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SYLVA AMERICANA;

OR

A DESCRIPTION OF THE FOREST TREES

INDIGENOUS TO THE

UNITED STATES,

PRACTICALLY AND BOTANICALLY CONSIDERED.

ILLUSTRATED BY MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS.

By D. J. BROWNE.

.... aruore sulcamus nutria, '.erratquc adinojiel/ius
arbor* exuedificamus tecta.

Pi-inu Secuitoi: Aui. Hist., lib. xii.

. %

LIBRABY

NEW YORK

BOTATHCAI

QA1 \ ■ ■

BOSTON:
PUBLISHED BY WILLIAM HYDE & CO,

M D 0 G G XXXII

. OGO

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the Year 1832,

By William Hyde & Co.
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts.

PRESS OF JAMES EORING.

*

TO THE

MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY,

WHOSE

ZEALOUS AND ENLIGHTENED EFFORTS

HAVE

SO GREATLY CONTRIBUTED TO THE ADVANCEMENT

OF
HORTICULTURE IN THIS COUNTRY,

THIS WORK

IS
MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED
BY
THE AUTHOR.

PREFACE.

Among the variety of useful and interesting productions abounding
in this vast continent, none claim our attention in a more eminent degree
than the indigenous trees of our forests. Independent of ornamenting the
earth and of furnishing us with timber and fuel, they arrest the progress of
impetuous and dangerous winds ; maintain the temperature of the air by
diminishing extreme cold, and regulating intense heat ; oppose the forma-
tion of ice, and shelter the earth from the scorching rays of the sun ; pro-
duce an abundance of water in the streams, and oppose a barrier to washing
away or undermining their banks ; preserve and enrich the soil on hills
and mountains ; discharge the electricity of the atmosphere ; and serve
as laboratories for purifying the air we breathe.

The trees of our country recall the idea of it in the most forcible man-
ner, wherever we meet them ; and are often the first objects that attract
the attention of those who have been long absent from their native land,
and who, on their return, pour out their genuine effusions of joy on behold-
ing them. We are aware that many an American has sighed under the
shade of the banana for a sight at the village elm, the well-knoAvn oak, or
the unchanged pine of New England. We are told of a young Indian,
Pontaveri from Otaheite, who, amidst the splendor of Paris, regretting the
simple beauty of his native island, sprang forward at the unexpected sight
of a banana tree in the Garden of Plants, embraced it, while his eyes were
bathed in tears, and exclaiming with a voice of rapture...." Ah ! tree of my
native country !" seemed by a delightful illusion of sensibility, to imagine
himself, for a moment", transported to the land which gave him birth.

In the United States, there are more than 140 species of forest trees,
which exceed 30 feet in height : in France, there are but 30 trees that attain
this size, of which 18 enter into the composition of the forests, and 7 only
are employed in building. Though vast tracts of our soil are still veiled
from the eye of day by primeval forests, the best materials for building are
nearly exhausted. And this devastation is now become so universal to
supply furnaces, glass houses, factories, steam engines, &c. with fuel, that,
unless some auspicious expedient offer itself, and means be seriously and
speedily resolved upon, for a future store, one of the most glorious and

VI PREFACE.

considerable bulwarks of this nation will, within a few centuries, be nearly
extinct. With all the projected improvements in our internal navigation,
whence shall we procure supplies of timber, fifty years hence, for the con-
tinuance of our navy ? The most urgent motives call imperiously upon our
government to provide a seasonable remedy for such an alarming evil :
from a government like ours, which is the faithful expression of the public
will, and which has no concern but the prosperity and honor of a nation,
prospective wisdom is demanded.

From the sensible decay and general havoc made in our forests, we
should be reminded, that such as do yet remain entire, may be carefully
preserved, and the loss of such as are destroyed, sedulously repaired.
There is no part of husbandry which men more commonly neglect than
that of planting trees, without which, they can neither expect fruit,
ornament or delight from their labors. But they seldom do this till they
begin to be wise, that is, till they grow old, and find by experience the
prudence and necessity of it. When Ulysses, after a ten years' absence,
was returned from Troy, and found his aged father in the field planting
trees, he asked him, " Why, being now so far advanced in years, he
would put himself to the fatigue and labor of planting that, of which he was
never likely to enjoy the fruits ? The good old man, taking him for a
stranger, gently replied, " I plant against my son Ulysses comes home."
The application is obvious, and instructive both to old and young.

It seems hardly possible for any mind to become so debased as to be
insensible to the effects of nature, whose vegetable charms become
endeared to us as our age and reflection increase. But the more terrible
the sight, and the more violent the impression, the more agreeable is it to a
greater portion of mankind, who run with avidity after objects of horror,
while they pass unnoticed those which produce gentle and agreeable sen-
sations ; and it seems to all appearances, that they would rather tremble at
the awful thunderbolt of Jupiter, than calmly admire the bounteous horn of
plenty ; and many who will not cross their thresholds to look at a beautiful
scene of nature, will eagerly rush forward to get a sight at a storm or ship-
wreck in the play house. A more delightful cabinet of natural history can
scarcely be found than the forest or plantation affords. It offers matter for
contemplation of the most agreable kind,

Which varies still as seasons still revolve ;

and as every tree and shrub has its peculiar inhabitants, we have at the
same time a collection of animal and vegetable wonders, sufficient to
occupy all the leisure which our economical duties allow us. Every tree
we plant adds to the entertainment, which we are preparing for future
years, for ourselves, our friends and our country.

Under the foregoing circumstances the author of this work has been
induced to compile the Sylva, the object of which is to furnish the public
with the history of all the important species of forest trees indigenous to

PREFACE. Vll

the United States, treating of their uses and application to the arts with
the most approved modes of their culture and propagation.

He flatters himself that the course he has pursued in the execution of
his task will be found more practically useful than if he had followed a
more scientific path. He has been anxious to render his work acceptable
to the great body of American agriculturalists, whom he most ardently
entreats to turn their attention to the delightful and important pursuit of
Arboriculture.

He does not claim or aspire to entire originality, but has consulted the
most judicious ancient and modern works on the subject, a list of which is
given on the succeeding page.

He is sensible that the task he has chosen is a responsible one ; and he
confidently ventures before the public with the hope, that a generous allow-
ance will be made for its unavoidable imperfections, when the extent of the
undertaking is considered ; premising, that any errors into which he may
have been inadvertently led, will be cheerfully corrected when apprized
of their existence.

It is evident, from the nature of this publication, that little of it belongs
to the Author. As a compiler he has endeavored to be faithful ; and, in
collecting facts, he has selected such as would be deemed the most useful ;
but whether he has made use of the proper materials must be left for a
candid and enlightened public to decide.

THE AUTHOR.
Boston, April, 1832.

List of Works which have been consulted.

The names of authors are given in many instances in this work, but in
general the quotations are so much altered, or taken from so many sources,
that it could not be done with convenience. The principal works consulted,
or from which extracts have been made are as follows : Bigelow's Medical
Botany, Bigelow's Sequel to the Pharmacopseia of the U. S. Darwin's Phyto-
logia, Decandolle's Philosophy of Plants, Du Hamel, Evelyn's Sylva, Keith's
Physiological Botany, Lempriere's Lectures on Natural History, Library
of Useful Knowledge, Linnseus' System of Nature, Loudon's Encyclopaedia
of Agriculture, Loudon's Hortus Britannicus, Michaux' North American
Sylva, Miller's Gardener's Dictionary, Mirbel Traite D' Anatomie et de
Physiologie Vegetales, "Nuttall's Introduction to Botany, Philosophical
Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Pursh's North American
Flora, Smith's Introduction to Physiological and Systematic Botany, Sylva
Florifera, Sylvan Sketches, Transactions of the London Horticultural
Society, Waterhouse's Botanist.

BOTAK

SYLVA AMERICANA.

PART I.

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY.

By a vegetable, we mean an organized body possessing
vitality, power of growth and reproduction, deriving its nourish-
ment directly from the earth, or from substances in which earthy
matter is more or less present, but without perceptive powers,
or voluntary locomotion ; the two latter properties belonging
exclusively to animals, and forming the principal line of dis-
tinction.

Hence every living substance of the above description,
whether it be a tree, a shrub, an herb, a grass, or a flower,
is in reality a vegetable ; and the whole, taken together,
constitutes what is termed the vegetable kingdom. Of these,
nearly one hundred thousand species, each possessing its own
peculiarities, form and laws, have already been discovered, and
the list is annually increasing. The subject, therefore, inde-
pendently of its practical application, is one of deep interest
and importance ; and the more it be examined, the greater field
we find for inquiry, and an increased reason for admiring the
contrivance, wisdom and benevolence, by which this interesting
portion of the universe has been regulated.
2

10 SYLVA AMERICANA.

To describe each particular organ of a vegetable, is denomi-
nated the anatomy, and to enter upon the functions of those
organs with the results, the physiology of vegetables. To explain
their component or constituent parts, belongs to the province of
vegetable chemistry. And to treat on the sources by which their
growth is promoted, and their productions increased, comes
under the head of chemical agriculture, or agricultural chemistry.

From the great similarity and strong analogy of the laws of
the vegetable and animal kingdoms, many modern philosophers
have considered the vegetable and animal kingdoms united by
one link, and forming a part of the same system ; or, in other
words, that a vegetable is only an inferior order of animal.
But admitting how nearly in many instances the laws of each
approximate, and how greatly a knowledge of the one facilitates
that of ihe other ; yet the more frequent presence of perceptive
powers, and more especially of a choice and capacity of motion
in the one kingdom, and a total abstinence of those qualities in
the other, present so broad and strong line of distinction, as
should make us pause before we admit a doctrine directly at
variance with our common observation, and so opposed to the
idea we have entertained of the intents and purposes of creation.
All that we ought to allow, is that resemblance only in the
physical properties and laws of the two kingdoms, by which the
vitality peculiar to each is preserved, the different parts are
nourished, growth promoted, secretions produced, reproductions
effected, and the common principles of decay and dissolution
are brought into action. But here their analogy ceases.

Vegetables, we know, require a particular temperature, season,
soil and aspect, for their growth and maturity, and, in many
instances, even for their very existence. In cold climates, they
are, in consequence, proportionably limited in the number of
their species ; and, in the winter, even of temperate regions,
many of their functions are suspended ; they cease to grow,
they part with one of their most essential organs, their leaves,
and they require the return of a more congenial season, before
their variously animating powers are again roused into action.
Animals, on the contrary, so long as the vital principle be

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 11

continued, preserve llieir various functions in full activity and
similitude, in whatever temperature, season, soil, or aspect, they
may be placed ; and a loss of any of their important organs, or
a considerable interruption to the functions of the others, very
frequently terminates in their general dissolution.

Vegetables, again, have not a brain and nervous system to
endow them with perceptive powers, or, as far as we can judge,
with sensation ; nor muscles to promote their locomotion, so
necessary to most animals which are to make choice of their
food, and whose means of supply are not confined to a narrow
circle as in vegetables, in which nature by their peculiar
mechanism, has bestowed on them the means of obtaining their
nourishment from the soil which first gave them birth. For
this purpose the latter are permanently fixed to one spot in the
earth, and the vital spark having once been excited, their
different movements are rendered dependent upon principles, in
which the will has no concern, and where perception cannot be
required.

These reflections necessarily lead us to a consideration of the
structure and functions of vegetables, in which the analogy of
the two kingdoms will be further illustrated, and of the line of
distinction, we hope, satisfactorily explained.

To consider vegetable physiology in all its relative bearings,
it will be requisite to divide the subject into four distinct heads.
First, the structure and functions of those parts of a vegetable
which contribute to its nourishment and preservation, including
the root, trunk, branches and leaves. Secondly, of those organs
which are necessary to its reproduction, and these have reference
to the flower, fruit and seed. Thirdly, the process of generation
and germination, of the food and agents effecting its growth, and
the formation and completion of a new plant. And lastly, the
casualties affecting the life of vegetables, consisting of wounds,
diseases, natural decay and renovation.

But previously to entering into a particular description of the
several organs, it will be proper to observe that vegetables, like
animals, are composed of fluids and solids. The fluid parts
produce those which are solid ; and the only aliment . which

12 SYLVA AMERICANA,

effects and preserves plants, being in a liquid or aereform state,
it is wonderfully contrived that there should be an organic
vascular system for its distribution, and that it should likewise
possess the vital power of assimilation, in order to effect and
perpetuate the growth which takes place, and to diversify the
products which characterize the innumerable variety of plants
which constitute the vegetable kingdom.

General Texture of Plants.

Much light has been thrown upon the general texture of
vegetables, by the uuc -cKcopic figures of Grew, Malpighi and
others, but more especially the observations and highly magnified
dissections of M. Mirbel. From preceding writers we have
learned the general tubular or vascular structure of the vegetable
body, and the existence of some peculiar spirally-coated vessels
in many plants. On these slender foundations physiologists
have, at their pleasure, constructed various theories, relative to
the motion of the sap, respiration and other functions, presumed
to be analogous to those of animals. The anatomical observations
of Mirbel go further than those of Grew, &:c., and it is necessary
to give a short account of his discoveries.

He finds, by the help of the highest magnifying powers, that
the vegetable body is a continued mass of tubes and cells ; the
former extend indefinitely, the latter frequently and regularly
interrupted by transverse partitions. These partitions being in
the corresponding cells, and each cell increasing somewhat in
diameter after its first formation, except when restrained by the
transverse partition, seems to account for the hexagonal figure.*
The membraneous sides of all these cells and tubes are very
thin, more or less transparent, often porous, variously perforated
or torn. Of the tubes, some are without any lateral perforations,
at least for a considerable extent; others pierced with holes
ranged in a close spiral line ; in others several of these holes run
together, as it were, into interrupted spiral clefts ; and in some,

* For illustrations of this part of the subject., see Plate I.

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 13

those clefts are continued, so that the whole tube, more or less,
is cut into a spiral line ; which, in some young branches and
tender leaves, will unroll to a great extent, when they are gently
torn asunder. The cellular texture especially is extended to
every part of the vegetable body, even into the thin skin, called
the epidermis, which covers every external part, and into the fine
hairs or down which, in some instances, clothe the cuticle itself.
Before we offer any thing upon the supposed functions of these
different organs, we shall take a general view of the vegetable
body, beginning with the root, the first organ to be described.

CHAP. I.

Anatomy of the Root.

The root, which, though often differing in its bulk and shape,
is similar in all its structure and use, (with the exception of the
bulb, which, from containing the rudiments of a new individual,
may more properly be considered a variety of the seed,) is that
part of the vegetable which fixes the plant to the ground, is its
organ of nourishment, and the apparatus by which, through its
various ramifications, below the surface, it imbibes food from
the soil.

In its structure, it is composed of the same parts as the stem
and branches, and therefore may only be considered as the stem
inverted ; the lower portion of the tube dipping into the earth,
and forming itself into minute ramifications without leaves ; and
the upper portion ascending, and producing buds, branches and
leaves. This has been illustrated by experiments made upon the
plum, cherry and willow, in which, by inverting the stem and
root, the former has become a root, sending out ramifications,
and the latter a stem producing leaves, flowers and fruit. The
structure of the root and stem is therefore one and the same
thing, and it is the situation in which each is placed, and the
operation of the surrounding medium, that makes the difference ;
giving to each, a variation in its chemical and medicinal properties
though their physical structure continue the same.

14 SYLVA AMERICANA.

The main body of the root, which has been termed the caudex,
upon its first penetrating the ground, possesses but very limited
powers of affording nourishment; and it is not until it has sent
forth its ramifications or radiculce, and these ramifications have
issued still finer filaments of capillary diameter, that an extensive
absorption can be effected. These minute tubes, by dipping
into the soil in the direction where there is the least opposition,
abstract from it, by some undiscovered process, those nutritive
parts, which, through the agency of water, become sap, and
convey it to the caudex, from whence it rapidly ascends to the
stem and branches, and thence to the uttermost extremity of the
leaves, there to undergo a new modification to be hereafter
explained. The root therefore may be considered as acting the
same part towards the vegetable, as the stomach does to the
animal ; though the apparatus and the fluid prepared, bear but
little similarity.

Of the Trunk or Stem.

In cutting the trunk of a tree from the circumference to the
centre, the instrument passes through seven distinct parts, in the
following order :

1. The epidermis, which extends over the surface of every
vegetable, as before described. It is also called cuticle, false
skin and the like, names which anatomists have given to the
external covering of animals. There is a striking analogy
between the animal and vegetable cuticle or skin. In the former
it varies in thickness from the delicate film which covers the eye,
to the hard skin of the hand or foot, the coarser covering of
the ox, or the hard shell of the tortoise. In the latter it is
exquisitively delicate, as in the covering of a rose leaf, and hard
and coarse in the rugged coats of the elm and oak. In the
birch, you may see the cuticle peeling off in circular pieces.
The vital principle seems wanting in it; this is the only part of a
living plant which is dead. In the larger trees and shrubs, the
bodies of which, in themselves, are strong and of firm texture, the
latter property is not of so much importance ; but in the reeds,

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 15

the grasses, the canes with hollow stalks, and in the various
farrinaceous seeds, where it is most essential that their structure
should be protected, from the action of insects ; nature, to render
it more strong and resisting, has given it a glassy rind of net-
work, composed principally of a silicious earth, which Sir H.
Davy has ascertained in many instances, is capable of striking
fire upon the application of the steel.

2. The cellular integument, which lies immediately under
the cuticle, and is for the most part of a green color, at least in
the leaves and branches. This is in general the seat of color,
and in that respect analogous to the rete mucosum, or pulpy
substance situated under the human cuticle, which is pale in the
European, black in the Negro, and red in the American ; but
we must carry the analogy no further, for these two parts
perform no functions in common. Du Hamel supposed this
pulp to form the cuticle ; but this is improbable, as his experi-
ments show, when that membrane is removed, that the cellular
integument exfoliates, at least in trees, or is thrown off in
consequence of the injury it has sustained, and a new cuticle,
covering a new layer of the same succulent matter, is formed
under the old one. Annual stems or branches have not the
same power, any more than leaves.

Mirbel remarks that " leaves consist almost entirely of a plate
of this substance, covered on each side by the cuticle. The
stems and branches of both annual and perennial plants are
invested with it ; but in woody parts it is dried up and reproduced
continually, such parts only having that reproductive power.
The old layers remain, are pushed outward by the new ones,
and form at length the rugged, dry, dead covering of the old
trunks of trees."

The petals of flowers are almost entirely composed of cellular
texture, the cells of which are filled with juices fitted to refract
and reflect the rays of light, so as to produce the brilliant and
delicate tints which constitute so great a portion of their beauty.

3. The cortex or true bark of the plant, known to every one
by the name of bark. It consists of but one layer in plants and
branches only one year old, and often not distinguished from

16 SYLVA AMERICANA.

the wood. In the older branches and trunks of trees, it consists
of as many layers as they are years old.

The bark contains a great number of woody fibres, running
for the most part longitudinally, which give it tenacity, and in
which it differs very essentially from the other parts. These
woody fibres when separated by maceration, exhibit in general
a kind of net-work, and in many instances great regularity and
beauty of structure.

In the bark the peculiar virtues or qualites of particular plants
chiefly reside, and more especially in several of its internal
layers nearest to the wood. Here we find in appropriate vessels
the resin of the fir and juniper, the astringent principle of the
oak and willow, on which their tanning property depends, the
fine and valuable bitter of the Peruvian bark, and the exquisitively
aromatic oil of the cinnamon. The same secretions do indeed,
more or less, pervade the wood and other parts of these plants,
but usually in a less concentrated form.

4. The liber, which is the inner layer of the cortex or bark.
It consists of lamina, or plates, bound together by a cellular
matter, which, when dissolved by maceration in water, detaches
these plates or coatings from each other ; when they resemble
the leaves of the books of the ancients ; whence arose the name
of liber. The liber is softer and more juicy than the cortex.

It is in this layer only that the essential vital functions are
carried on ; after a while it is pushed outward with the cellular
integument, by the successive formation of new layers, and with
the cellular integument finally becomes a lifeless crust. Grew,
Maipighi, Du Harnel and others, supposed that the liber annually
changes, by hardening, into the alburnum or young wood, an
opinion also maintained by Mirbel, and some of the ablest
philologists, but which is founded upon mistaken principles. It
is through the liber, however, that the matter in which the new
wood is formed, which annually augments the diameter of the
trunk and branches, is secreted ; and hence the importance of
this portion of the bark.

As the net work formed by the dividing threads of the meshes
is not readily dissolved in water, while the cellular matter which

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 17

tills them up is remarkably soluble, the liber of some plants, as
the Lace tree, (Daphne Lagetto), when soaked in water and
afterwards beaten, forms a very beautiful vegetable gauze ;
which may be used as an article of dress. A coarse specimen
of this gauze, or lace, is seen in the bark of many of our
indigenous trees, particularly the oak, when it has been long
exposed to the weather, after being separated from the trunk.
The natives of Otaheite manufacture garments from the liber of
the mulberry. The liber of flax is by a more refined process
converted into linen. This regular arrangement, however, of
the longitudinal texture of the liber is not found in every instance ;
for on the fir and some other trees, the longitudinal threads are
seen lying nearly parallel to one another, without any meshes or
intervening cellular matter.

This part of the bark is important to the life of Vegetables ;
the outer bark may be peeled off without injury to them, but the
destruction of the liber is generally fatal. The operation of
girdling trees, which is often practised in new countries, consists,
in making with an axe, one or more complete circles through
the outer bark and the liber of the trunk. Trees seldom survive
this operation, especially if it has been performed early in the
spring, before the first flow of the sap from the root towards the
extremities.

5. The alburnum, or sap wood, which may be considered
the grand vascular organ of the plant, which is made up of cells
and tubular vessels ; the cells being constantly filled with the
rising sap, which, after undergoing some changes, is taken up
by the tubes and conveyed to the leaves to their utmost extremity ;
and having from them received a new modification, the sap is
returned by the cortical vessels back to the trunk, and thence to
the minutest filaments of the roots.

The alburnum is at first soft and vascular ; but it afterwards
becomes hard, and in some trees, is of a density almost equal to
iron. While in the soft state, it is endowed with nearly as much
irritability as the liber, and performs functions of great importance
in the vegetable system ; but when hardened, these functions
3

18 SYLVA AMERICANA.

cease, and in time it loses even its vitality ; not unfrequently
decaying in the centre of the trunks of trees ; which, often, still
flourish, and put out new shoots as if no such decay existed.
To carry on, therefore, the functions of the wood, a new circle
of it is annually forn;ed over the old ; and thus, also, the diameter
of the trunk and branches present, by the number of these
annual zones, a pretty correct register of their age, each zone
marking one year in the life of the part. The hardness of these
zones of wood increases with the age of the tree, being most
dense in the centre, and less and less hard as they approach the
circumference.

Various opinions have been entertained respecting the origin
of the alburnum. Mr. Knight, however, by various experiments,
has satisfactorily proved that it is formed from the secretion
deposited by the vessels of the liber, but that it is not, as had
been supposed by Du Hamel, Dr. Hope and Mirbel, a trans-
mutation of the liber itself.

Mr. Knight is of opinion, that the bark deposits the alburnous
matter ; but that the leaves are the organs in which this matter is
elaborated from the sap ; or, that the alburnum is generated from
the cambium of Grew, which is part of the proper juice of the
plant, formed by the exposure of the sap to the light and air in
the leaf, and returned from it by the vessels that pass down from
the leaf into the interior bark, by which it is deposited, and we
may add, elaborated by the action of the vital principle inherent
in this part of the plant. To determine this point, he removed
narrow circles of bark from roots of apple trees, " leaving a leaf
between the places where the bark was taken off; and on
examining them frequently during the autumn," he found that
the diameter of the shoot between the insertion of the leaf stalk
and the lower incision, was as much increased as in any other
part of the tree ; but when no leaf was left " on similar portions
of insulated bark, on other branches of the same age, no apparent
increase in the size of the wood was discoverable."

These experiments explain the reason why trees and shrubs
having their leaves destroyed by caterpillars form scarcely any
new wood in that season ; and, indeed, every one who has

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 19

pruned a tree, or shortened a growing twig, must have observed
that the part above the last leaf always shrivels and dies, while
all below it continues to live and increase in diameter.

6. The lignum, or heart wood, which, when present, is seated
below the alburnum, seems principally intended, (like the bones
of animals,) to give solidity, form and support to the more solid
parts of the plant, and is mostly observable in old trees.

Substantial as is the wood or ligneous part of a tree, it is
nevertheless so far from being an essential part, that many plants
are without it. The arundaceous plants, as the reeds and the
grasses, and, indeed, all the gramina, are naturally hollow.

7. The medulla, or pith, which is a soft and spongy, but
often succulent substance, occupying the centre of the root, stem
and branches, and extending in the direction of their longitudinal
axes, in which it is inclosed as in a tube. In its structure it is
exactly similar to that of the cellular tissue of thebark ; being
composed of an assemblage of cells, containing a watery and
colorless fluid. Its form is regulated by that of the cavity it fills,
which in the majority of instances is nearly circular ; but to this
there are many exceptions. Thus in the horizontal section of
a young stem of the elder (Sambucus) and the plane (Platanus),
we find it circular, but furrowed by the bundles of the spiral
vessels of the part that surrounds it. In the ivy and ash it is
oval ; irregularly oval and furrowed in the plane ; triangular in
the oleander (JVerium Oleander) ; pentangular in the European
oaV;;. ( Querpis Robur) ; four-sided, with the angles obtuse, or
tetragonal, in the common lilac, and yellow-flowering horse
chesnut (JEsculus Flava) ; and pentagonal in the walnut
(Juglans regia). But besides the diversities of form which the
pith presents, it varies in diameter in other respects. In the
young tree, of a few inches in height, it is smallest at the basis of
the stem, largest in the middle, and smaller again at the summit ;
and in the growth of each future year, nearly the same variations
in its diameter are observable. In trees more advanced, pressed
and acted upon by the heart wood, it begins to diminish ; and in
very old trees it disappears altogether.

Linnaeus attributes great importance to the pith, and erroneously

20 SYLVA AMERICANA.

asserts, after Bradley, that it gives birth to the buds. Some botan-
ists of the first rank believe, that the pith is, in a plant, what
the brain and spinal marrow are in the inferior order of animals.
" The pith," says Darwin, " appears to be the first or most essential
rudiments of the new plant, like the brain, spinal marrow, and
medulla oblongata, which is the first visible part of the figure of
every animal foetus from the tadpole to mankind." It seems,
however, that the pith is not essential, or absolutely necessary to
vegetation, as we often observe trees to live and thrive without
it. The guaiacum or lignum vitae, it is said has no pith. Most
naturalists, however, consider the pith only of secondary import-
ance ; though they allow its use in making good the nutritive
exhaustion which the rapid growth of young shoots never fails to
produce.

Of the Buds.

No part of the vegetable structure has been examined with
more accuracy than that of buds, (Gemrnce), from the time of
the faithful and diligent Grew, to that of the discriminating and
candid Knight, and yet it is very singular that little was known
of their physiology until the experiments and observations of the
last gentleman were made public. To him, therefore, we are
indebted for some of our most valuable knowledge on this
subject.

A bud is that part which contains the rudiments of a plant, or
of a part of a plant, for a while in a latent state, tift^he'nimv of
the year, and other circumstances, favor their evolution. From
buds, then, an entire plant may be produced, if placed in
favorable circumstances, or only a branch, or leaves, or flowers.
We can, however, reckon no more than two kinds, those that
produce leaves, and those that produce flowers. There is the
closest analogy between these organs and bulbs ; so close,
indeed, that Mirbel, and some others, arrange them together.
Practical cultivators mark distinct characters peculiar to each
kind of bud. Those that produce leaves are small, long and
pointed ; the flower buds, again, are thick, short and round. It
appears probable that some unknown agents influence the

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 21

formation either of flower buds or of leaf buds, or rather
that some circumstances will cause the evolution of either
of them from the same bud. A fact recorded in the Linnaean
Transactions in some measure favors this opinion. The
Solandra grandiflora, a native of Jamaica, had been long
cultivated in the English stoves, and propagated by means of
cuttings ; but none of the plants ever displayed any signs of
fructification. They had been always well supplied with water.
One plant, by accident, was left without being watered in the
dry stove at Kew : the consequence was, that the branches were
much stunted in their growth, and flowers were produced. The
experiment has been frequently repeated with success. It
appears, that whatever checks the luxuriance of the leaves, tends
to the formation of flowers and seeds.

For the purpose of converting leaf buds into flower buds,
various expedients may be used with advantage : such as scoring
the bark to the wood very deeply with a knife, twisting a wire
tightly round the stem, or by cutting off a cylinder of the bark,
and replacing it with a bandage.

It is said that there is an intermediate species of bud, which
retains some of the characters of each. A>striking difference
has been noted between the leaf and the flower buds ; the first
may be removed with impunity from its original situation, and
placed in the earth, where it will vegetate with luxuriance ; but
the last uniformly dies. Both may be removed to another stock
with success. This operation is called budding, or inoculation,
and is well known to gardeners. Each bud may be considered
a distinct being, containing parts precisely similar to those of the
parent tree, which, when favorably situated, will develope them-
selves, and form a plant retaining all the peculiarities of the
parent. If those qualities are such as will constitute a
variety, they will also be perpetuated ; and of this, we have
many familiar examples in the various fruit trees commonly
.cultivated in our gardens, on many of which, budding is the only
means of procuring good fruit. The branch formed by the
inoculated bud alone yields proper fruit ; nor is the stock, on
which the budding has been performed, in the least degree

22 SYLVA AMERICANA.

altered. The crab, on which the finest apple has been budded,
still remains a crab : thus proving, that it serves merely as a
source from which the young bud derives its nourishing matter ;
although it is highly probable, from the difference of the results,
that, that matter undergoes some peculiar elaboration, after
leaving the vessels of the original stock. On this principle, five
or six different species of fruit have been known to be budded
on the same tree, and which, in full fruit, exhibited a singular and
beautiful spectacle. It is impossible to say how a bud torn from
one tree, and put in the place of another bud in another tree,
should become a perfect branch, producing flowers and fruit in
the highest perfection ; but attempts have been made to trace
the various steps of nature in effecting her operations. Accord-
ingly it is said, that after the fresh bud has been inserted into the
wound, formed by the extraction of another bud, that the
cambium unites the two parts, forms a connecting medium for
the vessels of the bud and the tree, and thus enables the
vegetative process to go on whenever nature requires it. Mr.
Knight has noticed some facts worthy of record ; and he states
that "a line of confused organization marks the place where the
inserted bud first comes into contact with the wood of the stock,
between which line and the bark of the inserted bud, new wood,
regularly organized, is generated. This wood possesses all the
characteristics of that from which the bud is taken, without any
apparent mixture with the character of the stock in which it is
inserted. The substance which is called the medullary process,
is clearly seen to spring from the bark, and to terminate at the
line of its first union with the stock."

The usual position of buds is in the axil of the leaves, except
in the genera Mimosa, Gleditschia and a few others. The buds
are opposite to each other when the branches or leaves are
opposite, alternate when the latter are alternate, and terminal
when the leaves are terminal. In those plants that have both
opposite and alternate leaves or branches, the buds are commonly
solitary.

Various forms are assumed by different buds, according to
those of the contained leaves; an admirable adaptation of

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 23

convenience to beauty and regularity being always preserved.
Nature has given different coverings to different vegetable
productions, according to the peculiarities of their respective
climates. In northern regions, the buds are almost universally
clothed with scales, or with a downy substance ; sometimes these
are conjoined, besides being coated with a resinous matter.
The horse chesnut and some of our walnuts are good illustrations
of large and well-formed buds. By means of these coverings,
the young bud is enaHed to brave the vicissitudes of the seasons,
and to be ready to burst forth on the first approach of spring.
This singular power of retaining its vitality, has been considered
by some physiologists as the distinctive character of true buds.
The most external of the scales are dry and hard, while those
that are more protected from the influences of the weather, are
soft and succulent. Take a bud, for instance, of the horse
chesnut, and close the part which has been just separated from
the stock with wax, plunge it into water, and it will remain there
without undergoing any alteration for a number of years.

Tn mild, or even in warm countries, buds have no scales, as
they do not require them. Those trees that form an exception
to this observation, can thrive indifferently in ^any climate ; so
that the rule holds in all distinct cases. The scales are consid-
ered by many as imperfect leaves.

The internal structure of buds is said not to differ, in any
respect from that of the plumule, previously to its being detached
from the seed. Some have fancied, that they have seen the
rudiments of every part of the tree concealed in the bud. We
are much inclined to question the accuracy of such very minute
observers, and, of course, are more willing to impute any errors
to optical deception, than any wish to mislead.

The bark and the pith have generally been considered the
source of the buds ; but the ingenious experiments of Mr. Knight
have set aside both of the hypotheses, and have established, as
far as the present state of the science will permit, the doctrine,
that they derive their origin from the alburnous portion of the
tree. This gentleman first showed, that they do not originate in
the pith or bark ; and also, that Du Hamel's opinion of pre-

24 SYLVA AMERICANA.

existing germs being their source, is at least improbable. He
then proves that the " alburnous vessels at their termination
upwards, invariably join the central vessels, and that these vessels,
which appear to derive their origin from the alburnous tubes,
convey nutriment, and probably give existence to new buds and
leaves. It is also evident, from the facility with which the rising
sap is transferred from one side of a wounded tree to the other,
that the alburnous tubes possess lateral, as well as terminal orifices :
and it does not appear improbable, that the lateral as well as the
terminal orifices of the alburnous tubes, may possess the power to
generate central vessels, which vessels evidently feed, if they do not
give existence to the reproduced buds and leaves. And therefore,
as the preceding experiments appear to prove, that the buds neither
spring from the medulla nor the bark, / am much inclined to
believe that they are generated by central vessels, which spring
from the lateral orifices of the alburnous tubes." By interrupting
the circulation in the alburnum, buds may be artificially produced ;
and nature has provided means for their reproduction, in those
cases where they may have been accidentally destroyed. Several
curious facts on this subject may be obtained by an examination
of the potato, which like other tuberous roots, are studded with
them.

Buds of all kinds are formed about mid-summer ; after which
it has been stated, " that there seems to be a kind of pause in
vegetation for about a fortnight." Darwin imagined that a store
of nourishing matter is collected during that period, which
produces that apparent pause. The season of developement is
most usually that of the spring, when nature seems to delight in
new products : it is then that the buds are evolved, and enter
upon the important functions they are destined to perform.
Nothing, however, is known of these functions beyond the general
result. Branches, leaves and flowers are produced by buds ;
bul what are the particular operations by which these effects are
produced ? The answer is easy but unsatisfactory. Buds
transpire, and in all likelihood produce the same chemical change
on the atmosphere with the other parts of the plant.

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 25

Of the Branches.

Branches are the subdivisions of a stem or trunk, which are
found on many herbaceous plants, but are chiefly noticed on
shrubs and trees. The primary branches spring immediately
from the trunk ; the secondary ones from the primary ; and so
on in a regular subordination, till they terminate in slender twigs.
They consist of precisely the same anatomical parts as the trunk,
and with the exception of a root, are in fact little trees, which, if
separated from their parent stock, and planted in the earth under
favorable circumstances, would throw out roots, and become
independent plants. They proceed from buds formed within
the surface of the trunk, which interrupt the parallelism of its
fibres, «and form knots in the wood. These knots afford a point
of support and centre of motion to the growing branches, and
are sunk more deeply in the wood in proportion to their age.
Branches are supposed to originate from a convolution of vessels ;
so long as the vascular bundles proceed in an uninterrupted
straight line, so long will the stem remain straight ; but whenever
they form a knot, nature appears to make new efforts, and a
branch is produced.

The lower branches are often nearly parallel to the horizon at

right angles with the trunk : those above them make angles more

and more acute, as they are placed nearer the summit ; but

these angles differ in different species, and in every individual

tree are subject to numerous varieties, from the influence of

external causes. Some branches produce only leaf and new

branch buds : others produce only flower buds. The former

are smooth in their surface, pliable and tough, with close straight

fibres, easily separated from each other : the latter are wrinkled

at their base, have their fibres less compact, and break short

when struck. There are also branches which pierce the bark

without a bud, and form what is commonly called false wood.

These, as they are often luxuriant in their growth, and rob the

more useful branches of their due nourishment, are carefully

1 4

26 SYLVA AMERICANA.

pruned away by the skilful planter and horticulturist. They
have a rough bark, and produce only a few blackish buds.

Of Th orn s.

Thorns are stunted branches ; their imperfect form may be
owing to the buds being partially evolved, from want of proper
nutrition. Indeed, that it is, in a great degree, owing to such a
cause, is proved by the conversion of thorns into branches on
removal into richer soil. This fact is well known to gardeners,
as many fruit trees, which are thorny when wild, become smooth
when cultivated. Some times the foot-stalks of pinnate leaves
that have fallen off become thorns, as in the case in the
Astragalus tragacantha, or goat's thorn milk vetch.

Of Prickles.

Prickles may be taken off with the bark, and is therefore a
mere elongation of that organ, which is chiefly composed of
cellular substance, and of cortical vessels. There is this
remarkable distinction between the prickle and the thorn, that
no cultivation whatever can convert the former into a shoot, as
is the case with the latter ; for the vessels become very rapidly
hard, separate from the stem, and at last is merely retained by
the exterior covering. The stipules of some plants are converted
into prickles, as in Berberis vulgaris, or common berberry.

Of the Flo wer stalk and Footstalk.

The flower stalk and foot stalk are also composed of cellular
texture, of central and cortical vessels, which convey the
vegetable juices to and from the leaf.

Of the Tendrils.

Tendrils have the same structure as the preceding, and are in
fact elongated foot stalks, without the leafy expansion, which

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 27

adds to their length; and being unable to support their own
weight in a straight line, they assume the spiral form. Willde-
now ascribes a considerable influence to the current of air in
determining the direction of the tendril.

Of the Sap vessels and Sap.

Much contrariety of opinion has existed among physiologists
concerning the vascular system of plants, and the nature of the
propulsion of the sap through their stems and branches. Indeed
it is a subject upon which very erroneous ideas have prevailed.

That the whole vegetable body is an assemblage of tubes and
vessels is evident to the most careless observer ; and those who
are conversant with the microscope, and books relating to it,
have frequent opportunities of observing how curiously these
vessels are arranged, and how different species of plants,
especially trees, differ from each other in the structure and
disposition of them. Such observations, however, if pursued no
further, lead but a little way towards a knowledge of the
wonderful physiology of vegetables.

That plants contain various substances, as sugar, gum, acids,
odoriferous fluids and others, to which their various flavors and
qualities are owing, is familiar to every one ; and a little reflec-
tion will satisfy that such substances must each be lodged in
proper cells or vessels to be kept distinct from each other.
They are extracted, or secreted from the common juice of the
plant, and called its peculiar or secreted fluids. Various
experiments and observations prove also that air exists in the
vegetable body, and must likewise be contained in appropriate
vessels. Besides these, we know that plants are nourished and
invigorated by the agency of water, which they readily absorb,
and which is quickly conveyed through their stalks and leaves,
no doubt by tubes or vessels on purpose. Finally, it is observable
that all plants, as far as any experiment has been made, contain
a common fluid, which at certain seasons of the year is to be
obtained in great quantity, as from the vine branches by wounding
them in the spring before the leaves appear, and this is properly

28 SYLVA AMERICANA.

called the sap, by which the whole body of the plant is nourished,
and from which the peculiar secretions are made.

In a young branch of a tree or shrub, or in the stem of an
herbaceous plant, are found, ranged round the centre or pith, a
number of longitudinal tubes or vessels, called by Mr. Knight
central vessels, of a much more firm texture than the ad-
jacent parts, and when examined minutely, these vessels often
appear to be constructed with a spiral coat. This may
be seen in the young twigs and leaf stalks of the elder,
lilac and many other shrubs, as well as in numerous herbaceous
plants, as the peony, and more especially many of the lily tribe.
If a branch or stalk of any of these plants be partly cut through
or gently broken, and its divided portions slowly drawn asunder,
the spiral coats of their vessels will unroll, exhibiting a curious
spectacle even to the naked eye. In other cases, though the
spiral structure exists, its convolutions are scarcely separable at
all, or so intermediate as to be only marked by an interrupted
line of perforations or slits, as shown by IVL Mirbel. Indeed, the
very same branches which exhibit these spiral vessels when
young, show no signs of them at a more advanced period of
growth, when their parts are become more woody, firm and
rigid. No such spiral-coated vessels have been detected in the
bark at any period of its growth.

Besides the central vessels, Mr. Knight has described another
set that traverse the alburnum, whence they are distinguished by
the name of alburnous tubes. Through them the sap also
ascends ; for the destruction of a circle of bark does not prevent
the formation of buds and leaves; "but," says Mr. Knight,
" the alburnous vessels appear to be also capable of an inverted
action, when it becomes necessary to preserve the existence of
the plant." The cortical vessels of Mr. Knight, which can
hardly be considered the same with the vasa reducentia of
Willdenow, (although they are said to perform the same function)
exist in the bark, and serve to reconvey the circulating sap to
the root. It is suspected, that there may be two sets of these
vessels, one which nourishes the bark, and another that secretes

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 29

particular fluids in the bark. Lymphatic vessels have also been
described ; but we have met with no satisfactory account of them.
The functions of the vessels of plants have been as variously
described as the organs themselves. Malpighi supposed them
to be air vessels ; Grew declares, that they sometimes contained
moisture ; and Du Hamel suspected that they contained " highly
rarified sap." The experiments of Darwin and Knight, have,
to a certain degree, determined their uses. The former placed
twigs of the common fig tree into a decoction of madder, and
on taking them out after some hours' emersion and cutting
them across, the colored fluid was found to have ascended into
each branch, and the cut ends of the vessels formed a circle of
red dots around the pith, and these vessels again were surrounded
by other vessels containing the milky juice, so very remarkable
in the fig tree. The latter (Mr. Knight) made similar experi-
ments with cuttings of the horse chesnut and of the apple tree,
with an infusion in water of very black grapes. The result
corresponded with those of Darwin. He, however, pursued the
investigation still further, and traced the fluid into the leaves ;
and during the whole course it did not give the slightest tinge to
the bark, nor to the sap between it and the \vood. The pith
was very slightly, if at all affected. The radicles are probably
elongations of these vessels which absorb the proper fluids from
the earth, and convey it into the body of the root, where it
becomes sap by some process which we cannot develop ; it is
then conveyed to the stem and leaves, where certain other
changes take place, that are to be hereafter noticed. The
functions of the alburnous vessels appear to be two fold, according
to the views of Mr. Knight. At one period, they convey sap to
the leaves in common with the central vessels : and during the
winter, they serve as reservoirs of the juices of the plant, which,
after having undergone certain changes in the leaves, are there
deposited until the approach of spring, when they contribute to
the formation of those new parts which are necessary for the
vital action of the vegetable.

The cortical vessels seem to carry the sap back to the roots
through the bark, and, in its course, it possibly forms alburnum,

30 SYLVA AMERICANA.

or at least furnishes the materials. All this, however, is a mere
probability, as we know very little with certainty connected
with it.

The ascent of the sap varies according to the season of the
year, and the state and temperature of the atmosphere ; being
suspended during the winter, and most active in the spring, when
vegetation recommences, and previously to the full expansion of
the leaf; that at the vernal season, Dr. Hales has ascertained by
experiments on the vine, in the heat of the day it will rise in
glass tubes adjusted for the purpose, at the rate of an inch in
three minutes, and attain in these tubes the height of more than
twenty feet; and that, by its force upwards, it will sustain a
column of mercury, of thirty-eight inches, equivalent to the
pressure of a column of water of more than forty-three feet ;
which force, he says is, " five times greater than that of the blood
in the crural artery of a horse, seven times greater than that of
a dog, and eight times greater than the blood's force of the
same artery in a fallow deer."

It is difficult to determine by what means the sap is propelled
through the vessels : the agitation of the winds, the form of the
vessels, the action of the heat, the pressure of certain plates,
called silver grain, in the oak, are all supposed to contribute to
this end ; and very possibly they do this to a certain extent
We confess, however, that they do not appear to our minds
adequate causes. It is a matter of some moment to ascertain
how the function is performed ; but our knowledge of facts is so
very imperfect, that it is impossible to frame any reasonable
hypothesis on the subject. In this, as in every other department
of physics, men are too prone to step beyond the limits within
which their actual knowledge should confine them.

Of the Leaves.

This part of the plant which contributes so much to its beauty,
(though infinitely diversified in its forms), is in all cases similar
in its organization as well as its functions. It consists of a thin
and flat substance usually of a green color, issuing generally

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 31

from the extremity of the branches, though sometimes from the
stem ; and is to be distinguished by the sight or touch, into an
upper and under surface, a base, a midriff or central line of
division, and into lateral lines, or, as they have been improperly
termed, lateral nerves.

In its structure, the leaf is made up of a continuation of the
cellular tissue, which forms its principal bulk, of a distribution
of the alburnum or sap wood, of a small portion of the lignum or
heart wood, and of the upper extremities only of the cortical
vessels : all of a peculiarly minute and fine texture, form-
ing a delicate net work ; the whole being covered by the
epidermis, the size of the leaf varying, from the smallest pro-
portion that can be distinguished by the naked eye, to a magni-
tude that almost exceeds belief, namely, to several feet in
diameter.

The functions of this very interesting organ may be considered
the most important of any which are connected with the preser-
vation of the plant. To illustrate these, it is to be recollected
that the nutritive ingredients, when first absorbed, are only in
the simple state, held in solution by a considerable proportion of
a watery fluid ; and require the aid of a further process before
they possess the consistency and the chemical properties requisite
to produce the various secretions which are to contribute to the
nourishment and preservation of the plant. The agent, to effect
these important changes, are the leaves ; and the process, by
which those changes are accomplished, is, in the first place, by
evaporating a considerable proportion of the watery part of the
simple sap as it is conducted from the roots, by which its fluidity
is diminished ; and, in the next, by absorbing, or taking up from
the atmosphere, a certain proportion of its oxygen, caloric, light,
and of various nutritive materials, held in solution in that element ;
by which, through chemical agency, new principles are commu-
nicated to the fluid, now denominated, the proper juice or true
sap,' previously to its descent, to supply the different parts of the
plant with renovating secretions.

To promote this object, the surface of the leaf is rendered
broad and extensive, the tubes and cells exquisitely fine and

32 SYLVA AMERICANA.

delicate, their texture throughout, porous and transparent, and
the orifices of the epidermis (so essential to the process) numer-
ous beyond calculation, and so extremely minute, as to require
very powerfully magnifying glasses to detect them ; their diam-
eter being only adapted to the absorption and extrication of
vapory fluids in the highest degree of tenuity.

The processes of transpiration and absorption, as peculiar to
the functions of the leaves, are indeed of a most highly interesting
character, and require a far more able pen than mine to do
justice to their illustration. Upon the new or ascending sap
reaching the leaves from the roots, the operation of transpiring a
portion of its watery particles commences from the smooth or
upper surface of the leaf, as soon as the sun rises, and continues
until the approach of night ; by which the sap acquires more
consistency, and is thus rendered fit to receive those materials,
which are to be imparted to it through the agency of absorption.
This evaporation is so considerable, that Dr. Hales, whose
experimental accuracy has never been questioned, has ascertained,
that a cabbage transmitted daily more than half its weight, and
that a sunflower, three feet high, transmitted in twenty-four
hours, a watery fluid equal to twenty ounces.

While this watery evaporation is going on, an absorption by
the same surface of the leaf of the carbonic acid gas of the
atmosphere, and a decomposition of some of the water left in the
sap, are taking place ; by which, in the former instance, the
carbon is separated and fixed in the sap, and the oxygen gas is
set at liberty ; while in the latter, the hydrogen is communicated
to the sap, and its oxygen gas also becomes free ; by which
operations, the sap has acquired two of the leading principles
necessary to vegetables, the carbon and the hydrogen ; while a
double supply of oxygen, or the vivifying principle, is restored
to the atmosphere, by which its purity is preserved against the
deterioration to which it is uniformly exposed by animal respi-
ration, combustion and mineral absorption.

During the night the under surface of the leaf absorbs moisture
from the air, or from the evening dew, to make up in some
degree the deficiency of the previous day's evaporation, and takes

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 33

up oxygen from the atmosphere, by decomposing it and setting
]3art of the nitrogen at liberty : a portion of the oxygen thus
absorbed, is fixed in the sap, and the other part, uniting with the
superfluous carbon in the plant, forms carbonic acid gas, which
escapes from the leaf and mixes with the atmosphere. This
will serve to explain, why the night air is less salubrious than
that of the day ; and the necessity of a large proportion of oxygen
being set at liberty during the day, to obviate the injury which
the atmosphere sustains by the operations of the night.

Thus we perceive the leaves of plants perform very different
operations at different times ; since during the day, they are
giving out moisture, absorbing carbonic acid gas, and emitting
oxygen gas ; during the night, they are absorbing moisture,
giving out carbonic acid and nitrogen gases, and taking up
oxygen gas. By these operations assisted by the agency of
light, (which, independently of its imparting color to the leaf,
contributes essentially to its chemical changes,) the sap receives
all the primary principles which constitute the plant — namely,
oxygen, hydrogen, carbon and nitrogen ; by the various com-
binations of which, nourishment to the plant is not only produced,
but also through the agency of secretion, those Other substances
are elaborated which we know can be extracted from vegetables ;
and which, taken from one description of vegetable or another,
amount to no less than thirty-one, exclusively of those which,
belonging to the mineral kingdom, have been denominated
extraneous ; while, by a very beautiful process, the purity of the
atmosphere is so balanced within the twenty-four hours, as to be
fitted for all the purposes of animal and vegetable economy.
Thus by a wonderful piece of mechanism that cannot be too
much admired and investigated, and in the construction of which
there is still a wide field for discovery, the sap in its simple state
is absorbed from the earth by the roots, and conveyed through
the cells and the tubes of the wood into the leaves ; where by the
processes of evaporation and absorption (as just explained) it
acquires new principles and becomes the true sap. It is then
taken up by the extreme vessels of the bark, and by them
conveyed back to the branches, stem and root ; depositing in its

5

34 SYLVA AMERICANA.

passages through the cortical vessels into the cavities of the
cellular tissue for elaboration, such portions of it as are to be
applied to the purposes of nutrition, or to those secretions that
are necessary for the preservation of the plant.

The functions of the leaves have been compared to the
respiration of animals, by which the blood parts with its superflu-
ous water, and acquires new principles from the atmosphere ;
and hence the leaves have been denominated the lungs of the
plant. But in this, as in every other instance, a strong line of
distinction may be drawn. The change in the leaf is simply
effected by exudation and absorption^ both of which are varied
according to the existing temperature and the time of the day.
That in the lungs is accomplished by muscular action, and is
uniformly the same at all periods, and under every atmospherical
change. Animal respiration destroys the purity of the atmosphere.
Vegetation restores it ; the deterioration of the night being amply
balanced by the renovating operations of the day. In the
winter, when foliation is suspended, the absence of vegetation is
supplied by the agitating storms of the season, bringing with
them purifying breezes from the ocean ; cr rendering less
stationary the deleterious exhalations of the land.

Thus in the natural as in the moral world, occurrences, which
individually appear to be very striking evils, collectively are
productive of the greatest degree of good ; and the functions of
organic substances, which from their primary effects carry with
them strong features of similarity, when more closely investigated,
are found to be productive of very opposite consequences.

Color of Leaves. The coloration of plants presents one of
the most interesting, and, at the same time, obscure branches' of
physiological research. Humboldt attributes the green color of
leaves to the agency of hydrogen, because he had observed some
plants retain their green color in mines. Saussure, however,
could not increase the green of plants by means of hydrogen.
Humboldt also ascribes the white color to oxygen, which seems
to be erroneous, as this oxygen existed in a state of combination
previous to its being made apparent, and cannot therefore be
proved to produce this white color. Senebier's phlogistic

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 35

hypothesis is unworthy of detailed notice. His subsequent
opinions respecting the operation of carbon, do not seem to be
better founded. This philosopher, as well as Berthollet, deter-
mined many important facts. There is a very evident connexion
between the decomposition of carbonic acid gas and the green color
of leaves, as is shown by the following results. Green leaves onlv
yield oxygen gas ; the parenchymatous substance of the leaf is
the seat of decomposition of the gas, and of the green color ;
the coloration will take place in leaves separated from the stem,
so that there can be no living action in them ; consequently the
coloration is independent of the life of the plant.

It appears from the various experiments of Berthollet, Senebier
and others, that solutions of the colorable parts of leaves are
rendered red or green according to the predominance of acid or
alkaline matter ; but similar effects will be also induced on entire
leaves. Etiolated leaves, and those reddened by age, pass into
green in alkaline fluids ; those that are yellow from decomposition,
become brown in the same circumstances. Ellis observed, that
if the green color had been previously affected by the action of
water, that alkalies did not restore it. On these facts this physi-
ologist ventures to presume, " that these same agents (acids and
alkalies) if present, will exert a similar action on leaves-during
their growth."

He first establishes the existence of a large quantity of alkaline
matter in the leaves, and shows that the separation of the carbonic
acid, and its subsequent decomposition, render the alkali pre-
dominant, and consequently better fitted to exert its specific
influence " on the colorable juices of the plant," which produces
the color of the leaf. So that according to Mr. Ellis's views,
the decomposition of the carbonic acid answers two purposes,
the production of oxygen gas and the formation of the green
color.

If the green color depend on the predominancy of alkali, it
may be reasonably supposed that the white color depends on a
deficiency of it. Senebier's experiments support this supposition,
and his results have been confirmed by Davy and others. This
whiteness of color will continue so long as the acid abounds ;

36 SYLVA AMERICANA.

and accordingly we find that plants growing in the shade are
etiolated, or devoid of the green hue, until they are placed in the
full sunshine. The various shades of color exhibited by different
leaves immediately before their fall are effected by similar
causes, and consequently are explicable on the same principles.
In the same way, too, the variegation of different leaves may be
resolved, or at least the agents that produced them may be
pointed out. The mode in which these effects are induced,
Mr. Ellis does not attempt to detail, being satisfied with the
general fact. It would open a field of interesting inquiry, to
examine, with care, the gradual changes from green to white,
with all the intermediate and collateral varieties of color ; and, it
is probable, that in the course of such researches, many valuable
facts would develop themselves, and thus tend more clearly to
elucidate this branch of vegetable physiology.

CHAP. II.

Of the Organs of Reproduction.

The organs of reproduction, as we have before stated, consist
of the flower, fruit and seed.

It is well understood, that upon the early advance of vegetation,
there are to be seen sometimes upon the stem, frequently upon
the bulbous roots, and always upon the branches, very small
prominences denominated the gem or bud, containing the rudi-
ments of future formations ; some expanding into leaves and
new branches, some into flowers, and others into flowers and
leaves conjointly.

The flower gem, to which our attention now must be exclu-
sively directed, by the progress of vegetation, gradually expands
and enlarges until the outline of the flower becomes observable ;
when supported by the stalk or peduncle, all the several parts

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 37

are progressively developed, until the flower itself bursts forth in
full maturity and beauty.

In no part of the vegetable creation has so much taste and
variety been displayed as in the flower ; the brilliancy, shape,
and fragrancy of whose blossoms cannot fail to attract the atten-
tion of the most indifferent observer ; while the whole face of
nature is- adorned and enlivened by the diversity of their species,
and the endless variety of their tints and hues. But it is not the
taste displayed in the color, form and distribution of the flower,
(however fit objects for admiration) that confers the greatest
interest upon these organs of vegetables. It is their internal
structure and the object they have to answer, which entitle them
to philosophical consideration.

The flower is composed of the calyx or cup, of the corolla or
blossom with its petals, of the receptacle or base, and of the
nectarium, as auxiliary ; and of the stamens with their anthera,
and the pistil with its stigma, style and ovary or germ, as primary
or essential organs of fructification.

The calyx, which is to be found immediately surrounding the
lowest portion of the corolla or blossom, is a green membraneous
sac, most frequently formed in the shape of a cup, and is intended
to defend, support and nourish the more perfect parts within.
It is consequently made of stronger materials,- that it may thus
perform its functions uninterruptedly.

The corolla or blossom, in which all the beauty of the flower
is investigated, is supposed to be an extension of the inner or
vascular part of the bark ; and consists either of a single piece,
or most frequently of many pieces that have been denominated
petal or petals ; and these are found to contain an infinite variety
of small tubes of the porous kind, intended (as it is conjectured)
for the absorption from the atmosphere and from the rays of
light, of those renovating materials which are to contribute to the
support and fertility of the more essential parts of the flower ;
while the corolla generally, defends and protects those parts
from external injury. The mechanism of the petals therefore is
of a very delicate and minute character ; and the corolla, by

38 SYLVA AMERICANA.

encircling the internal parts with its foliage, is well calculated to
answer the defensive purposes to which we have alluded.

The receptacle is the base of the flower close to the stalk
upon which all the other parts rest, as may be seen in the arti-
choke, when the leaves are removed ; and which, no doubt,
though we may not comprehend it, serves some other useful
purpose in the economy of vegetation, independently of the
support it affords to the flower.

The nectarium, or nectary, consists of a small sac or bag,
situated most frequently (though not uniformly) at the base of
each petal, from which the honey is secreted that is supposed to
be the source of nourishment to the internal parts of the flower.
When the nectarium is wanting, nature has given greater activity
to the other nutritive organs ; and when in the place of honey, a
strong poisonous fluid is secreted, (as is sometimes the case) it
is intended to keep off and destroy insects in those flowers which
are particularly liable to their attacks.

Having described the contributive, secondary, or auxiliary
parts of fructification, we come now to the essential ; and these
are the stamens and pistils.

The stamens, which are formed of the woody part of the
plant, are slender, thread-like substances, varying in number in
different flowers, and placed within the corolla, and on the
outside of the pistil which they surround. On the top, or upper
extremity, is situated the anther ; a small prominent bag, or
viscus, which contains in cells, or rather in globules, the pollen,
farina, or dust, (most frequently of a white, though sometimes of
a yellow, orange, or of a violet color,) that forms the great
principle of fertilization. From the anther descends a fine line
of communication called the filament, which attaches the stamen
to the receptacle, though sometimes to another part of the flower,
according to the varying circumstances of each individual.

The pistil, which is supposed to be formed of the pith of the
plant, is a small and column-shaped substance, occupying almost
invariably the centre of the flower, where it is encompassed
immediately by the stamens. The pistils vary in number, being
sometimes one, as in the cherry, and at others more than one,

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 39

as iii the apple and pear. It consists of at least two, but more
generally of three distinct parts; the ovary — the style — and
the stigma, or summit.

The ovary is situated at its lower extremity or base, supporting
the style and stigma, and from containing the rudiments of a new
plant, has been denominated by Linnaeus, the germ, or germen.
In its figure and shape, it varies in different plants ; consisting
in some of only one cell, and in others of more, according to the
peculiarity of each individual flower.

The style, which is the middle portion of the pistil, is a
prolongation of the substance of the ovary, being terminated at
its upper extremity by the summit or stigma, thus forming a line
of communication between the two extreme parts.

The stigma is a small glandular-looking substance, sometimes
of a triangular, at other times, of a circular shape, placed at the
top of the style, and from which it is also denominated, the
summit of the pistil ; as the style may be termed the centre, and
the ovary or germ, the base.

It is upon the arrangement of the stamens and pistils, that
Linnaeus has principally formed his system of classification ; the
particulars of which may be found in most of our elementary
works on botany. Suffice it here to say that the pistil (at its
base) is the organ which contains the rudiments of the fruit and
future seed ; but which seldom acquires a reproductive property,
without the influence of the dust contained in the anther of the
stamen ; and which being dropped, by the bursting of the
globules, on the stigma, invests the ovary with the requisite
fertilizing principle.

The contents of the ovary being thus called into action, it
gradually expands and enlarges, until by its own natural supplies,
it is rendered independent of the other parts of the flower ; and
these being no longer required, they decay and drop off, and the
fruit or pericarp by a progressive increase, is ultimately formed
into all its magnitude and perfection. Thus we see the ovary,
which in the early stage of growth, exhibited only the appearance
of a homogeneous mass of pulpy substance, as it advances in
size, displays the rude outline of separate organs, until it reaches

40 SYLVA AMERICANA.

its full magnitude'; when the embryo of a future plant may be
discovered in the centre of its own supplies. By this process
the pericarp, in a diversity of shapes and forms, is rendered
perfect in all its several parts ; and as the seed, which it contains,
is one of nature's greatest resources in the vegetable world, it is
defended above all other parts of the plants against the accidents
to which it may be liable. Thus in the one instance, it is
imbedded in the soft pulpy substance of the esculent fruits ; in
another, it is protected by thick membranes, and inclosed in a
pod, as in leguminous vegetables; while in a third it is surrounded
by a hard shell or a thick cuticle, (as in the various species of
corn), which requires a very strong force to rend it asunder. It
is thus fitted for the purpose of future germination, which will be
hereafter considered.

Of the Seeds.

The seeds are the sole end and aim of all the organs of
fructification. Every other part is in some manner subservient
to the forming, perfecting, or dispersing of these. A seed
consists of several parts, some of which are more essential than
others, and of these we shall give a particular description.

The embryo, or germ is the most essential of all, to which the
rest are wholly subservient, and without which no seed is perfect,
or capable of vegetation, however complete in external appear-
ance. It is sometimes called corculum, or little heart, punctum
vitce, or speck of life, and it is in the point whence the life and
organization of the future plant originate. In some seeds it is
much more conspicuous than in others. The walnut, the bean,
pea, lupine, &c. show the embryo in perfection. Its internal
structure, before it begins to vegetate, is observed by Gaertner to
be remarkably simple, consisting of an uniform medullary sub-
stance, inclosed in its appropriate bark or skin. Vessels are
formed as soon as the vital principle is excited to action, and
parts are then developed which seemed not previously to exist.

The cotyledons, or seed lobes, are immediately attached to the
embryo, of which they form, properly speaking, a part. They

vegetable physiology. 41

are commonly two in number, but sometimes four, and in others
only one. When the seed has sufficiently established its root,
these generally rise out of the ground, and become a kind of
leaves. Such is the true idea of the organs in question, but the
same name is commonly given to the body of the seed in the
grass and corn tribe, the palms, and several other plants, thence
denominated monocotyledons, because the supposed cotyledon is
single. It neither rises out of ground, nor performs the proper
functions of a cotyledon, for, what these plants produce is, from
the first, a real leaf; or, if the plant has no leaves, the rudiment
of a stem.

The albumen, or white, is a farinaceous, fleshy, or horny
substance, which constitutes the chief bulk of some seeds, as
grasses, corn, palms, lilies, never rising out of the ground nor
forming the office of leaves, being destined solely to nourish the
germinating embryo, till its roots can perform their office. In
the datepalm, this part is nearly as hard as stone ; in the
JWirabilis jalap a or four o'clock, it is like wheat flour. It is
wanting in several tribes of plant, as those with compound, or
cruciform flowers, and the cucumber and gourd kind, according
to Gsertner. Some few leguminous plants have it, and a great
number of others, which, like them, have cotyledons, besides.
We are not however to suppose that so important an organ is
altogether wanting, even in the above mentioned plants. The
farinaceous matter, destined to nourish their embryos, is un-
questionably lodged in their cotyledons, whose sweet taste as
they begin to germinate, often evinces its presence, and that it
has undergone the same chemical change as in barley. The
albumen of the nutmeg is remarkable for its. eroded variegated
appearance, and aromatic quality ; the cotyledons of this seed
are very small.

The vitellus, or yolk, first named and fully illustrated by
Gaertner, is less general than any of the parts already mentioned.
He describes it as very firmly and inseparably connected with
the embryo, yet never rising out of the integuments of the seed
in germination, but absorbed, like the albumen, for the nourish-
ment of the embryo. If the albumen be present, the vitellus is
6

42 SYLVA AMERICANA.

always situated between it and the embryo, and yet is constantly
distinct from the former. In the natural order of grasses the
part under consideration forms a scale between the embryo and
the albumen.

The true use of the vitellus is supposed to be to perform the
functions of a cotyledon with regard to air, if not to light, till a
real leaf can be sent forth, and the subterraneous cotyledons of
Gaertner in the horse chesnut and garden nasturtium are rather
of the nature of a vitellus. It does not appear that any plant
with genuine ascending cotyledons is likewise furnished with this
organ ; on the other hand, it commonly belongs to such as have
the most copious albumen, and therefore should seem to answer
some other end than mere nutriment, which is supplied by the
latter.

We learn from the above inquiries, that the old distinction
between plants with one cotyledon and those with several may
still be relied on, though hi the former the part which has
commonly been so denominated is the albumen, as in corn, the
real cotyledon of which is the scale or vitellus, which last organ
however seems wanting in palms, lilies, &c, such having really
no cotyledon at all, nor any thing that'can perform its office,
except the stalk of the embryo. In the horse chesnut, oak and
walnut possibly, whose seed lobes do not ascend, the functions
of a real cotyledon, as far as air is concerned, and those of the
albumen may be united in these lobes, as is the case with most
leguminous plants ; which is rendered more probable, as several
of the latter have the corresponding parts likewise remaining
under ground.

The testa, or skin, contains all the parts of a seed above
described, giving them their due shape ; for the skin is perfectly
formed, while they are but a homogeneous liquid. This coat
differs in thickness and texture in different plants. It is some-
times single, but more frequently lined with a finer and a very
delicate film called by Gaertner membrana, as may be seen in a
walnut, and the kernel of a peach, almond, or plum. In the
jasmine a quantity of pulp is lodged between the membrana and
the testa, constituting a pulpy seed, semen baccatwn, which is

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 43

distinct from the acinus, or grain of a compound berry in the
raspberry, the seed of the latter having its proper double covering
within the pulp. The testa bursts irregularly, and only from the
swelling of its contents in germination.

The hilum, or scar, is the point by which the seed is attached
to its seed vessel or receptacle, and through which alone life and
nourishment are conveyed for the perfecting its internal parts.
Consequently all those parts must be inlimately connected with
the inner surface of the scar, and they are all found to meet
there, and to divide or divaricate from that point, more or less im-
mediately. In describing the form or various external portions
of any seed, the hilum is always to be considered as the base.
When the seed is quite ripe, the communication through this
channel is interrupted ; it separates from the parent plant without
injury, a scar being formed on each. Yet the hilum is so far
capable of resuming its former nature, that the juices of the
earth are imbibed through it previous to germination.

CHAP. III.

Generation of Plants.

It is well known that the ancients supposed two sorts of gene-
ration, namely, equivocal and univocal. This latter, they said,
took place when any thing was produced from its proper egg or
matrix ; the equivocal, when any living thing was generated for-
tuitously, or by chance, from the confused mixture of particles.
Thus, for example, they believed that%fleas were generated from
urine and sawdust ; that myriads of little insects, like atoms,
came up out of slimy water, and maggots out of cheese in the
summer, that several sorts of herbs quickly sprang up out of
mould taken from a considerable depth below the surface of the
earth ; and lastly, that worms were produced from putrid carcasses.
Others thought that the Creator, at the beginning, mixed seeds

44 SYLVA AMERICANA.

and eggs with the earth everywhere ; so that when such earth
was dug up, and the sun by his heat, had hatched the seeds, they
imagined that herbs, plants and animals sprung up, which were
concealed therein from the creation. But all the ingenious men
of this enlightened age, who have imbibed the sound principles
of natural philosophy and natural history, have long ago rejected
this ridiculous opinion. The Almighty at the first gave to every
living thing its own proper seed, and to each a tendency or pro-
pensity to propagate its species ; and established this first and
great law to remain unalterable, " Increase and multiply." If
from putrefaction, and the heat of the sun, living creatures and
plants could be produced, it would have been needless, and con-
sequently highly unworthy of the Supreme Being, to have cre-
ated so many and so amazingly curious vessels for the preparation
of the seed ; for in that case, putrefaction would be equivalent to
creation. And if very minute insects and other animals could
be produced from putrefaction, and hatched by the heat of the
sun, why might not horses, elephants, and other large animals,
be produced in the same way ? For in large bodies the mechan-
ism is easier, as the matter is more manageable ; but in such mi-
nute insects, and, as we may say, such nothings, what wisdom,
what power, what inexplicable perfection is displayed, since
Nature is never more complete, than in her most minute works !
He must be void of understanding who does not perceive the
absurdity of equivocal generation, when he sees a body made
with such wonderful art, and adorned with so many thousand
pipes and canals, that no mechanic, even the most perfect of
mortals, can find out all the contrivance, much less imitate this
wonderful fabric ; yet he believes all those things were made by
a fortuitous and confused concourse of atoms. For it would fol-
low from hence, that a new species both of animals and plants
would always occur, neither of which we observe, or have any
account. In this case too, there could be no arguing from the
genera to the species. In a word, there wTould be no such thing
as certainty, but all confusion. Redi, having a mind to examine
equivocal generation, put recent flesh into a glass vessel, covered
with a very thin linen cloth, and exposed it to the sun ; after a

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 45

little time, he found that flies laid their eggs upon the linen cloth ;
but no maggots were produced in the flesh. We must not con-
clude that insects are produced by equivocal generation, because
we see many thousands of them about pools and ditches, where
the putrefying filth of those places furnishes plentiful nourishment
for them, which is the reason that their eggs are there deposited.
The Stapella hirsuta produces a flower that smells like carrion,
for which reason the flesh flies, deceived by the smell, fill the
whole flower with their eggs, taking it for putrid flesh. We have
no reason to believe, what some have asserted, that wheat degen-
erates into barley, and barley into oats, and oats into broom
grass ; for every species produces its own like ; nor was it ever
known that the fierce eagle produced a timorous dove. Having
confuted equivocal generation, it will follow that every living
thing is produced by univocal generation, or from an egg. Now
vegetables we have already proved, are endued with life, therefore
they all proceed from eggs. And indeed the great Harvey long
ago maintained this doctrine, that every living thing derives its
origin from an egg. But some of the moderns have strenuously
endeavored to overthrow this opinion, their cause being chiefly
supported by such arguments as the following. * If, say they, we
take a part from the root, and set it in the ground, it strikes root,
and a new plant springs up ; again, if a polypus be cut into seve-
ral parts, from each of these parts an entire and complete poly-
pus is formed, according to Trumbull and others. But do we
not as frequently see that a plant produces . from the same root
several shoots or stems ? For a stem is nothing but a root above
ground ; for which reason, if we turn a tree, as for example, the
cherrytree, upside down, the stem will become the root, and the
root be changed into branches. Besides, what we have said is
farther confirmed by the branches, all of which spring from the
stem or root ; but the stem or root from whence this branch or
shoot was taken, arose from a seed or egg. The same thing
may be said of the polypus among the animals ; and therefore a
polypus lives a vegetable life, or a vegetable lives the life of a
polypus ; and this manner of propagation, through every race in
the animal creation, is extremely common in the vegetable king-

46 SYLVA AMERICANA.

dom. No one ought to wonder that new leaves are produced
every year from the root or branches ; for in the same manner
do we daily see the feathers of birds produced. A feather,
which is a most curious piece of workmanship, consists of a con-
cave base, filled with a vessel like a lymphatic, so that the nutri-
ment can pass upward but not downward ; next there is the
midrib and the lateral branches, both partial and proper, so that a
feather may be compared to a fern twice compounded. Now daily
experience informs us that feathers, though adorned with such
curious mechanism falls off every year, and that others, springing
from the body of the bird, succeed in their stead. Moreover, it is
evident that feathers grow only out of the body of the bird, that
this body is their root, and that this root owes its origin at first to
a seed or egg. The same also holds in plants ; therefore polypi,
and plants of every kind, have undoubtedly seeds or eggs, by
which they are multiplied, without being cut or propagated by
shoots, layers, branches, or suckers. Add to this, the celebrated
Jussieu discovered eggs or seeds in the polypi as may be seen in
the Transactions of the Stockholm Society for 1746.

Here we are to observe that all viviparous animals have their
eggs, out of which comes their offspring, though these eggs are
contained in their proper matrix, and excluded in due time, in
the same manner as an egg in the nest cherished by the incuba-
tion of the bird, whose uterus is the nest. Nor can we deny,
but the smallest vegetables have seeds, although not often dis-
coverable by the naked eye. Valisnerius has discovered the
seeds in duck's meat ; and Michelius has done the same in the
mucor and byssus ; Bobart in the ferns ; Linnaeus in the mosses ;
and Reaumur in the fungi. The ancients thought that the mis-
tletoe was produced without seed, having seen it often grow from
the underside of branches ; for how the seeds of mistletoe could
be conveyed from one tree to another, and there adhere to the
underside of the branches, was very difficult for them to con-
ceive. But time has discovered, that the thrush, swallowing the
berries on account of the pulp, afterwards voids the seeds entire,
which adhere with the excrements to the branches. These vis-
cous seeds are washed by the rains, so that some of them are

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 47

often protruded to the lower side of the branches, where they
grow. Some people are persuaded, that the sessile and flat
fungi on trees, are morbid excrecencies ; but it is obvious
they are true species of those agarics which are furnished with
caps and stems, and grow on the ground, whose seeds falling on
a moist tree, produce, as it were, half cups without stems.

That seeds are the eggs of plants, appears from hence, that
as every egg produces an. offspring similar to the parent, so do
the seeds of vegetables, and consequently they also are eggs.
The containing parts of a hen's egg are, the shell, the external
film or membrane, the internal membrane lying immediately
under the former, the chalazce, or membrane inclosing the yolk,
twisted at the extremities. The parts contained are, the air
within the membranes at the obtuse end of the egg, the albumen,
or wThite, the vitellus, or yolk, in the centre the punctum vitce, or
point of life. When a perfect egg is placed under a hen, after
two days' incubation, the speck of life becomes red, sends out
its blood vessels through the yolk, and at last we find the whole
chick is formed out*of the speck of life. The yolk becomes the
secondines ; the white contributes to the nourishment of the
chick ; and the two membranes become the amnion and chorion.
Every seed of a vegetable, as we have before shown, is in struc-
ture essentially the same as the egg of a bird, endowed with ves-
sels, and contains under several membranes, the plant in miniature.
When a seed is exposed to a due portion of moisture, and a just
degree of heat, it begins to swell, and on its out side, there is
seen a vesicle, which is the amnion of Malpighi, furnished with
an umbilical cord, which is produced through the chorion to the
opposite side of the egg. While with the egg the amnion in-
creases, on its top is observed another small body, which like-
wise augments continually, till it has filled the whole chorion of
the egg ; and the amnion and chorion are turned into the exter-
nal shell or coat of the seed. That most plants have seminal
leaves or lobes is very well known. Now these seminal leaves
once constituted the whole seed, except the hilum, or little
heart, in which is the point of life ; and these lobes prepare the
nourishment for the tender plant, until it be able to strike root in

48 SYLVA AMERICANA.

the earth, in the same manner as the yolk in an egg, becom-
ing the placenta, prepares the nourishment, and sends it by the
umbilical cord to the chick.

From the foregoing observations, it is evident that the seeds of
all vegetables may be considered as eggs, from which the respec-
tive species are produced. Now, daily experience teaches us, that
no egg can produce an animal, till it be impregnated or fecundated
by the male ; a hen, indeed, will lay eggs, but they will prove
abortive, unless they are impregnated or fertilized by the male.
That generation precedes the birth, appears throughout universal
nature. In quadrupeds it does without doubt : but in fishes, it is
supposed by some that generation follows or comes after the
birth or exclusion of the eggs, and that the male sperm is emitted
upon the eggs after they are excluded from the matrix of the female.
This is demonstrable in the salmon during the spawning season.

Physiologists have entertained a variety of opinions respecting
generation. After rejecting the effervescences, precipitations,
and other ridiculous notions of the ancients, they now seem to
acquiesce in two opinions. The first is that of the great Hervey,
who supported that the speck of life, or cicatricula, the entire
rudiments of the future foetus were present, perfect in all its
members, and that it was only requisite that the male sperm
should add or excite the first spirit, motion and life. His follow-
ers contend, that so curious and wonderful a machine as an ani-
mal body, could never be formed and perfected by another ma-
chine ; and that therefore in the ovaria of the first female there
must needs have been her offspring, or ova, and in them others
of the same kind; and so on in an infinite series through all the
subsequent descending generations. In a word, that in the ovaria of
Eve, the whole race of mankind were contained, whether, past,
present or future. Now allowing the infinite divisibility of matter,
yet it exceeds all belief, that so many myriads should be con-
tained in one egg. The second hypothesis is that of Leuwen-
hoek. He supposed that the semen masculinum contained millions
of animalcules, and that each of the ova, in the female ovaria, had
a small perforation, no bigger than to admit a single animalcule.
Through this small aperture an animalcule is supposed to enter ;

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 49

soon after which the ovum becomes detached, and, in a wonder-
ful manner, descends the Fallopian tube into the uterus, together
with the animalcule, which in time becomes a perfect foetus.
But this theory is more plausible than just : for by the conjunc-
tion of two animals of different kinds, a species is produced,
which we call hybrid, mongrel, or mule, being of a mixed nature
between the male and female parent. And it must be allowed
that an animal thus formed could not be produced, were the ru-
diments of the fetus to derive their origin wholly from the male,
agreeably to this hypothesis. All we certainly know of the mys-
terious work of generation, is, that all animals require the con-
currence of a male and female to produce their kind ; and that
these, distinctly and invariably, are found to beget animals of
their own species. We know but little of those peculiar charac-
ters in the parts that go to make up animated nature, which mark
one animal to creep in the dust, and another to glitter upon the
throne ! Something more certain may be discovered regarding
the origin of vegetable life, to which we shall return.

That we may make a full inquiry into this subject of the re-
production of plants, it will be proper to investigate the situation
of their organs of fructification. Now we have proved that the
seeds are the eggs of plants ; and it appears wherever the fecundat-
ed eggs are, there are we to seek for the organs of generation ;
and we shall find tHe fructifying organs of plants where the seeds
are produced. But the seeds are produced where the flower
and fruit are ; therefore the flower and fruit are the organs
of generation. Some have asserted that certain vegetables
wanted flowers, and others both flowers and fruit. Tournefort
maintained that the algae and mosses had seeds, but no flower ;
and that the fungi, and some others, had neither flower nor
fruit. Hence some of the moderns have argued against the
fructification. But for one to deny flowers and fruit to the
most minute vegetables, which he finds in all the larger species
that fall under his inspection, is not the part of a fair and ra-
tional inquirer. For it is the same as if we should conclude
concerning some minute species of insects, that they had neither
feet, eyes nor mouth, because we cannot discover them with the

7

50 SYLVA AMERICANA.

naked eye. Bobart sowed the seeds of ferns, which grew very-
well. Plumier discovered the flowers in some of the fern kind.
Linnaeus discovered the seeds of mosses. In the prickly club-
moss, he observed, that one part of the fructification contained
the fertilizing dust, and the other the seeds ; which were evident
signs that the plant had both flower and fruit. Michelius has fre-
quently numbered the stamens of the fungi, and has sown their
seeds which flourished well. From which we may conclude,
that these lowest tribes of vegetables are all furnished with flowers
and fruit, although, by reason of their exceeding minuteness, they
have not hitherto been distinctly known to botanists. In short,
there never was a clear and evident example produced of any
plant which wanted flowers and fruit ; and therefore we may justly
say, that in their fructification consists the essence of plants.

Universal experience attests, that the existence of the flower
always precedes that of the fruit, in the same manner as genera-
tion the birth in animals; so that not one example of the con-
trary can be produced in any individual. Since in animals all
generation precedes the birth, and in vegetables every flower
precedes the fruit, we must necessarily ascribe fecundation to
the flower, and the birth or exclusion of the seed to the ripe
fruit.

Hence we may define a flower to be the genital organ of a
plant serving for fecundation, and the fruit to be the genital organs
serving for the birth or maturation of the seed. All flowers,
whatever, except the mosses, are furnished with anthers and
stigmas, or both together ; and as this holds universally in every
species of plant, (the mosses only excepted,) those parts must
necessarily constitute the essence of a flower. If we find a
flower with anthers, but no stigmas, we may also assuredly find
another flower either on the same, or on a different plant of the
same species, which has stigmas with the anthers or without
them. Pontedera contends, that there are some plants which
have no anthers, as for example, the sago palm tree ( Cycas Circi-
nalis) the Celtis, or nettle tree, wTith some others ; but in this he
is mistaken ; for even the number of the anthers in those plants
he mentions is at present very well known to botanists.

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 51

For the act of fecundation two things are requisite, namely,
the genital organs of both sexes ; because, as we have before
stated, one of the sexes alone cannot propagate the species.
Now the act of fecundation is performed in the flower ; there-
fore it follows, that the genital organs of both sexes must be pre-
sent in the flower. We are here, however, to observe, that those
organs are not always present in one and the same flower. It is
sufficient that those of the male be in one flower, and those of
the female in another. Since every plant bears seeds by which
its offspring can be propagated, and no egg can be hatched before
fecundation, it will follow, that fecundation is as necessary as the
seeds themselves. Hence it appears, that the organs of both
sexes, which serve for fecundation, are altogether necessary, if
the flower is perfect, and that they are the essential parts. But
we find no parts of a flower that are essential but the anthers and
stigmas, therefore these parts are the genital organs of both sexes,
serving for fecundation. Now we maintain that the anthers are
the testes, and that the pollen performs the office of the semen
masculinum. The truth of this we shall deduce by the follow-
ing arguments.

1. Preceding the fruit. The anthers and their dust always
come before their fruit. When the fruit sheds its seeds, it comes
to maturation. This is the case with the anthers ; for when they
shed their dust, they are come to maturation, and have done
their office ; yet their dust is always shed when the flower is in
full vigor, and then the anthers drop, and are useless.

2. Situation, The anthers are always so situated in the
flower, that their dust which is the male sperm, may reach the
pistil or female organ ; for the stamens either surround the pistil,
as in most fknvers ; or, if the pistil incline to the upper side of
the flower, the stamens do the same ; or, if the pistil nods, the
stamens ascend.

3. Time. The anthers and stigmas are in full vigor at the
self-same time, and this not only when both are in. one and
the same flower, but also when they are in distinct or separate
ones ; so that the long catkins of the hazel, birch and alder, never
discharge the dust of their anthers before the stigmas below them

52 SYLVA AMERICANA.

are come out. The male hemp never sheds its dust before the
•pistils of the female plant appear.

4. Cells. If we cut asunder the anthers before they shed
their dust, we find their structure altogether as wonderful and
curious as the seed vessels themselves. For, within thev consist
either of one cell, as the mercury ; or, two, as the hellebore ; or
three, as the orchis, &x.

5. Castration. If we cut off the anthers of any plant which
bear but one flower, taking care at the same time that no other
plant of the same species is near it, the fruit proves abortive, or
at least produces seeds which will not vegetate. This is a cer-
tain truth, which any one will find upon trial.

6. Figure. The figure of the fertilizing dust, will clearly
convince any one, that this fine powder is not accumulated by
chance, or from the dryness of the anthers. Malpighi, Grew
and others, who had viewed the figure of these particles with
good microscopes, found all the particles exactly equal to one
another, but in different genera, as great a difference in shape
and figure, as the seeds themselves. As for example, in the
sunflower, the particles are globular and prickly ; in the mallows
they appear like wheels with teeth ; in the ricinus, or palma
Christi, they are shaped like a grain of wheat, flat and smooth ;
in the borage like a thin leaf rolled up ; in the narcissus, kidney-
shaped ; in the comfrey, like double globules. The powder of
the anthers, in regard to fecundation, answers to Leuwenhoek's
animalcules in the male sperm ; and the stigma, which receives
this dust, is always moist, that the dust may instantly adhere to it.
The observation of the famous Jussieu, concerning the maple,
deserves our notice. " Those gentlemen," says he, " who have
examined the fertilizing dust of the maple by microscopes, have
drawn the particles in the form of across." From which obser-
vation we may infer, that those particles are hollow globules, con-
taining some subtle matter within, that as soon as the hollow
globules touch the moisture, they burst, and discharge their ex-
ceedingly fine contents. This last observation throws some light
on the generation of animals, from its analogy to the seminal an-
imalcules. Upon the whole, it abundantly appears, that the

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 53

anthers are the male organs of generation, and their dust the
genuine male sperm. Since in every flower the anthers and
stigmas are the genital organs serving for fecundation, and the
anthers the male organs, it is obvious to every one, that the
stigmas, the other essential part of the flower, is the female organ
of generation, which we shall more fully prove by the following
arguments.

