liquid state; whence the Spaniards gave the tree the name of liquidambar.(Nov. Plant., &c., p. 56.) Shortly afterwards, Banister, the missionary collector sent out by Bishop Compton (see p. 44), discovered the tree in North America, and sent home, in 1681, a plant of it to the bishop, whose gardener, the celebrated George London, planted it in the palace gardens at Fulham. In Ray's Historia Plantarum, published in 1686, the liquidambar is mentioned under the names of Styrax líquida, Styrax A'ceris fòlio, and Styrax árbor virginiàna; but Plukenet, Catesby, and Bauhin, who were all nearly contemporary with Ray, call it by its Spanish name of Liquidambar. The Spanish historian, the Abbé Clavigiero, in his History of Mexico, gives the following account of this tree :-"The Xochiocotzotl, commonly called Liquidambar, is the liquid storax of the Mexicans. It is a great tree (not a shrub, as Pluche, the author of the Spectacle de la Nature, makes it): its leaves are similar to those of the maple tree, indented white on one part, and dark in another, and disposed in threes. The fruit is thorny and round, but polygonous, with the surface and angles yellow. The bark of the tree is in part green, and in part tawny. By incision in the trunk, they extract that precious resin, called by the Spaniards liquidambar, and the oil of the same name, which is still more odorous and estimable. They also obtain liquidambar from a decoction of the branches; but it is inferior to that which distils from the trunk." (Cullen's Trans. Clav., i. p. 33.) The abbé adds that Quilbrahacha, which, he says, was the second name applied by the Mexicans to this tree, signifies "break axe;" a name which seems singularly inappropriate, as, according to most writers, the wood is tender and supple. In England, the tree has been generally included in collections from the time of its introduction; and there are, in consequence, some very fine specimens where it has been planted in a sheltered situation, and in an alluvial soil near water. In Scotland, and the north of Germany, it is somewhat tender; and, north of Berlin, it never attains the size even of a low tree.

Properties and Uses. The wood of the liquidambar is very compact and fine-grained, with only a very thin layer of sap wood. The heart wood is reddish; and, when sawn into boards, it is observed to be marked transversely, and at considerable distances, with blackish belts. As it is very light, and takes a brilliant polish, it is sometimes sawn into excessively thin laminæ, and employed by the cabinet-makers, in New York, for veneering. It is, however, inferior to the wood of the black walnut (Juglans nigra), and to that of the wild cherry (Cérasus virginiàna), both of which are harder, and less easily defaced. As it readily takes a black dye, it is often used, in America, instead of ebony; particularly for picture frames, the balusters of staircases, and to ornament bedsteads. When exposed to the external air, it soon decays. It is little esteemed as fuel, as it gives scarcely any flame; and, in America, it always sells at a lower price than any other kind of firewood. Bosc says, speaking of this tree: "Its wood is too liable to decay to be used for any purpose where it will be exposed to the open air; too brittle to be employed by the carpenter; and too apt to warp to be of any service to the cabinetmaker." The principal product of the liquidambar is its resinous gum. This substance, from its fragrance, was at first supposed to be a kind of balsam, resembling storax; but it was soon found to be a resinous gum, differing from storax in many essential respects. (See Les Végétaux Résineux, &c., ii. p. 337.) On large trees, grown in warm countries, the gum is found in considerable quantities, appearing between the bark and the wood, and exuding from the cracks in the former. This substance, which is in the shops sometimes called the white balsam of Peru, or liquid storax, is, when it first issues from the tree, perfectly fluid and clear; white, with a slight tinge of yellow, quite balsamic, and having a most agreeable fragrance, resembling that of ambergris or styrax. This gum is procured in the greatest abundance in warm countries, and that of commerce is chiefly brought from Mexico. It is considered to be a styptic, and to possess healing and balsamic properties. It is stimulant and aromatic, and has been long used in France as a perfume, especially for gloves.

2052

ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM.

ᏢᎪᎡᎢ III.

