CHAPTER XI.

Fig. 73.—Hop(Humulus Lupulus).

The Hop (Humulus Lupulus) is a very interesting plant to a botanist, from the peculiarity of its flowers. The male and female ones are distinct, and generally on different plants. The male flowers are produced in loose panicles; the calyx (fig.73,a) consists of five sepals, inthe centre of which are five stamens, standing at first erect, but springing back with elasticity, when they discharge their pollen, and remaining extended as shown atb. The anthers open by pores at the extremity of the cells, as in Ericaceæ. The female flowers are produced in close heads (c). They have neither calyx nor corolla, but the ovary of each is protected by a membranous scale. Each ovary has two styles, though it produces only a single seed. As the fruit ripens the styles disappear, and the scales enlarge, so as to give the head of female flowers the form of a strobile or cone (d), the ripe fruit or nut being placed at the base of each scale, as shown ate. The surface of the scales is studded over with roundish glands, which are filled with a substance resembling pollen, called lupuline, which they give out on pressure, as shown atf; and this substance consists of a number of cells filled with volatile oil, which occasion the fragrance of the hop, and contain the bitter and astringent principles which make the hop so useful in compounding malt liquor. The lupuline is also somewhat narcotic; but though the fragrance of hops is said to produce sleep when inhaled in small quantities, an excess of it produces headache and vertigo, especially in nervous persons. The leaves are opposite, and three or five lobed;they are serrated on the edges, and rough on the surface. The stems are angular, covered with small prickles, and twining from left to right. The fibres of the stem when separated by soaking in water, are found to possess the same kind of tenacity as those of the Nettle and the Hemp, and may be made into cloth. The young shoots when boiled, are very good to eat as a substitute for asparagus. The leaves are furnished with stipules, and the flowers spring from the axils of the leaves.

The Hemp (Cannabis sativa), is an annual. The male and female flowers are on different plants as in the Hop and the Nettle. The male flowers are produced in panicles, and the female ones in heads separated by bracts, as shown in a magnified female flower atainfig.74. TheFig. 74.—Hemp.(Cannabis sativa.)ripe fruit or nut is enveloped in a scale as shown atb; andcis a highly magnified section of the nut. The male flower has five stamens, and a calyx of five sepals. The leaves are opposite or alternate, and digitate, that is cut into five long segments like fingers, though the upper leaves have only three segments. They are serrated on the margin, and rough on the surface. The fibres of thestem, when separated from the pulpy part by maceration, are manufactured into cordage; and the seeds are mucilaginous, and are used for feeding birds. The smell of hemp when growing, produces the same effects as that of hops in excess; and in hot countries it is followed by a kind of stupor, like that which is the effect of opium.

The Pellitory of the wall (Parietaria officinalis), has the male and female flowers on the same plant. The male flowers have four stamens, which spring back in the same manner as those of the nettle; and the female flowers have the same kind of stigma.

TRIBE II.—ARTOCARPÆ.

Theplants included in this division differ so widely in their general appearance from those of the former tribe, that it is necessary to be a botanist to perceive the resemblance between them. When, however, they are botanically examined, they will be found to agree in almost every respect, except in their juice being milky and glutinous instead of watery. The tribe takes its name from the Bread-fruit tree (Artocarpus incisa). In this plant, the male flowers are densely crowded round a spongy receptacle, so as to form a long, somewhat club-shaped catkin. Taken singly, each male flower consists of a calyx divided into two sepals, and containing a single stamen, with a two-celled anther, and a very broad filament. The female flowers are placed round a globular receptacle, also of a spongy consistency; and each consists of an undivided calyx, hollow at the base to contain the seed, and terminating in two styles. The styles wither as the seeds gradually ripen, but the peaks of the female flowers remain, and render the surface of the fruit rough. The fruit itself is the spongy receptacle, which gradually dilates and becomes more pulpy, till it attains a very large size. The greater part of the ovules prove abortive, but those that ripen retain their calyx, though they remain embedded in the pulp. The proportion of ripe seeds is very small compared to the size of the eatable part of the bread-fruit; frequently only four or six seeds are found in a globe eight inches in diameter; and many fruits produce no seeds at all. One variety, in particular, is always without seeds. The fruit, when used, is generally put into an oven or before a fire, and when the rind turns black, it is scraped off, and the pulp is found to resemble the crumb of new bread. The seedless fruits are considered the best to eat, and they are known by the smoothness of their outer surface. It adds to the interest excited by this singular tree, to recollect that the Bounty, rendered so celebrated by the mutiny of Christian, was sent out, under Captain Bligh, to convey a number of plants of this tree from Otaheite to the British settlements in the West Indies; and that there actually were seven hundred and seventy-four plants on board, at the very time the mutiny broke out. The leaves of the Bread-fruit tree are very large, being sometimes two or even three feet long, and a foot and a half broad; they are leathery, and are cut into from three to nine deep lobes. Their colour is a deep green, with yellowish veins. The petioles are short and thick, and there are large stipules which wither and fall off before the leaves. The whole plant abounds in milky juice, which flows abundantly when the leaves or branches are wounded or broken.