1. Situation. For we are to consider that the stigma is
always so situated, that the anthers, or their impregnating dust,
can reach it, as we have shown above. Besides, it is remarkable,
that in most plants, the number of the stigmas exactly corresponds
with the cells of the pericarp.

2. Time. The stigmas are always in full vigor at the same
time with the anthers.

3. Falling off. The stigmas, in most plants, when they
have discharged their office, drop off in the same manner as the
anthers do ; which is a most evident sign that the stigmas
contribute nothing to the ripening of the fruit, but serves only for
the purpose of generation.

4. Being cut off. If the stigmas be cut off before they have
received the impregnating dust of the anthers, the plant is castrated
as to the female organs, and the fruit perishes ; a sufficient
demonstration that the stigma is that part of the female organ of
generation destined for conception. The stigma of a flower,
has, besides, two other singular properties ; namely, that it is
always divested of the cuticle or film, nor has it any bark as the
other parts, and then it is always bedewed with moisture.

The generation of plants, then, is brought about by the anthers
shedding their dust on the stigmas. It is not sufficiently clear in
what way the generation of animals is accomplished ; but thus
far we are certain, that the male sperm must come in contact
with the female organ, if there be any impregnation. In the
vegetable kingdom the fertilizing dust is carried by the air to the
moist stigmas, where the particles burst and discharge their
exceedingly fine or subtle contents, which impregnate the ovary.
That this is the case, will be shown by the following arguments.

1. Sight. When a plant is in flower, and the dust of the

54 SYLVA AMERICANA.

anthers is flying about, part of this dust lights upon, and is seen
to cling to the stigma.

2. Proportion. For the most part the stamens and pistils
are of the same height, that the male dust may more easily come
at the stigma ; but in some plants it is not so, and then a singular
process of fecundation may be observed. As for example, some
of the pinks have pistils longer than, the stamens : the flowers do
not nod, but the pistils are reflected or bent back like rams'
horns towards the anthers.

3. Place. The stamens for the most part surround the
pistil, so that some of the dust is always blown by the wind on
the stigma.

4. Time. Here we are to observe, that the stamens and
pistils come at the same time, and that not only in one and the
same flower, but also where some are male and others female, on
the same plant, with a very few exceptions. One thing which
merits our observation in regard to time is, that when the male
and female flowers are in distinct cups on the same plant, or on
different plants of the same species, and where the male flowers
are not erected perpendicularly over the females, there it is
necessary that the flowering be over before the leaves come out,
lest the fecundation should be hindered by the intervention of
the leaves, as for example, in the mulberry, alder, birch, hornbeam,
beech, oak hazel, and also in the willow, poplar and ash.

5. Rains. In almost all sorts of flowers we see how they

expand or open by the heat of the sun ; but in the evening, and

in a moist state of the air, they close or contract, lest the moisture

getting to the dust of the anthers should coagulate the same, and

render it incapable of being blown on the stigmas ; but when

once the fecundation is over, the flowers neither contract in the

evening, nor yet against rain. Flowers with covered anthers

never close in the night. The anthers of the rye hang out beyond

the flower, and if rain falls while it is in flower, the dust is

clotted ; hence the husbandman truly predicts a bad crop ; for

the grains are not so numerous, because many of the florets prove

abortive. But the anthers of the barley lie so close within the

husk, that the rain cannot get in. If rain falls upon the blossom

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 55

of the apple, pear, or cherry, the gardener immediately dreads
the blossom falling off or proving abortive ; and experience
confirms the truth of this, for the powder of the anthers is spoiled ;
yet this accident oftener happens in the cherry than the apple or
pear ; for all the anthers of the cherry flowers discharge their
dust at once : but the case is not so in the others. Smoke is
also injurious, by drying up the moisture of the stigmas.

6. Culture of Palm trees. That the cultivation of palm trees
were in use to pull off the spadices from the males, and suspend
them over the spathae of the females, is attested by Theophratus,
Pliny, Prosper, Alpinns, Kemper and many others. If this
operation happened to be neglected, the dates were sour and
destitute of nuts. Kemper adds this singular circumstance, that
the male spadix, after being thoroughly dried and kept till next
season, still retained its impregnating virtue.

7. Nodding flowers. Since the male dust is generally of a
greater specific gravity than the air, in most plants that have the
pistil longer than the stamens, the all-wise Creator has made the
flowers nodding, that the powder may more easily reach the
stigma ; as may be seen in the common snow drop and violet.
Now it cannot be said that this happens merely from the weight
of the flower, for sometimes the fruit in the same plants, which is
ten times heavier than the flower, grows erect, as in the crown
imperial, fritillary and others.

8. Sunk flowers. The stems of many plants grow under
water ; but a little before they blow, the flowers emerge or rise
above the surface of the water, when they blow, and swim till
they receive their impregnation and then sink again.

9. Consideration of all sorts of flowers. Here a number of
particulars may be produced, but we shall confine ourselves to
those that are the most striking and applicable to the subject.
When the flowers of the male hemp are pulled off before those
of the female are fully expanded, the females do not produce
fertile seeds. But as a male flower is sometimes found upon a
female plant, this may be the reason why fertile seeds are some-
times produced even after this precaution has been observed.
The tulip affords another experiment of the same purpose, Cut

56 SYLVA AMERICANA.

off all the anthers of a red tulip before the pollen is emitted ;
then take the ripe anthers of a white tulip, and throw the pollen
of the white one upon the stigma of the red; the seeds of the
red tulip being thus impregnated by one of a different complexion,
will next season produce some red, some white, but mostly varie-
gated flowers. The hops are of two sorts ; the one male, and
the other female ; and that which is commonly called the fruit,
is only the calyx expanded and lengthened ; hence the female
plants, though not impregnated, can bear cones. This it was
that deceived Tournefort, so that he would not acknowledge the
sexes of plants, because a female plant of the hop, in the garden
at Paris, throve well, and bore fruit in plenty eveiy year, when
no male plants were within several miles of it. The same thing
happens in the mulberry and blite, the berries of which are only
succulent calyxes, but not seed vessels or ovaria. — One Richard
Baal, a gardener, at Brentford, sold a quantity of cauliflower
seed, (Brassica florida) which he raised in his own garden, to
several gardeners in the suburbs of London, who carefully sowed
the seeds in good ground, but they produced nothing but the
common long-leaved cabbage, (Brassica longifolia) for which
reason they complained that they were imposed upon, and
commenced a suit against Baal in Westminster Hall. The
judge's opinion was, that Baal should return the gardeners their
money, and also make good their loss of time and crops. This,
however, ought not to be considered as a fraud, on the part of
the poor gardener, but ought to be ascribed to the impregnation
of his good plants by the common cabbage. Wherefore, if we
have an excellent sort of cabbage, we ought not to let it flower
in the neighborhood of an inferior kind, lest the good sort be
impregnated by the dust of the other, whereby the seeds will
produce a degenerate race. It is needless to mention more
examples, though we could easily deduce some singular experi-
ments from many more plants, to corroborate this doctrine of the
generation of plants. We shall next mention the utility of insects
in the fecundation of plants. In a great many flowers there is a
honey juice separated by the flower, which Pontedera thinks is
that balsam which the seeds imbibe, to make them keep and

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 57

preserve their vegetative quality longer ; and as long as the
balsam is not dried up or spoiled, so long the seeds are fit to
germinate. Several insects, as bees, flies, and butterflies, live
on the honey juice only. Quint ilian, the Roman orator, has a
very singular case in one of his orations. " A poor man and a
rich man," says he, " had two small adjoining gardens. The
rich man had many fine flowers in his garden, and the poor man
had bees in his. The rich man complained that his flowers
were spoiled by the poor man's bees, which he warned him to
remove. The poor man not complying, the other scattered
poison on his flowers ; on which the poor man's bees all died ;
and Dives is guilty of this great injury. The poor man pleads
that the bees did no hurt at all to the rich man's flowers ; that
neither the Creator, nor any human laws, had ever restrained
bees within any certain limits ; and therefore the rich man might
hinder the bees from settling on his flowers if he could." But
the other might have objected, that the bees were so far hurtful
to his flowers, that they sucked the honey juice, and carried off
the fertilizing dust. After all, it is probable that the bees are
more useful than hurtful to flowers, since, by their unwearied
labors, they spread the fertilizing dust, so that it may reach the
pistil ; for it is not clear what use the honey juice is of in the
economy of flowers. From what has been said it appears, that
the generation of plants is performed by the fertilizing dust of
the anthers falling on the moist stigma, or female organ ; which
dust, by the help of the moisture, adheres and bursts, discharging
its contents, the subtle particles of which are absorbed by the style,
into the ovarium, germ, or seed bud. Upon the whole, we think
that the flowering of plants may be truly called their generation.
From what has been said it follows, that a flower which is
furnished with anthers, but wants the stigmas, is a male flower ;
that a flower which has stigmas, but no anthers, is a female ;
and one that has both is a hermaphrodite flower. Nor need we
wonder, that in the vegetable kingdom many plants are hermaph-
rodites, though in the animal kingdom there are a very few of
this kind ; for there one sex can easily move to the other ;
whereas plants are fixed to one spot, and cannot remove from it

8

58 SYLVA AMERICANA.

We call a plant which has only male flowers, a male plant ;
that which has only female flowers, a female plant ; and that
which has only hermaphrodite flowers, a hermaphrodite plant.
A fourth sort, having on one and the same stem both male and
female flowers distinct, is called an androgynous plant. There
is also a fifth sort, namely, when on one and the same plant there
are not only hermaphrodite flowers, but also male or female
flowers ; and this is called a polygamous plant. When male
flowers are added to the hermaphrodite, they serve to impreg-
nate those which have not been impregnated by their own males ;
or, if female flowers are added, they are impregnated by the
farina of the hermaphrodite flowers.

From the foregoing remarks the reader may perceive how
similar nature is to herself, and how exact in following her own
laws in all her works. Who would ever believe so many truths
were discoverable concerning plants ? Though, without doubt,
there are many more that remain still undiscovered. To conclude,
our Creator has thought proper to discover to our senses much
of his providence ; and to encourage our researches, he has
endowed us with a most ardent desire to trace im along the
path that he has made.

Germination and Growth of Plants.

Before wTe describe the process of the germination of plants, as
connected with the subject, it will be useful to know the means
adopted by nature for the distribution of the various seeds, so as
to afford that diversity of vegetable productions which we see
adorn and cover the face of the earth.

If seeds were to fall into the ground merely by dropping down
from the plant, from thus being collected in a mass, either the
fermentative process wTould take place and decomposition and
decay be the consequence, or such a partial vegetation would be
produced, as would render a large surface of the globe destitute
of verdure and of the supplies so essential to animal life ; wThile
the atmosphere, from numerous decompositions on the one hand,
and from a deficiency of the renovating principle on the other.

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 59

would lose its purity, and be no longer fit for the purposes for
which it was created. But Providence has wisely ordered it
otherwise. For in the first place of this partial distribution, it is
so arranged that this, like every other part of the creation, shall
be subordinate to the rest ; and that each shall take its respective
share in contributing to the benefit of the whole. Thus the
vegetable world where each portion of it, from its construction,
is rendered helpless and incapable of extending itself beyond the
spot which first gave it existence ; the sources of propagation, by
a very curious mechanism in some instances, and through a
variety of mediums in others, are made to distribute themselves
in all those directions which can render their perpetuation useful
or necessary. Thus in some, the seed vessel is. made to burst
its integuments with an elastic jerk, by which its seed is thrown
with violence to a considerable distance. Others again are
covered with a spiral awn or spring, blended with a number of
minute hairs which serve as so many fulcra, by which they cling
to whatever objects come in their way ; and the seed, thus
attached, is kept in continual motion until it falls and germinates,
or dies in the ground. Thus cattle, to which it frequently fixes
itself, by moving from place to place, and depositing the seeds
over a large space of ground, are often the instruments of this
kind of distribution. In other instances, a dispersion takes place
from birds and other animals feeding upon the fruits of plants, and
dropping the seeds after they have devoured the pulp. Some
carry them away to a particular spot to make a hoard of them ;
and such as are not consumed, germinate and become plants.
Others swallow the seeds, and afterwards deposit them in the
soil without being injured. Our own species, we know, not only
distribute the seed peculiar to our native climate, but also bring
from the most distant regions the productions of foreign countries,
and naturalize them in our own. The winds, also, are another
very powerful agent in the distribution of those seeds which are
purposely constructed to be acted upon by their influence ; as the
lichens and other seeds which float invisibly in the air, and
vegetate wherever they happen to meet with a suitable soil.
Some are furnished with a light down, others by a membraneous

GO SYLVA AMERICANA.

wing, and a third again are in themselves so light, that each of
them float in the air and are carried in its current which way
soever the wind may blow. A last means adopted by nature for
the dispersion of seeds, is the action of streams, rivers and the
currents of the ocean. The mountain stream or torrent washes
down the valley the seeds which may accidentally fall in it, or
which may happen to be forced from its banks when it suddenly
overflows them. The broad and majestic rivers, winding along
the extensive plains and traversing the continents of the world,
convey to the distance of many hundred miles, the seeds that may
have vegetated at their sources ; while by the currents of the
ocean, fruits and seeds, indigenous to America, have been
deposited upon the western shores of Europe.

Thus nature, by means the most comprehensive, yet upon
principles the most simple and intelligible, provides for the
completion of all her works ; and the more we examine her
attributes, the greater proofs we obtain of the usefulness and ends
for which her powers have been called into action.

Germination is that act or operation of the vegetative principle
by which the embryo is extricated from the envelopes, and
converted into a plant. This is universally the first part of the
process of vegetation. For we have already proved, that all
plants spring originally from seed ; the doctrine of equivocal
generation being now most completely exploded, and an additional
proof adduced of the uniformity of the operations of nature.
But seeds will not germinate at random, and in all circumstances
whatever. They will germinate only under certain conditions,
and till such conditions take place the vital principle lies dormant
in the substance of the seed. But when a seed is placed in the
soil, or in circumstances otherwise favorable to vegetation, the
vital principle is immediately stimulated into action, producing a
variety of combinations, and effecting a gradual change in the
parts of the seed. The radicle is converted into a root ; the
plumelet into a trunk or stem with its leaves and branches ; and
a new plant is formed capable of extracting from the soil or
atmosphere the food necessary to its growth and developement.

The conditions necessary to germination relate either to the

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY, Gl

internal state of the seed itself, or to the circumstances in which
it is placed, with regard to surrounding circumstances.

1. Maturity of the seed. The first condition necessary to
germination is, that the seed must have reached maturity. Unripe
seeds seldom germinate, hecause their parts are not yet prepared
to form the chemical combinations on which germination depends.
There are some seeds, however, whose germination is said to
commence in the very seed vessel, even before the fruit is ripe,
and while it is yet attached to its parent plant, as for example,
the garden radish, the lemon and the pea. But these are
examples of rare occurrence ; though it is sometimes necessary
to sow or plant the seed almost as soon as it is fully ripe, as in
the case of the coffee bean ; which will not germinate unless it
be sown within five or six weeks after it has been gathered.
But most seeds if guarded from external injury will retain their
germinating faculty for a period of many years.

2. Exclusion of light. The second condition is that the seed
sown must be secluded from the action of the rays of light.
This has no doubt been long known to be a necessary condition
of germination, if we regard the practice of harrowing or raking
in of the grains or seeds sown by the farmer or gardener as being
founded upon it. But it does not seem to have engaged the
notice of the scientific, or to have been proved by direct and
intentional experiment till lately. Ingenhoutz and Senebier
ascertained by experiment that seeds germinate faster in the
shade than in the sun, and hence concluded that light is prejudi-
cial to germination. But it remained to be determined whether
the prejudicial effect was to be attributed merely to the light, or
partly to the heat accompanying it. From the experiments of
Ingenhoutz and Senebier, the injury appeared to be occasioned
by the light only, because the comparative experiments in the
shade and in the sun, were made at equal temperature, as
indicated by the thermometer. With this conclusion, however,
though apparently legitimate, M. Saussure professes to be
dissatisfied, because the thermometer placed even under the
recipient is, in his opinion, incapable of indicating the actual
degree of the heat of the solar rays impinging on the surface of

G2 SYL.VA AMERICANA.

the seeds, which he helieves to he carried to a very great height,
though still escaping our instruments of observation. But this
mode of reasoning is, to say the least of it, still more inconse-
quential than the former ; because it is setting by a mere
probability from which nothing can be inferred, in opposition to a
direct fact, from which something surely should be inferred. It
may, indeed, be true, that the degree of heat impinging on the
surface of the seed is so great as to impede its germination ; but
as no direct proof can be adduced in support of the opinion, we
must just rest satisfied with the indications of our instruments,
till such time as other instruments shall be invented capable of
detecting their errors ; and with the previous conclusion, till such
time as some positive fact shall be opposed to the experiments
from which it is deduced.

3. Action of Heat. A third condition necessary to germina-
tion is the access of heat. No seed has ever been known to
germinate at or below the freezing point. Hence seeds do not
germinate in winter, even though lodged in their proper soil.
But the vital principle is not necessarily destroyed in consequence
of this exposure ; for the seed will germinate still, on the return
of spring, when the ground has been again thawed, and the
temperature raised to a proper degree. But this degree varies
considerably in different species of seeds, as is obvious from
observing the times of their germination, whether in the same or
in different climates. For if seeds which naturally sow them-
selves, germinate, in different climates, at the same period ; or in
the same climate at different periods ; the temperature necessary
to their germination must of consequence be different. Now
these cases are constantly occurring and presenting themselves
to our notice ; and have also been made the subject of particular
observation. Adanson found that seeds which will germinate in
the space of twelve hours in an ordinary degree of heat, may be
made to germinate in the space of three hours, by exposing them
to a greater degree of heat ; and that seeds transported from the
climate of Paris to that of Senegal, have their periods of germi-
nation accelerated from one to three days. Upon the same
principle, seeds transported from a warmer to a colder climate,

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 6

o

hive their period of germination protracted till the temperature of
the latter is raised to that of the former. This is well exemplified
in the case of our green house and hot house plants, from which
it is also obvious that the temperature must not be raised beyond
a certain degree, otherwise the vital principle is totally destroyed.

4. Access of Moisture. A fourth condition necessary to
germination is the access of moisture. Seeds will not germinate
if they are kept perfectly dry. Water, therefore, or some liquid
equivalent to it, is essential to germination. Hence rain is always
acceptable to the farmer or gardener, immediately after he has
sown his seeds ; and if no rain falls, recourse must be had, if
possible, to irrigation. But the quantity of water applied is not
a matter of indifference. There may be too little, or there may
be too much. If there is too little, the seed dies for want of
moisture ; if there is too much, it then rots. The case is not the
same, however, in all seeds. Some can bear but little moisture,

.though others will germinate even when partially immersed, and
indeed there are some that will germinate when wholly submersed.

5. Access of Atmospheric Air. A fifth condition necessary
to germination, is the access of atmospheric air. Seeds will
not germinate if placed in a vacuum. Ray introduced some
grains of lettuce seed into the receiver of an air pump, which he
then exhausted. The seeds did not germinate. But they
germinated upon the readmission of the air, which is thus proved
by consequence to be necessary to their germination.

The discovery of the several gasses, and of their various
chemical properties, has contributed more than all other circum-
stances put together, to explain and elucidate the phenomena of
vegetation. The first experiments on this obscure but interesting
subject are those of Scheele ; who discovered soon after the
introduction of pneumatic chemistry, that beans did not germinate
in any kind of gas indifferently; but that oxygen gas is necessary
to the process. Achard afterwards proved that no seed will
germinate in nitrogen gas, or carbonic acid gas, or hydrogen gas,
except when mixed with a certain proportion of oxygen gas ;
and hence concluded that oxygen gas is necessary to the germi-
nation of all seeds, and the only constituent part of the atmospheric
air which is absolutely necessary. The experiments of JVI.

G4 SYLVA AMERICANA.

Achard, were afterwards repeated and confirmed by a number
of other modern chemists, who found that seeds will not germinate
in nitrogen gas, but will die if put into it even after germination,
at least if the radicle only is developed. Senebier found that
seeds will not germinate in an artificial atmosphere that does not
contain at least one eighth part of its bulk of oxygen ; but that
the most favorable proportion is when it contains one fourth part.
It has been ascertained, however, that seeds will germinate even
in an atmosphere of pure oxygen, though not so readily as when
presented in a state of mixture or combination with other gasses.
It cannot indeed be necessary that the oxygen consumed in
germination should be presented to the seed in an uncombined
state ; as is obvious from the natural agency of the atmospheric
air, as well as from direct experiment. Humboldt found that
the process of germination is accelerated by means of previously
steeping the seed in water impregnated with oxymuriatic acid.
In all cases of germination the presence of oxygen is necessary.
For even of those seeds that germinate in water, the germination
takes place only in consequence of the oxygen which the water
contains in an uncombined state. The period necessary to
complete the process of germination is not the same in all seeds,
even when all the necessary conditions have been furnished.
Some, species require a shorter, and others a longer period.
The grasses are among the number of those plants whose seeds
are of the most rapid germination ; then perhaps cruciform plants ;
then leguminous plants ; then labiate plants ; then umbelliferous
plants ; and in the last order rosaceous plants, whose seeds
germinate the slowest. The following table indicates the periods
of the germination of a considerable variety of seeds as observed
by Adanson.

Wheat, millet seed, . . 1

Spinage, beans, mustard, . 3

Lettuce, anise seed, . . 4

Melon, cucumber, cress seed, 5

Radish, beet root, ... 6

Barley, 7

Orach, 8

Days. Days.

Purslain, 9

Cabbage, 10

Hyssop, 30

Parsley, . . . . 40 or 50
Almond, chesnut, peach, 1 year.
Rose, hawthorn, filbert, 2 years.

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 65

When a seed is committed to the soil under the conditions
that have been just specified, it begins, for the most part, soon
after to inhale or imbibe air and moisture, and to expand and
augment in volume. This is uniformly the first symptom of
incipient germination, though not always an infallible symptom ;
because the seed may swell with moisture merely by being
soaked in water, though the vital principle should be totally
extinct. But the first infallible symptom of germination is to be
deduced from the prolongation of the radicle beyond the extent
to which it would attain merely in consequence of soaking. In
the latter case the augmentation of the radicle is limited by the
extent and capacity of its envelopes, or by the quantity of moisture
necessary to its saturation ; or by causes inducing incipient
putrefaction. But in the former case its augmentation is circum-
scribed by no such limits : for it not only assumes a swollen and
distended appearance in consequence of the absorption of
moisture ; but acquires an additional and progressive increase
in the actual assimilation of nutriment, bursting through its proper
integuments, and directing its extremity downwards into the soil.

The next step in the process of germination is the evolution of
the cotyledon or cotyledons, unless the seed is altogether a
cotyledonous.

The next step, in the case of seeds furnished with cotyledons,
is that of the extrication of the plumelet, or first real leaf, from
within or from between the cotyledon or cotyledons, and its
expansion in the open air.

The last and concluding step is the developement of the
rudiments of a stem, if the species is furnished with a stem, and
the plant is complete.

Such are the phenomena observable in the germination of
seed ; air and moisture are absorbed from the soil or atmosphere
by the hilum or envelopes. Their agency is immediately
exerted on the farina of the albumen or cotyledons ; and a food
is thus prepared for the nourishment of the tender embryo, to
wdiich it passes through the medium of the vessels of the
cotyledons, or, as they have been also denominated, the seminal
root. The radicle gives the first indications of life, expanding
9

G6 SiLVA AMERICANA.

and bursting its integuments, and at length fixing itself in the soil :
the plumelet next unfolds its parts, developing the rudiments of
the leaf, branch and trunk ; and finally the seminal leaves decay
and drop off ; and the embryo has been converted into a plant
capable of abstracting immediately from the soil or atmosphere
the nourishment necessary to its future growth.

Food of Plants.

It is of the utmost consequence to determine what is the food
of plants. Upon that question philosophers have widely differed.
From a variety of experiments, accurately conducted, we are led
to believe that all vegetables, from the hyssop upon the wall, to
the cedar of Lebanon, receive their principal nourishment from
oily particles incorporated with water, by means of gasses,
vegetable extracts, salts, earths and manures. Until oil is 'made
miscible, it is unable to enter the radical vessels of vegetables ;
and on that account Providence has bountifully supplied all
natural soils with chalky or other absorbent particles. We say
natural soils, for those which have been assisted by art are full of
materials for that purpose ; such as lime, marl, soap, ashes and
the volatile alkaline salt of putrid matter. It may be asked,
whence do natural soils receive their oily particles ? We answer
the air supplies them. During the summer months, the atmos-
phere is full of exhalations arising from the steam of putrid
substances, the perspiration of animals and smoke. Every
shower brings down these putrescent and oleaginous particles for
the nourishment of plants. Of these particles some fall into the
sea, where they probably serve for the nourishment of the fuci,
and other submarine plants. They are, however, but seemingly
lost, as the fishes taken from the sea, and the weeds thrown upon
the beach, restore them again under a different form.

The ingenious Mr. Tull, and others, contend that earth- is the
food of plants. If so, all soils equally tilled would prove equally
prolific. The increased fertility of a well pulverized soil, induced
him to imagine that the plough could so minutely divide the
particles of earth, as to fit them for entering into the roots of

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 67

plants. An open soil, if not too light in its own nature, will
always produce plentiful crops. It readily receives the air, rains
and dews into its bosom, and at the same time gives the roots of
plants a free passage in quest of food. This is the true reason
why land well tilled is so remarkably fruitful. Water is thought,
by some, to be the food of vegetables, when in reality if is only
the vehicle of nourishment. Water is a heterogeneous fluid, and
is nowhere to be found in a pure state. It always contains a
solution of animal, vegetable or mineral substances. These
contribute to the nourishment of plants, and the element in which
they are minutely suspended, acts only as a vehicle, in guiding
them through the fine vessels of the vegetable body. As water
is necessary to the commencement of vegetation, so is it also
necessary to its progress. Plants will not continue to vegetate
unless their roots are supplied with water ; and if they are kept
long without it, the leaves will droop and become flaccid, and
assume a withered appearance. Now this is evidently owing to
the loss of water. For if the roots are -again well supplied with
water the weight of the plant is increased, and its freshness
restored. But many plants will grow, thrive and effect the
developement of all their parts, if the root is merely immersed in
water, though not fixed in the soil. Lilies, hyacinths and a
variety of plants and bulbous roots, may be so reared, and are
often to be met with so vegetating ; and many plants will also
vegetate though wholly immersed. Most of the marine plants
are of this description. It cannot be doubted, therefore, that
water serves as an important vehicle of vegetable aliment.

The ingenious Dr. Priestley proves to a demonstration that the
putrid air arising from decaying substances, and the perspiration
of animals, is not only absorbed by vegetables, but also adds to
their increase. He contends that all plants, by their leaves, as
well as by their roots, imbibe these putrid vapors, which consti-
tute a part of their food. " During the summer months," says he,
" the atmosphere is full of putrid exhalations arising from the
steam of dunghills, the perspiration of animals and smoke. Every
shower brings down these oleaginous particles for the nourishment
of plants. It is pleasing to observe how the dissolution of one

68

SYLVA AMERTCANA.

body is necessary for the life and increase of another. All
nature is in motion. In consequence of the putrid fermentation
that is every where carried on, a quantity of vegetable nutriment
ascends into the atmosphere. Summer showers return much of
it again ; but part falls into the sea and is lost. To this we may
add the animal and vegetable substances consumed on board of
ships, all of which are buried in the ocean. The industry of
man restores them to the earth ; and we may presume that the
fish taken from the sea leave a balance in favor of mankind.
Thus Providence, with the most consummate wisdom, keeps up
the necessary rotation of things. Hitherto I have considered
plants as nourished by their roots ; I shall now take a view of
them as nourished by their leaves. An attention to this part of
the vegetable system is essentially necessary to the rational
farmer. Vegetables that have a succulent leaf, such as vetches,
peas, beans and buck wheat, draw a great part of their nourish-
ment from the air, and on that account impoverish the soil less
than wheat, oats, barley or rye, the leaves of which are of a firmer
texture. Rape and hemp are oil-bearing plants, and consequently
impoverishers of the soil ; but the former less so than the latter,
owing to the greater succulency of the leaf. The leaves of all
kinds of grain are succulent for a time, during which period the
plant takes little from the earth ; but as soon as the ear begins to
be formed, they lose their softness and diminish in their attractive
power. The radical fibres are then more vigorously employed
in extracting the oily particles of the earth for the nourishment
of the seed. Such, I apprehend is the course of nature.

" The air contains, especially during the summer months, all
the principles of vegetation ; oil, composed of gasses, vegetable
extracts, earths, manures, &c. for the perfect food, water to
dilute it and salts to assimilate it. These are greedily absorbed
by the vessels of the leaves and bark, and conveyed to the
innermost parts of the plant for its growth and fructification.

" In order that we may have a distinct view of the motion of
the sap, it will be necessary to reflect, that the root, stem,
branches and leaves are constructed in the same manner.
Sallows, willows, vines and most shrubs will grow in an inverted

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. C9

state, with their tops downwards in the earth. Dr. Bradley-
describes the manner of inverting a young cherry tree, the roots
of which will put forth leaves, and the branches become roots.
Hence it is obvious that the nutritive matter may be conveyed as
well by the leaves as the roots, their vascular structure being
the same.

" During the heat of a summer's day, all plants perspire freely
from the pores of their leaves and bark. At that time the juices
are highly rarified. The diameters of the trachea, or air vessels,
are enlarged, so as to press upon and straighten the vessels that
carry the sap. In consequence of which their juices, not being
able to escape by the roots, are pressed upward, where there is
the least resistance, and perspire off the excrementitious part by
the leaves and top branches, in the form of vapor. When the
solar heat declines, the tracheae are contracted. The sap vessels
are enlarged, and the sap sinks down in the manner of the spirits
of the thermometer. In consequence of this change, the capil-
lary vessels of the leaves and top branches become empty.
Being surrounded with the humid vapors of the evening, they
fill themselves from the known laws of attraction, and send down
the new acquired juices to be mixed with those that are more
elaborated. As soon as the sun has altered the temperature of
the air the tracheae become, again distended, and the sap vessels
are straightened. The same cause always produces the same
effect ; and this alternate ascent and descent, through the same
system of vessels, continues as long as the plant survives.

" Air is to be found in every portion of earth ; as it always
contains a solution of the volatile parts of animal and vegetable
substances, we should be careful to keep our stiff soils as open as
possible to its influence. It passes, both in its active and fixed
state, into the absorbent vessels of the root, and mixing with the
juices of the plant, circulates through every part."

Vegetables being fixed to a particular place, have few offices
to perform. Ah increase of body and maturation of their seed,
seems all that is required of them. For these purposes, Provi-
dence has wisely bestowed upon them, organs of a wonderful
mechanism. The anatomical investigation of these organs, is

70 SYLVA AMERICANA.

the only rational method of arriving at any certainty concerning
the laws of vegetable economy. Upon this subject Dr. Hales
judiciously observes, " that as the growth and preservation of
vegetable life is promoted and maintained, as in animals, by the
very plentiful and regular motion of their fluids, which are the
vehicles ordained by nature to carry nutriment to every part, it
is, therefore, reasonable to hope, that in them also, by the same
method of inquiry, considerable discoveries may in time be
made ; there being, in many respects, a great analogy between
plants and animals."

CHAP. IV.

Casualties Affecting the Life of Vegetables.

As plants are, like animals, organized and living beings, they
are, like animals also, liable to such accidental injuries and
disorders as may affect the health and vigor, or occasion the
death of the individual ; which is at any rate eventually effected
by means of the natural decay and final extinction of the vital
principle. Hence the subject of vegetable casualties divides
itself into the three following heads : wounds, diseases and natural
decay.

Wound s.

A wound is a forcible separation of the solid parts of the
plant effected by means of some external cause. It may be
intentional, as in the case of incision, boring, girdling, grafting,
pruning, felling and such like operations ; or it may be acciden-
tal, as in the case of injuries sustained by the rubbing or browsing
of cattle ; by the bite and depredation of insects, hares and rab-
bits ; by lightning ; by weight of fruit ; or by violent storms of
wind, hail and snow.

1 . Incision. Incisions are sometimes necessary to the health

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 71

of the tree, in the same manner perhaps as bleeding is necessary
to the health of the animal. The trunk of the plum and cherry
tree seldom expand freely till a longitudinal incision has been
made in the bark ; and hence this operation is often practised
by gardeners. If the incision affects the epidermis only, it heals
up without leaving any scar ; if it penetrates into the interior of
the bark it heals up only by means of leaving a scar ; but if it
penetrates into the wood, the wound in the wTood itself never
heals up completely ; but new wood and bark are formed above
it as before.

2. Boring. Boring is an operation by which trees are often
wounded for the purpose of making them part with their sap in
the season of their bleeding, particularly the birch and sugar
maple. A horizontal or rather slanting hole is bored in them
with a wimble, so as to penetrate an inch or two into the wTood,
from this the sap flows copiously ; and though a number of holes
is often bored in the same trunk, the health of the tree is not
materially if at all affected. For trees will continue to thrive
though subjected to this operation for many successive years ;
and the hole, if not very large, will close up again like the deep
incision, not by the union of the broken fibres of the wood, but
by the formation of new bark and wood projecting beyond the
edge of the orifice, and finally shutting it up altogether.

3. Gii-dling. Girdling is an operation to which trees in
newly-settled countries are often subjected when the farmer
wishes to clear his land of timber. It consists in making parallel
and horizontal incisions with an axe into the trunk of a tree, and
carrying them quite round the stem so as to penetrate through
the liber into the alburnum, and then to scoop out the intervening
portion. If this operation is performed early in the spring and
before the commencement of the bleeding season, the tree rarely
survives it ; though some trees that are peculiarly tenacious of
life, such as the sugar maple and mountain tupelo, have been
known to survive it a considerable length of time.

4. Fractures. If a tree is bent so as to break only a part of
the cortical and woody fibres, and the stem or branch but small,
the parts will again unite by being put back into their natural

72 SYLVA AMERICANA.

position, and well propt up. Especially the cure may be
expected to succeed if the fracture happens in the spring ; but it
will not succeed if the fracture is accompanied with contusion, or
if the stem or branch is large ; and even where it succeeds, the
woody fibres do not contribute to the union, but the granular and
herbaceous substance only which exudes from between the wood
and liber, insinuating itself into all interstices, and finally becoming
indurated into wood.

5. Pruning. Wounds are necessarily inflicted by the gar-
dener or forester in the pruning or lopping off of superfluous
branches, but this is seldom attended with any bad effects to the
health of the tree, if done by a skilful practitioner ; indeed no
further art is required merely for the protection of the tree,
beyond that of cutting the branch through in a sloping direction
so as to prevent the rain from lodging. In this case the wound
soon closes up by the induration of the exposed surface of the
section, and by the protrusion of a granular substance, forming a
sort of circular lip between the wood and bark; and hence the
branch is never elongated by the growth of the same vessels that
have been cut, but by the protrusion of new buds near the point
of section.

6. Grafting. In this operation there is a wound both of the
stock and graft ; which are united not by the immediate adhesion
of the surfaces of the two sections, but by means of a granular
and herbaceous substance exuding from between the wood and
bark, and insinuating itself as a sort of cement into all open
spaces : new wood is finally formed within it, and the union is
complete.

7. Felling. Felling is the operation of cutting down trees
close to the ground which many of them will yet survive, if the
stump is protected from the injuries of animals, and the root fresh
and vigorous. In this case the fibres of the wood are never
again regenerated, but a lip is formed as in the case of pruning ;
and buds, that spring up into new shoots, are protruded near the
section : so that from the old shoot, ten, twelve or even twenty
new stems may issue according to its size and vigor. The shoots
of the oak and ash will furnish good examples ; but there are

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 73

some trees, such as the fir, that never send out any shoots after
the oneration of felling.

8. Destruction of Buds. It has been already shown that the
buds which expand in the spring are generated in the preceding
summer, and augmented and prepared for developement in the
intervening winter. But if the buds are destroyed in the course
of the winter, or in the early part of the spring, many plants will
again generate new buds that will develop their parts as the
others would have done, except that they never contain blossom
or fruit ; probably because the fruit bud requires more time to
develop its parts, or a peculiar and higher degree of elaboration ;
and that this hasty production is only the effect of a great effort
of the vital principle for the preservation of the individual, and
one of those wonderful resources to which nature always knows
how to resort when the vital principle is in danger.

9. Destruction of Leaves. Sometimes the leaves of a tree
are destroyed partially or totally as soon as they are protruded
from the bud, whether by the depredations of caterpillars or other
insects, or by the browsing of cattle. But if the injury is done
early in the spring, new leaves will be again protruded with
subsequent shoots. Some trees will bear to be stripped of their
leaves even more than once in a season, as is the case with the
mulberry tree, which is cultivated for the purpose of feeding silk
worms. But if it is stripped more than once in the season it
requires now and then a year's rest.

10. Destruction of Bark. The decortication of a tree, or
the stripping it of its bark, may be intentional or accidental,
partial or total. If it is partial and affects the epidermis only,
then it is again regenerated, as in the case of slight incision,
without leaving any scar. But if the epidermis of the petal, leaf
or fruit, is destroyed, it is not again regenerated, nor is the
wound healed up except by means of a scar. Such is the case
also with all decortications that penetrate deeper than the
epidermis, particularly if the wound is not protected from the
action of the air. And if the decortication reaches to the wood,
then the wound will not heal in the foregoing manner at all. If
the decortication is total, the tree dies. Of sixty trees which

10

74 SYLVA AMERICANA.

Du Hamel barked in the spring, no one survived the experiment
above three or four years, though many of them generated a
portion both of wood and bark, originating at the summit, and
descending sometimes to the extent of a foot.

Diseases.

Diseases are corrupt affections of the vegetable body, arising
from a vitiated state of its juices, and tending to injure the
habitual health either of the whole or a part. The diseases that
occur the most frequently among vegetables are the following :
blight, smut, mildew, honeydew, dropsy, flux of juices, gangrene,
etiolation, suffocation, contortion and consumption.

1. Blight. Blight is a general name given for various
distempers incident to corn and fruit trees. The term has been
used in a very vague and indefinite manner. The origin of the
disease has been variously accounted for. There appear to be
at least three distinct species of it. The first originates in cold
and frosty winds in spring, which nip and- destroy the tender
shoots of the plant, by stopping the circulation of the juices.
The leaves wither and fall ; the juices burst the vessels, and
become the food of numerous insects, which are often mistaken
for the cause of the disease, while they are really an effect of it.
The second species originates in a sultry and pestilential vapor,
and happens in summer when the grain has attained its full
growth. The third originates in fungi, which attack the leaves
or stem of herbaceous and woody plants ; but more generally
grasses, and particularly the most useful grains. It generally
assumes the appearance of a rusty looking powder, which soils
the finger when touched. There are several sorts of these fungi,
known to farmers under the names of red rust, red gum, &lc.
The only means of preventing the effect of blight is proper
culture. Palliatives are to be found in topical applications.

2. Smut. Smut is a disease incidental to cultivated corn by
which the farina of the grain, together with its proper integuments,
and even part of the husk, is converted into a black soot-like
powder. If the injured ear is struck with the finger, the powder

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 75

will be dispersed like a cloud of black smoke ; and if a portion
of the powder is wetted by a drop of water and put under the
microscope, it will be found to consist of millions of minute and
transparent globules, which seem to be composed of a clear and
glairy fluid, encompassed by a thin and skinny membrane.

This disease does not affect the whole body of the crop, but
the smutted ears are sometimes very numerously dispersed
throughout it. Some have attributed it to the soil in which the
grain is sown, and others have attributed it to the seed itself,
alleging that smutted seed will produce a smutted crop. But in
all this there seems to be a great deal of doubt. Willdenow
regards it as originating in a small fungus, which multiplies and
extends till it occupies the whole ear. But Mr. F. Bauer of
Kew, seems to have ascertained it to be merely a morbid swelling
of the ear, and not at all connected with the growth of a fungus.
It is said to be effectually prevented by steeping the grain
before sowing in a weak solution of arsenic.

But besides the disease called smut, there is also a disease
analogous to it, or a different stage of the same disease, known
to the farmer by the name of bags, or smut balls, in which the
nucleus of the seed only is converted into a black powder, while
the ovary, as well as the husk, remains sound. The ear is not
much altered in its external appearance, and the diseased grain
contained in it will even bear the operation of threshing, and
consequently mingle with the bulk. But it is always readily
detected by the experienced buyer, and fatal to the character
of the sample. It is prevented as in the case of smut.

3. Mildew. Mildew is a thin and whitish coating with which
the leaves of vegetables are sometimes covered, occasioning their
decay and death, and injuring the health of the plant. It is
frequently found on the leaves of the Humulus, SupuJus
and the white and yellow dead nettle. It is found also on
wheat in the shape of a glutinous exudation, particularly when
the days are hot and the nights without dew. Willdenow says
it is occasioned by the growth of a fungus of great minuteness,
the Mucor erisyphe of Linnaeus ; or by a sort of whitish slime

76 SYLVA AMERICANA.

which some species of aphides deposit upon the leaves. In
cultivated crops it is said to be prevented by manuring with soot.
4. Honeydew. Honeydew is a sweet and clammy substance
which coagulates on the surface of the leaves during hot weather,
particularly on the leaves of the oak, walnut and beach, and is
regarded by Mr. Curtis, who wrote a paper on the subject, as
being merely the dung of some species of aphides. This seems
to be the opinion of Willdenow also, and it is no doubt possible
that it may be the case in some instances or species of the
disease. But Sir J. E. Smith contends that it is not always so,
or that there are more species of honeydew than one, regarding
it particularly as being an exudation, at least in the case of the
beech, whose leaves are, in consequence of an unfavorable wind,
apt to become covered with a sweet sort of glutinous coating,
similar in flavor to the fluid obtained from the trunk.

It is certain, however, that saccharine exudations are found on
the leaves of many plants, though not always distinguished by
the name of honeydew ; which should not perhaps be applied
except when the exudation occasions disease. But if it is to be
applied to all saccharine exudations whatever, then we must
include under the appellation of honeydew the saccharine
exudation observed on the orange tree by M. De la Hire,
together with that of the lime tree which is more glutinous, and
of the poplar which is more resinous ; as also that of the Cistus
creticus, from which the resin Labdanum is collected, by means
of beating the shrub with leathern thongs, and of the manna
which exudes from the ash tree of Italy and larch of France. It
is also possible that the exudation of excrement constituting
honeydew may occasionally occur without producing disease ;
for if it should happen to be washed off soon after by rains or
heavy dews, then the leaves will not suffer.

5. Dropsy, Plants are also liable to a disease which affects
them in a manner similar to that of the dropsy in animals, arising
from long continued rain or too abundant watering. Willdenow
describes it as occasioning a preternatural swelling of particular
parts, and including putrefaction. It is said to take place chiefly
in bulbous and tuberous roots, which are often found much

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 77

swollen after rain. It affects fruits also which it renders watery
and insipid. It prevents the ripening of seeds, and occasions an
immoderate production of roots from the stem. Succulent plants
in particular are apt to suffer from too profuse waterings, and the
disease thus occasioned is generally incurable. The leaves
drop, even though plump and green ; and the fruit rots before
reaching maturity. In this case the absorption seems to be too
great in proportion to the transpiration ; but the soil when too
much manured produces similar effects. Du Hamel planted
some elms in a soil that was particularly well manured, and
accordingly they pushed with great vigor for some time ; but at
the end of five or six years they all died suddenly. The bark
was found to be detached from the wood, and the cavity filled up
with a reddish colored water.

6. Flux of Juices. Some trees, but particularly the oak and

birch, are liable to a great loss of sap, either bursting out

spontaneously, owing to a superabundance of sap, or issuing from

accidental wounds. Sometimes it is injurious to the health of

plants, and sometimes not. There is a spontaneous extravasation

of the sap of the vine, known by the name of the tears of the

vine, which is not injurious. As it often happens that the root

imbibes sap, which the leaves are not yet prepared to throw off

because not yet sufficiently expanded, owing to an inclement

season, the sap which is first carried up, being propelled by that

which follows, ultimately forces its way through all obstructions,

and exudes from the bud. But this is observed only in cold

climates ; for in hot climates, where the developement of the

leaves is not obstructed by cold, they are ready to elaborate the

sap as soon as it reaches them. There is also a spontaneous

extravasation of proper juice in some trees, which does not seem

in general to be injurious to the individual. Thus the gum which

exudes from the cherry, plum, peach and almond trees, is seldom

detrimental to their health, except when it insinuates itself into

the other vessels of the plant and occasions obstructions. But

when the sap ascends more copiously than it can be carried off,

it sometimes occasions a fissure of the solid parts, inducing

disease or deformity by encouraging the extravasation and

78 SYLVA AMERICANA.

corruption of the ascending or descending juices. Sometimes the
fissure is occasioned by means' of frost, forming what is called
a double alburnum ; that is, first a layer that has been injured by
the frost, and then a layer that passes into the wood. Sometimes
a layer is partially affected, and that is generally owing to a
sudden and partial thaw, on the south side of the trunk, which may
be followed again by a sudden frost. In this case the alburnum
is split into clefts, or chinks, by means of the expansion of the
frozen sap. But a cleft thus occasioned often degenerates into a
childblain that discharges a blackish and acrid fluid to the great
detriment of the plant, particularly if the sore is so situated .that
rain or snow will readily lodge in it, and become putrid. The
same injury may be occasioned by the bite or puncture of insects
while the shoot is yet tender ; and as no vegetable ulcer heals
up of its own accord, the sooner a remedy is applied to it the
better, as it will, if left to itself, ultimately corrode and destroy
the whole plant, bark, wood and pith. The only remedy is the
excision of the part affected, and the application of a coat of
grafting wax.

7. Gangrene. Of this disorder there are two varieties, the
dry and the wet. The former is occasioned by the means of
excessive heat or cold. If by means of cold, it attacks the leaves
of young shoots, and causes them to shrink up, converting them
from green to black; as also the inner bark, which it blackens in
the same manner, so that it is impossible to save the plant except
by cutting it to the ground. If by means of heat, the effects are
nearly similar, as may often times be seen in gardens, or even in
forests, where the foresters clear away the moss and withered
leaves from the roots. Sometimes the disease is occasioned by
the too rapid growth of a particular branch, depriving the one
that is next to it of its due nourishment, and hence inducing its
decay. Sometimes it is occasioned by means of parasitical
plants, as in the case of the bulbs of the saffron, to which a
species of Lycoperdon often attaches itself and totally corrupts.
The harmattan winds of the coast of Africa kill many plants, by
means of inducing a sort of gangrene that withers and blackens
the leaves, and finally destroys the whole plant. The nopal of

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 79

Mexico is also subject to a sort of gangrene that begins with a
black spot, and extends till the whole leaf or branch rots off or
the plant dies.

But plants are sometimes affected with a gangrene by which
a part becomes first soft and moist, and then dissolves into foul
ichor. This is confined chiefly to the leaves, flowers and fruit.
Sometimes it attacks the roots also, but rarely the stem. It
seems to be owing in many cases to too wet or too rich a
soil ; but it may originate in contusion, and may be caught by
infection.

But the nopal is subject also to a disease called by Thiery
la dissolution, and considered by Sir J. E. Smith as distinct
from gangrene. A joint of the nopal, or a whole branch and
sometimes an entire plant, changes in the space of a single hour
from a state of apparent health to a state of putrefaction or
dissolution. Now its surface is verdant and shining, and in an
instant it changes to a yellow, and its brilliancy is gone. If the
substance is cut into, the parts are found to have lost all cohesion,
and are quite rotten ; the only remedy is speedy amputation
below the diseased part. Sometimes the vital principle collecting
and exerting all its energies, makes a stand as it were against
the encroaching disease, and throws off the infected part.

8. Etiolation. Plants are sometimes affected by a disease
which entirely destroys their verdure, and renders them pale and
sickly. This is called etiolation, and may arise merely from
want of the agency of light, by which the extrication of oxygen
is effected, and the leaf rendered green. And hence it is that
plants placed in dark rooms, or between great masses of stone,
or in the cleft's of rocks, or under the shade of other trees, look
always- peculiarly pale. But if they are removed from such
situations and exposed to the action of light, they will again
recover their green color. Etiolation may also ensue from the
depredation of insects, nestling in the radicle, and consuming the
food of the plant, and thus debilitating the vessels of the leaf so
as to render them insusceptible to the action of light. This is
said to be often the case with the radicles of Secale cereale or com-
mon rye, and the same result may also arise from poverty of soil.

80 SYLVA AMERICANA.

9. Suffocation. Sometimes it happens that the pores of the
epidermis are closed up and transpiration consequently obstructed,
by means of some extraneous substance that attaches itself to and
covers the bark. This obstruction induces disease, and the
disease is called suffocation. Sometimes it is occasioned by the
immoderate growth of lichens upon the bark covering the whole
of the plant, as may be often seen on fruit trees, which it is
necessary to keep clean by means of scraping of the lichens, at
least from the smaller branches. For if the young branches are
thus coated, so that the bark cannot perform its proper
functions, the tree will soon begin to languish, and will finally
become covered wTith fungi inducing or resulting from decay,
till it is at last wholly choaked up. But a similar effect is also
occasionally produced by insects, in feeding upon the sap or
shoot. This may be exemplified in the case of the aphides,
which sometimes breed or settle upon the tender shoot in such
multitudes as to cover it from the action of the external air
altogether. Sometimes the disease is occasioned by an extrava-
sation of juices which coagulate on the surface of the stalk, so as
to form a sort of crust, investing it as a sheath, and preventing its
further expansion. Sometimes the disease is occasioned from
want of an adequate supply of nourishment as derived from the
soil, in which the lower part of the plant is the best supplied,
while the upper part of it is starved. Hence the top shoots
decrease in size every succeeding year, because a sufficient
supply of sap cannot be obtained to give them their proper
developement. This is analogous to the phenomena of animal
life when the action of the heart is too feeble to propel the blood
through the whole of the system. For then the extremities are
always the first to suffer. And perhaps it may account ajso for
the fact, that in bad soils and unfavorable seasons, when the ear
of barley is not wholly perfected, yet a few of the lower grains
are always completely developed ; which not only shows the
great care of Providence for the preservation of the species, but
points out also the efficient cause.

10. Contortion. The leaves of plants are often injured by
means of the puncture of insects, so as to induce a sort of

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 81

disease that discovers itself in the contortion or convolution of
the margin, or wrinkled appearance of the surface. The leaves
of the apricot, peach and nectarine, are extremely liable to be
thus affected in June and July. The leaf that has been
punctured soon begins to assume a rough and wrinkled figure,
and a reddish and scrofulous appearance, particularly on the
upper surface. The margins roll inwards on the under side,
and inclose the eggs which are scattered irregularly on the surface,
giving it a blackish and granular appearance, but without
materially injuring its health. In the vine the substance deposited
on the leaf is whitish, giving the under surface a sort of a frosty
appearance, but not occasioning the red and scrofulous aspect
of the upper surface of the leaf like that of the nectarine.

Sometimes the upper surface of the leaf is covered with
clusters of wart like substances somewhat subulate and acute.
They seem to be occasioned by means of a puncture made on the
under surface, on which a number of openings are discoverable,
penetrating into the warts which are hollow and villous within.

11. Consumption. From barren or improper soil, unfavora-
ble climate, careless planting or too frequent flowering, exhausting
the strength of the plant, it often happens that disease is induced
which terminates in a gradual decline and wasting away of the
plant, till at length, it is wholly dried up. Sometimes it is also
occasioned by excessive drought, or by dust lodging on the
leaves, or by fumes issuing from manufactories which may happen
to be situated in the neighborhood ; or by the attacks of insects.

There is a consumptive affection that frequently attacks the
pine tree, called Tepedo pinorum, which affects the alburnum
and inner bark chiefly, and seems to proceed from long continued
drought, or from frost suddenly succeeding mild or warm
weather or heavy winds. The leaves assume a tinge of yellow
bordering upon red. A great number of small drops of resin
exude from the middle of the boughs of a putrid odor. The
bark exfoliates, and the alburnum presents a livid appearance.
The tree swarms with insects, and the disease is incurable,
inducing inevitably the total decay and death of the individual.
11

82 SYLVA AMERICANA.

Natural Decay.

In the preceding section we have stated the chief of the
diseases to which plants are liable, whether from external injuries,
or from internal derangement. But although a plant should not
suffer from the influence of accidental injury, or from disease,
still there will come a time when its several organs will begin to
experience the' approaches of a natural decline insensibly stealing
upon it, and at last inducing death. For in the vegetable as
well as in the animal kingdom, there is a term or limit set,
beyond which the individual cannot pass, though the duration of
vegetable existence is very different in different species.

Some plants are annuals and last for one season only, springing
up suddenly from seed, attaining rapidly to maturity, producing
and again sowing their seeds, and afterwards immediately
perishing. Such is the character of the various species of corn.
Some plants continue to live for a period of two }^ears, and are
therefore called biennials, springing up the first year from seed,
and producing root and leaves, but no fruit; and in the second
year producing both flower and fruit, as exemplified in the carrot,
parsnip and cabbage. Other plants are perennials, that is, lasting
for many years ; of which some are called under shrubs, and die
down to the root every year ; others are called shrubs, and are
permanent both by the root and stem, but do not attain to a
great height or great age ; others are called trees, and are not
only permanent by both root and stem, but attain to a great size
and live to a great age. The oak tree in particular is remarkable
both for its longevity and size, being at least 100 years before it
attains to its utmost perfection, continuing vigorous for perhaps
100 years more, and then beginning to decay.

But even of plants that are woody and perennial, there are
parts which perish annually, or which are, at least annually
sepamted from the individual ; namely, the leaves, flowers and
fruit, leaving nothing behind but the bare caudex, which submits
in its turn to the ravages of time, and ultimately to death.
Hence the ground of a division of the subject exhibiting, first

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 83

the phenomena of the temporary organs, and secondly, the
phenomena of the decay of the permanent organs and consequent
death of the plant.

Decay of the Temporary Organs.

The decay of the temporary organs which takes place annually
is a phenomenon familiar to every body, and comprehends the fall
of the leaf, the fall of the flower and the fall of the fruit.

1. The fall of the leaf. The fall of the leaf, or annual
defoliation of the plant, commences for the most part with the
colds of the autumn, and is accelerated by the frosts of winter,
that strip the forest of its foliage, and the landscape of its verdure.
But there are some trees that retain their leaves throughout the
whole winter, though changed to a dull and dusky brown, as
those of the beach tree ; and there are others that retain them
even in verdure till the succeeding spring, when they ultimately
fall. Such plants are denominated evergreens.

It was at one time indeed a vulgar error,^ and perhaps it
continues to be so still, that evergreens never shed their leaves
at all. This error may be traced back even to the period of the
fabulous history of the Greeks, with whose mythology it was
closely interwoven, at least in one particular example as related
by Theophrastus ; who says that in the country of Cortynia, in
Crete, it was reported there was a plane tree growing by a
fountain which never shed its leaves, being the tree under the
shade of which Jupiter was said to have had his interview with
Europa. But Theophrastus was himself acquainted with the
fact of the fall of the leaves of evergreens, as every accurate
observer of nature must be, though they do not actually fall till
the young leaves have begun to appear, so that trees of this sort
are never left wholly without leaves, which it was hence supposed
they never shed. In warm climates it is said that many plants
retain their leaves for several years ; but in temperate and polar
climates there are no such plants to be found.

Such is the fact of the annual fall of the leaves. What is the
cause of their fall ? The solution of this question seems to have

84 SYLVA AMERICANA.

totally baffled the attempts of phytologists, and to have been a puzzle
that no one could make out. Du Hamel, one of the most sagacious
and industrious of all phytologists, labored hard to explicate the
phenomenon, but without success. He observed that leaves
which fall the soonest transpire the most, and are consequently
the soonest exhausted and rendered unfit for the discharge of
their functions ; so that the period of the fall of the leaves of
different species is probably in proportion to their capacity for
transpiration. Their fall is accelerated by frost, or by excessive
heat, followed by rain. It is also accelerated, if not actually
induced, by the structure of the pedicle which is very different
from that of the branch, having no prolongation of pith, and
nothing analogous in its mode of insertion, nor in its external
figure, which is divisible into an upper and under surface
resembling the figure of the leaf. He compares the union of
the leaf and stem to that of the joints of the vine twig, which at
a certain period of its growth are stronger than the intemodia,
but which readily give way after a frost. The comparison,
however, throws but little light on the subject, as the illustration
is itself, full as dark as the thing to be illustrated. But he offers
an additional conjecture which is considerably more luminous ;
when the sap begins to flow less plentifully, the leaves, to whose
vigor a great supply is necessary, soon become dry and conse-
quently less fit to convey it. But it is known that the branches
grow in thickness after they have ceased to grow in length, which
must necessarily occasion, in some degree, a disruption of the
fibres of the foot stalk and stem or branch, at the point of
articulation; and hence the leaf loses its hold, and falls. This
is certainly a very plausible conjecture; though it may be doubted
whether the explication will apply to the case of evergreens, or
of plants in warm climates, that retain their leaves for several
years. It is not therefore, altogether satisfactory ; and hence
other explications have accordingly been offered.

The first of these explications of which we shall now take any
notice is that of Willdenow ; it is as follows. As the sap is
conveyed to the leaves in greater abundance during the summer,
the vessels of the petiole become gradually more woody, as wrell

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 85

as the whole of the leaf. The sap in consequence stagnates,
and at last the bond of union between the leaf and stem is dried
up, and cracks. The wound that the stem thus receives cicatrizes
before the petiole separates ; and the petiole separates at last in
consequence of the interrupted connexion between the leaf and
stem, which the crack has occasioned. This, it must be
confessed, does not make up for the deficiencies of the hypothesis
of Du Hamel ; for in the first place there is no proof that the
bond of union between the leaf and stem cracks in the manner
here supposed. And even upon the supposition of its being the
fact, it is, in the second place, extremely improbable that the
petiole should after the cracking of this bond of union still
continue attached to the stem, till the wTound thus occasioned has
cicatrized ; because when the original bond of union cracks,
there remains no other bond of union by which the petiole is to
retain its hold.

Another explication is that of Vorlick, as quoted by Willdenow ;
the leaf which possesses a peculiar vitality within itself, though
dependant upon the vitality of the plant, and generally of shorter
duration, dies when it reaches maturity ; and the plant, being
able to exist for a time without leaves, throws off the dead leaf
as the animal throws off the dead part from the sound part. But
the peculiar vitality which the leaf is here supposed to possess
seems to be altogether a groundless assumption, and an unphilo-
sophical multiplication of causes without any apparent necessity.
Is it not the individual vitality of the plant extended to a
perishable organ, and again withdrawn when that organ has
discharged its destined functions, or become by disease or decay
unfit for the purposes of vegetation ? This, wre presume, is a
better founded supposition than the foregoing ; though the
reference to the phenomenon of the throwing ofF of the dead
part from the sound part in the animal subject is sufficiently well
adapted to the purposes of illustration ; and the analogy suffi-
ciently striking, at least under some of its aspects, to warrant its
introduction. It does not, however, seem quite evident that the
idea of sloughing is comprehended in the opinion of Vorlick, at
least as represented by Willdenow ; but if so, the analogy does

86 SYLVA AMERICANA.

not appear to be very well made out. Sloughing, in the animal
economy, is that power, or the exertion of that power by which
the vital principle is capable of throwing off a part that has
accidentally become diseased and unfit for discharging the
functions to which it was originally destined ; but not that, power
by which it is capable of throwing off a distinct organ intended
by nature to be finally separated from the individual. Now in
the case of the defoliation of the plant, there is, for the most part
no disease, but merely a gradual and natural decay which reduces
the leaf to a state, indeed, no longer fit for the purposes of
vegetation, but to which it was intended by nature to be reduced
for the purpose of facilitating its separation from the plant : and
hence it always separates in a determinate manner, and at a
determinate point, namely, at the base of the foot stalk, which
forms as it were a sort of natural joint or articulation, to which
there is nothing analogous in the case of sloughing. If this were
not the fact, it might be expected that a part of a leaf, or even
the whole of it, should occasionally become permanent, as well
as in the branches, though no such thing has ever yet happened.
And with the sloughing of the diseased part there is yet another
circumstance clashing with the analosr that is here instituted.
The part supplying the place of the slough, or throwing it off, is
formed or exists already formed immediately beneath it, and is
precisely of the same character with what the slough originally
was; which slough it pushes off as it comes itself to maturity, or
acquires strength sufficient for the effort. But the leaves fall off
when they have reached maturity of their own accord, without
being at all pushed off by the new ones, which are yet merely in
embryo, and do not even occupy the place of old leaves, but are
only formed contiguous to them, except in the case of the plane
tree, the new leaf of which is formed precisely under the base
of the foot stalk of the old leaf ; and yet we would not call the
fall of that leaf sloughing, because the new leaf does not after all
push off the old one ; and because there is here, as in other
cases, the same natural articulation uniting the leaf to the branch
or stem, and rendering it a distinct organ that is ultimately and
spontaneously to detach itself from the plant. Not that there

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 87

exists any example whatever of vegetable sloughing, which the
same tree will also furnish in the annual or rather continual
exfoliation of its bark, but that the fall of the leaf does not seem
to afford that example.

We can foresee an objection that may be urged against the
above argument from the fact of the sloughing of the entire skin
of the snake, and other species of serpents, which may be
regarded as a distinct organ. But although the skin of the snake
or any other animal may be regarded as a distinct organ, yet it
must be in a light very different from that of an organ attached
to the body of a plant or animal by a natural joint or articulation
that comes asunder of its own accord ; for the skin of the animal
in question is forced off in the manner of a slough merely by
means of the formation of a new skin beneath it, which has
already taken the place of the old skin in the living system, and
to which it has just been shown that there exists nothing whatever
analogous in the fall of the leaf. So that, after all, the best
reason we can give is, perhaps, that the leaves fall in consequence
of their being worn out, and no longer necessary \o the immediate
process of vegetation ; which is evidently divisible into animal
stages commencing with the approach of spring, and terminating
with the return of winter, which is to the vital principle,
apparently, a period of rest. If it is necessary, however, to
attempt an exemplication of the process by which the leaf is made
ultimately to detach iisclf from the plant, it may be observed
that it consists wholly in the change that is effected in the
articulation uniting the foot stalk to the branch ; for in the case
in which the injury extends suddenly beyond the leaf, the leaf
may wither and decay, but will not fall off, because the articulation
has not been duly prepared, and because the vital principle can
now no longer act upon it from the intervention of the dead or
diseased portion of the plant beyond which it has withdrawn
itself. But in the natural process of vegetation the necessary
change is effected by the leaf on the one hand, in its yielding
to the influence of physical or chemical agencies, and withering
and shrinking into narrow compass, when the usual supply of sap
is no longer transmitted to it ; and by the vital principle on the

88 SYLVA AMERICANA*

other, in its controlling and directing of chemical agencies so as
to facilitate the final detachment of the foot stalk, and form the
scar necessary to its own protection. And this effect is operated
by the converting of the substance that cements the respective
fibres of the leaf stalk and branch together from a soft and
glutinous to a dry and brittle consistence, analogous to the change
that takes place in the seams of the valves of ripening capsules
or pericarps, so that the leaf falls at last merely by force of its
own weight, or of the slightest breath of wind, but without the
intervention of any previous chink or crack. And if it is
necessary to illustrate the fall of the leaf by any analogous process
in the animal economy, it may be compared to that of the
shedding of the antlers of the stag, or of the hair or feathers of
other animals, which being like the leaves of plants, distinct and
peculiar organs, fall off and are regenerated annually, but do not
slough.

2. The fall of the flower. The flowers, which like leaves,
are only temporary organs, and for the most part very short-
lived ; for, as the object of their production is merely that of
effecting the impregnation of the germ, that object is no sooner
obtained than they begin again to give indications of decay, and
speedily fall from the plant ; so that the most beautiful of the
vegetable is also the most transient. The flower of the Cactus
graridiflorus, the most magnificent of all flowers, no sooner
expands than it begins to decay, and before the sun has risen
upon it, its beauty is gone. The flowers of the tulip and poppy,
though very gaudy, are very short-lived ; and the beautiful
blossom of our fruit trees soon begin to fade. The scene often
continues blooming indeed, both in the landscape of nature and
of art, but that is more owing to the succession of blossoms on
the same or on different plants, than to the permanency of
individual blossoms. And so also of the flowers that adorn the
field or meadow ; they spring up in continual succession, but are
individually of very short duration.

3. The fall of the fruit. The fruit, which begins to appear
conspicuous when the flower falls, expands and increases in
volume, and, assuming a peculiar hue as it ripens, ultimately

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 89

detaches itself from the parent plant and drops into the soil.
But it does not in all cases detach itself in the same manner ;
thus in the bean and pea the seed vessel opens and lets the seeds
fall out ; while in the apple, pear and cherry, the fruit falls
entire, inclosing the seed, which escapes when the pericarp
decays. Most fruits fall soon after ripening, as the cherry and
apricot, if not gathered ; but some remain long attached to the
parent plant after being fully ripe, as in the case of Cratcegus
or hawthorn which may be seen in the hedges in the midst of
winter, and of Mespilus, or medlar, and a variety of others
which continue till the succeeding spring. But these, though
tenacious of their hold, detach themselves at last, as well as all
others, and bury themselves in the soil, about to give birth to a
new individual in the germination of the seed. The fall of the
flower and fruit is accounted for in the same manner as that of
the leaf.

Decay of the Permanent Organs.

Such then is the process and presumptive rationale of the
decay and detachment of the temporary organs of the plant.
But there is also a period beyond which even the permanent
organs themselves can no longer carry on the process of
vegetation. Plants are affected by the infirmities of old age as
well as animals, and are found to exhibit also similar symptoms
of approaching dissolution. The root refuses to imbibe the
nourishment afforded by the soil, or if it does imbibe a portion,
it is but feebly propelled, and partially distributed, through the
tubes of the alburnum ; the elaboration of the sap is now effected
with difficulty, as well as assimilation of the proper juice, the
descent of which is almost totally obstructed ; the bark becomes
thick and woody, and covered with moss and lichens ; the shoots
become stinted and diminutive ; and the fruits palpably degen-
erate, both in quantity and quality. The smaller or terminal
branches fade and decay the first, and then the larger branches
also, together with the trunk and root ; the vital principle
gradually declines without any chance of recovery, and is at last

12

90 SYLVA AMERICANA.

totally extinguished ; while the solid mass of the plant exposed
to the chemical action of surrounding substances, to which it now
yields, withers and dies away, presenting to the eye a decayed
and rotten appearance, and crumbling into dust from which it
originally sprang. Such is the transient duration of the vegetable,
and counterpart of animal life.

Explanation of Plate I.

Fig. 1 . A transverse section of a branch of ash, as it appears
to the eye.

Fig. 2. The same section magnified. A, the bark. B, the
wood. C, the pith, o, the cuticle, b, an arched ring of sap
vessels next the cuticle, cc, the cellular substance of the bark
with its cells, and other arched rings of sap vessels, d, a circular
line of lymph ducts, immediately below the above arched ring,
e, the liber, h, the first year's growth, g, the second. /, the
third year's growth, k, the great air vessels. 7, the small ones.

Fig. 3. Anatomy of wood after Mirbel, magnified, a, the
cellular texture. The membraneous sides of all these cells and
tubes, are very thin, more or less transparent, often porous,
variously perforated or torn. 5, a bundle of entire vessels
without perforations, c, tubes pierced with holes ranged in a
close spiral line, d, tubes having several of these holes running
together, as it were, into interrupted spiral clefts, e, tubes, which,
in some young branches and tender leaves, will unroll to a con-
siderable extent, when they are gently torn asunder.

Fig. 4. A garden bean (Viciafaba), laid open, showing
its two cotyledons, f, the radicle, or that part of the corculum
which afterwards forms the root ; g, the corculum or germ.

Fig. 5. A bean which has made some progress in vegetation,
showing the descending root, the ascending plumula and skin
of the seed bursting irregularly.

Plate I.

SYLVA AMERICANA.

PART II.

DENDROLOGY.

" ABIES.

Monoecia Monadelphia. Linn. Coniferse. Juss. Expectorant,

secernant, stimulant.

White or Single Spruce. Abies alba.

This tree, which appertains
to the coldest regions of
North America, is called in
Canada Ejpinette blanche, in
Nova Scotia White Spruce,
and in New Brunswick and
the state of Maine Single
Spruce. As the last two
denominations are generally-
known, we have adopted that
which appeared the best. It
is most abundant in Lower
Canada, Newfoundland, New
Brunswick, Nova Scotia, in
Maine,Vermont, New Hamp-

Fig. 1. A branch with a cone. Fig. 2. A seed, shire and Massachusetts, but

is rarely seen farther south except in cold and humid situations.
The situations in which the white spruce is the most abundant is
of a moist sandy loam.

plate II.

A branch with a cone.

94 SYLVA AMERICANA.

It usually attains the height of 40 or 50 feet, and a diameter
of 12 or 16 inches at three feet from the ground. Its trunk is
more tapering than the black spruce, and like which is a regular
pyramid, but less branching and tufted. The bark is lighter
colored, and the difference is more striking upon the young
shoots. The leaves are of a pale, bluish green, whence is derived
its specific name alba, about four lines in length, encompassing
the branches like the black species, but less numerous, more
pointed and at a more open angle with the branches. It flowers
in May or June, which are succeeded by reddish cones of a
lengthened oval form, about two inches in one direction, and six
or eight lines in the other : the dimensions vary according to the
vigor of the tree, but the form is unchangeable. The scales are
loose and thin, with entire edges, unlike those of the black
spruce. The seeds, also, are rather smaller, and are ripe about
the end of autumn.

The wood is employed for the same uses as the black spruce
which will be hereafter described ; it is, however, inferior in
quality, and snaps more frequently in burning. The fibres of
the roots, macerated in water, are very flexible and tough ; being
deprived in the operation of their pellicle, they are used in
Canada to stitch together their canoes of birch bark, the seams
of which are afterwards smeared with a resin that distils from
the tree. The bark is sometimes used in tanning, though much
inferior to the hemlock spruce. The branches are not used for
beer, because the leaves when bruised diffuse an unpleasant odor,
which they are said to communicate to the liquid. The resin
of this tree is composed of a fragrant essential oil, and probably
containing sylvic or pinic acid. It is solid, dry, brittle, of a pale
yellowish brown color, frequently intermixed with white streaks
and whitish when broken. Medicinally it is a stimulant and
rubefacient, and is employed externally in form of plaster in
chronic catarrh, hooping cough, rheumatic pains, etc.

DENDROLOGY.

95

American Silver Fir. Abies balsamifera.

PLATE III.
Fig. 1. A branch with a cone.

Fig. 2. A seed.

The coldest regions of
North America are the native
country of this species of
spruce. In the United States,
Canada and Nova Scotia, it
is called Silver Fir, Fir
IB ah am, and Balsam of Gil-
ead. It does not constitute
masses of woods, but is
disseminated, in a greater or
less abundance, among the
hemlock and black spruces.
Farther south it is found only
on the summit of the Alle-
ghanies, and particularly on
the highest mountains of
North Carolina. Like the
other spruces it generally flourishes best in a moist sandy loam.
Its height rarely exceeds 40 feet, with a diameter of 12 or 15
inches. The trunk tapers from a foot in diameter at the surface
of the ground to 7 or 8 inches, at the height of 6 feet. When
standing alone and developing itself naturally, its branches, which
are numerous and thickly garnished with leaves, diminish in length
in proportion to their height, and form a pyramid of perfect
regularity. The bark is smooth and delicate. The leaves are
6 or 8 lines long, and are inserted singly on the sides and on the
top of the branches ; they are narrow, rigid and flat, of a bright
green above and a silvery white beneath ; whence probably is
derived the name of the tree. It flowers in May, and is followed
by cones of a fragrant odor, which are nearly cylindrical, 4 or 5
inches long, an inch in diameter, and always directed upwards.
The seeds are ripe in autumn, and if permitted to hang late will
fall apart and scatter themselves.

The wood of the silver fir is light and slightly resinous, and
the heart is yellowish. It is sometimes used for the staves o(

96

SYLVA AMERICANA.

casks used for packing fish ; but for this purpose many other
kinds of wood are preferred. The resin of the pines is extracted
by means of incisions in the body of the tree, at which it exudes
from the pores of the bark and from the sap vessels of the
alburnum. In the silver fir this substance is naturally deposited
in vesicles on the trunk and limbs, and is collected by bursting
these tumors and receiving their contents in appropriate vessels.
This resin is sold in Europe and the United States under the
name of Balm of Gilead, though every body knows that the true
balm of Gilead is produced by the Amyris gileadensis, a very
different vegetable and a native of Asia ; perhaps the name has
been borrowed in consequence of some resemblance between the
substances in taste and smell. The fresh turpentine is a greenish
transparent fluid of an acrid penetrating taste ; given inconsider-
ately it produces heat in the bladder, and applied to wounds it
causes inflammation and acute pains. It has been highly
celebrated in England, and is recommended in certain stages of
the pulmonary consumption.

Hemlock Spruce.

plate IV.

Fig. 1. A branch with a cone. Fig. !?. A seed.

Abies canadensis.

The hemlock spruce is
known only by this name
throughout the United States,
and by that ofPerusse among
the French Canadians. It
is natural to the coldest re-
gions of America, and begins
to appear about Hudson's
Bay, near lake St. John,
and in the neighborhood of
Quebec it fills the forests,
and in Nova Scotia, New
Brunswick, the state of
Maine, Vermont and a con-
siderable part of New Hamp-
shire, it constitutes three-
fourths of the evergreen

DENDROLOGY. 97

woods. Farther south it is less common, and in the Middle and
Southern States is seldom seen except on the Alleghanies ; even
there it is often confined to the sides of the torrents and to the most
humid and gloomy exposures. Moist grounds appear hot to be
in general the most favorable to its growth. It flourishes best
in a sandy loam at the foot of hills where corn will thrive.

The hemlock spruce arrives at the height of 70 or 80 feet,
with a circumference of 6 or 9 feet, and uniform for two thirds of
its length. In a favorable soil it has an elegant appearance while
less than 30 feet high, owing to the symmetrical arrangement of
its branches and to its tufted foliage, and at this age it is employed
in landscape gardening. When arrived at its full growth, the
large limbs are usually broken off 4 or 5 feet from the trunk, by
the weight of snows, and the dried extremities are seen starting
out through the little twigs which spring around them. In this
mutilated state, by which it is easily recognized, it has a disa-
greeable aspect, and presents, while in full vigor, an image of
decrepitude. The bark is of a grayish color when young, but
grows lighter when old, generally covered with moss. The
leaves are 6 or 8 lines long, flat, numerous, irregularly disposed
in two ranks, and downy at their unfolding. It flowers in May,
and is succeeded by cones of an ash-colored bay, which are a little
longer than the leaves, oval, pendulous, and situated at the
extremity of the branches. Its seed comes to maturity about
the end'of autumn.

Unhappily the properties of its wood are such as to give this
species only a secondary importance, notwithstanding its abundant
diffusion : it is tire least valuable in this respect of all the large
resinous trees of North America. But the regret which we should
experience to see it occupying so extensively the place of more
useful species, is forbidden by a property of its bark inestimable
to the country where it grows, that of being applicable in tanning.
The wood is found to decay rapidly when exposed to the
vicissitudes of the weather, and is therefore improper for the
external covering of houses. But as the white pine becomes
rarer this species is substituted for it as extensively as possible : it
is firmer, though coarser grained, affords a tighter hold to nails,

13

98

SYLVA AMERICANA,

and offers more resistance to the impression of other bodies.
The most common use, in which great quantities of it are con-
sumed in the Northern States is for the first sheathing of wooden
houses, which are afterwards covered with white pine clap boards.
For economy the interior frame is sometimes made of hemlock
spruce, and it is found when protected from humidity, to be as
durable as any other species. It is well adapted to lathes of the
interior walls, and is exported in this form to England. In the
Eastern States it is taken for the posts of rural fence, which last
about fifteen years, and are preferable to those of gray and red
oak. Its bark is used as a substitute for that of the oaks in the
preparation of leather. . It is taken from the tree in June, and
half of the epidermis is shaven off before it is thrown into the
mill. Its deep red color is imparted to the leather, which is
said to be inferior to oak bark, but the two species united are
better than either of them alone. The bark contains a small
quantity of resin, commonly called Hemlock Balsam, which is
applied to similar purposes as the resin of the white spruce.

Black or Double Spruce. Abies nigra.

This species is indigenous
to the same countries as the
white spruce, and is called
Epinette noire and Epinette
a la biere in Canada, Double
Spruce in the state of Maine,
and Black Spruce in Nova
Scotia, though the last two
denominations are known
throughout all these coun-
tries. We have preferred
that of Black Spruce, which
expresses a striking character
of the tree, and is contrasted
with that of the white species.
Fig. 1. a seed. Fig. 2. a branch with a cone. From the influence of the

DENDROLOGY. 99

soil upon the wood it is sometimes called Red Spruce. The
black spruce is most abundant in the countries lying between the
44th and 53d degrees of latitude, and between the 55th and 75th
degrees of longitude ; and it is so multiplied as often* to constitute a
third part of the forests by which they are uninterruptedly covered.
Farther south it is seldom seen except in cold and humid situa-
tions, particularly on the top of the Alleghanies. The finest
forests are to be found in valleys where the soil is black, humid,
deep and covered with a thick bed of moss.

The trunk, when it attains its fullest developement, is 70 or 80
feet in height and from 15 to 20 inches in diameter. The
.summit is a regular pyramid, and has a beautiful appearance on
insulated trees. This agreeable form is owing to the spreading
of the branches in a horizontal direction. The trunk is smooth,
and is remarkable for its perpendicular ascension and for its
regular diminution from the base to the summit, which is
terminated by an annual shoot of 12 or 15 inches in length. The
heart is most generally white, but in some situations reddish.
The leaves are of a dark, gloomy green, about four lines long,
firm, numerous, and attached singly over the* surface of the
branches. The flowers appear in May at the extremity of the
highest twigs, and are succeeded by small, reddish, oval cones,
pointing towards the earth, and varying in length from eight lines
to two inches. They are composed of thin scales, slightly
notched at the base, and sometimes split for half their length on
the most vigorous trees, on which the cones are also the largest :
they are not ripe till the end of autumn, when they open for the
escape of the seeds, which are small, light and surmounted by a
wing, by means of which they are wafted abroad by the wind.

The distinguishing properties of the wood of black spruce are
strength, lightness and elasticity. It furnishes the best yards
and topmasts that can be used. The red variety is superior in
size to the other, which grows in a poorer soil, and is less supple
and more liable to be crooked. The knees of vessels are fre-
quently of black spruce where the oak is rare. When these
pieces are of oak, they are formed of two limbs united at the
base ; but when of spruce, they are made from the base of the

*

100

SYLVA AMERICANA.

trunk and one of the principal roots. It is often used for the
rafters of houses, and is more esteemed than the hemlock spruce.
It is sometimes sawn into boards of considerable width, which
are less valuable than those of white pine. Sometimes they are
used for floors, but they are liable to crack. The red spruce is
sometimes employed for the staves of fish casks. With the
young branches, especially those of the black spruce, is made
the salutary drink known by the name cf Spruce Beer, which in
long voyages is found an efficacious preventative of the scurvy.
The twigs are boiled in water, a small quantity of molasses or
maple sugar is added, and the mixture is left to ferment. The
essence of spruce is obtained by evaporating, to the consistence
of an extract, water in which the summits of the young branches
have been boiled. This species is not resinous enough to afford
turpentine as an article of commerce. The wood is filled with
air and snaps in burning like chesnut.

ACER.

Polygamia Monoecia Linn. Acerineee. Juss. Aperient, tonic.

White Maple.

PLATE VI.
Fig. LA leaf. Fig. 2. The seed.

Acer eriocarpum.

In the Atlantic parts of
the United States this species
is often confounded with the
red maple, which it nearly
resembles ; west of the
mountains, they are con-
stantly distinguished, and the
Acer eriocarpum is known
by no other name than White
Maple. It is found on the
banks of all the rivers which
flow from the mountains to
the ocean, though it is less
common along the streams
which water the southern
parts of the Carolinas and

DENDROLOGY. 101

of Georgia. In no part of the United States is it more multiplied
than in the Western Country, and nowhere is its vegetation more
luxuriant than on the banks of the Ohio, and of the great rivers
which empty into it. The white maple is found in a sandy loam,
on the banks of such rivers only as have limpid waters and a
gravelly bed, and never in swamps and other wet grounds inclosed
in forests, where the soil is black and miry. These situations,
on the contrary, are so well adapted to the red maple, that they
are frequently occupied by it exclusively.

The trunk of this tree is low, seldom exceeding 25 feet in
height, though it is often met with on the banks of the Alleghany
and Monongahela rivers 12 or 15 feet in circumference. It
divides itself into a great number of limbs so divergent, that they
form a head more spacious than that of any other tree in our
country. The brilliant white of the leaves beneath forms a
striking contrast with the bright green above, and the alternate
reflection of the two surfaces in the water, heightens the beauty
of this wonderful moving mirror, and aids in forming an enchanting
picture to the boatman gliding through these regions of solitude,
and fills his eye with unwearied admiration. The white maple
puts forth green and yellow flowers early in the spring : its flowers
are small and sessile with a downy ovarium. The fruit is larger
than that of any other species which grows east of the Mississippi.
It consists of two capsules joined at the base, each of which
incloses one roundish seed, and is terminated by a large,
membraneous, falciform wing. In Pennsylvania it is ripe about
the first of May, and a month earlier in Georgia. At this period,
the leaves which have attained half their size are very downy
underneath ; a month later, when fully grown, they are perfectly
smooth. They are opposite and supported by long petioles ;
they are divided by deep sinuses into four lobes, are toothed on
the edges, of a bright green on the upper surface, and of a
beautiful white beneath.

The wood of this maple is very white and of a fine texture ;
but it is softer and lighter than that of any other species in the
United States, and from its want of strength and durability it is
little used. It is sometimes used in cabinet making, instead of

102 SYLVA AMERICANA.

holly, for inlaying furniture, of mahogany, cherry tree and walnut :
though it is less proper for this purpose, as it soon changes color.
Wooden bowls are also made of it when ash or poplar cannot
be procured. The charcoal of this wood is preferred by hatters
to every other, for heating their boilers, as it affords a heat more
uniform, and of longer duration. In Ohio, the sap is converted
into sugar by the same process as that of the sugar maple. Like
the red maple, it yields but half the product from a given measure
of sap ; but the unrefined sugar is whiter and more agreeable to
the taste than that of the sugar maple. The sap is in motion
earlier in this species than in the sugar maple, beginning to
ascend about the middle of January ; so that the work of
extracting the sugar is sooner completed. The cellular integu-
ment rapidly produces a black precipitate with sulphate of iron.

Mountain Maple. Acer montanum.

This species is more abundant in Canada, Nova Scotia, and
along the whole range of the Alleghanies than in any other part
of North America. It is sometimes called Low Maple, from the
dwarfish stature of the tree. It is generally called Mountain Maple,
which seems to be more appropriate, as it grows of preference
on the declivities of mountains exposed to the north, and in cool,
moist and shady situations, on the abrupt and rocky banks of
torrents and rivers.

The mountain maple seldom rises above 20 feet in height, and
it often blooms at an elevation less than six feet. It most
frequently grows in the form of a shrub, with a single and straight
stock. The leaves are large, opposite and divided into three
acute and indented lobes: they are slightly hairy at their
infolding, and when fully grown, they are uneaven and of dark
green upon the upper surface. It puts forth small blossoms, of
a greenish color, which are produced in semi-erect spikes from
two to four inches in length. The seeds which are smaller than
those of any other of the American maple, are fixed upon slender,
pendulous foot stalks ; they are reddish at their maturity, and

DENDROLOGY.

