CHAPTER XLIII.

A pleasant grove

*****

In which were okes grete, streight as a line,Undir the which the grass so fresh of hewWas newly sprong, and an eight fote, or nine,Every tree well from his fellow grew,With branches brode, laden with levis new,That, sprongin out agen, the sonnÃ¨ shene.Some very rede; and some a glad light grene.The Floure and the Leafe.

The Floure and the Leafe.

The Chestnut and Walnut are here brought together, not only as producing two useful kinds of hard-wooded timber, but from the fact of both being bearers of esteemed kinds of fruit. They are neither grown to the same extent in England as on the Continent, and probably neither of them is indigenous to this country, although it is stated by Sir W. Hooker to grow in woods apparently wild, in the south and south-west of England. As regards the fruit of the former, it may be said that in parts of Spain â€œSpanish Chestnutsâ€ are a staple article of food. In England they are sometimes brought to table as a stuffing for turkeys, or roasted for dessert; but their greatest consumption among us is with the poor, who, in winter, with a halfpenny-worth of roasted chestnuts enjoy the double luxury of warm fingers and a sweet nutritious diet. Walnuts, as a fruit, are highly esteemed by all classes: as much by those who crack and peel them in a second or third class railway carriage, as by the squire who takes them as a concomitant with his glass of port. With us they are only cared for while they can be peeled, but abroad they are carefully dried, in which state they form an important article of commerce. In the Portuguese court of the International Exhibition of1861, in our capacity of juryman, we had brought before us specimens of dried walnuts from as many as fifty exhibitors.

The Spanish chestnut (Castanea vulgaris) has no relationship with the so-called horse-chestnut, which latter, we might just mention, is solely employed as an ornamental tree, if we except its occasional use in cabinet-work. Evelyn, sixty years ago, speaks of it as being â€œall the mode for the avenues to their country palaces in France.â€ It has been much used for this purpose with us, and its magnificent flowers and fine foliage will ever recommend it as an ornament about country residences.

But to return to the Spanish chestnut. This tree is planted with us both for the growth of timber or as underwood for poles; for the latter purpose it answers well, as it soon grows up again after cutting, and in its young state it goes so soon to heart-wood that the poles are remarkably strong and tough.

As a timber tree, the chestnut has been very extensively extolled both in this country and on the Continent; it may, however, be concluded that although its wood is exceedingly useful, it has never been put to the important uses which have been claimed for it.

Evelyn, speaking of chestnut-wood, says:â€”â€œI had once a very large barn near the city, framed entirely of this timber.â€

Sir T. D. Lauder tells us that the roof of the Parliament House in Edinburgh is constructed of chestnut, and we have often seen it stated that the magnificent roof of Westminster Hall has beenframed of this timber;[28]but to quote from Selbyâ€™s admirable â€œHistory of British Forest Treesâ€:â€”

The fact is, as Buffon first observed, the wood of the oak, more particularly that of the sessile-fruited variety, assumes, in course of time, a near resemblance in colour to that of the chestnut in its best condition, or when young and untainted at heart; and as few chestnuts could have acquired the scantling frequently observed in the timbers of these ancient buildings at the age dialling or decay almost invariably commences, this in itself furnishes a strong argument against the use of chestnut timbers and beams by our ancestors, inasmuch as the trees must become unfit for the purpose long before they had attained the necessary dimensions.â€”P. 326.

[28]Many of the most ancient houses in London were built of its (chestnut) wood, as is the roof of Westminster Hall, built by William Rufus, in the year 1099, still free from any appearance of decay.â€”Sylva Britannica, p. 81.

But although we may safely dismiss the notion that chestnut is of the value formerly supposed, yet its timber is not without its uses; it is employed for smaller beams, gate-posts, piles, and other purposes where large timber is not required. Its best use is for poles, for which purpose chestnut may be employed as nurses to oak, thinning out the former as growth advances.

