in a wood. Another, crowded by other trees near the Broad Water at
Fairford Park, Gloucestershire, measures about 60 feet by 4 feet 5 inches. A self-
sown seedling was growing near it in 1903. There is also a tree, measuring about
50 feet by 5 feet 6 inches, at Charlton Kings, near Cheltenham.
(H. J. E.)
n
226 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
yESCULUS CALIFORNICA, Californian Buckeye
JEsculus calif omica, Nuttall, in Torrey and Gray, Fl. N. America, i. 251 (1839); Bot. Mag. t. 5077
(1858); Sargent, Silva N. America, ii. 61, tt. 71, 72, and Man. Trees. N. America, 648 (1905);
Bean, in Gard. Chron. 1902, xxxi. 187, fig. 57.
A tree, attaining in America 40 feet in height, with a short trunk occasionally
9 feet in girth. Bark smooth, grey or white. Leaves with slender grooved
petioles. Leaflets five to seven, stalked, oblong lanceolate, acuminate at the apex,
cuneate or obtuse at the base, shallowly and crenately serrate, pale glabrescent
beneath. Terminal leaflet, with ten to twelve pairs of nerves. Flowers in dense
pubescent panicles, 3 to 8 inches long. Calyx two-lipped, upper lip with three teeth,
lower lip with two teeth much shorter than the four narrow oblong petals, which
are white or pale rose in colour. Stamens five to seven, long, erect, exserted.
Ovary pubescent. Fruit pear-shaped, two to three inches long, smooth, pale
brown.
In summer it is readily distinguished from the other species with viscid buds by
the small leaves, pale beneath. In winter the twigs are slender, grey, glabrous,
with numerous lenticels. Leaf-scars wide apart, joined by a linear ridge, flat on the
twig, without a leaf-cushion, crescentic or semicircular, with a row of five to seven
bundle-dots. Pith large, circular, white. Terminal buds, larger than the lateral
buds, which arise at an, acute angle, oval, pointed, glistening with white resin ;
scales gaping at the apex of the bud, broadly ridged on the back, ciliate in margin,
with a tuft of hairs at the apex.
The species is a native of California, where it grows on the banks of
streams. A very striking picture of a tree, at San Mateo, California, is given in
Garden and Forest, iv. 523. It shows a very short forked bole, nearly 20 feet in
girth at 2 feet from the ground, and an immense umbrella -shaped head only
32 feet high and 60 feet in diameter, densely covered all over with flowers.
It was introduced in 1855 by Messrs. Veitch, and flowered in their nursery
at Exeter in 1858. It fruited' at the Bath Botanic Gardens in 1901, and again
in 1905, though it remains a shrub. It is perfectly hardy in the south of England,
and is remarkable for the beauty of its flowers, which appear in June and July.
The best specimen we know of in the country is one which Elwes found growing
in a shrubbery at Hutley Towers near Ryde, Isle of Wight. It is about 30 feet
high, and was in flower on June 22, 1906. (A. H.)
' Gard. Chron. 1902, xxxi. 187.
TSUGA
Tsuga, Carri^re, Traiti Conif. 185 (1855); Bentham et Hooker, Gen. PL iii. 440 (1880); Masters,
Journ. Linn. Soc. {Bot.) xxx. 28 (1893).
Hesperopeuce, Lemmon, Rep. Calif. State Board Forestry, iii. iii (1890).
Evergreen trees belonging to the natural order Coniferae. Branches horizontal
or pendulous, pinnately and irregularly ramified. Buds, one terminal and a few
lateral, arising irregularly in the axils of some of the leaves of the current year's
shoot, most of the leaves being without buds in their axils. Leaves linear, arising
from the branchlets in spiral order, and usually thrown by a twisting of their
petioles into a pectinate arrangement, or in one species spreading radially. Petioles
short, arising from prominent leaf-bases on the branchlets, appressed against the
twigs, a sharp angle being formed by the leaf with the stalk at the point of junction.
The leaf has one resin -canal, lying in the middle line between the vascular bundle
and the epidermis of the lower surface. The leaves persist for several years ;
and all the species have in consequence of this and their numerous and fine
branchlets very dense foliage.
Flowers monoecious. Male flowers in the axils of the leaves of the previous
year's shoot near its apex, composed of numerous spirally arranged, short-stalked,
two-celled anthers, with glandular- tipped connectives. Female flowers terminal on
lateral shoots of the previous year, short-stalked or sub-sessile, erect, composed of
spirally arranged, nearly circular scales, and membranous, usually shorter bracts.
Ovules, two on each scale. Cones solitary, small, composed of concave woody
imbricated scales, which persist on the axis of the cone ^after the escape of the
seeds, and of inconspicuous bracts, which, except in one species, are concealed
between the scales. The cones, ripening in one season, allow the seeds to fall out
in the first autumn or winter, but remain on the tree until the summer or autumn of
the second year. The seeds, two on each scale, are minute, furnished with resin
vesicles and winged. The seedling has three to six cotyledons, which bear stomata
on their upper surface.
Tsuga is confined to temperate North America, Japan, China, and the Himalayas.
The genus consists of nine species, and is divided into two sections : —
I. Hesperopeuce, Engelmann, in Brewer and Watson, Bot. California, ii. 12 1
(1880).
Leaves rounded or keeled above, bearing stomata on both surfaces, and radially
arranged ; the shorter and lateral branchlets standing in a plane at right angles
227
228 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
to the longer and terminal ones. Cones oblong-cylindrical, large, composed of
numerous (about seventy) scales.
This section includes one species : —
1. Tsuga Pattoniana, S^ndclauze. Western North America.
II. Micropeuce, Spach, Hist. Vig. xi. 424 (1842), identical yi\'Ca. Eutsuga, Engel-
mann, loc. cit. 120(1 880).
Leaves flat, grooved above, bearing stomata on the lower surface only, pectinately
arranged on the branchlets, which are all in one plane. Cones ovoid, small, com-
posed of few scales, rarely more than twenty-five.
This section comprises the remaining species, of which six are in cultivation in
this country. These may be conveniently arranged as follows : —
A. Leaves serrulate in margin. Shoots pubescent.
2. Tsuga Canadensis, Carri^re. Eastern North America.
Leaves, ^ to f inch long, usually tapering from the base to the acute or rounded
apex ; lower surface marked with two narrow well-defined white stomatic bands, the
part of the leaf external to them being pure green in colour. Buds brown, ovoid,
pointed, composed of pubescent, keeled acute scales.
3. Tsuga Albertiana, S^n^clauze. Western North America.
Leaves, ;|^ to f inch long, usually rounded at the apex and uniform in breadth ;
lower surface with two ill-defined broad white stomatic bands, which are indistinctly
continued to the margins, there being no distinct bands of pure green. Buds greyish,
ovoid, apex obtuse and flattened ; scales keeled, pubescent.
4. Tsuga Brunoniana, Carriere. Himalayas.
Leaves, i to i^ inch long, gradually tapering from the base to the acute apex ;
lower surface silvery white, stomatic bands well-defined and extending almost
to the margins. Buds globose, flattened on the top, surrounded at the base by a
ring of modified leafy scales, the other scales ovate, acute, pubescent.
B. Leaves entire in margin. Shoots glabrous.
5. Tsuga Sieboldii, Carriere. Japan.
Leaves, \ to i inch long, oblong, rounded and notched at the apex, shining
above ; lower surface with two narrow well-defined white stomatic bands. Buds
red, ovoid, slightly acute at the apex ; scales glabrous and ciliate.
C. Leaves entire in margin. Shoots pubescent.
6. Tsuga diversi/olia, Maximowicz. Japan.
Shoots pubescent, both on the leaf-bases and in the furrows between them.
Leaves, i to |- inch long, oblong, rounded and notched at the apex ; lower surface
with two narrow well-defined white stomatic bands. Buds red, pyriform, flattened
above ; scales obtuse, minutely pubescent.
7. Tsuga Caroliniana, Engelmann. Southern Alleghany Mountains.
Shoots pubescent in the furrows between the leaf-bases, which are glabrous.
Tsuga 229
Leaves, i to f inch long, oblong, rounded at the apex, which is entire, minutely notched
or mucronate ; lower surface with two narrow well-defined white stomatic bands.
Buds reddish, ovoid, sharp-pointed ; scales indistinctly keeled.
In addition to the preceding, two species of Tsuga, belonging to this section,
occur in China. They are as yet imperfectly known. Tsuga chinensis, Masters,* a
native of the high mountains of Szechuan, is closely allied to Tsuga diversifolia, and,
like it, has pubescent young shoots. It differs in the cones, which are quite sessile,
and have very lustrous scales. The leaves are described as being green beneath ;
but this is probably an inconstant character.
Tsuga yunnanensis, Masters,^ which was discovered by P^re Delavay in the
mountains near Likiang in Yunnan, is unknown to me. Franchet considers it to be
closely allied to T. Sieboldii.
TSUGA PATTONIANA, Hooker's Hemlock
Tsuga Pattoniana, Seneclauze, Conif. 21 (1867) ; Engelmann, in Brewer and Watson, Bot. California,
ii. 121 (1880); Masters, Gard. Chron. xii. 10, fig. i (1892).
Tsuga Hookeriana, Carrifere, TraiU Conif. 252 (1867); and Lemmon, Erythea, vi. 78 (1898).
Tsuga Mertensiana, Sargent, Silva N. Amer. xii. 77, t. 606 (1898), and Trees N. Amer. 51 (1905);
Kent, Veitch's Man. Coniferm, 468 (1900).
Pinus Mertensiana, Bongard, Vigit. de Sitcha, 54 (1832).
Pinus Pattoniana, Parlatore, D. C. Prod. xvi. 2, p. 429 (1864).
Abies Pattoniana, Balfour, Rep. Oregon Assoc, i (1853) > Murray in Lawson, Pin. Brit. ii. 157 (1884).
Abies Hookeriana, Murray, Edin. New Phil. Joicrn. 289 (1855); and in Lawson, lac. cit. 153.
Abies Williamsonii, Newberry, Pacific R. R. Report, vi. pt. iii. 53, t. 7, fig. 19 (1857).
Hesperopeuce Pattoniana, Lemmon, Rep. Calif. State Board Forestry, iii. 128 (1890).
A tree, occasionally attaining in America 1 50 feet in height, with a girth of 1 5 feet.
Bark dark cinnamon in colour, deeply divided into rounded connected scaly ridges.
Shoots brownish-grey, and densely pubescent. Branchlets in different planes, the
shorter and lateral ones usually arising on the upper side of the longer and terminal
ones, and disposed at right angles to them, giving a tufted appearance to the branch.
Leaves radially arranged on the branchlets, not markedly different in size, f to i inch
long, curved, linear ; apex usually rounded and obtuse, rarely acute ; upper surface
convex and keeled towards the apex ; lower surface rounded with a median groove ;
both surfaces with about eight lines of stomata, which are sparse and do not form
conspicuous white bands ; margin entire. Buds brownish, ovoid, acute at the apex,
composed of a few closely imbricated, strongly keeled scales.
Cones sessile, about two inches long, oblong cylindrical, tapering at the apex
and slightly narrowed at the base, composed of five series of scales, each series with
' Journ. Linn. Soc. (Bot.) xxvi. 556 (1902) ; Abies chinensis, Fianchet, /aurn. de Bot. 1899, p. 259.
^ Journ. Linn. Soc. (Bot.) loc. cit.; Abies yunnanensis, Franchet, loc. cit. p. 258; and cf. also Masters, yowrK. Linn.
Soc. (Bot.) xxxvii. 421 (1906), who identifies the specimens from Szechuan with this species; but judging from Franchet's
description, they are the other species.
230 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
«*#
fourteen to fifteen scales. Scales thin, broader than long, semicircular with a
wedge-shaped base, convex, margin irregularly denticulate, pubescent on both
surfaces. Bract oblong, abruptly tapering at the apex, which is visible between
the scales. Seed with terminal asymmetrical wing, and two resin -vesicles on
the side next the scale.
The name Pattoniana is adopted as being the first published under the correct
genus Tsuga. The tree is known to American botanists as Tsuga Merten-
siana, which is unfortunate, as this name was for many years in use for the western
hemlock. There is no confusion possible if Pattoniana be selected, as no other
hemlock has been known at any time by this name.
Varieties
The preceding description is drawn up from living specimens of the form with
bluish entire leaves, cultivated in this country, and applies, in all essential charac-
ters, to dried specimens from trees growing wild in America. I have examined the
material in the Kew herbarium and also specimens collected by Elwes on Mount
Shasta at 7500 feet elevation ; and there do not appear to be two distinct varieties
of the tree in the wild state, as the presumed alpine form is only a stunted shrub
which agrees in botanical characters with the trees from lower levels.
In England, however, there is a form in cultivation, distinguished by its green
serrulate leaves, which differs in many respects from the other form. Concerning its
origin, we only know, on the authority of Murray,^ that it was raised at Edinburgh
from seeds collected by Jeffrey in 1851 on the Mount Baker range in British
Columbia. Jeffrey found trees growing there from 5000 feet elevation to the snow
line, varying in size from 1 50 feet in height and 1 2,^ feet in girth at lower levels to a
stunted shrub not more than 4 feet high close to the timber line. Specimens at Kew
from Mount Baker gathered by Jeffrey all have entire leaves and belong to the
ordinary wild form.
Engelmann,^ who visited the Mount Baker range, states that the trees growing
there are the ordinary forms of Tsuga Pattoniana and Tsuga Albertiana. He
suggests that the plants raised from Jeffrey's seed may be a mountain form of the
latter species ; but this cannot be admitted, as they do not resemble that species in
botanical characters (buds, leaves, etc.). It is possible that these plants are only a
seedling variation of Tsuga Pattoniana, and do not correspond with any distinct
species or geographical form in the wild state.
Murray,^ believing that he had two species to deal with, named the bluish form
Abies Hookeriana, and assigned the name Abies Pattoniana, Balfour, to the other
form. The original figqre of Balfour's species represents, however, the same plant
as Abies Hookeriana of Murray; and much confusion has resulted in consequence
in the use of the two names Hookeriana and Pattoniana. It is most convenient to
' Edin. New. Phil. Jour. 289 (1855) and Proc. Hort. Soc. ii, 202 (1863). " Card. Chron. xvii. 145 (1882).
' The distinctions relied on by Murray in the cones are trifling ; and in the Kew Herbarium there are wild specimens
showing these difTerences, but all belonging to the form with blue entire leaves. I have not seen cones belonging to the other
form.
Tsuga
231
apply the name Pattoniana to the bluish form, as it is the earliest name of the wild
plant, and to consider the green-foliaged plant to be a variety of it, which may be
called var. Jeffreyi.
The two forms are distinguished as follows : —
1. Var. typica. The form distinguished in cultivation by its bluish foliage.
Introduced in 1854 by William Murray, who found the tree on Scots Mountain, in
California.
Leaves, though radially arranged, tending on the lower side of the shoot to be
in the plane of the branch and not spreading ; those on the upper side of the shoot
curved and directed outwards and forwards. They are long and narrow, \x.o\ inch
long, and ^'^ inch wide, entire in margin, convex on both surfaces, the groove in the
median line above being very short or absent and never continued to the apex of the
leaf, which is rounded or acute ; both surfaces marked with conspicuous lines of
stomata extending from the base to the apex of the leaf
2. Var. Jeffreyi. Only known in cultivation, distinguished by its greenish
foliage.
Leaves spreading radially and directed outwards (never forwards) on all sides of
the shoot ; straight, short, and broad, less than \ inch long and about ^ inch in
width, serrulate in margin ; upper surface flattened and distinctly grooved, the
groove continued to the rounded apex ; lower surface convex, with lines of stomata
the whole length of the leaf. On the upper surface the stomata only occur in four
to six broken lines towards the apex.
This form agrees with the typical form in the character of the buds and
pubescence of the branchlets ; the shoots, however, are not so slender.
(A. H.)
Mr. Gorman gives the following account^ of the supposed Alpine form, alluded
to above : — " Among the hardy alpine trees Hooker's hemlock stands pre-eminent,
having a northern range far beyond that of even the white-barked pine. It is a small,
dwarfed and stunted tree compared with the type, and seldom exceeds 12 inches
diameter or 30 feet in height. It usually ranges in altitude from 5500 to 6400 feet,
but is occasionally found up to and beyond 7000 feet where it can find sufficient
moisture. Though generally favouring the heads of moist valleys it is sometimes to
be found on the leeward side of peaks and slopes, where snowbanks of sufficient size
have formed in winter to maintain an adequate supply of moisture during the rest
of the year. It is in the latter situations where the tree reaches its highest
altitude. In addition to its smaller size and more alpine habit it further differs from
its nearest congener in having thinner bark and small erect cones, all the other
hemlocks having pendent cones. The tree is too small and inaccessible to have any
economic value."
This seems to be distinguished principally by its erect cones. Sargent,' who
alludes to Gorman's account, does not consider this variation to be worthy of distinc-
' Survey E. Part Washington Forest Reserve, p. 336 (19M Ann. Report of the Survey, Part v. 1899).
' tSilva N. Amer. xii. 78, note I.
2^2 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
tion, and explains it by saying that the position of the cones " is evidently due to the
thickness of the short lateral branchlets, on which they are terminal and which are
•sometimes so rigid that the weight of the cones does not make them pendent."
Distribution
This tree is only found at high elevations, where it has much the same
geographical range as the western hemlock, but it extends farther south in California
and reaches its southern limit at gcxx) to 10,000 feet on the south fork of King River
in the Sierra Nevada.
In the north it descends to sea level on Baranoff Island, and on the shores of
Yes Bay in Alaska, lat. 55° 54' N., where Mr. Martin Gorman collected it. As
a rule it is a tree of high altitudes, growing on exposed ridges and slopes near
the upper limit of the forest, in company with Abies lasiocarpa, Picea Engehnanni,
and Pinus albicaulis. In the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia Mrs. Nicholl
found it as a good-sized tree near Glacier up to 7000 feet, though Wilcox,^ in his
excellent account of the trees of that region, pp. 61-65, does not mention it.
Though usually a more or less stunted and ragged tree, it attains a large size
on the Cascade Mountains, where I saw it in perfection on the road from Longmire
Springs to Paradise Valley, on the south side of Mount Tacoma,^ in August 1904,
first at about 4000 feet, where it was only a scattered tree, and higher up it mixed
with the western hemlock in a splendid forest. I was not able to distinguish the
two species by their bark, though when not crowded, the habit of Hooker's hemlock
is very distinct ; but they could be identified by the fallen cones under the trees.
The largest that I measured here was about 150 feet by 13 feet 8 inches. Higher
up, where the forest' opened out into glades at the bottom of the Paradise Valley,
which is, in Professor Sargent's opinion, one of the most interesting in America for
its alpine flora, it assumed a different and more flat-topped habit ; the largest here
that I measured was 108 feet by 13 feet 3 inches. It grew in company with Abies
lasiocarpa, and seedlings of both were numerous on rotten logs on the shady sides of
the clumps in which they always grew.
The tree in a very stunted state reaches the timber line — about 7500 feet — in
company with Abies lasiocarpa and Cupressus nootkatensis ; but in California,
J. Muir* measured a specimen at 9500 feet, near the margin of Lake Hollow,
which was 19 feet 7 inches in girth at 4 feet from the ground.
Mr. Gorman gives an excellent account of the tree in his Survey of the
Eastern Part of the Washington Forest Reserve, pp. 335-336, from which I quote
as follows : —
" This hemlock is confined to the moist valleys and vicinity of the passes. It is
the prevailing tree in Cascade Pass, 5421 feet, and is quite common about the
' The Rockies of Canada, 61-65 ('900)'
* The local name is Mount Tacoma, but in maps and writings it is usually called Mount Rainier.
' An account of this forest, with two beautiful illustrations of " Patton's spruce," it given in Garden and Forest, x.
I, figs. I, 2 (1897).
* Mountains of California, p. 20.
Tsuga 233
sources of the Stehekin, where it attains a very fair size for this region, ranging from
50 to 90 feet in height and from 12 to 27 inches in diameter. The altitudinal range
is greater than was expected, from 3100 feet to 5800 feet, and a tree supposed to be
of this species was found as low as 2100 feet in the Stehekin Valley. •
" The tree is sometimes taken for the western hemlock, but may be distinguished
by the erect top of the sapling, the cones long, purple, and more or less massed about
the top of the tree ; and the mature tree has an unusually thick, roughly corrugated-
bark : while in the western hemlock the top is generally drooping, the cones small,
oval, and brown, and well distributed over the branches, and the mature tree has a
comparatively thin bark. The wood is close grained and of fine texture, and is
quite suitable for lumber or fuel, but is not much used on account of its growing
usually in inaccessible situations."
Near Crater Lake in Southern Oregon, Mr. Leiberg {Cascade Forest Reserve
Report, pp. 245, 259), says :— " A few scattered groves of Patton hemlock occur in
the southern tracts, some of which are of large size, occasional individuals reaching
six to seven feet in diameter. Occasional stands of Patton hemlock 200 to 300
years old exhibit fine proportions at this elevation, 6000 feet ; the species usually
grows in close groups, composed of ten or twenty individuals, collected together on
what appears to be a common root ; such close growth develops clear trunks, though
not commonly of large diameter. Stands of this character sometimes run as high as
25,000 feet per acre."
Remarkable Trees
Though now introduced for about fifty-five years this tree has made but little
show in our gardens, as the climate of most parts of England is probably too
warm for it. I have seen flourishing specimens of no great size in several places,
the best, perhaps, being one at Tyberton Court, Herefordshire, the seat of Chandos
Lee Warner, Esq., where there is a tree of the typical form 43 feet high by about
2i\ feet in girth, said to be fifty years old, and perhaps one of those introduced by
William Murray, and sent out by Lawson.
In Scotland it seems to thrive even better, especially at Murthly Castle,
where there is a fine group of trees on a lawn (Plate 67). When measured for
the Conifer Conference in 1892 the best of these was 35 feet by 3 feet 10 inches,
another 30 feet by 4 feet. When I last saw them in September 1906 the tallest tree
on the left of the row was 47 feet by 3 feet 8 inches, the tree in the middle with
weeping branches 43 feet by 4 feet 2 inches, and the thickest between these two
was 6 feet 7 inches in girth. The difference in the habit'of these three is well shown
in the plate. They produced seed in 1887, from which a number were raised
and planted at Murthly. These have grown slowly, and the tallest in 1906 were
six or seven feet high, though quite healthy ; and the growth of seedlings which I
raised from seed gathered on Mount Rainier is extremely slow.
At Keillour, Henry measured, in 1904, a specimen which was 40 feet by 3 feet
9 inches ; and at the Cairnies, near Perth, the seat of Major R. M. Patton, there
were in 1892 two specimens little inferior to those at Murthly. (H. J. E.)
II F
234 ^he Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
TSUGA ALBERTIANA, Western Hemlock
Tsuga Albertiana, Seneclauze, Conif. i8 (1867); Kent, Veitch's Man. Coni/era, 459 (1900).
Tsuga Mertensiana, Carrifere, Traiti Conif. 250 (1867); Masters, Gard. Chron. xxiii. 179, fig. 35
(188s).
Tsuga heterophylla, Sargent, Silva N. Amer. xii. 73, t. 605 (1898), and Trees N. Amer. 50(1905).
Abies heterophylla, Rafinesque, Atlantic Jour. i. 119 (1832).
Abies Mertensiana, Gordon, Pinetum, 18 (1858).
Abies Albertiana, A. Murray, Proc. Roy. Hort. Sac. iii. 149 (1863).
A large tree, attaining in America 200 to 250 feet in height and 20 feet or more
in girth, narrowly pyramidal in habit. Bark of old trees reddish brown, and deeply
divided into broad, flat, connected scaly ridges. Young shoots whitish grey, and
covered with short pubescence, intermixed with scattered long straggling hairs.
Leaves pectinately arranged, the shorter leaves on the upper side of the branchlets,
those in the median line above often parallel to the twig and directed forwards,
exposing their stomatic surfaces. The leaves are ^ to f inch long, linear-oblong,
uniform in width, serrulate in margin, dark green above, with a median groove
continued up to the rounded apex ; under surface with inconspicuous midrib and two
broad white stomatic bands, which are ill defined on the outer side, there being
no distinct marginal green bands. Buds greyish brown, ovoid, with an obtuse and
flattened apex ; scales keeled and pubescent.
Cones sessile, about one inch long, ovoid, composed of five series of scales, each
series with six to seven scales. Scales spathulate, nearly twice as long as broad, wider
in the upper half, abruptly narrowed below, rounded with a slightly acute apex, entire
and slightly bevelled in margin, striate and slightly pubescent on the outer surface.
Bract small, concealed, lozenge-shaped, pubescent and keeled. Seed with a very
long wing, decurrent on the outer side of the seed to the base ; seed with wing about
three-fourths the length of the scale.
The young seedling has three to four cotyledons, which are a little more than \ inch
in length, gradually tapering to an acute apex, sessile, flattened beneath, the upper
surface two-sided and bearing stomata, margin entire. The young stem is pubescent
and bears first two to three whorls of true leaves (three in each whorl), which are
serrulate, shortly stalked, and bearing stomata on their upper surface. These are
succeeded by leaves borne spirally. The cotyledons are supported by a caulicle,
reddish and glabrous, about an inch in length, which terminates in a very slender
flexuose tap-root.
The name Albertiana has been chosen, as it appears to have been published as
early as that of Mertensiana under the correct genus Tsuga. Tsuga Mertensiana is
now the name given by American botanists to Tsuga Pattoniana, and its adoption
would cause considerable confusion. Albertiana, never having been applied to
any other species, is correct on the grounds of common sense as well as of
priority. (A. H.)
Tsuga 235
Distribution
On the west coast of North America it extends southwards from south-eastern
Alaska, where it forms the greater part of the great coast forest, which reaches from
sea-level up to about 2000 feet, and is associated with Menzies's spruce.
In British Columbia it is very abundant on the coast, and extends as far inland
as the heavy rainfall reaches up the valley of the Frazer, on the Gold and Selkirk
ranges, and east of the Columbia valley nearly up to the continental divide/ In
Vancouver's Island it forms with the Douglas fir and red cedar a large though not
economically important part of the forest. In Washington and Oregon it is also
one of the principal elements of the forest, of which, in the Cascade Forest Reserve,
it forms about nine per cent of the timber,^ and extends up to 5000 feet, crossing the
watershed of the coast range in lat. 45°.
In the drier parts of southern Oregon it becomes rare, and though it occurs in
the redwood forests of northern California as far south as Cape Mendocino, I did
not see it on the Siskyou mountains or on Mount Shasta. In the interior it is found
in the wetter parts of northern Montana, Idaho, and in southern British Columbia,
where, in company with Douglas spruce, Picea Engelmanni, Abies grandis, and
Larix occidentalis, it sometimes forms a considerable part of the forest, and reaches
up to 6000 feet in the Coeur d'Alene mountains, though I did not see it in the valley
of the Blackfoot river, near Missoula, where the climate is drier.
It attains its finest development on the coasts of Washington and Oregon,
where Sargent says that it attains 200 feet in height, with a stem 20 to 30 feet in girth.
Plummer, in his Report on the Mount Rainier Forest Reserve,' says (p. loi)
that it attains an extreme diameter of 6 feet, with a height of 250 feet, of which half
to two-thirds is crown. The largest that I actually measured, however, on my visit
to Mount Rainier in August 1904, were under 200 feet, with a girth of 12 to 14 feet,
and these were growing mixed with Tsuga Pattoniana at an elevation of 4000 to
5000 feet.
In the Cascade Reserve Forest of northern Oregon, near Bridal Veil, at about
3500 feet elevation, I measured and Mr. Kiser photographed a tree 175 feet high
and 16 feet 6 inches in girth, with a clean bole of about 60 feet, but I am unable to
reproduce this, as the negative has not arrived.
The growth of seedlings in all the forests that I saw was exceptionally good^
Mr. H. D. Langille says,* p. 36 : —
"Certain cone-bearers are better adapted for restocking than others, though the
reasons are not apparent. For example, young lovely firs i^A. amabilis) are abundant
everywhere within the zone of that species, whilst noble fir {A. nobilis), having a
cone and seed of very similar size and nature, seldom germinates, and a seedling of
that species is rarely seen.
' Mrs. Nicholl, who explored the Rocky Mountains in 1904 and 1905, tells me that it is a large tree at Glacier, on the
Canadian Pacific Railway, and grows up to about 5000 feet.
2 Forest Conditions of Cascade Reserve, p. 25, Washington, 1903.
' Twenty-first Anntial Report of the U.S. Geological Survey, part v. Washington, 1900.
♦ Forest Conditions in Cascade Reserve, U.S. Geological Survey, Washington, 1903.
2^6 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
" From many observations made in the zone of the hemlock and lovely fir, it is
apparent that these trees, from their ability to thrive under the most adverse con-
ditions, are rapidly superseding the others, and will, under natural conditions, be the
sole components of the alpine forests. It is a striking fact that, upon many areas
where from 50 to 100 per cent of the present forest is red fir (Douglas), the repro-
duction is entirely hemlock and lovely fir. Should these forests be destroyed by fire
it is probable that red fir would rival these species in restocking the burn ; but under
natural conditions it is evident that the red fir will be displaced, and the limits of the
alpine trees become much lower than at present.
" The yellow pine {P. ponderosa), in some instances, does good work in stocking
open spots in the timber, but seldom extends far beyond the parent tree. In the yellow
pine forests most of the young growth is red or white fir {A. grandis), which, taking
advantage of the shade and moisture afforded by the yellow pine cover, is growing
rapidly, and will in time form a larger percentage of the forest than it has in the past."
I can confirm this from my own observation both in the Cascade Forest and in
Vancouver's Island. The seedlings germinate most freely when they fall on the
moss-covered rotting trunk of a fallen tree, along which a complete row of young
trees often grows ; and Plate 59, vol. i. shows a tree of this species, probably
150 years old, whose roots had completely enclosed the still sound trunk of a red
cedar {Thuya plicata). A valuable paper 'by Mr. E. T. Allen, dealing with the
western hemlock from a forestry point of view, has been published by the U.S.
Bureau of Forestry.
Cultivation
It was introduced in 1851 by Jeffrey, and named in 1863 by Murray, at the
request of Queen Victoria, in memory of the late Prince Consort, who was a patron
of the Oregon Association, and President of the Royal Horticultural Society.^
In grace, freedom of growth, and adaptability to varied conditions of culture,
in England this, as an ornamental tree, is second to none, and much superior to any
other hemlock. Though it has been in cultivation little over fifty years it has already
attained a height of about 90 feet in such widely distant counties as Kent, Devon-
shire, and Perthshire.
The only soils on which it will not thrive are chalk, limestone, and heavy clay,
and though it enjoys all the moisture that the wettest parts of England afford, it
wants, like all its congeners, a well-drained soil and a sheltered situation.
It ripens seed abundantly in England, and has sown itself in several localities,
especially at Blackmoor, the seat of the Earl of Selborne, where there are several
self-sown trees, of which the best, growing on the lower greensand formation, is, at
about fifteen years old, 10 to 12 feet high, though the parent trees do not exceed
about 65 feet.
In Fulmodestone Wood, on Lord Leicester's estate in Norfolk, I have also seen
self-sown seedlings ; and though they are very slow in growth for the first four or five
' "The Western Hemlock," U.S. Dept. Agric. Forestry Bulletin, No. 33 (1902).
» Hunter, IVoods of Perthshire, p. 350.
Tsuga
2-37
years, yet if kept moist and shaded in a mixture of sand and leaf-mould they may be
planted out at five to six years old, with every hope of success.
So far as my experience goes, trees grown from cuttings are not so satisfactory,
and there is no excuse for this practice except the saving of trouble, as seedlings are
raised in quantity at a very low cost from home-grown seed in Scotland, as I
have seen in the nursery at Murthly Castle.
' Remarkable Trees
Among so many fine trees of this species, all of about the same age, it is hard
to choose, but perhaps the largest' which we have measured is at Hafodunos, in
Denbighshire, which in 1904 was found by Henry to be 94 feet 6 inches by 8 feet
5 inches, and this tree has also produced self-sown seedlings.
At Dropmore there is a very beautiful tree of the spreading type (Plate 68),
about 70 feet by 6 feet. At Hemsted, in Kent, I was shown by Lord Cranbrook,
in 1905, a tree which is perhaps as tall as any in England, but which, growing in a
hole and surrounded by other trees, it was not possible to measure accurately. It is,
however, about 90 feet by 4 feet 1 1 inches, well shaped and growing fast.
At Penllergare, near Swansea, the seat of Sir J. T. D. Llewellyn, Bt., are several
fine trees growing in a sheltered valley, which were planted about fifty years ago in
company with Tsuga canadensis. They are now from 70 to 80 feet high, whilst
the best of the eastern hemlock is only 50 feet, and the difference in habit of the
two trees is very well shown.
A very large tree, reported^ to be 1 10 feet high, is growing at Singleton Abbey,
near Swansea, the residence of Lord Swansea, but I have been unable as yet to get
confirmation of the height stated. At Castlehill, N. Devon, are several fine trees,
the best of which, on a steep bank above a waterfall, where it is somewhat drawn
up by beeches, is 90 feet by 6 feet 7 inches. At Carclew, Cornwall, is a fine tree,
which in 1902 was 80 feet by 6 feet 3 inches, and in 1905, 82 feet by 6 feet 6 inches,
both measurements taken by myself
At Barton, Suffolk, a young and very thriving tree, shut in by tall beeches and
conifers, in 1905 was 80 feet by 4 feet 3 inches, a remarkable instance of height as
compared with girth.
In Scotland the tree flourishes exceedingly, and has been planted in many
places. Perhaps the tallest is one at Castle Menzies, which in 1904 I made about
90 feet by 7 feet 8 inches, though the gardener thinks it is taller ; but one of the
most beautiful for its shape, graceful habit, and situation, grows by a deep shady burn
on the road from Dunkeld to Murthly Castle, and is about 70 feet by 5 feet (Plate
69), and there are many other fine trees in the grounds there. A tree at Riccarton,
near Edinburgh, planted in 1855, measured in 1905, 73 feet by 7 feet i inch. A very
large tree, measuring in 1907, 10 feet in girth, is reported by Major P. J. Waldron,
to be growing at Hallyburton, Coupar-Angus, the seat of Mr. W. Graham Menzies.
' This tree was in 1868, 2%\ feet high by 2 feet 3 inches in girth at liie base. In 1883 it measured 65 feet by 4 feet
II inches at 3 feet from the ground (Card. Chion. 1868, p. 657, and 1885, xxiii. 179). According to the owner, Colonel
Sandbach, it was planted probably in 1856. - Card. Chron. xxxvii. 136 (1905).
238 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
*'»
The only place where the tree is reported to have been killed by frost is in the
plantations at the Cairnies, Perthshire, where Hunter says (p. 364) that in the severe
winter of 1880-81 many were injured and some killed. Two of the finest specimens
in Scotland are, however, growing in the grounds at this place.'
In Ireland the best specimen we know of is one at Glenstal, Co. Limerick,
which measured in 1903, 78 feet high by 7^ feet in girth. One of exactly the same
height by 6 feet in girth is growing at Kilmacurragh, Co. Wicklow ; and around it
are several self-sown seedlings. At Mount Usher, in the same county, there is a
fine specimen, 28 years old, from seed, which was 57 feet high by 4 feet 5 inches
in 1903.
Timber
The timber of the western hemlock has not until recently been much valued, or
cut for lumber, on account of its supposed inferiority to that of the Douglas spruce,
and is often left standing by loggers, but the increasing scarcity of lumber in some
districts has led to its being converted into boards, and it is now largely used for the
construction of buildings. Sargent says that it is light, hard, and tough, stronger,
more durable, and more easily worked than the other American hemlocks. Allen ^
says that in strength it cannot be classed with oak, red fir, or longleaf pine, nor
is it suitable for heavy construction, especially where exposed to the weather ; but it
possesses all the strength requisite for ordinary building material. It is largely used
in Washington for mill frames.
At Mr. Bradley's sawmill at Bridal Veil, Oregon, I saw it being manufactured,
and brought away a sample which quite bears out Sargent's high opinion of it. If
such timber existed in Japan or in Europe, I am sure it would be highly valued for
joinery, but so far as I can learn none has yet been shipped to Europe. Hemlock
timber^ has been exported to Manila, and is likely to prove of considerable value in
the tropics for housebuilding and indoor finish, as it appears to be free from the
attacks of white ants. The wood is distasteful to rodents, and is used on that
account by farmers for the construction of oat-bins.
The bark, according to Sargent, forms the most valuable tanning material
produced on the west coast of North America, and the inner bark is eaten by the
Indians of Alaska.
James M. Macoun^ says of it — "The abundance of other wood of better
quality has prevented the hemlock from coming into general use, and the same
prejudice exists in British Columbia against the western tree that prevailed until
very recently against hemlock in eastern Canada. Though its grain is coarse,
western hemlock is for many purposes just as serviceable as other woods which cost
more. The bark is rich in tannin, but is too thin to be extensively used while
there is such an abundance of Douglas fir in the same region." (H. J. E.)
J These are trees growing in peat soil at 635 feet altitude. The seeds were sown in 1853, and in 1868 one tree was
29 feet by 1 ft. 11 in., and the other 26 feet by 2 feet at three feet from the ground (Gard. Chron. 1868, p. 518).
• Allen, " Western Hemlock," 20, 21 (U.S. Forestry Bulletin, No. 33, 1902).
' Forest H^ealti 0/ Canada, 82 (1904).
Tsuga
^39
TSUGA CANADENSIS. Hemlock or Hemlock Spruce
Tsuga canadensis, Carrifere, Traits Conif. 189 (1855); Sargent, Silva N. Amer. xii. 63, t. 603 (1898),
and Trees N. Amer. 48 (1905); Kent, Veitch's Man. Conifera, 463 (1900).
Pinus canadensis, Linnaeus, Sp. PL 1421 (1763); Lambert, Genus Pinus, i. t. 32 (1803).
Abies canadensis, Michaux, Fl. Bor. Am. ii. 206 (1803), and Hist. Arb. Amer. i. 137, t. 13 (1810);
Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit. iv. 2322 (1838).
Picea canadensis. Link, Linnaa, xv. 523 (1841).
A tree attaining in America over 100 feet in height, but usually only 60 to
70 feet, with a girth of 12 feet as a maximum. Bark of old trees brownish and
deeply divided into narrow rounded ridges, covered with appressed scales.
Young shoots greyish in colour and covered with short stiff pubescence. Leaves
pectinately arranged, the shorter ones on the upper side of the shoot ; those on the
median line above pointing forwards, appressed to the twig, and displaying their
white under surfaces. They are ^ to f inch long, linear, usually broadest towards the
base and tapering to the apex, which is rounded or acute ; distinctly and sharply
serrulate in margin ; dark green above with a median groove often not continued to
the apex ; lower surface with distinct midrib and two narrow well-defined white
stomatic bands, the edges being pure green in colour. Buds brown, ovoid, pointed ;
scales ciliate, pubescent, keeled, acute.
Cones, i to f inch long, ovoid, on slender puberulous stalks nearly \ inch long,
composed of five series of scales, with about five scales in each series. Scales orbicular
oblong, nearly as broad as long, entire and slightly bevelled in margin, striate,
glabrescent in the exposed part. Bract small, concealed, lozenge-shaped. Seed
with an oblong wing, decurrent half-way on its outer side. The seed with wing
about two-thirds the length of the scale.
Varieties
A considerable number of horticultural varieties are known, no less than
fourteen being described by Beissner. Some of these are variegated forms, as var.
argentea or albo-spica, in which the tips of the young shoots are whitish. Others
differ in habit and stature, as var. pendula, with pendulous branches, and var.
Sargentii^ a flat-topped bushy form of compact habit with short pendulous branches.
The latter was found about forty years ago on the Fishkill Mountains in New York,
and was first cultivated and made known by Mr. H. W. Sargent. One of the
original plants, growing on the Howland estate, in Matteawan, New York, is now
about 25 feet across. Grafted plants of this variety form in a few years an erect
stem, and lose the dense low habit which is the charm of the original seedlings.^
Var. parvifolia, as cultivated at Kew, is a shrub, with stout branchlets, and very
short leaves, about \ inch long, which spread radially outwards from the shoot.
(A. H.)
* Sargent, Garden and Forest, x. 490 (1897).
240 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
Distribution
In the colder parts of New England and Canada the hemlock is one of the
most characteristic trees of the virgin forest, and extends, according to Sargent,
from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick westward through Ontario to eastern
Minnesota, southwards through Delaware, southern Michigan, and central Wisconsin,
and along the Appalachian Mountains to north-western Alabama. He says that it
attains its largest size in the south, in the mountain valleys of North Carolina and
Tennessee, and gives its size as usually 60 or 70 and occasionally 100 feet in height,
with a trunk 2 to 4 feet in diameter ; but Pinchot and Ashe {loc. cit. p. 134) give 1 10
feet with a diameter of 6 feet as its extreme size, with a beautiful picture of it
(pi. xix.). When, however, I was at Ottawa in September 1904 I visited, in
company with Mr. James M. Macoun of the Geological Survey, a forest near
Chelsea, in the Gatineau valley, where several hemlocks of nearly 100 feet were
standing, mixed with birches, maples, and other hardwoods, and found a fallen tree
which must have been at least 125 feet, and perhaps 135 feet long, though the top
was too rotten to follow it out to the end. Mr. Macoun, however, said he had never
seen one so large before.
It often grows on rocky ridges, where it forms dense groves on the north
side, and loves the steep banks of river gorges. Henry visited in 1906 Pisgah
Mountain, near Hinsdale, in New Hampshire, where there remain on the estate of
Mr. Ansell Dickinson about 700 acres of virgin forest. This mainly consists of a
mixture of hemlock and hardwoods, with white pine occurring here and there singly
and in small groups ; though on one or two areas of a few acres the white pine and
hemlock form a pure coniferous stand. The largest hemlock seen measured 1 1 3
feet by 7 feet 10 inches, with a clean stem of only 30 feet, being much branched
though densely crowded by other trees. A great many small hemlocks throughout
the forest formed an undergrowth, and had been suppressed in growth, one which
was f inch in diameter and 10 feet high showing 65 annual rings.
In the Arnold Arboretum, near Boston, is a fine natural grove of this tree,
called Hemlock Hill, which gives a very good idea of its normal growth in New
England. The average height here is 60 to 70 feet by 3 to 4 feet, and the best that I
measured at the bottom of the hill was 80 feet by 4 feet 6 inches. These trees were
rather crowded, and had clean boles for 1 5 to 30 feet up.
The growth of the tree is very slow, and Sargent says that the specimen of its
timber in the Jessup Collection in the American Museum of Natural History at
New York (which is the most complete that has ever been formed of the woods of
any country) is only 13^ inches in diameter inside the bark, though it shows 164
annual rings, of which the sapwood, 2 inches thick, has twenty-nine.
It seeds freely, but the seedlings do not germinate well in the open or on land
which has been recently burned over, and seem to succeed best on a mossy stump or
fallen log, where they must often remain eight to ten years before their roots reach
the earth. According to Sargent they are only three or four inches high at four
years old, under favourable conditions, and are easily destroyed.
Tsuga
Cultivation
241
Though introduced by Peter Coilinson about 1736,^ and at one time planted in
almost every garden as an ornamental tree, the hemlock is rarely seen in Europe in
a condition to remind the American of it as he knows it at home. Of late years
it has been superseded by more modern and faster growing introductions.
I caz-not exactly say what are the conditions which suit it best in this country,
because I have not seen it planted in the shady, damp, and rocky gorges which
it likes at home ; but a deep light soil, free from lime and well drained, and a
northern aspect, seem to suit it best in gardens. Its graceful habit and perfect
hardiness should recommend it to all lovers of trees. It has a general tendency
to fork near the ground, and this can only be checked by crowding it when young,
or perhaps to some extent by careful pruning, as Loudon says that it bears the knife
well, and is used for hedges in American nurseries ; though I should consider either
common spruce or arbor vitae much better suited for the purpose here.
It ripens seed freely, but the plants I have raised were so small that frost and
March winds destroyed them before I learned the necessity of protecting them ; and
in future I would imitate nature, and sow them on a mossy piece of half-rotten
wood, or in a mixture of sand and leaf mould in a shaded frame.
Remarkable Trees
By far the most remarkable specimens of this tree which exist in England, or,
as I believe, in Europe, are at Foxley, Herefordshire, the seat of the Rev. G. H.
Davenport, which are believed to have been planted by Sir Uvedale Price, who was
once the owner of this place. He was born in 1747, and died in 1828. In
Nash wood, about half a mile from the house, on a rich soil of old red sand-
stone formation, in a dell facing south-west, a number of these trees are growing,
which, though not quite so large as the tree at Studley, average about 55 feet high
by 8 to 10 in girth, and although their trunks are not so straight and clean as in an
American forest, are nearly all sound and healthy. I measured twenty of these
trees in July 1906 and found the largest, the only one which was forked near the
ground, to be 10 feet in girth. Another was 9 ft. 10 in., and had a trunk which
would contain from 1 20 to 1 30 cubic feet. The others ranged from 7 to ^^ feet at
5 feet from the ground, averaging over 8 feet, and were mostly clear of branches, or
nearly so, for 15 to 30 feet from the ground. The dense shade of these trees keeps
the soil quite free from vegetation below them, but I saw no seedlings in the grove.
Though Mr. Davenport was good enough to have a considerable clearing made in
order to get a better view of the trees, and Mr. Foster went to Foxley on purpose to
photograph them, the difficulty of the subject was so great that the prints taken
(Plate 70) do not show them as well as I could wish.
The largest tree which I have seen in England is at Studley Royal, not far below
• A tree said to be the original one planted by him at Mill Hill still survives, but was, when I saw it in 1906, in poor
condition, the soil being too dry for it.
II ^ G
242 The Trees of Great Britain and Jreland
Fountains Abbey, and close to two very tall spruce. This, though hard to measure
correctly owing to its crowded position, which makes a satisfactory illustration
impossible, is over 80 feet high and 1 1 feet in girth, but is forked at about 7 feet
from the ground.
The next best is at Strathfieldsaye, a very spreading tree in damp soil, also
forking near the ground. The two stems measure 9 feet 6 inches and 8 feet 3 inches,
and the height in 1903 was about 75 feet, the branches weeping to the ground on all
sides { Plate 71). At Althorp there is a fine old specimen on the lawn, of a more upright
type, which in 1903 was 63 feet by 8 feet 10 inches. At Walcot, in Shropshire, the
seat of the Earl of Powis, is one of the best grown trees I have seen, with a bole
about 25 feet high, and measuring 60 feet by 8 feet 8 inches. At Mr. Heelas'
residence, near Reading, part of the old White Knights estate, is a tree, probably
planted 150 years ago, which Henry in 1904 found to be 67 feet by 8 feet. At
Arley Castle there is a fine tree dividing into three stems, of which the largest is
6 feet 7 inches in girth and nearly 70 feet high.
At Hardwick, Bury St. Edmunds, there is a tree, forked at 30 feet up, 60 feet
by 5 feet 10 inches. At Beauport, Sussex, a tree measured in 1904, 65 feet by ,7 feet.
At Osberton, Notts, the seat of Mr. F. Savile Foljambe, there is a remarkably
spreading old tree about 42 feet high, and dividing near the ground into three stems,
each about 6 feet in girth. It has some layered branches which are over 20 feet
high, and the total circumference is no less than 80 paces. Bunbury, Arboretum
Notes, p. 1 40, mentions as the largest hemlock in the country one growing at Bowood,
Wiltshire, the seat of the Marquess of Lansdowne, which, however, cannot now be
found.
In Scotland, where the tree should succeed well, I have seen none of great size,
except the tree at Dunkeld, which is growing in a thick wood of conifers mixed with
beech on rocky ground, close to the Hermitage bridge. This is mentioned by
Hunter as being 80 feet high by 10 feet in girth. Mr. D. Keir twenty years later
made it 85 feet by 1 1 feet, and when he showed it to me in 1 906 I found that, though
the top is not easy to see, it is probably as much as 90 feet, and looks as if it would
grow taller. It divides at about 12 feet into several stems, and is believed to be
140 to 150 years old.
At Dalkeith there was in 1891 a tree 42 feet high by 10 feet 6 inches in girth ;
and at Buchanan Castle, Stirlingshire, the seat of the Duke of Montrose, one
measuring 45 feet by 6 feet 10 inches.^
In Ireland the largest known to us is one at Carton, the seat of the Duke of
Leinster, which in 1903 was 45 feet by 6^ feet.
Timber
Opinions as to the value of this wood differ a good deal, and I have no personal
experience in the matter. Sargent says that it is light, soft, not strong, brittle,
coarse, crooked-grained, difficult to work, liable to wind-shake and splinter, and not
* Journ. R. Hort. So<. xiv, 520, 544 (1892).
Tsuga 243
durable when exposed to the air ; but that it is now largely manufactured into coarse
lumber for the outside finish of buildings, and is also used for railway ties and
water-pipes. James M. Macoun, in The Forest Wealth of Canada, p. 82, says :
" Though little inferior to white pine as rough lumber, a prejudice has for a long
time existed against this wood, which is only now dying out. As a coarse lumber it
to-day commands almost as high a price as pine. It is one of our best woods for
wharves and docks, and great quantities are used annually for piles." It is not, so far
as I can learn, imported into Europe. The value of its bark, however, for tanning
heavy leather has long been known, and it is used more largely than any other in
Canada and the Eastern States of America, often mixed with oak bark in order to
modify the red colour of the leather tanned with it alone.^
Canada pitch, made from the resin of this tree, and oil of hemlock, distilled from
its twigs, were formerly used to some extent in medicine, but are not now of any
commercial importance. (H. J. E.)
TSUGA CAROLINIANA, Carolina Hemlock
Tsuga Caroliniana, Engelmann, ConXtex's Bot. Gazette, vi. 223 (1881); Sargent, Gard. Chron. xxvi.
780, fig. 153 (1886), Silva N. Amer. xii. 69, t. 604 (1898), and Trees N. Amer. 49 (1905);
Kent, Veitch's Man. ConifercB, 466 (1900).
A tree attaining in America 70 feet in height with a girth of 6 feet. Bark reddish
brown, and deeply divided into broad, flat, connected scaly ridges. Young shoots
shining grey, with scattered short pubescence in the furrows between the glabrous
leaf-bases. Leaves pectinately arranged, those on the upper side of the branchlet
shorter than the others, J to f inch long, linear-oblong, uniform in breadth or slightly
narrowed towards the rounded apex, which is occasionally minutely emarginate ;
dark green and shining above, with a median groove either continued up to the apex
or falling short of it ; lower surface with distinct midrib and two narrow, well-defined
white stomatic bands, the edges being green ; margin entire. Buds reddish brown,
ovoid, sharp-pointed ; scales indistinctly keeled and pubescent.
Cones on short stout stalks, pendulous or deflected, cylindrical-oblong, i to
i^ inch long, consisting of five series of scales, five scales in each series. Scales
oblong-orbicular, rounded and slightly narrowed at the apex, pubescent externally,
edge thin and bevelled. Bract concealed, wedge-shaped at the base, rounded at the
apex. Seed with a long wing, which is decurrent half-way down its outer side.
Tsuga Caroliniana appears to be the American representative of Tsuga
' Prof. H. R. Procter of the Leather Industries Department of Leeds University, tells me that though the bark is still
the principal tanning material of North America, it has been cut so recklessly that in many districts the supply is now
insufficient, and is supplemented by extracts of other materials, especially that of Quebracho wood (Loxopterygium). In
England its use was at one time considerable, but it is no longer a specially cheap material, and its colour has now to a large
extent prevented its employment. The bark appears to contain from 8 to 1 2 per cent of a catechol tannin, yielding large
quantities of insoluble " reds," and in this respect it is very inferior to the bark of the common spruce fir, which is largely
employed in Austria, though it does not seem to be used in England.
244 '^^^ Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
diversifolia, and is remarkable for its limited distribution. It occurs at elevations
of 2500 to 3000 feet, usually on dry rocky banks of mountain streams along the
Blue Ridge, extending from south-western Virginia through South Carolina to
northern Georgia. Sargent states that it occurs either in small groves or mingled
with other species, and describes it as a beautiful tree of compact pyramidal habit,
with dense dark-green lustrous foliage. Elwes saw it on the Blue Ridge in 1893,
and brought home young plants, which, however, died in a year or two.
This tree was discovered in 1850 by Professor L. R. Gibbes. It was first
raised in the Arnold Arboretum in 1881, and has proved there quite hardy. It
was introduced from thence to England in 1886. There are two or three small
specimens in the collection at Kew which are three or four feet in height and
have a bushy, spreading habit. This species, judging from the slow rate of growth
at Kew, is not likely to attain to timber size in England, and we know of no trees of
any size living in this country. (A. H.)
TSUGA BRUNONIANA, Himalayan Hemlock
Tsuga Brunoniana, Carri^re, Traite Conif. 188 (1855); Hook, f., Gard. Chron. xxvi. 72, fig. 14
(1886), and Flora Brit. India, v. 654 (1888); Masters, Gard. Chron. xxvi. 500, fig. loi
(1886); Kent, Veitch's Man. Coniferce, 462 (1900); Gamble, Man. Indian Timbers, 718
(1902); Brandis, Indian Trees, 693 (1906).
Tsuga dutnosa, Sargent, Silva N. Amer. xii. 60 (1898).
Pinus dumosa, D. Don, Prod. Fl. Nepal. 55 (1825).
Pinus Brunoniana, Wallich, PI. Asiat. Par. iii. 24, t. 247 (1832).
Abies Brunoniana, Lindley, Penny Cyclop, i. 31 (1833).
Abies dumosa, Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit. iv. 2325 (1838), and Brandis, Forest Flor. N.W.
India, 527 (1874).
A tree forming in the Himalayas, according to Hooker, a stately blunt pyramid,
with branches spreading like the cedar, but not so stiff, and drooping gracefully on
all sides, attaining 120 feet in height and 28 feet in girth. In cultivation in England
it assumes a bushy habit, and never makes a clean stem, the trunk being con-
cealed by the dense pendulous branches.
Bark thick and rough. Branchlets light brown in colour with a short and not
very dense pubescence. Leaves long, i to ij inch, narrow linear, gradually tapering
towards the acute and recurved apex, serrulate in margin ; upper surface dark green
and deeply grooved ; lower surface silvery white, the bands of stomata extending
almost to the margins. Buds globose, flattened on the top ; scales ovate, acute,
pubescent.
Cones sessile, ovoid, an inch long, composed of about twenty-five woody
scales, which are nearly orbicular, vertically striate, shining, showing externally a
thickened ridge a little distance from and parallel to the thin entire margin ; bract
concealed. Seed two-thirds the length of the scale, with an oblong-ovate wing,
which is decurrent on the outer side of the seed to its base.
Tsugj
^45
Tsuga Brunoniana occurs in the Himalayas, from Kumaon to Bhotan, at
altitudes varying from 8000 to 10,500 feet. Franchet considers that certain
Chinese specimens constitute a distinct variety of the species, which he has
named var. chinensis} These were collected in N.E. Szechuan by Pere Farges,
and in the mountains of western Yunnan at 9000 feet altitude by P^re Delavay.
Diels- also identifies with this variety specimens collected by Von Rosthorn in
Szechuan. I have seen no Chinese examples, and Mr. E. H. Wilson considers
that th re is only one species of Tsuga in the mountains of Szechuan, which is
Tsuga chinensis. Masters. Small plants of the Chinese Tsuga are now in cultiva-
tion at Coombe Wood ; and are as yet too young to entitle us to speak definitely
concerning its affinities. (A. H.)
In the interior of Sikkim I saw this beautiful tree in great perfection in the
same forests where Sir Joseph Hooker so well describes it,^ during my journey
with the late W. E. Blanford to the Tibetan frontier in 1870. It occurs first in
the Lachen valley at about 8000 feet in an extremely moist summer climate, where
snow lies for two or three months in winter, growing in company with Picea
Morindoides, Abies Webbiana, and, higher up, with Larix Griffithii, in a forest
unrivalled in the temperate region for its botanical and zoological wealth ; where
it commonly attains a height of 100 to 120 feet. Afterwards, on the path from
Lachoong to the Tunkralah, I saw even grander specimens, one of which, as
measured by Sir J. Hooker, was over 120 feet high by 28 feet in girth. In these
almost pathless forests it is covered with ferns and lichens and forms a graceful
pyramidal tree with very drooping branches, and reaches an elevation of about
10,000 feet. On the outer ranges it is not so large, but extends into Bhotan,
where Griffith found it from 6500 to 9500 feet. It probably occurs throughout
Nepal and in the N.W. Himalaya, as far west as Kumaon, where it is a smaller
tree and of little economic value, though in Sikkim the bark is used for roofing
huts.
The Himalayan hemlock was introduced into England in 1838, according to
Loudon,* but is rarely seen, except in a stunted state, with several branching stems,
and suffering from the absence of sufficient moisture. Like most of the Himalayan
conifers, it grows too early and is injured by spring frosts ; but in a few favoured
districts of Cornwall and Ireland it seems more at home and has attained consider-
able size and beauty.
The best specimen that I have seen is at Boconnoc in Cornwall, the seat
of J. B. Fortescue, Esq. (Plate 72). This tree measures about 53 feet high by
12 feet in girth near the ground, where it branches into several stems, which
spread to about 70 feet in diameter. When I saw it in April 1905 it was covered
with cones, from which I have raised many young plants.
There is a rather fine tree at Dropmore, planted in 1847, but not so large or
healthy as the one described above ; and at Beauport, near Battle, Sussex, there is
also a fair specimen.
' Jour, de Bol. 1899, p. 258. ^ Flora von Central China, 217 (1901).
^ Himalayan Journals, i. 209, ii. 108, etc. * Encycl. Trees and Shrubs, 1036 (1842).
246 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
At Southampton,' in the Red Lodge nursery belonging to Mr. W. H. Rogers,
there was a tree twenty-five years old in 1884, about 20 feet high, which bore
cones in profusion. At Kew a specimen planted in a sheltered position lived for
many years, but ultimately succumbed. Sir Joseph Hooker" knew of no good
specimen nearer London than one on a south slope near Leith Hill in a very
sheltered and well-watered valley.
At Fota, in the S.W. of Ireland, the seat of Lord Barrymore, Henry
measured a tree about 40 feet by 4 feet 10 inches in 1904 ; and there are trees
at Kilmacurragh and Powerscourt, in Co. Wicklow, which are about 30 feet high, all
of very branching bushy habit, and with several main stems.
Sargent ' has never seen a specimen in the United States. (H. J. E.)
TSUGA SIEBOLDH, Siebold's Hemlock
Tsuga Sieboldii, Carrifere, Traiti Conif. 186 (1855); Masters, _/b«/-. Linn. Soc. (Bo/.), xviii. 512
(1881); Mayr, Ah'ef. des Jap. Retches, 59, t. iv. fig. 12 (1890); Kent, Veitch's Man.
Conifera, 472 (1900).
Tsuga Tsuja, A. Murray, Proc. R, Hort. Soc. ii. 508, ff. 141-153 (1862).
Tsu^a Araragi, Koehne, Deutsche Dendrologie, 10 (1893), ^'^<^ Sargent, Garden and Forest, x. 491,
fig. 62 (1897).
Ftnus Araragi, Siebold, Verhandl. Batav. Genoot. Konst. Wet. xii. 12 (1830).
Abies Tsuga, Siebold et Zuccarini, Fl. Jap. ii. 14, t. 106 (1842).
Abies Araragi, Loudon, Trees and Shrubs, 1036 (1842).
A tree attaining in Japan about 100 feet in height and 12 feet in girth, forming in
England a small tree with a short bole and a dense crown of foliage, with numerous
branches and pendulous branchlets.
Young shoots greyish in colour and quite glabrous. Leaves pectinately
arranged, variable in size, the smaller on the upper side of the shoot, some of
these being directed outwards at right angles to the general plane of the foliage.
They are oblong, uniform in width, ^ to i inch long, shining and dark green above
with a median furrow continued to the rounded and emarginate apex ; lower surface
with green midrib and two narrow well-defined white bands of stomata ; margin
quite entire. Buds reddish, ovoid, slightly acute at the apex : scales glabrous on the
surface, ciliate in margin.
Cones elongated ovoid, on a stalk about \ inch long, pendulous or deflected,
composed of five series of orbicular scales, which are rounded at the apex and at
the base and have a slightly bevelled margin. Bract included, very short and
bifid. Seed with a long wing decurrent half-way along its outer side.
This tree has been much confused with the other Japanese species, from which
it is very distinct in botanical characters. Koehne's proposed name, Tsuga Araragi,
is not adopted by us, the name Sieboldii being the first one under the correct genus
Tsuga. (A. H.)
* Note in Kew herbarium, and Nicholson in Woods and Forests, 1S84, p. 243.
" Card. Chron. xxvi. 72 (1886). ^ Garden OTtd Forest, x. 491 (1897).
Tsuga
247
TSUGA DIVERSIFOLIA, Japanese Hemlock
Tsuga diversifolia, Masters, /our. Linn. Soc. {Bot.) xviii. 514 (1881); Mayr, Abiet. des Jap. Reiches
61, t. xiv. fig. 13 (1890); Sargent, Garden and Forest, vi. 495, fig. 73 (1893), and x. 491,
fig. 63 (1897); Kent, Veitch's Man. Coniferm, ^S'j (1900).
Ait'ei diversifolia, Maximowicz, Mel. Biol. vi. 373 (1867).
A smaller tree than Siebold's hemlock, which it resembles in habit.
Young shoots pubescent, the pubescence occurring on both the leaf-bases and the
intervening furrows. Leaves arranged as in Tsuga Sieboldii, but considerably
shorter, scarcely exceeding \ inch in length, oblong, uniform in breadth, shining and
dark green above with a median furrow continued to the rounded and emarginate
apex ; lower surface with green midrib and two narrow well-defined white bands of
stomata ; margin entire. Buds red, pyriform, flattened above ; scales rounded at the
apex, minutely pubescent and ciliate.
Cones subsessile, pendent or deflected, ovoid ; scales shining, orbicular-oblong,
truncate at the base, with edge slightly bevelled and thickened. Bract minute, con-
cealed, rhomboid. Seed with a short terminal wing, which is not decurrent along
its side. (A. H.)
Distribution of the Japanese Tsugas
In Japan I saw both species in their native forests ; but so far as I could learn
they are not distinguished by the foresters and are both called Tsuga (pronounced
tsunga). By the Japanese botanists Tsuga Sieboldii is termed Tsuga, the other
species being named Kuro-tsuga or Kome-tsuga. Of the two, the latter apparently
has a more northern range than Tsuga Sieboldii. I saw it in the forest round Lake
Yumoto at 4000 to 5000 feet elevation, where it is a picturesque and graceful tree
of no great size. Both species, however, according to Shirasawa, are found in this
district. Tsuga diversifolia also occurred high up in the Atera valley. Further
south in the Kisogawa valley and at Koyasan I saw Tsuga Sieboldii, which at 2000
to 3000 feet attains a large size, growing scattered in mixed forests and not
gregariously, like the other species at Lake Yumoto. I measured a tree at Koyasan,
which had been felled; it was over 100 feet in height, of which half was free from
branches, the butt being about 3 feet in diameter. I estimated it as 250 to 300 years
old, though the growth had been so slow that I could not count the rings beyond
150. The wood of this tree, as I was told by the chief priest of the Gemyo-in
temple, who was my host at Koyasan, is even better than that of Hinoki {Cupressus
obtusa) ; and much of the wood used in building the temple had been Tsuga. Old
trees, however, are now so scarce that the timber cannot be obtained in quantity. I
bought some beautiful boards cut from it at Osaka, which have a pale yellow colour
and very fine wavy figure. The wood is also made into shingles, which are said to
last about forty years, and it has lately been used for paper-making. The bark is
used for tanning fishing-nets, and the timber sells in Tokyo at thirty-five to forty yen
248 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
per 100 cubic feet,' The growth of the tree from seed is very slow at first as in
the allied species.
History and Cultivation
Tsuga Sieboldii was introduced into Europe by Siebold in 1850. Cones both
of this species and of Tsuga diversifolia were brought from Japan by John Gould
Vetch in 1861, and the latter species was sent out under the name Abies Tsuga, var.
nana. Specimens cultivated at Kew as Tsuga Sieboldii, var. nana, belong to Tsuga
diversifolia.
Though both species have been introduced long enough to prove their hardiness
in favoured parts of the South of England, we have never seen even a moderately
large tree, and doubt much if either species will attain timber size in this country.
The Japanese hemlocks seem to prefer a light moist rich soil, free from lime, with
shade and shelter from cold winds. They will not grow at all on the limestone soil
of Colesborne. The best specimen we know is in the garden of Mr. W. H. Griffiths
at Campden, Gloucestershire, and is about 15 feet high. It bore cones in 1905.
Sargent ^ says that Tsuga Sieboldii is one of the most graceful and satisfactory
of the exotic conifers cultivated in American gardens, where it promises to grow to a
large size ; but in the garden of Mr. Hunnewell at Wellesley, Massachusetts, which
I visited in May 1904, I noted that it had been almost killed to the snow line by the
exceptionally severe winter of 1903- 1904, though it had produced cones in the
preceding year.' (H. J. E.)
■ In Industries of Japan, 236 (1889), Rein, who did not distinguish between the two species, probably speaking of
Tsuga Sieboldii, says that the finest specimens seen by him were in the forests of Kin-shima-yama in Southern Kiu-siu, where it
grows with Picea polita, and equals it in sire, attaining 4 to 5 metres in girth. This goes to show that the tree enjoys a warm
moist climate.
^ Silva North America, xii. 60.
2 Beissner states in Mitt. D. D. Ges. 1905, pp. 165, 167, that T. diversifolia is hardier than T. Sieboldii, but both of
them grow well in East Friesland, and Mayr says that T. diversifolia is hardy at Munich.
JUGLANS
Juglans, Linnaeus, Gen. PI. 291 (1737); Bentham et Hooker, Gen. PL iii. 398 (1880).
Deciduous trees with furrowed bark. Twigs with chambered pith. Buds scaly,
the lateral buds often extra-axillary or accompanied by superposed accessory buds.
Leaf- scars large with three groups of bundle -traces. Leaves large, alternate,
compound, imparipinnate ; leaflets opposite, entire or serrate. Stipules absent.
Flowers monoecious. Male flowers numerous in pendulous catkins, which arise
singly or in pairs above the leaf-scars of the preceding year's shoot, appearing in
autumn and then visible as short cones covered by imbricated scales. Stamens
eight to forty, in several series on the axis of a scale, which is five- to seven-lobed,
the lobes representing a bract, two bracteoles and two to four perianth -lobes.
Connective of the anthers clavate or dilated. Pistillate flowers few, in an erect
spike terminating the current year's shoot ; each flower with a three- to five-lobed
or toothed involucre, composed of a bract and two bracteoles, adnate to the ovary.
Inside the involucre is an epigynous and adherent four-lobed or toothed perianth.
Ovary one-celled with one basal straight ovule. Style divided into two linear or
lanceolate recurved spreading fimbriated plumose stigmas.
Fruit a large ovoid, globose, or pear-shaped drupe, with a fleshy, irregularly
splitting husk, formed by the accrescent involucre and perianth. Nut ovoid or
globose, thick-walled, longitudinally and irregularly wrinkled, two- to four-celled at
the base, indehiscent or separating at last into two valves. Seed two- to four-lobed
at the base, with fleshy cotyledons, which remain within the shell in germination.
About thirteen species of Juglans have been described ; and there are two
or three unnamed and little-known species in tropical South America. Of the
described species three ' confined to Mexico, one ^ a native of the Antilles, and the
Californian walnut ^ have not yet been introduced, and will not be dealt with in the
following account.*
Plate 73 illustrates the leaves, branchlets, and leaf-scars of the species in
cultivation.
1 Juglans mollis, Engelmann ; J. pyriformis, Liebmann ; andy. mexicana, Watson.
'''Juglans insularis, Grisebach. Concerning the walnut reputed to occur in Jamaica, y. 'amaicensis, C. DC, cf. Kew.