The Jack tree (Artocarpus integrifolia), bears fruit of an oblong form often seventy or eighty pounds in weight, the pulp of which is seldom eaten; but the seeds, which are abundant, are considered very good, and are said when roasted to have the flavour of sweet chestnuts. The leaves are very thick and leathery, and much smaller than those of the Bread-fruit, being seldom more than six or eight inches long. They are also generally entire, but this is by no means a constant character, notwithstandingthe specific name, as those near the root are sometimes found nearly as deeply lobed as those ofA. incisa. The Jack tree is a native of the East Indies, particularly of the Molucca Isles, Amboyna, and Ceylon, and it also seems naturalised in the West Indies, particularly in the Island of St. Vincent. The wood resembles that of mahogany.

The Cow tree, or Palo de Vacca (Galactodendron utile), appears nearly allied to the Bread-fruit tree, though its flowers are unknown. The nut, however, which is covered with a husk apparently composed of the hardened calyx, resembles those of the other plants belonging to the Urticaceæ, and the bark when wounded gives out abundance of milk, which is good to drink. Humboldt in hisRelation Historique, describes this tree as “growing on the sides of the rocks, its thick roots scarcely penetrating the stony soil, and unmoistened during many months of the year by a drop of rain or dew. But dry and dead as the branches appear,” Humboldt continues, “if you pierce the trunk, a sweet and nutritive milk flows forth, which is in the greatest profusion at day-break. At this time the blacks, and other natives of the neighbourhood, hasten from all quarters, furnished with large jugs to catch the milk, which thickens and turns yellow on the surface. Somedrink it on the spot, others carry it home to their children; and you might fancy you saw the family of a cowherd gathering around him, and receiving from him the produce of his kine.”Fig. 75.—Upas tree.(Humboldt, as quoted in the Botanical Magazine, vol. 66, t. 3724.)

The Upas, or Poison tree of Java (Antiaris toxicaria), about which so many fabulous stories have been told, belongs to this tribe. The male flowers are gathered together in small heads on a fleshy receptacle, (seefig.75a;) and each consists of a calyx of four sepals (b), bending over four stamens, with long anthers and very short filaments. The female flowers have an undivided fleshy calyx with two styles, and this fleshy covering forms the pericardium of the fruit, which is a drupe. When ripe, the fruit represents a moderately sized plum, inclosing the nut, or stone, which contains the kernel or seed. The poison lies in the milky sap.

Fig. 76.—Mulberry.

The common black Mulberry (Morus nigra) has the general features of the order. The male flowers grow together in a dense spike, as shown infig.76 ata, and each flower consistsof a calyx of four sepals, and four stamens, which spring back and remain extended after they have discharged their pollen (b). The female flowers also grow closely together, in dense spikes, round a slender receptacle; each having two elongated fringed stigmas (c), and a calyx of four sepals, and being inclosed in an involucre, as shown atd. As the seeds ripen, each female flower becomes a drupe, consisting of a fleshy and juicy pericardium formed from the calyx, and the nut; and these drupes being pressed closely together by the position of the female flowers, the whole adhere together and form the fruit we call the mulberry. The involucre withers when the calyx becomes juicy; but the remains of it and of the style are often seen on the ripe fruit, as shown ate. The receptacle also remains as a sort of core, which is thrown away when the fruit is eaten, thoughit does not part from it so freely as in the raspberry; and the little nuts, or seeds as they are called, are found in the centre of each juicy globule. The leaves are simple, entire, and rough on the surface.

The white Mulberry (Morus alba) differs from the common kind in the fruit not being eatable; as the calyxes of the female flowers never become juicy. The leaves are, however, much smoother and of finer texture than those of the black mulberry, and they are principally used for feeding silkworms, for which those of the black mulberry are not so good.

The red Mulberry (M. rubra) is an American species, with leaves too rough to be good for silkworms, and very indifferent fruit. The Constantinople and Tartarian Mulberries are supposed to be only varieties ofM. alba, though their fruit is good to eat, and the latter has lobed leaves.