Dismissing, however, the subject of the economic value of the chestnut, whether for timber or fruit, as an ornamental tree it has few equals. There are many fine chestnut-trees in our country, but perhaps the finest, as it is supposed to be the oldest, sylvan veteran in England is the one at Tortworth, in Gloucestershire, of which Strutt says:â€”

In the reign of Stephen, who ascended the throne in 1135, it was deemed so remarkable for its size, that, as appears upon record, it[294]was well known as a signal boundary to the Manor of Tortworth. At the time that it was thus conspicuous for its magnitude and vigour, we may reasonably suppose it to have been in its prime; if, therefore, we pay any regard to the received opinion which is applied to the chestnut, equally with the oak, that it is three hundred years in coming to perfection, this calculation takes us back to the beginning of the reign of Egbert, in the year 800, for the commencement of the existence of the Tortworth Chestnut.

Well then may we exclaim with the poetâ€”

Hail, old patrician trees, so great and good!

The Walnut (Juglans regia) is supposed to have been introduced from Persia by the Romans; but although we can have no claim to it as a native, yet it has thriven so remarkably well, as for many years since to have furnished us with a large quantity of a highly valuable timber. So much indeed is its wood esteemed, as to have caused its use only in the better kinds of cabinet-work, such as drawing-room furniture, internal fittings, and where mahogany would now be considered as somewhat common; it has, too, been ever esteemed as a wood for gun-stocks, as it combines hardness, toughness, and an agreeable colour with a great degree of lightnessâ€”being of a less specific gravity than that of any other kind of hard wood.

Fowling-pieces, gentlemenâ€™s rifles, pistols, and all the finer kinds of small arms, usually have stocks of walnut, as its texture, colour, and the sharpness with which fancy carvings can be worked, peculiarly adapt it for the purpose.

During the continental war, English walnut fetched an enormous price. Selby tells us that asingle tree was sold for Â£600, owing to which many of the noblest specimens were sacrificed; and Loudon tells us that, about 1806, no less than 12,000 trees were annually required for these uses in France.

In England this tree is principally grown for its fruit, which is a great favourite when ripe as an adjunct to the social glass. Still enormous quantities are never allowed to attain to ripeness, from their being used in a green state for the purposes of pickling, sauces, and the like; indeed, so much is the green part of the walnut esteemed for its flavouring properties, that the very â€œhulls,â€ or coverings to the ripened fruits, are employed as an ingredient in the preparation of sauces and flavourings.

Another use of the fruit, especially on the Continent, is that of making oil, which is considered to be little, if at all, inferior to fine olive-oil.

The walnut-tree, then, may be considered as offering many claims for its more extensive cultivation, for although native growths of timber have been of late years in a measure superseded by American walnut and hickory wood, still it offers no mean inducements to the planter upon this score alone, at the same time it must be allowed that with us the chief inducement to the culture of this tree is the value of its fruit and the handsome tree which it makes.

In the growth of this and the preceding, it is always best to procure good, healthy, young trees from the nurseryman; indeed, in planting all forest trees this may be considered as not only the best, but usually the cheapest mode of proceeding.

To the critical botanist the study of the different kinds of Elm is one of the most perplexing subjects he has to cope with, the fact being, that if the seed of any one form be cultivated, the results will seldom or never be uniform, for not only may several well-known varieties be produced from the seed of a single tree, but even new forms may thus be obtained.

On this account have arisen the great discrepancies one meets with in authors as regards nomenclature; some making many species of the Elms commonly met with in Great Britain, while others reduce them to two; viz.â€”

Ulmus campestrisâ€”Small-leaved, Common Upright or English Elm.Ulmus montanaâ€”Large-leaved, Spreading Scotch or Wych Elm.

But though these are the names used by most authors to distinguish these two well-recognized forms, yet they have been reversed in Dr. Arnottâ€™s edition of Hookerâ€™s â€œFlora,â€ thus:â€”

Ulmus suberosa(Ehrh.)â€”Common or English Elm.Ulmus campestris(L.)â€”Broad-leaved or Wych Hazel.