It possesses nearly the same properties as the balsam of Tolu, and that of Peru (both produced by a tree in Brazil), for which it is often substituted, as well as for storax. in the trunk, and suffering the resin to flow gradually; but an inferior kind is The best liquidambar gum is obtained by making incisions procured by boiling the small branches and leaves, and collecting the balsamic oil which rises from them, and floats on the surface of the water. In England and in North America, very little gum is produced from the trunk of the tree, though a little exudes from the leaves; and Michaux informs us that, in repeated experiments made in Carolina, he was never able to collect more than half an ounce, from a tree 1 ft. in diameter, in a fortnight. In Britain, the principal use of this tree is as an ornament to lawns and pleasure-grounds; in which it has a most striking appearance, when the leaves are dying off in autumn; and it is also very beautiful throughout the summer, from the dark green and glossy surface of its elegantly shaped leaves. When bruised, the leaves are fragrant at all seasons; but in spring, when they are first unfolding, after a warm shower, the surrounding air is filled with their refreshing odour.

Soil, Propagation, &c. The liquidambar has a decided preference for a moist soil, and will only attain a timber-like size in a sheltered situation. In British nurseries, it is generally propagated by layers, which root with tolerable facility, and may be taken off at the end of the first autumn after they have been formed. It is also propagated by seeds imported from America. These are brought over in the catkins, and should not be taken out of them till the time of sowing; because the seeds, like those of the pine and fir tribe, do not keep well when exposed to the air. The round prickly catkins which contain the seeds are hard, and not readily broken with the hand; but, by exposure to the sun, or to fire heat, they crack and open, and the seeds may then be easily shaken out. They may be sown and treated like seeds of the pine and fir tribe; but, unlike them, they lie a year in the ground before coming up. Seedlings generally attain the height of from 5 in. to 8 in. the first year, with numerous fibrous roots. They may either be transplanted that year, or the next, and may afterwards undergo the usual routine culture in nursery lines, till they are wanted for final transplanting.

Accidents, Diseases, and Insects. The wood of the liquidambar being brittle, the branches are liable to be broken off by very high winds; and the wounds left, if not smoothed and protected from the air, will greatly facilitate the rotting of the tree, the timber of which is naturally not durable. In America, several insects feed on the leaves, among which we may mention the green swallow-tailed emperor moth (Phale'na lùna Abb. & Smith, t. 48., and our fig. 1962.) and the great plane moth (P. imperatòria Abb. & Smith, t. 55., Bómbyx imperialis Fab.). Insects of the former species are not common; but they are very beautiful; the caterpillar being bright orange with yellow spots, and the moth bright yellow and pink. These insects are very difficult to rear, as the moth generally dies in confinement, before depositing her eggs.

Statistics. In the environs of London, at Syon, 59 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 1 ft. 7 in., and of the head 36 ft.; in the Fulham Nursery, 15 years planted, it is 20 ft. high. South of London: in Devonshire, at Luscombe, 18 years planted, it is 23 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 6 in., and that of the head 14 ft.: in Hampshire, at Strathfieldsaye, it is 64 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 2 ft. 6 in., growing in rich soil, not much above the level of the river: in Kent, at Cobham Hall, 25 years planted, it is 36 ft. high, with a trunk 1ft. Sin. in diameter: in Surrey, at Farnham Castle, on dry chalky soil, 40 years planted, it is 20 ft. high, with a trunk 1 ft. in diameter; at Woburn Farm, it is upwards of 60 ft. high.; at Ockham Park, 23 years planted, it is 22 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 10 in., and of the head 15 ft.: in Wiltshire, at Wardour Castle, 30 years planted, it is 25 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 9 in., and that of the head 8 ft. North of London: in Bedfordshire, at Ampthill, 38 years planted, it is 25 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 1 ft., and of the space covered by the branches 24 ft.: in Cheshire, at Eaton Hall, 13 years planted, it is 12 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 5 in., and that of the space covered by the branches 10 ft.: in Herefordshire, at Wormleybury, 80 years old, it is 55 ft. high, the circumference of the trunk at the ground 5ft.: in Monmouthshire, at Tredegar Park, 50 years planted, it is 25 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 1 ft., and that of the head 90 ft. in Suffolk, at Ampton Hall, 12 years planted, it is 16 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 3 in., and of the head 6 ft.: in Warwickshire, at Combe Abbey, it is 37 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 1 ft. 2 in., and that of the head 21 ft.: in Worcestershire, at Croome, 15 years planted, it is 25 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 5 in., and that of the head 15 ft.: in Yorkshire, in the Huli Botanic Garden, 12 years planted, it is 20 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 12 in.-In Scotland. In Lawson's Nursery, Edinburgh, 4 years planted, it is 4 ft. high; the young shoots being often injured by the frost. In Banffshire, at Gordon Castle, 12 years planted, it is 10 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 4 in. In Fifeshire, at Danibristle Park, 4 years planted, it is 4 ft. 6 in. high, the diameter