The Paper Mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera) has the male and female flowers on different plants. The male flowers are produced in pendulous catkins, and the calyx has a short tube before it divides into four segments; each flower is also furnished with a bract, but in other respects their construction is the same as that of the other flowers of the order. The female flowers have also a tubular calyx, andthey are disposed in globular heads on rather long peduncles; but they differ from those of the other genera in having only a single stigma, and in the ovary being inclosed in an integument within the calyx, which becomes juicy as the seeds ripen, and not the calyx itself. The leaves are very irregularly lobed, and hairy; and the liber or inner bark is used for making what is called Indian paper.

The Osage Orange (Maclura aurantiaca), has the male and female flowers on different plants, the male being borne in short close panicles of ten or twelve flowers each, and not differing in construction from those of the other genera. The female flowers are borne on a large globular receptacle, like that of the bread-fruit; and they resemble those of that plant in construction, except that they are pitcher-shaped instead of being angular, and that they have only one stigma instead of two. The receptacle also never becomes soft and pulpy like that of the bread-fruit, but remains hard and stringy and unfit to eat. The leaves are smooth and of delicate texture, and as they abound in glutinous milk, they have been found very suitable for silkworms. The wood is of a beautiful glossy texture, and very fine and close-grained. The tree is found wild in the country of the Osage Indians, near the Mississippi, and fromthe rough surface of its fruit, and its golden-yellow colour, it has received the name of the Osage Orange.

The common Fig (Ficus Carica) has its male and female flowers on the same plant, and often within the same receptacle. The receptacle in this plant instead of being surrounded by the flowers, incloses them, and is, in fact, the fruit we call a fig. This receptacle is sometimes roundish, but more generally pear-shaped; and it is not quite closed, but has a little opening or eye at the upper end, which is fitted in with several very small scales. The stalk of the fig is articulated on the branch. The male flowers are generally in the upper part of the fig, and they consist of a half tubular calyx, with a limb divided into three segments, and three stamens. The female flowers have each a calyx of five sepals, and a single style with two stigmas; and they are succeeded by the seeds, or nuts as they are called, as each contains a kernel which is the true seed. The leaves are very small when they first expand, but they gradually increase in size, till they become very large. They are generally lobed, and their petioles are articulated. The figs are produced in the axils of the leaves. It may be observed here, that Du Hamel mentions that the receptacle is not closed in all the varieties of the fig, but that in some it opens naturally, whenthe seeds are ripe, dividing at the orifice into four equal parts, like the valves of a capsule; and even when this is not the case, the figs, when the receptacle becomes pulpy and soft from ripeness, crack and burst at the sides, so as to allow of the escape of the seeds.

As the fig is not fit to eat till the seeds are ripe, various expedients have been devised to transmit the pollen from the male flowers which lie near the opening or eye, to the female flowers which lie nearer the stalk. In Italy this is called caprification, and is done by insects; but in the neighbourhood of Paris, a very small quantity of oil is dropped on the eye of the fruit as soon as it has nearly attained its full size.

There are several species of Ficus, though none of them will bear the open air in England except the common kind; and only two produce eatable fruit; viz.,F. Carica, andF. Sycamorus,—the Sycamore tree of Holy Writ, which produces its small roundish fruit in clusters on the trunk and old branches, and not on the young wood, as is always the case with the common fig.

The other most remarkable species are the Banyan tree (F. indica), the figs of which grow in pairs, and are about the size and colour of a cherry; and the branches of which send down roots, which soon become equal in size to theparent trunk, so that one tree soon becomes like a small forest; the Indian-rubber tree (F. elastica), the milky juice of which hardens into Caoutchouc, though this substance is also produced by other trees, particularly by the Brazilian treeSiphonia elastica; and the Pippul tree (F. religiosa). The leaves of this last tree are used in India for feeding silkworms, and it is said that this is one cause of the strong and wiry nature of the Indian silk; and the insect (Coccus ficus) feeds upon it andF. elastica, which produces the substance called lac, of which sealing-wax is made. This species takes its specific name ofreligiosa, from the legend that the Hindoo god Vishnoo was born under its branches.

THE CATKIN-BEARING TREES: ILLUSTRATED BY THE WALNUT, THE HICKORY, THE WILLOW, THE POPLAR, THE ALDER, THE BIRCH, THE OAK, THE BEECH, THE SWEET CHESTNUT, THE HAZEL, THE HORNBEAM, THE HOP HORNBEAM, THE PLANE TREES, THE LIQUIDAMBAR, MYRICA, COMPTONIA, CASUARINA, ANDGarrya elliptica.

Theplants contained in this chapter are placed by modern botanists in six or seven different orders; but I have been induced to group them together, both because they follow each other in regular succession, and because there is a certain degree of general resemblance which connects them together, and renders it easier to retain their names when linked together by the association of ideas, than it would have been if they had been each described separately.

