poses, to any of the American pines or firs which grow in the same parts." (Laws. Manual, p. 388.) Mr. Blair, when in Canada, was informed that the wood of this tree is preferred to maple, hickory, or beech, as fuel for the steam-boats on the St. Lawrence. (Blair in Gard. Mag., vol. viii. p. 488.) In Mr. M'Nab's article on the local distribution of different species of trees in the native forests of America, published in the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, he states that on a flattened, low, moist meadow, on this line of road, was an extensive forest of the tamarack, or black American larch, which he calls Làrix péndula, tall straggling trees, with stems not exceeding 1 ft. 8 in. in circumference. " Through the tract of country which we have passed," he adds, "this tree was by no means plentiful, having only seen four masses of them, and these very distant from each other all were in similar situations." (Quart. Journ. of Agr., vol. v. p. 601.) L. a.3 prolifera; L.prolífera Malcolm. The proliferous-branched Larch.In this variety, the axis of the cones is prolonged in the form of a shoot; a kind of monstrosity which is found in all the varieties of L. americana, and also occasionally, as Richard has shown, in some species of Abies and Picea. The plant in the Horticultural Society's Garden, after being 12 years planted, is 15 ft. high. Description, &c. Michaux describes the American larch as a tall slender tree, with a trunk 80 ft. or 100 ft. high, and only 2 ft. or 3 ft. in diameter. Its numerous branches, except near the summit, are horizontal or declining. The bark is smooth and shining on the trunk and larger branches, but rugged on the smaller branches. The leaves are flexible, and shorter than those of the European species. The cones are small and erect; green in spring, and generally brown when ripe, but sometimes they are found of a violet colour. The wood, Michaux says, is equal to that of the European larch, being exceedingly strong, and singularly durable. The American larch is most abundant in Vermont, New Hampshire, and the district of Maine; but, though the soil is well adapted to its growth, it does not form the hundredth part of the Abiétinæ in these latitudes. According to the elder Michaux's observations, in his journey to Hudson's Bay, it is only beyond the St. Lawrence, particularly near Lake St. John, and the Great and the Little Lake Misstassin, that it begins to abound, and to form masses of wood, some of which are several miles in extent. It is abundant in Newfoundland, in nearly the same latitude. New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the coldest and gloomiest exposures in the mountainous tracts of Virginia, are the limits of its appearance towards the south; but it is rare in these states: and, in Lower Jersey and the vicinity of New York, it is seen only in the swamps of white cedar (Cupressus thuyöìdes), with which it is scantily mingled. According to Pursh, the two forms of this species, though united in one by Michaux, are specifically and constantly different. He never saw them both growing in the same place, or even near one another. L. a. péndula was introduced by Peter Collinson, in 1739; and the original tree planted by him at Peckham was afterwards removed to Mill Hill; where it was cut down, says Sir James Edward Smith, "about the year 1800, to make a rail, by its sapient possessor. The abundance of seeds," he adds, "which it annually produced might have been a far more lasting source of profit, as few exotic trees are more worthy of cultivation. It was from this tree that Solander first described L. a. péndula as a distinct species, L. a. rùbra not having been introduced till 1760. The original tree of this latter variety was planted by John Duke of Argyll at Whitton, where Sir James Edward Smith and Mr. Lambert saw it early in the present century, and where we examined it on the 21st of July, 1837, and found it between 40 ft. and 50 ft. high. The wood, in America, and especially in Canada, according to Michaux, is considered among the most valuable timber, and has no fault except its weight. In the district of Maine, it is more esteemed than any other resinous wood, for the knees of vessels; and Michaux thinks that it would be much more employed in America than it is, if it were not comparatively rare there. In Britain, it can only be considered as a curious or ornamental tree. Seeds are sometimes ripened in this country, and are also sometimes imported; in consequence of which, both varieties are not uncommon in the nurseries. Statistics. Làrix americàna rùbra. In the environs of London, At Syon, it is 67 