Now it is not our object to enter into a discussion on the much-vexed question of species, and therefore, without even determining whether the English andScotch Elms be absolutely distinct, we shall yet describe as two well-established forms of forest trees, and endeavour to put them in their proper position among profitable and ornamental timber trees, to which end we would distinguish them as follows:â€”

1.Ulmus campestris.â€”The English Elm, though not the producer of the most valuable timber, or of a kind for more refined purposes, is still one of the most extensively useful of any kind whatsoever. The long straight balks of this Elm caused it at one time to be employed for water-pipes; these can be readily cut into boards of great length and width,which are useful for a variety of purposes. Selby sums up an account of its character as follows:â€”

The wood when matured is of a deep-brown colour, compact and fine-grained; according to Loudon, it loses nearly two-thirds of its weight in drying, as when cut it weighs nearly seventy pounds the cubic foot, and when seasoned not more than twenty-eight pounds and a half. In the lateral adhesion of its fibre it surpasses theU. montana, though perhaps inferior to it in longitudinal toughness, and therefore not capable of supporting so severe a cross strain. The former property, however, eminently qualifies it for every purpose where a strong wood that will not split or crack, either from concussion or the action of sun and wet, is required; on this account, Matthew, in his able treatise on naval timber, strongly recommends it for the â€œblocks, dead-eyes, and other wooden furniture of rigging.â€ In country carpentry it is very extensively used in all the Southern parts of England; but the purposes to which it is applied it is unnecessary to enumerate, these having already been described by Evelyn and subsequent authors. Its durability under water, as well as the straightness and great length of its stem, qualifies it for making the keels of large ships, for which purpose it sells at a very high price.

As an ornamental tree for general purposes, few can surpass the elm, as when well-grown and not too much interfered with by the forester, it has a gracefully aspiring form without a disposition to lankiness: its foliage is thick enough to afford any amount of shade, and yet is never of a heavy appearance.

It flourishes best in good deep soil, in which the most solid balks are grown: when planted on poor land or on gravel-beds it decays at the heart at a very early age. Some of the English elms in Hyde Park have thus decayed, whilst others have attained a respectable size and age, having been injured by storms:â€”

The wintry winds had passedAnd swept an arm away,And winter found a wound at last,In which to work decay.

In good soil the English elm grows to an enormous size, remaining perfectly solid to a good old age. We remember the felling of a tree called â€œPiffâ€™s Elm,â€ on the high-road between Cheltenham and Tewkesbury, in which the hole measured 28 feet in circumference at 4 feet from the ground, and we counted 198 rings of annual growth. Still, when grown in poor gravelly soils and in the usual hedge mode, in which they are periodically shrouded and crippled, they often begin to decay in the centre at less than twenty years of age.

There are varieties of theU. campestris, which, as they are not of any particular importance as timber trees, need only be lightly touched upon in this place. They are as follows:â€”

1.Ulmus suberosaâ€”Cork Elm, bark of the limbs exceedingly corky.2.Ulmus carpinifoliaâ€”Hornbeam-leaved Elm, leaves strongly-veined, serratures blunt; branches nearly smooth.3.Ulmus strictaâ€”Cornish Elm, leaves smooth and shining above, doubly serrated, with obtuse teeth; branches bright-brown, smooth, erect.4.Ulmus glabraâ€”Small-leaved Elm, leaves small and smooth; branches pendulous.

2.Ulmus montana.â€”The Scotch Elm, the broad-leaved elm (wych hazel) of most parts of England and Scotland, is well distinguished by its large broad leaves, hop-like fruits, large limbs diverging from a less towering trunk at an obtuse angle, branchesmore or less lax and pendulous, bark of the twigs dark brown, smooth and not corky; of stem when rough, notsuberose.

