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> AN F
LONDON:
PRINTED BY SAMUEL BENTLEY,
Dorset-street, Fleet-street.
In course of publication, |
THE LITTLE LIBRARY,
Comprising, in a Series of small Volumes, uniformly printed,
A FAMILIAR INTRODUCTION TO VARIOUS BRANCHES
OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE.
2
sf
Fas
a
i.
THE MINE;; by the late Rev. Isaac Taytor, of Ongar. Fourth
Edition. Illustrated with 16 Engravings, and a Mineralogical Table.
Price 3s. 6d. neatly bound in coloured cloth, lettered. Square 16mo.
Extract from the
CONTENTS.— Ancient Coal Mine.—Gold Mines.—Anglesea Mines.— Black
Damp.—Black Lead.—Blast Furnace.—Blasting Mines.—Boring for Coal.—
Brazil Diamonds.—Bristol Stones.—Cannel Coal.—Captain of a Mine.—Car-
ron Founderies.—Choke Damp.—Cinnabar.—Coining Tin.—-Copper; its various
Mines.—Sir H. Davy’s Safety Lamp.— Descending into Mines of Copper, Coal,
Tron, Salt, and Silver.—Diamonds.—Finding Mines.—Draining Mines.—Dress
for a Mine.—Explosion of Coal, Galena, Gas.—Fuller’s Earth.—Gold in various
parts of the World.— Lead.— Mercury.—History of Mines.—Mineral Cabinet.—
Mines in Cornwall.—Pactolus.—Phenicians trading for Tin.—Pig Iron.—Plum-
bago.— Quantities of Coal sent to London.—Rail Roads.—Retorts.— Roasting Ore.
—-Smelting Furnace.—Stamping Mills—Steam Engine.—Stream of Sparks.—
Sulphur.—W omen Coal Bearers.— Zinc, &c. &c.
II.
THE SHIP. By the late Rev. Isaac Taytor, of Ongar, Essex,
Author of ‘‘ Scenes in Europe,” ‘‘ The Mine,” &c. Iilustrated with
Sixteen Engravings on Steel. Price 3s. 6d. neatly bound in cloth,
lettered, square 16mo.
The following is a brief enumeration of the subjects noticed in
this book :—
Noah’s Ark.—-Floats on the Rhine.— Egyptian Pottery Float.— Indian Paddle
Canoes.— Boats, Barges, and Lighters.—Sailing Canoes.—Chinese Junks.—The
Nautilus.— Ancient Vessels.—Roman Galleys.— British Coracles.—Cesar’s Fleet.
—A Fire Ship.— A Cutter.—A Gun-boat.—A Bomb-ketch.—A Frigate.— A
Man-of-War, with its Long-boat, Barge, Pinnace, Cutter, and Yawl.—A Turkish
Galley.—A Venetian Galleas.—A French Galley. —A Xebec, Polacre, and Tartan.
—A Snow, Bilander, Schooner, and Dogger.—A Sloop, Hoy, and Smack.—An
East-Indiaman.—A Portuguese Carrack.—A Spanish Galleon.—A Canal Boat.
—_A Wherry, and Pleasure Boat-—Lord Mayor’s State Barge.—Venetian Gon.
dola.—The Doge’s Bucentaur.—A Man.of-War, with descriptive references.— 4
Section of a Man-of-War.—The Dock Yard.—The Ship Launch.
IIl.
THE GARDEN ; or, Familiar Instruction for the Laying out and
Management of a Flower Garden. [Illustrated with Twelve Engravings
of Flowers, on Steel, beautifully coloured, and numerous Woodcuts.
Price 3s. 6d. neatly bound in coloured cloth, lettered. Square 16mo.
<¢ Youthful labourers in Gardens are generally very fluctuating in their industry ;
having no well-defined end in view; they want method in their exertions; it is
therefore very desirable that they should have some familiar manual to which
they may refer. This little book, is calculated not only to impart a love for gar-
dening, but at the same time, to afford ample means of following the pursuit with
interest and advantage. The information is conveyed in a juvenile correspondence,
so naturally sustained, as to induce the conviction that the advice, in each parti-
cular casé, must be the result of personal experience.”—Quarterly Journal of
Education.
IV.
THE PUBLIC BUILDINGS OF THE CITY OF LONDON
DESCRIBED. Illustrated with Twelve Engravings on Steel. Price
3s. 6d. neatly bound in coloured cloth, lettered. Square 16mo.
Vv.
THE PUBLIC BUILDINGS OF WESTMINSTER DE-
SCRIBED. Illustrated with Twelve Engravings on Steel. Price
3s. 6d. neatly bound in coloured cloth, lettered. Square 16mo.
VI.
BIBLE ILLUSTRATIONS; or, a Description of the Manners
and Customs peculiar to the East, especially explanatory of the Holy
Scriptures. By the Rev. Bourne Hatt Draper, Author of ‘‘ Scrip-
ture Stories,” from the Old and New Testament. Illustrated with
Sixteen Engravings on Steel. Price 4s. bound in coloured cloth, let-
tered. Square 16mo.
CONTENTS.—Eastern Houses.—Bricks.—Hospitality.— Homage.—-Sacrifices.
—Inns.—Keys.—Covenants.— Serpents.— Wheat, Bread, Food, &c.—Ovens.—
Ornaments.—Rice.—Eating Flesh.— Napkins. — Books and Writing —_Feasts
and Meals.— Presents.—-Cattle, Agriculture, and Vineyards.—Trade and Com-
merce.—Music and Poetry.—Grecian Games.—Grinding.—Tents.—Climate.—
Fire.—Bottles.—Shoes.—Thrones.—The Mirage.—The Simoon.—Go!ld—Water
Spouts.— Doorways and Gates.— Balances.—Salutation.— Moloch. —Garments.—
Threshing.—Posture.—Mourning.— Miscellaneous subjects.
Shortly will be published.
VIL.
THE FARM ; or, a New Description of Rural Toils and Produce.
By Jzerrerys Taytor, Author of ‘‘ The Forest.” Illustrated with
Engravings on Stee! and Woodcuts. Price 4s. bound in coloured cloth,
lettered. Square lomo.
THE FOREST.
INTRODUCTION.
NatTuRE is beautiful in any season ; she va-
ries in her costume, but is at all times lovely,
or at least interesting ; whether we trace the
broad valley, climb the steep hill, or wander
through the gloomy shadows of the pathless
wood.
The Spring pleases all ages; perhaps, to
such as are advanced in years, that revival,
which age can never hope for, is, on that ac-
count, to them peculiarly delightful. Yet the
B
ve INTRODUCTION.
vivid greens, the corn-growing lands, must
delight all, who have eyes, whatever their years
may be. The primrose, peeping from beneath —
the heaps of withered leaves, which have all —
the winter sheltered it, and repaying their
kindness by decorating with its knots of pale
petals the brown ruin, is sure to suit the taste
and feelings of old and young; whilst the
warbling of the feathered choir, from the -
broken notes of the twittering wren, to the
full and more continuous tunes of the blackbird —
and the thrush, draw our attention now this
way and now that; and the busy bee, by its
ceaseless humming, proclaims its honourable
industry, and calls wpon the indolent to follow
so good an example.
The Summer ripens every beauty, and pre-—
sents it—no longer, indeed, with the charms of ©
childhood, but—with the more satisfactory ful-
INTRODUCTION. 3
ness of youth hasting to maturity. The leaves
are perfectly grown; the tints are firmer and
darker greens; and the whole form and stature
of every tree and every bush is complete. The
blossoms of the May-bush have sparkled, and
are beginning to be replaced by the reddening
and scarcely less abundant berries. |
A stroll in Autumn is invited by the rich
glowing tints, which everywhere burnish the
landscape. Call it decay, if you please, but
acknowledge, at the same time, that Nature is
yet admirable ; more beauteous and grand in
her declining magnificence, than art in the
most costly and splendid displays, which hu-
man pomp and pageantry can exhibit. From
the dwarf nut-bush, with its brown treasures, to
the stately oak, dotted with clustering acorns,
all is fruitfulness. The crimson bunches of
the hawthorn, and the scarlet berries of the
| BQ
4, INTRODUCTION.
dog-rose, with the blue-bloomed sloe and the
prolific blackberry, shew that the flowering
season is indeed over, but that more substan-
tial blessings have succeeded. Stores of win-
ter food are thus provided for the birds, when
the corn-seeds are all picked up, and when the
insect tribes have retired to their hidden re-
cesses, or lie not less secure in their aureliz en-
velopements. The gossamer lingers and throws
its fine and wavy lines across our path ; frail,
and almost viewless threads, they impede no
more than do the shades in which they lie
unseen, or the sunbeams in which anon they
elisten.
And Winter, stern and severe as its charac-
ter is, has an elegance and beauty peculiar to
itself. Many an evergreen dots the wood with
its dark foliage ; the brown leaves of the ilex
oak, shew but sad remains of former orna-
INTRODUCTION. 5
mental attire; yet the verdant moss and the
enlivening ivy remain on the giant form of the
gnarled oak, and invest the less rugged struc-
ture of the tall and feathermg elm, and the
more delicate aspen. Should the snow cover
with its spotless mantle the broad mead, it
will elegantly ornament the trees, encrusting
their stouter branches; festooning along the
hedge rows, or hanging in full drapery, as it
drifts through them and hangs over the bank.
If, mstead of the overwhelming snow storm,
we are presented only with the hoar-frost, san
any thing be more beautifully rich than its fil-
lagree operations? The firmness and dryness
which the frost gives to the ground, renders
walking safer and more pleasant than in some
of the milder but more humid seasons. The
cold too shuts up in a torpid state many of
the reptile race; they sleep, unwilling and un-
6 INTRODUCTION.
able to appear in an atmosphere so benumbing
and unkind as this.
I was roused from my reverie by the appear-
ance of two genteel lads, who, I suppose, had
observed me. I saw in their countenances, a
wish to ask me a question or two; and, as I
am never better pleased than when young ~
persons are desirous of instruction, | quickly
informed them, by a bland countenance and
gentle tone of voice, that I was ready to en-
ter into conversation with them, if such were
their desire.
« What a large forest this is, Sir!” said the
younger of the two; “we have walked in it
some miles, and are quite tired.”
I was seated on the mossy stump of an oak,
a sapling of which had started from the root,
and, emulous of its parent’s honours, had spread
INTRODUCTION. vi
its umbrageous branches far around, forming a
pleasant shade. I invited the youths to sit
down, one on eachhand. We were acquainted
presently.
“« Now, my young friends,” said I, “ as to
the size of the forest, I believe it greatly ex-
ceeds in extent the distance which you have
probably walked this morning. I understand
that this New Forest, as it is called, 1s reckon-
ed twenty miles long from Godshill to the
sea; and you may travel about fifteen miles
across it.”
“| am surprised,” said the eldest, whose
name | found was Frederick, “that they let
so much fine land lie waste. Was it always
as wild and rough as it is at present ?”
“No. It was once well peopled ; contained
many flourishing towns and quiet villages, and
8 INTRODUCTION.
thirty-six parish churches, with cultivated fields
and farms.” q
“ Indeed! How were they all so completely
ruined? Was it fire, or a flood, or the plague,
that killed the people, and destroyed the build-
ings 2?”
“It was neither fire nor flood, nor was it
pestilence ; but that which is often more to be
dreaded than these: it was wanton ruthless
despotism. William the Norman, who, from
his defeating the English king Harold, is com-
monly called the Congueror,—was fond of
hunting, almost to madness. This spot, un-
fortunately for its peaceful inhabitants, ap-
peared to him suited to such royal amusement.
He, therefore, expelled the people, thinking
nothing of their suffermgs. He demolished
the farms and the villages, the churches and
the convents. He made the whole a wilder-
INTRODUCTION. 9
ness, and appointed persons to take care that
it should continue so, with orders to nourish
up the wild animals fit for the chase ; making
very severe laws against such as should, by
hunting or any other means, presume to kill
his deer, or imitate his own pastime.”
« But,” said one of my hearers timidly,
“can kings always do as that king did 2?”
« At that time,” said I, “there were very
few kings who could not do that, and worse,
when they pleased; but now, even in what are
called absolute monarchies, it could scarcely
be done. England has, for a long time, en-
joyed the government of the laws, which, and
only which, the king has power to execute.
If the sovereign were now to desire the in-
dulgence of such a whim, his only way would
be to buy the property of the persons to
whom it might belong, and thus induce them
10 INTRODUCTION.
to remove by money. ‘The most powerful
man in the land cannot enter the cottage of
the poorest person without his consent; un-
less, indeed, that poor man happen to be a
criminal or a debtor. When, for any public
work, such as a canal or a bridge, private
estates are wanted, an Act of Parliament must
be procured, and their full value must be paid ;
and when even a forest, or a wilderness is to be
enclosed for cultivation, the same process must
be gone through.”
«« And were there, in the reign of this Wil-
liam the Norman, no poachers, who would
hunt his game, in spite of his laws ?” inquired
Harry.
«There were persons, certainly, who stole
his deer; but it was at the peril of having
their eyes put out, a limb cut off, or of bemg
hanged upon the spot. ‘The forest laws were
INTRODUCTION. 11
extremely severe, and became the most com-
mon sources of dispute between the king and
his nobles ; for they were as fond of hunting as
he was. Charters were forced from several of
his successors, to prevent maiming and death
for such trespasses; and Magna Charta, at
length, settled the laws on a better plan than
before. Pray, my young friends, will you tell
me something about Magna Charia?”
They readily replied, that it was obtained
at Runnimede, where King John was forced to
sign it.
I am always pleased when I find in the
young not only these principal points of know-
ledge, but also a facility in communicating
what they know. It is true, indeed, that no-
thing is more offensive than that self-suffi-
cient ostentation, by which some youngsters
push themselves into every question, to give
12 INTRODUCTION.
their OPINION, — before it is asked or wished.
On the other hand, there scarcely can be a
greater hinderance to a youth’s taking his place
respectably in society, than that needless and
foolish timidity, which prevents his making
proper use of the information with which his —
mind, by the skill of his instructors and his
own diligence, has been perhaps adequately
stored. Thus, a lad sometimes appears what
he is not —ignorant or stupid, — because he is
abashed and ashamed to speak even before his
friends.
I then asked another question. “ Pray, is
there any thing concerning ¢his forest in par-
ticular, which you remember to have read in
the History of England 2”
‘| think,” said Frederick, after a moment’s
pause, “ that William Rufus was killed in it.”
“You are right. William Rufus was the
INTRODUCTION. 13
son of William the Norman, who first made
the forest. He was as fond of hunting as
his father, and had been busily engaged in
his sport during the day. Towards evening
he and Sir Walter Tyrrel were separated from
the company. William, perceiving a stag
coming towards them, let fly his arrow and
wounded, but did not kill, the animal. Tyrrel
at that moment saw another, and shot at it;
but the arrow, missing the deer, glanced from
a tree, and struck the king to the heart.
Tyrrel, alarmed at the event, clapped spurs to
his horse, nor stopped till he got to the sea-side,
where he went immediately on board a vessel,
and made his way to the Holy Land, to fight the
Saracens. Perhaps, it was only to escapé the
vengeance likely to attend his unhappy deed ;
or else, according to the superstition of the
times, he might hope to expiate the crime of
..2:
-
14 INTRODUCTION.
killing the king accidentally, by what was |
then esteemed a good work of the most illus-—
trious kind, that of killing, by all the means
which the most determined purpose could
command, as many Saracens, or Mohammedan ©
infidels, as he could.
“The oak, against which the arrow struck,
became interesting, and was suffered to stand
till it died of old age. In the year 1745, a
triangular stone monument was erected on the
spot where the accident occurred, to keep it
still in remembrance.”
“ But,” said Frederick, reverting to his pre-
vious inquiry, ‘“‘ I am yet unable to see why so
much land should be still allowed to lie waste.”
ou seem to think,” said I, “‘dtiimats ite
present produce is worth nothing. _ It is true,
that this forest occupies ninety thousand
acres; that this would make more than five
INTRODUCTION. 15
hundred respectable farms; and so on. But
then we must look elsewhere, and perhaps in
vain, for a sufficiency of oak timber to build
our national navy. You see what fine trees
are growing up all round, of all ages and sizes.
If these be taken proper care of, the older
trees may be cut down, as they become fit for
use; and thus a constant supply of excellent
timber is secured for the defence of our im-
portant little island: you would not have that
neglected, surely ?”.
«‘ But besides that,” said Harry, “ we want
wood, I suppose, to build houses; and fag-
gots, to burnin them. It would not, I think,
be very wise to grow nothing but food, and
so have no fires to cook it with, nor houses to
eat it in.”
«« And yet, Sir,” said Frederick, turning to
me, “ you spoke of making a forest of this
16 INTRODUCTION.
part of the country, as an exceedingly cruel’
and mischievous act. I suppose, after all, that
though timber is worth much, corn and cattle
are worth more.”
“It would,” said I, “be cruel and mis-
chievous, in a high degree, to drive people
from their houses and lands by mere force, to
make the finest and most productive forest
that ever was heard of; how much worse to
do it, merely to secure a place for the amuse-
ment of a few! As to the question, whether
the produce of a forest, or of farms, be the
most valuable, that must depend upon cir-
cumstances, with which we cannot at present
be sufficiently acquainted to form a judgment.
Yet I am inclined to think, that a thousand
acres of fine wood land would now yield more
to its possessor than the same extent of mea-
dows and corn fields.”
17
THE OAK.
We had made a sort of bargain to meet
again. I had not been long on my mossy seat,
before I heard their voices, and, at a turn,
formed by a cluster of trees and bushy under-
wood, I saw them approach, with their sis-
ters, as I learned afterwards. They were fol-
lowed by a somewhat elderly lady, whom I
soon found to be the relative with whom the
young party resided. She presently stepped
forward, and, after a moment occupied by an
anxious and penetrating survey, in a lady-like
manner thanked me for my previous instruc-
tions to those whom I now discovered to be
her nephews.
18 THE JUVENILE PARTY.
“ | trust,” added she, “‘ they were not trou-
blesome with their questions: the inquisitive-
ness of youth, even in matters of proper and
needful intern. is, I _ sometimes an-
noying.”
I rose, and begged her and the young
ladies to take my seat; replying, that I never
felt it troublesome to answer Inquiries dictated
by that laudable curiosity, which gives young
persons a constant appetite for knowledge.
“ Your juvenile party, Madam,” said I, “ have
much to learn, and, the youngest of them
has only a few years to learn it in: I shall be
most happy to assist them, whilst I remain in
the country, by affording hints respecting sub-
jects connected with Zhe Forest, as occasional
opportunities here may present themselves.”
Looking at the young ladies with, I suppose,
rather a fatherly smile, she was pleased to say
?
Oc Me ee ee a ge a ee ed
Page 17.
f. \ SS
OAK.
CONNECTING ACQUAINTANCE. 19
that they also would be obliged by being per-
mitted to listen to the conversation.
“JT am glad, Madam,” said I, “ not only
that my auditory is enlarged, but that you
agree with me in thinking that general know-
ledge and literary and scientific information
should not be confined to the sons of a family.
Such is the opinion and practice of my esteem-
ed friend, Mr. Longhurst, at whose house I
am spending a few weeks of this delightful
season.” )
« Mr. Longhurst, of Ashfield, I presume,”
said she, with evident satisfaction. “I have
recently had the happiness of an introduction
to the very amiable and intelligent family re-
siding there; and regret that distance renders
our visits unfrequent.”
By this fortunate coincidence, we soon be-
came known, and introduced respectively by
C2
20 WOODLAND EXCURSIONS APPOINTED.
name; nor was the circumstance mentioned
at Ashfield, without a day being fixed for an
invitation to Mrs. Heathfield and her sister’s
family.
Our woodland excursions were now regu-
larly appointed, and attended more nume-
rously; and my own were not the only stores
of knowledge drawn upon for the benefit of
the younger individuals of the party. Mr.
Longhurst was a well-educated, intelligent
man ; one who had evidently been always obser-
vant of things around him, and had a strong
taste for the appearances and incidents of na-
ture. He had read much, and travelled; and
thus, by the help of a pretty good memory, he
made himself a valuable instructor -— a very
interesting companion.
However, he was not present on this occa-
sion; and, therefore, I supplied what hints I
THE OAK. Q1
could myself, on the subjects in hand, as pro-
posed.
“ One of our first inquiries should be,” said
I, “ concerning the different sorts of trees ; and
how we are to distinguish one species from
another. My best way will be to lead you to
some good specimens of each, which we may
probably find within a moderate distance.”
““ Now one of you, young gentlemen, per-
haps, will oblige us by pointing out an oak
vec.” | |
«< ‘There is one!”—and, “Is not that one?”
—and, “ I will bring an oak branch ;”—were
the ready replies.