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 1 ft. Sin., and of the head 35 ft. This tree is figured in our last Volume. -South of London. In Surrey, at Farnham Castle, 35 years planted, it is 20 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 1 ft. 8 in.; at Bagshot Park, 16 years planted, it is 25 ft. high; at Claremont, it is 70 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 1 ft. 6 in., and of the head 40 ft. In the Isle of Jersey, in Saunders's Nursery, 10 years planted, it is 24 ft. high. - North of London. In Bedfordshire, at Southill, it is 65 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 2 ft. 6 in., and of the head 65 ft. In Warwickshire, at Combe Abbey, 60 years planted, it is 84 ft. high, diameter of the trunk 3 ft., and of the head 42 ft. In Worcestershire, at Croome, 40 years planted, it is 90 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 1 ft. 6 in., and of the head 20 ft-In Scotland, in the environs of Edinburgh, at Dalhousie Castle, 15 years planted, it is 19 ft. high. In Ireland, in the Glasnevin Botanic Garden, 20 years old, it is 16 ft. high. At Cypress Grove, near Dublin, it is 40 ft. high. In King's County, at Charleville Forest, 45 years planted, it is 94 ft. high. Larix americàna pendula. In England. In Berkshire, at White Knights, 34 years planted, it is 48 ft. high. In Staffordshire, at Trentham, 26 years planted, it is 40 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 1 ft. 4in., and of the head 25 ft. In Worcester, at Croome, 35 years planted, it is 40 ft. high. -In Scotland, in the Experimental Garden, Edinburgh, 6 years planted, it is 12 ft. high. — In Ire land. At Terenure, near Dublin, 15 years planted, it is 10 ft. high. In Louth, at Oriel Temple, 55 years planted, it is 52 ft. high. Commercial Statistics. Price of seeds, in London, 2s. 6d. per oz.; of plants, 10s. per 100. At Bollwyller, plants are 2 francs each; and at New York, 75 cents. GENUS V. CE'DRUS Barrel. THE CEDAR. Lin. Syst. Mono'cia Monadelphia. Identification. Barrelier Plantæ per Galliam, &c., observatæ, &c., Ic., 499. Synonymes. Pinus Lin., in part; Abies Poir., in part; Làrix Tourn., in part; Cèdre, Fr. ; Ceder, Ger. Derivation. Some suppose the word Cedrus to be derived from Cedron, a brook in Judea, on the banks of which the cedar of Lebanon was once plentiful: others (see M. Théis Gloss. Bot., p. 366.), from kaiō, I burn; from the wood of some of the kinds of cedar being burned as incense: and others, from the Arabic kedroum, or kèdre, power. (See Golius Lexicon Arab., col. 1861.) Description. Majestic evergreen trees; natives of Asia and Africa, with large spreading branches. Extremely ornamental, and one species producing excellent timber. 1. C. LIBA`NI Barr. The Cedar of Lebanon. Identification Barrel. Ic., 499.; Edw. Ornith., t. 188.; Lawson's Manual, p. 380.; Bon Jardinier, Engravings. Du Ham. Arb., 1. t. 132.; Trew Ehret, t. 1. 4. 28. 60, and 61.; Nov. Act. A. N. C., 3. App., t. 13. f. 1. 7. 11, 12., and 14.; Barrel. Ic., t. 499.; Edw. Ornith., t. 188.; Lamb. Pin., ed. 2., t. 51.; our fig. 2267.; and the plates of this tree in our last Volume. Spec. Char., &c. Leaves tufted, perennial. Cones ovate, abrupt; their scales close-pressed. Crest of the anthers ovate, flat, erect. (Smith.) Cones ovate, from 3 in. to 5 in. long, and from 2 in. to 2 in. broad. Seeds of an irregular triangular form; nearly in. long, with a very broad membranaceous wing. Cotyledons 6. A tree, a native of Syria, on Mount Lebanon ; and of the north of Africa, on Mount Atlas. Introduced before 1683. Varieties. ↑ C. L.2 folüs argenteis has the leaves of a silvery hue both above and below. There are very large trees of this variety at Whitton and Pain's Hill, and a dwarf bushy one, remarkable for its silvery aspect, at the Countess of Shaftesbury's villa (formerly the residence of Thomson the poet), on the banks of the Thames at Richmond, of which there is a portrait in our last Volume. It is singular that the nurserymen have never taken the trouble to raise plants from the seeds, or from scions, of this very beautiful variety. ? C. L. 3 nana is a very dwarf variety, of which we have only seen one plant at Hendon Rectory, Middlesex, which, 10 or 12 years old, is only from 2 ft. to 3 ft. high, making shoots from 2 in. to 3 in. in a year. Other Varieties. At Pepper Harrow, in Surrey, the seat of Lord Viscount Middleton, there are a great many cedar trees, some of which are quite fastigiate in their habit of growth, resembling immense cypresses; while others have the branches depressed at their insertion in the trunk, and their extremities pendulous like those of the hemlock