The first order of catkin-bearing trees that I shall describe is called Juglandaceæ, and it contains three genera, only two of which, the Walnuts and the Hickories, are common in British gardens. The second order, Salicaceæ, contains also two genera, the Willows and the Poplars; the third, Betulaceæ, contains both the Alders and the Birch trees; the fourth,Corylaceæ or Cupuliferæ, contains the Oak, the Beech, the sweet Chestnut, the Hazel, and the Hornbeam; the fifth, Platanaceæ, is generally considered to include two genera; viz., Platanus and Liquidambar, though this last is, by some botanists, placed in a separate order called Balsamaceæ; and the sixth, Myricaceæ, or the sweet Gale family. All the genera included in these orders, with the exception of those belonging to Juglandaceæ, were formerly comprised in one order, which was called Amentaceæ; from the word Amentum, which signifies a catkin. The seventh and last order I have mentioned in this chapter is called Garryaceæ, and consists of one single genus, Garrya, only lately known in Europe. Of all these orders the largest and most important is Cupuliferæ, as it includes, among other valuable trees, the Oak and the Beech. All the plants mentioned in this chapter have their male and female flowers distinct, many of the genera having them on different plants; and the male flowers are always in catkins, generally long and cylindrical, but sometimes round and ball-shaped. The female flowers are sometimes in catkins also, but sometimes they are produced singly or in pairs. The flowers of both kinds are without petals, or with such as are inconspicuous; and sometimes without even a calyx, but they are always furnished with bracts, which grow so closely to the flower as almost to seem a part of it. The ovaries are generally two-celled, but they rarely remain so, as they become one-celled before the seed is ripe. The style is, in most cases, very short, and the stigma generally two-lobed. The leaves are always alternate, and generally simple, except in the case of the Juglandaceæ. They are all hardy trees and shrubs.

JUGLANDACEÆ.—THE WALNUT TRIBE.

Thegenera belonging to this order have compound leaves, and the male flowers in long cylindrical catkins; the male and female flowers being on the same plant.

THE GENUS JUGLANS.

This genus consists of only three species: the common Walnut (J. regia); the black Walnut (J. nigra); and the Butter-nut (J. cinereaorcathartica). The male and female flowers are distinct, but on the same plant: the male flowers being produced in long, solitary, cylindrical catkins, and the female ones in pairs, or in shorter catkins. The leaves are pinnate, with the leaflets not always opposite, which is very rarely the case in other plants. InJuglans regia(the common walnut), the male flowers are produced in a very thick catkin, each flower consisting ofFig.77—Walnut(Juglans regia).a calyx divided into five or six scale-like lobes, and generally from twelve to twenty stamens, with very long anthers and very short filaments; there is also a very curious bract to each, as shown in the magnified flower atainfig.77; in which the anthers are seen atb. The female flowers are in pairs, as shown atc; and they consist of a calyx,d, enclosing the ovary, and toothed in the upper part, and four small petals encircling two large thick leafy-looking stigmas,e.

The fruit is a fleshy husk in one piece, formed of the dilated calyx; it generally retains the stigmas till it has nearly attained its full size, and when it becomes ripe it does not separate into valves, but bursts irregularly. The nut, on the contrary, is in two distinct valves, which may be easily separated from each other; and it is imperfectly divided into cells by four half dissepiments. The germ of the future plant is what children call the heart, and it is in the upper part of the kernel, with the root end uppermost, so that when a walnut is sown the sharp end should be placed downwards. The kernel is four-lobed, and deeply wrinkled; andwhen the young plant begins to grow, it divides into two cotyledons or seed-leaves, which drop off when the true leaves are fully developed. The kernel is covered with a thick skin, which is very astringent; and the nut is covered with a membranaceous network of strong veins, which are generally found in a withered state on opening the ripe husk, having left their impression deeply imprinted on the outside of the shell of the walnut. The leaves are impari-pinnate, consisting of four pairs of leaflets and a terminal single one; the lower pair of leaflets is much the smallest, and the other leaflets are frequently not opposite; and they are sometimes unequal at the base. The main petiole is dilated at the point where it joins the stem; and the leaves are placed alternately. The tree is large and widely spreading; and the timber is of a close grain, and takes a fine polish.