“¢ Now observe the general grandeur of the
tree: to what a considerable height it grows
straight. ‘The farther this straightness con-
tinues in the stem, or what is called the stick,
or butt, the more valuable is the timber. This
oD THE OAK: STEM AND ARMS.
is often forty, or even sixty feet in height,
before it has a branch. Observe, in what a
right-angled manner the stubborn branches
shoot from the main trunk; and afterwards
start abruptly in various directions. When
the tree is in full leaf, you can scarcely discern”
this; yet if you go nearer, and almost under
it, you will perceive it, especially if you com-
pare its square-turned and akimbo arms with
those of its neighbour there, on the left, the
pliant ash.” |
“ Those straggling arms are useless, I sup-
pose,” said Harry: “there is no cutting a
long plank out of them.”
« Then they are only unfit for planks, Mr.
Henry. So far from being useless, they are,
for some purposes, very valuable. They are
already bent, you see; and therefore, suit
THE OAK: LEAVES. 93
admirably where bent timbers are required,
as in what are called the knees, in ship-
ping.”
«The knees in shipping?” responded one
of my hearers, inquiringly.
- « They are called knees,” I added; “ signi-
ficantly enough, on account of their form.
Their place and use in the ship are against
the ribs, or side timbers, to support the main
beams of the deck.”
« But you have brought me an oak branch.
Now observe the leaves: See how much they
seem to grow in bunches! And look at each
individual leaf. Its form is peculiar and beau-
tiful. The general shape, like that of many
others, is a longish oval; but then, you see, it
is deeply scolloped; the outline being turned
in and out, as if cut thus with scissors. By
DA THE OAK.
this, you may tell an oak leaf at once from any
other.” |
« | will take a bunch home,” said Frederick,
“and draw it; or, at least, take the out-
line of some of the leaves, that | may know it
again. I can run my pencil round the edge,
as it lies flat on the paper; and that must be
like it in size and shape.”
“ ‘That is certainly one way to impress this
specific modicum of knowledge on your mind,
so that Time, that plunderer of the memory,
shall not deprive you of it.”
We had walked during this conversation,
until, perceiving a fine grove of oaks growing
beautifully together, I called the attention of
my auditory to the grand mass.
“‘ Well might the Druids be fond of groves
of oak! How noble the external appearance ;
DRUIDS. G5
how deep the shade, when we penetrate those
dark recesses! Such solitude and solemn
gloom have certainly a tendency to inspire
seriousness.”
“Who were the Druids,” inquired Harriet ;
‘ did they ever live in this Forest ?”
“No, my dear. This Forest was made, as
I told your brothers, by William the Norman,
or Conqueror, many ages after the Druids had
ceased. They were the priests and magis-
trates of the original inhabitants of this island.
Julius Cesar, when he first came hither, found
the Britons entirely under their influence ;
and when the Romans had obtained power
here, they turned out the Druids. Their last
retreat was the island of Anglesea, then called
Mona. There Paulinus, the Roman general,
‘slew multitudes of the priests; burnt their
96 THE OAK.
groves, and put a final stop to their influence.
The whole brotherhood, with their system of
w vship and religion, perished quickly.”
“‘ Did the Druids love the oak,” said Harry,
“because they lived upon the acorns? I
have heard that, anciently, men ate them. I
think, they must have been very hungry first.
I have tried them often, but never could swal-
low them.”
“ T do not wonder at that much, my young
friend,” said I; ‘several things should be
taken into consideration, to explain the matter.
One thing, which does wonders, is necessity,
another is use. Now, I suppose, that if your
parents could have procured no other nourish-
ment for you than acorns, you would have
eaten them, and have long since forgotten
that they were unpalatable. You have heard,
ACORNS. oF
perhaps, the story of the young Greenlander
who was brought to Denmark, clothed, and
lodged, and fed as people are there, with nic -
ties, compared with Greenland fare. These
things he endured so long as nothing else came
in his way. But once meeting with a can of
whale oil, he took a long draught, and said,
‘How I wish I were in my own country,
where I could get as much of this as I
pleased !”
“Oh, what a pity he did not stay there,”
said Amelia, “ and then we should never have
heard of so unpleasant a meal !”
I begged pardon for naming the incident ;
and was, I believe, speedily forgiven. I then,
took the liberty to say, that, after all, there
was a wonderful distinction between those
customs of men, which shewed a_ preference
98 THE OAK.
for the use of food, clothing, or dwellings,
coarse, awkward, and rude, and those more
important predilections of the mind for things
morally vile or unworthy. <“ It were better,”
I said, “to take our choice of dining or
starving with a Laplander, than have the
body fed, as it commonly is in civilized coun-
tries, whilst the understanding is either poi-
soned with improper notions, or suffered to
become weak and utterly diseased, by being
deprived altogether of the means of mental
subsistence.”
“Look there! Look there!” said Amelia.
«What beautiful animal is that, springing
from tree to tree over our heads, and now
looking at us so hard ?”
We each turned our eyes to the spot, and
soon discovered that most expert of all agile
ACORNS. 99
performers, a wood-squirrel, which had, it
seems, been just gathering acorns for his winter
store. He seemed rather displeased at our
presence, and, in a half angry manner, as if he
would frighten us away, he every now and then
stared, murmured, and threw himself about, to
our great amusement.
_ But,” I resumed, “we were inquiring
whether acorns were eatable or not? I fancy
little scug was indignant at hearing the stand-
ing repast of himself and friends thus spoken
of. Besides custom, which does so much to
make us not only patient, but pleased, with
many otherwise disagreeable things, climate
must be taken into the account. We have
chestnut trees in England,—of the Spanish
kind, I mean,—but the fruit does not ripen
well here, nor acquire its proper and native fla-
30 AGE. OF TREES.
vour. So we import those of Spanish growth,
to roast for our desserts. But there are va-
rieties of the oak tree, even in England; and
many sorts abroad, which bear a fruit with a
pleasant taste, like a nut. And these acorns,
which at present are so astringent and rough,
when boiled or soaked in water, lose much of
their peculiarity in that respect, and become,
as I am told, eatable, and even agreeable.”
<“ Some of these trees,” observed Mrs. Heath-
field, “ have attained a great size; can any
judgment be formed of their age ?”
_“ Their size,” I said, “ bespeaks och
considerable age ; but their exact period can-
not, perhaps, be ascertained till they are cut
down. ‘Then, if we examine carefully the end
formed by the saw, we shall find the surface to
be composed of circles, one within another, from
the bark to the centre. As it is known that
AGE OF TREES. $1
each circle is one year’s growth of the tree,
counting their number will give the term of its
duration.”
“ J thought,” said Harry, “ that wood was
wood, and all alike through the timber:
I do not remember to have noticed these
circles.”
« But others have, whose eyes have been
no better than yours,” I replied. “‘ However,
something besides eyes seems needful to con-
stitute an accurate observer of nature. It ap-
pears that the sap-vessels, just under the bark,
which are in a soft, spungy state during the
summer, harden in the winter, and become
firm wood. In the next spring, fresh sap
rises in another circle of vessels, pushing the
bark outwards; and, in its turn, changes into
the close-graimed proper wood of the tree.
Thus the whole is enlarged, and these annular
32 SAP AND HEART OF TIMBER.
and annual additions are in general clearly —
discernible.” |
“One thing, Sir,” said Harry, “I have
observed; but I do not quite understand it; —
in looking at the end of a piece of timber, or-
the arm of a tree newly cut, the parts within —
two or three inches round the edge look
whitish, whilst that towards the middle is —
much darker.”
«The whiter part is a younger and softer ©
wood; and because the juices of the tree
most abound therein, workmen call it the ©
sap. ‘The dark part is the heart, and is, in
fact, the only part fit for use, where good
timber is required. In the branches therefore, —
where the heart is often only an inch or two in
diameter, very little wood worth sawing is
found. They are, however, used whole, or in
quarters, for fences and other purposes. Con-
AGE OF TREES. 33
cerning the age of trees in this forest, we
have the testimony of Mr. Evelyn, in his
Sylva; that he had, in some cases, counted
_ three or four hundred concentric rings, each
ring marking a year’s growth.” 7
« Three or four hundred years!” said Fre-
derick ; “then it is not worth one’s while to
begin planting; we can never hope to see
_ them of any size worth speaking of; and as to
making money of them, that is quite out of
the question.”
“‘ If we are to think of, and labour, only for
ourselves, Frederick, many things will appear
scarcely worth while. But it is well to do
something for those who are to succeed us;
as, certainly, we are all much indebted to those
_ who lived before we did, and who acted on
- other principles than merely such as were sel-
fish. Whilst a gentleman of landed property
D
34 REMARKABLE OAKS,
derives thousands of pounds from the disin-
terested forethought of his ancestors, in plant-
ing and preserving young trees upon his es-
tate, it will not cost him as many shillings to
plant and preserve others, that the estate may
continue to be as productive, when he has
done with it.” |
Mrs. Heathfield was remarking the size of
some of these trees ; and no wonder, for they
are noble specimens. ‘‘ Yet we have accounts
of some far exceeding them in size. One, in
Dennington Park, called the King’s Oak, was
fifty feet high before it threw out a branch ;
and the lower part, when squared for sale,
measured five feet across. One, in Shropshire,
was yet larger, being nine feet in diameter ;
and the branches covered a space of almost a
hundred and fifty feet. One, at Norbury, was
in girth forty-five feet, which, you know, gives
THE BOSCOBEL OAK. 35
a diameter of about fifteen; so that when it
lay on the ground, men on horseback could
not see each other, if they placed themselves
on opposite sides of it. ‘The Boddington oak,
in Gloucestershire, was, at the lower part,
fifty-four feet mm circumference ; the principal
branches had long been decayed; the inside
was hollow, and, being covered over, formed
a room sixteen feet in diameter, with a door
and one window. But perhaps the largest on
record, at least in Britain, was that called
Damory’s oak, which grew in Dorsetshire ; its
girth was sixty-eight feet, and the hollow
within, forming an apartment sixteen feet long
and twenty feet high, was used as a drinking-
room, for the entertainment of travellers in
Cromwell’s time. In 1703, during that dread-
ful tempest, which ravaged many parts of Eng-
land, on the 27th November, this majestic tree
D 2
36 «THE BOSCOBEL OAK.
was very much shattered; from that time it
went fast to decay, and in 1755, its last re-
mains were sold for firewood.”
«¢ And what is the Boscobel Oak ?” said Fre-
derick. “I have read of that, in the English
History.”
_« Boscobel is in Staffordshire. At the house
so called, Charles II. took shelter, when fleemg
from the victorious Cromwell, after the deci-
sive battle of Worcester. There was a large
oak near it, which Charles ascended, until its
spreading branches veiled him from the eyes of
his eager pursuers. The tree has long since
perished. Mr. Gilpin mentions one, at Ox-
ford, called Alfred’s oak, which is said to have
been a sapling when that monarch founded
the university ; though I cannot give implicit
credence to the tradition. It 1s now gone.”
‘Has the oak two sorts of fruit?” asked
OAK APPLES. 37
Amelia. “I have seen acorns upon it fre-
quently ; and have often heard of oak apples.”
I perceived that several of the auditory could
smile at this apparent absurdity ; but, on wait-
ing a due time, I found that none of them
eould correct it. Mrs. Heathfield observed,
that oak apples were a disease on the oak,
caused by the wound of an insect.
“« ‘That insect,” I added, “ pierces the young
wood, and leaves its eggs in the wound. This
occasions a. stagnation, or stoppage, in the sap,
and at the same time, an increased action in
the vessels, which causes the juices to flow to
that part in greater abundance; so that the
bark swells out, as you have seen, in a globular
shape, and sometimes to the size of an egg.
This forms a residence for the young maggot,
and also supplies it with nourishment. When
fully grown, the sagacious inhabitant pierces
38 OAK GALLS.
itself an opening from within, and obtains its
needful liberty; you, or any one, may have the
apple then ; it needs that food and lodging no
longer. Those which grow in foreign coun-
tries are called galls; these are of great im-
portance in commerce; being used by dyers ;
and writing-ink, if good, 1s made with them.”
«« An acorn is a pretty thing in shape,” said
Harriet ; “ although I am not more fond of
the taste than other folks. ‘The cups are so
very round, regular, and neat, that I have been
pleased to see them set out on a large flat
shell for dolly’s tea-things. Dolly did not, I
am sure, know that they were not real china,
but sat to them very contentedly, with me, in
the corner, under the hawthorn bush.”
«< And now,” I said, “‘ before we leave the
oak, we ought to note its principal uses and
peculiarities. It is, perhaps, we may say, the
OAK TIMBER. 39
best tzmber that is known. Other timber may
be harder; some more difficult to bend; and
other sorts less liable to be broken across; but
none contains all the three qualities in such
equal proportions as the oak. As its growth
is extremely slow, so the period is long, in-
deed, which reduces the wood itself to decay.
It bears the changing seasons better, and re-
mains longer undecayed in the ground, than.
any other. But the bark of the oak is an
article now of almost as much importance as
the timber. When steeped, by a proper pro-
cess, in pits, with the hides of animals, it has
a chemical property, which changes those raw
and unpleasant skins into the smooth, durable
commodity called leather; and, though there
are some few other trees whose barks have
the same power, in a slight degree, oak bark
alone is really serviceable to that end. When
40 OAK BARK, OR TAN.
the bark is done with by the tanners, it is
formed into small cakes, called turfs, for fuel ;
or is used by gardeners for hot-beds, for the
growth of pine-apples and other tropical plants.
The leaves and saw-dust of this tree are used
much in dyeing ; and extracts from them be-
come valuable medicines. |
«We may as well mention here, perhaps,
that the best charcoal is made from the
branches of the oak, although most other
woods will make it.—Now can any one tell
me how this article is made; or inform me
of its principal properties, or uses ?”
Frederick observed, that it was nothing but
burnt wood ; and that its chief use, as he sup-
posed, was to enable the old women to roast
chestnuts and apples, for boys to eat in frosty
weather. Seiali
I admitted that charcoal was wood burned
CHARCOAL. 4
to a certain degree; and that it was employed
occasionally in the way he had mentioned.
« But,” I continued, “I am afraid that the
burning of charcoal must be a poor business, if
used only for such purposes.” I, therefore,
added the following particulars to his stock of
knowledge on this subject :
“ Charcoal is made by subjecting wood to
the action of fire; but it is so covered up in
sand, or earth, that, though it burns in a slum-
bering sort of way, it is not consumed. It is
impossible to procure a substance resembling
charcoal by burning wood in the open air;
which, if any one should doubt, let him try
the experiment.
““ Charcoal is not liable to decay by age,
even when placed in the earth. It was cus-
tomary for the ancients to char the outsides of
all timbers that were to be inserted in the
49 CHARCOAL.
ground, or put in water for a continuance. It
may be preserved for any length of time; and
in the tombs of many ancient nations, entire
pieces of charcoal are frequently found. But
this substance is chiefly used and required in
the composition of gunpowder. ‘The quantity
thus consumed, and especially in the time of
war, is Immense; and it is doubtful whether
all the old women, who ever roasted chestnuts,
consumed a hundredth part of the quantity
which government has made use of in a month.
But besides the great use of it as an ingre-
dient in gunpowder, it is also wanted, on
many occasions, in the polite and mechanical
arts. Painters draw their outlines with it;
and some of their colours are composed of it.
It is the best thing known as a polisher for cop-
per and brass plates. When refined, it forms
an excellent tooth-powder: it corrects, when
CHARCOAL. AZ
properly applied, the ill-odours of train oil;
nay, more, animal substances, such as large
joints of meats, which have become so stale as
to be quite unfit for food, may, by charcoal,
be restored, and rendered perfectly fresh and
wholesome.”
«“ O dear! how little I knew about char-
coal,” said Frederick. And most of my hearers
admitted that these particulars were new also
to them.
“‘ It has many and important uses,” I re-
plied, “‘ with which we ought to be acquainted;
but we ought also to know itsdangers. Char-
coal, when burned in a close room, will speed-
ily suffocate those who are confined with it;
especially sleepers. Many have in this way,
unhappily, lost their lives.”
Ad
DIFFERENT SORTS OF TIMBER TREES.
As Mr. Longhurst had travelled, and seen
many of those trees abroad, of which others of
us had only been able to obtain representa-
tions and descriptions, I was requested still to
lead the conversation respecting British timber
trees; and reserve the account of forezgn woods
for him. |
“‘ There are,” I said, when we next met,
“about twenty-five different sorts of timber
trees grown in Britain, for the varied occasions
of man. These are, the Oak, the Ash, the
Aspen, the Elm, the Beech, the Lime, the
Chestnut, the Walnut, the Sycamore, the
Poplar, the Plane, the Maple, the Hornbeam,
VARIETIES OF TIMBER TREES. 45
the Pine, the Larch, the Spruce Fir, the
Lancewood, the Holly, the Box, the Yew,
the Willow, the common and weeping Moun-
tain Ash, the Birch, the Hazel, and the Alder.”
“ How beautiful,” observed Mr. Longhurst,
“‘and how accurately adapted, not only to
man’s necessities, but to his comforts and lux-
uries, 1s this store of materials, which the Crea-
tor has provided! It would have been doing
much to have supplied us with Oak, with Iron,
and with one sort of Stone: but God, having
given to man the inclination and the power to
find out ‘ witty inventions, and endued his
hand and head with skill to execute them,
He has also provided an almost endless variety
of substances, with infinitely varied properties,
on which that invention, that skill and ability,
might be exercised, to produce the multiplied
blessings of civilized life.”
A6 EXCESSIVE CULTIVATION
“ And I think,” said Mrs. Heathfield, “ that
those persons err greatly, who, losing sight of
this grand display of Almighty power and be-
neficence, and, forgetting the purpose for which
the ability given to man must have been de-
signed, would leave all unemployed, and con-
temn, as some well-meaning persons do, many
of the useful, and nearly all the polite arts.”
“TY am happy to believe,” said Mr. Long-
hurst, “that sentiments of this sort are fast
wearing out amongst us. I hope that the con-
trary extreme, an excessive cultivation of these
arts, and those luxurious habits by which pow-
erful empires have been ruined, may not over-
throw old England in like manner.”
“It were better,” said I, “to content our-
selves with the food, furniture, and apparel, of
an ancient Briton, than to lower ourselves into
a dependence on luxuries for our happiness ; a
OF THE: ART'S. AW
certain sign that the ruin of moral feeling, and,
of course, of real happiness, is at hand. But,
perhaps, some of our youthful hearers may
have failed to see the connection between a sub-
ject of this sort, and the description of timber
trees, which we have in hand.”
« | think,” said Mr. Longhurst, “ that they
will be able to perceive something of it, as we
proceed in our inquiries concerning the nature
and uses of those substances. Let us hear,
Sir, a few particulars respecting those you have
named.”
AS
THE ASH.
“Tue Asu,” I proceeded to remark, “ is one
of our most elegant forest trees. It has not the
grandeur of the oak; its beauties being rather
those of slender gracefulness and airy attitude. ©
The leaves are in pairs, long and narrow in
their form, and serrated at the edge.”
“ Serrated! What does that mean ?” inquired
Mr. Longhurst, looking at the lads.
Silence ensued. ,
«What is the Latin for a saw?” demanded
Mr. Longhurst. After a short pause, and a
little whispermg amongst the young folks,
Harry gave the word serra.
« Now,” said Mr. Longhurst, “ I think my
previous question will not appear a hard one.
as
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Page 48.
ASH.
THE ASH. 49
What does the word serrated mean, when ap-
plied to the edge of a leaf?”
“] know now!” said Harry; “it means
notched, like a saw.”
« And, in fact,” said Mr. Longhurst, “ as
your common Latin had furnished you with
the word serra, you knew before; but your
knowledge was not, by quick application, so
ready as it might have been. As most leaves
are so formed, serrated is a word of frequent
use in botany.
<< The timber of the ash, unlike that of other
trees, has the advantage of being nearly as
good when young, as when old: it is hard,
tough, and so very elastic, that it may readily be
bent round in a circle: hence coopers are glad
to avail themselves of it for the hoops of their
tubs and barrels. It is also called the husband-
man’s tree, nothing being equal to it for agri-
E
50 THE ASH.
cultural implements; for poles, ladders, and
long handles ; and for purposes which require
strength, length, and flexibility, with compa-
rative lightness. Ship builders, also, use it
much; and when, about the root, or stool as it
is called, the timber has become knotty and
variegated in its grain, it 1s in request by me-
chanics, for cabinet work, on the continent.
I believe that ash is useful at almost any
growth, from the yard-and-half twig, employed
in the correction of naughty boys”—
“ Order ! Order!” whispered Frederick, co-
louring at the allusion.