spruce. Some are dwarf and bushy, and others very tall, with comparatively few branches; the leaves of some are dark green, while those of others are quite glaucous. The cones are of very different sizes. These variations arise, no doubt, simply from the tendency of the cedar to sport when raised from seed; as similar variations are always found, more or less, wherever the cedar has been planted in considerable quantities. In the Garden Lemonnier, at Versailles, is a cedar about 20 ft. high, with a trunk 2 ft. in circumference at the base. It is apparently very old, and has a knotty stunted appearance, like the gnarled branches of an aged oak. It has never produced seeds (Ann. d'Hort., xvi. p. 337), and is most probably only a variation. Description. A widely spreading tree, generally from 50 ft. to 80 ft. high; and, when standing singly, covering a space with its branches, the diameter of which is often much greater than its height. The leading shoot, in young trees, generally inclines to one side, but it becomes erect, as the tree increases in height It is covered with a brownish bark, which becomes cracked as the tree advances in age. The horizontal branches, or limbs, when the tree is exposed on every side, are very large in proportion to the trunk: they are disposed in distinct layers, or stages, and the distance to which they extend diminishes as they approach the top; thus forming a pyramidal head, broad in proportion to its height. The extremities of the lower branches, in such trees, generally rest on the ground, bent down by their 2267 own weight; but they do not root into it. The summit, in young trees, is spiry; but in old trees it becomes broad and flattened. When the cedar of Lebanon is drawn up among other trees, it produces a clean straight trunk, differing only in appearance from that of the larch in the colour of its bark; but having been long considered more as an ornamental than a useful tree, it is seldom found planted in masses, or intermixed with other trees in plantations. If a branch of the cedar is cut off, it is stated in Lambert's Pinus, that "the part remaining in the trunk gradually loosens itself, and assumes a round form resembling a potato; and, if the bark covering it be struck smartly with a hammer, the knot leaps out." This fact, Mr. Lambert states, was communicated to him by Sir Joseph Banks; but he adds that he had tried the experiment himself. The branchlets are disposed in a flat fan-like manner on the branches; and, as they are numerous and thickly set with leaves, single detached trees appear, at a little distance, a dense mass of foliage. The leaves are straight, about 1 in. long, slender, nearly cylindrical, tapering to a point, and are on short footstalks: they are generally of a dark grass green; but, in the variety called the silver cedar, they have a beautiful glaucous hue. The leaves, which remain two years on the branches, are at 2268 first produced in tufts; the buds from which they spring having the appearance of abortive shoots, which, instead of becoming branches, only produce a tuft of leaves pressed closely together in a kind of whorl. These buds continue, for several years in succession, to produce every spring a new tuft of leaves, placed above those of the preceding year; and thus each bud may be said to make a slight growth annually, but so slowly, that it can scarcely be perceived to have advanced a line in length; hence, many of these buds may be found on old trees, which have eight or ten rings, each ring being the growth The Syon Cedar. 2269 of one year; and sometimes they ramify a little. At length, sooner or later they produce the male and female flowers. The male catkins are simple, solitary, of a reddish hue, about 2 in. long, terminal, and turning upwards. They are composed of a great number of sessile, imbricated stamens, on a common axis. Each stamen is furnished with an anther with 2 cells, which open lengthwise by their lower part; and each terminates in a sort of crest pointing upwards. The pollen is yellowish, and is produced in great abundance. The female catkins are short, erect, roundish, and rather oval: they change, after fecundation, into ovate-oblong cones, which, when they approach maturity, become from 2 in. to 5 in. long. The cones are of a greyish brown, with a plum-coloured or pinkish bloom when young, which they lose as they approach maturity: they are composed of a series of coriaceous imbricated scales, laid flat, and firmly pressed against each other in an oblique spiral direction. The scales are very broad, obtuse, and truncated at the summit; very thin, and slightly denticulated at the edge; and