of the trunk 24 in., and that of the head 4 ft.-In Ireland. In King's County, at Charleville Forest, In Down 8 years planted, it is 9 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 3 in., and that of the head 9 ft. at Ballyleady, 26 years planted, it is 15 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 12 in. In Louth, at Oriel Temple, 40 years planted, it is 22 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 11 in., and that of the head 15 ft.-In France, in the Jardin des Plantes, at Paris, 25 years planted, it is 20 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 1 ft. 6 in.; in the Botanic Garden at Toulon, 50 years old, it is 50 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 2 ft.; at Avranches, in the Botanic Garden, 29 years planted, it is 30 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 7 in., and of the head 8 ft.In Hanover, at Harbke, 8 years planted, it is 10 ft. high. In Prussia, at Berlin, at Sans Souci, from 45 to 50 years old, it is 18 ft. high, with a trunk 11 in. in diameter.-In Italy, in Lombardy, at Monza, 24 years old, it is 30 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 1 ft., and of the head 25 ft.

Commercial Statistics. Plants, in the London nurseries, are Is. 6d. each; and seeds in the cone, or catkin, are 2s. per pint. At Bollwyller, plants are 2 franes and 50 cents each; and at New York they are 25 cents.

2. L. IMBE'RBE Willd. The beardless, or Oriental, Liquidambar. Identification. Willd. Sp. Pl., 4. p. 475.; Ait. Hort. Kew., 3. p. 365.; N. Du Ham., 2. p44.

Synonymes. L orientalis Mill. Dict., No. 2. ;? Plátanus orientalis Pocock. Itin., 2. t. 89. ; L. imberbis Smith in Rees's Cycl.

Engravings. ? Pocock. Itin., 2. t. 89.; and our fig. 1963.

1963

Spec. Char., &c. Leaves palmate-lobed, with the sinuses at the base of the veins; smooth. (Willd.) This is a low stunted tree, or large bush, of slow growth, with numerous small branches crowded together into an irregular head. The young shoots are pliant and reddish; the leaves are much like those of the preceding species, but smaller, and more like those of the common maple; because they are bluntly notched, while the others are acutely so. See fig. 1964., in which a is a leaf of L. Styraciflua, and b one of L. imbérbe, both to the same scale. The veins of the leaves, in this species, are naked, while in the other they are hairy at the base of the midrib. The flowers are disposed like those in the preceding species, and the fruit is smaller, and more sparingly furnished with prickly points. The rate of growth, in the climate of London, is slow, being not more than 5 ft. or 6 ft. in ten years; and the largest tree

that we know of in England, which is in the Mile End Nursery, is only 15 ft. 6 in., though it must have been planted 50 years, and probably more The tree is a native of the Levant; and was introduced into France, accord ing to Du Hamel, by M. Peyssonel, consul

at Smyrna; and from France sent to England, to Miller, who raised plants of it in the Chelsea Garden in 1759. It has since been cultivated in choice collections; but, from its only being raised by layers, and not forming such a handsome tree, not so generally as the Liquidámbar Styracíflua. We are not aware that it has ever flowered in England. It will grow in a soil rather drier than the preceding species will; though Du Hamel

1964

was informed that in its native country it grows in moist soil, by water, like the willow. It is therefore probable, that, if planted in similar soil in England, and in a sheltered warm situation, it would attain a much greater height than it has hitherto done in this country. Price of plants, in England, as in the preceding species. It is not in the Bollwyller catalogue, and at New York the price of plants is 1 dollar each.

App. i. Species of Liquidámbar not yet introduced.

L. Altingia Blume Bjdr., 10. p. 527., Fl. Jav., t. 1., and our fig. 1965.; Altíngia excélsa Noronha in Batav. Verhand., 5. p. 1., Pers. Syn., 2. p. 579., Spreng. Syst. Veg., 3. p. 888., Lambert's Genus Pinus, 1. t. 39, 40.; Lignum papuànum