I begged pardon ; and continued by observy-
ing that the thinnings of plantations, and the
suckers that spring up from the roots of young
trees, or from the stools of those that have —
been felled, are excellent for the purposes I
had mentioned, namely, hoops, hop-poles, and
such things.
THE ASH. 51
«< T believe,” said Mr. Longhurst, “ that, in
the northern parts of Lancashire, where grass
is scarce, the small farmers frequently cut off
the tops of ash trees, to feed their cows with
the leaves and tender twigs.”
«| have heard,” said Mrs. Heathfield, “ that
the leaves of ash trees have been used for a less
commendable purpose than that,—to mix with
those of tea, to defraud, and perhaps to injure
the health of those who consume that article.”
« That practice,” I observed, “has long been
forbidden by act of parliament ; and, I should
hope, is not now much in the usage of dealers ;
for, although these leaves are certainly not
poisonous, they are an injurious substitute for
tea. The bark of the ash is sometimes em-
ployed in the tanning of calf-skins, and also in
dyeing. As fuel, it is remarkable, that the
wood of this tree will burn nearly as well in
its green state as when dry.
E 2
52 THE ASH.
“The ash rarely attains the bulk of other
timber trees: only a few instances of large
dimensions are recorded ; but among these we
meet with one of the astonishing girth of forty-
two feet. Another is spoken of as nearly se-
venteen feet in circumference; and a third is
described as being eight feet in diameter,
which my young friends will readily estimate
at about twenty-four feet m circumference.
Its bloom has a beautiful appearance ; but it
drops its leaves very early in autumn; and in
old age has none of that grandeur which the
oak preserves.
“‘ From a species of dwarf ash, growing wild
in Calabria, manna is procured, by cutting the
bark, and collecting the juice, which runs out,
and forms the concrete substance I have —
alluded to.”
33
THE MOUNTAIN ASH.
“ Tue Mountain Aso is quite a different
tree. Its leaves, indeed, are shaped some-
what like those of the other, and the wood 1s
tough and flexible; but it is soft, and soon
decays. It is a slow-growing tree, and never
becomes large. Its white flowers, and bright
red berries, make it rather an ornamental tree
in a shrubbery. It is a beautiful object on
the hills of the north, intermingled as it 1s
with the dark pines and waving birch. But
we should now speak of a far more stately and
important tree.”
o4
THE ELM...
“Tue Eto: has. lofty. dignity, combined
with elegance. It rises to a greater height
than English trees in general do. _ Its foliage,
though the leaves are small, is ample ; yet it
hangs lightly on the aspiring branches, and
forms a fine subject for the painter and land-
scape engraver. It is the first considerable
tree, which introduces a bright and cheerful
green in spring; but, before this, its boughs
are darkened with innumerable flowers of a
dusky hue, which, indeed, are often as full as
the foliage.
“ Klm timber is valuable for a vast variety
of purposes; but, as it grows quicker and is
inferior in quality to oak, it bears a much
Page 54.
ELM.
THE ELM. 55
lower price, It is chiefly employed for wea-
ther boards to out-buildings, waggons, carts,
mill-wheels, water-pipes, furniture called Wind-
sor chairs, and for coffins, because it is pecu-
liarly durable in moist situations. It burns
slowly ; and as it splits with difficulty, it re-
celves nails and iron-work with advantage.
Some writers tell us that bread and beer, in
times of scarcity, have been made from the
inner bark of this tree.” |
<A time of scarcity indeed!” said Mr.
Longhurst. .
“ It is better known and valued—the bark
I mean—as a medicine; an excellent decoc-
tion is obtained from it, which is useful in
- many complaints.”
“Speaking of the Elm,” said Mr. Long-
hurst, ‘‘ reminds me, as it is a tree which bears
transplanting, perhaps, better than any other,
56 TRANSPLANTING FORESTS.
of some surprising schemes, which have been
executed by enterprising men in that way.—
Ladies and Gentlemen, did you ever hear of
transplanting a forest ?”
A wondering negative was the reply.
“The thing has been done, and to a very
considerable extent,” said Mr. Longhurst. “ So
long ago as the time when Theophrastus, the
ancient Greek writer on rural economy, lived,
the Greeks were in the habit of removing full-
grown trees, when it was their pleasure so to
do. The Romans moved elms twenty feet
high to their vineyards, as supports for their
vines—so says Pliny; and Seneca, I think,
tells us, that an entire orchard of full-grown
trees was removed near the villa of Scipio
Africanus; and that, in a year or two, they
bore fruit as well as ever. I fancy this prac-
tice was afterwards neglected for ages, as 1m-
practicable, or useless; but we hear of it
TRANSPLANTING FORESTS. 57
again in more modern times. Count Maurice,
of Nassau, instead of walking into a wood,
made a wood walk into his garden, in 1636.
This was in Brazil, where he was then gover-
nor. ‘The place being naturally as destitute
of trees and shrubs, at least near his palace, as
was the roof of that building, he boldly trans-
planted seven hundred cocoa-nut trees, some
of them fifty feet high; and of course, having
done this, he found no difficulty in adding as
large a number of lesser fruit trees and shrubs,
as he pleased. ‘The trees were seventy or
eighty years old, and had to be carried four
miles by land and water; but skill and perse-
verance overcome every obstacle. But I shall
be happy now, if Mr. Burton will proceed.”
_ I remarked, in addition, that the most noted
of these transplanters was Louis XIV. who
removed an entire forest, the Bois de Bou-
logne, from Versailles to its present site, a dis-
58 TRANSPLANTING TREES.
tance of more than seven miles. The great
transplanting machine employed on these occa-
sions, remained at Versailles, till probably
about the time of the French Revolution.”
One of the young ladies observed, that she
had found difficulty in removing a few lilacs
and roses only to a border across the path,
and that many of them had died.
“« The roots,” replied Mr. Longhurst, “ were
probably too much cut and exposed ; perhaps
nearly all the thread-like fibres, by which
plants subsist, were torn away.”
« Any tree,” I said, “ would travel round
the world, with as little damage or danger as
it encounters in standing still, if the finer roots,
and the earth about the roots, remained undis-
turbed. Old Evelyn says that he has moved
elms as big as his body, by engines, without
injury to any part of the tree.”
eee oe
Sereng te
»
bee
gi
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y g
59
THE BEECH.
“‘ "THE next tree on my list, I see, is the
Beecu. Though inferior in elegance and state-
liness to the elm, this ‘tree is by no means
without beauty. The leaves ate about the
size, and. not much unlike, those of the com-
mon elm, and they frequently remain on the
tree, in a brown decayed state, during the
greater part of the winter: although the beech
is, properly, deciduous.” oe
I made a short pause at this word; and
Harry, perceiving my expectation, obliged me
by saying, that deciduous plants are those which
shed their leaves, unlike evergreens, which
retain them.
60 BEECH MAST.
“The wood of the beech is close-grained,
brittle, and hard; capable of being manufac-
tured with the utmost neatness, and therefore
much used by turners, cabinet-makers, and
others. Carpenters’ tools are commonly han-
dled with this wood. The fruit is a kind of
nut, enclosed in a prickly husk, and is. called
beech mast.”
“ Mast,” said Mr. Longhurst, “is a word
applied generally to the fruit of the oak, beech,
and chestnut. Johnson derives it from the
Saxon mest, and I think that the Germans
had it probably from the Latin mastico, to mas-
ticate, or chew. Beech mast is somewhat
more palatable than horse-chestnuts or acorns ;
but is not very wholesome, if eaten in too
great quantities. When dried and powdered,
I have seen it, in the Grecian islands, made
into very tolerable bread; and the inhabitants
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Page 49.
BEECH.
USES OF THE BEECH. 61
of Scio were once enabled to sustain a memo-
rable siege, by the beech mast which their
island supplied. It has been roasted, as a
substitute for coffee. When pressed, the nuts
yield an excellent oil, for the lamp or the
table. It is used by the lower classes in Sile-
sia, instead of butter; and the cakes, which
remain after pressure, are far from being des-
picable food, for man or beast. The leaves, in
some countries, are collected and used, instead
of feathers, for beds: so, you see, a beech tree
has many uses.”
“« Indeed it has,” said Frederick. <I sup-
pose the timber will build a man a house; the
roots and branches supply him with firing ;
the fruit gives him coffee for breakfast, cakes
for supper, and oil to light him to his chamber,
where he has beech wood for a bedstead, and
beech leaves for a bed !”
62 THE PINE, OR FIR.
“« Well remembered, Frederick,” said I.
«¢ Bedstead, bedding, house, coal, candle, and
victuals, go far towards what, in some coun-
tries, are called necessaries; in others, lururies,
or comforts.”
THE PINE, OR FIR.
WE now walked into Mr. Longhurst’s plan-
tations; and, after some desultory conversa-
tion on the trees which met the eye singly, we
came to a very fine grove of FIRS.
« Here,” I said, “ we see a small patch of
that dark shaggy coat, with which Nature has
clothed, as with a circling garment, the bleak
and frozen regions that surround the arctic
THE PINE, OR FIR. 63
line. A very large portion of the superficial
space of this our globe is thus enveloped. Of
these Pines, or Firs, therefore, unmixed with
other trees, there are far more extensive forests,
than of any kind of ‘wood besides. The north
of Europe, of America, and of Asia, are man-
tled in this same black shroud, from the tem-
perate latitudes to the shining borders of the
polar seas, where dwarf birch, the last shrub
that lives, makes a sort of final edging to the
vegetation of the earth.”
«When we consider,” said Mr. Longhurst,
“that the wood of these pines is the most
combustible timber that grows; the fullest of
juices, which feed the taper and the hearth ;
and when we consider farther, that these forests
extend beyond the very regions ‘ where life
itself goes out, ‘ the immediate agency and in-
fluence of Divine wisdom, power, and goodness,
64 VARIETIES OF THE PINE.
will appear in full; and surely then we cannot
but have the most lively and grateful impres-
sions of His parental care for the vast family
of man.”
«‘ This,” I replied, “is the true use of human
knowledge, and the noblest and most beneficial
employment of human reason ; to find out God
in the grand arrangements of nature.”
«¢ Of pines, or firs, there are many species.
The principal, I believe, are, the Scottish Fir,
the Silver Fir, the White Pine, the Cedar of
Lebanon, the Larch, and the Spruce Fir;
others are said to be allied to the pines in their
appearance or their uses; as the Yew, the
‘Cypress, the Juniper, and the Arbor-vite.
They are all of the same order of cone-bearing
trees; they are generally evergreens; and the
wood is resinous, or bitter; but the difference
between some of them, as between the Scot-
Page 62.
PINE.
$< :
o> SER OR ws
USEFULNESS OF DEAL TIMBER. 65 .%
tish Fir, or common Deal, and the Yew, is very /
sreat. The Scottish and Norwegian Firs, or —
Pines, have now become, — from the scarcity
of oak, and the comparative difficulty with
which that and the harder woods are worked,
—the timber in most general use and request
by all our carpenters and builders. The whole
wood work of modern houses, and the greater
part of plain and useful furniture, are now
composed of deal, as a matter of course; and
a carpenter would stare with perplexity at be-
ing required to execute the same work in oak
or chestnut.”
“Why should he wonder at that?” asked
Frederick.
“ Because, perhaps, neither his cash nor
his tools would hold out to purchase and pre-
pare those expensive and stubborn materials,
Fir timber, though cheap and easily worked,
F
66 MASTS OF SHIPS.
possesses great strength and durability; and,
though liable to split, sometimes disastrously,
as every bungling nail-driver knows, it is capa-
ble of being worked with the utmost neatness,
and even with elegance.”
“There is another purpose,” added Mr.
Longhurst, “ to which pine timber is applied,
and I scarcely know what other trees could
supply its place: I mean the masts of ships.”
« T should have noticed,” I rejoined, “ that
the structure of the pine is that of a straight
undivided stem, from the root to the topmost
twig; and the tree thus often attains the sur-
prising altitude of two hundred feet! Here
then is a mast ready dwilt; and certainly no
tree of the forest can shew a spire so tall, so
straight, so strong, and, at the same time, so
light as this.”
“JT am thinking,” said Mr. Longhurst, “ that
TURPENTINE.—TAR. 67
our navy is indebted to the pine for something
of almost as much consequence as this. What
can it be ?”
I was obliged to reply myself to this ques-
tion. “‘ Tar and pitch are the paint, glue,
and puttey, of a vessel. Without these, the
cordage would soon decay, and water would
quickly enter at innumerable chinks. This
leads us to notice substances extracted from
the pine ; these are turpentine, tar, pitch, and
resin. |
« A pine tree is a sort of cask of turpentine,
which may be tapped in any of the summer
months ; and that useful liquid will flow out,
_ and continue to exude, for a long time, abun-
dantly. ‘Tar is obtained by burning, or rather
baking the roots, or other parts of the tree, in
a sort of pit, well covered over with tiles; at
the bottom, is a hole, with under-drains, into
FY
68 PITCH.—RESIN.
which the tar descends as the heat extricates it
from the wood, and then runs off by the drains
into barrels placed for its reception, which,
- when filled, are bunged up ready for sale. If
the tar be boiled, so as to free it from watery
and other fluid parts, it becomes pitch. Nor-
way, as it yields the best pine timber, produces
also the best of these extracts. ‘Turpentine,
when reduced to dryness, leaves resin; and
if violently stirred, as it boils with water, it
forms white or yellow resin.”
One of the lads had strayed away a little
during these observations, and was seen busily
employed in endeavouring to obtain a practi-
cal demonstration of the facts advanced, by
boring a hole, with a carpenter’s auger, In one
of the firs of the plantation.
« That will do, Frederick,” said Mr. Long-
hurst : “ and I would rather the operation had
SAP VESSELS. 69
been postponed, until a decree of the present
assembly, in which I possess a casting vote,
had been obtained.”
« T am sorry if I have done any harm, Sir,”
said Frederick; “ but I think the tree will
not die from the loss of its turpentine. I do
not see any.”
« You expected then,” said Mr. L. “ a full
stream, as big as the hole you have made, to
start from the tree, like beer from a spigot ?—
Now, think a little. A barrel is a hollow thing,
which, being fil/ed with a fluid, and nothing
else, naturally loses it in a continued stream,
through any aperture made in it. But do not
you know that the bark you have pierced
encloses hard timber, as well as sap; which sap
is contained in minute capillary or hair-like
vessels, or pores, which extend up and down
the trunk? These, therefore, must have time
70 CONVEYANCE OF TIMBER
to empty themselves; and you will see, if you
examine this tree to-morrow, that a consider-
able quantity of sap, or turpentine, has flowed
out which otherwise would have gone—as, in-
deed, I could have wished it—to the support
of the leaves and branches.”
I remarked that our English firs are by no
means so succulent, or juicy, as those of the
North; and that the one just now pierced was
not a tenth part the size of the tree from
which turpentine is there obtained.
“ T should like to hear,” said Mrs. Long-
hurst, “ in what way these immense trees are
conveyed to the sea side: they do not all
srow, I suppose, on the very coast ?”
Harry appeared impatient to answer this
question, by saying that machines, called tzm-
ber carriages, were used.
“In this country, they are, undoubtedly,
TO THE SEA. 71
used,” said I; “‘ and we shall be glad, on a
future occasion, to hear exactly how these are
constructed and used; but | fear that one of
those vehicles would make more haste than
good speed down the sides of a Norwegian
mountain, supposing it could, by any process,
be drawn up it.”
«| will endeavour,” said Mr. Longhurst,
“ to explain the modes of conveyance adopted,
which I have myself seen. Pine forests are
not usually so low and level as this small plan-
tation of mine. The sides of rugged hills, and
the brow of many a giddy precipice, are clothed
with the finest fir timber. On the southern
shores of the Baltic, indeed, the river Memel
conveys, without much difficulty, the timber
_ there produced, to the sea, as the bed of that
river, and the surrounding country, are free
from any particular declivities. But, not long
72 TIMBER-FLOATS ON THE RHINE.
ago, the largest pines of the Norwegian moun-
tains were committed to the torrents, which
rush through their ravines. Dashing down
the cataracts of Trolhetta, they were fre-
quently shivered to atoms by the concussions
of their unguided and inevitable descent; and
the damage done to some of the finest trees
by this method was such, that, at length, saw-
mills were erected, to divide the trees into
planks of a more manageable size.
« But, on the Rhine, another plan is adopt-
ed. Several thousand trees are tied together,
in the form of a raft, sixty or seventy feet
broad, and nearly one thousand in length. The
rowers and workmen sometimes amount to
seven or eight hundred. Poultry, pigs, and
all sorts of provisions and conveniences, are
taken on board the principal raft. Many
smaller rafts are commonly tied to the greater,
SLIDE OF ALPNACH. 13
to have the benefit of its pilotage. The guid-
ance of this enormous floating island of tim-
ber is, indeed, a business of no small anxiety
and difficulty, owing to the abrupt windings,
the rocks, and the shallows, of the river. Thus
they make their way to Holland, generally with
little damage: but the money needful to un-
dertake the construction of a raft of this sort
is said to be about 35,000/. sterling.
“ But the most astonishing method of trans-
porting timber, that I ever heard of, was that
by the slide of Alpnach, in Switzerland. A
bold speculator entertained the daring idea of
conveying the pines from the top of Mount
Pilatus to the Lake of Lucerne, a distance of
nearly nine miles, by means of an inclined
plane, or sloping wooden road, extending the
whole way! The slide consisted of a trough,
or gutter, formed of twenty-five thousand
7A: SLIDE OF ALPNACH.
pines; it was six feet broad, and from three
to six feet in depth: its length was forty-four
thousand English feet. This had to be brought
over the summits of rocks, or along their sides,
or under ground, or over deep chasms; but
the perseverance of the designer, M. Rupp,
triumphed over what most men would have
called impossibilities; nor was it much longer
than a year and a half before it was completed.
The trees descended from their heights with
a rapidity almost inconceivable. The larger
pines, which were about one hundred feet in
length, performed the nine miles in about six
minutes! Young Gentlemen, how would you
have liked a ride on one of those long-backed
wooden horses 2” |
“ O Sir, said Harry, “ it makes me tremble
to think of it. I remember once sliding down
the banisters in our hall; and I thought then
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THE LARCH. 15
that I went faster than when I fell out of the
hay-loft into the straw-yard, at the farm.”
« When you fell,” said Mr. Longhurst, “ you
were not conscious of the descent at all; in
the other case, you knew more of the matter
than was agreeable; but half a mile on one of
M. Rupp’s diligences would have served you
with all the travelling you might need in your
lifetime.”
THE LARCH.
“Js this a fir tree?” asked Amelia. “ It
appears like one, at a distance; and yet its
branches droop downwards; and I think it
loses its leaves in the winter.”
«< This,” I said, “is a LAncH ; and a remark-
760 THE LARCH.
ably fine specimen it is, for English growth ;
although, I perceive, it has passed its prime,
and the leading shoot at the top is bent, if not
broken.”
« T have reason to think,” said Mr. Long-
hurst, “that this tree was planted by no less a
personage than King James I. This garden,
we know, formed part of his favourite domain,
which he enclosed with a wall ten miles in ex-
tent. About five hundred yards of the wall still
form the boundary of this estate ; and a mile-
stone inserted in it, shews us the date, 1621.
The mount, pond, and opposite moat, would
scarcely have been executed by any one not
possessed, like the builder of the wall, of royal
enterprise and resources; and the trees all
bear an appearance of some two hundred years’
standing. This solitary and stately larch,
_ dropping its graceful feathery branches into
Page 75.
LARCH.
USES OF THE LARCH. 7
the water, which it seems to love, is a favourite
object with me. I only fear that some of those
strong westerly winds, which have already
given it a leading attitude, will, one day, send
it into the water beneath. I believe it is from
this tree that the commodity called Venice
turpentine is procured by incision; I do not,
however, wish the matter to be proved by an
operation.”
The young operator looked a solemn acqui-
escence in the injunction.
I then proceeded to state a few particulars,
respecting the uses of larch.
« As oak and chestnut were the timber usu-
ally employed for grand buildings in Britain,
in former ages; so larch, on the continent,
was, and is still, most in request. Of this
almost incorruptible wood, the Gothic halls
and castles of Italy and Germany, and the
78 QUALITIES OF THE LARCH.
ancient chateaus of France, were almost always
constructed,—I mean those inner parts, where
wood was needful. The colour is a pale cedar
red ; sometimes elegantly varied. It is capa-
ble of a high finish, and carves well. No
insect will touch it for food or residence, on
account of its bitter resinous flavour ; and it is
said that it resists water for ages, as also fire
itself for a long time.* On panels of larch,
the pictures of the best Flemish and Italian
masters are painted; and to this, their preser-
vation is, no doubt, greatly owing.