The Black Walnut (J. nigra) differs from the common kind, in the maleFig. 78.—Leaf and fruit of the Black Walnut(Juglans nigra).flowers being on a smaller and more slender catkin, and furnished with a brown roundish bract at the back of the calyx. The female flowers are also in a sort of catkin, and four or five together. The fruit (seeainfig.78) is round, and the husk very thickat first, but it gradually wastes away, when the seed is ripe, instead of opening. The leaves have seven or more pairs of leaflets, which are generally nearly opposite, and sometimes they are without the terminal single leaflet, as shown atb. The shell of the nut is very hard, and the dissepiments, which are also very hard, are generally perfect, and divide the kernel into four parts. The nuts should be sown as soon as possible after they are ripe, as they will not keep good above six months. The tree grows above seventy feet high, and the wood is very hard and black.

The Butter-nut (J. cathartica) resembles the Common Walnut in its male catkins, except that they are produced upon the old wood instead of being on the wood of the present year. TheFig. 79.—Butter-nut(Juglans cathartica).female flowers grow four or five together in a short catkin, and they are distinguished by their stigmas, which are rose-coloured. The fruit (ainfig.79) is pear-shaped, ending in a rather long point; and the kernel of the nut (b) resembles that of the Common Walnut, except in being more oily. The leaves (c) are like those of the Black Walnut, except that the leaflets are rather downy, andthat there is a terminal one. The calyx of the female flower is also covered with a viscid down, which remains on the husk of the ripe fruit; and the shell of the nut is very hard and very much furrowed. The tree is of much smaller size than that of the Black Walnut, and it may be easily distinguished by the greyness of the bark of its young shoots; it also comes into leaf earlier, and the nuts are ripe about a fortnight sooner than the others. The wood is light, of a reddish colour, and rather a coarse grain.

THE GENUS CARYA.

Thegenus Carya (the Hickory) consists of ten or twelve species, which greatly resembleFig. 80.—Thick-shell Bark Hickory(Carya lacinosa).the Walnuts in their general appearance, but are distinguished by the male catkins, instead of being solitary, being produced in tufts or bunches, three or more on each peduncle. The stigma is also frequently four-lobed, and the husk, when ripe, divides into four equal valves, which in some of the species are very thick, as in the Thick-shell bark Hickory (seeainfig.80). The nut (b) is not valved, and itis either not furrowed, or very slightly so; but it has four angles which are more or less distinct in the different species: the shell and the dissepiments are both very hard, and the latter, as in the Mocker nut, are sometimes entire, so as to render it very difficult to extract the kernel. The leaves (c) resemble those of the walnut; but they are generally of a thinner texture, and somewhat downy, the down being disposed in little tufts, as may be seen by a microscope. The trees vary much in size, but all of them have a reticulated bark. The wood is of a coarse grain, and will not polish; but it is very strong, and so remarkably tough that it is hardly possible to break it.

There is only one other genus in the order Juglandaceæ, and that consists of only a single species,Pterocarya caucasica. It has pinnate leaves of nineteen leaflets each, placed as closely as possible together; and the fruit, (that is, the husk,) is spread out on each side into a thin membrane or wing. This plant is sometimes calledJuglans fraxinifolia.

SALICACEÆ.—THE WILLOW TRIBE.

Theplants contained in this order have simple leaves, and the male and female flowerson different plants, both in upright cylindrical catkins.

THE GENUS SALIX.

Thegenus Salix (the Willow) contains perhaps more species than any other, above two hundred and fifty having been named and described, besides innumerable varieties. The plants included in the genus may, however, be all divided into three kinds—viz. the true Willows, which have thin green leaves, and which include all the tree species, most of which have brittle branches; the Osiers, the leaves of which resemble those of the Willows, but which are low shrubs with very tough branches; and the Sallows, the leaves of which are thick and woolly or shaggy. The Osiers and the true Willows are often confounded together; particularly when the former take, as they sometimes do, a tree-like character; but the Sallows are always perfectly distinct. The rods of the Osiers are used in basket-making.

All the species of the genus have their male and female flowers on different plants, both kinds of flowers being placed on short catkins which are either erect or spreading sideways. The male flowers have each from one to five or more stamens, with no petals or calyx, but as a substitute a bract or scale, which is entire and hairy, and which has one or more glands at itsbase. The female flower has a similar bract or scale, and it is also without either petals or calyx; there are two stigmas, each of which is sometimes two-lobed. The capsule has only one cell, but many seeds which are covered with down or longish hairs, and which are very conspicuous from the capsule opening naturally into two valves when ripe. The leaves of the Osiers and Willows are generally lanceolate, and serrated at the margin, and they are always furnished with stipules; but the leaves of the Sallows are generally much broader, and sometimes roundish; and they are always of a thick velvety texture. Though the number of the stamens varies in the different species, two are by far the most common.