103

each of them are surmounted by a membraneous wing, and has
a small cavity upon one side.

The mountain maple is too small to be profitably cultivated
for its wood, and as its flowers, its roots and its bark are destitute
of any very sensible odor, it promises no resources to medicine.
It is sometimes grafted on the sycamore, and like the moose
wood, it is thus augmented to double its natural size.

Ash-Leaved Maple. Acer negundo.

In the country west of
the Alleghanies, where this
tree is uncommon, it is
called Box Elder; and is
called by the French of
Illinois, Erable a Giguieres.
This tree is seldom found
in the Northern States or in
the maritime parts of the
Southern. Ft grows on the
banks of the Delaware in
the neighborhood of Phila-
delphia, and even there it is
rare. West of the moun-
tains, on the contrary, it is
extremely gnultiplied. It
grows most abundantly in
the bottoms which skirt the rivers, where the soil is deep, fertile,
constantly moist, and often inundated with water.

The ash-leaved maple attains the height of 40 or 50 feet, and
a diameter of 15 or 20 inches. The bark of the trunk is brown
and has a disagreeable odor in the cellular integument. The
proportion of the sap to the heart is large, except in very old
trees : in these the heart is variegated with rose-colored and
bluish veins. It branches at a small height and expands into a
head like that of the apple tree. The leaves are opposite, and
are from 6 to 1 5 inches long, according to the vigor of the tree,

PLATE VII.

Fig. 1. A leaflet. Fig. 2. The seed.

104

SYLVA AMERICANA.

and the moisture of the soil in which it grows. Each leaf is
composed of two pair of leaflets with an odd one. The leaflets
are petiolated, oval-acuminate, and sharply toothed : towards
autumn, the common petiole is of a deep red. It puts forth
greenish flowers in April or May. The barren and fertile ones
are borne on different trees, and are supported by slender pen-
dulous penduncles, 6 or 7 inches in length. The seeds are
double the length of those of the mountain maple surmounted
with membraneous wings.

No particular use is made of the wood in the arts, though
from its luxuriant growth it would afford a profitable product as
fuel.

Black Sugar Maple. Acer nigrum.

In the Western States, and
the parts of Pennsylvania,
between the mountains and
the Ohio, this species is
called Sugar Tree, and more
fre quently Black Sugar Tree;
probably, on account of the
dark color of its leaves in
comparison with those of
the sugar maple, which
sometimes grows with it.
In the extensive country of
9 Genesee both species are
indiscriminately called Rock
Maple and Sugar JMaple.
The two species have been
confounded by botanists in
describing the vegetable productions of America. Its most
northern regions are in New Hampshire and Vermont, on the
Connecticut ; but from its inferior size it may be inferred that it
belongs to a more southern climate. Accordingly, a few degrees
lower, it forms a large part of the forests of Genesee, and covers

plate viii.

Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The seed.

DENDROLOGY. 105

the immense valleys, through which flow the great rivers of the
west, where it is one of the most common and one of the loftiest
trees. The soil in which it best flourishes is a rich, strong, sandy
loam.

It usually grows to the height of 40 or 50 feet with a diameter
of 15 or 20 inches. When the tree stands alone, it naturally
assumes a regular and agreeable shape. Its leaves are 4 or 5
inches long, and exhibit, in every respect, nearly the same
conformation as those of the true sugar maple. They differ
from them, principally, in being of a deeper green and of a
thicker texture, and in having more open sinuses : they are also
slightly downy, which is most sensibly perceptible on the main
rib. It puts forth flowers of a greenish color in April or May,
which, like those of the sugar maple, are suspended by long,
flexible peduncles : the seeds, also, are similar, and are ripe
about the same time, that is, about the first of October.

The wood is much like that of the sugar maple, but coarser
grained, and less brilliant when polished. It is little used in the
arts, because wherever it abounds, other trees jare found more
useful. It is considered after the hickories as the best of fuel.
Its most important use is for making sugar, which is made in the
same manner as that of the other species.

14

106

SYLVA AMERICANA.

Red-Flowering Maple. Acer rubrum.

PLATE EX.
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The seed.

Different names are given
to this tree, in different parts
of the United States : east
of the Alleghanies it is cal-
led Red- Flowering Maple,
Swamp Maple and Soft
Maple; in the Western Coun-
try simply Maple. The
first denomination, which is
most generally in use, is also
the most appropriate, as the
young shoots, the flowers
and the fruit are red. To-
ward the north, the red-
flowering maple appears first
in the latitude of 48 degrees ;
but it soon becomes more
common in proceeding southward, and is found abundant to the
extremities of Florida and Lower Louisiana. Of all the trees
which flourish in wet grounds occasionally overflowed, this species
is most multiplied in the Middle and Southern States. It occupies,
in great part, the borders of the creeks, and abounds in all the
swamps which are often inundated, and always miry. West of
the mountains it is seen growing in a sandy loam on elevated
situations.

In the maple swamps of New Jersey and Pennsylvania it is
found 60 or 70 feet in height, and 3 or 4 feet in diameter. It is
the earliest tree whose blossoms announce the return of spring.
It flowers from the middle to the last of April. The blossoms of
a beautiful purple or deep red, unfold more than a fortnight
before the leaves. They are sessile, aggregate, and situated at
the extremity of the branches. The leaves are smaller than
those of the white maple, but in some respects, they resemble
them. They are glaucous, or whitish underneath, and are

DENDROLOGY. 107

palmated or divided into 3 or 4 acuminate lobes, irregularly
toothed. The extremities of this tree, which are formed by
numerous twigs united at the base, have a remarkable appearance
when garnished with flowers and seeds of a deep red, before
vegetation has begun generally to revive. The fruit is suspended
by long flexible peduncles, and is of the same hue with the
flowers, though it varies in size and in the intensity of its coloring,
according to the exposure and dampness of the soil. It ripens
on the last of April or first 01 - ay. Before this tree exceeds 25
or 30 feet m height and 7 or 8 inches in diameter, its bark is
perfectly smooth and marked with white blotches, by which it is
easily distinguishable. Afterwards the trunk becomes brown and
chapped. In this tree, as in others which grow in wet places,
the sap bears a large proportion to the heart, if indeed the name
heart can properly be given to the irregular star which occupies
the centre of large trunks, with points, from one to three inches
in length, projecting into the sap.

The wood of the red-flowering maple is applicable to interesting
uses. It is harder than that of the white maple, and of a finer
and closer grain : hence it is easily wrought in "the lathe, and
acquires by polishing a glossy and silken surface. It is sufficiently
solid, and for many purposes it is preferred by workmen to other
kinds of wood. It is much used for yokes and the handles of
agricultural implements, wooden dishes and other domestic
wares. It sometimes happens that in very old trees, the grain
instead of following a perpendicular direction, is undulated, and
this variety is termed Curled Maple. This singular arrangement
is never witnessed in young trees, nor in the branches of such as
exhibit it in the trunk : it is less conspicuous at the centre, than
near the circumference. Trees offering this disposition, however,
are rare. The serpentine direction of the fibre, which renders
them difficult to split and to work, produces in the hands of a
skilful mechanic, the most beautiful effects of light and shade.
These effects are rendered more striking, if, after smoothing the
surface of the wood with a double-ironed plane, it is rubbed with
a little sulphuric acid, and afterwards with linseed oil. On close
examination, the varying shades are found to be owing entirely

108

3YLVA AMERICANA.

to the inflection of the rays of light ; which is more sensibly
perceived in viewing it in different directions by candle light.
In cabinet making, furniture is made of it, which, in richness and
lustre, exceeds the finest mahogany. It is much used for the
stocks of fowling pieces and rifles, which to elegance and lightness
unite a solidity resulting from the accidental direction of the fibre.
The cellular integument is of a dusky red, which, by boiling,
yields a purplish color, and on the addition of sulphate of iron,
becomes dark blue approaching to black. With a portion of
alum in solution, it is used for dying black. The French Cana-
dians make sugar from the sap of this maple, but, as in the white
maple, the product of a given measure is only half as great as is
obtained from the sugar maple. The wood does not burn well,
and is not much esteemed for fuel.

Sugar Maple. Acer saccharinum.

This species, the most
interesting of American ma-
ples, is called Rock Maple,
Hard Maple and Sugar
Maple. The first of these
names is most generally
used, but we prefer the last,
because it indicates one of
the most valuable properties
of the tree. It is found
most abundantly between the
46th and 43d degrees of
latitude, which comprises
Canada, New Brunswick,
Nova Scotia, Vermont, New
Hampshire and the state of
Maine : in these regions, it
enters largely into the composition of the forests with which they
are still covered. Farther south, it is common only in Genesee,
in New York, and in the upper parts of Pennsylvania. In the

PLATE X.
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The seed.

DENDROLOGY. 109

lower parts of Virginia, of the Carolinas, and of Georgia, and
likewise the Western States this tree is unknown or rare. The
sugar maple covers a greater extent of American soil than any
other species of this genus. It flourishes most in mountainous
places, where the soil though fertile is cold and humid. Besides
the parts which we have particularly mentioned, where the face
of the country is generally of this nature, it is found along the
whole chain of the Alleghanies to their termination in Georgia,
and on the steep and shady hanks of the rivers which rise in
these mountains.

The sugar maple reaches the height of 70 or 80 feet with a
proportional diameter ; but it does not commonly exceed 50 or
60 feet with a diameter of 12 or 18 inches. Well-grown, thriving
trees are beautiful in their appearance, and easily distinguishable
by the whiteness of their bark. The leaves are about five inches
broad, but they vary in length according to the age and vigor of
the tree. They are opposite, attached by long petioles, palmated
or equally divided into five lobes, entire at the edges, of a bright
green above, and glaucous or whitish underneath. In autumn
they turn reddish with the first frost. It puts forth small yellowish
flowers in May, which are suspended by slender, drooping
peduncles. The seed is contained in two capsules united at
the base and terminated in a membraneous wing. It is ripe in
the beginning of October, though the capsules attain their full
size six weeks earlier. Externally they appear equal, but one
of them is always empty. The fruit is matured only once in
two or three years.

The wood when cut is white, but after being wrought and
exposed for some time to the light it takes a rosy tinge. Its
grain is fine and close, and when polished, it has a silky lustre.
It is very strong and sufficiently heavy, but wants the property
of durability, for which the oak is highly esteemed. When
exposed to moisture it soon decays, and for this reason it is not
much used in civil and naval architecture. In the Eastern States
where the oak is not plentiful, this timber is substituted for it in
preference to the beech, the birch and the elm. When perfectly
seasoned, which requires two or three years, it is used by wheel-

110 SYLVA AMERICANA.

wrights for axletrees and spokes, and for the runners of common
sleds, and by cabinet and chair makers. The sugar maple
timber is also sometimes used for the frames of houses, keels
and lower frames of ships, and many other purposes which do
not expose it to sudden decay by alternate moistening and drying.
This wood exhibits two accidental forms in the arrangement of
the fibre, of which cabinet makers take advantage for making
beautiful articles of furniture. The first consists in undulations
like those of the curled maple, the second, which occurs only in
old trees that are still sound, and which appear to arise from an
inflection of the fibre from thfi circumference toward the centre,
produces spots of half a line in diameter, sometimes contiguous,
and at other times several lines apart. The more numerous the
spots, the more beautiful and the more esteemed is the wood : this
variety is called Birds-eye Maple. Like the curled maple it is
used for inlaying mahogany. Bedsteads are made of it and
portable writing desks, which are elegant and highly prized. To
obtain the finest effect, the log should be sawn in a direction as
nearly as possible parallel to the concentric circles. When cut
at the proper season, the sugar maple forms excellent fuel. Its
ashes are rich in the alkaline principle and more abundant in
quantity than those obtained from any other tree. The charcoal
procured from this wood and used in forges and domestic economy,
is of the most valuable kind ; and that made in Vermont, New
Hampshire and Maine is one fifth heavier than that from the
same tree in the more southern states ; a proof that a northern
climate is adapted to the growth and firmness of this tree. The
wood of this maple is easily distinguished from that of the red-
flowering maple, which it resembles in appearance, by its wreight
and hardness. There is, besides, a very simple and certain test :
a few drops of sulphate of iron being poured on samples of the
different species, the sugar maple turns greenish, and the white
maple and red-flowering maple change to a deep blue.

The sap of the sugar maple furnishes no inconsiderable resource
for the economy, the comfort, and even the wealth of our
northern citizens ; especially to those occupying regions newly
settled.

DENDROLOGY. Ill

The method of procuring the sap and forming the sugar, is
simple, and nearly the same in most places where any is resorted
to. The common process to collect the sap is to perforate the
tree with an auger, in two places about four inches apart,
and eighteen or twenty inches from the ground. It is found that
a more abundant flow of sap is obtained from a shallow, than a
deep hole. Into these holes, two tubes are inserted, which from
the direction given the auger in boring, nearly meet at the outer
ends. The tubes are made of elder, sumac or other shrubs with
a large pith, and conduct the sap into small troughs or buckets,
from whence it is conveyed to the camp, or the place where
temporary preparations are made for boiling, etc. These prep-
arations are little more than a boiler, containing from fifteen to
fifty gallons, suspended upon a bar supported by crotches, at a
convenient distance from the ground for building the fire ; moulds
to receive the sirup when of sufficient consistence to form into
cakes ; and an axe for preparing the fuel.

The evaporation is carried on by a constant and brisk boiling
of the sap, which is frequently replenished as the bulk is dimin-
ished, until a sirup is formed of sufficient strength to become
solid as it cools. A scum which is constantly rising to the surface
during the first part of the process is frequently removed, and
before the sirup is left to cool and harden, it is strained through
woollen cloth to separate the remaining impurities. The time
for stopping the evaporation is determined by rubbing a drop of
the sirup between the fingers, which will granulate if the process
has been carried to sufficient length. When the ebullition is so
violent as to give signs of rising over the sides of the boiler, it is
quelled by a piece of lard, butter or rind of pork.

Maple molasses is made by discontinuing the evaporation
before the liquid is of sufficient consistence to consolidate by
cooling, and by the drainings from the sirup as it forms into
sugar. Sugar of the finest character and grain may be formed
from the sap of the maple, and though the more common kind
is neither very white, nor very delicate, it has a peculiar flavor,
much admired by those not accustomed to its use.

The time for collecting the sap is about the last of February,

112 SYLVA AMERICANA.

and continues from four to six weeks ; after which the liquid is
less abundant and less rich in the saccharine principle, and is
finally so weak, that it can no longer be reduced to sugar. The
tree gives the most abundant discharge of its sap, early in the
season, and in clear pleasant days, preceded by cold frosty
nights.

The quantity of sap discharged from a tree of an average size,
varies in different years and different days.

Trees are sometimes supposed to average about four pounds of
sugar in a season, but frequently do not produce more than half
that quantity. A single tree discharges in one day from two
quarts, to two or three gallons of sap.

The following statement appeared some years since in the
Greensburgh Pennsylvania Gazette. " Having introduced,"
says the writer, " twenty tubes into a sugar maple, I drew from
it the same day, twenty-three gallons and three quarts of sap,
which gave seven pounds and a quarter of sugar. Thirty-three
pounds have been made this season from the same tree, which
supposes one hundred gallons of sap." From this statement, it
appears that but little more than three gallons were required for
a pound, though four gallons are commonly allowed.

Maple sugar is made in most of the Northern and Western
States, and in Canada ; and it has been supposed that New
York and Pennsylvania contain maples enough to supply the
consumption of sugar in the whole of the United States. But as
a country becomes settled, the groves and forests of maple
disappear, and the expense of converting the sap into sugar is
increased ; so that the whole country will, within a moderate
period of time, be supplied with this useful article in domestic
economy, from foreign importations, or from the juice of the
cane in our own country.

Though the ease and abundance with which sugar is made
from the cane, and the expense of fuel to procure it from the
sap of the maple would not favor the cultivation of this stately
and beautiful tree for the supply of our tables, the value of its
timber, and the elegant and cleanly shade it furnishes, would
probably render the cultivation of it, especially by the sides of

DENDROLOGY. 113

our roads, an article of domestic and political economy, as well
as a public ornament and comfort.

Most kinds of domestic animals are excessively fond of the
sap of the maple, and frequently break through their inclosures
to get access to the vessels containing it.

If the sap be exposed for a few days to a warm sun, it is
formed into vinegar of a good quality. Maple beer, which is a
pleasant beverage, is also made from the same material, by the
addition of yeast and the essence of spruce.

Striped Maple. Acer striatum.

In Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, the state of Maine, New
Hampshire and Vermont, this maple is known by the name of
JMoose Wood: in New Jersey and Pennsylvania it is called
Striped Maple. This last denomination, which is preferable, as
being descriptive, we have thought proper to adopt. It makes
its first appearance in about latitude 47 degrees, and abounds in
Nova Scotia, the state of Maine and New Hampshire, where it
fills the forests. In approaching the Hudson it becomes more
rare, and beyond this boundary, it is confined to the mountainous
tracts of the Alleghanies, on which it is found, in cold shaded
exposures, aiong the whole range to their termination in Georgia.

In many of the forests of Maine and New Hampshire, the
striped maple constitutes a great part of the undergrowth ; for its
ordinary height is less than 10 feet, though it sometimes exceeds
more than twice this stature. The trunk and branches are- clad
in a smooth, green bark, longitudinally marked with black stripes,
by which it is easily distinguishable, at all seasons of the year,
from whence it derives its specific name. It is one of the earliest
trees whose vegetation announces the approach of the genial
season. Its buds and leaves, when beginning to unfold, are rose-
colored, and have a pleasing effect; but this hue soon changes
to green. On luxuriant trees, the leaves are of a pretty thick
texture, and finely serrate. They are four or five inches broad,
rounded at the base, and divided into three deep and acute lobes.

15

114 SYLVA AMERICANA.

It puts forth greenish flowers in May, which are grouped on long
pendulous peduncles. The fruit, which in the main resembles
that of the other maples, is remarkable for a small cavity on one
side of the capsules : it is produced in abundance, and is ripe
about the end of September.

The inferior size of this tree forbids its use in any kind of
construction ; but as it is white and fine-grained, the cabinet
makers of Halifax employ it instead of the holly, for forming the
white lines, with which they inlay mahogany. Its principal
advantage to the inhabitants consists in furnishing them, at the
close of winter, when their forage is exhausted, a resource for
sustaining their cattle, till the advancing season has renewed the
herbage. As soon as the buds begin to 'swell, the famished
horses and neat cattle are turned loose into the woods, to browse
on the young shoots, which they consume with avidity. This
tree is now cultivated in Europe, and has been grafted on the
lofty sycamore, where it expands to four times its natural
dimensions.

ALNUS.

Moncecia Tetrandria. Linn. Amentaceffi. Juss. Astringent,

tonic, emollient.

Black Alder. Ahius glauca.

The Black Alder which is unknown in the Southern, and rare
in the Middle States, is not uncommon in Massachusetts, New
Hampshire and Vermont ; but even here it is less multiplied
than the common alder, which abounds throughout the United
States. It grows in cool, moist places, and upon the margin of
rivulets.

The black alder sometimes arrives at the height of 18 or 20
feet, and about three inches in diameter. The bark of the trunk
and of the secondary branches is smooth, glossy and of a deep
brown color sprinkled with white. Its leaves are oval, distinctly
furrowed on the surface, and doubly denticulated at the edge :
they are of a pale bluish green and about three inches in length
and two inches in breadth. It flowers in June and July.

DENDROLOGY. 115

The diminutive size of this tree entirely excludes its wood
from use in the arts. The bark is employed by hatters, for
dying black. It has also been used in intermittent levers, dropsies
and cutaneous diseases. Its bitterness and astringency, however,
are of an inferior order, and it does not seem entitled to a very
high rank on the list of tonics.

Common Alder. Alnus serrulata.

This species of alder, is found in the Northern, Middle and
Western States, and is every where designated by the name of
Common Alder. It frequently gr.ows along the sides of brooks,
and abounds still more in places covered with stagnant water.

The ordinary height of the common alder is 8 or 10 feet, and
about two inches in diameter, though often less. Its leaves are
of a beautiful green, about two inches long, and are in shape
similar to those of the black alder. This shrub blooms in Janu-
ary : the sexes are separate on the same stock. The barren
flowers are disposed, like those of the birch, around a common
axis, in flexible pendulous aments about two inches long. The
fertile flowers are in the form of small, oval bodies, garnished
with a dull, red fringe : they are converted into small, scaly cones,
which open, when arrived at maturity, to release the minute, flat
seeds.

The wood of the common alder, when first laid open, is white,
and it becomes reddish by contact with the air. It is too small
to be applicable to any use in the arts. With sulphate of iron
the bark forms a black die for coloring wool, and as it can be
procured at a very low price, it is extensively substituted for gall
nuts by hatters and dyers.

116

SYJ.VA AMERICANA.

ANDROMEDA.

Decandria Mwiogynia. Linn. Ericese. Jess. Tonic, astringent, refrigerant,

Sorel Tree. Andromeda arborea.

This is the only species of Andromeda which rises to a
sufficient height to be ranked among forest trees. It begins to
appear on the Alleghanies in Virginia, and is found to their
termination in Georgia. It grows also in the Southern States on
the steep banks of the rivers that flow from the mountains ; but
it becomes more rare in following them from their source,
whether eastward or westward, and ceases entirely in the
maritime parts of the Carolinas and Georgia.

It abounds in the fertile valleys at. the foot of the lofty
mountains of North Carolina, where they are found 50 feet in
height and 12 or 15 inches in diameter. This is an extraordi-
nary size for a tree of this genus, which is very numerous in the
Atlantic States, and three-fourths of whose species to the number
of eight or ten, rarely exceed six feet in height and an inch in
diameter. The growth of the sorel tree is observed to be stinted
in dry and gravelly lands, so that it presents itself in the form of
a bush. The leaves are downy in the spring, but they become
smooth and glabrous in acquiring their growth. They are alternate,
oval-acuminate, finely denticulated, and from four to five inches
long. It puts forth small white flowers, from July to September,
formed into spikes five or six inches long. United in groups
they have a fine effect, and render this tree very proper for the
embellishment of gardens. The seeds are exceedingly minute,
and are contained in small capsules.

On the trunk of the sorel tree the bark is thick and deeply
furrowed. The wood is of a pale rose color and very soft. It
burns with difficulty, and is wholly rejected in the arts. The
acidity of the leaves has procured it the name of Sorel
Tree. In drying they become black, and, when sumac is not to
be obtained, they are used to impart color to wool.

DENDROLOGY. 117

ANONA.

Polyandria Polyginia. Linn. Anonae. Juss. Tonic, aperient.

Pawpaw. Anona triloba.

This tree is called by the French of upper Louisiana and of
the two Canadas, Assiminier, and by the Americans, Pawpaw.
It is seldom found north of the river Schuylkill, and is extremely
rare in the low, maritime parts of the Southern States. It is not
uncommon in the bottoms which stretch along the rivers of the
Middle States ; but it is most abundant in the rich valleys
intersected by the western waters, where at intervals, it forms
thickets exclusively occupying several acres. In Kentucky and
in the western part of Tennessee, it is sometimes seen also in
forests where the soil is luxuriantly fertile ; of which and its
presence is an infallible proof.

It seldom exceeds 30 feet in height and a diameter of six or
eight inches, though it generally stops short at half this elevation.
The trunk is covered with a silver-gray bark, which is smooth
and finely polished. The leaves are borne on short petioles,
and are alternate, five or six inches in length, and of an elongated
form,. widening from the base to the summit. They are of a
fine texture, and the superior surface 'is smooth and brilliant.
The flowers, which are attached by short peduncles, are pendent,
and of a purple hue. When the fruit is ripe, which takes place
towards the beginning of August, it is about three inches long,
one and a half thick, of a yellowish color, and of an oval form,
irregular and swelling into inequalities. Its pulp is soft and of
an insipid taste, and it contains several large, triangular stones.

The wood is spongy, extremely soft, destitute of strength, and
applicable to no use in the mechanical arts. A spirituous liquor
may be distilled from its fruit. The cellular integument of the
bark, and particularly that of the roots, exhales in summer a
nauseous odor, so powerful as to occasion sickness if it is long
respired in open air.

118

SYLVA AMERICANA.

BETULA.

Monoecia Tetrandria. Linn. Amentaceae. Juss. Astringent, tonic, emollient.

Black Birch. Betula lenta.

The agreeable foliage of
this species, and the valuable
properties of its wood, render
it the most interesting of the
American birches. Wher-
ever it grows in the United
States, it is known by the
name of Black Birch : its
secondary denominations are
Mountain Mahogany in Vir-
ginia, and Sweet Birch and
Cherry Birch in Connecticut,
Massachusetts, and further
north. In Canada it is uni-
versally called Cherry Birch.
It grows in Nova Scotia, in
the state of Maine, New
Hampshire, Vermont, though more rarely than the yellow birch.
It abounds in the Middle States, particularly in New York,
Pennsylvania and Maryland ; farther south it is confined to the
summit of the Alleghanies, on which it is found to their termina-
tion in Georgia, and to the steep and shady banks of the rivers
which issue from these mountains. It flourishes best in a deep,
loose and cool soil.

When it has attained its greatest expansion, it often exceeds
70 feet in height, and two or three feet in diameter. The bark
upon the trunk of trees less than eight inches in diameter, is
smooth, grayish, and perfectly similar in its color and organization
to that of the cherry tree. On old trees, the epidermis detaches
itself transversely, at intervals, in hard, ligneous plates, six or
eight inches broad. At the close of winter the leaves, during a

plate xr.

Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. A fertile anient.

DENDROLOGY. 119

fortnight after their birth, are covered with a thick, silvery down,
which disappears soon after. The leaves are about two inches
long, serrate, cordiform at the base, acuminate at the summit, of
a pleasing tint and fine texture, and not unlike the leaves of the
cherry tree. The young shoots are brown, smooth, and dotted
with white, as also are the leaves. The barren flowers of the
black birch are disposed in flexible aments about four inches
long. The fertile aments, which are commonly situated at the
extremity of the young branches, are ten or twelve lines long,
and five or six lines in diameter, straight, cylindrical, and nearly
sessile at the season of maturity of the seed, which is about the
first of November.

The wood of the black birch, when freshly cut, is of a rosy
hue, which deepens by exposure to the light. Its grain is fine
and close, whence it is susceptible of a brilliant polish ; it
possesses also a considerable share of strength. The union of
these properties renders it superior to the other species of
American birch ; and in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New
York, it is next in esteem to the wild cherry tree among cabinet
makers. Tables and bedsteads of this wrood, when carefully
preserved, acquire with time the appearance of mahogany, hence
it is employed for the frames of arm-chairs, and of sofas : the
coach makers also use it for the frames of their panels. Shoe
lasts are made of black birch, but they are less esteemed than
those of beech. Such are the principal uses of the wood, from
which it may easily be gathered to what subsidiary purposes it is
applicable. The leaves and bark, when bruised, diffuse a very
sweet odor, and as they retain this property when dried and
carefully preserved, they afford an agreeable infusion, with the
addition of a little sugar and cream.

120

SYLVA AMERICANA.

Yellow Birch. Betula lutea.

Fig. 1.

PLATE XII.
A leaf. Fig. 2. A fertile ament.

This species of birch
abounds in the forests- of
Nova Scotia, of New Bruns-
wick, in the state of Maine,
New Hampshire and Ver-
mont, where it is designated
by no other name than
Yellow Birch. On the wes-
tern bank of the Hudson it
is rare ; and in New Jersey
and Pennsylvania only a few
individuals of the species are
met with, in moist and shady
situations. It is confounded
by the inhabitants of these
States with the black birch,
which is very abundant, and
to which it bears a striking resemblance. It is generally found
on cool and rich soils among the ashes, the hemlock spruce,
and the black spruce.

When it arrives at its greatest magnitude, it. is more than
70 feet in height and two feet in diameter. It is a beautiful tree,
and its trunk is of nearly an uniform diameter, straight, and
destitute of branches for 30 or 40 feet. It is particularly re-
markable for the color and arrangement of its epidermis, which
is of a brilliant golden yellow, and which frequently divides itself
into very fine strips, rolled backwards at the ends, and attached
in the middle. The young shoots, and the leaves at their
unfolding are downy ; towards the middle of summer when fully
expanded, the leaves are perfectly smooth, except the petiole,
which remains covered with a fine, short hair : they are about
three and a half inches long, one and a half broad, oval-acuminate,
and bordered with sharp and irregular teeth. The leaves, the
bark and the young shoots, have an agreeable taste and smell,

DENDROLOGY.

121

similar to those of the black birch, though less sensible, which
they lose in drying. In its fructification, the yellow birch nearly
resembles the black birch. The fertile aments are borne on
short peduncles, and are twelve or fifteen lines long, five or six
lines in diameter, straight, of an oval shape, and nearly cylindrical.
The scales which compose them are trifid, pointed, and about
three lines in length : viewed through the lens, they are seen to
be downy. Beneath these scales are the small, winged seeds,
which are ripe about the first of October.

The wood of the yellow birch is inferior in quality and in
appearance to that of the black birch, and never assumes as deep
a shade ; but it is strong, and when well polished makes handsome
furniture. In Nova Scotia and in the state of Maine, it is used
for that part of the frame of vessels which remains always in the
water. In Maine it is also used for the yokes of cattle and for
the frames of sledges ; and in Nova Scotia the young saplings
are almost exclusively employed for the hoops of casks. The
bark is highly esteemed in tanning ; and its wood is considered
an excellent combustible.

Canoe Birch.

PLATE XIII.

Fig. 1, A leaf. Fig. 2 A fertile ament

16

JBetula papyracea.

By the French Canadians
this tree is called Boideau
Blanc, White Birch, and
Boideau a Canot, Canoe
Birch : it is known to the
Americans also by these
denominations, and some-
times by that of Paper Birch.
The name of Canoe Birch
appears to be the most
proper, as it indicates an
important use which is made
of its bark. The canoe
birch is most multiplied in
the forests in the country
lying north of the 43d degree

122 SYLVA AMERICANA,

of latitude, and between the 75th degree of west longitude and
the Atlantic ocean ; comprising Lower Canada, New Brunswick,
the state of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. It ceases
below the 43d degree of latitude, and is not found in the southern
part of Connecticut, nor below Albany, in the state of New York.
The soil in which this species of birch best flourishes, is fertile
and principally covered with large stones, overgrown with moss.

The canoe birch attains its largest size, which is about 70 feet
in height and three feet in diameter, on the declivity of hills and
in the bottom of fertile valleys. Its branches are slender, flexible,
and covered with a shining, brown bark, dotted with white.
The leaves are borne by petioles four or five lines long, and are
of a middling size, oval, unequally denticulated, smooth, and of
a dark green color. The aments are pendulous, and about an
inch in length : the seeds are ripe towards the middle of July.

The heart or perfect wTood of this tree, when first laid open,
is of a reddish hue, and the sap is perfectly white. It has a fine,
glossy grain, with a considerable share of strength : that it is but
little employed is attributed partly to its speedy decay when
exposed to the succession of dryness and moisture, and partly to
the existence, in the countries which produce it, of several species
of wood , which are far preferable for the uses of the carpenter
and the wheelwright. It is sometimes employed by cabinet
makers for tables which are stained in imitation of mahogany.
A section of the trunk of this tree, one or two feet in length,
immediately below the first ramification, exhibits very elegant
undulations of the fibre, representing bunches of feathers or
sheaves of corn : these pieces are divided into thin jidates for
inlaying mahogany, and other embellishments in cabinet making.
The wood affords excellent fuel. On trees not exceeding eight
inches in diameter, the bark is of a brilliant white. This bark is
devoted to many uses : in the newly-settled parts of the countries
where it grows, the people place large pieces of it immediately
below the shingles of the roof of their houses ; baskets, boxes,
port folios, etc. are also made of it ; divided into very thin
sheets, it forms a substitute for paper. But the most important
purpose to which it is applied, and one in which it is replaced by

DENDROLOGY. 123

the bark of no other tree, is the construction of canoes. To
procure proper pieces, the largest and smoothest trunks are
selected : in the spring two circular incisions are made several
feet apart, and two longitudinal ones on opposite sides of the
tree ; after which, by introducing a wooden wedge, the bark is
easily detached. These plates are usually ten or twelve feet
long, and two feet nine inches broad. To form the canoe they
are stitched together with fibrous roots of the white spruce, about
the size of a quill, which are deprived of the bark, split, and
suppled in water. The seams are coated with resin of the
balm of Gilead. Great use is made of these canoes by the
Indians and by the French Canadians in their long journies into
the interior of the country ; they are very light, and are easily
transported on the shoulders from one lake or river to another,
which is called the portage. A canoe calculated for four persons
with their baggage weighs from forty to fifty pounds ; some of
them are made to carry fifteen passengers. Such are the
ordinary uses of the bark and of the wood of this tree.

White Birch. Betula populifolia.

This species, like the canoe birch, grows in Canada and in
the northern extremity of the United States. It is found also in
the lower parts of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
In Virginia it is more rare. In the environs of New York and of
Philadelphia it is called JVhite Birch, and this name is habitually
used in the state of Maine, where that of Old Field Birch is
also frequently employed to distinguish the white birch from the
canoe birch. The white birch is most frequently found in places
scantily furnished with woods, where the soil is dry and meagre,
and generally exhausted by culture.

The ordinary height of the white birch is 20 or 25 feet.
Single trees, which grow accidentally in moist places, expand to
an ampler size, and are sometimes 30 or 35 feet high, and eight
or nine inches in diameter, on which the branches are
numerous, slender, and generally drooping. The leaves are

124

SYLVA AMERICANA.

smooth on both surfaces, heart-shaped at the base, very acuminate,
and doubly and irregularly toothed. The petioles are slightly
twisted, and the leaves are thus rendered more tremulous than
those of trees on which this disposition is not observed. The
buds, a few days after their developement, are slightly coated
with a yellowish, odoriferous substance. The trunk of this
species is covered with a white, but most generally light gray
bark resembling the canoe birch ; but its epidermis, on being
separated from the cellular integument, is incapable of being
divided like that of the preceding species, into thin sheets. It
flowers in July.

The wood of this birch is very soft, brilliant when polished,
and perfectly white. From its speedy decay, and from the
inferior size of the tree it is employed for no use as timber. It
makes very good fuel when green, and the charcoal produced
from it is superior to that of white maple.

Red Birch. Betula rubra.

In Pennsylvania and New
Jersey the name of Red
Birch is given to the Betula
rubra, to distinguish it from
the white birch ; but farther
south, where the white birch
does not exist, or is compar-
atively rare, this species is
simply called Birch. The
northern part of New Jersey
may be assumed as the most
northern point at which this
species of birch is found.
It is abundant in Pennsylva-
nia, Maryland, Virginia and
the upper part of the Caro-
linas and Georgia. This
birch is not, like the other species of this genus, seen growing in

PLATE XIV
Fig. 1. A leaf.

Fig. 2. A barren ament.

DENDROLOGY. 125

the midst of the forest, but is found only on the banks of rivers.
It expands with the greatest luxuriance on the sides of limpid
streams which have a gravelly bed, and whose banks are not
marshy like those of the rivers in the maritime parts of the
Carolinas and those of Georgia.

When it has attained its greatest magnitude it is 70 feet in
height, and two or three feet in diameter. On the trunk and on
the largest limbs of a lofty red birch, the bark is thick, deeply
furrowed, and of a greenish color. On trees not exceeding
eight or ten inches in diameter, the epidermis is reddish or
cinnamon-colored ; whence probably is derived the appropriate
denomination of Red Birch. The epidermis of this species,
like that of the canoe birch, divides itself transversally into thin,
transparent sheets, which appear to be composed of a mixed
substance, instead of presenting a pure, homogeneous texture ;
hence they have not an uniform transparency, nor a perfectly
even surface : compared with the bark of the canoe birch, they
are like coarse paper compared with fine. When this tree is
fully expanded, its summit is ample, but the uncommon thickness
of its branches prevents it from appearing tufted. The twigs
which form the extremity of the tree, are long, flexible and
pendulous, and the limbs are of a brown complexion spotted with
white : their bark is slightly uneven, while, on the other branches,
it is smooth and glossy. The petioles of this tree are short and
downy ; the leaves are about three inches long and two inches
broad, of a light green on the upper surface, and whitish beneath :
they are doubly denticulated at the edge, very acuminate at the
summit, and terminated at the base in an acute angle, more
regular than is seen in the leaf of any other tree. The fertile
aments are five or six inches long, straight and nearly cylindrical.
The seeds are ripe in the beginning of June.

The wood of the red birch is sufficiently compact and nearly
white : very little difference in color is observed between the sap
and heart. This wood offers the same singularity with that of
the June berry, being longitudinally marked by red vessels,
which intersect each other in different directions. This wood
is employed for bowls, trays and brooms : it is also employed

126"

SYLVA AMERICANA.

for hoops, particularly for rice casks where the oak and hickory
cannot be obtained.

BIGNONIA.

Didynaraia Angiospermia. Linn. Eignoniae. Juss. Cathartic, narcotic.

Catalpa. Bignonia catalpa.

In the Atlantic States,
the Catalpa begins to be found
in the forests, on the banks
of the river Savannah, and
west of the Alleghanies, on
those of the Cumberland,
between the 35th and 36th
degrees of latitude. Farther
south it is more common,
and abounds near the bor-
ders of all the rivers which
empty into the Mississippi,
or which water West Florida.
In the Carolinas and in
Georgia the catalpa is called
Catawbaw Tree, from a tribe
of Indians by that name who
inhabited that part of the country. The French of Upper
Louisiana call it JBois Shavanon, from the Shavanon tribe of
Indians who once existed in West Tennessee.

In the regions where it grows most abundantly it frequently
exceeds 50 feet in height, with a diameter from 18 to 24 inches.
It is easily recognized by its bark, which is of a silver-gray color,
and but slightly furrowed, by its ample leaves, and by its wide
spreading summit, disproportioned in size to the diameter of its
trunk. It differs from other trees also by the fewness of its
branches. The leaves are heart-shaped, petiolated, often six or
seven inches in width, glabrous above and downy beneath,

Fig. 1.

plate xv.

A leaf. Fig. 2. A seed.

DENDROLOGY. 127

particularly on the principal ribs ; they are late in venturing out
in the spring, and are among the first to shrink at the approach
of autumn. The flowers which are collected in large bunches
at the extremity of the branches, are white, with violet and
yellow spots, and are beautiful and showy. The capsules are
cylindrical and pendent, of a brown color when ripe, three or
four lines in diameter and twelve or fifteen inches in length.
The seeds are thin, flat and developed in a long, narrow,
membraneous wing terminated by a hairy tuft. Each seed, with
its wing, is about an inch long, and a line and a half broad.

That, the catalpa is a tree of rapid growth is proved by the
distance of the annual concentric circles. Its wood is of a
grayish white color, of a fine texture, very light, and very
brilliant when polished. It resembles the butternut wood, with
this exception, that the butternut wood is of a reddish hue, and
is less durable when exposed to the weather. Posts of the
catalpa perfectly seasoned have been proved to be very durable.
In the spring, if a bit of the cellular integument of the catalpa
bark is removed, a venomous and offensive odor is exhaled. In
a thesis supported at the Medical College of Philadelphia, this
bark is maintained to be tonic, stimulant, and more powerfully
antiseptic than the Peruvian bark. It is stated that the honey
collected from the flowers of this tree is poisonous, and that its
effects, though less alarming, are analogous to those of honey of
the yellow jasmine. Its bark is considered to be a good antidote
for the bite of snakes, the machineel poison, etc.

CARPINUS.

Monoecia Poljandria. Linn. Amentaceae. Juss. Astringent, tonic, emollient.

American Hornbeam. Carpinus Americana.

The American Hornbeam is found as far north as Nova Scotia,
New Brunswick and Lower Canada ; but it is repressed by the
severity of the climate, and is less multiplied than in New Jersey,
Pennsylvania and the Southern States. By the Americans it is
called Hornbeam, and by the French of Upper Louisiana Charme.

128

SYLVA AMERICANA.

It prospers in almost every soil and exposure, except in places
that are too long inundated, or that are absolutely sterile.

The ordinary stature of this tree is from 12 to 15 feet, and it
is sometimes 25 or 30 feet high and six inches in diameter. Its
leaves are oval-acuminate and finely denticulated. The sexes
are united on the same stock, and the fertile flowers are collected
in long, loose, pendulous, leafy aments at the extremity of the
branches. The scales or leaves which surround them are
furnished at the base with a hard, oval seed. It flowers in May
or June. The fructification is always abundant, and the aments
remain attached to the tree long after the foliage is shed. The
bark of the trunk is smooth and spotted with white.

The wood is white and exceedingly compact and fine-grained.
The dimensions of the tree are so small as to render it almost
useless even for fuel, but it is employed for hoops when better
species cannot be obtained.

Iron Wood. Carpinus ostrya-

East of the Mississippi
the Iron Wood is diffused
throughout the United States
and New Brunswick, Nova
Scotia and Lower Canada.
In New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania and the South-
ern States, where it is the
most abundant, it bears the
name of Iron Wood; in
Vermont, New Hampshire
and Maine, it is called Lever
Wood ; and by the French
of Illinois, Bois dur, hard
wood. Though this wood
is multiplied in the forests,
it nowhere constitutes masses

even of inconsiderable extent, but is loosely disseminated, and

found only in cool, fertile, shaded situations.

Fig.

PLATE XVI.
A leaf. Fig. 2. The fruit.

DENDROLOGY. 129

It seldom arrives to more than 35 or 40 feet in height and 12
or 15 inches in diameter, and commonly not exceeding half these
dimensions. In the winter this tree is recognized by a smooth,
grayish bark, finely divided, and detached in strips not more
than a line in breadth. The leaves are alternate, oval-acuminate,
and finely and unequally denticulated. The fertile and barren
flowers are borne at the extremity of different branches of the
same tree, and the fruit is in clusters like hops. The small,
hard, triangular seed is contained in a species of reddish, oval,
inflated bladder, covered at the age of maturity with a fine down,
which causes a violent irritation of the skin if carelessly handled.
The wood is perfectly white, compact, fine-grained and heavy.
The concentric circles are closely compressed, and their number
in a trunk of only four or five inches in diameter evinces the
length of time necessary to acquire this inconsiderable size. To
its inferior dimensions must be ascribed the limited use of the
tree, the superior properties of whose wood are attested by its
name. In New England the iron wood is used for levers,
brooms and scrubbing brushes. Though its uses are unimportant,
they might probably be more diversified ; it is Veil adapted for
mill cogs, mallets, etc.

17

130

SYLVA AMERICANA

CASTANEA.

Moncecia Polyandria. Linn. Amentacese. Juss. Astringent, tonic, emollient.

Chinquapin. Castanea pumila.

The Chinquapin is bound-
ed northward by the eastern
shore of the river Delaware,
on which it is found to the
distance of a hundred miles
from Cape May. It is more
common in Maryland, and
still more so in the lower
part of Virginia, of the
Carolinas, Georgia, the Flor-
idas and Louisiana, as far
as the river Arkansas. In
West Tennessee it is mul-
tiplied around the prairies
inclosed in the forests, and
it abounds throughout the
Southern States where the
chesnut is wanting. In the south of the United States the
chinquapin fructifies on the most arid lands : its perfect devel-
opement requires a cool and fertile soil. As it springs every
where with facility, except in places liable to be covered with
water, it is among the most common shrubs.

This tree sometimes grows to the height of 30 or 40 feet
and 12 or 15 inches in diameter, although its usual height is 10
or 12 feet. The leaves are three or four inches long, sharply
toothed, and similar in form to those of the American chesnut,
from which they are distinguished by their inferior size, and by
the whitish complexion of their lower surface. The fructification,
also, resembles that of the chesnut in form and arrangement, but
the flowers and fruit are only half as large, and the nut is convex
on both sides and about the size of the wild hazel nut.

Fig. 1. A leaf.

PLATE XVI [.
Fig. 2. The fruit.

Fig. 3. A nut.

DENDROLOGY.

131

The wood of this species is finer-grained, more compact,
heavier, and perhaps more durable than that of the chesnut. It
is well fitted for posts, and lasts in the earth more than forty
years. The saplings of this species are laden with branches
while they are no thicker than the finger, and are thus rendered
too knotty for hoops. Its bark is astringent and tonic, and has
been used with success in intermittents.

American Chesnut. Castanea vesca*

The Chesnut does not
venture beyond the 44th
degree of latitude. It is
found in New Hampshire
between the 43d and 44th
degrees, but such is the
severity of the winter that it
is less common than in
Connecticut, New Jersey
and Pennsylvania. It is the
most multiplied in the moun-
tainous districts of the Caro-
linas and of Georgia, and
abounds on the Cumberland
Mountains and in East Ten-
nessee. The coolness of
the summer and the mildness
of the winter in these regions are favorable to the chesnut ; the
face of the country, also, is perfectly adapted to a tree which
prefers the sides of mountains or their immediate vicinity, where
the soil in general is gravelly, though deep enough to sustain its
perfect developement. It is a stranger in Vermont, the state of
Maine, and a great part of Genesee, to the maritime parts of
Virginia, to the Carolinas, Georgia, the Floridas and Louisiana
as far as the mouth of the Ohio.

The American chesnut sometimes attains the height of 70 or
80 feet with a circumference of 15 or 16 feet. Though this

Fi". 1. A leaf.

PLATE XVIII.
Fig. 2. The fruit.

Fig. 3. A nut.

132 SYLVA AMERICANA.

tree nearly resembles that of Europe in its general appearance,

its foliage, its fruit and the properties of its wood, it is treated by

botanists as a distinct species. Its leaves are six or seven inches

long, one and a half broad, coarsely toothed, of an elongated

oval form, of a fine, brilliant color and of a firm texture, with

prominent parallel nerves beneath. The barren flowers are

whitish, unpleasant to smell, and grouped on axillary peduncles

four or five inches long. The fertile aments are similarly

disposed, but less conspicuous. It flowers in June. The fruit is

spherical, covered with fine prickles, and stored with two dark

brown seeds or nuts, about as large as the end of the finger,

convex on one side, flattened on the other, and coated round the

extremity with whitish brown. They are smaller and sweeter

than the wild chesnuts of Europe. They are ripe about the

middle of October.

The wood is strong, elastic and capable of enduring the
succession of dryness and moisture. Its durability renders it
especially valuable for posts, which should be made of trees less
than ten inches in diameter, and charred before they are set in
the earth. It is also used for rails, and is said to last more than
fifty years. For shingles this wood is superior to any species of
oak, though it has the same defect of warping. It is not exten-
sively used for staves, and its pores, like those of the red oak,
are so open that it is proper only for dry wares. The chesnut
is little esteemed for fuel and is not much used : it is filled with
air and snaps when it burns. The coal is excellent.

DENDROLOGY.

133

CELTIS.

Polygamia Monoecia. Lixsr. Urticeae. Juss. Tonic, anodyne.

Hack Berry. Celtis crassifolia.

The banks of the Dela-
ware above Philadelphia
may be considered as the
north-east limit of the hack
berry. East of the moun-
tains it is restricted within
narrow boundaries, and is a
stranger to the lower part
of Virginia and to the more
southern states. It is
abundant on the banks of
the Susquehannah and of
the Potomac. It is profusely
multiplied, in the Western
Country in all the valleys
that stretch along the rivers,
and wherever the soil is
fertile throughout Kentucky and Tennessee. On the Ohio it is
called Hoop Ash, and in Kentucky, Hack Berry.

It attains the summit of 70 or 80 feet with a disproportionate
diameter of 18 or 20 inches. In rich soils the luxuriance of its
vegetation is shown by sprouts, 6 or 10 feet in length, garnished
on each side with large, substantial leaves. The hack berry is
easily distinguished by the form of its trunk, which is straight
and undivided to a great height, and by its bark, which is grayish,
unbroken and covered with asperities unequally distributed over
its surface. Its leaves are larger than those of any other species
of nettle tree, being six inches long and three or four broad.
They are oval-acuminate, "denticulated, cordiform at the base, of
a. thick, substantial texture and of a rude surface. It puts forth
flowers in May which are small, white and often united in pairs

PLATE XIX.
Fig. I. A leaf. Fit?. ^. The fruit.

134

SYLVA AMERICANA.

on a common peduncle. The fruit is round, about as large as a
pea and black at its maturity.

The wood is fine-grained and compact, but not heavy, and
when freshly exposed it is perfectly white : sawn in a direction
parallel or oblique to its concentric circles it exhibits the fine
undulations that are observed in the elm and locust. On laying
open the sap of this tree in the spring it changes in a few minutes
from pure white to green. This wood is little appreciated on
account of its weakness and its speedy decay when exposed to
the weather. It is rejected by wheelwrights, but is sometimes
employed in building for the covering which supports the shingles.
As it is elastic and easily divided it is used for the bottom of
common chairs, and by the Indians for baskets. On the banks
of the Ohio it is frequently taken for the rails of rural fence,
and is wrought with the greatest ease, as it is straight-grained
and free from knots : it is said also to afford excellent charcoal.

American Nettle Tree. Celtis occidentalis.

The American Nettle
Tree,if not rare, is little multi-
plied in comparison with the
oaks, the walnuts and the ma-
ples. As it is scattered singly
through the forest, it is diffi-
cult to fix the point at which
it ceases towards the north,
but it probably is not found
beyond the river Connecti-
cut. In the Middle, Western
and Southern States it bears
the name which we have
adopted, and among the
French of Illinois, that of
Bois inconnu, unknown
wood. It prefers a cool
and shady situation, with a deep and fertile soil.

Fig. i.

TLATE XX.
A leaf. Fig 2. The fruit.

DENDROLOGY. 135

The American nettle tree grows to the height of 60 or 70
feet with a diameter of 18 or 20 inches. Its branches are
numerous and slender, and the limbs take their rise at a small
distance from the ground, and seek a horizontal or an inclined
direction. The bark is rough and entire upon the trunk, and
smooth and even on the secondary branches. The leaves are
alternate, about three inches long, of a dark green color, oval-
oblique at the base, very acuminate at the summit, denticulated,
and somewhat rough. The flowers open in April or May, and
are small, white, single and axillary : the fruit, also, is small and
single, of a round form, and of a dull red color.

When perfectly seasoned, the wood is of a dark brown color,
hard, compact, supple and tenacious : it makes excellent hoops,
whip stocks, is used by wheelwrights for shafts and for other
purposes, and is proper for sculpture.

CERASUS.

Icosandria Monogynia.. Linn. Rosacea?. Juss. Refrigerant, tonic,

astringent.

Red Cherry Tree. Cerasus borealis.

The Red Cherry Tree is common only in the Northern States
and in Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. It is rarelv
met with in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and is wholly
unknown in the Southern States. In the state of Maine and
Vermont, it is called Small Cherry and Red Cherry, the last of
which we have adopted. It nourishes best in a common soil, hi
cleared grounds, and in such parts of the forests as have been
burnt. "

The size of the red cherry tree places it among trees of the
third order : it rarely exceeds, and often does not equal, 25 or
30 feet in height and six or eight inches in diameter. The trunk
is covered with a smooth, brown bark, which detaches itself
laterally. Its leaves are five or six inches long, oval, denticulated
and very acuminate. Its flowers put forth in May or June,
and are collected in small, white bunches, and give birth to a red

136 SYLVA AMERICANA.

fruit of an inconsiderable size, which is ripe in the month of
July. This fruit is intensely acid, and is not abundant even on
the largest trees.

The wood is fine-grained and of a reddish hue; but the
inferior size of the tree forbids its use in the mechanic arts.

Wild Orange Tree. Cerasus Caroliniana.

This beautiful species of cherry tree is found on the Bahama
Isles, and on the continent of North America it appears to be nearly
confined to the islands on the coast of the Carolinas, of Georgia
and of the Floridas. Except the margin of the sea, it is rarely
found on the main land, even at the distance of eight or ten
miles from the shore, where the temperature is five or six degrees
colder in the winter, and proportionably milder in the summer.
It flourishes best on a common garden soil.

The wild orange grows to the height of 20 or 30 feet, and
ramifies at a small height, and forms a spacious and tufted summit,
which is owing, perhaps, to its growing upon open grounds instead
of being compressed in the forest, and forced to shoot upwards
in order to enjoy the light. The bark of the trunk is of a dun
complexion, and is commonly without cracks. Its leaves are
oval-acuminate, evergreen, smooth and shining on the upper
surface, and about three inches in length. Its flowers open in
May, are numerous, white and arranged in little bunches an inch
or an inch and a half long, which spring at the base of the leaf.
The fruit is small, oval, and nearly black : it consists of a soft
stone surrounded with a small quantity of green pulpy substance,
which is not eatible. This fruit persists through a great part of
the following year, so that in the spring the tree is laden at the
same time with fruit and flowers: This tree may be considered as
one of the most beautiful vegetable productions of this part of
the United States, and it is selected with the more reason by the
inhabitants to plant about their houses, as it grows with rapidity
and affords an impenetrable shade.

The perfect wood is rose-colored and very fine-grained ; but
as this species is not extensively multiplied it is not much used :

DENDROLOGY.

137

there is the less occasion for it as other wood, in no respect
inferior, is procured with facility. In the bark of the roots there
is a strong odor resembling that of the wild cherry stone, from
which a fragrant, spirituous liquor may be obtained.

Wild Cherry Tree. Cerasus Virginiana.

The Wild Cherry Tree is
one of the largest productions
of the American forest. In
the Atlantic as well as the
Western States, this tree is
known only by the name
which we have adopted. It
is more or less abundant as
the soil and climate are more
or less favorable to its growth,
to which the extremes of
heat and cold in the seasons,
and of dryness and humidity
in the soil, are alike unpro-
pitious. It abounds in Illi-
nois, in Genessee and in
Upper Canada ; but it is no
where more profusely multiplied nor more fully developed than
beyond the mountains in the state of Ohio, Kentucky and
Tennessee.

In the state of Maine, where the winter is long and intense, it
hardly exceeds 30 or 40 feet in height, and from 8 to 12 inches
in diameter ; in the southern and maritime parts of the Carolinas
and of Georgia, where the summer is intemperately hot and where
the soil is generally arid and sandy, it is rarely seen, and on the
banks of rivers where the ground is too wet, its dimensions are
stinted 5 but in the upper parts of these states, where the climate
is milder and the soil more fertile, it is sufficiently common,
though less multiplied than in Virginia and Pennsylvania.

18

Fig. 1. A leaf.

PLATE XXI.

Fig. 2. The fruit.

138 SYLVA AMERICANA.

On the banks of the Ohio, this tree grows to the stature of 80
to 100 feet with a circumference of 12 to 16 feet, with a trunk
of an uniform size and undivided to the height of 25 or 30 feet.
Its bark is so peculiar as to render it distinguishable at first sight,
when from its height the form of its leaves cannot be discerned.
The trunk is regularly shaped, but the bark is blackish and rough,
and detaches itself semi-circularly in thick, narrow plates, which
are renewed after a considerable lapse of time. The leaves are
5 or 6 inches long, oval-acuminate, denticulated, of a beautiful
brilliant green, and furnished at the base with two reddish glands.
It puts forth white flowers in May or June, collected in spikes
which have a beautiful effect. The fruit is about the size of a
pea, disposed in the same manner as the flowers, and nearly
black at its maturity, which is in August or September ; soon
after which, notwithstanding its bitterness, it is devoured by the
birds.

The perfect wood is of a dull, light-red tint, which deepens
with age. It is compact, fine-grained and brilliant, and not
liable to warp when perfectly seasoned. It is extensively
employed by cabinet makers for every species of furniture ; and
when chosen near the ramification of the trunk it rivals mahogany
in beauty. This wood is generally preferred to the black walnut,
whose dun complexion with time becomes nearly black. On
the banks of the Ohio it is employed in ship building, and the
French of Illinois use it for the felloes of wheels. The fruit is
employed to make a cordial, by infusion in rum or brandy, with
the addition of a certain quantity of sugar. The bark of this tree
is bitter and aromatic, its taste being strong, penetrating and not
disagreeable. It is undoubtedly a useful tonic, and appears to
possess, in some degree, a narcotic and antispasmodic property.
The latter quality is strongest in the recent state, and in the
distilled water. The powdered bark may be given in doses of
from 10 to 15 grains. This tree probably contains prussic acid.

DENDROLOGY.

139

CHAMiEROPS.

Polygamia Dioecia. Linn. Palmae. Juss. Weak tonic, farinaceous.

Cabbace Tree. Chamcerops palmetto.

From its lofty height, this
vegetable is considered in
the United States as a tree ;
and upon the shores of the
ocean, where it grows, it is
called Cabbage Tree. Its
northern limit is near Cape
Hatteras, from which it
spreads to the extremity of
East Florida, and probably
encircles the Gulf of Mexico.
Farther south this tree is
not confined, as in the United
States, to the immediate
vicinity of the sea.

A trunk" from 40 to 50
feet in height, of an uniform
diameter, and crowned with a regular and tufted summit, gives
the cabbage tree a beautiful and majestic appearance. Its leaves
are of a brilliant green, palmated, and borne bypetioles from 18
to 20 inches long, nearly triangular and united at the edges ; they
vary in length and breadth from one to five feet, and are so
arranged that the smallest occupy the centre of the summit, and
the largest the circumference. Before their developement they
are folded like a fan, and as they open, the outside sticks break
off and fall, leaving the base surrounded with filaments woven
into a coarse and flimsy russet web. The base of the undisclosed
bundle of leaves is white, compact and tender. It puts forth in
March long clusters of small greenish flowers, which are
succeeded by a black, inesculent fruit, about the size of a pea.
In the Southern States the wood of this tree, though extremely
porous j is preferred to every other for wharves ; its superiority

PLATE XXII.

Fig. 1. The top of a cabbage tree with its fruit.

140 SYLVA AMERICANA.

consists in being secure from injury by sea worms, which, during
the summer, commit such ravages in structures accessible to their
attacks ; but when exposed to be alternately wet and dry in the
flowing and ebbing of the tide, it decays as speedily as other
wood. This use of the cabbage tree is rapidly diminishing its
numbers, and probably the period is not far distant when it will
cease to exist within the boundaries of the United States. This
wood is found eminently proper for constructing forts, as it closes
without splitting on the passage of the ball. The base of the
leaves, when tender, is eaten with oil and vinegar, and resembles
the artichoke and the cabbage in taste, whence is derived the
name of Cabbage Tree. But to destroy a vegetable which has
been a century in growing, to obtain three or four ounces of a
substance neither richly nutritious nor peculiarly agreeable to the
palate, would be pardonable only in a desert which was destined
to remain uninhabited for ages. With similar prodigality of the
works of nature, the first settlers of Kentucky killed the buffalo,
an animal weighing twelve or fifteen hundred pounds, for the
pleasure of eating its tongue, and abandoned the carcase to the
beasts of the wilderness.

DENDROLOGY.

141

CORNUS.

Tetrandria Monogynia. Linn. Caprifoliae. Juss,

Tonic, cathartic.

Dogwood. Cornus florida.

The Dogwood is first seen
in Massachusetts and New
Hampshire, between the 42d
and 43d degrees of latitude,
and in proceeding southward,
it is met with uninterruptedly
throughout the Eastern and
Western States, and the
Floridas, to the banks of the
Mississippi. Over this vast
extent of country, it is one
of the most common trees,
and it abounds particularly
in New Jersey, Pennsylva-
nia, Maryland and Virginia,
wherever the soil is moist,
gravelly and somewhat unea-
ven ; farther south, in the Carolinas, Georgia and the Floridas, it
is found only on the borders of swamps. In the most fertile
districts of Kentucky and West Tennessee it does not appear in
the forests except where the soil is gravelly and of a midling
quality. In the United States at large, it is known by the name
of Dogwood, and in Connecticut it is also called Box Wood.

The dogwood sometimes reaches 30 or 35 feet in height, and
9 or 10 inches in diameter ; but it does not generally exceed the
height of 18 or 20 feet, and the diameter of 4 or 5 inches. The
trunk is strong, and is covered with a blackish bark, chapped
into many small portions, which are often in the shape of squares
more or less exact. The branches are proportionally less
numerous than other trees, and are regularly disposed nearly in
the form»of crosses. The young twigs are observed to incline

plate xxin.

Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The seed.

142 SYLVA AMERICANA.

upwards in a semi-circular direction. The leaves are opposite,
about three inches in length, oval, of a dark green above and
whitish beneath : the upper surface is very distinctly sulcated.
Towards the close of summer they are often marked with black
spots, and at the approach of winter they change to a dull red.
In New York and New Jersey the flowers are fully blown about
the middle of May, while the leaves are only beginning to unfold
themselves. The flowers are small, yellowish and collected in
bunches, which are surrounded with a very large involucre
composed of four white floral leaves, sometimes inclining to violet.
This fine involucre constitutes all the beauty of the flowers, which
are very numerous, and which, in their season, robe the tree in
white, like a full-blown apple tree, and render it one of the fairest
ornaments of the American forests. The seeds of a vivid, glossy
red, and of an oval shape, are always united. They remain
upon the trees till the first frosts.

The wood is hard, compact, heavy and fine-grained, and is
susceptible of a brilliant polish. The sap is perfectly white, and
the heart is of a chocolate color. This tree is not large enough
for works which require pieces of considerable volume : it is
used for the handles of light tools, such as mallets, small vices,
etc. It is employed by engravers for cuts used in printing.
Some farmers select it for harrow teeth, for the names of horses'
collars, and also for lining the runners of sledges ; but to whatever
purpose it is applied, being liable to split, it should never be
wrought till it is perfectly seasoned. The shoots when three or
four years old," are found proper for the light hoops of small,
portable casks. In the Middle States, the cogs of mill wheels
are made of dogwood. Such are the profitable uses of this tree ;
it affords also excellent fuel, but it is too small to be brought into
the markets of the cities. The liber of this wood is extremely
bitter, and proves an excellent remedy in intermitting fevers.
The bark of this wood has a close analogy to the Peruvian bark,
and has proved, in many cases, to be capable of supplying its
place with success. We are told of a respectable physician of
Pennsylvania, who, during twenty years, had constantly employed
it, and who estimated 35 grains of it to be equivalent to^O grains

DENDROLOGY.

143

of the Peruvian bark. The only inconvenience accompanying its
use was that, if taken within a year after being stripped from the
tree, it sometimes occasioned acute pains in the bowels : but this
evil was remedied by adding to it 5 grains of Virginia snake root,
Aristolochia serpentaria. The bark may be substituted for gall
nuts, of which an excellent ink may be made by putting one half
of an ounce of it with 2 scruples of sulphate of iron. 2 scruples
of gum arabic and 16 ounces of rain water. By shaking the
infusion well together it will be fit for use in a few days.

CUPRESSUS.

Moncecia Monadelphia. Linn. Coniferae. Juss. Expectorant, secerncuit,

stimulant.

Cypress. Cupressus disticha.

This species is the most
interesting of its genus for
the varied application of its
wood and for its extraordina-
ry dimensions in a favorable
soil and climate. In Louis-
iana it is called Cypre or
Cypres, and in the ancient
Southern States Cypress,
and sometimes Bald Cypress.
The names of Black and
White Cypress, in the Car-
olinas and Georgia, are
founded only on the quality
and color of the wood.
The banks of Indian River,
a small stream that waters a
part of Delaware in latitude 38° 50', may be assumed as its
northern boundary. Hence in proceeding southward, it becomes
constantly more abundant in the swamps ; but in Maryland and
Virginia it is confined to the vicinity of the sea, where the winter

PLATE XXIV.
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. A cone.

144 SYLVA AMERICANA.

is milder and the summer more intense. Beyond Norfolk its
limits coincide exactly with those of the pine-barrens, and in the
Carolinas and Georgia it occupies a great part of the swamps
which border the rivers after they have found out their way from
among the mountains and have entered the low lands. The
Mississippi, from its mouth to the river of the Arkansas, is bordered
with marshes, which at the annual overflowing of this mighty
stream, form a vast expanse of waters. In Louisiana those parts
of the marshes where the cypress grows almost alone are called
Cyprieres, cypress swamps, and they sometimes occupy thousands
of acres.

In the swamps of the Southern States and the Floridas, on

whose deep, miry soil a new layer of vegetable mould is every

year deposited by the floods, the cypress attains its utmost

developement. The largest stocks are 120 feet in height, and

from 25 to 40 feet in circumference above the conical base,

which at the surface of the earth, is always three or four times

as large as the continued diameter of the trunk : in felling them

the Negroes are obliged to raise themselves upon scaffolds five

or six feet from the ground. The base is usually hollow for

three-fourths of its bulk, and is less regularly shaped than that of

the large tupelo. Its surface is longitudinally furrowed with

deep channels, whose ridges serve as cramps to fix it more

firmly in the loose soil. The roots of the largest stocks,

particularly of such as are most exposed to inundation, are

charged with conical protuberances, commonly from 18 to 24

inches, and sometimes 4 or 5 feet in thickness : they are always

hollow, smooth on the surface, and covered with a reddish bark

like the roots, which they resemble, also, in the softness of their

wood ; they exhibit no sign of vegetation, and no cause can be

assigned for their existence ; they are peculiar to this tree, and

begin to appear when it is 20 or 25 feet in height ; they are not

made use of except by the Negroes for bee hives. Amidst the

pine forests and savannas of the Floridas, is seen here and there

a bog or a plash of water filled with cypresses, whose squalid

appearance, when they exceed 18 or 20 feet in height, proves

how much they are affected by the barrenness of a soil which

DENDROLOGY. 145

differs from the surrounding waste only by a layer of vegetable
mould a little thicker upon the quartzous sand. The summit of
the cypress is not pyramidical like that of the spruces, but is
widely spread and even depressed upon old trees. The foliage
is open, light and of a fresh agreeable tint : each leaf is four or
five inches long, and consists of two parallel rows of leaflets upon
a common stem. The leaflets are small, fine and somewhat
arching, with the convex side outwards. In autumn they change
from a light green to a dull red, and are shed soon after. This
tree blooms in Carolina about the first of February. The male
and female flowers are separately borne by the same tree, the
first in flexible pendulous aments, and the second in bunches
scarcely apparent. The cones are about as large as the thumb,
hard, round, of an uneven surface, and stored with small,
irregular, ligneous seeds, containing a cylindrical kernel : they
are ripe in October, and retain their productive virtues two years.
The wood is fine-grained, and, after being for some time
exposed to the light, of a reddish color : it possesses great
strength and elasticity, and is lighter and less resinous than that
of the pines. To these properties is added the faculty of long
resisting the heat and moisture of the southern climate. The
color of the bark and the properties of the wood vary with the
nature of the soil ; the stocks which grow near the natural bed
of the rivers, and are half the year surrounded with water to the
height of three or four feet, have a lighter-colored bark than
those which stand retired in places that the waters do not reach,
or where they sojourn but a moment. The wood, also, is whiter,
less resinous and less heavy. These are called JVhite Cypresses.
The others, of which the bark is browner and the wood heavier,
more resinous, and of a duskier hue, are called Black Cypresses,
When destined to be employed in the arts, both varieties should
be felled in the winter, and kept till, by a long process, the wood
has become perfectly dry. A resin of an agreeable odor and a
red color exudes from the cypress ; it is not abundant enough to
be collected for commerce, though more copious than that of the
white cedar, which is probably the reason of the wood being
denser and stronger : it is preferred to that of the pines for the
19

146

SYLVA AMERICANA.

dressing of suppurating wounds. By boiling the leaves three
hours in water they afford a fine durable cinnamon color. This
wood is extensively employed for building wherever it abounds.
Of whatever materials the building is constructed, the roof is
universally covered with cypress shingles, which, if made of trees
felled in the winter, last forty years. Cypress boards are
preferred to those of pine for the inside of brick houses, and for
window sashes, and the panels of doors exposed to the weather :
cabinet makers also choose it for the inside of mahogany furniture.
It is highly proper for the masts and sides of vessels, and wherever
it grows it is chosen for canoes, which are fashioned from a single
trunk, and are often 30 feet long and 5 feet wide, light, solid and
more durable than those of any other tree. It makes the best pipes
to convey water under ground ; especially the black variety,
which is moreresinous and solid.

White Cedar. Cupressus thyoides.

Among the resinous trees
of the United States, the
White Cedar is one of the
most interesting for the
varied utility of its wood.
North of the river Connec-
ticut it is rare and little
employed in the arts. In
the Southern States it is not
met with beyond the river
Santee, but it is found, though
not abundantly, on the Sa-
vannah : it is multiplied only
within these limits and to
the distance of 50 miles
from the ocean. At New
York, New Jersey and Penn-
sylvania, it is known by the name of White Cedar, and in
Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina, by that of Juniper. We

plate xxv.

Fig. 1 A leaf. Fig. 2. A cone.

DENDROLOGY. 147

have adopted the first denomination, which is not unknown where
the second is habitually used, because the tree belongs to a
different genus from the junipers. In Massachusetts, Vermont,
New Hampshire and the more northern parts of America, the
arbor vitse is called white cedar, but we have thought proper to
retain the name for the species we are now considering. The
white cedar grows only in wet grounds. In the maritime districts
of New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia, it nearly fills the extensive
marshes which lie adjacent to the salt meadows, and are exposed
in high tides to be overflowed by the sea. In New Jersey it
covers almost alone the whole surface of the swamps.

The white cedar is 70 or 80 feet high, and sometimes more
than three feet in diameter. When the trees are close and
compressed, the trunk is straight, perpendicular and destitute of
branches to the height of 50 or 60 feet. The epidermis is
very thin on the young stocks ; but as they grow older it becomes
thick, of a soft filaceous texture, of a reddish color, and similar
to that of an old vine. When cut, a yellow transparent resin of
an agreeable odor exudes, of which a few ounces could hardly
be collected in a summer from a tree of three feet in circumfer-
ence. The foliage is ever green : each leaf is a little branch
numerously subdivided, and composed of small, acute, imbricated
scales, on the back of which a minute gland is discerned with
the lens. In the angle of these ramifications grow the flowers,
which open in April or May and are scarcely visible, and which
produce very small rugged cones of a greenish tint, that change
to bluish towards autumn, when they open to release the fine
seeds.

The wood is light, soft, fine-grained and easily wrought.
When perfectly seasoned and exposed for some time to the light
it is of a rosy hue. It has a strong aromatic odor, which it
preserves as long as it is guarded from humidity. The perfect
wood resists the succession of dryness and moisture longer than
that of any other species, and for this quality, principally, as well
as its extreme lightness, it is employed for shingles, which last
from 40 to 50 years. The superior fitness of this wood for
various household utensils, has given rise, in Philadelphia, to a

148 STLVA AMERICANA.

distinct class of mechanics called cedar coopers^ and a considerable
number of workmen are employed for the domestic and foreign
market. They fabricate principally pails, wash tubs and churns
of different forms. This ware is cheap, light and neatly made ;
and instead of becoming dull, like that of other wood, it grows
whiter and smoother by use. This wood, when selected with
care, makes excellent sound-boards for piano fortes. Charcoal
highly esteemed in the manufacture of gun powder is made of
young stocks about an inch and a half in diameter deprived of
their bark ; and the seasoned wood affords beautiful lamp black,
lighter and more intensely colored, though less abundant, than
that obtained from the pine. The farmers of the borders of the
cedar swamps employ this tree for field fence : the rails, formed
of young stocks entire or split in the middle, last from 50 to 60
years when deprived of the bark. This wood has long since
ceased to be employed for the frames of houses, as it is more
profitably used for other purposes in joinery, for which it is
superior to white pine, being still more durable and more secure
from worms.

DENDROLOGY.

149

DIOSPYROS.

Polygamia Dioscia. Linn. Guaiacanee. Juss. Tonic, warming stomachic.

Persimon. Diospyros Virginiana.

The banks of the river
Connecticut, below the 42 d
degree of latitude, may be
considered as the northern
limit of this tree ; but it is
rendered rare in these parts
by the severity of the winter,
while in New Jersey it is
common and still more so in
Pennsylvania, Maryland and
the Southern States : it
abounds, also, in the western
forests. It is every where
known to Americans by the
name which we have adopted ;
the French call it Plaquemi-
nier, and its fruit plaqumines.
The persimon varies surprisingly in size in different soils and
climates. In New Jersey it is not more than half as large as in
the more southern states, where, in favorable situations, it is
sometimes 60 feet in height and 18 or 20 inches in diameter.
The trunk. of a full-grown tree is covered with a deeply-furrowed
blackish bark, from which a greenish gum exudes without taste
or smell. The leaves are from four to six inches in length,
oblong, entire, of a fine green above and glaucous beneath : in
autumn they are often variegated with black spots. The terminal
shoots are observed to be usually accompanied, at the base, by
small, rounded leaves. This tree belongs to the class of
vegetables whose sexes are confined to different stocks. Both
the barren and fertile flowers are greenish and not strikingly
apparent. They put forth in June or July. The ripe fruit is

PLATE xx VI.
Fig. 1. A leaf Fig. 2. The fruit.

150 SYLVA AMERICANA.

about as large as the thumb, of a reddish complexion, round, fleshy
and furnished with six or eight semi-oval stones, slightly swollen
at the sides and of a dark purple color. It is not eatible till it
has been touched with frost, by which the skin is shrivelled, and
the pulp, which before was hard and extremely harsh to the
taste, is softened and rendered palatable. The fruit is so
abundant in the Southern States, that a tree often yields several
bushels. In the south it adheres to the branches long after the
shedding of the leaf, and when it falls it is eagerly devoured by
wild and domestic animals.

The fresh sap wood is of a greenish color, which it preserves
after it is seasoned, and the heart wood is brown, hard, compact,
strong and elastic. It is employed for screws, tinmen's mallets,
and shoe lasts. It is used by coach makers for the shafts of
chaises, and is found preferable to the ash. The fruit is some-
times pounded with bran, and formed into cakes which are
dried in an oven, and kept to make beer, for which purpose they
are dissolved in warm water with the addition of hops and leven.
It was long since found that brandy might be made from this
fruit, by distilling the water, previously fermented, in which they
have been bruised. This liquor is said to become good as it
acquires age. The inner bark is extremely bitter, and has been
used with success in intermitting fevers.

DENDROLOGY.

151

FAGUS.

Monoecia Polyandria. Linn. Amentaceas. Juss. Astringent, tonic, emollient.

Red Beech. Fagus ferruginea.

This species of Beech is
almost exclusively confined
to the north-eastern parts of
the United States, and to
the provinces of Canada,
New Brunswick and Nova
Scotia. In the state of
Maine, New Hampshire and
Vermont it is so abundant
as often to constitute exten-
sive forests, the finest of
which grow on fertile, level
or gently sloping lands which
are proper for the culture of
corn.

The red beech equals
the white species in diameter,
but not in height ; and as it ramifies nearer the earth, and is
more numerously divided, it has a more massy summit and the
appearance of more tufted foliage. Its leaves are equally brilliant,
a little larger and thicker and have longer teeth. Its fruit is of
the same form, but is only half as large, and is garnished with
firmer and less numerous points. The flowers are similar to
those of the white beech though smaller, and put forth in May
or June. To these differences must be added a more important
one in the wood: a red beech 15 or 18 inches in diameter
consists of 3 or 4 inches of sap and 13 or 14 inches of heart,
the inverse of which proportion is found in the white beech.

The wood of the red beech is stronger, tougher and more
compact. In the state of Maine and the British Provinces,
where the oaks are rare, it is employed with the sugar maple and

PLATE XXVII.
Fig. 1. A leaf and fruit. Fig. 2. A nut.

152

SYLVA AMERICANA.

yellow birch for the lower part of the frames of vessels. It is
also employed for hoops, shoe lasts, the handles of tools, and is
especially proper for the tops of cards, because when perfectly
seasoned, it is not liable to warp. This wood is used for fuel,
but it is less esteemed than the sugar maple. The beech nuts are
of a triangular form, with a smooth, tough skin, and a fine interior
pellicle adhering to the kernel. They are united in pairs in
capsules garnished with soft points, from which they escape about
the first of October, the season of their maturity. The fruit
should be gathered as soon as it is ripe, as it is liable to be
injured by the rain. They should be collected in dry weather,
and spread like corn, in a garret or other place secure from
humidity, and frequently turned. They are found to be better
when dried insensibly in this manner than when exposed to the
sun. A rich oil may be extracted from these nuts, and when
done with skill equals one sixth of the fruit.

White Beech. Fagus sylvestris.

PLATE XXVIII.
Fig. 1. A leaf aid fruit. Fig. 2. A nut.

The White Beech is one
of the tallest and most ma-
jestic trees of the American
forests. It grows the most
abundantly in the Middle and
Western States. Though it
is common in New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Maryland and
throughout the country east
of the mountains, it is insu-
lated in the forests, instead
of composing large masses,
as in Genessee, Kentucky
and Tennessee. A deep,
moist soil and a cool atmos-
phere are the most suitable
to the 2;roT.Yth of this tree.

DENDROLOGY. 153

On the banks of the Ohio the white beech attains the height of
more than 100 feet with a circumference of 8 to 11 feet. In
these forests, where these trees vegetate in a deep and fertile
soil, their roots sometimes extend to a great distance even with
the surface, and being entangled so as to cover the ground, they
embarrass the steps of the traveller and render the land peculiarly
difficult to clear. This tree is more slender and less branchy
than the red beech ; but its foliage is superb, and its general
appearance magnificent. The leaves are oval-acuminate, smooth,
shining and bordered in the spring with a soft, hairy down. The
sexes are borne by different branches of the same tree. The
barren flowers are collected in pendulous, globular heads and
the others are small and of a greenish hue. They put forth in
May. The fruit is an erect capsule covered with loose, flexible
spines, which divides itself at maturity into four parts, and gives
liberty to two triangular seeds. The bark upon the trunk of
beeches is thick, gray, and, on the oldest stocks, smooth and
entire.

The perfect wood of the white beech bears a small proportion
to the sap, and frequently occupies only 3 inches in a trunk 18
inches in diameter. On the banks of the Ohio and in some parts
of Kentucky, where the oak is too rare to afford bark enough for
tanning, the deficiency is supplied by that of this wood ; the
leather made with it is white and serviceable, though avowedly
inferior to what is prepared with the bark of the oak. The beech
wood employed for fuel, bears a small proportion to the oak and
the hickory ; hence we presume that it is comparatively little
esteemed. Its uses in the arts are similar to those of the red
beech.

20

154

SYLVA AMERICANA,

FRAXINUS.

Polygamia Dioecia. Linn. Jasminece. Juss. Tonic, secernant, stimulant.

White Ash. Fraxinu's Americana.

The White Ash is one of
the most interesting among
the American species for the
qualities of its wood, and the
most remarkable for the
rapidity of its growth and
for the beauty of its foliage.
It abounds in New Bruns-
wick and Canada ; in the
! United States it is most
multiplied north of the river
Hudson, and is more com-
mon in Genessee, than in
the southern part of New-
York, in New Jersey and
Pennsylvania. A cold cli-
mate seems most congenial
to its nature. It is every where called White Ash, probably
from the color of its bark, by which it is easily distinguished.
The situations most favorable to this tree are the banks of rivers
and the edges and surrounding acclivities of swamps.

The white ash sometimes attains the height of 80 feet with a
diameter of three feet, and is one of the largest trees of the
United States. The trunk is perfectly straight and often undivided
to the height of more than 40 feet. On large stocks the bark is
deeply furrowed, and divided into small squares from one to three
inches in diameter. The leaves are twelve or fourteen inches long,
opposite and composed of three or four pair of leaflets surmounted
by an odd one. The leaflets, which are borne by short petioles,
are three or four inches long, about two inches broad, oval-
acuminate, rarely denticulated, of a delicate texture and an

PLATE XXIX.
Fig. 1. A leaflet. Fig. a. The seed.

DENDROLOGY. 155

undulated surface. Early in the spring they are covered with a
light down, which gradually disappears, and at the approach of
summer they are perfectly smooth, of a light green color above
and whitish beneath. It puts forth white or greenish flowers in
the month of May, which are succeeded by seeds that are 18
lines long, cylindrical near the base, and gradually flattened
into a wing, the extremity of which is slightly notched. They
are united in bunches four or five inches long, and are ripe in
the beginning of autumn. The shoots of the two preceding
years are of a bluish gray color and perfectly smooth : the
distance between their buds sufficiently proves the vigor of their
growth.

In large trees the perfect wood is reddish and the sap is white.
This wood is highly esteemed for its strength, suppleness and
elasticity, and is employed with advantage for a great variety of
uses, of which we shall mention only the most common. It is
always selected by coach makers for shafts, for the felloes of
wheels, and for the frames of carriage bodies ; it is also used for
chairs, scythe and rake handles, the hoops of pails, the circular
pieces of boxes and seives ; for wooden bowls and other domestic
wTares. In the state of Maine it is extensively used for staves,
which are of a quality between those of white and those of red
oak, and are esteemed best for containing salted provisions. It
is admitted also into the lower frame of vessels, but is considered
inferior to the yellow birch, and to the heart of the red beech.
In all the Atlantic States the blocks used in ships and the pins
for attaching the cordage are made of ash, for which purpose
the white ash is employed in the northern and the red ash in
the southern ports. On account of its strength and elasticity,
the white ash is esteemed superior to every other wood for oars,

Carolinian Ash. Fraxinus platy'carpa.

This species of ash is confined to . the Southern States. It
abounds particularly on the river Cape Fear in North Carolina,
and upon the Ashley and the Cooper in South Carolina. The
marshy borders of creeks and rivers, and all places exposed to

156

SYLVA AMERICANA.

long inundations, are congenial to this ash, which delights in
more abundant moisture than the other species.

Its vegetation is beautiful, but its stature rarely exceeds 30
feet, and it fructifies at half this height. In the spring the lower
side of the leaves and young shoots are covered with thick down,
which disappears at the approach of summer. The leaves
commonly consist of two pair of leaflets with a terminal odd one.
The leaflets are large, nearly round, petiolated and distinctly
toothed. The flowers, as in the other species, are small and not
very conspicuous 5 the seeds, unlike those of any other ash with
which we are acquainted, are flat, oval and broader than they
are long.

From its inferior dimensions this tree is not much used in the
arts ; although it possesses properties of eminent utility.

Blue Ash. Fraxinus quadrangulata.

The Blue Ash is unknown
to the Atlantic parts of the
United States, and is found
only in Tennessee, Kentucky
and the southern part of Ohio.
It requires the richest soil to
bring this tree to perfection.
The blue ash frequently
exceeds 60 or 70 feet in
height and 18 or 20 inches
in diameter. Its leaves are
from 12 to 18 inches lone:,
and are composed of two,
three or four pair of leaflets
with an odd one. The
leaflets are large, smooth,
oval-acuminate, distinctly
toothed and supported by short petioles. The young shoots to
which the leaves are attached are distinguished by four opposite
membranes, three or four lines broad and of a greenish color.

plate xxx.

Fig. 1. A leaflet. Fig. 2. The seed.

DENDROLOGY.

157

extending through their whole length : this character 'disappears
the third or fourth year, leaving only the traces of its existence.
The seeds are flat from one extremity to the other, and a little
narrowed towards the base.

The wood of the blue ash possesses the characteristic properties
of the genus, and of all the species of the Western States it is
the most extensively employed and the most highly esteemed.
Besides the habitual use that is made of it for the frame of
carriages and for the felloes of wheels, it is generally selected
ior the flooring of houses, frequently for the exterior covering,
and sometimes for the shingles of the roof; but for the last
purpose the tulip tree \s preferred. It is said that a blue color
can be extracted from the bark of this tree.

Black Ash. Fraxinus samhucifolia.

In the extensive country
comprising the northern sec-
tion of the United States
and the provinces of New
Brunswick and Nova Scotia
the White Ash and the Black
Ash, which is sometimes
called Water Ash and Brown
Ash, are the most abundant
in the forests and the most
perfectly known to the in-
habitants. The black ash
requires a moister soil than
the white ash, and longer
exposed to inundations.