reddish and shining on the flat part. Each scale contains 2 seeds, each surmounted by a very thin membranaceous wing, of which the upper part is very broad, and the lower narrow, enveloping the greater part of the seed. The cones are very firmly attached to the branches: they neither open nor fall off as in the other Abiétinæ ; but, when ripe, the scales become loose, and drop gradually, leaving the axis of the cone still fixed on the branch. The seeds are of an irregular, but somewhat triangular, form, nearly 1 in. long, of a lightish brown colour. Every part of the cone abounds with resin, which sometimes exudes from between the scales. The female catkins are produced in October, but the cones do not appear till the end of the second year; and, if not gathered, they will remain attached to the tree for several years. The tree does not begin to produce cones till it is 25 or 30 years old; and, even then, the seeds in such cones are generally imperfect, and it is not till after several years of bearing, that seeds from the cones of young trees can be depended on. Some cedars produce only male catkins, and these in immense abundance; others only female catkins; and some both. There are trees at Whitton, Pepper Harrow, and other places, which, though upwards of 100 years old, and of vigorous growth, have scarcely ever produced either male or female catkins. The duration of the cedar is supposed to extend to several centuries. The Enfield Cedar. 2270 The Chelsea Cedars. The rate of growth of the cedar is generally considered slow; but, under favourable circumstances, it is at least as rapid as that of other resinous trees. Loiseleur Deslongchamps, in his very able article on the cedar in the Nouveau Du Hamel, compares the rate of growth of the tree in England and France, by showing the increase in a given number of years of the trees at Chelsea, and of that in the Jardin des Plantes. The trees in the Chelsea Garden were planted in 1683, being then 3 ft. high; and, in 1766, two of them were upwards of 12 ft. 6 in. in girt at 2 ft. from the ground, and their branches extended more than 20 ft. on every side; which branches, Miller adds, "though they were produced 12 ft. or 14 ft. above the surface, did, at every termination, hang very near the ground, and thereby afford a goodly shade in the hottest season of the year." The cedar in the Jardin des Plantes measured, in 1786, at the ground, 4 ft. 6 in. French (about 5 ft. English) in circumference; in 1802, according to M. Dutour (Nouv. Dict. d'Hist. Nat., iv. p. 449.), it was 7 ft. 10 in. (nearly 8 ft. 6 in.); and in 1812, when it was 78 years old, it was 8 ft. 8 in. (9 ft. 4 in.) In 1834, according to the Return Paper we received from M. Mirbel, the same tree, then exactly 100 years old, was 10 ft. 6 in. (11 ft. 4 in.) in circumference; and the largest of the Chelsea cedars, in the same year, was nearly 15 ft. in circumference, they being upwards of 150 years old. The rapid growth of the Chelsea cedars during the first 83 years is accounted for by the circumstance of their standing near a pond, into which their roots extended; and, when this pond was filled up (which it was a few years after 1766, when Miller measured them), their growth was instantly checked; and so much so, that, in 1793, when measured by Sir Joseph Banks, the largest was only 12 ft. 11 in. in circumference, having in 2271 creased only 5 in. in 30 years. The cedar in the Jardin des Plantes, though the most celebrated, is not the largest in France: another plant, brought from England by Jussieu at the same time, and planted in the garden of the Château de Montigny, had a trunk, in 1832, when measured by M. Murat, nearly 17ft. French (18 ft. 5 in. English) in circumference at 4 ft. from the ground. It had lost its leading shoot, and was only a little higher than the tree in the Jardin des Plantes. The two largest cedars at Whitton, which, in 1837, were 105 years old from the seed (see p. 57.), were upwards of 70 ft. high, with trunks 14 ft. 6 in. in circumference at 2 ft. from the ground. The pinaster, Scotch pine, silver fir, and larch, at Whitton, in the same soil and situation, had not made nearly so much timber; though it is proper to state that these last kinds had rather less room than the cedars. One of the largest of these cedars was blown down in the violent storm of wind in November, 1836, The lower part of the trunk, after being squared, measured nearly 4 ft. on the side; and the annual growths were so large, that 20 of them measured across 63 in. The largest of these annual A plank of this layers was no less than in., and the smallest exceeded in. The Croome Cedar |