Fig. 81.—The Willow(Salix).Fig.81 shows the female flower ofSalix fragilisata,bis the honey gland,cthe stigma, which is divided into four equal parts, anddthe bract or scale with its hairy fringe;eis the male flower with its two stamens, two glands, and hairy scale. This species is a tall, bushy-headed tree, with the branches crossing each other frequently, being set on obliquely; and it is called the Crack Willow, from the young branches separating from the trunk in spring with the slightest blow or jerk, theirbases being as brittle as glass. The leaves are of a deep green. The White Willow (Salix alba) differs from the preceding species in the branches being widely spreading and somewhat drooping, the old bark cracked into deep fissures, and the foliage of a silvery grey, owing to the silky hairs with which the leaves are more or less covered. The wood of the Tree Willows is soft and white, and very elastic; it is therefore used for cricket-bats, mallets, and other purposes where wood is wanted to resist a hard blow.S. vitellina, the Golden Osier, is so called from its golden-coloured bark; andS. purpurea, the Purple Willow, is so called from the colour of its branches. This last species has only one stamen; but as the anther is four-celled, it is probably two stamens grown together. All the species that have only one stamen have a four-celled anther, as for example the Rose Willow (S. Helix), which has the female catkins red.Salix caprea, the great round-leaved Sallow or Palm Willow, is perhaps the handsomest species, from the great abundance and golden hue of its flowers.

THE GENUS POPULUS.

Fig. 82.—Trembling Poplar or Aspen(Populus tremula).

Thegenus Populus (the Poplar) is distinguished from Salix by the bracts of the flowers being deeply cut instead of being entire; by both the male and female flowers having a calyx;and by the male flowers never having less than eight stamens. The leaf-buds are also covered with numerous scales.Fig.82,a, shows the stamens of the Trembling Poplar or Aspen (Populus tremula) shrouded in their cup-like calyx, and with their laciniated bract;bshows the female flower with its four stigmas and deeply-cut bract; andc, the pod with its valves curling back, so as to show the downy covering of the seeds. All these parts are magnified to show them distinctly, as they are nearly the same in all the species. The following are the distinctions between the principal species. In the White Poplar, or Abele-tree (P. alba), the leaves are lobed, and covered with a white down on the under side. InP. canescens, the GreyPoplar, the leaves are also downy beneath; but they are roundish, and the female flower has eight stigmas instead of four. The Aspen (P. tremula) has four stigmas, with two leafy appendages at the base, which look like two other stigmas; and the petioles of the leaves, which are very long, are flattened, and so attached to the stem as to be twisted by the weight of the leaf when acted upon by the wind, which gives them their tremulous motion: these leaves are smooth on both sides. All these species have spreading roots, and send up a great many suckers; and their wood is used for butchers’ trays, pattens, bowls, milk-pails, and various other purposes.Populus nigra, the Black English Poplar, on the contrary, does not send up suckers, and its wood is of very little use; it is, however, very ornamental from the large size and great number of its male catkins, and the bracts of the flowers being of a brownish red, which gives them, when fallen, the appearance of the large brownish-red caterpillars of the Goat-moth. The Black Italian Poplar (P. monilifera) is remarkable for the quickness of its growth. The capsules of the female trees contain such a quantity of down attached to the seeds, as to render it quite unpleasant to walk under them when they are ripe. The Lombardy Poplar (P. fastigiataordilatata) is remarkablefor its upright and close habit of growth; its leaves also are very peculiar in their shape, being broad at the base and then tapering suddenly to a point. The seeds resemble those of the Black Italian Poplar in the quantity of wool which they produce, but luckily the female plants are extremely rare. There are many other species, the most remarkable of which are the Carolina Poplar (P. angulata), known by its square stem and very large leaves; the Balsam Poplar, or Tacamahac tree (P. balsamifera), the buds of which are covered with a resinous fragrant substance, and the leaves are of a pale yellowish green, appearing very early in spring; and the Ontario Poplar (P. candicans), which resembles the balsam Poplar, except in its leaves, which are very large and whitish on the under surface, and in the great rapidity of its growth, while that of the Balsam Poplar is rather slow.

BETULACEÆ.—THE BIRCH TRIBE.

Theplants included in this tribe have single leaves, which are generally what is called feather-nerved; that is, the veins are marked strongly and deeply from the mid rib to the margin. The flowers are in cylindrical catkins, the male and female flowers being on the same plant.

THE GENUS BETULA.