‘“ It is a remarkable fact, indeed,” said
* On this subject, however, doctors disagree surpris-
ingly. Under the article Larcu, in Useful Knowledge,
by the Rev. W. Bingley, it is said, that the very combustible
nature of this wood renders it unfit for building pur-
poses; whilst, in the treatise on timber trees, in Hntertaining
Knowledge, it is stated, that larch is nearly proof not only
against water, but agaist jire /
iy
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4
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THE CEDAR. 79
Mr. Longhurst, “ that buildings constructed of
this wood ages ago, exhibit no symptoms of
decay ; this I know to be the case, by actual
inspection of many noted continental struc-
tures.—In St. Petersburgh, the chief use of
larch is for the Russian navy, which is built,
I understand, almost entirely of it. The
Muscovites have also the art of making fine
white gloves from the inner bark.”
ee
THE CEDAR.
Ir happened that a small Cepar or LEBANON
occupied a clump near the end of the shrub-
bery ; and Mr. Longhurst, having seen many
magnificent specimens abroad, gratified the
party by a little account of this majestic and
interesting tree.
80 CEDAR OF LEBANON.
«We have spoken,” said he, “ of oak, chest-
nut, and larch, as the sorts of timber chiefly
employed in Europe, during the middle ages.
But the cedar was the tree selected by the
earliest architects, for the most sacred and
magnificent of their buildings. Of Solomon’s
temple, which was built about a thousand
years before the Christian era, it is said, that
‘the cedar of the house within was carved with
knops, and flowers; all was of cedar; there
was no stone seen.’ Ancient shipping, also,
was frequently built of this timber. No doubt
that the qualities of strength and durability,
coupled with the advantage of readily yielding
to the tool, were the reasons which induced
the early builders to select it. It was also
then, in many parts, the most plentiful and
the largest timber that could be procured.
But now, I believe, even in their native soils,
KG
=~ <p>
Page 79.
CEDAR OF LEBANON,
RED CEDAR. 81
they are scarcely more abundant than in
England. The mountains of Lebanon have
still a few cedars, and these are of great size,
thirty-six feet, or more, in circumference.
“There 1s a peculiar character and air, in
the masses of foliage which belong to this tree
—a sort of flaky structure: the branches having
a flattish form, and these lying in a level direc-
tion over each other, give it an appearance,
which none can mistake, when they have once
seen it. When it has attained its full size,
and is in its prime, it 1s indeed the most ma-
jestic of trees.”
“Ts this the wood of which pencils are
made ?” asked Harriet.
«No, my dear. That is the Rep Cepar,
a species of Juniper, which grows in North
America and the West Indies. On account
of its powerful odour, and its property of re-
e
$2 SPRUCE FIR.
sisting the attacks of insects, it was used, some
years ago, for drawers and cabinets. It is
much softer than the cedar of Lebanon, and is
by no means so valuable a tree. —Mr. Burton,
what other pines have you on your list ?”
THE SPRUCE FIR.
‘“¢ Or those which are strictly pines,” I said,
“ T shall only mention one more,—the Nor-
way Spruce Fir. This tree is said to be the
loftiest of the pine tribe in Europe. In its
native country, it has been known to reach the
height of 150 to 200 feet : in Britain, where
it has been known for upwards of a century, it
does not attain so great an altitude; but is
much esteemed for its pleasing appearance,
SPRUCE FIR. $3
the excellent shelter it affords in particular
situations, and its being a handsome ever-
green, proper for ornamental plantations. Its
dark green narrow leaves, pointed at the ends,
closely garnishing the younger branches, and
its pendent cones, eight or ten inches in length,
excite admiration. The timber, called white
deal, is remarkably free from knots and _ ble-
mishes, and is, therefore, valued by joiners,
and much used for musical instruments; but
it is by no means sufficiently durable for the
builder’s purposes. The turpentine produced
by the spruce fir, when boiled and cleansed,
forms the substance called Burgundy pitch.
Spruce beer is prepared from the tender twigs.”
Ge
84
THE YEW.
«¢« Now, as to the distant relations of the
pine family, we must introduce one or two of
them. The Yew tree, formerly very plentiful
in England, and very celebrated also in its
foliage, which consists of slender needle-shaped
leaves, resembles not a little the firs; and,
like them too, it bears the sort of fruit called
cones; but, in other respects, it is very differ-
ent; as in the shape and _ structure of the
tree, the nature of the wood, and the man-
ner of its growth. It sheds its bark every
year, but retains its leaves. ‘The berries, about
the size of a small nut, are formed of the
most delicate wax-like materials, and contain
a transparent glairy fluid, like the white of an
Sow ertenviarven B
?
ENE Ip Y
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Jf
Yi
Page $4.
YEW.
QUALITIES OF THE YEW. 85
ego. They have a sweetish inoffensive taste,
and are said to be harmless; but I should ra-
ther advise their being avoided as food. The
leaves are highly poisonous; and, it is said,
too, that rain dripping from the branches,
and even the air in the vicinity, of the yew,
will prove injurious. But the wood of the
yew is sufficiently valuable to compensate for
much worse qualities than these. It is almost
impenetrably hard, and most beautifully rich
in its colour and veins. But it was not so
much its beauty, as its other and more im-
portant qualities of toughness and elasticity,
which rendered it famous in history.”
“The yew tree famous in history?” re-
peated Frederick, with much surprise.
“Famous in this way, Frederick: before
the use of fire-arms, it was in constant request
for bows; in the use of which, I am sure you
86 WARLIKE USE OF THE YEW.
know, that English archers, or bowmen, were
particularly skilful and celebrated. By a law,
made in the reign of Edward IV. every Eng-
lishman was directed to have a bow, of his own
height, made, if possible, of yew, or of wych-
hazel—a sort of elm,—of ash, or awburne,
which we now call laburnum. The English-
man then prided himself more in the use of
the bow than im any thing else; and he would
bend one of a size-and strength that others
could not manage at all. The arrow called
the cloth-yard was the weapon, discharged
from the yew bow, that gained so many of
those battles, which Englishmen have to talk
of. At Crecy, Azincourt, and Poitiers, the
bows and cross-bows of our ancient country-
men did wonders. I remember that Frois-
-sart, the very entertaining historian of those
times, speaking of the battle of Crecy, says,
~
WARLIKE USE OF THE YEW. 87
‘There were of the Genoese cross-bows about
fifteen thousand, but they were so dog-weary
of marching that day six leagues, with those
same timber cross-bows, that they said they
had more need of rest than of battle. How-
ever, at length they approached and made a
great leap and cry, to abash the English; but
these stood and stirred not for all that. Then
the Genoese made another leap and a fell
ery, and stepped forward a little ; but still the
English moved not afoot. ‘Then, the third
time, they leaped and cried; and, coming
within bow-shot, shot fiercely with their cross-
bows. Then slipt forth the English archers,
and let fly their arrows, so wholly and so thick,
that it seemed like snow.’ The Genoese, in
fact, and the French, whom they were hired
to serve, had the worst of it, as you know
was the case in this battle; and so it was
88 ANCIENT BOWS AND ARROWS,
in many others, wherein the excellence of the
weapon, and the courage, skill, and strength,
of those who used it, were superior to, and
triumphant over, their most formidable ene-
mies.”
«“ Were bows and arrows thrown aside,”
said Harry, “as soon as gunpowder was in-
vented ?”
“No,” I replied. “They continued to be
the favourite weapon for more than a hundred
years afterwards ; indeed, the guns first made
were so clumsy and dangerous to handle, and
so little serviceable, that they often scared, or
wounded, those whom they were intended to
befriend. 3
“‘ But a word or two more of the yew-tree
itself. It has often attained a vast magnitude
in Brita. One, quite hollow, in Perthshire,
measured fifty-six feet in circumference; one,
REMARKABLE YEWS. 89
in Braburne churchyard, in Kent, sixty feet ;
and another, at Hedsor, in Buckinghamshire,
upwards of eighty feet in girth! When, how-
ever, these prodigious trees shall have perish-
ed, it does not seem likely that there should
be a succession of them; for, notwithstanding
the vast strength and durability of the timber,
the slowness of its growth discourages even
the most patient planter.”
“How well do I remember,” said Mrs.
Longhurst, “ my grandfather’s yew-tree won-
ders, at Cliphurst House. ‘There was a yew-
hedge, one hundred yards long, and, I sup-
pose, six feet thick, and about a man’s height,
which was so smoothly shorn and so solid, that
I have seen lions, bears, dogs, and horses,
standing on the top of it, and apparently
ignorant that it was not the solid earth!
“ You are not more astonished,” continued
90 GROTESQUE YEW FENCES.
Mrs. Longhurst, who saw that wonder and
curiosity were lifting the brows of all the
young party,—“ certaily not more surprised,
though less alarmed, than I was on the even-
ing when I first beheld that sight. It was
towards the dusk, in autumn. The place was
quite strange to me, as it was my first visit ;
my aunt, then herself a girl, took me into the
garden, and shewed me those forms, distinctly
enough seen in the moonlight to alarm me.
She foolishly tried to make a regular fright of
the appearance, which those shapes presented ;
and assured me that they were, indeed, most
strange and awful creatures. What they stood
there for, she could not exactly tell; but, she
added, ‘ I really think, to-night, that they
will have something to do with you, (yew.) I
entreated her to take me in; but she insisted
on leading me nearer, that we might see if
GROTESQUE YEW FENCES. QO]
they began to move, and listen if they breathed
hard, which was a sure sign they would be
stirring soon. The next morning explained
all: these were yew-trees, cut, as was then
the fashion, in the shapes of animals. They
would, of course, only move when the wind
shook them; and, I suppose, she could only
hear them breathe as the wind whistled through
them. |
“ The practice of clipping yew-trees into
those fantastic shapes was at one time common
in every gentleman’s garden and fore-court ;
but better sense and taste have long caused it
to be discontinued; excepting here and there
in a church-yard. The Romans, it appears,
were pleased with the same folly—Mr. bBur-
ton, have you any thing to say respecting the
orate
=
92
THE CYPRESS.
“ Tus tree,” I replied, “is an evergreen ;
and, I suppose, on this account, and because of
the imperishable nature of the wood, it has
been, in many nations, considered as an emblem
of immortality, and therefore commonly plant-
ed over the graves of the dead, and carried in
funereal processions. It is said to last as long
as stone itself; and I have read that the doors
of St. Peter’s Church, at Rome, which had been
formed of this material in the time of the Great
Constantine, were not at all injured by time,
when taken down, eleven hundred years after-
wards, by Pope Eugenius, to be replaced by
gates of brass.
THE CYPRESS. 93
“On account of its durability, it 1s pre-
ferred for building, in all places where it grows
in any abundance. Being very elastic, it also
answers well for musical instruments; and for
furniture, it is at least equal to mahogany ; for,
though less beautiful in colour, it is stronger ;
equally resists the worm; and by its odour,
repels insects from the contents of chests and
cabinets made of it.”
“The Greeks, I believe,” said Mr. Long-
hurst, “buried the remains of their heroes in
coffins of cypress; and the chests in which
Egyptian mummies are found are generally of
this wood.” ,
94
THE DOUGLAS AND LAMBERT
- PINES.
“ ] BELIEVE,” continued Mr. Longhurst,
“we have taken some notice of the most noted
and useful of the pine family. I have, how-
ever, read of, but not seen, two other sorts,
called the Douglas and the Lambert pines,
which may as well be referred to; as, I sup-
pose, if they were natives of Europe, they
would be undoubted kings of the forest. Mr.
David Douglas was sent out by a Philoso-
phical Society of London, to discover and de-
scribe new plants on the west coast of North
America. He returned in the autumn of 1827,
and brought with him a valuable addition to
DOUGLAS AND LAMBERT PINES. 95
our knowledge of the vegetable kingdom.
Amongst his discoveries were two new sorts
of pine. That called after his name,—the
Dovucias PinE,—grows to the height of two
hundred and thirty feet, and is more than fifty
feet in circumference at the base. It has a
rough spongy bark, in some places one inch
thick, in others so much as twelve inches. In
foliage it much resembles the spruce; and it
bears small cones. The timber, which is very
heavy, is of good quality. Immense forests
of this pine are growing between the Stoney
Mountains and the shores of the Pacific Ocean.
The Lampert Pine was found in North Cali-
fornia, and is a most majestic tree. Mr. Doug-
las was so fortunate as to find one, which had
been blown down, and which, therefore, he
could accurately measure. It was two hun-
dred and fifteen feet in length, fifty-eight feet
96 THE LAMBERT PINE.
round at three feet from the bottom, and se-
venteen feet round at the height of one hun-
dred and thirty-four feet; this is thought to
be the largest mass of timber that was ever
measured by man; yet some of the standing
trees of the same kind were evidently of greater
altitude.”
Our walk having now brought us round the
whole extent of Mr. Longhurst’s grounds, we
returned to the house, and spent the evening
in that agreeable way in which intelligent
and well-informed persons, excluding the trifles
and miseries of gossiping mischievous inter-
course, know well how to pass with advantage
even the hours of leisure and relaxation.
S7
WOODLAND SCENERY.
Our next meeting was, by appointment, at
Mrs. Heathfield’s. ‘To her estate appertained,
by the terms of arecent enclosure, about twen-
ty acres of wild forest land; this being her
share in the general distribution. She was not
tempted by any notion of gain, nor by the love
of change to reduce any part of this beautiful
property to a bare expanse, for the purposes
of common agriculture. The expectations of
many, who had, with high hopes of immediate
profits, thus proceeded on their allotments, had
_ been, as she well knew, wofully disappointed :
but, had the case been otherwise, her own
ample means, and her prevailing taste for the
natural beauties of woodland scenery, would
H
98 A RAMBLE IN THE FOREST.
have secured this spot from the levelling ope-
rations of the axe and the mattock.
Amid the simple glades and the embower-
ing shades of this miniature forest, we wan-
dered and talked with great delight. We suf-
fered the excursive and talkative propensities
of our young friends to expand themselves a
little, before we gave the conversation a more
regular and instructive turn. When, how-
ever, beg somewhat weary with their scram-
bling expedition through the thickets, they
began to seat themselves on a fallen trunk, I
plucked a twig from an old walnut stump,
which I unexpectedly found at hand, and thus
proceeded.
I9
THE WALNUT-TREE.
« WALNUT-TREE was the wood which sup-
plied, not our more remote ancestors of the
middle ages, but those who lived from one
hundred to three hundred years back, with
materials for all their most valuable household
furniture. It is tough and strong; beautifully
streaked and veined; admitting of a fine
polish; and is obtained in very large boards.
In many parts of Europe, where their distance
from the sea, or their poverty, will not permit
the people to purchase mahogany, this is still
the cabinet-makers’ tree, as in England it used
to be called.
« Amongst fruit-trees, the lofty athletic
walnut, contending victoriously with the blast
H 2
100 WOOD OF THE WALNUT-TREE.
that prostrates the apple-tree and the pear, 1s
a noble and majestic tree. It often attains the
size of a middling oak; and the fine structure
of its massy trunk, with its bold and stubborn
branches, give it all the characteristics of a
considerable timber-tree. It is too scarce and
valuable to be used in the construction of any
thing but furniture and somewhat costly im-
plements. During the war, the consumption
of walnut-trees for gun-stocks was so great,
that they were much thinned; and it is not
likely they will be replaced. There is no
wood, | believe, that resists the shock of a dis-
charged barrel like this; and many hundred
pounds were given, twenty or thirty years ago,
for any thing like a good tree. At present,
I should think, the demand for this timber is
but small; and I should judge it more profit-
\
SAY
\}
WM
Page 99.
WALNUT.
FRUIT OF THE WALNUT-TREE. 101
able to allow the tree to stand as a fruit-bearer,
than to place it over a saw-pit.
« The uses of the fruit are—”
“« To eat, certainly,” cried Harry.
© And to pickle,” added Amelia.
“ From the nut, or kernel,” I continued, “ a
fine and useful oil is prepared, which 1s service-
able in the arts, and sometimes for food.”
“It would, I think, be better for the poor
trees,’ said Mrs. Heathfield, “if they bore
no fruit at all; for the process of castigation
which they undergo, to make them yield it, is
most severe, and, I should think, highly injuri-
ous to them.”
“ And yet,” I said, “ it is commonly believ-
ed by the country people, that this—dashing,
as they call it,—hbastinadoing of the branches,
improves the fruitfulness of the walnut. I am
102 BASHING THE WALNUT-TREE.
not able, from knowledge, to give an opinion
upon the subject ; but, I think it possible, that
the removal, by beating, of the shoots on which
the fruit of the year hangs, may cause the pro-
duction of others, which might otherwise not
be supplied at all.” |
“A most laborious and dangerous employ-
ment it is,” said Mr. Longhurst, “ to stand on
ladders fifty rounds high, and sway long poles
backwards and forwards at arm’s-length ; and
this for hours together. I should forget the
taste of walnuts, if I were to eat none until I
had procured myself a bushel im this way.
Chestnuts, I believe, are not deemed worth
this trouble.”
“Sweet chestnuts,” I replied, “ are often
suffered to descend of themselves, and are
gathered from the ground daily as they fall;
but where the crop of a tree is destined for
’
vo
CEA
CED
THE CHESTNUT. 103
ready sale, the same method is adopted as with
walnuts. Indeed, as these trees extend far be-
yond the reach of ladders, the fruit cannot be
gathered by hand, like apples and pears.”
THE CHESTNUT.
‘THE. Cen, —sweet or Spanish chestnut,
—is a very fine’ and serviceable timber-tree ;
and formerly, as we have heard, it was in much
request, on account of its strength and dura-
bility, for the most costly and substantial
buildings. It is said to bear the changes from
wet to dry even better than. oak, and to have
shewn no symptoms of decay in buildings
which have been erected many centuries. Its
leaf—bring me one, if you please, Mr. Frede-
104 THE CHESTNUT-TREE.
rick,—is slightly, but very regularly, scolloped
at the edge, and has small prickles at the pomts
between: its colour is a dark glossy green.”
Frederick soon returned with five leaves,
spreading from one stalk, like the fingers of
a man’s glove. |
« Here are several leaves,” said he; “ but
they are light green, very much wrinkled; and
the edge seems to be formed differently from
what you have described, Sir.”
“‘ Differently, indeed,” [replied ; “ and they
are from a very different tree, the horse-chest-
nut ; perhaps we shall not find a specimen of
the sweet chestnut here. As to bulk, this tree
equals any that are known. ‘The most remark-
able one in the world is that on Mount AXtna.
Perhaps Mr. Longhurst has seen it.”
« T have not visited Aitna,” replied Mr. L. ;
“but I knew a gentleman who had; and he
Page 103.
CHESTNUT.
CHESTNUT ON MOUNT ETNA. 105
owned, with regard to the Castagno del Cento
Cavalli, or Chestnut of the Hundred Horses,
that he was much disappointed on being shewn
what appeared to be five large trees growing
together. His guides, with whom he remon-
strated on the apparent imposition, protested
that they once formed one tree, the interval
between these five portions being then filled
up with solid timber. ‘This account is con-
firmed by others, who assert, that they have
dug far enough below the surface of the earth,
to find a solid mass, filling the whole space.
| These portions stand in a sort of circle, which
measures upwards of two hundred feet in cir-
cumference, the girth of the tree before it
went to decay !”
“ Granting,” I observed, “ that some doubt
may fairly rest on this supposed instance of
bulk in a single tree, there are others, well
106 THE CHESTNUT-TREE.
known, in our own island, which are sufficiently
surprising. The great chestnut-tree at Tort-
worth, in Gloucestershire, measured nearly
fifty feet round. This tree was known as a
boundary mark, in the reign of King John: its
age is, with reason, supposed to exceed one
thousand years, and it still continues to pro-
duce fruit.
‘¢ Much of the fruit of the chestnut 1s con-
sumed by the poorer classes of people on the
continent, particularly those of Spain and Italy.
When dried and powdered, persons are not
long in choosing between cakes made of them
and starvation. The chestnuts usually eaten
at desserts are imported from France and
Spam. Those produced by British trees are
not so fine; nevertheless, they are eaten, and
bear a price in the market.”
-
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creh
Mey
~—
107
THE HORSE CHESTNUT.
“THE Horse Cuestnut, so called, because
the Turks grind the nuts and mix them with
corn for their steeds, is a stately and orna-
mental tree; it gives the deepest and most
solemn shade of any with which we are ac-
quainted. It bears five or seven leaves on one
stalk, spread out like the fingers of the human
hand; and the blossom is certainly the most
elegant and splendid flower produced by any
timber-tree in our country. When in full
blossom it is like a mountain of ivory and
emeralds; but this effect soon gives place to
its shadowy depth of colouring. The timber
is of little service; being soft and perishable.
The bark, it is said, is of some use in tanning ;
108 THE POPLAR.
and has been employed in dyeing yellow with
some success. ‘The nuts have a soapy quality,
which the peasants mm some countries employ
advantageously.”