Bull. 1894, p. 371.
' JtSl""! californua, Watson.
* Since the above was written, Mr. Dode has published a paper containing descriptions of several new species in Bull.
Soc. Dcndr. France, \. 67 (1906) ; but these seem to us to be founded on variable characters, and to be rather forms due to
cultivation.
II 249 H
250 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
*
Key to the Species of Juglans in Cultivation
I. Leaflets not serrate ; usually entire or sinuate (Plate 73).
1. Juglans regia, Linnaeus. Bosnia and Greece, through W. Asia and Himalayas
to N. China.
Leaf-scars deeply notched without a pubescent band on their upper edge.
Leaflets 7 to 9, glabrous beneath except for inconspicuous axil tufts.
H. Leaflets serrate. Leaf-scars without a pubescent band on their upper edge.
* Leaflets glabrous beneath, except for the axil tufts.
2. Juglans regia x nigra. Two forms : Juglans Vilmoriniana, Carri^re, and
Juglans pyriformis, Carriere.
Leaflets 11 to 13, with fine shallow serrations.
** Leaflets pubescent beneath.
• 3- J^gletns rupestris, Engelmann. Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Mexico.
Leaflets small, 7 to 15, ovate or lanceolate, never oblong, green beneath.
Young shoots glandular-pubescent.
4. Juglans nigra, Linnaeus. Canada and United States, east of the Rocky
Mountains.
Leaflets large, 15 to 19, ovate-oblong with long-acuminate apex, pale beneath.
Young shoots glandular-pubescent.
5. Juglans stenocarpa, Maximowicz. Manchuria.
Leaflets large, 11 to 13 ; all oblong, except the terminal one which is broadly
obovate, pale beneath. Young shoots glabrous.
in. Leaflets serrate. Leaf-scars with a transverse pmbescent band on their upper
edge.
6. Juglans cinerea, Linnaeus. Canada and United States, east of the Rocky
Mountains.
Leaf-scars semicircular, the upper edge straight and scarcely notched. Leaflets,
II to 13, oblong ; serrations fine and directed outwards.
7. Juglans Sieboldiana^ Maximowicz. Japan, Saghalien.
Leaf-scars obcordate, 3-lobed, notched above. Leaflets, 13 to 15, oblong ;
serrations shallow, irregular, directed forwards ; base rounded and unequal.
8. Juglans ntandshurica^ Maximowicz. Manchuria, Korea, China.
Leaflets and leaf-scars practically indistinguishable from those of the last
species, though the leaflets are usually longer-acuminate. Fruit, however,
remarkably distinct. See detailed description.
9. Juglans cordiformis^ Maximowicz. Japan.
Leaf-scars and leaflets closely resembling those of J. Sieboldiana, the leaflets,
however, fewer (11 to 13) and with a cordate base,
' These three species, though differing remarkably in fruit, are very similar in leaves and shoots.
Juglans 25 1
JUGLANS REGIA, Common Walnut
Juglans regia, Linnaeus, Sp. PI. 997 (1753); Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit. iii. 142 1 (1838).
A deciduous tree, attaining 100 feet in height and 15 to 18 feet in girth. Bark
smooth aiid silvery grey in young trees, becoming ultimately more or less deeply
fissured.
Leaves large, up to 10 inches long, coriaceous, of five to nine (rarely as many as
thirteen) leaflets, sub-opposite or opposite, the terminal leaflet stalked, the others
subsessile ; elliptic, long-ovate or obovate, shortly acuminate at the apex, tapering
and unequal at the base, glabrous on both surfaces, except for inconspicuous tufts of
pubescence in the axils of the nerves on the lower surface ; dark green above, paler
beneath, entire or slightly sinuate in margin ; exhaling an aromatic odour. Venation
pinnate, with ten to fourteen pairs of lateral nerves, which run nearly straight to near
the margin, where they curve forwards and join with the next vein. The leaflets
diminish in size from the apex to the base of the leaf. Rachis glabrous, terminal
leaflet not articulated. Young shoots glabrous, with yellow sessile glands and white
inconspicuous lenticels.
Male catkins arising singly or in pairs (one above the other) above the leaf-scars
of the previous year's shoots, green, two to five inches long, sessile, pendulous, thickly
cylindrical and densely flowered ; flowers with stalked bracts, two to five perianth
leaves and two bracteoles ; stamens ten to twenty ; anthers oblong, apiculate.
Female flowers, one to four, at the apex of the young shoots, green, with usually
purple stigmas ; involucre minute, indistinctly four-toothed ; perianth green, with four
linear-lanceolate divisions.
Fruit globular, about two inches in diameter ; pericarp green, smooth, glandular-
dotted, coriaceous, and very aromatic, splitting irregularly when mature. Nut very
variable in shape, wrinkled and irregularly furrowed, thin- or thick-shelled ; divided
interiorly by two thin dissepiments into four incomplete cells ; one dissepiment separat-
ing the two cotyledons, the other dissepiment dividing them into two lobes. The
structure of the fruit of the walnut is very complicated, and the reader is referred
for further details to Lubbock's paper ' on the fruit and seed of the J uglandeae.
The common walnut, according to Kerner,^ is truly monoecious, the stigmas,
however, ripening several days before the pollen is shed from the anthers.' The
unripe male catkins have the flowers crowded together in a short thick spike
directed upwards. As soon as the pollen develops the spike elongates to three
or four times its former length and becomes loose and pendulous, the flowers
^ Jour, Linn. Soc. (Bot.), xxviii. 247 (1890). Cf. also Lubbock, .Seedlings, ii. 506 seq. (1 902). Malformed walnuts
are occasionally produced, which are very curious. Cf. Gard. Chron. 1858, p. 5, and 1890, viii. 758, fig. 154.
2 Cf. Kerner, Nat. Hist. Plants, Eng. trans, i. 742, fig. 184 (1898).
' This is not invariable. Delpino observed that while certain trees of the common walnut were protogynous, i.e. the
stigmas ripening first, other trees were protandrous, the stigmas ripening after the anthers. In such cases the trees behave as
if they were dioecious. Cf Darwin, Diff. Forms of Flowers, 10 (1877), and Trelease, Missouri Bot. Garden Report, vii.
27 (1896).
252 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
separating from one another. The pollen then falls into a depression on the side
of the neighbouring flower below, from which it is shaken out by the wind and
carried to neighbouring branches of the tree, where it alights on the stigmas of
the female flowers.
Seedling '
The cotyledons are large, fleshy, obovate, bi-lobed and crumpled, filling the
cavity of the seed, from which they do not emerge on germination, but remain
underground. The primary root makes its exit by the apex of the nut, and
becomes stout and flexuose, giving off a few lateral fibres. The cauHcle is very
short, stout, and woody. Young stem, erect, compressed, glabrous, greenish, and
covered with lenticels. The first four pairs of leaves are mere scales, opposite
or sub-opposite on the stem. The ninth leaf is foliaceous, and consists of three
leaflets, the terminal one large, obovate or elliptical, and cuspidate, the lateral ones
small, oblong and alternate. The next leaf is five-foliolate ; the terminal leaflet,
oblong-obovate ; the middle pair ovate, acuminate, oblique at the base, unequal, and
sub-opposite ; the basal pair small, ovate, oblique, and unequal. The last leaf is
like it, or bears only four leaflets. All these primary leaflets are serrate in margin,
and more acuminate than those of the adult plant, which are entire. In these respects
they resemble the adult leaves of Carya or other species of Juglans.*
Identification
The common walnut is distinguishable in summer from all the other species by
its glabrous, entire, few leaflets. In winter the following characters are available : —
Twigs stout, glabrous,' shining, greenish or grey, with scattered longitudinal lenticels.
Leaf-scars on prominent pulvini, broadly obcordate, the upper margin deeply notched
in the centre and not surmounted by a band of pubescence ; bundle-dots in three groups.
Pith large, white or buff in colour, with wide chambers. Terminal bud ovoid, obtuse
at the apex, with four external grey tomentose scales in two valvate pairs, the scales
not lobed at their apex and merely representing leaf-bases. In many cases, as in
slow-growing old trees, the true terminal bud is aborted on most of the branchlets, and
its scar marks the end of the twigs. Lateral buds small, arising at an angle of 45°,
globose, the two outer scales usually concealing the inner ones, pubescent at first, but
ultimately becoming glabrous. Superposed lateral buds occur only rarely.
Varieties
Two distinct geographical forms are known : —
(a) typica, in Europe, Asia Minor, Persia, and the Himalayas. Leaves elliptic ;
nuts ovoid-globose with thin septa.
{b) sinensis, C. DC. in Ann. Sc. Nat. 4 S^r. xviii. 33, figs. 38, 39. North
> Cf. Lubbock, Seedlings, ii. 516, fig. 661 (1902). 2 Cf. Fliche, Bull. Soc. des Sciences, Nancy (1886).
' Some varieties of cultivated walnuts have the twigs covered with a minute pubescence.
Juglans 253
China and Japan. Leaves oval or ovate. Nut globose, scarcely apiculate at the
apex, sparingly wrinkled ; septa thick and bony.
A large number of varieties have arisen in cultivation.
1. Vds. pendula. Tree, pendulous in habit.
2. Var. prcsparturiens. A bushy shrub, producing fruit at an early period, some-
times when only two or three years old. According to Carriere ^ it was obtained
from seed by Louis Chatenay, a nurseryman at Doud-la- Fontaine, about the year
1830, the first mention of it being in Ann. Soc. cTHort. Paris, 1840, p. 741.
M. Chatenay found in the midst of a number of seedlings of walnuts three years
old a single individual which bore fruit. This variety was put into commerce by
M. Janin of Paris. According to Carriere, when the seeds of it are sown, different
forms are produced, from young plants which bear fruit in their second year up to
others which only produce fruit at an advanced age. The plants are also variable
in size. The nuts are generally thin-shelled and small, but good in quality.
3. Var. prcBcox. Comes into flower and fruit a fortnight earlier than the common
kind.
4. Var. serotina, Desfontaines. This variety flowers very late, and is recom-
mended in localities liable to spring frosts. It is said^ that of this variety, when
sown, only three per cent came true, and flowered late in the season.
5. Var. monophylla. Leaves simple or trifoliolate. A small tree of this kind,
which bears both simple and trifoliolate leaves, the basal pair of leaflets being very
small, is growing at Bayfordbury, the residence of Mr. H. Clinton Baker.
6. Var. rotundifolia. Leaflets oval.
7. Var. serratifolia} Leaves serrate. There is a specimen in the Kew herbarium
from a tree in Germany, all the leaves of which were distantly serrate in margin. The
leaves of young seedlings are always serrate ; and this juvenile character is often
retained in some walnut trees up to a considerable age.
8. Var. laciniata, Loudon. Leaves very deeply cut. The foliage of this variety
is light and feathery, much more so than that of the common walnut, and is retained
till late in the autumn. A fine specimen was reported in 1884 to be growing at
Bicton.* Elwes has seen only three trees of this form, of which the largest, growing
on a lawn at Westonbirt, was 30 to 40 feet high. Another was at Melbury, and a
third, of no great size, at Poltalloch in Argyllshire.
9. Var. heterophylla. Leaflets variable, some of the ordinary form, others
irregularly cut,
10. Var. variegata.^ Leaflets with white margins.
11. A tree was growing in 1890 at Chawton Park, Alton, Hampshire, of which
specimens with extremely narrow leaflets were sent to Kew.
The number of varieties of the walnut in cultivation, as regards the shape,
» Rev. Hort. 1882, p. 419.
» Card. Chron. 1883, xx. 114. See Rev. Hort. 1S61, p. 430, fig. 108. Called St. John's Walnut, as it does not
put forth leaves till Midsummer or St. John's Day, in Parkinson's Theatrum Botankum, 1414 (1640).
' The serrate-leaved walnut is mentioned by Parkinson, loc. cit. 1413.
♦ Woods and Forests, 1884, pp. 164 and 512- See also concerning this variety U Horticulteur Fran^ais, 1862, p. 47.
' Rev. Hort. 1861, p. 429, fig. 104.
254 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
colour, and other qualities of the fruit, is very great ; but a detailed description of
these does not come within the scope of our work. The most remarkable is the
huskless walnut * of North China, which is cultivated in the mountains to the north-
west of Peking. In this curious form the husk is almost wanting, being very thin
and irregular. In var. racemosa the fruits are numerous, fifteen to twenty-four,
and are set close together on the peduncle. In var. maxima, Loudon (var. macro-
carpa), the fruits are very large. The nuts are elongated and very narrow in
var. elongata (var. Bartheriana ^) ; very sharp-pointed at both ends in van rostrata ;
and have very thin shells in var. tenera,^ Loudon (var. fragilis). The kernel of the
nut is bright red in var. rubra (var. rubrocarpa).*
Hybrids
I. Juglans regia x nigra. Two forms of this are well known in cultivation ;
they differ mainly in the character of the fruit.
1. Juglans Vilmoriniana, Carri^re, Rev. Hort. 1863, p. 30. Young shoots
glabrous. Leaf-scars obcordate, three-lobed, deeply notched above. Leaflets eleven
to thirteen, ovate-lanceolate, sub-sessile, apex acuminate, base rounded or tapering ;
serrations fine and shallow, directed forwards ; lower surface green and glabrous,
except for conspicuous tufts of pubescence in the axils of the main veins. Rachis
glabrous in the upper leaves of the shoot, pubescent towards its base in the lower
leaves. Fruit with the thick husk ofy. nigra. Nut smooth, globose, thicker shelled
and more deeply furrowed than that of the common walnut.
In Garden and Forest, iv. 51 (1891), M. M. de Vilmorin gives particulars of the
original tree in his garden at Verrieres les Buisson, near Paris, and an excellent
illustration of it in winter. He says that it was planted about 86 years previously
as a young seedling by his grandfather as a memorial of the birth of his eldest son.
Nothing certain is known of its origin, though it was supposed by Dr. Engelmann
to be a hybrid, between the European and the black walnut. The characters of the
bark, branchlets, and buds are intermediate ; the leaves resemble those of J. regia
more than those ofy. nigra. The fruit, which is not produced every ye^r, and never
in quantity, is figured, and resembles most that of the black walnut. Of the few
seedlings which have been raised from it one is growing beautifully in the Arboretum
at Segrez, and produces fertile nuts. All the seedlings have grown well when planted
in deep sandy soil mixed with clay. The tree at Verrieres was seen by Elwes in
1905, and measured 95 feet high by 10 feet in girth, with a bole about 16 feet long.
The habit of the tree was considered by him to resemble the black walnut rather than
the common species.
There are young trees of J. Vilmoriniana growing at Kew, and one has been
recently sent to Colesborue by M. de Vilmorin.
2. Juglans pyriformis, Carri^re, loc. cit. 28, figs. 4 to 9. Garden, L. 478, fig. (1896).
' See Hance, mjourn. Bot. 1876, p. 50.
' Figured in Garden, L. 478 (1896) ; and Rev. Hort. 1859, p. 147, and 1861, p. 427.
' The thin-shelled walnut is mentioned in Parkinson, Theatrum Botanicum, 141 3 (1640).
* See Gard. Chron. xxiii. 346 (1898). This variety is figured in IVien. Illust. Gart. Zeitung, 1898, p. 165.
Juglans 255
Carriere states that this tree arose from a cross between J. regia and J. nigra.
The leaves are identical with those oi J. Vilmoriniana. The young shoots differ in
having a glandular pubescence. The fruits are long-stalked and pear-shaped, but
otherwise closely resemble those of /. nigra. Young trees of this kind are in cultiva-
tion at Kew.
3. Other hybrids between these species have been described. One mentioned
by Sargent was an immense tree, found in 1888 by Prof Rothrock on the Rowe
Farm on the north bank of the Lower James River, Virginia. It is described as
having the habit, foliage, and general appearance of y. regia, but producing a nut
not unlike that of the black walnut, though longer and less deeply sculptured. The
nut is exactly like that of Juglans regia gibbosa, Carriere,' which was raised by a
nurseryman at Fontenay-aux- Roses in 1848.
De Candolle also described,^ zs Juglans regia intermedia, a tree which was found
at the Trianon, and supposed to be a cross between the common and black walnuts.
M. C. de Candolle informed Elwes that a similar hybrid exists at Geneva, and that
its seedlings have characters intermediate between the two parents.
There are specimens at Kew, which were sent by Mr. E. Lyon in 1901 from
Hurley, Marlow, where there is a fine old tree o{ Juglans nigra, from the seed of
which plants were raised, which are apparently intermediate between that species and
the common walnut.
H. Juglans regia x cinerea. Juglans alata, Carriere,' Rev. Hort. 1865, p. 447.
This is described as having young shoots pubescent : leaflets seven to nine, with
the end leaflet stalked, the others subsessile ; all oval or elliptic-lanceolate, abruptly
acuminate, obscurely and remotely serrate, pubescent on both surfaces : rachis
shortly pubescent. Three trees, presumably of this hybrid, have been observed
near Boston in the United States ; and a description and figure of them are given in
Garden and Forest, 1894, p. 435, fig. 69.
III. Juglans regia Y. calif ornica. A remarkable hybrid between the common
walnut and the Californian wild species, has been obtained by Luther Burbank, who
names it "paradox."*
Distribution
The common walnut has a very wide distribution, occurring wild in Europe in
Greece, Bosnia, Servia, Herzegovina, Albania, and Bulgaria ; and extending eastward
through Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Persia, and the Himalayas to Burma and North
China and Japan. Its occurrence as an indigenous plant in Greece was first demon-
strated by Heldreich,' who found it growing wild in .^tolia at Korax, in Phthiotis on
the CEta and Kukkos mountains, and in Eurytania on Veluchi, Chelidoni, etc. It
grows wild in Greece in mixture with oaks and chestnuts in great quantity, especially
' Rev. Hort. i860, p. 99, figs. 21-23, and 1861, p. 428, figs. 101-103. Rehder considers this hybrid to be the same as
J. Vilmoriniana.
* Ann. Sc. Nat. Sir. iv. xviii. t. 4.
' This is probably the same as Juglans intermedia quadrangulata, Carrifere, Rev. Hort, 1870, p. 493, figs. 66-68.
♦ Garden and Forest, 1894, P- 436. ' Verhand. Bo/. Vereins Prov. Brandenburg, 150(1879).
256 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
in the moisten valleys and ravines up to the region of the silver fir, at altitudes varying
between 2200 and 4300 feet. Small woods of walnut, undoubtedly wild,^ occur in
Bosnia and Servia, especially on the north slopes of mountains rich in springs. It
ascends in Herzegovina to 2400 feet, in southern Servia to 1400 feet, and in Albania
to 22(X5 feet. Velenovsky* considers it to be truly wild in the Rhodope mountains.
According to Radde* it occurs in the Caucasus, from the sea-level to 4500 feet
altitude ; also in Ghilan in North Persia. According to Meakin,* it is met with
wild in the mountains not far from Bokhara. There are wild specimens at Kew
from Armenia. According to Aitchison it is wild in Afghanistan, at 7000 to 9000 feet,
and also in the Kuram valley. It occurs in the temperate Himalayas and Ladak,
at altitudes of 3000 to 10,000 feet from Kashmir and Nubra eastward. Kurz met
with it in the Shan Hills in Burma. It is cultivated throughout China, and appears
to be indigenous in North China and Japan ;^ but other species of Juglans are
much commoner in the wild state throughout China and Japan.
We are indebted to Sir W. Thiselton Dyer for the following : —
" The walnut found its western natural limit in Greece, but early made its way
into Italy. Its classical name Juglans is Jovis glans, but in poetry it is always Nux.
Virgil's ramos curvabit olentes hits off the acrid smell of the foliage. The nuts were
thrown at weddings, as Virgil tells us, sparge marite nuces, because, amongst other
reasons, Pliny says, they made the maximum of noise.
" Relinquere nuces was to put away childish things : so Catullus, da nuces pueris
iners. The green rind enclosing the nut contains a dye used to darken the hair, the
viridi tincta cortice nucis of Tibullus, in modern times more often the skin."
The walnut is extensively cultivated in France, Germany (except in the north
where it ripens fruit rarely), and throughout southern Europe. It is cultivated
chiefly in the region of the beech, as in Hungary up to 2160 feet, on the southern
slopes of the Alps up to 3800 feet, in the Vosges up to 2200 feet. In Norway it is
grown on the west coast as far north as Trondhjem, where it has reached a height
of 30 feet, and in very favourable summers ripens fruit. Many other localities are
mentioned by Schubeler, vol. ii. pp. 429-431. In Sweden it exists near Stockholm,
and in Scania, at Cimbrishamn (55° 30'), Linnaeus measured, in 1749, a tree 60 feet
high. (A. H.)
Propagation and Cultivation
If the walnut is wanted as a fruit-bearing tree it is better to procure from a
nurseryman grafted or budded trees of some of the large-fruited, thin-shelled sorts,
which have been raised in France ; and which grow best in the south and east of
' Beck von Mannagetta, Vegetationsverhdlt. Illyrischen Ldndern, 219 (1901).
' Flora Bulgarica, 512 (1891).
' Pflanunverbreitung in Kaukasusldndem, 170, 1 82.
♦ Russian Turkestan, 23 (1903).
' It is included as a wild plant in Japan by Matsumura in Shokubutsu Mei-I, 155 (1895) : but Sargent in his Forest Flora
of Japan, p. 60, says, "It is occasionally cultivated in the neighbourhood of temples and as a fruit tree; but we saw no
evidence of its being anywhere indigenous, and it is probable that it was introduced from Northern China, where one form of
this tree apparently grows naturally."
J^gla
ns
2-57
England. The process of budding or grafting them is fully described by Loudon,
p. 1 43 1, and need not be repeated here.
If, however, walnuts are to be planted for timber or ornament, it is far better to
raise them from nuts, which may be sown as soon as they are ripe, if they can be pro-
tected from mice and vermin ; or kept in sand until February, when they should be
sown two to three inches deep in rich light soil, which will encourage the production
of fibrous roots at an early period. As the large strong tap-root makes the tree difficult
to transplant, it should be undercut with a spade about six inches below the soil in the
first year, or the nut may be allowed to germinate before sowing and the end of the
root pinched off. If this is not done they must be carefully transplanted in March,
and protected from late spring frost as much as possible until they have made stems
four to six feet high. For though the walnut is one of the latest trees to come into
leaf, none is more tender as regards spring frost, and as it does not bear pruning well
and has a natural tendency to form branches rather than a clean stem, it is important
that the trees should be carefully trained when young.
It is now much less planted than formerly, and the wood is not so much valued
by country timber merchants as it ought to be, but there is no reason why it should
not be treated as a forest tree on suitable soils, and drawn up among other trees with
the object of growing clean timber ; though I consider it inferior to the black walnut
in this respect. It is evidently a lover of a warm soil and climate, and though
on good limestone soil or deep loam resting on chalk it grows fast and to a great
size, it should not be planted on heavy clay, on poor sand, or in exposed windy
situations.
The walnut is very seldom blown down on account of its strong roots, and I
have never seen one struck by lightning. It does not reach a very great age ; so
far as I know, 200 years is about the limit of its life, and many trees become hollow
or decayed before attaining as much as this.
The only place where I have seen walnuts self-sown in England is at Holkham,
where, in the Triangle plantation, are several trees, one 17 feet high, in a fairly thick
plantation of larch and Scots pine on light sandy soil. They are 100 to 150
yards distant from the parent tree, the nuts having probably been carried by
squirrels or rooks. On the sandhills at the same place I saw a self-sown tree five
to six feet high, and on the roadside near Colesborne a young tree has sprung
up from a nut dropped by a passer-by.
Mr. E. Kay Robinson * mentions the occurrence of young walnut trees amidst
clumps of other large trees, due to the carrying away by rooks of the fruit from
an old walnut tree in a garden near by. He has kindly sent us a photograph
of a walnut tree growing in a field at Warham, near Wells, Norfolk, which had
evidently been deposited by a rook, as the young tree in its growth had thrust up
the roots of an old willow tree, amongst which it had grown.
' CarcUn, Ixvi. 412 (1904),
II
258 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
Remarkable Trees
Though there are many very fine walnuts scattered through the southern half of
England I cannot say where the largest tree actually is. Nothing that I know of
now living equals a tree recorded by Mr. W. Forbes/ which grew on the estate of
Sir Charles Isham at Lamport Hall, Northamptonshire, and was sold to Messrs.
Westley Richards, gunmakers of Birmingham. According to the measurements
given, this tree contained 816 cubic feet of sound wood, of which the butt, measuring
12 feet by 18 feet in girth, contained 243 feet and one limb 108 feet.
A magnificent tree, said to have been the largest in England, grew at Cothel-
stone, near Bishops Lydeard, Somersetshire, which Loudon records as being 64 feet
high and 6^ feet in diameter,^ but I am informed by Mr. E. V. Trepplin, agent to
Viscount Portman, that it was blown down some years ago.
No tree mentioned by Loudon equals the one of which I give a figure (Plate
74), which grows in front of the house at Barrington Park, near Burford, Oxford-
shire, the property of Mr. E. C. Wingfield, on an oolite formation. This tree
measured in 1903, 80 to 85 feet in height by 17 feet in girth, and has a fine bole
and a very burry trunk. There are two other splendid walnuts in this park nearly
as tall and over 15 feet in girth, and others have been cut down of which the timber,
when cut up in London, was considered by Mr. A. Howard equal in colour and figure
to Italian walnut. At the Moot, Downton, Wilts, the residence of my old friend Mr.
Elias P. Squarey, are four fine walnut trees, one of which was said by Mr. D. Watney
to be the largest he had seen during his long experience as a valuer, and estimated to
contain over 40x2 feet. It measures 17 feet 2 inches in girth, with a short butt divid-
ing into four big limbs which run up to about 80 feet in height. Another is the
tallest walnut I have ever seen or heard of, and measured in 1903 about 100 (perhaps
more) feet high by 13 feet in girth.
In the village street of Bossington, Somersetshire, I was shown by Mr. S. F.
Luttrell of Dunster Castle, a very picturesque old gnarled walnut tree which at 5 feet
is 17 feet in girth, but the roots are so spreading that the trunk, measured close to
the ground and following the sinuosities, is 35 feet round. A walnut of apparently
no great age in a field at Cobham village in Kent measured in 1905 about 70
feet by 1 3 feet, and the branches spread over a circumference of 99 paces.
An avenue of walnuts is seldom planted in England, but at Moor Court, Here-
fordshire, there is a short one which from an illustration in the Gardeners Chronicle
of February 6, 1875, seems very effective. They are 60 to 70 feet high and 10 to
12 in girth.
At Sudeley, Gloucestershire, the seat of Mr. H. Dent Brocklehurst, there are
in a line before the Castle four beautiful trees of great age, the largest measuring
90 feet by 14 feet, and in Rendcombe Park near the Temple there is a fine old tree
about 80 feet by 15 feet whose branches cover an area 105 paces in circumference.
1 Trans. Eng. Arb. Soc. v. 155.
' In Trans. Eng. Arb. Soc. ii. 225, measurements of this tree made in 1888 by Dr. Prior are given as follows : —
height, 94 feet 6 inches ; girth, 18 feet j spread, 22 yards by 27.
Juglans 259
At Laverstoke Park, Whitchurch, Hants, the residence of Mr. W. W. Portal, there
is a fine well -shaped walnut, which was measured by Henry in August 1905, as
80 feet high by 13 feet 8 inches in girth, with a bole of 12 feet, dividing into two
stems above.
In the eastern counties there must be many fine walnuts, but the only one
of which I have any exact record is a tree which was figured by Grigor ^ at
Ketteringham Park, Wymondham, Norfolk, the seat of Sir M. Boileau, Bart, and is
said to have been planted at the restoration of Charles H. This tree was one of the
best shaped as regards its branches that has been figured, and measured in 1841
68 feet high with a girth of 1 2 feet.
At Rickmansworth, Herts, Sir Hugh Beevor measured in 1901 a tree 98 feet
high by 1 1 feet 9 inches in girth, the first limb coming off at 1 8 feet up, the second
limb at 36 feet from the ground. At Gayhurst, near Newport Pagnell, Mr. W. W.
Carlile showed me a tree growing on a clayey limestone, which, though of great age,
is absolutely sound and has lost hardly a branch. It measures no less than 80 feet
by 17 feet, and is very perfect in shape. At Ware Park, Herts, Mr. Baker tells us
of a tree 16 feet 4 inches in girth, and this seems to be a district where the walnut
comes to great perfection. He showed me another of the thin-shelled French variety
growing close to the bank of the Lea at Roxford, which, though much cut by frost,
was 16 feet in girth.
At Castle Howard, Yorkshire, there is a large tree in the park near the
stables, growing among beech and oak which have drawn it up to a height of 80 or
90 feet, though it leans very much to one side. It has a clean bole about 20 feet
long by 1 1 feet 8 inches, dividing into two long straight clean stems, a very unusual
form in this tree.
In Scotland the walnut is not so much at home as in England, but in the
warmer parts of the east and in Perthshire it attains considerable dimensions.
The best that I have seen myself is a tree at Gordon Castle (Plate 75) which in
1904 measured 60 feet by 10 feet, and is, considering the exposed position and
latitude, a remarkable tree. But there must have been a still finer one here in 1881,
when Mr. J. Webster, father of the present gardener, recorded in the Trans. Scot.
Arb. Soc. ix. 63, a tree of equal height and 13 feet 4 inches in girth at 5 feet.
Col. Thynne has given me a photograph of a fine tree at Cawdor Castle, Nairnshire,
which measures 65 feet by 15 feet 7 inches.
Hunter records several very fine trees in Perthshire as follows : "At Gask the
largest tree in the policies is a walnut, a little west of 'The Auld House.' It
measures 17 feet 5 inches at 5 feet and then swells to a girth of 21 feet at 8
feet from the ground, and at Blair Drummond there is a fine tree," which Mr.
A. Morton, the gardener, informs me is now about 80 feet by 13.
Though the walnut is not uncommonly planted in Ireland, we have seen none
remarkable for size. The largest one is reported to be growing at Kilkea Castle in
Kildare.
' Eastern Arboretum, 279 (1 84 1).
26o The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
Timber
Until mahogany became common in England about the middle of the eighteenth
century, walnut was considered the most valuable wood for furniture, carving, and
inside work, and on the Continent most of the best old furniture was made from it
Later it became very valuable for gun-stocks, and is still almost the only wood used,
for all except cheap guns. Loudon states that during the long wars at the beginning
of the last century in France no less than 1 2,000 trees were cut annually for gun-
stocks, which caused it to become very scarce, and in England as much as ;i^6oo
was paid for the wood of one tree.
Sir W. Thiselton Dyer informs me that when for political reasons the War
Office thought it no longer desirable to depend on walnut, which was mostly imported
from the Black Sea, he was consulted as to what other wood might be found as a
substitute ; but though some twenty sorts of colonial woods were sent for trial from
the Museum at Kew to the Small Arms Factory at Enfield, none except the black
walnut was found to be at all suitable.
The reason for this is that walnut wood does not warp, and can be cut cleanly
in any direction to fit the locks and mechanism of the magazine rifle, and is not
liable to swell and bind the lock when wet. But it requires a good deal of care in
selection and in cutting out the stocks, so that they are not liable to break at the
grip ; and the best gunmakers in England obtain their stocks ready cut to specified
sizes from French merchants who make a spicialitd of this trade.
Maple wood has been found suitable in Japan, for when I was there during the
late war, I saw numbers of roughly shaped gun-stocks of that wood being cut in the
forest near Koyasan, and carried out on men's backs to supply the immense demand
of the arsenal. But in England it was found to make a rifle stock 4 ounces heavier
than walnut, and is also liable to warp.
The late Mr. J. East told me that, in the year 1838, at Missenden in Bucks, four
walnut trees were sold in one lot for ;if 200, and about the same time two other trees
were sold for ;^ioo each, but the demand is now so much lessened by foreign importa-
tions, and by the substitution of other woods, such as mahogany and American
walnut, that its average price now is not more than from is. 6d. to 3s. per foot.
The wood requires a long time to season thoroughly, and should not be used
for good work until three to six years after felling, as it is liable to shrink con-
siderably. It is also liable to be ring shaken, and has another great defect in the
fact that the sapwood, which forms a large proportion of most trees, is pale in
colour and very liable to be attacked by wood -eating beetles. Almost all the
old Italian furniture which I have seen is more or less damaged in this way, and
though the sapwood is often stained so as to look like the heartwood, it is better
in first-class work only to use the latter.
As a rule English walnut does not show so much of the dark markings as
is found in the logs imported from Italy and the Black Sea, and Italian walnut is
usually specified by English architects. But I have seen such fine panelling
made from English wood alone that I have no hesitation in saying that with careful
Juglans 261
selection and seasoning, the best effect can be obtained from old trees grown on dry
soil in this country ; and in a small work on English timber by " Acorn " ' it is
stated that the home-grown timber is harder and more durable than the foreign.
The finest wood as regards colour and pattern comes from near the root, and
from the forks in the tree, which, however, are liable to twist if used in the solid, and
in order to obtain as much as possible of these figured pieces the tree, if old, should
be grubbed, and great care taken in cutting it up into suitable thicknesses for the
purpose lor which it is wanted. The forked parts should be cut into thin veneers
and matched as well as possible. For panelling, walnut comes only second to oak,
and is found in some of the best houses in England. As a fine example of Italian
walnut panelling I may mention the billiard room at Edgworth, near Cirencester,
which was designed for my friend Mr. Arthur James, by Mr. Ernest George.
Of modern English walnut panelling I have seen a good example put up in Mr.
Franklin's beautiful old house, Yarnton Manor, near Oxford, which he has recently
restored, and in which the panelling both of oak and walnut is admirable. The late
Mr. Holford of Westonbirt, Tetbury, had his large music-room entirely fitted with
walnut cut on his own estate.
A newer system of using walnut wood in large knife-cut unpolished veneers is
now adopted by modern decorators, of which a fine example may be seen in the
board room of the Royal Insurance Company at Liverpool.
One of the most valuable woods in the world is produced by the burrs or
excrescences which are produced on the walnut tree, rarely in England, but more
commonly in its native country, and which are sought for by agents travelling for
French firms at Marseilles, who seem to have a monopoly of this wood. Sometimes
they are very large, measuring two to three feet in diameter, but more usually
smaller, and are sold at very high prices, as much as ^50 to ;^6o per ton, according
to Laslett. They are called loupes in France, and are cut into very thin sheets to
cover the very finest pianoforte cases, and much used for cabinet-making. These
burrs are said to grow on trees in mountainous and inaccessible regions in Circassia,
Georgia, North Persia, and Afghanistan ; and I am told by Mr. C. W. Collard
that those now imported are not so fine as they used to be some years ago.
I can find no records or measurements of walnuts abroad which show that it
ever exceeds in warmer climates the size it attains here ; but the largest foreign
log which I have ever seen was shown by Messrs. Riva and Massara of Milan at
the Exhibition held there in 1906. This log measured about 28 feet long by 15 feet
in girth, and was said to contain about 16 cubic metres of timber, equal to about
560 feet. Its weight was 14,800 kilogrammes, and I was informed by the owners
that they paid 5800 francs (about ^232) for it in Switzerland. But Correvon^
quotes La Patrie Suisse to the effect that a walnut was cut at Bois-de-Vaux, near
Lausanne, which required twenty-four horses to haul it. The lower part of its trunk
measured about 24 feet, the diameter was 6 feet 4 inches, and the total contents about
700 cubic feet. This butt was sold for £1^0 to make gun-stocks.
(H. J. E.)
• Published by \V. Rider and Son, London, 1903. * Nos Arbres, 267 {1906).
262 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
JUGLANS NIGRA, Black Walnut
Juglans nigra, Linnseus, Sp. PL 997 (1753); Loudon, Ark et Frut. Brit. Hi. 1435 (1838); Sargent,
Silva N. America, vii. 121, tt 333, 334 (1895), and Manual Trees N. America, 128 (1905).
A tree attaining 150 feet in height, with a girth of about 15 to 20 feet,
forming in the forest a narrow round-topped head, but with spreading branches when
isolated. Bark of old trees dark brown, deeply furrowed with broad ridges, which
are scaly on the surface.
Leaves up to 3 feet in length, of fifteen to twenty-three leaflets, which are ovate
or ovate-lanceolate, long-acuminate at the apex, rounded at the base, sub-sessile, with
coarse sharp irregular serrations ; upper surface with a very minute and very scattered
pubescence ; lower surface with numerous glandular and simple hairs. Rachis
with yellow glands and scattered glandular hairs. Young shoots with sessile
yellow glands and numerous glandular hairs ; older shoots pubescent. Leaf-scars
obcordate, deeply notched at the apex, without any band of pubescence on their
upper edge.
Staminate catkins three to five inches long ; scales with six orbicular concave
pubescent lobes, and a bract \ inch long, which is triangular and tomentose ; stamens
twenty to thirty. Pistillate flowers, two to five in a spike ; involucre laciniate in
margin or reduced to an obscure ring below the apex of the ovary ; perianth lobes
ovate, acute.
Fruit solitary or in pairs,^ globose or slightly pear-shaped, pubescent, not viscid,
yellowish green, \\ to 2 inches in diameter ; nut oval or oblong, \\ to i^ inch,
deeply ridged irregularly, four-celled interiorly at the base, and slightly two-celled at
the apex.^
Identification
In summer it is readily distinguishable iromj. cinerea and the Eastern Asiatic
species, which have serrate leaflets, by the character of the leaf-scar, which is deeply
notched at the apex and without the transverse band above its upper margin, which
characterises those species. The long acuminate pubescent leaflets distinguish it
from the hybrids pyriformis and Vilmoriniana. It has much larger leaflets than
J. rupestris, and cannot be confused with J. stenocarpa, which has a broadly
obovate terminal leaflet.
In winter the following characters are available : — Twigs stout, reddish brown,
glandular-pubescent ; lenticels small. Leaf-scars on prominent pulvini, obcordate,
deeply notched above, without pubescent band, with three groups of bundle-dots. Pith
large, buff-coloured, with wide open chambers. Terminal bud ovoid or conical, grey-
' a tree at Albury, Surrey, has, however, borne fruit in clusters of three, four, and six, of which specimens are
preserved at Kew.
'■' For a detailed account of the fruit, seed, and cotyledons of the species, see Lubbock, Seedlings, ii. 517 (1902).
Juglans 263
tomentose, usually with four external scales visible in two valvate pairs, the scales
not lobed at the apex. Lateral buds, arising at an angle of 45°, small, globose,
pubescent, with two to three scales visible externally ; there are often two buds super-
posed, the lower one minute and embedded in the notch of the leaf-scar. The
reddish-brown pubescent twigs and superposed pubescent lateral buds will distin-
guish this species from the common walnut.
*■»
Varieties and Hybrids
No varieties are known. The Black Walnut forms hybrids with the common
walnut, which have been dealt with under the latter species. Burbank has raised
a hybrid, which he calls " Royal," between y. nigra andy. californica}
Jtiglans nigra x cinerea. A tree supposed to be this hybrid grew in the
Botanic Garden at Marburg, and was described by Wender TiS Jtiglans cinerea-nigra
in Linncea, xxix. 728 (1857). (A. H.)
Distribution
According to Sargent the black walnut occurs in rich bottom lands and fertile
hillsides, from western Massachusetts to southern Ontario, southern Michigan
and Minnesota, central and northern Nebraska, eastern Kansas, and southward to
western Florida, central Alabama, and Mississippi, and the valley of the San
Antonio River, Texas ; most abundant in the region west of the Alleghany Mountains,
and of its largest size on the western slopes of the mountains of North Carolina
and Tennessee, and on the fertile bottom lands of southern Illinois and Indiana,
south-western Arkansas, and the Indian Territory.
The black walnut is not only one of the largest deciduous trees throughout a
great part of the Middle States, but also one which, until it became too scarce,
furnished a great part of the most valuable hardwood. It reached its maximum of
size and abundance in the western foothills of the Southern Alleghany Mountains
and in the rich, fertile alluvial river bottoms through which the great rivers of Ohio,
Indiana, Tennessee, and Kentucky flow, and which were the first homes of the
settlers who crossed the mountains towards the end of the eighteenth century, and
for a quarter of a century carried on an unceasing warfare with the Indians. These
pioneers also waged war against the forest whenever they could spare time, and for
many years used the black walnut for fencing and for house-building, because it was
an easy wood to split and to work ; but they did not foresee that the trees which
they destroyed would become one of the most valuable products of their farms, and
would in a century be almost extinct as timber trees in many places where they
were formerly the commonest.^
When I was travelling in the mountains of North Carolina in 1895, I saw but
' Garden and Forest, 1894, ?■ 436-
' An interesting account of the war waged against the black walnut by pioneers in Indiana in 1834 is given in Woods
and Forests, 1884, p. 633.
264 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
few black walnuts of large size, and met with men who were travelling about
purposely to find and buy them in all accessible places. In the North Carolina
forestry exhibit at the St. Louis Exhibition in 1904, I saw a walnut log from a
tree in Jackson County, Kentucky, over 12 feet long and 52 inches in diameter
which had evidently been lying long in the forest, and had been repeatedly burnt
over, which produced over 800 cubic feet of timber, and was sold, as I was told, for
$800. I heard of another still standing in Kentucky which was valued at $1000.
These great trees are now hardly to be seen except in remote regions where it
is impossible to get them out, and when I visited the Lower Wabash Valley in
southern Illinois, where Prof. R. Ridgway^ found the largest deciduous trees in the
United States, I did not see one of great size. Dr. J. Schneck, who was my guide
and who knows the flora of this region better than anyone, gives in his Catalogue
of the Flora of the Lower Wabash, the measurements of a tree taken by himself as
follows: — Circumference, at 3 feet above the swell of the root, 22 feet; height of
trunk to first branch, 74 feet; total height, 155 feet. Prof. Ridgway measured
another 15 feet in girth at 3 feet, and 71 feet to the first branch, where the trunk
was 3 feet in diameter. Assuming such trees to have measured 1 2 feet in girth in
the middle they would contain 600 to 700 feet of clean timber in the first length
alone, and now be worth as much as many acres of the land they grew on would
fetch when cleared for agriculture.
But in regions which have colder summers and poorer soil, the black walnut
does not attain anything like these dimensions, and I have seen none in New
England which equal the best trees in Britain. Emerson'' speaks of one in the
Botanic Garden at Cambridge, Mass., as measuring 6 feet 3 inches at 3 feet from
the ground, and the tree which he figures growing near Roslyn was a poor specimen
of small size.
In Canada it was once abundant in the rich forests of Southern Ontario,
but almost all the old trees have been cut down, and plantations are now
being made in various parts of Ontario and Western Quebec, and in Alberta
and British Columbia, as well as in many parts of the United States from
Kansas to California.
Black walnuts of great size are indeed now so rare that I have been unable to
procure a really good photograph of the tree in its native forest, and there is none in
Pinchot and Ashe's Timber Trees of N. Carolina. These authors say that it bears
seed abundantly only every three or four years, and that young seedlings are not
common except in low fertile, rather open lands, or in meadows which border
streams. The growth is very rapid until the tree has reached a large size ; only
small trees send up shoots from the stump.
The tree, however, has been so largely planted in many parts of the States and
in Canada, and succeeds so well, even so far west as British Columbia, that it may
again become generally useful as a timber tree.
' Proc. U.S. Nat. Museum, 1882, p. 49. " Trees of Massachusetts, i. 213.
Juglans 265
Cultivation
The black walnut was first described by Parkinson/ and was introduced into
England by the younger Tradescant before 1656, as it is mentioned in the list^ of
the plants growing in his garden at that time. A tree was growing in Bishop
Compton's garden at Fulham in 1688, according to Ray.'
The black walnut is easy to grow from seed, but, except the hickories, none is
more difficult to transplant, on account of the long fleshy tap-roots which it forms at
an early age, and which, when grown in the good deep soil which it likes, are at a
year old often three or four times as long as the seedling itself. For this reason,
unless special care is given to its treatment, it is not likely to become so fine a tree
as when sown in situ, and, though I have successfully transplanted many at one or
two years old, I would much prefer the other method.
Though the nuts ripen in England in hot summers, they are not so large, and do
not, I think, produce such strong plants as those imported from North America, and,
if possible, I should prefer to get them from trees growing in Canada or New
England than from farther south. ^ The nuts are best sown when ripe, as if kept
dry for some time, they either lose their germinating power or come up so late that
they make weak plants. In any locality which is subject to late frosts it would be
better to sow them in boxes at least two feet deep and plant them out when a year
old, as like many exotic trees they do not ripen their young wood well, and are liable
to be frozen back in winter or spring, which induces a bushy instead of a straight
habit of growth.
As this tree requires to be well sheltered and drawn up by surrounding
trees in order to form a tall and valuable trunk, it should be sown or planted
in small deeply-dug patches in a rich wood, kept free from weeds and pro-
tected from mice, rabbits, and boys, until the trees are six to eight feet in
height, which they should be under favourable circumstances at four to six years
after sowing.
All these difficulties have made the tree unpopular with nurserymen, who rarely
care to grow trees for which there is little regular demand. But the great value
of the timber, its rapid growth on suitable places, and its perfect hardiness
when once established, give it, in my opinion, so much importance, that, however
troublesome it may be in its early stages, it should be tried at least on a small scale
as a timber tree in the warmest and best soils of the southern, eastern, and west
midland counties. For further particulars of the nursery treatment of this tree
see Cobbett's Woodlands, Art. 553 ; or Arboriculture J' iv. 7, July 1905. Cobbett,
• Theatriim Bolanicum, 1414(1640]. • Museum Tradtscantianum, 147 (1656).
' Historia Plantarum, ii. 1798 (1688) — no doubt the tree mentioned by Loudon as existing in 1835 (see p. 268).
' But the question as to whether the seeds of trees grown in a comparatively cold climate produce hardier plants than
seed from a warm one, is as yet unsolved ; and Prof. H. Mayr of Munich, than whom there is no better authority, is
inclined to believe that the differences which are observed in the comparative resistance to frost depend on the variable
constitution of the individual plant rather than on inherited power. — Cf. H. Mayr, Fremdl. Wald. u. Park ■ bdume
(Berlin, 1906).
' A magazine of the International Society of Arboriculture ; J. P. Brown, Connersville, [nd., U.S.A.
II K
266 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
who knew the tree well, considered as I do that it was a hardier and better
timber tree than the common walnut.
The black walnut cannot be expected to attain great size except on deep soil in
a warm situation. A tree grown from a nut, brought by my father from America
over 60 years ago, is now only about 60 feet high and 3 feet in girth, on the dry
oolite of the Cotswolds ; whilst in Kent, on good loam, it has attained 100 feet by
12 feet in about 100 years, and probably contains as much timber, and that of twice
the value, as any oak of its age in Great Britain. It seems indifferent to the
chemical nature of the soil, if it is deep, light, and well drained, and should have
a southern or western aspect.
It is stated in Woods and Forests that the tree is almost if not entirely rabbit-
proof, for when nearly everything else is barked it is left untouched, even in a young
state.
I have no certain knowledge as to the age which this tree attains, but from the
fact that the old ones at Fulham Palace and Syon are dead or dying, I should
suppose that, like the common walnut, it is not a very long-lived tree.
Cultivation in Germany and France
The high value of the timber of the black walnut has led to experiments with
the tree in Continental forests. These trials have, however, hitherto been only on a
small scale.
In the State forests of Prussia the black walnut has been planted in twenty-two
different stations, the whole area under cultivation being thirty -one acres, the
separate plots varying in size from seven acres to a rood. Schwappach* draws the
following conclusions from the results obtained in these experimental plots : —
Of all the exotic species which have been tried in Prussia, Juglans nigra is the
most exacting as regards soil and climate. It only thrives on deep moist rich soils,
such as loamy sand rich in humus or pure loam, and never succeeds on shallow soils
of any kind, or on wet clay or sand. It requires for its good development a con-
siderable amount of warmth and a long season of vegetation. It has only succeeded
on the best oak soils, such as the alluvial lands by the rivers Oder, Mulde, and
Elster, and in certain restricted areas of the hilly land of central and western
Germany.
Schwappach gives a description of the long tap-root of the seedling, and the
consequent difficulty in transplanting ; but he lays stress upon the fact that in
Germany the seedlings normally make their appearance very late, and believes that
this is one of the main causes of failure, as the young plants do not then ripen their
wood, and are destroyed by late frosts. He advocates the early germination of the
seeds by artificial means, such as by placing them in pits covered with straw, soil,
and horse-dung. These speedily germinate, and are then planted in the forest in
gaps of about a rood in extent, which are the result of clear felling, or under
• Ergtbniste Anbauvtrsucke Fremldndischen Holtaiien, 37 (1901).
Juglans 267
the existing canopy of an old wood where the trees will soon be removed.
The black walnut requires strong sunlight for its successful growth, yet lateral
protection is necessary during the first few years. Heavy shade is hurtful, as it
hinders the ripening of the wood of the shoots. The black walnut, after it has
successfully passed the dangerous period of youth, becomes perfectly hardy ; and
older plants resist both spring and winter frosts. Schwappach advocates close plant-
ing, with beech or hornbeam as nurses, and recommends thinning at 1 5 to 20 years
old, to remove badly-shaped trees, and to give more light to those which are destined
to remain.^
In France Henry has seen a small plantation of black walnut near Annecy ; but
the results obtained were unsatisfactory, as the young plants had suffered much from
frost. M. Pardd,^ however, strongly recommends its cultivation, and points out that,
unlike the common walnut, it can be grown as a forest tree ; and states that at Les
Barres it sows itself regularly and abundantly.
Remarkable Trees
The largest tree which we know of in England is growing in the London County
Council public park of Marble Hill, Twickenham, in rich alluvial soil close to the
Thames. It was measured by Sir Hugh Beevor and Dr. Henry in August 1905,
and the height was found to be 98 feet, the stem girthing at 5 feet up 14 feet 3 inches.
The bole is about 18 feet long, dividing into two great limbs, with large spreading
branches, forming a beautifully symmetrical crown. The diameter of the greatest
spread of the branches was 93 feet (Plate 76).
Perhaps the next finest tree now standing in England is the one which I figure
(Plate "J"]), and which grows on a bank at The Mote, near Maidstone, the property
of Sir Marcus Samuel, Bart. I have twice measured this tree, first in 1902, when I
made it 103 feet by 12 feet in girth, and again in 1905, when I made it loi feet by
12 feet 6 inches. I am informed by Mr. Bunyard of Maidstone that it was probably
planted about 100 years ago by his grandfather. The tree is so healthy, and
apparently growing so fast, that it may become very much larger than it now is.
At Gatton Park, Surrey, the seat of J, Colman, Esq., there was, in 1904, a tree
about 100 feet by 9 feet 6 inches in girth, with a very tall, handsome trunk.
Another at the same place, which, when I saw it, was lying on the ground, was
about 95 feet by 9 feet, with a bole 10 feet long, and, according to the measurement
given me by the late Mr. Cragg, agent for the estate, contained 315 cubic feet of
timber.
At Highclere, Berks, there is a fine tree 90 feet by 9 feet 6 inches ; and at Bute
House, Petersham, Henry measured one 78 feet by 1 1 feet 10 inches in 1903. At
Burwood House, Surrey, Col. Thynne has measured a tree, which I have not seen,
' Mr. John Booth of Berlin, who has for many years been one of the best advocates for the planting of exotic trees for
timber, tells me that the black walnut has been largely planted near Strassburg under the direction of Forstmeister Rebmann,
and the results are extremely successful.
* Les Principaux Vigttaux Ligneux Exotiques, p. 21.
268 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
79 feet by 12 feet. At Syon House there was a fine tree mentioned by Loudon,
as then 79 feet high and 2 feet 11 inches in diameter. In 1849, according to
the manuscript catalogue of trees at Syon, it was 90 feet by 7 feet 3 inches ;
when I saw it in 1903 its top was gone, the tree fast decaying, and the girth
about 10 feet.
At Youngsbury, near Ware, Herts, there are two fine trees which Mr. H. Clinton
Baker measured in March 1906. The larger was 90 feet high by 11 feet 10 inches
in girth ; the smaller 80 feet by 1 1 feet 3 inches. At Albury, Surrey, near the
gardener's cottage, there is a tree which measured in 1904, 90 feet by 9 feet 2 inches.
At Arley Castle a black walnut is bearing mistletoe. At Barton, near Bury St.
Edmunds, there is one which is about 75 feet by 7 feet, which cannot be more
than about 60 years old.
Sir Hugh Beevor reports a fine tree, 80 feet high by 12 feet girth, at Spixworth
Hall, Norfolk. In the rooms of the Hall there is some flooring made of locally-
grown black walnut. At Wimpole, he measured another tree 78 feet by 12 feet
8 inches.
At Strathfieldsaye there is a plantation of eighteen young black walnuts in a
group on the lawn, which, though about eighteen years old when I saw them in 1903,
were only 8 to 10 feet high. Three others raised at the same time but planted out
younger are twice as high. This seems to me to prove the importance of not keeping
this tree long in the nursery. A fine tree on the other side of the house at the same
place is about 80 feet by 7 feet, and had a few nuts on it even in the wet season
of 1903.
At Fulham Palace there was a tree, which, according to Loudon, was 150 years
old in 1835, being then about 70 feet high and 5 feet in diameter. In 1879^ this
tree was 16 feet in girth breast-high, and had passed its prime ; and has been quite
dead for ten years. This is the largest girth of any black walnut recorded in
England.
At Bisham Abbey, near Marlow, the property of Sir H. J. Vansittart Neale,
growing in a grove near the garden, where they have been drawn up by other trees,
are four fine black walnuts, of the age of which there is no record. The tallest
is nearly if not quite 100 feet high, with a clean bole about half as long, and a
girth of 8 feet 2 inches ; the others have shorter trunks, the biggest being 10 feet
3 inches in girth, and another 8 feet 6 inches, but are nearly as tall.
At Corsham Court, Wilts, the seat of Lord Methuen, is one of the finest
specimens in England, with a clean trunk about 35 feet without a branch and
1 1 feet 5 inches in girth. It is 75 to 80 feet high, and has a very spreading crown
of drooping branches, which cover a space 30 yards across. At Lacock Abbey,
near Corsham, the seat of Mr. C. H. Talbot, are some good trees planted by the
grandfather of the present owner between 1780 and 1800, of which the largest is
about 100 feet by 1 1 feet 5 inches, with a bole of 8 feet, but this has ceased to bear
nuts. The others were planted subsequent to 1828, and the best of them is 60 to
70 feet high by 7 feet girth, and bears nuts profusely.
' Figured in Card. Chron. 1879, xi. 372, t. 52. Cf. p. 265.
Juglans 269
At Walsingham Abbey, Norfolk, the seat of H. Lee Warner, Esq., there was a
specimen figured in Grigor's Eastern Arboretum^ p. 300, as a tree clothed to the
ground with foliage, and of which the spreading branches were propped up. In
1840 it was 8 feet in girth, with a spread of branches 165 feet in circumference, but
is now much decayed.
At Brightwell Park, Oxon, the property of R. Lowndes Norton, Esq., there are
three or four well-grown trees about 50 years old, the largest of which measures
68 feet by 5 feet 10 inches, and bears fruit abundantly. The leaves of these trees
were conspicuous by their yellow colour in the first week of October.
At all the four last-named places these trees have been known as hickories, and
it is probable that others of the so-called hickories in England are really black walnuts.
Two trees ^ growing close together at The Firs, Manor Lane, London, S.E.,
both measured, in 1886, 10 feet 9 inches at 4 feet above the ground, and were
estimated to be 90 feet high. They were then in excellent health, and bore good
crops of nuts, which, however, were rarely perfectly developed.
Many other trees no doubt exist in old places south of the Thames ; but we
have never seen or heard of any large ones in the midland or western counties.
Sir Charles Strickland, however, tells us that the black walnut is quite hardy in
Yorkshire; and that he has trees at Hildenley, 15 to 20 feet high and ripening
seed, whilst at Housham, another place of his in the same county, they thrive
even better in the woods, where they look like becoming fine timber trees.
In Ireland, the largest tree seen by Henry is at Ballykilcavan, Queen's County :
it measured in 1907, 68 feet high by 9^ feet in girth. We know of no trees of any
size in Scotland.
The largest which we have heard of in Europe is a tree growing at Schloss
Dyck, the seat of Fiirst Salm-Dyck in Germany, which was planted in 1809, and in
1904 measured 35 metres high by 3.58 metres in girth, with a crown diameter of
35 metres.
Timber
It is very strange that though this timber has been imported on a large scale
from North America for many years, both to England and the Continent, where
it commands a very high price, its value is quite unknown to the English country
timber merchant, and none of the writers on wood seem to know much about it. Even
Marshall Ward, in his edition of Laslett (1894), says (p. 181) that it will not bear
comparison with the quality of either Black Sea or Italian walnut wood. Boulger, in
Wood (p. 339), says that it is " more uniform in colour, darker, less liable to insect
attack, and thus more durable than European walnut." Stone says (p. 211), "This
wood is readily confused withy, regia."
I can only say that I have seen four different trees felled in England, of which
the wood was perfectly distinct by its purplish colour from that of any European
walnut; and though I have not been able to get any definite proof of the truth of
' Card. Chron. 1886, xxvi. 6 1 6, fig. 120.
270 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
Boulger's statement as to its freedom from insect attack, yet the furniture which
I have had made from three of the trees in question is distinctly superior to
that of common walnut, and as good as imported black walnut, in colour ; and when
properly seasoned, for which three or four years should be allowed, as good cabinet-
maker's wood as the best Circassian or Italian walnut: and Unwin,' quoting Nord-
linger and Mayr, says that the timber of trees grown in Germany has the same
specific gravity and the same beautifully coloured heartwood as in America. I
am informed by experienced cabinetmakers and timber merchants that the colour and
quality of the wood now imported is, either on account of its being younger or grown
in different localities, inferior to what it used to be when first introduced to this
market, and Mr. A. Howard told me that he could not buy American timber of better
quality than that of a tree blown down at Albury which was given me by the Duke
of Northumberland. It takes a beautiful polish either with oil or French polish, has
not warped in the least degree, and has in many cases a beautifully variegated figure.
The sapwood is thick and of a paler colour, and should not be used in first-class work
any more than that of the common walnut, which is always attacked sooner or later
by the larvae of a woodboring beetle.
From what I saw of it in America, I believe it to be extremely durable when
exposed to the weather, as it lasts long in fences, and large canoes were made from
it, whilst it was the favourite wood for furniture until its increasing scarcity and
price caused it to be superseded by oak and mahogany.
Old trees often show a beautiful wavy grain, as well as a variety of markings,
and from the forks and burrs veneers are cut, which, though of a different colour, are
equal in beauty and pattern to mahogany or satinwood.
Cobbett ^ states, though he does not appear to have seen it himself, that there
was at New York part of a black walnut trunk, which measured 36 feet round at
the base, and had been scooped out and used as a bar-room, and afterwards as
a grocer's shop, and that this tree, if it had been sawed into inch boards, would
have yielded 50,000 feet, worth at that time $1500, but this seems exaggerated;
though Loudon states (p. 1438) that a tree, perhaps the same as the one Cobbett
speaks of, and grown on the south side of Lake Erie, was exhibited in London in
1827, which was 12 feet in diameter, hollowed out and furnished as a sitting-room.
(H. J. E.)
» Future Forest Trees, 38 (1905). » Woodlands, Art. 553.
Juglans 271
JUGLANS CINEREA, Butternut
Juglans cinerea, Linnaeus, Sp. Fl. 141 5 (1763); Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit. iii. 1439 (1838);
Bentley and Trimen, Medicinal Plants, iv. t. 247 (1880); Sargent, Silva N. America, vii. 118,
tt. 331, 332 (1895); and Manual Trees N. America, 126 (1905).
A tree attaining in America occasionally 100 feet in height, with a girth of
9 feet, but usually smaller in size, dividing at 20 or 30 feet above the ground
into many stout horizontal limbs, and forming a broad, low, round-topped head. Bark
of young trees smooth and light grey, becoming in older trees deeply fissured, with
broad scaly ridges.
Leaves with eleven to seventeen leaflets, which are sub-opposite, sessile, oblong,
unequal-sided, rounded, and slightly unequal at the base, acuminate at the apex ;
margin finely serrate, the tips of the serrations being directed outwards, ciliate ;
upper surface finely pubescent with stellate and long simple hairs ; lower surface pale,
with numerous fine stellate hairs, there being some glandular hairs on the midrib
towards its base. Rachis with numerous short glandular hairs. Young shoots
with white sessile glands and numerous short white glandular hairs ; old shoots
pubescent. The leaf-scars are semicircular or triangular, with the upper edge a
straight line, and furnished with a transverse band of pubescence.
Flowers : staminate catkins 2 to 3 inches long ; scales with six puberulous
lobes ; bract rusty-pubescent with acute apex ; stamens eight to twelve. Pistillate
flowers in six- to eight-flowered spikes ; involucre with viscid glandular hairs, and
slightly shorter than the linear-lanceolate perianth lobes.
Fruit : in drooping clusters of three to five, ovate oblong with two or rarely four
obscure ridges, coated with rusty clammy hairs, i^ to 2^ inches in diameter. Nut ovate,
abruptly acuminate and contracted at the apex, with eight ribs, internally two-celled
at the base and one-celled above the middle with a narrow pointed apical cavity.
Varieties and Hybrids
No varieties are known. A hybrid between it and Jtiglans nigra has been
observed. Sg& Juglans nigra.
Identification
The best mark of distinction of this species at all seasons is the leaf-scar, which
has a transverse raised band of pubescence above its upper margin, which is never
notched, and is straight or slightly convex. In winter the following characters are
observable in the twigs and buds. Twigs stout, reddish brown, covered with dense
glandular pubescence. Leaf-scars, as described above, obovate, on prominent pulvini,
with three groups of bundle-dots. Terminal buds oblong, greyish, densely pubescent,
the two outer scales conspicuously lobed at the apex, the two inner scales scarcely
2/2 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
lobed. Lateral buds, directed outwards at an angle of 45', small, ovoid, pubescent ;
frequently two superposed. Pith dark brown, with narrow chambers. (A. H.)
Distribution
According to Sargent, it occurs in rich moist soil near the banks of streams and
on low rocky hills from southern New Brunswick and the valley of the Saint
Lawrence in Ontario to eastern Dakota, south-eastern Nebraska, central Kansas,
and northern Arkansas, and on the Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia
and northern Alabama ; most abundant and of its largest size northward. The
grey walnut or butternut, as it is commonly called, is a common tree over the
same region as that which produces the black walnut, but never attains the same
size, and, as a rule, unless drawn up in the forest is a much more spreading and less
valuable tree. It does not in New England usually exceed 30 to 50 feet in height,
with a trunk i to 4 feet in diameter, but sometimes in the rich forests of the Wabash
valley attains greater dimensions. Ridgway says, loc. cit. 76, that two trees felled
in the " Timber Settlement," Wabash county, measured 97 feet and 1 1 7 feet in
length, with clear trunks 50 feet and 32 feet long, and i foot 10 inches in diameter.
Pinchot and Ashe, loc. cit. 82, say that in North Carolina it is nowhere common, but
in cool rich mountain valleys it attains 70 feet high with a diameter of 3 feet.
In New England Emerson, loc. cit. 210, mentions a tree in Richmond, Mass.,
which was 13 feet 3 inches in girth at the smallest place below the branches.
I never saw any such trees as these ; and near Ottawa, where the tree is
approaching its northern limit of distribution, it was a small branchy tree bearing
little fruit.
Introduction
The butternut was first described by Parkinson,^ and was apparently introduced
into England at the same time as the black walnut, i.e. sometime before 1656, as it
is probably one of the species mentioned by Tradescant ^ as growing in his garden.
Loudon states that it was introduced into cultivation by the Duchess of Bedford in
1699 ; but the tree referred to by him was Carya alba.^
Cultivation
Though it must have been planted in many places in this country the butternut
seems to be now a very scarce tree. The only one I have seen of any size grows in
the grounds of Mr. C. S. Dickens at Coolhurst, near Horsham, and was in 1902
52 feet high and 4 feet 2 inches in girth. This produced fruit in 1900 from which I
raised two seedlings, one of which is now growing at Colesborne. I noticed that
the roots of these seedlings instead of being long, fusiform, and free from rootlets,
as in J. regia and J. nigra, formed a thick, fibrous mass, which made the tree
' Theatrum Botanicum, I414 (1640). ^ Museum Tradescant ianum, 146, 147 (1656).
' Alton, Hort. Kew, iii. 360 (1789), ex Brit. Museum Sloant MSS. 525 and 3349.
Juglans 273
very easy to transplant. I have since then raised numerous seedlings from
imported seed, by sowing them both in pots and in the open ground. If allowed
to become dry they sometimes lie over a year, and should therefore be sown
as soon as ripe. The young trees are distinguishable from those of J. nigra by
having fewer pairs of leaflets, but they grow quite as fast, and are quite as hardy as
the latter. Both nigra and cinerea, though liable to injury from late spring frosts, are
much hardier as regards winter frost when old enough to ripen their wood, but as,
like other walnuts, they do not bear pruning well, they require careful attention when
young in order to become shapely trees. Sir Charles Strickland has raised from
seed plants at Boynton in Yorkshire which grew to five or six feet high, but all
ultimately died,
Mr. J. H. Bonny, Ratcliffe Cottage, Forton, Garstang, sent specimens to Kew
in 1900 from a tree 60 years old, which fruited for the first time in that year. It
had only attained 22 feet high by 2^ feet in girth at 5 feet from the ground. There
is a tree at Bayfordbury which produced a few nuts in 1905. It is 35 feet high by
3 feet 2 inches in girth, and is as large as a black walnut planted beside it. At
Tredethy in Cornwall, the seat of F. T. Hext, Esq., I am told by Mr. Bartlett, that
there was in 1905 a tree 35 feet by 2 feet 2 inches.
At Riccarton near Edinburgh, the seat of Sir James Gibson Craig, Bart., there
is a butternut growing in a sheltered spot which Henry measured in 1905, and
though its position makes it difficult to measure accurately, he believes it to be about
50 feet by 3 feet 3 inches.
In Ireland Henry measured in 1904 at Kilmacurragh, Co. Wicklow, a tree
32 feet high by 3 feet 4 inches ; while at Charleville in the same county, the seat of
Lord Monck, a tree, planted probably in 1869, was 25 feet high by 2 feet in girth.
Timber
The timber of this tree, though it resembles that of other walnuts in texture and
grain, is much inferior in colour to that of the black walnut, but Hough ^ says that
though not so high-priced it is nevertheless of great value for interior finish and wain-
scoting. In Prof. Sargent's house at Brookline, near Boston, I saw a very handsome
mantelpiece and some panelling made from it, and it is occasionally used for furniture.
It is pale brown in colour, with whitish-grey sap wood, and the burrs are sometimes
cut into handsome veneers. Mr. John Booth ^ states that he cut down some exotic
trees planted by his father at the celebrated Flottbeck nurseries near Hamburg
when about 50 years old ; and from the wood of a butternut wainscoted a room ;
" the polish was even finer than that of y. nigra, with a splendid glossy hue."
Emerson says, loc. cit. 209, that from the bark a mild purgative is made, and
that the Shakers at Lebanon obtain a rich purple dye from it. The common dye
used by the early settlers for their homespun cloth was from the husk of the
' American Woods, p. 6i. ^ Card. Chron. xxx. 407 {1901).
II L
274 ^^^ Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
butternut, which gives a fawn colour. The young half-grown nuts make excellent
pickles if gathered early in June, but the ripe nuts, though eaten by boys and
Indians, are oily and soon become acrid.
According to L. B. Case, who wrote an interesting article ' on this tree, if an
incision is made in the trunk early in spring before the unfolding of the leaves, it
yields a rich saccharine sap, nearly if not quite equal to that obtained from the sugar
maple. The medicinal uses of the bark are fully explained in Bentley and Trimen's
work cited above. (H. J. E.)
JUGLANS RUPESTRIS, Texan Walnut
Juglans rupestris^ Engelmann, Sitgreave's Report, 171, t. 15 (1853); Sargent, Silva N. America,
vii. 125, tt. 335, 336 (189s), and Manual Trees N. America, 129 (1905).