This tree is reputed wild, but there seems reason to think that this form, and certainly theU. campestris, has been introduced. One reason for this conclusion is that although theU. montanaproduces such an enormous amount of seed, yet, in as far as we know, none of this produces young trees, or, in other words, this elm does not appear to increase sporadically. Even in cultivation it is found to be exceedingly difficult to replenish our nursery stock from seed, and hence the cost of young plants, as they have to be produced from suckers, or otherwise layered, and occasionally grown from cuttings. Evelyn says:â€”

It seems to be so much more addicted to some places than to others, that I have frequently doubted whether it be a pure indigene or translatitious; and not only because I have hardly ever known any considerable woods of them (besides some few nurseries near Cambridge, planted, I suppose, for store), but most continually in tufts, hedge-rows, and mounds; and that Shropshire, and several other counties, have rarely any growing in many miles together.â€”Sylva, vol. i. p. 127.

To this may be added the fact that the most notable elm trees will usually be found at cross-roadsâ€”as Maulâ€™s Elm at Cheltenham, nearly 40 feet in circumference, or about dwellings; the fine old trunk at the Slade Farm, near Stroud, Gloucestershire, as much as 50 feet, for some time hollow, and once used as a cider-mill; the fine elms in our parks, as at Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, and others; and such avenues of elms as seen at Christchurch.

As a timber tree the Scotch elm is not esteemedso highly as is the English sort. To begin with, it does not grow such straight even balks; it is more gnarled and knotty in sawing, and more difficult to work. Selby says that Scottish writers have arrived at a different conclusion, which he conceives to have arisen from the fact that â€œtheir estimate has been drawn from a comparison of the wood ofU. montanawith that ofU. suberosa(considered by them to be the English elm), which produces a soft, spongy wood, greatly inferior to most other trees of the genus.â€

It is used for flooring and rough country work. The peculiar wen-like excrescences that one sometimes meets with on the sides of wych elms are carefully preserved and cut into veneers for fine loo-tables, work-boxes, and other purposes, when a peculiar mottled fine-coloured wood is required for fancy-work.

Some of the finest elms we have examined have been Maulâ€™s elm, Piffâ€™s elm, the Slade elm, before mentioned, and the following, measured at one and three feet from the ground.

The Ash(Fraxinus excelsior), when well-grown and in good foliage, is one of our most charming trees; its light, graceful, and agreeably-coloured leaves, united with a graceful disposition of lithe, smoothly-formed limbs, altogether fully entitle it to be considered as the â€œVenus of the Forest.â€

The leaves of the common ash are pinnate, with from three to four pairs of leaflets and one terminal leaflet. This latter is sometimes absent when the apex is bifoliate, and a form called the double-leaf is produced, which even at this day is reputed by the rustics to be capable of working various charms.

It is this pinnate pendent leaf which, loosely hanging on the flexile, more or less pendent branches, gives so much grace to the tree.

We have been much pleased with some groups of ash trees in Earl Bathurstâ€™s park (Oakley Park) at Cirencester; but, as Strutt well observes,â€”

It is in mountain scenery that the ash appears to peculiar advantage; waving its slender branches over some precipice which just affords it soil sufficient for its footing, or springing between crevices of rock, a happy emblem of the hardy spirit which will not be subdued by fortuneâ€™s scantiness. It is likewise a lovely object by the side of some crystal stream, in which it views its elegant pendent foliage, bending, Narcissus-like, over its own charms.

But charming as is the ash when in its most perfect foliage, yet as its Ã¦stivation is usually so late, and the fall of its leaves so early and rapid, it often displays all but naked limbs, even amidst the freshness of spring, as well as during the autumnal tinting of almost all other trees. It would seem that its buds cannot expand in spring frosts, whilst the first frost of autumn will frequently make the whole foliage drop in one mass beneath the influence of the succeeding sunshine. This susceptibility to spring cold is doubtless at the base of the country weather predictions which are made to depend upon the behaviour of the ash in respect to its time of displaying its leaves:â€”

When the oakâ€™s before the ash,You may then expect a dash.