“ | think,” said Mr. Longhurst, “‘ we have
now noticed the principal trees of British
growth, and some noted ones of foreign pro-
duce. Others, however, remain, concerning
which we shall be glad to hear our friend
Mr. Burton’s remarks.”
THE POPLAR.
“ We have four sorts of Popiar; all of
which have their uses and peculiarities. These
are the Abele, or great White Poplar; the As-
pen, or Trembling Poplar; the Black Poplar ;
and the Lombardy, Turin, or Italian Poplar.
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Page 107.
HORSE CHESTNUT.
4
VARIOUS KINDS OF POPLAR. 109
« The ABELE is a beautiful and rather curi-
ous tree. The leaves have a silvery down on
the under side, which shew elegantly when
agitated by the wind. ‘The seeds of the tree
are clothed, or winged, with a considerable
quantity of very fine and white down, which,
in April or May, sometimes fills neighbouring
houses with flue, as though all the beds had
been beaten to pieces. I cannot help think-
ing, that this substance, resembling cotton, as
it does, might be spun and woven for the same
purposes ; but I have never heard of its having
been tried. The wood of the tree is white and
soft, and useful for turnery ware; and as it
shrinks or warps very little when sawed into
boards, it is frequently used for flooring ; but
it is not durable.
“The Aspen is chiefly remarkable on ac-
count of its quivering trembling leaves, which
110 THE BLACK POPLAR.
hang on a stalk so long and slender, that the
slightest breeze sets them almost spinning.
The bark is of a shining silvery hue. The
wood resembles that of the other poplars.
«The Brack Popiar, I believe, is only so
called, because it is not quite so white as those
just mentioned. In other respects, it differs
but little from the white poplar, and is applied —
to nearly the same purposes.
“<The Lomparpy, or ITALIAN PopLar, is
that elegant spiry tree, which so much orna-
ments our plantations.
“It is less hardy than the other sorts, and
its timber is of worse quality. Yet, as it
grows very rapidly, even at the annual rate of
four or five feet in height, it is of some im-
portance, where it can be used on the spot.
Being very light, perhaps the lightest of all
timber, it answers for packing cases. In Lom-
Page 108.
WHITE POPLAR.
THE ITALIAN POPLAR. 111
bardy, it is used for the vessels in which grapes
are carried and squeezed : and, while growing,
the tree serves as a support for vines. This
is said to be the only spiry tree that sheds its
leaves.
“ How many there are,” said Mr. Long-
hurst, “‘ who have not taste enough to admire
‘the leafy colonnade,’ formed by this tall and
beautiful structure of nature. Many regard
it as an unsightly imcumbrance, worthy only of
the axe and the flame.”
“ T confess,” said Mrs. Longhurst, “ I never
think much of their taste for ornamental cul-
ture, who speak of, and criticise the works of
nature, as they would those of man. When
the Creator gave that singular form to the
Poplar, it was a variety, upon which, amongst
an infinite number of others, He pronounced
the incontrovertible judgment—‘ Very good ;’
TTS. THE ITALIAN POPLAR.
and, I think, that mind ts best taught, which
is best pleased with things thus divinely form-
ed and commended.”
<< Tt does not, however, follow,” I said, “ that
every production of nature is equally elegant.
This can no more be said, than that all are
equally useful. The beauty, nevertheless, and
the utility may be apparent enough in some
circumstances, and to some persons, which
may be quite undiscernible in other cases. If
all liked and disliked, required and were an-
noyed, by the same things, we should not have
nearly enough of the good sort, and should be
tormented to misery by the bad. By the in-
finite diversities of tastes, occasions, and ma- ~
terials, there is generally great abundance in
the provisions of nature, and but very little
waste.”
113
THE WILLOW. |
« Tur Wittowis a tree beautiful in appear-
ance ; and considerably more useful in the arts
of life.. ‘There are many species ; ; of which the
principal are, the Osier, the White Willow,
and the Weeping Willow.
“ OsteRs are willows of a smaller growth than
the others... Of the extremely tough and pliant
twigs of this shrub, wicker baskets are chiefly
made; and I know not exactly what we should
do without them. The consumption of osiers
for this purpose is so great, that plantations
of them are exceedingly profitable to their
owners. In low marshy places, or by the sides
of rivers, osiers occupy many thousands of
acres. They are cut about once in three
I
114 WHITE AND WEEPING WILLOWS.
years; the old stumps sending out fresh shoots
as often as they thus are trimmed.
«The Wuite WILLow grows to a consider-
able size, near water-courses. When the wind
turns up the leaves, their white and silvery
under sides present a beautiful and singular
appearance. The twigs of this tree are also
used for baskets. The timber is useful for
rough hedge carpentry.
“The WEEPING WILLow is, perhaps, the most
elegant tree we have; but it thrives well only
on the very water’s edge; and thus it is, that its
perpendicular and streaming foliage, seeking
as it were, to dip in the clear flood, and reflected
accurately in it, forms a strikingly interesting
object. It is a native of warmer climates; but
succeeds very well in England. There are few
ornamental grounds, possessing water, which
are not decorated with the weeping willow.”
POPES WILLOW. 1195
Mrs. Heathfield asked, if | thought the
anecdote of Pope’s willow was to be relied on.
I said it was probable; and, I believed,
was generally received, as follows : “ The poet
received a basket of figs from Turkey; and,
perceiving that a twig of the hamper had a
bud upon it, he stuck it in his garden; ina
few years, he had a magnificent drooping wil-
low; from which, it is said, all our trees of
that kind have proceeded. This tree was cut
down, afew years ago; and it could have been
wished, that some other employment had been
obtained for the too busy operator.”
“JT believe,” said Mrs. Longhurst, “that
the best charcoal is made from the willow. In
India, there is a particular caste, or rank, of
the natives, who live entirely in the woods,
and gain their subsistence by burning charcoal.
The other inhabitants, however, who are very
bie
116 INDIAN CHARCOAL BURNERS.
particular in such matters, never have any
personal dealings with them; though, in an in-
direct way, they purchase their commodities.
The woodmen bring down their loads of char-
coal to certain spots, and the buyers afterwards
come and carry it away, leaving, in place of
it, rice, clothing, and iron tools, as settled by
custom.”
«That method of proceeding,” I remarked,
“would scarcely do here. ‘I'he goods and the
charcoal, I am afraid, would find other cus-
tomers than those properly concerned in the
treaty, unless well watched and guarded.”
Pk
THE THORN ACACIA.
« Wuart pretty tree is that,” said Amelia,
“which stands in front of Mrs. Heathfield’s
house? It has leaves very much like a labur-
num; and the flowers are not unlike, but
they are white instead of yellow.”
«“ T remember it,’ said Harry. ‘The bark
looks like great cords, or ropes, tied up and
down the tree. It is very easy to climb; but
the small boughs have very sharp thorns.”
“It is a tree which we have omitted to
notice,” I replied: “the TuHorn Acacia. Itis
a species of laburnum; but grows to a much
larger size. ‘The wood is highly ornamental,
and exceedingly hard and tough; but the tree
is too little grown or known, to appear in the
118 THE LIME-TREE.
common lists of timber-trees. It has a pearly
changing hue, and a peculiar smell, resem-
bling, in these respects, the fancy timber
called satin-wood.”
THE LIME-TREE.
«‘ Here is the lopped trunk of a Lime-TREE,
Madam,” said I to the owner of this wood.
“TI perceive you did not forbid the axe to
enter this sylvan domain of yours; although, I
suppose, you limit it to mere toppings.”
«“ T see, indeed,” said Mrs. Heathfield, “ that
some one has been busy here; but whether
any of my own servants, I cannot tell. I had
rather, however, that they went elsewhere
for their wood; but I have great difficulty in
Page 118.
LIME.
fare
THE LIME-TREE. 119
making them agree with my plans regarding
this spot. ‘ Ma’am,’ they say, ‘ them trees in
the wood is taking hurt; shan’t us take a few
on ’em down ?’”
“ It is, indeed, not very easy to make wood-
cutters understand any other use or advantage
in a grove, than that which the timber affords ;
and, it must be confessed, utility is the chief
consideration in general; as, indeed, it is rea-
sonable that it should be.
« Here is a twig of lime, springing from the
root, which shews the broad and beautiful leaf
of that which has been a handsome and sha-
dowy tree. I do not see a sprig containing
the blossom, which is remarkably elegant in its
form, tender in its colour, —a light green, —
and fragrant in its odour.
«« The uses of the lime-tree are many. The
timber is delicately white, and much used for
120 THE LIME-TREE.
toys and other light wooden wares. It blunts
the tool but little, and therefore is sought for
by leather-sellers and shoemakers for their
cutting-boards. It is also called the carver’s
tree, as it stands better for small ornamental
sculpture than any other. The fine carving,
with which many of our ancient chambers and
palaces are adorned, is formed generally out
of the wood of this tree. The moulds, from
which the iron fronts of ornamented stoves are
cast, are usually cut in this wood.
‘* The bark is an article of merchandise.
By a particular process, it is formed into
matting, in which hemp and flax, coming
from the Baltic, are packed: this matting,
called bass, or bast, is afterwards obtained by
-upholsterers and gardeners for their respec-
tive uses.
“The largest lime-tree I ever saw was in
THE LIME-TREE. 131
Norfolk ; it was ninety feet high, and forty-
eight feet in circumference. In Germany
and Switzerland, they are said to grow much
larger.
“We have now noticed, I believe, all those
trees which grow in Britain, and arrive at any
considerable size; there are others, however,
which, though they do not exceed the growth
of middling fruit-trees, produce very hard and
useful timber, which has particular uses, and
bears a certain value. We shall, if I am not
mistaken, find specimens of them here, and
will take them as they come.”
THE HOLLY.
«¢ Here is a very fine tree of Hotty; but, I
perceive, he shews off with a good deal more
than belongs to him. The ivy has entwined
itself so firmly round, and mingles its likewise
shining dark green leaves so intimately with
those of the tree it hangs on, that at a dis-
tance, one can scarcely be distinguished from
the other. The holly leaf, however, is one of
the most remarkable in nature. By a singular
contrivance, the points between the scollops of
the leaf are made to answer the purpose of
thorns, pointing every way. The leafis as if
it were warped by the action of fire, up and
down, or in and out at the edges; so that it
is armed, above and below, by those exceed-
if
fe
tie
iY
e
\
HOLLY.
THE HOLLY. 193
ingly sharp and penetrating needles. The
stiff and almost horny substance of the leaf,
hardened as it is at those extremities, enables
it to resist, or to retaliate, many injuries from
men and animals, which otherwise might wan-
tonly destroy it.
«‘ 'The wood of this tree, which is very white,
is exceedingly hard, solid, and heavy; and is
worked by cabinet makers, and engravers on
wood. It is also much used in the manufac-
ture of Tunbridge ware. Of the bark, the best
bird-lime is made; the leaves afford food, in
winter, to deer in the forest, as do the berries
to birds. As an ornamental tree, it 1s highly
esteemed, because it gives an appearance of
lively green to our plantations in the severest
winter; and its bright red berries, clustering
around the branch, revive the pleasing ideas of
fruitfulness, at times when frost and snow have
194 THE HOLLY.
nearly put them out of our recollections. Some
people gather it in the week before Christ-
mas, to decorate churches and houses: vast
quantities of this beautiful tree are thus con-
sumed every year.
«This tree grows in almost all climates,
warm and cold, in most countries of Europe,
and in many of Asia and America. It grows
slowly, and therefore is not so much used in
hedge-rows as its strength and the defence it
affords would entitle it to be. When uninter-
rupted in its growth, it attains a considerable
altitude and bulk. Hollies of thirty, forty, and
even sixty feet in height are to be met with,
in many parts of England, with clear trunks of
proportionable girth.”
125
THE ELDER.
«« Anp here,” said Mrs. Longhurst, “ is the
old ladies’ doctor’s shop !”
Our young friends looked wonderingly, ex-
pecting to see some woodland cottage, or, at
least, a hut; but nothing besides an Elder
bush could they see in the direction in which
Mrs. L. continued to point.
“ Most aptly,” I observed, < is the ELpEr-
TREE so named. I scarcely know any com-
plaint, but that of an empty pocket, which
this Ausculapian* vegetable is not employed
to cure.
“‘ Of the wood, which is exceedingly hard,
_ * /Esculapius was an ancient physician of Greece, of
whom many fables are told.
126 THE ELDER.
and capable of a high polish, many small arti-
cles are made: and it is the nearest to Box in
appearance and In grain, of any wood we have.
I suppose, I need not inform these young gen-
tlemen, that, in the centre, there is a hollow,
or tube, which contains a pith, very easily re-
moved, and then that highly useful pneumatic
engine, called a pop-gun, is almost completed !”
« Oh, Sir, now you are laughing at us.”
“ |] beg pardon, if I gave the least ground
for such a suspicion. Well then, we will dis-
charge the pop-gun, and proceed. Ointments
are made of the inner bark, and of the leaves.
The flowers, those who like them, may use as
tea, or wash their faces with the decoction.
The clusters of flowers, before they open, are
made into pickles for boiled mutton ; the ber-
ries are boiled into a treacly substance, for
sore throats and coughs; the branches will—
let me see—will drive away flies !”
THE ELDER. 127
“1 suppose so, Sir,” said Harriet; “ and
what branches will not do that ?”
“ Y should rather say—that as insects can-
not endure the smell of this shrub, fruit-trees
and other things that have been strongly
whipped with boughs of elder, will not be at-
tacked by them. Elder flowers impart an
agreeable flavour to water and to vinegar,
which some find refreshing and useful in hot
weather. I suppose, I need not add that a
favourite winter cordial is made from the ripe
berries, and called e/der wine. The pith out
of the young shoots is cut into balls for elec-
trical experiments, and into toys for children.
So now we will take leave of our elder friend,
but not of our youthful companions.”
“Thank you, Sir,” replied the favoured
parties. |
128
THE MAPLE.
«< Anp now, what have we here? A Marte
Busy, I think. The leaves, though smaller,
are not much unlike those of the fig. It never
grows to the size of a considerable tree, and is
chiefly planted in hedge-rows and in coppices.
The wood, however, is curiously veined, and
capable of beg turned into cups and bowls,
which are almost as transparent as horn. The
ancients were particularly fond of rural uten-
sils formed of this wood.”
“YT have seen,” said Mr. Longhurst, “a
variety of the maple, in North America, which
grows to the height of fifty or sixty feet. It
is cultivated there on account of its sweet
juice, which is made into sugar. It is there-
7
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ar
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VAY hii
THE SYCAMORE. 129
fore called the sugar maple. Very good wine
and vinegar are also obtained from this tree.”
THE | SYCAMORE.
We sia now to mention,” I said, “ the
SYCAMORE, another species of the maple, and
a very beautiful tree. The word Sycamore,
which means wild-fig, does not properly belong
to it; for, though the leaves have some resem-
blance, they are quite different plants. Its
Latin name, acer pseudo platanus, the false plane
maple, is more accurate, as regards its appear-
ance. This tree will grow close to the sea-
side, and is little affected even by the dashing
of the salt spray. It affords a very pleasing
shade from its large leaves, which are of a
K
130 THE SYCAMORE.
dark green colour on the upper side, but
paler and somewhat hoary below. ‘The flowers,
which are very small, are of a greenish white
hue, followed by a large fruit, beautifully va-
riegated with green and purple. The growth
of this tree is rapid, and it will continue in-
creasing for two hundred years. ‘The wood is
much used by turners; and is also employed
for saddle-trees, cutting-boards, patterns for
founders, and other works that require wood
of compact smooth texture, not liable to warp
by exposure to damp or heat. Sometimes, it
is very beautifully mottled, and, as it takes a
fine polish, is used for certain parts of musical
instruments. In this state, it 1s called bird’s
eye maple by cabinet makers. A liquor, of a
sugary kind, may be obtained also from this
species of maple; and, I believe, the High-
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Page 129.
SYCAMORE.
3b
THE PLANE. 131
landers of Scotland tap the trees for the juice,
with which they make an agreeable kind of
wine.” |
THE PLANE.
“ Or THE PLANE-TREE, we shall not, I dare
say, find a specimen here. Its leaves, broad
and numerous, like those of the Sycamore,
afford a grateful shade in summer heats; and
therefore the tree was a great favourite with
the ancient Greeks and Romans. The Syca-
more answers the purpose nearly as well, and
suits our climate rather better. The wood is
beautifully marked, and used frequently for
tables.”
132
THE HAZEL.
“And what can this strange little tree be
called ?” said Mr. Longhurst.
“ Dear Sir,” said’ Harriet, “at as @ ane
bush !”
“ Or Haze,” I added. “ This never attains:
the bulk of a timber-tree; but the wood it
produces is nevertheless extremely useful. The
first symptoms of returning activity in the trees
of the forest, are shewn by the hazel, which
hangs out its curious fruit-flowers or catkins,
as they are called, as early as the month of
January. Its fruit-bearing buds, diminutive
as they are, make a beautiful appearance to
the observant eye, with their dots of bright
crimson on the buds. The hazel is met with
Page 132.
THE HAZEL.
SPP SIT TIT ie EP FE
mer
SYP ON
EL LILO OIE
1
THE HAZEL. 133
in almost every part of this island, in most of
our hedge-rows, and constitutes the great mass
of underwood in our forests and groves. They
will, if let alone, shoot into poles twenty feet
in length; but they are generally cut down
sooner, to form walking-sticks, fishing-rods,
stakes, hurdles, and such things; and also for
burning into charcoal. Engravers and other
artists, | believe, prefer this charcoal to any
other, The nuts of the hazel are much sought
for, by a diminutive set of people called—”
“‘ Boys and girls, I suppose,” said Frederick.
«__Who prefer this employment,” I added,
“to any other, which their governors can
appoint ; although they are well supplied with
food by them, at stated times, and at great
cost.” |
Our young friends smiled at the insinuation,
but said nothing.
134 HAZEL NUTS.
““ Nuts, however, are difficult of digestion ;
and, when eaten immoderately, often cause
alarming complaints.
«* Nut-oil is much used in the arts, and also
in medicine.
“ Nuts are a favourite food of squirrels,
which lay them up in their winter hoards, and
take care to pick out the best.” |
“‘ Perhaps, Sir,” said Harriet, “ these are
the ‘ diminutive people,’ you spoke of just
now ?”
“ Not exactly; for the poor squirrels have
none but themselves te supply them with food ;
and nuts form the principal article of their
diet”
«« And besides,” said Harry, “ squirrels have
no governors nor tutors.” |
“I hope,” said Mrs. Heathfield, rather
gravely, “ that no one will suppose such to .
THE HORNBEAM. 135
be the case with these young folks, either by
any thing wild in their conduct, or rude in
their conversation.—Mr. Burton, I think the
FILBertT is a shrub of this family; 1s it not ?”
“Tt is, Madam, a variety of the common
nut: but it grows more like a tree, and bears
larger fruit, the husk of which is longer con-
siderably than that of the woodnut. There
is also another variety, called the Cos Nut,
which is the largest of the species, and round,
with a very hard shell.”
THE HORNBEAM.
“Tus tree, as we may well call it, with its
fine straight trunk, and glossy green leaves, is
a Hornseam. It bears flowers, like the hazel,
136 THE HORNBEAM.
called catkins, and a small nut, which, however,
I believe is useless. The wood is more es-
teemed on the continent than in this country.
It is white, hard, and tough, and used by
turners, mill-wrights, and the makers of tools
and wooden ware. As it holds its leaves long,
and bears clipping well, it makes an excellent
hedge.” |
“TI have seen,” said Mr. Longhurst, “the
high roads in Germany fenced, or guarded,
for miles together, by a sort of living palisado
of hornbeam. A parapet, or bank, of earth is
first thrown up by the husbandman, with a
ditch on each side; then he plants on this
ridge a double row of sets, and afterwards
bends and ties them together with straw,
scraping off the bark where the twigs touch.
In a little time, these grow to each other,
*
————n |
THE BIRCH. 137
and send forth shoots, which, being properly
pruned, form a better fortification for rustic
purposes than many an oak fence or brick
wall.” |
OPE BIRCH:
_ «Herz is really a beautiful and elegant tree,
although of rather humble growth. It is a
Bircu. This is the tree which, enduring cold
better than any plant besides, creeps up,
beyond the pines, into the Polar regions. So
short, however, is the summer there, that it
can only at last attain a few inches’ growth,
and is therefore well called dwarf birch. The
birch also covers, where nothing else can grow,
138 THE BIRCH.
the watery tracts called, in England, marshes ;
in Ireland, dogs ; and in Scotland, mosses, or
peat mosses. |
‘‘ Birch shrubs also ascend the bleak sides
of snowy mountain tops, and relieve the eye
much, by their warmth of colouring, in those
inclement situations. ‘The bark, you see, is
almost white; the leaves are small and neat,
and the boughs are finely divided into slender
twigs. The wood, as timber, is little valued
by people, who have forest trees of nobler kind
to resort to; and is chiefly used for hoops and
clogs. In the times of archery, to which we
have referred, it was preferred for arrows.