The black ash is 60 or
70 feet high and about two
feet in diameter. It is easily distinguished from the white ash
by its bark, which is of a duller hue, less deeply furrowed, and
has the layers of the epidermis applied in broad sheets. The
buds are of a deep blue, and the young shoots of a bright green

Fig.].

PLATE XXXI.
A leaflet. Fig. 2. The seed.

158 SYLVA AMERICANA.

sprinkled frith dots of the same color which disappears as the
season advances. The leaves at their unfolding are accompanied
by stipulae which fall after two or three weeks : they are twelve
or fifteen inches long when fully developed, and composed of
three or four pair of leaflets with an odd one. The leaflets are
sessile, oval-acuminate, denticulated, of a deep green color,
smooth on the upper surface, and coated with red down upon
the main ribs beneath : when bruised they emit an odor like that
of elder leaves. Its flowers open in May or June, which are of
a greenish color, and are succeeded by seeds disposed in bunches
four or five inches- long, flat, and, like those of the blue ash, are
nearly as broad at the base as at the summit.

The perfect wood is of a brown complexion and fine texture ;
it is tougher and more elastic than that of the white ash, but less
durable when exposed to the vicissitudes of dryness and moisture,
and for this reason it is less extensively used. Coach makers
do not employ it, and it is never wrought into oars, hand spikes
and pulleys. In New Hampshire and the state of Maine it is
preferred to the white ash for hoops, which are made of saplings
from six to ten feet in length split in the middle. As this wood
may be separated into thin, narrow strips, by mailing, it is selected
in the country for the bottoms of chairs, for baskets and riddles.
This wood is more liable than any other species to be disfigured
with knobs, which are sometimes of a considerable size and are
detached from the body of the tree to make bowls. The wood
of these excrescences has the advantage of superior solidity, and
when carefully polished exhibits singular undulations of the fibre ;
divided into thin layers it might be employed to embellish
mahogany. The ashes of this wood are singularly rich in alkali,
from which, in Vermont and New Hampshire, great quantities of
potash are made.

DENDROLOGY.

159

Red Ash. Fraxinus tomentosa.

Of all the ashes this
species is the most multiplied
in Pennsylvania, Maryland
and Virginia. Like the
white ash it prefers swamps
and places frequently inun-
dated or liable to be covered
with water by copious rains.
The red ash is a beautiful
tree, rising perpendicularly
to the height of 60 feet with
a diameter of 1 5 or 1 8 inches.
It is inferior to the white ash
not only in size but in the
rapidity of its growth ; the
length of the annual shoots
and the distance of the buds
are but half as great as in the white ash. The bark upon the
trunk is of a deep brown color. The leaves are from twelve to
fifteen inches long and are composed of three or four pair of very
acuminate, leaflets, terminated with an odd one. Their .lower
surface, as well as the shoots of the same season to which they
are attached, is covered with thick down : on insulated trees this
down is red at the approach of autumn, whence, probably, is
derived the name of the tree. It puts forth greenish flowers in
May, which are followed by seeds, similar in form and arrange-
ment, though shorter, to those of the white ash.

The wood of this species is of a brighter red than that of the
white ash, and possesses all the properties for which the other is
esteemed, and in the Middle and Northern States they are
indifferently applied to the same diversified uses ; that of the red
ash, however, is somewhat harder and consequently less elastic.

Fisr. 1.

PLATE XXXIL
A leaflet. Fig. 2. The seed.

GO

SYLVA AMERICANA.

Green Ash. Fraxinus viridis.

The Green Ash is mor
common in the western
districts of Pennsylvania,
Maryland and Virginia than
in any other part of the
United States ; but even
here It is less multiplied
than the white ash and black
ash. It is found on the
islands of the Susquehannah,
and grows most abundantly
on the banks of the Monon-
gahela and the Ohio.

This tree attains the height
of 25 or 30 feet, with a
diameter of four or five
inches. It may be easily
recognized by the brilliant color of the young shoots and of its
leaves, of which the two surfaces are nearly alike, are from six
to fifteen inches in length, according to the vigor of the tree and
to the coolness of the soil, and are composed of three, four or five
pair of petiolated, oval acuminate and distinctly denticulated
leaflets, surmounted by an odd one. It puts forth greenish*
flowers in May, which are succeeded by seeds, similar in form
to those of the white ash, though only half as large.

The wood of the green ash is distinguished by the same
properties with that of the preceding species; but as the others
are common in the same regions, and are so much superior in
size it is only accidentally employed.

*

Fig. 1.

PLATE XXXIII.

A leaflet. Fig. 2. The seed.

DENDROLOGY. 161

GLEDITSCHIA.

Polygamia Dicecia. Linn. Leguminosce. Jess. Jlpcrient, emollient.

Water Locust. Gleditschia monosperma.

The Water Locust is first seen in the Atlantic States in the
lower part of South Carolina, in which place, as well as in
Georgia and East Florida, this tree, though not very rare, is not
common. In the Western Country it is found 3 or 4 degrees
farther north in Illinois. In the southern and maritime parts of
the United States this tree is designated by no other name than
the one which we have adopted, and grows only in large swamps
that border the rivers, where the soil is constantly wet and often
inundated at the season of the rising of the waters.

The water locust grows to the height of 50 or 60 feet, and
from one to two feet in diameter. The bark upon the trunk of
young trees is smooth ; on old stocks it is cracked, but less
deeply furrowed than that of the oaks and the walnuts. The
branches, like those of the sweet locust, are armed with thorns,
which are less numerous, smaller and more pointed ; they are
often simple, or accompanied near the base with a single secon-
dary thorn. The leaves nearly resemble those of the sweet
locust, from which they differ in being a little smaller in all their
proportions. The flowers, which are not conspicuous, open in
June, and are of a greenish color and destitute of odor. These
are succeeded by reddish pods about an inch in diameter, and
are united in bunches of three, each of which contains a single
naked seed.

The wTood of this tree resembles that of the sweet locust in its
loose texture and yellow color ; but as it grows in wet grounds,
it is consequently inferior in quality.

21

162

SYLVA AMERICANA,

Sweet Locust. Gleditschia triacanthos.

•

The Sweet Locust belongs
peculiarly to the country
west of the Alleghanies, and
it is scarcely found in any
part of the Atlantic States.
In the fertile bottoms which
are watered by the rivers
emptying into the Mississippi,
in Illinois, and, still more in
the southern parts of Ken-
tucky and Tennessee, the
sweet locust is abundant, in
the most fertile soils. In
different parts of the United
States, this species is called
indifferently Sweet Locust
and Honey Locust ; the
French of Illinois call it Fevier.

In situations favorable to its growth, the sweet locust attains
the height of 70 or 80 feet with a diameter of 3 or 4 feet, with
a trunk undivided for 40 feet. This tree is easily known by its
bark, which, at intervals of a few inches, detaches itself laterally
in plates three or four inches wide and two or three lines thick,
and by the form of its trunk, which appears to be twisted, and
which presents three or four crevices of inconsiderable depth,
opening irregularly from the bottom towards the top. The large
thorns which cover the branches, and frequently the trunk of
young trees, afford another very distinct character. These
thorns are sometimes several inches long, ligneous, of a reddish
color, and armed, at some distance from the base, with two
secondary thorns about half the size of the first. The leaves
are pinnated and composed of small, oval, serrate, sessile leaflets.
This foliage is elegant and of an agreeable tint ; but it is thin,
and scarcely obstructs the passage of the sun beams. It is shed

PLATE xxxiv.
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. A seed.

4

DENDROLOGY. 163

annually at the approach of winter. The flowers, which open
in June, are small, not very conspicuous and disposed in bunches.
The fruit is in form of flat, crooked, pendulous pods, from twelve
to eighteen inches long, and of a reddish-brown color. The
pods contain hard, smooth, brown seeds, enveloped in a pulpy
substance, which, for a month after their maturity, is very sweet,
and which then becomes extremely sour.

The perfect wood or heart of the sweet locust nearly resembles
that of the water locust, but its grain is coarser, and its pores
more open : in these respects it is more strikingly characterized
even than the wood of the red oak, when perfectly seasoned.
It is little esteemed in Kentucky, where it is more employed,
and consequently can be better appreciated, than elsewhere. It
is used neither by the carpenter nor the wheelwright : it is
sometimes taken by the farmers for rails to fence their .fields, but
only when they are unable to procure better wood. The only
destination for which it appears to be peculiarly adapted is the
forming of hedges, which would be rendered impenetrable by its
long thorns. Beer is sometimes made by fermenting the pulp of
the fruit while fresh ; but the practice is not general, as the apple
tree and peach tree, particularly the last, have become common,
and afford a much superior beverage.

%

41

♦-

#

**

164

**

SYLVA AMERICANA.

GORDONIA.

ft

Monadelphia Polyandria. Linn. Malvaceae. Juss. Emollient, aperient

Loblolly Bay. Gordonia lasyanthus.

The Loblolly Bay is con-
fined to the maritime parts
of the United States, to the
Florid as, and to Lower
Louisiana. In the pine-
barrens, tracts 50 or 100
acres are met with at inter-
vals, which, being lower
than the adjacent ground,
are kept constantly moist by
the waters collected in them
after the great rains. These
spots are entirely .^covered
with the loblolly bay, and
are called Bay Swamps.
Although the layer of veg-
etable mould is only three
or four inches thick, and reposes upon a bed of barren sand, the
vegetation of these trees is surprisingly luxuriant.

The loblolly bay grows to the height of 50 or 60 feet, with a
diameter of 18 or 20 inches. For 25 to 30 feet its trunk is
perfectly straight. The small divergency of its branches near
the trunk gives it a regularly pyramidical form ; but as they
ascend they spread more loosely, like those of other trees of the
forest. The bark is very smooth while the tree is less than six
inches in diameter; on old trees it is thick and deeply furrowed.
The leaves are ever green, from three to six inches long,
alternate, oval-acuminate, slightly toothed, and smooth and
shining on the upper surface. The flowers are more than an
inch broad, white and sweet-scented ; they begin to appear about
the middle of July and bloom in succession during two or three

Fig. 1. A leaf.

PLATE XXXV.

Fi<* -2. A seed vessel.

*>

DENDROLOGY. 165

months. This tree possesses the agreeable singularity of bearing
flowers when it is only three or four feet high. The fruit is an
oval capsule, divided into five compartments, each of which
contains small, black, winged seeds. These seeds appear to
germinate successfully only in places covered with sphagnum, a
species of moss which copiously imbibes water.

In trunks of these trees which exceed fifteen inches in
diameter four-fifths of the wood is heart. The wood is of a rosy
hue, and of a fine, silky texture ; it appears to be very proper
for the inside of furniture, though the cypress is generally
preferred. It is extremely light; when seasoned it is very
brittle, and it rapidly decays unless it is kept perfectly dry :
hence it is entirely neglected in use for timber, and it is not
employed for fuel. The value of the bark in tanning compensates
in some measure for the uselessness of its wood : it is employed
for this purpose throughout the maritime parts of the Southern
States and of the Floridas. For although this branch of industry
is by no means as extensively practised in this part of the country,
as in the Northern States, and though these regions afford many
species of oak, yet the species whose bark is proper for tanning
are not sufficiently multiplied to supply the consumption*

.

Franklinia. Gordonia pubescens.

This species of Gordonia appears to be restricted by nature
within very narrow bounds, having hitherto been found only on
the banks of the Altamaha in Georgia. It was discovered there
in 1770, by John Bartram, who gave it the name of Franklinia
in honor of Dr. Franklin. It flourishes best in a sandy peat.

The Franklinia is much smaller than the preceding species,
and rarely exceeds 30 feet in height and six or eight inches in
diameter. The bark of the trunk presents a smooth and angular
surface, like that of the hornbeam. The leaves are alternate,
oblong, narrowed at the base and toothed : they are annually
shed in autumn. It blooms in Carolina about the beginning of
July, and a month later near Philadelphia. The flowers are

i
♦

1(36

SYEVA AMERICANA.

I

more than an inch in diameter, white ami of an agreeable odor.
Like those of the preceding species, they open in succession
during two or three months, and begin to appear when the tree
is only three or four feet high. The fruit is in form of round,
ligneous capsules, which, when ripe, open at the summit in four
seams, to release the small seeds.

No particular use is made of this tree, except for ornament.

GYMNOCLADUS.

Dioecia Decandria. Linn. Lcguminosss. Juss. Jlperimt, emollient.
Coffee Tree. Gymnocladus, canadensis.

Upper Canada beyond
Montreal, and that part of
Genessee which borders on
Lake Ontario and Lake Erie,
are the most northern coun-
tries which produce the
coffee tree ; but it is much
less abundant in these cli-
mates than in Kentucky and
Tennessee, and in the tracts
which border on the Ohio
and Illinois rivers, between
the 35th and 40th degrees
of latitude. The French of
Canada call this tree Chicot;
those of Illinois Gros Fevier ;
and the inhabitants of the

TLATE XXXVI.
Fig. LA leaf. Fig. 9. Apod.

m

I

Western States, Coffee Tree. The richest lands are required
for the production of this tree.

It usually grows to the height of 50 or 60 feet, with a diameter
of 12 or 15 inches. In summer this tree when fully grown has a
fine appearance : its straight trunk is often destitute of branches
for 30 feet, and supports a summit not very widely spread, but

■

DENDROLOGY. 167

of a regular shape and tufted foliage : in the winter when its

leaves are fallen, the fewness of its branches and the size of the

terminal ones, which are very large, in comparison with those of

other trees, give it a peculiar appearance somewhat resembling

a dead tree. This is probably the reason of its being called

Chicot, stump tree, by the French Canadians. To this peculiar

character is added another of the epidermis, which is extremely

rough, and which detaches itself in small, hard, transverse strips,

rolled backward at the ends, and projecting sufficiently to render

the tree distinguishable at the first sight. The leaves are 3 feet

long, and 20 inches wide on young and thriving trees ; on old

ones they are not more than half as large. These leaves are

doubly compound, with oval-acuminate leaflets from one to two

inches long, which are of a dull green, and in autumn the petiole

is of a violet color. The barren and fertile flowers are borne on

different trees. The flowers open from May to July and are

white and large. The fruit consists of large bowed pods, of a

reddish-brown color, and of a pulpy consistency writhin. They

contain several large, gray seeds which are extremely hard.

The wood of the coffee tree is very compact and of a rosy
hue. The fineness of its grain renders it fit for cabinet making,
and its strength proper for building. Like the locust, it has a
valuable property of rapidly converting its sap into perfect wood,
so that a trunk six inches in diameter has only six lines of sap,
and may be employed almost entire. The live bark is very
bitter, so that a morsel no bigger than a grain of maize chewed
for some time produces a violent irritation of the throat.

HOPEA.

■

Polyadelphia Polyandria. Linn. Guaiacana?. Juss. Tonic, warming,

stomachic.

Sweet Leaf. Hopea tinctoria.

The Sweet Leaf is common in Virginia, West Tennessee and
in the upper part of the Carolinas and of Georgia ; but it is still
more abundant within the limits of the pine-barrens, where the

%

1G8 SYLVA AMERICANA.

soil is light and the winter less rigorous than at a greater
distance from the ocean.

This tree varies in size according to the situation in which it
grows ; on the banks of the Savannah and on the borders of the
large swamps, where the soil is deep, loose and fertile, it grows
from 25 to 30 feet in height and from seven to eight inches in
diameter at the height of five feet from the ground. Commonly
it does not exceed half these dimensions, and in the pine barrens,
where, it is profusely multiplied, it is sometimes only three or
four feet in height. The sprouts from the trunks consumed in
the annual conflagration of the forests never surpass this height,
and, as they do not fructify, the tree is multiplied by its running
roots, which shoot at the distance of a few feet. The trunk is
clad in a smooth bark, and, if wounded in the spring, it distils a
milky fluid of an unpleasant odor. The leaves are three or four
inches long, smooth, totally thick, alternate, of an elongated oval
shape, slightly denticulated, and of a sugary taste. In sheltered
situations they persist during two or three years, but in the pine-
barrens they turn yellow with the first frost and fall towards the
first of February. The flowers spring from the base of the
leaves, and appear early in the season : they are yellowish,
sweet-scented, and composed of a great number of stamens
shorter than the petals and united in separate groups at the base.
The fruit is cylindrical, minute and of a deep blue color at its
maturity.

The wood of this tree is very soft and is totally useless. The
foliage is the only part which, is of any utility; when dry it
affords, by decoction, a beautiful yellow color, which is rendered
permanent by the addition of a little alum, and is used to dye
wool and cotton. But if these leaves had possessed any consid-
erable value they would doubtless have found their way into
commerce.

DENDROLOGY.

169

ILEX.

Tetvandria Tetragynia. Linn. Celastrinere. Juss. Cathartic, emetic.

American Holly. Ilex opaca.

The American Holly is
first met with in Connecticut
and is common m all the
more Southern States, in the
Floridas, in Lower Louisiana
and in West Tennessee, but
it is observed to become
mote rare in approaching
the mountains. On the
eastern shore of Maryland,
and in certain parts of Vir-
ginia it grows almost exclu-
sively on open grounds and
in dry gravelly soils ; while
in South Carolina, Georgia
and Lower Louisiana it is
seen only in shady places,
on the edges of swamps, where the soil is cool and fertile.

In favorable situations this tree attains the height of 40 feet,
with a diameter of 12 or 15 inches. Its leaves are ovate, acute,
spinous, glabrous and fiat, and are of a light-green color. Its
flowers are whitish and not conspicuous, and put forth in the
month of May. They are succeeded by numerous red berries
which remain long attached to the branches. Upon the trunk
of old trees the bark is smooth and of a whitish-gray color ; on
the young branches it is green and shining.

The wood of the American holly is heavy and compact, with
a white sap and brown heart. Its grain is fine and close ; hence
it is very brilliant when polished. Its principal use is for inlaying
mahogany furniture : the black lines with which cabinet makers
sometimes adorn their work are of holly dyed in the coppers of

22

PLATE XXXVII.
Fi''. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The fruit.

i.

170

AM

SYLVA AMERICANA.

the batter. As it turns well, it is chosen for light screws and for
the small boxes in which apothecaries put their opiates. When
perfectly dry, this wood is very hard and unyielding, hence it is
excellently adapted for the pulleys used in ships. The attempt
has been successfully made for employing the holly for hedges,
which are very dense and which have the recommendation of
preserving their foliage through the year. The berries of the
holly are purgative, and, taken to the number of 15 or 20, they

excite vomiting.

JUGLANS.

Monoecia Poh'andria. Likn. Terebintliacese. Juss. Cathartic, emetic,

** 7 7

narcotic.

Bitternut Hickory. Juglans amara.

This species is generally
known in New Jersey by the
name of Bitternut Hickory;
in Pennsylvania it is called
White Hickory and some-
times Swamp Hickory ; far-
ther south it is compounded
with the pignut hickory ; the
French of Illinois, like the
inhabitants of New Jersey,
give it the name of Bitternut,
which, as it indicates one of
the peculiar properties of the
fruit, we have chosen to
retain. It is nowhere found
much beyond the boundaries
of Vermont, in latitude 45°.

It is not seen in the state of Maine, where the borders of the

rivers offer situations, analogous to those in which it abounds, a

few degrees farther south.

Near New York, and in the bottoms which stretch along the

Ohio it grows to the height of 70 or 80 feet with a circumference

PLATE XXXVII [.
Fig. 1. A leaflet. Fig. 2. A nut without its husk

DENDROLOGY. 17 i

of 10 or 12 feet. It attains these dimensions only in spots where
the soil is excellent, constantly cool, and often inundated by
creeks and rivers. It is probably because it thrives most in such
situations, that it is sometimes called Swamp Hickory. Of all the
hickories the vegetation of this species is the latest ; the leaves
do not unfold until a fortnight after the others. On flourishing
trees at an age to bear fruit, they are twelve or fifteen inches in
length and nearly as much in breadth ; the size, as in other
vegetables, varies according to the nature of the soil, and the
situation of the leaf upon a lower or an upper branch. Each
leaf is composed of three or four pair of leaflets, and terminated
by an odd one, which is larger than the preceding pair. The
leaflets are about six inches in length, and an inch in breadth,
sessile, oval-acuminate, deeply toothed, smooth and of a pretty
dark green. When the tree has shed its leaves, it may still be
distinguished by its yellow and naked buds. In Pennsylvania
and New Jersey, this tree blooms about the last of May. The
peduncles of the barren flowers are in pairs, each supporting
three flexible and pendulous aments : they are attached at the
basis of the shoots of the same season, while the fertile aments,
which are not conspicuous, are placed at the extremity. The
fruit is ripe about the beginning of October ; the husk is thin,
fleshy and surmounted on its upper half by four appendages in
the form of wings. It never becomes ligneous, like those of the
other hickories, but softens and decays. The form of the nut of
this species is more constant and more regular than in the others
It is broader than it is long, being six or seven lines one way
and ten lines the other. The shell is white, smooth and thin
enough to be broken by the fingers. The kernel is remarkable
for the deep inequalities produced on every side by its foldings.
It is so harsh and bitter, that squirrels and other animals will not
feed upon it, while any other nut is to be found.

In the texture of its bark, and in the color of its heart and sap,
this tree resembles the other hickories, and its wood possesses,
though in an inferior degree, the weight, strength, tenacity and
elasticity, which so plainly distinguish them. It is used for fuel,
but it is not much superior to white oak. In some parts of

172 SYLVA AMERICANA.

Pennsylvania where this tree is multiplied, an oil is extracted
from the nuts, which is used for the lamp and for other inferior
purposes.

Water Bitternut Hickory. Juglans aquatica.

This species of hickory is confined to the Southern States,
nnd is confounded with the pignut hickory, though different from
it in many respects. It always grows in swamps, and in the
ditches which surround the rice fields.

It grows to the height of 40 or 50 feet, and its general
appearance resemhles the other hickories. Its leaves are eight
or nine inches long, and of a beautiful green. They are composed
of four or five pair of sessile leaflets surmounted by a petiolated
odd one. The leaflets are serrate, four or five inches long,
eight or nine lines broad, and very similar to the leaves of the
peach tree. The husk is thin, and the nuts are small, angular,
a little depressed at the sides, somewhat rough, of a reddish
color and very tender. The kernel is formed in folds like that
of the preceding species : as may be supposed it is not eatable.

The wood of this tree, though partaking of the common
properties of the hickories, is in every respect inferior to the
others, from the nature of the grounds on which it grows. The
southern parts of the United States possess many sorts of
timber more useful in building, to wThich purpose this, like the
other hickories, is poorly adapted.

DENDROLOGY.

173

Butternut. Juglans cathartica.

plate xxxix.

Fig. 1. A leaflet. Fig. 2. A nut with its husk.

This species of walnut is
known in the United States,
under different denomina-
tions. In Massachusetts,
New Hampshire and Ver-
mont, it bears the name of
Oil JVut ; in Pennsylvania
and Maryland and on the
banks of the Ohio, it is
generally known by that of
White Walnut ; in Connec-
ticut, New York, New
Jersey, Virginia and the
mountainous districts of the
upper parts of the Carolinas,
it is called Butternut. The
last of these names we have
adopted, because it is most generally used. This tree is found
in the Canadas, in all of the New England States, New York,
New Jersey, Kentucky, Tennessee and on the banks of the
Missouri, and in the bottoms which border on the Ohio. It
flourishes most abundantly in a cold unproductive soil, interspersed
with large rocks, and on the steep, elevated banks of rivers.

In favorable situations this tree grows to the height of 50 or
60 feet with a circumference of 10 or 12 feet, five feet from the
ground. Its roots extend even with the surface of the earth, in a
serpentine direction, and with little variation in size, to the
distance of 40 feet. The trunk ramifies at a small height, and
the branches, seeking a direction more horizontal than those of
other trees, and spreading widely, form a large and tufted head,
which gives the tree a remarkable appearance. The bark of the
secondary branches is smooth and grayish. The buds, like those
of the black walnut, are uncovered. In spring its vegetation is
forward, and its leaves unfold a fortnight earlier than those of the

174 SYLVA AMERICANA.

hickories. Each leaf is composed of seven or eight pair of
sessile leaflets, and terminated by a petiolated odd one. The
leaflets are from two to three inches in length, lanceolate, serrate
and slightly downy. The barren flowers stand on large cylindrical
aments, which are single, four or five inches long, and attached
to the shoots of the preceding year ; the fertile flowers, on the
contrary, come out on the shoots of the same spring, and are
situated at the extremity. The ovarium is crowned by two
rose-colored stigmas. The fruit is commonly single, and
suspended by a thin, pliable peduncle, about three inches in
length ; its form is oblong-oval without any appearance of seam.
It is often two and a half inches in length, and five inches in
circumference, and is covered with a viscid adhesive substance,
composed of small transparent vesicles, which are easily discerned
with the aid of a lens. The nuts are hard, oblong, rounded at
the base, and terminated at the summit, in an acute point ; the
surface is very rough, and deeply and irregularly furrowed.
They are ripe from the middle to the end of September, a
fortnight earlier than the other species of wTalnut. The kernel
is thick and oily, and soon becomes rancid ; hence, doubtless,
are derived the names of Oil nut and Butternut.

The black walnut and butternut, when young, resemble each
other in their foliage, and in the rapidity of their growth ; but
when arrived at maturity, their forms are so different, as to be
distinguishable at first sight. Remarkable peculiarities are also
found, on examining their wood, especially when seasoned ; the
black walnut is heavy, strong, and of a dark brown color ; while
the butternut is light, of little strength, and of a reddish hue ;
but they possess in common, the great advantage of durability,
and of being secure from the annoyance of worms. From its
want of solidity and from the difficulty of procuring pieces of
considerable length, the timber of the butternut is seldom used
in the construction of houses. As it long resists the effects of
heat and moisture, it is esteemed for the posts and rails of rural
fence. For corn shovels and wooden dishes, it is preferred to
the red-flowering maple, because it is lighter and less liable to
split. In Vermont, it is used for the panels of coaches and

DENDROLOGY. 175

chaises ; the workmen find it excellently adapted to this object,
not only from its lightness, but because it is not liable to split,
and receives paint in a superior manner.

The medicinal properties of the butternut bark, have long since
been proved, by several eminent physicians of the United States.
An extract in water, or even a decoction sweetened with honey,
is acknowledged to be one of the best cathartics afforded by
materia medica ; its purgative operation is always sure, and
unattended, in the most delicate constitutions, with pain or
irritation. Experience has shown that it produces the best effects
in many cases of dysentery. It is commonly given in the form
of pills, and to adults, in doses from half a dram to a dram. It
is not however in general use, except in the country. It is
obtained by boiling the bark entire in water, till the liquid is
reduced by evaporation, to a thick, viscid substance, which is
almost black. This is a faulty process ; the exterior bark, or
the dead part which covers the cellular integument, should first
be taken off, for by continued boiling, it becomes charged with
four-fifths of the liquid, already enriched with extractive matter.
. This bark is also successfully employed as a revulsive, in
inflamatory ophthalmias and in the tooth ache : a piece of it
soaked in warm water, is applied in these cases to the back of
the neck. In the country it is sometimes employed for dying
wool of a dark brown color ; but the bark of the black walnut is
preferable. On a live tree, the cellular integument, when first
exposed, is of a pure white, in a moment it changes to a beautiful
lemon color, and soon after to a deep brown. If the trunk of
this tree is pierced in the month which precedes the unfolding
of the leaves, a pretty copious discharge ensues of a slightly
sugary sap, from which, by evaporation, sugar is obtained inferior
to that of the sugar maple.

176

SYLVA AMERICANA.

Thick Shellbark Hickory. Juglans laciniosa.

PLATE XL.
Fig. 1. A leaflet. Fig. 2. A section of the husk
Fig. 3. A nut.

This species bears a
striking analogy to the shell-
bark hickory, and is fre-
quently confounded with it
by the inhabitants of the
Western Country : some of
them distinguish it by the
name of Thick Shellbark
Hickory, which should be
preserved as its appropriate
denomination. East of the
Alleghanies this tree is rare,
and is found only in a few
places ; it grows on the
banks of the Schuylkill, and
in the vicinity of Springfield,
in Pennsylvania, where its
fruit is called Springfield nut.
It is also found in the county of Gloucester in Virginia, under the
name of Gloucester Walnut. It abounds on the banks of the
Ohio and the rivers which empty into it.

It grows to the height of 80 feet and its ample head is

supported by a straight trunk, in diameter, proportioned to its

elevation. The bark exhibits the same singular arrangement

with that of the shellbark hickory : it is divided into strips from

one to three feet long, which are warped outwards at the end,

and attached only in the middle. They fall and are succeeded

by others similarly disposed. It is only observable that in this

species the plates are narrower, more numerous, and of a lighter

color. The outer scales of the buds do not adhere entirely to

the inner ones, but retire as in the shellbark hickory. The

leaves also, which vary in length from eight to twenty inches,

observe the same process in unfolding, and are similar in size,

configuration and texture ; but they differ in being composed of

DENDROLOGY. 177

seven leaflets and sometimes of nine instead of five, the invariable
number of the shellbark hickory. The barren aments are
disposed an the same form, though they are, perhaps a little
longer than in the other species. The fertile flowers appear,
not very conspicuous, at the extremity of the shoots of the same
spring. They are succeeded by a large oval fruit, more than
two inches long, and four or five inches in circumference. Like
that of the shellbark hickory, it has four depressed seams, which
at its complete maturity, open through their whole length for the
escape of the nut. The nut of this species is widely different
from the other ; it is nearly twice as big, it is longer than it is
broad, and is terminated at each end in a firm point. The shell
is also thicker and of a yellowish hue, while that of the shellbark
nut is nearly white.

The thick shellbark hickory, as has been said, is nearly
related to the shellbark hickory, and its wood, which is of the
same color and texture, unites the peculiar qualities of that
species, with such as are common to the hickories. It is applied
to similar purposes as that of the shellbark hickory.

Nutmeg Hickory. Juglans myristicdeformis.

This species is peculiar to the Middle States, though not much
multiplied, where it bears the name of Nutmeg Hickory, from
the resemblance of its fruit to that of the nutmeg. It is said,
however, to abound on the banks of Red River.

The leaves which are composed of four leaflets with an odd
one, are systematically arranged. The shoots of the preceding
year are flexible and tough. The nuts are very small, smooth,
and of a brown color marked with lines of white ; the husk is
thin and somewhat rough on the surface. The shell is so thick
that it constitutes two-thirds of the volume of the nut, which,
consequently, is extremely hard, and has a minute kernel. The
fruit is still inferior to the pig nut.

23

178

SYLVA AMERICANA.

Black Walnut. Juglans nigra.

This tree is known in all
parts of the United States
where it grows, and to the
French of the Canadas and
and Louisiana, by no other
name than Black Walnut,
East of the Alleghanies, the
most northern point at which
it appears, is about Goshen,
in New Jersey in the latitude
of 40° 50'. West of the
mountains, it exists abun-
dantly two degrees farther
north, in that portion of
Genessee, which is compris-
ed between the 77th and
79th degrees of longitude.
This tree is multiplied in the forests in the vicinity of Philadelphia,
and with the exception of the lower parts of the Southern States,
where the soil is too sandy, or too wet as in the swamps, it is
met with to the banks of the Mississippi throughout an extent of
2000 miles. East of the Alleghanies in Virginia, and in the
upper parts of the Carolinas and of Georgia, it is chiefly confined
to the valleys where the soil is deep and fertile, and which are
watered by creeks and rivers.

On the banks of the Ohio and on the islands of this beautiful
river, the black walnut attains the elevation of 60 or 70 feet,
with a diameter of 3 to 7 feet. Its powerful vegetation clearly
points out this, as one of the largest trees of America. When it
stands insulated, its branches, extending themselves horizontally
to a great distance, spread into a spacious head, which gives it a
very majestic appearance. The bark is thick, blackish and on
old trees deeply furrowed. The leaves when bruised emit a
strong aromatic odor. They are about eighteen inches in length.

PLATE XLI.
Fig. 1. A leaflet. Fig. 2. A nut with the husk.
Fig. 3. A nut without the husk.

DENDROLOGY. 179

pinnate, and composed in general of six, seven or eight pair of
leaflets surmounted by an odd one. The leaflets are opposite
and fixed on short petioles ; they are acuminate, serrate and
somewhat downy. The barren flowers are disposed in pendulous
and cylindrical aments, of which the peduncles are simple,
unlike those of the hickories. The fruit is round, odoriferous,
of rather an uneaven surface, and always appears at the extremity
of the branches : on young and vigorous trees, it is sometimes
seven or eight inches in circumference. The husk is thick, and
is not as in the hickories divided into sections ; but when ripe it
softens and gradually decays. The nut is hard, somewhat
compressed at the sides and sulcated. The kernel, which is
divided by firm ligneous partitions, is of a sweet and agreeable
taste, though inferior to that of the European walnut. The size
of the fruit varies considerably, and depends upon the vigor of
the tree, and upon the nature of the soil and climate. Some
variations are observed in the form of the fruit, and in the
moulding of the shell which are considered only as accidental
differences.

When the wood of this tree is freshly cut, the sap is white and
the heart of a violet color, which after a short exposure to the
air, assumes an intenser shade, and becomes nearly black : hence
probably is derived the name Black Walnut. There are several
qualities for which its wood is principally esteemed : it remains
sound for a long time, even when exposed to the influences of
heat and moisture ; but this observation is only applicable to the
heart, the sap speedily decays : it is very strong and very
tenacious : when thoroughly seasoned it is not liable to warp and
split ; and its grain is sufficiently fine and compact to admit of a
beautiful polish. It possesses in addition to these advantages,
that of being secure from worms. On account of these excellen-
cies, it is preferred and successfully employed in many kinds of
work. East of the Alleghanies, its timber is not extensively
used in building houses, but, in some parts of Kentucky and
Ohio, it is split into shingles which serve to cover them : some-
times also this timber enters into the composition of the frame.
But it is chiefly in cabinet making, that this wood is employed

180 SYLVA AMERICANA.

wherever it abounds. By selecting pieces from the upper part
of the trunk, immediately below the first ramification, furniture
is sometimes made, which from the accidental curlings of the
grain is highly beautiful : but as its color soon changes to a dusky
hue the wild cherry wood is frequently preferred . for this use.
The black walnut is also employed for the stocks of military
muskets ; it is stronger and tougher than the red-flowering maple,
which, from its superior lightness and elegance, is chosen for
fowling pieces. In Virginia posts are very commonly made of
this wood, and as it lasts undecayed in the ground from twenty
to twenty-five years, it appears every way fit for this purpose.
It also makes excellent naves for wheels, which farther proves its
strength and durability. The timber of this tree is also excellently
adapted to certain uses in naval architecture. It should never
be wrought till it is perfectly seasoned, after which it is asserted
to be more durable, though more brittle than the white oak. It
is asserted that this wood, like the live oak, is not liable to be
attacked by sea worms in warm climates. The husk of the
fruit yields a color similar to that which is obtained from the
European walnut. It is used in the country for dyeing woollen
stuffs.

DENDROLOGY.

18!

Pacanenut Hickory. Juglans olivceformis.

Th

is species,

whicl

i is

PLATE XL1I.

Fig. 1. A leaflet. Fig. 2. A nut with the husk.

Fig. 3. A nut without the husk.

found in Upper Louisiana,
is called by the French of
Illinois and New Orleans,
Pacanier, and its fruit Pa-
canes. This name has also
been adopted by the inhabi-
tants of the United States,
who call it Pacanenut. On
the borders of the Missouri,
Illinois, St. Francis and
Arkansas, it is most abun-
dantly multiplied ; it is also
common on the river Wabash;
on the Ohio, it is found for
200 miles from its junction
with the Mississippi. This
tree grows most abundantly in cold and wet grounds.

The pacanenut is a beautiful tree, with a straight and well-
shaped trunk ; in the forest it reaches the height of 60 or 70
feet, with a proportionate diameter. Its buds, like those of the
black walnut and butternut, are uncovered. The leaves are
from twelve to eighteen inches in length, and are supported by
petioles somewhat angular, and slightly downy in the spring.
Each leaf is composed of six or seven pair of sessile leaflets,
and terminated by a petiolated odd one, which is commonly
smaller than the pair immediately preceding. The leaflets, on
flourishing trees, are from two to three inches long, ovate, serrate,
and remarkable for the circular form of the upper edge, while
the lower one is less rounded. It is also to be noticed, that the
main rib is placed a little below the middle of the leaflet. The
nuts, which are usually abundant, are contained in a husk, from
one to two lines thick, and have four slightly prominent angles,
corresponding to their internal divisions. They vary in length

182

SYLVA AMERICANA.

from an inch to an inch and a half, are pointed at the extremities,
of a cylindrical form, and of a yellowish color marked, at the
period of perfect maturity, with blackish or purple lines. The
shell is smooth and thin, though too hard to be broken by the
fingers : the kernel is full, and not being divided by ligneous
partitions, is easily extracted. These nuts which are of a very
sweet taste, form an object of petty commerce, between Upper
and Lower Louisiana. From New Orleans, they are exported
to the West Indies, and to the ports of the Atlantic States.

The wood of the pacanenut is coarse-grained, and like the
other hickories, heavy and compact : it also possesses great
strength and durability ; but in these respects it is inferior to
many other species of this genus. Although it merits attention,
and by assiduous cultivation, it may be brought to a high degree of
perfection.

Pignut Hickory. Juglans porcina.

This tree is generally
known in the United States
by the name of Pignut and
Hognut Hickory, sometimes
of that of Broom Hickory.
The first of these names is
'most commonly in use ; the
others are known in some
districts of Pennsylvania.
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
may be Considered as limit-
ing towards the north, the
climate of this tree. A little
farther south it is abundant,
and in the Atlantic parts of
the Middle States, it helps to
form the mass of the forests.
In the Southern States, especially near the coast, it is less
common in the woods, being found on the borders of swamps
and in places which are wet without being absolutely marshy, or

Fig. 1.

PLATE XLII1.
A leaflet. Fig. 2. A nut without the husk.
Fig. 3. A nut with the Husk.

DENDROLOGY. 183

exposed to a long inundation. This tree is met with in the
Western country, and with the exception of Vermont, New
Hampshire and the state of Maine, of the Genessee Country,
and of the cold and mountainous tracts along the whole range of
the Alleghanies, this tree is more or less abundant in the forests
throughout the United States.

The pignut hickory is one of the largest trees of the American

forest. It grows to the height of 70 or 80 feet, with a diameter

of 3 or 4 feet. In the winter when stript of its leaves, it is easily

known by the shoots of the preceding summer, which are brown,

less than half as large as those of the mockernut and shellbark

hickories, and terminated by small, naked buds. At this season,

it is easy, also to distinguish the bitternut hickory, by its naked

and yellow buds. The buds of this species, as in the other

hickories of this kind, are more than an inch in length, a

few days before their unfolding. The inner scales are the

largest and of a reddish color. They do not fall till the leaves

are five or six inches long. The leaves are compound, and vary

in size and in number of leaflets, according to the moisture and

fertility of the soil. In rich grounds, they afe eighteen inches

long ; and the complete number of leaflets is three pair with an

odd one. The leaflets are four or five inches long, acuminate,

serrate, nearly sessile, and glabrous or smooth on both sides.

On vigorous trees, which grow in shady exposures, the petiole is

of a violet color. The barren aments are smooth, filiform,

flexible and pendulous : they are two inches long, and in their

arrangement, resemble those of the other hickories. The fertile

flowers are greenish, not very conspicuous, and situated at the

extremity of the shoot : the fruit succeeds them in pairs as often

as single. The husk is thin and of a beautiful green : when

ripe, it opens through half its length, for the passage of the nut.

The nut is small, smooth, and very hard on account of the

thickness of the shell. Its kernel is sweet but meagre and

difficult to extract, from the firmness of the partitions. The

form and size of these nuts vary more than in any other species.

Some are oval, and when covered with their husks, resemble

young figs ; others are broader than they are long, and others

184

SYLVA AMERICANA.

are perfectly round. Among these various forms, some nuts are
as large as the thumb, and others not bigger than the little finger.
The wood of the pignut hickory resembles that of the other
species, in the coior of its sap and of its heart ; it possesses also
their excellencies and their defects. It is the strongest and the
most tenacious of the hickories, and for this reason, is preferred
to any other for axletrees and axe handles. These considerations
highly recommend its cultivation.

Shellbark Hickory. Jugla

ns squamosa.

The singular disposition

of the bark, in this species,

has given rise to the de-

scriotive names of SheUbark,

Shagbark and Scalybark

Hickory, the first of which,

as being most generally in

use in the Middle and

Southern States, we have

adopted. Many descend-
ants of the Dutch settlers,

who inhabit the part of New

Jersey near the city of New

York, call it Kisky Thomas

Nut, and the French of

Illinois, know it by the name

of Noyer Tendre, or soft

walnut. This tree is unknown north of Portsmouth, New

Hampshire ; and even there, its vegetation being impeded by

the rigors of the climate, its stature is low and its fruit small. It

abounds on the shores of Lake Erie, about Geneva in Genessee,

along the river Mohawk, in New Jersey and on the bank of the

Susquehannah and Schuylkill in Pennsylvania. In Maryland,

in the lower parts of Virginia and in the other Southern States it

is less common. It is met with in South Carolina and also the

Western States, though not so abundantly as some other species.

PLATE XLIV.

Fig. 1. A leaflet. Fig. 2. A nut with the husk.
Fig. 3. A nut without the husk.

DENDROLOGY. 185

East of the Alleghanies, it grows almost exclusively about swamps
and wet grounds, which are exposed to be inundated for several
weeks together.

Of all hickories this species grows to the greatest height with
proportionally the smallest diameter, for it is sometimes seen 80
or 90 feet in height, and less than two feet thick. The trunk is
destitute of branches, regularly shaped, and of an almost uniform
size for three-fourths of its length, thus forming a very fine tree.
The greatest peculiarity in its appearance, and that by which it
is most easily distinguished, is the surface of the trunk. The
exterior bark is divided into a great number of long, narrow
plates, which bend outwards at the ends, and adhere only in the
middle. Bristling in this manner with projecting points, the
shellbark hickory attracts the attention of the most careless
observer. This remarkable exfoliation of the epidermis takes
place, only in trees which exceed ten inches in diameter, though
it is much earlier indicated by seams. This characteristic, by
which the tree may be recognized in winter when stript of its
leaves, does not exist during the first seven or eight years of its
growth ; and during this period, it may easily be confounded
with the mockernut hickory and pignut hickory, if recourse is
not had to the buds. In these two species, the buds are formed
of scales closely applied one upon another ; in the species which
we are considering, the two external scales adhere for only half
the length of the bud, and leave the upper part uncovered.
When the sap begins to ascend in the spring, the outer scales
fall, and the inner, ones swell and become covered with a yellowish
silky down : after a fortnight, the buds, which are already two
inches long, open and give birth to the young leaves. The growth
of the leaves is so rapid, that in a month they attain their full length,
which on young and vigorous trees is sometimes twenty inches.
They consist of two pair of leaflets, with a sessile odd one. The
leaflets are very large, oval-acuminate, serrate and slightly downy
beneath. The barren flowers, which appear in the state of New
York about the Middle of May, are disposed on long, glabrous,
filiform, pendulous aments, of which three are united on a
common petiole, attached at the basis of the young shoots ; the
24

186 SYLVA AMERICANA.

fertile flowers, of a greenish hue and scarcely apparent, are
situated at the extremity. The fruit is ripe about the first of
October. It varies in size, according to the soil and the exposure
in which it is produced, but five and a half inches may be assumed
as the average of the circumference. The shape is uniformly
round, with four depressed seams, in which the husk opens at
the season of perfect maturity, dividing itself completely into
equal sections. The separation of the husk, and its thickness
disproportioned to the size of the nut, form a character peculiar
to the shellbark hickories. The nuts of this species are small,
white, compressed at the sides, and marked by four distinct
angles, which correspond to the divisions of the husk.

The wood of the shellbark hickory possesses all the character-
istic properties of the hickories, being strong, elastic and tenacious.
It has also their common defects of soon decaying and of being
eaten by worms. As this tree grows to a great height with
nearly an uniform diameter, it is sometimes employed for the
keels of vessels. Its wood is found to split most easily,' and to
be the most elastic ; for this reason it is used for making baskets,
and also for whip handles, which are esteemed for their suppleness.
Such are the uses which the shellbark hickory appears peculiarly
adapted.

DENDROLOGY.

187

Mockernut Hickory. Juglans tomentosa.

In the parts of New Jersey
which lie on the river Hud-
son, this species is known
by the name of Mockernut
Hickory, in Pennsylvania,
Maryland and Virginia, that
of Common Hickory. The
French of Illinois call it
JYoyer dur, or hard walnut.
The first of these denomi-
nations, which is descriptive
of the fruit, we have adopted.
This species is not more
multiplied in Pennsylvania
and farther south, than the
other hickories. It is not
found north of Portsmouth
in New Hampshire, though one hundred miles south it is common.
It is most abundant in the forests that still remain on the coast of
the Middle States, and in those which cover the upper parts of
the Carolinas and of Georgia ; but in the last-mentioned states,
it becomes more rare in approaching the sea, as the sterility of
the soil, in general dry and sandy, is unpropitious to its growth.
This is said to be the only hickory which springs in the pine-
barrens : the sprouts are burnt every year, and never rise more
than two or three feet. Like most of the walnuts, the mockernut
hickory flourishes in rich soils, and chiefly on the gentle acclivities
which surround the swamps, where it grows.

In situations favorable to the growth of this tree, it reaches the
height of 60 feet, with a diameter of 18 or 20 inches. Its trunk
is covered with a thick, hard and rugged bark. The buds are
large, of a grayish-white and very hard ; in the winter, after the
falling of the leaf, they afford the only characteristic by which
the tree can be distinguished, when it exceeds eight or ten feet

PLATE XLV.

Fig. 1. A leaflet. Fig. 2. A nut with the husk
Fig. 3. A nut without the husk.

188 SYLVA AMERICANA.

in height. In the beginning of May, the buds swell, the external
scales fall off, and the inner ones soon after burst and display the
young leaf. The leaves are so rapid in their growth that they
will often grow twenty inches in eighteen days. They are
composed of four pair of sessile leaflets, and terminated by an
odd one. The leaflets are large, oval-acuminate, serrate, pretty
thick, and hairy beneath, as is also the common petiole to which
they are attached. With the first frost, the leaves change to a
beautiful yellow, and fall soon after. The barren flowers appear
on pendulous, downy, axillary aments, six or eight inches long ;
the fertile flowers, which are not very conspicuous, are of a pale
rose color, and are situated at the extremity of the young shoots.
The fruit is ripe about the middle of November. It is odorous,
sessile or rarely pedunculated, and commonly united in pairs.
In form and size, it exhibits remarkable varieties : on some trees
it is round, with depressed seams, on others oblong, with angular
or prominent seams ; it is sometimes two inches long, and twelve
or fifteen lines in diameter, and at other times less than half this
size. It differs also in weight, as well as in configuration and
volume, varying from one dram to four. The largest nuts might
be confounded with those of the thick shellbark hickory, and the
smallest, with those of the pignut hickory. The shell is very
thick, somewhat channelled, and extremely hard. The kernel is
sweet but minute, and difficult to extract, on account of the
strong partitions which divide i't; hence, probably, is derived
the name of Mockernut.

The wood of this tree is of the same color and texture, with
the other hickories, and characterized by the qualities which
render this class of trees so remarkable. It is particularly
esteemed for fuel, for which use trees of six or eight inches in
diameter are preferred. At this stage of its growth, while the
heart, the proper color which is reddish, is not yet developed, it
frequently goes by the name of White-heart Hickory. In the
country a greenish color is sometimes extracted from the bark,
but it is not extensively used.

DENDROLOGY.

189

JUNIPERUS.

DioDcia Monadelphia. Linn. Coniferae. Juss. Expectorant, scccmant,

stimulant.

Red Cedar. Juniperus virginiana.

The Red Cedar, which
belongs to the Junipers, is
the most common species of
its genus in the United States,
and the only one which at-
tains such dimensions as to be
useful in the arts. In some
parts of the United States it
is improperly called Savin.
Cedar Island in Lake Cham-
plain, in latitude 44° 25',
may be- assumed as one of
the remotest points at which
it is found towards the north.
Eastward on the border of
the sea, it is not found beyond
the river Kennebec, from
which it spreads without interruption to the Cape of Florida and
thence round the Gulf of Mexico to a distance beyond St.
Bernard's Bay ; an extent of more than 3000 miles. In retiring
from the shore it becomes gradually less common and less
vigorous, and in Virginia and the more southern states it is rare
at the point where the tide ceases to flow in the rivers ; farther
inland it is seen only in the form of a shrub in open, dry and
sandy places. In the Western States it is confined to spots
where the calcareous rock shows itself naked, or is so thinly
covered with mould as to forbid the vegetation of other trees.

In situations where the soil and climate are favorable to the
expansion of this tree, it grows to the height of 40 or 45 feet, with
a diameter of 1 2 or 13 inches. The most striking peculiarity in

TLATE XLVL
Fig. 1. A branch with leaves and fruit.

190 SYLVA AMERICANA.

the vegetation of the red cedar is that of its branches, which are
numerous and close, spring near the earth and spread horizontally,
and that the lower limbs are during many years as long as the
body of the tree. Its diameter is very much diminished by deep,
oblong crevices, in every part of the trunk, which are occasioned
by the large branches persisting after they are dead. The
foliage is evergreen, numerously subdivided, and composed of
small, sharp scales, enchased in one another. The male and
female flowers are small, not conspicuous, and borne separately
on the same or on different stocks, and put forth in May or June.
The seeds are small, ovate berries, bluish when ripe, and covered
with a white exudation. They arrive at maturity about the
beginning of autumn.

The perfect wood of this tree is of a bright reddish tint, hence
the name Red Cedar ; the sap is perfectly white. The wood is
odorous, compact, fine-grained and very light, though heavier
and stronger than that of the white cedar or cypress. To these
qualities it unites the still more precious character of durability,
and is consequently highly esteemed for such objects as' require
it in an eminent degree. But as it is procured with difficulty,
and is every day becoming scarcer, it is reserved exclusively for
the most important purposes. In the upper part of the frame of
vessels it is joined with the live oak to compensate its excessive
weight, and this usage more than any other, has wasted the
species. The nearer this tree grows to the sea, and the farther
southward, the better the wTood. Next to ship building it is
commonly used for posts, which are highly esteemed and are
reserved for inclosing court yards and gardens in the cities and
their vicinity, and likewise for the posts and rails of rural fence.
It is eminently fitted for subterranean water pipes, but is rarely
employed from the difficulty of obtaining stocks of sufficient
diameter. It is also employed for small tubs, which are hooped
with brass, and is used in the manufacture of lead pencils. It is
likewise used by turners for large stop cocks. The foliage of
this tree diffuses a resinous, aromatic odor when bruised ; dried
and reduced to powder it has the same effect as the common
juniper, of increasing the efficacy of blister plasters. The

DENDROLOGY.

191

quantity of gin made from the berries in the United States is
small compared with what is imported from Holland. Its leaves
are found to be stimulant, diuretic and emmenagogue, and have
been used with some success for rheumatism, dropsy and
catamenial obstructions, in doses of one or two scruples.

KALMIA.

Decandria Monogypia. Linn. Pihododendroe. Jess. Tonic, narcotic.

Mountain Laurel. Kalmia latifolia.

The Mountain Laurel is
a large shrub, which indiffer-
ently bears the names of
Mountain Laurel, Laurel,
Ivy and Calico Tree. The
west end of Long Island,
and the vicinity of Pough-
keepsie, which lies on the
river Hudson, between the
42d and 43d degrees of
latitude, may be considered
as the northern limit of this
tree. It abounds in New
Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Proceeding thence south-

PLATE XLVII.
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 3. A seed vessel.

west, it is found along the

steep banks of all the rivers
whifih rise in the Alleghanies ; but it is observed to become less
common in following these streams from their source, towards
the Ohio and Mississippi on one side, and towards the ocean on
the other. It is rare in Kentucky and in West Tennessee, and
in the Southern States it disappears entirely when the rivers enter
the low country, where the pine-barrens commence. Although
the mountain laurel abounds along the rivers of the Middle and
Southern States, it is proportionally less common than upon the
Alleghany Mountains, from Pennsylvania to the termination of

192 SYLVA AMERICANA.

the chain in Georgia. It is nowhere seen more profusely
multiplied, nor of a greater height and of more luxuriant vegetation,
than in North Carolina, on the loftiest part of the Alleghanies.
It occupies tracts of more than one hundred acres, and forms
upon the summit, and for a third of the distance down the sides,
thickets which are rendered nearly impenetrable by the crooked
and unyielding trunks, crossed and locked with each other. As
the shrubs which compose these copses are of an uniform height,
and richly laden with evergreen foliage, they present, at a
distance, the appearance of verdant meadows, surrounded by tall
trees. It flourishes best in a soft, loose and cool soil, with a
northern exposure.

In favorable situations this shrub grows to the height of 18 or
20 feet, with a diameter of three inches. Its leaves are of a
coriaceous texture, oval-acuminate, entire and about three inches
long. The flowers put forth from May to July, are destitute of
odor, and disposed in corymbs at the extremity of the branches :
in general they are of a beautiful rose color, and sometimes of
a pure white. They are always numerous, and their brilliant
effect is heightened by the richness of the surrounding foliage.
The minute seeds are contained in small, globular capsules.

The wood, particularly that of the roots, is compact, fine-grained,
and marked with red lines. When dry it is very hard, and it
turns and polishes well. It is employed for the handles of light
tools, for screws, boxes, etc. ; it is said also to make good
clarionets. The leaves are narcotic, and are poisonous to
cattle.

DENDROLOGY.

193

Monoecia Monadelphia. Linn.

LARIX.

Conifer®. Juss. Expectorant, secernant,
stimulant.

American Larch. Larix Americana.

In the north of the United
States this tree is commonly
designated by the name of
Hackmatack, but we have
preferred that of American
Larch, which is not unknown
where the other is habitually
used. The French Cana-
dians call it Ejpinette rouge.
This tree is most abundant
in Vermont, New Hampshire
and the state of Maine ; but
though the soil is well adapted
to its growth, and the winter
is long and severe, it does
not form a hundredth part
of the resinous growth, which
consists principally of the black and the hemlock spruce and the
red cedar. It grows in the Canadas, and extends as far north
as Lake St. John, where it begins to abound, and to form masses
of woods, some of which are several miles in extent. It is
profusely multiplied also in Newfoundland, New Jersey, Penn-
sylvania and the coldest and most gloomy exposures in the
mountainous tracts of Virginia, which are the limits of its
appearance towards the south : but it is rare in these states, and
in lower Jersey it is seen only in the swamps of white cedar,
with which it is scantily mingled. In Vermont, New Hampshire
and Maine it grows only in low and moist places, and never on
uplands, as about Hudson's Bay and in Newfoundland ; hence
we may conclude that the climate of the northern part of the
United States is too mild for its constitution.

25

PLATE XLV1U.
Fig. 1. A branch with leaves and cones.

194 SYLVA AMERICANA.

The American larch is a magnificent vegetable with a straight,
slender trunk 80 or 100 feet in height and 2 or 3 feet in diameter.
Its numerous branches, except near the summit, are horizontal
or declining. The bark is smooth and polished on the trunk and
lower limbs, and rugged on the lower branches. The leaves are
flexible, and collected in bunches : they are shed in the fall and
renewed in the spring. The flowers like those of the pines, are
separate upon the same tree : the male aments, which appear
before the leaves, are small, oblong and scaly, with two yellow
anthers under each scale : the female flowers are also disposed
in aments, and are composed of floral leaves covering two ovaries,
which in process of time become small, erect, scaly cones three
or four lines long. At the base of each scale lie two minute
winged seeds. On some stocks the cones are violet-colored in
the spring instead of green ; but this is an accidental variation,
for the trees are in no other respect peculiar.

The wood of the American larch is superior to any species of
pine or spruce : it is exceedingly strong and singularly durable.
In Canada it is considered as the most valuable timber, and has
no fault except its weight. In the state of Maine it is esteemed
more than any other species of resinous wood for the knees of
vessels, and is always used for this purpose when proper pieces
can be obtained. This wood is justly appreciated in the United
States, but it is little employed because it is rare and may be
replaced with other species which are cheaper and more
abundant.

DENDROLOGY.

195

LAURUS.

Enneandria Monogynia. Linn. Laurinae. Juss. Secernant, stimulant,

stomachic.

Red Bay. Laurus caroliniensis.

This species of Laurel is
observed in the lower part
of Virginia, and it continues
to be seen uninterruptedly
throughout the maritime dis-
tricts of the Carolinas and
of Georgia, in the Floridas
and in Lower Louisiana. It
is known only by the name
of Red Bay. It is profusely
multiplied in the branch
swamps which intersect the
pine-barrhns. It is also seen
on the skirts of the great
swamps which border the
rivers and around the ponds
covered with the Laurus
cestivalis, or pond bush, that are met with in the barrens. A
cool and humid soil appears to be essential to its growth, for it is
never found in dry and sandy lands. It is also remarked, that
the farther south it grows, the more vigorous and beautiful is its
vegetation.

In favorable situations the red bay often attains the height of
60 or 70 feet, and from 12 to 15 inches in diameter : when
arrived at this stature, its trunk is generally crooked and divided
into several thick limbs, at eight, ten or twelve feet from the
ground. Upon old trunks the bark is thick and deeply furrowed ;
that of the young branches, on the contrary, is smooth and of a
beautiful green color. The leaves are about six inches long,
alternate, oval-acuminate, whitish or glaucous on the lower surface,

PLATE LXIX.

Fig. 1. A leaf. Fie. 2. A seed.

196

SVLVA AMERICANA.

and evergreen. The flowers, which open in April or May, are
disposed in small, axillary branches, springing between the leaf
and the twig, and are supported by slightly downy peduncles.
The fruit or seed is oval and very similar to that of the sassafras.
The seeds germinate with ease, and the old tregs are surrounded
by hundreds of young plants.

The wood of this tree is of a beautiful rose color ; it is strong,
has a fine, compact grain, and is susceptible of a brilliant polish.
Before mahogany became the reigning fashion in cabinet making,
this wood was commonly employed in the Southern States, and
afforded articles of furniture of the highest beauty. This wood,
like that of the red cedar, may be usefully employed in ship
building, as it unites the properties of strength and durability.
The leaves of this tree when bruised diffuse a strong odor
resembling that of the sweet bay, Laurus nobilis, and may be
employed in cookery.

Sassafras. Laurus sassafras.

The Sassafras, on account
of its medicinal virtues and
the beauty of its foliage is
one of the most interesting
trees of the American forests.
In the United States, the
neighborhood of Portsmouth
in New Hampshire, in the
latitude of 43°, may be
assumed as one of the ex-
treme points at which it is
found towards the north-east:
in the Western Country it is
met with one degree farther
north. From Boston to the
banks of the Mississippi, and
from the shores of the ocean
to Virginia and to the remotest wilds of Upper Louisiana beyond
the Missouri, comprising an extent in each direction of more than

Fig. 1-

PLATE L.

A leaf. Fig. 2.

The fruit.

DENDROLOGY. 197

1800 miles, this tree is sufficiently multiplied to be ranked among
the most common trees. It is seen growing on lands of every
description, from the dry and gravelly to the most moist and
fertile, with the exception of such as are arid and sandy to
excess, like the pine-barrens of the Southern States : neither is
it found in the swamps that border the rivers by which these
states are watered.

This tree attains its greatest developement on the declivities
which skirt the swamps, and such as sustain the luxuriant forests
of Kentucky and West Tennessee, where it arrives to the height
of 50 or 60 feet, with a proportionate diameter. The bark
which covers old trees is of a grayish color and is chapped into
deep cracks. On cutting into it, it exhibits a dark dull red, a
good deal resembling the color of the Peruvian bark. The. bark
of the young branches is smooth and of a beautiful green color.
The old trees give birth to hundreds of shoots which spring up
at little distances, but which rarely rise higher than six or eight
feet. The leaves of the sassafras are four or five inches in
length, alternate, and petiolated. At their unfolding in the spring
they are downy and of a tender texture. TKey are of different
shapes upon the same tree, being sometimes oval and entire, and
sometimes divided into lobes, which are generally three in
number, and which are rounded at the summit. The lobed
leaves are the most numerous and are situated on the upper part
of the tree. About New York and Philadelphia this tree is in
full bloom in the beginning of May, and six weeks earlier in
South Carolina. The flowers unfold before the leaves, and
appear in small clusters at the end of the last year's shoots.
They are of a greenish-yellow hue, and are but slightly odoriferous.
In this species of laurel the sexes are confined to different stocks.
The fruit or seed is of an oval form and of a deep blue color,
and is contained in small, bright, red cups, supported by peduncles
from one to two inches in length. These seeds, when ripe, are
eagerly devoured by the birds, and soon disappear from the tree.

The wood of this tree is not strong, and branches of consider-
able size may be broken with a slight effort. In the young tree
the wood is white ; in those which exceed fifteen or eighteen

198 SYLVA AMERICANA.

inches in diameter it is reddish and of a closer grain. It is not,
however, in these respects to be compared with the oak and hickory.
Experience shows, that this wood, stript of its bark, resists for a
considerable period the progress of decay ; and it is on this
account employed for the posts and rails of rural fence. It is
also sometimes used for the joints and rafters in houses built of
wood. It is said to be secure from the attack of worms : this
advantage is attributed to its odor which it preserves as long as
it is sheltered from the sun and rain. Bedsteads made of it are
said to be never infested with insects. But for these purposes
the sassafras wood is not in habitual use, and is only occasionally
employed. For fuel, it is held in little esteem, and it is only in
the cities of the Southern States, which are not, like those of the
north, abundantly furnished with fuel, that it is brought into the
market : it is considered as wood of the third quality. Its bark
contains a considerable portion of air, and snaps while burning
like that of the chesnut.

The medicinal virtues of the sassafras are so well proved, that
during more than two hundred years, since its first introduction
into materia medica, it has maintained the reputation of an
excellent sudorific, which may be advantageously employed in
cutaneous affections, in chronic rheumatism, and in siphilitic
diseases of long standing. In the last case it is always joined
with lignum vitse and sarsaparilla. The wood is slightly aromatic
and somewhat acrimonious depending on a resin and an essential
oil, but the smell and taste which are peculiar to the vegetable
are more sensible in the young branches, and incomparably more
so in the bark of the roots ; this part of the tree therefore should
always be preferred, for the wood appears to contain but a small
degree of the qualities assigned it, and even this it loses after
being long kept. From the bark of the roots, which is thick and
sanguineous, the greatest quantity of essential oil is extracted :
this oil, after long exposure to the cold, is said to deposit very
beautiful crystals. The flowers of this tree when fresh have
likewise a weak aromatic odor. A great number of people in
the United States consider them as stomachic and efficacious in
purifying the blood ; and for this purpose, during a fortnight in

DENDROLOGY.

199

the spring, they drink an infusion of them with a little sugar, in
the manner of tea. The dried leaves and the young branches
contain a mucilaginous principle nearly resembling that of the
ochro. They are used by some people to thicken their pottage.
An agreeable beverage may be made by boiling the young shoots
in water, to which a certain quantity of molasses is added, and
the whole is left to ferment : this beer is considered as a very
salutary drink during the summer. Mucilage of sassafras pith
is peculiarly mild and lubricating, and has been used with much
benefit in dysentery and catarrh, and particularly as a lotion in
the inflammatory stages of the ophthalmia. But except as a
diaphoretic the powers of sassafras are very doubtful. It certainly
has no antisyphilitic properties.

LIQUIDAMBAR.

Moncecia Polyandria. Linn. Amentacese. Juss. Astringent, tonic, emollient.

Sweet Gum. Liquid 'amh a r styraciflua.

No tree has hitherto been
found in North America so
extensively diffused as the
Sweet Gum. On the sea
shore it is first seen towards
the north- east, between
Portsmouth and Boston, in
the latitude of 43°, and is
found as far as Mexico
towards the south-west:
from the coast of Virginia
it extends westward to the
river Illinois, thus spreading
over more than two-thirds
of the ancient territory of
the United States, together
with the Floridas, and Upper

PLATE LI.

Fig.]. A leaf. Fig. 2. The fruit.

200 SYLVA AMERICANA.

and Lower Louisiana. In the United States this tree is
universally called Sweet Gum, and by the French of Louisiana,
Cojjalm. In the Middle, Southern and Western States, the
sweet gum is sufficiently multiplied to be numbered among the
most common trees : it is met with wherever the soil is fertile,
cool and exposed to temporary inundations. In the south, it
grows also in the great swamps, which border the rivers, and
here, owing doubtless to the mildness of the winter and to the
intense heat of the summer, it displays its amplest dimensions.

In favorable situations the sweet gum grows to the height of
60 feet with a circumference of 15 feet, at five feet from the
ground. It ramifies at the height of 15 or 18 feet, and its summit
is spacious in proportion to the thickness of the trunk ; but it
does not generally branch at so small an elevation. When
confined amidst other trees, its trunk, like those of the oak and
elm, is perfectly straight and of an uniform size to the height of
30 or 40 feet,. at which it begins to divide itself into branches :
in these situations it is from one to two feet in diameter. On
dry and gravelly land its height does not exceed 15, 20 or 30
feet, and its secondary branches are covered with a dry, flaky
bark, of which the plates are attached by the edge, instead of
the face as on other trees. This tree is garnished with fine
foliage, which changes to a dull red with the first autumnal frosts,
and falls soon after. The shoots upon which the young leaves
appear in the spring are smooth and of a yellowish-green color.
The leaves vary in size from three to six inches, according to
the vigor of the tree and to the situation of the leaf, being larger
and less deeply palmated on the lower branches : they are
alternate, petiolated, and divided into five principal lobes : in
this last particular they bear some resemblance to the leaves of
the sugar maple, from which they differ in having the lobes
deeper and more regularly shaped, and being finely denticulated
at the edge. It should be remarked also that, at the birth of the
leaves, the back part of the principal rib is surmounted by a
small tuft of red down. In warm weather a viscous substance
exudes from the leaves of such of those trees as grow upon dry
grounds ; when bruised, they exhale a sensible, aromatic odor.

DENDROLOGY. 201

The barren and fertile flowers open in April and are borne by-
different branches of the same tree. The fertile flowers are not
conspicuous, and the barren ones are in oval aments an inch and
a half in length. The fruit is globular and bristling with points :
when arrived at maturity, it is about an inch and a half in
diameter, and is suspended by a flexible pedicle, one or two
inches long : the globes, which are green at first and afterwards
yellow, are composed of a great number of closely connected
capsules. At the beginning of autumn these capsules open and
liberate the seeds, which are small, blackish, oblong, compressed
and surmounted by a wing. Each capsule contains one or two
seeds united with a great number of minute bodies incapable of
germination, resembling oaken sawdust.

The trunk of the full-grown tree is covered with a deeply-
furrowed bark, not unlike that of several species of oak. Sweet
gums are found of the same size on the same soil, some of which
have a large proportion of sap and only five or six inches of
heart, while others consist principally of perfect wood, with only
a thin layer of sap. The heart is reddish, and^ when sawn into
boards it is observed to be transversely marked at considerable
distances with blackish belts. This wood is very compact and
fine-grained, and is susceptible of a fine polish. Though inferior
in strength to the oak, it suffices for many purposes which require
great toughness and solidity. In some parts of the United
States it is employed for the frames of wooden houses. As it
furnishes boards two or three feet in width, it is sometimes sawn
very thin and employed by cabinet makers to line the inside of
certain articles of mahogany furniture : it is also employed for
bedsteads and for the balusters of stair cases. In a word it may
be usefully employed in all work that is sheltered from the air,
without which precaution it speedily decays. It is little esteemed
for fuel, and, mixed with other species of no greater value, it
forms the lowest quality of wood in the market. In summer,
upon cutting the live bark and at the same time slightly wounding
the sap of this tree, a resinous substance of an agreeable odor
distils in small quantities.

26

202

SYLVA AMERICANA.

LIRIODENDRON.

Polyandria Polygynia. Linn. Magnoliaceae. Juss. Tonic, aperient.

Poplar or Tulip Tree. Liriodendron tulipifera.

This tree, which surpasses
most others of North Ameri-
ca in height and in the
beauty of its foliage and of
its flowers, is one of the
most interesting from the
numerous and useful appli-
cations of its wood. Wher-
ever it abounds, and through-
out the greater part of the
United States, it is called
Poplar. In Connecticut,
New York and New Jersey,
it is known by the name of
White Wood, and of Canoe
Wood, and more rarely by
that of Tulip Tree. This
last denomination we have thought most proper to adopt, from
the resemblance of its flowers to the tulip. The southern
extremity of Lake Champlain, in latitude 45°, may bo considered
as the northern limit, and the river Connecticut, in the longitude
of 72°, as the eastern limit of the tulip tree. It is only beyond
the Hudson, which flows two degrees farther west, and below
the 43° of latitude, that it is frequently met with and fully
developed. It is multiplied in the Middle States, in the upper
parts of the Carolinas and of Georgia, and still more abundantly
in the Western Country, particularly in Kentucky. Its compara-
tive rareness in the maritime parts of the Carolinas and of
Georgia, in the Floridas and in Lower Louisiana, is owing less
to the heat of the summer, than to the nature of the soil, which
in some parts is too dry, as in the pine-barrens, and in others too

Fig. 1.

PLATE LI I.
A leaf. Fig. 2

A cone.

DENDROLOGY. 203

wet, as in the swamps which border the rivers. This tree attains
the greatest dimensions in a deep, loamy, and extremely fertile
soil, such as is found in the rich bottoms which lie alone: the
rivers, and on the borders of the great swamps that are inclosed
in the forests.

In the Atlantic States, especially at a considerable distance
from the sea, tulip trees are often seen 70, 80 and 100 feet in
height, with a diameter of 18 inches to 3 feet. But the Western
States appear to be the natural soil of this magnificent tree, and
here it displays its most powerful vegetation. M. Michaux
mentions a tulip tree, near Louisville, on the Ohio, which at five
feet from the ground was 22 feet six inches in circumference,
and whose elevation he judged to be from 120 to 140 feet. Of
all the trees of North America with deciduous leaves, the tulip
tree, next to the button wood, attains the amplest dimensions ;
while the perfect straightness and uniform diameter of the trunk
for upwards of 40 feet, the more regular disposition of its
branches, and the greater richness of its foliage, give it a decided
superiority over the button wood, and entitle iuto be considered
as one of the most magnificent vegetables of the temperate zones.
In the spring, when the weather is warm and humid, the growth
of the leaves is very rapid : they are six or eight inches broad,
borne on long petioles, alternate, somewhat fleshy, smooth and
of a pleasing green color. They are divided into three lobes, of
which the middle one is horizontally notched at the summit, and
the two lower ones are rounded at the base. The flowers bloom
in June or July. They are large, brilliant, and on detached
trees very numerous, variegated with different colors, among
which yellow predominates : they have an agreeable odor, and,
surrounded by luxuriant foliage, they produce a fine effect.
The fruit is composed of a great number of thin, narrow scales,
attached to a common axis, and forming a cone two or three
inches in length. Each cone consists of sixty or seventy seeds,
of which never more than a third part are productive. For ten
years before the tree begins to yield fruit, almost all the seeds are
unproductive, and on large trees, those from the highest branches
are the best.

204 SYLVA AMERICANA.

The bark of this tree, till the trunk exceeds seven or eight
inches in diameter, is smooth and even : it afterwards begins to
crack, and the furrow and the thickness of the bark are
proportioned to the size and to the age of the tree. The heart
of the perfect wood is yellow, approaching to a lemon color, and
its alburnum is white. Though this tree is classed as a light
wood, it is much heavier than the poplars ; its grain is equally
fine and more compact, and the wood is easily wrought and
polishes well. It is found strong and stiff enough for uses that
require great solidity. The heart, when separated from the sap
and perfectly seasoned, long resists the influence of the air, and
is said to be rarely attacked by worms. Its greatest defect,
when employed in wide boards and exposed to the weather, is
its liability to shrink and warp by the alternations of dryness and
moisture : but this defect is in a great measure compensated by
its other properties. The nature of the soil has so striking an
influence upon the color and upon the quality of this tree, that
the mechanics who employ it, distinguish it by the names of
White Poplar and Yellow Poplar. The external appearance
which mark these varieties are so equivocal, that it can be
ascertained to which a tree belongs only by cutting it. It is
known in general that the white poplar grows in dry, gravelly
and elevated places : it is recognized too by its branchy summit,
and by the small proportion which the light yellow heart bears
to the sap. The grain also is coarser and harder, and the wood
decays more speedily ; hence it is always selected when the
other variety can be obtained. The yellow poplar possesses
every quality requisite to fit it for a great variety of uses, but we
shall mention only some of the most common. In many parts of
the United States it is employed for constructing the frames of
houses and for shingles, and is considered as the best substitute
for the pine, red cedar and the cypress. It is also sawn into boards,
of which are made the panels of doors and of wainscots, and the
mouldings of chimney pieces ; they are exclusively used for the
panels of coaches and chaises. When perfectly dry, they receive
paint well, and admit of a brilliant polish. A large quantity of
this wood is likewise employed in the manufacture of trunks

DENDROLOGY.

205

which are covered with skins, and of bedsteads ; as it is easily
wrought in the lathe, and is very light, it is much used for
wooden bowls. It is also employed for the rails of rural fence,
for the construction of bridges, and for the felloes of large mill
wheels. In fine, it affords excellent charcoal, which is employed
by smiths in districts that furnish no fossile coal. The cellular
integument of the bark of this tree, the bark of the branches,
and stiil more the bark of the roots, has an agreeable smell and
a very bitter taste, and is very pungent : when powdered it is
employed as a tonic, stimulant in intermittents and chronic
rheumatism : given in substance to horses, appear to be a pretty
certain remedy for worms.

MAGNOLIA.

Polyandria Polygynia. Linn. Magnoliacere. Juss. Tonic, aperient.

Cucumber Tree. Magnolia acuminata.

In all parts of the United
States where this tree is
found, it is known only by
the name of Cucumber Tree.
It is a beautiful vegetable,
equal in height and in diam-
eter to the big laurel. The
most northern point, at which
this tree grows is near the
falls of Niagara, in latitude
43°. It abounds along the
whole tract of the Allegha-
nies, to their termination in
Georgia, over a distance of
900 miles. It is also found
on the Cumberland Moun-
tains. The situations pecu-
liarly adapted to its growth are the declivities of mountains,
narrow valleys and the banks of torrents, where the air is

PLATE LIH.
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. A cone with seeds.

206 SYLVA AMERICANA.

constantly moist, and where the soil is deep and fertile. At the
distance of forty or fifty miles from the mountains, either way,
this tree is met with only accidentally upon the steep banks of
rivers, where the atmosphere is constantly refreshed by the
evaporation from their surface. We may conclude then that this
tree is a stranger to all parts north of the river Hudson, and to
all the Atlantic parts of the United States, to the distance of 100,
150 and 200 miles from the sea ; the nature of the soil, and the
extreme heat of the climate in summer being utterly uncongenial
to its growth. It is also rare in the parts of Kentucky and West
Tennessee which are most remote from the mountains, where
the face of the country is less uneaven.

The cucumber tree sometimes exceeds 80 feet in height,
with a diameter of three or four feet. The trunk is perfectly
straight, of an uniform size and often destitute of branches for
two-thirds of its length. The summit is ample and regularly
shaped, and the tree is one of the finest in the American forests.
The leaves are six or seven inches long, and three or four inches
broad, upon old trees ; upon saplings growing in moist places,
they are, sometimes twice as large. Their form is oval, entire
and very acuminate ; they fall in the autumn and are renewed
in the spring. The flowers open in May and are five or six
inches in diameter, bluish and sometimes white with a tint of
yellow. They have a feeble odor, but as they are large and
numerous, they have a fine effect in the midst of the superb
foliage. The cones or fruit are about three inches long, and
eight or ten lines in diameter, of nearly a cylindrical shape, and
often a little larger at the summit than at the base. They are
convex on one side and concave on the other, and when green
they nearly resemble a young cucumber, whence the tree has
derived its name. The cells are arranged as in the other species
of the genus, and each of them contains one rose-colored seed,
which, before it escapes, remains suspended like those of the
great and small laurels.

On old stocks the bark of this tree is grayish and deeply
furrowed. The perfect wood is soft and of a yellowish brown
color : it is fine-grained and susceptible of a brilliant polish.

DENDROLOGY. 207

Being a rare tree, it is only accidentally employed in the arts.
Sawn into boards, it serves in joinery for the interior of wooden
houses, and, for its size and lightness, it is selected for large
canoes. Most of the inhabitants of the country bordering on the
Alleghanies gather the cones of this tree about midsummer, when
they are half ripe, and steep them in whiskey : a glass or two of
this liquor, which is extremely bitter, they habitually take in the
morning, as a preservative against autumnal fevers.

Long-Leaved Cucumber Tree. Magnolia auriculata.

This species of Magnolia is remarkable for the beauty of its
foliage and for the size of its flowers and the fragrance of their
odor. It appears to be particularly confined to that tract of the
Alleghanies which traverse the Southern States, at the distance
of nearly 300 miles from the sea. It is however sometimes
found on the steep banks of the rivers which rise in these lofty
mountains, and which on one side roll their waters to the sea,
and on the other flow to meet the Ohio, after traversing
Kentucky and Tennessee. It is profusely multiplied on the
steepest part of the Great Father Mountains, Black and Iron
Mountains of North Carolina. It is designated by the names of
Long-Leaved Cucumber Tree, and of Indian Physic. The soil
of these mountains, which is brown, deep and of an excellent
quality, is peculiarly favorable to its growth, and it multiplies
spontaneously with the greatest facility.

This tree grows to the height of 40 or 45 feet, with a diameter
of 12 or 15 inches. Its trunk is straight and well shaped, and
often undivided for half of its length ; its limbs, widely spread
and sparingly ramified, give to this tree, when stript of its leaves,
so peculiar an air, that it is readily distinguished. The leaves
are of a light-green color, of a fine texture, eight or nine inches
long, and from four to six inches broad ; on young and vigorous
trees they are often one third or even one half longer. They
are smooth on both surfaces, acuminate at the summit, widest
near the top and narrowest towards the bottom. The base is

208 SYLVA AMERICANA.

divided into rounded lobes, whence is derived the specific name
of auriculata. The flowers are three or four inches in diameter,
of a fine white color, of an agreeable odor, and situated at the
extremity of the young shoots, which are of a purplish red dotted
with white. The flowers open in April or May, and are suc-
ceeded by oval cones, three or four inches long, and, like those
of the umbrella tree, of a beautiful rose color when ripe. Each
cell contains one or two red seeds.

The wood is soft, spongy, very light, and unfit for use. The
bark is gray, and always smooth even on the oldest trees. When
the epidermis is removed, the cellular integument, by contact
with the air, instantly changes from white to yellow. The bark
has an agreeable aromatic odor, and an infusion of it in some
spirituous liquor is employed as an excellent sudorific in
rheumatic affections.

Heart-Leaved Cucumber Tree. Magnolia cordata.

This species of Magnolia, which in its general appearance and
in the form of its fruit, very nearly resembles the cucumber tree,
has been confounded with it by the inhabitants of the regions in
which it grows ; from the cordiform shape of its leaves we have
adopted the name of Heart-Leaved Cucumber Tree. The banks
of the river Savannah in Upper Georgia, and those of the streams
which traverse the back parts of South Carolina, are the native
places of this tree. The soil in which it generally grows is a
sandy loam.

This tree is 40 or 50 feet in height, and 12 or 15 inches in
diameter. Its trunk is straight and covered with a rough and
deeply-furrowed bark, very much resembling that of the sweet
gum and of the young white oak. Its leaves which are borne
upon long petioles, are from four to six inches in length, from
three to five inches wide, smooth and entire. The flowers which
appear in April, are yellow, with the interior of the petal
longitudinally marked with several reddish lines. The flowers
though somewhat smaller than those of the cucumber tree, are
nearly four inches in diameter. The cones are about three

DENDROLOGY. 209

inches long, and ten or twelve lines in thickness, of a cylindrical
form, and of a similar construction to those of the other magnolias.
The seeds also are similar in color and arrangement.

The wood of this tree resembles, in every respect, that of the
cucumber tree, from its softness and readiness to decay, it is not
employed for any determinate use.

Small Magnolia or White Bay. Magnolia glauca.

This tree, though inferior in size to the big laurel, and less
regularly formed, is interesting on account of its beautiful foliage
and flowers. It is common in Gloucester, Massachusetts,
and in Lower Jersey and becomes more so in proceeding towards
the south. In the maritime part of the Southern States, in the
Floridas and in Lower Louisiana, it is one of the most abundant
among the trees which grow in wet grounds. It is found not far
in the interior of the country, and in New York, Pennsylvania
and Maryland, it disappears thirty or forty miles north of the
capitals of these states. In the Carolinas and Georgia, it grows
only within the limits of the pine-barrens. In ^Philadelphia and
New York and in their vicinity, this tree is called Magnolia,
which denomination has entirely superseded those of Sivamj)
Sassafras and Beaver Wood, which were in use among the
Swedish settlers who first fixed themselves in the country. In
the Southern States it is generally called White Bay or Sweet
Bay, It grows most abundantly in swamps and marshes composed
of a black and miry soil.

This tree sometimes rises to the height of 40 feet, with a
diameter of 12 or 14 inches ; but it does not ordinarily exceed
25 or 30 faet, and it often fructifies at the height of five or six
feet. The bark of this tree is smooth and grayish, and its trunk
is always crooked and divided into a great number of divaricating
branches. 'The leaves are five or six inches long, petiolated,
alternate, oblong-oval and entire. They are of a dark, shining
green above, and glaucous beneath, thus presenting an agreeable
contrast in the color of the two surfaces. The leaves fall in
autumn and are renewed early in the following spring. The
27

210

SYLVA AMERICANA.

flowers, which are single and situated at the extremity of the
branches, are two or three inches broad, white, and composed
of several concave, oval petals. Near Charleston in South
Carolina, this tree blossoms in May and a month later in the
neighborhood of Philadelphia and New York. The fruit is
small, green and conical, composed of a great number of cellules,
and varying in length from an inch to an inch and a half. When
ripe, the seeds, which are of a scarlet color, burst their cells,
and remain some days suspended without, by white, lax, slender
filaments.

The wood of this tree, which is of a white color and very
light, is employed for no use in the arts. The bark of the roots
has an aromatic odor and a bitter taste. Some of the inhabitants
drink an infusion of it in brandy, as a slight sudorific for rheumatic
affections. They also steep the cones in spirituous liquor,
which renders it very bitter ; they regard it as a preservative
against autumnal fevers.

Big Laurel. Magnolia grandiflora.

PLATE LIV
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2.

A cone.

Of all the trees of North
America, east of the Missis-
sippi, the Big Laurel is the
most remarkable for the
majesty of its form, the
magnificence of its foliage
and the beauty of its flowers.
It is first seen in the lower
part of North Carolina, near
the river Neuse, in the lati-
tude of 35°; proceeding
from this point it is found in
the maritime parts of the
Southern States and of the
Floridas, and as far up the
Mississippi as Natches, 300
miles above New Orleans,

DENDROLOGY. 211

which embraces an extent of 2000 miles. At Charleston, in
South Carolina, and in its vicinity, this tree is commonly called
Large Magnolia ; but it is more generally known in the country
by the name of Big Laurel. The French of Louisiana call it
Laurier Tulipier. It grows only in cool and shady places,
where the soil, composed of brown mould, is loose, deep and
fertile. These tracts lie contiguous to the great swamps, which
are found on the borders of the rivers and in the midst of the
pine-barrens, or form themselves a part of these swamps ; but they
are never seen in the long and narrow marshes, called branch
swamps, which traverse the barrens in every direction, and in
which the miry soil is shallow, with a bed of white, quartzous
sand beneath.