Thecommon Birch (Betula alba) is an exceedingly graceful tree. The maleFig. 83.—Catkins of the Birch.catkins are produced singly, or two or three together. They are long, slender, loose, and gracefully drooping; (seefig.83;) and each consists of a great number of flowers, pressed close together, and growing round a rachis or stem, as shown in the catkinainfig.84, from which some of the flowers have been removed. The male flowersFig. 84.—The Birch(Betula).have each ten or twelve stamens enclosed in three or more scales or bracts, as shown in a reversed flower atb. The female flowers are produced in dense catkins, which are much shorter than the others, and always solitary; the flowers, which are arranged round a very slender axis, are furnished with lobed scales, andcis a scale with three femaleflowers in its lobes, each having two long spreading stigmas (d). A ripe capsule is shown ate, with its membranaceous wings, and the cellfopen to show the seed. The ovary when young has two cells and two ovules (as shown atg); but the division between the cells wastes away as the seeds ripen, and one of the ovules proves abortive. There are several species of Birch natives of America, some of which have upright oval female catkins like those of the Alder, but they are always distinguished by being solitary.

The bark of the Birch is remarkable for its tenacity, and for the great length of time that it will resist decay. In America they make canoes of the bark ofB. papyracea; and in Lapland huts are thatched with that ofB. alba. The Birch is remarkably hardy; and it grows nearer the limits of perpetual snow both on mountains and near the pole than any other tree.

THE GENUS ALNUS.

TheCommon Alder (Alnus glutinosa), though so nearly allied to the Birch botanically, differs widely in its habits; as it always grows in low marshy situations, or near water, while the Birch prefers the summits of the loftiest hills. In the Alder, the male catkins are long and drooping, like those of the Birch; but they are generally produced in clusters of three or moretogether. The male flowers are furnished with three lobed bracts or scales, each containing three flowers, each flower having a calyx of four scales united at the base, and bearing four stamens. The female flowers are in close ovate catkins, produced in clusters of four or five together, instead of being cylindrical and solitary, as in the Birch; the scales of the catkins, though three-lobed, are only two-flowered, and the flowers have two long stigmas like those of the Birch. The ovary has two cells and two ovules, but it only produces one seed. The ripe fruit is a nut without wings, attached at the base to the scale of the cone-like catkin, the scales of the catkin becoming rigid, and opening, like those of the Scotch Pine, as the seed ripens. There are several species of Alder, some of which bear considerable resemblance to the American species of Birch; but they are easily distinguished by the female catkins of the Birch being always solitary, while those of the Alder are produced in clusters, and by the capsules of the Alder being without wings.

CUPULIFERÆ—THE CUP-BEARING TREES.

Thisorder includes six genera of very important trees; all of which have their ripe fruit shrouded in a cup-like involucre, which theyretain till ripe. The male and female flowers are on the same plant.

THE GENUS QUERCUS.

Thefruit of all the species of Oak is an acorn, which is only partly covered by a scaly involucre called the cup. The shape of the acorn, and the height to which it is covered by the cup, differ in the different species; but the general character of both is always the same.

The male catkins of the common British Oak (Quercus Robur pedunculata) are long and very few flowered; the flowers being small and very far apart. The flowers themselves have six or eight stamens and as many feathery bracts, which are united at the base. The female flowers (ainfig.85)Fig. 85.—The Oak.are produced on a long stalk at a distance from each other, and each consists of an ovary closely covered with a toothed calyx, as shown in the highly-magnified flower atFig. 86.—Germination of the Acorn.(c), and an involucre of several bracts or scales, (d); the style is short and thick, and the stigma (e) is three-lobed. As the fruit ripens, the style and stigma wither away, and the seed remainscovered by the adnate calyx (b), which has become hard and shining. There is a circular mark or scar at the bottom of the acorn when taken out of its cup, which is called the hilum; and when the acorn is planted, this part should be kept upwards, as the foramen or part where the germ lies is at the other end. When the acorn begins to germinate, it opens at the foramen, cracking a little about half-way down, but not dividing entirely (seefig.86). The root (a) then begins to protrude, and soon after the plumule, or young shoot (b), the leaves of which gradually unfold themselves. A curious experiment may be tried by suspending an acorn in a glass of water, or by placing it in one of those glasses with a wide mouth and a narrow neck, used for nosegays; when, if kept in a sitting-room, the acorn will gradually open, and the root and leaves develop themselves; and thus may be watched the first beginning of the monarch of the forest, the progress of which is so strikinglydepicted in the beautiful lines adapted by Cowper to the hollow trunk of a gigantic oak in Yardley Chase near Castle Ashby:—