The smaller branches are used for yard and
stable brooms. In the northern districts of
Scotland, where pines do not grow, the birch
is valued for its timber. The Highlander con-
structs his cabin with it; the thick stems con-
Yi Nea
S
Page 137.
BIRCH.
BIRCH.—ALDER. 139
stituting the posts and rafters; while the
boughs, wattled together, make the walls.
His chests and boxes are of the same kind of
wattling : his spade, his plough, his cart, and
nis harness, are all derived from the birch; the
twisted withies of which, likewise furnish him
with cordage, more durable than hempen ropes.
In Glengarry, the wood of this tree is cut into
staves, with which herring barrels are made.
«“'The sap of the et I have been told,
makes excellent \ wine.’ -
THE ALDER.
“Tue ALDER, you see, has rounder leaves
than the birch, and they feel a little clammy
to thefingers. It grows freely in almost every
140 THE ALDER.
country of Europe, and prefers a marshy soil, —
or the margins of rivers; where it attains a
considerable size, and may be reared to a large
tree; though it is commonly cut down early
in its growth, for poles. The wood is chiefly
valuable for its property of continuing sound
a long time under water: it is therefore
used for foundation piles, and water pipes.
There are several varieties of this tree, one
of which is red, sometimes so finely streaked,
that it is used for articles of household furni-
ture, under the name of Scottish mahogany.
Page 139.
ALDER.
141
THE BOX-TREE.
“THE Box-TREE is scarcely now to be met
with in England, except in gardens and shrub-
beries. Formerly, however, it was frequent ;
and Box-hill, in Surrey, takes its name from
a profusion of these beautiful trees, which, un-
til lately, grew there, from twelve to fifteen
feet in height, with trunks from nine to eighteen
inches in girth. The box used for the edgings
of walks in pleasure grounds is a variety, but
it is impossible to make a tree of it.
“« Box-wood is so exceedingly smooth, hard,
and compact, and works so well, that 1t almost
takes the place of metals for many purposes ;
carpenter's rules, and other measures, on which
figures are to be cut, are therefore made of
142 THE BOX-TREE.
this wood. Flutes also are turned in box;
and engravers on wood prefer it to any other.” |
« And now,” said Mr. Longhurst, “ I think |
we have taken some notice of all timber-trees |
of British growth. The wood of many others,
srown for other purposes, is used, as is also
that of various shrubs; but we cannot enter
upon them at present.”
“It is time,” said Mrs. Heathfield, “ to re-
turn: I think the hour of dinner is near.”
«“ We must arrange, though, before we se-
parate this evening,” said Mr. Longhurst, “ for
another meeting, when the subjects connected
with forests and trees can be farther inquired
into.”
143
FOREIGN TIMBER-TREES.
Various circumstances prevented our as-
sembling, as had been proposed; and it was
more than two months before I found myself
again in the company of the very intelligent
individuals, to whom I had been so fortunately
introduced.
Some time was occupied, when we did meet,
in conversing with our young friends, on the
topics formerly explained to them. We wished
to ascertain how far the knowledge imparted
to them had served the proper purpose of
abiding information ; and, therefore, we in
turn put many questions: and, I am happy to
say, they were generally answered with readi-
ness and accuracy.
144 FOREIGN TIMBER-TREES.
_ « We must now, I suppose,” said Mr. Long-
hurst, “ acquaint ourselves a little more with
trees of foreign growth. We cannot do this,
as before, by a woodland stroll, and thereby
obtain, from actual inspection, the required
knowledge. So we must do as well as we can,
with the help of books, and what little my own
travels may add to their stores. We shall con-
fine ourselves, at present, to those few—some
five or six—which are most curious, the best
known, or the most useful. We will begin
with that of which, in England, we see the
most within doors, although every foot of it is
imported. What can it be?”
“© ManoGany,” was the instant reply.
Page 145.
MAHOGANY.
—E
145
MAHOGANY.
« WE are accustomed,” said Mr. Longhurst,
“‘ to see and handle this article only as a dead
substance; and rarely think of its once glossy
green leaves and pearly blossoms; of its healthy
and vigorous vegetable life; of its vast trunk
and giant-like arms, now enduring the fiery
rays of a vertical sun—now contending with
all its mighty strength against the roaring fury
of a West-Indian hurricane. How great is the
change of situation, from the rich valleys which
wind amongst the wild mountains of Cuba, and
_ from the rocks of the Bahamas, to the quiet se-
curity of an English dwelling! Did you ever
wish to know, my dear lads, what sort of a tree
L
146 MAHOGANY.
this is, of which the timber is now in so com-
mon use ?”
It seemed as if our young friends had not
suffered much uneasiness from unsatisfied cu-
riosity upon this head.
« Presuming, at least,” continued Mr. Long-
hurst, “that you will value the information,
now it is offered, I have looked out a print of
a mahogany branch. You see, the leaves, or,
as they are called in botany, /eaflets, are in
pairs, opposite to each other : these are termed
winged leaves; having leaflets thus placed.
The flowers, as you perceive from this very
accurate representation, are in upright bunches,
somewhat like those of the horse-chestnut. I
am not quite aware what sort of fruit, or seed,
it produces.
“We are then to conceive of the mahogany-
tree, as one of majestic size and appearance,
MAHOGANY. 147
equalling, and often surpassing, in bulk, the
English oak. There are two principal sorts :
Spanish mahogany, as it is called, which is the
best, is grown in those West-India Islands
which are, or were, under the dominion of
Spain. Honduras wood, which is not of so fine
a colour, nor so hard, comes from the main
land of America, and near the shores of the
gulf from which it is named.
« Those trees which grow in the most exposed
situations, and upon the dryest soils, produce
the best timber. ‘The wood of such as grow
i moist soils and warm situations, is soft,
coarse, and spongy. Of the latter sort is the
Honduras wood, which is used only for inferior
purposes. There is, however, a great diver-
sity in this latter sort, according as it has a
more or less favourable site for its growth.
“ The British settlers in that part employ
aN
148 MAHOGANY.
companies of negroes as woodmen, in the ma-
hogany forests. The best informed of the
number is called the huntsman; and it is his
business to search for trees. In the month of
August, he is despatched into the woods, where,
piercing through the thickest parts, he ascends
some lofty tree, and surveys the surrounding
forest. He discerns the mahogany trees by
their now reddish or mahogany hue, and, de-
scending, directs his companions to the spot.
“The operation of felling, topping, and
carrying, I apprehend, we understand and
practise much better than do those poor ne-
sroes; and, when we come to hear of the work
in our woods, which Mr. Burton has kindly
undertaken to speak of, we shall know what
are the best and most usual methods employ-
ed. They float the mahogany trees in rafts to
the sea-side, for conveyance to Europe.
MAHOGANY. 149
“ T believe the profits of this business are
considerable. Single logs have been sold for
upwards of a thousand pounds. ‘The body of
the tree is the most valuable for works for
which solid wood is required; but the knotty
places on the branches afford that beautifully
veined wood, which, cut into thin slices, called
veneers, are used to face our most elegant
furniture.”
« And how long is it,” inquired Mrs. L.
«“ since our ancestors first learned to use ma-
hogany instead of walnut-tree for the furniture
of their houses ?”
“Tthmk, replied Mr. L., “it was at the
commencement only of the last century. It
was, indeed, employed for the repair of ship-
ping, by Sir Walter Ralegh, at Trinidad, in
1597; but it remained neglected until about
the year 1724, when a gentleman had a few
150 FIRST APPLICATION OF MAHOGANY.
planks of it sent him by his brother, a West-
India Captain. The workmen, to whom the
timber was handed, to make it into doors for a
house, rejected it, as being too hard for their
tools. A cabinet-maker was then employed to
make a candle-box of it, and he also grumbled
at the hardness of the material. When finish-
ed, however, the candle-box eclipsed in splen-
dour all the other furniture; it became an
object of curiosity and exhibition; and, after-
wards, the wood was coveted and adopted by
others, till it became a regular article of mer-
chandise.”
Page 15}.
CORK OAK.
eS
THE CORK-TREE.
«<THE Cork-TREE,” continued Mr. Long-
hurst, “ to which I next call your attention,
is of the oak family, and bears a kind of acorn,
although its leaves much resemble those of the
sweet chestnut.” |
“ But how very different from oak-wood !”
exclaimed Harry. “ Cork is softer than any
wood I know !”
« Have you forgotten, my learned young
sir, that cork is only the bark of the tree
which produces it ?”
“ ] certainly did not think of that,” said
Harry.
“ The Cork oak,’ continued Mr. Long-
hurst, “ is not so large a tree as the common
152 THE CORK-TREE.
oak. There are several sorts, some of which
shed their leaves; but, I think, it is a broad-
leaved evergreen sort, from which cork for use
is chiefly obtained. ‘This use of the bark was
known to the ancient Greeks and Romans;
they employed it for floats to their nets, for
buoys to their anchors, and for stopping of
bottles. And one, who was sent to swim
through the Tiber, during the siege of Rome
by the Gauls, had a life-preserver, or cork-
jacket, under his clothes; so that even that
invention, you see, is by no means modern.
“ ‘This useful tree grows most abundantly in
Spain, Portugal, and other southern parts of
Europe. The cork is a sort of over-all, or
sreat-coat, which the tree, in warm weather,
can afford to part with; but as it does not get
another before eight or ten years, the ope-
ration cannot be repeated till that time has
|
.
)
1
THE CORK-TREE. 153
expired. The inner bark, or under coat, it
does not spare at any time. If forcibly taken,
the tree dies.”
“ Indeed,” said Amelia, “ I think it is very
good to give away its clothing as it does.”
“It appears,” said Mr. Longhurst, « that
it relieves and improves the tree, to take away
this dead spongy covering, which has ceased,
like the outside bark of most other trees, to
perform any of the offices of vegetation. When
thus treated, a cork oak is supposed to live
about a century and a half.
“The quantity of this substance imported
into Great Britain, in a year, is prodigious,
—I believe, about two thousand five hundred
tons! One province in Spain, Catalonia, gains
#50,000/. annually by the trade. When strip-
ped from the tree, it is slightly charred, or
burned, on the outside, to contract the pores ;
154 THE TEAK-TREE.
the cracks are artfully filled with soot and
earth, heavy weights are placed upon it, to
keep it flat; and it is afterwards packed in
bales for the market.
“The article called Spanish black, much
used by painters, is obtained by burning cork
in vessels formed for the purpose.”
THE TEAK-TREE.
“ Tue TEAK-TREE, of India, has been called
the East Indian Oak, not because it is a tree
of that family; but on account of the strength
and durability of its timber, and its essential
use in the construction of shipping. Since
oak has become so scarce here, Government
have paid great attention to the teak, of which
THE TEAK-TREE. 155
immense forests exist in our Eastern domi-
nions.
«“ The teak possesses great majesty and
beauty, as a tree. Its leaves are nearly two
feet in length, and its beautiful flower some-
what resembles that of the mahogany. ‘ On
the banks of the river Irrawaddy, in the Bir-
man country, the teak forests are unrivalled.
They rise so far above the jungle, or brush-
wood, by which tropical forests are usually
rendered impenetrable, that they almost seem
as if one forest were upborne, on gigantic
pillars, over the top of another.’ ”
156
THE PALM.
Harriet, in turning over some landscapes
of Eastern scenery, remarked the tall trees,
with leaves only at the top; some of which
were seen in almost every print.
“ They are PALM-TREES, my dear,” said
Mr. Longhurst; “ and of them we will now
take some notice, as they well deserve our
attention, and call for our admiration of that
peculiar goodness, by which, as we before ob-
served, the Creator has exactly suited His
gifts to the occasions and circumstances of
those who receive them. The Palm, or date-
palm, rears its majestic and beneficent form in
desert tracts of fierce heat, where all other
trees leave the almost perishing traveller to
THE PALM-TREE. 157
his fate. That broad belt of burning sand,
which stretches across Africa, from the At-
lantic to the Indian Seas, is edged with such
an abundance of this grateful tree, that the
country, especially that part which lies be-
tween Barbary and the Desert, is called Bile-
dulgerid, or the Land of Dates. The date
palm-trees, and the tents of the wandering
Arabs, are the only objects that catch the eye
on the borders of the vast ocean of sand.
«There is hardly any part of this tree
which is not serviceable to man, either as a
necessary or a luxury. It is by no means
confined to the margins of deserts, but is
widely dispersed in the warmer climates. The
palm-trees mentioned in the Scriptures, and
in other ancient writings, are always the date-
palms of which we have been speaking.
_ “ When a traveller espies a clump of palm-
158 THE PALM-TREE.
trees, which he may do at a great distance, he
knows, almost certainly, not only that there he
shall find shade and fruit, but also a fountain
of water at their feet.”
« This,” said Mrs. Longhurst, “is beautifully
expressed in the book of Exodus. ‘ And they
came to Elim, and there were threescore and
ten palm-trees and twelve wells of water.’ ”
«And such,” continued Mr. L. “ as the
country and the palm-trees were then, such
they are now; and it is interesting to perceive
the fidelity with which these ancient incidents
of human life are referred to by the writers of
Scripture, by the likeness there is to the nar-
ratives of modern travellers in those parts; and
the fact itself is not a little striking, that thou-
sands of years make scarcely any difference in
the country and people of the East; whilst
one or two hundred years alters us so much, in
THE PALM-TREE. 159
these northern latitudes, that we are scarcely
to be recognised, except from history, as the
same nation :—but let us return to the palm.
« The tree grows with an upright stem,
devoid of branch or bend, to the height of from
sixty to one hundred feet, or more. It then
sends forth a magnificent crown of leaves,
somewhat resembling those of our fern. The
main rib of the leaves is from eight to twelve
feet in length, and the leaflets are from two
to eight: these, however, are not more than
one inch in width; and they are not unlike
our great water flags. The flowers appear in
large bunches, or spikes, between the leaves.
The trunk, I believe, is hardly considered as
timber, being full of interstices, or cracks,
which are filled with pith. It is the pith of a
sort of palm, which makes sago. The fruit,
|
which we call dates, when ripened properly on
160 PRODUCTS OF THE PALM-TREE.
their native soil, are esteemed delicious eating.
Dates sold at our shops, are packed before
they are ripe; and therefore we cannot judge
well of their merits. They often form the only
food of the traveller, during journeys of many
hundred miles. A rich syrup, a fine wine, and
a kind of spirituous liquor, are made from the
dates, or the sap of the tree. When it is in-
tended to obtain the sap, the head, or crown,
is cut off, and the top is scooped out like a
basin. As the sap rises, it of course fills the
cavity, at the rate of about a gallon a day, for
the first two weeks. After that, the tree lan-
guishes, and eventually dies; therefore, for this
operation, they only select such trees as pro-
duce little or no fruit. The stalks of the dates,
together with the stones of the fruit, though —
very hard, are used as fodder for cattle, after |
they have been softened by boiling. Baskets, ’
PALMS OF SOUTH AMERICA. 161
mats, cordage, and other articles of domestic
use, are manufactured from the fibrous parts of
the tree; and the trunk, though unfit to cut
into planks, answers well for posts, rails, and
similar coarse purposes.”
Harriet was now seen whispering to Mrs.
Heathfield, who presently said that her young
friend had some farther information to commu-
nicate on the same subject.
« Most gladly will I be a hearer,” said Mr.
— Longhurst. |
We all smiled to see how the arch little
girl pursed her mouth up primly, and spoke
as follows :
“‘ There is a great river,—the name is of no
consequence, as I forget it, but it is somewhere
in South America, —and the banks of it are
covered with palm-trees of a certain sort: and
those parts are apt sometimes to be covered
M
162 SINGULAR HABITATIONS.
with water when the river overflows; and
then they call it a flood,—and a flood is an
inundation.”
«Thank you, my learned little lady,” said
I:—but her gravity was now nearly upset, and
it was long before she could resume the thread
of her discourse.
_ So, these palm-trees being very high, their
tops are never overflowed. And so it is, that
these palm-trees, with their great bushy tops,
look very droll, standmg above the water.
But that is not the most wonderful thing ; for,
when it grows dark, you may see these tree-
tops blazing with fires !”
“ Really!” said Mr. Longhurst; ‘ what I
have related comes to nothing, when compared
with this. — Pray, madam, how, or by whom,
are those fires kindled?”
‘ By a people, Sir,” she replied, “ called—
THE GUANACOS. 163
called —Gua—Gua,’—here she pulled a slip
of paper from her pocket, and read “‘ Guanacos.
They have lived a long while in those wet
countries; and when the floods come, they
run up into the high palm-trees, and live
there.”
“Guitchow 1s it,’ 1 imquired, “that the
branches are not burned by their fires ?”
“«“ Because,” said the composed little narrator
“ they burn them on earth.”
_ “Q, Harriet!” exclaimed Frederick, “but you
said, just now, they were up in the trees, and
that the earth was covered with water !” ©
“ Not that earth,” replied the ready little
girl, “ which they take with them up into the
trees. They hang mats between the branches,
and in these they put their earth, and on that
their fire. I suppose, too, that they take with
them up stairs, something to burn.”
M 2
164 THE TASK COMPLETED.
— ‘“ And something to eat, I should think,”
said Frederick.
“‘ Perhaps not,” replied Harriet; ‘I rather
think they eat the fruit of the tree, and some
parts of its bark and leaves; and that they
drink the juice, or sap.”
To some farther questions, our little inform-
ant could give no reply; for her stock of —
knowledge, which had flowed out m such an
ample and unexpected stream, ceased entirely,
when she had named the source which had sup-
plied her,—a small volume, lately published, in
which these facts were stated in a very inte-
resting manner. It appeared that this little
matter had been planned by her and her sister
for some time; and that she had many times
repeated to the latter the substance of what
she had read, to make herself perfect in her
performance. A little fluttered, and some-
ADVANTAGES OF ATTENTION. 165
what out of breath, she now seemed very glad
that her self-appointed task was completed.
“ T confess,” said Mr. Longhurst, “I am
pleased at two things: First, that I have
gained from that young lady a very curious
and interesting piece of information, which had
escaped my memory, or my notice; and I am
very glad to find that so clear and distinct an
account can be given by her ; as it shews that
knowledge finds not only entrance, but a resi-
dence in her mind. I shall be glad, indeed, if
all the things we have been talking about,
when on the subject of Forest-trees, be as
cleverly stored, and as ready for use, in every
head that has heard them. I was going to say
something about the Banian-tree, but perhaps
I had better be a hearer still.”
But no one uttered a word; so Mr. Long-
hurst proceeded. |
THE BANIAN.
‘Tue BANIAN is a species of the fig-tree ;
but the fruit is small, and of little value. It
is, however, a tree more deserving of notice,
on account of the curious manner of its growth,
than perhaps any other that can be named. It
is, in fact, not a tree, but a forest. It grows
to a considerable height, and sends forth
branches, like other trees; but these branches,
in time, send twigs downwards—as straight
as a line would hang. They lengthen until
they touch and enter the earth, where they
soon strike root; and then the sap which had
descended, whilst the nourishment proceeded
from the branch above, ascends in greater
quantity, and enables the tree to make other
THE BANIAN. 167
shoots, and to a greater extent, which drop in
turn; and, by this curious process, one tree
becomes a very considerable grove, or forest
in miniature, affording, in the hot climate of
the East,a most grateful and convenient shade.
« The STRAWBERRY,” although a lowly her-
baceous plant, resembles the Banian-tree in ~
its mode of growth, sending forth shoots or
side branches, which take root, and become
plants in a similar way.”
«And I had forgotten,” said Mr. Long-
hurst, “ the Bhack Mancrove, which grows on
the shores of the West-India Islands. I think,
however, that it in no case extends like the
Banian. We will conclude our account of this
tree with Milton’s description, which, how-
ever, I presume, is at every tongue’s end :
ss Such as, at this day, to Indians known,
In Malabar, or Deccan, spreads her arms,
168 THE BANIAN TREE.
Branching so broad and long, that in the ground
The downward twigs take root, and daughters grow
About the mother tree, a pillared shade,
High over-arched, and echoing walks between:
There oft the Indian herdsman, shunning heat,
Shelters in cool, and tends his pasturing herds,
At loop-holes cut through thickest shade.’*
Our conversation on these subjects dropped
for that evening ; and it was not until we met
again at Mr. Longhurst’s, that we had an
opportunity of resuming it.
* Paradise Lost, book ix. I. 1102.
169
WORK IN THE WOODS.