Generally held to mean, that if the leaves of the oak are seen before those of the ash, a fine dry summer may be expected; but, on the contrary,â€”

With the ash before the oak,You may then expect a soak.

The truth of all this may be that a cold wet spring, which would retard the bursting of the buds of the ash, may be expected to be followed by a fine summer; whilst, on the contrary, a genial forward spring is often succeeded by a wet summer.

Selby remarks on the early fall of the leaf, which, as he says, is â€œafter the first autumnal frost, however early that may happen; and this, in general, without undergoing any change of colour, or contributing by the â€™sear and yellow leafâ€™ to the waning beauty ofautumnal foliage.â€ On this account, Sir T. D. Lauder recommends that â€œash trees should be sparingly planted around a gentlemanâ€™s residence, to avoid the risk of their giving to it a cold, late appearance, at a season when all nature should smile.â€

It should be noted that although the ash seems to be so susceptible of cold, it nevertheless ripens its seeds most perfectly in any part of Great Britain; and besides this, these seeds, or â€œkeys,â€ when naturally sown, come up with the greatest certainty, so that young ash may be removed from the wood and used for planting.

This renders it easy to cultivate young plants from seed; to which end, when the ripened keys are gathered in the autumn, they should be well examined to see that the seed has not been eaten out by the ash-weevil, as it will most certainly be if a small orifice be observable on one side of the key or samara, just over the seed.

In growing ash with a view to profit, it is recommended to plant it by itself in belts or plantations, which are called ash-holts, as it usually, when well started, grows upwards too fast to be a good nurse to other trees, which latter would suffer from the whipping of the longer heavy flexile stems of the ash.[29]

[29]Selby says, â€œThe pitting system should always be adopted in planting the ash, for the roots, even in young plants, are too numerous, large, and spreading, to be properly inserted by the splitting orTmethod.â€ We would also add, that they should be planted as soon upon removal as possible.

It is too often planted in hedge-rows, where it isexceedingly objectionable, not only from the ill effects on the scene of interminable rows of one kind of tree, but the drip and the peculiar growth of the roots render it most destructive to the growth of crops planted beneath its shade.

The uses to which the wood of this tree is turned are multifarious in the extreme. Walking-sticks are made from ash saplings; and as, from youth to age, it is so tough and elastic, it is used for handles and other parts of farm implements and machinery of all kinds. The wheelwright and coachmaker employ the wood extensively; so also the cooper. As a firewood its â€œoffalâ€ is always welcome, as it burns with a clear, bright flame, and that nearly as well in the green as in the dry state; and the whole tree is so rich in potash that this alkali is often made from its trimmings and loppings.

We had already mentioned some of the superstitions connected with the ash, and at p. 250 will be found directions for making a shrew-ash; we shall now, therefore, only direct attention to another practice which this tree was employed for, even to a somewhat recent period, as it will account for some curious growths of ash which will sometimes be met with. Evelyn says:â€”

I have heard it affirmed with great confidence, and upon experience, that the rupture to which many children are obnoxious, is healed, by passing the infant through a wide cleft made in the bole or stem of the growing ash-tree; it is then carried a second time round the ash, and caused to repass the same aperture as before. The rupture of the child being bound up, it is supposed to heal as the cleft of the tree closes and coalesces.

As, then, the healing of the child would seem todepend upon that of the tree, this potent charm is not always successful, as may be gathered from the fact that young trees have been met with which never healed at all, and we recollect one of these, of which the accompanyingwood-cutis a copy, having been presented at a Conversazione of the Worcestershire Natural History Society. The tree from whence it was taken was of about ten years of age. Selby says that an instance of this use of the ash is â€œrelated by the Rev. T. Bree, in theMagazine of Natural History, where a ruptured child was made to pass through the chasm of a young ash-tree, split for the purpose, in Warwickshire.â€

Hole in ash

These facts seem to point to the acting upon such superstitions to within a comparatively recent period, though doubtless the drawing a child beneath the stolon or shoot of a bramble that has rooted at its extremity, and which we have known to be gravely recommended by a wise (!) woman, would be equally efficacious, and, upon the whole, easier to perform.