The typical form, with small leaflets, which has been introduced into cultivation in
Europe, is a shrub or small tree ; bark of young trunks smooth, pale, whitish, becom-
ing in older trees deeply furrowed and scaly. Leaflets, seven to fifteen or more,
small, one to three inches long, sub-sessile, ovate or lanceolate, never oblong, apex
acuminate, base rounded and unequal-sided, crenulate-serrate and non-ciliate in
margin ; upper surface with scattered minute pubescence ; lower surface green with
scattered minute brown hairs and axil tufts. Rachis with numerous sessile yellow
glands and glandular hairs. Young shoots with numerous sessile yellow glands,
interspersed with glandular hairs and obcordate leaf-scars, which are notched above.
Older shoots shortly pubescent.
Flowers : staminate, catkins slender, two to four inches long, scales three- to
five-lobed, with ovate-lanceolate tomentose bracts ; stamens twenty. Pistillate flowers
few in a spike, tomentose, involucre irregularly divided into a laciniate border,
slightly shorter than the ovate acute calyx-lobes.
Fruit : globose or rarely oblong, very variable in size, \ to i^ inch in diameter ;
husk glabrate or coated with rufous hairs ; nut globose without ridges, often com-
pressed at the ends, dark brown or black, grooved with longitudinal simple or forked
grooves, four-celled at the base, two-celled at the apex.
Var. major, Torrey, Sitgreave's Report, 171, t. 16 (1853) : usually a tree, attain-
ing 50 feet in height with a trunk 15 feet in girth. In this form the leaflets are large,
reaching 6 inches in length ; the fruit is also larger. It would appear that this
variety is the western form, the typical form being characteristic of the eastern part
of the area of distribution of the species.
' Woods and Forests, 1884, p. 200.
' It is probable, as Rehder points out in Cycl. Am. Hort. ii. 846, that Juglans longirostris, Carriere, in Rev. Horticole,
1878, p. 53, fig. 10, belongs to this species.
Juglans 275
Identification
The form of this species usually cultivated in England is distinguished in
summer by its small leaves, bushy habit, and the other characters given above.
In winter the following characters are available: — Twigs very slender, olive-
green or brown, densely pubescent. Leaf-scars set obliquely on prominent pulvini,
small, obcordate, notched above, without pubescent band above the upper margin ;
bundle-dots in three groups. Terminal bud elongated, slender, densely and minutely
pubescent, the tips of the two outer scales slightly lobed. Lateral buds, arising at
an angle of 45°, minute, ovoid, pubescent, usually solitary. Pith small, brownish,
with wide chambers.
Distribution
According to Sargent this species occurs on the limestone banks of the streams
of central and western Texas, shrubby or rarely more than 30 feet high (var. typicd) ;
common and of larger size in the caiions of the mountains of New Mexico and
Arizona south of the Colorado plateau. It is also met with in northern Mexico,^
where it frequently leaves the mountain caiions, following the water-courses which
are dry throughout most of the year. In such situations its average diameter is
12 to 18 inches, and its height 20 to 30 feet; the nuts, less than an inch in
diameter, are scarcely edible.
Cultivation
This species was discovered in western Texas in 1835 by Berlandier. It was
growing in 1868 in the Botanic Garden at Berlin, according to a note in Engelmann's
Herbarium.'^ It does not seem to have been known in England till 1894, when seeds
from Fort Huancha in Arizona were sent to Kew by Sargent. A tree grown from
this seed has attained now (1905) about 12 feet in height. There is one nearly as
large at Tortworth, and a seedling from Kew is planted at Colesborne, where it
seems at least as hardy as the common species and ripens its wood earlier. A tree
planted at Mount Edgcumbe, near Plymouth, in 1898 is 9 feet 4 inches high, with
a spread of 10 feet. It has been cut back twice, and looks better as a bush than
as a tree. (A. H.)
' Garden and Forest, 1888, p. 106. ^ Sargent, Siha N. America, he. cit. 126.
276 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
JUGLANS MANDSHURICA, Manchurian Walnut
Juglans mandshurica, Maximowicz, Prim. Fl. Amur. 76 (1859); and Mil. Biol. viii. 630, fig.
(1872); C. De Candolle, in B.C. Prod. xvi. 2, 138 (1864) ; Gard. Chron. 1888, iv. 384, fig. 53.
Juglans regia octagona, in Rei'ue HorticoU, 1861, p. 429, fig. 106.
Juglans regia cordata, in Garden, 1896, p. 478, fig.
A tree attaining 60 feet in height and 5 feet in girth. Bark dark ashy in colour,
furrowed in old trees. Judging from herbarium specimens, as I have not been able
to examine living trees in England, this species differs little in character of leaves
and branchlets irom Juglans Sieboldiana. Maximowicz, who observed both species
growing wild, states that he was unable to find any good distinctions between the
two species except in the characters of the nut.
The fruit occurs in short racemes, six to thirteen in a cluster, and is globular-
ovate to oblong, viscid, and stellate pubescent. The nut resembles that of Juglans
cinerea, but is less sharply ridged, globose or ovate, rounded at the base, abruptly and
shortly acuminate at the apex, eight-ribbed, with the intervals much wrinkled.
This species occurs in mountain woods in eastern Manchuria, between the Bureia
range and the Sea of Japan, from lat. 50° to the Korean frontier. It is frequent
along the river Amur in its lower part and on its tributaries. This species is also
widely spread throughout Northern and Western China, where it is common in
mountain woods at low altitudes, from Chihli through Hupeh and Szechwan to
Yunnan. So far as I have seen it, both in Hupeh and Yunnan, it never makes a
large tree, and rarely exceeds 40 feet in height, but Komarov informed us that in
Mandshuria it attains 80 feet high by 19 to 20 in girth.
This plant was introduced^ into the Botanic Garden of St. Petersburg by
Maximowicz from seeds sent from the Amur. A tree^ from seed planted in 1879 in
the Arnold Arboretum bore fruit in 1 883, which was large, more nearly spherical and
less rough than the butternut, and of good flavour. The tree is described as being
compact and handsome in habit, and likely to become of value as a fruit tree in the
northern parts of the United States, where the common walnut cannot be grown
successfully.
Specimens were sent to Dr. Masters ' in 1 888 from a tree which had fruited in
the nursery of Mr. J. van Volxem at Brussels, where the fruit ripens some weeks
before that of the common walnut, and the tree seems less injured by spring frosts.
(A. H.)
• Bretschneider, Hist. Europ. Bot. Discoveries in China, i. 609 (1898).
' Garden and Forest, 1888, pp. 396, 443. ' Gard. Chron., he. cil.
Juglans 277
JUGLANS CORDIFORMIS, Cordate Walnut
Juglans cordiformis, Maximowicz, Mil. Biol. viii. 635, cum fig. (1872); Shirasawa, Icon. Ess. Forest
Jap.y text 35, t. 17 (1899); Rehder, Mittheil. Deut. Dendrol. Gesell. 1903, p. 117 ; Gardeners'
Chronicle, 1901, xxx. 292, Supplementary Illustration.
Juglans ^Sieboldiana, van cordiformis, Makino, in Tokyo Bot. Mag. 1895, p. 313.
A tree attaining 50 feet in height and 6 feet in girth. Bark, according to
Shirasawa, remaining smooth for a long time, becoming fissured with age.
Leaves with eleven to thirteen leaflets, which are sub-opposite, oblong with
unequal sides, acute or acuminate at the apex, cordate at the base, sessile or sub-
sessile, the petiolule not exceeding ^g^ inch, the base of the leaflet extending over the
rachis so that the leaflet appears to be more sessile than is the case in J. Sieboldiana ;
serrations fine, shallow, irregular, directed forwards and ciliate ; upper surface finely
pubescent, with only tufted hairs ; lower surface pale in colour, pubescent, with
numerous stellate hairs, dense along the midrib on which the hairs are glandular ;
rachis with densely glandular long reddish hairs, sessile glands being absent.
Young shoots covered with long white hairs, which are tipped with red glands and
are much denser than in J. Sieboldiana ; no sessile glands visible. Leaf-scar as in
that species.
Flowers : male catkins twelve inches long or more ; female catkins about five
inches long, bearing seven to twelve flowers.
Fruit globose ; nut heart-shaped, much flattened, sharply two-edged, with a
shallow longitudinal groove in the middle of each flattened side, smooth over the
surface, rather thin-shelled.
Identification
Readily distinguished in summer by the cordate leaflets and the young shoots
densely covered with long white hairs, which bear red glands at the tips. See under
Juglans Sieboldiana.
In winter the following characters are available: — Twigs stout, brown, covered
with long glandular hairs, which tend, however, to fall off" from the lower part of the
shoot. Leaf-scar large, set slightly obliquely on pulvini which are scarcely elevated,
obovate with two lateral lobes and notched above ; the upper margin with a trans-
verse raised band of pubescence ; bundle-dots in three groups. Terminal bud conical,
but compressed laterally, brown, densely pubescent, the two outer scales lobed at the
apex. Lateral buds often two superposed, small, brown, ovoid, arising from the
twigs at an angle of 60°, densely pubescent. Pith large, brown, with wide chambers.
Distribution
According to Maximowicz, this species occurs in Nippon. Shirasawa says that
it is spread along the banks of rivers in the temperate regions of Japan, being rare in
278 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
the mountains. The wood, according to this author, is light, with Httle difference
between the sapwood and heartwood, and when well seasoned does not warp or split,
and on this account it is much esteemed for making gun-stocks. Sargent ' did not find
this tree in Japan, and says that its peculiar nuts are considered by Japanese botanists
to be merely extreme varieties of Juglans Sieboldiana. However, the species is
kept up as distinct by Matsumura,^ and cultivated specimens at Kew of the two species
can be readily distinguished.
Rehder states in 1 903 that a tree in the Arnold Arboretum raised from seed of
Xxn^ Juglans cordiformis fruited some years ago. The fruits, however, did not show
the characteristic form of this species, and he doubted whether the tree in question
was true cordiformis, or only a variety of Sieboldiana with aberrant fruit.
Nuts were obtained in 1862 by Albrecht,' physician to the Russian Consulate at
Hakodate, which were sown in the Botanic Garden at St. Petersburg, and produced
healthy plants, which were about four feet high, in 1872. Maximowicz also found
the nuts in the market at Yokohama. Sargent, who found them offered for sale by
the Nurserymen's Association of Yokohama, was informed that they were collected
on the slopes of Fujisan.
The tree has been recently sent out by Continental nurserymen, and is hardy in
this country. A specimen at Kew, which was raised in 1899 from seed procured
from Harvard, is now about twenty feet high. The male catkins, which are pro-
duced freely and expand in May, give the tree a striking appearance, but the fruit
has not yet matured. (A. H.)
■ Forest Flora of Japan, 60 (1894). * Shokuitttsu Mei-I, 155 (1895).
* See Maximowicz, he. cit., and Bretschneider, European Bot. Discoveries in China, i. 622 (1898).
Juglans 279
JUGLANS STENOCARPA. Narrow-Fruited Walnut
Juglans stenocarpa, Maximowicz, Prim. Fl. Amurmsis, 78 (1859); and Mil. Biol. viii. 632, cum fig.
(1872); Rehder, Mittheil. Deut. Dendrol. Gesell. 1903, p. 117.
A tr^ of which only the fruits are known in the wild state. The following
description of the foliage is taken from a specimen cultivated at Kew.
Leaves with eleven to thirteen leaflets, of which the terminal one in well-
developed specimens is much broader than the others, being obovate with a short
acuminate apex (4 inches broad by 6 inches long). The lateral leaflets (2^ inches
broad by 6 inches long) are oblong, acuminate at the apex, rounded and unequal at
the base, subsessile, the petiolule being less than ^ inch ; upper surface with scattered
stellate pubescence ; lower surface pale in colour, with similar pubescence ; all the
leaflets coarsely and almost crenately (not sharply) serrate and ciliate in margin.
Rachis with very scattered stellate hairs and white sessile glands, there being no
glandular hairs. Young shoots glabrous with numerous yellow glands, there being,
however, a slight pubescence towards the base of the shoot. Older shoots glabrous,
grey, shining, smooth. Leaf-scar broadly obcordate, notched at the summit, three-
lobed, and without any band of pubescence on the upper margin.
The nuts, on which Maximowicz founded the species, are described by him as
being shining, cylindrical or oblong-oval, slightly narrowed at the base, acuminate at
the apex, eight- ribbed, with the intervals between the ribs deeply and obtusely
wrinkled. The nuts are cinnamon brown in colour and are two-celled.
This species, having serrate pubescent leaflets and non-bearded leaf-scars, can
only be confused vi'ith Jtiglans nigra and y. rupestris. It is readily distinguished
in summer from these and all other species of walnut in cultivation by the broad
terminal leaflet, which is always well marked in fully developed leaves.
In winter the following characters are available : — Twigs stout, yellowish brown,
shining, minutely pubescent towards the apex, glabrous elsewhere. Leaf-scars large,
on pulvini which are only slightly elevated, broadly obcordate, notched above and
without any pubescent band along their upper margin ; bundle dots in three groups.
Terminal bud conical, brown, tomentose, the two outer scales slightly lobed at the
apex. Lateral buds small, ovoid, tomentose, arising at an angle of 45°. Pith large,
buff in colour, with narrow chambers.
The nuts of the tree were found in Russian Manchuria by Maximowicz. Nothing
is known about the tree itself
Specimens are cultivated in the Arnold Arboretum which were obtained from
Regel and Keiselring's nursery at St. Petersburg. There are two small plants at
Kew which were obtained under the nam^ Juglans mandshurica from a Continental
nursery. (A. H.)
28o The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
JUGLANS SIEBOLDIANA, Siebold's Walnut
Juglans Sieboldiana, Maximowicz, MU. Biol. viii. 633 fig. (1872); Lavallde, Arbor. Segrezianum,
p. I, tab. I. et II. (1885); Garden, 1895, xlvil 442.
Juglans ailaniifoh'a, Hort. Sieb. /* Lavall^e, loc. cit.; and Carrifere in Revue Horticole, 1878, p. 414,
figs. 85 and 86.
A tree attaining 50 feet in height and 5 feet in girth.
Leaves with thirteen to fifteen leaflets, which are sub-opposite, oblong, acuminate
at the apex, with base rounded and unequal, sub-sessile, the petiolule being less
than ^ inch ; serrations fine, shallow, and irregular, directed forwards, ciliate
between the teeth ; upper surface finely pubescent, with both single and tufted hairs ;
lower surface pale in colour, covered with numerous stellate hairs, denser close to
the midrib on which there are glandular hairs ; rachis with long brown glandular
hairs and a few small glands near its base. Young shoots green, with long white
glandular hairs and white sessile glands ; lenticels at first white, becoming brown,
conspicuous. Leaf-scars obcordate, three-lobed, deeply notched above, and with a
transverse band of pubescence along the upper edge.
Flowers : staminate catkins very long, up to 12 inches, with bracts obtuse at the
apex and very villous, scale five-lobed. Pistillate spikes, five to twenty flowered, the
rachis and flowers covered with rufous tomentum.
Fruit in long racemes which are ten to twenty inches long ; globose to ovate-
oblong, shortly acuminate at the apex, viscid and covered with stellate hairs. Nuts
ovoid or globose, rounded at the base and acuminate at the apex, with thick wing-
like sutures, very slightly wrinkled and pitted, not ribbed, rather thick-shelled.
Identification
This species seems to be practically identical in leaves and shoots with Juglans
mandskurica, and differs little in these respects hom Juglans cordi/ormis, except
that the leaflets of the latter are distinctly cordate at the base. All three species
differ, however, remarkably in fruit, and must be kept distinct on that account.
They belong to the section of walnuts with bearded leaf- scars, and are readily
distinguished (rom Juglans cinerea, the other species of this group, by having the
leaf-scars deeply notched above.
In winter the following characters are available : — Twigs stout, brown, glabrous
except near the tip, where the pubescence of summer is retained. Leaf-scars large,
on very slightly raised pulvini, obovate, two-lobed above ; upper margin convex,
with a central notch, and surmounted by a raised band of pubescence ; bundle-dots
in three groups. Terminal bud brownish, elongated, covered with a dense minute
pubescence ; outer pair of scales lobed at the apex. Lateral buds arising at an
Juglans 281
acute angle, small, ovoid, pubescent ; frequently two superposed. Pith large, brown,
with narrow chambers and thick plates.
Distribution
According to Maximowicz it occurs throughout the whole of Japan, there being
large trees around temples at Hakodate. At Miadzi, in Kiusiu, it is wild on the sides
of mountain streams, being a tree of about eighteen inches in diameter. It is also
supposed to occur in ithe island of Saghalien, as nuts cast up by the sea were found
there by F. Schmidt.
Sargent ' says that Juglans Sieboldiana is a common forest tree in Yezo and the
mountainous regions of the other islands of Japan. Specimens more than 50 feet
high are uncommon. It is a wide-branched tree, resembling the butternut in habit
and in the colour of its pale furrowed bark. The walnuts of this species are an
important article of food in Japan, as the nuts are exposed for sale in great quantities
in the markets of all the northern towns.
Elwes collected specimens at Asahigawa in central Yezo, and noted that it was
always a small tree, 20 to 30 feet in height by a foot in girth. He also saw it near
Nikko, but never of any size. It is called Kurumi. The wood, though used to
some extent in Japan for gun-stocks and ornamental work, does not take a high
place among the valuable timbers of the country. It was not included in the
collection of woods exhibited at St. Louis.
Cultivation
Juglans Sieboldiana was introduced from Japan into Leyden about the year
i860 by Siebold, and was sent from there to Segrez in 1866, under the name of
Juglans ailantifolia. At Segrez it passed unscathed through the severe winter of
1 879- 1 880, which proved fatal there to the common walnut.
According to Sargent this species is perfectly hardy in New England, where it
ripens its fruit. It is not worth growing there as an ornamental tree; but it will
produce fruit in regions of greater winter cold than the common walnut can support,
and may find some place in planting as a fruit tree.
The largest specimen we know of in these islands is at Belgrove, Queenstown,
Ireland, the residence of W. E. Gumbleton, Esq. It was, in 1903, 24 feet in height
by 2 feet 9 inches in girth. There are specimens at Kew about 1 2 feet high, which
were grown from seed received in 1894. There is also a small plant at Gunnersbury
House, Middlesex, which has borne fruit.
(A, H.)
1 Fortst Flora of Japan, 60 (1 894).
II M
COMMON OAK
The following is an account of the three species into which the Quercus Robur of
Linnaeus has been divided : — Quercus pedunculata, Quercus sessiliflora, and Quercus
lanuginosa. Brief notes are given also of certain Mediterranean and Oriental forms
which are in cultivation. The generic character will be given in another part, with
our description of the exotic oaks in cultivation in these islands. Plates 78 and 79
show the twigs and buds of the pedunculate and sessile oaks, as well as those of
some other species which will be described in a later volume, and the leaves of the
three species now treated and of some of their varieties.
Those wishing to have the latest information on the oak from a physiological
point of view are referred to the late Prof. Marshall Ward's work,^ which contains
many details on points with which we do not propose to deal.
Loudon's account of the oak, covering over 100 closely printed pages, is also
well worth study, especially with regard to the numerous historical trees, the quality
of the timber, and the fungi, galls, and insects which live on or attack the tree.
QUERCUS PEDUNCULATA, Common or Stalked-Cupped Oak
iUi?l^j
Quercus pedunculata, Ehrhait, Beifrdge, v. 161 (1790); l^oudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit. iii. 1731 (1838),
Boswell Syme, Eng. Bot. viii. 145, tab. 1288 (1868).
Quercus Robur, Linnaeus, Sp. PL 996 (ex parte) (1753).
Quercus Robur, L., sub-species />«^aw«/a/'a, DC. Prod. xvi. 2, p. 4 (1864).
Quercus Robur, L., y^x. pedunculata. Hooker, Studenfs Flora of the British Isles, ed. 2, 364 (1878).
A large tree, attaining a height of over 100 feet and a girth of stem of 20 to
30 feet, with the main branches large, long, and irregularly bent.
Bark, when old, irregularly fissured, and gradually increasing to a thickness
of two inches or more. Branchlets^in winter stout, glabrous, angled, grey, with a
five-angled pith and small semicircular leaf-scars, which are set obliquely on
prominent leaf- cushions and show three irregular groups of leaf- traces. Buds
brown, clustered at the ends of the twigs, and arranged alternately (in 2/5 order)
lower on the twigs, arising at an acute angle; blunt -oval, five -angled, with
numerous imbricated scales (in five rows), which are glabrous on the surface and
» The Oak, by H. Marshall Ward, F.R.S. (1892).
282
Common Oak 283
shortly ciliate on the margin. The bud-scales are stipules, which fall off as soon
as the leaves expand.
Leaves, deciduous, sessile or with very short stalks, extremely variable in shape f
...
77
641
78
4th „ ...
• 72
683
84
Alice Holt Woods : —
Lodge Enclosure
40
837
too
Goose Green
• 5°
812
97
Berewoods, planted i8i6
54
771
93
1) II i>
• 70
618
74
In Dean Forest : —
Blakeney Hill, South, planted 1814
72
720
87
Nag's Head Plantation „ „
97
425
57
Bromley Hill Plantation „ 18 12
67
700
84
High Meadow Woods (no date stated).
I St acre ....
30
1528
214
High Meadow Woods (no date stated),
2nd acre ....
50
1480
207
In Richmond Park
Upper Pond, planted 1824
60
672
8r
Kingston Hill, „ 1826
. 46
628
75
Isabella, ,, 1831
68
450
54
Isabella, „ 1845
no
406
49
In the same volume Mr. Ralph Glutton, in an excellent paper on the self-sown
oak woods of Sussex, gives many exact details of the growth of oak without under-
wood, with measurements and valuations, which should be consulted by all land-
owners in that part of England.
Under more favourable circumstances, however, oak plantations may yield a
good profit, as shown by the following extract from the Norfolk Chronicle, sent me by
Sir Hugh Beevor, and printed in Grigor's Eastern Arboretum, p. 360.
" Being enabled from old memoranda of undoubted authority, and from
information received several years ago from different persons, who remembered or
who assisted in the work, to give you, perhaps, an unusually accurate account of the
produce of a piece of land measuring eight acres, planted with acorns in the year
1729, I take the liberty of so doing, and of requesting your insertion of it in your
paper whenever you may have the best opportunity. The piece was under the
plough at that time, cold and unprofitable, froin the practice of underdraining not
being then introduced; at Michaelmas 1729 it was sown with wheat, and acorns
dibbled in ; when reaped, the stubble was left very long, which is supposed to have
caused the plants to run up very straight.
p
II
3o6 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
"Besides a great many used on the ground, from 1729 to 1763, plants were
drawn out and sold to the amount of .
In the year 1764 by 1500 poles sold
1765 by 1374
1767 by 468
1770 by 501
1 771 by 440
1777 by 280
1 78 1 by 150
1793 by loi
1794 by 150
,, 1797 by 30 trees sold
1799 by 100 ,, .
From the year 1800 to 18 10 by 307 trees sold
,, 181 1 to the year 1821 by 94 „ .
„ 1821 „ 1833 by 36 „ .
. ;^IOO
0
0
50
0
0
50
0
0
30
0
0
39
18
0
21
0
0
21
0
0
80
0
0
21
0
0
. 105
0
0
20
0
0
60
0
0
. 389
12
0
219
0
0
108
0
0
jC^3H 10
o
The underwood never came to perfection, but was
stubbed up in the year 1767, and the feed of the
ground let for los. an acre for thirty years
Value of the feed at the same price to the present
time ......
There are now 320 trees standing, worth if now
felled ......
120
144 o o
1 200 o o
;^2778 10 o
" The expenses of felling cannot be now correctly ascertained, but the topwood
is not included in the above account of receipts, nor a great many trees which have
been used on the premises from the year 1 763 to the present time, and at a moderate
estimate must have much more than paid for the expenses of the labour. — Tiios.
Howes, Morningthorpe, April 22nd, 1834."^
The Earl of Darnley showed me an oak in "Mount Meadow," near Cobham,
planted by Lady Elizabeth Brownlow, who was born in the year i8(X), which there-
fore could not be much over 100 years old. It has a straight clean bole measuring
about 40 feet by 12 feet 10 inches, and a small spreading top.
The following extract from a letter of Robert Marsham to Gilbert White is
worth quoting, though I could not identify the tree when I visited the place recently.
" Siraiion, 24M /u/y 1790. — I early began planting, and an oake which I
' Sir Hugh Beevor in 1902 measured eleven of the oaks remaining in this grove, which was nearly all felled in
1885, and found that they averaged 80 to 90 feet high by 8 feet 2 inches in girth at 6 feet, the cubic contents being
about 14s feet each.
Common Oak 307
planted in 1720 is at one foot from the earth 12 feet 6 inches round, and at 14 feet
(the half of the timber length) is 8 feet 2 inches. So measuring the bark as timber
gives 116^ feet buyer's measure. Perhaps you never heard of a larger oak, and the
planter living. I flatter myself that I increased the growth by washing the stem,
and digging a circle as far as I supposed the roots to extend, and spreading sawdust,
etc., as related in the Phil. Trans, vol. Ixvii. p. 12."
Blenkam^ mentions a remarkable instance of rapid growth: — "Three thriving
oaks, growing on a hard gravelly and poor soil, were felled in Nottinghamshire,
which on an average girthed 15 feet at three feet from the ground, and each tree
contained about 430 cubic feet. The trees were planted in 1692 or 1693, and were
about 149 years old when felled. They were perfectly sound and yearly increasing
in size."
In a paper by Mr. Clayton^ a photograph is given of a section across the butt
of an oak felled at Ravenfield Park between Doncaster and Sheffield in 1885, which
had a butt 36 feet long without a branch, and an average diameter of 5 feet, and
which showed only 212 annual rings on a radius of 27! inches. If the actual age
of this tree was only 212 years, its growth must have been unusually rapid, and a
comparison of this with the section of the oak from Wistman's Wood (cf p. 326)
shows how remarkably the growth of trees depends on their situation.
As an illustration of the possible value of a hardwood plantation about forty acres
in area in the Sherwood Forest district, I am able to give the following particulars, for
which Mr. Doig, forester to Earl Manvers is my authority. In White's History
of Sherwood Forest the land in question is called " Robert Fitzorth's land." It now
goes by the name of Osland. It had been in cultivation previous to 1730, about
which time it was planted, or perhaps sown, with beech, oak, ash, chestnut, larch, and
spruce. The conifers had mostly been cut previous to 1846, before which time
there are no records of the value of the thinnings taken from it. Since then the
following have been cut or blown down : —
Number.
Cubic Contents.
Value.
Oak
1801
38.735
;^ 3.732
2
9
Oak poles
1628
8,696
371
5
I
Beech
• 2054
74.213
3.756
0
8
Ash, elm, etc.
63
2,215
123
2
5
Chestnut .
43
1,289
102
4
4
• T.arch and spruce
117
5706
660
26
9
I
125,808
^8,111
4
4
Standing in 1903 : —
Oak .
182
18,200
1,820
0
0
Beech
701
63,090
3.154
10
0
Chestnut .
14
1,336
88
10
0
Larch
5
6608
400
23
6
8
Total
208,834
.^^13.197
II
0
British Timber Trees, 42 (1862). " Trans. Bot. Sec. Edin. xxii. 396.
3o8 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
This shows an average number of trees per acre (omitting the oak poles) of
about 125, and a value of ^320 per acre.
Perhaps the greatest increase of girth on record in the oak is cited by
Gadeau de Kerville' of three oaks which were felled at Neauphe-sur-Dives (Orne)
in Normandy in 1894. Their exact age was not possible to decide, as they were
already trimmed and barked and part of the sapwood taken off, but the rings
counted by M. de Kerville were 115 to 120, and the girths 6.16, 4.98, and 4.28
metres respectively. He thought that they might be from 150 to 200 years at
most, and this would make the average annual increase of the largest, on the section
measured, over 5 centimetres per annum.
Remarkable Trees
The mass of information on the oak which exists in English literature, is so
great, so scattered, and often so impossible to verify, that I have had great difficulty
in making a selection of what is really valuable and authentic, and have preferred
rather to speak of trees and woods that we have seen ourselves, and to quote from
the letters of living correspondents, than to repeat what has been written by
Evelyn, Hunter, Strutt, Selby, Loudon, and other writers, whose works can
always be consulted by those desirous of more detailed particulars than our space
will allow.
Some of the most wonderful oaks of England, which we have seen and now
figure, must be described more particularly, and among these I think the oaks of
Powis Castle come first. Robert Marsham, in a letter communicated by Sir T.
Beevor to the Bath and West of England Societies Transactions, i. 78 (1783),
says: — "The handsomest oak I ever saw was in the Earl of Powis' noble park
by Ludlow in 1757, though it was but 16 feet 3 inches. But it ran straight and
clear of arms, I believe, near full 60 feet, and had a large and fine head."
In April 1904 the Earl of Powis showed me some trees growing in his ancient
park at Powis Castle, near Welshpool, Montgomeryshire, which I believe to be actually
the champion oaks of Great Britain at the present time. They grow on a Silurian
formation at about 300 to 400 feet elevation, with an east aspect, and are, as far as
one can judge, perfectly sound in the butt, though one of them lost several branches
during the dry seasons between 1893 and 1903, and another has a large decayed
limb which, if not taken off, may cause the butt to decay.
The measurements which I give were made most carefully by Mr. W. F.
Addie, agent for the Powis estates, who used a long ladder and a man to climb
nearly all over them and take the length and girth of the principal branches down
to 6 inches quarter-girth. I checked the height and girth of the trunks myself as
carefully as possible, and believe that the following is a very accurate estimate.
1 Le$ vieux arbres de la Normandie, iii. 373 (1895).
Common Oak
309
Girth at Ground.
Height of
Bole.
Girth at 4 Feet
6 inches.
Height of
Tree.
Cubic Contents.
Feet. Inches.
Feet.
Feet. Inches.
Feet.
Feet.
No. I. The Champion Tree, by
31 7
25
23 6
i°5
2026
middle gate (Plate 82) ^
No. 2. Near the Park Plain
40 0
12
29 7
95
1925
(Plate 83)1
The girth of this tree at the
top of the trunk, where the
tall straight branches begin
is 38 feet 3 inches.
No. 3. By Pochfield gate (Plate
32
20
22 6
95
1617
84)2
No. 4. In Gwen Morgan Wood
30
31
19 4
93
1432
Of the extraordinary size to which oaks have attained in this district we have a
record which is without parallel in this or any country. My attention was called to
it by the Earl of Powis, who, knowing the locality, believes it to be true. It is taken
from a work called Collections Relating to Montgomeryshire, xiii. 424-425 (1880),
published by the Powysland Club at Welshpool, and runs as follows : —
"In 1793 and 1796 a large fall of oak timber took place at Vaynor park in the
parish of Berriew, when some trees of enormous dimensions were cut down. Major
Corbett Winder has kindly favoured us with a copy of the following memorandum
of the particulars of the contents of some of the largest trees : —
" Dimensions of twenty- six of the largest oaks cut down in Vaynor Park in
1793 and 1796.
). of Tree.
Feet.
No. of Tree.
Feet.
No. of Tree.
Feet.
I.
I127
10.
1523
19-
1516
2.
II2I
li.
1859
20.
1428
3-
2501
12.
1328
21.
1298
4-
2202
13-
1808
22.
1077
5-
1713
14.
1793
23-
I161
6.
1106
»5-
1289
24.
1018
7.
I4S3
16.
I lOI
25-
1170
8.
1953
«7.
1467
26.
1322
9-
1 192
18.
1246
Total : 37,772 cubic feet, averaging 1452^ cubic feet per tree"
The counties of Hereford, Worcester, Shropshire, and Stafford have produced
and perhaps still contain the largest oaks in England, next to those I have just
mentioned, but the long years of agricultural depression which have impoverished so
many of the squires of England, have caused the felling of many of the finest.
Among these the most celebrated was the Hereford Monarch which grew at
Tyberton, near the house of Chandos Lee Warner, Esq., to whom I am indebted for
two copies of a print taken from drawings which were made by G. L. Lewis, and
published in a scarce work called Portraits of British Forest Trees? One of
' The photographs from which these plates are reproduced were taken in June 1904 by Mr. R. G. Tester of Uurford.
' This plate is from a photograph taken in 1906 by Lord Powis. ' Vale, Hereford, 1837.
3IO The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
these shows the tree in summer, the other in winter, and prove it to have been
a tree of faultless shape and beauty, if not quite equal in bulk to the Champion
Oak at Powis Castle. I visited the site of this tree in 1905, but the stump was
no longer visible, and the soil, though a good deep red loam, did not show in the
other trees any striking evidence of unusual fertility.
Its measurements, as given me by Messrs. Openshaw of Woofferton Court, to
whom 1 am indebted for many particulars about trees in their district, were as
follows : —
Butt . . 30 feet by 55^^ inches quarter-girth "» .
Second length . 60 ,, ,, 26 „ „ J
One branch . 18 ,, „ 42 „ „ 220 „
Other branches more or less damaged by lightning, about . 400 „
1543 feet.
A record of the tree was sent me by Messrs. Stooke and Sons of Palace Yard,
Hereford, as follows: — "The Hereford Monarch. — An Oak tree, containing 1200
cubic feet, felled in Tyberton Park, ten miles from Hereford, April 1877. Length
of tree, cut off at 18 inches diameter, 88 feet. Length of butt only 2Q)\ feet.
Height of tree when growing 130 feet. Circumference at 5 feet from the ground
22 feet 8 inches. Photograph taken of tree as felled, and showing the larger
bough as shattered by lightning. Purchased by Messrs. R. and T. Groom and
Sons, Wellington, Salop."
Mr. T. E. Groom of Hereford, whose firm bought it, informed me that though
the tree would have been worth about ^300 before it was struck, it did not actually
cost them more than ^200. It was felled in consequence of its having been dis-
figured by a stroke of lightning. Before this it waS a perfectly sound tree with over
1500 feet of timber in it. It was still growing and might have become much larger.
The butt was quartered and sold to a vat maker who cut it all into thin rims.
At the end of the 30 feet of butt were two parallel spires each containing several
hundred feet. The larger one was so much broken that it had but little useful timber
left in it. The smaller was 60 feet long and about 2 feet in diameter at the top end.
This was cut up into railway planking. The tree also made several thousand keys
and trenails used on the railway.
Another immense tree was felled in Staffordshire on May 29, 1786, of which
Messrs. Openshaw give me the following particulars : — " It grew in the middle of the
Grove field on Bath farm, Chillington estate, and measured as follows : —
Butt, 30 feet by 60 inches = 750 feet at 5s,
Limbs (22), 560 at is. 8d.
Thirteen cords of wood at los. 6d.
The root ....
2\ tons bark
;^i87 10 o
46 13 4
770
2 10 o
880
;^252 8 4
Common Oak 3 1 1
" No branches under 9 inches quarter-girth were included in the above. Twelve
men worked twelve hours each in felling this tree."
One of the tallest oaks which I have ever measured in England is a compara-
tively young tree in perfect health and vigour, which, though not shut in by other
trees, appears to be still growing, and may even attain a greater height. It stands
on the edge of a plantation at the bottom of a steep slope facing north-east in Whit-
field Park, Herefordshire, the seat of Capt. Percy Clive, who showed it me in 1906.
A careful measurement from both sides made it 130 feet high, or perhaps a little
more, by 1 1 feet 10 inches in girth, with a straight bole of 55 feet free from branches,
though two or three small ones had been cut off four years ago. For symmetry and
height combined I have not seen its equal in England, and the photograph of it
taken by Mr. Foster, though under the circumstances a very good one, fails to give a
correct idea of its great height (Plate 85). The soil is old red sandstone, and the
tree is of the sessile type.
At Foxley, near Hereford, the seat of the Rev. G. H. Davenport, are many fine
oaks, all of which, so far as I saw, are sessile. The best is about 104 feet high by 20
feet girth, with a bole of 20 feet. In the Nash Wood there is a superb lot of young
oaks with the tallest and cleanest stems in proportion to their thickness I have seen
in England. They may average 90 feet high, and one which I measured was clean
and straight to 62 feet and only 3 feet 4 inches in girth. Mr. Davenport believes
them to be sixty to seventy years old, and if well taken care of they should in
a hundred years be some of the finest of their type in England.
The largest oaks now standing in Herefordshire that I know of are at Holm
Lacy, one of which, a short-boled spreading tree now much decayed, was in 1905
75 feet by 30 feet 2 inches, and 125 yards in circumference of the branches. The
other, 90 to 95 feet high, with a bole 25 feet by 23 feet 9 inches, is vigorous and
healthy, though perhaps not quite sound.
In Lord Leigh's park at Stoneleigh Abbey, Warwickshire, are many fine old
oaks, relics of the Forest of Arden, which grow on a red sandstone soil, and are in
many cases long past their prime. The largest stands near the Abbey, and is 28 feet
3 inches in girth ; though the top is much broken and decayed, the butt seems sound.
Another, just outside the Tantarra Lodge, is a vigorous tree of later date, and
measures 22 feet 10 inches in girth, with a fine spreading crown ; a third, near the river,
is 27 feet 5 inches in girth. The most interesting, however — of which I hope to
give an illustration later — is Shakespeare's Oak, so called from the tradition that
Shakespeare used to sit and write under it. It grows on the top of a low sandstone
cliff, over which at least half the thickness of its trunk projects, and is supported entirely
by the roots on the other side to which it leans ; it measures no less than 25 feet in
girth, and though deeply cleft on one side and hollow, has vigorous branches.
The oak grove at Kyre Park, Worcestershire, the property of Mrs. Baldwyn
Childe, was first noticed by the Woolhope Club, who visited it in 1893, '^^'^
described later by Sir Hugh Beevor, who published a short account of it.' I
had the pleasure of visiting this wonderful grove in March 1904, when some
' Trans, of tht English Arboriciiltural Society, v. 473.
312 The Trees of Great Britain and Lreland
photographs were taken (Plates 86 and 87), which give a good idea of the
remarkable size and height of the trees. The soil is a good deep loam on
the red sandstone formation. The grove is un fenced and has been open to
cattle for many years, and there is no visible evidence of the trees having been
drawn up by beech. The majority of them are of the sessile variety, though some
are pedunculate oaks, as proved by specimens kindly sent me by Mrs. Baldwyn
Childe and by the observation of her very obliging agent, Mr. J. W. Openshaw,
who found six trees of the pedunculate to about twenty-four of the sessile form.
Sir Hugh Beevor speaks of them as sessile, and at the time I was there it was
difificult to distinguish one from the other. As to their age, Mr. Openshaw writes
that he could not count the rings because they were so minute, but from the
evidence of Habingdon's History of Worcestershire, written in the time of Queen
Elizabeth, they must be very old. Habingdon says : — " The Parcke of Cure
Wyard is not to be shutt up in silence, for it is adorned with so many tall and
mightie oakes as scarce any ground in England within that quantity of akers can
showe so many." Most of these trees do not show decay in their tops like so
many of our great park oaks, and may thrive for centuries to come.
Sir Hugh Beevor 's measurements of their height agree very fairly with my
own, but exact measurements of the heights of such trees are difficult to obtain,
and they are not so remarkable for their girth as for the way in which they run up
with clean stems to a great height. The two tallest are certainly over 130
feet by my own measurements in 1907. Sir Hugh Beevor gives 78 and 79
feet as the first length of two, and one which was blown down in 1897 was
82 feet to the first limb, though only 16 inches in quarter-girth, and with
no measurable tops. These trees show very few burrs, but some have large
buttresses at the base.' The largest, according to Mr. Openshaw, has a stem 83 feet
long by 17 feet 8 inches in girth at 5 feet, and contains 103 1 cubic feet of timber.
Fourteen of them contain over 600 feet, and the smallest tree in the grove has
97 feet, which is considered a big oak in many districts. The tree I have figured
(Plate 86), with Kyre House in the background, is on the outside of the grove,
and of different type from most of them. It is the third largest tree in contents,
having 694 cubic feet in the butt and 150 cubic feet in the tops. I made it
1 1 5 feet high by 1 8 feet 6 inches at 5 feet, and it looks vigorous and is growing
fast. The other tree figured (Plate 87) is 85 feet to the first limb, 13 feet 6
inches in girth at 5 feet, and contains 604 feet in the butt, and 1 1 2 in the tops.
The measurements given below, taken by Mr. Openshaw, may be thoroughly
relied on. They were taken in the usual way by strap, and good allowance
made for taper. The heights were taken with the help of a long pole ; and both
Mr. Openshaw and his father, who has probably as much experience in measuring
big oaks for sale as anyone in England, are confident that the grove contains more
than they have estimated, though no doubt a quantity of the timber would be
broken in falling if cut. Of this, however, there is not the least risk in the lifetime
of the present owner, who is much interested in, and very proud of her trees.
' One of these measures no less than 44 feet round the base, and at five feet from the ground is 20 feet in girth.
Common Oak
313
" Kyre Park. — Measure of oak trees in Woodpatch grove made by John
W. Openshaw, November 1904. The tape girths are over bark taken at 5 feet. The
quarter-girth is the middle of first length taken under bark. Eleven trees removed
(1883, 1887, 1897) contained 2990 feet, average 272 feet. Ninety-seven trees now
standing contain 38,365 feet, growing on 5 acres, 2 roods, 19 poles of land; an
average of 395! feet per tree. A hundred and eight trees contained 41,365 cubic
feet, an average of 383 feet per tree. There remain distinct traces of sixty and
indistinct traces of ten trees having been removed, including the eleven referred to
above."
Contents.
Number
(in Mr. Open-
Shaw's Table).
Girth at 5 Feet
High.
length of
Stem.
Quarter-
Girth.
Total Content
of Tree.
Remarks.
Trunk.
Tops.
No.
Feet. Inches.
Feet.
Inches.
Feet.
Feet.
Feet.
10
21 6
65
54
644
129
773
Very large spurs at base.
13
15 0
61
40
538
83
621
16
17 6
49
45
447
156
603
23
19 6
72
30
450
200
650
Blown down, 1904.
25
17 0
28
45
393
258
651
Forks.
57
18 0
73
45
421
249
670
Forks.
60
13 6
85
32
604
112
716
Tree in group.
62
17 5
60
40
666
224
890
63
19 6
45
46
447
184
631
72
IS 9
88
42
573
60
633
78
15 2
62
36
558
145
703
79
18 9
75
50
694
150
844
Single tree in photo., facing
Kyre House.
81
16 6
69
41
532
160
692
Leans, large top.
82
14 0
82
35
522
no
632
91
17 8
83
47
851
1 80
1031
Ivy growing, largest tree.
97
14 5
95
34
633
100
733
By holly tree.
11.473
There is an oak of remarkable size in another part of the Kyre estate called the
Mannings, growing on high ground exposed to the north, in a rough pasture
overgrown with trees, which no doubt have drawn it up in youth. It is 113 feet
in total height, with a trunk nearly straight to about 90 feet high, where the head
begins^ and 15 feet 10 inches in girth. Mr. Openshaw and I estimated its contents
as follows : —
1st length
2nd „
3rd „
18 feet by 48 inches = 288 feet.
20 ,, 40 .. = 222 „
50 ,, 24 ,, = 200 „
710 feet.
;^ioo was refused for this tree a few years ago.
There is also in the deer park a circle with a diameter of fifty yards formed by
ten (formerly twelve) oaks of great age and very spreading in habit, and a very
II Q
314 "Tht Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
ancient oak near by, called the Gibbet Oak, on which tradition says that criminals
were formerly hung in chains.
Of the diflficulty and risk of removing some of these immense trees when steam
traction engines were not in use by timber merchants, Mr. Openshaw gave me an
excellent instance which he actually saw himself A very large oak was felled in
a field near Woofiferton and sold to a naval timber buyer at Exeter. It was so
long and heavy that two of the largest timber carriages were fastened together,
and 28 horses brought to get it away. In rolling it up on to the carriage one of
the chains got round a horse's leg, but they dared not stop to clear it, and the
horse was killed. Mr. Openshaw saw the carriage coming down the road with the
log on it, and, believing that it could not pass through the turnpike gate, warned
the woman who kept it, to get out of the house, as if the log touched it the house
would certainly come down. The man in charge of the team, however, ran on in
front and steered the leaders so accurately through the gate that, with an inch to
spare, it got past in safety.
It seems probable that many of the great oaks in England which are now
decayed, owe their lives to the cost and risk of converting and removing them in the
days when there were no railways, and good roads were scarce or absent.
TAe Nunupton Oak. — The remains of a very large fallen oak, not, however,
so big as the one at Croft Castle, is described in the Transactions of the Woolhope
Naturalists Field Club, 1870, p. 307. It had long been hollow, and was large enough
to contain forty-two sheep at once. It was alive and covered with leaves up till
about 1 85 1, when it was set on fire by accident, and was felled soon afterwards, with
what object 1 do not know. In 1870 it was 60 feet long and 26 feet 8 inches in
girth, and was still lying in much the same condition when I visited it in 1 904.
According to the late Mr. Edwin Lees, whose knowledge of the botany of
Worcestershire was very accurate, and whose sketches of old trees, some of which
I have, through the kindness of his widow, been allowed to copy, the finest old
oak in the county known to him in 1867 stood in a field near the Severn, below
Holt, and was known as the Boar Stag Oak. It measured about 34 feet in girth
at 3 feet from the base, and might be roughly calculated at 800 years old.
Other remarkable oaks in Worcestershire were described and figured by W. G.
Smith, in the Gardeners Chronicle, 1873, p. 1497. They grew in the Lug Meadows,
near Moreton, and were known as Adam and Eve. When the Shrewsbury and
Hereford Railway was made, Eve, which measured 25 feet in girth, and was quite
hollow, was converted by the navvies into a residence : the top was thatched in,
a brick fireplace built, and a door fitted, and for months after the line was opened
this tree was the only residence of the stationmaster, and was afterwards converted
into a lamp-room and so used for fourteen years.
The finest oaks that I know of in Somersetshire are at Nettlecombe Court, the
seat of Sir Walter Trevelyan, Bart. When staying at Dunster Castle, in March
1904, Mr. Luttrell was good enough to give me an opportunity of seeing them. He
told me that at a previous time, which, from the information received from the agents
for the property, I gather to have been about 1847, but Mr. Luttrell thinks it was
Common Oak 315
earlier, ;i^40,ooo was offered for about forty acres of oak timber on this property ; and
an old man at Nettlecombe said that the tools were actually brought to the place
ready to fell them, when the owner changed his mind and they were allowed to stand.
A considerable part of these oaks have been since felled, but a magnificent grove still
remains on the slopes of a combe, at an elevation of five to six hundred feet on the
south-west side of Nettlecombe Park, facing to the north and east, and on a soil
locally called " shiletty," which is a reddish rocky formation, overlaid by a thin
layer of rubbly stone, probably old red sandstone, which would appear too thin and
dry to produce big oak timber. The age of these trees, so far as I could judge
by counting the rings of one which had been blown down, is not more than 200
to 250 years, but some may possibly be much older.' The majority are very clean
and free from limbs to from 40 to 60 feet up, and average 10 to 12 feet in
girth. One, about 210 years old and over 100 feet long, was 3 feet in diameter at
the butt, and had fifty annual rings in a radius of 9 inches near the heart, but outside
of this the growth had been much slower. I had not time to measure them
carefully, or estimate the number now standing on an acre ; but two of the finest
trees on the steep banks of the combe were 116 by 14 feet, with a bole 65 feet
long; another was 116 by i6 feet, with a bole of 50 feet by 36 inches quarter-
girth. The thickest trees, which I did not measure, are on the outside of the grove.
Assuming the price of ;^iooo per acre to have been based on 4s, per foot for
the butts, which for trees of this size and character would, sixty years ago, have
been about the value, and the trees to have averaged 200 cubic feet, there would
have been perhaps forty trees to the acre, averaging jC^S each, and though the
cubic contents do not come up to what we are told is produced in some of the
picked areas of oak forest in France and Germany, I have never heard of an actual
sale of any timber in England at so high a price.
At Hazlegrove, Somersetshire, the property of the Rev. A. St. John Mildmay, is
a remarkably fine oak, reported to be the largest in the county. It is about 75 feet
high by 29 feet 9 inches at 5 feet from the ground, and at ground level spreads out
to no less than about 18 yards in circumference. Though it seems sound, yet it
has a rent on the north-east side, as though struck by lightning, and many of the
largest limbs have been broken by wind, and are mended with lead. A drawing
of it, made in 1833 when it seems to have been in full vigour, is in Hazlegrove
House.
In Melbury Park, Dorsetshire, the seat of the Earl of Ilchester, there is an
extraordinary oak, known as Billy Wilkin's Oak (Plate 88), which swells into an
immense burry trunk, 38 feet in girth at the ground, and 35 feet at 5 feet up.
Above this it falls away a good deal, and is only about 50 feet high. Like all
the trees I have seen of this type, of which perhaps it is the largest in England,
it is of the pedunculate variety, and bears acorns abundantly.
At Longleat, Wilts, which has a most beautifully timbered park, and is one
of the finest places in England, there is an extremely fine tall oak growing in the
• The Rev. Mr. Hancock, who is a connection of the Trevelyans of Nettlecombe, says that he has always heard that
they were planted about 1600, when part of the existing house was built
3i6 The Trees of Great Britain and Iceland
grove of limes which I shall describe later, in a position which makes it difficult to
photograph. This tree measures about loo feet high by 23 feet in girth, and has
a fine clean bole of 40 feet. It contains, according to Mr. A. C. Forbes's estimate,
about 950 feet of timber.
The finest oak I have seen in Devonshire is in the park of the Hon. Mark
Rolle at Bicton, a place long celebrated for its arboretum and for its avenue of
Araucarias, which I have elsewhere described. It measures about 78 feet high by
24 feet 8 inches girth at 3 feet, and has a spread of branches of 103 feet in diameter.
There are some fine but not extraordinary oaks at Powderham Castle and at
Poltimore in the same county.
Near Mottisfont Abbey, Hants, there is a very thick but short pollard oak on the
banks of the Test, of which a photograph, by Mr. J. Bailey, Southampton, has been
kindly sent me by Mrs. Meinertzhagen, who long resided at Mottisfont. It measures 32
feet in girth and spreads considerably, and, though evidently of very great age, is full
of healthy foliage. It must have been frequently flooded, as it stands close to the river.
Near Bramley, Hants, by the road leading to "The Vine," is an oak, which
Henry measured in 1905, 100 feet by 22 feet, and which seems quite sound.
There are, so far as I know, no oaks now living in the New Forest which are
remarkable for their size as compared with the trees I have mentioned.
Of the historical parks of England I know none which contains so many fine
oaks as Bagot's Park, near Rugeley, Staffordshire. This must be one of the
oldest parks in England, for though Lord Bagot cannot tell me the exact date
of its enclosure, he states that it belonged to his family long before 1367, and that
in the "Peregrinations of Dr. Boarde, temp. Henry VIII.," printed at the end
of Hearne's Benedictus Abba, p. 795, " Baggotte's Park " is mentioned in the list
of Staffordshire parks. It is generally said to contain 1500 acres within the pale,
but varies from time to time, as land has been added in some places and taken out
in others for planting, to be again restored when the woods are grown.
This practice seems to be well worthy of more general adoption, for no one who
is acquainted with the condition of the trees in many of our oldest parks can have
failed to notice, that they are as a rule going back ; and as trees cannot be successfully
raised to a great height if deer are not excluded — unless enclosures of considerable
size are made about once in a generation, in which trees can be properly drawn up to
a sufficient height, before they are thinned and the deer admitted — the time must come,
and in some cases already has come, when nothing but wrecks are left, and the singly
planted trees, though protected by iron or wooden guards at great cost, are a mere
mockery of their predecessors.
The soil in Bagot's Park is poor and cold, being a moist gravelly loam upon a
clay or marl bottom, and Lord Bagot says it is not worth los. per acre at the present
time. It affords, however, an excellent proof of the fact that land which is not
valuable from an agricultural point of view, may often be of great value for
planting. The woods extend over many hundred acres and consist almost wholly
of oak, mostly, I believe, of the pedunculate variety. Many of the trees are of
great age, being mentioned by Dr. Plot in 1686 as full-grown timber.
Common Oak 317
I visited it in March 1904, and, though the weather was dull, Mr. Foster was
able to secure some excellent photographs, of which I reproduce the following : —
Plate 89 represents the Beggar's Oak, which has been well figured by Strutt
in his plate No. 2, and though eighty years have elapsed since that picture was
taken, a comparison with my plate shows that very little change has taken place in
the tree — thanks to the care with which it has been treated by successive owners,
who Iwve worthily kept up the spirit described by Strutt in his account of this tree.
It now measures, as nearly as I could estimate, 62 feet high, with a bole
of about 33 feet long, and a girth of 24 feet. The roots measure 25 paces round,
and the branches cover an area of 114 paces round (according to Lord Bagot's
measurement 7850 square feet). It is one of the finest and best-preserved oaks of its
type that I know, for though the Major Oak in Sherwood Forest (Plate 95) is bigger,
it is not nearly so sound ; and the Bourton Oak (Plate 93), which is taller and
in better condition, is not so large in girth or so spreading at the base.
Another very fine tree in this park is the Squitch Bank Oak, also figured by
Strutt (Plate 34), who gives its measurements as follows: — height, 61 feet; girth,
21 feet 9 inches; contents, 1012 feet. When I saw it in 1905 its top was dead, and
the butt seemed to be decaying at the base internally. I measured it as about 60 feet
by 24 feet 10 inches, so that it has increased three feet in girth in eighty years.
The Beggar's Oak, in the same time, has increased rather more, but in measuring
the girth of such trees as this a few inches higher or lower will often make a great
difference, and therefore these rates of increase cannot be considered exact.
Other great trees in this park mentioned by Strutt were the Rakeswood Oak, the
Long Coppice Oak, and the twisted oak on the Squitch Bank, which, though I
did not see them, still survive. In the Horsepool grove are a number of younger
but very tall and straight trees, which have been grown close together, and which
Lord Bagot's old woodman, W. Jackson (now dead), said he "could remember
so thick that you could hardly swing an axe amongst them." Of these, one, which
was called Lord Bagot's Walking-Stick, is the straightest and cleanest oak I ever
saw in England, though recently struck by lightning ; another was 95 feet by
8 feet 6 inches, with a clean stem 65 feet high. On the other side of the park,
at the west end of the grove called the Cliffs, are a number of splendid trees of great
size. Two of them, standing near each other, are figured in Plate 90. Of these,
the one in the foreground measures about 112 feet by 16 feet 8 inches, with a bole
35 feet high and four great erect limbs. The other, about the same height and a
foot less in girth, has a clean bole 45 feet high. One hundred pounds was offered
and refused for it. In the same grove, farther east, is an oak with a bole about
40 feet by 15 feet 3 inches, twisted from right to left, and another called the
King Oak, which, though now partly hollow, has been perhaps the finest timber oak
in the park (Plate 91). It is now about 100 feet high, but has been taller, as the
topmost branches are dead, with a straight clean bole 21 feet 3 inches in girth, and
must have contained over icx30 feet of timber. It is stated' that in 181 2 jCzoo was
offered for the first length of this tree, estimated at 1 2s. per foot, and ;^93 for the
> Card. Chrott. xvi. 230 (i88i).
3i8 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
remainder, including the bark, estimated at ;^i4 per ton. Near it is a tree of great
height, leaning at an angle of about one in four to one side, though quite firm in the
ground ; and it seemed to me that all the trees in this grove owed their great height
and clean stems to their having been drawn up by beech trees, many of which are
now dead or dying. Close to the Park Lodge are three very curious and picturesque
old trees, one of which is called the Venison Oak, because King John is supposed
to have dined under it ; another, which we christened the Beer-barrel, is an immense
burry shell lo or 12 feet high and 28 feet round, with hardly any branches ; a third
we called Gouty Toes, because of a huge swollen root, like a gouty foot, on one
side of it.
Dr. Plot, in his Natural History of Staffordshire, p. 213, after speaking of
different species of trees growing together, among which were an oak and an ash
near Chartley, hollies and oaks at Bagot's Park, and an oak and thorn at Drayton
Basset, goes on to speak of trees "that grow so conjoynd that they seem
(after the manner of some sort of animals) to prey upon one another," and
says : " But the most signal example of this kind is the large fair birch, about
the bigness of one's thigh, that grows on the bole of an oak in the lane leading
south from Adbaston Church, which has sent down its roots in six branches
perpendicularly through the whole length of its trunk and fastened them in the
ground, which might be seen in a hole cut in the bottom of the oak ; having eaten
out the bowells of the old tree (as all the rest will doe) that first gave it life and then
support. All which are occasioned, no doubt, by the seeds of those trees dropt by
birds in the mould on the boles of the others that lyes commonly there, and is made
of the annual rottings of their own leaves."
He goes on to speak of another great oak, " lying near the Lodge house in Ellen
Hall Park, of so vast a bulk that my man upon a horse of 15 hands high, standing on
one side of it, and I also on horseback on the other could see no part of each other " ;
and also of an oak that " was felled about twenty years since in Wrottesley Park which,
as the worthy Sir Walter Wrottesley (a man far from vanity of imposition) seriously
told me, was 15 yards in girth." — " How much less in bigness and number of tuns
the oak might be that grew in the New Park at Dudley, and made the table now
lying in the old hall at Dudley Castle, is not remembered, but certainly it must be
a tree of prodigious height and magnitude out of which a table all of one plank
could be cut, 25 yards 3 inches long and wanting but 2 inches of a yard in breadth
for the whole length, from which they were forced (it being so much too long for
the hall at Dudley) to cut off 7 yards 9 inches, which is the table in the hall at
Corbins Hall hard by, the ancient seat of the Corbins."
In the park at Merevale Hall, Warwickshire, the seat of W. F. S. Dugdale, Esq.,
are a quantity of very fine and tall oaks, which rival those at Bagot's Park, and are,
according to Sir H. Maxwell, of the sessile variety, though when I saw them they
were not in leaf. They stand at a considerable elevation, on a dry and seemingly
rather shallow red sandstone. Many of them are 100 feet and more in height, with
clean trunks of 40 to 60 feet long.
The best that I could find measured as follows: — 112 feet by 13 feet, with a
Common Oak 319
straight bole 65 feet long; 107 feet by 15 feet, with a clean bole of 70 feet, and
probably containing about 600 feet of timber; 107 feet by 17 feet 3 inches, with
a bole 48 feet long, and about the same cubic contents as the last; 114 feet by
15^ feet, bole about 60. This last is, I believe, the same tree which Mr. Dugdale
had measured some years ago, when it was thought to be 133 feet high; but I do
not think it can be nearly so much, the sloping ground on which it stands making a
base line difficult to get. He tells me that these trees are believed to have been
planted by the monks who lived at Merevale Abbey at the foot of the hill, which
would make them at least 370 years old, and that most of them have now passed
their best. The timber being very straight in the grain is largely used for cleaving
spokes.
Chirk Castle in Denbighshire, the seat of R. Myddleton, Esq., and one of the
most ancient inhabited castles in England, is in a park full of oaks, most of which
I believe to be of the sessile variety. They are not of great age, having been
planted, as Mr. Parker, agent for the property, told me, after the Commonwealth,
but are remarkable on account of their uniformly straight boles 30 to 60 feet high.
They grow on millstone-grit, where the rock comes very near the surface, on land
where the pedunculate variety would not, I think, make nearly such fine trees. I
only measured two, one just below the castle which was lOO feet by 1 1 feet 8 inches,
with a straight clean bole of 60 feet ; another, probably of greater age, about 90 feet
by 18 feet 2 inches, was beginning to decay at the base. A curious growth is seen
on an oak in this drive, a branch having grown out of one stem into another, some-
what in the same style as the beech in Plate 4 of this work.
The trees in the Great Park of Windsor have been described by many writers,
and especially by the late Mr. William Menzies in a rare folio published by Longmans
in 1864,' which gives photographs of some of the finest trees, these being, so far as
I know, the first large photographic plates of trees published, and, considering the
imperfect development of the art forty years ago, wonderfully good.
They show Queen Victoria's Favourite Oak, which was chosen by her late
Majesty shortly after her accession, and which stands with the three other royal
trees between High Standing Hill and New Lodge. This is a very well shaped
tree of fair size, 70 feet high and 1 1 feet in girth when Menzies measured it in
1864. Now, as I am informed by Mr. Simmonds, it has increased only 9 inches
in girth. Queen Anne's Oak, a very handsome tree in shape, but past its prime,
though supposed to be only 400 years old, measured 60 feet in height by 15 feet
3 inches in girth. Queen Charlotte's Oak, a tree of no special beauty, was 65 feet
high by 17 feet 3 inches in girth. The great Pollard Oak at Forest Gate, known
as William the Conqueror's Oak, and figured in the Supplement to Gardeners
Chronicle, 31st October 1874, supposed by Menzies to be 800 years old, though
about 37 feet in girth, and the largest in the forest, is now a wreck ; but
there are near the Prince Consort's chapel, and in the Cowpond grove, many
beautiful tall and straight-grown oaks, one of which, growing near the culvert of the
pond, measured by me in March 1904, was from 114 to 118 feet high and 10 feet
' History of Windsor Great Park and Windsor Forest,
320 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
lo inches in girth. For this tree Mr. Simmons told me, ;^ioo was offered to make
the keel of a ship forty or fifty years ago. It should live for many years, and may
perhaps become the finest timber oak in Windsor Forest.
Mr. Menzies gives ^ an excellent explanation of the old custom of pollarding
oaks and beeches, which has produced the picturesque veterans which are so
common in most of our really old parks. For the support of the deer in
winter it was customary to lop off the boughs of the oak and beech. The law
required that no bough should be cut larger than a buck could turn over with
its horns, and after they had been stripped by the deer these branches became
the perquisite of the keepers, under the name of "fireboote," or "houseboote."
Any timber fit for the navy could not be cut without the sign manual of the
King, a rule yet extant ; but in times of civil war, and in royal forests which were
granted to favourites in the times of the Stuarts, the keepers often cut and sold
as timber or firewood a great deal more than the deer needed ; and notwith-
standing that these matters were investigated by James I. with his national and
personal thriftiness, and that the surveyors whom he employed were spoken of by the
country people as "shroade and terrible men,"^ these abuses increased to such a
point that the growing scarcity of naval timber was a common complaint for centuries.
There is no doubt that browse or lop, being the natural winter food of deer
in hard weather, is more suitable for them than beans and maize, which is now
given in so many places probably to save trouble. I find in my own park that
ash and elm are the favourites, and beech the next best lop for deer, and only give
hay when the ground is frozen or covered with snow ; but many parks are so
overstocked with deer and with cattle in summer that in February and March
the former must have some extra food, or a heavy death-rate follows.
Gloucestershire is not famous for fine oaks, though the Boddington Oak, near
Tewkesbury, now gone, must have been an exceptionally large tree. The Newland
Oak, near Coleford, is an immense pollard, with a short burry trunk no less than
43 feet in girth. An excellent photograph of it has been published as a postcard
by Mr. J. W. Porter of Coleford. There are some fine ones in the Winchcombe
Valley, near Sudeley Castle, one of which is 2^^ feet in girth ; but in the Vale of
Gloucester elms are commoner than oaks, and I know none of special note, though
Mr. J. R. Yorke tells me of a large tree still standing near Forthampton Court.
The largest I have seen are in Witcombe Park, the seat of W. H. Hicks-
Beach, Esq., a small but picturesque park lying under the steep Birdlip Hill.
Here on fertile clay soil, facing north and west, are a number of very fine trees,
which, judging from the rings counted on one of the largest which has recently been
felled, are not so old as they appear to be. This tree, which measured about
90 feet by 17J feet, and contained 400 to 500 cubic feet, was only about 210 years
old, and beginning to fail in the upper branches, which were dying off. The largest
tree, in a very exposed position, has lost some of its biggest limbs, and measures
25 feet in girth at about 5 feet from the ground, and 50 feet round the roots at the
base. A very tall, well - shaped, handsome tree, with its bole clean and straight
' op. at, 7. 2 Arthur Standish, TAe Common Good.
Common Oak 321
for 30 to 40 feet, stands on high ground in the centre of the park ; and at the bottom
of the hill near the house is a pollard which seems sound, and is 24^ feet in
girth at the smallest part of its trunk.
In a grove near Campden, close to Norton House, which has been lately restored
by the Earl of Harrowby, I was shown a remarkably tall and clean oak over 100 feet
high with a straight bole clean for 60 feet, but only 7 feet 5 inches in girth.
Near Bourton-on-the- Water, on the east side of the road to Stow, stands a
pedunculate oak which, of its type, is almost equal in size to any I have seen,
and which is specially remarkable on account of the perfect condition of all
its branches, which, as Plate 93 shows, are growing to the very tips, and which
spread over an area of 1 1 5 paces in circumference, equal to that of the Beggar's
Oak. This tree grows in a grass field on the property of Mrs. Butler of Wick Hill,*
It measures about 85 feet high by 22^ in girth, and has the appearance of having
been pollarded at about 12 feet up very early in life. There are some fine tall
oaks at Wick Hill, not far off, measuring 85 feet by 14 feet and 80 feet by 13 feet, and
there are still some big ones in the cow pastures at Sherborne Park in the same
district. But the best of these were felled fifty years ago by the father of the
present Lord Sherborne, who has never ceased to lament their loss.
There are many superb oaks in Earl Spencer's park at Althorp, Northants,
which were carefully measured by the former forester, Mr. Mitchell, now at Woburn.
Lord Spencer's ancestors were evidently great lovers of trees, and followed a
practice which is much to be admired. In Althorp Park are several inscribed stones,
giving the date of planting and the name of the planter. The earliest of these is in
the Heronry, and is dated 1568.
Of the others one reads as follows — Another has the legend —
This Wood was planted by This Wood was planted
Robert Lord Spencer by Sir William Spencer, Knight of the Bath
In the year of our Lord, in the year of our Lord
1602-1603 1624
Up and be doing, and God will prosper
When one sees how small are the trees planted about 3CX) years ago, when
compared with the older trees, one realises the immense time it takes for such oaks
to grow. The finest at Althorp is shown on Plate 94. It grows near a farmyard,
and is No. 8 in Mitchell's list.^ It measures about 90 feet in height, and carries
a thick straight stem up to about 45 feet high, and girths 19 feet 6 inches at 5 feet.
It must contain at least 1000 feet of timber, and is apparently sound, healthy, and
growing, with no signs of decay in the top.'
There are some very fine oaks in Burleigh Park, Stamford, the seat of the
' In 1906 I saw this tree again, and found that a large fungus had attacked its trunk, and that some of the branches were
showing signs of decay at the ends. Steps are being taken to preserve it as far as possible.
2 A description of some of the finest trees at this place is given in Trans. Scottish Arb. Sot: xiii. 83.
' Sir Hugh Beevor measured fifteen oaks standing on one acre in a grove planted at Althorp in 1561-1568, and found them
from 100 to 115 feet high, with an average girth of 1 1 feet 8 inches, and the average cubic contents of the first length of 54 feet
was 330 feet. In another plantation, made in 1 589 on stiffer soil than the last, there were more trees per acre, but their size
was less, the average Ijeing 90 feet by 9 feet 7 inches.
IX R
322 The Trees of Great Britain and iFeland
Marquess of Exeter. The best, known as the King Oak, is lOO feet high by i6 feet
6 inches in girth. At Ashridge the oaks are not so fine as the beeches, but the King
Oak in that park is a splendid tree, measuring 98 feet by 2 1 feet 8 inches.
Sherwood Forest, in Nottinghamshire, contains an immense number of very
ancient, picturesque, and curious oaks, many of them now mere wrecks, but pre-
served with care by Earl Manvers, who is the owner of a large area of the unenclosed
part of what was formerly a royal forest. I have seen no other place where so
many of the trees are covered with immense burrs, and where they assume such
extraordinary shapes, as in that part of Sherwood Forest between Edwinstowe and
the Buck gate entrance to Thoresby Park. The soil in this district is mostly a poor-
looking sand on which the birch thrives remarkably. About seventy years ago the
open forest which up to that time had been grazed by sheep, came into the
possession of Lord Manvers. An immense quantity of seedling birch then sprang
up, and large quantities of acorns were sown to fill up the vacant spaces caused by
the decay of the old oaks, most of which are now stag-headed, and dead at the top.