As, in talking over these matters, we had ge-
nerally been guided rather by objects that hap-
pened to lie before us, than by any regular and
arranged plan, such as would be adopted in a
book, we did not think it needful to continue
any part of our subject longer than it seemed
useful and interesting to the young people;
and when any thing a little different from the
matter in hand came in our way, we noticed it
in the best manner we could; and we often
found the attention relieved by so doing.
It chanced, as we were walking in the
Forest, and before any regular conversation
had commenced, that we came to a spot, where
a number of men were busily employed in
170 WORK IN THE WOODS.
felling a large tree; and we were led, from
this incident, to turn our attention to the sub-
ject of Work IN THE Woops, and the ManacE-
MENT OF TIMBER Loos.
Some time before, the surveyors had been
through the Forest, numbering and marking
such trees as were supposed to be ripe, or, in
plain language, best fitted for the purposes of
timber. We observed the marks, and were
almost grieved to see the principal beauties
of the Forest thus condemned ; knowing that
their leafy honours would soon be laid low.
There was to be a considerable fall of timber
this season; and a number of woodmen were
engaged. For several days they had been at
work, clearing the underwood away.
We took our station on a spot where we
might see the whole process without danger
or alarm.
171
FELLING TIMBER.
We had expected to see the whole tree cut
down and fall at once, with all its branches on
it; but we were told, that, although such a
method was sometimes taken, when the mere
timber was wanted for public uses; it was not
a good mode, as many of those branches,
called top and top, were sure to be split, and
rendered unserviceable.
This tree had been sold for private use ; and
the purchaser was there, to see that all was
done in the way most likely to prove beneficial
to himself. Accordingly, two men ascended
to the largest arms,—the lower arms first.
These they carefully took off, either with the
short chopper, which they call a did, or with
172 FELLING TIMBER.
a hand-saw. ‘The branch, we observed, was
first cut a little underneath, and then above,
that it might not split and fall before it was
cut through. By this care and skill, many
valuable knees, and other shapes, of useful
timber, were preserved entire.
As these preparatory operations occupied
some time, our young friends began to be
somewhat impatient ; for the grand fall of the
whole tree was the event they were longing for.
When they saw it stripped, branch after branch,
they feared that nothing worth looking at
would be left for the last. They were amused,
however, by a great hallooing amongst the
workmen; for one of them had seated himself,
by mistake, on the branch which his companion
was cutting; so that, had he not nimbly sprung
to the neighbouring one, he must have fallen
with it.
FELLING TIMBER. 173
And now there arose a little difference of
opinion between the master and his men. The
latter wished to proceed against the tree itself,
with axes; he insisted upon the saw being used;
the reason was soon explained. The chips
were the perquisite of the men, and they well
knew that the axe would reduce a large portion
of the timber to these chips, whilst the saw
would give them nothing. The master, too,
was quite aware of this, and calculated that
perhaps a square foot of oak would be saved
him by the saw. As he would not give up the
point, they rather discontentedly obeyed; and
two of them, taking a pit-saw, with a handle
fixed at each end, set to work; of course com-
mencing on the contrary side to that towards
which the tree leaned; nevertheless, as they
had done with the larger branches, they made
a small beginning first at the part where the
174 FELLING TIMBER.
saw was to come through, to prevent the mis-
chief of splitting the butt.
Whilst they were at work thus below, a man,
seemingly quite unconcerned at their opera-
tions, climbed up, with a rope in his hand, as
near as he could to the top of the tree; and
having, as we understood, been a sailor in his
younger days, he briskly descended by that
rope; and offered, when half way down, for a
pot of beer, to continue there half an hour;
they working the mean time as briskly as they
pleased; but the master said that he did not
pay him to win wagers or to lose them; and
found him a more safe employment below :—
nor were any of us sorry for the turn he had
given to the proposal.
Nothing shews the great strength of oak
timber more than the process of sawing the
trees down; for, as in the present instance,
FALL OF THE OAK. 175
the saw will goso far through, that scarcely an
inch appears to hold the tree up, and yet it
continues to stand. At length, a peculiar
cracking was heard. ‘T'wo men now took the
rope’s end as far off as it would allow them,
and pulled, gently swaying the tree backwards
and forwards, whilst two more drove in
wedges at the gash where the saw had entered,
and thus relieved greatly the labour of the
sawyers. At another loud crack, they sud-
denly desisted—vwe all stepped backwards.
‘Three or four of the men now went to assist
those at the rope, who took care to stand a
little sideways of the expected fall. The head-
man cried at each pull, “« One—Two—Three”
—that they might all act together. At the
third cry, all bore with their whole strength.
Now, a low bursting sort of noise succeeded—
the mighty trunk swayed fairly over, and, with
176 DIMENSIONS OF THE TREE.
a thundering crash, descended! The wood-
land ponies were now seen taking to their
heels ; rooks, with loud cawing, left their nests
in swarms ; and we ourselves had involuntarily —
started behind a huge elm, for protection.
After a momentary pause, we all stepped
forward most courageously. The prostrate
giant had uttered his last groan, and all fears
from him were at an end. Our surprise, par- —
ticularly that of the young persons, was great, —
at the unexpected bulk of the tree. Whilst
standing, and deprived of its branches, it looked
comparatively inconsiderable; but now, Frede- —
rick and Harry found that they could not see
each other, when standing on different sides of
the trunk, near the root. It was, in fact, more
than five feet in diameter at the thickest part.
“Oh Sir,” said Harry, “see! it has made
9°?
itself a grave to lie in!
STOCKING UP. ar
It was seen, indeed, that a projecting part
of the tree had deeply entered the earth, which
the proprietor said he was very glad to see;
for, had the ground been sufficiently hard to
resist this, the timber would undoubtedly have
been split up the middle, and thus have made
him a loser of many pounds.
“ But why not dig the tree up by the roots ?”
said Harry.
“We call that stocking it up,” said Mr.
Woodgate, the builder, who, seeing our cu-
riosity, very obligingly satisfied us upon many
points. “I did not buy the stock; and, if I
had, I am not sure that the extra labour,
which is great, of proceeding in that way,
would have paid me. Here, the stumps and
roots are perquisites of the verderer, or over-
looker of the Forest. He perhaps may send
men to take them up, or perhaps he will not ;
N
178 WOOD STOCKING.
for many of these tables are left to perish in
the soil. When timber is sold by a landlord
on a farm, these parts are usually the per-
quisite of the tenant. There are men called
wood-stockers, or splitters, who make it their
business to get up the roots and stumps of
trees, that have been taken down. I think,
if you wish to see them at work, young gen-
tlemen, there is an opportunity, only a few
paces off; for I heard gunpowder at work this
morning, instead of beetle and wedges.”
WOOD STOCKING.
AN explosion had, indeed, that minute been
heard; and had it not been for this, and the
name of gunpowder, I question whether the
WOOD STOCKING. 179
young gentlemen would have felt any desire
to see the operation which had been referred
to. However, they were now impatient to
proceed thither; and, as Mr. Longhurst ex-
plained to the ladies, that the explosion had
taken place, they were induced to follow;
perhaps hoping as much that this process
would not be repeated, as the young gentle-
men wished it might.
A prodigious block of a tree was soon per-
ceived, at which three or four men were busily
employed. They had dug and cut a deep
trench all round the stump, at some distance
from it; and by working regularly and neatly
through earth, wood, and stone, and then pro-
ceeding under the mass, they had apparently
detached it from the soil. But this was not
really the case, as one of the men confessed,
to his sorrow. “Four of us have been at this
N 2
180 WOOD STOCKING.
two days,” he said, “and we have not got at
the tap-root yet.”
“ The tap-root,” I explained, “ is that which
strikes perpendicularly down from the middle
of the great root; and, in the shape of a tap,
or spigot, often descends some feet. This, of
course, is the most difficult to get at and to
cut.”
“ Then, I suppose, they put gunpowder un-
derneath, to blow it up?” said Frederick.
<< No, no, Mister!” said Jack Heavem ; “ that
wouldn’t do no more good than lighting a pipe
aneath it.”
‘¢ Because, I suppose,” said I, “ it could
obtain plenty of vent all round.”
<¢ Just so, Sir,” said the man. “ When we
split ’em with powder, we bore into the solidest
part we can find, and plug it up as tight as a
post. We thought to have split this sheer
SPLITTING OLD ROOTS. 181
down in that way, and then we could have cut
the tap-root a-two in a wink; but, howsomever,
the powder flew out at a erack, and only split
off a bit as big as one could carry.”
“And what are you going to do now 2”
asked Mr. Longhurst.
“Take another penn’orth o’ patience, Sir,”
said the woodman. “ We must dig a little
deeper, and cut the limb in two with the saw,
if that be all.”
SPLITTING OLD ROOTS.
ONE man now set to work with the spade
and mattock for this purpose; whilst others
applied themselves to splitting off the sides of
the block with wedges.
182 SPLITTING OLD ROOTS.
“ The wepce,” said Mr. Longhurst, “is the
first of the mechanical powers ; and its effects,
indeed, are surprising, as you will soon see.”
A wedge was then held, touching the wood,
by one man, while another struck it rather
gently with the wooden hammer, called a
beetle. “Gently! gently!” cried the man
with the wedge.
“‘ I suppose,” said Harriet, “ he is afraid that
his hand will be hurt.”
“ O, no, Miss,” said he; “ but, if we hits
too hard, the wedge won’t draw.”
I explained, that such was the extreme re-
sistance of the wood against the smooth sides
of the iron, that its tendency was to throw the
wedge out, and that, if they struck it too hard
at first, this was sure to be the case. The
man, encouraged by the iron séeming to have
a hold, now hit harder, when it jumped out,
SPLITTING OLD ROOTS. 183
and the operation was to be repeated. They
now rubbed the sides of the wedge with chalk,
and putting it in the same place, at length suc-
ceeded in driving it firmlyin. Each man then
took a beetle, and, with the greatest regularity
and truth of aim, smote it alternately, till the
wedge was fairly buried in the wood.
“ Oh!” said Frederick, laughing, “ now
what is to be done? Nobody can get the
wedge out, Iam sure: and the wood is not in
the least split!”
“Let us see,” said Mr. Longhurst ; “ the
men do not seem at all concerned about their
wedge.”
They now took another wedge, and placing
it as close as they could to the one already in,
they drove the fresh one also completely down
and level with the first. Not to make too
long a story of it, however, it is sufficient to
184 SPLITTING OLD ROOTS.
say, that when they had thus driven four
wedges down, the wood gaped widely, and a
blow or two of the beetle against the part they
aimed to remove, detached it entirely, and the
wedges all at once jingled out.
“ You see,” said Mr. Longhurst, “ that skill
and knowledge, as. well as strength, are re-
quired even in the breaking up of the old
stump ofatree. I dare say, that in an hour
or two, this will be cracked into convenient
pieces for the fire.”
‘“¢ It is like in less time than that, Sir,” said
one of the men, touching his hat; “ more par-
ticular if you please to give us a drop of drink.”
«| thought that was coming,” said Mr.
Longhurst, bestowing the needful shilling:
« There—Now tell us how much wood you
think this will make,when split.”
“ Why, I reckon two good stacks, Sir.”
WOOD STACKS. 185
« And how much is a stack ?”
«« A stack, Sir, is twelve foot long, and three
foot over, and three foot high, and we lay ’em
as squarish as we can.”
«And as hollow as they will let you,”
added Mr. Longhurst, aside. “ These men
are vastly cunning in building those stacks,
and will not only make two feet six go for a
yard, but will construct you a very capacious
log-house instead of a solid stack, unless they
are well watched. I believe they have six or
seven shillings a stack for their labour; and
severe labour it certainly is.”
186
MEASURING TIMBER.
WE now returned to the fallen tree, and
found Mr. Woodgate employed in examining
and measuring the timber, whilst the men
were farther lopping the branches which lay
around.
We found that the stick, or stem of the tree, ©
was forty-six feet five inches to the first arm
stump; that its circumference at the bottom
was nearly sixteen feet, and at the top about
seven. Some of the limbs were praised by
the builder for their shape and substance.
Many of them were a foot in diameter, and
would make nine inches of timber when squared.
We endeavoured to count the rings; but they
became so confused towards the edge, that we
CONVEYANCE OF SOUND. 187
quite lost our reckoning : however, we counted
one hundred and eighty seven.
«“ Now, Frederick,” said Mr. Longhurst,
drawing out his watch, “ can you hear this
tick ?”
Frederick scarcely could, for a breeze was
just then stirring amongst the branches ?
“ Go to the other end of this tree, and you
will hear it better.” Frederick smiled.
“ Now lay your ear down as close as you
can to the flat end.”
Mr. L. then placed the watch against the
large end of the tree, being distant from Fre-
derick’s ear about fifty feet.
« Q, dear! I can hear it now quite plainly,
indeed!” said he. ‘‘O, Harry, and Amelia,
and Harriet, do come! ”
They ail did the same, and every one was
surprised at this curious fact.
188 MEASUREMENT OF TIMBER.
“If that tree were ten times as long,” said
I, « I believe you would hear it just as well ;
so easily and certainly is sound transmitted
through many solid feet of timber.”
«That reminds us,” said Mr. Longhurst,
“to find the contents of this trunk. How
shall we set about it ?”
Mr. Woodgate obliged us by shewing the
builder’s mode of rough-measurement. Taking
his chalk-line, he ascertained the girth of the
tree at about the middle; then measuring with
his rule the length, (the girth in the middle
being sixteen feet,) he took one quarter of that
(four feet), and so multiplied by four the length,
forty-six feet, and found the result was one
hundred and eighty-four cubical feet. “ But,”
said he, “ we must make allowance here for
bark and waste; so we should say there are
about one hundred and seventy-eight cubical
MAKING UP FAGGOTS. 189
feet of real timber. We call forty solid feet
of timber, just as the tree falls, a load ; and
fifty, if it be barked, hewn, and squared with
the axe.”
MAKING UP FAGGOTS.
In another part of the Forest, we came to a
scene a little different, but very busy. The
men were forming the lesser parts of the tree
into proper quantities and shapes, for sale.
“The principal branches, or limbs, like
those we have seen, are of value as timber,
however bent or unsightly in their form.
“The smaller wood they call timber-tops
and brush-wood. 'This is made up into faggots,
for the farmer’s hearth and the oven.”
190 MAKING UP FAGGOTS.
“How much rope it must take to tie it
all up in bundles!” said one of the little
ladies.
< Or rather,” said Mr. L. “ none at all.
See, there is not a bit of rope employed.”
“Oh! they tie it with sticks,” she re-
plied. “ How can they double them and make
knots ?”
I pointed to an old man, who was just then
twisting several pliable long twigs of oak for
the purpose. He laid this straight on the
ground, and then placed across it an arm-full
of the wood, which had been chopped into
lengths of about five feet. All the smaller
wood was put in the middle. When he had
thus got as much as he thought proper for one
faggot, he doubled the small end of the withie
into a loop, which he twisted round a few
FAGGOTS AND CHIPS. _ 19]
times to confine it; then putting the stout
end of the band through this loop, he drew it
as tight as he could, pressing the faggot with
his knee, to make it compact and firm; then
he doubled the stout end, and tucked it in
amongst the branches: all was then sufficiently
close and firm for conveyance to any place
where they might be wanted.
The exact quantity, we found, was not very
nicely attended to, all being guessed at by the
wood-binder: but a faggot ought to weigh
as much as a truss of hay, which is fifty-six
pounds.
As for the chips, we saw them carefully
gathered up, and packed into a little home-
made donkey-cart, driven by an old woman,
who appeared to have purchased them of the
labourers. She intended to take them round
192 CARRYING TIMBER.
to houses for sale. Her usual profits on these
speculations she did not acquaint us with;
perhaps she might gain eighteen-pence a cart-
load for her trouble and the outlay of her
capital !
CARRYING TIMBER.
Mr. Lonecuurst had learned of the good-
natured builder, Mr. Woodgate, the day on
which he purposed moving the timber-tree,
which we had seen cut down. On the morning
of that day, we assembled at the spot, as agreed.
We all felt more interested in these things,
the more we attended to them and understood
them ; otherwise, perhaps, we should not have
felt motives sufficiently strong to pay such fre-
CARRYING TIMBER, 193
quent, and, as some would say, unseasonable
visits to the Forest.
A lively discussion had taken place, at the
breakfast-table, amongst the younger part of
the family, respecting the way in which the
tree in question could be moved away. Little,
however, could be thought of by any of them,
for that purpose, but multitudes of men and
horses.
“ It may be,” said Frederick to his brother,
“that they cannot get a hundred men anda
hundred horses, to help them; I only say, that
that would be the best way, if they could.”
«“ And J say,” replied Harry, “ that a steam-
engine, 7f they could have one there, would lift
it up ina moment. I think that would be the
best way.”
But Mrs. Longhurst suggested, that it was
O
194 CARRYING TIMBER.
not only to be lifted up, but carried away—so
Harry’s thought was a bad one.
Amelia and Harriet both thought that it
would be cut to pieces as it lay, and then it:
would be easy enough to carry the boards.
“1 think,” said Mr. Longhurst, “ that the
best way for ws will be to move ourselves to the
spot, and see what is actually going forward.”
They all, therefore, set out, each sufficiently
eager to see how the thing was really done;
and each, perhaps, entertaining a distant hope
that his or her plan would be, at last, the one
nearest the truth. No doubt, it is very grati-
fying to be able to say—-‘ There, you see, I
was right! I told you how it would be!” It
is better, however, when persons are less anx-
ious to see their own opinions thus honoured.
They are more likely to form a right judgment,
when they have no wish but to know the truth.
THE TIMBER DRAG. 195
As they went along the narrow shady lane
leading to the wood, they met a timber-truck,
with three horses, conveying a pretty large
tree in a way that had not occurred to the
wisest of them. The heaviest end was chained
up between two great wheels, whilst the other
end trailed along the ground, and thus pro-
ceeded. They were obliged to stand up close
to the hedge, as this passed by them.
« That,” I remarked, “is called a timber-
drag, or, in some places, a whim. You saw
how the tree was slung to the axle of that ma-
chine, by strong iron chains, which passed round
it several times. That sort of carriage is not
employed to convey them to any great dis-
tance, but generally to take them out of the
way, to some more convenient place, either
for lying or for being loaded.”
We came to the tree itself, just in time to
0 2
196 THE LEVER.
see the operation; for, the debate having been
as to the power by which it could be lifted on
to the carriage, or how it could be moved at all,
it was needful to see the very commencement
of the business.
They were first surprised to see a couple of
men move a large tree, seemingly with great
ease to themselves, only by putting, each of
them, a pole underneath it; as they raised
their end of the pole, the tree rolled along.
Sometimes they placed a block under the pole,
close to the tree, then depressed the end they
held, and that really lifted up the heavy tim-
ber log. Harry soon saw, that one thousand
men, if they had been there, could only have
stood still looking at each other; and that as
many as could conveniently have taken hold of
the tree, could not have lifted it as those two
men did by means of their poles.
THE LEVER. 197
Frederick was the first to ask an explanation
of this wonder. “ How can it be, that a thing
like that can have so much power !”
hat,” I replied, “is the simplest. of.the
mechanical powers, and is called a LEVER.
You see that he placed the block, on which
the pole pressed, as near the tree as he could ;
because —now attend—just so much as the
part of the lever on this side the block is longer
than that beyond it, which goes under the tree,
so much more power has the operator with it.”
As my explanation seemed to want some-
thing to make it satisfactory to my hearers,
I determined to call experiment to our aid.
“There,” said I, “lies an arm of the tree; see if
you can lift up the thick end with your hands.”
They tried; but could by no means stir
it. I desired one of them, then, to take a
light pole and a block to assist him. He did
198 LEE VPULLE®Y,
so; but accidentally placing the block under
about the middle of the pole, he gained no
power ; he was still unable to move the load.
His brother saw the mistake ; and, moving the
block, or fulcrum, as it is called, closer to the
timber, they found it easy enough, by one of
them bearing upon the end farthest from the
block, to raise this log, as the workmen had
raised the larger one. The victory seemed
as pleasing to them as the knowledge. Yet
both of them said in a breath, “ I shall think
of that again.”
Affairs of still greater interest, however,
arrested our attention; for preparations were
now making for lifting the tree, which had
been the object of so many inquiries.
They saw there a machine composed of
three long and stout beams, or legs, open at
one end, at the other joined by iron hooks and
THE PULLEY. 199
eyes. ‘This was set up and made to expand
widely over the butt end of the tree. A
double cluster of pulleys, with a prodigious
hook, hung from the top of this three-legged
machine. This was lowered, so that the hook
might take hold of the huge chain, with which
the timber below was many times encircled.