The big laurel claims a place among the largest trees of the
United States. It sometimes, though rarely, reaches 90 feet in
height, and two or three feet in diameter ; but its ordinary
stature is from 60 to TO feet. Its trunk is nearly straight,
covered with a smooth grayish bark, resembling that of the beech,
and its summit nearly in the shape of a regular pyramid. Its
leaves are entire, oval, sometimes acuminate antl at others obtuse
at the summit, six or eight inches long, and borne by short
petioles. They are evergreen, thick, coriaceous, and very-
brilliant on the upper surface. The flowers are white, of an
agreeable odor, and from seven to twelve inches broad. They
are larger than those of any other tree of the American forests, and
on detached trees they are commonly very numerous. Blooming
in the midst of rich foliage, they produce so fine an effect, that
those who have seen the tree on its native soil agree in consider-
ing it as one of the most beautiful productions of the vegetable
kingdom. In Carolina, its flowers put forth in the month of
May, and are succeeded by fleshy, oval cones, about four inches
in length, which are composed of a great number of cells. At
the age of maturity, which is about the first of October, they
open longitudinally, showing two or three seeds of a vivid red.
The seeds soon after quit their cells, and for some days remain
suspended without, each by a white filament attached to the
bottom of the cell. The red, pulpy substance, which surrounds

212 SYLVA AMERICANA.

the stone, decays and leaves it naked. The stone contains a
white milky kernel.

The wood of the big laurel is soft, and remarkable for its
whiteness, which it preserves even after it is seasoned. It is
said to be easily wrought and not liable to warp, but not durable
wThen exposed to the weather : for this reason the boards are
used only in joinery in the interior of buildings. In trees from
fifteen to eighteen inches in diameter, there can be discerned no
mark of distinction between the sap and the heart of this wood,
except a deep, brown point, six or eight lines in diameter, in the
centre of the trunk.

Large-Leaved Umbrella Tree. Magnolia macrophylla.

This Magnolia is the least multiplied of the American species,
and is rarely met with in the forests. On account of the resem-
blance of its leaves to those of the umbrella tree, the two species
have hitherto been confounded by the inhabitants of the districts
in which they grow : we have, therefore given it the specific
name of Large-Leaved Umbrella Tree, which is sufficiently
characterstic. It is found in small quantities on the mountains
of North Carolina. West of the range, in Tennessee, it is more
common, but even here only a few trees are found together, at
intervals of forty or fifty miles. It delights in cool situations
sheltered from the wind, where the soil is deep and fertile.

The large-leaved umbrella tree arrives at the height of 30 or
35 feet, with a diameter of four or five inches. The trunk is
covered with a very smooth white bark, by which in the winter,
when stript of its leaves, it is readily distinguished from the
umbrella tree. At this season it differs also from the umbrella tree
in its buds, which are compressed instead of being rounded at the
end, and which are covered with a soft and silvery down. Of
all this genus, this tree bears the largest leaves : some of them
are 35 inches long and 9 or 10 inches broad. They are borne
on petioles, short in comparison with the size of the leaves, and
are of an oblong shape, pointed at the extremity, and cordiform

DENDROLOGY. 213

at the base : the color is light-green above, and glaucous beneath ;
they fall in the autumn and reappear early in the spring. The
flowers are white, and when full-blown are sometimes eight or
nine inches in diameter : they are composed of six petals longer
and broader than those of the umbrella tree. Within the flower,
near the bottom of the petals, is a purple spot seven or eight
lines in diameter. The flowers diffuse a fragrant odor, and their
beauty is heightened by the luxuriant foliage which surrounds
them. They bloom in June or July, and are succeeded by
cones about four inches long, nearly cylindrical, and of a vivid
rose color when arrived at maturity. In the arrangement of the
cells and of the seeds, they resemble those of the umbrella tree
and of the long-leaved cucumber tree.

The wood of this tree is softer and more porous than that of
the umbrella tree, and is of no value in the arts.

Umbrella Tree. Magnolia tripetala.

The Umbrella Tree is first seen in the southern part of the
state of New York ; but it is more multiplied farther south, and
is common on some of the islands in the river Susquehannah,
and still more so in the Southern and Western States. It is
found in the maritime parts of the Carolinas and of Georgia, and
300 miles from the sea, on that part of the Alleghanies which
traverse these states. The forests which cover the banks of the
river Notahacky, in East Tennessee, may be particularly
mentioned as abounding in the umbrella tree. It appears only
in situations perfectly adapted to its growth, which are always
shady, and where the soil is deep, strong and fertile.

The dimensions of the umbrella tree are such as to form a
connecting link between the large shrubs and trees of the third
order ; for though it sometimes rises to the height of 30 or 35
feet, with a diameter of five or six inches, it rarely attains this
size. Its leaves, which are thin, oval, entire and acuminate at
both extremities, are eighteen or twenty inches long, and seven
or eight inches broad ; they are often disposed in rays at the

214

SYLVA AMERICANA.

extremity of vigorous shoots, and thus display a surface of thirty
inches in diameter : whence is derived the name of Umbrella
Tree. The flowers open in May or June, and are seven or
eight inches in diameter, white, composed of several oblong,
concave petals, and situated at the extremity of the branches ;
they are beautiful, though less regularly shaped and of a less
agreeable odor than those of the other species of magnolia. The
conical fruit is four or five inches long, and about two inches in
diameter ; it ripens about the first of October, and is of a beautiful
rose color, with seeds of a pale red.

The wood of this tree is soft, porous and unfit for use. The
bark on the trunk is gray, smooth and polished : if cut while
green, it exhales a disagreeable odor.

MALUS.

Icosandria Pentagynia. Linn. Rosacea?. Juss. Refrigerant, tonic, astringent.
Crab Apple. Malus coronaria.

plate LV.

Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The fruit.

The Crab Apple is found
on both sides of the moun-
tains, except in the state of
Maine, Vermont and the
upper part of New Hamp-
shire. It appears to be most
multiplied in the Middle
States, and especially in the
back parts of Pennsylvania
and of Virginia. It abounds
above all, in the glades,
which is the name of a tract
of land fifteen or eighteen
miles, on the summit of the
Alleghanies. It grows most
favorably in cool and moist
places, and on fertile soils.

DENDROLOGY. 215

The ordinary height of the crab apple tree is 15 or 18 feet,
with a diameter of 5 or 6 inches ; but it is sometimes found 25
or 30 feet high, and 12 or 15 inches in diameter. The leaves
of this tree are oval, smooth on the upper surface, and when
fully developed, very distinctly toothed : some of them are
imperfectly trilobed. While young they have a bitter and
slightly aromatic taste. Like the common apple tree, this species
blooms very early in the spring. Its flowers are white, mingled
with rose color, and are collected in corymbs; they produce a
beautiful effect, and diffuse a delicious odor, by which, in the
glades where the tree is abundant, the air is perfumed at a great
distance. The apples, which are suspended by short peduncles,
are small, green, intensely acid, and very odoriferous.

The wood of this tree is very compact, fine-grained and when
dry is excellent fuel. Some farmers make cider of the fruit of
this tree, which is said to be of a good quality : it also makes
very fine sweetmeats, by the addition of a large portion of sugar.
Successful experiments have been made of uniting this tree, by
grafting, with the European species ; but the time is so long in
bringing it to as high state of improvement that it cannot be done
to much advantage. Perhaps it might be profitably cultivated
for cider, but, aside from its utility in this way, it must be
regarded only as a tree highly agreeable for the beauty of its
flowers and for the sweetness of its perfume.

216

SYLVA A31ERICANA.

MESPILUS.

Icosandria Pentagynia. Linn. Rosacea?. Juss. Refrigerant, tonic,

astringent.

June Berry. JWespilus arborea.

With the exception of
the maritime parts of the
Carolinas and of Georgia,
this tree is spread over the
whole extent of the United
States and of Canada ; but
it is most multiplied upon
the Alleghany Mountains,
and upon the elevated banks
of the rivers which flow
from them. In the northern
section of the Union, it is
called Wild Pear Tree and

#^~~ Sugar Plum, and in the

Middle States, June Berry.
In the vicinity of New York
and Philadelphia, it appears
to grow in preference in moist and shady situations, and along
the margin of brooks and rivulets. In the Western Country, it
is found in the midst of the forests among other trees.

The greatest height of this tree does not exceed 35 or 40 feet,
with a diameter of ten or twelve inches. Its trunk is covered
with a bark resembling that of the cherry tree. The leaves are
two or three inches long, and alternately arranged. When
beginning to open they are covered with a thick, silvery down,
which disappears with their growth, and leaves them perfectly
smooth on both sides. They are of a lengthened oval shape, of
a delicate texture, and finely denticulated. The flowers, which
are white and pretty large, are disposed in long panicles at the
summit of the branches ; they blow in the beginning of April,
and are succeeded by small fruit of a purplish color and of an

PLATE LVI.
Fie. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The fruit.

DENDROLOGY.

21

P

agreeable, sweet taste. This fruit is ripe in the beginning of
June, before that of any other tree or shrub.

The wood of the June berry is of a pure white, and exhibits
no difference between the heart and the sap ; it is longitudinally
traversed by small, bright, red vessels, which intersect each
other and run together. This wood is applied to no particular
use in the arts.

MORUS.

Monoecia Tetrandria. Linn. Urticeae. Juss. Tonic, anodyne.

Red Mulberry. Mo

rus ru

bra.

The northern extremity
of Lake Champlain and the
banks of the river Connecti-
cut, may be assumed as the
northern limits of this tree.
As a temperate climate is
favorable to its increase, it
is more multiplied farther
south ; but in the Atlantic
States it is proportion ably
less common than many
other trees which still do
not constitute the mass of
the forests. In the lower
part of the Southern States,
it is much less frequently
seen than at a distance from
the sea, where the soil and vegetable productions wear a different
character. It is most abundant in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio,
Kentucky and Tennessee, particularly on the banks of the
Wabash, the Illinois and Missouri, which is attributable to the
superior fertility of the soil.

In situations favorable to the growth of the red mulberry, it
attains the elevation of 60 or 70 feet, with a diameter of two

28

PLATE lvii.
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The fruit.

218 SYLVA AMERICANA.

feet. Its leaves are large, and sometimes entire, and at others
divided into two or three lobes, rounded, cordiform and dentic-
ulated, of a dark green color, a thick texture and a rough,
uneaven surface. The sexes are usually separate, though they
are sometimes found upon the same tree. The male flowers
form pendulous, cylindrical aments, about an inch in length ; the
female blossoms are small and scarcely apparent ; the fruit is of
a deep red color, an oblong form and an agreeable, acidulous,
sugary taste : it is composed by the union of a great number of
small berries, each of which contains a minute seed.

The trunk of the red mulberry is covered with a grayish bark
more furrowed than that of the oaks and the hickories. The
perfect wood is of a yellowish hue, approaching to lemon color.
The concentric circles are distant and distinct ; the wood is,
nevertheless, fine-grained and compact, though lighter than that
of the white oak. It possesses strength and solidity, and, when
perfectly seasoned, it is almost as durable as the locust, to which,
by many persons, it is esteemed perfectly equal. At Philadelphia,
Baltimore and in the more southern ports, as much of it as can
be procured is employed for the upper and lower parts of the
frame of vessels, for the knees, the floor timbers, and, in
preference to every other wood, except locust, for trunnels. In
South Carolina it is selected for the ribs of large boats. For
posts it is almost as durable and as much esteemed .as the locust.
As the leaves of this species are thick, rough and hairy while
young, they are improper for the food of silk worms, which feed
with advantage only on the smooth, thin and tender foliage of
the white and Chinese mulberry.

DENDROLOGY.

•219

NYSS A.

?gamia DitEcia. Linn. San^alacete. Juss. Sudorific, vvreativc,

asir invent.

Tupelo. Nyssa aquatica.

The Tupelo begins lo
appear in the lower part of
New Hampshire, where the
climate is tempered by the
vicinity of the sea, but it is
most abundant in the south-
ern parts of I^ew York, New
Jersey and Pennsylvania.
It is called indiscriminately

an

rce.

S,

our

plate lviii.

Fig. I.j "A leaf. Fig. 2. The fruit.

Tupelo, Gum

Gum and Pippcridgc. The
first of these denominations
• is the mdst common, the
second is wholly misapplied,
as no self-condensing fluid
distils from the tree, and the
third is used only by the
descendants of the Dutch settlers of New York. The tupelo
grows only in wet grounds on the borders of swamps and on the
banks of rivulets and other waters.

This tree seldom rises above 40 or 45 feet in height, with a
diameter of 15 or 20 inches. Its limbs, which spring five or six
feet from the ground, affect a horizontal direction : the shoots of
the two preceding years are commonly simple, and widely
divergent from the branches. The trunk is of an uniform size
from its base : while it is less than ten inches in diameter the
bark is not remarkable, but on full-grown and vigorous stocks it
is thick, deeply furrowed, and, unlike the bark of any other tree,
divided into lioxigons, which are sometimes very regular. The
leaves are three inches long, oboval, smooth, slightly glaucous

220 SYL.VA AMERICANA.

beneath, alternate, and often united in bunches at the extremity
of the young lateral shoots. The flowers are small, scarcely
apparent, collected in bunches and supported by petioles one or
two inches in length. They open in April or May. The fruit
which is always abundant, is of a deep blue color, about the size
of a pea, and attached in pairs. It is ripe in October, and
persisting after the fall of the leaves, it serves for a part of the
food of the red breasts in their autumnal migration to the south.
The stone is compressed on one side, a little convex on the
other, and longitudinally situated.

The tupelo holds a middle place between trees with soft and
those with hard wood. When perfectly seasoned the sap is of a
slight reddish tint, and the heart of a deep brown. Of trees
exceeding fifteen inches in diameter, more than half the trunk is
hollow. The ligneous fibres which compose the body of trees
in general are closely united, and usually ascend in a perpendic-
ular direction. But the genus, which we are now considering,
exhibits, on the contrary, a constant peculiarity of organization ;
the fibres are united in bundles, and are interwoven like a braided
cord ; hence the wood is ex"tremely difficult to split, unless cut
into short billets. This property gives it a decided superiority
for certain uses ; in New York, New Jersey and particularly at
Philadelphia, it is exclusively employed for the naves of wheels
destined for heavy burthens. Wooden bowls are made of it
which are heavier than those of poplar, but less liable to split.
As a combustible it is esteemed for consuming slowly and
diffusing a great heat.

Sour Tupelo. JYyssa capitata.

The Sour Tupelo first makes its appearance on the river
Ogeechee, near the road from Savannah to Sudbury, and in going
southward it is seen in every favorable situation. It is said that
it exists in Lower Louisiana, which is probable from the analogy
in soil and climate between the ancient Southern States and the
country watered by the lower part of the Mississippi. In Georgia

DENDROLOGY. 221

this tree is known by the name of Sour Tupelo and Wild Lime,
the first of which we have preferred, though the last is more
common, because this vegetable bears no resemblance to the
lime tree in the form of its leaves or flowers.

This tree rarely exceeds 30 feet in height and a diameter of
seven or eight inches. The leaves are five or six inches long,
oval, rarely denticulated, of a light green above and glaucous
beneath. The flowers are similar to those of the large tupelo,
but the sexes are borne by separate stocks, and what is peculiarly
remarkable, the male and female trees are easily distinguished
by their general appearance when the leaves are fallen. The
branches of the male are more compressed about the trunk, and
rise in a direction more nearly perpendicular ; those of the female
diffuse themselves horizontally and form a larger and rounder
summit. The flowers open in April or May. The fruit is
supported by long petioles, and is from fifteen to eighteen lines
in length, of a light red color and of an oval shape. It is thick-
skinned, intensely acid, and contains, like that of the large tupelo,
a large oblong stone deeply channelled on both sides. An
agreeable acidulous beverage might be made of it ; but the lime
tree which is found in the same country, is superior in the size
and abundance of its fruit, and has, besides, the advantage of
flourishing on barren, sunbeaten land.

The wood of this tree is soft and unfit for any particular use
in the arts.

222

SYLVA AMERICANA,

PLATE LIX.
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The fruit.

Large Tupelo. JYyssa grandidentata.

This tree is the most
remarkable of its genus for
height and diameter. It is
a stranger to the Northern
and Middle States, and is
found only in the lower
part of the Carolinas, of
Georgia and of East Florida,
where it is designated by
the name of Large Tupelo.
It is said to abound also in
Lower Louisiana on the
banks of the Mississippi,
where it is called Wild Olive.
In fine, it exists in all parts
of the United States which
produce the long-leaved pine.
It grows most luxuriantly on the banks of rivers that are frequently
inundated, and in swamps where the soil is deep and fertile.

The large tupelo, in favorable situations attains the elevation
of 70 or SO feet, with a diameter of 15 or 20 inches immediately
above its conical base and six or seven feet from the ground.
This size continues uniform to the height of 25 or 30 feet : at
the surface the trunk is eight or nine feet thick, which is a greater
disproportion than is. observed in the other species. The leaves
are commonly five or six inches long and two or three inches
broad : on young and thriving stocks they are of twice these
dimensions. They are of an oval shape, and are garnished with
two or three large teeth irregularly placed, and not opposite,
like those of other leaves. At their unfolding in the spring they
are downy, but they become smooth on both sides as they
expand. The flowers are disposed in bunches, are of a greenish
color and open in April or May. They are succeeded by a fruit
of considerable size and of a deep blue complexion, of which the
stone is depressed and very distinctly striated.

DENDROLOGY.

223

The wood of the large tupelo is extremely light and softer
than that of any other tree of the United States. In the
arrangement of its fibres it resembles the other species of the
genus. The only use to which it is applied is for bowls and
trays, for which it is well adapted, as it is wrought with great
facility. Its roots, also, are tender and light, and are sometimes
employed by fishermen to buoy up their nets. Bruised in water
its fruit yields a fine purple juice whose color is tenacious ; but
the quantity is too minute to afford resources in dyeing.

Black Gum. JYyssa sylvatica.

On the banks of the
Schuylkill and in the vicinity
of Philadelphia may be as-
sumed as the northern boun-
dary of this tree ; though it
is common in the woods on
the road from Philadelphia
to Baltimore. In all ■ the
more southern states, both
east and west of the Alle-
ghanies, it is more or less
multiplied, as the soil is
more or less favorable to its
growth. It is designated by
the name of Black Gum,
Yellow Gum and Sour Gum,
none of which is founded
upon any of its characteristic properties ; but as they have become
sanctioned by use, however ill-chosen, we have adopted the first,
which is the most common. The vegetation of this tree exhibits
a remarkable singularity : in Maryland, Virginia and the Western
States, where it grows on high level grounds, with the oaks and
walnuts, it is distinguished by no peculiarity of form : in the
lower part of the Carolinas and of Georgia, where it is found
only in wet places with the small magnolia, the red bay, the

PLATE LX.
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fi<*. 2. The fruit.

224 SYLVA AMERICANA.

loblolly bay and the water oak, it has a pyramidical base
resembling a sugar loaf. A trunk 18 or 20 feet high and seven
or eight inches in diameter at the surface, is only two or three
inches thick a foot from the ground ; these proportions, however,
vary in different individuals.

The black gum is much superior in size to the tupelo, being
frequently 60 or 70 feet in height and 18 or 20 inches in
diameter. The bark of the trunk is whitish and similar to that
of the white oak. The leaves are five or six inches long,
alternate, entire, of an elongated, oval form, and borne by short
and downy petioles. The flowers open in April or May, are
small, not conspicuous, and collected in bunches. The fruit is
of a deep blue color, and of a lengthened oval shape, and contains
a slightly convex stone, longitudinally striated on both sides.

The wood of this tree is fine-grained but tender, and its fibres
are interwoven and collected in bundles, an arrangement
characteristic of the genus. The alburnum of stocks growing
upon dry and elevated lands is yellow. Throughout the greater
part of Virginia this wood is employed for the naves of coach
and waggon wheels : at Richmond, Baltimore, Philadelphia, etc.
it is preferred for hatters' blocks, as being less liable to split : in
the Southern States it is used in the rice mills for the cylinder
which receives the cogs : it is also chosen by shipwrights for the
cap, or the piece which receives the topmast.

DENDROLOGY.

225

OLE A.

Diandria Monogynia. Linn. Jasmineae. Juss. Tonic, scccrnant, stimulant.

Devil Wood. Olea amcricana.

This tree belongs exclu-
sively to the Southern States,
the Floridas and Lower
Louisiana; towards the north
it is not found beyond Nor-
folk in Virginia, and, like
the live oak and the cabbage
tree, is confined to the sea
shore, being rarely found
even at a small distance
within the country. Xx. grows
in soils and exposures ex-
tremely different : on the
sea shore k springs with the
live oak in the most barren
and sultry spots, and in other
places it is seen with the big
laurel, the umbrella tree, the sweet gum, etc., in cool, fertile and
shaded situations.

This tree, or to speak more accurately, this large shrub, is
sometimes 30 or 35 feet high, and 10 or 12 inches in diameter :
but this size is extraordinary ; it commonly fructifies at the height
of 8, 10 or 12 feet. The bark which covers the trunk is smooth
and grayish. The leaves are four or five inches long, opposite
and lanceolate, entire at the edge, smooth and brilliant on the
upper surface, and of an agreeable light green. They are
evergreen, or at least are partially renewed once in four or
five years. The fertile and barren flowers are on separate trees :
they are very small, strongly scented, of a pale yellow, and
axillary, or situated between the petiole and the leaves and
branches. The season of flowering in the neighborhood of
29

PLATE LXI.
Fi". 1. A leaf. Fig. 2.. The fruit.

226 SYLVA AMERICANA.

Charleston, South Carolina, is about the end of April. The
fruit is round, and about twice as large as a common pea. When
ripe, it is of a purple color, approaching to blue, and consists of
a hard stone thinly coated with pulp. As it remains attached to
the branches during a part of the winter* its color forms, at this
season, an agreeable contrast with the foliage.

The wood of this tree has a fine and compact grain, and when
perfectly dry it is excessively hard and very difficult to cut and
split : hence is derived the name of Devil Wood, It is,
notwithstanding, neglected in use. On laying bare the cellular
integument of the bark, its natural yellow hue changes instanta-
neously to a deep red, and the wood by contact with the airr
assumes a rosy complexion.

PAVIA,

m •

Hexandria Monogynia. Linn. Hippocaslanes. Juss. Astringent*
Large Buckeye. Pavia lutea.

The Yellow Pavia, or Large Buckeye is first observed on the
Alleghany Mountains in Virginia near the 39th degree of latitude;,
it becomes more frequent by following the chain towards the
south-west, and is most profusely multiplied in the mountainous
districts of the Carolinas and of Georgia. It abounds also upon
the rivers that rise beyond the mountains and flow through the
western parts of Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee to meet the
Ohio. It is much less common along the streams which have
their source east of the Alleghanies, and which, after watering
the Carolinas and Georgia, discharge themselves into the Ocean.
This species may be considered then as a stranger to the Atlantic
States, with the exception of a tract thirty or forty miles wide in
the Southern States, as it were beneath the shadow of the moun-
tains. It is here called Big Buckeye, to distinguish it from the
Pavia rubra, which does not exceed eight or ten feet in height,
and which is called Small Buckeye. The situations most favorable
to the growth of this tree are the declivities of mountains where
the soil is generally loose, deep and fertile,

DENDROLOGY. 227

The large buckeye attains the height of 60 or 70 feet, with a
diameter of three or four feet. The leaves are united to the
number of five, at the end of a common petiole of considerable
length. They are lanceolate, pointed at the summit, serrate and
slightly furrowed. The flowers, of a light, agreeable yellow, are
upright and disposed in bunches at the end of the shoots of the
same season. They open in June. The numerous bunches of
flowers contrasted with the fine foliage, lend a highly ornamental
appearance to the tree. The fruit is contained in a fleshy, oval
capsule, which is often gibbous, and whose surface, unlike that
of the horse chesnut of Asia and of the American horse chesnut,
is smooth. Each capsule contains two seeds, or nuts, of an
equal size, flat upon one side and convex on the other. They
are larger and lighter colored than those of the common horse
chesnut, and, like them are not eatable.

The wood of this tree, from its softness and want of durability,
can subserve to no useful purpose.

Ohio Buckeye or
American Horse Chesnut. Pavia ohioensis.

This species of Horse Chesnut is unknown in the Atlantic
parts of the United States. It is found only beyond the mountains,
and particularly on the banks of the Ohio, where it is very
common. It is called Buckeye by the inhabitants, but as this
name has been given to the Pavia lutea, we have denominated
it Ohio Buckeye, because it is most abundant on the banks of
this river, and have prefixed the synonyme of American Horse
Chesnut, because it is proved to be a proper horse chesnut by
its fruit, which is prickly like that of the Asiatic species, instead
of being smooth like that of the Pavice.

The ordinary stature of this tree is 10 or 12 feet, but it
sometimes equals 30 or 35 feet in height, and 12 or 15 inches
in diameter. The leaves are palmated, and consist of five
leaflets parting from a common centre, unequal in size, oval-
acuminate, and irregularly toothed. The entire length of the
leaf is nine or ten inches, and its breadth six or eight inches.
The bloom of this tree is brilliant : its flowers appear early

228

SYLVA AMERICANA.

in the spring, and are collected in numerous white bunches. The
fruit is of the same color with that of the common horse chesnut
and of the large buckeye, and of about half the size : it is
contained in fleshy, prickly capsules, and is ripe in the beginning
of autumn.

On the trunk of the largest trees the bark is blackish, and the
cellular integument is impregnated with a venomous and disa-
greeable odor. The wood is white, soft, and wholly useless.

PJNCKNEYA.

Pentandiia Monorrynia. Linn. Rubiacoe. Juss. Weak tome, aperient.

Georgia Bark. Pinckneya pubens.

This tree, still more inter-
esting by the properties of
its bark, than by the elegance
of its flowers and of its foliage,
is indigenous to the most
southern parts of the United
States. The situation most
favorable to its growth is a
cool, shady exposure with a
rich and fertile soil.

The Georgia bark is a
low tree, dividing itself into
numerous branches, and
rarely exceeding the height
of 25 feet, and a diameter
of five or six inches at the
base. Its leaves are opposite,
four or five inches long, of a light green color, and downy beneath,
as are also the shoots to which they are attached. The flowers
which are white with longitudinal, rose-colored stripes, are pretty
large, and are collected in beautiful panicles at the extremity of
the branches. Each flower is accompanied by a floral leaf,
bordered with rose color near the upper edge. The capsules

plate lxii.

Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. A seed vessel.

DENDROLOGY.

229

are round, compressed in the middle, and stored with a great
number of small winged seeds.

The wood of this tree is soft, and unfit for use in the arts ; but
its inner bark is extremely bitter, and appears to partake of the
febrifuge virtues of the Cinchona, for the inhabitants of the
southern parts of Georgia employ it successfully in the intermitting
fevers, which, during the latter part of summer and the autumn,
prevail in the Southern States. A handful of the bark is boiled
in a quart of water till the liquid is reduced one half and the
infusion is administered to the patient. From the properties of
the bark the Pinckneya has taken the name of Georgia Bark.
This tree so nearly resembles that which produces the Peruvian
vegetable, that some botanists have included them in the same

genus.

PINUS.

Moncecia Monadelphia. Linn. Coniferae. Juss. Expectorant, sccernant,

stimulant.

Long-Leaved Pine. Pinus austrcdis.

Fig. 1. A leaf.

PLATE LX1IL

Fig. 2. A cone. Fig. 3.

A seed.

This invaluable tree is
known both in the countries
which produce it, and in
those to which it is exported,
by different names : in the
first it is called Long-Leaved
Pine, Yellow Pine, Pitch
Pine and Broom Pine ; in
the Northern States, South-
ern Pine and Red Pine;
and in England and the
West Indies, Georgia Pitch
Pine. We have preferred
the first denomination, be-
cause this species has longer
leaves than any other east-
ward of the Mississippi, and

>}

230 SYLVA AMERICANA.

because the names of Yellow Pine . and Pitch Pine, which are
more commonly employed, serve in the Middle States to designate
two species entirely distinct and extensively diffused. Towards
the north this tree first makes its appearance near Norfolk in
Virginia, where the pine-barrens begin. It seems to be especially
assigned to dry, sandy soils, and it is found without interruption
in the lower parts of the .Carolinas,* Georgia and the Floridas,
over a- tract of more than 600 miles long from north-east to
south-west, and more than 100 miles broad from the sea towards
the mountains of the Carolinas and Georgia.

The mean stature of the long-leaved pine, is 60 or 70 feet
with an uniform diameter of 15 or 20 inches for two-thirds of
this height. Some stocks, favored by local circumstances, attain
much larger dimensions, particularly in East Florida. The bark
is somewhat furrowed, and the epidermis detaches itself in thin
transparent sheets. The leaves are about a foot long, of a
beautiful brilliant green, united to the number of three in the
same sheath, and collected in bunches at the extremity of the
branches : they are longer and more numerous on the young
stocks. The buds are very large, white, fringed, and not
resinous. The bloom takes place in April ; the male flowers form
masses of divergent violet-colored aments about two inches long ;
in drying they shed great quantities of • yellowish pollen, which is
diffused by the wind and forms a momentary covering on the
surface of the land and water. The cones are very large, being
seven or eight inches long, and four inches thick when open, and
are armed with small, retorted spines. In the fruitful year they
are ripe about the middle of October, and shed their seeds the
same month. The kernel is of an agreeable taste, and is
contained in a thin, white shell, surmounted by a membrane ; in
every other species of American pine the shell is black.

The wood of this tree contains but little sap ; trees fifteen
inches in diameter three feet from the ground frequently have
ten inches of heart. .Many stocks of this size are felled for
commerce, and none are received for exportation of which the
heart is not ten inches in diameter when squared. The concentric
circles in a trunk fully developed are close and at equal distances,

DENDROLOGY. 231

and the resinous matter, which is abundant, is more uniformly-
distributed than in the other species ; hence the wood is stronger,
more compact and more durable : it is, besides, fine-grained,
and susceptible of a bright polish. These advantages give it a
preference to every other pine ; but its quality is modified by
the nature of the soil in which it grows. In the vicinity of the
sea, where only a thin layer of mould reposes upon the sand, it
is more resinous than where the mould is five or six inches thick ;
the stocks that grow upon the first-mentioned soil are called
Pitch Pine, and the others Yellow Pine, as if they were distinct
species. This wood subserves a great variety of uses in the
Carolinas, Georgia and the Floridas : four-fifths of the houses
arc built of it, except of the roof, which is covered with the
shingles of the cypress ; but in the country the roof is also of
pine, and is renewed after fifteen or eighteen years. A vast
consumption takes place for the inclosure of cultivated fields. In
naval architecture this is the most esteemed of the pines : in the
Southern States, the keel, the beams, the side planks and the
pins by which they are attached to the ribs, are of this tree.
For the deck it is preferred to the true yellow pine. In certain
soils this wood contracts a reddish hue, and it is for that reason
known in the dock yards of the Northern States by the name of
Red Pine. Wood of this tint is considered best, and in the
opinion of some shipwrights it is more durable on the sides of
vessels, and less liable to injury from worms, than the oak. The
value of this tree does not reside exclusively in its wood : it
supplies nearly all the resinous matter used in the United States
in ship building, and a large residue for exportation to the West
Indies and Europe.

The resinous product of the pine is of six sorts, namely, turpen-
tine, scrapings, spirit of turpentine, rosin, tar and pitch* The last
two are delivered in their natural state ; the others are modified
by the agency of fire in certain modes of preparation. More
particularly, turpentine is the sap of the tree obtained by making
incisions in its trunk. It begins to distil about the middle of
March, when the circulation commences, and flows with increasing
abundance as the weather becomes warmer, so that July and

232 SYLVA AMERICANA.

August are the most productive months. When the circulation

is abated by the chills of autumn, the operation is discontinued,

and the remainder of the year is occupied in preparatory labors

for the following season, which consist, first, in making the boxes.

This is done in January and February : in the base of each tree,

about three or four inches from the ground, and of preference on

the south side, a cavity is formed, commonly of the capacity of

three pints, but proportioned to the size of the trunk, of which it

should occupy one fourth of the diameter ; on stocks of more

than six feet in circumference, two, and sometimes four, boxes

are made on opposite sides. Next comes the raking, or the

clearing the. ground at the foot of the trees from leaves and

herbage, by which means they are secured from the fires that

are often kindled in the woods by the carelessness of travellers

and waggoners. If the flames gain the boxes already impregnated

with turpentine, they are rendered useless, and others must be

made. Notching is merely making at the sides of the box two

oblique gutters, about three inches long, to conduct into it the

sap that exudes from the -edges of the wound. In the interval

of a fortnight, which is employed in this operation, the first boxes

become filled with sap. A wooden shovel is used to transfer it

to pails, which in turn are emptied into casks at convenient

distances. To increase the product, the upper edge of the box

is chipped once a week, the bark and a portion of the alburnum

being removed to the depth of four concentric circles. The

turpentine thus procured is the best, and is called pure dipping.

The chippirigs extend the first year a foot above the box, and as

the distance increases, the operation is more frequently repeated,

to remove the sap coagulated on the surface of the wound. The

closing of the pores, occasioned by continued rains, exacts the

same remedy ; and it is remarked that the produce is less

abundant in moist and cool seasons. After five or six years the

tree is abandoned ; the upper edge of the wound becomes

cicatrized, but the bark is never restored sufficiently for the

renewal of the process. The scraping is a coating of sap which

becomes solid before it reaches the boxes, and which is taken off

in the fall and added to the last runnings. Large quantities of

DENDROLOGY. 233

spirits of turpentine are made in North Carolina : it is obtained
by distilling the turpentine in large copper retorts, which are of
an imperfect shape, being so narrow at the mouth as to retard
the operation. Six barrels of turpentine are said to afford thirty
gallons of the spirit. All the tar of the Southern States is made
from dead wood of the long-leaved pine, consisting of trees
prostrated by time or by the fire, of the summits of those that
are felled for timber, and of limbs broken off by the ice which
sometimes overloads the leaves. It is worthy of remark that the
branches of resinous trees consist almost wholly of wood, of
which the organization is even more perfect than in the body of
the tree. As soon as vegetation ceases in any part of the tree,
its consistence speedily changes ; the sap decays and the heart,
already impregnated with resinous juice, becomes surcharged to
such a degree as to double its weight in a year : the accumulation
is said to be much greater after four or five years. To procure
the tar, a kiln is formed in a part of the forest abounding in dead
wood : this is first collected, deprived of the sap, and cut into
billets two or three feet long and about three inches thick. The
next step is to prepare a place for piling it : for this purpose a
circular mound is raised, slightly declining from the circumference
to the centre, and surrounded with a shallow ditch. The
diameter of the pile is proportioned to the quantity of wood
which it is to receive : to obtain one hundred barrels of tar, it
should be eighteen or twenty feet wide. In the middle is a hole
with a conduit leading to the ditch, in which is formed a
receptacle for the resin as it flows out. Upon the surface of the
mound, beaten hard and coated with clay, the wood is laid
round in a circle like rays. The pile, when finished, may be
compared to a cone truncated at two-thirds of its height and
reversed, being twenty feet in diameter below, twenty-five or
thirty feet above, and ten or twelve feet high. It is then strewed
with pine leaves, covered with earth, and contained at the sides
with a slight cincture of wood. This covering is necessary in
order that the fire kindled at the top may penetrate to the
bottom with a slow and gradual combustion : if the whole mass
was rapidly inflamed, the operation would fail and the labor in

30

234 SYLVA AMERICANA.

part be lost : in fine, nearly the same precautions are exacted in
the process as are observed in making charcoal. A kiln which is
to afford one hundred or one hundred and thirty barrels of tar,
is eight or nine days in burning. As the tar flows off into the
ditch, it is emptied into casks of thirty gallons, which are made
of the same species of wood. Pitch is tar reduced by evaporation :
it should not be diminished beyond half its bulk to be of a good
quality.

New Jersey Pine. Pinus inops.

The Jersey Pine has probably been so named from its
abounding in the lower part of New Jersey, where the soil is
meagre and sandy, and where it is often accompanied by the
yellow pine. It is not, however, confined to this state, but it
grows in Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky and Pennsylvania. In
the last-mentioned state it is called Scrub Pine, and is seen
wherever the soil is composed of argillaceous schistus, and is
consequently poor. This tree is not found north of the river
Hudson, nor in the Carolinas and Georgia.

The Jersey pine is sometimes 30 or 40 feet high and 12 or
15 inches in diameter, but it rarely attains these dimensions.
The trunk, which is clad in a blackish bark, tapers sensibly from
the base to the summit, and half its length is occupied by limbs
remote from each other. The leaves are united in pairs and are
of a dark green, one or two inches long, flat on the inner face,
stiff and scattered over the young branches, which are very
flexible and smooth, while those of the other species are scaly.
The wood of the annual shoots is observed to be of a violet tint,
which is a character peculiar to this species and the yellow pine.
The cones are about two inches long and an inch in diameter at
the base : they are attached by short, thick peduncles, and are
armed with long, firm spines, pointed and bent backwards ; they
are usually single and directed towards the earth. The seeds
are shed the first year of their maturity.

The size of this tree forbids the useful employment of its
wood, not to mention the disadvantage under which it exists of

DENDROLOGY.

235

containing a large proportion of sap. In Kentucky a small
quantity of tar is obtained from the heart and is consumed in the
vicinity, Next to gray pine, this is the most uninteresting species
of the United States.

Yellow Pine. Pinus mitis.

This tree is widely dif-
fused in North America, and
is known in different places
by different names : in the
Middle States, where it is
abundant and in common
use, it is called Yellow Pine,
in the Carolinas and Georgia,
Spruce Pine, and more fre-
quently Short-Leaved Pine.
Towards the north, this
species is not found beyond
certain districts of Connec-
ticut, Massachusetts and
New Hampshire. It is
plate lxiv. multiplied in the lower part

Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. A cone. Fig. 3. A seed. r AT T i .*ii

oi New Jersey, and still
more so on the eastern shore of Maryland and in the lower parts
of Virginia, where it is seen only upon arid soils. It is also met
with in New York, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, the Carolinas,
Georgia, East Tennessee, the Floridas and probably in Louisiana.
In these regions it generally grows on spots consisting of beds of
clay mingled with gravel.

In New Jersey and in Maryland this tree is 50 or 60 feet
high, and is commonly of an uniform diameter of 15 or 18
inches for two-thirds of this distance ; in Virginia and the upper
part of the Carolinas there are stocks of nearly the same height
and of twice this diameter. The leaves are four or five inches
long, fine, flexible, hollowed on the inner face, of a dark green,
and united in pairs ; sometimes, from luxuriancy of vegetation,

236 SYLVA AMERICANA.

three"are found together on the shoots of the same season, but
never upon the older branches. The cones are oval, armed
with fine spines, and smaller than those of any other American
pine, since they scarcely exceed an inch and a half in length
upon old trees. The seeds are cast the first year.

The concentric circles of the wood are six times as numerous
in a given space as those of the pitch and loblolly pines. In
trunks fifteen or eighteen inches in diameter, there are only two
inches, or two and a half, of sap, and still less in such as exceed
this size. The heart is fine-grained and moderately resinous,
which renders it compact without great weight. Long experience
has proved its excellence and durability. It is employed for
floors of houses, for the casings of doors and wainscots and for
window sashes. Immense quantities are used in the dockyards
of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, etc., for the decks, masts,
yards, beams and cabins of vessels, and it is considered as next
in durability to the long-leaved pine. The wood from New
Jersey and Maryland is fine-grained, more compact, and stronger
than that from the river Delaware, which grows upon richer lands.

Table Mountain Pine. Pinus pungens.

Table Mountain, in North Carolina, one of the highest
points of the Alleghanies, at the distance of nearly 300 miles
from the sea, has given its name to this species of pine, which
covers it almost exclusively, though it is rare on the neighboring
summits. Nor is it found in any other part of the United States.

The Table Mountain pine is 40 or 50 feet in height with a
proportional diameter. The buds are resinous, and the leaves,
which grow in pairs, are thick, stiff and about two inches and a
half in length. The cones are about three inches long and two
inches in diameter at the base, of a regular form and a light
yellow color : they are sessile, and often united to the number
of four. Each scale is armed with a strong, ligneous spine, two
lines in length, widened at the base, and bent towards the summit
of the cone.

DENDROLOGY.

237

This tree divides itself into numerous ramifications. It is
appropriated to no particular use, but in the mountains of North
Carolina its turpentine is preferred to every other as a dressing
for wounds.

Pitch Pine. Pinus rigida.

This species is known in
all the United States by the
name of Pitch Pine, and
sometimes in Virginia by
that of Black Pine. Except
the maritime parts of the
Atlantic States, and the fertile
regions west of the Allegha-
ny Mountains, it is found
throughout the United States,
but most abundantly upon
the Atlantic coast, where
the soil is diversified but gen-
erally meagre. In Maine,
New Hampshire and Ver-
mont it grows almost exclu-
sively in light, even, pliable,
sandy soils.
In the lower part of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland,
it is frequently seen in the large swamps filled with the red cedar,
which are constantly miry or covered with water. In such
situations it is 70 or 80 feet high and from 20 to 28 inches in
diameter, and exceeds the surrounding trees both in bulk and
elevation. In Pennsylvania and Virginia, on the Alleghanies, it
grows to the height of 35 or 40 feet with a diameter of 12 or 15
inches. And in Maine and Vermont, it seldom grows more than
20 or 25 feet in height, and its slender branches, laden with
puny cones, evince the feebleness of its vegetation. The buds
of this tree are always resinous, and its triple leaves vary in
length from an inch and a half to seven inches, according to the de-

Fig. 1. A leaf.

PLATE LXV.
Fig. 2. A seed.

Fig. 3. A cone.

■

/

238 SYLVA AMERICANA.

gree of moisture of the soil. The aments are an inch long, straight
and winged like those of the pond pine. The size of the cones
depend upon the nature of the soil, and varies from less than an
inch to more than three inches in length ; they are of a pyramidal
shape, and each scale is pointed with an acute spine about two
inches long. Wherever these trees grow in masses the cones
are dispersed singly over the branches, and they release the
seeds the first autumn after their maturity ; but on solitary stocks,
exposed to the buffeting of the winds, the cones are collected in
groups of four, five or even a larger number, and remain closed
for several years.

The pitch pine has a thick, blackish, deeply-furrowed bark.
It is remarkable for the number of its branches, which occupy
two-thirds of its trunk and render the wood extremely knotty.
The concentric circles are widely distant, and three fourths of
the larger stocks consist of sap. On mountains and gravelly
lands, the wood is compact, heavy and surcharged with resin,
whence is derived the name Pitch Pine : in swamps, on the
contrary, it is light, soft, and composed almost wholly of sap ; it
is then called Sap Pine. These essential defects place it below
the yellow pine, but as that species is constantly diminishing by
the vast consumption in civil and naval architecture, it is partially
replaced by the pitch pine, the poorer variety of which is used
for the boxes employed in packing certain sorts of merchandize,
such as soap, candles, etc. On some parts of the Alleghanies,
houses are built of it, and the wood if not covered with paint, is
recognized by its numerous knots. It is thought better than the
yellow pine for floors that are frequently washed, as the resin
with which it is impregnated renders it firmer and more durable.
It serves perfectly well for ship pumps, for which purpose trees
with very little heart are preferred. It is much esteemed for
fuel by bakers and brick makers. From the most resinous stocks
is procured the lamp black of commerce.

DENDROLOGY.

239

Red or Norway Pine. Pinus rubra.

Fig. 1

A leaf.

PLATE LXVI.
Fig. 2. A cone.

Fig. 3. A seed.

This tree is called by the
French inhabitants of Can-
ada Pin rouge, red pine,
and the name has been
preserved in the United
States. In the Northern
States it is called Norway
Pine, though differing totally
from that tree, which is a
species of spruce. The
first of these denominations
should be adopted by the
Americans, especially as it
is founded on a distinguish-
ing character of the species,
which will be hereafter
noticed. The most north-
ern points at which this vegetable grows, is near Lake St. John
in Canada in the 4Sth degree of latitude. Towards the south it
is not seen beyond Pennsylvania, in latitude 41° 30' ; and it is
rare in all the country south of the river Hudson. It is found in
Nova Scotia, where it bears the same name as in Canada, and
also that of Yellow Pine. It is said likewise to exist beyond
Lake Superior. Like most species of this genus, it grows in
dry and sandy soils.

When the luxuriance of this tree is not checked, it attains the
height of 70 or 80 feet with a diameter of two feet. It is chiefly
remarkable for the uniform size of its trunk for two-thirds of its
length. The bark upon the body of the tree is of a clearer red
than upon that of any other species in the United States ; hence
is derived its popular name, Red Pine. The leaves are of a
dark green, five or six inches long, united in pairs and collected
in bunches like those of the long-leaved pine, instead of being
dispersed like those of the Jersey pine. The female flowers are

240 SYLVA AMERICANA.

bluish during the first months after their appearance, and the
cones, which are destitute of thorns and which shed their seeds
the first year, are about two inches long, rounded at the base
and abruptly pointed.

The concentric circles are crowded in the red pine, and the
wood, when wrought, exhibits a fine, compact grain. It is
rendered heavy by the resinous matter with which it is impreg-
nated, and in Canada, Nova Scotia and the state of Maine, it is
highly esteemed for strength and durability, and is frequently
employed in naval architecture, especially for the deck of vessels,
for which it furnishes planks forty feet long without knots. Stript
of the sap it makes very lasting pumps.

Gray Pine. Pinus rupestris.

This species is found farther northward than any other
American pine. In Nova Scotia and the state of Maine, where
it is rare, it is called Scrub Pine, and in Canada, Gray Pine.

In the vicinity of Hudson's Bay and a few degrees farther
south this tree disappears almost entirely. Here and there, in
the intervals of the rocks, are seen a few individuals of this
species of pine, which fructify and even exhibit the appearances
of decrepitude at the height of three feet. One hundred and
fifty miles farther south its vegetation is more vigorous, but it is
still not more than eight or ten feet high, and in Nova Scotia,
where it is confined to the summit of the rocks, it rarely exceeds
this stature. The leaves of this tree are united in pairs in the
same sheath, but they are disseminated over the branches instead
of being collected at the extremity, and are about an inch long,
flat on the interior and rounded on the exterior face. The cones
are commonly in pairs and are of a gray or ashy color, which has
probably lent its name to the tree ; they are about two inches
long, and have the peculiarity of always pointing in the same
direction with the branches : they are besides remakable for
naturally assuming an arching shape, which gives them the
appearance of small horns. They are extremely hard, and do

DENDROLOGY. 241

not open to release the seeds before the second year. The
Canadians find a speedy cure for obstinate colds in a diet drink
made by boiling these cones in water. The wood of this tree is
not used in any respect in the arts.

Pond Pine. Pinus serotina.

The Pond Pine frequently recurs in the maritime parts of the
Southern States, but it is lost as it were among the long-leaved
pines which cover these regions. It receives its specific name
on account of its growing principally on the borders of ponds,
and in swamps where the soil is black and miry. It sometimes
grows in abandoned fields on the borders of swamps in dry,
sandy soils.

The ordinary size of this tree is 35 or 40 feet with a diameter
of 15 or 18 inches. The leaves, united to the number of three,
are five or six inches in length and a little more upon young
stocks. The aments are straight, and six or eight lines long ;
the cones are commonly opposite and in pairs two inches and a
half in length, five inches and a half in circumference, and in
form like an egg ; their scales are rounded at the extremity, and
armed with fine, short spines which are easily broken off, so that
in some instances no vestige is left of their existence. The cones
arrive at maturity the second year, but do not release their seeds
before the third or fourth.

This tree is remarkable for the remoteness of its branches,
which begin to spring upon the lower half of the stock ; and
more than half of the largest trunk consists of sap ; for these
reasons the species is useless in the arts.

..I

242

SYLVA AMERICANA.

White Pine. Pinns strobus.

PLATE LXVil.

Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. A cone.

Fi<

A seed.

This species, one of the
most interesting of the Amer-
ican pines, is known in
Canada and the United
States by the name of White
Pine, from the perfect white-
ness of its wood when freslily
exposed, and in New Hamp-
shire and Maine by the
secondary denominations of
Pumpkin Pine, Apple Pine
and Sapling Pine, which are
derived from certain acci-
dental peculiarities. This
tree is diffused, though not
uniformly, over a vast extent
of country; it is incapable
of supporting intense cold, and still less extreme heat. It is first
observed in the north about 40 leagues from the mouth of the
river Mistassin, which discharges itself into Lake St. John in
Canada, in the latitude of 48° 50'. It appears to be most
abundant between the 43d and 47th degrees of latitude ; farther
south it is found in the valleys and on the declivities of the
Alleghanies to their termination, but at a distance from the
mountains on either side its growth is forbidden by the warmth
of the climate. It is said with great probability to be multiplied
near the source of the Mississippi which is in the same latitude
with the state of Maine, the upper part of New Hampshire,
Vermont, and the commencement of the St. Lawrence, where
it attains its greatest dimensions. In these countries it is seen in
very different situations, and it seems to accommodate itself to
all varieties of soil except such as consist wholly of sand, and
such are almost wholly submerged. The largest stocks are
found in the bottom of soft, pliable and fertile valleys, on the

DENDROLOGY. 243

banks of rivers composed of deep, cool, black sand, and in
swamps covered with a thick and constantly humid carpet of
sphagnum.

Near Norridgewock on the river Kennebeck, in one of the
swamps, which is accessible only in midsummer, M. Michaux
measured two trunks felled for canoes, of which one was 154
feet long and 54 inches in diameter, and the other 142 feet long
and 44 inches in diameter, at three feet from the ground.
Mention is made in Belknap's History of New Hampshire of a
white pine felled near the river Merimack, 7 feet 8 inches in
diameter. M. Michaux likewise measured a stump near
Hallowell, Maine, exceeding 6 feet in diameter : these enormous
trees had probably reached the greatest height attained by the
species, which is about 180 feet. But this ancient and majestic
inhabitant of the North American forests is still the loftiest and
most valuable of their productions, and its summit is seen at an
immense distance aspiring towards heaven, far above the heads
of the surrounding trees. The trunk is simple for two-thirds or
three-fourths of its height, and the limbs are short and verticillate,
or disposed in stages one above another to the top of the tree,
which is formed of three or four upright branches seemingly
detached and unsupported. In forests composed of other trees,
where the soil is strong and proper for the culture of corn, as for
example on the shores of Lake Champlain, it is arrested at a
lower height and diffused into a spacious summit ; but it is still
taller and more vigorous than the neighboring trees. On young
stocks not exceeding 40 feet in height the bark of the trunk and
branches is smooth and even polished ; as the tree advances in
age it splits and becomes rugged and gray, but does not fall off
in scales like that of the other pines. The white pine is also
distinguished by the sensible diminution of its trunk from the base
to the summit, in consequence of which it is more difficult to
procure sticks of great length and uniform diameter : this
disadvantage, however, is compensated by its bulk and by the
small proportion of alburnum. The leaves are five-fold, four
inches long, numerous, slender, and of a bluish green : to the
lightness and delicacy of the foliage is owing the elegant appear-

244 SYLVA AMERICANA.

ance of the young trees. The male aments are four or five lines
lon°-, united to the number of five or six, and arranged like those
of the loblolly and long-leaved pines : they bloom in the month
of May, and turn reddish before they are cast. The cones
are four or five inches long, ten lines in diameter in the middle,
pedunculated, pendulous, somewhat arched, and composed of
thin, smooth scales, rounded at the base. They open about the
first of October to release their seeds, of which a part are left
adhering to the turpentine that exudes from the scales.

The wood of this species is employed in greater quantities and
far more diversified uses than that of any other American pine ;
yet it is not without essential defects ; it has little strength, gives
a feeble hold to nails and sometimes swells by the humidity of
the atmosphere. These properties are compensated however by
others which give it a decided superiority ; it is soft, light, free
of knots and easily wrought, is more durable, and less liable
to split when exposed to the sun, furnishes boards of a great
width, and timber of large dimensions, in fine, it is still abundant
and cheap. It is observed that the influence of soil is greater
upon resinous than upon leafy trees. The qualities of the white
pine, in particular, are strikingly affected by it. In loose, deep,
humid soils, it unites in the highest degree all the valuable
properties by which it is characterized, especially lightness and
firmness of texture, so that it may be smoothly cut in every
direction \ hence the name Pumpkin Pine. On dry, elevated
lands, its wood is firmer and more resinous, with a coarser grain
and more distant concentric circles, and it is then called Sapling
Pine. The wood of this tree is used for every species of
ornamental work about building, for clap boards, and shingles,
for looking glass and picture frames, for images in sculpture, the
inside of mahogany furniture and of trunks, in cooperage and an
endless variety of other purposes. It serves exclusively for the
masts of the numerous vessels constructed in the Northern and
Middle States. The principal superiority of these masts over
those exported to England from Riga is their lightness ; but
they have less strength, and are said to decay more rapidly
between decks and at the point of intersection of the yards : this

DENDROLOGY.

245

renders the long-leaved pine superior to the white pine in the
opinion of the greater part of American ship builders. The
bowsprits and yards are also made of white pine. The wood is
not resinous enough to furnish turpentine for commerce, nor
would the labour of extracting it be easy, since this tree occupies
exclusively tracts of only a few hundred acres, and is usually
mingled in different proportions with the leafy trees.

Loblolly Pine. Pinus tceda.

Throughout the lower
parts of the Southern States
this species is called Loblolly
Pine, and sometimes White
Pine in Virginia. Its most
northern limit is at Freder-
icks burgh, 230 miles south
of Philadelphia. In the
lower part of Virginia and
in the districts of North
Carolina situated north-east
of the river Cape Fear, over
an extent of nearly 200
miles, it grows wherever the
soil is dry and sandy. In
the same parts of Virginia,
it exclusively occupies lands
that have been exhausted by cultivation, and forests of oak
tracts of 100 or 200 acres are not unfrequently seen covered with
thriving young pines. In the more Southern States it is the most
common species after the long-leaved pine, but it grows only in
branch swamps, or long, narrow marshes that intersect the pine-
barrens, and near the creeks and rivers, where the soil is of
middling fertility and susceptible of improvement.

The loblolly pine sometimes exceeds 80 feet in height, with a
diameter of two or three feet with a wide-spreading summit.

Fig. 1.

PLATE LXVIII.
A leaf. Fig. 2. A cone.

Fig. 3. A seed.

246 ♦ SYLVA AMERICANA.

The leaves are fine, of a light green, six inches long, and united
to the number of three and sometimes of four on young and
vigorous stocks. The bloom takes place in the beginning of
April ; the aments are nearly an inch long, and are bent and
intermingled like those of the long-leaved pine. The cones are
about four inches in length, and armed with strong spines ; while
closed they have the form of an elongated pyramid, and when
open of a rhombus more or less perfect : the seeds are cast the
first year.

The wood of this tree has a still greater proportion of sap
than that of the pond and pitch pines : in trunks three feet in
diameter, there are thirty inches of alburnum, and those of a foot
in diameter and thirty or thirty-five feet in height, not more than
an inch of heart. The concentric circles are widely distant, as
might be supposed from the rapidity of its growth in the more
Southern States ; in Virginia, where it vegetates more slowly, its
texture is closer and the proportion of sap less considerable.
This wood is much used for building houses in Virginia. In the
ports of the Southern States it is used, like the pitch pine in
those of the north, for the pumps of ships ; at Charleston the
wharves are built with logs of the loblolly pine, consolidated
with earth ; it is much esteemed by bakers to heat their ovens.
It affords turpentine in abundance, but in a less fluid state than
that of the long-leaved pine ; as it contains more alburnum, from
which the turpentine distils, perhaps by making deeper incisions
it would yield a greater product.

PLANERA.

Tetrandria Tetragynia. Linn. Amentaceae. Juss. Astringent, tonic,

emollient.

Planer Tree. Planer a ulmifolia.

Kentucky, Tennessee, the banks of the Mississippi and the
Southern States are the native places of this tree. It generally
grows on the borders of rivers or in swamps.

DENDROLOGY.

247

The planer tree is of the second order, and is rarely more
than 35 or 40 feet high and 12 or 15 inches in diameter. The
leaves are about an inch and a half long, oval-acuminate,
denticulated, of a lively green color. Its bloom is early and not
conspicuous. Its minute seeds are contained in small, oval,
inflated, uneven capsules.

The wood of this tree is hard, strong, and seemingly proper
for various uses : but it is rare and the wood is neglected.

PLATANUS.

Mon cecia Poly andria. Linn. Amentacese. Juss. Astringent, tonic, emollient.

Buttonwood or Sycamore. Plat anus occidentalis.

Among trees with decid-
uous leaves, none in the
temperate zones, either in
the Old or New Continent,
equal the dimensions of
the planes. The species
which we are about to des-
cribe is not less remarkable
for its amplitude, and for its
magnificent appearance than
the plane of Asia, whose
majestic form and extraor-
dinary size were so much
celebrated by the ancients.
In the Atlantic States this
tree is commonly known by
the name of Buttonwood,
and sometimes in Virginia, by that of Water Beach. On the
banks of the Ohio, and in the state of Kentucky and Tennessee,
it is most frequently called Sycamore, and by some persons
Plane Tree. The French of Canada and of Upper Louisiana
give it the name of Cotton Tree. The first of these denomina-

PLATE LXIX.
Fiz. 1. A loaf. Fig. 2. The fruit.

248 SYLVA AMERICANA.

tions appear to be the most widely diffused, and not to be entirely
unknown in those districts where the others are habitually
employed ; for this reason we have adopted it, though a less
appropriate appellation than that of Plane Tree. The buttonwood
does not grow towards the north-east, beyond Portland in the
state of Maine ; but it is found farther west at the extremity of
Lake Champlain and at Montreal. Proceeding from Boston
and the shores of Lake Champlain towards the west and the
south-west, this tree is continually met with over a vast tract,
comprising the Atlantic and Western States, and extending
beyond the Mississippi. The nature of the buttonwood confines
it to moist and cool grounds, where the soil is loose, deep and
fertile : the luxuriance of its vegetation depends upon the union
of these circumstances. It is never found upon dry lands of an
irregular surface among the white and red oaks and the walnuts :
it is also more rare in all the mountainous tracts of the Alleghanies
than in the flat country. In the swamps of Virginia its growth is
stinted and in general it does not exceed eight or ten inches in
diameter. Farther south, in the lower parts of the Carolinas
and Georgia, it is not abundant even on the sides of the rivers,
and is not seen in the branch swamps. The cause of its not
being found in these small marshes is, perhaps, that the layer of
vegetable mould, which is black and always miry, is not
sufficiently thick and substantial to support its growth, and that
the heat, in this part of the Southern States, is long continued
and excessive. This tree in no part of the United States i&
more abundant and more vigorous than along the rivers of
Pennsylvania and Virginia ; though in the more fertile valleys of
the west, its vegetation is still more luxuriant, especially on the
banks of the Ohio and of the rivers which flow into it. The bottoms
which are watered by these rivers are covered with dark forests,
composed of trees of an extraordinary size. The soil is very
deep, loose, of a brown color and unctuous to the touch : it
appears to have been formed by the slime deposited in the course
of ages, at the annual overflowing of the rivers.

On the margin of the great rivers of the west, the buttonwood
is constantly found to be the loftiest and largest tree of the

DENDROLOGY. 249

United States. Often with a trunk of several feet in diameter,
it begins to ramify at the height of 60 or 70 feet, near the
summit of other trees ; and often the base divides itself into
several trunks equally vigorous and superior in diameter to any
of the surrounding trees. On a little island in the Ohio, fifteen
miles above the mouth of the Muskingum, M. Michaux mentions
a buttonwood which, at five feet from the ground, was 40 feet
and 4 inches in circumference, and consequently more than 13
feet in diameter. He mentions another on the right bank of the
Ohio, thirty-six miles above Marietta, whose base was swollen in
an extraordinary manner ; at four feet from the ground it was 47
feet in circumference. This tree, which still exhibited the
appearance of vigorous vegetation, ramified at 20. feet from the
ground. A buttonwood of equal size is mentioned as existing in
Genessee. The astonishing dimensions of these trees recall the
famous plane tree of Lycia spoken of by Pliny, whose trunk,
hollowed by time, afforded a retreat for the night to the Roman
Consul Licinius Mutianus, with eighteen persons of his retinue.
The interior of this grotto was 75 feet in circumference, and the
summit of the tree resembled a small forest. The most striking
resemblance, in the majesty of their form and in the enormous
size of their trunk, thus appears to exist between the only two
species of plane that have hitherto been discovered. The
American species is generally thought, in Europe, to possess a
richer foliage, and to afford a deeper shade than the Asiatic
plane : its leaves are of a beautiful green, alternate, from five to
fifteen inches broad, less deeply lobed, and formed with more
open angles than those of the plane of the Eastern Continent.
In the spring the lower surface of these leaves is covered with a
thick down, which disappears towards summer. The sexes are
separate, but the male and female flowers are attached to the
peduncle, instead of being placed on different branches. The
flowers are in the form of small balls : the fertile ones grow to
the diameter of an inch, and are supported by peduncles two or
three inches long. These balls fall in the course of the autumn
and winter, and, parting asunder, the seeds which compose them
3*2

250 SYLVA AMERICANA.

are scattered in the wind, by means of the plumy tuft by which
they are surmounted.

The trunk and branches of the buttonwood are covered with a
smooth, pale green bark, of which the epidermis detaches itself
every year in portions : a sufficiently obvious character is thus
afforded, by which to distinguish the tree when depriyed of its
leaves. The roots, when taken from the earth, are of a beautiful
red color ; but they loose this tint upon being split and exposed
to the light in a dry place. The concentric layers, and the
medullary rays are also observed to be much more distinct in
the roots than in the body of the tree. This wood, in seasoning,
becomes of a dull red : its grain is fine and close, and it is
susceptible of a brighter polish than the wood of the beech, to
which it bears some resemblance. Its concentric circles are
divided into numerous sections, by fine, medullary rays extending
from the centre to the circumference. When a trunk is sawn in
a direction parallel to these rays, they appear larger than when
it is cut parallel to the concentric circles. It would seem then
that the division should be made in the intermediate direction, so
that the spots may be of a proper size and at equal distances,
which gives an elegant surface to the wood. Cabinet makers
rarely make use of this wood, on account of its liability to warp,
except for bedsteads, which retain the color of the wood and are
coated with varnish. This wood speedily decays when exposed
to the atmosphere, hence it is only proper for work that is
sheltered from the weather ; when thoroughly seasoned, it may
be usefully employed in the interior of houses for joists, and for
sheathing the frame. It never is used in naval architecture.

DENDROLOGY. 251

POPULUS.

Diaecia Octandria. Linn. Amentaccae. Juss. Astringent, tonic, emollient.

Carolinian Poplar. Populus artgulata.

The lower part of Virginia is the most northern point at which
this species of poplar is found, and here it is less common than
in the Carolinas, in Georgia and in Lower Louisiana. It grows
of preference on the marshy banks of the great rivers which
traverse these states, and is peculiarly abundanfon the Mississippi,
from the ocean to the mouth of the Missouri, and along the
Missouri for 100 miles from the junction of these streams, which,
in following their windings, is a distance of 1500 miles.

Among the numerous species of poplar of the United States,
this is one of the most remarkable for its size, being sometimes
80 feet in height with a proportional, diameter and an expansive
summit garnished with beautiful foliage. The leaves, from the
moment of their unfolding, are smooth and brilliant, but they
differ widely in conformation, at different ages" of the plant; on
sprouts and young stocks they are seven or eight inches long
and as much in breadth in the widest part, heart-shaped
and rounded at the base, with the principal ribs of a reddish
color ; on trees five or six inches in diameter, and thirty or forty
feet in height, they are only one-fourth as large, particularly on
the higher branches, and their base is nearly straight, and at right
angles with a petiole. These leaves are thin, smooth, of a fine
green tint, marked with yellowish nerves and edged with obtuse
teeth, which are fine towards the summit and coarser near the
base. The long petiole compressed in the upper part renders
them easy to be agitated by the wind. On sprouts and young
stocks the annual shoots are very thick, distinctly striated and of
a green complexion spotted with white ; on branches of the
second, third and even to the eighth year, the traces of the
furrows are still observable : they are indicated by prominent,
red lines in the bark terminating at the insertion of young shoots,
which ultimately disappear with the growth of the branches

252 SYLVA AMERICANA.

•

This character also belongs to the cotton tree, but, besides the
difference of their general appearance, the two species are
distinguished by their buds ; those of the Carolinian poplar are
short, of a deep green, and destitute of the resinous, aromatic
substance, which covers those of the cotton wood, and of which
the vestiges remakftill late in the season. The Carolinian poplar
blooms in March or April.

The wood of this tree is white, soft and considered unfit for
use either for fuel or in the arts.

Cotton Tree. Populus argentea.

This species is scattered over a great extent of country,
comprising the Middle, Western and Southern States. But it is
so rare as to escape the notice of their inhabitants, and it has
received a specific name only on the banks of the river Savannah,
in Georgia, where it is called Cotton Wood. The same
denomination is applied also to the Carolinian poplar which -grows
in the same place. In New Jersey, not far from the city of New
York may be considered the most northern point at which this
tree grows. It is also found in Virginia, but less commonly than
on the banks of some of the rivers which traverse the maritime
parts of the more Southern States. It is still more abundant in
the Western Country. Near the junction of the Ohio with the
Mississippi, M. Michaux mentions a swamp six miles in diameter,
which is entirely covered with these trees.

The cotton tree is sometimes 70 or 80 feet in height and 2 or
3 feet in diameter. On trunks of these dimensions the bark is
very thick and deeply furrowed. The young branches and
annual shoots are round, instead of being angular like those of
the Carolinian poplar and of the cotton wood. The leaves while
very young, are covered with a thick, white down, which gradually
disappears, leaving them perfectly smooth above and slightly
downy beneath. They are borne by long petioles, are often six
inches in length and as much in breadth, of a thick texture,
denticulated and heart-shaped, with the lobes of the base lapped

DENDROLOGY.

253

so as to conceal the junction of the petiole. The aments are
drooping and about three inches long as those of the Carolinian
poplar. They put forth in the month of April.

The wood of the cotton tree is soft, light, unfit for use, and
inferior to that of the white, the Virginian and the Lombardy
poplars. The heart is yellowish, inclining to red, and the young
branches are filled with a pith of the same color. It is
appropriated to no particular use in the arts or for fuel.

Cotton Wood. PojjuIus canadensis.

This species, like the
Virginian poplar, has long
been known in Europe. It
was probably introduced into
France from Canada; such
at least is its origin indicated
by the name of Canadian
Poplar. M This tree grows
in the upper part of the state
of New York on the banks
of the river Genessee which
empties into Lake Ontario,
in some parts of Virginia
and on several islands of the
Ohio. It is generally found
on the margin of rivers in a
fat, unctuous soil, exposed
to inundation at their overflowing in the spring.

On the banks of the Genessee, where the winter is rigorous,
the cotton wood is 70 or 80 feet in height and three or four feet
in diameter. The leaves are deltoid, or trowel-shaped, ap-
proaching to cordiform, always longer than they are broad,
glabrous and equally toothed : the petioles are compressed and
of a yellowish green, with two glands of the same color at the
base : the branches are angular, and the angles form whitish
lines, which persist even the adult age of the tree. The female

PLATE LXX.
Figure 1. A leaf.

254

SYLVA AMERICANA.

aments are six or eight inches long, flexible and pendulous.
The seeds are surrounded with a beautiful plume which has the
whiteness of cotton, and the young buds are coated with a resinous,
aromatic substance of an agreeable odor.

The cotton wood is a more picturesque tree than the Virginian
poplar, particularly when growing on the sides of rivers. Its
trunk is very plainly sulcated even in its old age. It is less so
than the Carolinian poplar, but far more so than the Virginian
poplar, whose trunk is rounder and its summit more spherical.
Hence the two species are easily distinguished. The cotton
wood, also, acquires a larger bulk. This wood is assigned to no
particular use in the arts or for fuel.

Heart-Leaved Balsam Poplar. Popidus candicans.

In the state of Rhode
Island, Massachusetts and
New Hampshire, this tree,
which is a genuine Balsam
Poplar, is commonly seen
growing before the houses,
less as an ornament than as
a shelter from the sun. It
is not found in the forests of
these states.

This tree attains the height
of 40 or 50 feet, with a
diameter of 18 or 20 inches.
The trunk is clad in a
smooth, greenish bark. The
foliage is tufted and of a
dark green tint, but the
irregular disposition of the branches gives an elegant appearance
to the tree. The buds, like those of the balsam poplar, are
covered, in the spring, with a resinous, balsamic substance of an
agreeable odor.

The wood of this tree is soft, light and is appropriated to no
use in the arts and is little esteemed for fuel.

PLATE IsXXI.
Fieure 1. A leaf.

DENDROLOGY. 255

American Large Aspen. Populus grandidentata.

The American Large Aspen belongs rather to the Northern
and Middle, than to the Southern States, in the upper parts
only of which it is found. North of the United States, this
poplar, though not one of the most rare, is not one of the most
common trees, and it is so thinly scattered over the face of the
country, that sometimes not a single stock is met with by the
traveller for several days. For this reason, probably it has been
confounded by the inhabitants with the American aspen, which
is more multiplied : as it surpasses the aspen in height, we have
given it the name of Large Aspen. It grows as favorably on
uplands as on the borders of swamps.

This tree attains the height of about 40 feet with a diameter
of 10 or 12 inches. The trunk is straight and covered with a
smooth, greenish bark which is rarely cracked. Its branches
are few and scattered ; they ramify and become charged with
leaves only at their extremity, so that the interior of the summit
is void and of an ungrateful appearance. At their unfolding in
the spring the leaves are covered with a thick, white down, which
disappears with their growth, so that at the beginning of summer
they are perfectly smooth. The full-formed leaf is nearly round,
two or three inches in width, smooth on both sides, and bordered
with large teeth, from which is derived the latin specific name
of grandidentata. The flowers, which put forth in April, compose
aments about two inches long that appear in the infancy of the
leaves, and that, at this period, are thickly coated with down.

The wood is light, soft, and unequal to that of the Virginian
and Lombardy poplars, and of little use.

American Black Poplar. Populus hudsonica.

This poplar is found ppincipally on the banks of the river
Hudson, above Albany and in the Canadas, and is a stranger to
the other parts of the United States.

256 SYLVA AMERICANA.

This tree seldom surpasses the height of 30 or 40 feet and a
diameter of 12 or 15 inches. The bark of the young branches
is of a grayish white, and the buds, which spring from the bosom
of the leaves, are of a dark brown. One of the distinctive
characters of this species is the hairiness of the young shoots and
of the petioles in the spring, which is perceptible, also, on the
back of the young leaves. The leaves are smooth, of a beautiful
green color, denticulated, rounded in the middle, and acutely
tapering towards the summit. When fully developed they are a
little more than three inches long, about two inches broad, and,
unlike the leaves of trees in general, they exhibit nearly the same
shape from the moment of their unfolding. The aments are four
or five inches long and destitute of the hairs which surround
those of several other species.

The wood of the American black poplar is inferior to that of
the Virginian and Lombardy poplars and consequently of little use.

Virginian Poplar. Populus monilifera.

This poplar is indigenous to North America, though very rare,
and is called Virginian Poplar and Swiss Poplar ; the last of
which denominations is owing only to its being abundantly
multiplied in Switzerland.

This tree is 60 or 70 feet high with a proportional diameter.
Its trunk is cylindrical, and not sulcated like that of the Lombardy
poplar, and the bark upon old stocks is blackish. The leaves
are nearly as long as they are broad, slightly heart-shaped,
compressed towards the summit, obtusely denticulated and borne
by long petioles. On large trees their mean length is from two
and a half to three inches, but they vary in size, being twice as
large on the lower limbs, and on young stocks growing in moist
places. On trees equally vigorous and nourished by the same
soil, the leaves of this species are observed to be only half as
large as those of the cotton wood and Carolinian poplar. This
tree has been and is still confounded with the cotton wood ; but
the principal difference between them is that the leaves of the

DENDROLOGY. 257

Virginian poplar are much smaller and less distinctly heart-shaped ;
the young shoots are smaller and less angular, and on high grounds
those of the third year are even cylindrical ; the limbs also
diverge less widely from the trunk.

The wood of this tree is softer than that of the cotton wood,
but its growth is more rapid and it prospers in a less humid soil.
It is appropriated to no particular use in the arts.

American Aspen. Populus tremuloicles.

This species of Poplar is common in the Northern and Middle
sections of the United States, and is profusely multiplied in
Lower Canada : in the vicinity of New York and Philadelphia, it
prefers open lands of a middling quality.

The American aspen is ordinarily about 30 feet in height and
five or six inches in diameter. The bark of the trunk is greenish
and smooth, except on the base of the oldest trees, where it
becomes furrowed. The leaves are about two inches broad,
narrowed at the summit, and supported by long petioles ; they
are of a dark green color, and in the spring, their nerves are
reddish : on stocks seven or eight feet in height, they are nearly
round, and are bordered with obtuse, irregular teeth; on young
shoots, they *are of twice this size, heart-shaped, and acuminate
at the summit. Of all the American poplars, this species has
the most tremulous leaves, the gentlest air suffices to throw them
into agitation. This tree blooms about the middle of April,
about a fortnight before the birth of the leaves. The aments,
which spring from the extremity of the branches, are composed
of silky plumes, and are of an oval form and about two inches
in length.

The wood of this tree is light, soft, destitute of strength and
utility for timber or fuel. The wood is sometimes divided into
lamina for the* fabrication of hats, which are much worn in the
summer season.

33

258

SYLVA AMERICANA.

QUERCUS.

Moncecia Polyandria. Link, AmentaceiB. Juss. Astringent, tonic, emollient.

White Oak. Qucrcus alba.

Throughout the United
States and Canada this tree
is known by the name of
White Oak. The environs
of a small town of Trois
Rivieres in Canada, lati-
tude 46° 20', and the
lower part of the river
Kennebeck in the state of
Maine are the most northern
points at which this tree
grows. Thence we trace it
along the sea shore to a
distance beyond Cape Can-
naveral, latitude 28 degrees,
and westward from the ocean
to Illinois, an extent of more
than 1200 miles from north-east to south-west. It is, however, by
no means equally diffused over this vast tract ; in the state of
Maine, Vermont and Lower Canda, it is little multiplied, and its
vegetation is repressed by the severity of the winter. In the
lower part of the Southern States, in the Floridas and Lower
Louisiana, it is found only on the borders of the swamps with a
few other trees which likewise shun a dry and barren soil. The
white oak is observed also to be uncommon on lands of extraor-
dinary fertility, like those of Kentucky and Tennessee, and of all
the spacious valleys watered by the western rivers. It abounds
chiefly in the Middle States, particularly in that part of Pennsylva-
nia and Virginia which lie between the Alleghanies and the Ohio, a
distance of about 150 miles, where nine-tenths of the forests are

PLATE LXXI.
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The fruit.

DENDROLOGY. 259

frequently composed of these trees, whose heathful appearance
evinces the favorable nature of the soil. East of the mountains
this tree is found in every exposure, and in every soil which is
not extremely dry or subject to long inundations ; but the largest
stocks grow in humid places. In the western districts, where it
composes entire forests, the face of the country is undulated, and
the yellow soil, consisting partly of clay with calcareous stones,
yields abundant crops of wheat.

The white oak attains the elevation of 70 or 80 feet with a

diameter of 6 or 7 feet ; but its proportions vary with the soil

and climate. The leaves are regularly and obliquely divided

into oblong, rounded lobes, destitute of points : the sections are

deepest in the most humid soils. Soon after their unfolding

they are reddish above and white and downy beneath ; when

fully grown they are smooth and of a light green on the upper

surface and glaucous beneath. In autumn they change to a

bright violet color, and form an agreeable contrast with the

surrounding foliage which has not yet suffered by the frost.

This is the only oak on which a few of the dried leaves persist

till the circulation is renewed in the spring, By this peculiarity

and by the whiteness of the bark, from which it derives its name,

it is easily distinguishable in the winter. This tree puts forth

flowers in May which are succeeded by acorns of an oval form,

large, very sweet, contained in rough, shallow, grayish cups, and

borne singly or in pairs, by peduncles eight or ten lines in length,

attached as in all species of annual fructification, to the shoots

of the season. The fruit of the white oak is rarely abundant

and frequently for several years in succession a few handfuls of

acorns could hardly be collected in a large forest where the

tree is multiplied. Some stocks produce acorns of a deep

blue color.

The bark of the trunk of the white oak is often variegated
with large, black spots. On. stocks of less than sixteen inches in
diameter the epidermis is divided into squares ; on old trees,
growing in moist grounds, it is in the form of plates laterally
attached. The wood is reddish, and very similar to that of the
European oak, though lighter and less compact : in the American

260 SYL.VA AMERICANA.

species the vessels which occupy the intervals of the concentric
circles are visibly less replete. But of all the American oaks,
this is the best and the most generally used, being strong, durable,
and of large dimensions. It is less employed than formerly in
building, only because it is scarcer and more costly. The
excellent properties of this wood cause it to be preferred for a
great variety of uses, among which are many articles manufactured
by the wheelwrights. White oak perfectly seasoned is employed
for the frames of coaches, waggons and sledges, for the mould
boards of ploughs, the felloes, spokes and naves of wheels.
The wood of the young stocks is very elastic and is susceptible
of minute division, hence it is preferred for large baskets used in
harvesting, for the hoops of seives, the bottoms of riddles and
the handles of coach whips ; for pail handles and axe helves.
In many parts of the Middle States, the white oak is selected for
the posts of rural fence. The bark is considered by many
tanners as the best for preparing leather for saddles and other
similar objects ; it is little employed however, because the bark
of the trunk and large limbs only is employed, and on these the
cellular integument is much thinner in the white, than in the red
and black oaks. The white oak furnishes staves of the best
quality, of which are made casks for wine and spirituous liquors.
The domestic consumption for this purpose is immense, and vast
quantities are exported to the West Indies, Great Britain, and
the islands of Madeira and Teneriffe. The young stocks are
very elastic and are used for hoops. Among the uses of this
wood, the most important is in ship building. In all the dock
yards of the Northern and Middle States, except Maine, it is
almost exclusively employed for the keel and always for the
lower part of the frame and the sides : it is preferred for the
knees when sticks of a proper form can be found. In the
smaller ports south of New York, the upper part of the frame is
also made of white oak ; but such vessels are less esteemed than
these constructed of more durable wood. The medicinal proper-
ties of oak bark depend on its astringency, and that again on its
tannin. The inner bark of the small branches is the strongest,
the middle bark next, and the outer bark is almost useless.

DENDROLOGY.

261

Internally it may be given in form of decoction, of infusion, or
powder, as a tonic and astringent in leucorrboea, menorrhagia,
etc., and also in intermittents. Externally, as a styptic, astringent,
and antiseptic, when sprinkled in form of a powder over gangrenous
and ichorous ulcers. Inhaled in the form of impalpable powder
it has been known to cure phthisic, even in its advanced stages.

Gray Oak. Q

uercus

ambi

gua.

The Gray Oak is found
farther north than any other
species in America ; on the
river St. Lawrence, between
Quebec and Malabaie, in
latitude 47° 50' may be
considered as its northern
limit. Three degrees far-
ther south in Maine and
New Hampshire, and on the
shores of Lake Champlain
in Vermont, it is more mul-
tiplied. It is called by the
inhabitants Gray Oak, but
it has been confounded by
botanists with the red oak,
to which it bears a close
analogy in its foliage as it does to the scarlet oak in its fruit. On
these resemblances is founded the latin specific name of ambigua.
In favorable situations it attains the height of 50 or 60 feet
with a diameter of 15 or 18 inches. The leaves are large,
smooth, and deeply sinuated at right angles to the main rib.
The flowers put forth in the month of May, which are succeeded
by acorns of a middling size, rounded at the end, and contained
in scaly cups.

The wood of the gray oak is similar to that of the other species
included under the common name of Red Oak. Its coarse and

PLATE LXXIII.

Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The fruit.

2C2

SYLVA AMERICANA.

open texture renders it unfit for any use except to contain dry
wares ; but in districts where oak wood is rare, recourse is had
for other purposes, to several species of inferior quality, which
are still preferred to the birch, the beech and the pine. Thus
the gray oak is employed for the knees of vessels and for
cartwrighis' work ; it is even preferred to that of the red oak, as
being stronger and more durable.

Water Oak. Quercus aquatlca.

The Water Oak abounds
in Virginia, the lower part
of the Carolinas and Georgia
and in East Florida. Under
the name of Water Oak it
is sometimes confounded
with Willow Oak, by which
it is always accompanied in
the ponds and narrow swamps
inclosed in the pine-barrens.
This tree is inferior in
size to the willow oak, and
rarely exceeds 40 or 45 feet
in height, and 12 or 18 inches
in diameter. On full-grown
trees the leaves are smooth,
shining, and heart-shaped or
broad and rounded at the summit and terminated in an acute
angle at the base. In the severe climate of Virginia they fall
with the first frost, but on the sea-shore of the Carolinas, Georgia,
and Florida, they persist during two or three years. There is
no oak in the United States of which the foliage is so variable
and so different from that of the tree, on the young stocks and
on the sprojrts from an old trunk or from the base of a limb that
has been lopped : the leaves are commonly oval and deeply and
irregularly toothed. The flowers appear in the month of May,

plate lxxiv.

Fis. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The fruit.

DENDROLOGY. 263

and are followed by acorns, which are contained in shallow,
slightly scaly cups ; they are brown, small and extremely bitter.
This tree fructifies once in two years.

The bark upon the oldest trunks of the water oak is smooth
and very slightly furrowed ; it is little used in tanning, either
because it is inferior to that of the Spanish oak, or because the
tree is less abundant. The wood is very tough, but less durable
and less esteemed by carpenters and wheelwrights than that of
the white oak and chesnut white oak.

Bear Oak. Quercus banisteri.

This diminutive species is known in the Northern and Middle
States by the name of Bear Oak, Black Scrub Oak and Dwarf
Oak, of which the first is most common in New Jersey, where
it is abundant. This shrub is common in New York, New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, particularly on that part of the Alleghanies
which is crossed by the road to Pittsburgh. It is seldom found
insulated or mingled with other trees in the forests, but always
in tracts of many acres, which it covers almost exclusively.

The ordinary height of the bear oak is 3 or 4 feet ; but when
accidentally insulated and nourished by a vein of more fertile
soil, it sometimes equals eight or ten feet. It usually grows in
compact masses, which are traversed with difficulty, though no
higher than the waist. As the individuals. which compose them
are of an uniform height, they form so even a surface that at a
distance the ground appears to be covered with grass instead of
shrubs. The stem, which is numerously ramified, is covered,
like the branches, with a polished bark. It has more strength
than would be supposed from its size, which is rarely more than
an inch in diameter. The leaves are of a dark green color on
the upper surface, whitish beneath, and regularly divided into
three or five lobes. The flowers appear in May, and it fructifies
once in two years. The acorns are small, blackish, and longi-
tudinally marked with a few reddish lines : they are so abundant
as sometimes to cover the branches ; the lowly stature of the

264 SYLVA AMERICANA.

shrub renders it easy for bears, deer and swine to reach them by
lifting their heads or rising on their hinder feet.

The presence of this oak is considered as an infallible index
of a barren soil, and it is usually found on dry, sandy land
mingled with gravel. It is too small to be adapted to any use in
the arts or for fuel. It might probably be usefully adopted in
the Northern States for hedges, which might be formed by
sowing the acorns in furrows from twenty to twenty-four inches
thick, which in a few years would be sufficient to prevent the
passage of horses and cattle.

Upland Willow Oak. Quercus cinera.

The Upland Willow Oak is confined to the maritime parts of
the Southern States. It is little multiplied in comparison with
many other species, and is dispersed in small groups in the forests
of white pine. It is found also upon the sea shore, and upon the
islands where it covers tracts of several acres still more barren
than the main. But the stocks which grow in these different
situations are so different in appearance that they might easily
be mistaken for distinct species.