The finest oak now standing in Sherwood Forest is the Queen or Major Oak
(Plate 95). This tree, though hollow, and having its branches partly supported by iron
stays, is still healthy and vigorous. It measures about 60 feet in height by 30 feet
5 inches in girth, and the spreading roots are about 18 paces round at the ground.
The spread of the branches is 30 yards in diameter. It is about three-quarters
of a mile from Edwinstowe, and is not far from another tree known as Simon
Foster's Oak, which is about 44 feet high and 25 feet in girth.
At Welbeck, the seat of the Duke of Portland, in the same beautiful and well-
wooded district, known as the Dukeries, on heavier soil than that at Thoresby,
are a number of magnificent oaks which were described and figured in 1790 in
a scarce pamphlet by Major Rooke. Of these I saw the Porter Oaks, so called
because they stand opposite each other on each side of a gate in the park. When
measured by Rooke about 1779 they were as follows : — No. i. 98 feet high, 23 feet
girth at 6 feet; contents, 840 feet. In October 1903, 25^ feet; the top having
been dead for many years it is now much less in height. No. 2. 88 feet high, 20 feet
girth at 6 feet ; contents, 744 feet. Now it is 23 feet and rapidly decaying.
Another tree, called by Rooke the " Duke's Walking Stick," of which there is a
small figure in Loudon, p. 1766, was in 1779, iii feet 6 inches high, and 70 feet
6 inches to the first branches ; at 6 feet it measured 1 2 feet in girth, and was esti-
mated to contain 440 cubic feet. A very celebrated oak at Welbeck is the Greendale
Oak, which has often been figured and described. In my copy of Strutt there is a
good plate of this tree, without number or description, bound at the end of the
volume. Tradition says that a bet was made by a former Duke of Portland, that
he had an oak so large, that a coach and four could be driven through its trunk,
and the hole having been cut, he won his bet. When measured by Rooke it was,
above the arch of the hole, 35 feet 3 inches in girth, the hole being 10 feet 3 inches
high and 6 feet wide. Even at that time Rooke's figure shows it to have been
a mutilated wreck, but the tree is still alive.
Near the Greendale Oak there is a magnificent though dead specimen of burr
Common Oak 323
oak, about 50 feet high and 28 feet 9 inches in girth, and though all the veterans are
long past their prime, there are still healthy growing oaks at Welbeck on the south
side of the road to Norton, of which I measured one with a butt 32 feet high and
19 feet in girth, which Mr. Michie, the forester, considered would contain 500 feet
in the butt alone. Such oaks have actually been cut and sold here in recent times ;
and I have a photograph, given me by Mr. G. Miles of Stamford, of a tree which
he bought at auction for ^40, and whose trunk measured 38 feet 6 inches long
by 431^ inches quarter-girth— equal to 511 feet 8 inches. It was so heavy that the
weight on the wheels of the timber carriage broke through the road, and when
brought to the station after much risk and trouble, the railway company refused to
take it to Peterborough except on a special train by itself
In Rockingham Park, Northants, the seat of the Rev. Wentworth Watson, there
are a number of wonderful oaks, many of which are brown, and I had the oppor-
tunity, through the kindness of Mr. C. Richardson of Stamford, of seeing several
of these felled in September 1903. He told me that, in the whole course of his
long experience, he had never seen so many fine brown oaks together as these.
The park lies high, on land which looks like oolitic limestone, the rock in some
places coming near the surface ; but where these oaks grow there is a good depth of
loamy soil. Some of the trees which I saw lying were more or less hollow, and
required no saw to bring them down. I was anxious to photograph one in the act
of falling, and as the fellers were at work on one of the best, I asked them to let me
know how long it would take ; the roots only being then cut all round the tree. I
expected that some hours would be required, but before the camera was fixed to
take the tree as it stood, they suddenly called out, " stand clear," and down it came.
Plate 96 shows what the roots of these brown oaks are usually like, but
if there is a foot or two of sound wood in the lower part, and the brown colour
extends a good way up the trunk, they are still very valuable. I asked the
fellers if they could tell a brown oak standing without boring it, and they said they
could make a good guess at the colour, though they could not be sure. Probably
long experience in a district where brown oak seems to be commoner than
elsewhere, is the only guide, if there is one ; but stories are told of men going in the
night to bore such trees with an auger before trying to buy them, in the hopes of
getting a bargain. From a statement sent me by Mr. Richardson, it appears that
twenty-six of these trees were sold for ;^iioo, five of them for ;ificx) each, and
contained about 8030 feet, all measured over bark, and nothing allowed for defects.
The best of this lot were eventually sold to Messrs. J. T. Williams
of New York, and afterwards bought by the Pullman Company at a very high
price. Mr. Richard Dean, of that Company, informs me that he considered the
wood superior to any that they had previously used, and was good enough to send
me some samples of the veneer made from them, which has been used in decorating
their palace railway cars. The largest of these specimens measures 6 feet i inch
by 2 feet 8 inches without a flaw, and is throughout of a uniform chestnut-brown
colour, mottled with silvery patches, formed by the medullary rays, showing that it
has been cut from a quartered plank.
324 The Trees of Great Britain and Ij|;eland
The sandy and gravelly tracts in Essex have extensive woodlands, in which the
oak is the principal timber tree. Sound oak trees with boles measuring from 16 to
20 feet in girth are scattered through the county. Oak trees of larger dimensions,
many in a more or less decayed condition, have been measured and described
by Mr. J. C. Shenstone.' Some of these I visited under his guidance in March
1907, and I think the following are worthy of notice : — At Thorrington are four
trees from 27 to 31 feet in girth, decayed; at Danbury Park two trees of 31 feet
in girth, decayed ; at Hatfield Broad Oak the Doodle Oak, 42 feet in girth, decayed ;
at Havering-atte-Bower Bedford's Oak, 27 feet in girth, decayed ; in Easton Park
the finest tree is 80 feet by 23 feet, sound and vigorous, and there are many old
pollards of great size. One of these, covered with burry growths, is 29 feet in girth ;
and another, on which the burr is very peculiar from its kidney-shaped lobes, is 33^
feet, of which the burr takes up 14 feet. At Marks Hall, near Coggleshall, the
property of T. P. Price, Esq., there are very large sound oaks, as well as some relics
of the ancient forest ; the largest, which is perhaps the finest tree of its kind now
standing in the county, is 90 feet by 24 feet 3 inches, and though some large branches
are gone on one side it seems sound and vigorous. The only very large oak now
left in Epping Forest is the Fairmead Oak, 30 feet in girth, and much decayed. At
Thorndon Park, the ancient seat of Lord Petre, are many picturesque relics of the
ancient forest; and at Wealside House, Brentwood, is an oak 27 feet in circum-
ference of bole.
Mr. E. R. Pratt of Ryston Hall kindly sends me the following account of —
Ketfs Oak at Ryston, Norfolk. — In the year 1547 this tree was the trysting-
place of the West Norfolk rebels under the brothers Robert and William Kett. The
former and the other " Governors " selected large oak trees under which their Courts
sat to administer justice and regulate disorders. The Court in this case did not
seem to look upon sheep-stealing as other than a necessary evil, since they left on
the tree the following inscription : —
Mr. Prat, your shepe are very fat
and we thank you for that
we have left you the skinnes.
to buy your ladye pinnes
and you must thank us for that.
Dimensions in 1840. In 1906.
On the ground level, 46 feet 6 inches. 49 feet 6 inches.
Three feet from the ground, 27 ,, 4 „ 26 „ 6 „
Five feet do. 24 „ 3 „ 23 „ 1 1 „
P'rom the photograph which accompanied this account it seems that the old tree
is still fairly sound and vigorous. In an old map of the seventeenth century Kett's
Oak is marked, showing that it was then known as a landmark.
Other remarkable oaks ifi Norfolk which I have seen are at Merton Hall, the
I Essex Naturalist, June 1904.
i
\
Common Oak 325
seat of Lord Walsingham, where the largest, now much decayed, is about 27 feet in
girth ; at Blickling, where an oak in the kitchen garden 95 feet high, said by Grigor
to have been planted by the Earl of Buckinghamshire, has a straight clean trunk
32 feet high and 15^ in girth ; and at Stratton Strawless, where there is a beautiful
straight-stemmed oak close to the house clean to 40 feet high and over 10 in girth.
Cowthorpe Oak. — No oak in England has probably been the subject of so much
writing s the Cowthorpe Oak, near Wetherby, which perhaps never was such a great
tree as has been supposed, and is now a mere wreck. It has been figured several
times, so that I need only refer those who wish to know more of it to a paper with
illustrations by Mr. John Clayton, published in the Transactions of the Botanical
Society of Edinburgh, 1 903, p. 396. A comparison of the various measurements
taken at different times shows great discrepancies. Mr. Clayton attempts to prove
by a diagram that the decay of its roots have allowed it to settle into the ground,
and thus explains the diminution in its girth, but the discrepancy between measure-
ments taken by different people is considerable. The girth at 5 feet given by
Marsham as 36!^ feet in 1768, when no hollow or cavity is mentioned as existing in
the tree, and the girth given by Mr. Clayton of 36 feet \o^ inches, at 5 feet 3 inches
in 1893, are so nearly identical that I do not think Mr. Clayton proves his argument.
Whether trees ever subside owing to the decay of their roots is to me a very
doubtful point, and I have certainly seen oaks felled which, though of great age
and completely hollow, were supported in their original position by a mere shell.
I visited the Cowthorpe Oak in July 1906, and found that in its present condition
no accurate measurement of it could be taken, a large part of one side having fallen
in. I could see no evidence to support Mr. Clayton's idea that the base of the tree
had sunk into the ground. The few living branches still bear acorns, from which
some seedlings were raised in 1905 by Messrs. Kent and Brydon, nurserymen of
Darlington.
The finest oaks in Yorkshire that I have seen or heard of are in the park at
Studley Royal, which were described and figured by Loudon from drawings which I
have seen in the Marquess of Ripon's library. Though I could not identify the draw-
ings with trees now standing, Loudon gives the dimensions of the largest pedunculate
tree as 80 feet by 24 feet 4 inches, and the largest sessile oak, which he says was
then the largest in England, as 118 feet by 33^ feet. The best that were shown me
were a pedunculate oak 80 feet by 23 feet, a good deal past its prime, and a sessile oak
which I made 1 14 feet by 12 feet 2 inches, a vigorous and healthy tree.
One of the most remarkable oaks in England on account of its shape is the
Umbrella Oak at Castlehill, North Devon (Plate 97). This tree had not altered
materially during the recollection of the late Earl Fortescue, who lived to be over
eighty, though it does not give the impression of very great age. It grows on a
slope called Eggesford Bank, near the house, and has a clean bole about 8 feet by
6 feet 8 inches. The branches spread horizontally from one point, and form a close
flat surface, of which the twigs are interlaced, and spread to a diameter of about
25 yards. Seedlings have been raised from its acorns, which do not produce
this very curious habit, and attempts to reproduce it by grafts have not succeeded.
326 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
Another freak of nature is the Marriage Oak in Bridge Park, Kent, which Lord
H. Nevill was good enough to show me. Here a yew and an oak have grown up
together, though the two trunks, which measure 16 feet 3 inches in girth, have not
combined, the yew having spread its branches widely over the top of the bole of the
oak. A similar case is recorded by Mr. A. D. Webster* in the South Park at
Holwood, Kent. Here the two trees have combined their stems into a normally
shaped trunk, which girths 7 feet 10 inches at 5 feet, the yew being only 15 feet high,
and spreading 36 feet, while the oak is 35 feet high with a spread of 54 feet.
Pollard oaks, when they are hollow at the top, sometimes support other trees of
considerable size, which originate from seeds dropped by birds or brought by the wind.
The best living instance of this that I know, is on an oak of no great size at
Orwell Park, the seat of E. G. Pretyman, Esq., in Suffolk. This grows in a wood
near the Decoy Pond, which is full of large self-sown hollies mixed with oaks, and
looks as if it might be part of an original forest. Here a birch about 30 feet high,
20 inches in girth, is growing on the top of the oak, and has formed inside its hollow
trunk what on one side seems to be a woody stem, whilst on the other side the
roots are still in process of formation within the bole of the oak, which on that
side is dead, but on the other has living branches.'' Henry has seen a similar
example on the road between Byfleet and Cobham, on Lady Buxton's property,
where the birch, growing out of a stout oak bole, is 49 feet high and 8 inches in
diameter.
Wistmans Wood. — After having said so much of big oaks, I must now mention
one of the most remarkable oak woods in Britain, called Wistman's or Welshman's
Wood, which is on Crockern Tor, Dartmoor, at an elevation of about 1400 feet. It
contains a number, perhaps a thousand, of the most stunted and dwarf oaks in
existence, growing among granite boulders in a very exposed and windy situation.
Wistman's Wood was described by Burt in his Notes to the second edition
of Carrington's Dartmoor, p. 56, and also by Mr. W. Borrer.* I am indebted to
Mr. E. Squarey of Downton, Wilts, for information in a letter to him by Mr.
P. F. S. Amory of Druid, Ashburton, which brings our knowledge up to date, with
photographs showing the curious appearance of these trees. The Journal of
Forestry, v. 421, in a description of them, says that no acorns are produced;
but Mr. J. B. Rowe, editor of the Perambulations of Dartmoor (ed. 1896), in
1895 found two acorns after a long search, one of which, planted at Druid on
9th November 1902, is over 4 feet high.
In September 1868 Mr. Wentworth Buller obtained leave from the Prince of
Wales to cut down one of these trees in order to find out its age. One section was
sent to Kew; and another now in Mr. Amory's possession is 9 inches by 7 in diameter,
and shows 163 years' growth, with distinctly marked medullary rays and several deep
shakes. The bark is extremely thin, probably owing to the thick coat of moss and
lichen which covered it. The slowness of growth in this tree is remarkable, no less
than forty years to the inch.
> Trans. Scot. Arb. Soc. xii. 31 3 (1 889).
* Compare Plot's acconnt of a simiUur case quoted on p. 318 supra. ' Loudon, he. cit. 1757.
Common Oak 327
Strutt's Oaks
Strutt in Sylva Britannica, published in 1822, figured no less than twenty-one
oak trees, and as I have seen a good many of these myself, it may be interesting to
notice their present condition after a lapse of over eighty years.
Plate I. The Swilcar lawn Oak in Needwood Forest was then supposed to be
about 600 years old, and was 21 feet \\ inches at 6 feet, having increased 2 feet
4 inches in 54 years. When I saw it in 1904 it was about 25 feet in girth, but
nearly dead at the top.
Plate 2. The Beggar's Oak in Bagot's Park, fully described above. It measured
in 1822, 20 feet; in 1904, 24 feet i inch.
Plate 3. The Great Oak at Fredville was in 1822, at 8 feet from the ground,
more than 28 feet in girth, and contained above 1400 feet of timber. Now, I am
informed by the Rev. S. Sargent, who sends me a photograph, showing that it is in
good health, it measures at 3 feet, which seems to be about its smallest girth, 33 feet
6 inches.
Plate 4. The Panshanger Oak, near Earl Cowper's house in Herts, seemed
to Strutt to have scarcely reached its prime, though his plate shows that the
spire was already dead. It measured in 1822, 19 feet at a yard from the ground, and
was supposed to contain locxD feet of timber. When I saw it in 1905 the topmost
limbs were dead or dying, and there was a large rift in the trunk on one side. The
girth was 21 feet 4 inches at 5 feet.
Plate 9. The Salcey Forest Oak was a mere wreck in 1822. I know not if it
still exists.
Plate 10. The Abbot's Oak at Woburn Abbey was never a very large tree, but
if it is the same that I saw in 1905 it remains sound.
Plate 1 1. The Chandos Oak at Michendon House, Southgate, was also not a first-
class oak, though a very handsome one. It was then only 60 feet by 15 feet 9 inches.
Henry's measurements in 1904 were 80 feet in height and 18 feet in girth, with a
spread of branches 143 feet in diameter.
Plate 1 2. The oak called Beauty at Fredville, not a first-class tree among great
oaks and figured with a dead top, measured only 16 feet in girth.
Plate 17. The Shelton Oak near Shrewsbury I have not seen. It was a
hollow tree of great age, 26 feet in girth, in 1822, and I am told that it is now
a mere wreck.
Plate 18. The Bounds Park Oak, near Tonbridge Wells, was a tree in perfect
health and vigour when figured by Strutt, and measured 69 feet by 1 7 feet 9 inches at
12 feet. It is still standing, and as I am informed by Mr. H. J. Wood, has not
much changed in appearance.
Plate 19. The Moccas Park Oak was much decayed in 1822, when it measured
36 feet in girth ; it still survives, but is fast going to ruin.
Plate 20. The Wotton Oak was never a first-class tree, judging from the plate,
and I do not know what is its present condition.
Plate 25. The Cowthorpe Oak has been already discussed.
328 The Trees of Great Britain and keland
Plate 26. Queen Elizabeth's Oak at Huntingfield in Suffolk is, I believe, the
same tree which I saw on Lord Huntingfield's property, near the Hill Farm,
Strutt quotes from Davy's letters but gives no measurement. It was quite hollow in
1 773, and is now divided into three great sections which lean outwards and measure
in all 39 feet 8 inches in girth. It has a few green and healthy branches, and the
sound parts of the shell are about a foot thick.
Plate 27. Sir Philip Sidney's Oak at Penshurst, Kent, was, in 1822, a very old
tree measuring 22 feet in girth.
Plate 28. The King Oak in Savernake Forest was quite hollow when figured
by Strutt, and measured 24 feet in girth.
Plate 33. The Twelve Apostles at Burley Lodge, New Forest.
Plate 34. The Squitch Bank Oak in Bagot's Park was in 1822, and still is, one
of the finest in England, and is now considered by Lord Bagot the best oak in his
park.
Plate 35. Two trees called Gog and Magog near Castle Ashby still survive, and,
judging from photographs of them sent me by Mr. Scriven, have not changed much
in appearance, though Gog has apparently lost its bark on one side. Though very
picturesque, they are not well-shaped trees. The former is now 58 feet by 28 feet,
at 3 feet, with contents 1668 feet ; the latter is 49 feet by 28|^feet.
Plate 36. The Tall Oak at Fredville is to my eye the best shaped of Strutt's
oaks, though not of extraordinary size. He says the stem went up straight and
clean to about 78 feet, and the girth at 4 feet was 18 feet.
Among the trees figured in Sylva Scotica, a continuation of the work just cited,
there is only one oak, namely, Wallace's Oak at Elderslee or Ellerslie, near Paisley.
Many larger and finer oaks than this occur in Scotland. Judging from the figure
it is not remarkable except from its historic interest, which seems rather mythical.
The Oak in Scotland
The oak rarely attains in Scotland the size and vigour so commonly met with in
England.' Mr. Hutchinson^ has catalogued 151 Scottish oaks, remarkable for size ;
and of these only six exceeded 20 feet in girth at 5 feet above the ground ; the
largest recorded by him, at Lee, Lanarkshire, was 23 feet girth at 3 feet up, the
total height being 68 feet. The tallest oak recorded by Hutchinson was one at
Hopetoun, Linlithgowshire, 1 10 feet high, with a bole of 93 feet, girthing 8 feet
8 inches, but I saw no tree approaching this height at Hopetoun in 1904. In Dr.
Christison's ' paper on the "Rate of Girth Increase in Trees," the average rate of
increase is given for trees at the Edinburgh Botanic Garden ; Craigiehall, Linlithgow-
shire ; Pollok, Renfrewshire ; and Methven Castle, Perthshire. The rate of course
depends on the age of the trees, and is very variable even in the same locality. At
' Sir Herbert Maxwell thinks that this is not owing to soil or climate, but to the fact that Scotland was denuded of trees
before the seventeenth century. Planting was carried on slowly and sporadically after the Union, and there are few planted
oaks in Scotland over 200 years old.
« Trans. Highl. and Agric. Soc, Scot. xiii. 218 (1881). ' Trans. But. Soc. Edin. xix. 461 (1892).
Common Oak 329
Methven, an oak planted in 1811 had attained, in 1893, 16 feet in girth, and during
the last sixteen years had increased as much as 18 inches in girth.
The "Capon Tree,"^ near Jedburgh, in 1893 was 22 feet 7 inches in girth at the
narrowest part of the trunk. It divides at 6 feet into two stems, girthing 16 feet
2 inches and 10 feet 9 inches. The "Pease Tree" at Lee,^ Lanark, measured, in
1890, 23 feet 7 inches in girth.
Th«re is a fine oak at Methven Castle called the Pepperwell Oak, which Henry
measured in 1904, 85 feet by 20 feet 4 inches. Colonel Smythe informed him that
when his ancestor Peter Smythe was imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1722,
his wife, though in sore straits for money, refused 100 marks for this tree.
In the shrubbery of Scone Palace, Perth, in ground which was formerly gardens
belonging to a village, there is an oak, planted in 1805 (growing in black loam
4^ feet deep, resting on sand of unknown depth), which in 1904 was 102 feet high,
36 feet to the first branch, and 1 1 feet 4 inches in girth at 5 feet up. This shows
unusually rapid growth. Near it is another oak, probably of the same age, 98 feet in
height, 10 feet 8 inches in girth, with a bole of 25 feet.
The finest oak seen by Henry in Scotland is growing in front of the house at
Blair Drummond, Perthshire, the seat of H. S. Home Drummond, Esq. It is 118
feet in height and 1 7 feet in girth, the first bough coming off at 24 feet up. This
oak and a number of others near it probably date from some time after 1 730, the
year in which the house was built. At Drumlanrig, Dumfriesshire, there is an oak
16 feet in girth, with a bole of 225 feet, which is estimated to contain 361 cubic feet
of timber. At Dalswinton, Dumfriesshire, there are two remarkable oak stools,
standing close together. The larger is 28|^ feet in girth near the base ; and gives off
five great stems, 81 feet in height, which average 8 feet in girth.
(H. J. E.)
The Oak in Ireland
The most famous oak wood in Ireland was that of Shillelagh in Wicklow, from
which is derived the name formerly given to an oak stick, but now erroneously trans-
ferred to the blackthorn. From the wood of Shillelagh, according to tradition, were
derived the timbers which roof Westminster Hall, and also those on the roof of the
chapel of King's College, Cambridge. There is said' to be a record in St. Michan's
Church, verified by " Hanmer's Chronicle" in the library of Trinity College, Dublin,
which states : " The faire greene or commune, now called Ostomontoune Greene, was
all wood, and hee that diggeth at this day to any depth shall find the grounde full of
great rootes. From thence, anno 1098, King William Rufus, by license of Murchard,
had that frame which made up the roofes of Westminster Hall, where no English
spider webbeth or breedeth to this day." According to Hayes,' the finest trees in
Shillelagh were cut down in the time of Charles II. and exported to Holland for the
use of the Stadt House, under which hundreds of thousands of piles were driven.
In 1692 iron forges were introduced into Shillelagh; and the ruin of the wood
' Trans. Nat. Hist. Soc. Glasg. 4th Sept. 1894. '■' Woods and Forests, Jan. 28, 1885, Suppl. p. iii.
' Practical Treatise on Planting, in (1794).
II S
330 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
speedily followed. Great trees, however, still remained till near the end of the
eighteenth century. At that time Mr. Sisson, who had purchased large quantities of
timber, was given an oak tree of his own choice as a present, and this tree was so
large that though forked at the base, each stem was big enough for a mill shaft at
more than 50 feet from the butt. Two pieces being appropriated to this use, he
sawed the remainder into panels for coach-building, which were sold for ;^250. In
the MSS. of Thomas, Marquess of Rockingham, it is recorded that in 1731 there
were standing in the deer park of Shillelagh 2150 oak trees, then valued at ;^83i7,
the timber being rated at is. 6d. a foot, and the bark at 7s. a barrel. In 1780 there
remained of the old reserves 38 trees, which contained 2588 feet of timber. In the
adjoining woods of Coolattin, in Hayes' time, there was a considerable number of
young healthy oaks, several being 7J feet in girth.
I visited Coolattin in 1906 and was shown many fine trees, though none
were of great thickness, the best tree seen being 118 feet high with a clean bole to
40 feet and a girth of 1 3 feet. All the trees were Quercus sessilijiora.
The largest oak wood in Ireland is in Viscount de Vesci's park at Abbeyleix,
Queen's County, where there are several hundred acres of trees of the pedunculate
species, growing very close together, especially on the alluvial flats along the river
Nore. The trees are of no great height, and have usually short boles with wide-
spreading, stout branches, the largest tree measured being 21 feet in girth.
Hayes gives several instances of the remarkable growth of oak in Ireland. At
Ballybeg in Wicklow, a tree growing in alluvial soil, eighty years old, was 12 feet in
girth at 8 feet from the ground. At Muckross, Killarney, six trees sown in 1760
measured in 1 794, from 3 feet to 4 feet 1 1 inches in girth at 5 feet from the ground.
Ireland, renowned in ancient days for its oak timber, which was valued abroad, is now
singularly wanting in even good specimens of solitary oak trees ; and Loudon gave in
1838 no examples of fine oak trees growing in Ireland. The finest which have
been seen by me are : — At Dartrey, Cootehill, the seat of the Earl of Dartrey, a
beautiful symmetrical pedunculate oak, 100 feet high with a girth of 14 feet 4 inches ;
at Kilmacurragh, Wicklow, a sessile oak \\\ feet in girth; at Glenstal, Limerick, a
tree of the same species \b\ feet in girth ; and at Shane's Castle, Antrim, a peduncu-
late oak 19 feet in girth. There are also many fine trees with good boles at Done-
raile Court, Co. Cork, the largest about 13 feet in girth. (A. H.)
Remarkable Trees Abroad
As the oak is one of the most characteristic British trees we give only a few
details of the remarkable oaks which we have seen on the Continent. A good
account of the trees in the forests of Retz, Compiegne, and St. Amand was written
by Prof Fisher in the Trans. Eng. Arb. Soc. v. 205. I took part in the
excursion which this paper records, and saw the splendid sessile oaks at
Compiegne, of which the one called the Czarina's Oak is the finest. This is as well-
grown, but not a finer tree than some of those which I have described and figured in
England, though in cubic contents inferior to several of them. The French measure-
Common Oak 331
ments given on the trunk of the tree are — height 36 metres = 1 18 feet ; girth at 1.30
metres, 5.20 metres=i7 feet; volume 32 cubic metres =1130 feet; value ;i{^ioo.
Mr. George Marshall, Past-President of the English Arboricultural Society, who
is a timber valuer of great experience, estimated the butt of the tree to contain
(46 feet by 42 inches quarter-girth) 550 cubic feet; plus 150 cubic feet for the top,
making a total of 700 cubic feet ; which, with the addition of an unknown quantity
for the branches, always reckoned in France, plus 20 per cent for the difference
between the total volume and the English quarter-girth measurement, will come
near the French estimate. A photograph of an oak in the Foret de Belleme was
reproduced in this report. Its total height was 119^ feet, and its girth at 4 feet
6 inches was 9 feet 9 inches. It is impossible to imagine a tree containing more
useful timber and less waste than this tree, which has rather the appearance of a
gigantic mop than of an oak as we know them. Prof. Fisher considers Belleme
as the finest oak forest in France, and in the Gardeners Chronicle, xxviii. 220
(1900), speaks of a sessile oak which he measured there 146 feet high, with a clean
bole 113 feet by 9 feet 10 inches girth, and a volume of about 500 cubic feet.^
Another renowned forest in France is that of Bercd near Chateau du Loir
(Sarthe), visited by Henry in 1903 and in 1906, which covers 13,350 acres; and
is made up of about 90 per cent of sessile oak and 10 per cent of beech. It is
situated on a plateau ; the soil being a deep loamy sand, poor in lime. There is not
a single pedunculate oak in the forest itself, yet, curiously enough, all those in the
hedgerows of the surrounding country are of this form. The sessile oak, owing to
its ability to bear shade, is grown densely in the forest, and attains an astonishing
height, though it is slow in growth, as far as regards diameter of stem, which
averages at 200 years old only 20 inches. The best individual tree, the CMne
Boppe^ in 1905 measured 115 feet high, 75 feet to the first branch, and 14 feet in
girth. Another tree, measured in 1906, was 125 feet total height, 92 feet to the
first branch, and 8 feet in girth. In one section, containing a little less than twenty
acres, there stood in 1903, aged 211 years, 1314 oaks and 268 beeches; the oaks
averaging 28 inches in diameter. The total amount of the timber^ was estimated
by an accurate survey in 1895 at 275,000 cubic feet, valued at ;^ 14, 7 20, or about
^740 an acre. The yield of the first and second series in this forest, 2700 acres
in extent, over which felling is done in sections once every 216 years, works out at
66 cubic feet of timber per acre per annum, equivalent to a net annual revenue per
acre of £2 : 3s. A photograph taken by Henry, shows the shape of these forest
oaks, all beautiful, clean, cylindrical stems, and illustrates the way in which the
' Henry visited Belleme in 1906, and does not consider it to be quite as fine a forest as Berce. The best tree seen,
possibly the same as the one measured by Prof. Fisher, was 125 feet total ^height, 95 feet to the first branch, 10 feet 4
inches in girth, and about 425 cubic feet in volume. On referring to Prof. Fisher as to this measurement, he sends me two
photographs given him by M. Granger, then Garde General at Belleme, representing (l) the Chene de Brigonnais, which is
37 metres = about 120 feet high ; girth at 4 feet 6 inches, 3 metres = 9 feet to inches ; height to the first branch, 23 metres ;
(2) the Chene Lorentz, which is 40 metres in height = about 130 feet, girth 4J metres = about 14I feet, and 18 metres long
to the point where it divides into two nearly equal stems. It therefore appears that we have in England a few oaks at
least as tall, and many larger in bulk than any recorded in France.
' Near this tree Henry observed an oak bearing misletoe on a branch at 60 feet up.
' Hutfel, Economic Forestiire, i. pp. 370, 372 (1904). The capital or volume of wood in the forest is not diminished
by its felling, but is steadily increasing slightly all the time, owing to careful management.
33^ The Trees of Great Britain and keland
woodcutter, to save the seedlings beneath from damage, lops off the crown of the
tree with an axe at a point below the first branch before felling the trunk.
The oaks in the German forest of Spessart have been so frequently mentioned
by recent writers on Forestry that I need not say anything of them, but doubt
whether they equal the oaks in some of the few remaining virgin forests of Slavonia.
In 1900 I saw a splendid lot of clean straight logs 3 to 5 feet in diameter, which had
been felled in these forests, and floated down the Save to Bosnabrod.
We are indebted to Dr. Simonyi Semadam Sandor, a member of the Hungarian
Parliament, for an account of the oaks of Slavonia in the Forest of Brod Petevarad,
which is published in a Hungarian journal called Erdzesti Lapok, at Buda Pesth,
June 1889, with photographs showing splendid clean-stemmed trees, 30 to 40 metres
high, and 2 to 3 metres in diameter.
The European oak seems able to grow well in temperate parts of the southern
hemisphere. In Chile it seems as much at home as in Europe, and not only grows
much faster, but reproduces itself with such ease from seed on land capable of being
irrigated that I saw no reason why it should not be cultivated for its timber.*
In South Africa the original Dutch settlers planted oaks near Cape Town, and
under one of these trees the Convention was signed by which the Colony was
transferred to Great Britain in 18 14. On 5th April 1905 my brother posted me a few
acorns from this tree, the trunk of which is now hollow and bricked up. I sowed
them in May to see whether they would at once revert to their proper season of
growth; and out of twenty acorns, three germinated in June, and are now nice
young trees, the others never coming up at all.
In North America I have seen no European oaks of any great size, though
there is one in Prof. Sargent's grounds near Boston, which has puzzled several good
botanists as to its origin.
Injuries to Oaks
The liability of the oak to be struck by lightning was noted by Shakespeare,
who, in King Lear, Act III. Scene ii., wrote —
You sulphurous and thought-executing fires.
Vaunt-couriers to oak-cleaving thunderbolts.
Mr. Menzies says,^ " Of all forest trees oaks are, in my experience, the most
dangerous. If they have a large spreading head, they are shivered into shreds
when struck. If they have long tapering stems, and thus can act almost as con-
ductors, they are not so dangerous, and the lightning will run down the side,
ploughing out a deep furrow. I have once seen a beech struck, an ash once, an
elm once, a cedar of Lebanon once, but never any other trees, except the oak. And
while the others stood comparatively singly in an open space, the oaks have been
selected and struck in the midst of a thick wood."
' Sir W. Thiselton Dyer informs me that on the Bhie Mountains of Jamaica Sir Daniel Morris found a characteristic
English oak.
» History of Windsor Great Park, p. 8.
Common Oak 333
Several interesting particulars of the effect of lightning on oaks are given by
Loudon, who also states that the oak, owing to its roots not being so liable to
rot in the ground as those of most trees, is not often blown down. He describes
the effect of a hurricane in October 1831, on the splendid oaks growing in Lord
Petre's park at Thorndon Hall in Essex, which reminds me of a similar case in
April 1890, when I saw, at Narford, in Norfolk, oaks of 2 to 3 feet in diameter
broken off at 4 to 10 feet from the ground by the force of the wind, which tore
up many plantations of spruce and other shallow-rooting trees by the roots.
Sir Charles Strickland tells me that a very tall young oak tree 54 feet to
the first branch, and quite straight, growing at Housham in Yorkshire, nearly on
a level with the river Derwent, was, in the severe winter of 1860-61, completely
killed by a frost which was the severest in his recollection. Though he has
no record of the temperature at Housham, yet he believes that at Appleby, in
Lincolnshire, it was as low as 15^ below zero,* and generally in the northern
counties the thermometer went below zero. Many other oaks were killed in the
woods and in the hedgerows between Malton and Pickering by the same frost.
The various insects which attack the oak are too numerous to be mentioned in
detail, but are described at length by Loudon and by many other authors.
The galls, which are so common on the leaves, are produced by several species
of Cynips, and the so-called oak-apples are the result of an injury by an insect of the
same family.*
Mistletoe on the Oak
Since the time of Pliny, who describes the worship of the oak, and especially
of the mistletoe-bearing oak by the Druids, the occurrence of this parasite on the
oak has always been looked on as a rarity. Loudon only mentions two trees known
to him, of which one near Ledbury was cut down in 1831, and another at Eastnor
Castle is still living ; but we have now been able to collect many more authentic
records. A paper on the subject by the late Dr. Bull of Hereford' gives
particulars of several, and states that it is considered a dangerous practice to
interfere with a mistletoe-bearing oak. One at St. Diels, near Monmouth, was cut
down by the bailiff about 1853, and the owner of the estate immediately dismissed
him. A woodman who climbed the Eastnor tree to get some mistletoe, fell down
and broke his leg, and other similar stories are quoted. The finest mistletoe oak
I have seen was shown me by Sir George Cornewall, at Bredwardine, in 1902.
When described by Dr. Bull, mistletoe was growing on it in no less than fifteen
different places, and it measured 78 feet by 1 1 feet 6 inches in girth. Sir George has
lately found another in his park, and has a third on his estate in Woodbury Wood.
This part of England seems to be, for some reason, the most prolific in England
' This is a little lower than any temperature recorded by the Meteorological Office, but the subject of meteorology as
affecting trees will Ije discussed fully later.
2 An article in the Aew Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information, Additional Series, v. 1906, on Oak Galls, by R. A. Rolfe,
gives much information on the subject, but is too long to quote. Nearly one hundred different kinds have been described
which occur on the roots, buds, leaves, stamens, ovaries, and fruit.
"- Trans. iVoolhope Nat. Field Club, 1870, p. 68.
334 "'^he Trees of Great Britain and Freland
in mistletoe oaks ; and it will be observed in the list which follows that there are
none reported in the northern half of Great Britain.
The subject has been recently studied by M. H. Gadeau de Kerville,^ who
records in Normandy alone no less than 26 mistletoe-bearing oaks, living or recently
felled, of which a list with exact particulars of their locality is given, pp. 298-301.
An excellent illustration of one of the finest of these growing on the farm of Bois,
at Isigny-le-Buat, Department of Manche, shows a large and well-shaped tree, about
60 feet by 16 feet, of the pedunculate variety, which is covered with tufts of
mistletoe, some of them growing on the trunk, and of very large size. M. de Kerville
estimates the age of this tree at 200 to 300 years, and says that it has begun to
deteriorate, as the dead branches show. M. Eugene Ormont states that a tuft of
mistletoe of about a foot in length, which he examined on an oak, was eleven years
old and seemed slower in its growth and yellower in colour than mistletoe growing
on the apple.
List of reported Mistletoe-bearing Oaks in England*
Locality.
Bredwardine, Hereford,
Moccas Park, do.,
Woodbury Wood, do.,
Tedstone Delamere, do..
Haven in the forest of Deerfold, do.,
Badham's Court, near Chepstow, Monmouth,
Near the Hendre, Llangattock, do.,
Eastnor Castle, Worcestershire,
Lindridge, Worcestershire,
Frampton-on-Severn, Gloucestershire,
Knightwick Church, Worcester,
Plasnewydd, Anglesea, in Marquis of Angle-
sea's Park,
Hackwood Park, Basingstoke, Hants,
Lee Court, Kent,
Burningfold Farm, Dunsfold, Surrey,
Bodlam's Court, Sunbury Park, do.,
Shottesham, Norfolk,
Alderley, Norfolk,
Not far from Plymouth, by side of S. Devon
railway.
Near Cheltenham,
Seven miles from Godalming,
Authority.
Date.
Particulars.
Dr. Bull,
1870
H. J. E.
1902
Rev. Sir G. Cornewall,
1904
do.
do.
Dr. Bull,
1870
, do..
do.
do..
do.
do.
do.
This tree is not known to
exist now, so far as I can
learn, at the Hendre.
do.,
do.
H. J. E.
1903
Leisure Hour,
1873
H. Clifford, Esq.,
1904
Mentioned by Lees in 1857,
and still living.
Leisure Hour,
1873
Lees,
1857
Leisure Hour,
1873
do.,
do.
do.,
do.
do..
do.
Francis, in Trimmer's
Flora of Norfolk,
1866
Winter, in do.,
do.
Britten,
1884
Leisure Hour,
Menzies,
1873
i860
I can get no confirmation of
this.
' Les Vieux arbrts de la Normandie, pt. iv. (1905).
* Sir Herbert Maxwell in Memories of the Months, p. 285, mentions the existence of mistletoe-bearing oaks at Stoulton in
Worcestershire, in Sherwood Forest, Windsor Forest, and Richmond Park.
Common Oak 335
Bark
The bark of the oak was until recently a valuable source of revenue in England,
but, owing to the introduction of other materials for tanning, has now fallen so much
in price that in some districts it hardly pays to take off, and large areas of coppice
oak in the western counties have become almost worthless in consequence.
WhethtS' the leather made by these modern substitutes is as durable as that
produced under the old system is doubtful, but the comparative slowness of the
process of tanning by oak bark seems to be one of the chief reasons for the change.
Professor H. R. Procter of the Leather Industries Department of the Leeds
University, whom I consulted on this question, tells me that though he agrees with me
that no tree at present grown in England is worth growing for the sake of its bark
alone, yet he thinks that it will be long before the demand for oak bark entirely
disappears. He considers that though leather tanned with oak bark alone is perhaps
the best for boots and shoes, the cost of the slow process is so much greater in
proportion to quality, that the leather so tanned is practically an article of luxury.
In the Land Agents Record for October 29, 1904, there is an article on the
price of oak bark, which is stated to have fallen from ^8 a ton in the writer's
experience to 47s. 6d. ; and when the cost of peeling, which averages about 25s.
per ton, the cost of loading and delivering to the station, and the cost of railway
carriage is added, little or nothing is left for bark grown at any distance from its
market. Since then the price in some districts has risen a little, but in this case, as
in others, it is clear that chemically prepared substitutes are killing an industry
of much importance to landowners and labourers.
Timber
With regard to the difference in the timber of the two varieties of oak, we
have, strange to say, little or no certain experience in England. Laslett says that
though he agrees generally with the opinion then prevalent, that Q. sessiliflora
was slightly inferior to pedunculata, he feels bound to admit that during a long
experience in working them, he has not been able to discover any important difference
between the two varieties. He says that very fine specimens of long clean oaks of
the sessile form were found in the Forest of Dean, which, however, were liable both
to cup and star shake, and that he is inclined to believe that these defects are less
common in Q. pedunculata.
Though little attention is now paid to the difference of winter- and spring-felled
oak timber, and it seems as if most users of wood will pay as much for the latter
as for the former, yet, considering the low price of bark and the importance of
durability, I should strongly advise the former being used for all first-class work.
Laslett,' who, as timber inspector to the Admiralty, had probably as much
experience as any man, of his day, and more than any one at the present time,
' By far the best account that I know of is in Laslett's Timber and Timber Trees, of wliich a new edition, revised by the
late Prof. Marshall Ward, was published in 1894.
33^ The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
gives in chapter xi. many proofs in support of his opinion that winter-felled oak is
better than spring-felled ; though the practice he recommends was to bark the trees
standing, and fell them in the succeeding winter, a custom which is still followed in
some parts in England. He also states, on page 73, that having carefully examined
and compared many pieces of both winter- and spring- or summer-felled logs, he found
almost invariably that the winter-cut timber, after being a few years in store, was in
better condition than that which had been cut in the spring. '* The winter-felled
logs were sounder, less rent by shakes, and the centres or early growths generally
showed less of incipient decay than the spring-felled."
So much has been written about the timber of the oak that it seems unneces-
sary to go into very great detail with regard to this subject, especially as this timber,
of which little is now required for the navy, is being ousted by iron and by cheaper
imported timber from many of its former uses, and is of far less value than formerly ;
but though at the present time English oak is out of fashion, there is no doubt that
such durable and beautiful wood must always have a considerable value to those
who do not sacrifice durability to cheapness, and who have patience to wait until it
has been properly seasoned, which requires from two to six years according to the
thickness of the plank.
There are so many proofs of its everlasting character in the form of roofs and
in the old timbered buildings which are common in Cheshire, and of which so many
beautiful illustrations are given in Country Life, that I need not repeat them, but an
extraordinary instance of its longevity when exposed to the weather was pointed out
to me by the late Lord Arundell of Wardour in the ruins of Wardour Castle. This
building, according to an account of it published in The Antiquary, November 23,
1873, was inhabited before the reign of Edward III., and was besieged and sacked
by the Parliamentary army in the reign of Charles I., and blown up by its owner,
Lord Arundell, in 1644, rather than allow it to remain in the hands of the enemy.
An oak lintel, which must therefore have been exposed to the weather for 260 years,
still remained in situ in 1903, and as far as I could see from below was not much
decayed.
In a paper by W. Atkinson' it is said that during the last thirty years he had
taken every opportunity of procuring specimens of wood from old buildings, and
particularly what the carpenters called chestnut, but never in a single instance had
he seen a piece of chestnut, the wood so called being always that of Q. sessilifiora,
mistaken for chestnut from a deficiency of the flower or silver grain. He goes on
to say : " The roof of Westminster Hall has been said to be chestnut ; while it
was under repair I procured specimens from different parts of the roof, the whole
of them were oak, and chiefly the Q. sessilijlora. Most of the black oak from trees
dug out of the ground I have found to be of the same kind. From finding the
wood of the oldest buildings about London to be chiefly of the Q. sessilijlora, I
should suppose that some centuries ago the chief part of the natural woods were
of that kind ; at present the greater part of the oak grown in the south of England
is Q. pedunculata. Specimens of oaks that I have procured from different parts of
• Trans, ffort. Soc. Second Series, i. p. 336 (1835).
Common Oak 337
Yorkshire and the county of Durham have all been Q. sessiliflora, which is very
scarce in the south. There are some trees of it at Kenwood, the Earl of Mans-
field's, near Highgate, which I believe to be one of the oldest woods near London,
and a greater part of the Q. sessiliflora appears to be trees from old stools." To
this the Secretary, Mr. G. Bentham, adds a note, as follows : — " Mr. Atkinson's
opinion on this subject is confirmed in a remarkable manner by the discovery that
the oait in an extensive submarine forest near Hastings is Q. sessiliflora."
Brown Oak
In a paper on British timber which I read before the Surveyors' Institution
in February 1904,* I called attention to a form of oak timber, known as "brown
oak," which does not appear to have been much noticed by any previous writer.''
Though after very careful investigation I have failed to ascertain with certainty the
causes which produce it, I am inclined to believe that it is not, as some have
thought, caused by a fungus ; though spores of some fungoid mycelium are often
found running through it ; but that the change of colour is produced, especially on
certain soils and in certain localities, by age. And though I have evidence that in
exceptional cases the heartwood of quite young oaks is brown,' the majority of the
trees which produce this beautiful and valuable wood are in an incipient stage of
decay, and often hollow, leaving only a shell of more or less sound wood. The
change of colour in some trees commences at the ground and extends upwards, or
less commonly begins in the upper part and extends downwards. No one can be
certain, without boring or felling the tree, whether the wood is brown or how far the
colour may extend ; but if the tree is allowed to stand too long after it has become
brown it loses its " nature," to use a carpenter's expression, and is often so
shaky and full of cracks that it is of little use. The sapwood always remains
of the normal colour. But when a brown oak of good rich colour contains
sound and solid timber it is superior to any wood I know for the interior
decoration of houses, and for the making of sideboards and other heavy
furniture.
Until about fifty years ago this wood was little valued in England, and I am
told that on the Duke of Bedford's estate its use was prohibited in building contracts
because it was supposed to be unsound. Even now it is hardly known or recognised
as valuable except in certain parts of England, and is often sold far below its real
value by inexperienced persons. But the Americans have created such a demand
> Trans. Surveyors' Institution, vol. xxxvi. pt. vii.
^ Laslett, ed. 2, p. 96, only says of it, "and even when in a state of decay or in its worst stage of 'foxiness,' the
cabinetmaker prizes it for its deep red colour, and works it up in a variety of ways."
' Mr. Alexander Howard tells me that he has seen a group of young oaks felled in Essex, which were not more than I2 to
18 inches in diameter, all perfectly sound, in which the wood was of a rich brown all through the trunk up to and beyond the
first main branch. He purchased near Chelmsford a very fine oak which had no less than five secondary trunks growing out
of the butt, all of a very rich brown colour, and a number of younger trees growing near it in the same park also proved to be
of the same colour. Thus it seems that though the conditions of the soil have some influence, yet the colour may in some cases
be inherited. Mr. Howard has inquired for many years but never heard of a brown oak on the continent, and believes it to be
only found in this country. Some woodmen in Essex have thought that the trees which carry their leaves longest in winter
produced " red oak," which is the local term for brown oak, but I could get no definite proof of the truth of this idea.
II ' T
33^ The Trees of Great Britain and Li^eland
for it, that most timber merchants are now quick to appreciate the difference between
brown and common oak, and the best qualities of it are sometimes sold for as much
as I OS. per cubic foot.
When the wood shows the blackish streaks running through it, which is known
as tortoise-shell grain, it is most valued for cutting veneers. These are laid in thin
sheets on other wood, partly to make it go farther, and also because this wood is so
difficult to season properly, and so wasteful in conversion that it is not safe to use in
the form of thick boards.
My friend. Dr. Weld of Boston, U.S.A., who is a great connoisseur and
admirer of fine woods, and especially of brown oak, showed me at his house the
most magnificent specimens of panelling and wainscoting, done under his own
supervision by Messrs. Noyes and Whitcombe of Boston, with oak which he
selected and purchased himself in England. In their works I saw a quantity of
carved brown oak pews, and a very large brown oak organ front designed by Mr.
C. Brigham, architect, of 12 Bosworth Street, Boston, for a memorial church at
Fairhaven, Mass. Mr. Whitcombe was good enough to show me the manner in
which the boards are seasoned after they are cut from the logs, which are imported
in the rough as an unmanufactured product to escape the heavy duty. Dry white
pine boards fresh from the hot-air kiln are laid on each side of the oak boards,
and properly stripped in an open covered shed. When the moisture heis been
partially absorbed, they are all turned over and again sandwiched between fresh
dry pine boards ; thus saving a great deal of time, which is rarely given to
season timber properly in America, and preparing the wood to stand the con-
ditions of dryness, which are more trying to furniture in American than in
English houses.
Mr. C. M'Kim, a distinguished American architect, writes me as follows
respecting English oak: — "We regard it as the most beautiful oak in the world,
costly because of its scarcity and the duties imposed upon it ; requiring the best
workmanship in putting it together ; but preferred above all others for its finer
quality, richer colour, and endurance. The most important and dignified panelled
rooms in this country are furnished in English oak." I also was pleased to find that
the great dining-room in the White House at Washington is completely panelled
with English brown oak.
Mr. F. H. Bacon of the A. H. Davenport Company of Boston, one of the
best firms for cabinet work in the United States, writes : — " Mr. Davenport has
been using it in his business for at least thirty years, and we think it is a wood which
will always be in demand, as a room furnished with English oak has a richness and
depth of tone which is impossible to get with any other oak. The wood is becoming
more expensive, but I think it will always be used by people who can afford it. It
is difficult to work ; the plain surfaces are generally veneered. It stands perfectly
well without warping and twisting, and is not attacked by worms as walnut
wood is."
The best example that I have seen of fine brown oak work in England is
at Rockhurst, the residence of the late Sir Richard Farrant, in Sussex. This
Common Oak 339
was done by Marsh, Cribb, and Company of Leeds, with brown pollard oak,
showing very varied figure, and superior in this respect even to that of Dr. Weld's
house.
This wood requires no varnish, but when simply polished with wax and shellac
only, in the manner adopted by Dr. Weld, is as rich as any mahogany. It is to
some extent imitated by a practice called fuming, which is now very commonly
used t give a darker colour to foreign oak, and thus make it resemble old oak,
which has become so fashionable ; but fumed oak can easily be distinguished from,
and is far inferior to real brown oak, which also varies a good deal in colour when
new.
Pollard Oak
There is another form of oak wood usually called pollard, which is produced
from the burrs or swellings which often appear on old oaks, especially in very dry
and in wet ground. The real cause of these excrescences is not yet fully explained ;
but in some places, and especially in Sherwood Forest, they are very common,
and when cut, show a twisted and contorted grain, sometimes full of little eyes
which resemble those of the so-called "birds'-eye maple," a variety of the wood
of American maple, of which we shall speak later.
Pollard oak is usually full of little cracks, and is best cut into thin slices or
"plating" ^ inch thick or less. When polished the little cracks are filled up, and
when the wood is mottled with brown, yellow, and pink in various shades it is very
beautiful. An oak of this type, which was only about lo feet high and 9 feet in
girth, grew on Chedworth Downs, Gloucestershire, and was given to me by the
Earl of Eldon. Its wood, when cut into veneer, was throughout the whole
thickness of the tree more like that of birds'-eye maple than oak, and has
served to make the front of a very handsome bookcase.
Oak Panelling
I cannot pass from this subject without alluding to the use of English oak for
panelling walls, a practice which was almost universal in houses built in the six-
teenth and seventeenth centuries, and of which many beautiful examples still exist.
Modern architects, however, do not seem to have properly appreciated, that the
beauty and fitness of oak for such work depends on the extent to which the " figure,"
"flower," "silver grain," or "flash" is shown — all these terms are used to express
the bright glossy patches and lines which the medullary rays of oak show when cut
"on the true quarter."
In our ancestors' time, when roads were bad or non-existent, and when sawmills
were unknown, it was necessary to cut up large oak trees where they fell, either by
digging a saw pit near or under them, or by cross-cutting them into suitable lengths,
and then " rending," cleaving, or splitting them into slabs. This practice is now adopted
principally for making oak palings and for wheel spokes, which are much stronger
340 The Trees of Great Britain and Ij;eland
when rent than when sawn ; but it will be found on examination of the back of old
panelling that it was usually rent, and as you can only cleave oak on the line of the
medullary rays, the figure shown by rent oak is much better and more abundant than
when sawn on the quarter, and though the practice is more wasteful and is only
possible in the case of straight-grained trees, yet it should certainly be tried by those
who admire finely figured oak.
Strange to say, the importance of selecting and matching the figured pieces, and
of placing them in the most conspicuous positions, does not seem to be noticed, for I
have seen in modern houses, and in old castles on whose restoration no expense has
been spared, panelling in which new and plain pieces have been introduced amongst
splendid old panels, and finely figured new and old panels put in dark corners where
they were unseen. When one considers how small a proportion the cost of the wood
bears to the workmanship, it is extraordinary that this should be allowed, or that
American oak should be used, as I have seen sometimes done, in restoring ancient
houses, when infinitely better and more beautiful wood was growing, and often rotting
on its roots, within a very short distance.
Experienced cleavers are not to be found in every county, but in Kent, Surrey,
Sussex, and Hants, and where rent oak palings are much used, as in the neighbour-
hood of London, such men may be found, who with a tool called a " break-axe " or
"flammer," will 'convert straight -grained oak into slabs of suitable dimensions for
panelling, which, when properly seasoned, show better figure than sawn timber. For
this purpose logs of not less than three feet diameter should be selected, as straight
as possible in the grain, and cut into the lengths of which the panels are required.
The slabs come out rather irregular in size, and are, of course, much thicker on the
outside. They should be carefully piled for about twelve months in a dry, airy
place, when they can be reduced by a thin circular saw and by planing to the
proper thickness, choosing whichever side shows the best figure for the face.
Longer and narrower pieces, either rent or sawn, must be selected for the stiles
and rails, and if put together by a competent joiner, I can say from experi-
ence that the effect will be much superior to work done by the best London
firms with foreign timber, especially when brown oak can be found fit for
rending.
The diagram. Fig. i, on the following page shows the best method of rending
oak to show its fine figure.
For quartering by the saw different methods are adopted, the best being that
shown on the following page. Figs. 2 and 3, taken, by permission of Messrs. Rider
and Son, from a very useful little book.^ By this method, which, though rather
wasteful, produces the best results, only the central boards of each cut are on
the true quarter, and the others are narrower, and more or less across the natural
line of cleavage.
Of the different styles of oak panelling it is not my intention to speak, but it
seems to me that elaborate carving is out of place in such wood as this, which wants
no extraneous adornment. Many beautiful specimens of ancient panelling in various
' English Timber and its Economical Conversion, London, 1904.
Common Oak
341
styles may be seen in the galleries of the South Kensington Museum, among which
that taken out of Sizergh Castle, Westmoreland, is, though rough in workmanship,
a good example of ornamentation with native wood.
One of the most elaborate instances of room-decoration in woodwork of old times
is seen in the dining-room at Gilling Castle, near York, formerly the property of the
Fairfax family, now belonging to W. S. Hunter, Esq. It is a room about 30 by 20
feet, a:d is panelled with large panels of oak, in oblongs 2 feet 4 inches wide
and 3 feet deep, surrounded by heavy carved mouldings. Each panel is inlaid
with highly intricate and varied geometrical patterns in narrow lines of black
and white wood, which I believe to be bog oak and holly, inlaid in narrow lines, and
forming an elongated diamond in the middle of the panel. The four corners of each
Fig. I. (i) Sapwood ; best taken off. (a) Feather-edged boards somewhat variable in width and thickness, but following
the natural line of cleavage on the medullary rays of the wood.
Figs. 2 and 3. Methods of quartering by the saw.
panel are also inlaid with flowers done in similar wood. This work runs from
the ground up to about lo feet high, above which an elaborate decoration in
colour, containing many family trees and coats of arms, reaches to the ceiling.
Some good judges think this is the most beautiful room in England, but without
resorting to such minute and fanciful patterns, I may safely say that good plain oak
panelling, in which the stiles and rails are duly proportioned, and the silver grain
well matched in each panel, gives not only the handsomest and richest effect of any
wall covering I know, but is also the most durable, improving in colour with age, and
if done with one's own timber, affords an interest which no Italian frescoes or plaster
work can give.
In the chapel, in the hall, and in the Earl's study at Powderham Castle,
Devonshire, are very good examples of pews and panelling, both of the linen
pattern and carved panels, but though the linen pattern was once a favourite
one, and is still copied by some decorators, it seems to me a mistaken notion
to imitate the folds of a textile material in wood, and especially in oak.
342. The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
Wainscot Oak
What is usually known under this name was for many years imported from
the Baltic seaports of Dantzic, Riga, and Libau, and was the produce of forests
in the interior of the Russian Baltic Provinces, and of Russian Poland, from
whence it was brought to the coast by water, until railways were made. According
to Laslett, the Riga timber, though of moderate dimensions, had the medullary rays
more numerous and better marked than the Dantzic oak, and came to market in
the form of hewn billets of about 1 8 feet.
But as the supplies of this oak became less, and the demand greater, a fresh
source of supply was found in Slavonia and South Hungary, which for many
years has furnished about half the total import through the ports of Trieste and
Fiume. Mr. A. Howard tells me that the size and quality of this was better than
the Baltic oak, but owing to the Austrian Government having recently diminished
their cuttings in consequence of the rapid diminution of mature timber, a large
quantity of billets are now exported from Odessa, which are believed to come
from the forests of Podolia and Volhynia, and other provinces of South- West
Russia.
All this imported oak is milder and more easily worked than English oak, and
as only selected logs free from knots are shipped, it can be converted into boards
with less waste and risk than home-grown timber. We have no certain evidence
as to the existence of a sufficient quantity in Russia to keep up the supply either
from the Baltic or Odessa, and though the more scientific foresters of Austria are
taking steps to restore their oak forests by natural regeneration, it is probable
that the French, who consume an immense quantity of oak from this region,
will take all they can get, and this, coupled with the approaching disappearance
of American oak large enough for quartering, must, sooner or later, cause
our own timber when long and clean to be much more valuable than it is at
present.
A note in Holinshed's Chronicles} vol. i. p. 357 (ed. 1807), seems to show
that wainscot oak was already exported from the Baltic as long ago as Queen
Elizabeth's reign, but whether " Danske " means that it came in Danish ships or
from the port of Dantzig I cannot ascertain, though Colonel Brookfield, H.B.M.
Consul at that port, has made inquiry on the subject.
Laslett is the only practical English writer I know of who was personally
acquainted with the oak in its native forests in the east of Europe, having been
employed by the Admiralty to survey the forests near Brussa, in Asia Minor, as
well as in Bosnia, Herzegovina, Croatia, Styria, and Hungary. He states that in the
' According to Mr. J. C. Shenstone, Harrison of Redwinter in Essex, who lived in the reign of Henry VHI., was the
author of this note. " Of all oke growing in England the parke oke is the softest, and far more spalt and Prickle than the
hedge oke. And of all in Essex, that growing in Bardfield parke is the finest for joiner's craft ; for often times have I seene
of their workes made of that oke so fine and faire as most of the wanescot that is brought hither out of Danske, for our
wanescot is not made in England. Yet diverse have assaied to deale with our okes to that end, but not with so good
suceesse as they have hoped, because the ab or juice will not so soone be removed and cleane drawne out, which some
attribute to want of time in the salt water."
Common Oak 343
forests south-east of Brussa he found oaks resembling the English Q. Robur on the
upper ranges of the mountains, while in the valleys Q. Cerris or the mossy-cupped
oak was found. In Austria, he says, that in the Kogarate mountains, and in the
district between the rivers Verbas and Okvina they were chiefly of the sessile
variety, mixed occasionally with Q. Cerris, and all of straight growth with long clean
stems, generally of good quality, but at that time no attempt had been made to utilise
them e;.cept for cleaving cask staves.
Of all the oaks of which trials were made in our Government dockyards
during the period at which British oak became scarce, Laslett says that the
white oak of North America compared very favourably with all the foreign
oaks, but proved to be slightly inferior in strength to English oaks.
Bog Oak
This is obtained from trees which have been buried in peat bogs for centuries,
and which has become blackened by the peat water. It is very commonly found in
Ireland, and in some parts of England and Scotland. When large and sound enough
it is used for furniture, picture frames, and for small ornamental work, but as a rule is
so full of shakes, and cracks so much in drying after it is dug up, that it is of no use
for cabinet-making except in the form of inlay, or marqueterie. Occasionally, how-
ever, fine sound logs are dug out, which if slowly seasoned in an airy cellar may be
used for larger work. One of the best examples I have seen of black oak was a door
exhibited by Mr. E. R. Pratt of Ryston at the Royal Agricultural Society's Show
at Park Royal in 1905, made from oak found on his property in Norfolk. He
tells me that the planks after being sawn are dressed two or three times with
"fuel" or "dead" oil which replaces the evaporated water by the refuse of
petroleum, a substance theoretically similar to that lost by age. The result is
certainly very successful.
Many cases have been recorded and published of the great durability of the
timber of the oak under ground and under water ; but I have come across no relic of
the past so interesting in this respect as the prehistoric boat which was dug up at
Brigg, in Lincolnshire, in 1884, when digging a foundation for a gasometer. This
has been well described by the Rev. D. Gary Elwes in a lecture, which was published
in 1903,^ and a photograph of it is published in a recent pamphlet by the Rev. A. N.
Claye," for which I am indebted to Miss Wool ward. This wonderfully preserved
dug-out was hollowed out of one huge oak log 48^ feet long, and approximately 6 feet
in diameter, which showed no sighs of branches, a log which must have contained
nearly 1000 feet of timber, and which could not be matched now in England, or, so
far as we know, in Europe or North America. The boat is 4 feet 3 inches wide by
2 feet 8 inches deep at the bows, and 4 feet 6 inches by 3 feet 4 inches at the stern,
which was the root end of the tree. The sides are about 2 inches thick, the bottom
4 inches at the bows, and as much as 16 inches at the stern. The stern piece was
' A Prehistoric Boat. Stanton and Son, Northampton.
^ Brigg Church and Tovm. Jackson, Brigg.
344 ^^^ Trees of Great Britain and ireland
ingeniously fitted in, though not found in situ, and a large rift on one side had been
still more cleverly repaired with wooden patches caulked with moss. No metal had
been used in any part of it. The boat was found embedded in the blue and brown
clay which underlies the peat, and is considered on geological evidence, which is
given with great detail, to be from 2600 to 30CK) years old. It was offered by
Mr. Cary Elwes to the British Museum, but was declined as being too large ; it is,
however, now suitably housed at Brigg.
Many similar oaken boats of smaller dimensions have been discovered in various
parts of England, and I saw one myself which had been just dug out of a peat bed
close to Shapwick Station, in Somersetshire, in September 1906, which was 20 feet
long by 2 feet 10 inches wide.
At Brigg an ancient causeway was discovered, which is described by Mr.
Claye in the same pamphlet, and a photograph given. This roadway was found
in a brickyard lying between the two branches of the river, under a deposit of blue
alluvial clay, and above the forest bed which lies on the top of the glacial drift, and
was probably made by the early Britons to secure a safe passage across the valley
when it was little more than a swamp. Small trees and branches of yew were laid
lengthwise, and across them rough planks of oak, which were fixed in their place by
long wooden pins driven through holes at each end. From the photograph the
wood appears to have been well preserved, but having been covered up again
shortly after the excavation was made, I can give no further details of its condition.
In the same place was discovered a sort of raft or flat -bottomed boat, 40 feet
long and 6 feet wide, which was also covered up again. From the illustration
given, this seems to have been made of five logs placed side by side, and held
together by cross ties passing through holes in projections on the upper side of
the logs.
In the foundations of Winchester Cathedral, oak piles had been used to form a
solid foundation in the wet peaty soil on which part of the structure rested. When
the Cathedral was under restoration in 1906, samples of these piles sent me
by Mr. Jackson, the architect of the work, who said that they were put down
in the time of William Rufus, were in places decayed. Some logs of beech laid
horizontally under the same building, which Mr. Jackson attributes to Bishop de
Lucy, about a.d. 1206, remained comparatively sound, and, though the wood has
changed from its natural colour to a grey, is fit to use as boards for book-
binding.
With regard to the foundations of the Campanile at Venice, it has been stated
that they were laid on larch piles, which are still used in that city for the same
purpose; but when I was at Venice in 1905 I inquired into this, and was given
a section of an oak pile only about 6 inches in diameter, but perfectly sound and
very hard, which was cut from one of the piles taken from the foundation of the
Campanile after it fell. (H. J. E.)
i*^
LARIX
Larix, Adanson, Fam. PI. ii. 480 (1763); Bentham et Hooker, Gen. PL iii. 442 (1880); Masters,
Journ. Linn. Soc. {Pot.) xxx. 31 (1893).
Pinus, Linnaeus, Gen. PL 293 (in part) (1737).
Abies, A. L. de Jussieu, Gen. 414 (in part) (1789).
Trees belonging to the order Coniferae, with thick scaly bark, irregular and not
whorled branches, and deciduous foliage. Branchlets of two kinds, long shoots
bearing solitary leaves spirally arranged, and short shoots bearing numerous leaves
in tufts at their extremities, these leaves being of unequal lengths and arising each
in the axil of a bud-scale. Leaves linear, either flattened or keeled above, always
strongly keeled beneath, with a single fibro -vascular bundle and two resin-canals
close to the epidermis of the outer angles. Buds of three kinds: (i) terminal on
the long branchlets and developing either into long or short shoots ; (2) axillary on
the long branchlets, scattered, solitary in the axils of the leaves, and developing
occasionally into long shoots, or more commonly producing short shoots with apical
tufts of leaves ; and (3) apical buds on the short shoots, which usually on developing
slightly prolong the short shoot and produce again a tuft of leaves, this process being
repeated for several years ; or occasionally suddenly elongate into long shoots with
solitary leaves, or produce flowers. In this way a complicated and irregular
system of branching results, very different from that produced by the regular whorled
buds of pines, silver firs, and spruces.
Flowers monoecious, fertilised by the wind, arising solitary on the apices of
short shoots of two to six years old. Male flowers always much more numerous
than the females, directed downwards ; globose, ovoid or oblong ; sessile or stalked,
surrounded at the base by scales, and composed of numerous stamens with short
stalks spirally arranged on a central axis ; anthers two-celled, dehiscing longitudinally ;
connective rounded. Female flowers always erect, subglobose, girt at the base by
a bundle of leaves, and consisting of a series of orbicular, stalked, ovular scales, each
in the axil of a much longer mucronate, oblong bract. The scales, each bearing
two ovules, increase in size, as the flower develops into the fruit, while the bracts do
not increase.
Fruit a cone, short-stalked and always erect, composed of concave imbricated
woody scales, which are persistent and are either longer or shorter than the bracts ;
cones ripening at the end of the first season, the scales opening and letting out the
seeds, which are distributed by the wind in autumn or in the following spring, the
" 345 U
34^ The Trees of Great Britain and Ii;eland
empty cones remaining on the branches for several years. Seeds, two on each scale,
with a translucent wing, which remains coalesced with the seed, covering it entirely
on the upper side, and extending for some distance along its outer edge.
The genus is confined to the temperate and colder regions of the northern
hemisphere, and comprises about fourteen described species. Four of these, which
we have not seen either growing wild or in cultivation, will now be briefly
alluded to.
Larix Cajanderi, Mayr, Fremdl'dnd. Wald- u. Parkbdume, 297, fig. 88 (1906).
Discovered by Dr. Cajander in eastern Siberia, where it occurs along the banks of
the river Lena from the mouth of the Aldan at 68° N. lat. northwards to 72° N. lat.,
becoming here a stunted tree only 10 to 20 feet in height. It usually forms mixed
woods with the Siberian spruce or Betula odorata, assuming in wet soil the same
appearance as is presented by L. americana in the swamps of Wisconsin ; or on
unflooded land growing pure to a height of about 70 feet. Judging from the
description it is closely allied to, if not a mere variety of, L. dahurica. The young
branchlets are yellowish brown with scattered hairs, older branchlets becoming ashy
grey. The leaves are very long, up to 2 inches in length ; and are accompanied on
the opening of the bud by a tuft of dense whitish pubescence, which is absent in
L. dahurica. The cones are small, with about twenty scales, which gape widely
when ripe, and are broad and concave on the upper margin.