Rumph. Herb. Amb., 2. p. 57.; Alting's Liquidambar. Leaves ovate-oblong, acuminate, serrated, glabrous. (Blume.) A tree, with a spreading head, from 150 ft. to 200 ft. high; the trunk straight and thick, especially towards the bot tom, where there are 4 or more deep furrows, seeming as if they had been hollowed out. The bark externally is of a whitish ash colour, even or warty, of a brownish red internally; the juice acrid and somewhat bitter: when wounded, a honey-like sweetish balsam exudes. Branches alternate, round, and warty; young ones furrowed, and smooth. Leaves alternate, petioled, from 3 in. to 5 in. long, scarcely 2in. broad; lea thery. Petioles from in. to above 1 in. in length, weak, roundish, having at the base 2 small, subulate, deciduous stipules. Capsules obcordate, somewhat 2-lobed. This immense tree can never escape the eye of the traveller in the forests of the west of Java. It is found very plentifully in the provinces of

very rare, if not totally wanting. Noronha first described this tree in the Act. Soc. Batav. ; but he had not the least suspicion that it belonged to the genus Liquidámbar Linn. The small grains which are found along with the seeds in some capsules, which are nothing more than abortive ovules, and which had been observed by Linnæus in L. Styraciflua, he described as small_chaffy bodies, mixed with the membranous tops of the seeds. It is called by the natives of Java, Ras-sama-la; by the Arabs, Rasem-malla; by the inhabitants of New Guinea, Russimal; and by those of Cochin-China, Rosa-malla. The wood is at first reddish, and afterwards brownish; very compact, hard, of a beautiful grain, and having a grateful balsamic odour. It is much esteemed by the Javanese for beams and planks. The flowers appear in May and June; and the fruit is ripe in September, and the following months of the same year. (Blume Fl. Jav., t. 1, 2.) Sprengel imagined that this tree was the same as our Araucaria excélsa; an error which was detected by the description and figure of Blume, as given above.

CHAP. CIX.

OF THE HARDY AND HALF-HARDY LIGNEOUS PLANTS OF THE

ORDER MYRICA`CEÆ.

MYRICA L. Flowers unisexual; those of the two sexes upon different plants. Male flowers in cylindrical sessile catkins. Each flower consists of 4, rarely more, stamens: these are inserted at the base of a bractea. Bracteas extending beyond the stamens, loosely imbricated. — Female flowers closely disposed into ovate sessile catkins, and attended by closely imbricated bracteas. One bractea attends 2 flowers. Each flower consists of a calyx of 2-4 very minute scales; an ovary, to which the scales adhere; a short style; and 2 long thread-shaped stigmas. Ovary 1-celled, and including one upright ovule. Carpel involucrated by the adherent, more or less fleshy, enlarged calyx, and so more or less resembling a berry. Seed erect, exalbuminous.- Species few; natives of the torrid and frigid zones of both hemispheres. Shrubs. Leaves alternate, persistent, or annual; simple in most, if not all; generally more or less serrated, besprinkled with resinous dots, as are the scales of the buds, and the surface of the fruit; which yield, when rubbed, an aromatic odour. Catkins axillary, expanding early in the following year in the kinds with annual leaves. (T. Nees ab Esenb. Gen. Pl. Fl. Ger.; Smith Eng. Fl.; and observation.)

COMPTONIA Gærtn. Flowers unisexual; those of both sexes upon one plant, and in catkins.— Male catkins lateral, cylindrical, of several flowers. Bracteas imbricated. Flower of "3-twin" (Watson) stamens, seated towards the base of a bractea; sessile. Anthers 2-lobed, opening at the side. Female catkins lateral, ovate, of several flowers. Bracteas imbricated. Flower of a calyx and pistil. Calyx free, flat, 6-parted; segments slender, unequal in length; the longest as long again as the bractea. Ovary subglobose, depressed. Style short. Stigmas 2. Fruit 1-celled, ovate, hard, shining, attended by the calyx. Seed 1, oval. Species 1, a bushy dwarfish shrub, wild in sandy, stony, or slaty woods, in North America, from New England to Virginia. Leaves alternate, lanceolate, pinnatifidly toothed, downy, sprinkled with golden, resinous, transparent particles; annual. A fragrant odour resides in the resinous particles upon the leaves, and, it is likely, in other parts of the plant. (Wats. Dend. Brit. ; N. Du Ham.; and observation.)

GENUS I.

MYRICA L. THE CANDLEBERRY MYRTLE. Lin. Syst. Dice'cia
Tetrándria.

Identification. Lin. Gen., 518.; Juss., 409.; Fl. Br., 1076.; Lam., t. 809.; Gærtn., t. 39.; Eng.
FL., p. 238.; N. Du Ham, 2. p. 189.