In the pine-barrens this tree is 18 or 20 feet high, and 4 or 5
inches in diameter. The leaves are twTo inches and a half long,
entire and whitish beneath ; on the islands and on the shore
of the continent, where the soil is extremely dry, they are only
three or four feet in height, and the leaves are denticulated, are
an inch in length, and persist for two years. Its fructification is
biennial and it flowers in the month of May. The acorns, which
are contained in shallow cups, are round and blackish with the
base of a bright rose color when freshly exposed.

The upland willow oak is one of those abject trees that succeed
the pines on lands which have been cleared for cultivation and
abandoned on account of their sterility. In these places as in the
pine-barrens, it is 20 feet in stature, and its trunk, which is
covered with a thick bark, begins at a third of this height to
divide itself by numerous ramifications. In the spring it is

DENDROLOGY. 265

distinguished at a distance by the reddish color of its leaves
and male aments.

The bark of this species, like that of the black oak, affords a
beautiful yellow dye; but the tree is so small and so little
multiplied that it is of no utility in this respect, not even for fuel.

Barens Scrub Oak. Quercus catesbcei.

This species is principally confined to the lower part of the
Carolines and Georgia. It grows in soils too meagre to sustain
any other vegetation, such as the vicinity of Wilmington in North
Carolina, where the light, moveable sand is wholly destitute of
vegetable mould. It is the only species multiplied in the pine-
barrens, and from this circumstance it seems to have derived its
name.

The ordinary height of this tree is 20 or 25 feet with a
diameter of six or eight inches. Its foliage is open, and its leaves
are large, smooth, thick and coriaceous towards the close of
summer, deeply and irregularly laciniated, and supported by
short petioles. With the first frost they change to a dull red,
and fall the ensuing month. It blooms in May and fructifies
once in two years. The acorns are pretty large, of a blackish
color, and partly covered with a fine, gray dust, which is easily
rubbed off between the fingers : they are contained in thick cups,
swollen towards the edge, with the upper scales bent inwards.

In the winter it is difficult to distinguish the scrub oak from
the blackjack oak, which it nearly resembles. Like that, it is
crooked, ramified at the height of two or three feet, and covered
with a thick, blackish, deeply-furrowed bark : it is, besides,
perfectly similar in the color, texture and weight of the wood.
This tree is considered as the best of fuel, and its size alone
would exclude it from use in the arts.

34

266

SYLVA AMERICANA.

Scarlet Oak. Quercus coccinea.

PLATE LXXV.

Fiji. 1. A leaf. Fir?. 2. The fruit.

The Scarlet Oak is first
seen in the vicinity of Boston,
but it is less multiplied than
in New Jersey,Pennsyl vania,
Virginia, and the upper part
of the Carolinas and Georgia,
where it forms a part of the
forests that are still standing.
It is a stranger to Maine,
New Hampshire and Ver-
mont. In the Northern
States it is confounded with
the red oak, and'in those of
the south, with the Spanish
oak.

This is a vegetable of
more than 80 feet in height
and of three or four feet in diameter. The leaves, which are
supported by long petioles, are of a beautiful green, shining on
both sides, and laciniated in a remarkable manner, having usually
four deep sinuses very broad at the bottom. They begin to
change with the first cold, and, after several successive frosts,
turn to a bright scarlet color, instead of a dull hue like those of
the red oak. At this season the singular color of the foliage
forms a striking contrast with that of the surrounding trees, and
is itself a sufficient inducement to cultivate the tree for ornament.
It flowers in May, and fructifies once in two years. The acorns
are large, somewhat enongated, similarly rounded at both ends,
and half covered with scaly cups. As this fruit varies in size
with the quality of the soil, it is difficult to distinguish it from the
black oak ; the only constant difference is in the kernel, which is
yellowish in the black oak and white in the species which we are
considering.

The bark of the scarlet oak is very thick and generally

DENDROLOGY.

267

employed in tanning, though it is in no respect preferable to that
of the gray and red oaks. The wood of this tree is reddish and
coarse-grained, with open pores. As it decays much more
rapidly than the white oak, it is employed by the builder and
wheelwright only for necessity or economy. It is poor fuel, and
is used principally for staves. In the Middle States, a large part
of the red oak staves are furnished by this species. From this
tree is obtained those excrescences which afford the galls of
commerce.

Spanish Oak. Quercus falcata.

This species first makes
its appearance in New Jersey
near Allentown, about sixty
miles from Philadelphia.
Farther south it is constantly
found among the most com-
mon trees in the forests. It
is less multiplied near the
mountains, and in the country
beyond them. In Delaware,
Maryland and Virginia, it is
known only by the name of
Spanish Oak, and in the
Carolinas and Georgia by
that of Red Oak. It is said
to have been called Spanish
Oak by the first settlers,
from the resemblance of its leaves to those of the Quercus
velani which grows in Spain. The denomination of Red Oak
which is used only in the more Southern States, was probably
given on account of the great analogy between its wood and that
of the species thus called in the Northern and Middle States,
where the .Spanish oak is much less common than in the south.
This tree is more than 80 feet in height, and 4 or 5 feet in
diameter. Its leaves are very different on different individuals;

Fig. 1.

PLATE LXXVL
A leaf. Fig. 2. The fruit.

•308 SYLVA AMERICANA.

thus in New Jersey, where the tree is only thirty feet high and
four or five inches thick, they are three Iohed, except a few on
the summit, and not falcated as on the large stocks in the Southern
Slates. On young plants, and on the lower branches of the most
vigorous stocks crowing in moist and shaded situations, they are
also trilobed ; and on the upper limbs they are more acutely
laciniated, with the sections more arching than those represented
in the figure. One of their constant characters is a thick down
upon the lower side of the leaves and upon the young shoots to
which they are attached. This tree fructifies once in two years.
Its flowers put forth in May and are succeeded by small, round
acorns, of a brown color, and contained in slightly scaly, shallow
cups supported by peduncles one or two lines in length. They
resemble those of the bear oak, and, like them, preserve for a
long time the capability of germination.

The bark upon the trunk of the Spanish oak is blackish and

deeply furrowed, with a cellular integument of middling thickness.

The wood is reddish and coarse-grained, with empty pores, and

all the characteristic properties of the species known in commerce

by the general name of Red Oak : hence its staves are fit only

to contain molasses, salted provisions and dry goods. From its

want of durability, this oak is less esteemed than the white oak,

the post oak and other species of annual fructification. It is

rarely employed in building, and is used by eartwrigbts in

preference to white oak for the felloes of large wheels. Its bark

is preferred to that of most other species of oak for tanning coarse

leather, which it renders whiter and more supple ; the leather is

said to be improved by the addition of a small quantity of the

bark of the hemlock spruce.

DENDROLOGY.

209

PLATE LXXVII.
Fig. 3. A leaf. Fig. 2. The fruit.

Black Jack Oak. Qiicrcus ferruginca.

The Black Jack Oak is
first seen near Allentown in
New Jersey ; but it is
smaller and less multiplied
in this place than farther
south. In New Jersey and
Pennsylvania it is called
Barrens Oak, and Slack
Jack Oak in Maryland and
the more Southern States.
This species is commonly
found upon soils composed
of red, argillaceous sand
mingled with gravel, and so
meagre as to be totally
exhausted by five or six
crops, when they are thought
worthy of cultivation.
The black jack oak is sometimes 30 feet high and 8 or 10
inches in diameter, but commonly does not exceed half these
dimensions. Its trunk is generally crooked, and is covered with
a very hard, thick and deeply-furrowed bark, of which the
epidermis is nearly black, and the cellular integument of a dull
red. The summit is spacious even in the midst of the woods.
The leaves are yellowish, and somewhat downy at their unfolding
in the spring ; when fully expanded, they are of a dark green
above, rusty beneath, thick, coriaceous, and dilated towards the
summit like a pear. In autumn they turn reddish, and fall with
the earliest frost. This tree fructifies once in two years. The
flowers are put forth in the month of May and are succeeded by
large acorns, half covered with scaly cups.

When the stock of this tree is more than eight inches in
diameter, the wood is heavy and compact ; but coarse-grained
and porous before it has reached this size. As it speedily decays
when exposed to the weather, it is not used in the arts, but it
forms excellent fuel.

270 SYLVA AMERICANA.

Bartram Oak. Quercus heterojihylla.

Every botanist who has visited the different regions of the
globe must have* remarked certain species of vegetables which
are so little multiplied that they seem likely at no distant period
to disappear from the earth. To this class belongs the Bartram
oak. Several foreign and American naturalists have spent years
in exploring the United States, and have found no traces of this
species except a single stock in a field belonging to M.
Bartram, on the banks of the Schuylkill, four miles from
Philadelphia. This is a flourishing tree upwards of 30 feet in
height and a foot in diameter, and seems formed to attain a
much greater developement. Its leaves are of an elongated,
oval form, coarsely and irregularly toothed, smooth above, and
of a dark green beneath. The acorns are round, of a middling
size, and contained in shallow cups slightly covered with scales.
This tree bears a great affinity to the laurel oak ; but the leaves
of that species are never -indented, like those of the Bartram oak.
Several young plants have been generated from the original stock
which are now growing in the gardens of Europe and this
country which will insure the preservation of the species.

DENDROLOGY

271

Laurel Oak. Quercus imbricaria.

PLATE LXXVIII.
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fi-. 2. The fruit.

East of the Alleghanies
this species is rare, and has
received no specific name ;
west of the mountains, where
it is more multiplied and has
attracted more attention, it
is called Jack Oak, Black
Jack Oak, and sometimes
from the form of the leaves,
Laurel Oak. The last de-
nomination we have preserv-
ed as the most appropriate,
though perhaps it is less
common than the first. This
tree is a stranger north of
Pennsylvania and is rare in
the more Southern States.
It is found abundantly only beyond the mountains in some parts
of Kentucky and Tennessee and in the country of Illinois where
it is profusely multiplied, and it is called by the French of that
country Chene a lattes, lath oak. In the western parts of
Pennsylvania and Virginia, small lawns, covered only with tall
grass, are frequently seen in the forests, around which the laurel
oak forms entire groves : insulated stocks are also found in cool,
humid situations. It is probably from its flourishing in open
exposures that it is most abundant in the country of the Illinois,
which consists of immeasurable savannas stretching in every
direction, to which the forests bear no sensible proportion.

The laurel oak is 40 or 50 feet high, and 12 or 15 inches in
diameter. Its trunk even when old, is clad in a smooth bark,
and, for three-fourths of its height, is laden with branches. It
has an uncouth form when bared in the winter, but is beautiful
in the summer when clad with its thick, tufted foliage. The
leaves are long, lanceolate, entire, of a light, shining green and

272

SYLVA AMERICANA.

pubescent beneath. It flowers in the month of May, and is
succeeded by acorns of a sub-globose form. It fructifies once
in two years.

The wood is hard and heavy, though its pores are open. As
the trunk is branchy and often crooked, it is considered as fit
only for fuel on the eastern side of the mountains. In the
country of Illinois where it attains much greater dimensions, it is
employed for shingles, probably for the want of a better species
for the wood is inferior to that of the willow oak, which it nearly
resembles.

Over-Cup Oak. Quercus lyrata.

This interesting species
exists in the lower part of
the Carolinas and Georgia,
on the banks of the Missis-
sippi in Lower Louisiana
and in East Florida. In
Georgia and the Carolinas it
is not extensively multiplied,
and has been distiguished
only by the inhabitants of
the places where it grows.
It is called Swamp Post Oak,
Over- Cup Oak and Water
M^Tiite Oak. The name of
Over- Cup Oak is the most
common in -South Carolina,
and that of Swamp Post Oak
on the Savannah in Georgia. This tree grows in more humid
situations than any other species of this genus in the United States.
It is never seen in the long, narrow marshes which intersect the
pine-barrens, but is found exclusively in the great swamps on the
borders of the rivers, which are often overflowed at the rising of
the waters, and are inaccessible during three-fourths of the year.

plate lxxix.

Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig 2. The fruit.

DENDROLOGY. 273

This oak expands to a majestic size, and the influence of a
deep and constantly humid soil is shown in the luxuriancy of its
vegetation. On the banks of the Savannah it attains the
elevation of 80 feet with a circumference of 8 to 12 feet. The
leaves are six or eight inches long, smooth, narrow, lyre-shaped,
deeply sinuated, and borne by short petioles. The lobes,
particularly the two upper ones, are truncated, and from their
resemblance in this respect to those of the post oak, is derived
the name of Swamp Post Oak. The foliage is thick and of a
light, agreeable tint. It fructifies annually and flowers in the
month of May. The acorns, unlike those of the oaks in
general which are of an elongated, oval shape, are broad, round
and depressed at the summit : they are sometimes from 12 to 18
lines from the base to the summit. The cup, which is nearly
closed, is thin, and its scales are terminated by short, firm
points.

The bark upon the trunk is wThite, and the wood, though
inferior to that of the white oak and the post oak, is more
compact than would be supposed from the soil in which it grows ;
the pores are observable only between the concentric circles,
and are more regularly disposed than in other trees.

35

274

SYLVA AMERICANA.

Over-Cup White Oak. Quercus macrocarpa.

This interesting species is
most multiplied beyond the
Alleghanies, in the fertile
districts of Kentucky and
West Tennessee, and in
Upper Louisiana near the
Missouri. It is called by
the Americans Bar Oak
and Over- Cup White Oak,
and by the French of Illinois,
Chene a gros gland.

This is a beautiful tree,
more than GO feet in height,
laden with a dark, tufted
foliage. The leaves are
larger than those of any
other oak in the United
States, being frequently fifteen inches long and eight broad : they
are notched near the summit, and deeply laciniated below. It
fructifies annuallv and flowers in May. The acorns, which are
also larger than those of any other American species, are oval and
inclosed for two-thirds of their length in a thick, rugged cup,
bordered with fine, flexible filaments. Sometimes, however, in
compact forests, or in very temperate seasons, the filaments do not
appear, and the edge of the cup is smooth and bent inwards.

The fructification of this tree is not abundant, and as its wood
is inferior to that of the wThite oak, it is little esteemed in the
United Sttates.

PLATE LXXX.
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig'2. The fruit.

DENDROLOGY.

275

Post Oak. Quercus obiusiloba.

plate Lxxxr.

Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig..2 The fruit.

In New Jersey near the
sea, and in the vicinity of
Philadelphia, this species is
thinly disseminated in the
forests, and was formerly
considered as a variety of
the white oak. In Maryland
and a great part of Virginia,
where it abounds, and where
its properties are better
understood, it is called Box
TVhite Oak, and sometimes
Iron Oak and Post Oak.
The last denomination only
is used in the Carolinas,
Georgia and East Tennessee.
The steep banks of the
Hudson in the vicinity of New York are the most northern points
where it grows. Even here its existence seems to be secured
only by the influence of the sea air, which tempers to a certain
degree the severity of the winter. A little farther inward it is
not found in the forests. In the vicinity o'f South Amboy, thirty
miles nearer the sea, where the soil is dry and sandy, it is more
multiplied, and it stiil becomes more vigorous and more common
in advancing towards the south. Near Baltimore, it abounds in
the woods and attains its utmost expansion. In Kentucky and
Tennessee it is rare, except on the edges of the swamps inclosed
in the forests, about which it is multiplied though not fully
developed. It is likewise found in Lower Louisiana and East
Florida. But it is nowhere more abundant than in Maryland
and in Virginia, between the Alleghanies and the sea. Wherever
the soil is dry, gravelly and unsubstantial, it forms a considerable
portion of the forests. The upper part of the Carolinas and
Georgia, particularly where the pine and oak forests unite, is

276 SYLVA AMERICANA.

analogous in soil, and abounds in the post oak ; but nearer the
sea the oak becomes rare and is only seen in the lowest parts of
the swamps, about the plantations, and on tracts that have been
exhausted by cultivation and abandoned.

The height of the post oak rarely exceeds 40 or 50 feet, with
a diameter of 15 inches. Its summit, even when compressed
in the forests, is disproportionably large, owing probably to an
early division of the trunk into several limbs, with which the
secondary branches form more open angles than is common on
other trees. The branches are also bent into elbows at certain
distances, which give so peculiar an appearance to the tree that
it is easily distinguished when the leaves are fallen. The bark
upon the trunk is thin and of a grayish white. The leaves are
borne by short petioles, and are divided into four or five rounded
lobes, of which the two nearest the summit are the broadest $
they are coriaceous, of a dusky green above and grayish beneath.
Toward autumn the ribs are of a rosy tint, instead of a purplish
red like those of the scarlet oak. The fructification is annual
and seldom fails. It puts forth flowers in May, which are
followed by small, oval acorns, covered for a third of their length,
with a slightly rugged, grayish cup. They are very sweet, and
form a delicious food for squirrels and wild turkeys ; hence the
tree is sometimes called Turkey Oak.

The wood of this tree is yellowish, with no tint of red.
Growing upon a less humid soil it is less elastic, but finer-grained,
stronger and more durable, than the white oak : hence it is
^referred for posts, and it is used with advantage by wheelwrights
and coopers. In ship building it is used principally for the knees,
ind is admitted into the lower part of the frame. It rarely
furnishes side planks or timber of considerable length, for this
reason it is less esteemed than the white oak. The staves made
of this tree are preferable to those of the white oak.

DENDROLOGY.

277

Mossy-Cup Oak. Quercus olivceformis.

2

This species is very rare
and little known except in
the state of New York on
the banks of the Hudson
above Albany, in Genessee,
and in the northern part of
Pennsylvania.

This tree is 60 or 70 feet
in height, with a spacious
summit and an imposing
aspect. The bark is white
and laminated ; but the tree
is chiefly remarkable for the
form and disposition of its
secondary branches, which
are slender, flexible, and
always inclined towards the
earth. Its leaves are of a light green above and whitish beneath ;
they resemble those of the white oak in color, but differ from
them in form, being larger, and very deeply and irregularly
laciniated, with rounded lobes so various in shape that it is
impossible to find two leaves that are alike. Its fructification is
annual. The flowers appear in May and are succeeded by
acorns of an elongated, oval form, and are inclosed in cups of
nearly the same configuration, of which the scales are prominent
and recurved, except near the edge, where they terminate in
slender, flexible filaments: from this* peculiarity is derived the
name of Mossy- Cup Oak.

The wood of this tree is not better than that of the white oak,
though far superior to that of the red oak.

PLATE LXXXII.
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The fruit.

278

SYLVA AMERICANA.

Pin Oak. Quercus palustris.

PLATE LXXXIII.
Fig. I. A leaf. Fig. 2. The fruit.

This species is found in
Massachusetts, but is less
common than in the vicinity
of New York, in New Jersey,
Pennsylvania and Maryland.
It is abundant beyond the
mountains, in Ohio, East
Tennessee and the country
of the Illinois. It is said not
to exist in Maine, Vermont
and the Southern States.
It is called Pin Oak in the
lower part of New York,
and in New Jersey, and
Swamp Spanish Oak, in
Pennsylvania, Delaware and
Maryland. The last of these
denominations is sufficiently appropriate ; but we have preferred
the second, because it is less liable to mistake, and is indicative
of a characteristic arrangement of the branches.

The pin oak is a tall tree, which grows constantly in moist
places, and of preference about the swamps inclosed in the
forests. In these situations it is frequently more than 80 feet
high and 3 or 4 feet in diameter. Its secondary branches are
more slender and more numerous than is common in so large a
tree, and are intermingled so as to give it at a distance the
appearance of being stuffed. This singular disposition renders
it distinguishable at first sight in the winter. These small limbs
die as the tree advances, which gives the tree the appearance of
having pins or trunnels driven into it : whence the name of Pin
Oak. The leaves are smooth, of a pleasing green, supported by
long petioles, deeply laciniated and very similar to those of the
scarlet oak, from which they differ principally in their proportions.
This tree fructifies once in two years. The flowers put forth in

DENDROLOGY.

279

the month of May and are succeeded by small, round acorns,
contained in flat, shallow cups, of which the scales are closely
applied one upon another.

The bark upon the oldest trunk is scarcely cracked, and
consists almost wholly of a very thick, cellular integument. The
wood is coarse-grained, with the pores open and larger than those
of the scarlet and red oaks : though stronger and more tenacious
than those species, it is little esteemed for durability. It is used
for the axletrees of mill wheels when white oak of sufficient
dimensions cannot be procured ; it is also sometimes, though
rarely, made into staves, as the species is little multiplied
compared with the scarlet, red and black oaks.

Willow Oak. Quercus phellos.

This species which is
remarkable for its foliage,
makes its first appearance in
the environs of Philadelphia ;
but it is more common and
of a larger size in Virginia,
the Carolinas and Georgia,
where the milder temperature
of the winter is evidently
favorable to its growth. It
is seen, however, only in the
maritime parts of those states,
where the surface is moun-
tainous and the climate more
severe. From the analogy
of soil and climate, it is
probably found in Lower

Louisiana. It commonly grows in cool, moist places on the

borders of swamps.

The willow oak, in favorable situations, attains the height of 50

or 60 feet with a diameter of 20 or 24 inches. The trunk, even

Fig. 1.

PLATE LXXXIV.

A leaf. Fig. 2. The fruit.

280 SYLVA AMERICANA.

at an advanced age, is covered with a smooth bark, remarkable
for the thickness of its cellular integument. The leaves are two
or three inches long, of a light green, smooth, narrow, entire,
and similar to those of the willow, whence is derived the name
of Willow Oak, which is used in every part of North America
where the tree is known. This tree fructifies once in two years.
It flowers in May and bears acorns of a dark brown color, which
are small, bitter and contained in shallow cups slightly coated
with scales.

The wood is reddish and coarse-grained. It is too porous to
contain wine or spirituous liquor, and its staves are classed with
those of red oak. The quantity, however, is small, as the
tree is so little multiplied that alone it would not supply the
consumption for two years. It possesses great strength and
tenacity, and splits more readily than the white oak; hence
after being thoroughly seasoned, it is employed for the felloes of
wheels. These are the principal uses to which it seems adapted,
and for these it is less proper than the post oak and white oak.
It is sometimes employed in Georgia for fencing the plantations,
and lasts only eight or nine years. As fuel, it is very little
esteemed.

DENDROLOGY.

2S1

Yellow Oak. Quercus prinus acuminata.

PLATE LXXXV.
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The fruit.

The banksof the Delaware
may be assumed as the
northern limit of the Yellow
Oak. It scarcely exists in
the maritime parts of the
Southern States. In the
Middle and Western States,
though more common, it is
still rare in comparison with
many other trees, and is
sometimes lost sight of by
the traveller for several days
in succession. It is also
found in the country of
the Illinois. It is invariably
found in valleys where the
soil is loose, deep and fertile.
The Yellow Oak is a fine tree 70 or 80 feet high and 2 feet
in diameter, with branches tending rather to close round the
trunk than to diffuse themselves horizontally. The bark upon
the trunk is whitish, very slightly furrowed, and sometimes
divided into plates, like that of the swamp white oak. The
leaves are lanceolate, regularly toothed, of a light green above
and whitish beneath. It fructifies annually and blooms in the
month of May. The acorns are contained in scaly cups and
are sweeter than those of any other species in the United States.
The wood of this tree is yellowish, though the tint is not bright
enough to fit it for peculiar uses. Its pores are partly obliterated,
irregularly disposed, and -more numerous than those of any other
American oak : this organization must impair the strength and
render it less durable than the chesnut white oak, and the rock
chcsnut oak. As this tree is so thinly disseminated it has not
been appropriated to any particular use in the arts.

36

282 SYLVA AMERICANA.

Small Chesnut Oak. Quercus prinus chinquapin.

In the Northern and Middle States this pretty little species is
called Small or Dwarf Chesnut Oak, from the resemblance of its
leaves to those of the rock chesnut oak ; as there is also a likeness
between its foliage and that of the chinquapin, it is known in
East Tennessee and in the upper part of the Carolinas by the
name of Chinquapin Oak. This tree is not generally diffused,
but is rare in many places adapted to its constitution, and is
usually found in particular districts, where, alone, or mingled
with the bear oak, it sometimes covers tracts of more than 100
acres. The presence of these species is a certain proof of the
barrenness of the soil. It is found in Rhode Island, New. York,
Pennsylvania and in Virginia on the Alleghanies.

This species and another which is found in the pine forests of
the Southern States rarely exceeds 30 inches in height : they
are the most diminutive of the American oaks. The leaves are
oval-acuminate, regularly but not deeply denticulated, of a light
green above and whitish beneath. Its "fructification is annual,
and its flowers put forth in May and are followed by acorns of a
middling size, somewhat elongated, similarly rounded at both
ends, inclosed for one-third of their length in scaly, sessile, cups:
they are very sweet.

Nature seems to have sought a compensation for the diminutive
size of this shrub in the abundance of its fruit : the stem which
is sometimes no bigger than a quill, is stretched at full length
upon the ground by the weight of the thickly-clustering acorns.
United with the bear oak, which is of the same size and equally
prolific, perhaps it might be cultivated with advantage for its
fruit.

DENDROLOGY.

283

Swamp White Oak. Quercus prinus discolor.

PLATE LXXXVI.
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The fruit.

This species is known in
the United States only by
the name of Swamp White
Oak, which indicates at once
the soil which it prefers and
its analogy to the white oak.
Except the state of Maine
and the maritime parts of
the Southern States, it is dif-
fused throughout the Union :
in comparison, however,
with some other species, it
is not common.

The swamp white oak is a
beautiful tree more than 70
feet in height, of which the
vegetation is vigorous and
the foliage luxuriant. The leaves are six or eight inches long
and four inches broad, smooth and of a dark green above, downy
and lighter colored beneath ; they are entire towards the base,
which is cuneiform, but are widened and coarsely toothed for
two-thirds of their length towards the summit. The tree is
distinguished, when young, by the form of its base and by the
down upon the leaves, which is more sensible to the touch than
on any analogous species. At a riper age the lower side of the
leaf is of a silvery white, which is strikingly contrasted with the
bright green of the upper surface ; hence the specific name of
discolor. This tree is of annual fructification and flowers in the
month of May. The acorns are sweet, but seldom abundant ;
they are rather large, of a brown complexion, and contained in a
spreading cup edged by short, slender filaments, more downy
within than those of any other oak, and supported by peduncles
one or two inches in length.

284

SYLVA AMERICANA.

The trunk of this tree is clad in a scaly, grayish-white bark.
The wood is strong, elastic and heavier than that of the white
oak. In stocks more than a foot in diameter the grain is fine
and close, and the pores are nearly obliterated. It splits easily
and in a straight line, and is esteemed next in quality to the
white oak, though from its rareness it is but accidentally employed
in the arts. .

Rock Chesnut Oak. Quercus prinus monticola.

This oak is among the
species which are not scat-
tered promiscuously in the
forests, but which grow only
in particular situations and
easily escape observation ;
hence it is difficult to assign
its limits with precision. It
probably does not extend
north beyond Vermont, nor
eastward beyond New
Hampshire ; it is likewise
a stranger to the maritime
parts of the Southern States.
It is most frequently met
with in the Middle and in
some parts of the Northern
States ; but it is rarely mingled with other trees in the forests,
and is found only on high grounds thickly strewed with stones or
covered with rocks. In Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland,
it is known by the name of Chesnut Oak, and by that of Rock
Oak on the banks of the Hudson and the shores of Lake
Champlain. Both are significant ; the first, of a remarkable
resemblance of the bark to that of the chesnut ; and the second,
of the situations, in which the tree is exclusively found. For
this reason and to avoid confounding it with the chesnut oak and
the yellow oak, we have blended the two denominations.

PLATE LXXXVII.
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The fruit.

DENDROLOGY. 285

The rock chesnut oak is sometimes 3 feet in diameter, and
more than 60 feet high ; but as its growth is usually repressed by
the poverty of the soil, it rarely attains these dimensions. In
open, elevated situations it spreads widely, and forms a head
like that of the apple tree. The beautiful appearance of this tree
when growing in a fertile soil, is owing equally to the symmetry
of its form and to the luxuriance of its foliage. The leaves are
five or six inches long, and three or four broad, oval and
uniformly denticulated, with the teeth more regular but less acute
than those of the chesnut oak. When beginning to open in the
spring, they are covered with a thick down ; but, when fully
expanded, they are perfectly smooth, whitish beneath, and of a
delicate texture. The petiole is of a yellow color, which becomes
lighter towards autumn. The fructification of this tree is annual.
The flowers appear in the month of May, and are succeeded by
brown acorns of an oblong-oval shape, and sometimes an inch in
length, a third part of which is contained in a spreading cup
covered with loose scales : they are sweet-tasted and are a
favorite nourishment of wild and domesticated animals.

When the trunk of this tree exceeds a foot in diameter, it is
covered with a thick, hard, deeply-furrowed bark, which is
esteemed in some parts of the United States for tanning. That
of the secondary branches and of stocks of less than six inches
thick is commonly employed. The epidermis is strongly impreg-
nated with the tanning principle, which in other species resides
only in the cellular integument. The wood is reddish like that of
the white oak, but its pores are more open, though its specific
gravity is greater : pieces of both species being thrown into
water, the white oak remains on the surface and the other at the
bottom. Its staves are not used to contain spirituous liquors. At
New York and on the banks of the Hudson, it holds the next
place to the white oak in the construction of vessels. It is
employed for the lower part of the frame, and oftener for the
knees and the ribs. For fuel this wood is next in price to the
hickory.

28G

SYLVA AMERICANA.

Chesnut White Oak. Quercus prinus palustris.

PLATE LXXXVIII.
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The fruit.

The Chesnut White Oak
is first seen in the vicinity of
Philadelphia ; but it is less
multiplied and less amply
developed than farther south.
It is most abundant in the
maritime parts of the Caro-
linas, Georgia and East
Florida, and is probably
found on the banks of the
Mississippi, which are analo-
gous to those of many rivers
of the Southern States. In
Pennsylvania this species is
confounded with the rock
chesnut oak, which it strik-
ingly resembles ; farther
south, where the rock chesnut oak is unknown, it is called
Chesnut White Oak, Swamp Chesnut Oak, and generally on the
Savannah White Oak. This tree grows only in large swamps
that border the rivers or are inclosed in the forests ; but it always
prefers spots that are rarely inundated, where the soil is loose,
deep, constantly cool and luxuriantly fertile.

Under favorable circumstances the chesnut oak arrives at the
height of 90 feet with a proportional diameter. Its straight trunk,
undivided and of an uniform size to the height of 50 feet, and its
expansive tufted summit, form one of the most beautiful and
majestic trees of the North American forests. Its leaves are
eight or nine inches long, four or five inches broad, obovate,
deeply toothed, of a light, shining green above and whitish
beneath. Its fructification is annual. The flowers make their
appearance in May and are followed by brown, oval acorns,
larger than those of any other species except the over-cup white oak,
and are contained in shallow, scaly cups. Being sweet-flavored,

DENDROLOGY. 287

and sometimes abundant, they are sought with avidity by wild
and domesticated animals.

The wood, which is affected by the richness of the soil, is
inferior to that of the post oak, the white oak and even that of
the over-cup oak ; and its pores, though nearly obliterated, are
more open. But it is superior to many other species, and is
employed for wheelwrights' works and- for other objects which
require strength and durability. As it splits in a straight line,
and may be divided into fine shreds it is chosen by the Negroes
for baskets and brooms. Its pores are too open to contain wine
or spirituous liquors. In the form of rails it lasts twelve or fifteen
years, or a third longer than the willow oak. It is highly
esteemed as fuel.

Running Oak. Quercus jmmilcu

This species is the smallest oak hitherto discovered in the
known world. Like the upland willow oak, jt is confined to the
maritime parts of the Carolinas, Georgia and the Floridas, where
it is called Running Oak. It springs with that species in the
pine-barrens, amidst the numerous varieties of whortleberrv and
other plants which overspread the ground wherever there is a
little moisture in the soil and the layer of vegetable mould is a
few inches thick.

The running oak rarely rises more than 20 inches in height
and 2 lines in diameter. The leaves are of a reddish tint
in the spring, and turn green as the season advances. When
fully developed they are entire, smooth, of an elongated, oval
shape, and about two inches in length. It fructifies once in two
years and flowers in the month of May. The acorns are small,
round and similar to those of the willow and water oaks ; they
are few in number, and seldom arrive at maturity. No particular
use is made of this shrub either in the mechanic arts or for
medicine.

288

SYLVA AMERICANA.

PLATE LXXXIX.
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The fruit.

Red Oak. Quercus rubra.

Next to the gray oak this
species is found in the
highest latitude of all the
American oaks, and is one
of the most common species
in the Northern States and
Canada. Farther south,
particularly in the lower part
of New York, New Jersey,
the upper districts of Penn-
sylvania, and along the whole
range of the Alleghanies, it
is nearly as abundant as the
scarlet and black oaks ; but
it is much less common in
Maryland, the lower part of
Virginia, and the maritime
parts of the Carolinas and Georgia. Its perfect deveiopement
requires a cool climate and a fertile soil. It is universally known
by the name of Red Oak, except in some parts of Pennsylvania,
where it is sometimes confounded with the Spanish oak.

The red oak is a tall, wide-spreading tree, frequently more
than 80 feet high, and 3 or 4 feet in diameter. Its leaves are
smooth and shining on both sides, large and deeply laciniated,
and rounded at the base 5 they are larger and have deeper and
narrower sections on the young stocks than on the middle or the
summit of the full-grown tree ; these last resemble the leaves of
the Spanish oak, which, however, are always downy beneath,
while those of the red oak are perfectly smooth. In autumn
they change to a dull red, and turn yellow before they fall. The
fructification is biennial and it flowers in May. The acorns are
very large and abundant, rounded at the summit, compressed at
the base, and contained in flat cups covered with narrow, compact
scales. They are voraciously eaten by wild and domesticated
animals.

DENDROLOGY.

289

The bark of this tree consists of a very thin epidermis with a
thick cellular integument. It is extensively used in tanning,
but is less esteemed than that of the Spanish, black and rock
chesnut oaks. The wood is reddish and coarse-grained, and the
pores are often large enough for the passage of a hair : it is strong
but not durable, and is the last among the oaks to be employed
in building. Its principal use is for staves, which, at home, are
used to contain salt provisions, flour, and other dry wares. It is
little esteemed for fuel.

Black or Quercitron Oak. Quercus tinctorla.

Except the state of Maine,
the northern part of New
Hampshire, Vermont and
Tennessee, this species is
found throughout the United
States on both sides of the
Alleghanies and is every
where called Black Oak,
except in some parts of New
England, where it is called
Yellow Oak. It is more
abundant in the Middle
States, and in the upper
parts of the Carolinas and
Georgia, than on the southern
coast. It flourishes in a
poorer soil than the white
oak. In Maryland and certain districts of Virginia, where the
soil is lean, gravelly and uneaven, it is constantly united in the
forests with the scarlet, Spanish and post oaks, and mockernut
hickory, with which the yellow pine is also frequently mingled.
There are several varieties of this species of oak, all of which
afford the quercitron bark, so highly esteemed in dyeing, staining,

Fi*.

PLATE XC.
A leaf. Fig- 2. The fruit.

tanning, etc.

37

290 SYLVA AMERICANA.

This oak is one of the loftiest trees of the American forests,
bein°- 80 or 90 feet high and 4 or 5 feet in diameter. The
trunk is covered with a deeply furrowed bark of middling
thickness, and generally of a black or very deep-brown color,
whence probably is derived the name of Black Oak. North-east
of Pennsylvania the complexion of the bark is the only character
by which it can be distinguished from the red, scarlet and gray
oaks, when the leaves are fallen. Farther south this character
is not sufficient to distinguish it from the Spanish oak, whose bark
is of the same color, and recourse must be had to the buds,
which on the black oak are longer, more acuminate, and more scaly.
All doubt may be removed by chewing a bit of the cellular
integument of each : that of the black oak is very bitter and gives
a yellow tinge to the saliva, which is not the- case wTith the other.
The leaves are large, deeply laciniated, and divided into four or
five lobes : they resemble those of the scarlet oak, but have less
deep and open sinuses, are less shining, of a duller green, and in
the spring and during a part of the summer have their surface
roughened with small glands which are sensible to the eye and
to the touch. The same appearance is observed on the young
shoots, the leaves which change in the autumn to a dull red,
and those of the old trees to yellow, beginning with the petiole.
This tree fructifies once in two years and its flowers put forth in
May. The acorns generally grow in clusters, are of a brown
color, sub-sessile and about half buried in a thick, scaly cup.
This species is more remarkable than any other for producing
the oak apple.

The wood is reddish and coarse-grained, with empty pores ;
it is, however, more esteemed for strength and durability than
that of any other oak of biennial fructification. As it is abundant
in the Middle and Northern States, it furnishes a large proportion
of the red oak staves exported to the West Indies, or employed
at home to contain flour, salted provisions and molasses. It is
said to furnish the best of fuel except the hickories. The bark
is extensively used in tanning, as it is easily procured and is rich
in tannin. The only inconvenience which attends it is imparting
a yellow color to the leather, which must be discharged by a

DENDROLOGY. 291

particular process, to prevent its staining the stockings : it is a
great error to assert that this color augments its value. From the
cellular integument of the black oak is obtained the quercitron,
of which great use is made in dyeing wool, silk and paper
hangings. This substance was first prepared as a dye by Dr.
Bancroft $ he has given it the name of quercitron, by which it is
now universally recognized.

Before extracting the color from the bark, the epidermis, or
external covering, ought to be removed by shaving. The
remaining parts being then properly ground by mill stones,
separate partly into a light, fine powder, and partly into stringy
filaments or fibres, which last yield but about half as much color
as the powder, and therefore care should be always taken to
employ both together, and as nearly as possible in their natural
proportions, otherwise the quantity of color produced may either
greatly exceed or fall short of what may be expected. The
quercitron thus prepared and proportioned, says Dr. Bancroft,
will generally yield as much color as eight or ten times its weight
of the weld plant, and about four times as much as its weight of
the chipped fustic. The coloring matter, continues he, most
nearly resembles that of the weld plant ; with this advantage,
however, that it is capable alone of producing more cheaply all,
or very nearly all, the effects of every other yellow dyeing drug ;
and, moreover, some effects which are not attainable by any
other means yet known. The coloring matter of quercitron
readily dissolves in water, even at a blood heat. If the infusion
be strained and left at rest, a quantity of resinous matter subsides
in the form of a whitish powder, which produces the same effects
in dyeing as the part remaining in solution. The clear effusion
being evaporated and dried, affords an extract equal in wTeight to
about one twelfth of the bark from which it is obtained. Much
care, however, must be employed in procuring this extract, so as
to make it produce colors equal in beauty to those obtained
directly from the bark itself. If the evaporation be carried on
rapidly, and the heat be too great, the color is tarnished, probably,
as Dr. Bancroft conjectures, from the absorption of oxygen, the
color thus undergoing a sort of semi-combustion. On the other

292 SYLVA AMEBIC ANA.

hand, if the evaporation be conducted too slowly, the coloring
matter suffers another change, and soon spoils by keeping. The
decoction of quercitron is of a yellowish-brown color, which is
darkened by alkalies, and brightened by acids. A solution of
alum being added to it, separates a small proportion of the
coloring matter, which subsides in the form of a deep yellow
precipitate. The solutions of tin produce a more copious
precipitate, and of a beautiful, lively, yellow color. Sulphate of
iron causes a copious olive precipitate ; sulphate of copper, a
yellow of an olive cast. To dye wool, it is sufficient to boil the
quercitron with an equal weight of alum : in dipping the stuff
the deepest shade is given first, and afterwards the straw color :
enliven the tint the stuff may be passed, in coming out of the
dye through water whitened with a small portion of chalk : but
a brighter color is obtained by means of a solution of tin.
Quercitron may be substituted for woad, in imparting all the
shades of yellow to silk. It is highly valuable as an article of
commerce, which has often been sold at §'40 or $50 a ton.
Large quantities are annually exported into Europe from the
ports of the Middle States.

DENDROLOGY.

293

Live Oak. Quercus virens.

plate xcr.

Fi^. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The fruit.

This species which is
confined to the maritime
parts of the Southern States,
the Floridas and Louisiana,
is known only by the name
of Live Oak. The climate
becomes mild enough for its
growth near Norfolk in Vir-
ginia, though it is less mul-
tiplied and less vigorous
than in a more southern
latitude. From Norfolk it
spreads along the coast for
a distance of fifteen or
eighteen hundred miles,
extending beyond the mouth
of the Mississippi. The sea
air seems essential to its existence, for it is rarely found in the
forests upon the main land, and never more than fifteen or twenty
miles from the shore. It is most abundant, the most fully
developed, and of the best quality, about the bays and creeks,
and on the fertile islands which in great numbers lie scattered
for several hundred miles along the coast.

The live oak is commonly 40 or 50 feet in height, and from
one to two feet in diameter ; but it is sometimes much larger.
Like most other trees, it has, when insulated, a wide and tufted
summit. Its trunk is sometimes undivided for 18 or 20 feet,
but often ramifies at half this height, and at a distance it has the
appearance of an old apple tree or pear tree. The leaves are
oval, coriaceous, of a dark green above and whitish beneath :
they persist during several years, and are partially renewed every
spring. On trees reared upon plantations, or growing in cool
soils, they are one half larger, and are often denticulated : upon
stocks of two or three years they are commonly very distinctly

294 SYLVA AMERICANA.

toothed. It fructifies once in two years. The flowers make
their appearance in the month of May, which are succeeded by
acorns of a lengthened, oval form, nearly black, and contained
in shallow, grayish, pedunculated cups.

The bark upon the trunk of this tree is blackish, hard and
thick. The wood is heavy, compact, fine-grained, and of a
yellowish color, which deepens as the tree advances in age. The
number and closeness of the concentric circles evince the
slowness of its growth. As it is very strong, and incomparably
more durable than the best white oak, it is highly esteemed in
ship building, and is consumed not only in the country which
produces it, but still more extensively in the Northern States.
From its great durability when perfectly seasoned it is almost
exclusively employed for the upper part of the frames of vessels.
To compensate its excessive weight it is joined with the red
cedar, which is extremely light and equally lasting. This tree
does not afford large timber ; but its wide and branching summit
makes amends for this disadvantage by furnishing a great number
of knees, of which there is never a sufficient quantity in the dock
yards. This wood is said to make the best of trunnels. It is
also employed for the naves and felloes of heavy wheels, for
which it is superior to the white oak : it is more proper, also,
for screws and for the cogs of mill wheels. The bark is
excellent for tanning, but is only accidentally employed, and its
wood is highly esteemed for fuel.

RHODODENDRON.

Decandria Monogynia. Linn. Rhododendrae. Juss. Tonic, narcotic.

Dwarf Rose Bay. Rhododron maximum.

The Dwarf Rose Bay is found on Long Island and the river
Hudson below the highlands, in the state of New York and in
Dedham, Massachusetts ; but these places may be considered
far beyond the limits where this shrub ceases to be found in the
forests. It is abundant, on the contrary, in the Middle States,

DENDROLOGY. 295

and in the upper parts, particularly in the mountainous tracts of
the Southern States. It is almost exclusively seen on the
borders of creeks and rivers, and is observed to be more
multiplied in approaching the Alleghanies, till, in the midst of
these ranges, especially in Virginia, it becomes so abundant on
the sides of the torrents, as to form impenetrable thickets, in
which the bear finds a secure retreat from the pursuit of the dogs
and the hunters. Deeply-shaded situations, in the vicinity of
cool and crystal waters flowing among rocks, where the
atmosphere is laden with vapor, are the most congenial to its
growth. Shade and humidity seem indispensable to the growth
of this shrub.

The dwarf rose bay generally presents itself in the form of a
shrub, less than 10 feet in height ; but it sometimes attains the
height of 20 or 25 feet with a diameter of 4 or 5 inches. When
the leaves are beginning to unfold themselves they are rose-colored,
and covered with red down ; when fully expanded they are
smooth, five or six inches long, of an elongated-oval form, and
of a thick, coriaceous texture. They are evergreen, and are
partially renewed once in three or four years. It puts forth
flowers in the month of June and July, which are commonly
rose-colored, with yellow dots on the inside, and sometimes they
are perfectly white. They are always collected at the extremity
of the branches in beautiful groups, which derive additional lustre
from the foliage which surrounds them. The seeds are extremely
minute, and are contained in capsules that open in autumn, for
their escape.

The wood is hard, compact and fine-grained ; but it is inferior
in these respects to that of the mountain laurel. This wood is
appropriated to no particular use in the arts.

296

SYLVA AMERICANA

ROBINIA.

Diadelphia Decandria. Linn. Leguminosoe. Jiss. Aperient, diuretic,

emollient.

Locust. Robhiia pseudo acacia.

From the excellent prop-
erties of its wood, and the
beauty of its foliage and
flowers, the Loc*ust ranks
in the first class of the trees
of the American forests. In
the Atlantic States, it begins
to grow naturally in Penn-
sylvania, between Lancaster
and Harrisburgh, in the
latitude of 40° 20'. West
of the mountains, it is found
two or three degrees farther
north ; which is explained
by an observation already
repeated, that, in proceeding
towards the west, the climate
becomes milder and the soil more fertile. But the locust is most
multiplied in the south-west, and abounds in all the valleys
between the chains of the Alleghany Mountains, particularly in
Lime Stone Valley. It is also common in all the Western States,
and in the territory comprised between the Ohio, the Illinois, the
lakes and the Mississippi. It is not found in the states east of
the river Delaware, nor does it grow spontaneously in the
maritime parts of the Middle and Southern States, to the distance
of from 50 to 100 miles from the sea, all the stocks that are seen
in these parts having been planted at different periods. The soil
in which it appears to thrive best, is a light and somewhat sandy
loam in situations having a southern aspect.

Fi3. i.

PLATE XCII.

A leaf. Fig. 2. Apod.

DENDROLOGY. 297

The dimensions of the locust vary with the soil and climate :
thus in Pennsylvania, between Harrisburgh and Carlisle, where
it begins to appear, it is much smaller than in Virginia, and
particularly in Kentucky and West Tennessee, which are situated
two or three degrees farther south, and where the soil is more
fertile. In these states it sometimes exceeds four feet in diameter,
and 70 or 80 feet in height ; which is twice the size it attains
east of the mountains. On the trunk and large limbs of the old
locust, the bark is very thick and deeply furrowed. The young
tree, till it attains the diameter of two or three inches, is armed
with formidable thorns, which disappear in its mature age. The
foliage is light and agreeable to the eye. Each leaf is composed
of opposite leaflets, eight, ten, or twelve, and sometimes more in
number, surmounted by an odd one. The leaflets are nearly
sessile, oval, thin, of a fine texture, and of so smooth a surface
that the dust is blown off from them as it alights. These leaves
are rarely injured by insects. The flowers, which open in the
month of May, are disposed in numerous, pendulous bunches :
they are perfectly white, and diffuse the most delicious odor.
Their fine effect, heightened by the fresh tint of the light green
foliage, renders this tree one of the most admired in Europe
among the ornamental trees. To the flower succeeds a narrow,
flat pod, about three inches long, containing five or six small
seeds, which are commonly brown, and sometimes black.

The wood of the locust, which is commonly of a greenish-
yellow color, marked with brown veins, is very hard, compact,
and susceptible of a brilliant polish ; it is possessed of great
strength with but little elasticity. Its most valuable property is
that of the power of resisting decay longer than almost any other
species of wood. In naval architecture the shipwrights use as
much locust wood as they can procure. It is as durable as the
live oak and the red cedar, with the advantage of being stronger
than the one and lighter than the other. It enters, with the live
oak, the white oak and the red cedar, into the upper and the
lower parts of the frame, though in a very small proportion. It
is also used for the trunnels, or the pins destined to attach the
side planks to the frame. Instead of decaying they acquire with
38

298 SYLVA AMERICANA.

time an extreme hardness, and they are used, to the exclusion of
all others, in the ports of the Middle and Northern States. In
the construction of houses, even of such as are wholly of wood,
the locust is not extensively employed in those parts of the
country where it is the most multiplied : the use to which it is
more particularly applied is to support the sills or the beams on
which the frame rests. These sills are of oak, and if they were
placed immediately on the ground, they would decay more
rapidly than the locust. From the hardness of the wood when
seasoned, from the fineness of its grain, and its lustre when
polished, it has been extensively substituted by turners for the
box wood in many species of light work, such as small domestic
wares, toys, etc. Tt is highly esteemed for posts of fence and
for fuel. This invaluable property of durability, which is
possessed by this tree in a great degree far superior to that of
any other except the red mulberry, sufficiently indicates the
purposes to which it may be advantageously applied ; but its use
is limited to the objects which we have enumerated.

There are said to be several varieties of the locust growing in
the United States ; those trees are reputed the best whose heart
is red ; the next in esteem are those with a greenish-yellow heart ;
and the least valuable are those with a white heart. From this
variety in the color of the wood, which probably arises from a
difference of soil, are derived the names of Red, Green and
White Locust. In the Western States there is a variety which
is sometimes called Black Locust.

DENDROLOGY.

299

Rose-Flowering Locust. Robinia viscosct.

This species of locust is
found only on that part of
the Alleghanies which trav-
erses Georgia and the Caro-
linas in these states west of
the mountains. It prohably
does not exist beyond the
35th degree of latitude, nor
in any of the lower parts of
the Southern States ; hence
it appears to be confined to
a very small tract.

The rose-flowering locust
is not so large as the pre-
ceding species ; its ordinary
stature does not exceed 40
feet, with a diameter of 10
or 12 inches. Its branches, like those of the locust, are garnished
with thorns, which, however, are smaller and less numerous.
The annual shoots are of a dull-red color, and are covered with
a viscid, adhesive humour. The foliage is thick and of a dusky
green. The leaves are five or six inches long, and are composed
of opposite leaflets, ten, twelve, or more in number, with a
terminal odd one. The leaflets are about an inch in length,
oval, nearly sessile, smooth, and of a fine texture. The flowers
are in open bunches, four or five inches long. They are numerous
and of a beautiful rose color, but destitute of fragrance. This
tree not unfrequently blooms twice in a year, and it would form
one of the most brilliant ornaments of the park and of the garden.
The seeds are small and contained in hairy pods two or three
inches long, and three or four lines broad.

The wood of this tree is of a greenish color, like that of the
common species, which it resembles also in its other properties :
but the inferior size of the tree, notwithstanding its surprisingly
rapid growth, renders it less interesting to the arts.

plate xcin.

Fig. 1, A leaf. Fig. 2. A pod.

300 SYLVA AMERICANA.

SALIX.

Dicecia Diaudria. Linn. Amentacese. Juss. Astringent, tonic, emollient.

Champlain Willow. Salix ligusirina.

This willow is found on the shores of Lake Champlain,
particularly near the village of Skeensborough. It is about 25
feet high and 7 or 8 inches in diameter : its first aspect resembles
that of the black willow, but its leaves are longer, narrower, and
accompanied at the base by cordiform, serrate stipulae. Its wood
and branches are appropriated to no particular use.

Shining Willow. Salix lucida.

This tree is found only in the Northern and Middle States. It
is found in moist but open grounds, and is more common on the
edges of the salt meadows than in the interior of the forests ; it
is also seen on the islands, not covered with woods, in the rivers
and near the shores of the lakes.

The shining willow attains the height of 18 or 20 feet ; but its
ordinary elevation is 9 or 10 feet. This species is easily
distinguished by the superior size of its leaves, which are
oval-acuminate, denticulated, and sometimes four inches in
length, brilliant and shining, hence its name.

Baskets are made of the branches of this tree, when those of
the European willow, which are preferable, cannot be obtained ;
but it possesses no property that recommends it to attention.

DENDROLOGY.

301

Black Willow. Salix nigra.

This species is the most
common of the American
willows. It is less multiplied
in the Northern and Southern
than in the Middle and
especially in the Western
States. It is found on the
banks of the great rivers,
such, as the Susquehannah
and the Ohio, and is called
Black Willow or simply
Willow.

This tree is rarely more
than 30 or 35 feet high and
12 or 15 inches in diameter.
It divides_at a small height
into several divergent but
not pendant limbs, and forms a spacious summit. The leaves
are long, narrow, finely denticulated, of a light green, and
destitute of stipulse. In the uniformity of its coloring the foliage
of this species differs from that of the European willow, the
lower surface of which is glaucous.

Upon the trunk the bark is grayish and finely chapped ; upon
the roots it is of a dark brown, whence may have been derived
the specific name of the tree. The roots afford an intensely
bitter decoction, which is considered in the country as a purifier
of the blood, and as a preventative and a remedy for intermittent
fevers.

PLATE XCIV.
Fijmre 1. The leaves.

302

SYLVA AMERICANA.

THUJA.

Monoecia Monadelphia. Linn. Coniferae, Juss. Expectorant, secernant,

stimulant.

American Arbor Vitje. Thuja occidentalism

This species of Thuja,
the only one that has been
discovered in America, is
the most interesting of the
genus for the properties of
its wood. The shores of
Lake St. John in Canada
may be considered as its
northern limit. It abounds
in favorable situations be-
tween the parallels of 48°
50' and 45° ; farther south
it becomes rare, and solitary
stocks are seen only on the
sides of torrents and on the
banks of certain rivers, as
on the Hudson amidst the
highlands, along the Erie canal from Rome to Montezuma, and
near the rapids of the Potomac in Virginia. Goat's Island,
round which the Niagara divides itself to form the stupendous
cataract which is one of the most wonderful spectacles of nature,
is seen from the banks of the river to be bordered with the arbor
vitae. In Canada and the northern parts of the United States
this tree is called White Cedar, but in the state of Maine it is
frequently designated by the name of Arbor T^itce, which we
have preferred, though less commonj because the other is
appropriated to the Cupressus thyoides. In Lower Canada,
New Brunswick, Vermont and the state of Maine, the arbor
vitae is the most multiplied of the resinous trees, after the black
and hemlock spruces. A cool soil seems to be indispensable to

PLATE XCV.
Fig. 1. A leaf with cones.

*

DENDROLOGY. 303

its growth. It is never seen upon the uplands, among the beeches,
birches, etc., but is found on the rocky edges of the innumerable
rivulets and small lakes which are scattered over these countries,
and occupies in great part, or exclusively, swamps from 50 to
100 acres in extent, some of which are accessible only in the
winter when they are frozen and covered with several feet of
snow. It abounds exactly in proportion to the degrees of
humidity, and in the driest marshes it is mingled with the black
and hemlock spruces, the yellow birch, the black ash, and a few
stocks of white pine. In all of them the surface is covered with
a bed of sphagnum so thick and surcharged with moisture that
the foot sinks half-leg deep while the water rises under its
pressure.

The arbor vitae is 45 or 50 feet in height and sometimes more
than 10 feet in circumference ; usually, however, it is not more
than 10 or 15 inches in diameter at five feet from the ground.
A full-grown tree is easily distinguished by its shape and foliage.
The trunk tapers rapidly from a very large base to a very slender
summit, and is laden with branches for four-fifths of its height.
The principal limbs, widely distant and placed at right angles
with the body, give birth to a great number of drooping, secondary
branches, whose foliage resembles that of the white cedar. On
the borders of the lakes, where it has room and enjoys the benefit
of the light and air, it rises perpendicularly, grows more rapidly
and attains a greater size than when crowded in the swamps,
where its thick foliage intercepts the light and impedes the
circulation of the air. In swamps its trunk is rarely straight, but
forms the arc of an ellipse or less inclined. Its sides swell into
two large ridges, which are a continuation of the principal roots.
The foliage is evergreen, numerously ramified, and flattened or
spread. The leaves are small, opposite, imbricated scales ; when
bruised they diffuse a strong, aromatic odor. The sexes are
separate upon the same tree. The male flowers, which appear
in the month of May, are in the form of small cones : to the
female blossoms succeeds a yellowish fruit about four lines in
length, composed of oblong scales, which open through their

304 SYLVA AMERICANA,

whole length for the escape of several minute seeds surmounted

by a short wing.

The bark upon the body is slightly furrowed, smooth to the

touch and very white when the tree stands exposed. The wood

is reddish, somewhat odorous, very light, soft and fine-grained :
in the northern part of the United States and in Canada it holds
the first place for durability. From the shape of the trunk it is
difficult to procure sticks of considerable length and an uniform
diameter ; hence in the state of Maine it is little employed for
the frame of houses, though in other respects proper for this
object, and still less for the covering. It is softer than white
pine, and gives a weaker hold to nails, for which reason the
Canadians always join it with some more solid wood. The most
common use of this tree is for rural fence, for which it is highly
esteemed. The posts last 35 or 40 years, and the rails 60, or
three or four times as long as those of any other species. The
posts subsist twice as long in argillaceous as in sandy lands.
While the usage of such fences continue the utmost economy
should be practised in cutting the arbor vitae according to the
rules prescribed for resinous trees. In Canada it is selected for
the light frame of bark canoes. Its branches garnished with
leaves are formed into brooms, which exhale an agreeable,
aromatic odor. Kalm affirms that the leaves, pounded and
moulded with hog's lard, form an excellent ointment for the
rheumatism.

TILIA.

Polyandria Monogynia. Linn. Tiliaceae. Juss. Aperient, emollient.

White Lime. Tilia alba.

The White Lime is not met with east of the river Delaware,
but it is abundant in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and the
Western States. It does not grow like the bass wood, in elevated
places nor amidst the other trees of the forests, and is rarely
seen except on the banks of rivers ; it is particularly observed on
those of the Susquehannah, the Ohio, and the streams which flow
into them.

DENDROLOGY.

305

The height of the white lime tree rarely exceeds 40 feet, and
its diameter 12 or 18 inches. Its young branches are covered
with a smooth, silver-gray bark, by which it is recognized in the
winter. The leaves are very large, denticulated, obliquely
heart-shaped and pointed, of a dark green on the upper surface
and white beneath, with small, reddish tufts on the angles of the
principal nerves. This whitish tint is most striking on solitary
trees exposed to the sun. The flowers come out in June, and,
as wrell as the floral leaf, are larger than those of any other lime
tree. The petals are larger and whiter, and are impregnated
with an agreeable odor. The seeds are round, or rather oval,
and downy.

The wood of this tree is white and tender, and is seldom
appropriated to any use in the arts.

American Lime or Bass Wood. Tilia Americana*

Among the lime trees of
North America east of the
Mississippi, this species is
the most multiplied. It
exists in Canada, but is more
common in the northern
parts of the United States,
where it is usually called
Bass Wood; it becomes
less frequent towards the
south, and in Virginia, the
Carolinas and Georgia, it is
found only on the Alleghany
Mountains. It is profusely
multiplied in Genessee which
borders on Lake Erie and
Lake Ontario. It generally

grows on a loose, deep, fertile soil.

The lime tree, in situations favorable to its growth, sometimes

attains the elevation of more than 80 feet with a proportional
39

PLATE XCVI.
Fig. 1. A leaf. Pig. 2. Tho fruit.

306 SYLVA AMERICANA.

diameter, and its straight, uniform trunk, crowned with an ample
and tufted summit, forms a beautiful tree. In newly-cleared
lands the remains of these trees are distinguished by the numerous
sprouts which cover the stumps, and the large roots, whose
growth can be prevented only by stripping off the bark or by the
operation of fire. The leaves of this tree are alternate, large,
nearly round, finely denticulated, heart-shaped at the base, and
abruptly terminated in a point at the summit. The flowers put
forth in the month of June, and are borne by long peduncles,
are pendulous, subdivided at the extremity, and garnished with a
long, narrow, floral leaf. The seeds, which are ripe about the
first of October, are round and of a gray color.

The trunk is covered with a very thin bark; the cellular
integument, separated from the epidermis and macerated in
water, is formed into ropes' ; in Europe they are used for well
cords. The wood" of this tree is white and tender : in the
Northern States, where the tulip tree does not grow, it is used
for the panels of carriage bodies, and the seats of chairs; but as
it is softer and splits more easily, it is less proper for these
objects. On the Ohio the images affixed to the prow of vessels
are made of this wood instead of the white pine. The flowers
of this tree are probably endowed with the same antispasmodic
and cephalic properties which are -ascribed to those of the
European species.

DENDROLOGY.

307

Downy Lime Tree. Tilia pubescens.

plate XCVII.
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2 The fruit.

The Downy Lime Tree
belongs to the southern parts
of the United States and the
Floridas. It grows of pref-
erence on the borders of
rivers and large marshes,
where the soil is cool and
fertile, but not exposed to
inundation. It is little mul-
tiplied, and consequently, is
not taken notice of by the
inhabitants ; for this reason,
and because it is the only
species of its kind in the
maritime parts of the Caro-
linas and of Georgia, it has
received no specific denom-
ination, and is simply called Lime Tree, to which we have added
the epithet Downy, derived from a character of its foliage not
observed in the preceding species.

This tree is 40 or 50 feet high with a proportionate diameter.
In its general appearance it resembles the American lime tree,
which grows farther north, more than the white lime tree, which
belongs to the Middle and Western States. Its leaves differ
widely in size according to the exposure in which they have
grown ; in dry and open places they are only two inches in
diameter, and are twice as large in cool and shaded situations.
They are rounded, pointed at the summit, very obliquely truncated
at the base, edged with fewer and more remote teeth than those
of the other lime trees, and very downy beneath. The flowers,
which appear in June, also, are more numerous and form larger
bunches, and the seeds are round and downy.

The wood is very similar to that of the other species, and is
seldom appropriated to any use in the arts.'

308

SYLVA AMERICANA.

ULMUS.

Pentandria Digynia. Linn. Amentacese. Juss. Astringent , tonic, emollient.

Wahoo. XJlmus alata.

The Wahoo is a stranger
to the Middle and Northern
States, and to the mountain-
ous regionsof the Alleghanies;
it is found only in the lower
part of Virginia, in the mari-
time districts of the Carolinas
and Georgia, in West Ten-
nessee and in some parts
of Kentucky. Probably it
grows also in the Floridas
and in Lower Louisiana, of
which the soil and climate
are analogous to those of the
maritime parts of the South-
ern States, and of which the
vegetable productions, with
few exceptions, are the same. The name of Wahoo, given to
this species of elm, in South Carolina and Georgia, is derived
from the Indians. This tree grows of preference on the banks
of rivers and in the great swamps inclosed in the pine-barrens.

The wahoo is of a middling stature, commonly not exceeding
30 feet, with a diameter of 9 or 10 inches. The branches are
furnished throughout their whole length, on two opposite sides,
with a fungous appendage, two or three lines wide, from which
the name of alata, winged, has been given to the species. The
leaves are borne by short petioles, and are oval, denticulated,
and smaller than those of the white and red elms. The flowers,
like those of other elms, open before the leaves. The seeds are
fringed and differ from those of the white elm only by a little
inferiority of size.

PLATE XCVIII.
Fig. I. A leaf. Fig. 2. The seed.

DENDROLOGY.

309

The wood of this tree is fine-grained, more compact, heavier
and stronger than that of the white elm. The heart is of a dull
red approaching to chocolate color, and always bears a large
proportion to the sap. In South Carolina, it is employed for the
naves of coach wheels, and is preferred for this object, to the
tupelo, as being harder and tougher ; but it is appropriated to no
other particular use.

White Elm. Ulmiis americana.

This tree which is known
throughout the United States
by the name of White Elm,
is found over an extensive
tract of North American
continent. Towards the
north it is first seen in about
the latitude of 48° 20', near
the mouth of the river Mis-
tassin, which empties into
Lake St. John in Canada.
It is abundantly multiplied
from Nova Scotia to the
extremity of Georgia, at a
distance of 1200 miles. It
is found also on banks of
all the rivers of the Western
States. But it appears to be the most multiplied and of the
loftiest height between the 42d and 46th degrees of latitude,
which comprises the provinces of Lower Canada, New Brunswick
and Nova Scotia, the New England States and Genessee in the
state of New York. This tree delights in low, humid, substantial
soils, such as in the Northern States are called interval lands.
In the Middle States it grows in similar situations, and on the
borders of swamps. West of the mountains it abounds in all the
fertile bottoms watered by the great rivers that swell the Ohio
and the Mississippi, where it attains superior dimensions.

plate xcix.

Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The seed.

310 SYLVA AMERICANA.

In the Middle States, the white elm stretches to a great height,
but does not approach trie magnificence of vegetation which it
displays in the countries peculiarly adapted to its growth. In
clearing the primitive forests a few stocks are sometimes .left
standing ; insulated in this manner, it appears in all its majesty,
towering to the height of 80 or 100 feet, with a trunk 4 or 5
feet in diameter, regularly shaped, naked, and insensibly
diminishing to the height of 60 or 70 feet, where it divides
itself into two or three primary branches. The limbs, not
widely divergent near the base, approach and cross each other
eight or ten feet higher, and diffuse on all sides, long, flexible,
pendulous branches, bending into regular arches and floating
lightly in the air. A singularity in this tree which exists in no
other ; two small limbs four or five feet long grow in a reversed
position near the first ramification, and descend along the trunk,
which is covered with a white, tender bark very deeply furrowed.
The leaves of this tree are four or five inches long, borne by
short petioles, alternate, unequal at the base, oval-acuminate and
doubly denticulated, They are generally smaller than those of
the red elm, of a thinner texture and a smoother surface, with
more regular and prominent ribs. It differs, also, essentially
from the red and European elm in its flowers and seeds : it
blooms in the month of April, previous to the unfolding of the
leaves ; the flowers are very small, of a purple color, supported
by short, slender foot stalks, and united in bunches at the
extremity of the branches. The seeds are contained in a flat,
oval, fringed capsule, notched at the base : the season of their
maturity is from the 15th of May to the first of June.

The wood of this tree, like that of the European elm, is of a
dark brown, and, cut transversely or obliquely to the longitudinal
fibres, it exhibits the same numerous and fine undulations ; but
it splits more easily, and has less compactness, hardness and
strength. This wood is used at New York and farther north for the
naves of coach wheels. It is not admitted into the construction
of houses or of vessels, except occasionally in the state of Maine
for keels, for which it is adapted only by its size. Its bark is
easily detached during eight months of the year ; soaked in water

DENDROLOGY.

311

and suppled by pounding, it is used in the Northern States for
the bottoms of common chairs. The wood makes good fuel,
and produces ashes strongly impregnated with the alkaline
principle.

Red or Slippery Elm. Ulmus rubra.

Except the maritime dis-
tricts of the Carolinas and
Georgia, this species of elm
is found in all parts of the
United States and of Canada.
It bears the names of Red
Elm, Slippery Elm and
Moose Elm, of which the
two first are the most com-
mon. The French of Can-
ada and "Upper Louisiana
call it Orme gras. This
tree is less multiplied than
the white elm, and the two
species are rarely found
together, as the red elm
requires a substantial soil
free from moisture, and even delights in elevated and open
situations, such as the steep banks of the Hudson and the
Susquehannah. In Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee it is more
multiplied than east of the mountains, and grows on the richest
lands of an uneaven surface.

This tree is 50 or 60 feet high and one or two feet in diameter.
In the winter it is distinguished from the white elm by its buds,
which are larger and rounder, and which a fortnight before their
developement, are. covered with a russet down. The leaves are
oval-acuminate, doubly denticulated and larger, thicker and
rougher than those of the white elm, and emit an agreeable odor.
It blooms in the month of April. The flowers are aggregated at

Fig. 1.

PLATE C
A leaf.

Fig: 2. The seed.

312 SYLVA AMERICANA.

the extremity of the young shoots. The scales which surround
the bunches of flowers are downy like the buds. The flowers
and seeds differ from those of the wahoo ; the calyx is downy
and sessile, and the stamens are short and of a pale-rose color ;
the seeds are larger, destitute of fringe, round, and very similar
to those of the European elms ; they are ripe about the last
of May.

The bark upon the trunk is brown ; the heart is coarse-grained
and less compact than that of the white elm, and of a dull-red
tinge. The wood, even in branches of one or two inches in
diameter, consists principally of alburnum or sap. This species
is stronger, more durable, when exposed to the weather, and of
a better quality than the white elm ; hence in the Western States
it is employed with greater advantage in the construction of
houses, and sometimes of vessels on the banks of the Ohio. It
is said to be the best wood in the United States for blocks, and
its scarceness in the Atlantic States is the only cause of its limited
consumption in the ports. It makes excellent rails, which are of
long duration and are formed with little labor, as the trunk
divides itself easily and regularly : this is probably the reason
that it is never employed for the naves of wheels. This tree
bears a strong resemblance to a species or a variety in Europe
known by the name of Dutch Elm; the bark of .which is very
mucilaginous and also contains sugar, a little gallic acid and
super tartrate of potass. Medicinally it is said to be alternative,
tonic and diuretic, and to be useful for herpetic and leprous
eruptions. If it ever do good in such cases, it must be from its
mucilage sheathing the acid or acrid substances of the primed
vitce, from which they arise. The leaves and the bark of the
branches, macerated in water, yield a thick and abundant
mucilage, which is used for a refreshing drink in colds. The
bark, when reduced to flour, is said to make excellent puddings.

DENDROLOGY.

313

VIRGILIA.

Decandria Monogynia Linn. Leguminosae. Juss. Aperient, emollient.
Yellow Wood. Virg-ilia lutea.

The Yellow Wood is con-
fined to that part of West
Tennessee which lies be-
tween the 35th and the 37th
degrees of latitude where it is
commonly designated by the
name which we have adopted.
It grows of preference on
gentle declivities, on a loose,
deep and fertile soil.

This tree rarely exceeds
40 feet in height and one
foot in diameter, and in
general it does not exceed
these dimensions. Its trunk
is covered with a greenish
bark, which is smooth instead
of being furrowed like that of most other trees. The leaves are
six or eight inches long on old trees, and of twice this size on
young and thrifty stocks. They are composed of two rows of
leaflets, smooth, entire, nearly round and about an inch and a
half in diameter. The leaflets are three, four or five on each
side, borne by short petioles, and surmounted by an odd one
which is supported by the common foot stalk. As in the button
wood, the lower part of the foot stalk contains the bud, which
becomes visible in plucking the leaf. The flowers form elegant,
white, pendulous bunches, a little larger than those of the locust,
but less odoriferous. The seeds also resemble those of the
locust, and are contained in pods that differ only in being a little
narrower. The seeds are ripe about the middle of August.

40

PLATE cr.

Fig. I. A pod.

Fig. 2. A leaflet.

314 SYLVA AMERICANA.

The wood of this tree is fine-grained and soft ; it is principally
remarkable for the yellow color of the heart, which speedily
imparts this hue to cold water ; but the color is fugitive even
when the wood is boiled with alum. The inhabitants of the
country were very desirous of finding some method of rendering
it permanent. Aside from the fine vegetation of the yellow
wood, the brilliant color of its heart appears to be a sufficient
motive for multiplying it till we become able to appreciate its
importance in dyeing.

SYLVA AMERICANA.

PART III.

ARBORICULTURE.

Judicious planting and the skilful culture of plantations
combine national and private interests in an eminent degree; for,
besides the real or intrinsic value of the timber or ostensible
crop, with other produce of woods, available for the arts and
comforts of life, judicious forest-tree planting improves the general
climate of the neighborhood, the staple of the soil, as regards the
gradual accumulation of vegetable matter, afford shelter to live
stock, promotes the growth of pasture and of corn crops, beautifies
the landscape, and thus greatly and permanently increases the
value of the fee simple of the estate and adjoining lands.

If we turn to those soils emphatically termed wastes — exposed,
elevated lands, moors, bogs, and sterile sands — composing so
large a portion of the United States, and naturally clothed by the
lowest and least valuable products of the vegetable kingdom, the
inferior grasses, mosses, rushes, sedges, ferns, and heaths — we
find that upon them the more valuable domestic animals cannot
exist. If we consider the reason why they are so barren, waste,
and unproductive, when compared with other lands not more
favored by nature, and under similar circumstances of latitude

316 SYLVA AMERICANA.

and elevation, the cause will, in many instances, be found in the
want of the shelter and shade of trees, and of the ameliorating
influence which plantations exercise on ungenial local climates.

The essential, permanent pasture grasses cannot be established
on naked exposed situations ; but when assisted by the shelter of
forest trees they become permanent and productive. Plantations
supply us with fuel, with materials for fencing, inclosing, building ;
corn crops, soiling plants, and root crops are obtained in
succession under their genial protection. Many millions of
acres now unprofitable to the owners and to the community,
might, by judicious planting, be reclaimed, and rendered highly
productive ; and it may be safely affirmed, that there is hardly
a spot of waste land in the Union so barren, which by the
exercise of skill in planting, and selection of proper species of
forest trees adapted to the soil and exposure, might not be
covered with profitable plantations.

Numerous instances might be cited from different parts of this
Republic where exposed and sterile lands have, by planting,
been made capable of producing valuable arable crops and the
best pasture grasses, and of rearing and fattening stock of improved
breeds. This, in effect, is adding to the territorial extent of a
country, to its wealth and strength, by conquest over the natural
defects of local climate, soil and exposure.

The subject of planting may, with propriety, be divided into
three parts: useful or forest-tree planting, ornamental or gardening-
planting, and orchard or fruit-tree planting. Each of these
divisions of the subject, from its importance and interest, in a
national point of view, as well as to individuals, seems to demand
a distinct treatise.

The first of these, forest-tree planting, is proposed for the
subject of the following pages; and the details of the theory and
practice of the art discussed under the following heads : — 1st of
earths and soils ; 2d of the different modes of rearing forest trees;
3d of the soils and sites most profitably employed in the growth
of timber ; 4th of the most approved modes of preparing different
soils for the reception of the plants ; and 5th of the culture of
plantations.

ARBORICULTURE. 317

CHAP. I.

Of Earths and Soils.

Earths are the productions of the rocks which are exposed on
the surface of the globe, and soils are earths mixed with more
or less of the decomposed organized matter afforded by dead
plants and animals. Earths and soils, therefore, must be as
various as the rocks which produce them, and hence to understand
their nature and formation it is necessary to begin by considering
the geological structure of the territorial surface ; next the manner
in which earths and soils are produced ; and lastly we shall
consider in succession the nomenclature and qualities of soils.

Of the Geological Structure of the Globe.

The materials of which the general mass of this earth is
composed, are variously distributed in different parts. In some
places they form irregular masses or blocks, either buried below
the surface, or elevated to a greater or less height above it. Tn
most places, however, the materials are arranged in a more
regular manner ; those of the same kind being collected into
extensive masses, lying in layers or strata, above or below a
similar mass of another kind, or these alternate with each other
to a considerable depth. These strata are sometimes found
arranged in a direction parallel to the horizon ; at others they
are vertical, or perpendicular to the horizon, appearing as if the
horizontal strata had been lifted up, and laid upon their edges.
More commonly the strata are arranged in a direction inclining
to the horizon, when they are said to dip.

The uppermost stratum is in most places covered to a certain
depth with mould that has evidently been formed from the
decomposition of organized substances. In many parts of the
earth this mould extends to a very considerable depth, and

318 SYLVA AMERICANA.

constitutes the soil ; in other places it is barely sufficient to form
a coating to the strata, and in others it is entirely wanting.
Sometimes the strata are continued in a regular arrangement,
preserving the same inclination to a very considerable extent ;
but more commonly they appear in some parts separated, as if
they had been broken asunder. These separations are usually
in a perpendicular direction, and the cavities are found filled
with various heterogeneous matters. Sometimes these are chiefly
composed of fragments of the adjacent strata, but for the most
part they consist of mineral or metallic substances of a different
nature. When these fissures are filled with broken fragments
or rubble, as it is called, it very commonly happens that they
become the beds of brooks or rivers. When the fissure is filled
with a solid stony matter, this forms what is called a dyke.
If a mass of mineral or metallic matters fill the fissure, or be
insinated between the strata, it forms what is called a vein, and
these veins sometimes branch between the strata in various
directions. When a fracture has taken place in the stratified
mass, one part of the mass sometimes preserves the same position
as it had before, or still forms a continued line with the other
parts of the mass, or is parallel to it ; but more frequently one
part is thrown out of its original position, and becomes more
inclined to the horizon than before. Sometimes one side of the
mass is more depressed than the other ; at others the two parts
of the mass are so distributed as to incline, towards each other,
as if they had been broken upwards. When the edges of the
strata on each side of the fissure are thus divided and disarranged,
they are said by the miners to trap. If the country in which
the strata lie runs in a waving direction of hill and dale, the
strata usually preserves the same waving direction, keeping pretty
nearly parallel to each other.

The general observation of all modern geologists proves, that
all these materials may be distributed under four general classes;
the first, supposed to be coeval with the world, and are called
primative, and consist chiefly of granite and marble, below which
man has not yet penetrated. The second series, called by the
Wernerians transition rocks, are of more recent formation, and

ARBORICULTURE. 319

seem to have resulted from some great catastrophe, (probably
that to which history gives the name of deluge), tearing up and
modifying the former order of things. Clay slate is one of the
principal rocks of this class, and next limestone, sand stone, and
trap or whin stone. The third series are called secondary rocks,
and seem to owe their formation to partial or local revolutions,
as indicated by their comparatively soft and fragile structure,
superincumbent situation, and nearly horizontal position. They
are chiefly lime stones, sand stones, and conglomerations of
fragments of other rocks, as plum-pudding stone, etc., and
appear rather as mechanical deposits from water than as chemical
compounds from fusion or solution. A fourth stratum consists
of alluvial or earthy depositions from water, in the form chiefly
of immense beds of clays, marls, or sands. These strata are far
from being regular in any one circumstance ; sometimes one or
more of the strata are wanting, at other times the order of their
disposition seems partially inverted ; their continuity of surface
is continually interrupted, so that a section of the earth almost
every where exhibits only confusion and disorder to persons who
have not made geology more or less their study.

Of the Formation of Earths and Soils.

The surface earth, or that which forms the outer coating of
the dry parts of the globe, is formed by the detrious or worn off
parts of rocks and rocky substances. For in some places, as in
chasms and vacuities between rocky layers or masses, earth
occupies many feet in depth, and in others, as on the summit oi
chalk hills or granite mountains, it hardly covers the surface.
Earths are, therefore, variously composed, according to the rocks
or strata which have supplied their particles. Sometimes they
are chiefly formed from slate rocks, as in blue clays ; at other
times from sand stone, as in siliceous soils ; and mostly of a
mixture of claey, slaty and lime stone rocks, blended in proportions
as various as their situations. Such we may suppose to have
been the state of the surface of the dry part of the globe

320 SYLVA AMERICANA.

immediately after the last disruption of the crust ; but in process
of time the decay of vegetables and animals form additions to
the outer surface of the earth, and constitute what are called
soils ; the difference between which and earths is, that the former
always contains a portion of vegetable or animal matter. The
manner in which rocks are converted into soils, Sir H. Davy
observes, may be easily conceived by referring to the instance
of soft granite, or porcelain granite. This substance consists of
three ingredients, quartz, feldspar and mica. The quartz is
almost pure siliceous earth in a chrystalline form. The feldspar
and mica are very compounded substances ; both contain silica,
alumina and oxide of iron ; in the feldspar there is usually lime
and potassa ; in the mica, lime and magnesia. When a granite
rock of this kind has been long exposed to the influence of the
air and water, the lime and the potassa contained in its constituent
parts are acted upon by water or carbonic acid ; and the oxide
of iron, which is almost always in its least oxidized state, tends
to combine with more oxygen ; the consequence is, that the
feldspar decomposes, and likewise the mica ; but the first the
most rapidly. The feldspar, which is as it were the cement of
the stone, forms a fine clay : the mica partially decomposed
mixes with it as sand ; and the undecomposed quartz appears as
gravel, or sand of different degrees of fineness. As soon as the
smallest layer of earth is formed on the surface of a rock, the
seeds of lichens, mosses and other vegetables of the kind which
are constantly floating in the atmosphere, and which have made
it their resting place begin to vegetate ; their death, decomposition
and decay afford a certain quantity of organizable matter, which
mixes with the earthy materials of the rock ; in this improved
soil more perfect plants are capable of subsisting ; these in their
turn absorb nourishment by the agency of water and the
atmosphere ; and after perishing, afford new materials to those
already provided : the decomposition of the rock still continues ;
and at length, by such slow and gradual processes, a soil is
formed in which even forest trees can fix their roots, and which
is fitted to reward the labors of the cultivator.

ARBORICULTURE. 321

The formation of peaty soils is produced from very opposite
causes, and it is interesting to contemplate how the same effect
may be produced by different causes, and the earth which
supplies almost all our wants may become barren alike from the
excessive application of art, or the utter neglect of it. Continual
pulverization and cropping, without manuring, will certainly
produce a hungry, barren soil ; and the total neglect of fertile
tracts will, from their accumulated vegetable products, produce
peaty soils, and bogs. Where successive generations of vegetables
have grown upon a soil, Sir H. Davy observes, unless part of
their produce has been carried off by man, or consumed by
animals, the vegetable matter increases in such proportion, that
the soil approaches to a peat in its nature ; and if in a situation
where it can receive water from a higher district, it becomes
spongy, and permeated with that fluid, and is gradually rendered
incapable of supporting the nobler classes of vegetables. Many
peat mosses seem to have been formed by the destruction of
forests, in consequence of the imprudent use of the hatchet by
the early cultivators of the country in which .they exist : when
the trees are felled in the outskirts of a wood, those in the
interior are exposed to the influence of the winds ; having been
exposed or accustomed to shelter, they become unhealthy, and
die in their situation ; and their leaves and branches gradually
decomposing, produce a stratum of vegetable matter.

Lakes and pools of water are sometimes filled up by the
accumulation of the remains of aquatic plants; and in this case
a spurious peat is formed. The fermentation in these cases,
however, seems to be of a different kind. Much more gaseous
matter is evolved ; and the neighborhood of morasses, in which
aquatic vegetables decompose, is generally aguish and unhealthy;
while that of the true peat, or peat formed on soils originally dry,
is always salubrious.

Soils may generally be distinguished from mere masses of
earth by their friable texture, dark color, and by the presence of
some vegetable fibre or carbonaceous matter. In uncultivated
grounds, soils occupy only a few inches in depth on the surface,

41

322 SYLVA AMERICANA.

unless in crevices, where they have been washed in by rains ;
and in cultivated soils their depth is generally the same as that
to which the implements used in cultivation have penetrated.

Classification and Nomenclature of Soils.

Systematic order and an agreed nomenclature are as necessary
in the study of soils as of plants or animals. The number of
provincial terms for soils which have found their way into the
books on cultivation, is one reason why so little use can be made
of their directions. A correct classification of soils may be
founded on the presence or absence of organic or inorganic
matter in their basis. This will form two grand classes, viz.
primitive soils, or those composed entirely of inorganic matter,
and secondary soih, or those composed of organic and inorganic
matter in mixtures. These classes may be subdivided into
orders founded on the presence or absence of saline, metallic
and carbonic matter. The orders may be subdivided into genera
founded on the prevailing earths, salts, metals, or carbon ; the
genera into species founded on their different mixtures ; the
species into varieties founded on color, texture ; and sub-varieties
founded on moisture, dryness, richness, lightness, etc.

In naming the genera of soils, the first thing is to discover the
prevailing earth or earths ; either the simple earths as clay, lime,
sand, or the particular rocks from which the soil has been
produced, as granite, basalt, etc. When one earth prevails, the
generic name should be taken from that earth, as clayey soil,
calcareous soil, etc. ; when two prevail to all appearance equally,
then their names must be conjoined in naming the genus, as clay
and sand, lime and clay, basalt and sand, etc. The great thing
is precision in applying the terms. Thus as Sir H. Davy has
observed, the term sandy soil should never be applied to any soil
that does not contain at least seven-eighths of sand ; sandy soils
that effervesce with acids should be distinguished by the name
of calcareous sandy soil, to distinguish them from those that are
siliceous. The term clayey soil should not be applied to any

ARBORICULTURE. 323

land which contains less than one sixth of impalpable earthy-
matter, not without considerably effervescing with acids ; the
word loam should be limited to soils, containing at least one third
of impalpable earthy matter, copiously effervescing with acids.
A soil to be considered as peaty, ought to contain at least
one half of vegetable matter. Jn cases where the earthy part of
a soil evidently consists of the decomposed matter of one
particular rock, a name derived from the rock may with propriety
be applied to it. Thus, if a fine red earth be found immediately
above decomposing basalt, it may be denominated basaltic soil.
If fragments of quartz and mica be found abundant in the
materials of the soil, which is often the case, it may be
denominated granitic soil ; and the same principles may be
applied to other like instances. In general, the soils, the
materials of which are the most various and heterogeneous, are
those called alluvial, or which have been formed from the
depositions of rivers ; and these deposits may be designated as
siliceous, calcareous, or argillaceous ; and in some cases the term
saline may be added as a specific distinction, applicable, for
example, at the mouth of rivers, where their alluvial remains are
overflown by the sea.