Thou wert a bauble once, a cup and ballWhich babes might play with; and the thievish jay,Seeking her food, with ease might have purloin’dThe auburn nut that held thee, swallowing downThy yet close folded latitude of boughs,And all thy embryo vastness, at a gulp.*****Time made thee what thou wert—King of the Woods!And time hath made thee what thou art—a caveFor owls to roost in! Once thy spreading boughsO’erhung the champaign, and the numerous flockThat grazed it, stood beneath that ample copeUncrowded, yet safe shelter’d from the storm.*****Embowell’d now, and of thy ancient selfPossessing nought but the scoop’d rind, that seemsA huge throat calling to the clouds for drink,Which it would give in rivulets to thy roots;Thou temptest none, but rather much forbidd’stThe feller’s toil, which thou wouldst ill requite.Yet is thy root sincere, sound as a rock:A quarry of stout spurs and knotted fangs,Which, crook’d into a thousand whimsies, claspThe stubborn soil, and hold thee still erect.Thine arms have left thee—winds have rent them offLong since; and rovers of the forest wildWith bow and shaft have burnt them. Some have leftA splinter’d stump, bleach’d to a snowy white;And some, memorial none where once they grew.Yet life still lingers in thee, and puts forthProof not contemptible of what she can,Even when death predominates. The springFinds thee not less alive to her sweet form,Than yonder upstarts of the neighbouring wood,So much thy juniors, who their birth receivedHalf a millennium since the date of thine.

Thou wert a bauble once, a cup and ball

Which babes might play with; and the thievish jay,

Seeking her food, with ease might have purloin’d

The auburn nut that held thee, swallowing down

Thy yet close folded latitude of boughs,

And all thy embryo vastness, at a gulp.

*****

Time made thee what thou wert—King of the Woods!

And time hath made thee what thou art—a cave

For owls to roost in! Once thy spreading boughs

O’erhung the champaign, and the numerous flock

That grazed it, stood beneath that ample cope

Uncrowded, yet safe shelter’d from the storm.

*****

Embowell’d now, and of thy ancient self

Possessing nought but the scoop’d rind, that seems

A huge throat calling to the clouds for drink,

Which it would give in rivulets to thy roots;

Thou temptest none, but rather much forbidd’st

The feller’s toil, which thou wouldst ill requite.

Yet is thy root sincere, sound as a rock:

A quarry of stout spurs and knotted fangs,

Which, crook’d into a thousand whimsies, clasp

The stubborn soil, and hold thee still erect.

Thine arms have left thee—winds have rent them off

Long since; and rovers of the forest wild

With bow and shaft have burnt them. Some have left

A splinter’d stump, bleach’d to a snowy white;

And some, memorial none where once they grew.

Yet life still lingers in thee, and puts forth

Proof not contemptible of what she can,

Even when death predominates. The spring

Finds thee not less alive to her sweet form,

Than yonder upstarts of the neighbouring wood,

So much thy juniors, who their birth received

Half a millennium since the date of thine.

The leaves of the common Oak are deeply sinuated, and without footstalks, but those ofQuercus Robur sessiliflora, another British Oak, are upon short footstalks, though the acorns are sessile. This last species predominated in the oak forest which formerly surrounded London; and many examples are still to be found at Lord Mansfield’s beautiful seat at Hampstead, the name of which, Ken wood, alludes to them, Ken being Saxon for an acorn. The wood of this tree was also used for the roof of Westminster Hall, and many other ancient buildings which till lately were supposed to be of Chestnut. Oak wood may always easily be tested by wetting a knife and then cutting it, when the astringent property in the Oak will turn the knife black, a result that will not take place with Chestnut.

There are nearly fifty species of Oaks which may be obtained in the British nurseries; the most remarkable of which are the Cork tree (Quercus Suber), the cork being the bark; the Evergreen Oak (Q. Ilex); the American Oaks, particularly the scarlet Oaks (Q. coccineaandQ. rubra), the Live Oak (Q. virens), and the Willow Oak, with long narrow entire leaves

(Q. Phellos); and the Turkey, Fulham, and Lucombe Oaks (Q. Cerrisand its varieties). All Oak trees are very liable to be attacked by a species of gnat, and which produces excrescences on the branches. The oak apples of the British Oak, and the galls ofQuercus infectoria, which are used in making ink, are of this nature. The Kermes, an excrescence found onQuercus coccifera, is the work of a kind of Coccus, similar to that which produces the cochineal on the Opuntia.

The timber of all the European Oaks is remarkably durable; but that of nearly all the American Oaks, exceptQuercus virens, is coarse grained, and so porous that it cannot be used for wine casks. The cork trees are generally grown in Spain; and as the cork when taken off the tree, curves round, it is laid upon the ground and kept flat with heavy stones; while a fire is made upon it with the branches, so as to heat it through, after which it remains flat when the stones are removed.

THE GENUS FAGUS.

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