A long rope, which connected the two boxes
of pulleys, by passing in and out to each, was
now fastened to one of the horses. When
they led the animal forward, the under block
of pulleys rose, and with it the huge butt end
of the tree, high enough to permit that part
to be hitched upon the timber-carriage, which
creaked and groaned beneath the weight. By
changing the situation of the chains, and
bringing the carriage gradually under, it was
at length made to sustain that prodigious
mass, which, but for the application of the
200 THE TIMBER CARRIAGE.
simple mechanical powers, must have lain and
rotted where it fell.
The lads turned inquiring eyes towards us ;
and I then said, that these PULLEYs were ex-
actly on the same principle as those of the old-
fashioned wind-up jacks, the weight of one of
which I remembered to have seen hanging
from Mrs. Heathfield’s house. ‘The mecha-
nical principles by which this astonishing force
was gained, I did not attempt to explain, be-
cause they could not be understood, without a
measure of mathematical knowledge, which it
was impossible, at their early age, they should
possess.
We next examined the carriage, and found
that it was composed of nothing more than
two pair of very strong wheels, kept im their
proper places by a very long and strong beam
of oak-timber.
THE TIMBER CARRIAGE. 901
< But what is the reason,” asked Frederick,
“that this beam eae out so far behind
the wheels ?”
“‘ Because,” replied Mr. Woodgate, “ we
sometimes have longer trees than this to move,
in which case we bring the hind wheels farther
back. The axletree is made moveable on pur-
pose: so, you see, we lengthen or shorten the
carriage, according to the extent of our load.”
Harry asked how many trees that one car-
riage would take away at once? |
“We reckon,” said Mr. Woodgate, “ that
five loads at a time are enough, if in separate
trees; but, in the case of a single tree, we
must take it, let it weigh what it may; but five
loads of timber and five horses are quite enough
for men, horses, and carriage to manage, and
for the King’s high road to sustain.”
202
REMARKABLE APPLICATIONS
OF TIMBER.
In the evening, the conversation turned upon
the mode in which timber had been applied in
some remarkable cases.
‘* Our modern buildings,” observed Mr.
Longhurst, “ are not constructed so as to ex-
hibit scientific carpentry, or the grand strength
and beauty of the timber. We cover the
inside of our roofs with a plain or ornamented
ceiling; and none but those who can go among
the beams with a lantern can see of what the
edifice is built, or how it 1s contrived.
“ Our elder architects went upon a different
plan, and never considered a mighty but well-
WESTMINSTER HALL. 903
proportioned and well-arranged system of
handsome timbers an unsightly object.”
Frederick observed, that the beams in the
roof of their parish church were to be seen,
and that they were curiously carved.
‘<The labour,” I observed, “ bestowed in
thus decorating the massy beams of ancient
buildings was very great; and the skill, in
many instances, surpassed that of modern
workmen.”
“J believe,” continued Mr. Longhurst,
“ that the roof of Westminster Hall, presents
as fine a display of the science, skill, and taste,
of past ages, as any we have. It is, indeed,
the largest roof of that construction any where
to be found. The hall was first built by
William Rufus, about seven hundred and thirty
years ago. Large as it is, the King was not
half satisfied with it, and called it a mere
904A WESTMINSTER HALL.
‘bed chamber, in comparison of what he
had wished to have. He, however, went no
farther than the foundations in his intended
building.
« But the great hall was altered and en-
larged by Richard II. who had the present
roof constructed. It is formed of chestnut,
which is not at all decayed. It is two hundred
and seventy-five feet long, and seventy-four
feet wide! King Richard is said to have
feasted ten thousand persons under this roof ;
this and some other royal whims, I believe,
by their expenses, led to the rebellion of Wat
Tyler; and, perhaps, at last to the dethrone-
ment and murder of the King ?”
«‘ And for what,” said Amelia, “‘ do they now
use Westminster Hall ?”
« For mere purposes of state,” I replied—
RIDING HOUSE AT MOSCOW. 905
“such as coronations, and the trial of high
personages, who may have done amiss.”
« But,” said Mr. Longhurst, “the Riding-
House, at Moscow, built by the Grand Duke
Paul, of Moscovy, afterwards Emperor of Rus-
sia, 1s certainly the most surprising roof we
ever heard of. It is of the modern construc-
tion, and ceiled; and quite unsupported by
cross walls or pillars. The length is one thou-
sand nine hundred and twenty feet, and the
span of the roof two hundred and thirty-five
feet. The floor covers the vast extent of more
than ten English acres !”
«« And how large are the largest ships ?” in-
quired Harry. “I suppose, they are made en-
tirely of wood ?”
“ With here and there just a little bit of
iron, or so,” said Mr. Longhurst, smiling. “ It
206 REMARKABLY LARGE SHIPS.
is, however, true, that the bulk, substance,
and body of every vessel 1s timber; but the
quantity of iron used in cramping those in-
numerable beams together 1s enormous.
« A Mr. Wood, of Port Glasgow, in the
isle of Orleans, in the gulf of St. Lawrence,
constructed, I believe, the largest ships that
ever were borne upon the ocean. His great
ship, the Columbus, was three hundred feet
long, more than fifty feet broad, and almost
thirty feet deep. Her actual tonnage, or
weight, that she would carry, was five thou-
sand tons! She came to England, from Ca-
nada, with timber, in 1825; but went to pieces
on her return.”
«QQ, what a sad thing!” said Harriet. “ I
should have thought myself safer in that, than
in any other.”
“You would not have judged correctly, my
BRIDGE AT SHAUFFHAUSEN. 907
dear,” said Mr. L. ; “‘ there is a size and weight,
beyond which a structure that floats, and is
unequally supported, will not hold together.”
«< The Baron of Renfrew,” I observed, “‘ was
a vessel of perhaps larger dimensions ; and as
that shared a similar fate, the rage for build-
ing such immoderately large ships quickly died
away. |
« Buildings and shipping,” said Mr. Long-
hurst, “ certainly shew the use and strength
of timber to great advantage; and so do some
of the famous wooden bridges. Those near
London, at Battersea, and Putney, especially
the latter, are, however, only famous for their
surpassing clumsiness, and the want of even
common skill and science in their formation.
But the bridge at Schaffhausen, across the
Rhine, was an astonishing specimen of con-
structive ability in a man—Ulric Grubenman
908 MR. RUDYARD’S LIGHTHOUSE.
—who had had little or no education. The
width of the river there was three hundred and
sixty-four feet, and the bridge was thrown into
the form of a single arch, although it had sup-
port from a pier in the centre. This bridge
was destroyed by the French in 1799; but
several others, built by Ulric, are still standing.
“‘ Another remarkable instance, and per-
haps the most so of any, of the employment of
timber, was by a Mr. Rudyard, once a silk-
mercer, on Ludgate-hill. It was the light-
house on the Eddystone rock, which stood
there before the present stone one was built. An
edifice of this sort had been previously erected
on that spot by Mr. Winstanley; but he and
his lighthouse were unfortunately washed from
the spot during a dreadful storm, in 1703.
Mr. Rudyard built his sea tower entirely of
wood, using layers of stone, merely as a weight
MR. RUDYARD S LIGHTHOUSE. 909
to keep it steady. It was more than sixty feet
high, and was so contrived, that there was
little about it, of which the storm could lay
hold. On the top of this was the lantern, an
octagon, or eight-sided figure, which, with its
burners, would give the needful ray to warn
mariners of the hidden danger beneath. And
this masterpiece of skill continued to brave the
storms for nearly fifty years, when it was de-
stroyed by a most surprising circumstance,
which certainly had not entered into the ex-
pectations of the builder.” Here Harry read
us an abstract of the account, given by Mr.
Smeaton, who built the present lighthouse.
“ On the 22d of August, 1755, the workmen
returned on shore, having finished all necessary
repairs for that season. All appeared to be
right, excepting that a brick or two had been
displaced from the kitchen fire-place by a late
P
910 MR. RUDYARD’S LIGHTHOUSE.
storm. But on the first of December, the
building took fire, and in a few days was re-
duced to a charred ruin on its foundation.
How the fire originated, none can tell. One
of the three men, who had the care of this
edifice, made off as soon as he was brought on
shore from the blazing tower, and was never
again heard of; but as it was but a chance that
any on the spot should escape with their lives,
it does not seem probable that the fire was wil-
ful; unless the incendiary were indeed mad.
“It appears, that when the light-keeper
went into the lantern, to snuff the candles, he
found the whole in a smoke, and upon his
opening the door, a flame burst forth. He
immediately endeavoured to alarm his com-
panions; but they, being in bed and asleep,
were not ready in coming to his assistance.
The poor man did what he could in throwing
MR. RUDYARD 'S LIGHTHOUSE 211
water, which his companions now brought up,
on the burning cupola; but this, of course,
went on slowly. Meantime, the fire gained
strength rapidly, and the man, though he
made every exertion, could do little against
them. As this unhappy man was looking up-
wards, to see the effect of the water thrown, a
torrent of melted lead suddenly poured down
upon him, and made its way not only under
and through his clothes, but down his throat!
He was ninety-four years of age, and died in
about twelve days after the accident.”
“ That will do for our present purpose,
Harry. We will now thank Mr. Burton for
a few general remarks on subjects connected
with trees, which some of us have not yet
attended to at all.”
I readily complied with the request, to the
best of my ability; although I knew that the
Pie
919 PARTS OF A TREE.
difficulty was considerable of conveying infor-
mation of this sort to parties so young. But I
relied much on the attention which I knew
our little audience would bestow, as well as on
their natural readiness and quickness of appre-
hension.
PARTS OF A TREE.
“ THE parts of a tree, of which we take prin-
cipal notice, are the root, the stem, the bark,
the timber or wood, the leaves, the flowers,
the fruit, and the juices or sap. A tree, like
the body of an animal, is a vascular structure;
that is, it consists of an almost infinite number
of vessels for the transmission of juices, which
supply with nourishment all the other parts.”
THE ROOT. 913
« Only,” observed Mr. Longhurst, “ there is
this difference, that the juices of trees proceed
all one way, upwards, or towards the extremi-
ties; but the blood of animals returns conti-
nually to the heart, whence it set out—this we
eall circulation.”
« A very needful distinction to remember,”
IT -said. “ The root of a tree supplies, we
suppose, the principal part of the nourishment
to the whole. It 1s, however, the small thread-
like fibres, which draw those juices from the
earth, and not all those stouter parts, which
are principally of use to hold the tree in its
place.” ,
« The root,” said Mr. Longhurst, “ is called
by botanists, radiv ; and you, young gentle-
men, know well why.”
<< O, yes, Sir,” said they, “‘ we know as much
of Latin as that.”
914 INVERSION OF TREES.
« And,” I continued, “the fibres, or root-
lets, are named radicles (radicule): these are
renewed every year.”
«The gardener was saying once,” observed
Harriet, “that he could make roots become
branches, and branches roots; but he did not
tell us how; he only looked very cunning.”
“There are many plants,” I said, “ which
may be so served; as gooseberries, currants,
willows, vines, the ash, and many others. If
you take a small branch of one of these, and
bend it down, so as to cover it with earth,
it will, in a few months, send forth roots into
that earth, so that the’ branch may be quite
separated, and it will not die. And you may
also take a young shrub, of many sorts, and
plant it root uppermost ; it will, in time, grow
and send forth buds from the roots, and roots
from the branches.”
THE STEM. 15
Nearly all the young folks expressed their
determination to adopt this new plan in their
own little gardens. Mr. Longhurst said he
should not do so in his own garden; having
found no inconvenience in gathering the fruit
from the parts of the trees at present above
ground.
“We next come to the stem. Trees and
shrubs have generally a woody or solid sub-
stance proceeding from the root, and which
commonly attains some height, before it divides
into branches. It is this substance that forms
the great provision of nature for necessary uses
and the comfort of man. It is this leneous
or woody material which supplies him, as we
all know, with timber and fuel. These trunks
vary in magnitude, from the enormous trees
we have before mentioned, to the dwarf alpine
willow (Salix herbacea), of which, it is said,
9216 THE BARK.
that half a dozen may be enclosed between
two pages of a lady’s pocket-book, without
touching each other.”
‘<Q, how I should like to have one of those
pretty little trees!” exclaimed Amelia.
“ Tam afraid,” rejoined I, “that it would
be too tender to bear being taken up and
planted roots uppermost !
“ It does not appear that so much sap is
sent through the solid timber of the tree as
through the Bark. This is always, by much,
the most juicy, and it is from this part that
turpentine, gum, resin, and other forms of the
sap, are obtained from trees. There are very
few trees which do not die, if the bark be
stripped off all round ; but most of them will re-
produce it, if only a small portion be left. As
the tree grows, the inner bark slowly becomes
timber, or sap-wood, the outer bark cracks and
LEAVES OF TREES. 917
forms the rough coat, in which most trees are
clothed, and a new inner bark is formed.”
<«- Now as to the Leaves, their use to the
plant that bears them is not so evident; but
it is now generally understood, that the air
has upon them a chemical effect, needful to the
life of the whole ; for if all the leaves be picked
off, the plant languishes, or dies. Their uses
for man are too numerous to be named at pre-
sent. The leaves of most trees, having lasted
during the warm and genial season, die and
drop off; not merely by their own weight, but
by the action of the plant itself.”
“« But in hot countries,” observed Mr. Long-
hurst, “ this is not the case. The trees there -
do as evergreens with us; they lose their old
leaves, only as new ones come; so there is
no ‘ general fall of the leaf, as in the colder
climates.”
918 FLOWERS OF TREES.
“« That is a curious thing, which I had never
thought of,” said Harry.
“ It is, therefore,” replied Mr. Longhurst,
“the situation of the plant, rather than its
own peculiar nature, which makes the change.
Those, which with us retain their leaves in the
winter, are more hardy than the others, that
is all.”
“As to FLowers, though some trees, as the
chestnut, mahogany, and thorn acacia, have
beautiful blossoms, many trees of the largest
growth have none, properly so called. We
will take some notice of the parts of a flower,
and then we shall better understand the dis-
tinction. That which we commonly call the
flower of a plant, as the four yellow leaves of
the wall-flower, the bell of the campanula, the
snowy cup of the white convolvulus, and the
THE LARGEST FLOWERS. 919
lily, is called the corolla, which, you know,
means little crown. The leaves, which com-
pose that corolla, are called the petals.
“‘ But these parts are not essential to the pro-
duction of fruit or seeds, called fructification.
The fig, the oak, and the beech, have a minute
substitute for the flower; but they have no
corolla—no petals. Some very small plants
have this again very large in proportion; as
the dwarf gentian, whose flower, in April, is
bigger than the plant itself.”
“I suppose,” said Mr. Longhurst, “ that
the largest flower ever known was that disco-
vered in Sumatra; a climbing plant, the bud
of which is larger than a goose, measuring,
when full-blown, three feet over, and weighing
fifteen pounds !”
‘* That is, indeed, enormous! I think the
990 THE LARGEST FLOWERS.
largest flower with us is the sun-flower, which
sometimes measures a foot or eighteen inches
across; but we are straying from the Forest.
“ Nature, having given us abundance of
fruit on trees of smaller growth, has not fur-
nished timber trees in general with eatable
fruit; their solid substance was chiefly in-
tended for the use of man. There are excep-
tions, however, to this statement, as the wal-
nut and sweet chestnut. Every tree, indeed,
has its'seed, which, how small and insignificant
soever it may appear, is still of more value
than the pine-apple or the melon, because ca-
pable of producing the same sort of tree again.”
921
SUBMERGED FORESTS.
‘* We have now taken some notice, which
I hope will be useful to us,” said Mr. Long-
hurst, “ of the Forests above ground; those
which nature has provided for the use of man,
and for the food and residence of beasts. Per-
haps a word or two, in conclusion, respecting
those beneath, which, by some powerful agency,
have been destroyed, may not be uninterest-
ing.”
“ Forests above ground!” repeated Frede-
rick. “ Are there any below?”
“We shall hear. Forests are subject to
destruction from two causes—inundation and
fire. Immense tracts of country, which have
been overflowed, ages ago, by land-floods or by
esoied SUBMERGED FORESTS. ‘
+ ’
the sea, appear to have been once covered with
mighty forests of pine and other trees. In
Yorkshire, an extensive district, called Hatfield
Chase, was, nearly half of it, annually drowned
with water. This land was sold to one Ver-
muiden, a rich and enterprising Dutchman,
who, at the expense of about 400,000/. drained —
it, and made it fit for pasturage. Deep in
this long-soaked soil are found vast remains of
every variety of timber native with us. Oaks
of very large size, as black as ebony, and
almost as hard as iron, were found, and sold
for ship timber. Many of these trees have the
evident marks of human labour upon them ;
and not a few wedges and axe-heads have
been there picked up.”
“ But, I think I have understood,” said
Mrs. Heathfield, “ that coals are the remains
of timber-forests, changed, by the lapse of
FORESTS ON FIRE. 993
9 7
many ages, to the substance we now call
coal.”
«Such, I believe to be the fact, Madam,”
said Mr. Longhurst. “ Indeed, such things
as nuts and acorns sometimes appear, with
sprigs and branches of wood, reduced to coal.
<< This leads us,” I said, “to the other cause
of destruction to Forests—jfire. To this the
pine-forests are most liable, from their very
combustible nature.”
«“ But who is to set them on fire ?” demanded
Harry.
“ Lightning,” I replied; “ or the careless-
ness of men. The Laplanders and boatmen
think nothing of making fires in the woods,
and leaving them alight; by which, miles
of the finest pine forests are continually
destroyed.”
“ But,” said Mr. Longhurst, “ the fires
994 FORESTS ON FIRE.
amongst the American forests are the most
awfully terrific. A hundred miles of country
were seen on fire at once, in the year 1825, on
the north side of the Miramichi river. I sup-
pose, that we Europeans can scarcely form an
idea of such a spectacle as this. The roaring
of the woods during this tremendous confla-
gration, resembled the incessant rolling of
thunder. The expansion of air in the forest,
by the intense heat, caused a rush of wind
around, which amounted to a hurricane. If
these fires occur much oftener, North Ame-
rica, vast as is its natural supply, will no
longer export timber, as it has hitherto done ;
and we may then think more of the value
of our smaller, but better protected British
Forests.”
INDE X.
Page
Bu
Abele 109
Acorns 26
Age of Trees 30
Alder . BN Se,
Alpnach—slide of . 73
Application of Timber 202
Aspen 109
Ash 48
B.
Banian 166
Bark 216
Bashing 101
Beech 59
Birch .
Boscobel Oak’ .
Bows and Bowmen
Box : ¢
Butt, or Stick
C.
Catkins
Carriage of Timber .
Cedar of Lebanon
-Red
Charcoal
Chestnut
Cork-tree
Cypress .
226
D.
Dates .
Deal Timber
Death of Rufus
Douglas Pine .
Drag, Timber
De
Elm
Elder
F.
Faggots .
Felling Timber
Bir’ °.
Floats .
Flowers, Largest
Forests, Buried
On Fire
Foreign Timber
INDEX.
Page G.
157 Growth of Trees .
65 Gun Stocks
13 )
94 H.
195 Hazel ‘
Heart of Timber .
Holly
Hornbeam
He Horse Chestnut _
~ _Husbandman’s Tree
is
Indian Charcoal
189
171 K.
62 King’s Oak .
72 Knee, Timber .
219
22] Le
223 Lambert Pine .
143. Larch.
Page
116
Page Page
Leaves of Trees _. 217 Oak Galls : 3 38
Lever . : : 196 Tiber +4¢ tee,
Lighthouses. . 208 4
Lime-tree_. : 118 Pac
Palm-tree : tl ba
M. Bie: eam 62
Mahogany . . 145 Pitch ele oe
Maple . 198 Plane-tree . : 131
Mast (fruit of Trees) 69 Poplar. : . 108
‘Masts of Ships . 66 Pulley. . . 196
Measuring Timber . 188 R
Moscow, Riding House 205 ;
Meee pg Ted Cedar 2 BE
Resin . ; : 68
N. Riding House . 2205
Roots : : 213
New Forest ; 7 Rufus. 3 ate
O. S
Oak : iiasap, - 32
—— Apples . - 387 Schaffhausen Bridge 207
—_—. ark ; : 40 Serrated Leaves . 48
228
Shipping
Size of Trees
Sound, by Timber .
Splitting Roots
Spruce Fir .
Stem :
Stick, or Butt
Stocking up
Sycamore
Tar
Teak-tree
Thorn Acacia
Timber Carriage
: Floats
Measuring of
INDEX,
Page
206 ‘Transplanting .
34 Turis
187 Turpentine
181
82 W.
215 Walnut
21 Waste Lands
178 Wedge :
129 Westminster Hall
Willow ;
Weeping
67 ~Woodstacks
154 Work in Woods
117
200 Y.
ia Yew
186
THE END.
LONDON ;:
PRINTED BY SAMUEL BENTLEY,
Dorset Street, Fleet Street.
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