The following table enumerates the more common genera,
species and varieties of soil. The application ol the terms will
be understood byr every cultivator, though to attempt to describe
the soils either chemically or empirically, (as by sight, smell or
touch), would be a useless waste of time. From a very little
experience in the field or garden, more may be gained in the
study of soils, than from a volume of such descriptions. This
table corresponds with the nomenclature adopted in the agricultural
establishments of Fellenberg at Hofwyl in Switzerland, of
Professor Timer at Moegelin in Prussia, of Professor Thouin in
his lectures at Paris, and in general with that of all the European
professors. It is therefore very desirable that it should become
as generally adopted as that of the Linnaean system in botany.
The principle of the table may be extended so as to contain any
other soil whatever.

324

SYLVA AMERICANA.

TABLE.

Class. Order. Genus. Species

Variety.

E '

Earths
alone

Earths and
salts or
metals

fClay

Lime
Saud

Clay

f Earths and
organic
remains
alone

m

>■
<
!z

ft

Clay

Lime

Sand

Clay

Lime

Sand

Earths
with Granite

orgaute
remains, { Basalt
metals,
ealts and

rock3 feist

Entire

!

(Ferru

(.Sand <Cupre

f Safin*

Entire
Entire
C Ferrusineous
s Cupreous
f Saline
C Ferrugineous
S Cupreous
< S dine

gineous
preous
line
r Loamy
J Peaty
*\ Mouldy

I Limy

LSan

Sandy
'Clayey
Loamy
Sandy
Peaty

M >ldv

'Clayey

Lourny

Limy

Peaty

Mouldy
'Ferrugineous, loamy, &c.

Ferrugineous, limy, &c.

Ferrugineous, sandy, &c.

(Ferrugineous, peaty, &c.
Ferrugineou-, mouldy, &c.
Cupreous, loamy, &c.
Saline, loamy ,-&c.
Cinereous, loamy, &c.
'Ferrugineous, loamy, &c.
Ferrusrineous, sandy, &c.
Cupreous, loamy, &c.
Cupreous, sandy, &e.
Saline, loamy, &c.
Saline, sandy, &c.
Cinereous, loamy, &c.
^.Cinereous, limy, &c.
''Ferrugineous, loamy, &c.
Ferrugineous, limv, &c.
Cupreous, loamv, &c.
Cupreous, limv, &c.
Saline, loamy j &c.
Saline, limy, &c.
Cinereous, loamy, &t.
l.Cinereous, limy, &c.
Ferrugineous, &c.
Quartzose, &c.
Ferrugineous, &c.
Columnar, &c.
Whin stone, &c.
Ferrugineous, &c.
Micaceous, &c.
Chlorite, &c.
f Ferrugineous, &c.

Sand stone J Calcareous, &c.
| Argillaceous, &c.
V.Cupreeus, &c.
f Chalky, &c.
Marble, &c.
Shelly, &c.
Magnesian, &c.
Lime stoned Sulphuric, &c.

Ferrugineous, &c.
Cupreous, &c.
Argillaceous, &c.
^Siliceous, &c.
Slaty, &c.
j Pyritic, &c.
*• Stony, &c.

^ Woody, &c.

Elack

Red
Yellow
Coarse
v^Fine
Elack, red, yellow, coarse, fine, &c.
Black, red, yellow, coarse, fine, &c.
Black, red, yellow, coarse, fine, &c.
Black, red, &c.
Black, red, &c.
Black, red
Black, red

Black, red, yellow, coarse, fine, &c.
Black, red, yellow, coarse, fine, &c.
Black
Black

Black, red, yellow, &c.
- Black, red, yellow, &c.
Black
Black
Black

Black, red, yellow, &c.
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black

Black

Black

Black, red, yellow, &a.

Black

Black, red, yellow, &c.

Black

Black

Black, red, yellow, &.c.

Black

Black

Black, &u

Black

Black

Biack

Black, red, &c.

Black

Black

Black

Black

Black

Black

Black

Black

Black, red, yellow, &c.

Black

Black

Black

Sal)- Variety.

'Moist.
| Dry.

Rich.

Poor.
[.Sterile.

Moist, dry, &c.

Moist, dry, &c.

Moist, dry, &c.

Moist, dry, &c.

Moist, dry, rich, &c.

Moist, dry, &c.

Moist, dry, &c

Moist, dry, &c.

Moist, dry, &c.

Moist, dry, &c.

Moist, dry, &c.

Moist, dry, rich, &c.

Moist, dry, rich, &c.

Moist.

Moist, dry, &c.

Moist, dry, &c.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist, dry.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

M'ist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist, dry, &c.

Moist.

Moist, dry, &c.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist, &c.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist, &c.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist, dry, &c.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist, dry, rich, See.

Moist.

Moist.

Moist.

arboriculture. 325

Of Discovering the Qualities of Soils.

The value of soils to the cultivator, is discoverable, botanically,
chemically and mechanically ; that is, by the plants, that grow
on them naturally ; by chemical analysis ; and by exterior and
interior inspection or handling.

Of Discovering the Quality of Soils Botanically.

Plants are the most certain indicators of the nature of a soil ;
for while no practical cultivator would engage with land of which
he knew only the results of a chemical analysis, or examined by
the sight and touch a few bushels which were brought to him,
yet every gardener or farmer, who knew the sorts of plants it
produced, would be at once able to decide as to its value for culti-
vation. For example, the garget and striped maple are generally
found on a warm, loamy soil ; the rush on a clayey soil ; the
mullein and sorrel on a dry, sandy soil ; and the cranberry on a
peaty soil. But these plants, however, are not to be absolutely
depended upon, as they are sometimes found in soils directly
opposite ; as climate and natural irrigation of plants have much
more influence on these plants than mere soils.

Of Discovering the Qualities of Soils by
Chemical Analysis.

Chemical analysis is much too nice an operation for general
•purposes. It is not likely that many practical cultivators will
ever be able to conduct the analytic process with sufficient
accuracy, to enable them to depend on the result. But still such
a knowledge of chemistry as shall enable the cultivator to
understand the nature of the process and its results, when made
and presented to him by others, is calculated to be highly useful,
and ought to be acquired by every man whose object is to join
theoretical to practical knowledge. If it so happens that he can

32 G SYLVA AMERICANA.

perform the operations of analysis himself, so much the better, as
far as that, point is concerned ; but on the whole, such knowledge
and adroitness is not to be expected from men who have so
many other points demanding their attention, and who will,
therefore, effect their purpose much better by collecting proper
specimens of the soils to be studied, and sending them for analysis
to a respectable operative chemist.

In selecting specimens, where the general nature of the soil of
a field is to be ascertained, portions of it should be taken from
different places, two or three inches below the surface, and
examined as to the similarity of their properties. It sometimes
happens, that upon plains, the whole of the upper stratum of the
land is of the same kind, and in this case, one analysis will be
sufficient : but in valleys, and near the beds of rivers, there are
very great differences, and it now and then occurs that one part
of a field is calcareous, and another part siliceous ; and in this
case, and in analogous cases, the portions different from each
other should be separately submitted to experiment. Soils, when
collected, if they cannot be immediately examined, should be
preserved in phials quite filled with them, and closed with ground-
glass stoppers. The quantity of soil most convenient for a perfect
analysis is from two to four hundred grains. It should be
collected in dry weather, and exposed to the atmosphere till it
becomes dry to the touch.

The soil best suited for culture, according to the analysis of
Bergman, contains four parts of clay, three of sand, two of
calcareous earth, and one of magnesia : and, according to the
analysis of Fourcroy and Hassenfratz, 9216 parts of fertile soil
contained 305 parts of carbon, together with 279 parts of oil ;
of which, according to the calculations of Lavoisier, 220 parts
may be regarded as carbon : so that the whole of the carbon
contained in the soil in question may be estimated at about 525
parts exclusive of the roots of vegetables, or to about one sixteenth
of its weight. Young observed that equal weights of different
soils, when dried and reduced to powder, yielded by distillation
quantities of air somewhat corresponding to the ratios of their
values. The air was a mixture of fixed and inflammable gasses,

ARBORICULTURE. 327

proceeding probably from decomposition of the water ; but,
partly, it may be presumed, from its capacity of abstracting a
portion of air from tbe atmospbere, which the soil at least is
capable of doing. The following is the analysis of a fertile soil,
as occurring in the neighborhood of Bristol, England. In 400
grains, there were of water, 5*2; siliceous sand, 240; vegetable
fibre, 5 ; vegetable extract, 3 ; alumine, 48 ; magnesia, 2 ; oxide
of iron, 14 ; calcareous earth, 30 ; loss, 6. But Kirwan has
shown in his Geological Essays, that the fertility of a soil depends
in a great measure upon its capacity for retaining water ; and if
so, soils containing the same ingredients must be also equally
fertile, all other circumstances being the same ; though it is plain
that their actual fertility will depend ultimately upon the quantity
of rain that falls, because the quantity suited to a wet soil cannot
be the same that is suited to a dry one. And hence it often
happens that the ingredients of the soil do not correspond to the
character of the climate. Silica exists in the soil under the
modification of sand, and alumine under the modification of clay.
But the one or the other is often to be met- with in excess or
defect. Soils in which the sand preponderates retain the least
moisture ; and soils in which the clay preponderates retain the
most ; the former are dry soils, the latter are wet ones. But it
may happen that neither of them is sufficiently favorable to culture ;
in which case, their peculiar defect or excess must be supplied
or retrenched before they can be brought to a state of fertility.

In the present state of chemical science, Dr. Ure observes, no
certain system can be devised for the improvement of lands,
independently of experiment ; but there are few cases in which
the labor of analytical trials will not be amply repaid by the
certainty with which they denote the best methods of melioration;
and this will particularly happen, when the defect of composition
is found in the proportions of the primitive earths. In supplying
organic matter, a temporary food only is provided for plants,
which is in all cases exhausted by means of a certain number of
crops ; but when a soil is rendered of the best possible constitution
and texture, with regard to its earthy parts, its fertility may be
considered as permanently established. It becomes capable of

328 SyLVA AMERICANA.

attracting a very large portion of vegetable nourishment from the
atmosphere, and of producing its crops with comparatively little
labor and expense.

Of Discovering the Qualities of a Soil Mechanically

and Empirically.

The physical properties of soils and some of their most
important constituents relatively to the cultivator, may be
ascertained to a certain extent by various and very simple means.

The specific gravity of a soil, or the relation of its weight to
that of water, may be ascertained by introducing into a phial,
which will contain a known quantity of water, equal volumes of
water and of soil, and this may be easily done by pouring in
water till it is half full, and then adding the soil till the fluid rises
to the mouth ; the difference between the weight of the soil and
that of the water, will give the result. Thus if the bottle contains
400 grains of water, and gains 200 grains when half filled with
water and half with soil, the specific gravity of the soil will be 2,
that is, it will be twice as heavy as water, and if it gained 165
grains, its specific gravity would be 1S25, \vater being 1000.

The presence of clay and sand in any soil may be known two
ways ; the first by its tenacity, the other by its roughness to the
touch, and by scratching glass when rubbed on it.

The presence of calcareous matter in soil may be ascertained
by simply pouring any acid on it, and observing if it effervesces
freely. Calcareous soils are also softer to the touch than any
other.

The presence of organized matter in any soil may be ascertained
very satisfactorily by weighing it after being thoroughly dried ;
then subjecting it to a red heat, and weighing it again, the weight
last found will be the proportion of organic matter. The same
object may also be obtained by ascertaining the specific gravity
of the soil, but with less accuracy.

The presence of metallic oxides in a soil may generally be
known by their color. Ferrugineous soils, are red or yellow ;
cupreous soils, interspersed with greenish streaks, etc.

ARBORICULTURE. 329

The presence of salts, sulphur, coal, etc. may be known by
the absence or peculiarity of vegetation, as well as by color, and
the appearance of the water of such soils.

The capacity of a soil for retaining water may
be thus ascertained. An equal portion of two
soils, perfectly dry, may be introduced into
two bell-glass, cylindrical vessels, (Plate 102)
plate cir. in the middle of each of which a glass tube

is previously placed. The soil should be put into each in the
same manner, not compressed very hard, but so as to receive a
solidity approaching to that which they possessed when first
obtained for trial. If, after this preparation, a quantity of water
be poured into the glass tubes, it will subside ; and the capillary
attraction of the soils will conduct it up the cylinders towards the
tops of the vessels. That which conducts it the most rapidly,
provided it does not rise from the weight of the incumbent
column of water in the tube, may be pronounced to be the
better soil.

CHAP II.

Of the Different Modes of Rearing Forest Trees.

It has been strongly controverted by some, whether it is better
to raise trees for timber and like purposes* from their seeds and
first rudiments, or to transplant such as we find have either raised
themselves from their seeds, or sprung from their mother roots,
or by grafting or innoculation. Now that to produce them
immediately from the seed we contend is the better way, the
following reasons may seem to evince. First, because they
vegetate the soonest ; secondly, because they produce the
straightest and most uniform shoots ; thirdly, because they will
neither require staking nor watering, which are two very
considerable articles; fourthly, because that transplanting in
42

330 SYLVA AMERICANA.

general, unless they are taken up the first year or two, is a
considerable impediment to the growth of forest trees : although
it be true that many of those which are found in woods, especially
young oaks, beeches and many others, spring from the self-sown
seeds ; yet being for the most part dropped and disseminated
among the half-rotten sticks, musty leaves and perplexities of the
mother roots, they grow scraggy, and being overpowered, become
squallid and are liable to accumulate moss. Nor can their roots
expand, and spread themselves as they would do, if they were
sown, or had been planted in a more open, free and ingenuous
soil. On the truth of this, experience affirms, that an acorn,
sown by the hand in a nursery, or ground where it may be free
from these obstructions, shall in two or three years outstrip a
plant of twice that age, which has either been self-sown in the
woods, or removed, unless by some favorable accident, it had
been scattered into a more natural, penetrable and better qualified
place j but this disproportion is yet infinitely more remarkable in
the pine and in the walnut, where the seed set into the ground,
usually overtakes a tree of ten years' growth which was planted
at the same instant. And, lastly, for that grafting and innoculation,
unless performed with the utmost skill, most frequently defeat
the design of the cultivator ; besides, if they are well set they
are liable to accidents from high winds, extreme cold, the
depradations of animals and numerous other causes.

Of the Seminary.

From the foregoing observations we may infer that the most
natural, direct and general way of raising trees and plants, is
from seeds. In order to this, proper soils must be prepared for
them, as suitable as possible to their respective natures ; and
when the ground is ready, and well furnished with the embryo
plants, it is properly and significantly called the Seminary. Its
situation should be as near the nursery as possible ; and as it is
of the utmost consequence to preserve the young plants from the
range of animals, the ground should be fenced round with poles

ARBORICULTURE. 331

of a sufficient height. Late in autumn let the land be trenched
from a foot and a half to two feet deep, working the sward to the
bottom ; and during the following spring, the surface should be
carefully kept clear from weeds. About mid-summer, unless the
soil be very rich, let a coat of manure be spread over the surface,
after which it should again be trenched. By this second
operation the rotten sward will be brought to the top, and the
soil will wear a mellow appearance. From mid-summer to'
September, the ground should be kept clear from weeds ; and
just before the seeds are committed to it, it should again be
trenched, which will effectually produce an uniform mixture of
all the parts. This being done let the ground be levelled, and
the beds laid out for the different purposes, reserving proper
portions for the reception of such seeds as must be sown in
spring.

A very judicious planter recommends the following method of
making a seminary. Trench the ground in November eighteen
inches deep, if the soil will admit of it ; but where the staple is
too thin, one foot will be sufficient, in which case the sward must
be pared off very thin, and placed in the bottom of the trench.
The following year let this land be cultivated with a crop of
cabbages, turnips or rape, which must be eaten off by sheep.
After this a common digging will be sufficient, previous to its
being formed into beds for the reception of the seeds, It will
be necessary to remark upon this mode of preparation, that the
urine of sheep is considered as one of the most cherishing
manures for all plants raised in a seminary. This mode of
procedure will answer for most kinds of trees. Those which
require a moister or cooler situation, may be cultivated with
equal success by shading and irrigation. No greater error exists
in the planter's art, than the doctrine that trees should be raised
on the same quality of soil as that to which they are to be trans-
planted, as if a robust, healthy plant were less likely to withstand its
subsequent casualties of situation, soil and local climate, than a
weaker plant with contracted sap vessels, the invariable conse-
quence of a poor seed-bed soil.

Experience fully confirms that principle of vegetable physiology

332 SYLVA AMERICANA.

which teaches that robust, healthy plants, whether in the seedling
stage of growth or of a larger size, succeed better than those of
stinted growth, even when transplanted to the least favorable soil
and exposure.

Where the land to be planted with forest trees is an extensive
tract and remotely situated, and where the seeds of the several
kinds can be procured genuine, of good quality, and at a small
cost, the formation of a private seminary may be advisable ; but
where the plants can be procured from a reasonable distance, it
will be found the most economical and effective to purchase them,
and even in the former case one or two years' seedling should be
procured in place of seeds, as a saving of time and expense.

The seminary being now ready, it follows that the planter
should be instructed in the manner of sowing and raising the
seeds of forest trees. The following directions upon this subject
are either drawn from experience, or are transcribed from the
best authorities.

Of the Seeds of Forest Trees.

The seeds of forest trees may be classed under the following
heads, or general characters, indicating peculiar points to be
observed in the practice of sowing them.

1st. Seeds farinaceous, and covered ivith shells, nut seeds. To
this class belong the oak, chesnut, beech, horse chesnut, walnut,
hazel, hornbeam, plane, sycamore, maple and ash, to which may
be added, though not strictly belonging to the group, the birch,
alder and lime. The first seven kinds, from the farina they
contain, are least adapted for keeping out of the soil, and the
same cause renders them more difficult to preserve in the soil
when sown, by inducing the attacks of mice, birds, and other
vermin. The spring is considered the best season for sowing,
and the seeds must therefore be preserved carefully during the
winter ; the most approved mode is to spread them out in their
layers on a cool, dry floor, but previously to this they should be
thoroughly dried by the sun and air. The smaller kinds of seeds
after being sufficiently dried, may be kept in a smaller space.

ARBORICULTURE. 333

When sown, these seeds require different degrees of covering in
the soil. The larger seeds, as those of the chesnut, oak, etc.,
should be covered with two inches of mould ; for the smaller
seeds of the plane, sycamore, hornbeam, maple and ash, it will
be proper to mix with them sand, in quantity about equal to their
bulk, jolacing the mixture on the ground a foot in thickness, and
covering that with an inch thick of mould. The birch may- be
sown immediately as it is taken from the tree, or preserved in
the seed loft until spring. When sowti, the birch is generally
covered half an inch with mould, the former seeds with one inch.
2d. Hard seeds, or stones covered with a puljjy fruit. The
proper covering of these seeds is so hard, as to have acquired
for them the name of stones. In this class are the persimon,
June berry, tupelo, cherry, mountain ash, holly, pear, crab and
thorn. To obviate the irregular vegetation of these seeds, which
is attended with loss of time and inconvenience, the practice of
preparing them for sowing by what is called pitting has been
adopted ; but as one, two, or even three years in the pit or
preparatory bed are wanted for some of these seeds, it is requisite
after they have lain a certain time in the pit to uncover them and
turn them over, so as to assist in the separation of the pulp from
the stones.

3d. Leguminous, or bean seeds. These, as regards forest
trees are confined to the common acacia, or locust tree, (Robinia
pseud acacia), and the glutinous robinia (Robinia viscosa).
These seeds vegetate freely when sown from the tree, but it is
the general practice to preserve them until spring in a dry, cool
place. When sown, they require to be covered with about three
fourths of an inch of mould. If sown too thickly, that is, less
than one inch seed from seed, the plants soon injure one another
and become diseased.

4th. Light seeds. Under this head we enumerate the poplar
and the tree willows. These seeds being light, and separating
freely from the tree when ripe, require care in collecting, as other-
wise they are liable to be dispersed and carried away by the wind.
They vegetate quickly and may be sown as soon as they are ripe.
Spring, however, is preferred, as tender seedling plants are subject

334 SYLVA AMERTCANA.

to injury from severe weather in winter. They should be
covered to the depth of one fourth of an inch of fine, sifted
mould.

5th. Resinous seeds are those of coniferous or fir trees. Their
vegetative power when cleaned or separated from the cones, is
not to be preserved if they are kept out of the ground for any
considerable length of time, and they require particular care in
sowing. The soil of the beds ought to be of a light sandy
nature, enriched with the vegetable mould of decayed tree leaves,
or well-decomposed dung. If a proper quantity of the former
manure be added, and well incorporated with the sandy loam
above described, it will bring that soil to a suitable texture.
The seeds are borne in cones furnished with scales of a hard
woody consistence. The cones of the larch with much difficulty
part from the seeds, and various means have been adopted to
effect that object. The best is that of first opening the cone, or
dividing it lengthways into two or four parts, then placing them
on a kiln and drying by a very gentle heat until the valves begin
to open, when they should be taken to a proper floor and
threshed : the seeds may then be separated by a sieve. The
cones of the spruces require also the aid of the kiln ; but the
seeds part from the cones easily, and the splitting of the cones
is superfluous. The spring is the best season for sowing these
seeds. The soil of the seedling beds should be in as finely a
pulverized state as possible for their reception.

Of Sowing the Seeds.

The trees belonging to the following genera are the most
suitable for cultivation by seeds.

Abies. All the trees of this genus affect moist, siliceous, sandy
soils, but they will flourish on rocky, and comparatively barren
soils, for which they are peculiarly adapted. The seeds should
not be taken out of the cones till the time of sowing arrives,
which is in March or April.

ARBORICULTURE. 335

Acer, This genus requires a deep, rich, moist soil free from
stagnant water : some species will thrive in a dryer soil. The
seeds should be sown as soon as possible after they are ripe.
Some are of opinion that they should be preserved in dry sand
until March or April.

Alnus. This genus requires a moist, damp soil. The seeds
should be sown in autumn or spring : if left until spring, they
should be preserved in dry sand.

Andromeda. The seeds of this genus should be sown as soon
as ripe in a sandy peat.

Betula. This genus will grow in every description of soil,
from the wettest to the driest. The seed may be sown in
autumn or spring ; to be kept in a dry, cool sand, from the time
it is ripe until it is sown.

Carpinus. Poor clayey loams, incumbent on sand and
chalky gravels, are well adapted for the growth of this genus.
The seed should be sown in autumn.

Castanea. A rich sandy loam raises the chesnut to the
greatest perfection as a timber tree ; but it appears to come to
great maturity in clayey soils, if free from stagnant moisture. It
will thrive also in gravel or sand, if not in too bleak or exposed
a situation. The seeds should be planted in March or April.

Chamcerops. This genus requires a warm, rich garden mould.
The seeds should be sown at their maturity.

Cupressus. This genus delights most in a sandy loam, but it
will also thrive and grow to a considerable height in clayey soils.
The seed should be sown in the spring, in a warm situation, or
in pots, in dry, light earth : to be kept in the cones until the
period of sowing.

Diospyros. The seeds of this genus should be sown at their
maturity in a sandy loam.

Gleditschia. This genus requires a sandy loam : its seeds
should be sown as soon as they are matured : they frequently
remain in the earth two years before they vegetate.

Juglans. This genus requires a rich, loamy soil to bring it to
perfection ; but it will succeed in very light, siliceous, sandy
soils, as well as clayey ones. The nuts should be preserved

336 SYLVA AMERICANA.

until March or April in their husk, after which they may be
sown.

Larix. This genus requires a moist, cool loam in a shaded
situation. The seeds may be sown in November, or kept in
the cones until March or April and then be sown.

Lauras. This genus requires a soil composed of sand, peat
and loam. The seeds should be sown at the period of their
maturity.

Liquidambar. This genus will flourish best in a sandy loam,
but will thrive in most kinds of soils of an intermediate quality
between moisture and dryness. The seeds should be sown in
the spring in pots or boxes of light earth ; to be shaded during
the summer, and protected from severe frosts in the winter, may
be propagated also by layers.

Lyriodendron. The seeds of this genus should be sown at
their maturity in a sandy loam.

Magnolia. The seeds of this genus should be sown, as soon
as ripe, in pots or boxes filled with a mixture of loam and peat,
and plunge them into an old hot bed of tanner's bark : they may
also be propagated by layers.

Olea. The seeds of this tree should be sown as soon as they
have matured in a sandy peat.

Pinus. All the fir and pine tribes affect siliceous, sandy soils,
but they will flourish on rocky and comparatively barren ones,
for which they are peculiarly adapted. The seeds should be
sown in March or April, and should not be taken out of the cones
until the time of sowing arrives.

Plat anus. This genus prefers moist loam, but free from
stagnant moisture. The seeds should be sown immediately after
they are ripe.

Quercus. A rich loam, with a clayey sub-soil, brings the oak
to the greatest perfection ; but it may be profitably cultivated on
almost every description of soil, except boggy or peat. They
should be sown in November ; or if deferred till spring, lay them
upon a cool, dry floor, to prevent their vegetating.

Robinia. This genus will grow in almost any soil, but attains

ARBORICULTURE. 337

to most perfection in such as is light and sandy. The seeds
should be sown in March or April, on a bed of light earth.

Tilia. This genus will nourish in almost any kind of soil, if
moderately damp. The seeds should be sown in autumn, in a
shady border of moist, light soil ; but the usual mode of
propagation is by layers.

Of the Nursery and Plantation.

The following are essential points to be considered in establishing
an effective nursery : fencing, shelter, aspect, soil and management.
The fence of a forest-tree nursery requires to be rahbit proof, or
loss and disappointment are almost certain to follow. A foundation
of brick work should be made for a superstructure of close paling.
Where shelter is not an object, a very cheap and excellent
substitute is found in iron wire netting, which is manufactured for
the general purposes of fences to young plants. Shelter is
indispensable to the free growth of seedling plants, the injurious
consequences resulting from sudden checks,- as also the bad
effects of confined air to the health and prosperity of trees in
every stage of growth ; and therefore, at the same time that a
full protection against cold, bleak winds and unfavorable aspects
is necessary, a full and free circulation of atmospheric air must
be secured, to allow of a well-grounded hope of success.

The soil of the nursery must be of an intermediate quality as
to moisture and dryness, not less than eighteen inches deep to
the subsoil, and under a south, east or west exposure, or
intermediate points of these. The varieties of soil required for
particular kinds of trees will have to be supplied where the
natural soil is deficient.

Management, This head comprehends an ample degree of
practical skill in the superintendant and workmen ; the erection
of proper sheds, the means of carriage for composts, soils, plants,
etc., immediately when needed. A quantity of compost and
different soils should alwavs be in readiness when wanted for the
seedling beds, layer stools, and cutting beds, and a proper
assortment of nursery garden tools, which shall be specified

43

338 SYLVA AMERICANA.

hereafter. The preparation of the soil, the mode of sowing, and
the different kinds of forest-tree seeds, have already been
described. All kinds of forest trees, however, are not raised
from seeds, either because they do not perfect a sufficient quantity
for the general purposes of propagation, or are accidental varieties
only of a species losing their characters of distinction when
reproduced from seed. The following modes of propagation are
found effectual when seeds cannot be obtained : first, by suckers,
second, by layers, third, by cuttings, and fourth, by grafting.

1st. Suckers are shoots produced by the creeping roots of a
tree, which, when separated from the parent root and transplanted,
become perfect trees. They are generally sufficiently rooted in
the first season of their production, and they should not be
suffered to remain longer than two seasons attached to the root
of the tree ; for if continued longer, the support they derive from
the parent root prevents them from making independent roots of
their own in such abundance as they do when separated or taken
up at an earlier period. The spring is the most proper season
for taking them from the parent roots. When a sufficient numbeT
of rootlets appear on the sucker, no part of the root from whence
the sucker sprang should be left attached to it ; but where the
proper rootlets are deficient in number, a small portion of the
parent root may be left with advantage. The plants should be
planted in rows in fresh soil, and treated in all respects afterwards
as directed for seedling transplanted trees. The kinds of trees
chiefly reared in England in this mode are :

Ailantlms glandulosa, . . Chinese Ailanthus.

Populus alba, . . . Ahele Tree.

Populus canescens, . . . Common White Poplar.

Populus tremula, . . . Aspen.

The first three kinds may also be propagated by layers.

2d. Layers. The process of layering is well known : it
consists in bending a young branch (Plate 103) into the soil to a
certain depth, and elevating the top part of it out of the soil in
an upright direction ; in time the buried part takes root, and the
shoot becomes a perfect plant. The root which produces the
young shoots for layering is called the stool. Stools are planted

ARBORICULTURE.

339

PLATE CIII.

about six feet apart every way in a deep, fresh soil. The stem
at first is either bent down into the ground as a layer, or cut over
a few inches from the root. The shoots which are produced

from its sides form the layers
(c?). The rooting of the
layers is much facilitated by
obstructing in part the de-
scending sap ; this is essential
to some kinds of layers, though
not to all : the common laurel,
privet, etc., strike root readily without any artificial stoppage of
the descending sap. The most expeditious mode of effecting
this, is to cut a notch, slanting upwards to the origin of the layer,
about half a diameter in length (/), and securing the position of
the layer in the ground by a wooden peg (g). Where the shoot
is of a nature that roots with difficulty, it is useful to split the
tongue of the notch half way up, and to insert a small wedge of
potsherd or wood to keep the division open. Rings of wire are
also sometimes used for the same purpose, and cutting the bark
round the part to within a little of the complete circumference of
the shoot. In all ordinary cases, however, the slit or notching
mode is perfectly effective. The ground should be kept quite
clean of weeds, and watered in dry weather. When sufficiently
rooted, the layers should be carefully cut away from the shoots,
with all the fibrous roots attached to them, and planted in rows
in fresh, well-prepared soil. The stools should have all the
stumps of the branches cut away, and left to produce a fresh
series of shoots for next autumn's layering. The following trees
are propagated by layers.
Acer eriocarpum, . . . White Maple.

Acer montanum,
Acer negundo,
Acer rubrum,
Acer striatum,
Alnus glauca,
Alnus serrulata,
Betula lenta,
Betula lutea,
Betula papyrifera,

Mountain Maple.

Ash-Leaved Maple.

Red- Flowering Maple.

Striped Maple.

Black Aldar.

Common American Aldar.

Black Birch.

Yellow Birch.

Canoe Birch.

340

STLVA AMERICANA.

Betula populifolia,
Betula rubra,
Carpinus ostrya,
Celtis crassifolia,
Celtis occidentalis,
Cerasus borealis,
Cerasus caroliniana,
Cerasus virginiana
Cornus florida,
Cupressus thyoides,
Fagus ferruginea,
Fagus sylvestris,
Gordonia lasyanthus,
Gordonia pubescens,
Hopea tinctoria, .
Kalmia latifolia, .
Laurus caroliniensis,
Magnolia acuminata,
Magnolia auriculata,
Magnolia cordata,
Magnolia Grandiflora,
Magnolia tripetala,
Morus rubra,
Nyssa aquatica, .
Nyssa sylvatica, .
Pinekne-ya pubens,
Pinus rigida,
Quercus pumila, .
Rhododendron maximum,
Thuja occidentalis,
Tilia alba, . i
Tilia americana, .
Tilifc pubescens, .
Ulmus rubra,

White Birch.

Red Birch.

Iron Wood.

Hack Berry.

American Nettle Tree.

Red Cherru.

Wild Orange.

Wild Cherry.

Bog Wood.

White Cedar.

Red Beech.

White Beech.

Loblolly Bay.

Franklinia.

Sweet Leaf.

Mountain Laurel.

Red Bay.

Cucumber Tree.

Long-Leaved Cucumber Tree.

Heart-Leaved Cucumber Tree.

Big Laurel.

Umbrella Tree.

Red Mulberry.

Tupelo.

Black Gum.

Georgia Bark.

Pitch Pine.

Running Oak.

Dwarf Rose Bay. "

American Arbor Vitce Tree.

White Lime Tree.

Bass Wood.

Downy Lime Tree.

Red or Slippery Elm.
3d. Cuttings. Shoots of one year's growth are the most
proper to be used in this mode of propagating several kinds of
forest trees. The shoots should be selected from the most
healthy and free-grown branches, and cut into lengths of from six
to eighteen inches, according to the kind of tree.. If evergreens
(a, Plate 104), the leaves should be cut off half way up from
the root end of the cutting (&). Deciduous trees should have
shed their leaves before the cuttings (c) are taken from them.
The root ends of the cuttings should be cut finely smooth, and
inserted from about a half to three parts of their length into the

ARBORICULTURE.

341

soil. For every species of cutting, the soil should be light, and
composed, at least, of half of fine siliceous sand. There are
many species of exotic plants, whose cuttings will only strike
root in pure siliceous sand. It need hardly be remarked, that in

k M. :

this mode of propagating, watering is
more particularly required to be attend-
ed to than in any other. The utility
of the sandy nature of the soil consists
in its retaining no stagnant moisture,
but just sufficient for the wants of the
shoot during the process of rooting.
As soon as the cuttings are well rooted,
if in a light soil of the above description,
they should be carefully taken up and
transplanted to their proper soil ; for although the shoots produce
roots more quickly and in greater abundance in the siliceous
sandy soil, yet it is unable to support the growth of the plant after
the proper functions of the roots begins. Next to that of
propagation by seeds, plants may be increased by cuttings more
generally than by any other mode : the process, however, requires
more time, skill, and attention, than is demanded for rearing trees
from suckers, or by layers or grafting, and it is therefore chiefly
practised for the increase of exotic ornamental plants ; but the
following forest trees are most advantageously raised from cuttings.

Anona triloba,
Platanus occidentalis,
Populus angulata,
Populus argentea,
Pcpulus candicans,
Populus grandidentata
Populus hudsonica,
Populus monilifera,
Populus tremuloides,
Salix ligustrina, .
Salix lucida,
Salix nigra,
Virgilia lutea,

Pawpaw.

Button Wood.
Carolinian Poplar.
Cotton Tree.
Heart-Leaved Poplar.
Large American Aspen.
American Black Poplar.
Virginian Poplar.
American Aspen.
Champlain JVillow.
Shining JVillow.
Black Willow.
Yellow Wood.

4th. Grafting, in forest-tree propagation, is chiefly had
recourse to for those varieties of trees which lose their distinctive

343 SYLVA AMERICANA.

characters when reproduced from seed, and which make finer
trees when grafted on free growing stocks of their own species.
The scions take more freely when not more than of one year's
growth, but those of much older growth will succeed. The most
perfect grafting is where the scion and the part of the stock to
which it is to be united are nearly of an equal size, for on the
perfect contact of the inner bark of the scion and stock depend
the perfect union of the two in the shortest space of time, and
consequent equal healing of the wound. The month of March
or April is the best season for forest-tree grafting. The modes
of grafting are numerous. French authors enumerate upwards
of forty ; for the purposes now under consideration, however,
that termed whip or tongue grafting is generally followed. The
scions should be selected from the more upright, free-growing
branches ; the middle portion of the shoot is the best; but where
there is a scarcity of grafts, the top and bottom may be used,
as these will succeed, though not likely to produce such fine
trees. From two to five buds should be left for the production
of a leading stem and branches. The stock should be cut in an
oblique direction («, Plate 105), and the scion in like manner at

a corresponding angle (d) ; a slit should then
be made in the stock about the middle of the
wound, passing downwards (c), and a similar
slit upwards in the scion (b); the upper division
of the scion made by the slit, termed the tongue
or wedge, is then inserted into the cleft of the
stock, and the inner barks of the stock and scion
brought into perfect contact, at least on one
plate cv. side. This should be effected with as little
delay as possible. The parts are then to be bound with a riband
of bass, and particular care should be taken that, in this part of
the process, the junction of the two barks is not in the least
displaced. To protect the grafted parts from drought and
moisture, and from the action of the air, various means have
been adopted, but the most direct and useful is well-worked clay,
cleaned of gravel or small stones, and horse droppings, well
incorporated and mixed in the proportions of three parts of the

ARBORICULTURE.

343

former to one of the latter ; a little finely-chopped straw is added
with advantage. The clay should be placed on the grafted parts
an inch thick on every side, and extend about half an inch above
and below the union of the stock with the graft. It is a
highly useful practice to draw earth up round the clay so as to
cover it entirely from the sun and air. Another mode, called
saddle grafting, is perhaps better adapted for forest
trees than the foregoing, but it takes up more time
in the performance. The stock should be cut so
as to leave the top in the form of a wedge
(a, Plate 106); the scion split at the lower end,
and each side of the incision pared obliquely, so
as to form the two divisions into tongue-like pro-
cesses (b) ; these are then seated on the wedge
and made to fit accurately to each side of it. The
after operations of tying and claying are the same as in the
former mode. The trees which come under the forester's care
that require to be reared by grafting are the following.

plate cvi.

Fagus sylvestris
Fraxinus americana, .
Fraxinus platycarpa, .
Fraxinus quadrangulata,
Fraxinus sambucifolia,
Fraxinus tomentosa,
Fraxinus Viridis,
Ilex opaca, .
Malus coronaria, .
Planera ulmifolia,
Populus canadensis,
Populus candicans,
Quercus Prinus Chinquapin
Robinia viscosa, .
Ulmus alata,
Ulmus americana,
Ulmus rubra,

The stocks for these t

White Beech.
White Ash.
Carolinian Ash.
Blue Ash.
Black Ash.
Red Ash.
Green Ash.
American Holly.
Crab Apple.
Planer Tree.
Cotton Wood.
Heart- Leaved Poplar.
Small Chesnut Oak.
Rose- Flowering Locust.
Wahoo.
White Elm.

Red or Slippery Elm.

ees should be raised from seed of the com-
mon species, to which each variety is nearest allied, for the nearer
the connection of the stock with the graft the more lasting is the
union and more perfect the growth. In trees that have been
grafted on unsuitable stocks, we frequently see the base of the stem

344 SYLVA AMERICANA.

abruptly contracted to a smaller circumference than the upper
portion, and vice versa, just as the stock or the graft happens to
possess the freest habit of growth. The stocks should be planted
in rows two feet apart, and. should be one foot distant plant from
plant. When arrived at two years of transplanted growth they will
be in a fit state to graft. The grafts should be united to the stock
as near to the root as convenient. This facilitates the vigorous
growth of the tree, and allows of the earth being drawn up on each
side to cover the clayed portion of the graft. The clay should be
removed from the grafts, and the ties or bandages loosened when
the progress of the new shoots of the graft indicates the perfect
completion of the process. In the spring following that in which
the trees were grafted, many of them may be transplanted to
their permanent sites ; but it is better, as a general rule, to defer
transplanting until the second autumn or spring. The size of the
different kinds of trees most suitable for final transplanting is a
point of some importance, particularly when the planting is on a
large scale, and where the preservation of every fibre of the roots
of the plants cannot be accomplished without an unnecessary ex-
pense of time and labour. A very young plant may be readily
taken up and transplanted with its roots entire ; but a plant of
several feet in height requires considerable care in taking it up to
preserve its roots from injury. The structure and the functions
of the roots of trees, as connected with the produce and support
of the plant were before described, and clearly point out the es-
sential use of the minute rootlets and their accompanying spongeols
or glands to the nourishment of the plant in every stage of its
growth, and under every change of circumstance. Accordingly
we find that, if a plant is taken up and transplanted with all its
roots entire and uninjured, it experiences scarcely any perceptible
check, unless its roots are exposed to the effects of the sun and
wind for any considerable time, in which case it makes little, if any
progress for a season. A moderate degree of pruning, however,
of the overgrown and straggling roots of young trees, possessing
the reproductive power in a full degree, and of the branches of
their stems, is often expedient, and, when judiciously performed,
is beneficial : it prevents the accident of doubling up the roots.

ARBORICULTURE. 345

or improperly disposing them in the soil, an evil of worse conse-
quences to the plant than the shortening of an overgrown root, or
lateral branch. To trees which possess the reproductive power
in a very imperfect degree, pruning the roots or branches pre-
paratory to transplanting is injurious. The facility with which
young plants of any kind can be taken up without hurting the
roots, and the slight pruning which they require at that stage of
growth, point out as a general rule in deciding on the most proper
size of the different species of trees for final transplanting, that
the non-reproductive kinds should be of the smallest size or ear-
liest stage of growth, and those in which the reproductive power
is greatest of the largest size. If we divide the stem of a white
pine, or a larch, a corresponding stem is not reproduced ; but if
we cut down, in like manner, a willow, or even a chestnut, or an
oak, a vigorous stem will follow. Where the habit of the roots is
to divide into large branches, and run deep into the ground, as in
the case of the oak, younger plants are required for transplanting
than in those instances where the habit of the root is to produce
numerous fibres. The nature of the soil also" dictates, in some
measure, the size of the plants. In rocky, elevated soils that
cannot be ploughed or trenched, nor can allow of proper sized
holes being made with the spade, plants of one or two years*
growth, or such as have small roots, can only be planted : when
exposed to severe winds, plants above one foot in height are
loosened in the soil, and never prosper. For the purposes of
general or extensive works of forest planting, the best sizes of
the plants of the different species of trees at the period of trans-
planting to their timber sites, may be thus enumerated :

1st. Non-reproductive or resinous trees.

Abies alba, White or Single Spruce,
Abies balsamifera, American Silver Fir,
Abies canadensis, Hemlock Spruce,
Abies nigra, Black or Double Spruce, .
Cupressus thyoides, JVhite Cedar,
Juniperus virginiana, Red Cedar, .
Pinus inops, Jersey Pine,
Pinus pungens, Table Mountain Pine,

44

Height.

from G to 20 inches.

» • 4

9 " 20

u

• • •

9 « 20

u

• a •

6 " 20

u

• • •

9 " 20

u

• • •

9 " 20

u

* * •

6 " 18

ii

• • •

12

(t

346 SYLVA AMERICANA.

Height.

Pinus rigida, Pilch Pine, 6 " 20

Piniis rubra, Red or Norway Pine, . . . . 6 " 18

Pinus serotina, Pond Pine, 6 " 18

Pinus strobus, White Pine, . 12 " 36

Pinus toedia, Loblolly Pine, 6 " 18

Thuja occidentalis, American Arbor Vita, . . . 9 " 20

..

u

a

a

ii

a

2d. Reproductive trees.

Height.

from 6 to 24 inches.

. . . 6

a

24

a

12

a

30

a

12

a

30

11

12

a

30

ii

9

a

30

ii

9

a

30

u

6

a

20

ii

. 10

a

30

ii

6

a

30

ii

6

a

30

ii

. 18

u

36

ii

. 12

u

36

u

Acer nigrum, Black Sugar .Maple,
Acer sacchaninum, Sugar Maple,
Carpinus americana, American Hornbeam,
Carpinus ostrya, Iron Wood,
Castanea vesca, American Chesnut,
Fagus ferruginea, Red Beech,
Fagus sylvestris, IVhite Beech,
Fraxinus, Ash, different species of,
Juglans, Hickory, different species of,
Platanus occidentalis, Button Wood,
Quercus, Oak, different species of,
Salix, Willow, species of,
Tilia, Lime, and other species,

Budding, or grafting by gems, consists in taking an eye or bud
attached to a portion of the bark, of different sizes and forms,
and generally called a shield, and transporting it to a place in
another, or a different vegetable. It may be performed with buds
of two or three years' standing, and on trees of considerable
size, but not generally so. The object in view in budding is
almost always that of grafting, and depends on the same princi-
ple ; all the difference between a bud and a scion being, that a
bud is a shoot, or scion, in embryo. In all other respects, bud-
ding is conducted on the same principle as grafting;

The operation of common budding may be performed any
time from the beginning of July to the middle of August ; the
criterion being the formation of the buds in the axil of the leaf of
the present year. The buds are known to be ready by the
shield or portion of bark, to which they are attached, easily part-
ing with the wood. The buds preferred are generally those on
the middle of a young shoot, as being neither so apt to run to

ARBORICULTURE. 347

wood as those at the extremity, nor so apt to lie dormant as those
at the lower end. In some cases, however, the buds from the
middle and extremity of the shoots are to be rejected, and those
taken which are at the base of the annual shoots.

The stocks for budding may, in general, be much smaller than
for grafting, as the operation may be performed on the same
year's shoot. But it may also be performed on shoots or stems
of several years' growth, and in such, by inserting a number of
buds, a complete tree may be formed at once.

For gathering the shoots containing the buds, an early or late
hour is choSen, on this principle, that the leaves being at these
periods in a less active state of perspiration and suffer least from
being separated from their parent plant. They are preserved
fresh, and may be sent a great distance by inserting their ends in
water or moist moss ; though, in general, they should be used as
soon after gathering as possible, and the whole operation should
be performed with the greatest celerity.

Professor Thouin enumerates twenty-three species and varieties
of budding ; but we shall here describe only one, which is in
general use : viz.

Shield budding, or T budding. This is performed by select-
ing a smooth part on the side of the stock, rather from than to-
wards the sun, and of a height depending, as- in grafting, on
whether dwarf, half or whole standard trees, are desired ; then
with the budding knife, make a horizontal cut across the rind,
quite through to the firm wood ; from the middle of this traverse
cut, make a slit downward, perpendicularly, an inch or more
long, going also quite through to the wood. This done, proceed
with all expedition to take off a bud ; holding a cutting, or scion,
in one hand, with the thickest end outward, and with the knife in
the other hand, enter it about half an inch or more below a bud,
cutting near halfway into the wood of the shoot, continuing it with
one clean slanting cut, about half of an inch or more above the bud,
so deep as to take off part of the wood along with it, the whole

348

SYLVA AMERICANA,

about an inch and a half long (Plate 107 a); then
directly with the thumb and finger, or point of the
knife, slip off the woody part remaining to the bud ;
which done, observe whether the eye or gem of the
bud remains perfect ; if not, and a little hole ap-
pears in that part it is improper, or as foresters ex-
press it, the bud has lost its root, and another must
be prepared. This done, placing the back part of
the bud or shield between your lips, expeditiously
plate cvn. with the flat haft of the knife separate the bark of
the stock on each side of the perpendicular cut clear to the wood
(c), for the admission of the bud, which directly slip down, close
between the wood and bark, to the bottom of the split (c7). The
next operation is to cut off the top part of the shield (b) even
with the horizontal first made cut, in order to let it completely
into its place, and to join exactly the upper edge of the shield
with the transverse cut, that the descending sap may immediately
enter the bark of the shield, and protrude granulated matter be-
tween it and the wood, so as to effect a living union. The parts
are now to be immediately bound round with a ligament of bass,
or some substitute, (e), previously soaked in water, to render it
pliable and tough, beginning a little below the bottom of the per-
pendicular slit, proceeding upward closely round every part, except
just over the eye of the bud, and continue it a little above the
horizontal cut, not too tight, but just sufficient to keep the whole
close, and exclude the air, sun and wet.

Modes of transplanting. Much difference of opinion prevails
on the comparative merits of the different methods of planting
from time ; to time introduced, and more or less practised.
Trenching is held by some to be essential to success, without
considering that there are situations and soils where timber of the
most valuable quality may be produced that cannot be dug or
trenched. Others again infer, that to insert seedling plants into
the soil in its natural state is all that is required for the production
of timber and underwood possessing every requisite value.

These opinions are too exclusive ; they have led to baneful ef-
fects, and still are the cause why many extensive tracts of land

ARBORICULTURE.

349

lie waste, which otherwise might have been covered with profita-
ble plantations. Well-regulated economy in the expense, or first
outlay, is one of the principles of the art important to be attended
to in practice. Accordingly it is not surprizing to find some
modes of planting invented, and 'others misapplied, under the
mistaken impression of furthering this principle, at the serious
risk of retarding the healthy growth and prosperity of the trees,
and of producing results completely subversive of the intention.

The great object of transplanting trees from seed beds, layer
stools, cutting grounds, &c. to nursery rows, or beds previous to
their final transplantation for good, is to increase the number of
fibres and rootlets ; and, by ensuring the free uninterrupted
formation of healthy stems and buds, to lay the foundation of a
vigorous constitution in each individual plant before it be finally
transplanted to its timber site.

The different modes of planting trees on their timber sites are
denominated, first, slit planting ; second, holing or pitting ; third,
trench planting ; fourth, furrow planting. There are also varie-
ties of these characterized by the instruments" or tools used for
inserting the roots of the plants into the soil.

Slit planting is the most simple mode, and is practised on
soils in their natural state, without any preparation of holing,
ploughing or trenching. It is performed by three different kinds
of instruments : viz. by the moor planter, (Plate 108 a), by the
diamond dibble (6), and by the common garden spade.

a

PLATE CVIII.

1st. The moor planter (a) is a heavy instrument, consisting of
a wooden shaft and handle two feet nine inches in length, termi-
nated by a single slightly curved prong of well tempered iron or
steel fifteen inches in length, two and a half inches broad at the

350 SYLVA AMERICANA.

insertion of the shaft, and gradually tapering to the point. The
handle is made sufficiently large to be grasped by both hands,
and the operator with one stroke drives the prong into the ground
to the depth required for seeding trees, and by depressing the
handle, the point of the instrument raises up the earth, leaving a
vacuity or opening in loose earth, into which a person, holding a
plant in readiness, places the root, and with the foot fixes it in
the soil. A stout active workman with this instrument, and the
aid of a boy, will transplant a greater number of seeding trees
on light moor soils than by any other method at present known.

2d. The diamond dibble (6) is recommended by Sang : it is
made of a triangular-shaped plate of steel, furnished with an iron
shaft and wooden handle. The sides are each four inches long,
and the upper part or side four inches and a half broad. It is
used for planting on sandy and gravelly soils where the surface
produce of herbage is short. In this case the planter makes the
ground ready with the instrument in one hand, and inserts the
plant with the other. He carries the plants in a bag or basket
suspended from his waist ; he strikes the dibble into the ground
in a slanting direction so as to direct the point inwards, and, by
drawing the handle towards himself, an opening is made, and
kept open by the steel plate for the reception of the roots of the
plant by the other hand. The instrument is then removed, and
the earth made firm about the roots of the plant by a stroke with
the heel of the instrument.

3d. By the spade, a cut is made in the turf with the spade and
crossed by another at a right angle : the two cuts thus made re-
semble the figure of the letter T. The handle of the spade
being depressed backwards forces open the edges of the cuts, and
in the opening thus made the roots of the plant are inserted ; the
spade is then withdrawn, and the turf replaced by pressure with
the foot.

Sir John Sinclair describes an improved mode of slit planting,
as follows. The operator with his spade makes three cuts, twelve
or fifteen inches long, crossing each other in the centre, at an
angle of sixty degrees, the whole having the form of a star. He
inserts his spade across one of the rays (a), a few inches from.

ARBORICULTURE. 351

the centre, and on the side next himself; then bending
the handle towards himself and almost to the ground,
the earth opening in fissures from the centre in the di-
rection of the cuts that had been made, be, at the same
instant, inserts his plant at the point where the spade
plate cix. intersected the ray (Plate 109 «), pushing it forward
to the centre, and assisting the roots in rambling through the
fissures. He then lets down the earth by removing his spade,
having compressed it into a compact state with his heel ; the ope-
ration is finished by adding a little earth with the grass side down,
completely covering the fissures, for the purpose of retaining the
moisture at the root, and likewise as a top dressing, which greatly
encourages the plant to push fresh roots between the swards.

4th. The defects of the slit mode of planting are, that the
earth is not properly reduced in its texture to suit the tender
fibres of the roots of seedling plants, and the natural plants of the
surface are left to contend with them for the nourishment afford-
ed by the soil, nor can the rootlets of the young trees be disposed
and placed in their right positions. The least objectionable
practice is to cut a circular piece of the turf, a foot in diameter,
and lay it on one side with the surface downwards ; the work-
man then with his spade loosens and breaks down the texture of
the uncovered soil, and, by making ample space for the extension
of the roots of his plant in every direction, inserts it in the pul-
verized earth. The turf which had been reversed and laid on
one side, is then with a stroke of the spade divided into two equal
parts, and replaced on each side of the plant in its reversed posi-
tion. The reversed turf supports the plant against the effects of
the wind, retains the proper moisture of the soil, and prevents
the evil consequences resulting to the lateral branches of the
young tree, and to the healthy progress of the stem, from the un-
controlled growth of the herbage natural to the soil, — all of which,
by the former modes, are rather encouraged than checked. In
uninclosed commons or moors, the natural herbage and shrubby
plants are kept under by cattle, &ic. ; but when such lands are
inclosed for planting, and thereby protected from stock, the
natural plants, which before appeared diminutive and slow of

352 SYL.VA AMERICANA.

growth, suddenly attain a size and vigorous vegetation highly det-
rimental to the young forest trees.

2. Mattock planting is confined chiefly to rocky ground, and
to soils containing many coarse tough roots of herbage, heath,
&c. ; and under these circumstances the mattock is an indispen-
sable instrument. It is thus described in the Planter's Kalen-
dar : — ' The handle is three feet six inches long ; the mouth is
five inches broad, and is made sharp ; the length of it to the eye or
shaft is sixteen inches, the small end or pick is seventeen inches
long.' (c, Plate 108.) It may be unnecessary to mention that
the broad or hoe end should be faced with steel and kept well
sharpened ; it is perfectly effective in cutting or paring the heath,
furze, &c, and the pick end is equally so for thoroughly loosen-
ing and fitting the soiLto be operated on with the spade or plan-
ter (d). The hackle prongs are recommended for clayey, tena-
cious soils, which are difficult to work with the spade. It is
made with two or three prongs ; the former of two for the soil
just mentioned, and the latter of three prongs for stony or gravelly
soils.

3. Holing. Holes or pits are dug out, and the loosened soil
left for a season to the action of the weather, to meliorate or re-
duce its texture. Time should be afforded for the rotting or de-
composition of the turf or surface produce taken off the space
which is opened, previous to the period of planting. The size
of the holes should vary according to the size of the plants to be
planted, and to the nature of the subsoil. Plants from one and a
half to two feet high should have the holes two feet wide and
eighteen- inches deep, prepared in the summer or autumn for the
reception of the plants in the spring. For trees of larger growth,
the extent of the roots must determine the size of the holes,
making an allowance of from six inches to a foot of extra width
beyond the extreme points of the roots. Holes made in tenacious
clays retain the water which falls into them, and rots the roots of
the trees ; dry, light, sandy soils cannot be benefitted by the pul-
verizing action of the sun and air ; rocky soils admit but imper-
fectly of holing ; and some kinds of binding gravelly soils are as
liable to the retention of moisture as stiff clays. The practice of

ARBORICULTURE. 353

holing is therefore never attended with success on these kinds of
soil.

Spade planting applies to land prepared for the reception of
the plants by trenching. Although this mode of planting is the
most common in use, and may appear to require but little exer-
cise of skill on the part of the operator, it is nevertheless often
very badly executed. It is best performed when the holes are
made a few inches wider than the roots of the plant extend ; the
earth of the bottom of the hole should be broken down with the
spade, the sides all round should be made to slope inwards so as
to cause the bottom to be wider than the top. The person who
holds the plant should then place it in the centre of the pit, and
the operator with the spade should have ready some fine surface
soil to cover the bottom and raise it up to the proper height, the
person holding the plant raising it at the same time, so that it
may stand not deeper in the soil than it previously stood. The
earth should then be carefully thrown in a finely-divided state,
and the plant during the operation slightly moved, so as to pre-
vent the roots from being covered in bundles, and to afford each
root and rootlet to have a portion of the soil intervening between
it and the rest. Treading should be avoided, as it renders the
soil cohesive, which in stiff or heavy land is an evil of great mag-
• iiitude to newly-planted roots. In light soils, however, a slight
pressure with the foot to keep the plant steady in its place is ne-
cessary, particularly if the weather is dry during the season of
planting ; but in cases where it is practicable, it is much more
beneficial to, settle the earth about the roots of the plants by a free
application of water in the usual manner.

It is the best and most expeditious practice to have one set of
men to make the holes, and another to finish the planting. When
different species of trees are to be mixed in me plantation, and in
unequal proportions, each species is successively distributed and
planted. What we have already staged respecting the great im-
portance to the success of the plants of not suffering the roots to
be dried by exposure to the sun or wind, may render it unneces-
sary to urge here, that the distribution of the plants on the ground
should not be farther in advance than just to keep the planters
45

354 SYMTA AMERICANA.

fully employed. Before laying the plants out on the spots where
they are to be planted, it is a most useful practice to dip the
roots in water, or in a puddle made of water and rich mould. In
planting on a confined scale, the plants may be distributed as before,
and two workmen may proceed to open the pits on the spots. As
soon as the hole is opened, one of the operators places the roots
of the plant in the hole, while the other with his spade finishes
the process as above directed. By this method the holes can be
made proportionate to the size of the roots of the different plants,
which, when of various species, are oftentimes also of different
sizes. When circumstances warrant the previous preparation of
the soil necessary to this mode of planting, it should be adopted,
as being the most perfect and effective.

Furrow planting is performed by opening a furrow with the
trenching plough, or with two common ploughs ; the one succeed-
ing the other in the same trench or furrow, and opening it to the
depth to be required by the roots of the trees. The roots being
placed in the furrow at the proper distances, the workman with
the spade finds no difficulty in obtaining the necessary quantity
of pulverized soil to complete the work. This mode of planting
has been practised with success on the Duke of Bedford's estates
in Bedfordshire, and in Buckinghamshire in the neighborhood of
Woburn, England. The implement employed was a very strong
plough, drawn by six horses, and opening a furrow from twelve
to sixteen inches deep, turning the sward or heath over on each
side. This was followed by a scuffler or grubber of three tines,
which completely stirred and pulverized the soil. On light land
eight acres a day was done in this way, but the soil must be light
and free from large stones or other obstructions.

That extensive and valuable plantations have been made
by slit planting, there are abundant proofs, and on elevated, thin,
light soils incumbent on rock, or where trenching cannot be ef-
fected or the furrow plough be used, this mode may be adopted
with economy and success. Before planting by this method,
however, it is essential to know the precise nature of the subsoil,
and that there does not exist a hardened stratum, impervious to
water, beneath the surface, which frequently happens in heaths,

ARBORICULTURE. 355

or siliceous, sandy moor lands, it generally consists of the heath
soil in a compact layer about an inch thick, containing a large
proportion of oxide of iron, and impervious to water. Beneath,
and next to this, is generally gray or white sand, surcharged with
water ; and whenever trees are planted, by the slit mode, on soils
so constituted, they never make any healthy growth, but perish
so soon as the roots reach the hardened stratum : trenching, or
the furrow plough must be employed in such cases to destroy the
impervious stratum, and render free the circulation of water and
air, otherwise the attempt to establish trees will be vain. When
the land is clean, friable, moderately deep, free from, and not
retentive of stagnant moisture, the mode of planting by holing
may be adopted with propriety. Lands of a tenacious, clayey
nature, and also those of the best quality, employed for forest
planting, ought to be trenched, as being the most economical ulti-
mately, and the most effectual, for these kinds of soil.

The principle on which manure is objected to for the rearing
of forest trees, is., that it will force the growth of the tree beyond
its natural state, and render the deposit of .vegetable fibre soft,
and of diminished strength and durability. This, however, is
carrying the point to an extreme to which it is never likely to be
in the power of any planter to arrive, were he even willing to at-
tempt it. To manure a poor soil, for it should be here kept in
view that this and not a rich, or even moderately rich soil, is
intended, can have but one effect, and that is to improve the
growth of the trees. But the great, immediate, and important
object of manure here, is to furnish a liberal supply of food while
the plant is in its first stages of growth, thereby giving it the
means to form a strong constitution, enlarging its number of roots
and rootlets, and, at the same time, improving the quality of the
exhalations from the soil, for absorption by the leaves, which is,
in fact, a melioration of the local climate or air. All these im-
portant points to the health of the tree, to the value of its timber,
and to the attainment of the object in view, a valuable return in
the shortest space of time for the capital expended, are thus
highly promoted, and, in a great measure, secured by trenching,

356

SYLVA AMERICANA.

manuring, and keeping clean of weeds or surface culture for a
limited period after planting.

The proper distances at which young forest trees should be
planted on their timber sites depends on the natural habits of
growth of the different species, the nature and preparation of the
soil, and the size of the plants to be planted.

The larch, spruce, and pine require less space than the oak,
chesnut, elm, he. The nature of the soil will determine the pe-
culiar species of trees which should predominate in the planta-
tion, and point out the distances at which they should be placed.
If the soil 'is thin and of a light texture, the fir tribe should oc-
cupy the largest proportion, if not the whole space of land ; if
clayey, the oak, elm, ash, he, should be the principal trees in
the design ; and, if a deep sandy soil, or if the soil be calcareous,
elevated land, the beech ought to have the preference — all with
the view to the ultimate produce of timber. The following table
may be useful for readily pointing out the number of trees requir-
ed for a statute acre of land when planted at any undermention-
ed distances : —

Distance apart

1

foot

U

>>

2

>>

2£

>>

3

»

3i

57

4

»

4k

»

5

i>

6

h

7

>>

8

5>

9

?>

Number of Plants.

Distance apart

43,560

10 feet

19,360

11 ,,

10,890

12 „

6,969

13 „

4,840

14 „

3,556

15 „

2,722

16 „

2,232

17 „

1,742

18 „

1,210

19 „

889

20 ;,

680

25 „

. 537

30 „

Number of Plants.

435
360
302
257
222
193
170
150
134
122
108
69
49

In profitable forest-tree planting, the nearest distance at which
young trees should be planted on their timber sites, is a yard, or
three feet, and the widest space five feet ; the medium distance
of four feet plant from plant is, or ought to be, that most generally
adopted. Seedlings of three years' growth, or plants which have
remained two years in the seed bed and one year in transplanted

ARBORICULTURE. 357

nursery rows, should be planted on their timber sites three feet
apart every way, it being understood at the same time that the
soil is thin, light, or sandy, and that the slit or holing-in method
of planting is used. But should the soil have been prepared by
ploughing and trenching, and be in a clean fallow state, the me-
dium distance of four feet, or three and a half feet, if the species
of trees to be planted are exclusively of the fir or pine tribe,
will be the most proper. Trees of the age now alluded to will
vary in size from nine to twenty inches in height, exclusive of
some species of poplar, elm, &c, which grow faster than the
generality of forest trees. In well-prepared land of a deeper sur-
face soil than the above, plants from eighteen to twenty-four
inches in height of the fir tribes may be planted with advantage ;
and deciduous trees, as the oak, chesnut, elm, &c, from three to
four feet in height, may be planted at the distance of five feet
apart. In the last case a return of profits from thinnings will be
obtained at least two years earlier than from transplanted seed-
lings, under the like circumstances of soil. Trees planted as
nurses for assisting the progress of those intended for timber are
of quick growth, and in the course of from seven to twelve years
will have attained to a size fit for the purposes of fencing, or to be
used as poles, coopers' ware, &tc, according to local demand.
When the nurse trees have arrived at this stage of growth, they
will require to be partially thinned, to make room for the timber
trees, or principals of the plantation, as they are termed. When-
ever the branches of the former interfere with those of the latter,
no time should be lost in remedying the evil, by pruning the
nurse trees, or cutting them down. If the different operations of
planting have been judiciously performed, the value of the trees
thinned out at this period, will cover the rent of the land, with
compound interest on the capital expended in planting it. Hence
the importance of nurse trees, and the propriety of furnishing the
ground at first with a sufficient number of young plants to be cut
down and taken away periodically, until the principal timber trees
have attained to maturity. In poor soils, where the original out-
lay of capital and the rent of the land are both small, the expen
diture will be covered by the periodical crop of thinnings, and

358 SYLVA AMERICANA.

vice versa in better soils, authorizing a larger expenditure in the
preparation, in the size of the plants, and in the mode of plant-
ing, a comparatively superior number of trees of increased value
will be produced at each periodical thinning. These results are
certain to follow judicious planting.

The third and last mode of rearing forest trees proposed to be
discussed at the head of this chapter, is that of selecting the supe-
rior shoots of coppice stools, and training them to full-grown
timber trees. The oak, on account of the value of its bark, is
more frequently reared in this way than the elm, ash, and chesnut.
The timber of coppice trees is in general faulty, and of inferior
quality to that reared from seeds. Where care, however, is
taken in the selection of the shoots from healthy and not over-
aged coppice stools, timber of the best quality may be obtained
from them.

The produce of coppice stools consists of materials for fence
wood, fuel, besoms, &;c. Poles and bark are the most valuable
of this produce, where the practice is to leave no standards, or
saplings of timber. It is, however, perfectly clear, that when a
wood or coppice offers to the purchaser produce of various sizes
convertible to various uses, along with full-grown timber for navy
purposes, the sale is more readily effected, and generally on
better terms, than when the produce consists of smaller wood
only. In making choice of the shoots of coppice stools to be
trained for timber trees, great care should be had to select none
but such as are straight and vigorous, and which originate as near
to the roots of the stool as possible. The neglect of this latter
circumstance is the chief cause of the unsoundness of coppice-
reared timber, particularly at the root or butt end of the bole.
The parent wood of coppice stools is most frequently suffered to
rise too high from the roots, consequently the shoots emitted from
it never grow with so much vigor, or attain to so great a size in
a given space of time, as when the stool is kept within an inch
or two of the surface of the ground. When the parent stool is a
foot or more in height from the root, it becomes divided into
pointed rugged parts, and if a tiller or shoot, left for a tree, is sit-
uated near to one or other of these, the stub is in time encompassed

ARBORICULTURE. 359

by the bark of the young tree wholly or partially, which causes
blemish and unsoundness in the timber, as well as obstruction to
its prosperous growth. The stumps of coppice stools should,
therefore, be cut near to the surface of the ground, and the face
of the stubs as level and free from fractures as can be. The kinds
of trees most profitable for coppice produce are those which
possess the reproductive power in the highest degree ; these were
before enumerated. It may be necessary here to observe that
the non-reproductive trees, such as all the pine and fir tribes, are
unfit for the purposes of coppice. The shoot, or tiller, being
selected with due attention to these essential points, all other
shoots belonging to the parent stool should be cut away close to
the root. The young tree should then receive the same treatment
as other trees reared by seed or transplanting.

Simple plantations consist of one or two species of trees only ;
mixed plantations of many different species. The latter, on
suitable soils, are the most profitable ; they afford an earlier,
more permanent, and a larger return for capital than simple
plantations. The judicious arrangement of the different forest
trees, not only promotes the greatest returns of profit from the
plantations, but likewise effects the highest embellishment to the
estate and surrounding country.

Shelter in winter and shade in summer are also important
points. Evergreen trees, and such deciduous ones as retain their
leaves to a later period of the year (the beech, and some varieties
of the oak) afford much greater shelter in winter and in early
spring, when it is most wanted, than those which lose their leaves
early in autumn, and should, therefore, be planted wherever
shelter is most desired. Shade is best afforded by trees which,
rising with naked stems to a certain height, afterwards send out
an extended series of branches, as the oak, beech, chesnut and
elm, which can be readily trained to that state by pruning, and
their spreading branches and umbrageous foliage are highly
superior for this intention than those of the ash, sycamore,
plane, etc.

Although mixed planting, as just now observed, is the most
profitable, and, under skilful massing and grouping, the most

360 SYL.VA AMERICANA.

embellishing to the landscape, yet there are certain circumstances

connected with the growth of the various species of forest trees,

which, when they occur, effectually control the choice of the

planter in his modes of arrangement : these are, first, the peculiar

nature of the soil to be planted; secondly, the climate, or the

exposure and elevation of the site of the plantation. In planting,

soils may be divided into simple and mixed. The latter allows

of the fullest scope to mixed planting. Simple soils are those

which contain the smallest number of ingredients in their

composition, or which consist chiefly of one substance ; as sandy

soils, containing from nine-tenths of sand to one twentieth, the

supposed point of absolute sterility for even common herbage,

are properly termed simple sandy soils, and on which the pine,

fir, larch, and perhaps the birch, can only be planted. Soils

consisting of from seven-eighths to a larger proportion of chalk

will rear the beech chiefly ; and when the proportion of one half

of vegetable matter to one half of sand and loam meet in a soil,

it is properly simple vegetable earth, and comes under the

denomination of peat, of which there are several kinds, but which

will be more particularly mentioned under the head of soils. On

this last-mentioned soil the planter is chiefly confined to the

poplar and alder : the willow and birch only partially succeed,

or when the vegetable matter is in a less proportion to the other

ingredients above stated.

The elevation of the sight of the intended plantation above the
level of the sea, where that is considerable, influences the local
climate so much as often to confine the choice of the planter to
one or two species of trees only, even though the soil should be
otherwise favorable for mixed planting.

It is calculated that an elevation of six hundred feet diminishes
the temperature of a site equal to that of one degree of north
latitude ; the degree of dryness or humidity of the atmosphere,
and the force of the winds seem also to increase in proportion to
the elevation of the land. Accordingly we find that different
species of trees occupy different regions and degrees of elevation
on the mountains of the torrid, temperate and frigid zones.

According to Humboldt, the trees which grow in the highest

ARBORICULTURE. 361

elevation are the pine and the birch, (these also it may be
observed will flourish in the lowest situations, the birch in
particular will grow in soils periodically overflowed or covered
with water for two or three months in a year). The highest
altitude of the growth of the pine is stated to be from twelve
thousand to fifteen thousand feet above the level of the sea, in
latitude 20° ; and the limits of the growth of the oak appears to
be confined to ten thousand three hundred. The last species of
trees found nearest to the limits of perpetual snow on Mount
Caucasus, in latitude 42° 30', and on the Pyrenees, are the
common birch (Betula alba), and the hooked pine {Pinus
uncinata), and the red spruce fir (Pinus rubra). On the Alps,
latitude from 45° to 46°, the common spruce appears limited to
an elevation of about five thousand nine hundred feet. In
Lapland the birch is found at the altitude of one thousand six
hundred feet in latitude 67° and 70°.

The influence of different altitudes on the distribution and
growth of forest trees, is evident even in the inferior elevations of
the forests of Britain. The pine, fir and birch occupy the
highest points ; next the sycamore and mountain elm ; lastly, the
oak, beech, poplar, ash and chesnut. When the ground to be
planted is, therefore, so high above the level of the sea, as to
influence materially the nature of the climate, the forest trees to
be planted should be selected according to the above principles.
In practice this may be termed region planting. By imitating
the natural process in this respect, not only the most profitable
returns which the site and soil are capable of producing will be
secured, but also the most ornamental effects produced on the
landscape, and the useful ones of judicious shelter obtained. It
generally happens in extensive planting that the soil varies in
different parts of the site in its properties and fitness to rear one
species of tree better than another. When these different soils
are, therefore, planted with the different trees best adapted to
each, masses of diversified outline will adorn the landscape,
having all the effect of a tasteful design, and the trees will be
46

362 SYLVA AMERICANA.

individually of the most healthy growth, a point of the last
importance in ornamental effect.

For low, damp and boggy soils, the alder, ash, birch, and the
willow, are the best.

Transplanting trees of large growth for immediate effect
properly belongs to another division of the subject, ornamental
planting. It may not be unnecessary, however, to state shortly
the principles of the practice as lately brought forward by Sir H.
Stewart, in his Planters' Guide. These are to take up the tree,
with all its roots, fibres and rootlets, and also the green or external
system of branches and buds entire and unbroken, then to
transplant these roots, rootlets, and external system of the tree in
the same perfect state. The soil into which such trees are
transplanted should be of a superior quality to that from whence
they were taken, or at least that portion of it applied immediately
to the rootlets should have an addition of very rotten manure.
A point of great importance to success is the selection of the
subjects. 1st. The tree should have a superior thickness and
induration of the bark compared to that of trees which have
grown up in a crowded state. 2d. Stoutness and superior girt
of stem. 3d. Numerousness of roots, fibres and rootlets. And
4th, extent, balance and closeness of branches. Where a tree,
otherwise desirable, possesses not these protecting properties, it
should be provided with them previous to transplanting by
uncovering the roots partially, so as not to injure the stability of
the tree during the process. To' these exposed roots is applied
a compost of fine earth, into which they shoot, and produce in
two or three years numerous rootlets fit for transplanting. The
overgrown branches are reduced so as to balance the top on
every side, if it require it. To assist the bark, sirch trees as
intercept the air and solar rays are removed. These effects are
also produced to the roots by cutting a trench at a proper
distance from the stem round the roots, and filling up the trench
with good soil ; in two or three years, the roots will be increased
in numerous ramifications as in the former mode.

ARBORICULTURE. 363

CHAP. III.

Of the Soils and Sites most profitably employed in

the Growth of Timber.

From what has been said respecting the advantages of judicious
planting, the lands and sites most proper for the growth of timber
will have been generally understood. There has been a difference
of opinion whether land under woods or under tillage is the most
profitable and beneficial to the proprietors and the public ; the
question is similar to that which exists respecting the comparative
value of tillage land and permanent pasture, and may be solved
in the same manner, viz., that the prosperity, if not the absolute
existence, of the one is dependent on the other, and the interests
of individuals as well as the public on both. The occupiers of
land where woods are scarce, or wanting altogether, and those
where they are in too great abundance, will coincide in the truth
of this observation. The proportion which woods should bear
to tillage and pasture lands in any one district oY country depends
on the nature of the soil, and the local demand for certain kinds
of produce.

There can be but one opinion as to the advantages of planting
exposed waste lands, and those that are steep, rocky or precipitous.
The loss to individuals and to the nation, by such large tracts of
lands as those now alluded to lying utterly unproductive, is
incalculable.

Lands of rather a superior quality to those, or which are
accessible to the plough, and the barrenness of which is owing to
exposure and ungenial climate, offer great inducements to forest-
tree planting. For when the improvement is completed it is, to
its extent, so much added to the territorial extent of the country,
in affording the means of sustenance as well as the enjoyment of
human life.

Lastly, where the local climate and soil are good, but where,
at the same time, a scarcity of timber exists for the periodical
wants of agricultural and manufacturing operations, as for the
various purposes of buildings, implements of husbandry, fencing,

364 SYLVA AMERICANA.

poles, machinery, fuel, etc., planting is of great importance and
utility to the community. In many cases, where the soil is of
greater value, the planting may be confined to the angles of
inclosures, and to hedge rows.

In this last case it may be necessary to observe, that the land
of the lowest comparative value for corn crops, and the most
eligible for shelter and shade where required, should be chosen
for planting.

It may be useful to take a more intimate view of the nature or
composition of those varieties of soil which have been alluded to.
It is proper, however, to observe, that the following statements
of the nature or constituents of these soils are not intended to
convey the idea that they are the best sorts respectively for the
different kinds of forest trees, but principally to show that on
such soils these trees have attained to great perfection of growth.
The soils were selected from the spots where the trees mentioned
in connexion with the soils were found by a celebrated
forester, and the trees were, on an average, the finest of the
respective kinds which have come under his observation.

The great importance of precision in the nomenclature of soils,
whether in the details of planting or in husbandry, must be so
clear and evident to every person who may be desirous to profit
by the results of others' experience in these subjects, that it would
be superfluous here to add more on the point.

1st. Heath soil, or siliceous sandy moor soil, incumbent on
shale or ferrugineous stones, and frequently on siliceous sand of
great depth.

400 parts consisted of, fine siliceous sand, ■ . . 320

Carbonate of lime, . . . . . . 2

Carbonate of magnesia, ..... ]

Decomposing vegetable matter, chiefly composed of

the decaying leaves of heath, . . . 55

Silex, or impalpable earth of flints, ... . n

Alumina, or pure matter of clay, ... 3

Oxide of iron, . . .. , t 4

Soluble matter, principally common salt, or muriate of soda, 4

400

ARBORICULTURE. 365

The birch and the beech, are found to succeed better on a soil
of the above description than any other kind of tree. For the
latter, however, it is necessary that the subsoil should be a deep
sand. The larch and spruce, under the like circumstances as to
subsoil, will also attain to a good perfection on heath soil ; but
where the subsoil is rocky, or impervious to a free circulation
of moisture by indurated sand, which is sometimes the case,
these last-mentioned trees never succeed.

2d. 400 parts of poor sandy soil, incumbent on shale, or very
coarse gravel.

Fine sand, principally siliceous, . . . 360
Impalpable earthy matter, 40 consisting of carbonate

of lime, ....... 0

Decomposing vegetable matter, destructible by fire, 4

Silex, or pure earth of flints, .... 22

Alumina, or pure matter of clay, ... 7

Oxide of iron, ...... 5

Soluble saline matters, chiefly muriate of-soda, . 2

400
The pine, larch, spruce, birch and sycamore are the most
proper for this kind of soil.

3d. Sandy loam, incumbent on siliceous sand, containing a
large proportion of oxide of iron. 400 parts.

Fine sand, partly calcareous, and partly siliceous, 200

Coarse sand, ....

Carbonate of lime, ...... 6

Decomposing vegetable matter, . . . 15

Silex, or the earth of flints, .... 56

Alumina, ....... 12

Oxide of iron, ....;. 5

Soluble vegetable matter, containing sulphate of potash,

vegetable extract, and common salt, . . 4

Loss, 24

400

366

SYLVA AMERICANA.

The larch, pine, and fir tribe in general will succeed well on
a soil of this texture, although the beech comes to the greatest
perfection, or is, perhaps, the plant most profitable to employ in
planting soils of this nature, particularly when the subsoil happens
to be deep sand.

4th. Light sandy siliceous soil, incumbent on a damp,
clayey subsoil.

Siliceous sand, of various degrees of fineness, . 290

Gravel partly calcareous, .... 40

Impalpable loamy matter, consisting of carbonate of

lime, ....... 5

Silica, or earth of flints, . . . . . 38

Alumina or clay, ...... 9

Oxide of iron, ...... 5

Decomposing vegetable matter, ... 8

Moisture and loss, ...... 5

400

The oak grows rapidly on this soil, and should constitute the
principal timber tree of the plantation. The chesnut also
attains to great maturity in the same kind of soil. The nurse
trees most proper are the larch, spruce, and particularly the
silver fir. The elm planted on this soil had not attained to the
size of the above-mentioned trees in the same period from
planting, but the timber was considered of a superior quality.

5th. Clayey loam, incumbent on a clayey subsoil.

Coarse gravel, partly calcareous, ... 40

Fine sand, ....... 190

Carbonate of lime, ...... 16

Decomposing vegetable fibre, . . . . 14

Silex, or pure matter of flints, .... 90

Alumina, or pure matter of clay, ... 30

Oxide of iron, ....... 7

Soluble vegetable extract and saline matters, containing

gypsum, common salt, and sulphate of potash, .
Loss and moisture, ......

5

8

400

This soil brings the oak to the highest state of perfection.

ARBORICULTURE.

367

6th. Damp clayey soil incumbent on clay.
Coarse siliceous gravel,
Fine sand, .....

Vegetable matter, destructible by fire,
Carbonate of lime, ....
Silica, or earth of flints,
Alumina or pure clay,
Oxide of iron, .

GO

120

9

15
130

48

10

Soluble saline matter, with vegetable extract and gypsum, 8

400

The oak, elm, ash and hornbeam attain to greater perfection
here than any other kind of forest tree. The tulip tree
(Liriodendron tulipifera) grows freely on this soil when it is
properly prepared by trenching.

7th. Fertile peat moss, incumbent on clay or marl.
Fine siliceous sand, ....

Undecompounded vegetable fibre,
Decomposing vegetable fibre,
Silica, or impalpable earth of flints,
Alumina, or pure matter of clay,
Soluble matter, principally vegetable extract,
Oxide of iron, .....

Moisture and loss, . . . . <

231
13

57
50
18
4
2
25

400
This variety of peat soil when prepared for planting by draining
ofTthe superfluous moisture, with which it is found almost always
saturated, is capable of growing very profitable trees, as the
birch, poplar and willow. A piece of ground of this nature,
prepared by cutting open drains at such distances from each
other, as to leave a sufficient breadth or body of earth to
retain a due proportion of moisture in dry weather, and yet
prevent saturation of moisture in the wettest weather, was planted
with a variety of trees. The trees above mentioned succeeded
remarkably well, and made an improved return of a hundred per

368

SYLVA AMERICANA.

cent, in comparison to that afforded by the natural produce of
the surface. The following variety of peat, which is not
uncommon, is to be carefully distinguished from the above.

8th. Inert peat soil.

Fine pure siliceous sand,

Inert vegetable matter destructible by fire, .

Alumina, ......

Oxide of iron, .- .

Soluble vegetable extractive matter, sulphate of

and sulphate of potash,
Sulphate of lime, .....

Loss and moisture, ....

iron,

29

289

14

30

11
12
15

400
The outward characters or appearance of this soil is so similar
to those of the first mentioned variety of peat, that they are
scarcely to be distinguished by common observation. The above
soil, in its natural state, is absolutely sterile. Large applications
of caustic lime and of common salt, in a smaller proportion, had
the effect of improving the nature of this soil so much, as to
render it capable of vegetating turnip seed, and of bringing the
roots to the size of small turnips. It has not been proved,
however, what the results of planting forest trees might be on this
soil, improved in the manner now stated.

9th. Chalky soil, incumbent on chalk rock.

Calcareous sand, .....

280

Carbonate of lime, .....

60

Decomposing vegetable fibre,

5

diiica, ........

28

Alumina, ......

10

Oxide of iron, . .

8

Vegetable and saline soluble matters,

4

Moisture and loss, ......

5

400

ARBORICULTURE. 369

The beech, ash, and oak thrive better on a soil of the above
composition, than any of the resinous or fir species of trees.

Of the above varieties of soils, if we except the sandy loam
No. 3, and the clayey loam No. 5, there is not one which, on its
natural site, could be profitably cultivated under corn or green
crops, but which, by skilful planting, might be made to return
considerable profits to the owners, and also to the public the many
advantages which judicious planting always confers.

Although there may be found shades of difference in the pro-
portions of the constituents of soils receiving the same designa-
tion, such, for instance, as the poor sandy soil, containing ten per
cent, more or less of sand in one situation more than another, yet
the actual produce of timber, all other circumstances being equal,
will be found to vary but little, if any. But where the difference
in the proportions of the ingredients is found so great as exists
between the sandy loam No. 3, and the poor sandy soil No. 2,
or, in a wood as between any two of the soils now attempted to
be described from practical experience in their culture, as well
as from a careful chemical examination of their properties and
constitution, a very marked and decisive difference will be found
in the comparative produce of timber, and the peculiar species or
kinds of trees which should have been planted in the greatest
number, or in preference to others.

CHAP. IV.

Of the most approved modes of preparing different
Soils, for the Reception of Plants.

In no improvement of landed property is economy in the
first outlay of capital more essentially required than in forest
planting. Want of attention to this important point has caused
much loss to the country as well as to individuals, it having had
the effect of discouraging forest planting generally, and more par-

47

♦

370 SYLVA AMERICANA.

ticularly of those lands emphatically termed wastes. The evil
is perpetuated by statements confounding the expenses of plant-
ing different descriptions of land, such as that of a superior soil
immediately connected perhaps with a mansion, and that of a
distant hill or waste heath. In the former case the return of
produce is early, great, and fully ample for every expense judi-
ciously incurred in the plantation ; while, at the same time, some-
thing must be allowed for obtaining the more immediate orna-
mental effect of wood. In the latter case the returns of profit
are more distant, though equally certain, and the outlay of capi-
tal or expense of formation proportionally less. To estimate or
make them equal to those of the first description of land, would be
absurd, because unnecessary, and, in fact, impracticable, as in the
case of rocky sites or thin heath soils, where the more expensive
processes of the preparations of soils cannot be carried into
effect.

Fencing is one of the most expensive but essential concomi-
tants of planting ; for unless young trees are completely protect-
ed by proper fences, extensive failure will be the certain conse-
quence.