Larix Principis Rupprechtii, Mayr, op. cit. 309, figs. 87, 94, 95 (1906). This
species was discovered by Mayr on the Wu Tai mountain in the province of Shansi
in northern China ; and appears to resemble strongly the European larch, from which
it differs in the cone-scales being finely denticulate and glabrous, with bracts short
and only visible towards the base of the cone. This species has been introduced
into Europe by Mayr, who brought a living plant to Grafrath, near Munich, which is
growing there very vigorously.
Larix kamtschatika, Carriere, Conif. 279 (1855); Abies kamtschatika, Ruprecht,
Beit. Pflanzenkund. Russ. Reich, ii. 57 ; Pinus kamtschatika, Endlicher, Conif. 135
(1847). This species, which occurs in Kamtschatka, is said to differ from L. dahurica
in having larger cones. It is imperfectly known, and has not been introduced.
Larix chinensis, Beissner, Mitteil. Deutsch. Dendrol. Gesell. 1896, p. 68, and
1901, p. 76 ; and Nuov. Giorn. Bot. Ital. iv. 183, t. 5 (1897). A tree, dimensions of
which are not stated. Branchlets yellow, glabrous. Leaves up to \\ inch long,
triangular in section, stomatose on the under surface. Cones ovoid-cylindrical, i^ to
2 inches long ; scales numerous, orbicular, entire, coriaceous, furrowed and tomentose
on the outer surface, standing horizontally in the opened cones ; bracts lanceolate,
truncate at the narrowed apex, with a short mucro, extending considerably beyond
the upper margin of the scale, and appressed and not recurved in the unripe cone.
Seeds about \ inch in length with a broad wing slightly exceeding the seeds in
length.
This species, specimens of which I have recently seen in the Museum at
Florence, was discovered at 10,000 feet altitude in the Peling mountains of Shensi
in China by Pere Giraldi in 1893. Beissner has raised seedlings from seeds sent in
Larix 347
1899, and some of these have been grafted on the common larch and are now
growing in the Arnold Arboretum, Massachusetts.
This larch in botanical characters stands nearest to L. occidentalis. Occurring
at a high elevation in Shensi at about lat. 38°, it should prove perfectly hardy in this
country ; but must not be expected to be of much importance as a forest tree.
The remaining species, ten in number, are tolerably well known, and are readily
distinguishable by the characters of the cones and flowers. In the absence of cones,
the following arrangement will give a good clue to the species : —
A. Leaves deeply keeled on both surfaces.
1. Larix Lyallii, Parlatore. Western N. America.
Young branchlets completely covered with a dense greyish tomentum, which
persists in part in the second year.
2. Larix Potanini, Batalin. Western China.
Young branchlets bright yellow in colour, with a scattered pubescence.
B. Leaves keeled only on the lower surface, the upper surface being flattened or
rounded.
* Young branchlets pubescent.
t Leaves glaucous, bluish, with two conspicuous bands of stomata, each of five lines,
on the lower surfcue.
3. Larix leptolepis, Endlicher. Japan.
Branchlets of the second year reddish, with a glaucous tinge. Leaves
numerous in the bundle, at least forty, long and slender, arranged in an
erect cone-like pencil.
4. Larix kurilensis, Mayr. Kurile Islands.
Branchlets of the second year shining reddish brown, pubescent, not glaucous.
Leaves few in the bundle, often only twenty to thirty, short and very broad,
spreading so as to form an open cup around the bud.
ft Leaves greenish, with two inconspicuous bands of stomata, each of two to three
lines, on the lower surface.
5. Larix Griffithii, Hooker. Himalayas.
Branchlets of the second year very stout, dull reddish brown, pubescent.
Short shoots broad and fringed above by very large loose reflected
pubescent membranous bud-scales.
6. Larix occidentalis, Nuttall. Western N. America.
Branchlets of the second year slender, light brown, shining, pubescent. Short
shoots slender, with narrow inconspicuous fringe of bud-scales.
7. Larix sibirica, Ledebour. Russia, Siberia.
Branchlets of the second year slender, shining, greyish yellow, glabrous, the long
hairs present in the furrows between the pulvini of the first year's shoot
having fallen off. Leaves very long and slender, up to 2 inches in length.
34^ The Trees of Great Britain and keland
** Young branchlets glabrous.
t Branchlets yellowish grey in colour.
8. Larix europcea, De Candolle. Europe.
Branchlets of the second year shining, glabrous, yellowish grey.
8a. Larix sibirica, Ledebour, var. Russia.
In certain specimens of this species the branchlets are indistinguishable from
those of Larix europcea, and in the absence of cones only show a difference
in the leaves, which are very long and slender in L. sibirica.
•H" Branchlets brown in colour.
9. Larix americana, Michaux. North America.
Young branchlets often glaucous. Branchlets of the second year shining
brown. Short shoots blackish. Leaves short, not exceeding i^ inch in
length.
10. Larix dahurica, Turczaninow. Siberia.
Young branchlets never glaucous. Branchlets of the second year shining
brown. Short shoots blackish. Leaves long, exceeding \\ inch.
These two species strongly resemble each other in technical characters, but
are readily distinguished, as seen in cultivation in this country, by the
appearance of the branchlets, which in L, dahurica are vigorous, long, and
straight, whereas in L. americana, which makes slow growth, they are
short, curved, and twisted.
lOA. Larix occidentalism Nuttall, var. In glabrous specimens of this species the
chestnut-brown coloured short shoots will readily distinguish them from
either of the two preceding species.
Mayr says that though the various species of larch seem very different at the
first sight, yet that they all have the same biological character, and are all inhabitants
of the coldest limits of the forest, whether produced by latitude or altitude, and
that when introduced into warmer regions or zones, they lose their economic useful-
ness through premature fruitfulness or fungoid attacks. This opinion, though so often
expressed in various forms by foresters of continental experience, is not strictly
applicable to Great Britain, as the pages of this work will prove ; and though the
liability to spring frost is greater with the more northern and alpine species, yet in
their native countries larches are also subject to frosts during almost every month
in the year, and though the young shoots in spring and the unripened wood in
autumn are often much injured by frost, yet no trees have a greater power of
recovering from injuries produced by climatic influences, provided the soil is
suitable ; and Mayr truly says that the warmer the climate in which the larch
is cultivated the better the soil it requires. He considers that the timber of all
larches is practically of equal value, its quality depending on the slowness at which
it is grown, rather than on the species or origin of the parent tree.
Larix 349
LARIX EUROP^A, Common Larch
Larix europtza, De Candolle^ in Lamarck, Fl. Fratif. 3rd ed. iii. 277 (1805); Loudon, Arb. et Frut.
Brit. iv. 2350 (1838); Willkomm, Forstliche Flora, 140 (1887); Mathieu, Flore Forestihe, 555
(1897); Kent, VeitcKs Man. Coniferce, 391 (1900).
Larix decidua, Miller, Did. ed. 8, No. i (1768); Kirchner, Loew, u. Schroter, Lebengesch. BlUtenpfl.
Mitteleuropas, 155 (1904).
Larix pyramidalis, Salisbury, Trans. Linn. Soc. viii. 314 (1807).
Larix vulgaris, Fischer, ex Spach, Ifist. V^g. xi. 432 (1842).
Larix Larix, Karsten, Pharm. Med. Bot. 326 ^157 (1882).
Pinus Larix, Linnaeus, Sp. PI. looi (1753).
Pinus lata, Salisbury, Prod. 399 (1796).
Abies Larix, Poiret in Lamarck, Diet. vi. 511 (1804).
A tree attaining 100 to 150 feet in height^ and 10 to 15 feet in girth. Bark of
young stems and branches smooth and grey ; on older stems (twenty years and
upwards) Assuring and scaling off in thin irregular plates, exposing the reddish cortex
below ; at the base of old trunks in the Alps becoming extraordinarily thick, a foot or
more. Young branchlets slender, glabrous, greyish yellow, with linear pulvini
separated by narrow grooves ; in the second and third year shining yellow with more
elevated pulvini, at the apices of which are the scars of the fallen solitary leaves ;
base of the shoot girt by a sheath of the bud-scales of the previous season, within
which is visible a ring of pubescence. Short shoots dark brown, with rings of
pubescence marking each year's growth. Terminal buds small, globose, resinous,
with glabrous scales, the lowermost of which are subulately pointed. Lateral buds
hemispherical, glabrous, broadly conical, surrounded at the base by a dense ring of
hairs.
Leaves light green, soft in texture ; those solitary on the long shoots shorter,
broader, and more acuminate than those in the tufts, the latter differing in length, the
longest about i^ inch long, and rounded at the apex ; upper surface flat or rounded,
with one line of stomata on each side ; lower surface deeply keeled, with two to three
lines of stomata on each side.
Male flowers sessile, ovoid, \ to | inch long. Pistillate flowers, reddish or
occasionally whitish, ovoid, about \ inch long ; bracts, with their mucronate apices
pointing upwards and outwards and not reflected or recurved, about \ inch long,
oblong, widest at the base, deeply notched above between two pointed projections ;
mucro about ^ inch long.
Cones ovoid, with the tips of the bracts slightly exserted, \\ to i^ inch long,' the
terminal scales small and not gaping but closing the rounded or flattened apex of the
' We adopt the name Larix europaa, although it is not the oldest one, because it has been in general use for over a
century. According to a note at Kew of Alph. de Candolle the Flore Fratifaise, 3rd ed., was published in reality in 1805,
and not in 1815, as it is printed in the volume at Kew.
* Kerner, Nat. Hist. Plants, Eng. trans., i. 722 (1898), gives the greatest certified height of the larch as 53.7 metres,
equal to 176 feet ; and this refers to a tree growing in Silesia, mentioned by Mathieu, loc. cit. 556.
' In the Museum at Florence there are specimens from Courmeyeur, in the Piedmontese Alps, with cones two inches in
length, the largest which I have seen, and remarkable for the dense velvety pubescence of their scales.
350 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
cone. Scales in four to five spiral rows, nine to ten scales in each row, about ^ inch
broad and long, convex from side to side but flattened longitudinally, with the apex
usually retuse, often emarginate or rounded ; margin thin, entire, not bevelled, and
neither inflexed nor recurved ; outer surface light brown pubescent, the pubescence
most marked towards the base. Bracts oblong, widest at the base, truncate or
rounded at the apex, with a short mucro extending about half-way up the scale.
Seeds in shallow depressions on the scale, with wings narrowly divergent and extend-
ing almost quite to its upper and outer margin ; body of the seed ^ inch long, wing
short and broad, widest near the base ; seed with wing less than J inch long ; wing
^ inch broad.
Varieties
The flowers of the common larch are occasionally white in colour.' This occurs
both in the wild state and in cultivated trees, as at Arley Castle.
Various kinds of weeping larch have been found wild or have originated in
cultivation : and some have been propagated by grafting. Var. pendula, Lawson,
is noted by Loudon, who states that there were large trees of this kind at Dunkeld,
which had been raised from Tyrolese seed. In this form there is an erect leader,
and the branches are spreading or even ascending, the branchlets being very
slender, elongated, and quite pendulous. In another form of weeping larch the
habit is quite different, as it has no tendency to form an erect leader, the trunk
remaining short and often divided near the top into several secondary stems that
are bent downwards, as are the branches and branchlets. A remarkable example '
of the latter form, with extremely long slender pendulous branchlets, was growing in
1888 in Mr. Maurice Young's nursery at Milford. Var. pendulina^ Regel, Garten-
flora, 1871, p. loi, does not seem to be essentially different in habit from this.
Loudon * mentions a remarkable pendulous larch at Henham Hall, Suffolk, which was
planted in 1800, and was supported on pillars, the main branches forming a covered
alley 80 feet long and 16 feet wide in 184 1. I am informed by Mr. Simpson,
gardener at Henham Hall, that this tree is now in good health, the tall shrubs
which surrounded it having been cleared away on one side some three years ago,
since when it has made surprising growth. At three feet from the ground it measures
8 feet 2 inches in girth, and at about eight feet forms an angle, and extends laterally
for a great distance, being supported on pillars and cross pieces which form a pergola
140 feet long, 8 feet high, and 10 to 14 feet wide, which is almost completely
covered by its branches, and will shortly require extension. In a note at Kew,
dated 1882, Sir J. Hooker mentions a weeping European larch at Waterer's nursery,
Bagshot, which was 50 feet high and had the habit of Larix Griffithii.
' Referred to in London Catalopu of Trees, 43 (1730).
' Well figured in Card. Chron. iii. 430, 531, Supplementary Illustration (1888). Var. pendula, Lawson, is figured in
Card. Chron. ii. 684, fig. 1 32 (1887).
^ Cf. Beissner, Nadelhohkunde, 325, fig. 89 {189 1).
* Gard. Mag. 1841, p. 353. Another weeping larch is figured in the same journal, 1839, p. 574.
Larix 351
Distribution
The most recent account of the distribution of the European larch is by Cieslar,'
the distinguished Austrian forester, who points out that the tree in the wild state
occupies four distinct and separate regions, namely, the Alps, the Silesia-Moravia
boundary, Russian Poland, and the Tatra mountains in the Carpathians. Cieslar
strongly disputes the commonly accepted view that the larch is everywhere an
alpine tree, occurring at high elevations ; and holds that the Silesian and Alpine
larches are two distinct climatic varieties, differing in habit and mode of growth,
in period of vegetation and in the altitude at which they naturally grow. He has
not apparently studied the Polish tree, of which I have seen no specimens, nor the
Carpathian larch.
In the Alps, the larch is widely distributed, occurring in French territory in
Savoy, Provence, and Dauphind ; and in the Maritime Alps it reaches about 44° 30'
N. lat, its most southerly and at the same time its most westerly limit. In Switzer-
land the larch, while generally found, does not occur in the Jura and in the cantons
of Glarus, Schwyz, Upper and Lower Unterwald ; it reaches its most northerly
point in Switzerland on the Gabris in Appenzell. Extending eastwards it occurs in
Vorarlberg, in the Alps of Bavaria and Salzburg, in the Tyrol and in Carinthia.
According to Cieslar it is wild in the provinces of Upper and Lower Austria
only south of the Danube, but is found near Vienna as a planted tree. It is absent
from lower Styria and nearly the whole of the Karst ; and in Carniola does not
occur wild south of the Sannthaler Alps ; from Idria the southern limit of distri-
bution runs westward into Italy through the Isonzo valley. In Italy the larch is
confined strictly to the Alps and is not wild in the Apennines, where it has been
occasionally planted with unfavourable results, as the tree, after growing rapidly for
twenty years, slackens in growth and becomes decrepit at 40 to 45 years old.^
Elwes saw it planted in the Sila mountains of Calabria, where it was producing seed
at 10 to 15 years old.
In the Alps the larch is certainly an alpine tree, often reaching the timber
line in company with Pinus Cembra and Pinus montana ; while lower down, but
above the zone of the beech, it is usually met with either pure or in company with
the spruce and silver fir. It occurs, mixed with the beech, at low elevations,
according to Cieslar in certain valleys of the Tyrol. M. Coaz,' Inspector-General
of Forests of Switzerland, is of opinion that the forests of pure larch which now
exist in the Alps are not natural, but have been produced artificially by cutting the
ancient mixed woods. The larch has taken possession of the felled areas and has
succeeded well as regards growth ; but the pure forests are liable to insect attack
and possibly also to disease ; so that he thinks that it is necessary to restore
artificially the ancient and natural condition of the forest. The highest elevation
recorded for the larch is 8200 feet in the Dauphind The upper limit in the Central
' Waldhauliche Studien iiber die Ldrche, 4 (1904). ^ Borzi, Flora Foreslale Italiana, 25 (1879).
' See Garden and Forest, 1895, p. 238, for a r&um^ of M. Coaz's monograph on " Insect Ravages in the Forests of
Larch on the High Alps."
352- The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
Alps varies from 6500 to 8000 feet, and in the Engadine is 7622 feet ; on Mont
Blanc 7218 feet; at Zermatt 7874 feet; in Northern Switzerland, Salzburg, and the
Bavarian Alps, 6400 feet ; in the Venetian Alps 6700 feet. The lower limit to
which the larch descends in the Alps is 1400 feet at Martigny, 2300 feet at
Castasegna, 2000 feet at Chur, 3000 feet in the Bavarian Alps, 2000 to 2300 feet
in the South Tyrol, 1300 feet in Lower Carinthia, and 1600 feet in Lower Austria,
The Larch occupies on the boundary between Silesia and Moravia a small area,
about 30 German square miles, lying between the rivers Mohra and Oppa, and
occupying a zone on the mountains between 1 1 70 and 2840 feet elevation ; but only
occurring in a very scattered condition above 2600 feet. It grows here in mixture
with spruce, silver fir, and beech ; and appears to be indifferent to soil, as it is met
with on primitive schists, grauwacke, and basalt : it occurs also on all aspects. It is
absent from the adjacent high mountain of Altvater, which rises to 4900 feet, and is
clothed with spruce and mountain ash. According to Cieslar, the Alpine larch has
been unadvisedly introduced into Silesia, and it will be difficult in the future to
obtain pure seed of the Silesian variety. Cieslar considers this form to be entirely
distinct from the larch of the Alps, as it has a cylindrical stem, with slender
branches and twigs which are directed upwards, and form a very narrow slender
crown. The Alpine larch has stouter branches and twigs, which are directed
horizontally, and form a much more spreading crown of foliage, the stem being much
more tapering. Introduced into cultivation at low elevations, the Silesian larch is
later to come into leaf, and sheds its leaves earlier in autumn, grows much faster, is
less liable to damage from snow, and can, on account of its narrow pyramidal form,
be planted much more densely. The Alpine larch will not bear crowding, according
to Cieslar, and is an inferior tree for planting in every respect.
In Russian Poland, the larch is mainly met with on the hilly land of Lysa Gora,
where it forms large forests on sandy soil between Konskie and Szydlowice, near
Samsonow. It also extends over the right bank of the Weichsel into Galicia.
According to Vrzozowski, the larch at one time was spread over the governments of
Piotrkow and Warsaw, as churches and manor houses built 300 to 500 years ago of
larch wood are still standing. The distribution of the larch in ancient times must
also have extended considerably to the eastward, as a church built of larch in 14 19
is reported to exist at Slucz in the government of Minsk in West Russia. Count
Dzieduszycki's forester at Poturzyca, near Sokal, in Galicia, reports that larch occurs
there between 600 and 800 feet elevation.
The larch occurs also, but not extensively, in the Tatra mountains, between
Hungary and Galicia, where it grows on southwest slopes up to 5200 feet, reaching
a somewhat higher altitude than the spruce and not ascending as high as the Cembra
pine. Cieslar finds no reliable evidence for the larch being wild in the Carpathians
east of the Tatra mountains ; and does not credit its occurrence in Transylvania.
Prof Huffel ^ of Nancy states that the larch occurs, but is very rare, in Roumania,
where he saw it in the mountains which separate the valleys of the lalomitza and
Prahova at 6300 to 6600 feet elevation. Here it was growing either in mixture
' Fortts dt la Roumanie, 6.
Larix 353
with the spruce or higher than it. In Moldavia he reports it on the Ceahlaii, where
it rises on a southern slope to 5550 feet. The larch in Moldavia and Roumania has
been considered to be Larix sibirica ; but Huffel doubts this.
Herr F. Mack, forest administrator at Azuga in Roumania, states ^ that larch is
common at Bucecii above the beech region, at from 1 300 to 1 600 metres, mixed with
spruce. It attains 60 to 65 centimetres, or about 2 feet in diameter, and is often
clear of branches to a considerable height. The wood is hard, red, and durable,
and was used in the construction of the Royal Palace of Sinaia.
Introduction
There is little doubt that the larch was introduced into England about the
beginning of the seventeenth century, as Parkinson, who published his Paradisus
in 1629, speaks of the tree as rare. Evelyn,^ writing in 1664, mentions " a tree of
good stature not long since to be seen about Chelmsford in Essex," and urged its
cultivation as a useful timber tree. The earliest trees in Scotland are supposed to
be those at Dunkeld, the history of which is given below ; but we have no reliable
evidence as to the exact date and locality where it was first planted. Loudon's
account is very full and should be consulted. The very useful little book by C. Y.
Michie on the larch, published in 1885 by Blackwood, must not be overlooked, as it
gives a very good r^sumd by a practical forester whose experience in Scotland was
considerable. A. H,
Propagation
Ever since it was realised by landowners that the larch was the tree which
before all others could be looked on as profitable to plant, its propagation has been
one of the most important branches of the nurseryman's business, especially in
Scotland, where by far the larger part of the trees grown in England are raised ;
and until the disease spread all over the country, and it became evident that
precautions must be taken, which in the palmy days of larch -growing were not
considered necessary, the majority of raisers were not very careful as to the source
from which their supplies of seed were obtained. It was generally supposed that
Scottish seed was best, though in years when it could not be obtained in sufficient
quantity foreign seed was used.
Sa far as I have been able to ascertain from very numerous inquiries, the reason
for this idea was, that foreign seed usually germinated more quickly, and that the
seedlings were therefore more liable to be killed by severe spring frost just as they
were germinating. But as all the old larches in England and Scotland must
necessarily have been raised from foreign seed, it seems obvious that though
Scottish seedlings may have been most profitable to the nurseryman, yet that unless
the seed was gathered from carefully selected trees, they were liable in after-life to
show weakness of constitution, and succumb, as they often did, to the attacks of
Peziza Willkommii.
' Zeil. fiir Forst. und Jagdwesen, Oct. 1904, p. 644. * Silva, Hunter's ed., 1776, p. 297.
II X
354 ^^^ Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
Another reason has been assigned, with some probability, to the apparently
greater liability to disease of larch now than formerly, namely, that the cones are
often gathered too early, and exposed to too much heat in the kilns in order to extract
them. The cone of the larch does not open of its own accord usually until spring ;
often in this climate so late that the seedlings make little growth the first year, and
the seed cannot be extracted without heat, or by breaking up the cones in a mill,
which bruises and destroys many seeds ; and in the climate of Scotland they do not
often ripen so early or thoroughly as in the drier, colder, and sunnier climate of its
native Alps : therefore it seemed to me desirable to make experiments with larch
seed from abroad, in order to find out whether there was any real difference in
the vigour of foreign and home-grown seedlings ; and though my experience in this
way now extends over fifteen years, I cannot say that I have solved the question.
On many occasions I have sown seed from Scotland, the French Alps, and the
Tyrol, and have found that on my poor calcareous soil, which, though it grows larch
very well, is not at all suitable for raising it, a large proportion of these seedlings
from all sources either perished in infancy, or grew so slowly in the first two years
that they were far inferior to seedlings raised in Scotland on a better soil and
climate, and probably on manured land. But many of these weaklings have after-
wards grown into robust young trees, and the difference in their liability to suffer
from spring frost, which is their greatest enemy, is not sufficiently marked to enable
me to form a sound opinion as to which are best.
What I have learnt, however, is that, though seedlings cannot be raised as
cheaply or as rapidly at Colesborne as in a Scotch nursery, they are more satisfactory
in other ways, because it is better to eliminate the weaklings before they are planted
out than to have to replant them afterwards ; and I believe that the greater the risk
of disease the more careful one must be, not only in the selection of seed, but also
in their nursery management. Another point in favour of home raising is that the
seedlings are not exposed in their younger stages to the extreme drying of the roots
which arises from the careless way in which they are often lifted and packed by
nurserymen, and from the long delays in transit on the railway ; and, finally, the trans-
plantation in a private nursery is more carefully done, and the roots are better
developed and more able to endure the severe check of final transplantation to a soil
which is less favourable to their growth than that of the nursery.
Mr. J. P. Robertson, forester to the Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth, writes
me as follows with regard to the comparative hardiness of larch raised from native
and foreign seed in 1903 : —
" We have two nurseries, one at an elevation of 900 feet, the other at about
600. In both a large quantity of larch from home seed have been put in this spring,
while in each a break of the Tyrolese, 10,000 in number of similar size, has been
placed. These last were from two different nurserymen. In both nurseries the
home variety has suffered severely from the strong white frosts that we had in Easter
week, while the Tyrolese in each case is practically untouched."
But on inquiry in 1905 whether this apparent superiority was still the case, he
wrote : —
Larix 355
" I did not require to wait long to see the results reversed, as severe frosts in
June of that same year, I think on 21st, 22nd, and 23rd, when we had 9°, 10°, and 8°
of frost respectively, nearly put the Tyrolese bed out of existence, while those that had
been cut earlier in the season (the home variety) did not suffer to anything like the
same extent. I am now so thoroughly convinced in my own mind of the superiority
of larch from home or British seed, that I have entirely discarded the Tyrolese."
Though the seed is ripened in ordinary seasons in all parts of the country, and
a few self-sown trees may be found on most estates where rabbits are kept down, yet
our conditions of soil and climate are so unlike those of the natural larch forests of
the Alps, that it is useless to attempt natural reproduction with any economic
advantage. The only cases in which I have seen any number of self-sown seedlings
in the southern half of England are where a clean felling has been made of the larch,
and the ground more or less broken up by hauling out the logs immediately after-
wards. Of the seedlings which germinate, so large a proportion are destroyed by
frost, drought, or vermin in the first season, that the number remaining is not worth
consideration, and their growth is so slow for five or six years that planted trees of
half the age will usually be stronger. On sandy land, however, or at high elevations,
and especially in Scotland, it may sometimes be worth while to encourage self-sown
trees, but I cannot say that I have ever seen even a small area which is either
sufficiently or regularly stocked by self-sown larch.* In the Alps, on the other hand,
where the soil is covered with snow for three months or more, natural regeneration
is both easy and regular, and I have, both in the French and Italian Alps, seen the
ground covered with larch seedlings, which, taken up as late as May, when just
uncovered by the snow, I have brought to England when a few inches high, with
success. Indeed, it is wonderful how long seedlings will live if taken up when
vegetation is just commencing, and sent by post in small tin boxes, tightly packed
with a little damp moss or soil, and such trees are my most agreeable souvenirs of
many visits to distant countries.
The manner in which the seed is collected in the French Alps is described to
me as follows by M. Surel, Inspector of Forests at Brian9on, a district which is
celebrated for its larch forests: — "In February, before the season when the cones
are ripe, we choose trees of which the cones are still closed, and spread large cloths
round their trunks at about 10 feet from their base. When the cones open, the
seed falls on the cloths. It is then dried in the sun, or preferably, in order to
avoid excessive drying, under an open shed. The collection takes place at a
minimum altitude of 5500 feet, where the snow is still frozen, and the drying of the
seed by the sun, which in this district is remarkably strong, the thermometer rising
in the sun in February to 30° to 32° Centigrade, is therefore carried on under very
favourable conditions. Drying by the stove would give deplorable results. If I
were obliged to work in a climate where the climatic conditions made our practice
impossible, I should use closed rooms, slightly heated, but of which the air was freed
from moisture by chloride of calcium."
' Prof. Fisher tells me that on old roads, and other places where the soil has been exposed, on the shores of Lake
Vymwy in Wales, and also on old pit banks in Dean Forest, he has seen numerous self-sown larches spring up.
35 6 The Trees of Great Britain and Iceland
I was informed by M. Mougin, Conservator of Forests at Chambery, that in
the Modane district the cones are collected at the end of November by men who
climb the trees, with a long hooked pole, and gather the cones by hand into a bag
which they carry. The cones are received twice a week at the drying-place, where
they are spread out in an airy shed, and turned over every day to dry them and
prevent them from heating. When the fine weather returns, they are spread out
on a cemented floor, exposed to the sun, which opens them, after which the seed is
collected and cleaned, and put in boxes, which are shaken frequently to prevent the
attacks of insects. Sometimes seed can be collected on the snow under the trees
in January by shaking the trees. But in no case is a stove used to extract them,
as seems to be the usual practice in Scotland.^
From Prof A. Fron,^ of the Forestry School of Les Barres, I have received
valuable information on the germination of larch seed, which I summarise as follows :
He considers that the process usually adopted of grinding the cones in a mill
is very inferior to either of those which I have described as in vogue in the
Alps, because the seeds of good quality which come from the central portion of the
cone are mixed with those from its upper and lower ends, which are usually empty
or imperfect. In 1905 he made experiments on the germination of larch seed
obtained at Modane, which had been extracted by the heat of the sun, and obtained
the following result : —
Purity ...... 98 per cent.
Germinative power . . . . 61.3 „
Cultural value ..... 60.1 „
whilst the average of the seeds obtained from seedsmen only gave the following
result : —
Purity . . . . . 80 to 85 per cent,
Germinative power . . . . 45 ,. 50 ,,
Cultural value ... 40 ,,
I may say that the seeds I have gathered from my own trees late in March, and
extracted by exposing them to the sun under glass in a garden frame, have germin-
ated quicker and grown better than any which I have purchased.
An ideal way of raising larch would be as follows : To gather cones in the
month of March or April from the best and healthiest mature trees in one's own
district, or, failing this, from trees known to be healthy on a similar soil ; or to
purchase seed of known origin direct from a reliable firm abroad, among whom I can
highly recommend Messrs. Vilmorin of Paris and Messrs. Jenewein of Innsbruck.
The seed-bed should be in an elevated position, where spring frosts are not
likely to be severe, and sheltered as much as possible from the morning sun by trees
' Prof. Fisher tells me that in Germany larch seed is extracted from the cones by a toothed axis rotating in a drum, also
lined with shorter teeth, and driven by water or steam power.
' For further particulars concerning the purity and germinative power of larch seed from dift'erenl sources, cf. Fron,
Analyse et ContrSle des Sentences Forestiires, 92 (1906).
Larix 357
or by clipped hedges or high walls. The soil, light and friable, and, if naturally poor,
enriched by manuring with leaf mould and road scrapings, and as free from weed
seeds as possible, should be laid up into beds 4 feet wide, with perfect drainage,
in the previous autumn, so as to have a fine mould on the surface.
About the middle of April, but earlier or later according to the climate, the seed
should be steeped in warm water for a day or two and dusted with red lead when
damp, in order to keep mice and birds from attacking it.^
On a dry day the seed should be sown broadcast as evenly as possible, and thick
enough to have about one plant to the square inch, or less if the seedlings are to
remain two years before transplanting. If the soil becomes dry the beds must be
watered and shaded as the seed begins to germinate, which should be in fourteen to
twenty days after sowing. At this time great care must be taken to prevent the
seedlings from damping off, and it is better to keep the bed rather dry than wet. If
weeds appear they must be carefully pulled up when quite small. If the soil and
season are favourable the seedlings will in the first season be 4 to 6 inches high.
If they should be too thick to stand a second season in the seed-bed, the strongest
should be lifted and pricked off in lines about the end of March in the second year,
and if there is much risk of a severe frost it is wise to transplant them all, as this
check will retard their too early growth.
After transplanting they should remain two years in the nursery lines, except in
the case of strong one-year seedlings, which may be fit to plant out one year after
transplanting, but this must depend on the soil and the nature of the ground where
they are to be planted out. Except for planting in woods or in places overgrown
with coarse grass or fern, seedlings of one year old plus two years transplanted, or
two years old plus one year transplanted, are, in my experience, large enough ;
and any which, from overcrowding or other causes, are not then strong
enough may be rejected and have another year or two in the nursery. There
will always be a considerable proportion of young trees which are inferior to
the rest in size and vigour, and these are better separated when transplanting ;
whilst all those whose leaders are frosted or immature should be rejected, no
more than forty to fifty per cent of the whole being usually fit to plant out at
three years old.
The raising of such trees may cost from 20s. to 30s. per thousand in a private
nursery, and though they can often be bought cheaper are, in my opinion, worth
the extra cost.
Mr. Robertson writes on the same subject as follows : —
" Here we are now, I am glad to say, as little troubled with larch disease as
most people, and the reason is simply that we endeavour to keep the plants strong
and healthy at all stages of their growth, so as to be better able to resist attack. It
must not be forgotten in these days of continental forestry that larch is a light-
demanding tree, and ought not to be grown on the same principle of density as
• It is a regular practice in some nurseries where large quantities of larch are raised from seed to soak it for a day or more
in water, and then spread it out on a floor where it is daily turned over and sprinkled with water until it seems ready to ger-
minate. By adopting this practice the germination is quicker and more regular.
35 8 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
advocated for shade-bearing species ; but it is equally dangerous to over-thin, and
thus bring about starvation, and consequently weakness, by cold winds."
Cultivation
Whether the system of notching or pitting is adopted must depend on the local
conditions and the size of the trees to be planted. If not more than i8 inches to 2
feet in height, notching, when carefully done, is sometimes as successful as pitting,
but in very dry summers a large proportion of the trees will die whichever way the
planting is done. In my own experience allowance must be made, in calculating
the cost of planting, for a loss of about 20 per cent on an average, though this
is often much exceeded when the trees are planted after Christmas, or when their
roots have become dry, or when careless workmen have been employed without very
close and constant supervision. This is allowing nothing for damage done by hares
and rabbits, which, unless thoroughly killed down before planting and kept out by
a really effectual wire fence, will soon destroy a great many of the young trees.
Having once planted the trees, the success of the plantation will depend more
on soil and climate than on the skill of the planter. For though larch will, owing to
their extraordinary vigour, grow almost anywhere up to fifteen to twenty years old,
they will not attain a large size unless the soil is moderately fertile and well drained
and the situation open and airy. If large trees are desired, I should always advise
a mixture of beech or birch being planted with them or three to four years later ; but
where the crop can be profitably realised as small poles, or where the soil and
climate are really favourable for larch, they may be planted at four feet apart
without mixture. The distance apart and the mixture of other trees can only be
decided by local experience, the object in view being to keep the trees thick enough
to suppress the grass without depriving them of enough light and air to keep
their lateral branches alive until they are fifteen to twenty years old. All
thinnings should be based on these considerations, and the poorer the soil the
more distance is required between the trees to keep them growing. On my
own soil I have repeatedly noticed that if grass already exists when the trees
are planted, it is impossible to keep the larch thick enough to smother the grass,
without crowding each other to the point of starvation and disease, and in such
land a mixture of beech, at the rate of one beech to two or three larch, is essential.
The result of this mixture is that the larch, instead of beginning to decay at
forty to sixty years old, as it often does when on soil deficient in natural fertility, at
which period it may be worth 5s. to 1 5s. per tree, will live and increase in girth till
at least 100 years, when they may be worth from £1 to ^^3 or £4 each. After
they have been cut the beech may remain, or if not thick enough to stand with
advantage, the land will be left in a very much better condition for replanting than
after a crop of pure larch. '
' Prof. H. M. Ward gave in Naturt, xxxvii. 207 (1887), the following account of an experiment conducted by
Prof. Hartig: — "There is a plantation of larches at Freising, near Munich, with young beeches growing under the
shade of the larches. The latter are seventy years old, and are excellent trees in every way. About twenty years
Larix 359
With regard to the probable profit arising from a crop of larch planted pure, and
realised at 30 to 50 years as compared with a crop mixed with hardwood and realised
at 80 to 100 years, I have, with the assistance of Sir Hugh Beevor and Dr. Schlich,
made several calculations, but it depends so much on local conditions, on the price
realised for thinnings, and on other circumstances which cannot be foreseen, that it
seems impossible to estimate it with any certainty.
I have, however, arrived at the conclusion that the short rotation is, as a general
rule, the more profitable, especially where a sporting rent varying from 2s. 6d. to 5s.
per acre can be realised from pure larch plantations after the age of 15 to 20 years,
when rabbits can be admitted freely without risk of serious damage, or where, as in
many parts of Scotland, larch plantations are thrown open to sheep grazing.
What is undoubtedly the best system of forestry is not always the most profit-
able to the landowner, and every one must decide from his own experience which
system will suit his own circumstances best.
When mixed with Spruce or Scots or Corsican pine, as is often done, the larch
on suitable soil will usually far exceed the other conifers in value at the same age ;
and I see no advantage, but rather a loss in such a mixture.
In woods which have been treated as coppice-with-standards the larch is a more
profitable tree than beech or oak, and may be introduced to the number of thirty to
forty per acre immediately after each cutting of the coppice. If left till sixty to eighty
years old there would thus be eventually about 100 trees per acre, which will pay
much better in these times than the underwood ; for if only ten trees, worth say 30s.
each, be taken at each rotation, the value will amount to ^^15 per acre, and there are
not many districts in England where underwood is now worth half as much. In
Earl Bathurst's extensive woodlands near Cirencester this system has been adopted
for many years with great success ; but if rabbits exist it is necessary to protect each
tree by a wire cage until it is old enough to be safe from their attacks, which it is in
this district after twenty to thirty years of age.
The produce per acre of larch in plantations on really good land has in many
instances been surprising, and so profitable to the owner that some writers have
greatly exaggerated the average returns that may be expected. Prof. Charles E.
Curtis,^ assuming that 300 trees per acre may be grown to maturity, which I greatly
doubt, states as a reasonable possibility of production for the larch, no less than
10,000 to 12,000 feet per acre, and says that it will be found possible to bring 1000
to 1 20b poles per acre to a useful and profitable size in thirty to forty years. I have
ago these larches were deteriorating seriously, and were subsequently underplanted with beech, as foresters say, i.e. beech
plants were introduced under the shade of the larches. The recovery of the latter is remarkable, and dates from the
period when the underplanting was made. The explanation is based on the observation that the fallen beech-leaves keep
the soil covered, and protect it from being warmed too early in the spring by the heat of the sun's rays. This delays the spring
growth of the larches ; their cambium is not awakened into renewed activity until three weeks or a month later than
was previously the case, and hence they are not severely tried by the spring frosts, and the cambium is vigorously and continu-
ously active firom the first. But this is not all. The timber is much improved ; the annual rings contain a smaller proportion
of soft, light spring wood, and more of the desirable summer and autumn wood consisting of closely-packed, thick-walled
elements. The explanation of this is that the spring growth is delayed until the weather and soil are warmer, and the young
leaves in full activity ; whence the cambium is better nourished from the first, and forms better tracheides throughout its whole
active period."
' Journ. Roy. Agr. Soc. Ixiv. 36 (1903).
360 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
never seen or heard of such an instance, and on writing to Prof. Curtis he could not
tell me of anything at all near it.
The best estimate I have is from Sir Hugh Beevor of a plantation at Petworth
belonging to Lord Leconfield. It is growing on a steep hill facing east, on sandy
loam overlying sandstone, and at thirty-two years after planting contained about
300 trees or more per acre, averaging 15 feet each, which makes about 4500 feet
per acre. At Mailscott Lodge, in High Meadow Wood, Forest of Dean, he saw
a small plantation, thirty-four years planted, in which the trees on an area of half
an acre numbered 214, averaging 9 feet per tree, equal to about 3800 feet per acre.
The best example on my own property is a plantation at Hilcot, now about
fifty-four years old, in which there are 2500 trees on an area of about twenty acres.
The trees average about 25 feet on the better parts of the land, and 10 to 15 feet on
the worst, or about 18 feet over the whole area, equal to about 2200 feet per acre.
There are some beech, wych elm, and other hard woods amongst them, which might
make up a total of 3000 cubic feet per acre, and though the larch might stand ten
to twenty years longer they are not now making a profitable increment.
Mr. J. E. Hellyar Stooke of Hereford sends me the following particulars of a
sale in 1907, of larch sixty to seventy-five years old, growing on a hill 400 to 500
feet high, the soil being stiff clay overlying limestone facing east to south. There
was no disease except on some of the smaller branches ; the trees were all sound,
and would probably have continued to grow for many years.
Lot.
Acreage.
Number of
trees per
acre.
Number of
poles per
acre.
Estimated
contents
per tree.
Estimated
contents
per pole.
Total estimated
contents per acre.
Prices realised for larch on
estimated contents.
Per cubic foot.
Per acre.
I
3
3
a.
2
3
I
r.
0
2
3
S
18
20
138.0
134-7
155-7
142.8
32-5
54-3
24.0
36.9
cubic feet.
26.00
26.27
26.00
26.09
cubic feet.
5-6
6.26
6.25
6.03
cubic feet.
3769.6
3881.0
4197.8
3949-4
pence.
8.89
8.85
9.01
£ s. d.
139 18 0
143 3 I
157 M 8
146 18 7
6
3
3
Ave
a
rage
bove.
of
the
These trees were sold standing, by auction, at such a distance from a railway
station that the hauliers could only make one journey daily.
At what age it pays best to fell a crop of larch is a question which depends
entirely on the growth of the trees and the local value : in some cases thirty to forty
years may be the most profitable age, in most fifty to sixty ; and where the trees are
planted with a good mixture of beech, and continue to grow well after this period, it
may pay to let them stand to 100 years old, beyond which they will seldom if ever
continue to make a profitable increase.
I should say that ;^ioo per acre was a very fair average valuation of a clean
Larix 361
larch crop at forty to sixty years old, and though it is often exceeded, yet in many
more instances I believe that at present prices the return will be less, even when
disease has not seriously deteriorated the value of the trees by the scars and cankers
which disfigure the trunks. -
Diseases of the Larch
Though it is not within the scope of this work to describe the diseases of trees,
yet an exception must be made in the case of the larch, because it is a subject of such
vast economic importance that it may truly be said, that the losses of all other trees,
from all kinds of diseases, whether induced by climatic causes, by insects, or by
fungi, do not collectively approach the loss caused to English landowners by larch
disease. In using this term without qualification I mean the disease caused by the
fungus usually known as Peziza Willkommii, but which is now named by mycologists
Dasyscypha calycina, and which is perhaps best described in English by the name
" Canker," or " Blister." This began to attract attention in this country about 1859,
when the Rev. M. T. Berkeley ^ made known its existence in England, and Charles
M'Intosh in i860 wrote a small book on larch disease, though what he described
more especially was heart-rot, a very different thing from canker.
Hartig and de Bary were the first to describe the fungus. Prof Marshall Ward
in his Timber and some of its Diseases, published in 1 889, described it more fully ;
and since then Mr. Carruthers, Dr. Somerville, and other scientific writers have
written largely on the subject. In the Gardeners Chronicle, 1896, are many interest-
ing articles respecting the larch disease by J. S. W., Sir Charles Strickland, A. C.
Forbes, and C. Y. Michie ; and an excellent paper on it with coloured illustrations,
by Mr. Geo. Massee, appeared in the Journal of the Board of Agriculture for
September 1902.
The most practical observations on the larch disease I know of, are in Mr.
A. C. Forbes's excellent work on English Estate Forestry, pp. 289-307 (1904).
These should be studied carefully by every one who is in any degree interested in
the subject. After giving a summary of the more important opinions and facts
noticed in connection with this disease, he says — and I entirely agree with him — that
the disease is as much the result as the cause of the bad health and unthrifty
condition of many plantations throughout the country ; and that the temporary
debility which is induced by the conditions under which planting is conducted is
largely responsible for a great deal of disease. He goes on to say that the practically
permanent nature of the blister, when once established, renders the result of this
temporary debility a much more serious matter than it otherwise would be. If the
return to normal health and growth were accompanied by the disappearance of the
disease, little harm would be done, but the existence of a blister, once established,
is perpetuated indefinitely, and in most ceises only ceases with that of its host, so that
the occurrence of a blister on the stem of a young tree is much more serious than it
would be on a branch or older stem. Cases commonly occur of the disappearance of
• Card. Chron. 1859, p. IO15.
II Y
362 The Trees of Great Britain and Ii^land
the blisters when the trees recover health and vigour ; and he mentions a plantation
over twenty years old, more or less mixed with beech, on greensand, where a number
of old blisters are gradually becoming occluded. That they were genuine blisters is
evident from the remains of the Peziza cups still present, and the only possible theory
respecting their disappearance must be found in the improved health of their host.
I have frequently observed similar cases, both on my own land, where in some of the
worst diseased plantations, individual trees, which on account of their greater vigour
have taken a lead from the first, remain almost untouched and growing vigorously,
when most of the surrounding trees are killed or severely injured ; and also in
Hertfordshire, where tall slender larch trees growing amongst beech showed at
various points, from near the ground up to 50 or 60 feet, signs of repeated attacks,
which had neither killed them nor apparently checked their growth materially.
Forbes says that one may pick up dead twigs or branches under the largest, finest,
and most isolated larches that can be found, and the fructifications of Peziza are
invariably present on them. This fact he thinks is sufficient to prove that the mere
existence of the fungus does not necessarily lead to diseased trees, using the term
diseased in its practical sense.
The year 1879 will long be remembered by all gardeners, farmers, and land-
owners in the southern half of England as the most disastrous in its effects on
plants, farm crops, and trees generally. There was practically no summer, and the
rainfall was so continuous, that in late districts much of the corn never ripened
at all, and being followed by two severe winters, the disease spread to a degree
which ruined hundreds of acres of young larch on my own estate, and caused a
loss which must have amounted to millions of pounds throughout the whole country.
Though after bad seasons and in smaller areas there had been disease before,
it was generally assumed by planters that larch might be successfully grown on
almost any kind of land without mixture, and without any special precautions, and
there is little doubt in my mind that a large percentage of the worst cases originated
in that season, and may be directly traced to the exceptionally bad climatic conditions
which prevailed.
Mr. A. M'Dougal, forester to the Earl of Feversham at Helmsley in Yorkshire,
who has charge of something like 10,000 acres of woodland, and, having been
brought up on the Duke of AthoU's estate, has had unusual experience of the larch,
tells me that in Yorkshire the disease first began to be prevalent about 1862 when
two plantations died clean off. Since then it has been very prevalent on thin red
loam overlying limestone rock ; and this applies as much to localities which have
previously been under oak wood, or cultivation, as to those where larch has been
replanted after larch. He considers that severe spring frosts, together with low-
lying situations and heavy soil, are the conditions which bring on the disease most
severely.
Sir W. Thiselton Dyer, who has been good enough to read this article, does
not quite agree with me with regard to the disease, which he considers due to physical
causes alone, and not influenced by heredity. He says that the fungus is a wound
parasite, whose spores can only develop in lesions where the bark is injured either
Larix 363
by frost, weight of snow, insect punctures, or otherwise, and that it is usually worst
in sheltered hollows, where damp air lies and spring frosts are severely felt, and
that on high situations facing north and east the disease rarely causes much
injury.
All this I admit in full, but I am also convinced that, as the spores of the
fungus are now so generally present everywhere, it is impossible to eradicate it,
the only way by which it can be combated is by planting only on soils and in
situations which experience has shown enable the tree to grow vigorously, and on
poor and dry soils mixing it with hardwoods, the fall of whose leaves enriches the soil
and keeps it cool and free from grass.
Heart-Rot in Larch. — Though sometimes confused with Peziza by careless
observers, this is a totally different disease. C. M'lntosh^ describes it very fully,
and Hartig refers to it under the name of root-rot. Forbes believes, as I do, that
it is the direct result of unsuitable soil, either too wet or too dry. It is most
common on very poor limestone, sand, and chalk, but also occurs on clay and
gravelly soils. In my experience it is especially noticeable where larch follows
larch on soils containing insufficient nourishment, and can only be avoided by not
planting larch where it is found to be prevalent. It usually attacks trees of about
twenty years old, when they have got over their first period of vigorous growth and
have practically exhausted the available sources of nutrition. According to Mr.
Simmonds, late Deputy Surveyor of Windsor Forest, larch grown on what is called
iron pan in that district gets red rot at the heart and is then said to be "pumped."
Larch Bug. — What is commonly known as larch aphis or larch bug is an insect
called C/iermes laricis. The life-history of this insect is at present somewhat obscure,
some continental observers believing that it passes through an intermediate stage of
existence on the spruce, as no males have yet been found on the larch, in which case
it is evident that the insect cannot spread or become numerous unless spruce exists
in the neighbourhood. But this is contested by Dreyfus, and I have observed
that in England at any rate it multiplies exceedingly where no spruce are near.
. The females pass the winter under the bark, and are wingless, oval, of a purplish-
black colour, and have a long bristle-like sucker through which they feed on the sap
of the leaves. In spring they lay eggs which produce young, which grow rapidly,
and are covered later by a whitish woolly down, and when numerous give the trees a
whitish appearance. They increase rapidly by successive broods, and seriously
weaken the constitution of the trees when young, rendering them especially liable to
succumb to the attacks of Peziza, which often accompany and succeed them. When-
ever I have seen bad attacks of the bug I have noticed that the Peziza is more than
usually destructive, and it seems as though the climatic conditions which favour the
one also favour the other. In the autumn the bark of the trees in a badly attacked
plantation appeared quite black ; and though this plantation was in a high situation,
exposed to the east, and was heavily thinned the year afterwards, the greater part of
the trees, which were thirteen years planted from Tyrolese seed, and had been
growing vigorously at first, were so sickly on the thinner and drier parts of the land
' The Larch Disease (i860).
364 The Trees of Great Britain and Iceland
that many will not survive. In the nursery I have observed that some trees were
practically immune, though growing side by side with others whose branches touched
them and were covered with the Chermes ; but having marked these trees and
watched them after they were planted out, I have not as yet been able to assure
myself that this immunity is permanent. Though I have not found this insect
attack Japanese, American, and Siberian larches at Colesborne as severely as
the common species, yet I have seen it upon them all, both there and elsewhere,
Blandford ' says that washing the trees in April with a soft soap and paraffin mixture
in hot water may prove effective, and suggests other forms of wash ; yet it is evident
that such remedies cannot be economically employed in plantations, and I know of
no means of preventing the ravages of this insect ; though thin planting, mixing with
hardwoods, and the avoidance of thin dry soils and damp shady situations are
undoubtedly the best means of avoiding severe injury from this pest, as well as
Peziza.
Leaf-Miner of the Larch? — The only other insect that I know of which causes
serious injury to larch in this country is a small tineid moth, Coleophora laricella.
This is extremely prevalent almost every year in some of my own plantations
having a south-west aspect, and has been supposed by some authors to be directly
connected with the attacks of Peziza, which usually accompany or succeed it.
According to Stainton the larva is hatched in the autumn, and at first feeds as a
miner inside the leaves, and at the approach of winter retires to the stem of the tree,
where it passes the winter without feeding. In the spring as soon as the leaves
appear it begins to work, and frequently becomes so numerous that most of the buds
have several leaves injured. In May it is fully fed, and attaches the case which it
has formed for itself from the leaves of the tree to a twig, and appears as a perfect
insect in July. The tree is undoubtedly very much weakened by severe and
repeated attacks, which render it more liable to die from Peziza, but as far as I know
there is no practicable remedy for it in plantations.
A new enemy to the larch which has recently appeared in the north of England
was described in i\i& Journal of the Board of Agriculture in 1906, p. 375, and more
fully in a paper by Mr. J. Smith Hill.^ This is the larva of a sawfly, Nematus
Erichsonii, Hartig, which was first noticed about 1904 by Mr. Cyril F. Watson, of
Cockermouth, and which has done considerable damage in the Lake district of
Cumberland by defoliating the larch. Mr. Gillanders has recently found the larva
near Rothbury, and Mr. Forbes in Chopwell woods, but I have not heard of its
appearance in the south of England.
I am informed by Mr. R. D. Marshall, of Castlerigg Manor, that he has known
periodical visitations of the same insect for several years, and that, owing to the late
period of the season at which the larva appears, the trees have not suffered as seriously
as they would if attacked earlier. He states that the plantation alluded to by Mr.
Smith Hill first suffered from this cause as much as forty years ago, and has survived
the attack in three consecutive years recently. It was noticed that during these
' Journ. Roy. Hort. Sac. 1892, p. 170. ^ q{ Card. Chron. xxxvi. 181, figs. 70, 71 (1 904).
3 Qitarterly Journal of Forestry, i. p. 67 (1907).
Larix 365
seasons the plantation was full of small birds, which were apparently feeding on the
larvae.
Remarkable Trees
To enumerate all the larches which are remarkable for their size and age in
Great Britain would be impossible, as in almost all places of sufficient age or im-
portance this was one of the first exotic conifers to be planted, but it will suffice to say
that many still exist in a sound condition which are 1 50 years or more old and exceed
100 feet in height. The tallest trees I have ever heard of were felled about the year
1890 in a deep valley near Croft Castle, Herefordshire, the seat of Capt. H. Kevill
Davies, which I visited in 1904 under the guidance of Mr. Openshaw, who assured
me that some trees there were 135 feet long at the point at which the tops were cut
off, with a diameter of 6 inches. This was confirmed by the woodman on the estate,
H. Prince, who estimated the tops to have been 10 to 15 feet long, making the trees
nearly if not quite 150 feet high.^ The soil is Old Red Sandstone and the situation
very sheltered. I have a record of a tree measuring 134 feet by 10 feet 8 inches
which grew in Yorkshire on Lord Masham's estate, and at Penrhyn Castle, North
Wales, Henry measured a tree 1 18 feet by 7 feet 10 inches, and I saw another at the
same place growing in a low, very wet, almost swampy situation very near the sea
among hardwoods which was about 90 feet by 12 feet, and judging from the rings ot
felled trees lying near it was about 130 years old. This is remarkable from the
fact of the conditions of growth being so extremely unlike those which are usually
considered natural to and suitable for the larch, and I can only explain them by
the fact that the natural drainage was better than it seemed. Certainly I would
not expect larch now planted in such situations to escape disease.
At Ombersley Court, Worcestershire, the seat of Lord Sandys, a tree is grow-
ing on the lawn in deep red loam, which exceeds in girth any larch that I know of
in England. It is no less than 15 feet 7 inches at five feet from the ground, though
it falls away rapidly higher up, and is only about 80 feet high, and has very large
and wide-spreading branches.
At Stoneleigh Abbey, Warwickshire, the seat of Lord Leigh, there are some
very large and picturesque larches, near the park-keeper's house, which look
as old as any in England. One of them, measuring 14 feet 8 inches in girth,
has a mass of rugged branches, some of which touch the ground, where they
seem to have taken root. Another is about 80 feet by 14 feet. In the grounds
of Warwick Castle there is a group of seven ancient larches, as well as one
in the castle yard whose top curves into a drooping form.
In Gloucestershire there are many fine trees of this species on the Cotswold
hills, among which may be mentioned two near the Woodhouse in Earl Bathurst's
woods (Plate 98). These are growing on dry and rather shallow soil, overlying
Oolite rock, and are over 100 feet high by 11 feet and 12 feet in girth respectively.
' Mr. T. E. Groom of Hereford writes to me that he measured several of these trees himself, and has a clear recollection
that two of them were over 140 feet long as topped for sale, where they would be S or 6 inches in diameter. The quarter-
girth under bark half-way up was, however, only about 14 inches, which gives their cubic content as about 190 feet.
366 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
They seem to have been drawn up by surrounding trees, though now open on one
side ; and the fine trees beside them are Lawson Cypress, about fifty years old. At
Sherborne House, the seat of Lord Sherborne, is a fine group of six old larches on
the lawn, planted in a circle of very small diameter, which seed freely, and from
which I have raised good plants. They are remarkable for their symmetry and
equality rather than for their great size (Plate 99). At Mickleton Manor
I measured in 1903 a very curious larch, loj feet in girth, but of no great
height, whose branches spread to a distance of over twenty yards from the trunk.
Plate 100 shows the tallest larches which I have measured myself in England,
growing on a very dry, stony bank, composed of Oolite gravel, at Lyde, near
Colesborne. These have no doubt been drawn up by the surrounding beeches to
their great height, which exceeds 120 feet, the tallest, whose top is now dying,
was, when measured in 1903, about 125 feet; but their girth is only 7 to 8 feet.
They are remarkable from the fact that a part at least of their roots is under
water, and must derive some part of their nourishment from the decaying beech
leaves which accumulate there, as the trees higher up the bank are not nearly
so large.
The tallest larch mentioned by Loudon in England was at Strathfieldsaye,
where one was recorded as being 130 feet high by 3 feet 6 inches in diameter ; but
none over 80 feet were reported at the Conifer Conference in 189 1. At Eridge
Park, Kent, are some very fine larch trees growing on sandy soil, in what seems a
damp situation below sandstone rocks, which average well over 100 feet in height,
and one which I measured was 1 1 5 feet by only 5 feet 3 inches, a very unusual
proportion of height to girth. Mr, R. Anderson has heard of a tree which was
felled near Moorhampton which contained 356 cubic feet as measured over bark
on the railway, and trees of over 200 cubic feet were not uncommon near this place.
At Savernake House, Wilts, he has measured a tree 12 feet in girth, and tells me
that the growth on this estate is sometimes so rapid that eight or nine rings may be
found together with an average width of half an inch.
In the north-western counties there are, or have been, many very fine larches.
Sir Maurice Bromley Wilson tells me of two on the shores of Windermere, which he
thinks are the largest in the Lake district ; but the best I have seen myself are at
Greystoke Castle, the seat of the Howards of Greystoke, where Lady Mabel
Howard showed me a tree in a plantation near the castle called John-by-Park, which
is believed to have been planted by Charles, eleventh Duke of Norfolk, about 130
years ago, and which measured 11 feet 10 inches at 5 feet from the ground, and
contains about 230 cubic feet. There are also two trees, taller but not so thick as
the one at Greystoke, in the sunken garden at Lowther Castle in the same district.
In Wales the larch has been planted as extensively as in England on most of
the large estates, and as a rule grows as well as, or better than, in England up to 800
or 1000 feet above the sea. Among the most remarkable trees are two at Chirk
Castle, Denbighshire, the seat of R. Myddelton, Esq., one of which measures 74 feet
by 13 feet 5 inches, and has very wide-spreading branches. The other forks low
down and is 12^ feet in girth. At Maesllwch Castle, Radnorshire, the seat of
Larix 367
W. de Winton, Esq., there is a very fine group of twelve old larches 90 to icx) feet
high, the largest of which measured 11 feet 10 inches, 11 feet i inch, and 10 feet
6 inches in girth when I saw them in 1906. At Dynevor Castle, in a low-lying damp
spot, there is a very fine larch about 100 feet high and 9 feet 10 inches in girth, which
may contain as much as 300 feet of timber. At Hafod, in Cardiganshire, the seat of
T. J. Waddingham, Esq., there were planted in the year 1800 400,000 larch trees on
a surface of 44 acres, for which the then proprietor, J. Jones, Esq., obtained a gold
medal from the Society for the Encouragement of Arts.^ Of these, I am informed
by M. D. Barkley, Esq., many still remain, and a section of one which he sent
me shows that they have grown to magnificent trees. As a rule, however, the large
plantations in Wales are not allowed to stand to any great age, being more valuable
when large enough to make pit timber.
In Scotland the number of larches remarkable for their size is so great that it is
not easy to make a selection, almost every large estate, especially in the Highlands,
having splendid trees of great age. So far as I can learn, the trees on Drummond
Hill, near Taymouth Castle, the Perthshire seat of the Marquis of Breadalbane, are
actually the largest in Great Britain. I visited this place in April 1904 and care-
fully measured the best trees myself. They are growing on the slope of a hill
facing south in good open loamy soil, overlying rock, from which, in some places,
springs of water rise ; and seem to owe their immense size in part to the fact of their
having been mixed with beech and oak, which were planted at or about the same
time, and which they have far surpassed in height. The finest tree is figured in
Plate loi, and is about 115 feet in height by 17 in girth. It carries its bulk very well
up to at least fifty feet, where some large branches go off, and contains, according to
Mr. Peter Mackay, the forester, over 500 feet of timber. I estimated the first length
alone at 450 feet, the next at 100 feet, and the top and branches at about 50 feet
more, so that this tree must contain nearer 600 than 500 cubic feet. In November
1893 ^ ^'^^^ near it on the same hill was blown down, and the butt, which was sold,
weighed ten tons on the railway, or about 500 cubic feet, besides which three tons
more were cut up on the estate. Near it is a tree (Plate 102) remarkable for being
divided at about 20 feet up into four large upright stems, a rare occurrence in this
species. It is nearly the same height and girth as the first, and may contain as much
timber. A third, as measured by the forester, has a bole of only 6 feet long, girthing
at I foot from the ground no less than 24 feet, and at 5 feet 1 7 feet 9 inches ; it
divides into two huge trunks over 100 feet high. These trees are believed to be from
160 to 180 years old, and were probably planted as early as those at Dunkeld.
The next largest and probably the best known larches in Scotland are the
so-called Mother Larches, which stand close to the ruins of the Cathedral at Dunkeld
(Plate 103), and which were planted, according to the inscription on a stone slab in
the wall close by, in 1738 by James, third Duke of Atholl, who, according to Hunter,
obtained them from Mr. Menzies of Culdares, who brought a few small plants from
the Tyrol in his portmanteau ; but in an account of the larch plantations on the
estates of Atholl and Dunkeld, published in the Transactions of the Highland Society
> Michie, The Larch, 63 (1885).
368 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
(vol. v.), which is largely quoted by Loudon, it is said that Mr. Menzies of Migenny
was the introducer, and Waliier^ gives 1727 as the date of their introduction.
When measured in 1831, Loudon says that the largest was 100 feet by 10 feet
6 inches at 5 feet from the ground. In 1888, according to the tablet mentioned
above, it was 102 feet high, and girthed at 3 feet 17 feet 2 inches, at 5 feet 15 feet
I inch, at 17 feet 12 feet 10^ inches, at 51 feet 8 feet 8 inches, and at 68 feet 6 feet
I inch, the estimated contents being 532 cubic feet. When measured by Mr. Keir,
forester to the Duke, in 1 899 it was 1 5 feet 6 inches in girth ; and I made it
in 1904 15 feet 8 inches and 100 feet high ; so it is still growing and vigorous,
though the smaller tree beside it has lost most of its top and many of its branches."
There are many other fine larches on this estate, of which the largest perhaps, on
the Kennel Bank at Dunkeld, is 120 to 125 feet high by 11 feet 10 inches in girth,
with sound top and clean bole to 50 to 60 feet, containing about 350 feet of timber.
Three trees of the same age as the Mother Larches are growing near the Castle
at Blair Atholl, but are not nearly as large or well shaped.
At Gordon Castle there are some fine larches, one of which, growing in a
plantation called Cotton Hill, exposed to the full blast of the North Sea, is figured
on account of its remarkable trunk (Plate 104). An immense limb comes off close
to the ground, where the trunk girths 20 feet 6 inches, and at about 5 feet, where the
tape is seen in the plate, it is 11 feet in diameter. The branches spread to at least
15 yards on each side and measured 198 feet in circumference, and the tree in April
1904 was covered with fine cones, which were beginning to shed their seed, and
from which I have raised some plants.
At Monzie Castle, near Crieft, are some splendid larches of the same age and
origin as those at Dunkeld, of which the largest, according to Hunter, was 100 feet
by 16 feet 3 inches, and contained about 380 feet of timber when he wrote in 1883.
I have not seen these trees myself, but Henry measured the largest in 1904 as
109 feet by 17 feet 4 inches, and describes them as very beautiful trees with immense
pendent branches in full health and vigour. Hunter says that John, fourth Duke of
Atholl, called "the Planting Duke," because he is said to have planted over 10,000
acres of larch, considered them to be the only rivals to the Mother Larches at
Dunkeld, and sent his gardener every year to report on their progress. They are
figured by Michie on p. 205.
At Inveraray there are some very fine larches on the level ground near the
Castle. The best that I measured was about 1 10 feet by 1 1 feet, but there may
be taller ones ; ^ none approached the silver firs in the same locality in height or
girth. They serve to show, however, that the larch will succeed well in a climate
as unlike that of its native mountains as it is possible to find in Scotland, provided
the soil is good and there is shelter from the west wind.
' Economic History of the Hebrides and Highlands, ii. 214 (1812).
' I was told by Mr. Keir in 1906 that the largest tree had lately been struck by lightning and was now quite dead.
' In Old and Remarkable Trees of Scotland, p. 64, it is stated that a larch at Ben-an, in the parish of Inveraray, was 130
feet high and 10 feet in girth at 3 feet, and others are reported at Glenarbuck, in the county 01 Dumbarton, and at Auchin-
torlie, in the same county, 143 feet and 140 feet high, but these latter measurements are not reliable, and have never been
confirmed. Mr. Renwick has recently measured the Auchintorlie tree, and finds it only 95 feet high.
Larix 369
In the Scottish Arb. Soc. Trans., viii. 233, J. Hutton states that at Keppoch,
in Inverness-shire, there were in 1878, 124 larch trees, said to have been brought
home as two-year seedlings by Ranald Macdonald of Keppoch in 1753. They grew
on an area of about eight acres, and had an average height of about 90 feet, and
were then estimated to contain altogether 18,848 cubic feet of timber. The two
largest, close to the banks of the Roy, were 108 feet by 12 feet 2 inches, contents
355 fe^'t, and 86 feet by 14 feet 7 inches, contents 358 feet ; and he mentions that
upwards of forty similar trees were blown down in 1 860, so that the timber on this
area would have exceeded 3000 feet per acre. This property now belongs to the
Mackintosh of Mackintosh, whose forester, Mr. A. Rose, tells me that at the present
time there are only seventy -seven trees left, of which twenty-five are small ones
which have suffered from various causes ; the remaining fifty-two are fine trees with
an average content of 120 feet, making, together with the smaller ones, only 7192
cubic feet in all. The largest now standing, which is about twenty-five yards from
the banks of the Spean, is 74 feet by 18 feet 6 inches at 3 feet from the ground, and
contains 395 cubic feet. The tallest is 108 feet by 1 1 feet 2 inches. The two largest
in 1878 have both been since cut on account of decay, but the rings counted on the
stump were 123 and 131 only, which does not agree with their reputed history.
There are very tall and large larches at Brahan Castle and elsewhere in East
Ross, one of which was reported by Mr. Pitcaithley* as being 115 feet by 1 1 feet.
Mr. Munro-Ferguson tells me that a very large larch was recently felled on his
property at Novar; and his factor, Mr. Meiklejohn, sends me the following measure-
ments : — at 5 feet from the ground 12 feet 8 inches, at 25 feet 10 feet, at 40 feet
9 feet 4 inches. The cubic contents of the trunk were 400 feet, and the branches
probably contained 50 more.
The highest elevation which I found recorded for the larch in Scotland is in the
Ballochbuie forest, where three larches of great size were reported, in i860, to be in
a sound condition at 1 17 years old and 1 1 10 feet above the sea.
Michie* gives a long account of some fine larches growing in the Paradise at
Monymusk, in Aberdeenshire, with details of their measurements ; the largest in
1 88 1 was 100 feet by 10 feet 5 inches at 20 feet from the ground, and was supposed
to contain 416 cubic feet.
A remarkable instance of the manner in which the roots of the larch may
continue to grow after the tree has been cut is described and figured in Gardeners'
Chronicle^ from a specimen submitted by the late Mr. Webster, head gardener
at Gordon Castle. The figure shows the felled stump, rotten in the centre,
and with the new wood surging over the edges of the wound, and also two
roots of the foster tree, inosculating by means of various branches with those
of the stump.
The larch has been extensively planted in Ireland, and has given, when grown
on ordinary soils, excellent results, as it has usually remained free from disease. As
an instance of good growth, Mr. Mitchell, land-agent at Doneraile and an experienced
forester, told Henry that many trees cut in 1891 in a plantation on the Kilworth
1 Trans. Scot. Arb. Soc. xi. 505. * The iMrch (1885). • Op. cit. 31st Aug. 1872, p. II61.
H Z
370 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
property in Co. Cork must have been 135 feet in height, as he measured them lying on
the ground 1 20 feet to the small end, where they had been cut ofFat 6 inches diameter.
There are still trees as large growing on the same property. Attempts have been
made to plant pure larch on peat-bogs ; but even when the bogs have been well-
drained and good soil has been added to the pits at the time of planting, the trees
have not grown. In such cases a preliminary plantation of Scots pine, or in localities
with a mild climate the maritime pine, will prepare the bog for larch, which after a few
years can be planted in amongst the pines. The conditions for success in bog-plant-
ing are delicate, depending apparently on moderate drainage, as when the bogs are
quite dry the trees are starved for want of water, and when they are too wet, trees
will hardly grow at all. Mr. Richards, forester at Penrhyn, who has had great ex-
perience, is confident that good larch can be grown on peat-bogs ; and isolated trees
doing well on peat have been seen by Henry in various parts of Ireland. Experi-
ments with larch and various mixtures of trees that will grow easily on bogs should
be attempted. The American larch has never been tried, and possibly might
succeed better than the common species, as it is a swamp-loving tree.