Draining is essential wherever stagnant moisture prevails in
the soil. Boggy lands and tenaceous clays are chiefly the soils
which require it, for trees will thrive in a degree of moisture that
would be highly hurtful to the nutritive grasses, and to corn
crops. Under drains are of little service for forest trees, as their
roots soon render these ineffective. In general, therefore, open
cuts should be used. Where the excess of dampness is caused
by springs, as in most bogs and. morasses, it is essential to ascer-
tain the source of the principal springs which feed the secondary
ones, and their numerous outlets over the surface. Sub-aquatic
plants, as the alder, rushes, he, often point out the spots where
the search should be made, although these plants are frequently
supported by stagnant surface water. Boring with the auger is

11 CO

the best mode of ascertaining the source of the spring, or at
least that level of its course in the strata which conducts the water
to the boggy land, and where it can be effectually cut off from

ARBORICULTURE. 27 \

supplying the secondary springs and outlets in the lower levels.
When the source is ascertained, a drain should be cut to the depth
of the strata through which it passes, so as to obstruct its progress.
It should be made sufficiently deep, or the water will continue to
pass under it, and the work will be useless. From this main
drain formed across the declivity, other secondary drains should
be made to conduct the water thus collected, from the source to
the most convenient outlet. It would be incompatible with the
space of these pages to enter into details of this subject. Elkin-
ton's mode of draining, as given in Johnstone's Treatise on the
subject, is on the above principle, and shows with precision the
advantages of it, and with how much facility lands, which by the
old method of draining were considered incapable of being pro-
fitably improved, may be made fit for planting and returning a
valuable produce of timber.

Clayey soils which are rendered barren by surface wTater stag-
nating upon them, may be made to produce valuable timber by
the simple process of constructing open drains, and forming the
surface between these into ridges.

On steep acclivities, rocky soils, and thin heath, or moor
lands, incumbent on rock or shale, where ploughing or trenching
is impracticable, a depth of pulverized soil cannot be obtained
for the reception of the roots of trees of more than two, or at
most three years' growth ; the mattock planter, diamond dibble,
and spade, can be used with the best effect, To attempt any
more expensive preparation on such lands, than may be made by
these implements for the reception of the individual plants, would
be injudicious. For the preparation of heath soils, incumbent on
sand or loose gravel, an improved paring plough (Plate 110?
Fig. 9 and 10), which we call Fyshe Palmer's planting plough,
is a valuable implement.

The plough consists of two mold boards as in common use, but
resting on a triangular and somewhat convex plate of iron
(Fig. 9). This iron plate is furnished with sharp steel edges
rivetted to it (Fig. 10, c). The fixed share (a, Fig. 10),

372

SYLVA AMERICANA.

which divides the turf for
each side of the double
moldboard, six inches high
at the shoulder, with a
sharp edge tapering to a
point at (b) . The sole of the
plough is screwed and bolt-
ed to the instrument by the
bolt sockets (e), and the nut
screw sockets (d). The
base of the triangular plate
(/, Fig. 9) is twenty-one
inches, with a curve of
one inch, which facilitates
the action of the instrument
plate ex. when paring in gravelly or

stoney ground. The whole length of the plate is thirty-five
inches from the base (/) to the point of the share (b). Wherever
the land is of a moderately level surface, and when paring is de-
sirable, this plough will be found a valuable implement. The
whole surface may be pared as in clayey soils, where burning the
turf is essential ; or spaces of twenty-one inches, as in heath
soils, may be pared off with intervals of thirteen inches, on which
the reversed turf may rest to decay, and become food for the
roots of the trees. When the soil is of sufficient depth to allow
of trenching, the common plough, following the track of the par-
ing plough, will effect this object at a comparatively small ex-
pense.

Much difference of opinion prevails on the comparative advan-
tages and disadvantages of trenching ground for forest trees ;
nothing is more certain than that trenching and manuring is more
advantageous to the trees than holing, or any other mode of pre-
paration. But there are certain soils which will produce valuable
timber, and that cannot be ploughed or trenched ; these have
already been mentioned : there are others which are capable of
receiving benefit from this mode of preparation, but where it
would be inexpedient to bestow it. There is one instance in

ARBORICULTURE. 37 3

which trenching cannot on any account be dispensed with, which
is that of ground near a mansion, where the value of trees in re-
spect to landscape effect, shelter, shade, concealment and the
improvement of local climate, have equal if not superior claims
to that of the actual value of the timber produced by the indivi-
dual trees of the plantation. As many local circumstances inter-
fere with the performance of these different processes, as the
comparative cheapness of labor, of manure, the facility of obtain-
ing the most proper sized plants, to anticipate two or three years'
earlier return of produce, &c, it would be of little use here to
give any calculations of expense and profits, as data by which to
estimate the results of either mode of practice, that would be
applicable to every soil and site alluded to. Where the local de-
mand for the smaller-sized products of plantations are great, the
more expensive process of trenching should be adopted, inasmuch
as the growth of forest trees to the size of poles, and of materials for
fencing, &c, is highly promoted by trenching and manuring, and
the returns of profits from these products of planting are in propor-
tion earlier and larger. That this superiority extends in the same
proportion to the ultimate produce of timber in trees, may not
appear so clear, because it may be urged by those who under-
value trenching and manuring as preparation of the soil for plant-
ing forest trees, and there are no satisfactory records of the com-
parative rate of increase of timber, or of solid vegetable fibre,
after the first twenty or thirty years' growth of the different species
of forest trees, which have been planted on trenched and manured
grounds, and the contrary, being under all other circumstances
the same until their last stage of perfection ; and yet the truth of
such continued superiority of increase, is the only test by which
the question can be decided, and an unerring rule of practice be
obtained. The results of mere observation, or conclusions drawn
from the apparent contents of trees, will not be found to warrant
the adoption of any new mode of practice. But the comparative
increase and ultimate produce of timber should be ascertained up
to the period of the trees attaining to perfect maturity in the most
satisfactory manner, by actual admeasurement ; and correct
records kept of the age of the trees, comparative value of the

374 SYLVA AMERICANA.

plants when planted as to their size, roots, and constitutional vigor
at the time of planting; as also the intimate nature of the soil,
subsoil and local climate. In the oak, after the first fifty or sixty
years' growth, the annual rate of increase of the diameter dimin-
ishes greatly.

In order to have at all times the most convenient as well as the
most pleasant access to the interior of the plantation, rides or
broad drives should be marked out and left implanted.

CHAP. V.

Of the Culture of Plantations.

The judicious culture of plantations is a point of the last im-
portance to secure a full return of profits from the capital expend-
ed in their formation, as well as for every other advantage that
judicious planting confers ; for let the care and skill employed in
their formation have been ever so great, if the proper culture be
not continued from the period of planting to maturity of growth,
disappointment in obtaining the effects of wood, and loss of profits
will be the certain results. The numerous instances to be seen
almost every where of the bad effects resulting from the neglect
of judicious pruning and thinning of the trees of plantations, and
the great loss caused thereby to the proprietors, evince fully the
importance of this branch of the subject, which embraces the fol-
lowing points: — 1st. Culture of the soil. 2d. Pruning, 3d.
Thinning.

First. The culture of a trenched soil of a newly formed plan-
tation, consists in keeping the surface clean of weeds until the
shade of the trees prevents their growth. It is true that these
weeds take a portion of nourishment from the soil, but from what
was before stated regarding the food supplied to the plants by the
soil, it is clear that the growth of herbaceous weeds can injure
but little, if in any degree, the growth of forest trees. When

ARBORICULTURE. 375

the trees are young and of a small size, however, the mechanical
effects of these weeds are extremely hurtful when they are
suffered to grow and mingle their shoots with the lower branches
of the young trees, by obstructing the free circulation of air, and
preventing the genial influence of the solar rays from reaching to
their tender shoots, and this is evident to common observation in
the decay or death of the branches subjected to contact with
them, and in the consequent unhealthy appearance of the leading
shoot of the tree.

Hoeing the surface as often as may be required to prevent
perennial weeds from forming perfect leaves and new roots, and
annual ones from perfecting seeds, is all that is required. Two
seasons of strict adherence to this rule, even in the worst cases,
will render the labor or expense of future years comparatively
trifling, and the healthy progress of the trees will reward the care
and attention.

On soils planted by the slit, or holing-in mode of planting, it is
essentially necessary to prevent the natural herbage of the soil
from mingling with the lateral branches of the "young tree. An
active workman with a steel mattock hoe will clean round the
plants on a large space of ground in a day. Summer is the best
season for the work, as the weeds are more effectually destroyed,
and the partial stirring of the soil about the roots of such plants
as require cleaning benefits their growth.

Should the planting and culture now described have been
faithfully executed, there will be few failures. When these
happen, however, the vacancies must be filled up, at the proper
season, with stout plants, and the holes be properly prepared for
the reception of the roots. It is a good practice for the first
two or three years of a trenched plantation to take a crop of
potatoes, mangel wurzel, or carrots, according to circumstances.
The rule, which must be strictly adhered to in the introduction
of these crops, is, that no part of the foliage or tops of the green
crop touch or even approximate near to the young trees ; a rule
of practice which, if broken through, produces equal damage as
from a rampart crop of weeds to the plantation.

376

SYEVA AMERICANA.

PLATE CXI.

Second. There are three different kinds or modes of pruning,
which, in practice, have been named close pruning (a, Plate 111).
Snag pruning (6), and foreshortening (c).

By leaving a snag (b) of the branch,
it in time forms a blemish in the timber,
in consequence of young wood forming
round the stump, and embedding it in
the tree. Snag pruning is the most
rude and injudicious mode that can be
practised, being invariably attended
with injury to the quality of the timber :
it should never be adopted under any
circumstances whatever. Close pruning (a) is performed by
sawing or cutting off a branch close to its parent stem or primary
leading branch (c). This is the only mode to be adopted in
training, or rather improving, the stem or bole of a tree, or
wherever it is desirable that no reproduction of branches from
the point should follow. The most perfect manner of executing
the work is to saw the branch off close to the parent stem, and
smooth any roughness that may be left on the surface of the
wound with a sharp knife, taking care not to reduce the edges of
the bark which surround the wound more than is actually necessary
to remove the lacerated surface. To prevent the action of air
and moisture on the naked wood, a dressing should be applied,
composed of ingredients that will adhere to the spot, and resist
the action of drought and rain. Three parts of cow dung and
one of sifted lime will be found a very effective substitute for the
more compound dressing of Forsyth. The dressing should be
laid on one quarter of an inch in thickness, or more when the
wound is large : when rendered smooth and firmly pressed to
the part, powdered lime should be thrown over the surface, and
pressed into it by the flat side of the pruning knife, or a spatula.
The bark will sooner cover the wound when protected from the
influence of the weather by this or by any similar means, than
when left naked and exposed.

In general forest pruning this process is unnecessary, or rather
the benefit is not sufficiently great to warrant its cost ; but for

ARBORICULTURE. 377

particular trees connected with ornamental effects it is well worth
the trouble.

Foreshortening pruning (c) is the only one that can be usefully
practised in reducing the size of lateral branches. When these
become too crowded, or when particular ones assume a dispro-
portionate vigor of growth and increase, it is highly useful to
reduce the number or size of such over-luxuriant branches. The
chief point to be attended to in the operation is that of dividing
the branch at a point from whence a healthy secondary branchlet
springs, that it may become the leader to that branch. When
the shoot is of one year's growth only, and has no lateral shoots,
as in stone fruits trained on walls, the division is made near to a
strong healthy bud, which will become the conducting shoot.

For young forest trees which require the branches to be
regulated and balanced, so that one side may not have a
disproportionate number or weight of branches to the other, and
for trees in hedge rows whose lateral branches extend too far on
either side, injuring the quick fence or the crops of the field,
foreshortening is the most useful mode of pruning.

For non-reproductive trees, such as all the different species
of the pine or fir tribe, this mode of pruning is improper,
as the branch thus shortened does not produce a second
shoot, but remains with all the objectionable properties of a snag,
to the great injury, in time, of the quality of the timber. Where
the purposes of evergreen masks, near the ground, in the margins
of plantations are desirable, the foreshortening of the leading
shoots of spruce firs, etc., is highly useful, as these trees do not
afterwards increase in height, but only extend laterally by thin
side branches.

j . ff The most effectual pruning

^ instruments are a strong knife,

~b hook, saw and chisel. For

pruning elevated branches a small

saw firmly fixed to a long handle

is highly useful (Plate 113, a) ; a chisel, likewise furnished with

a long handle (6), and driven by a hand mallet, is very effective

48

378 SYLVA AMERICANA.

in taking off branches close to the stem or bole, in circumstances
where the saw cannot be freely used from the upright direction
of the branch, or the situation of the adjoining branches. Such
are the manuals of forest pruning. It may be justly said that in
no one process of the culture of forest trees is a just knowledge
of vegetable physiology, or that of the structure and functions of
the organs of vegetable life of more importance than in this one
of pruning, which directly and especially applies to the assisting
and directing, as well as the checking, of these functions in the
production of wood as in forest trees, and in that as well as of
flowers and fruit in garden trees.

A timber tree, as before observed, is valued for the length,
straightness, and solidity of its stem. Judicious pruning tends
greatly to assist nature in the formation of the stem in this perfect
state. In natural forests, boles or stems possessing properties of
the most valuable kind are found, where no pruning, trenching,
or any other process of culture ever was applied to the rearing
of the trees. It should not, however, be concluded from this
circumstance that these processes are of little value. If we
examine the growth of trees, when left to the unassisted efforts of
nature by the neglect of pruning and thinning, we find that but a
small number only, on any given space of planted ground, attain
to perfect maturity, compared to those which never arrive at any
value but for fuel. The like results, though varying according
to local advantages, are exhibited in the produce of self-planted
forests. Hence, instead of an average of two or three perfect
trees on any given space (suppose an acre) left by the unassisted
efforts of nature, we shall have from forty to three hundred
perfect trees, according to the species of timber, by the judicious
application of art in the preparation of the soil and the after
culture of the trees, and probably on soils, too, which, without
such assistance, could never have reared a single tree.

But though judicious pruning greatly assists in the production
of a tall, straight bole, free from blemish, yet unless those
circumstances before mentioned are favorable, as a vigorous,
healthy constitution of the plant in its seedling stage of growth,
transplantation to its timber sites at a proper age, and a soil

ARBORICULTURE. 379

suitably prepared and adapted to the species of tree, pruning will
be found but of small efficacy.

It was supposed that when branches are taken from a tree, so
many organs of waste are cut off; and it has been practically
insisted upon that, by the removal of large branches, the supply
of sap and nourishment which went to their support would go to
a proportionate increase of the stem. From what has already
been stated respecting the course and movement of the sap, it
may be unnecessary to add that this opinion is erroneous in
principle, and that when a branch is cut off a portion of nourish-
ment to the stem is cut off also specifically from that part of it
which lies between the origin of the branch and the root,
downwards to the root. Every branch of a tree, of whatever
size it may be, not only draws nourishment and increase of
substance from that part of the stem which stands under it, and
from the roots, but also supplies these with a due proportion of
nourishment in return, and by which their substance is increased.
If the branch, whether large or small, acted merely as a drain on
the vessels of the stem, and that the sap it derived from it was
elevated to the leaves of the branch, and from thence returned
no farther than to the origin or point of its union with the stem,
then the above opinion would be correct : on the contrary,
however, when it is found that the existence and increase of
every twig, branch and leaf, depends on a communication with
the root, and that this communication passes through the stem
downwards to that organ, and from it upwards periodically, and,
moreover, that every periodical series of new vessels thus formed
in the branch has a corresponding series of vessels formed in the
stem from its point of emitting the branch to the root, it is clear
that a branch not only increases in substance by the functions of
its own organization, but must, of a necessity, periodically
increase the substance or diameter of the trunk.

The results of practice agree with this ; for if an overgrown
limb or branch of a free-growing tree be pruned off, the annual
increase of the diameter of the stem is not found to exceed its
previous rate of increase ; or the excess, if any, is not equal to

380 SYLVA AMERICANA.

the contents of wood which had been periodically formed by the
branch or branches thus separated from the stem.

When branches are not allowed to perfect one year's growth,
but are pruned off annually within a bud or two of their origin
with the stem, they act rather as organs of waste than those of
increase of wood to the stem. But although the rate of periodical
increase of the diameter of a tree be thus lessened, in a certain
extent, by the loss of a full-grown lateral branch, yet the increase
of the stem in height or length is not thereby retarded, the ligneous
vessels of the root corresponding with those of the stem or wood,
probably act with but little diminished force in sending up
sap to the higher extremities of the tree.

It is of great importance that branches which indicate an over-
luxuriant growth should never be suffered to become large, or to
exceed the medium size of the majority of the boughs of the
tree, but should be pruned off close to the stem when the general
interests of the plant will admit of it. These over-luxuriant
branches, which, when suffered to take the lead in growth of the
general boughs, become so hurtful to the perfection of growth of
the stem, are evidently produced and supported by the accidental
circumstance of a superior portion of soil being in the way of,
and into which the roots immediately connected with these
boughs penetrate and afterwards keep possession. By taking
off such branches early, therefore, the extra supply of nourishment
afforded by such local circumstance of soil is directed to the stem
and useful lateral branches.

By depriving a tree, to a certain extent, of its side branches,
the growth of the stem in length is promoted, but the diameter,
strength, or thickness of it is not increased in the same proportion.
When the side branches are destroyed by natural causes, or by
the neglect of judicious thinning, the like injurious effects ensue
to the primary object here in view, that of obtaining the largest
quantity of timber of the best quality on a given space of land.

When the lateral branches perish or cease to be produced,
except towards the top of the tree, from the want of pure air and
of the vital influence of the solar rays on the foliage, the existence
of the tree may continue for years, but the produce or increase

ARBORICULTURE. 381

of timber of any value ceases, and it dies prematurely, affording
at last a produce comparatively of no value, after having obstructed
the profitable and healthy growth of the adjoining trees during
its latter unprofitable stages of life. In the contest for the
preservation of existence which takes place after a certain period
of growth among the individual trees of a plantation which has
been neglected, or left without the aid of judicious pruning or
thinning, there will be found trees which, from the accidental
circumstance of having originally a vigorous, healthy constitution,
and from partially escaping the numerous injuries and obstructions
of growth that accrue to trees by neglect of culture, have attained
to a valuable timber size. The timber of the few such trees,
however, as have thus gained the supremacy, is frequently much
blemished by the stumps of the dead branches having become
imbedded in the wood ; and this serious injury to the quality of
the timber and value of the tree, is the invariable consequence of
neglecting to prune off these stumps as soon as they appear, or
rather neglecting to cut away close to the stem such branches as
indicate decay, and before they cease growing.

The time at which pruning should begin, depends entirely on
the growth of the young trees. In some instances of favorable
soil and quick growth of the plants, branches will be found in the
course of four or five years to require foreshortening, and in
case of the formation of forked leaders, to be pruned off close to
the stem. When the lateral branches of different trees interfere
with each other's growth, pruning, so as to foreshorten, should
be freely applied in every case, in order to prevent the stagnation
of air among the branches, or the undue preponderance of
branches on one side of the tree. Perfect culture, in this respect,
requires that the plantation should be examined every year, and
by keeping the trees thus in perfect order there will never be
any danger of making too great an opening, or depriving a tree
too suddenly of a large proportion of branches. The operation
will also be so much more quickly performed, as to render the
expense of management less than if the pruning were delayed,
or only performed at intervals of years, as is too frequently
practised. By this management there will be little, if any,

3S2 SYLVA AMERICANA.

necessity for pruning close to the stem, until the tree attain to
twenty feet in height, or even more than that, provided the stem
be clear of lateral branches from five to eight feet from the root.
When the lateral branches are regular and moderately large, the
smaller length of clear stem may be adopted, and where the
branches are larger towards the top, the greater space of close
pruning. Five years from the first close pruning will not be too
long before the second is performed ; one, or at most, two tire
of branches may then be displaced in like manner. The increase
of diameter of the stem, is the only certain test for deciding
whether the larger or smaller number of branches may be pruned
off to most advantage, or whether it may be prudent to take any
away from the stem until it attain greater strength and thickness.
By examining the trees of a plantation annually, the critical time
for pruning every branch for the best interest of the trees is
secured. Some trees may be pruned with great advantage
successively for years, while others may only require it every
three or five years, and others again not at all.

It has been disputed whether resinous or non-reproductive
trees are benefitted by pruning ; but the value of judicious close
pruning to that tribe of trees cannot be doubted : at the same
time it is but too true that, in numerous instances, it has been
carried to a mischievous excess. Young firs and larch trees,
when deprived of their lateral branches, to within four or five
tire of shoots of the top, are frequently seriously injured by the
winds acting on the tuft of branches, which become as a lever
loosening the roots, and producing all the evils of a suddenly
checked growth, besides those of excessive bleeding or loss of
the resinous sap, and the want of the periodical supply of nour-
ishment to the stem afforded by these branches. At sixteen
years' growth, larches standing at four feet apart, will be
benefited by moderate pruning, that is, of two or three tire of
the lowermost branches, particularly should these appear to be
decreasing in their former vigor of growth ; and afterwards in
every third or fourth year, successively, the like treatment should
be adopted to these lowermost branches evincing a decline of
healthy growth. The same rule applies to the pine and the spruce ;

ARBORICULTURE. 383

but the former, having large and compound branches, should be
pruned at an earlier age than the latter, or before the lateral
shoots are more than two inches in diameter. When the branch
to be taken off is several inches in diameter, the wound is so
large, the excavation of resinous sap so great, and the heart wood,
or the vessels which constitute it, so indurated, as to render the
perfect union of the new and the old wood less certain than in
young branches, all which make the removal of large branches
productive of more evil than service to the growth of the tree
and quality of the timber. On the contrary, when the pruning
of the, pine is altogether neglected, and the dead or rotten stumps
or snags of branches are left to be imbedded in the wood, or to
form cavities for the accumulation of water or other extraneous
matters in the substance of the stem, all the purposes of profit
and of pleasure are sacrificed to neglect or unskilful culture.

Judicious thinning may be said to be productive of the same
valuable effects to a plantation of timber trees in the aggregate,
as those which judicious pruning produces on every individual
tree composing it : by the admission of a proper circulation of
air and the solar rays, and permitting the free expansion of the
essential lateral branches of the trees, as well as by preventing
an unnecessary waste or exhaustion of the soil by the roots of all
supernumerary trees.

The great advantages of judicious thinning are not confined to
the object of obtaining the largest quantity of timber of the best
quality on a given space of land in the shortest space of time ;
but the produce of the trees thus thinned out ought to afford a
return sufficient to pay the expenses of culture, interest of capital,
and the value of the rent of the land. In many instances the
profits arising from the thinnings of well managed woods have
covered these charges before the period of twenty years from the
time of planting. The time at which the process of thinning
should be commenced, depends on the like causes as those
which regulate pruning, and need not here be repeated.

In general the freest growing plantations require to have a
certain number of trees taken out by the time they have attained
to eight years of growth from planting. On forest-tree soils of a

384 SYLVA AMERICANA.

medium quality, the age of ten or twelve years may be attained
by the young trees before thinning is necessary; but should
fifteen years elapse before the trees demand thinning, it will be
found that the plantation has been imperfectly formed.

No certain rule can be given to determine the number of trees
to be thinned out periodically, which will apply to all plantations
and to every kind of forest tree in them. A well-grounded
knowledge of the principles of vegetable physiology, and of the
habits of trees, is absolutely essential, to execute with success this
very important branch of arboriculture.

The proper season for cutting down timber trees is that in
which the sap is most quiescent, viz., midwinter and midsummer;
but particularly the former. Trees whose bark is valuable
require to be felled before the complete expansion of the leaf.
From the last of April to the end of June is the proper time
for the oak ; the larch should be peeled ealier. The birch
having a tough outer cuticle of no use to the tanner, and as this
is more easily separated from the proper bark after the sap has
partially circulated in the leaves, it is generally left standing until
the other species of trees are felled and barked.

The process of barking is, in general, well understood. The
harvesting of the bark is of the greatest importance, for if it be
suffered to heat or ferment, it loses its color, becomes mouldy
and of little value. The best mode is to make what the foresters
term temporary lofts of about two feet in width, and of a length
sufficient to hold a day's peeling of bark. These lofts are formed
by driving forked stakes into the ground for bearers, about three
feet in height in the back row, and two and a half feet in the
front ; a sloping floor is then constructed by laying loppings
between the forks of the bearers. The bark is then placed on
the sloping floor with the thick ends towards the top or higher
side, the smaller bark is laid on to the depth of six or ten inches,
and the broad pieces placed over the whole as a covering to
carry off the wet, should rain happen before the bark is sufficiently
dry to be stacked. In three or four days it should be turned to
prevent heating or moulding, and in ten days, more or less, it
will be sufficiently dry to be stacked until wanted for the tanner.

APPENDIX. 385

In order to prevent fermenting when stacked, the width of the
pile should not exceed eight feet. The roof should be formed
and thatched as a corn or hay stack.

The most judicious mode of felling forest trees is by grubbing
up, or taking the solid part of the root with the bole, in every
case where coppice stools are not wanted, for the expense of
taking up the roots afterwards when either planting or tillage may
be demanded on the sites of the felled trees, will be found to
exceed that of taking up the root with the stem in the first
instance, besides the injury to the immediate fertility of the soil
by the introduction of fungi and insects, the first agents generally
of decomposition of the roots of felled trees which do not stole
or reproduce shoots. Besides the advantages now alluded to,
there is another, that of the value of the solid part of the roots of
trees. The peculiar structure of many roots afford the best
materials for what is termed ornamental rustic work ; and also
the compact texture of the wood, and the diversified lines of the
medullary rays and concentric circles, fit it for the manufacture
of very interesting cabinet works.

APPENDIX.

The table on the succeeding pages shows the result of
experiments for determining the comparative quantities of heat
evolved in combustion of the principal varieties of wood used for
fuel in the United States, by Marcus Bull, and read by him
before the American Philosophical Society in April, 1826.
49

386

SYLVA AMERICANA.

Names of Woods.

Acer pseudo platanus,
Acer rubrum,
Acer saccharinum,
Aronia arborea,
Betula lenta,
Betula populifolia,
Carpinus americana,
Castanea vesca,
Cerasus virginiana,
Cornus florida,
Diospyros virginiana,
Fagus sylvestris,
Fraxinus americana,
Hamamelis virginica,
Ilex opaca,
Julians cathartica,
Julians lacmiosa,
Juglans nigra,
Juglans porcina,
Juglans squamosa,
Kalmia latifblia,
Laurus sassafras,
Liquidambar styraciflua,
Lyriodendron tulipifera,
Magnolia grandiflora,
Nyssa sylvatica,
Pinus inops,
Pinus mitis,
Pinus rigida,
Pinus strobus,
Populus dilatata,
Pyrus malus,
Quercus alba,
Cluercus banisteri,
Cluercus catesbsei,
Cluercus falcata,
Quercus ferruginea,
Cluercus obtusiloba,
Cluercus palustris,
Cluercus prinus acuminata,
Cluercus prinus monticola,
Cluercus prinus palustris,
Cluercus rubra,
Ulmus americana,
Vacinium corymbosum,

European Sycamore,

Red-Flowering Maple,

Su°ar Maule.

Wild Service,

Slack Birch,

White Birch,

American Hornbeam,

American Chesnut,

Wild Cherry,

Dog Wood, '

Persimon,

White Beech,

White Ash,

Witch Hazel,

American Holly,

Butternut,

Thick Shcllbark Hickory,

Black Walnut,

Pignut Hickory,

Shellbarlc Hickory,

Mountain Laurel,

Sassafras,

Sweet Gum,

Poplar or Tulip Tree,

Big Laurel,

Black Gum,

Jersey Pine,

Yellow Pine,

Pitch Pine,

White Pine,

Lombardy Poplar,

Apple Tree,

White Oak,

Bear Oak,

Barrens Scrub Oak,

Spanish Oak,

Black Jack Oak,

Post Oak,

Pin Oak,

Yellow Oak,

Pock Chesnut Oak,

Chesnut White Oak,

Red Oak,

White Elm,

Sioamp Whortleberry,

Specific
gravity of
dry woods.

Avoirdu-
pois lbs.
of dry
wood in
one cord.

.535

2391

.597

2668

.644

2878

.887

3964

.697

3115

.530

2369

.720

3218

,522

2333

.597

2668

.815

3643

.711

3178

.724

3236

.722

3450

.784

3505

.602

2691

.567

2534

.829

3705

.681

3044

.949

4241

1. 000

4469

.663

2963

.618

2762

.634

2834

.563

2516

.605

2704

.703

3142

.478

2137

.551

2463

.426

1904

,418

1868

.397

1774

.697

3115

.855

3821

.728

3254

.747

3339

.548

2449

.694

3102

.775

3464

.747

3339

.653

2919

.678

3030

.885

3955

.728

2254

.580

2592

.752

3361

APPENDIX.

587

Time 10 > of hea

t| Value of specified

Product of char-
coal from 100 parts ]

Specific gTavity

Pounds of dry

Pounds of char-
es J from one

Bushels of
charcoal Bfon

v. ere maintained [quantities of each
in the room In article, compared

of dry wood by 1

of dry c

coal in one

1 il icl.o 1

cor. 1 of dry

one cord of

! nol « ith shelllurk'

weight.

1 ." 151(1. 1 ,

dry wood.

one Hi. of each hickory as the

article.

standard.

h. In.

cord.

23.60

.374

19.68

564

29

6 30

52

20.64

.370

19.47

551

28

6 00

54

21.43

.431

22.68

617

27

6 10

60

22.62

.594

31.26

897

29

6 20

84

19.40

.428

29 ^2

604

27

6 00

63

19.00

.364

19.15

450

24

6 00

43

19.00

.455

23.94

611

25

6 00

65

25.29

.379

19.94

590

30

6 40

52

21.70

.411

21.63

579

27

6 10

55

21.00

.550

28.94

765

26

6 10

75

23.44

.469

24.68

745

30

6 30

69

19.62

.518

27.26

635

23

6 00

65

25.74

.547

23.78

888

31

6 40

77

21.40

.368

19.36

750

39

6 10

72

22.77

.374

19.68

613

31

6 20

57

20.79

.237

12.47

527

42

6 00

51

22.90

.509

26.78

848

32

6 30

81

22.56

.418

22.00

687

31

6 20

65

<2£ 22

.637

t53.o2

1070

32

6 40

95

26.22

.625

32.89

1172

36

6 40

100

24.02

.457

24.05

712

30

. 6 40

66

22.58

.427

22.47

624

28

6 20

59

19.69

.413

21.73

558

26

6 00

57

21.81

.383

20.15

549

27

6 10

52

21.59

.406

21.36

584

27

6 10

56

22.16

.400

21.05

696

33

6 20

67

24.88

.385

20.26

532

26

6 40

48

23.75

17.52

535

33

6 30

54

26.76

.298

15.68

510

33

6 40

43

24.35

.293

15.42

455

30

6 40

42

25.00

.245

12.89

444

34

6 40

40

25.00

.445

23.41

779

33

6 40

70

21.62

.401

21.10

826

39

6 20

81

23.80

.r>87

20.36

774

38

6 30

71

23.17

.392

20.63

774

38

6 30

73

22.95

.362

19.05

562

30

6 20

52

22.37

.447

23.52

694

29

6 20

66

21.50

.437

OQ f)f|

745

32

6 20

74

22.22

.436

742

32

6 20

71

21.60

.295

15.52

631

41

6 10

60

20.86

.436

22.94

633

28 !

6 00

61

22.76

.4*1

25.31

900

36

6 30

86

22.43

.400

21.05

630

30

6 20

69

24.85

.357

18.79

644

34

6 40

58

23.30

.505

26.57

783 1

29

6 30 1

73

GLOSSARY.

Abrupt leaf, A pinnate leaf which has

not an odd or terminal leaflet.
Acotyledonous, Having no cotyledons

or seed lobes ; as ferns.
Acrimonious, Sharp; bitter; corrosive;

pungent.
Acuminate, Abruptly sharp pointed,
the point curved towards one edge
of the leaf.
Acute, More gradually sharp pointed

than acuminate.
Aggregate flowers, Those seated on
the same receptacle or inclosed in
the same calyx without the anthers
being united.
Albumen, The white of an egg. A like
substance is a chief constituent in all
animal solids.
Alburnum, The white and softer part
of wood, between the inner bark
and the heart wood ; the sap wood.
Ament, Flowers collected on chaffy
scales, and arranged on a thread or
slender stalk ; as in the chesnut and
willow.
Angular, Forming angles ; when the
stems, calyxes, capsules, etc., have
ridges running lengthwise.
Annual, Living but one year, during
which it produces flower and seed.
Animalcule, A little animal, invisible

to the naked eye.
Anodyne, Assuaging pain ; causing

sleep or insensibility.
Anomalous, Whatever forms an excep-
tion to general rules.
Anther, That part of the stamen which

contains the pollen.
Antiscorbutic, Counteracting the scurvy.
Antiscorbutics^ Substances which cure

eruptions.
Antiseptic, Opposing or counteracting

putrefaction.
Antispasmodic, Opposing spasm ; as

anodynes.
Aperient, Opening; laxative.

Apetalous, A flower without petals.

Apex, The end, or point.

Aquatic. Growing in or near water.

Arboriculture, The art of rearing trees.

Arid, Dry and rough.

Aril, An outer covering of some seeds,

which in ripening falls off".
Armed, Having thorns or prickles.
Aromatic, Sweet scented.
Articulated, Jointed.
Arundinaceus, Resembling reeds or

stiff large grass.
Assimilation, The process by which

bodies convert other bodies into their

own nature.
Astringent, Binding; contracting;

strengthening.
Astringents, Substances which con-
dense the fibres.
Axil, The angle between a leaf and

stem on the upper side.
Axillary, Growing out of the axils.

Barb, A straight process armed with

teeth pointing backwards.
Barren, Producing no fruit; containing

stamens only.
Berry, A pulpy pericarp enclosing

seeds without capsules.
Biennial, Living two years, in the

second of which the flower and fruit

is produced ; as in wheat.
Bole, The stem, trunk or body of a

tree, after it has attained to upwards

of eight inches in diameter, or to

that size which constitutes timber.
Border, The brim or spreading part of

a corolla.
Bottom, A low ground ; a dale ; a

valley : applied in the United States

to the flat lands adjoining rivers, etc.
Branch, A division of the main stem,

or main root. [twig.

Branchlet, Subdivision of a branch; a
Bud, The residence of the infant leaf
I and flower.

APPENDIX.

381)

Bulbs, Called roots, sometimes found
growing on the stem ; strictly speak-
ing bulbs are buds, or the winter
residence of the future plants.

Bush, In gardening and planting, ap-
plies exclusively to every perennial
ligneous plant (mostly with several
stems from its root), which in its
natural state seldom attains to a
timber size, that is, having a stern
girting six inches. We understand
currant bush, goosberry bush, rose
bush, holly bush, laurel bush, etc.,
but never oak, elm or ash-bush, etc.
The limits between a shrub or bush
and a tree cannot be more precisely
defined than by the girt or diameter
of the stem, under ordinary circum-
stances of culture, never attaining to,
or exceeding the above dimensions.

But end, That portion of the stem of
a tree which is situated nearest to
the root.

Calcareous, Containing lime, applied
to shells of oysters, etc.

Caloric, Heat.

Calyx, Outer covering of the flower.

Cambium, Gelatinous substance be-
tween the wood and bark.

Capillary, Hair-form.

Capsule, A little chest ; that kind of
hollow seed vessel which becomes
dry and opens when ripe ; a capsule
that never opens is called a samara.

Carbon, Pure charcoal.

Cathartic, Purging; cleansing the bow-
els; promoting evacuations by stools;
purgative.

Catkin, See Ament.

Caudex, The main body of a tree or
root.

Cell, The hollow part of a pericarp or
anther ; each cavity in a pericarp
that contains one or more seeds is
called a cell. According to the
number of these cells the pericarp is
one-celled, two-celled, three-celled,
etc.
Cellular, Made up of little cells or

cavities.
Cephalic, Pertaining to the head.
Channelled, Hollowed out longitudi-
nally, with a rounded groove.
Cicatrize, To heal, or skin over.
Cion, scion, Properly a shoot one or
two years old, or a cutting of a
branch of that age for the purpose
of grafting. Used sometimes to de-
note the shoots of a coppice stool.
Class, The highest division of plants

in the system of Botany. Linnaeus
divided all plants into 24 classes,
3 of these are now rejected, and the
plants which they included placed
in the remaining 21 classes.
Cleft, split or divided less than halfway.
Colored, Different from green ; in the
language of botany, green in the
vegetable is not called a color.
White, which in reality is not a
color, is so called in botany.
Common, Any part is common, which
includes or sustains several parts
similar among themselves.
Compound^ Made up of similar simple

parts.
Compressed, Flattened.
Concave, Hollowed on one side.
Concentric, Having a common centre.
Cone, A scaly fruit like that of the

pine.
Coniferous, Bearing cones.
Contorted, Twisted.
Contracted, Close ; narrow.
Converging, Approaching or bending

towards each other.
Convex, Swelling out in a roundish

form.
Convolute, Rolled into a cylindrical

form, as leaves in the bud.
Coopers'1 ware? The lower ends of
oak, hickory and ash poles cut from
six to eighteen feet long, according
to the length of the shoot. They
are cleft for the use of the cooper,
waggon-tilts, etc.
Corculum or Corcle, The embryo or
miniature of the future plant, which
is found in seeds often between
the cotyledons.
Cordiform, Heart-shaped.
Cordate, Heart-shaped, side lobes

rounded.
Coriaceous, Resembling leather ; thick

and parchment-like.
Corolla, (A word derived from corona,
a crown,) usually incloses the sta-
mens.
Cortex, The bark.
Cortical, Belonging to the bark.
Corymb, Inflorescence, in which the
flower stalks spring from different
heights on the common stem, form-
ing a flat top.
Cotyledons, Seed lobes. The fleshy
part of seeds which in most plants
rises out of the ground and forms
the first leaves, called seminal or
seed leaves.
Creeping, Running horizontally; stems
are sometimes creeping, as also roots.

390

SYL.VA AMERICANA.

Cruciform, (From ci-ux, crucis, a cross),

Four petals placed like a cross.
Crural, Relating to the leg.
Culinary, Suitable for preparations of

food.
Culm or Slraic, The stem of grasses ;

as Indian corn, sugar cane, etc.
Culmiferous, Bearing culms 3 as wheat,

grasses, etc.
Cuneiform, Wedge-form, with the

stalk attached to the point.
Curved, Bent inwards.
Cutaneous, Relating to the skin.
Cuticle, The outside skin of a plant,

commonly thin, resembling the scarf

or outer skin of animals.
Cylindrical, A circular shaft of nearly

equal dimensions throughout its ex

tent.

Deciduous, Falling off in the usual
season ; opposed to persistent and
evergreen, more durable than cadu-
cous.

Declined, Curved downwards.

Decomposition, Separation of the che-
mical elements of bodies.

Decortication, The act of stripping off
bark or husk.

Deflected, Bent off.

Defoliation, Shedding leaves in the
proper season.

Deltoid, Nearly triangular, or diamond
form, as in the leaves of the Lom-
bardy poplar.

Dendrology, The history of trees.

Dense, Close ; compact.

Dentate, Toothed ; edged with sharp
projections ; larger than serrate.

Denticulate, Minutely toothed.

Depressed, Flattened, or pressed in at
the top.

Diaphoretic, Having the power to
increase perspiration ; sudorific ;
sweating.

Dicotyledonous, With two cotyledons
or seed lobes.

Diffused, Spreading.

Disk, The whole surface of a leaf, or
of the top of a compound flower, as
opposed to its rays.

Diuretic, Tending to produce dis-
charges of urine.

Divaricate, Diverging so as to turn
backwards.

Diverging, Spreading ; separating
widely.

Drooping, Inclining downwards, more
than nodding.

Drupe, A fleshy pericarp inclosing a
stone or nut.

Eliptic, Oval.

Elongated, Exceeding a common

length.
Embryo, Pertaining to any thing in its

first rudiments, or unfinished state.
Emetic, Inducing to vomit.
Emollient, Softening ; making suple ;

relaxing the solids.
Entire, Even and whole at the edge.
Epidermis, See Cuticle.
Equivocal, Uncertain ; proceeding

from some unknown cause, or not

from the usual cause.
Esculent, Eatable.
Etiolation, The operation of being

whitened by excluding the light of

the sun.
Evergreen, Remaining green through

the year, not deciduous.
Exfoliate, To come off in scales.
Exotic, Plants that are brought from

foreign countries.
Expanded, Spread.
Expectorant, Having the quality of

promoting discharges from the lungs.
Eye, See Hilum.

Falcated, Sickle shaped. Linear and
crooked.

Farina, The pollen. Meal or flower.

Farinaceous, containing meal, or farina.

Fascicle, A bundle.

Febrifuge, Relating to a fever.

Fertile, Pistillate, yielding fruit.

Fibre, Any thread-like part.

Filament, The slender thread-like part
of the stamen.

Filiform, Very slender.

Flaccid, Too limber to support its
own weight.

Fleshy, Thick and pulpy.

Floret, A little flower ; part of a com-
pound flower.

Flower stalk, See Peduncle.

Foliaceous, Leafy.

Follicle, A seed vessel which opens
lengthwise, or on one side only.

Foot stalk, Sometimes used instead of
Peduncle and Petiole.

Forked, Divided into two equal
branches.

Fructification, The flower and fruit
with their parts.

Fungi, the plural of Fungus ; a mush-
room.

Fungous, Growing rapidly, with a
soft texture like the fungi.

Gallic, Belonging to galls or oak apples.

Gemma, A bud.

Generic name, The name of a genus.

APPENDIX.

391

Genus, (The plural of genus is genera),
a family of plants agreeing in their
flower and fruit. Plants of the same
genus are thought to possess similar
medical powers.

Germ, The lower part of the pistil
which afterwards becomes the fruit.

Germination, The swelling of a seed,
and the unfolding of its embryo.

Gibbous, Swelled out commonly on
one side.

Glabrous, Sleek, without hairiness.

Glandular, Having hairs tipped with
little heads or glands.

Glaxicous, Sea green, mealy, and easi-
ly rubbed off".

Glutinous, Viscid ; adhesive.

Gramina, Grasses and grass like
plants. Mostly found in the class
Triandria.

Gramineous, Grass-like.

Grandiflorous, Having large flowers.

Granular, Formed of grains, or cover-
ed with grains.

Grooved, Marked with deep lines.

Habit, The external appearance of a

plant, by which it is known at first

sight, without regard to botanical

distinctions.
Hair-like, See Capillary.
Hanging, See Pendant.
Head, A dense collection of flowers,

nearly sessile.
Heart, See Corculum and CorcJe.
Heart-form, See Cordate.
Herb, A plant which has not a woody

stem.
Herbaceous, Not woody.
Herbage, Every part of a plant except

the root and fructification.
Herbarium, A collection ofdried plants.
Hermaphrodite, Designating both sexes

in the same animal, flower or plant.
Hexagonal, Six-cornered.
Hilum, The scar or mark on a seed,

at the place of attachment of the

seed to the seed vessel.
Horizontal, Parallel to the horizon.
Humid, Moist.
Husk, The larger kind of glume, as

the husks of Indian corn.
Hubernalis, Growing in winter.
Hybrid, A vegetable produced by the

mixture of two species, the seeds of

hybrids are not fertile.

Ichor, A thin watery humor, like

serum or whey.
Imbricate, Lying over, like scales, or

the shingles of a roof.

Included, Wholly received, or con-
tained in a cavity ; the opposite of
exsert.

Indigenous, Native, growing wild in
a country, (some exotics after a
time, spread and appear as if indi-
genous.)

Indurated, Becoming hard.

Inferior, Below ; a calyx or corolla is
inferior when it comes out below the
germ.

Inflorescence, The manner in which
flowers are connected to the plant
by the peduncle, as in the whorle,
raceme, etc.

Irregular, Differing in figure, size or
proportion of parts among them-
selves.

Irrigation, The act of watering or
moistening.

Inserted, Growing out of, or fixed
upon.

Intermittent, Ceasing at intervals.

Integument, The covering which in-
vests the body, as the skin or mem-
brane that invests a particular part.

Intcrnode, The space between joints ;
as in the grasses.

Involucrum, A kind of general calyx
serving for many flowers, generally
situated at the- base of an umbel or
head.

Involute, Holling inwards.

Kernel, See Nucleus.
Kidney- shaped, Heart-shaped without
the point, and broader than long.

Labiate, Having lips ; as in the class
Didynamia.

Laciniate, Jagged ; irregularly torn ;
lacerated.

Lamellated, In thin plates.

Lamina, The broad or flat end of a
petal, in distinction from its claw.

Lanceolate, Spear-shaped, narrow with
both ends acute.

Lateral, On one side.

Latent, Hidden, concealed, (from lateo,
to hide.)

Leaflet, A partial leaf, part of a com-
pound leaf.

Leaf stalk, See Petiole.

Legume, A pod or pericarp, having
its seeds attached to one side or su-
ture; as the pea and bean.

Leguminous, Bearing legumes.

Liber, The inner bark.

Ligneous, Woody.

Lignum, The hard part of wood; the
heart wood.

392

SYLVA AMERICANA.

Liliaceous, A corolla with six petals
gradually spreading from the base.

Limb, The border or spreading part of
a monopetalous corolla.

Lobe, A large division, or distinct
portion of a leaf or petal.

Log, The trunk or body of a timber
tree prepared for the sawyer.

Lubricating, Rendering smooth and
slippery.

Lymph, Water, or a colorless fluid in
animal bodies, separated from the
blood and contained in certain ves-
sels called lymphatics.

Margin, The edge or border.
Maritime, Growing near the sea.
Medulla, The pith.
Melliferous, Producing or containing

honey.
Membranous, Very thin and delicate.
Mesh, The opening or space between

the threads of a net.
Midrib, or Midriff , The main or middle

rib of a leaf running from the stem to

the apex.
Miscible, That which may be mixed.

Naked, Destitute of parts usually found.

Narcotic, Causing stupor, or insensi-
bility to pain ; inducing sleep.

Natural character, That which is ap-
parent, having no reference to any
particular method of classification.

Nectarium, or Nectary, The part of a
flower which produces honey ; this
term is applied to any appendage of
the flower which has no other name.

Nerves, Parallel veins.

Nerved, Marked with nerves, so called,
though not organs of sensibility like
the nerves in the animal system.

Nodding, Partly drooping.

Nucleus, Nut, or kernel.

Nut, Nux, See Nucleus.

Oblique, A position between horizontal

and vertical.
Oblong, Longer than oval, with the

sides parallel.
Obtuse, Blunt ; rounded ; not acute.
Oleaginous, Having the qualities of

oil ; unctuous.
Opaque, Not transparent.
Opthalmia, Inflammation of the eye

or its appendages.
Opiate, A medicine that has the quality

of inducing sleep or repose: a narcotic.
Oval-acuminate, A leaf is oval-acumi-
nate when one end is round and the

other pointed.

Ovary or Ovarium, The base of the

pistil, which fertilized, produces a

new plant.
Ovate, Egg-shaped ; oval with the

lower end largest.
Oviparous, Animals produced from

eggs ; as birds, etc.
Ovum, An egg.

Palmated, Hand-shaped ; divided so
as to resemble the hand with the
fingers spread.

Panicle, A loose, irregular bunch of
flowers with subdivided branches ; as
the oat.

Panicled, Bearing panicles.

Parenchyma, A succulent vegetable
substance; the cellular substance;
the thick part of leaves between the
opposite surfaces ; the pulpy part of
fruits; as in the apple, etc.

Parted, Deeply divided ; more than
cleft.

Partial, Used in distinction to general.

Partition, The membrane which di-
vides pericarps into cells, called the
dissepiment. It is parallel when it
unites with the valves where they
unite with each other. It is con-
trary or transverse when it meets a
valve in the middle, or in any part
not at its suture.

Pedicle, A little stalk or partial pe-
duncle.

Peduncle, A stem bearing the flower
and fruit.

Pellicle, A thin membraneous coat.

Pendant, Hanging down ; pendulous.

Pentangular, Having five corners or
angles.

Perennial, Lasting more than two
years.

Perforate, Having holes as if pricked
through ; differs from ^wnctaZe, which
has dots resembling holes.

Pericarp, A seed vessel or whatever
contains the seed.

Permanent, Any part of a plant is
said to be permanent when it remains
longer than is usual for similar parts
in most plants.

Petal, The leaf of a corolla usually
colored.

Petiole, The stalk which supports the
leaf.

Physiology, Derived from the Greek,
a discourse of nature.

Phytology, The science which treats
of the organization of vegetables,
nearly synonymous with the physi-
ology of vegetables.

APPENDIX.

393

Pinnate, A leaf is pinnate when the
leaflets are arranged in two rows on
the side of a common petiole ; as in
the rose.

Pinic, Relating to pine.

Pistil, The central organ of most
flowers, consisting of the germ, style
and stigma.

Pistillate, Having pistils but no sta-
mens.

Pith, The spongy substance in the
centre of the roots and stems of most
plants.

Plaited, Folded like a fan.

Plane, Flat with an even surface.

Plumula or Plume, The ascending
part of a plant at its first germination.

Pod, A dry seed vessel, not pulpy,
most commonly applied to legumes
and siliques.

Poles, Shoots from coppice stools on
the stems of young trees of various
lengths, according to the purpose for
which they are wanted ; those for
hops should be from ten to eighteen
feet long.

Pollen, The dust which is contained
within the anthers.

Polygamous, Having some flowers
which are perfect, and others with
stamens only or pistils only.

Pome, A pulpy fruit, containing a
capsule ; as the apple.

Porous, Full of holes.

Prickle, Differs from the thorn in
beinc fixed to the bark : the thorn is

_

fixed to the wood.
Prinvs, The ancient name of an oak

which inhabited moist places ; the

Holm Oak.
Prismatic, Having several parallel flat

sides.
Process, A projecting part.
Prop, Tendrils and other climbers.
Pscudo, when prefixed to a word it

implies obsolete or false.
Pubescent, Hairy ; downy or woolly.
Pulmonary, Relating to the lungs ;

affecting the lungs.
Pulp, The juicy cellular substance of

berries and other fruits.
Pungent, Sharp ; acrid ; piercing.
Purgative, See Cathartic.

Radiate, The ligulate florets around
the margin of a compound flower.

Radicula:, The ramifications, or smaller
fibres of the root.

Radix, A root.

Radical, Growing from the root.

Radicle, The part of the corculum

50

which afterwards forms the root ;
also the minute fibres of a root.

Ramify, To shoot into branches.

Ray, The outer margin of a compound
flower.

Receptacle, The end of a flower stalk;
the base to which the different
parts of fructifications are usually
attached.

Reclined, Bending over with the end
inclining towards the ground.

Refrigerant, Cooling ; allaying the
heat.

Resin, An inflammable substance, hard
when cool, but viscid when heated,
exuding in a fluid state from certain
kinds of trees, as pine, either spon-
taneously or by incision.

Rhomboid, Diamond-form.

Rib, A nerve-like support to a leaf.

Rigid, Stiff, not pliable.

Ring, The band around the capsules
of ferns.

Root, The descending part of a vege-
table.

Rootlet, A fibre of a root ; a little root .

Rosaceous, A corolla formed of round-
ish spreading petals without claws,
or with very short ones.

Rubefacient, In "medicine a substance
or external application which excites
redness of the skin.

Rubra, Red.

Rugose, Wrinkled.

Rupcstris, Growing among rocks.

Saccharine, Pertaining to sugar or
having the qualities of sugar.

Sap, The watery fluid contained in
thetubesandlittle cells ofvegetables.

Sapling, A young tree under six
inches diameter at four feet from
the ground ; in some places it is
used to denote a young tree raised
immediately from the seed, which is
them termed a maiden tree ; in
others it is considered a young tree,
the produce of a coppice stool, old
root, or stub, and, by a few, a long
young tree, the produce of either.

Savanna, An extensive plain or mead-
ow.

Scions, Shoots proceeding laterally
from the roots or bulbs of a root.

Secernent, That which promotes se-
cretion.

Segment, A part or principal division
of a leaf, calyx or corolla.

Seminal, Pertaining to seed, or to the
elements of production.

Serrate, Notched like the teeth of a saw.

394

SYLVA AMERICANA.

Serrulate, Minutely serrate.

Sessile, Sitting down ; placed imme-
diately on the main stem without a
foot stalk.

Shaky, shakes, The fissures, cracks or
longitudinal openings often found in
the timber of trees which have suf-
fered from injudicious culture and

ungenial i

Sheath, A tubular or folded leafy
portion including within it the stem.

Shoot, Each tree and shrub sends
forth annually a large shoot in the
spring, and another in June.

Shrub, A plant with a woody stem,
branching out nearer the ground
than a tree, usually smaller.

Sinus, A bay ; applied to the plant, a
rounded cavity in the edge of the
leaf or petal.

Slivery, Small, straight shoots of large
ash, etc., cleft into hoops for the
purposes of the cooper.

Spatula, A slice.

Species, The lowest division of vege-
tables.

Specific, Belonging to a species only.

Spike, A kind of inflorescence in
which the flowers are sessile, or
nearly so; as in the mullein, or wheat.

Spine, A thorn or sharp process grow-
ing from the wood.

Spiral, Twisted like a screw.

Sprig of wood, In some instances
understood as the branches of a tree.

Spur, A sharp hollow projection from
a flower, commonly the nectary.

Squamosus, Scaly.

Stamen, That part of the flower on
which the artificial classes are
founded.

Staminate, Having stamens without
pistils.

Standard, The shoots of a coppice
stool, selected from those cut down
as underwood to remain
poles or timber trees.

Stem, The body of a tree in all its
stages of growth, from a seedling to
that of a full-grown tree.

Sterile, Barren.

Stigma, The summit, or top of the
pistil.

Stipe, The stem of a fern, or fungus ;
also the stem of the down of seeds,
as in the dandelion.

Stipule, A leafy appendage, situated
at the base of petioles, or leaves.

Stomachic, Strengthening to the stom-
ach ; exciting the action of the
stomach.

for large

Stool, The root of a tree which has
been left, in the ground ; the produce
of auother tree, or shoot for saplings,
underwood, etc.

Striated, Marked with fine parallel
lines.

Stub, See Stool.

Style, That part of the pistil which is
between the stigma and the germ.

Styptic, That stops bleeding ; having
the quality ofrestraining hemorrhage.

Subsessile, Almost sessile.

Succulent, Juicy ; it is also applied to
a pulpy leaf, whether juicy or not.

Sucker, Properly the young plants
sent up by creeping-rooted trees, as
in the poplar, elm, etc. These
suckers are oftentimes very trouble-
some, under the circumstance of
their often appearing in lawns, or
grass fields near a mansion. The
term sucker is also applied in some
places, to denote the side shoots
from a stool or stub.

Sudorific, Causing sweat; exciting per-
spiration.

Sulcute, Furrowed ; marked with deep
lines.

Superior, A calyx or corolla, is supe-
rior, when it proceeds from the upper
part of the germ.

Synopsis. A condensed view of a sub-
ject or science.

Sylvestris, Growing in woods.

Tannin, The astringent substance con-
tained in vegetables, particularly in
the bark of the oak and chesnut,
and in gall nuts.

Tap root, The first root produced by
the seed of a tree, which descends
at first perpendicularly into the earth,
and supports the plant until the
proper leaves are produced, which,
in their turn, assist in the production
of fibres or proper roots.

Tegument, The skin or covering of
seeds; often bursts off on boilin
in the pea.

Temperature, The degree of heat and
cold to which any place is subject,
not wholly dependant upon latitude,
being affected by elevation ; the
mountains of the torrid zone produce
the plants of the frigid zone. In
cold regions, white and blue petals
are more common; in warm regions,
red and other vivid colors ; in the
spring we have more white petals,
in the autumn more yellow ones.

Tendril, A filiform or thread-like

g, as

APPENDIX.

395

appendage of some climbing plants,
by which they are supported by
twining round other objects.

Terminal, Extreme; situated at the end.

Tetragonal, Having four angles or
sides.

Thorn, A sharp process from the
woody part of the plant ; considered
as an imperfect bud indurated.

Tomentosc, Downy ; covered with fine
matted pubescence.

Tonic, Increasing strength, or the tone
of the animal system ; obviating the
effect of debility, and restoring
healthy functions.

Toothed, See Dentate.

Trachea, Names given to vessels sup-
posed to be designed for receiving
and distributing air.

Transverse, Crosswise.

Trifid, Three cleft.

Truncate, Having a square termination,
as if cut off.

Trunk, The stem or bole of a tree.

Tube, The lower hollow cylinder of
a monopetalous corolla.

Tuberous, Thick and fleshy; containing
tubers, as the potato.

Tubular, Shaped like a tube ; hollow.

Umbel, A kind of inflorescense in
which the flower stalks diverge
from one centre, like the sticks of
an umbrella.

Umbelliferous, bearing umbels.

Unctuous, Greasy ; oily.

Undulate, Waving; serpentine; gently
rising and falling.

Univocal, Certain ; regular ; pursuing
always one tenor.

Vacuum, Space empty or devoid of all

matter or body.
Valves, The parts of a seed vessel into

which it finally separates ; also, the

leaves which make up a glume, or

spatha.

Variety, A subdivision of a species,
distinguished by characters which
are not permanent ; varieties do not
with certainty produce their kind by
their seed. All apples are but vari-
eties of one species ; if the seeds of
a sour apple be planted, they will
produce, perhaps, some sweet apples,
some of a green color, some red :
there are as many trees of different
kinds of fruit, as there are seeds
planted. The quince is a species of
the same genus, or family, as the
apple; but, the seed of a quince has
never been known to produce an
apple tree.
Vascular, Pertaining to the vessels of

animal or vegetable bodies.
Veined, Having the divisions of the
petiole irregularly branched on tho
under side of the leaf.
Vcntricose, Swelled out.
Vernal, Appearing in the spring.
Vertical, Perpendicular.
Vesicular, Made up of cellular sub-
stance.
Viridis, Green.
Viscid, Thick; glutinous; covered with

adhesive moisture.
Vitellus, Called also the yolk of the
seed ; it is "between the albumen
and embrvo.
Viviparous, Producing others by means
of bulbs or seeds, germinating while
yet on the old plant.
Volatile, Capable of wasting away, or
of easily passing into the aeriform
state.

Wedge-form, Shaped like a wedge ;

rounded at the large end ; obovate

with straightish sides.
Wings, The two side petals of a

papilionaceous flower.
Wood, The most solid parts of trunks

of trees and shrubs.

INDEX.

PART I.

r

Access of atmospheric air upon plants, 63

Access of moisture upon plants, 63

Action of heat upon plants, 62

Albumen, . 41

Alburnum, 17

Anatomy of the root, 13

Anatomy of the trunk or stem, ....... 14

Anatomy of the buds, 20

Anatomy of the branches, 25

Anatomy of thorns, 26

Anatomy of prickles, . 26

Anatomy of the flower stalk and foot stalk, 26

Anatomy of the tendrils, ......... 26

Anatomy of the leaves, 30

Anatomy of the seeds, 40

Blight, 74

Calyx, 37

Casualties affecting the life of vegetables, . .... 70

Cellular integument, 15

Conditions necessary to germination, 60

Contortion of plants, 80

Consumption of plants, 81

Corolla or blossom, 37

Cortex or bark, 15

Decay of the temporary organs of plants, 83

Decay of the permanent organs of plants, ..... 89

Destruction of the bark, 73

Destruction of the leaves, 73

INDEX. 397

Destruction of buds, 73

Diseases of plants, 74

Dropsy, 76

Embryo or germ, 40

Epidermis, 14

Etiolation of plants, 79

Exclusion of light from plants, 61

Fall of the leaf, 83

Fall of the flower, 88

Fall of the fruit, 88

Flux of the juices of plants, 77

Food of plants, 66

Gangrene, 78

General texture of plants, 12

Germination and growth of plants, 58

Hilum, 43

Honeydew, 76

Leaves, color of, 34

Liber, 16

Lignum or heart, 19

Medulla or pith, 19

Mildew, 75

Natural decay of plants, 82

Nectary, 38

Organs of reproduction, 36

Ovary, 39

Pistil, 38

Receptacle, 38

Sap vessels and sap, 27

Seeds, 40

Seeds, maturity of, 61

Smut, 74

Stamens, 38

Stigma, 39

Style, 39

Suffocation of plants, 80

Testa, 42

Vitellus, 41

Wood, magnified, 91

Wounds, i 70

Wounds by boring, 71

Wounds by felling, 72

Wounds by girdling, 71

Wounds by grafting, 72

Wounds by incision, 70

Wounds by pruning, 72

398

SYLVA AMERICANA.

PART II.

Latin and English Names.

Abies alba, White or Single Spruce,
Abies balsamifera, American Silver Fir,
Abies canadensis, Hemlock Spruce,
Abies nigra, Black or Double Spruce,
Acer eriocarpum, White Maple,
Acer montanum, Mountain Maple,
Acer negundo, Ash-Leaved Maple,
Acer nigrum, Black Sugar Maple,
Acer rubrum, Red-Flowering Maple,
Acer saccharinum, Sugar Maple, .
Acer striatum, Striped Maple,
Alnus glauca, Black Alder,
Alnus serrulata, Common American Alder,
Andromeda arborea, Sorel Tree,
Anona triloba, Pawpaw, .
Betula lenta, Black Birch,
Betula lutea, Yellow Birch,
Betula papyrvacea, Canoe Birch,
Betula populifolia, White Birch,
Betula rubra, Red Birch, ■
Bignonia catalpa, Catalpa,
Carpinus americana, American Hornbeam
Carpinus ostrya, Iron Wood, .
Castanea pumila, Chinquapin,
Castanea vesca, American Chesnut,
Celtis crassifolia, Hack Berry,
Celtis occidentalis, American JYettle Tree
Cerasus borealis, Red Cherry Tree,
Cerasus caroliniana, Wild Orange Tree
Cerasus virginiana, Wild Cherry Tree,
Chamserops palmetto, Cabbage Tree,
Cornus florida, Dog Wood,
Cupressus disticha, Cypress,
Cupressus thyoides, White Cedar,
Diospyros virginiana, Persimon,
Fagus ferruginea, Red Beech,
Fagus sylvestris, White Beech,
Fraxinus americana, White Ash,
Fraxinus platycarpa, Carolinian Ash,

u

93
95
96
98
100
102
103
104
106
108
113
114
115
116
117
118
120
121
123
124
126
127
128
130
131
133
134
135
136
137
139
141
143
146
149
151
152
154
155

INDEX. 399

Fraxinus quadrangulata, Blue Ash, 156

Fraxinus sambucifolia, Black Ash, 157

Fraxinus tomentosa, Red Ash, 159

Fraxinus Viridis, Green Ash, 160

Gleditschia monosperma, Water Locust, 1G1

Gleditschia triacanthos, Sweet Locust, 162

Gordonia lasyanthus, Loblolly Bay, 164

Gordonia pubescens, Fi-anklinia, 165

Gymocladus canadensis, Coffee Tree, 166

Hopea tinctoria, Sweet Leaf, 167

Ilex opaca, American Holly, 169

Juglans amara, Bitternut Hickory, 170

Juglans aquatica, Water Bitternut Hickory, . . . . . 172

Juglans cathartica, Butternut, 173

Juglans laciniosa, Thick Shellbark Hickory, 176

Juglans myristicseformis, Nutmeg Hickory, 177

Juglans nigra, Black Walnut, 178

Juglans olivaeformis, Pacanenut Hickory, 181

Juglans porcina, Pignut Hickory, 182

Juglans squamosa, Shellbark Hickory, '. 184

Juglans tomentosa, Mockernut Hickory, 187

Juniperus virginiana, Red Cedar, 189

Kalmia latifolia, Mountain Laurel, . . . * . . . 191

Larix americana, American Larch, 193

Laurus caroliniensis, Red Bay, 195

Laurus sassafras, Sassafras, 196

Liquid ambar styraciflua, Sweet Gum, 199

Liriodendron tulipifera, Poplar or Tulip Tree, .... 202

Magnolia acuminata, Cucumber Tree, 205

Magnolia auriculata, Long-Leaved Cucumber Tree, . . . 207

Magnolia cordata, Heart-Leaved Cucumber Tree, . . . 208

Magnolia glauca, Small Magnolia or White Bay, .... 209

Magnolia grandiflora, Big Laurel, 210

Magnolia marcrophylla, Large-Leaved Umbrella Tree, . . 212

Magnolia tripetala, Umbrella Tree, 213

Malus coronaria, Crab Apple, 214

Mespilus arborea, June Berry, 216

Morus rubra, Red Mulberry, 217

Nyssa aquatica, Tupelo, 219

Nyssa capitata, Sour Tupelo, 220

Nyssa grandidentata, Large Tupelo, 222

Nyssa sylvatica, Black Gum, 223

Olea americana, Devil Wood, 225

Pavia Lute a, Large Buckeye, 226

Pavia ohioensis, Ohio Buckeye or American Horse Chesnut, . 227

Pinckneya pubens, Georgia Bark, 228

400

SYLVA AMERICANA.

Pinus australis, Long-Leaved Pine,

Pinus inops, New Jersey Pine,

Pinus mitis, Yelloiv Pine, ....

Pinus pungens, Table Mountain Pine,

Pinus rigida, Pitch Pine, ....

Pinus rubra, Red or Norway Pine,

Pinus rupestris, Gray Pine, ....

Pinus serotina, Pond Pine, ....

Pinus strobus, White Pine, ....

Pinus tceda, Loblolly Pine, ....

Planera ulmifolia, Planer Tree,

Platanus occidentalis, Button Wood or Sycamore,

Populus angulata, Carolinian Poplar,

Populus argentea, Cotton Tree,

Populus canadensis, Cotton Wood, .

Populus candicans, Heart-Leaved Balsam Poplar,

Populus grandidentata, American Large Aspen,

Populus hudsonica, American Black Poplar,

Populus monilifera, Virginian Poplar,

Populus tremuloides, American Aspen, .

Quercus alba, White Oak,

Quercus ambigua, Gray Oak,

Quercus aquatica, Water Oak,

Quercus banisteri, Bear Oak,

Quercus cinera, Upland Willow Oak,

Quercus catesbaei, Barrens Scrub Oak,

Quercus coccinea, Scarlet Oak,

Quercus falcata, Spanish Oak,

Quercus ferruginea, Black Jack Oak,

Quercus heterophylla, Bartram Oak,

Quercus imbricaria, Laurel Oak,

Quercus lyrata, Over- Cup Oak,

Quercus macrocarpa, Over-Cup White Oak,

Quercus obtusiloba, Post Oak,

Quercus olivaeformis, Mossy-Cup Oak, .

Quercus palustris, Pin Oak. .

Quercus phellos, Willow Oak,

Quercus prinus acuminata, Yelloiv Oak,

Quercus prinus chinquapin, Small Chesnut .Oak,

Quercus prinus discolor, Swamp TVhite Oak,

Quercus prinus monticola, Rock Chesnut Oak,

Quercus prinus palustris, Chesnut White Oak,

Quercus pumila, Running Oak,

Quercus rubra, Red Oak, ....

Quercus tinctoria, Black or Quercitron Oak,

Quercus virens, Live Oak, ....

229

234

235

236

237

239

240

241

242

245

246

247

251

252

253

254

255

255

256

257

258

261

262

263

264

265

266

267

269

270

271

262

274

275

277

278

279

281

282

283

284

286

287

288

289

293

INDEX.

401

Rhododendron maximum, Dwarf Rose Bay,

Rcbinia pseudo acacia, Locust,
Robinia viscosa, Rose-Flowering Loeust,
Salix ligustrina, Champlain Willow,

Salix lucida, Shining JVillow,

Salix nigra, Black Willow,

Thuja occidentalis, American Arbor Villi,

Tilia alba, While Lime ....

Tilia americana, American Lime or Bass Woo

Tilia pubescent, Boivny Lime Tree,

Ulmus alata, Wahoo,

Ulmus americana, White Elm,

Ulmus rubra, Red or Slippery Elm,

Virgilia lutea, Yellow Wood,

*,

294
996

299
300
300
301
302
304
305
307
308
309
311
313

English and Latin Names

American Arbor Vita?, Thuja occidentalis,

American Aspen, Populus tremuloides, .

American Black Poplar, Populus hudsonica,

American Chesnut, Castanea vesca,

American Holly, Ilex opaca, ....

American Hornbeam, Carpinus americana, .

American Larch, Lanx americana,

American Large Aspen, Populus grandideniaiu,

American Nettle Tree, Celtis occidentalis,

American Silver Fir, Abies balsamifera,

Ash-Leaved Maple, Acer negundo,

Barrens Scrub Oak, Quercus catesbmi,

Bartram Oak, Quercus heterophilla,

Bass Wood or American Lime, Tilia americana,

Bear Oak, Quercus banisteri, ....

Big Laurel, Magnolia grandijlora,

Bitternut Hickory, Juglans amara,

Black Alder, Alnus glauca,

Black Ash, Fraxinus sambucifolia,

Black Birch, Betula lent a,

Black Gum, JYyssa sylvatica, ....

Black Jack Oak, Quercus ferruginea,

Black or Quercitron Oak, Quercu3 tinctoria,

Black or Double Spruce, Abies nigra,

Black Sugar Maple, Acer nigrum, ■

Black Walnut, Juglans nigra,

Black Willow, Salix nigra, ....

Blue Ash, Fraxinus quadrangulata,

51

302
257

255
131
1(39
127
L93
255
134

95
103
265
270
305
263
210
170
114
157
118
223
2C9
289

98
104
178
301
15f>

402

SYLVA AMERICANA.

Butternut, Juglans cathartica,

Button Wood or Sycamore, Platanus occidentalism

Cabbage Tree, Chamcerops palmetto,

Canoe Birch, Betula papyracea,

Carolinian Ash, Fraxinus platycarpa,

Carolinian Poplar, Populus angulata,

Catalpa, Bignonia catalpa,

Champlain Willow, Salix ligustrina,

Chesnut White Oak, Quercus prinus paliistris,

Chinquapin, Castanea pumila, .

Coffee Tree, Gymnocladus canadensis, .

Common American Alder, Alnus serrulata,

Cotton Tree, Populus argentea,

Cotton Wood, Populus canadensis,

Crab Apple, Mains coronaria,

Cucumber Tree, Magnolia acuminata, •

Cypress, Cupressus disticha,

Devil Wood, Olea americana, . . .

Dogwood, Cornus Jlorida,

Downy Lime Tree, Tilia pubescens,

Dwarf Rose Bay, Rhododendron maximum,

Franklinia, Gordonia pubescens,

Georgia Bark, Pinckneya pubens, .

Gray Oak, Quercus ambigua,

Gray Pine, Pinus rupestns, .

Green Ash, Fraxinus viridis,

Hack Berry, Celtis crassifolia,

Heart-Leaved alsam Poplar, Populus candicans,

Heart-Leaved Cucumber Tree, Magnolia cordata,

Hemlock Spruce, Abies canadensis,

Iron Wood, Carpinus ostrya,

June Berry, Mespilus arborea, ....

Large Buckeye, Pavia lutea,

Large-Leaved Umbrella Tree, Magnolia macrophilla,
- Large Tupelo, Nyssa grandidentata,

Laurel Oak, Quercus imbricaria, ....

Live Oak, Quercus virensi

Loblolly Bay, Gordonia lasyanthus,

Loblolly Pine, Pinus tceda,

Locust, Robinia pseudo acacia, ....

Long-Leaved Cucumber Tree, Magnolia auriculata,

Long-Leaved Pine, Pinus australis,

Mockernut Hickory, Juglans tomentosa,

Mossy-Cup Oak, Quercus olivfeformis, .

Mountain Laurel, Kalmia latifolia,

Mountain Maple, Acer montanum,

173

247
139
121
155
251
126
300
286
130
166
115
252
253
214
205
143
225
141
307
294
165
228
261
240
160
133
254
208
96
128
216
226
212
222
271
293
164
245
296
207
229
187
277
191
102

INDEX.

403

New Jersey Pine, Pinus inops,

Nutmeg Hickory, Juglans myristicrtformis,

Ohio Buckeye or American Horse Chesnut, Pavia

Over-Cup Oak, Quercus lyrata,

Over-Cup White Oak, Quercus macrocarpa,

Pacanenut Hickory, Juglans oliviaformis,

Pawpaw, Anona triloba, .

Persimon, Diospyros virginiana,

Pignut Hickory, Juglans porcina,

Pin Oak, Quercus palustris,

Pitch Pine, Pinus rigida.

Planer Tree, Planera ulmifolia,

Pond Pine, Pinus serotina,

Poplar or Tulip Tree, Liriodendron tulipifera,

Post Oak, Quercus obtusiloba, .

Red Ash, Fraxinus tomeniosa,

Red Bay, Laurus caroliniensis,

Red Beech, Fagus ferruginea,

Red Birch, Betula rubra,

Red Cedar, Juniperus virginiana, .

Red Cherry Tree, Cerasus borealis,

Red or Slippery Elm, Ulmus rubra,

Red-Flowering Maple, Acer rubrum,

Red Mulberry, Morus rubra, .

Red Oak, Quercus rubra,

Red or Norway Pine, Pinus rubra,

Rock Chesnut Oak, Quercus prinus moniicola

Rose-Flowerino- Locust, Robinia viscosa,

Running Oak, Quercus pumila,

Sassafras, Laurus sassafras, .

Scarlet Oak, Quercus coccinea,

Shellbark Hickory, Juglans squamosa,

Shining Willow, Salix lucida,

Small Chesnut Oak, Quercus prinus chinquapin,

Small Magnolia or White Bay, Magnolia glauca,

Sorel Tree, Andromeda arborea,

Sour Tupelo, Nyssa capitata,

Spanish Oak, Quercus falcata,

Striped Maple, Acer striatum,

Sugar Maple, Acer saccharin urn,

Swamp White Oak, Quercus prinus discolor,

Sweet Gum, Liquidambar styraciflua,

Sweet Leaf, Hopea iinctoria, .

S.vcet Locust, Gleditschia triacanthos, .

Table Mountain Pine, Pinus pungens, .

Thick Shellbark Hickory, Juglans lasiniosa,

ohioetisis,

234

]77

227

262

274

181

117

149

182

278

237

24(3

241

202

275

159

195

151

124

189

135

311

106

217

288

239

284

299

287

196

266

184

300

282

209

116

220

267

113

108

283

199

167

162

236

]76

404

SYLVA AMERICANA.

Tupelo, JSPyssa aquatica,

Umbrella Tree, Magnolia tripetcda,

Upland Willow Oak, Quercus cinera,

Wahoo, Ulmus alata, ....

Water Bitternut Hickory, Juglans aquatica,

Water Locost, Gleditschia mo-nosperma,

Water Oak, Quercus aquatica,

White Ash, Fraxinus amencana,

White Beech, Fagus sylvesiris,

White Birch, Betula populifolia,

White Cedar, Cupressus thyoides,

White Elm, Ulmus amerieana,

White Lime, Tilia alba,

White Maple, Acer eriocarpum,

White Oak, Quercus alha,

White or Single Spruce, Abies alba,

White Pine, Pinus strobus,

Wild Cherry Tree, Cerasus virginiana,

Wild Orange Tree, Cerasus caroliniana,

Willow Oak, Quercus phellos,

Virginian Poplar, Populus moniliftra,

Yellow Birch, Betula lutea,

Yellow Oak, Quercus prinus acuminata,

Yellow Pine, Pinus mitis,

Yellow Wood, Virgilia lutea,

219
213
264
308
172
161
262
154
152
123
146
309
304
100
258
93
242
137
136
279
256
120
281
235
313

Provincial Names.

Apple Pine, White Pine, .

Assiminier, Pawpaw,

Bald Cypress, Cypress,

Balsam of Gilead, American Silver Fir, .

Balsam Poplar, Heart-Leaved Balsam Poplar,

Bar Oak, Over-Cup Jfnite Oak,

Barrens Oak, Black Jack Oak,

Beaver Wood, Small Magnolia or Jfliite Bay,

Big Buckeye, Large Buckeye,

Bhch, Red Birch,

Black Cypress, Cypress,

Black Locust, Locust,

Black Pine, Pitch Pine, .

Black Scrub Oak, Bear Oak, .

Black Sugar Tree, Black Sugar Maple,

242
117
143

95
254
274
269
209
226
124
143
298
237
263
104

INDEX.

405

Bois Shavanon, Catalpa,

Bois dur, Iron Wood,

Bois inconnu, American .Yettle Tree,

Bouleau Blanc, Canoe Birch,

Bouleau a canot, Canoe Birch,

Box Elder, Ash-Leaved Maple,

Box "Wood, Dogwood,

Box White Oak, Post Oak,

Broom Pine, Long-Leaved Pine,

Broom Hickory, Pignut Hickory, ■

Brown Ash, Black Ash, .

Buckeye, American Horse Chesnut,

Calico Tree, Mountain Laurel,

Canadian Poplar, Cotton Wood,

Canoe Wood, Poplar or Tulip Tree,

Catawbaw Tree, Catalpa,

Charme, American Hornbeam,

Chene a lattes, Laurel Oak, .

Chene a gros gland, Over-Cup Unite Oak,

Cherry Birch, Black Birch,

Chesnut Oak, Rock Chesnut Oak, .

Chicot, Coffee Tree,

Chinquapin Oak, Small Chesnut Oak,

Common Hickory, Mockernut Hickory,

Copalm, Sweet Gum,

Cotton Tree, Buttonwood or Sycamore,

Cotton Wood, Cotton Tree,

Cypre, Cypress, ....

Dwarf Oak, Bear Oak,

Epinette blanche, JVhite or Single Spruce,

Epinette noire, Black or Double Spruce,

Epinette a la biere, Black or Double Spruce,

Epinette rouge, American Larch,

Erable a Giguieres, Ash-Leaved Maple,

Fevier, Sweet Locust, ....

Fir Balsam, American Silver Fir,

Georgia Pitch Pine, Long-Leaved Pine,

Gloucester Walnut, Thick Shellbark Hickory,

Green Locust, Locust, ....

Gros Fevier, Cojfee Tree,

Gum Tree, Tupelo, ....

Hackmatack, American Larch,

Hard Maple, Sugar Maple,

Hognut Hickory, Pignut Hickory, .

Honey Locust, Sweet Locust, .

Hoop Ash, Hack Berry, ....

126

128

134

121

121

103

141

275

229

182

157

227

191

253

202

126

127

271

274

118

284

166

282

187

200

247

252

143

262

93

98

98

193

103

162

95

229

176

298

166

219

193

108

182

162

133

406

SYLVA AMERICANA.

Hornbeam, American Hornbeam,

Indian Physic, hong-Leaved Cucumber Tree,

Iron Oak, Post Oak,

Ivy, Mountain Laurel,

Jack Oak, Black Jack Oak, Laurel Oak,

Juniper, White Cedar,

Kisky Thomas Nut, Shellbark Hickory,

Large Magnolia, Big Laurel, .

Laurel, Mountain Laurel,

Laurier Tulipier, Big Laurel, .

Lever Wood, Iron Wood,

Lime Tree, Downy Lime Tree,

Low Maple, Mountain Maple,

Maple, Red-Floivering Maple,

Magnolia, Small Magnolia or White Bay,

Moose Elm, Red or Slippery Elm,

Moose Wood, Striped Maple,

Mountain Mahogany, Black Birch,

Noyer Tendre, Shellbark Hickory. .

Noyer Dur, Mockernut Hickory,

Oil Nut, Butternut,

Old Field Birch, White Birch,

Orme Gras, Red or Slippery Elm,

Pacanier, Pacanenut,

Paper Birch, Canoe Birch,

Perusse, Hemlock Spruce,

Pin Rouge, Red or Norway Pine, .

Pipperidge, Tupelo,

Pitch Pine, Long-Leaved Pine,

Plane Tree, Buttonwood or Sycamore,

Plaqueminier, Persimon,

Pumpkin Pine, JVhite Pine,

Red Locust, Locust,

Red Oak, Spanish Oak, .

Red Pine, Long-Leaved Pine,

Red Spruce, Black or Double Spruce,

Rock Maple, Black Sugar Maple, .

Rock Maple, Sugar Maple,

Sap Pine, Pitch Pine,

Sapling Pine, White Pine,

Savin, Red Cedar, ....

Scalybark Hickory, Shellbark Hickory,

Scrub Pine, New Jersey Pine,

Shagbark Hickory, Shellbark Hickory,

Short-Leaved Pine, Yellow Pine, .

Small Cherry, Red Cherry Tree,

127

207

275

191

271

146

184

211

191

211

128

307

102

106

209

311

113

118

184

187

173

123

311

181

121

96
239
219
229
247
149
242
298
267
229

99
104
108
238
242
189
184
234
184
235
135

INDEX.

407

Soft Maple, Red-Flowering Maple,

Sour Gum, Black Gum, .

Sour Gum, Tupelo, ....

Southern Pine, Long-Leaved Pine,

Spruce Pine, Yellow Pine,

Sugar Maple. Black Sugar Maple,

Sugar Plum, June Berry,

Sugar Tree, Black Sugar Maple,

Swamp Chesnut Oak, Chesnut White Oak,

Swamp Hickory, Bitternut Hickory,

Swamp Maple, Red-Flowering Maple,

Swamp Post Oak, Over-Cup Oak,

Swamp Spanish Oak, Pin Oak,

Swamp Sassafras, Small Magnolia or White Bay,

Sweet Bay, Small Magnolia or White Bay,

Sweet Birch, Black Birch,

Swiss Poplar, Virginian Poplar,

Turkey Oak, Post Oak, .

Water Ash, Black Ash, .

Water Beech Buttonwood or Sycamore,

Water White Oak, Over- Cup Oak,

White Cedar, American Arbor Vital,

White Cypress, Cypress,

White-Heart Hickory, Mockernut Hickory,

White Hickory, Bittemut Hickory,

White Locust, Locust,

White Oak, Chesnut White Oak,

White Pine, Loblolly Pine,

White Walnut, Butternut,

White Wood, Poplar or Tidip Tree,

Wild Lime, Sour Tupelo,

Wild Olive, Large Tupelo,

Wild Pear Tree, June Berry, .

Yellow Gum, Black Gum,

Yellow Oak, Black or Quercitron Oak,

Yellow Pine, Red or Norway Pine,

Yellow Pine, Long-Leaved Pine,

Yellow Poplar, Poplar or Tidip Tree,

106

223

219

229

235

104

216

104

286

170

106

272

278

209

209

118

256

276

157

247

272

302

143

188

170

298

286

245

173

202

221

222

216

223

289

239

229

204

40S

SYLVA AMERICANA.

PART III.

Different Modes of Rearing Forest Trees,
Earths and Soils, ....
Earths and Soils, formation of,
Geological Structure of the Globe,
Modes of Transplanting Forest Trees,
Nursery and Plantation,
Plantations, Culture of, .
Propagation of Forest Trees by Suckers,
Propagation of Forest Trees by Layers,
Propagation of Forest Trees by Cuttings,
Propagation of Forest Trees by Grafting,
Propagation of Forest Trees by Budding,
Seeds of Forest Trees, ....

Seeds, Sowing of,

Seminary,

Soils, Classification and Nomenclature of,
Soils, Tabular View of, .

Soils, Qualities of,

Soils, Discovering the Qualities of, Botanically,

Soils, Discovering the Qualities of, by Chemical Analysis,

Soils, Discovering the Qualities of, Mechanically and Empyrically,

Soils and Sites most profitably Employed in the Growth of Timber,

Soils, Modes of Preparing for the Reception of Plants

Trees, Different Modes of Pruning,

Trees, Proper Season for Felling,

Trees, Process of Barking,

Trees, Modes of Felling,

Appendix.

Glossary,

Tabular View of the Qualities of Forest Trees,

329

317

319

317

348

337

374

338

338

340

341

346

332

334

330

322

324

325

325

325

328

363

369

376

384

384

384

388
386

Browne, Daniel Jay/1

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