The most remarkable old larches in Ireland are at Doneraile Court in Cork, the
seat of Lord Castletown. The history of these trees, which were seen by Henry in
February 1907, is obscure, but there is a tradition that they were sent in the eighteenth
century to Doneraile by the Duke of AthoU. Five trees out of six originally planted
now remain, all of peculiar habit, with numerous more or less weeping branches, the
lowermost of which spread over the ground to a great distance, and in one tree are
layering. This tree is about 70 feet high, and is 1 2 feet 7 inches in girth at 5 feet
from the ground, the base of the tree below 4 feet being much swollen and covered
with very thick bark, like that of old trees in the Alps. On one side the branches
spread to 70 feet distance, and on the other side, where there was less room on account
of other trees, to 30 feet. Another tree, 10 feet 10 inches in girth, has a spread of
91 feet in diameter. None of them attain more than a moderate height, which is
difficult to explain, as ordinary larch grows very tall in the neighbourhood. From
the seed of the old trees, sown in 1890, plants were raised, which were put out in
1893 on a hillside, seven acres in extent, and with good soil. This small plantation
is now remarkably healthy, though the trees are very dense on the ground, and, at
seventeen years old from seed, they average 37 feet in height and 20 inches in
girth.
At Carton Park, the seat of the Duke of Leinster, there is a curious tree
with the trunk inclined and pendulous branches, which was in 1903 60 feet
high and 9 feet in girth. It is considered to be one of the original importations
from Scotland in the i8th century. A fine tree in the same place with a
straight stem measured 98 feet by lOj^ feet. At Abbeyleix House, the seat
of Viscount de Vesci, a tree is growing on the lawn similar to those at Doneraile
in having weeping branches, some of which are layering. At Dartrey Castle,
Co. Monaghan, the seat of the Earl of Dartrey, there are three very old trees,
also with more or less pendent branches, which were in 1903 13 feet 10 inches,
13 feet 8 inches, and 11 feet 7 inches in girth respectively. At Emo Park, Queen's
Larix 371
County, the seat of the Earl of Portarlington, there are about twenty fine trees
in the pleasure ground, one of which measured in 1907 105 feet by 7 feet 9 inches,
another being 92 by 10 feet.
Larch in the Alps
In its native home the larch loves a dry cold winter climate, where the snow lies
from December to April or May, and at the higher elevations does not begin to
vegetate before the end of the latter month. It is not very particular as to the
geological character of the soil provided that the rock is sufficiently disintegrated
for the roots to penetrate and there is a fair amount of soil in which the seeds can
germinate, and as a rule natural reproduction is fairly regular and abundant. It is
not often allowed to attain its full age, which may be 150 to 300 years or more,
on account of the value of its timber for building and other purposes.
As to the size it attains in its native home I have few exact particulars. The
largest that I have measured myself was near Modane, in the forest de Villarodin,
at 4500 feet elevation, growing on schist with a north aspect. This tree, said to be
the largest in the district, was about 90 feet high by 16 feet in girth, but tapered
rapidly, and would not contain more than about 200 feet of timber.
By far the finest specimen of the larch in the Alps is figured in Plate 105, made
from a negative which was very kindly lent me by M. Coaz, Chief Forest Inspector
of the Swiss Forest Department, and which is described in Les Arbres de la Suisse^
as follows : —
"The larch of Blitzlingen grows opposite the little village of this name in the
district of Conches in the upper Valais at an elevation of 1350 metres. At the foot
of a slope facing north-west, on a narrow terrace this tree grows in a deep and fresh
loam, rich in humus, and overlying gneiss rock. There it has become one of the
largest in Switzerland, and measures at its base 8 metres 70 cent., and at i^ metre
is still 7^ metres in girth. Its branches extend 10 metres from the trunk. Its top
is dead, and thus it is only 29 metres high. Strongly attacked by decay, its trunk
does not allow its age to be exactly determined, but no one can accuse us of exaggera-
tion if we estimate it at about five centuries."
According to Dr. L. Klein, who gives an excellent account of the larch,' it
sometimes attains in the Alps an age of 600 to 700 years. Some stumps which
he saw in the so-called Park of Saas-Fee, in the canton of Valais, showed that
number of rings, but these trees did not exceed from i to i^ metre in diameter.
Dr. Klein counted on a sawn stump near the Findelen glacier 417 annual rings in
a diameter of 85 centimetres. He gives several excellent illustrations of Alpine
larches taken near the Riffel Alp, one of which shows a tree forking close to the
ground into four stems, and another a so-called Candelabra larch with branches
rising parallel to the main stem.
' Schmid u. Francke, Baum Album der Schweiz (1900).
' Karsten u. Schenck, Vegetationsbilder, ii. tt. 25-28 (1905).
372- The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
Larch in Other Countries
In Norway, so far as I have seen, the larch does not grow well on the coast,
though there are fine trees 70 to 80 feet high at a farm called Kjostad near Trondheim,
and in the interior and farther south. Schiibeler tells us that it has been successfully
grown as a forest tree, especially at Brandvold, in the Glommen valley, where trees
planted in 1803 had attained in 1878, according to Forstmeister Mejdele, from 70 to
95 feet high, the largest having a diameter of 14 inches at 58 feet from the ground.
A very large tree said to be 150 years old existed in 1866 near Gothenburg in
Sweden.
The larch is one of the few European trees which appears to grow really well in
New England. The following instances of its success are recorded in Garden and
Forest: — vol, ii. p. 9, an acre of larch planted in 1877 by Mr. T. H. Lawrence of
Falmouth, Mass., on gravelly soil, in an exposed situation, a mile from the coast, was
awarded a prize in 1888, when the trees formed a regular and complete cover on the
ground, and many of them were over 25 feet high ; vol. iv. p. 538, records the
success of a plantation made by Mr. J. Russell at East Greenwich, Rhode Island,
with 100 small seedlings costing one dollar, which were planted in 1879, and in 1891
were 20 to 27 feet high. Here the larch has been planted alternately with the native
Pinus Strobus, to which they form an excellent nurse. In 1896 Sargent (vol. ix.
p. 491) speaks of it as a tree likely to produce valuable timber in the northern states ;
but in Virginia, on the lower Chesapeake river, the climate is too wet and hot for it,
and the trees did not thrive (vol. i. p. 500).
European larch has been tried in various places in the Himalaya, but not with
much success, those at Mandli, in Kulu, being apparently the most successful ; in
1881 young trees four years old were 6 feet high.
Timber
The value of larch timber for all purposes where durability and strength are
required has been so well known for so many years past and is so fully dealt with by
Loudon, Michie, " Acorn," and many other writers that I need not say very much
about it. There is no home-grown timber so generally used on estates for building
and fencing, and though its price has fallen considerably of late years on account of
the increasing competition of foreign timber, it is likely to remain in demand, and is
easier to market at all ages than almost any timber except ash.
The only country from which larch timber is at present imported or from
which any possible supplies can come in future is the north of Russia, and this at
present is not used to any great extent ; but shipbuilders, collieries, and railway
companies are not buying home-grown larch so freely as they used to do except in
districts where it can be procured close at hand.
For long telephone poles, for bridge-building and other purposes where lengths
of 50 feet and upwards are required, heavy larch poles exceeding 50 cubic feet fetch
prices of from is. 2d. to is. 4d. a foot standing, and cannot always be procured when
Larix 373
wanted. But the greater strength and durability of the red heartwood in trees of
great age does not command the increased price which it ought to be worth, and it
is often best to keep this for private use and sell the smaller and younger trees, whose
timber cannot be expected to last as long. For trees of 30 to 50 cubic feet is. per
foot and upwards, if not too far from a railway, is about the present price. For trees
of 15 to 30 cubic feet gd. to. is. should be realised, and for small thinnings the price
fluctuat'-js according to the local demand for fencing, hop-poles, and pit-timber.
On account of the durability of larch wood under water, it is specially adapted
for piles, wharves, and groins ; but owing to its propensity to warp and twist and the
difficulty of sawing, planing, and jointing it in comparison with most other coniferous
woods, it is seldom used for inside work. It makes very handsome panelling, how-
ever, if the red heartwood is carefully selected and seasoned, and is preferred to all
other woods in its native Alps for building log-houses, which in some cases are known
to have remained sound for 400 years.
The Duke of Atholl informs me that the larch used in the construction of the
stables at Dunkeld in 1809 appears to be still quite sound; and I saw at Blair
Castle a handsome table 5 feet in diameter made from a transverse section, laid as
veneer, of a larch grown on the property, which shows eighty-seven annual rings.
In the museum at Innsbruck I saw a very handsome antique chest made from very
dark-coloured larch wood, which had been dug out of the ground, akin to bog oak
in character ; and the wood is used in conjunction with that of Pinus Cembra for
making artistic furniture by Messrs. Colli Brothers of Innsbruck.
For ship- and boat-building it was at one time much more used than at present,
and knees cut from its roots are at least as strong and durable, if not more so, than
oak knees.
The bark, though used to some extent for tanning, is now seldom worth stripping
except in the case of large trees felled in the spring, when, if taken off in large
slabs, it makes a very durable covering for summer-houses, sheds, and other rustic
buildings.
Venice turpentine is a resinous product of the larch formerly much valued in
medicine and surgery, and for making varnish, of the production of which Loudon
gives ample details ; but like so many similar products, it has gone out of use in this
country at least, but is still sold in Venice, where I procured a sample of it. Manna
of Brian9on is a saccharine exudation from the leaves of the tree in the form of small
white opaque grains which formerly had some repute in medicine.
(H. J. E.)
374 ^^^ Trees of Great Britain and ^eland
LARIX SIBIRICA, Russian Larch
Larix sibirica, Ledebour, Fl. Alt. iv. 204 (1833); Willkomm, Forstliche Flora, 153 (1887); Kent,
Veitch's Man. Conifera, 402 (1900); Mayr, Fremdldnd. Wald- u. Parkbdume, 311 (1906).
Larix intermedia, Lawson, Agric. Man. 389 (1836); Turczaninow, Bull. Soc. Nat. Mosc. xi. loi
(1838).
Larix archangelica, Lawson, loc. cit.
Larix europma, De Candolle, van sibirica, Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit. iv. 2352 (1838).
Larix rossica, Sabine, ex Loudon, Encyl. Trees, 1054 (1842); Trautvetter, Act, Hort. Petrop. ix.
211 (1884).
Larix altaica. Nelson (Senilis), Pinacea, 84 (1866).
Larix decidua, Miller, vars. sibirica and rossica; Regel, Gartenflora, xx. loi, t. 684, ff. 1, 2, and 4
(1871).
Pinus intermedia, Fischer, Scht. Am. Entdeck. Phys. Chem. Nat. et Techn. viii. 3. Heft. (183 1). (Not
Wangenheim.)
Pinus Ledebourii, Endlicher, Syn. Conif. 131 (1847).
Abies Ledebourii, Ruprecht,^ Beit. Ffianz. Russ. Reich, ii. 56 (1845).
A tree attaining in Siberia over 100 feet in height and 9 to 12 feet in girth.
Bark resembling that of the European larch. Young branchlets slender ; in
specimens from the Ural mountains and Tobolsk, pubescent with long hairs in the
furrows between the pulvini ; in specimens from the Altai, glabrous ; girt at the base
by a sheath of the previous season's bud-scales, within which a ring of pubescence is
visible. Branchlets of the second year glabrous, greyish-yellow, shining. Terminal
buds broadly conical, resinous, with ciliate scales. Lateral buds hemispherical, dark
brown, resinous. Apical buds of the short shoots broadly conical, girt at the base by
a dense ring of pubescence. Leaves soft in texture, very long and slender, up to
2 inches in length, narrower than in L. europcea, sharp-pointed, agreeing with that
species in the arrangement of the stomata, but more deeply keeled on the lower
surface. Staminate flowers as in the European larch. Pistillate flowers according to
Willkomm, ovoid, pale green. Cones, when unopened, cylindrical, with the terminal
scales not gaping and the bracts quite concealed ; variable in size, up to i^ inch long,
composed of five spiral rows of scales, five to six scales in each row. Scales convex
from side to side and also from the base to the apex, quadrangular, about as long as
broad (^ inch) ; upper margin rounded or truncate, thin, entire, not bevelled, inflected ;
outer surface finely striate, covered with a reddish-brown pubescence, which is most
marked towards the base of the scale. Bract ovate or oblong with a cuspidate point,
extending about one-third the height of the scale. Seeds lying on the scale in
shallow depressions, with their wings widely divergent and not extending to its
upper and outer margin. Seed \ inch long ; with its wing |- to f inch long ; wing
about \ inch in width, broadest about the middle.
This species is amply distinct from L. europcsa, differing in the long and
slender leaves, which appear about ten days earlier in the spring ; anti in the
• This name is quoted wrongly as Larix Ledebourii, Ruprecbt, in Index Kewensis, ii. 31, and in Sargent, Silva N.
Amer. xii. 4.
Larix 375
cones, which have fewer and differently shaped scales and short concealed bracts.
In the Siberian larch the scales are convex both laterally and longitudinally, whereas
in the European larch they are flattened longitudinally. The seeds, moreover, of
the former have longer and differently shaped wings, and do not cover the scales of
the cone up to their margin as is the case in the latter.
Varieties
In wild specimens both pubescent and glabrous branchlets occur. Cones from
a tree, cultivated in the Botanic Garden at St. Petersburg, differ in being narrowly
cylindrical, with oblong scales only half the width of wild specimens ; and the bracts
are also much narrower. The seeds, however, lie on the scales as in wild specimens ;
and the scales have the convex form and inflected upper margin of typical L. sibirica.
A supposed variety, rossica, occurring in northern Russia, was distinguished by
Regel as having small cones ; but as Beissner informs me in a letter, it was subse-
quently abandoned by Regel, and is now not noticed by Willkomm or by any
Russian botanist. Sir C. Wolseley, Bart., vice-consul at Archangel, has kindly sent
me excellent fruiting specimens from Archangel, which differ in no respect from the
Ural larch.
Distribution
The Siberian larch has an extremely wide distribution, occurring in north-
eastern Russia and throughout a great part of Siberia.
In European Russia it occurs wild in the governments of Archangel, Vologda,
Viatka, Perm, and Orenburg. According to Korshinsky,^ it grows rather sparingly
in the plains of northern Russia, as isolated trees in the pine forests ; whereas on the
mountains of the Ural chain and its branches it forms extremely large forests, some-
times pure, and sometimes mixed with pine and spruce. Its exact distribution is
differently stated by various Russian authorities. Herder" adds to the preceding
provinces Ufa, Olonetz, eastern Finland, and the northern parts of Kostroma and of
Nijni-Novgorod. Ruprecht ' states that it commences to grow in the northern part
of the government of Olonetz beyond the city of Kargopol, from whence extensive
woods of it stretch to the Ness river in the Kanin peninsula. In this peninsula it
attains its most northerly point in Europe, on the Arctic circle. Further east its
distribution sinks to the southward, and its most northerly point on the Ural range is
about 58° latitude.
Its distribution in Siberia is not yet clearly known, as it has been confused with
Larix dahurica. It would appear to be the species common in middle and southern
Siberia west of Lake Baikal, while Larix dahurica apparently occupies eastern
Siberia and Manchuria, a close ally of it, Larix Cajanderi, occurring in the extreme
north in the lower part of the valley of the Lena, north of lat. 63°. Larix sibirica is
reported from Olga Bay in Manchuria, but this requires confirmation ; and it has
' Tent. Fl. Rossia Orientalis, 493 (1898). ' Act. Hort. Petrop. xii. loi (1892). ' Loc. cit.
37^ The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
been supposed to occur in Mongolia and north China ; but Mayr has recently
described the North China larch as a new species — Larix Principis Rupprechtii.
In Siberia its most northerly limit is lat. 69° on the Yenesei and Kolyma, its southern
limit extending from the Ural at lat. 54° to the Altai in lat. 52°.
The Siberian larch was reported by Kanitz' to occur as a shrub in upper
and middle Moldavia at about 6000 feet elevation. He identified it on the authority
of Parlatore in a letter. I have seen no specimens from this locality, and consider
the identification very doubtful.* (A. H.)
An excellent account is given by Mayr ' of a plantation of this tree which was
made in 1 750-1 760 for the Czarina Elizabeth at Raivola on the Russian-Finnish
frontier north of St. Petersburg. The seed was procured from Ufa, and the trees
have on the better land grown remarkably straight and clean without branches for
20 metres up, and attain 40 metres in height with a diameter of 70 centimetres.
The wood of these trees, which was shown at the Paris exhibition of 1900, was of
remarkably good quality, and Prof. Mayr recommends this tree strongly for
cultivation. But as summer does not commence in Finland until June, and the trees
had already turned yellow on September i8th, it is probable that the species is
not unlikely to succeed in Great Britain except perhaps in elevated districts in the
north and east of Scotland.
On my journey to Siberia in 1897 ^ saw larches in the Ural mountains near
Zlataoust, but only after passing the watershed into Asia, and these were of no great
size. In the Altai they first appeared at about 3000 feet, and at 4000 feet they became
more numerous and larger, some of them 3 feet to 4 feet in diameter and about 100
feet high, but nearly all were dead at the top, and not yet in full leaf on 7th June.
They grow scattered in open forest on the drier hillsides as well as on marshy
flats, and where the soil is damper are often mixed with Picea obovata.
Farther to the south in the upper valleys of the Katuna and Tchuya the larch
became the prevalent tree, and extends to a higher elevation than any other,
following the banks of the mountain streams on the Mongolian frontier up to about
7500 feet. At this elevation I saw a grove of young larches from 8 to 15 feet high,
and cut one of the smallest to count the rings, of which there were twenty-five in a
diameter of only li^ inch. Some of the old trees were remarkably stunted, only 10 to
12 feet high and 5 feet to 6 feet in girth. In this region the climate is extremely
severe, frost and snow occurring even in July. The bark of the tree is used all over
the region where it grows for covering the winter huts of the nomad Tartars, which
are in shape and construction very like the lodges of the Indians in Montana.
Cultivation
It was introduced by the Duke of Atholl in 1806 from Archangel, as stated
in the fourth volume of the Transactions of the Horticultural Society, p. 416, and
* Plant. Romania, 139 (1881). Cf. also Janka, Flora Stebenbergens, xvi. 366 (1866).
' See distribution of the European larch.
' Loc. cU. and Naturui. Stud. Nordw. Russl. Allg. Forst. u. J.-tu. 1900.
Larix 377
was described as follows: — "The bark quite cinereous, not of a yellowish-brown
colour, and not distinctly scarred as in the common larch, but, on the contrary, the
vestiges of the scars are scarcely visible ; the leaves come out so soon that they
are liable to be injured by spring frosts, and what is remarkable, the female flowers
are not produced till some time after those of the European larch appear ; they are
like those of Pinus {Larix) microcarpa. Mr. Sabine has a plant of this sort in his
garden at North Mimms, which he received under the name of Larix sibirica from
Messrs. Loddiges, who obtained the seed originally from Professor Pallas, whose
Pinus Larix it probably is. He contrasts the cinereous bark of his plant with the
pale brown colour of the common larch ; it may probably prove to be a distinct
species." So far as I can learn no trees of this introduction are now living at
Dunkeld.
Large quantities of seed were procured by Messrs. Little and Ballantyne of
Carlisle, and raised in their nurseries about eight years ago, but the trees from them
have generally been a complete failure owing to the very early bursting of their
leaf-buds.
I received in 1902, from the Tula Government, through Professor Fischer de
Waldheim, some seed of the Siberian larch, and a few of the seedlings look rather
more promising than those from North Russia ; but we are not aware that any fair-
sized tree of this species now exists in England.
In December 1902 I received seed of this tree from Herr E. Rodd, which was
gathered in the Ouimon valley in the Altai mountains early in September, but he
tells me that it is not naturally shed there until spring. This seed germinated, but
the plants raised from it are small and unhealthy, and vegetate very early in the
spring, so that they seem likely to grow as badly in this climate as the larch from
the Ural.
In England, as a forest tree this species seems likely to be worthless, for it
opens its leaves so early, and suffers so much from spring frost, that with few
exceptions the young trees I have grown are unhealthy, and many have already died,
though planted in a very cold and exposed situation.
In the north of Norway I saw it growing at the Government nurseries in
Saltdalen in 1903 from Russian seed sown in 1882. Trees only 15 feet high were
already bearing cones, but were much healthier and more vigorous than the common
larch ; and in the Botanic Garden at Christiania I noticed that though growing at the
rate of a foot annually, the leaves were attacked by a Chermes like C. laricis.
Timber
The tree is common in the north of Russia, where it forms a large part of the forests
on the east side of the White Sea ; and in the valley of the Petchora, seems to attain
very large dimensions. Seebohm^ says that Alexievka at the mouth of this river is
the shipping port of the Petchora Timber Company, where ships are loaded with
larch for Cronstadt. " The larch is felled in the forests 500 or 600 miles up the
' Siberia in Europe, ly^ (1886).
II 2 A
378 The Trees of Great Britain and Ii:^land
river, and roughly squared into logs varying from 2 to 3 feet in diameter. It is
floated down in enormous rafts, the logs being bound together with willows and
hazel boughs. These rafts are manned by a large crew, many of whom bring their
wives with them to cook for the party, sleeping huts are erected on the raft, and it
becomes to all intents and purposes a little floating village, which is frequently three
months in making the voyage down the river."
This larch is now shipped to London in some quantity for various purposes,
and has been considerably used for piles in the Dover harbour works, and elsewhere.
Mr. D. J. Morgan of Morgan Gellibrand and Company informs me that it is one of
the most durable timbers that can be used, but so hard that when it is being sawn
water is poured on the saw to keep it from heating, and this is probably the reason
why it is not much used in England. He informs me that all the lighters at Onega
were built of larch timbers, which lasted a very long time, and that when an old
house at Archangel, which had been built on a foundation of larch logs, was pulled
down, they were found to be quite sound after lying on the ground for possibly a
hundred years. The experiments which have been made with it in the quays at the
Surrey Commercial Docks, where the wood was continually wet and dry, have proved
the lasting power of this wood, which, from what I have seen of it, is much closer
in the grain than English-grown larch. But Mr. G. Cartwright, engineer of the
Grimsby Docks, tells me that though he has no actual personal experience of its use,
it is considered inferior to the best English larch, as indeed its lower price would
imply, and inferior in strength and durability under water to English oak, greenheart,
jarrah, or even to Danzig red fir, and that for constructional purposes he would
consider its value less than half that of large oak.
Messrs. Crundall and Company of Dover inform me that Messrs. Pearson and
Sons have used a large quantity of larch deals for their block moulds, and for other
purposes where much wear and rough usage is entailed, and the wood has given
entire satisfaction. I purchased from Messrs. Howard Bros, and Company of
London a long clean log of this tree, from north Russia, in order to compare it
with that of home-grown larch, and find the wood is very slowly grown, there being
fifteen rings in an inch of radius. The heartwood is less red and apparently much
less resinous than that of the European larch. My carpenter reports that when
free from knots it works as well as some red deal, and he considers it very well
suited for the roofs of plant houses. Its present value is from ;^i i to ;^i3 per
standard. (H. J. E.)
Larix 379
LARIX DAHURICA
Larix dahurica, Turczaninow, Bull. Soc. Nat. Mosc. xi. loi (1838); Trautvetter, Fl. Imag. Fl. Fuss.
48, t. 32 (1844); Kegel, Gartenflora, xx. 105, t. 684 (187 1); Kent, Veitch's Man. Coniferce,
390 (1900).
Larix pendula, Salisbury,^ Trans. Linn. Soc. viii. 314 (1807); Lawson, Agric. Man. 387 (1836);
Forbes, Finet. Woburnense, 137, t. 46 (1839).
Larix europcBa, De CandoUe, van dahurica, Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit. iv. 2352 (1838).
Larix americana, Michaux, var. pendula, Loudon, op. cit. 2400.
Finus pendula, Alton, Hort. Kew. iii. 369 (1789); Lambert, Finus, i. 56, t. 36 (1803).
Finus dahurica, Fischer, ex Turczaninow, loc. cit.
Abies pendula, Poiret, Lamarck? s Diet. vi. 514 (1804).
Abies Gmelini, Ruprecht, Beit. Fflanz. Fuss. Feich. ii. 56 (1845).
A tree attaining in Saghalien 140 feet to 150 feet in height, but in Siberia
usually much smaller. Bark scaling in broad, thin, irregularly quadrangular plates.
Young branchlets slender, glabrous, becoming pinkish at the end of the season,
shining brown in the second year ; older branchlets yellowish grey. Shoots girt at
the base by a sheath of the previous season's bud-scales, with no ring of pubescence
visible. Short shoots slender, dark brown or blackish, glabrous. Terminal buds
globose, glabrous, resinous, with the basal scales subulately pointed. Lateral buds
hemispherical, resinous, dark brown, glabrous. Apical buds broadly conical and
surrounded by a ring of brown pubescence. Leaves light green, similar to those of
L. europcea in size and arrangement of the stomata, with the tips usually blunter than
in that species.
Staminate flowers sessile, smaller than those of the European larch. Pistillate
flowers ovoid, red, with the bracts and scales more closely appressed than in the
common larch, making the flower narrower and shorter ; bracts slightly recurved,
\ inch long, oblong, with a shallow notch at the upper margin between two pointed
projections ; mucro short, less than ^ inch long.
Cones variable in size, dependent upon the number of the scales, f to \\ inch
long, cylindrical, slightly narrowed at the apex, where the scales gape open in the
ripe cone, composed of three to four spiral rows of scales, six to eight in each row,
bracts concealed. Scales longer than broad, about \ inch long ; upper margin
rounded, truncate, or slightly emarginate, bevelled, slightly denticulate, not recurved ;
outer surface glabrous,* channelled, shining light brown when ripe. Bracts not
exserted, about \ inch long, much shorter than the scales. Seeds lying upon the
scale in slight depressions, their wings narrowly divergent and not extending quite
to its upper margin. Seed about \ inch long ; together with its wing scarcely
\ inch long ; wing broadest just above the seed.
The Dahurian larch is a native of eastern Siberia, Manchuria, Corea, and
' Though this is the oldest correct name under the genus, I have not adopted it, as it has been erroneously applied to
the American larch, and its use now would cause considerable confusion.
" Cultivated specimens, as those from Boynton and Murthly Castle, occasionally have slightly pubescent scales ; but the
cones and seeds in all other respects are typical of L. dahurica.
380 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
Saghalien. According to Herder^ it occurs in the northern Ural range at lat. 68°,
and at Nijni Kolymsk in north-eastern Siberia at the same latitude ; but it is probable
that in the former locality he may be referring to Larix sibirica, and in the latter
case to the form now distinguished by Mayr as Larix Cajanderi. It is uncertain
whether the larch which occurs in Kamtchatka is L. dahurica or a distinct species.''
Larix dahurica is very plentiful on the Stanovoi mountains, and along the
southern half of the coast of the sea of Ochotsk. Middendorff found it on the Aldan
mountains up to 4Ckx) feet elevation. According to Komarov' it forms woods in
moist situations in the mountain valleys throughout the Amur, Ussuri, S. Ussuri,
and Kirin provinces of Manchuria and in northern Corea. Korshinksy^ states that
it is frequent in the whole Amur region, forming forests in the mountains of the
upper Amur and Bureja, but that it does not occur in the plain between the Zeja
and Bureja.
It occurs in Saghalien, in the northern half of which it grows mixed with
common birch and attains a great size, a fallen tree in the forest having been
measured by Hawes^ as 145 feet in length. Elsewhere it forms part of the
coniferous forest of the island, being mixed with Abies sachalinensis, Picea ajanensis,
and Picea Glehnii. It also occurs on the island of Shintar.
Elwes saw at Wellesley, Mass., a young larch raised in the Arnold Arboretum
from seed received at Petersburg as L. dahurica, which had a peculiar growth of the
branches, which, according to Prof. Sargent, is seen in all the trees of the same
origin. At the commencement of each season's growth the new wood made a
distinct angle, turning upwards a little, so that in four years' growth it became
erect. Prof. Sargent states that he saw many larches in eastern Siberia which he
considered to be L. dahurica, and that they all had the same habit. The young
trees at Boston have not yet borne cones, but the main stems were making annual
growths about 2 feet long, and the tree seemed more at home in that climate than
in England.
History
Pinus pendula was first described by Alton in 1789; and Solander's'^ MS., on
which the description was founded, states that the tree is a native of Newfoundland,
with leaves longer and cones shorter than the European larch. A sheet of specimens
preserved in the British Museum bears in Salisbury's handwriting '' Pinus pendula" ;
three specimens are unmistakable L. dahurica ; the fourth, a small branch, is L.
americana.
Lambert's figure oi P. pendula, published in 1803, is certainly L. dahurica, the
drawing being made from specimens obtained from a tree in Collinson's garden at
Mill Hill which was planted in 1739, the supposed first introduction of the species.
Lambert also figures and describes, as a distinct species, P. microcarpa, identical
* Act. Hart. Petrop. xii. 98 (1892). ' Larix kamtschatica, Carr. ' Flora Manshuria, i. 190 (1901).
* Act. Horl. Petrop. xii. 424 (1892). ' Uttermost East, 105 (1903).
* According to Loudon, op, cit. 2401, Solander's description was taken from tlie tree at Mill Hill, which, according to
Lambert's figure, must have been /„ dahurica.
Larix 381
with L. americana. He states that cones of both species were sent annually from
America to Loddiges, P. pendula under the name of black larch, and P. microcarpa
as red larch ; and that both kinds were growing in Loddiges's nursery,
Lawson's Manual, published in 1836, gives a careful description of both species,
and repeats the information that they are natives of North America.
So far as we know Larix dahurica does not grow in N. America ; and no
traveller or botanist except Pursh ever claimed to have seen in the eastern part of
the continent any species but L. americana. Pursh ^ asserts that L. pendula and
L. microcarpa are distinct species, and were seen by him, the former growing in low
cedar swamps from Canada to Jersey, the latter occurring about Hudson's Bay and
on the high mountains of New York and Pennsylvania. As L. americana varies
in the size of the cone, it seems certain that Pursh only saw forms of L. americana.
It is very difficult to understand how seeds of L. dahurica from eastern Siberia
could have been introduced so early.
Until about 1840 the American origin of Z. pendula was unquestioned; and a
tree planted in that year at Bayfordbury, and recorded in the planting book as
L. pendula, is still living, and is undoubtedly L. dahurica. Larix dahurica was
noticed first in Lawson's Manual as a stunted bushy tree, growing poorly, as it
was propagated from cuttings or layers ; and is stated to have been introduced
in 1827. (A. H.)
Remarkable Trees
The finest specimen we know is figured in Plate 106, and is growing on the edge
of a grassy drive at Woburn Abbey, where I first noticed its peculiar bark on the
occasion of the visit of the Scottish Arboricultural Society to that place in July 1903.
None of the members present could name the tree, and on comparing the foliage
with the specimens at Kew I came to the conclusion that it must be a tree which is
mentioned in the Pinetum Woburnense as Larix pendula. I went to Woburn again
on purpose to see it in flower, on 31st March 1905, when the difference in the
flowers from those of a pendulous form of the common larch growing close by was
evident. But the less rugged bark, which resembles that of a cedar, is the best
distinction, and is clearly shown in our illustration. It measured 86 feet high by
6 feet 7 inches in girth in 1905. I have raised a seedling from this tree.
A very similar tree is growing by the side of the entrance drive at Beauport,
which from its bark and habit we believe to be of the same origin.
At Bayfordbury the tree planted in 1840 as Larix pendula is now 56 feet high
and 5 feet in girth, with a conical stem, and bark scaling in large thin plates.
European larches planted near it at the same time are 70 feet high and 5 to 6| in
girth. A tree at Denbies, near Dorking, the seat of Lord Ashcombe, was in 1903
40 feet high and 2 feet in girth. It is said to have been sent to Denbies as Larix
Griffithii by Sir Joseph Hooker, but some mistake had evidently been made in the
plant that was forwarded from Kew some forty years ago.
' Fl. Amer. Sept. ii. 645 (1814).
382 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
In the Cambridge Botanic Garden there are two trees of this species, one 56
feet high by 5 feet in girth, in 1906. The bark scales off in smaller plates than the
common larch, and shows more red-coloured cortex below. The second tree,
labelled L. pendula, is grafted at 6 feet up on the common larch, and has its stem
bent over at a right angle a few feet higher up.
At Ribston Park, Yorkshire, there is a well-grown tree of L. dahurica which
cannot be more than about forty years old, as Major Dent remembers its being
planted, though its origin is unknown. It has somewhat pendulous branches and
smooth bark without ridges, and measures 71 feet by 5 feet 2 inches. It had both
new and old cones on it in 1906.
There are some larches at Boynton, near Bridlington, Yorkshire, which Sir
Charles Strickland has always known as red larches, and supposed to have been
of American origin, but which I believe, on account of their smoother bark, to be
L. dahurica. The best of them is 75 feet by 7 feet 8 inches ; another, with a
very spreading top, was 9 feet 4 inches in girth ; and both had cones from which
seedlings have been raised. Sir Charles Strickland has written of these in the
Gardeners Chronicle, 1896, pp. 399 and 494. He says that the trees which have
been grown at Boynton for eighty or ninety years under the name of red and
black larch are the two trees described in Loudon as varieties of Larix americana ;
and that the red larch is more like the European larch, and in loose, rather wet,
sandy soil grows at Boynton as fast and to as large a size, but he does not consider
the wood quite as good as that of the common larch ; it is more liable to twist and
warp, though probably as durable. On drier soils the red larch is much less healthy
and vigorous than the common one.
At Murthly Castle there is a row of fifteen trees which were planted about
1 88 1 by Mr. D. F. Mackenzie, who informs me that they were probably from the
nursery of Messrs. B, Reid of Aberdeen, but their origin cannot now be traced with
certainty. Their habit varies very much, the first one, coming from the Castle,
having very pendulous branches and a weeping top, which none of the others
possess. The cones also vary somewhat in size and colour, but with one exception —
which I believe to be a common larch planted subsequently to replace a dead tree of
the original lot — are characteristic of L. dahurica. The trees average 40 to 45 feet
high and 3 to 4 feet in girth, and have the bark distinctly smoother and less
corrugated than the bark of common larch growing under similar conditions.
They are fairly healthy in appearance, with no evidence of having suffered from
Peziza, but are bearing cones so freely that I do not expect they will become large
trees. Mr. Mackenzie attributes this to their growing on dry, gravelly soil.
(H. J. E.)
Larix 383
LARIX KURILENSIS
Larix kurilensis, Mayr, Abiet.Jap. Retches, 66, t. 5, f. 15 (1890), and Fremdldnd. Wald- u. Parkbdume,
300 (1906).
Lariy dahurica, Turczaninow, \z.x. japonica, Maximowicz, in Regel, Rev. Sp. Gen. Larix, p. 59, and
Gartenflora, xx. 105, t. 685 (1871); Miyabe, Mem. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist. iv. 261 (1890).
A tree, attaining in the Kurile Islands a height of 70 feet and a girth of 7 to 8
feet. Bark, according to Mayr, scarcely distinguishable from that of the Japanese
larch. Young branchlets covered with a moderately dense, wavy, irregular
pubescence. Branchlets of the second year shining reddish brown, pubescent.
Base of the shoot girt by a ring of the previous season's bud-scales, the uppermost of
which are loose and reflected, no ring of pubescence being visible ; short shoots dark
red, or almost black, shining. Terminal buds dark red, ovoid, with comparatively
few scales, which are acuminate, non- resinous, ciliate with brown silky hairs.
Lateral buds ovoid, dark red, with ciliate scales. Apical buds of the short shoots
hemispherical, dark red, with no ring of pubescence at the base.
Leaves glaucous, short, broad, and curved, about an inch long, rounded at the
apex, few in a bundle, usually twenty to thirty, spreading so as to form a wide open
cup around the bud ; upper surface flattened, green without stomata ; lower surface
deeply keeled, with two bands of stomata, each of five lines.
Flowers not seen. Cones small, cylindrical, about f inch long, composed of
few scales, less than twenty, with the bracts conspicuous at the base of the cone, but
concealed elsewhere by the upper scales. Scales oval, longer than broad, about
\ inch long ; upper margin thin, emarginate, slightly bevelled, not reflected ; outer
surface minutely pubescent towards the base. Bract panduriform, about half the
length of the scale, terminated by a very short mucro. Seeds lying on the scale
in two depressions which are separated by a membranous ridge, with the wings
slightly divergent and extending up to the margin of the scale. Seed about \ inch
long ; seed with wing about \ inch long ; wing broadest just above the seed.
(A. H.)
This tree was first distinguished as a species by Dr. Mayr, the distinguished
dendrologist and traveller, who found it in the Kurile Islands, especially on Iturupp,^
where it forms forests of some extent. Sargent gives an excellent illustration, plate
xxvi. in the Forest Flora of Japan, from a photograph taken by Dr. Mayr, and I am
able to show its aspect in the same island from two photographs kindly given me by
the Imperial Japanese Forest Department (Plate 107). The upper shows a forest of
larch on Iturupp ; the lower a scattered group near the shore on the same island.
The tree was commonly planted in the neighbourhood of Sapporo, and it was
introduced into Europe in 1888 by Dr. Mayr, and seems to grow almost as well as
the Japanese larch, at least when young. There is a tree 15 feet high at Grafrath,
' We adopt this spelling on Dr. Mayr's authority, as the correct Aino name for the island. Eterofu is the Japanese form
of the word, and Eterop a corrupt combination of both forms of spelling.
384 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
the experimental forestry station near Munich, where the thermometer goes down
to 15° Fahr. below zero, and seedlings only four years old are already 5^ feet high.
They resembled Larix americana more than L. leptolepis in the blackish colour
of their young shoots. Dr. Mayr says that it is the first larch to become green
in Europe, though in my nursery seedlings of the Altai and north Russian larches
are both earlier. He says that its dark shoots have gained it the name of black
larch from visitors to his nursery, and that in the park of The Duke of Inn- and
Knyphausen at Liitetsburg in east Friesland it grows faster than any other species of
larch, being 6 metres high at the age of seven years.^
So far as our very short experience of this tree in England enables us to judge,
it is likely to thrive well, at any rate in its youth. Several young trees which are in
my nursery grow fast, and ripen their growths earlier than common larch. Some
seed received from Japan in June 1906 germinated very quickly, and made healthy
little plants the same season. It should be tried especially in the wetter parts of
Great Britain. (H. J. E.)
LARIX LEPTOLEPIS
Larix leptolepis, Endlicher,^ ^«. Conif. 130(1847); GorAon, Finetum, 128(1858); Mzyr, Abie t.
Jap. Reiches, 63, t. 5, f. 14 (1890), and Fremdldnd. Wald- u. Parkbdume, 302 (1906); Kent,
VeiicKs Man. Conif erce, 397 (1900).
Larix japonica, Carrifere, Conif. 272 (1855).
Larix Kaempferi, Sargent, Silva N. Amer. xii. 2, adnot. 2 (1898).
Pinm Larix, Thunberg, Fl. Jap. 275 (1784) (not Linnseus).
Finns Kaempferi, Lambert, Finus, ii. preface, p. v (1824).
Abies Kaempferi, Lindley, Fenny Cycl. i. 34 (1833).
Abies leptolepis, Siebold et Zuccarini, FL Jap. ii. 12, t. 105 (1842).
Finus leptolepis, Endlicher, Syn. Conif 130 (1847).
A tree attaining in Japan a height of 100 feet and a girth of 12 feet. Bark of
native trees, according to Mayr, similar to that of the European larch, the freshly ex-
foliating scales being more brownish than red ; but in cultivated trees in England the
bark begins to scale very early, peeling off usually in large long strips and giving a
red appearance to the trunk. Young branchlets glaucous, usually covered with a
dense, erect, brown pubescence, but occasionally almost glabrous, only a few brown
hairs being present. Branchlets of the second year reddish with a glaucous tinge,
retaining some pubescence or quite glabrous. Base of the shoots girt by a sheath of
the previous season's bud-scales, the uppermost of which are loose and reflected,
with no ring of pubescence visible. Short shoots stouter than in the common larch,
' In Mitl. Deutsche Dendr. Ges. 1906, p. 27, the age of this tree is stated erroneously as twenty-five to thirty years. Its
height in 1906 is given as 9 metres.
' Pinus leptolepis was the name preferred by Endlicher; but he quotes Larix leptolepis, Hort., as a synonym ; and as
this is the first publication of Larix leptolepis, Endlicher is responsible for the name, and it is credited to him ; and being the
first published name under the correct genus is adopted by us. Moreover, it is the name by which this species is universally
known ; and the adoption of Sargent's name, Larix Kaempferi, would cause great confusion, as this has been used for Pseudo-
larix Kaempferi, the golden larch of China. The Japanese larch, though known to Kaempfer and Thunberg in the eighteenth
century and mentioned by Lambert, was first described by Lindley in 1833.
Larix 385
reddish, glabrous. Terminal buds sharply conical, resinous, glabrous, the lowermost
scales subulately pointed. Lateral buds ovoid, glabrous, resinous, directed slightly
forwards. Apical buds of the short shoots conical, with loose scales, surrounded at
the base by a ring of pubescence.
Leaves glaucous, about i^ inch long, rounded at the apex; upper surface
flattened, with two bands of stomata, variable in the number of lines, often two to four
in each band on leaves of the long shoots, usually one to two irregular lines on leaves
of the short shoots ; lower surface deeply keeled, with two conspicuous bands of
stomata, each of five lines.
Staminate flowers ovoid, sessile, smaller than in L, europcea. Pistillate flowers
ovoid, pinkish ; bracts all recurved, about \ inch long, oblong, broadest at the base,
truncate, and scarcely emarginate at the apex, brownish with pink margins, mucro
about -^jj inch long. Cones shortly ovoid, broad in proportion to their length,
I to i;|- inch long, readily distinguished by the thin reflected upper margins of
the scales, of which there are four to five spiral rows of eight to nine in each row.
Scales almost orbicular, about f inch long and wide ; upper margin very thin,
reflected, truncate or slightly emarginate ; outer surface furrowed, slightly pubescent.
Seeds in very shallow depressions on the scale, their wings slightly divergent and
extending to its upper margin ; seed about \ inch long, with wing \ inch long.
A stunted form, growing on the higher parts of Fuji-yama, was collected by John
Gould Veitch, and was considered to be anew species by A. Murray;^ and is
recognised as a variety by Sargent. According to Mayr, it scarcely deserves to be
ranked as a variety, as it only differs in being a low tree, with smaller cones than
usual, which are only f inch in diameter and globular in shape. (A. H.)
Introduction
It was introduced by J. G. Vfeitch in 1861 from seeds which he procured during
his visit to Japan. Nothing is said by Kent as to the number of plants raised and
sent out at that time, but probably the number was small, as we know of few
trees as old as forty-five years. Larger importations were made later, and the tree
grew so well generally that it is now being planted almost everywhere, and some of
the older trees have produced good seed for ten years or more.
Distribution
In Japan this larch grows naturally on the slopes of volcanic mountains in a
sandy soil at 4000 to 6000 feet elevation, in a climate very much warmer and moister
in summer, drier in winter, and less liable to late frosts than England.
' Larix japonica, A. Murray, Pines and Firs of Japan, 94 (1863).
Larix kptolepis, var. minor, A. Murray, Proc. Roy. Hart. Soc. ii. 633, f. 155 (1862).
Larix leptolepis, var. Murrayana, Maximowicz, Ind. Sent. Hort. Petrop. 1866, p. 3.
Larix japonica, var. microcarpa, Carri^re, Conif. 354 (1867).
Larix Kaempferi, var. minor, Sargent, Silva N. Amer. xii. 2, adnot. 2 (1898).
Abies leptolepis, Lindley, Gard. Chron. 1861, p. 23.
II 2 B
386 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
Where I first saw it, on a sandy plain above the Lake Chuzenji on the slopes of
the volcano of Nantai-san, the trees were of no great size, averaging perhaps 60 to
70 feet in height, with a girth rarely exceeding 6 feet in mature trees, and more often
3 to 4 feet. They were very similar in habit to the larch in the Alps, and had not
an excessive development of branches. Higher up above Yumoto in rich forest
soil, thinly scattered among deciduous trees of many species, they were larger, some-
times attaining 80 feet high and 10 to 12 feet in girth; but I saw none anywhere
which rivalled our larch in height, and am inclined to think it is not nearly such
a long-lived tree, though, as I saw none felled, I was unable to count the rings.
Prof. Sargent, who saw the tree in the same place as I did, came to a very similar
conclusion. Mayr states that he found it wild on the volcanoes of central Hondo,
Fuji, Ontake, Asama, Shiranesan, Norikura, and others, always growing near the
timber line, with Abies, Tsuga, and Picea hondoensis.
The tree is valued for its timber, which is used for ship- and boat-building, and
has lately come into great demand for railway sleepers and telegraph poles. In
consequence of this it has been largely planted at elevations of 4000 to 5000 feet in
the central and northern provinces, and many plantations that I saw of ten to fifteen
years old were very similar to larch plantations in England in growth and habit. I
also saw it planted experimentally in Hokkaido, along the lines of railway, where it
seemed to grow as well in this rich black soil as in its native mountains.
Cultivation
In 1890 I sowed seeds from three different localities — Dunkeld, Hildenley, and
Tortworth — and raised plants from each of them, which grew better than seedlings
raised at the same time from Japanese seed ; but this may have been partly due to
the fact that the latter were dressed with paraffin by my forester to protect them from
birds and mice in the seed-bed. At six years old these plants are now from four to
eight feet high, and though some of them have been more or less checked by severe
spring frosts, they are generally growing well.
As a proof of the hardiness of the tree I may mention that the late Sir R.
Menzies showed me three young trees which he had planted, at an elevation of about
1250 feet, in the garden of the inn near the top of the pass between Glen Lyon and
Loch Rannoch ; and in some of his plantations on the north shore of Loch Rannoch
they were growing very vigorously in mixture with Douglas fir.
No conifer of recent introduction has attracted so much attention among
foresters as the Japanese larch, which, during the last ten years, has been sown very
largely by nurserymen (Messrs. Dickson of Chester are said to have sold no less than
750,000 in the year 1905), and is looked upon by many foresters as likely to replace
the common larch, because it is, so far as we yet know, less liable to the attacks of
Peziza Willkommii. But this pest has already in more than one place been certainly
identified on the Japanese larch, and I have little doubt that as time goes on we
shall hear more of this. Henry visited in 1904 six plantations of Japanese larch of
ages from five to sixteen years, and in none could detect any sign of canker. There
Larix 387
were plantations of European larch in every case adjoining those of the Japanese
tree, and the former were ail badly affected by disease. Henry concluded that the
Japanese larch was practically immune from disease, though on his return to Kew
he received specimens from estates in Perthshire and Dumfriesshire which were
undoubtedly suffering from Peziza.^ As, with the exception of Prof Sargent and
Dr. Mayr, no one had studied this tree in its native climate, I paid particular
attention to it during my visit to Japan in 1904, and, as I have stated^ elsewhere,
came away with the impression that it is not likely to supersede the European larch
as a forest tree, and am very doubtful whether it can be expected to become a
profitable one, to plant under ordinary conditions. Though when young its growth
is extremely rapid and vigorous, it has a great tendency to form spreading branches,
and even in the much more favourable soil and climate of Japan, rarely, if ever, attains
anything like the dimensions which the European larch does in Great Britain.
Mayr's opinion on the suitability of the tree for economic plantations in Europe
is the same as my own, and he considers that though it may grow faster than the
European larch for the first twenty years, yet that it will eventually be surpassed
if planted under precisely similar conditions. He also agrees with me that though
in selected positions and under careful cultivation it may not seem so liable as the
European larch to the attacks of Peziza, yet that it is not immune, and the figures
which he gives of its growth in Germany show that it has the same tendency to
produce spreading branches there as in Great Britain. In a note on this tree by
K. Kume, chief of the Forestry Bureau in Japan, in Trans. Scoi. Arb. Soc. xx. 28,
January 1907, a yield table at various ages is given, which shows that on soils of
medium quality in Japan the mean basal diameter at 100 years old is about a foot, the
mean height 92 feet, and the stem volume per acre 6330 cubic feet. I will only note
that what is meant by land of medium quality in Japan is very superior to what it is in
this country. In Germany Mayr says that the seed falls in autumn from the cones,
which are busily sought for by squirrels, and that self-sown seed has germinated
freely at Grafrath under trees twenty-two years old.
Remarkable Trees
There are many specimens now of about 40 feet high in various parts of the
country, but of those that I have seen the one figured, which is growing at Tort-
worth (Plate 108), is perhaps the finest. It measured in 1904, 45 feet by 4 feet
7 inches, and was covered with cones. It is growing on red sandy soil, and Lord
Ducie thinks it is one of the earliest introductions. At HoUycombe, Sussex, the
seat of J. C. Hawkshaw, Esq., Mr, G. Marshall measured a tree 45 feet by 2 feet
4 inches in 1904. At Hildenley, Yorkshire, there is a fine tree about 40 feet high,
which produces good seed. A clump of fine trees is reported* to be growing at
Bothalhaugh, near Morpeth. There is also a fine specimen at Brook House,
Haywards Heath, the residence of Mrs. Stephenson Clarke.
' See note by Mr. Massee vajourn. Board Agriculture, 501 (1904).
2 Trans. Scot. Arb. Soc. xix. 77 (1906). ' Card. Chron. xxxix. 282 (1906).
388 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
At Dunkeld there is a tree planted close to a common larch, from which
seedlings were raised at my suggestion by the late D. Keir, which appear to be
hybrids between the two species.^ His son, who succeeded him as forester to the
Duke of Atholl, and who has watched the growth of these seedlings, considers them
to be intermediate between the two species ; but it is yet too soon to be certain.
At Abercairney, Perthshire, the seat of Col. Drummond Moray, there is a tree,
raised from seed brought from Japan in 1883, which, measured by Henry in 1904,
was 38 feet by 3 feet 5 inches. At Blair Drummond, in the same county, he
measured ten trees planted in 1888, one of which was 44 feet high, and the average
girth 2 feet 5 inches. They were all healthy though growing among common larch
which was diseased.'
At Cullen House, Banffshire, Mr. Campbell tells me that there is a tree 45 feet
by 3i feet. At Kirkennan, near Dalbeattie, Kircudbrightshire, two larches sown in
1885 were in 1904 41 feet by 2 feet and 35 feet by i foot 11 inches. We are in-
debted for this information to the owner Mr. W. Maxwell.
In Germany at Schloss Liitetsburg, it seems to have grown faster than with us,
for it is stated ^ that trees thirty-five to forty years old are 1 7 to 20 metres high, with
a girth at i metre of 1.80 to 2.70 metres. (H. J. E.)
LARIX GRIFFITH II, Sikkim Larch
Larix Griffithii, J. D. Hooker, ///. Himal. PL t. 21 (excl. ff. 1-4) (1855), Flora Br. India, v. 655
(1888), and Gard. Chron. xxv. 718, f. 157 (i886); Masters, Gard. Chron. xxvi. 464, f. 95
(1886); Kent, VeitcKs Man. Coniferm, 395 (1900); Gamble, Indian Timbers, 720 (1902).
Larix Griffithiana, Carrifere, Conif. 278 (1855).
Abies Griffithiana, Lindley and Gordon, _/«/-«. Hort. Soc. v. 214 (1850).
Pinus Griffithii, Parlatore, DC. Prod. xvi. 2, p. 411 (1864).
A tree, attaining in the Himalayas about 60 feet in height, with thick brown
bark, and wide-spreading, long and pendulous branches.
Young branchlets, reddish, covered with a dense wavy, more or less appressed
pubescence, and girt at the base by a sheath of the previous season's bud-scales, the
uppermost of which are very broad, loose, membranous, and reflected. Branchlets
of the second year very stout, dull reddish brown, pubescent. Short shoots broad
and stout, fringed above by very large, loose, reflected, pubescent, membranous
bud-scales. Terminal buds broadly conical, non-resinous, with pubescent scales.
Lateral buds ovoid, pointing outwards and forwards, non - resinous, pubescent.
Apical buds of the short shoots conical, with loose pubescent scales.
Leaves light green in colour, about i^ inch long, ending in a short rounded
point ; upper surface rounded or flat, with one or two broken lines of stomata near
the apex ; lower surface deeply keeled with two bands of stomata, each of three
' Cf. Trans. Roy. Scot. Arbor. Soc. xviii. 62 (1905).
" Mitt. Deutsche Dend. Ges 1906, p. 29.
Larix 389
(occasionally five) lines. In cultivated specimens, the leaves are fringed on each
side with a very thin and narrow membranous translucent border.
Staminate flowers, f inch long, cylindrical, raised on short stout stalks, about
jJg inch long. Pistillate flowers ovoid ; bracts reflected at their bases, with the
mucros pointing downwards, oblong, truncate or slightly concave at the apex, the
green midrib being prolonged into a mucro about ^ inch long.
Cv-nes 3 to 4 inches long, cylindrical, tapering to a narrow, flattened apex,
supported on a short stalk, glaucous green or purplish, with orange-brown bracts
before ripening, composed of five spiral rows of scales, eighteen to twenty scales in
each row, which, on the opening of the cone, stand almost at right angles to its axis,
the bracts being exserted with their mucros directed upwards. Scales quadrangular,
with a cuneate base, about ^ inch in width and length ; upper margin truncate and
slightly emarginate ; outer surface radially furrowed, densely pubescent towards the
base. Bract lanceolate, nearly as long or quite as long as the scale, the mucro, often
incurved, projecting beyond the scale about ^ inch. Seeds lying in slight depres-
sions on the scale, their wings widely divergent and not extending to its upper
margin. Seed, white on the inner side, shining dark brown on the outer side,
about ^ inch long ; seed with wing about ^^ inch long ; wing brownish, rather
opaque, broadest about the middle. Cotyledons^ five to six, which, in the seedling,
are linear, pointed, and much longer than the succeeding leaves. (A. H.)
The Sikkim larch is confined, so far as we know at present, to a rather narrow
area in the Himalaya, from eastern Nepal to Bhutan, but very possibly will be found
farther east. It was discovered by Griffith, but not distinguished until Sir Joseph
Hooker found it in E, Nepal in December 1848.^ Here it was only a small tree
20 to 40 feet high, differing from the European larch, in having very long, pensile,
whip-like branches. It is called "Saar" by the Lepchas, and " Boargasella" by the
Nepalese, who said that it was only found as far west as the sources of the Cosi
river. In Sikkim it is common in the interior valleys of the Lachen, Lachoong, and
their tributaries from about 8000 to 12,000 feet elevation, and here attains a larger
size, but is not found in the forests of British Sikkim. In Illustrations of Himalayan
Plants from Drawings by Cathcart., where it is beautifully figured. Sir Joseph states
that it grows to a height of 60 feet in deep valleys, but prefers the dry rocky ancient
moraines formed by glaciers, and also grows on grassy slopes where the drainage is
good. On my journey to Tibet in 1870 I saw this tree in the Lachoong valley,
but nowhere forming a forest, and usually scattered singly in rather open places,
where it seemed to me to have a much less erect and regular growth, with branches
more drooping in habit than any other larch. Sir Joseph Hooker says that the
wood is soft and white, but a specimen from the Chumbi valley, authenticated by
cones, is described by Gamble as having red heart-wood with a slow growth, twenty-
one rings to the inch, and a weight of 32 lbs. to the foot.
Though introduced by Sir Joseph Hooker, who sent seeds to Kew in 1848, this
tree has, except in a few places in the south-west of England, failed to grow in
Europe. He says that the seedlings raised from his seeds were 3 to 4 feet high in
• Masters, loc cit. '' Himalayan Journals, i. 255.
390 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
1855, and that some had withstood the severe winter of 1854-5 without protection,
though others were killed, a difference which he attributes to some of the seed having
been gathered from trees which grew at 8000 and some from trees at nearly 13,000
feet. Hooker' further states that hundreds of plants were raised and widely dis-
tributed by Kew, but in every case these succumbed in a few years to virulent
attacks of Coccus laricis. As the climate of the Chumbi valley is much drier than
that of Sikkim, it is quite possible that seed from that locality would give better
results ; but I have never been able to keep the tree alive at Colesborne for long,
as it suffers from the dry climate, and seems to object to lime in the soil. Mr..
Barrie, forester to the Hon. Mark Rolle, has been very successful in growing
this tree from English- grown seed, and has sent me healthy young plants of it ;
but the seedlings I have raised at Colesborne both from imported and home-grown
seed have always died, though protected by a frame.
Remarkable Trees
The largest specimen of the Sikkim larch we know of in this country is one at
Coldrinick, near Menheniot, Cornwall, the seat of Major- Gen. Jago-Trelawney.
I have not seen this tree, but the gardener, Mr. Skin, informs me that in 1905 it
measured no less than 57 feet by 4 feet 6 inches in girth. It has very spreading
branches, the width from point to point of the lowermost branches being 43 feet.
The cones were admirably figured in the Gardeners Chronicle^ and have
produced fertile seed. The seedlings require careful treatment, as they easily
"damp off."
A tree of the original introduction is growing at Strete Raleigh, Devonshire, the
seat of H. M. Imbert Terry, Esq., who showed it to me in 1903, when it measured
40 feet high by 4 feet in girth. It is growing on poorish soil at a considerable
elevation, where it is a good deal exposed to the damp south-west winds, and perhaps
in consequence of this has thriven very well, and has borne fertile seed for some
years past (Plate 109).
Another much smaller tree, which also bears cones, is growing at Leonardslee
in Sussex. There is also an old tree at Pencarrow, in Cornwall, which in 1905 was
only 12 feet high by 15 inches in girth, stunted and covered with lichen. It also
bears cones.
Dr. Masters^ received flowering specimens in 1896 from The Frythe, Welwyn,
Herts ; but the tree from which they were obtained could not be found when Henry
visited this place in 1906. (H. J. E.)
' Card. Chron., loc. cit.
* After this was printed a good illustration of the tree appeared in the same journal on 2nd March 1 907, which shows
that it is not only larger, but a better shaped tree than the one I have figured.
' Gard. Chron. xxvii. 296 (1900).
Larix 391
LARIX POTANINI, Chinese Larch
Larix Potanini, Batalin, Act. Hort. Petrop. xiii. 385 (1894); Masters, Gard. Chron. xxxix. 178,
f. 68 (1906).
Larix thibetica, Franchet, y^z^r. de Bot. 1899, p. 262.
Larix Griffithii, Masters, y<7«r. Linn. Soc. {Bot.) xxvL 558 (1902). (Not Hooker.)
A tree attaining in western China a height of 70 feet and a girth of 6 feet.
Young branchlets bright yellow, with a scattered pubescence, densest near the base
of the shoot, which is girt by a sheath of the previous season's bud-scales, showing
within a ring of pubescence. Buds ovoid, with ciliate scales.
Leaves slender, up to an inch in length, ending in a sharp cartilaginous point,
tetragonal in section, keeled above and below, with two bands of stomata, each of
two lines, on both the upper and lower surfaces.
Staminate flowers, ^ inch long, on a short but distinct stalk. Pistillate flowers
ovoid, narrow and rounded at the apex ; bracts closely appressed, on one side of the
young cone with their tips pointing towards its apex, on the other side reflected
about their middle with their apices pointing towards the base of the cone, ovate or
oblong, rounded and entire at the apex, which is prolonged into a short mucro. The
bracts in the pistillate flower, described above as seen in herbarium specimens, are
probably all reflected at first ; and gradually by the growth of the scale assume the
erect position.
Cones cylindrical, rounded at the apex, if inch long, with the scales and bracts
pointing upwards and outwards, or more or less spreading. Scales small, about
\ inch long, almost orbicular, reddish brown, pubescent on the lower part of the
outer surface ; upper margin rounded or truncate, entire, thin, slightly inflected, not
bevelled. Bract extending beyond the scale, exserted with the mucro about
|- inch. Seeds in slight depressions on the scale, with their wings widely divergent
and not reaching to its upper margin. Seed about \ inch long ; seed with wing
^ inch long ; wing broadest just above the seed.
Larix Potanini has been collected in western China by Potanin, Prince Henry
of Orleans, Pratt, and Wilson, who found it in the neighbourhood of the Szechuan-
Thibetan frontier near Tachienlu at 7500 to 11,000 feet above sea-level. The same
species, according to Franchet, was probably collected by Pere Delavay farther south
on the Likiang range in Yunnan at 11,600 feet altitude. Mr. A. Hosie, Consul-
General in Szechuan, informs me that forty miles north-east of Tachienlu, there is a
pure forest of this larch between 11,000 and 12,000 feet elevation on the southern
slope of the mountain range, and extending for about a mile. It consists of fine
straight trees, which he estimated to be about 70 feet high. At lower altitudes the
larch gives place to silver fir and birch. The tree is known to the Chinese as
"hung-sha," red fir, and produces the most valuable coniferous timber in western
China.
/
392. The Trees of Great Britain and l/eland
Seed was collected by Wilson in 1904, and plants have been raised, which are
growing well at Veitch's nursery, Coombe Wood.
This species, being a purely alpine tree of no great size, will probably be of no
value as a forest tree, resembling in that respect its immediate allies L. Griffithii
and L. Lyallii, between which it occupies an intermediate position as regards
botanical characters. (A. H.)
LARIX AMERICANA, Tamarack
Larix americana, Michaux, Fl. Bor. Am. ii. 203 (1803) ; Sargent, Silva N. Am. xii. 7, t. 593 (1898),
and Trees N. Am. 35 (1905); Kent, Veitch's Man. Conif. 389 (1900).
Larix americana., Michaux, var. rubra., Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit. iv. 2400 (1838).
Larix tenuifolia, Salisbury, Trans. Linn. Soc. viii. 314 (1807).
Larix microcarpa, Desfontaines, Hist. Arb. ii. 597 (1809) ; Lawson, Agric. Man. 388 (1836).
Larix laricina, Koch, Dendrologie, II. ii. 263 (1873).
Larix pendula, Mzsters, /ourn. Roy. Hort. Soc. xiv. 218 (1892). (Not Salisbury.)
Pinus Larix americana nigra, Muenchausen, Hausv. v. 226 (1770).
FHnus laricina, Du Roi, Obs. Bot. 4.9 (1771).
Pinus intermedia, Wangenheim, Beit. Hdlz. Forst. Nord Am. Holz. 42, t. 16, f. 37 (1787).
Pinus microcarpa, Lambert, Pinus, i. 58, t. 37 (1803).
Abies microcarpa, Poiret, LamarcKs Diet. vi. 514(1 804).
A tree attaining in America about 80 feet in height and 6 feet in girth. Bark
separating in thin small polygonal or roundish scales about an inch in diameter, which
are closely appressed, and show when they fall off the reddish cortex beneath.
Young branchlets slender, often glaucous, glabrous, or with a few scattered hairs
in the grooves between the pulvini ; older branchlets glabrous, shining brown. Base
of the shoot girt with a short sheath of the previous season's bud-scales, no ring of
pubescence being visible. Short shoots small, blackish, glabrous. Terminal buds
globose, slightly resinous, glabrous, with the basal scales subulately pointed. Lateral
buds hemispherical, resinous, dark brown. Apical buds of the short shoots broadly
conical, surrounded at the base by a ring of brown pubescence.
Leaves short and slender, not exceeding i;|^ inch in length, rounded at the apex,
light green ; upper surface flat or rounded, without stomata, except two broken lines
near the tip ; lower surface deeply keeled with two bands of stomata, each of one to
two lines.
Staminate flowers sessile, shorter than in L. europcea. Pistillate flowers ovoid,
reddish, very small ; bracts pointing upwards and outwards, not reflected or recurved,
^ to ^ inch long, oblong, scarcely emarginate at the apex, reddish with a green
midrib and mucro, the latter cuspidate and very short, about ^ inch long.
Cones small, globose, consisting of three to four spiral rows of five scales each,
reddish brown when ripe, ^ to f inch long. Scales gaping widely at the apex of the
cone, longer than broad, about | inch long ; upper margin rounded, bevelled, slightly
crenulate, not recurved or reflected. Bract concealed, minute, about \ inch long.
Larix 393
Seeds lying on the scale in minute depressions, with their wings only slightly
divergent and not reaching to its upper margin, ^ inch long ; wing ^ inch long,
broadest just above the seed. (A. H.)
Distribution
The American larch is found in the United States from North Pennsylvania,
Northern Indiana and Illinois, and Central Minnesota through the New England
States, where, however, it is only found in cold and swampy places. In Newfound-
land, Labrador, and the eastern provinces of Canada it occupies swampy ground, and
extends from York Factory on Hudson Bay as far as Fort Churchill, 67° 30' N., and
west to Athabasca and Peace river districts, and in Alberta where it has been found
forty miles S.W. of Edmonton.^ Northwards it extends to the border of the barren
lands. Mr. J. M. Macoun informs me that it was found by Mr. Camsell in the angle
between the Snake river and the upper part of Peel river. This place is just within
the Yukon district. He also states that it extends westward twenty-two miles up the
Dease river, and northward along the upper Liard river to lat. 61° 30'. He has
heard several people who have been on the Yukon speak of the larch, so that it must
be quite common in some parts, though no definite data are as yet given.
The tamarack, as it is called in most parts of N. America, is a tree which I
know but little in a state of nature, and which never seems to have received
the attention from foresters which it deserves ; for though it nowhere attains
the size of the common larch, it seems able to thrive in undrained and swampy
ground where that would die ; and though a slow-growing tree in comparison with
the common larch, its timber has the same valuable qualities as others of the genus.
Henry saw this species in Minnesota in 1906. On the Cass Lake Forest
Reserve it occurs in the swampy ground between the pine-covered sand-dunes, in
company with balsam fir, Thuya, black and white spruce, birch, and willow. The
largest that he saw measured 8 1 feet by 4 feet 7 inches. The trees are remarkable for
their buttressed roots, which branch and extend close to the surface and even above
ground for as much as 6 feet. Seedlings were numerous in felled areas near
Erskine, where the larch remaining uncut, occurs in swamps either pure or mixed
only with birch. They grow very rapidly in the wet ground, taking root in mossy
elevated patches and not in the water of the swamps ; and averaged 10 feet high
at seven years old, and were making leaders of i to 2 feet annually. He saw no
stumps larger than 2 feet in diameter, and the tree in Minnesota rarely attains a
greater size than 80 feet by 6 feet. In Garden and Forest, 1890, p. 60, there is,
however, mention of a tamarack in Minnesota, which measured 7 feet 8 inches in
girth and was estimated at 125 feet high.
In most parts of New England and over the greater part of British North
America the tamarack is a well-known tree, but rarely attains any great size.
The average in the neighbourhood of Ottawa is not over 50 to 60 feet, but when
the tree is planted on drier, better land it will grow faster and attain 80 feet or
more. I noticed that though it seeds freely the seedlings require more light than
Bell in Scottish Geogr. Mag. xiiL 283.
11 2C
394 Th^ Trees of Great Britain and j[reland
those of the spruce, balsam fir, and Thuya, which often grow with it, and it was
only where clearings had been made, or in wet places on the edge of the groves, that
they seemed able to thrive. Their growth is slow at first, but when established
may be as much as two feet annually.
Dr. Bell gives the probable life of the white spruce in Canada as from
ICO to 140 years, that of the black spruce 150 to 175 years, and that of tamarack
175 or 200 years. Of the latter he says:* About 1893 or 1894 the imported
sawfly* came up from the direction of New York and got into the forests north of
the Ottawa river. In a year or two it reached James bay and killed the tamarack
throughout that district, which was only able to live three or four years after
it was first attacked by the larva. This destruction continued to spread to the centre
of Labrador, and now it has gone pretty well all over that great peninsula. But Mr.
J. C. Langelier (loc. cit. p. 65), speaking of the same attack in the northern part of
the province of Quebec, says that a great portion of the young trees were spared,
and that the dead trees which remain standing are not attacked by rot, and would
supply excellent railway ties.
Remarkable Trees
In this country there are not many large trees of this species, though it was
introduced, according to Loudon,' by the Duke of Argyll in 1 760 at Whitton, near
Hounslow. It has been entirely neglected by modern arboriculturists, and is seldom
or never procurable in English nurseries. The largest trees that I know of are at
Dropmore, where there is a well-grown tree 78 feet by 5 feet (Plate no), and at
Arley Castle, where there are three trees of nearly the same size standing together,
of which the best measures 7 1 feet by 4 feet 8 inches. A fourth is nearly as large,
and differs in having larger cones.
At Boynton, Yorkshire, there are two in a wet situation among other trees,
about 50 feet high and sixty years old, which were raised by Sir Charles Strickland
from seed produced by trees planted by his grandfather. These again have pro-
duced fertile seeds, from which seedlings are growing vigorously in a low frosty
situation at Colesborne and have never suffered from frost or bug, though one of
them in 1906 was attacked by Peziza. Sir Charles adds that on dry soil they have
grown very badly.
At Beauport there are three rather stunted specimens of American larch, one of
which, however, is 5 feet 10 inches in girth, and has the bark very smooth in
comparison with the common larch. No specimen seems to have been sent to the
Conifer Conference, but one is mentioned as growing in the grounds of Dalkeith
Palace,* which we have identified with L. dahurica. Several trees mentioned
by Loudon are either not now in existence or were not correctly named.
(H. J. E.)
' Can. For. Ass. Annual Kiport, 1905, p. 59.
* According to Sargent this is Nemaius Erichsonii, Hartig, a European insect which was not much noticed in
America before 1880, and which has recently attacked the larch in England. Cf. supra, p. 364.
^ Op. cit. 2400, 2401. The original tree at Whitton was between 40 and 50 feet high in 1837 : it has long since been
cut down.
* Veitch's Man. Conifera, 390 note (1900).
Larix 395
LARIX OCCIDENTALIS, Western Larch
Larix occidentalism Nuttall, Sytua, iii. 143, t. 120 (1849); Lyall, / Comp. Bot. Mag. ii. 109 (1836), where Douglas states that he measured trees 30 feel in girth.
Larix 397
Montana to the eastern slope of the Cascade Mountains in Washington and
Oregon.
In British Columbia it is abundant and large in the Kootenay and Columbia
river valleys, reaching as far north as the head of Upper Columbia lake, and
attaining its most westerly point, where it was found by Prof Dawson, in long.
124° E., on a tributary of the Blackwater river. It grows sparingly about the
Shuswap lake and in the Coldstream valley near the head of Okanagan lake.
The tree, however, attains its greatest development in Montana, where it is
abundant and constitutes a great part of the timber of the Flathead, Lewis and
Clarke, and Bitter Root Forest Reserves ; and is met with east of Missoula on the Big
Blackfoot river. The tree can be most conveniently seen by the traveller on
different points of the Great Northern Railway between Nyack and Bonner's Ferry.
It attains also great perfection in Northern Idaho and North-East Washington, where
it constitutes an important part of the timber of the Priest River Forest Reserve. It
also occurs in Oregon, in the Blue Mountains, and on the foothills of the eastern side
of the Cascade Mountains,* as far south as Mount Jefferson.
The western larch occurs between 2500 and 6000 feet altitude ; and attains its
maximum height and is most abundant in mountain valleys and on alluvial flats,
where the average elevation is 3000 to 3500 feet. On the sides of the mountains,
owing to the lack of moisture in the soil, it rapidly diminishes in size and vigour. It
requires a wetter soil than either Pinus ponderosa or Douglas fir, and is restricted in
its distribution where the rainfall is slight.
With regard to the opinion, prevalent even in America, that it grows in a semi-
arid climate, my experience is entirely different. The meteorological stations are
almost invariably in towns in the prairie regions, where the rainfall is small and trees
only occur on the banks of streams ; and the maps and statistics of the rainfall give
on that account an imperfect picture of the climatic conditions which prevail in the
forest regions between the Cascades and the Rocky Mountains. At Kalispell in the
Flathead country, which is situated in a treeless plain, surrounded by densely forested
mountains, the annual rainfall varies from 13 to 19 inches; whereas at Columbia
Falls, placed on the edge of the plain and amidst the larch forests, the rainfall increases
to from 20 to 29 inches ; and in the mountain valleys, as at Lake Macdonald and
Swan Lake, where Thuya plicata attains a large size, the rainfall must exceed 30
inches. The meteorological data of Columbia Falls, which is at 3100 feet elevation,
give a fair idea of the climate in which Larix occidentalis thrives, though it is scarcely
here at its best. The figures for 1905, which was a dry year, are : —
• Mr. Cohoon, Forest Assistant in the Northern Division of the Cascade Forest Reserve, wrote to me in 1 906 as follows :
" The only locality in which larch came under my observation in the reserve was on the east slope of the Cascade Mountains
about I S miles west of Durfur, Oregon. It did not occur abundantly, but was more or less scattered, in mixture with yellow
pine, red fir, and lodge-pole pine. It was found on moist but well-drained soil at an altitude of about 2500 to 3000 feet."
He adds that he never saw it west of the summit of the Cascades, which he has travelled over from Columbia river to
California.
At Bridal Veil, Oregon, and other places on the Pacific slope, the term larch is erroneously applied to Abies nobilis.
39^ The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
Precipitation in Inches.
Min. Temp.
Max. Temp.
Mean Temp.
Snow.
Rain.
Fahr.
Fahr.
Fahr.
January .....
2.14
...
-1°
46"
24"
February
0-93
...
-35°
52°
18°
March
0-34
...
14°
63°
38°
April
0.4S
15°
76°
44°
May
313
20°
83°
49°
June
2.23
28°
89°
56°
July
0.38
34°
96°
65°
August
0.12
29°
96'
64°
September
2.04
24°
83°
55° -
October .
...
2-54
9°
60°
38°
November
2.47
-11°
56°
30°
December
2.79
...
3°
46°
25°
Totol precipi
tation
190;
19.56 inches.
Average precipitation for ten years 2 1 . 70 inches.
Rain or snow fell on 76 days; 91 days were cloudy; 49 days were partially
cloudy ; and the sky was clear on 149 days.
The above figures show that the climate is an extreme one, the winter season
being cold and severe and lasting five months, while in summer a high temperature
is often reached.
The western larch grows usually mixed with other conifers ; and the number
of accompanying species and the proportions of the admixture are very variable,
being dependent on the climate and altitude, and on the quantity of moisture in the
soil. Douglas fir is the most common companion of the larch, and Pinus ponderosa
steps in where the soil is dry. Engelmann's spruce and Abies lasiocarpa descend
into the larch forests, but never constitute any large element of it. Pinus monticola,
Tsuga albertiana, and Abies grandis are often met with in small quantity at low
altitudes in the larch forests of Montana ; farther west, in the Priest River Forest
Reserve, Pinus monticola is more abundant than the larch itself between 2400 and
4800 feet. Thuya plicata, in regions with a moist climate, forms a notable part of
certain larch stands, often to the exclusion of the other species which usually
accompany the larch.
The following notes on a few of the larch forests visited by me will illustrate
some different types in Montana.
Near Missoula, in Pattie Canon, which is a very dry valley at 3500 feet eleva-
tion in a rather arid climate, the larch only grows on the cool northern aspect, and is
mixed with Douglas fir and Pinus ponderosa. An acre contained, of trees over a
foot in diameter, twenty larches, four firs, and three pines. An average good larch tree
measured 143 feet by 9 feet 7 inches ; and a tree which we cut down, 14 inches in
diameter, showed 211 annual rings, the sapwood being i^ inch in thickness and
containing thirty-one rings.
On the southern end of Lake Macdonald, at 3500 feet altitude in a humid
climate, I saw a fine stand composed almost exclusively of larch and Thuya plicata.
The soil was glacial clay, very deep, and covered with a thick layer of humus. The
Larix 399
Thuya only attained about no by 7 feet, and had been overtopped by the larch,
which ran from 140 to 150 feet high, and 7 to 14 in girth. The trees were
extremely dense upon the ground, standing often only 12 feet apart, and averaging
2CX3 to the acre. The ground was covered with seedlings of Thuya, 3 to 6 feet
high, and more than thirty years old. The Thuya trees were being felled for
telegraph and telephone poles, but never had clean stems, being covered with
dead branches to 6 to 20 feet above the ground, and with living branches above
this, and when of a large size were always decayed at the heart. The larch,
as usual, was quite sound.
A wood near Whitefish, on flat land in a moderately rainy district at 3000 feet
altitude, was composed of about nine-tenths larch and one-tenth Douglas fir, Pinus
ponderosa, and Engelmann's spruce. The larch were 160 feet high by 6 to 9 feet in
girth, overtopping the other trees, and with clean stems up to 80 or 90 feet. A
stump, 40 inches in diameter, showed 585 annual rings, the sapwood with forty-two
rings being only an inch in thickness, and the bark two inches.
The largest tree which I saw was growing on a high bank beside the Stillwater
Creek, some miles west of Whitefish. It measured 19 feet 4 inches in girth at 5 feet
from the ground, but the top was blown off. Near it were many large trees, 12 feet
to 15 feet in girth, but the tallest was only 151 feet in height.
With regard to the height attained by the western larch, Sargent in his Report
on the Forest Trees of North America, 216 (1884), states that it ranges from 100 to
150 feet, but in the Silva he gives the maximum height as 250 feet. I could find no
confirmation of the latter figure either at the Arnold Arboretum or Washington, and
1 am of opinion that 180 feet is rarely if ever exceeded. The tallest tree recorded
by any accurate observer is, I believe, the one cut down by Ayres ^ in the Whitefish
Valley at 3500 feet altitude, which measured 181 feet high, with a diameter of 3 feet
on the stump, and scaled 3500 feet board measure. He mentions^ also another
tree growing on the middle fork of the Flathead river, which was 180 feet high by
4 feet in diameter.
J. B. Leiberg states in his account of the Priest River Forest Reserve that the
larch in the sub-alpine zone, above 4800 feet elevation, averaged 60 to 100 feet in
height, I to 2 feet in diameter, and eighty to a hundred years old ; while in the
white pine zone, from 2400 to 4800 feet, the trees were 150 to 200 feet in height,
2 to 4 feet in diameter, and 175 to 420 years old. Here the heights are evidently
estimates, and cannot be relied on implicitly.
The western larch is rarely seen as pure forest, and then only as the result of
forest fires. Mr. Langille in his account of the Cascade Forest Reserve, p. 36, says
that the larch " has done more than any other species to restock the immense burns
that have occurred on a part of the reserve. This is largely due to the fact that the
thick bark of this tree resists fire better than any other species, and more trees
are left to cast their seed on the clean loose soil and ashes immediately after a fire.
The seeds are small and light, and are carried to remote places by the wind and
covered deeply by the fall rains. In the spring a dense mass of seedlings covers the
' U.S. Geol. Survey, Flathead Forest Reserve, 256, 314 (1900).
400 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
ground and grows rapidly. The thickets become so dense that it is impossible to
travel through them. In time only the fittest survive, and there remains a thrifty,
vigorous stand of this valuable timber." In Montana the lodge-pole pine usually
takes possession of burnt areas ; but I saw near Belton on the Great Northern Rail-
way a hillside which had been swept by a fire, leaving a good number of larch trees
unharmed, all the trees of other species being destroyed, and larch seedlings were
coming up in profusion. On the Stillwater Creek farther west I noticed a burnt area
on which the lodge-pole pines were about 30 feet high ; and amongst them larch
seedlings were growing in openings exposed to sunlight during at least a part of the
day. Here in time the lodge-pole pine will be supplanted by the larch. Sargent's
statement,' that young seedlings of the western larch are able to grow up under the
shade of other trees, which they finally overtop and subdue, requires modification.
Seedlings never occur in the shade of the forest, and are most numerous in open
places exposed to full sunlight ; but on good soil, as on a recently burnt area, they
will spring up in the partial shade of small pine trees. The western larch is not a
fast grower in the young stage ; at Belton seedlings twelve years old, growing on
rather poor rocky ground, were from 7 to 1 2 feet high.
As the seed of the western larch had never been collected, so far as we knew,
by any one except Mr. Carl Purdy's collector in 1903, I visited Montana in 1906,
with the object of collecting a large quantity for Sir John Stirling Maxwell and
Lord Kesteven. In the common larch the seeds do not fall out of the cones
until spring, and their collection during winter is an easy matter. The western larch
behaves very differently, as will be seen by the following notes of my observations
in Montana. About the middle of August the squirrels begin to throw down cones,
a sign that the seeds are nearly ripe. About the loth September the leaves, which
form a tuft at the base of the cone, begin to turn yellow, and in a day or two become
brown and withered, showing that the supply of nutrition to the cone is stopped.
The cones, which until now were purplish in colour, become brown, and the scales
gape open widely, allowing the seeds to escape. By the 20th September all the cones
on the trees have become quite brown, and have emptied all their seeds. The empty
cones remain on the branches till the autumn of the following year, by which time
their peduncles have rotted and the cones are ready to fall. For collecting seed the
larch forests must be visited during the first three weeks of September ; and localities
where felling is being carried on should be chosen, as the cones occur only at the
summit of very tall trees, which are troublesome to cut down, even if permission to
do so has been obtained from their owners. The western larch appears to produce a
good crop of seed once every two or three years, and this is general over the whole
region. 1906 was a remarkably poor year, scarcely any cones having been formed.
In 1905, judging from the old cones of that year still remaining on the trees, the crop
of seed was very abundant. (A. H.)
As I had long been trying to find a larch that would in England be less liable
to the attacks of Peziza Willkommii than the common larch, I made inquiries as
' Garden and Forest, ix. 491 (1896), where there is an article on the tree, with an illustration of the trunk, fig. 71,
showing the very thick bark.
Larix 40 1
to how seeds could be procured, and Prof. Sargent was good enough to do his best
for me. Mr. Leiberg, in 1901, went on purpose to the Flathead Lake country,
but found all the seed shed as early as September, and could only send a few seed-
lings by post. These heated on the way to England, and though I saved a few of
them, they were always sickly, and most of them died before coming into leaf.
Again I tried through the United States Forestry Bureau, who were also unable
to get seed. In 1903, however, I procured a small parcel from Mr. Carl Purdy, and
distributed the seed to many arboriculturists in England in 1904. These have
germinated fairly well, and I hope that my efforts to make this grand tree better
known may succeed.
The seedlings raised in 1904, from the seed which I distributed, have grown
in several places, best perhaps at Murthly, under the care of Mr. Lowrie, where
in September 1906 I saw some hundreds thriving very well, though not so large
as common larch of the same age. At Walcot, in rather dry soil, they were 6 to 9
inches high. At Colesborne they grew slowly, and many were killed or injured
in the seedbed by the frost of May 1905 ; but I have just planted out a number
which were raised for me by Messrs. Herd of Penrith, and which are 12 to 18 inches
high.
I visited Missoula in June 1904 on purpose to see the tree, and was fortunate
enough to do so in company with Prof Elrod of the Montana University, to whom I am
greatly indebted for the excellent photographs of the tree here reproduced (Plate 1 1 1).
They were taken on the Big Blackfoot river about twenty miles up the valley from
Bonner, on the Northern Pacific Railway, where a large sawmill, managed by Mr.
Kenneth Ross of the Big Blackfoot Lumber Company, has its headquarters. Guided
by this gentleman we reached the logging camp in the Camas prairie and found
the larch growing in deep bottom land at about 3500 feet, mixed with Pinus
ponderosa and Douglas fir, but far exceeding both of them in size. The tree grows
on slopes and in ravines where there is a good depth of soil not liable to dry up, and
best on slopes with a north and east aspect, and on the rich detritus at their foot, and
along the sides of the river. It differs strikingly from other larches in habit when
adult, having very short branches, which are not produced singly or at regular
intervals but grow in irregular groups of four or five, starting near together on the
trunk. It forms a tall, very narrow column, and as it gets old loses many of its
branches. It carries its girth to a great height and is, when grown in a thick forest,
sometimes clear of branches for over 100 feet. The tallest tree I have heard of
was figured in the Butte Miner of 29th February 1904, and was said to be the
largest in Montana, 233 feet high and 24 feet in girth at or near the ground.
This tree grew on the Upper Clearwater between Salmon and Seely lakes. It
could be seen for miles above the surrounding trees, and must have contained over
2000 feet of timber. The best I saw, however, were from 1 50 to 1 80 feet in height,
with a girth at 5 feet of 10 to 15 feet.
Frank Vogel, a timber surveyor who has had much experience with this tree,
told me that it grew up to 6000 feet elevation on the hills above the Blackfoot river,
and that he saw no difference between these trees and those lower down except in
II 2D
402 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
size. The age of those of which I counted the rings, and which would be about the
same age as the one photographed, was 330 to 350 years, these trees showing no
signs of decay. The bark in dense forest is very thin for such large trees, some-
times only 2 to 3 inches thick, and though in older and more isolated trees it attains
a much greater thickness, as much as 9 to 15 inches near the ground, it struck me
as not being so thick and rugged as the bark of old European larch.
The undergrowth in the forest was not dense, and was composed of Berberis
aquifolium, Cornus canadensis, LinncBa borealis, Syitiphoricarpus, Thalictrum, with
violets, strawberries, and in some places that lovely little orchid Calypso boreale. .
There were abundant seedlings of larch and Douglas fir springing up wherever there
was enough light and moisture, but in the drier parts of the forest pine only was
seen. The young cones were already formed on 29th May, and I came away with
the impression that though this tree may not rival the European or Japanese larches
in rapidity of growth, it will be valuable in the mountains of Central Europe and will
probably succeed on the better soils of England and Scotland.
With regard to the timber of the western larch. Prof Sargent says that " it
surpasses that of all other American conifers in hardness and strength, it is very
durable, beautifully coloured, and free from knots ; it is adapted to all sorts of
construction, and beautiful furniture can be made from it. No other American wood,
however, is so little known." Through the kindness of Mr. K. Ross I was able to
bring back from the St. Louis Exhibition a door and frame made from this wood
which fully bears out Sargent's high opinion of it.
Until a few years ago the timber of the western larch was invariably called
tamarack, and was of no great commercial importance. The use of this name, which
is properly applied to Larix americana, the timber of which is little esteemed, proved
prejudicial to the reputation of the western larch in the eastern states. Of late years
the timber merchants of Idaho and Montana insist on the use of the term larch ;
and large quantities of this lumber are now being exported even as far east as
New York. Coarse grades are used for joints, beams, and railway ties. Finer
grades are sawn into planks, used for flooring, and are converted into materials for
indoor finish, as ceiling, laths, mouldings, panelling, etc. The timber is remarkably
free from knots, and is variable in colour, being often nearly white, though it is
usually reddish in tint. (H. J. E.)
Larix 403
LARIX LYALLII, Lyall's Larch
Larix Lyallii, Parlatore, Enum. Sem. Hort. Reg. Mus. Flor. 1863, Journ. Bot. i. 35 (1863), and
Gard. Chron. 1863, p. 916; Sargent, Gard. Chron. xxv. 653, f. 146 (1886), Silva N. Amer.
xii. 15, t. 595 (1898), and Trees N. Amer. 37 (1905); Kent, VeitcKs Man. ConifercBy 399
If 1 900).
A tree attaining in America 80 feet in height and 1 2 feet in girth, but usually
considerably smaller. Bark of young stems and branches thin and pale grey, on
larger stems loose and scaly, on older trunks 2 inches thick and fissuring into
irregular plates covered by reddish-brown loose scales. Young branchlets covered
with a dense greyish tomentum, concealing the pulvini, and partly persistent on older
branchlets, which become greyish black in colour. Short shoots stout and greyish
pubescent. Bud-scales fringed with long cilia. Base of the long shoots girt with a
sheath of the previous season's bud -scales, the uppermost of which are loose,
membranous, and reflected.
Leaves bluish green, rhombic in section, deeply keeled on both surfaces, i to i^
inch long, rigid, ending in a sharp cartilaginous point.
Staminate flowers ovoid, acute at the apex, \ inch long, raised on stalks \ inch
long. Pistillate flowers ovoid, with the bracts reflected about their middle, their
mucros curving outwards ; bract oblong, \ inch long, truncate at the apex, the midrib
being prolonged into a rigid mucro about \ inch long.
Cones ovoid, acute at the apex, i J to 2 inches long, on a short tomentose stalk :
scales numerous, loosely imbricated, thin, ovate, of a beautiful pink colour before
ripening, \ inch long, fringed with matted hairs ; outer surface sparingly pubescent :
bracts extending up to the margin of the scale, with their mucros projecting beyond
about \ inch and at first directed upwards ; when ripe the scales spread at right
angles and finally, together with the bracts, become much reflexed. Seeds in slight
depressions on the scale, with their wings narrowly divergent and not reaching its
upper margin. Seed together with wing about ^ inch long ; wing pale pink in
colour, broadest near the base.
This species has been supposed to be an alpine form of L. occidentalis ; but is
readily distinguished from it by the structure of the leaves, the tomentum of the
branchlets, the beautiful pink cones, which have fringed scales, and the pink- winged
seeds. (A. H.)
This tree was discovered by Dr. D. Lyall when surgeon to the International
Boundary Commission in British Columbia in 1858, and though I have raised seed-
lings which I believe to be this species, it has not as yet been introduced into
cultivation either in America or Europe, though it is a tree which must have been
seen by thousands of travellers while crossing the Rocky Mountains in the Canadian
Pacific Railway. Plate 1 1 2 shows a typical tree growing near Laggan, and is from
a negative which I purchased at Victoria.
It is a strictly alpine tree, of somewhat limited range, its northern limit being
404 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
about 51° N. on the Rocky Mountains, not extending to the moister climate of the
Gold or Cascade ranges in British territory, nor has it as yet been discovered in the
more northern parts of British Columbia. Southwards, it extends along the Cascade
Mountains of Northern Washington to Mount Stewart on the north fork of the
Yakima river, and along the continental divide of the Rocky Mountains to the middle
fork of Sun river and to Pend d'Oreille pass in North-Western Montana.' In its
northern habitat — near Laggan, Alberta — I have seen it from about 5000 up to
7000 feet Though Mr. J. Macoun reports it on a mountain near Morley as low as
4500 feet, yet Wilcox,^ who must have seen as much of this tree as any one who has ,
written of it, says it is rarely seen below 6000 feet, and that its extreme range of
altitude might be placed between 5600 and 7600 feet.
Lyall's larch is a very beautiful tree of moderate size, from 50 to 70 feet high
being about the average, with a girth of 5 to 6 feet, but on Mount Stewart Mr.
Brandagee reported that it attained as much as 4 feet in diameter. Its growth is
extremely slow, Wilcox having counted 30 rings of growth in a branch only f
inch in diameter ; whilst a tree cut by Brandagee on Mount Stewart which showed
562 annual rings was only 16^ inches in diameter under the bark.
Mr. M. W. Gorman says:* — Near Lake Chelan it was not seen at all in the
moist valleys, and was generally found to favour the passes and sheltered sides of the
crest lines and divides, and here it ranges in altitude from 5800 to 7100 feet. The best
grove seen was at about 6700 feet elevation near War Creek pass. The tree ranges in
height from 50 to 90 feet, and in diameter from 10 to 25 inches. The mature tree
has a rather thick greyish bark, and is well fruited with oval, mostly erect persistent
cones. The branches are mostly lateral, very brittle, and quite small in proportion
to the tree. The foliage changes colour with the first severe frosts about October i.
L. Lyallii has to contend with a climate as severe as, and very similar to that of
the Altai Mountains, the snow usually lying till late in June or even July, and snow
and frost often occurring in July and August. The bark is rough and greyish and
the branches short, irregular, brittle, and easily broken by a heavy snowfall.
Wilcox says that the trees growing at the highest altitude have a curious develop-
ment not found on those only a few hundred feet lower. The tufts of leaves spring
from a hollow woody sheath, which is sometimes more than an inch long on the trees
at high altitudes, whilst elsewhere this is not present.
The seed appears to ripen and shed early like that of the western larch, for
though I have made several attempts to procure it from friends visiting the Rockies
they have been, like myself, always too early or too late, and though I tried to bring
home seedlings in 1893 they died on the journey home.
It is not, however, at all likely to succeed in this country, except possibly on the
higher parts of the Grampian Mountains, and even there I fear the climate will be
too damp, and the winter too short for it. (H. J. E.)
' Sheldon, in Forest Wealth of Oregon, says that it is "rare on the high peaks of the Wallowa Mountains."
' The Rockies of Canada, 63 (1900).
' U.S. Geo!. Survey, Eastern Part oj Washington Forest Reserve (1899). Mr. Gorman calls the tree L, occidentalis ;
but his specimens, which we have seen, are labelled L. Lyallii by himself, and are this species.
Larix 405
Lyall's Larch in Montana
Larix Lyallii occurs in five isolated areas in the mountains of Northern
Montana, between 113° and 115° E. long, and 47° 25' and 49° N. lat.
One of these localities was discovered by Prof. EIrod and myself in our ascent
of the unexplored peak of St. Nicholas, which lies just west of the continental divide,
about ten miles east of Nyack on the Great Northern Railway. Here about 1000
trees grow on a rocky precipitous slope, with a strictly northern aspect, and extend
in scattered groves over about a mile of ground between 6600 and 7500 feet altitude.
The tree is, owing to lack of moisture in the soil, unable to exist on the sunny
southern slopes, where Pinus albicaulis thrives at similar altitudes. Separate
groves of Engelmann's spruce accompany the Alpine larch. The largest tree
measured 71 feet by 5 feet 2 inches; and another tree, felled by us, which was 8
inches in diameter, showed 220 annual rings, the sap wood with 25 rings being half
an inch thick. Younger trees up to 40 feet high are gracefully pyramidal in shape,
with wider branches than L. occidentalis ; older trees have twisted and irregular
branches and flattened crowns, the result of age, as is the case in all species of larch.
The branches are remarkably brittle. On another part of the mountain, but still on
the northern aspect, eighteen trees in two groups were seen at 8250 feet elevation,
the tallest of which was only 10 feet high. The trees in Montana bore in 1906 only
a few cones, but the crop in the preceding year had been plentiful. I procured only
twenty or thirty seeds, which are now being raised at Kew. The cones in this
species resemble those of the western larch in the manner in which they quickly cast
their seeds in September.
The western larch in this region did not mingle with the Alpine larch, the former
ascending, in company with Douglas fir, the northern slope up to 5900 feet ; and
between this elevation and 6600 feet, where the lowermost Alpine larch was found,
no trees were growing.
Two other localities farther south are mentioned by Ayres,' who states that on
the summit of the continental divide (long. 113°, lat. 47^ 25'), between the Sun river
and Willow Creek, there is a fine forest of the species, with trees about 70 feet high
and 15 inches in diameter. Twenty miles due west on the summit of the range
north of Pend d'Oreille pass there are a few scattered trees.
In the Whitefish range and in the mountains between the Kintla and Chief
Mountain lakes, the tree is common on northern slopes from the Canadian boundary
line to about 15 miles south of it. In the Whitefish range, Ayres^ reports that the
trees attain a maximum size of 80 feet by 6 feet in girth, the largest growing about
the heads of basins where the snow lingers late into summer or lies in banks
throughout the season. I visited the Whitefish range, which is a few miles from
Fortine, on the Great Northern Railway, late in September, in company with Mr.
Eastland, forest ranger, and at 7000 feet altitude could distinguish numerous groves
of Alpine larch, extending over the mountains for an immense distance, as the foliage,
' U.S. Ceol. Survey, I,eviis and Clarke Forest Reserve, 42, 43 (19OO).
^ U.S. Geol. Survey, Flathead Forest Reserve, 268(1900).
4o6 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
which had turned yellow at this season, rendered the trees very conspicuous ; but in
all cases the groves were confined to strictly northern slopes. We encamped in a
small grove, where the trees did not exceed 40 feet in height, and observed numerous
seedlings ; but were forced to descend on account of a heavy fall of snow and to
leave the larger and more important forests unvisited.
Further east, in the Kintla lake region, Ayres ^ reports that the mountain slopes
are best wooded on the northern slopes, where the Alpine larch reaches a height of
80 feet and a diameter of 30 inches. It is more vigorous here than in any other
locality seen by Ayres, who considers that the tree will produce timber suitable for
mining purposes. (A. H.)
' U.S. Geol, Survey, Flathead forest Reurve, 277 (1900).
Pinus Laricio 407
PINUS LARICIO^
Pinus Laticio,'^ VoxT^t, Lamarck's Diet. v. 339 (1804); Lambert, Genus Pinus, i. 11, t. 4 (1832);
Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit. iv. 2200 (1838) ; Forbes, Pinetum Woburnense, 23 (1839) ; Parlatore,
DC. Prod. xvi. 2, p. 386 (1868) ; Masters, Gard. Chron. xx. 785, fig. 142 (1883) ; xxi. 18, fig. i
1(1884) ; iv. 692 (1888), Joum. Linn. Soe. {Bot.) xxxv. 624 (1904) ; Willkomm, Forstliche Flora,
226 (1887) ; Mathieu, Flcre Forestiere, 596 (1897) ; Kent, Veitch's Man. Conifera, 338 (1900).
Pinus nigra, Arnold, Reise naeh Mariazell, 8 (1785); Kirchner, Lebengesch. Bbitenpfl. Mitteleuropas,
231 (1906).
Pinus austriaca, Hoss, Flora, viii. Beitriige, 113 (1825); Gard. Chron. ix. 275, figs. 49, 50 (1878).
Pinus nigricans, Host, in Sauter, Versuch Geog. Bolan. Schilderung Umgeb. Wiens, 23 (1826).
Pinus taurica, Loddiges, Cat. (1836).
Pinus caramanica, Bosc. ex Loudon, op. cit. 2201 (1838).
Pinus dalmatica, Visiani, Fl. Dalmat. \. 199 (1842).
Pinus monspeiiensis, Salzmann, ex Dunal, Mem. Acad. Montpell. ii. 82 (1851).
Pinus Salzmanni, Dunal, loc. cit.
Pinus calabrica, cebennensis, And poiretiana, Hort, ex Gordon, Pinetum, 168 (1858).
Pinus Fenzleyi, Carrifere, Rev. Hort., 1864, p. 259.
Pinus Fenzlii, Antoine et Kotschy, ex Carribre, Conif. 496 (1867).
Pinus pindica, Formanek, Verhandl. Naturf. Verein Briinn, xyadw. 20(1896); Masters, Gard. Chron.
xxxi. 302, figs. 95, 96 (1902).
A species very variable in habit, dimensions, and foliage, comprising several
different geographical forms, which under cultivation preserve in a great measure
their peculiarities. The following description is drawn up from wild specimens of
the Corsican tree, which is the finest form.
A tree attaining 150 feet in height and 20 feet in girth. Bark on old trees
about an inch thick, deeply Assuring into irregular longitudinal plates, which exfoliate
in small rounded scales, leaving exposed pale brown, slight oval depressions where
they fall off. Buds \ to i inch long, elongated, abruptly contracted to an acuminate
apex, light brown in colour, tinged with white, the lowermost scales loose and
reflected, the uppermost bound together by white resin. Branchlets stout, glabrous,
brown in colour ; leaf-bases very prominent, keeled, and imbricated, persisting for
several years on the older leafless branchlets.
Leaves, in pairs, densely covering the whole branchlet on barren shoots, forming
an apical cup-like tuft above, directed upwards and forwards below ; deciduous in the
fourth or fifth year ; stout, 4 to 6 inches long, about ^ inch wide, straight or curved,
often twisted,' serrulate, ending in a short callous point ; semi-terete in section, with
' The generic description of Pinus will be given in a later part. There is no English name in common use for the
whole species. The different forms are well known, as the Corsican, Austrian, and Pyrenean Pines.
^ The oldest name for the species is Pinus nigra, Arnold, which has lately been revived by some German writers. We
adopt the name Pinus Laricio, Poiret, as it has been in general use for more than a century.
Pinus pallasiana, Lambert, Genus Pinus, i. 13, t. 5 (1 832), is impossible to recognise, being supposed by some to be
Pinus Laricio and by others to be Pinus Pinaster.
Pinus tiyrenaiaca, Lapeyrouse, Hist. PI. Pyrin., Suppl. 146 (18 18), points, so far as the locality is concerned, to the
Pyrenean variety of Laricio ; but the description is doubtful. Mr, H. L. de Vilmorin, who gives a history of this name in
Bull. Soc. Bot. France, xl. p. Ixxvii (1893), considers it to refer to Pinus Brutia ; but M. Calas, in his account of the Pin
Laricio de Salzmann, p. 22, controverts this opinion, and believes the description to apply to the Pyrenean laricio.
' The twisting of the leaves, supposed to be characteristic of the Corsican variety, is an inconstant character.
40 8 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
twelve lines of stomata on the convex surface and eight lines on the flat surface ; resin
canals median, surrounded by stereome cells, meristele elliptic, fibro-vascular bundle
branched. Basal sheath about ^ inch long, brown near the base, whitish above,
becoming on old leaves short, lacerated, and blackish.
Male flowers clustered, three to ten or more in number, on the lower half of
the branchlet of the first year, which grows beyond the inflorescence and bears
leaves above ; later, when the flowers drop off", these fertile branches appear to be
bare of leaves in their lower half The male flowers are upright, yellow, cylindric,
stalked, about an inch long ; connective crest large, purplish, finely toothed. ,
Female flowers single or two to three at the top of the young branchlets, very
shortly stalked and bright red in colour, remaining as small (^ inch diameter)
globular cones till the beginning of the second year.
Cones ripe at the end of the second year, solitary or in pairs or threes, sub-
terminal, sessile ; variously directed, upwards, horizontally, or even curving down-
wards ; shining brown ; ovoid-conic, 2 to 3 inches long by an inch in diameter,
straight or curved, symmetrical, ending in a narrow apex. The cones open in the
spring or summer of the third year and soon after the escape of the seeds fall off".
Scales about an inch long ; concealed part thin, dark reddish brown below and light
brown above ; apophysis or visible part shining yellowish brown, raised, rounded
at the upper margin, with a transverse keel, curved on each side of the central
umbo, which is reddish brown and bears a minute or obsolete prickle. Seeds greyish
or brownish, more or less mottled, about ^ inch long ; wing three or four times as
long, striated light brown, straight on one side and gently curved on the other, about
^ inch wide at the broadest part, which is at the middle or just below it. Seedling
with six or seven cotyledons.
The diffierent geographical forms may be arranged as follows : —
1. Var. corsicana, Loudon, loc. cit. (yzx. poiretiana, Antoine, Conif. 6:1840),
Corsican Pine. Occurs in south-east Spain, Corsica, southern Italy, Greece, and
Crete.
A tall tree with straight stem and slender branches. Leaves light green in
colour, not extremely dense upon the branchlets, the whole aspect of the foliage
being lighter in colour and sparser in quantity than in the Austrian pine. Buds
not very resinous. Cones usually without radiating cracks on the apophyses.
Var. calabrica, Loudon, loc. cit., is scarcely distinguishable. As seen under
cultivation at Les Barres, it has perhaps slightly denser foliage than the Corsican
variety growing beside it.
2. Var. austriaca, Loudon, loc. cit. (Pinus nigra, Arnold ; Pinus austriaca, Hoss ;
Pinus nigricans, Host ; Pinus Laricio, var. nigricans, Parlatore). Austrian Pine.
Austria, Balkan Peninsula, Crimea, Caucasus, Asia Minor.
Shorter tree, with numerous stout branches. Leaves dark green in colour,
extremely dense upon the branchlets, giving the whole tree a dense dark crown of
foliage. Buds resinous, whitish, stouter than in the Corsican pine. Cones usually
showing radiating cracks in the apophyses.
Vzx. pallasiana, Endlicher, Syn. Conif. {Pinus pallasiana, Loudon, cp. cit. 2206).
Pinus Laricio 409
This name is given in England to trees with numerous stout branches, the lower-
most of which ascend parallel to the trunk ; but in foliage scarcely different from the
Austrian pine.^ The cones are usually larger than in that variety and have the
radiating cracks strongly marked. This form is supposed to have come from the
Crimea. The Laricio which occurs in the Crimea, Asia Minor, and the
Caucasus appears, however, to be identical with the Austrian form.
Var. caramanica, Loudon, loc. cit. (var. Karamana, Masters, Gard. Chron. 1884,
xxi. 480, fig. 91). This is the Austrian pine as regards the foliage ; but producing
extraordinarily large cones, up to four inches or more in length. It is supposed to
be identical with a form introduced into Paris by Olivier, who sent seeds in 1 798 from
Caramania in Asia Minor ; but is perhaps only a mere sport of the common
Austrian pine. The only specimens known to us are two trees at Syon, grown on
the lawn west of the mansion ; and one of these measured, in 1903, 72 feet by 8 feet
6 inches.
3. Var. tenuifolia, Parlatore, loc. cit. (vars. pyrenaiaca et cebennensis, Grenier et
Godron, Flore de France, iii. 153 (1856). Pinus monspeliensis, Salzmann. Pinus
Salzmanni, Dunal). Pyrenean Pine. Cevennes and Pyrenees.
Small trees, often stunted in growth, with remarkably slender leaves, only half
the thickness of the other forms. Young branchlets orange-coloured. Cones
smaller than in the Corsican variety. Owing to its slow growth, the annual shoots
are very short, and the older branchlets remain slender and bare of leaves for a great
distance behind the short tuft of leaves at their extremities.
Pinus leucodermis, Antoine, treated by us as a distinct species, is considered by
many authorities to be only an alpine form of Laricio ; and there appear to be
similar forms occurring in high regions elsewhere, as Pinus Fenzlii, Carriere,
which resembles P. leucodermis in having short leaves, almost appressed together
in the bundles.
Pinus pindica, Formanek, reported as growing in the Pindus and the Thessalian
Olympus, is not recognised by Halacsy ; ^ and is probably only a slightly aberrant
form of the ordinary Corsican variety. It has been fully described and figured in
Gardeners' Chronicle, loc. cit., by Dr. Masters.
Horticultural varieties of Laricio are few and unimportant. Beissner' mentions
pendulous, variegated, and dwarf forms. A golden variety * of the Austrian pine,
said to have been raised or introduced by Mr. Mongredien of the Heatherside
Nursery, has the leaves, especially those on young growths, tipped with gold.
Ilsemann* saw a tree, in which the leaves were beautifully variegated with yellow,
growing wild in a forest in Hungary. A peculiar form of Austrian pine with stout
falcate leaves has been observed at Breslau."
' Probably some trees called Pallasiana, on account of their habit, are really of Corsican origin.
' Consp. Fl. Griica, iii. 452 (1904).
» Nadelholzkunde, 243 (1891). Masters saw at Moser's Nursery, Versailles, in 1903, a dwarf variety of very compact
habit with dense bright green foliage : Gard. Chron. xxxiv. 338 (1903).
* Gard. Chron. xvi. 507 {1881) and ii. 730, 785 (1883).
' Gartenflora, 1897, p. 643. 0 Baenitr, Gartenflora, 1903, p. 58.
II 2 E
41 o The Trees of Great Britain and Iceland
Introduction
According to Loudon,' the Corsican variety was introduced into England, as
long ago as 1 759, under the name Pinus sylvestris, e maritima, which was adopted
by Aiton.* In France, the tree in the Jardin des Plantes at Paris was planted in 1 774 ;
but the date of introduction of the first seed is probably earlier. The Austrian pine
was introduced' in 1835 by Lawson of Edinburgh. \^.x. pallasiana was first raised
by Messrs. Lee and Kennedy, Hammersmith, from seeds sent to them about the
year 1 790 from the Crimea by Professor Pallas.' Captain Cook ' imported seed in
1834 from the Sierra de Segura in the south of Spain ; but the plants raised were
probably indistinguishable from the ordinary Corsican variety ; and there is no record
of the introduction of the Pyrenean or Cevennes variety, of which we know of no large
trees in this country.
Distribution
The species has a widespread distribution, extending westwards from Spain
into the Cevennes in France, finding its northerly limit in Austria, and descending
into Corsica, Italy, Sicily, the Balkan peninsula, Greece, Crete, and Cyprus, it re-
appears in the Crimea and in Asia Minor, and reaches its most easterly point in the
Caucasus.
In Spain, a form considered by Willkomm to be identical with the Corsican
variety occurs scattered through the plateaux and mountains of the south-eastern
and central provinces, at altitudes between 1000 and 3500 feet. The largest forests
occur in the Serrania de Cuenca, and in the sierras of Segura and Cazorla, the most
southerly point reached being in the last-named mountain in N. lat. 37° 40' and W.
long. 3°.
Pyrenean Laricio. — The form' which occurs in the Pyrenees and the
Cevennes is remarkable for its stunted growth and slender leaves. It grows
on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees in the province of Aragon, not far from
Venasque, between the rivers Esera and Cinca. From this locality, which was
visited by Mr. H. L. de Vilmorin in his investigations of the Pyrenean Laricio,*
seeds were regularly sent to Paris for many years early in the 19th century, by
M. Boileau, pharmacist at Bagneres-de-Luchon.
M. Calas, who has written an elaborate memoir" on this variety, accompanied
by a map of its distribution and numerous illustrations of the forests reproduced from
photographs, discovered it in 1890 on the north side of the Pyrenees near Prades.
Here it covers a scattered area of about 3600 acres in the hills south of the river
Tet and north of Mount Canigou, the district being called Conflent ; and grows on
glacial clay at elevations between 1880 and 3300 feet. In most places the original
forest has been ruined by sheep-grazing and fires, and usually only small isolated
' op. cit. 2204, 2206, 2208, 2209. The date for the Corsican pine is not improbable, as Loudon (viii. t. 315)
gives a figure of a tree at Kew, which was 85 feet high in 1838.
» Hort. Knv. iii. 366 (1789). 3 cf. Durand, in Bull. So(. Bot. France, xl. p. ccxxviii (1893).
* Ihid. p. Ixxvii.
' Le Pin Laricio de Salzmann, pp. 50, tt. 1-19. Published at Paris by the Minister of Agriculture in 1900.
Pinus Laricio 411
groups of trees are to be seen, in the ravines and on the precipices. There are,
however, two woods of considerable extent ; and one of these, situated in the basin
of the stream of Masos, is considered by M. Calas to be the finest which he has
seen, as regards the density, regularity, size, and vigour of the trees, which are, how-
ever, only about 80 to 90 years old. The best trees in the district are 50 to 60 feet
high by 3 to 4 feet in girth.
In the Cevennes, this variety occurs in three localities. In Herault, near Saint-
Guilhem-le-Desert,^ it covers, between 1700 and 2300 feet elevation, about 2400
acres, of which 1900 have lately been purchased by the Government. The soil is
dolomite limestone and is extremely poor and shallow ; and the trees growing either
on southern arid slopes or on wind-swept plateaux are in a worse condition than else-
where. They usually have twisted stems and average 1 5 feet in height ; attaining
at their best 30 feet high by 3 feet in girth.
Another locality ^ occurs north of Besseges, in the valley of the river Gagnieres,
which forms the boundary line between the departments of Gard and Ardeche. The
tree grows here at 650 to 1 100 feet elevation on siliceous soil, and covers a scattered
area of 2500 acres, half of which belongs to the State. It often attains, on northern
slopes and on slightly better soil than usual, 60 feet high by 4 feet in girth. This
appears to be the only locality where the tree is regularly felled, the timber being
sold for pit-props. The maritime pine has been planted in the district in the open
spaces caused by forest fires, and though slightly faster in growth than the native
.Laricio, has proved to be a poorer tree, on account of the inferior quality of its
timber.
M. Fabre discovered in 1897 ^ third locality in the Cevennes, at the Col
d'Uglas, eight miles west of Alais in Gard. The area is only 250 acres ; but is
interesting, on account of Pinus sylvestris growing wild in company with Laricio in
the upper part of the forest.
The Pyrenean pine has been planted in a few localities in Ardeche, Herault,
Aude, and Pyrenees Orientales ; and has done slightly better than the Austrian pine
tried with it. Calas considers it to be a useful tree, on account of its capability of
growing on the worst possible soils ; and is of opinion that its meagre growth in the
wild state is entirely dependent on the poor conditions of soil and climate to which
it is subjected.
CoRSiCAN Pine. — This species is widely spread in Corsica in the great
mountain range and its ramifications, which occupy the centre of the island.
On northern slopes it grows between 2700 and 5500 feet elevation, the
lower margin of the forest being often contiguous with dense woods of
Quercus Ilex or with scattered groves of Quercus lanuginosa. On southern
sunny slopes it only descends to 3700 feet, the zone below that altitude
being usually occupied by Pinus Pinaster, the two species mingling slightly at the
line of junction. The forests of Laricio, often of great extent, belong almost
entirely to the State and to the Communes, and are all treated by the selection
* Here this variety was first discovered in France by Salzmann in 1851.
' First mentioned in 1856 by Grenier and Godron, loc. cil.
412 The Trees of Great Britain and t^eland
method. The pine usually occurs pure ; but in the ravines small and unimportant
groups of silver fir are often seen, and the edges of the streams are bordered in many
places by Alnus cordifolia. The beech in Corsica attains as high an elevation as
Laricio, and in some cases the two species are mixed, and a struggle occurs for pre-
dominance. Birch is occasionally a component of the pine forest, but is compara-
tively rare. The soil on which Laricio grows is usually extremely poor, consisting
of debris of granite rocks, and contains very little humus or decayed vegetable
matter.
The following observations which were taken in 1906, at 3200 feet altitude, in
the midst of the Laricio forest at Vizzavona, show the climate in which the tree
thrives : —
Days of FaU of
Temp
Fahr.
Precipitation
in inches.
Rain.
Snow.
Max.
Min.
January ....
10.98
4
S
47°
18°
February
3-74
3
13
46°
16°
March .
4-05
5
6
64°
21°
April .
346
12
4
59°
27°
May .
5.28
13
I
"I
32°
June .
0.31
7
...
75
43°
July .
1. 61
8
77°
46°
August
0.12
2
...
79°
48°
September
1-73
3
...
77°
39°
October
7.60
S
...
66°
41°
November
14.61
14
I
61°
30°
December
1544
8
II
59°
16°
Total ....
68.93
84
41
inches.
days
rain.
days
snow.
Snow and low but not extreme temperatures are common during nearly six
months of the year, from November to the beginning of May. The sky is generally
clouded more or less completely during a greater part of the year ; a clear blue sky
only being recorded on 77 days out of the whole year.
The Laricio forests are easy of access, owing to the railway, which goes through
the heart of the mountains from Ajaccio to Bastia ; and in spite of a heavy fall of
snow I succeeded in seeing some of the most important forests in the last week
of December 1906. The finest is Valdoniello, which lies about twenty miles west of
Corte railway station, the road to it passing through the magnificent gorge of the
Scala di Santa-Regina. This forest occupies the upper basin of the river Golo,
which has a north-easterly exposure, and its wooded area covers 6682 acres lying
between 3100 and 5100 feet altitude. The soil is very dry and extremely poor, con-
sisting of granite debris ; and the few beech and silver fir that were seen could only
obtain a footing in the ravines. The forest is divided into two series, one of which,
about 4000 acres in extent is being regularly felled, whilst the other series at
a greater elevation is left untouched as a zone of protection. In the first series
Pinus Laricio 413
there are 109,000 trees over 16 inches in diameter, 4000 of which are decayed or
diseased. Only trees over 9 feet in girth are marked for felling ; and these are
being cut down gradually, two or three trees in each spot, so that gaps are left in
which seedlings may spring up. Though good seed years occur about once every
three years, natural regeneration is always difficult on account of the poverty and
dryness of the soil, and only occurs in open spaces exposed to sunlight. As a great
deal of the best timber has been removed in past years, the number of excessively
large trees is limited, there being only thirteen over 14 feet in girth. The largest
tree now standing, the " Roi des Laricios," is growing in a dense part of the forest at
3850 feet altitude, and measured 143 feet in height by 18 feet 9 inches in girth, with
a clean stem to 100 feet. Plate 113, from photographs taken by me, shows the
stem of this tree and a dense stand of pines. Plate 114, from a negative kindly
lent us by M. A. Andr6, Inspector of the French Forest Service, shows very
well the peculiar habit assumed by the Laricio in old age, the crown becoming
remarkably flattened, owing to the bending over of the leading shoot and the
increase in size of the upper branches, which become very stout and horizontal or
even curve slightly downwards. The frontispiece is reproduced from a sketch taken
in Corsica by the late Robert Elwes of Congham, Norfolk.
In this forest the presence of a considerable number of diseased trees is
probably explained by the fact that some twenty years previously most of the large
trees had been tapped for resin, an operation which was not justified by its financial
results, and which exposed the trees to the attacks of fungi. In many parts of the
Valdoniello forest, as in parcelle F, the trees are very tall, and stand very close
together, and have beautifully clean stems, showing that the tree bears crowding
without injury. The foliage of the trees in Corsica struck me as being denser than
is the case usually in isolated trees growing in England ; and I agree with Prof.
Fliche that the canopy of Laricio is considerably denser than that of the Scots pine,
and as a corollary that plantations should not be over-thinned. In Corsica, as only
trees of large size are saleable, no thinning operations are ever attempted.
The railway passes through another fine forest, that of Vizzavona, which is
about 3400 acres in extent. The trees here are as a rule younger than those at
Valdoniello, and in many parts of the forest are mixed with beech, between 3000
and 4000 feet. In one place it was evident that, owing to an excessive felling
of Laricio several years ago, the young forest coming up will consist almost
entirely of beech. In pure stands of young but tall pines there is usually a slight
undergrowth of beech and holly. Near the forester's house I measured a large
tree, 145 feet high by 12 feet 3 inches in girth, which was growing at 3200 feet
altitude.
With regard to the size attained by Laricio in Corsica, a tree in the forest of
Pietropiano with a short stem measured 23 feet in girth. In the forest of Marmano
trees have been felled which were clean in the stem to 115 feet, and yielded 950
cubic feet of dressed and squared logs. At Aitone there is a fine forest of Laricio
which I was unable to visit from Valdoniello, as the pass across the mountain was
impassable owing to deep snow. I was informed that the forest of Asco has been
414 The Trees of Great Britain and l^reland
practically untouched by the axe, and contains many very old trees of peculiar
habit.
The Laricio grows with extreme slowness in the mountains of Corsica, trees
40 inches in diameter averaging about 360 years old, and those over 5 feet in
diameter are often as much as 700 years.
The timber of young trees is valueless in Corsica, as it contains practically
only sapwood, which rapidly decays on exposure to the air. The sapwood is white
in colour, and always considerable in thickness, varying on an average from 8 inches
in young trees (^']'j years old) to 2 to 3 inches in old trees (250 years old and
upwards). The heartwood, which is reddish brown, only develops in quantity when
the trees attain an advanced age, exceptionally at 1 20 to 1 50 years, usually at 300
years. At the latter age the trees average 3 feet in diameter, and are considered
to be mature and at the most profitable period for felling. Most of the timber is
exported in the form of logs to Italy, where it is much esteemed, and is used for
shipbuilding purposes generally. The logs are squared in the forest, all the sapwood
being chipped off except a little at the four corners. Saleable logs must be at least
23 feet in length, and have a minimum section at the small end of i square foot.
They fetch at Bastia, after a long haulage by road and railway, 36 to 40 francs per
cubic metre, or about lod. to iid. per cubic foot. A small proportion of the timber
in the forests is cut up into planks and joists for local use. The timber is very
strong but heavy, and often contains a great deal of resin ; when of the first quality
it is considered to be as good as American pitch pine. It is very seldom used in
France, and the reasons for this are not very clear,
I could obtain no information as to the collection of the seed of Laricio in
Corsica, though I made inquiries when visiting the forests and also at the Con-
servator's office in Ajaccio. Mr. M. L. de Vilmorin, however, kindly informs me in
a letter that the annual collection amounts to about three or four tons, of which his
firm disposes of about one-half The main localities for collecting are near Corte
and Calacuccia, and at Vivario, which is not far from Vizzavona. The cones are put
in the ovens which the villagers use for drying chestnuts, and as the amount of heat
is not regulated with any precision, the seed is often over-heated. Though the crop
of cones in the forest varies very much in different years, there has been no difficulty
so far in procuring always a quantity of seed sufficient to meet the demand.
In Sardinia the Corsican pine is recorded from only one locality, the valley of
the Flumini Maggiore, where it was collected by Moris.^
Calabrian Pine. — In Sicily the Corsican pine is common, according to
Schouw,* on Mount Etna, where it forms woods between 4000 and 6000
feet. It is, however, in Calabria, in Sila and Aspromonte, that Laricio occurs
in abundance, and there is little doubt that the tree here is identical with that of
Corsica. Schouw,'' who compared specimens from the botanical garden at Naples
with the large Corsican pine growing in the Jardin des Plantes at Paris, is convinced
of their absolute identity, Longo, who has recently written an article ' on the flora
' Parlalore, Fl. Italiaiia, iv. 53 (1867). Moris's si^ecimens, tliough without flowers or fruit, are probably Laricio,
according to Parlatore. ' Ann. Sci. Nat., Ill Ser., iii. 234 (1845). ' Annali di Botanica, iii. 1-17, tt. 1-6 (1905).
Pinus Laricio 415
of Calabria, gives five plates, reproductions from photographs, of the Calabrian
forests, and a plate showing the variation in the cones ; but he has added little to
our knowledge of these interesting forests in his short description of them. He
states that the finest one is the State forest of Gallipano. (A. H.)
As I could find no account of this tree in its native country, and it was then
little known in England ; from the information I received from Signor Siemoni,
chief of the Forest Department at Rome, I visited Cosenza, a town in Calabria,
in April 1903. Here I was kindly received by Signor Carlo Pagliano, Inspector
of Forests, who directed me to a village called Spezzano Grande, two hours'
drive from Cosenza, from where I rode with Signor D. Greco, the sub-inspector,
to the Sila Mountains, on which the largest forests of this tree now exist. The
snow was still lying on the pass at about 4800 feet, but on the plateau beyond
this it had melted except in shaded places. The forest is composed mainly
of pine, here called Pino della Sila, Pino Rosso, or Pino Butello, mixed with
beech in some places ; but the forest has been considerably diminished by felling
in former times, when the dockyards of Naples drew a large part of their timber
from this district. The inspector told me that the only place he knew of where
virgin forest of this tree still remained, was on a mountain called Femina Morte in
the forest of Carigleone, in the district of Cattanzaro, 60 to 70 kilometres south-east of
Cosenza. The average size of the trees which I saw being cut for the sawmill was not
above 80 to 90 feet by 6 to 8 feet in girth, and smaller where they grew densely. These
trees were 80 to 90 years old, and the heart wood, 10 inches in diameter, was reddish.
In places where fire and cattle had not destroyed them, the natural reproduction was
very good, and the seedlings when once established were making 2 to 3 feet of
growth every year. The trees grew best in a south aspect on a soil which appeared
to be decomposed granite, and, as far as I could learn, there is no limestone in this
district. On my way back I visited Potenza in the Basilicata, whence, according
to M. de Vilmorin's information, the seeds of the tree originally were introduced ;
but if the tree ever existed in the district, I could hear nothing of it.
Austrian Pine. — The Austrian pine has been the subject of a monograph by
Prof. A, von Seckendorfif^ which gives very elaborate details of its literature,
economy, and distribution in Austria, with maps and illustrations of remarkable
trees in various places, which should be consulted by those who wish to know more
than the brief resume which I give. It occurs as a wild tree abundantly only in
Lower Austria in an area extending from Modling, near Vienna, south to near Pitten
and south-west to Reichenrau, especially on the Alpine chalk formation, and attains
an elevation of about 4000 feet. It attains a very great age, the rings of one felled
near Stixenstein showing no less than 584 years, though the tree was only 65 feet
high and about 6 feet in girth. In very rocky situations it grows so slowly that a
tree near Mehadia was 270 years old, with a trunk only 8 feet high and about a
foot in girth at the base.
Among the trees most remarkable for size may be mentioned a splendid tree at
Vostenhofer (fig. ii. of Seckendorff) which is about 75 feet high and 21 feet in girth.
* Bettrage zur JCenntniss der Schwarzfohre (Wi£nn&, 1881).
41 6 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
It is divided into 4 stems near the ground and has a diameter of branches of about
25 yards. A tree called the Broad Pine at Modling, near Vienna (fig. iii.), has an
umbrella shape, very unusual in this species. It is only about 35 feet high but is no
less than 60 feet broad. A tree called the Cross or Picture Pine in the Grossen
Fohrenwalde (fig. v.) is considered the finest tree there. It measures about 65
feet high, of which two-thirds are clean trunk, and is 9 to 10 feet in girth at about
9 feet from the ground. The tallest specimen which is mentioned is not much over
90 feet, very much less than those I saw in Bosnia, some of which were considerably
over 100 feet and probably over 1 20 feet, with clean stems to two-thirds of their
height.
On good ground, however, in Austria this pine forms very fine timber ; an
example (shown on fig. viii.) at Gutenstein, near Zellenbach, is said to be 280 years
old with an average height of 30 metres. Another of the- same age at Fahrafelde is
so like the growth of the tree in Bosnia that the photograph illustrating it (fig. ix.)
shows the best form of this tree very well.
A hybrid between this tree and Pinus sylvestris was described by Reichhardt '
as growing in the Forest of Merkenstein. (H. J. E.)
In Hungary, according to Pax,^ the Austrian pine is only found at Mehadia on
the lower Danube, where there are woods on dry stony mountain slopes. He
noticed it, however, as a mere shrub at Talmacsel in the valley of the river Alt.
In Styria its occurrence as a wild tree is doubtful. In Carinthia there are limited
areas of this species on calcareous soil on the southern slopes of the Dobratsch. It
is also recorded from I stria, Carniola, Croatia, and the island of Cherso. Ascherson '
mentions one locality in Galicia. In Bulgaria* it grows in several localities in the
Rilo-Dagh, and in the Rhodope Mountains above Stanimaka.
An excellent account of the distribution and forest conditions of this species in
the western states of the Balkan peninsula is given by Beck.* The most extensive
forests in this region lie in south-eastern Bosnia and extend across into Servia, in
the district of Novibazar. Fine pine forests occur at Semec, on the slopes of the
Lim valley, and on the hills between the Lim and Ceatina rivers. Between the
middle part of the course of the river Drina in Bosnia and the river Morava in Servia
the tree usually grows on palaeozoic rocks, though it is occasionally seen on lime-
stone. In Servia the forests of Austrian pine are less extensive, but extend from
Ivica to Kapaonik. In middle Bosnia, where the tree is found growing on serpentine,
and in western Bosnia, it is not at all common.
Elwes saw the tree growing abundantly in the valley of the Drina, as already
mentioned in our account of Picea Oniorika, and brought home a quantity of seed
from this locality in 1901, which he distributed under the MS. name of Pinus
Laricio, var. bosniensis, believing at the time that it was not the same variety as the
common Austrian pine ; but he now considers that the difference observed is no
more than might be caused by a good soil and a more southerly and warmer climate.
• Verh. Zool. Bot. Ges. Vtenim, xxvi. p. 462. * Pflanzenverb. in Karpathen, 104 (1898).
' Syn. Mitteleurop. Flora, i. 213 (1897). ■■ Velenovsky, Flora Bu/garica, 518 (1891).
' Veg. Illyrischcn Lander, 139, 226 (1 90 1).
Pinus Laricio 417
In Herzegovina, according to Beck, the tree grows down the Neretva valley to
the Plasa Planina and the southern slope of the Prenj Planina. In Montenegro it
is comparatively rare, Pinus leucodermis having been often mistaken for it. It
occurs scattered through Albania. In Dalmatia there are peculiar forests of Austrian
pine, in which there is a dense undergrowth of evergreen Mediterranean shrubs and
Juniperus Oxycedrus ; and Beck describes the most remarkable of these, which occur
at about 2500 feet elevation, on the peninsula of Sabioncello and the island of Brazza.
The greatest altitude in these regions at which the Austrian pine was seen growing
by Beck was 5300 feet on the west slope of Mount Dinara in south-western Bosnia,
on the Dalmatian frontier.
In Greece, Laricio, probably of the Corsican variety, occurs in the mountains,
often forming extensive woods, and Halacsy^ mentions various localities in the
provinces of Epirus, Thessaly, Euboea, iEtolia, Peloponnesus, and in Crete. In
Cyprus ^ Laricio is only met with on the summit of Troodos and on some crests to
the west, at 4000 to 5000 feet altitude, just above the zone of Pinus halepensis, the
two species mingling slightly together at the line of junction, as is the case in
Corsica. Mr. Madon, who cut down a hundred trees, says that the timber is of no
value, on account of the large amount of sapwood in immature trees, until it has
reached the age of 250 years. Hartmann,' who has recently visited Cyprus, gives
an elaborate account of the Laricio forest. He states that pure woods of this
species are rarely met, as in its lower zone, from 4000 to 4500 feet, it grows mixed
with Pinus halepensis ; and above this, to the summit of Troodos, it is accompanied
by Juniperus foetidissima. It attains a height of 80 feet and a girth of as much
as 16 feet.
In Asia Minor, according to Tchihatchefif," it grows mixed with silver fir on
Olympus in Bithynia at 2700 to 5000 feet altitude, and in the same province, on
Mount Samanly, at 1600 to 2100 feet, and in the island of Thasos, where it forms
•with. Juniperus excelsa a wood in the littoral region. He records it near Soma in
the mountains of Mysia ; in the valley of the Meander in Troas ; between Mughla and
Eskischer in Caria ; in the Antitaurus, where it forms mixed woods with Juniperus
excelsa, Abies cilicica, cedar, and oak ; and in various localities in Pisidia, Isauria,
and Cilicia.
In the Crimea* it grows on dry, poor, calcareous soil, forming woods on the
western slopes of the mountain chain which extends along the coast of the Black
Sea. The Crimean pine has been made a distinct variety, pallasiana, but it is
probably identical with the Austrian pine.
According to Radde," Pinus austriaca, as he terms it, is rare in the Caucasus.
Steven discovered it in 1840 in the neighbourhood of Gelentschik ; and Kusnezoff
has since found it at a place called Wulanskaja, 35 kilometres south-east of
Gelentschik, where there is a small open grove with sound trees attaining 2 metres
in girth. Radde adds that it grows near the Black Sea at Bulanka. (A. H.)
' Consp. Fl. Graca, iii. 452 (1904).
• Forests of Cyprus ; Parly. Paper, Cyprus, No. 366 of 1 881, End. No. 2, pp. 28, 34.
' Mill. Deulsch. Dendrol. Ges. 1905, p. 172. * Asie Mineure, ii. 497 (i860).
' Antoine, Conif. 6 (1840). ' Pflanzenverb. in Kaukasuslmtdern , 169, 184 (1899).
II 2 F
41 8 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
Cultivation : Corsican Pine
Of all the conifers introduced into England, of which great expectations have
been formed, none except the larch has shown such good results as the Corsican pine,
which has proved a hardy and vigorous grower on almost all soils, and in almost all
parts of Great Britain and Ireland. It has not, however, been long enough in the
country to have established a position in the English timber market, and until it
does it is difficult to say much of its economic value in the future. All accounts of
this wood for estate purposes, though often used long before it has attained sufficient
age to give the best results, agree in saying that though rough and knotty when
grown singly, it is at least as good as Scots pine ; probably more durable and stronger
when used before maturity. Though it does not grow so fast on very barren and
stony soils as the Austrian pine, it is far better from a timber point of view, and
occupies less space. Its greatest defect is the difficulty of transplanting it when
young on account of its very scanty root system, and as this often, indeed usually,
entails considerable loss on both nurserymen and planters, the cost of getting a crop
of Laricio established is very much higher than in the case of the Scots pine.
I have been most successful in avoiding a high death-rate by purchasing two-
year seedlings with as many roots as possible from French nurseries in the spring,
not before the middle of March, planting them at once in nursery rows on as sandy
a soil as possible, and transplanting them to their permanent habitation in March or
April, two years afterwards. But the plants will not then be large enough for the
better class of land, and may require another transplantation before finally going out,
by which time they will have cost 40s. to 50s. per 1000, and in some cases much
more. The seedling has a very long primary root at first with very little fibre.
By cutting this tap-root when the plant is only a year old, without lifting it from its
seed-bed, it may be induced to make more roots, but if left unprotected for the first
winter on wet or heavy soil a great many of the seedlings will be thrown out of the
ground altogether. In my own ground I prefer to sow the seed in boxes, as their
growth in the open ground is slow in comparison with what are raised in France.
In order to overcome this difficulty some nurserymen adopt the practice of lifting
all their one-year seedlings before winter sets in, and laying them in until spring,
when they are lined out for two seasons' growth before being again transplanted.
I have on two occasions tried sowing the seed in the field where I wished the
trees to grow, but with little success. The seedlings remain so small for the first
two or three years that they cannot be seen among the grass, which soon covers
them, and though this species seems to suffer less than any tree from being planted
among coarse grass, it takes five or six years before the seedlings become conspicuous,
and it will also be found that in some places they are too thick, and in others have
entirely failed.
The Corsican pine is distasteful in the young state to hares and rabbits. An
experiment to test this was made some years ago at Tortworth Court, where Lord
Ducie planted a young Laricio in the centre of a rabbit warren, which, until the
ground was covered with snow, the teeming population of the spot did not touch ;
Pinus Laricio 419
and even then, when starving, after an attempt to consume the young needles of the
buds, they abandoned the experiment.^
Captain the Hon. R. Coke, a very close observer of trees, sends us the
following notes from Holkham : —
" In distinguishing between P. Laricio and P. austriaca, one must apparently
be guided rather by the general appearance and habit of the trees, than by any
hard and fast rules. Laricio always looks well-bred in comparison with the
coarseness of austriaca. Even when the former develops great limbs, coarse in
themselves, the more delicate foliage will distinguish it from its Austrian relative.
A good instance of this may be seen at Wolterton, where a fine specimen of each
are growing side by side.
" Though the curved or twisted leaves are usually considered to mark the
Corsican, yet this feature has been noticed in trees thoroughly Austrian in every
other respect ; moreover, some Corsicans have straight leaves. Sometimes the
branches being produced in regular whorls up the stem is considered to be the
mark of a Laricio, but all Corsicans do not follow this rule.
"When planting the sandhills at Holkham at various times between 1855 and
1 890, Lord Leicester took the precaution of wiring in austriaca against rabbits and
omitting to do so in the case of Laricio. This was done because it had been found
that the P. Laricio, which were all raised from the seed of the old trees at Holkham
introduced from Corsica in the early part of the 19th century, were unharmed by
rabbits, which eagerly devoured P. austriaca. At the present time, of the trees
growing on the sandhills, namely, P. Laricio, P. austriaca, P. sylvestris, P.
maritima, practically the only one which reproduces freely is the Laricio, as the
rabbits, though no longer numerous, seem to be able to distinguish this tree from
its congeners, and leave it untouched. On the other hand, some trees bought as
Laricio from an English nurseryman, which had every appearance of being
genuine, were recently planted to fill up gaps in a belt at Holkham, and in this
case the rabbits ignored the nurseryman's label, and made short work of the
so-called Laricio."
Mr. J. D. B. Whyte, agent to Lord Iveagh, confirms the statement that rabbits
will eat Austrian, and will not touch Corsican pines when planted together ; but
though the gamekeeper says that he has never anywhere seen a Corsican damaged
by rabbits, Mr. Whyte does not think that the question has been fully tested at
Elveden. This tree and the Austrian pine are sometimes planted in the Eastern
counties as belts and hedges, but do not form so dense a shelter, or bear clipping
so well as the Scots pine.
The Corsican pine is apparently less liable than some other pines to the
ravages of insects and fungi. A specimen, however, sent in July 1905 to Kew by
Mr. Wellwood Maxwell of Kirkennan, near Dalbeattie, showed a branch attacked by
Peziza Willkommii, and Sir Herbert Maxwell showed me a similar case on a tree
at Monreith.
On the sandhills of the Norfolk coast, near Holkham, are a number of Austrian
' Hutchison, in Trans. Scot. Arb. Soc, vii. 55 (1875).
420 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
and Corsican pines, planted on what appears to be pure drift sea sand, but Colonel
Feilden suggested to me that their health and vigour may be due to the presence of
lime, produced by sea-shells in the underlying beds. These trees were, as I was
told by Mr. Donald Munro, forester to the Earl of Leicester, partly raised from seeds
produced by the old trees in the garden at Holkham, and planted thirty to forty years
ago, together with Pinus insignis, P. Pinaster, and P. sylvestris, to form a shelter
belt and bind the loose drifting sand. Though some of the trees had preserved the
peculiar leaf, colour, and habit of the Corsican and Austrian varieties, there were
many others which could not be identified with certainty. A great number of seed- .
lings have sprung up on the south or landward side of the hills, of which the largest
were twelve to thirteen years old and 9 to 10 feet high ; and many smaller ones of
various ages were growing freely even in wet spots among tall rushes. Plate 115
shows the appearance of these seedlings. Rabbits and hares do not seem
very abundant here, and I saw none of the Corsican seedlings barked, though
one or two of the much scarcer Pinasters had suffered.
Mr. Richards, forester to Lord Penrhyn, is enthusiastic as to the merits of
this tree, and writes to me that in North Wales it will grow where all other
trees fail, that it stands wind better than any other conifer, and if planted in
March and April few deaths take place. He grows it from seed collected in March
and April and sown in May. He says there are many trees on the Penrhyn estate
80 to 90 feet high, but I did not see any quite so large as this. He considers that
the timber is very good, better than that of any conifer he knows.
Captain Rutherford, agent to the Earl of Carnarvon at Highclere, also speaks
very well of this tree, and sends me the dimensions of two not over seventy years
old, one of which contains 201, the other 150 cubic feet, and a plank which he was
good enough to give me certainly bears out his good opinion of the timber. It
has pale red heartwood and yellowish sapwood, though it seems somewhat
coarser in grain, and inferior to the wood of the Calabrian variety which I brought
from Italy.
The Corsican pine^ has not proved hardy in New England. It may be occasion-
ally seen in the middle States, but there is no evidence, in large or old specimens,
that this tree will really become a valuable acquisition for American plantations.
Cultivation : Austrian Pine
This tree is often sold as Corsican pine, but should never be planted knowingly
except upon land where no better tree will grow, or to form a shelter belt on windy
exposed hillsides of chalk or limestone, or on the sea-coast. For though a tree of
extraordinary hardiness and rapid growth, it produces such a mass of large branches,
and is so much inclined to fork, that its timber is extremely coarse, rough, and
knotty, and would be unsaleable except at a very low rate or for pit-props. My
father planted many of this tree, and I have found that though they make girth
more rapidly than any other pine, they only thrive on sunny situations, where
' Garden and Forest, x. 471 (1897).
Pinus Laricio 421
they have plenty of light and air ; and though the great bulk of timber they
produce in a short time may make them worth planting on such soils, yet I doubt
the possibility of getting a sale at remunerative prices in most districts. In mixed
or pure plantations their lower branches die off and leave large snags which are
difficult and costly to remove, and though the very resinous nature of the wood may
fit it for some purposes, I have never heard of its being utilised to any extent,
except for pitwood. Austrian pine ^ has been planted very successfully as a shelter
belt on the southern shore of Belfast Lough, about forty yards from the sea, in
heavy clay ; and behind it hardwoods and other trees are doing well. The tree has
been extensively planted in many provinces of Austria and Hungary, mainly,
according to Seckendorff, with the object of improving the soil for other trees ;
it has been recommended for this purpose on the poorer limestone soils of England,
but the cost of so doing would in my opinion make the operation very unprofitable.
Though there is no reason why the Austrian pine should not sow itself in Great
Britain, as the seeds ripen in hot years freely, yet I have never seen self-sown plants
except near Sarsden Park, Oxfordshire, the property of Lord Moreton, and here
only two or three young trees have sprung up on the rough limestone close to some
old quarries.
The Austrian pine, according to Schiibeler, is hardy in Norway as far north as
Stenkjaer, at the upper end of the Throndhjem fjord. A tree in the Botanic Garden
at Christiania, which Schiibeler says was planted in 1842, is over 40 feet high, but
was not a fine specimen when I saw it in 1906.
The Austrian pine^ has been largely planted in the northern United States as
an ornamental tree, and in youth is a handsome tree ; but it generally succumbs to
the attacks of boring insects before it has lost its bushy juvenile habit, and an
Austrian pine in the United States more than fifty feet high is exceptional.
An account of Austrian turpentine,' which is derived from Pinus Laricio, is
given by Georg Schmidt in an inaugural dissertation before the University of Berne
in 1903.
Cultivation : Calabrian Pine
The Calabrian variety of Laricio was introduced into France by M. de Vilmorin
in 1 819-2 1, and a full account of its development at Les Barres was given in a
catalogue of the trees cultivated there, published at Paris in 1878 by the Forest
Department.* From this it appears that the tree has proved superior to other pines
as a forest tree, and is especially recommended for planting in mixture with oak,
which it rapidly surpasses in height, but without injuring it, on account of the slight
development of its lateral branches. It has attained on this poor sandy soil a
considerable size, and the young trees raised from seed grown there have preserved
their superiority in the second and third generation. It produces seed abundantly
there, but has the same defect as P. Laricio of being difficult to transplant. It is
not easy to distinguish from the Corsican variety. M. Maurice de Vilmorin tells
'^ Journal 0/ Forestry, 1879, p. 165. ' Garden and Forest, ix. 453 (1896) and x. 470 (1897).
' Harzbalsam von Pinus Laricio (Bern, 1903). ^ Cf. Pard<;, Arb. Nat. de Barres, 61 (1906).
422 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
me that " in nearly every place where this variety has been planted in France, it has
proved to be in comparison with true Corsican pines the larger and finer of the two."
In Calabria the cones are gathered in December before they open, and kept
till the following July, when they are spread out in the sun, and the seed falls out
naturally, not being sown till the year after. I brought back in 1903 a sack of this
seed which proved very good, and a large quantity of plants were raised from it
by Prof. Fisher at Cooper's Hill, where they grew extremely well ; better, as it
seemed to me, than the Corsican pine, and much better than they did on my lime-
stone soil. A number of these were sent to Culford, the seat of Earl Cadogan, in,
Suffolk, where his forester, Mr. Hankins, says that they stood the drought of 1906
very well on sandy soil. So far as I can see at present, the tree is quite hardy,
and grows as fast or faster than the Corsican variety. It is equally difficult to
transplant. Time alone will prove whether this tree has any economic value in
England, but its superiority over the Corsican pine will be, I expect, only on soils
deficient in lime, which the latter endures ; and on granitic sand, in the warmer parts
of England, it would certainly be worth a trial, either as a pure plantation, or, as
recommended at Les Barres, in mixture with oak or beech.
A tree ^ reputed to be of the variety calabrica is growing in the Royal Botanic
Garden, Belfast, and was 39 feet high by 3 feet in girth in 1905. It is said to be
columnar in habit. A tree at Glasnevin, growing on the side of a hill, measured
in 1906 41 feet by 4 feet, and is pyramidal in habit, with branches ascending
at an angle of 45°. It is reported to have been planted in 1888, when four years
old from seed.
Remarkable Trees
Corsican Pine. — One of the oldest, if not the oldest tree in England, stands
near the entrance gate of Kew Gardens, and in 1903 measured 86 feet by 9 feet
3 inches. It was figured in the Gardeners' Chronicle, 1888, iv. 692, fig. 97, and
according to J. Smith ^ was brought to England by Salisbury in 1814, when a
seedling only 6 inches high.
In the pleasure ground at Holkham are three large trees which the Earl of
Leicester believes to have been brought to England by a relative early in the
nineteenth century, but the date of planting is somewhat uncertain. In 1907 they
measured 85 feet by 1 1 feet, 80 feet by 9 feet 1 1 inches, and 80 feet by 9 feet
4 inches. Plate 116 shows two of these trees.
The tallest I have seen is at Brocketts, Herts, the seat of Lord Mountstephen,
which, growing in a sandy soil and sheltered situation, was, when I measured it in
1905, no less than 1 19 feet by 8 feet 6 inches.
At Arley Castle, six fine trees, all over 100 feet high, measure 10 feet
8 inches, 9 feet 8 inches, 7 feet 9 inches, 8 feet i inch, 7 feet 8 inches, and 6 feet
in girth respectively. Plate 1 1 7 shows the largest of these. Two of them have
the habit of var. Pallasiana, but are indistinguishable in cones and foliage from
' Mentioned in Gardeners' Chronicle, 1870, p. 1537, as a prominent sort, distinct from the Caramanian or Corsican
varieties. 2 Records of R. Bot. Gardens, Kew, 286.
Pinus Laricio 423
the others. At Albury, Sussex, there is one over loo feet high by only 6 feet
9 inches in girth. At Highclere, Berks, in Great Pen wood, on sandy soil, are the
best plantation Laricios which I have seen. At about 70 years old they measure
about 90 feet high by 7 to 8 feet in girth, and have clean boles for about half their
height : several of these, however, are forked at some distance from the ground.
At Bayfordbury there is a tree which in 1906 was 94 feet by 8 feet 7 inches, and
in many other places we have seen specimens 80 to 90 feet high, which need not be
specially mentioned.
Austrian Pine. — Ofthe Austrian pine we have seen no specimens in England
which rival the Corsican in height, though at Wolterton Park, Norfolk, the seat of
the Earl of Orford, there are two large trees about 85 by ()\ feet, which show the
characteristic difference in habit and in the colour of the leaves very clearly. From
Grigor's account of this place in the Eastern Arboretum, p. 114, they seem to have
been planted before 1840. Among the largest is a large spreading tree of this type
at Nuneham Park, the seat of the Right Honourable L. Harcourt. Another at
Canford Manor, Dorset, measured 83 feet by 9 feet ; and at Williamstrip Park, on
rather heavy soil, which this tree by no means seems to dislike, there is one of
nearly the same dimensions, the largest I know in Gloucestershire.
Var. Pallasiana. — The best authentic specimen I know is a fine tree at
Elveden, Suffolk, the property of Lord Iveagh. It is a flourishing tree with the
foliage and cones of the Austrian variety, and measured when I saw it in 1907
94 feet by 8 feet 3 inches (Plate 118). Prof. A. Newton of Cambridge informs me
that this tree was raised from seed sent by his eldest brother General Newton ofthe
Coldstream Guards from Balaclava in 1854. The parent tree stood in a garden,
which was used as a cemetery during the early days of the occupation of the Crimea.
In the historic gale of 14th November 1854 the tree was blown down, and the
graves covered with rubbish, and a cone was sent home in memoriam.
Other noteworthy trees are as follows : —
At Dropmore . . 108 feet by 11 feet 5 inches fide A. Henry, 1904.
„ Beauport . . . 85 „ by 11 „ 5
„ Penrhyn . . . 95 „ by 1 1 „ 4
,, Smeaton- Hepburn . 64 ,, by 6 ,, 5 ,, ,, „ 1905-
At Chiswick House there is a good-sized tree, remarkable for having an
immense growth of the character of what is usually called " witches' broom."
M. Gadeau de Kerville has figured ^ a very fine example of this pine, which was
considered to be of the Calabrian variety by M. L. Corbiere (though this identifica-
tion seems to me somewhat uncertain), which measured in 1894 35 metres (about
no feet) high and 3.84 metres in girth. This tree is growing at Vatimesnil (Eure)
in the park of M. de Vatimesnil, who believes it to have been planted by his ancestor
about the year 1780. If this is correct, it is the oldest and probably the largest
planted tree of the species either in France or England.
' Les vieux arbres de la NormandU, fasc. iii. p. 317, plate ix.
424 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
PINUS LEUCODERMIS, Herzegovinian Pine
Pinus leucodermis, Antoine, Oestr. Bot. Zeitung. xiv. 366 (1864); Beck v. Mannagetta, Weiner Illust.
Gartenzeit, 1889, p. 136, and Veg. Ulyrischen Lander, 353 (1901); Ascherson u. Graebner,
Syn. Mitteleurop. Flora, i. 212 (1897).
Pinus Laricio, Poiret, var. leucodermis, Christ, Flora, 1. 81 (1867) ; Masters, Journ. Linn. Soc. {Bat.)
XXXV. 626 (1904).
An alpine tree attaining rarely 90 feet in height and 6 feet in girth. Bark
ashy grey, Assuring into irregular plates, averaging 6 inches in length and 3 inches
in breadth. Buds like those of P. Laricio, but darker brown in colour. Young
branchlets glaucous. Leaves in pairs, persisting five or six years, densely covering
the branchlets, except at the base of each year's shoot, which is bare for a short
distance, forming an apical cup-like tuft, and on the rest of the branchlet directed
forwards and slightly outwards ; the two leaves in each bundle only slightly
divergent ; dark green, stiff, short, 2 to 3 inches in length, ending in a sharp carti-
laginous point ; basal-sheaths as in P. Laricio. According to Koehne,* the structure
of the leaf differs from P. Laricio in the resin-canals not being surrounded by stereome
cells ; and Masters states that the hypoderm projects in wedge-shaped masses into
the substance of the leaf, which is not the case generally in forms of Laricio.
Cones short-stalked, ovoid-conic, with a flat base, about 3 inches long, resembling
generally those of Laricio, but differing in the uniform dull brown colour of the
whole cone, the umbo being of the same colour as the rest of the apophysis. The
lower scales of the cone have very prominent pyramidal apophyses, and the umbo
has a well-marked short spine directed backwards. Concealed part of the scales
light brown on both surfaces. Seeds as in P. Laricio. (A. H.)
Pinus leucodermis was discovered in 1864 by Maly, who introduced it into
cultivation the same year in the Belvidere, Vienna. The best account of the tree is
given by Beck, who considers it to be specifically distinct from Laricio, and names
it the Panzerfohre or Smre of the Herzegovinians. It is found in four distinct areas
in Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Montenegro ; and as the most southerly of these is on
the Montenegro-Albanian frontier (lat. 42^ 25'), it is probable that it also grows on
the Peristeri ^ mountain, which lies west of Monastir in Albania. The most northerly
locality (lat. 43° 40'), where it was discovered by Beck, is the Prenj Planina in the
heart of Herzegovina. Here it occupies an area of about sixty kilometres in
diameter, surrounding the western part of the Bjelasnica mountain, and forms a
coniferous belt at from 4600 to 5500 feet elevation, rising solitary or in small groups
to 5800 feet. Another area is the Bjela Gora, where the political boundaries of
Bosnia, Montenegro, and Herzegovina unite around Mount Orjen. Reiser found it
also in the Sinjavina Planina in Montenegro. Its occurrence in Servia is not yet
established.
' Deutsche Dendrologie, 37 (1893).
* This must not be confused with another mountain of the same name, east of Janina in the Pindus range.
Pinus Leucodermis 425
It seems to resemble P. Cembra in its way of growth, and is confined to
mountains of Triassic and limestone formation, where it forms a zone of scattered
forest just below the limit of trees, usually not more than looo feet in depth, and
finds its lowest level at lOoo metres on the Preslica planina, according to Reiser,
near the railway station of Bradina ; ascending on the Prenj and Orjen mountains to
1700 or 1800 metres. At the lowest elevation it is mixed with beech; at the
highest with P. montana, Juniperus nana, andy. sabina.
In some places at the upper levels, where the snow lies very deep, it becomes
very stunted, not rising more than 2 to 4 metres from the ground, but does not
assume the procumbent habit of P. montana. It roots itself so firmly on the dry
bare rocks of these mountains that no wind can hurt it, and it endures the burning
sun and bitter winds of this region without injury, I am indebted to Herr Reiser
of Serajevo for the photographs showing the habit of this tree (Plate 1 19).
In the upper Idbar valley there is a forest where P. leucodermis grows mixed
with spruce, silver fir, Austrian pine, and yew, as well as with beech, ash, sycamore,
Pyrus torminalis, and Acer obtusatum. Its smooth grey bark,^ divided into irregular
segments, makes it very easy to distinguish from the Austrian pine, but Beck
does not think the name of whitebark pine so applicable as that of Panzerfohre or
armoured pine. The tree attains under favourable circumstances a height of 90
feet, with a diameter of 6 feet at the age of 294 years.
Of its timber Beck says nothing, but a story which was current in Bosnia when
I was there in 1899, and which doubtless has some foundation, leads one to suppose
that it is very hard. A Bosnian Turk was said to have bought a lot of trees of
this species, which he felled and floated down the Narenta, and sold the timber as
that of larch.
With regard to the occurrence of this species elsewhere, Christ described as
a new species, Pinus Heldreickii,- specimens which were collected on Mount Olympus
in Thessaly. Afterwards, in a letter to Dr. Masters, he stated that this is only a
remarkable alpine variety of Pinus Laricio, very reduced, and approaching in some
respects Pinus montana. Halacsy' considers that this tree, which grows on Mount
Olympus in company with the ordinary form of Laricio and with Abies Apollonis, is
identical with Pinus leucodermis.
A tree referred to this species has been recently found in southern Italy by
Dr. Biagio Longo. He mentions* two localities, the alpine zone of the Calabrian
Apennines from Orsomarso to Mount Montea, and the mountain of La Spina in the
province of Basilicata, where it grows in the zone of the beech, and rivals that tree
in thickness of trunk ; but the foresters in the Sila mountains do not recognise this
as a distinct species, or did not know of its discovery when I was there in 1903.
Seeds were sent by Beck to Kew in October 1890 ; and five plants were raised,
which have grown with remarkable slowness, being only 9 to 12 inches high in 1901.
■ The bark is figured in Hempel u. Wilhelm, Bdume u. Strducher, i. l6l, fig. 84 (1889).
2 Christ, in Verh. Naturf. Ges. Basel, iii. 549 (1863), but later, in Flora, 1. 83 (1867), he states that Pinus Heldrdchii
is identical with P. leucodermis, which he considers to be only an alpine variety of P. Laricio.
' Consp. Fl. Graca, iii. 453 (1904). ' Annali di Botanica, iii. 13, 17 (1905), iv. 55 (1906).
II 2 G
426 The Trees of Great Britain and keland
One of these trees, planted out in a bed near the pagoda, is barely 3 feet high at
present. Another which was sent to Colesborne was planted in a high exposed
situation in my park, where it grows very vigorously on oolite soil.
When in Bosnia, on my way to collect seeds, I was obliged to return home
suddenly, but my companion, Mrs. NichoU, who visited the Prenj mountain, pro-
cured a quantity of seeds which I sowed in 1902, and which have grown as fast as
either the Corsican or Austrian pines, and look more healthy and vigorous on my
soil than any other pine I have raised. They form a much better root-system when
young than either the Austrian or Corsican pine, and in consequence are much more
easy to transplant. I moved a number in September last just before a period of
drought, and they have passed through a severe winter with very few deaths ; I
therefore believe that the tree will be a good one for planting in dry limestone soils,
and may have a greater ornamental if not economic value than the Austrian pine.
(H. J. E.)
GYMNOCLADUS
Gymnocladus, Lamarck, But. i. 773 {ex parte) (1783); Bentham et Hooker, Gen. PI. i. 568
(1865).
Guilandina, Linnasus, Gen. PL 518 {ex parte) (1742).
Deciduous trees, belonging to the division Caesalpinieae of the order
Leguminosae. Branches stout and without thorns. Leaves large, alternate,
bipinnate, the number of pinnae being either odd or even ; pinnae and leaflets usually
alternate. Stipules foliaceous, early deciduous.
Flowers polygamous or dioecious, terminal or axillary, in racemes or racemose
corymbs, on long pedicels. Calyx tubular, lined with a glandular disc, ten-ribbed,
five-lobed, the lobes narrow and nearly equal. Petals four to five, slightly unequal,
imbricated, inserted on the- margin of the disc, spreading. Stamens ten, free,
shorter than the petals and inserted with them, those opposite the calyx lobes longer
than the others ; anthers oblong. Ovary rudimentary or absent in the staminate
flowers, sessile or sub-sessile in the polygamous and pistillate flowers ; style short
and dilated above obliquely into a two-lobed stigma.' Ovules four or numerous.
Pod oblong, thick, coriaceous, dark brown, flattened, beaked at the apex,
slightly curved or falcate, on stalks ^ to 2 inches long, pulpy between the seeds.
Valves two, narrowly winged on the margins. Seeds on long slender stalklets ;
seed-coat thick and bony ; embryo surrounded by a layer of horny albumen.
Only two species are known, one occurring in China and doubtfully hardy in
this country, the other a native of N. America and cultivated in England.
GYMNOCLADUS CHINENSIS, Chinese Soap Tree
Gymnocladus chinensis, Baillon, Compt. Rend. Assoc. Fran(. Avanc. Sc. 1874, p. 418, t. 4, and Bull.
Soc. Linn. Paris, 1875, P- 33! Oliver, in Hooker, Icon. Plant, xv. 9, t. 1412 (1883);
Hemsley, yisiwrw. Linn. Soc {Bot.) xxiii. 207 (1887).
Dialium sp. ?, Hanbury, Science Papers, 238, fig. 5 (1876).
A tree attaining 40 feet in height. Young shoots rusty pubescent. Leaves
I to 3 feet long; pinnae alternate or sub-opposite, all composed of numerous (twenty
' The stigma of Gymnecladus chinensis is not correctly shown in Hook. Ic. PI. t. 141 2.
427
428 The Trees of Great Britain and Iijeland
to twenty-four) leaflets, which are f to ij inch long, alternate, oblong, rounded at
the base, obtuse or rarely acute at the apex, densely silky appressed pubescent
beneath, on short pubescent petiolules ; rachis densely pubescent, swollen at the
base, and forming a conical sheath enclosing the bud.
Flowers polygamous, in pubescent racemes, those with staminate flowers
shorter than the others. Calyx pubescent, with subulate lobes. Petals oval-oblong.
Ovary glabrous with four ovules. Pod, 4 inches long by ij inch broad, glabrous.
Seeds, two to four, black, globose, smooth, f inch in diameter.
This tree is rather rare in China, though specimens have been collected in the .
provinces of Anhwei, Kiangsi, Chekiang, Hupeh, and Szechuan. Near Ichang
it grows at 1000 to 2000 feet altitude. The pods, called fei-tsao, after being
steeped in water, produce a liquid esteemed for washing the hair and cleansing
silk articles.
Plants' were raised at Kew from seeds sent by me in 1888; but died in
a year or two. Seeds, which could be easily procured from Shanghai, where
they are sold in the shops, might be tried in the warmer parts of England
and Ireland, as the tree is worth cultivating on account of its beautiful delicate
foliage. (A. H.)
GYMNOCLADUS CANADENSIS, Kentucky Coffee Tree
Gymnocladus canadensis, Lamarck, Encycl. i. 733 (1783); Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit. ii. 656
(1838).
Gymnocladus dioicus, Koch, Dendrologie, i. 5 (1869); Sargent, Silva N. Amer. iii. 69, tt. 123, 124
(1892), and Trees N. Amer. 554 (1905).
Guilandina dioicus, Linnaeus, Sp. PI. 381 (1753).
A tree attaining in America over 100 feet in height and 9 feet in girth. Bark
fissured, dark grey, and roughened by small persistent scales. Young shoots
covered with short pubescence. Leaves (Plate 125, fig. 4) i to 3 feet long, with
5 to 1 1 pinnae, which are usually alternate but occasionally sub-opposite, the two or
rarely the four lower pinnae simple, the others composed of six to fourteen alternate
pinnate leaflets. Leaflets 2 to 3 inches long, on pubescent stalklets, ovate, rounded
at the base, acuminate at the apex, entire and ciliate in margin ; under surface
with scattered long hairs.
Flowers usually dioecious, the inflorescence of the staminate tree a short
racemose corymb, that of the pistillate tree a long raceme. Calyx tomentose,
with five narrow oblong lobes. Petals five, tomentose, longer and broader than
the calyx-lobes. Ovary pubescent ; ovules ten or more.
Pod, 6 to 10 inches long by i^ to 2 inches broad, minutely pubescent. Seeds,
* Cf. Nicholson, Garden and Forest, 1889, p. 139.
Gymnocladus 429
five to ten, surrounded by dark-coloured sweet pulp, ovoid, f inch long, and covered
by a hard dark brown shell.
In the young leaf ^ of Gymnocladus canadensis, the rachis is prolonged an inch
or more above the insertion of the upper pinnae ; and the axes of the pinnae are
similarly prolonged beyond the leaflets. These terminal appendages are very
slender and tendril-like, and disappear before the leaf attains its full size. They
have been supposed to be rudimentary tendrils, such as occur normally in a
developed state in many leguminous plants ; but they may represent simply
degenerate terminal leaflets.
Sargent states that this species is dioecious ; and that in order to obtain fruit
male and female trees must be close together. C. M. Hovey,^ however, writing
from Boston, states that he knows a solitary tree, no other being within two miles,
which produces fruit and fertile seeds, from which he has raised many plants.
The so-called pistillate flowers have stamens, which doubtless are usually
not fully developed ; but it is possible that in some cases they may produce good
pollen.
The flowers ^ in America are visited by bees, which are attracted by the nectar
secreted by the inner wall of the calyx tube.
Identification
In summer the foliage of the tree is unmistakable. In winter the fewness of
the branches and the stoutness of the branchlets, which are very short in adult
trees, are remarkable. The latter show the following characters : —
Twigs coarse, grey, glabrous, with numerous small brown lenticels and wide,
circular, orange - coloured pith. Leaf- scars large, obcordate, slightly oblique on
prominent pulvini, with a narrow raised yellowish margin and a whitish convex
surface, marked by three to five irregular tubercles, which are the scars of the
vascular bundles. Buds very small ; two to three vertically superposed, in the axil
of each leaf-scar, the lower one rarely developing ; projecting slightly out of circular
depressions in the bark, which form pubescent rings around the buds. Each bud
shows two to three minute scales, which become accrescent and green in the
spring at the base of the shoots. No true terminal bud is developed, the
tip of the branchlet falling off in summer and leaving at the apex of the twig
a circular scar.
Distribution
The Kentucky Coflee tree, though occupying a wide area in North America,
is nowhere common. It is found scattered amongst other trees on hillsides
where the soil is rich, and in alluvial land beside rivers. It is met with in central
> Cf. B. D. Halstead, in Torreya, ii. 5 (1902). ^ Garden, xiv. 240 (1878).
' Robertson, Trans. Acad. Sc. St. Louis, vii. 165 (1897).
43 o The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
New York and western Pennsylvania, through southern Ontario and southern
Michigan to the valley of the Minnesota River and to eastern Nebraska, eastern
Kansas, south-west Arkansas, the Indian territory, and central Tennessee.
The tree is noted ' in America for its habit of suckering from the roots when
it is cut down. After a tree is felled the ground around to a distance of often loo
feet becomes filled with numerous suckers ; and this is one of the ways in which the
trees are reproduced in the American forests. The tree never develops any
epicormic branches, and is very seldom attacked by any insect or fungus.
(A. H.)
An article by Sargent in Garden and Forest, ii. p. 75, gives an excellent account
of this tree, and states that by far the largest and handsomest that he has seen was
planted in 1804 directly in front of the historical Verplanck mansion at Fishkill-on-
Hudson, and was, in 1889, 75 feet high and a little over 10 feet in girth below the
point where it divides into three stems at 3 feet from the ground. Though it was
struck by lightning in 1887, the tree is an extremely graceful and well-shaped one,
as the picture shows.
The tree grows well as far north as Ottawa, where I saw two spreading
trees about 40 feet high, planted in front of Rideau Hall, the residence of
the Governor -General. The gardener informed me that they were the latest
trees to come into leaf, and, though they flowered in good seasons, produced
no fruit.
At Mount Carmel, Illinois, I measured a tree in the forest 92 feet by 8 feet,
one of the few remaining relics of the splendid trees described by Ridgway, one of
which was 109 feet high, with a clear stem 76 feet to the first limb, but only
20 inches across the stump. Dr. Schneck has measured one in the same locality no
less than 129 feet high. It is, however, nowhere an abundant tree in this district,
but grows scattered through the richer bottoms.
The tree from which a specimen log in the Jessup collection in the American
Museum of Natural History was cut, grew not far from St. Louis, and although
only 18 inches in diameter was 105 years old. This represents the average rate
of increase of the tree growing naturally in the forest, cultivated trees in favourable
conditions growing much more rapidly.
Cultivation
Gymnocladus canadensis was introduced into England by Archibald, Duke of
Argyll, who had a tree in cultivation '^ at Whitton in 1 748. This tree was after-
wards removed to Kew, on the establishment of the gardens there by the Princess
of Wales, mother of George III., who obtained it and many other interesting trees
as a present from the Duke of Argyll in 1762. This tree died^ about 1870; and
as old trees reported by Loudon at Syon and elsewhere cannot now be found, it
goes to show that the tree lives little over 100 years in England.
* Garden and Forest, vii. 358 (1894). > Alton, Hort. Kew. v. 400 (181 3).
^ J. Smith, Diet. Econ. Plants, 235 (1882), mentions this tree as if it was still living in 1882; but according to
NichoUon it had died several years previously to that date.
Gymnocladus 43 1
According to Nicholson,^ it is very easy to transplant, and bears drought well.
It is propagated either by seeds or by root-cuttings. Pieces of the roots, 4 to 5
inches long, placed in prepared beds and kept moist, will develop in the first year
into plants three or four feet high. Some of the cuttings, however, will not start
into growth until the following year.
I have raised seedlings from American seeds, which, being large and hard,
should te soaked in warm water for some days before sowing. The seedlings
grow slowly, and should be kept under glass for a year or two before planting
out.
In spite of Loudon's assertion to the contrary, it appears to flower very rarely in
England, the only record being at Claremont, where Mr. Burrell ^ says it produces
flowers freely early in summer. Pods have never been produced, so far as we know,
in this country.
It is a rare tree in cultivation ; but though stiff and peculiar in habit, it is not
at all ungainly when well-grown, even when bare of leaves. It comes into leaf very
late in the season, and it drops its leaves early in autumn, the stalks, however, often
remaining on the tree for weeks. The foliage, like that of many leguminous plants,
shows the phenomenon of sleep, the leaflets drooping and closing together soon
after sunset in summer.
Remarkable Trees
There are two trees at Claremont, which were about 55 feet high in 1888.
When I measured them in 1907 the largest was 60 feet by 6 feet 7 inches, and
seemed quite healthy ; the other was broken.
A tree at Chiswick House measured, in 1903, 53 feet high by 3^ feet in girth.
Another at Barton, Suffolk, was in 1904 57 feet high by 5 feet 2 inches in girth at
two feet from the ground, and divided above this into two stems. In the Botanic
Garden at Cambridge there is a good specimen, which was 45 feet by 3 feet 9 inches
in 1906. There are three smaller trees in the Oxford Botanic Garden.
At Kayhough, Kew, in the garden of Mr. Charles Wright, there is a healthy
and well-shaped tree, which was in November 1905, 40 feet high by 2 feet 9 inches
in girth, with a bole of 6 feet, dividing into two main stems. This tree was
purchased from a nurseryman at Kingston in 1878, when it was said to be twenty-
two years old, and was then about two-thirds its present height. After trans-
planting, it made no growth for three years ; but since then it has grown steadily
though very slowly, and has not been injured in any way by severe winters, though
it has never flowered. It has been much surpassed in rate of growth by an
Ailanthus in the same garden. There is a tree of about the same size growing
close to Mr. Clarke's house at Andover, Hants, which is fifty to sixty years old and
measures 43 feet by 2 feet 10 inches. There are several small trees in Kew
Gardens, the largest one being near the main entrance.
It seems evident that the tree, to attain a large size, requires a much greater
• Garden, xxir. 29 (1883). J' Garden, xxxiii. 329 (1888) and xlv. 404 (1894).
432^ The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
degree of summer heat than it gets in England, for in the south of France it
becomes a splendid tree. I saw in the Museum Gardens at Chambery, in the
grounds of the Castle formerly belonging to the Dukes of Savoy, a tree which,
though forked near the ground, had two tall clean trunks each about loo feet
by 5 to 6 feet. The leaves were only just appearing on i8th May, and many of
the large bean-like pods full of greenish pulp, which had fallen in the winter,
lay on the ground. Seeds from these pods germinated, but the seedlings, with
one exception, withered soon afterwards. It is not uncommon in Savoy, and
I saw a fine specimen, 8i feet by 9 feet 6 inches, in the Public Gardens at
Aix-les- Bains, which in October 1906 had ripe pods on it. It is known in
France by the name of " Bonduc."
In the old Botanic Garden at Padua a splendid tree was in 1895, according to
Prof. Saccardo,^ 135 years old, 21 metres high, and 2.60 metres in girth. When I
saw it in 1905 the trunk was broken off at about 12 feet, but long shoots, which
were in flower, had been produced from the stump. (H. J. E.)
• VOrto Botcmico di Padova (1895). .
CEDRELA
Cedrela, Linnaeus, Gen. PL 109 (1764); Bentham et Hooker, Gen. PL i. 339 (1862).
Toona, Roeraer, Synops. i. 131 (1846).
Trees, belonging to the order Meliaceae, with unequally pinnate leaves, without
stipules, and composed of numerous opposite or sub-opposite stalked leaflets.
Flowers in panicles, perfect, regular Calyx short, four- to five-cleft. Petals,
four to five, nearly erect, imbricated, free. Stamens, four to six, free, inserted at
the top of a four- to six-lobed hypogynous disc ; filaments subulate, anthers versatile.
Ovary sessile on the disc, five-celled, each cell containing in two series eight to
twelve pendulous ovules. Fruit, a coriaceous or woody capsule, composed externally
of five valves, and almost filled up internally by a central column, between which
and the valves are five thin cells, containing the seeds, which are numerous,
compressed, and with one or two wings.
The genus is divided into two sections : —
I. Eu-Cedrela. — Seed with a single wing on its lower side. Nine species in
tropical America.
II. Toona. — Seed with either two wings, one at each end, or with a single wing
above. Eight species in India, Indo-China, China, and Australia, all in tropical
regions except Cedrela sinensis.
CEDRELA SINENSIS
Cedrela sinensis, A. Jussieu, M^m. Mus. Par. xix. 255, 294 (1830): Pev. Hort 1891, p. 573, figs.
. 150, 151, 152; Hemsley, yii«r«. Linn. Soc. {Bot.) xxiii. 114 (1886).
Toona sinensis, Roemer, Synops. i. 138, 139 (1846); Diels, Plora von Central China, 425 (1901).
Ailanthus flavescens, Carrifere, Rev. Hort. 1865, p. 366.
A tree of moderate size, attaining in China a height of 60 to 70 feet. Bark
scaling off in narrow longitudinal strips, i to 2 inches in width, and leaving exposed
in parts the reddish inner bark below. Young shoots covered with minute pubes-
cence. Leaves (Plate 125, fig. 7), large, i to 2 feet in length. Leaflets, eleven to
nineteen, about 4 inches long, on pubescent stalklets (nearly \ inch long), opposite
or sub-opposite, divided into two unequal parts by the midrib, the upper part
larger and rounded at the base, the other part usually cuneate at the base ; apex
II 433 2 H
434 ^^^ Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
caudate-acuminate ; margin repand, minutely ciliate, distantly and minutely serrate
or with occasional short teeth ; nerves, fifteen to eighteen pairs, usually dividing
and forming loops close to the margin ; upper surface dark green, glabrous ; lower
surface pale green, glabrescent.
Flowers fragrant, in pubescent terminal panicles, which are a foot or more in
length ; pedicels short. Calyx with five short, rounded, ciliate lobes. Petals five,
white, oblong, sub- cordate at the base, converging at the apex. Stamens five,
alternating with five staminodes. Fruit about an inch long ; valves, opening
longitudinally from above downwards. Seed with an oblong wing attached to its-
upper side, the wing two to three times as long as the body of the seed.
In summer the large pinnate leaves give the tree much the appearance of
Ailanthus ; but the bark is different, and the leaflets of Cedrela are devoid of the
glandular teeth near the base, which are so characteristic of Ailanthus. In winter
the following characters are available (Plate 126, fig. 2) : —
Twigs stout, brown, minutely pubescent ; lenticels small, scattered ; pith white,
circular in section. Leaf-scars large, alternate, slightly raised, obcordate or oval,
with five bundle-dots. Terminal bud, much larger than the others, broadly conical,
of four to six triangular scales, which are swollen externally and hollowed inter-
nally, brown, shining, with acuminate pubescent tips. Lateral buds minute, solitary,
inserted immediately above the leaf-scars, hemispherical, showing three to five
shining brown scales.
Lubbock,^ who gives a detailed account of the structure and development of the
buds, the scales of which are modified leaves, states that the terminal bud usually
dies in winter, but sometimes lives, and then is always later in developing in spring
than the lateral buds.
Cedrela sinensis is a native of northern and western China. It is very common
in the neighbourhood of Peking, and was found in Kansuh, beyond the Great Wall,
by Piasetski. According to von Rosthorn and Wilson, it is wild in the forests of
the province of Szechuan. It is commonly cultivated in central China, where it never
attains a great size, mainly because the Chinese spoil its growth by lopping off in
spring the young shoots, which are much esteemed as food. These are eaten after
being chopped and fried in oil. The tree is known to the Chinese as the hsiang-
ch'un^ The timber is good, reddish in colour, and often used in making furniture.
The tree was first made known to Europeans by Pere d'Incarville, who sent
dried specimens from Peking to Paris in 1743. In China it has been well known
from classical times, and references to it occur in the earliest Chinese literature.
Cedrela sinensis was introduced in 1862 by Simon, who sent a living plant from
Peking to the Museum at Paris, which was described by Carriere in 1865 as
Ailanthus flavescens. On the tree flowering in 1875 it was recognised to be Cedrela
sinensis. This tree, which was planted in the nursery attached to the garden of the
Museum, had attained in 1891 a height of 40 feet ; and, when Elwes saw it in 1905,
it was very little taller, and about 4 feet in girth.
Many trees have been raised in the vicinity of Paris, both by seed and by root-
' /cunt. linn. .%oc. {Bof.), xxx. 478 (1894). * Cf. name given to Ailanthus, p. 32.
Cedrela 435
cuttings ; and it appears to be perfectly hardy in the north of France, having
sustained without injury the severe winter of 1879- 1880. Its large fragrant
foliage renders it perhaps more suitable than the Ailanthus for planting in towns.
It is said by Nicholson to be now largely used in Holland for that purpose.
The tree is rather rare in England, and we have seen no specimens remarkable
for size. There is a tree in Kew Gardens which measured in November 1905
33 feet by 2 feet 4 inches. This is probably of the same age as an Ailanthus of
equal height growing beside it. A tree much about the same size is growing and
thriving in Messrs. Veitch's Nursery at Coombe Wood. Mr. Cassels informs me
that young trees of Cedrela are planted in some of the London County Council
parks, as Meath Gardens and Bethnal Green.
Cedrela sinensis is also cultivated in the United States,^ where a tree flowered
at Meehan's nurseries, Germanstown, in 1895. Another only eight years old had
attained in the same year 20 feet in height in western Virginia. Professor Sargent
thinks it might be used as a street tree in New England, though introduced plants
have proved rather tender in that climate. It has frequently flowered in France, but
has never produced fruit there. There is no record of its having flowered as yet
in England.
Mouillefert ^ speaks of this tree as one which, in his opinion, has a great future in
Europe on account of the high quality of its wood, which he compares to that of
mahogany and that of the so-called cedar of the West Indies {^Cedrela odorata). He
says that the tree grows fast from seed, attaining 5 feet in the third year, and adds
that on calcareous soil of middling quality at Grignon a tree about twenty- five
years old measured 10 metres high. (A. H.)
• Garden and Forest, 1896, pp. 260, 279. ' PrincipaUs Essences Ferestiires, 471, 472 (1903).
PTEROCARYA
Pterocarya, Kunth, Ann. Sc. Nat., sen I. ii. 345 (1824) , Bentham et Hooker, Gen. PI. iii. 399
(1880).
Deciduous trees belonging to the order Juglandeae, with large, alternate, com-
pound, imparipinnate leaves ; leaflets serrate ; stipules absent. Buds scaly or
naked, the lateral ones often multiple, two to three in a vertical row above the
insertion of the leaf Pith chambered. Flowers moncEcious, numerous in long
pendent catkins. Male catkins usually several, arising singly in the leaf axils ;
in some species {caucasica, stenoptera) lateral on the preceding year's shoots,
with an occasional catkin on the current year's shoot ; in other species {rhoifolia,
Paliurus) all on the new shoots. Stamens nine to eighteen in several series
on the axis of a three- to six-lobed scale, to which a bract is adnate on the
back, the scale representing two bracteoles and one to four perianth segments.
Female catkins solitary, terminating the young shoot. Female flowers with a bract
and two bracteoles at the base ; perianth four-lobed, adnate to the ovary, which
contains one ovule, and is surmounted by a short style, divided above into two
papillose stigmatic divisions. Fruit catkins long, with numerous nut-like fruits,
which have in most species two lateral wings, in one species a single orbicular
wing all round, due to the enlarged bracteoles of the flower, the bract persisting little
changed at the base of the fruit. Nutlet, with a thin pericarp and a hardened
endocarp, the latter divided below into four imperfect cells, and containing one seed,
which is four-lobed below. Cotyledons bi-partite, each division being again deeply
divided, forming four linear segments ; carried above ground in germination.
Pterocarya and Juglans have similar foliage, and agree in the chambered pith
of the twigs. They are readily distinguished when in fruit, that of Pterocarya being
always small and winged. When specimens in leaf only are obtainable, the best
mark of distinction lies in the buds, which in Pterocarya are either without scales or
are enclosed in a long conical beaked funnel-like covering, composed of membranous
scales — differing in either case from the short buds of Juglans with two to three
external scales.
Seven species of Pterocarya are known, occurring in Persia, the Caucasus,
China, Tonking, and Japan. A hybrid species has been obtained in cultivation,
which will be described under P. caucasica. The seven species which occur in the
wild state may be arranged as follows : —
436
Pterocarya 437
Section I. Cycloptera, Franchet, y(;«r«. de Bot., 1898, p. 318.
Fruit surrounded by an orbicular wing, composed of the connate bracteoles,
which cover the nutlet at the base.
1. Pterocarya Paliurus, Batalin, Act. Hort. Petrop. xiii. loi (1892); Franchet,
loc. cit.\ J. H. Veitch \n Journ. R. Hort. Sac. 1903, xxviii. 65, fig. 26. China:
mountains of Szechwan, Hupeh, and Chekiang.
Tree 40 feet. Twigs pubescent and glandular. Buds naked. Leaf-rachis
villous or pubescent, not winged. Leaflets seven, coriaceous, oblong-
ovate, with sub-acute apex, glabrous below except along the midrib.
Fruits samara-like, the nutlet in the centre of an orbicular wing, 2 inches
across, several on a raceme a foot long.
This species was introduced in 1903 by Mr. E. H. Wilson from the
mountains of Central China ; and young plants, which seem perfectly
hardy, are now growing at Messrs. Veitch's Nursery, Coombe Wood.
The tree when in fruit presents a remarkable appearance, and is well
worth trial, as it should prove hardier than P. stenoptera, which grows at a
lower level.
Section II. Diptera {Sectio nova).
Fruit with two lateral wings, the developed bracteoles, which do not cover
the nutlet at the base.
* Buds naked, without scales.
2. Pterocarya stenoptera, C. DC. China, Tonking,
Tree 60 feet. Twigs bristly - pubescent. Leaf- rachis winged. Leaflets
nine to twenty-five, coriaceous, underneath glabrescent with pubescent
tufts in the axils of the nerves. Fruit with long lanceolate upright glabrous
wings. In cultivation. See description below.
3. Pterocarya hupehensis, Skan, Journ. Linn. Soc. (Bot.), xxvi. 493 (1899).
China: mountains of Hupeh.
Small tree about 30 feet. Twigs glabrous. Leaf rachis not winged,
glabrous except for some tomentum near its insertion. Leaflets five to
nine, lanceolate ; under surface with brown scurfy scales and glabrous
except for stellate rusty tomentum in the axils of the nerves. Fruit
minutely glandular, with sub-orbicular wings, ^ inch diameter. Introduced
by Mr. E. H. Wilson in 1903. Young plants are now growing at Coombe
Wood and seem to be perfectly hardy.
4. Pterocarya Delavayi, Franchet, yo«y«. de Bot. 1898, p. 317. China: mountains
of Yunnan.
This species, which I have not seen, appears closely to resemble the last,
differing mainly in the fruits being covered with short hairs. Not
introduced.
5. Pterocarya caucasica, C. A. Meyer. Persia, the Caucasus.
Tree attaining 100 feet. Twigs glabrous except for some pubescence at the
44° The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
the rachis shows here and there a very slight wing, like that of P. stenoptera, only
never serrate in margin. The fruits have oval wings, shorter and broader than
those of P. stenoptera, the nut being more beaked than in that species. The
veining of the fruit-wings resembles P. caucasica.
Distribution
Pterocarya caucasica has been found in the northern provinces (Astrabad
and Ghilan) of Persia, and in Russian Armenia, as well as in the Caucasus.
According to Radde,* it occurs in the marshy delta of the Rion in company with
Alnus glutinosa, and along the coast of the Black Sea, mixed with oak. beech, and
hornbeam. It grows sometimes as a tree, but oftener as a tall shrub, on the banks
of streams. It extends up to about 1200 feet only in Kachetia, and is met with as
far eastward as Talysch, on the coast of the Caspian Sea, where in damp places it
forms the principal underwood. It is not found wild in the interval between the
lower Rion on the west and the lower valley of the Alazan on the south side of
the central Caucasus, and is again absent from here to the province of Talysch.
Mr. Younitsky of the Russian Forest Service has kindly sent me the following
account of the tree in the Caucasus. He says it is only found in certain stations,
rarely over 1 200 feet elevation, and always in moist or very wet places, to which it
is better adapted than even the alder. In the young stage the tree is very delicate
and susceptible to spring frosts, requiring shelter when young ; and when older does
not bear shade well. Very large trees occur, of 100 feet in height and 10 feet
in girth, and logs of it are obtained bare of branches for 50 feet, with a girth of
5 feet at the smaller end. It grows very rapidly in youth, making a height of
30 feet in ten years. The wood is light and soft, resembling much that of the
lime-tree, and is chiefly used for making boxes and packing-cases. The bark is
used for sandals and roofing. The leaves contain a poisonous matter, and when
thrown into water intoxicate the fish, which rise to the surface and are easily caught.
The tree is rarely cultivated, but is recommended for planting in the wettest
situations, where it will thrive better than almost any other tree.
Cultivation
Pterocarya caucasica was introduced into France by the elder Michaux on his
return from Persia in 1782. According to Bosc the first tree was planted at
Versailles, others a little time after being planted about the Museum in Paris.
According to Mouillefert,^ there are still growing at the Trianon, Versailles, and at
the Museum, Paris, two fine specimens which are probably original trees.' The
tree flowered and produced fruit in 1826 in the park at Malesherbes, according to
a note by Gay in the Kew Herbarium. There is a tree 80 feet high and 9 feet in
girth in the Old Botanic Garden at Geneva, which was seen by Elwes in 1905.
' Radde, Pflanzenverbreitung in Katikasusldndem, 109, 139, 1 59, 182, 205, etc.
' Traiti des Arbres, ii. 1195 (1898). ^ i could not find either of these trees in 1905. — H. J. E.
Pterocarya 44 1
This species was introduced into England some time after 1800, the largest tree
mentioned by Loudon in 1838 being one 25 feet high and fifteen years planted at
Croome ; but it is long since dead. (A. H.)
I have raised numerous plants of Pterocarya from seed sent me from the
Caucasus by the late Dr. Radde in 1903, some of which was distributed by the
Royal Horticultural Society. The seedlings grow fast, attaining 2 feet or more in
height at two years old, but do not ripen their wood well when young, and are
extremely liable to be injured by frost if not protected in spring.^ The leaves
appear about the same time as those of Liriodendron. The tree does not seem to
dislike lime in the soil, and should be planted out when 3 or 4 feet high, in a situation
where the ground is not liable to drought in summer, or near running water.
Remarkable Trees
This is one of the most ornamental hardwoods that we have ; and is well worth
planting in warm and sheltered positions in the south of England, where it thrives
from Kent to Devonshire.
By far the largest and finest tree of this species known in England is at
Melbury, Dorsetshire, the seat of the Earl of Ilchester. This magnificent tree
(Plate 121) is growing on a sheltered bank below the house, on soil which contains
lime, close to the finest specimen I know of Picea Morinda. It is no less than 90
feet high by 1 1 feet in girth, and has a straight clean bole about 1 5 feet long,
spreading out into a symmetrical head of branches, and when I saw it in September
1906 had many catkins of fruit hanging on it.
Its spreading habit is shown by a fine tree at Claremont Park, near Esher,
Surrey, which grows on deep sandy soil, and is a noble ornament of a lawn.
The illustration of this tree (Plate 122) is from a photograph taken in 1903, when
it measured about 50 feet in height, with a bole of only 4 feet high but no less than
18 feet in girth. It divides into eight large limbs, each of which is about 4 feet in
girth, and the foliage spreads over an area of 30 yards in diameter. The tree is
believed by Mr. Burrell, the gardener, to be about eighty years old, and seems to
be decaying at the heart. The bark is very rough and deeply furrowed, and the
leaves and flower-buds were just appearing, after a very mild winter, on 6th March.
A self-sown seedling from it was about 2 feet high.*
Another fine tree is growing at Tortworth Court, from which I gathered ripe
seed in October 1900, one of which grew in the following spring. The Earl of
Ducie has raised several young trees from the same parent in other seasons. At
Linton Park, Kent, there is a fine tree, which was about 50 feet high in September
1902, but not so large as the one at Claremont. Ripe fruiting specimens were
sent from Devonshire by Sir John Walrond in 1888, which were figured by
* The severe frost of 20th-22nd May 1905 seriously injured all my young trees, and it is evident that this tree should
only be planted in situations where spring frosts are not severe.
* Mr. Burrell found a seedling in the summer of 1899. See Garden^ 1902, Ixii. 234, where a figure and description of
the tree are given. See also Garden, 1894, xlv. 404, fig., and Gard. Chron. 1894, xvi. 192. According to a note in the
Kew Herbarium, the Claremont tree was, in 1887, 45 feet high by 13J feet in girth.
II 2 I
442- The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
Dr. Masters in the Gardeners' Chronicle, but I have been unable to procure particulars
of the tree from which the specimens were obtained.
In the Botanic Garden, Cambridge, there is an old tree which was 58 feet high
in 1903, with eight stems, girthing from 3 feet to 4 feet 3 inches ; and from the roots
of another tree which was blown down about 1885 a number of strong stems,
about twenty, have sprung up, which average about 50 feet in height and 2^ feet in
girth. These particulars, which have been kindly sent me by Mr. Lynch, the curator,
show the remarkable power of the tree in producing root-suckers (Plate 123).
A tree at Fota, near Queenstown in Ireland, seen by Henry in 1903, measured
42 feet high by 3 feet 9 inches in girth. It produced flowers and fruit in 1902.
Dr. Masters ' recommends it for planting in towns, and says that there was a
good specimen in the Chelsea Botanic Garden (since cut down) in 1891. There
are said to be good specimens in some of the towns in Holland. (H. J. E.)
PTEROCARYA RHOIFOLIA
Pterocarya rhoifolia, Siebold et Zuccarini, Abh. Bayr. Ak. IViss. Math. Phys. Kl. iv. 2, 141 (1845);
Maximowicz, Mil. Biol. viii. 637 (1872); Shirasawa, Icon. Ess. For. Japon. text 35, t. 16
(1900).
Pterocarya sorbifolia, Siebold et Zuccarini, loc. sit.; Rehder, Mitt. Dendrol. Deut. Gesell. 1903,
p. 115.
A tree attaining, according to Shirasawa, 100 feet in height, with a straight
stem 10 feet in girth. Bark greyish brown with deep longitudinal fissures. Shoots
glabrous. Leaves (Plate 125, fig. 3) 8 to 16 inches long, on a stalk about 2 inches
long, which is swollen at its insertion ; rachis without wings. Leaflets, fifteen to
twenty-one, usually opposite, sessile or sub-sessile, 2\ to 5 inches long, oblong-
lanceolate, acuminate at the apex, unequal at the base, which is rounded or somewhat
narrowed ; dark green above ; under surface lighter green, with glandular scales, and
some tomentum on the midrib and nerves and in their axils ; somewhat thicker in
texture than the leaves of P. caucasica ; margin sharply and finely serrate.
Flowers appearing with the leaves. Staminate catkins two to three at the
base of the young shoots; scale three-lobed, pubescent, bearing nine to twelve
short-stalked stamens. Pistillate catkins, solitary, terminal at the end of the young
shoot, later apparently lateral owing to the growth of the upper axillary bud.
Fruiting catkins, 8 to 10 inches long ; fruit an inch across ; nut with a short, scarcely
beaked apex ; wings rhombic, broader than long, without any hollow at their base,
inconspicuously veined.
The above description applies to the glabrous form, which is in cultivation
in England and is common in Japan. In wild specimens from Yezo the leaves
appear to be much more pubescent, the rachis and nerves being often covered with
dense long hairs.
» Joum. R. Hort. Soc. 1891, xiii. 86.
Pterocarya 443
This species is readily distinguished by the peculiar buds, which are formed
early, and by the scars at the base of the shoot, left by the fall of the bud-scales of
the previous year. The buds at first are long, conical, with a curved beak, and are
covered by a funnel-shaped membranous sheath, which is composed of two external
and two to three internal glabrescent glandular scales. The scales fall off in
November, leaving four or five narrow scars at the base of the buds, which in this
stagf resembles in structure those of P. caucasica, but are whitish and densely
tomentose. Lateral buds usually solitary at some distance above the leaf scars.
Twigs quite glabrous, otherwise as in P. caucasica. (A. H.)
In Japan this is a large tree known as Sawa gurumi, which I saw in the central
provinces of Hondo, where it grows to a height of 50 to 60 feet, old trees attaining
a girth of 8 or 10 feet. It generally grows on the banks of streams in mixed
forest, and did not seem to be very common or to be valued for its timber, though
I got a specimen of the wood from the Government sawmills at Atera, which is now
at Kew.
Sargent found it very abundant on the slopes of Mt. Hakkoda, in the north of
Hondo, at 2500 to 4000 feet elevation, where it attains as much as 80 feet in height,
being next to the beech the largest deciduous tree in the forest. It is a broad-
topped tree with stout spreading branches, and when covered with its long hanging
slender racemes of fruit, is very handsome. It is hardy at the Arnold Arboretum
near Boston and produces seeds there.
Pterocarya rhoifolia is recorded by Diels ^ as having been collected by Von
Rosthorn in the province of Szechuan in China.
It seems to have been introduced into cultivation by the Duke of Bedford,
to whom seeds were sent from Japan in 1889. Young plants from some of this
seed were raised at Kew in 1890; and these have now attained about 12 feet in
height. They are the only specimens we have seen in England.
(H. J. E.)
PTEROCARYA STENOPTERA
Pterocarya stenoptera, C. de CandoUe, Ann. Sc. Nat. %€x. IV. xviii. 34 (1862); Lavall(^e, Arb.
Segrez. Icones, 65, t. 19 (1885); Ymnchtt, Journ. de Bot. 1898, p. 317.
A tree, 50 to 60 feet in height, with a girth of stem of 6 or 8 feet. Bark
rough. Leaves (Plate 125, fig. 2) about a foot in length; rachis covered with
bristles, slightly swollen at its insertion, and having on each side a conspicuous
irregular membranous wing, occasionally slightly serrate in margin. Leaflets nine
to twenty-five, opposite or alternate, terminal leaflet often wanting ; coriaceous ;
under surface with a few scattered glands, and some pubescence on the midrib and
nerves and in their axils ; oblong or oblong-lanceolate ; acute at the apex, unequal
and rounded or narrowed at the base, finely and sharply serrate in margin, 3 to 5
• Flora von Central China, 274 (1901).
II 2I2
444 ^^^ Trees of Great Britain and Irejand
inches long. Male catkins, arising as in P. stenoptera ; scale glandular, four-lobed ;
stamens six to ten. Female catkins 8 inches long ; bract minute, bracteoles
oblong and longer than the style, perianth with four subulate lobes. Fruit : catkins
a foot or more in length ; nut with conic beak-like apex ; wings linear-oblong and
erect.
The above description applies to the form in cultivation, which is also common
in the wild state. The species is, however, very variable as regards the amount of
pubescence, the twigs being often glabrous and the leaf-rachis only slightly
pubescent. In many wild specimens the wing of the rachis is very slight.
This species is readily distinguishable in summer by the winged rachis of the
leaf. In winter the twigs are slender and covered with a rusty -red bristly
pubescence ; but in other respects resemble those of P. caucasica. The buds, more
slender than in that species, but similar in structure and position, are greyish in
colour.
This is a common tree in the central and southern provinces of China, ex-
tending in a slightly different form into Tonking.' It is usually met with in the
plains and low hills, along rivers and water-courses ; and never grows to be a large
tree. It is recorded from near Moukden in Manchuria, where it was collected by
James ; but was probably only cultivated there. It is usually called ma-liu'' by the
Chinese ; and is much planted in the streets of Shanghai, where it is often called
" Chinese ash " by the European inhabitants. As the climate of the regions where
it grows naturally is very different from that of England, it is liable to be injured by
spring frosts, and fails from want of heat in autumn to ripen its wood. The timber
is considered in China to be of little value.
The tree was introduced into Europe apparently by Lavallee, who received the
seeds from Siebold, about i860. It supported at Segrez very low temperatures in
1870 and 1871 ; but succumbed during the severe winter of 1879-1880. Lavallde
considered it to be about as hardy as the common walnut.
The only specimen that we have seen in England of any size is at Tortworth,
where Elwes measured in 1905 a tree 32 feet high by 2 feet 3 inches in girth,
believed by Lord Ducie to have been planted about twenty years. It is in a shady
and sheltered valley and produced small racemes of fruit in 1905. (A. H.)
' Var. tonkinensis, Franchet, /oar«. dt Bot. 1898, p. 318. A geographical form, distinguished by large leaflets, up to
6 inches long, and linear wings to the fruit, which diverge at a wide angle.
2 Henry, "Chinese Names of Plants, "_/o«». Linn. Soc. (Bot.) xxiii. 20l (1887)) which were collected by Millett, probably in the vicinity of Canton,
which are very near to the Loochoo species.
' This name is adopted as being the first one with a description published under the correct genus.
Cladrastis 447
Seedling
A plant, raised from seed sown at Colesborne on 2nd March, showed the
following characters on 7th July: — Root white, fleshy, tapering, 3 inches long, giving
off numerous lateral fibres. Caulicle striated, glabrous, i|- inch long. Cotyledons
two, sub-sessile, oblong, tapering slightly at the base, broader towards the rounded
apex, green above, white beneath, coriaceous, entire. Stem terete, with a few
scattered hairs below, densely white pubescent above. Leaves, all with petioles
swollen at the base ; first pair opposite, on pubescent stalks, simple, ovate, entire,
2 inches long by i^ inch broad. The third, fourth, and fifth leaves are alternate;
the third simple and like the first pair ; the fourth and fifth trifoliolate on a stalk
2 inches long, terminal leaflet ovate, lateral leaflets oval and smaller.
Identification
Cladrastis tinctoria is readily distinguishable in summer by the pinnate leaves
with alternate leaflets, of which the terminal one is directed to one side of the leaf ;
and by the swollen base of the petiole, which encloses and conceals the buds.
In winter the following characters are available (Plate 126, fig. 4): — Twigs zig-
zag, shining, brown or grey, terete, glabrous ; lenticels minute, numerous. Leaf-scars
alternate, obliquely set on slightly prominent pulvini, oval, whitish, with five bundle-
dots on the outer rim, the centre of the scar being occupied by a projecting cone,
which consists of four buds compressed together and superposed one above the
other, the uppermost one the largest, all pubescent. Terminal bud not formed, the
apex of the twig showing a small circular scar or a short stump, indicating where
the top of the branchlet fell off in early summer.
Distribution
Cladrastis tinctoria is one of. the rarest trees in the American forest, growing
only in a few isolated localities in central Kentucky, central and eastern Tennessee,
northern Alabama, and the south-western part of N. Carolina. It is met with on
limestone ridges and cliffs, usually in rich soil, and frequently overhangs mountain
streams. (A. H.)
Cultivation
The yellow-wood is a favourite ornamental tree in American gardens, where,
according to Sargent,' it adapts itself readily to varied conditions of soil and climate,
though it requires deep rich soil in order to attain its full size and beauty. It has a
tendency, however, which in England is equally marked, to divide into several
spreading stems, which are rather brittle and liable to split the trunk. Its long
racemes of white fragrant flowers make it a very pretty tree early in June, but in
our climate these are not produced as freely as in America, and I have never seen
fruit ripened in this country. In autumn the leaves turn a bright yellow.
• Garden and Forest, i. p. 92 .
44^ The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
Sargent' gives an illustration of a beautiful specimen in a garden near Boston
which, 35 years after planting, was 35 feet high and had a spread of nearly 60 feet. I
saw several in this district, but none so large as those which I have seen in England.
Though it germinates quickly, and seems easy to raise from seed, the tree is
now seldom planted in England, but may be recommended for warm sheltered
situations in good soil in the south and east, though perhaps the damp climate of
the west does not suit it ; and as most of the trees mentioned by Loudon have
disappeared, it seems to be short-lived in this country. The seedlings which I have
raised from American seed are fairly hardy, and after the first two years grow better
than many American trees on my soil.
This species was introduced into cultivation in England in 1812, by John Lyon,
a Scotsman who travelled in Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.
Remarkable Trees
The largest tree known to us is at Syon (Plate 124), which in 1904 was no less
than 60 feet in height by 7 feet in girth and still a fine tree, though its trunk is
decaying inside. There is another in Kew Gardens, near the Director's office, which
measures 35 feet high, with a bole of 3 feet girthing 5 feet 4 inches and dividing into
six main stems, which sub-divide into numerous upright branches. At the Knaphill
Nursery near Woking is a very well grown tree about 45 feet high and 8 feet in
girth, the head spreading to 16 yards in diameter.
At Highclere there is a tree which measures 42 feet by 7 feet with a spread of
branches of 45 feet. Although there is some decay near the root the tree seems to
have become more vigorous recently. At Blenheim there is an old specimen, with a
stem divided close to the ground, and forming rather a large bush than a tree.
At Cornbury Park there is also a fair-sized tree. At Barton, Suffolk, a tree planted ^
in 1832 was in 1904 25 feet high with a short bole, 5 feet 6 inches in girth, dividing
into three wide-spreading main branches.
We have not seen any large enough to mention in Scotland or Ireland.
Timber
The wood, according to Sargent, is heavy, hard, strong, and close-grained, and
is susceptible of a fine polish. At one time it was used in Kentucky for making
gun-stocks ; but is too rare to have any commercial importance. It produces a
yellow dye. (H. J. E.)
1 Garden and forest, i. p. 92. ^ Bunbury, Arboretum Notes, p. I.
Cladrastis 449
CLADRASTIS AMURENSIS
Cladrastis amurensis, Bentham et Hooker, Gen. PL i. 554 (1865); Maximowicz, Mil. Biol. Ix. 72
(1873); Franchet et Savatier, Enum. PL Jap. i. 115 (1875) ^"^ "■ 3^7 (1879); J. D. Hooker,
Bot. Mag. t. 6551 (1881); Shirasawa, Icon. Ess. Forest. Jap. text 85, pi. L. figs. 1-12 (1900).
Maackia amurensis, Ruprecht et Maximowicz, Mil. Biol. ii. 418, 441 (1856) and 534 (1857);
Maximowicz, Prim. Ft. Amur. 87, 390, t. v. (1859); Morren, Belgique Horticole, 1890, p. 301,
t. 18; Gartenflora, 1875, P- '5^-
A small tree, attaining 40 or 50 feet in height, with bark peeling off in old trees
like that of a birch. Young shoots minutely pubescent. Leaflets'(Plate 125, fig. 6)
seven to eleven, opposite or rarely sub-opposite, the terminal one articulate, the
lateral ones on short, stout pubescent petiolules ; 2 to 3 inches long ; deltoid, ovate
or oval ; base truncate or rounded ; apex obtuse or acute ; entire ; upper surface
dark green and minutely pubescent ; lower surface pale green, densely appressed
pubescent ; rachis pubescent, swollen at the base.
Flowers greenish white, on long pedicels, in simple or occasionally branched
erect terminal dense racemes. Calyx teeth four, short, broad, unequal. Petal-
claws long, slender ; standard obovate, emarginate ; wings oblong, obtuse, two-
auricled at the base ; keel petals partially coalesced, one-auricled. Stamens slightly
connate below. Pod, 2 to 3 inches long, oblong, flattened, brown, slightly appressed
pubescent ; seeds, one to five, oblong.
In specimens from the Asiatic continent the leaflets are larger and much less
pubescent than in the Japanese tree, which has been distinguished by Maximowicz
as var. Buergeri} and is characterised by very dense appressed pubescence on the
lower surface of the leaflets and white tomentose shoots.
In winter the twigs (Plate 126, fig. 5) are shining, glabrous; leaf-scars on pro-
minent pulvini, semicircular, marked by a central large tubercular bundle-scar and
two minute dots close to the upper margin ; true terminal bud absent, the top of
the branchlet having fallen off in early summer and leaving a short stump at the
apex of the twig. Buds solitary, dark brown, shining, pubescent towards the apex,
showing two scales visible externally.
Cladrastis amurensis occurs in Amurland as far north as lat. 52° 20', and grows
throughout Eastern Manchuria and Korea, the largest tree seen by Maack being
only 35 feet high and i foot in diameter. According to Shirasawa, it is met with in
Japan on moist rich soils in the temperate parts, ascending to 4300 feet in the central
chain of the main island, and attaining a height of 50 feet and a diameter of 28
inches. It was collected by Elwes in the forest near Asahigawa in central Hokkaido,
where, however, it was not abundant or conspicuous. It is called Inu-enju in Japan.
Cladrastis amurensis was introduced from the Amur in 1864 by Maximowicz;
and has been spread throughout Europe by the St. Petersburg Botanical Garden. It
probably came into England about 1870.
» Mil. Biol. ix. 72 (1873).
45 o The Trees of Great Britain and Irejand
It is propagated either by seed or by root-cuttings. At Kew it is rather a
shrub than a tree, and produces flowers when quite young, which appear late in the
season, in the end of July or the beginning of August. It ripens its fruit in October,
the pods remaining on the tree during winter.
The timber, according to Shirasawa, is hard and tenacious, and is used in
building and in making furniture. Elwes purchased planks of it at Sapporo, which
are of a yellowish-brown colour, and seem to be of good quality for cabinet-making.
(A. H.)
CLADRASTIS SINENSIS
Cladrastis sinensis, Hemsley, yb«r«. Linn. Soc. (Bot.) xxix. 304 (1892).
A tree attaining 70 feet in height and 10 feet in girth. Young shoots rusty
pubescent towards the base. Leaflets nine to eleven, alternate, entire, oblong -
lanceolate, obtuse or acute at the apex ; broad and rounded, rarely cuneate, at the
base ; lower surface with appressed pubescence most marked towards the base and
along the midrib. Leaf-rachis pubescent, with swollen base enclosing two or three
buds. Leaf-scars on older shoots, oblique on prominent pulvini, orbicular ; the raised
circular rim, discontinuous above, surrounding a central densely pubescent depres-
sion, in which lie two or three buds, the upper one of which is the largest.
Flowers pinkish-white, fragrant, in large terminal, rusty-pubescent panicles.
Calyx rusty-pubescent ; teeth short, broad, rounded. Petals long-clawed, erect,
free ; standard broadly obovate, bifid ; wings and keel-petals oblong. Stamens
slightly connate at the base ; ovary pubescent. Pod linear-oblong, flattened, with
thickened margins.
This tree, which resembles Sophora japonica in habit and foliage, was discovered
by Pratt, in 1890, in Western Szechuan, where E. H. Wilson subsequently saw
large trees at 7000 feet altitude in the Hsiang Ling range, west of Mt. Omei. It
also occurs in the high mountains of the Fang district in Hupeh, from whence
seeds were sent home by Wilson in 1901. Plants raised at Coombe Wood were, in
1906, 5 feet high, and for so far have proved perfectly hardy. The tree has beautiful
flowers, and, growing at high altitudes in western China, should thrive in this
country. (A. H.)
Printed ^ R. & R. Clakk, Limitid, Edmhurgh.
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Elwes, Henry John
The trees of Great
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