Evelyn further says that â€œthe chemists exceedingly commend the seed of the ash to be an admirable remedy for the stone.â€ â€œBut,â€ he adds, â€œwhether by the power of magic or nature, I determine not.â€ We would suggest that it was by the power its roots possess of riving the natural rock. So stone-crop,from decomposing the stones on which it grows, was held to have the like effect. How strange, then, it is that with such evidences of the truth of the motto,â€”

Similia similibus curantur,

physicians of the present day should refuse to listen to this still (and very small) voice of nature, and not all become homÅ“opaths! Such may well be the reasoning of many an old woman who still pretends to cures either by magic spells or infinitesimal globules.

Two interesting varieties of ash are met with: the pendulous or weeping-ash, which, Sir W. Hooker informs us, is said to have been first discovered in a field at Gamlingay, and theFraxinus heterophylla, in which the leaf is simple, that is, it is in one piece, more the form of a laurel-leaf than the usual pinnated ash-leaf. These variations are easily perpetuated by grafting, and are here only mentioned on account of their peculiar habits.

The Beech(Fagus sylvatica) is admitted by all authors to be a native of Great Britain, and if the many magnificent giants one here and there meets with be admitted as proofs of indigenous origin, few trees can put in a more imposing claim. The celebrated Burnham beeches, so well known to artists and lovers of nature in general, and the many fine examples of this tree in the Cotteswolds, upon which range it is said to grow as a weed, testify to the age and size to which the beech may attain.

The plantations of beeches in Oakley Park are wellworthy of note in speaking of the Cotteswolds, for although they have been planted here, yet the fine, tall, clean balks, lofty tops, and the â€œtwilight shadesâ€ beneath, will not soon be forgotten by the author, who, beneath their boughs, through the liberality of Earl Bathurst, â€œhas felt them all his own,â€ as says the poet Gray of the Burnham beeches. Here, too, has he mused, though not, like Pope, in â€œthoughts that burn,â€ yet much wondering at the curious plants which choose such seclusion for their dwelling. Of these the following may be here enumerated, as they really form part of the natural history of the beech wood:â€”

Listera Nidus-avisâ€”Birdsâ€™-nest Orchis.Habenaria chloranthaâ€”Butterfly Orchis.Epipactis grandifloraâ€”Large White Helleborine.Epipactis ensifoliaâ€”Narrow-leaved White Helleborine.Epipactis latifoliaâ€”Broad-leaved Helleborine.Monotropa Hypopithysâ€”Yellow Birdsâ€™-nest.Pyrola minorâ€”Lesser Winter Green.

Such a list of plants found in the beech woods is sufficient to make their locality remarkable, and if we add to them the

Tuber cibariumâ€”Truffle,Morchella esculentaâ€”Morell,Elaphomyces muricatusâ€”Sharp-wartedElaphomyces,

â€”these, with various other curious fungi, will be sufficient to make Oakley Park and its beeches a botanical habitat of no mean pretension.

As regards the truffle, we may mention that we have heard that a former Earl Bathurst kept dogs for the purpose of hunting them. We have partaken ofthe morells from this park several times, and always found them delicious, and can recommend them stuffed with sausage-meat and fried, as a dish for an epicure: we have seen them exposed for sale in the greengrocersâ€™ shops of the good old town of Cirencester.

But we are sadly digressing from the subject of the beech tree in his history as a forest and ornamental tree. Under the latter aspect, then, most authors, except Gilpin, view the beech to hold a very high place. Coleman, in his â€œWoodlands,â€ considers that,â€”

Among our truly indigenous forest-trees, the beech must certainly rank as second only to the oak for majesty and picturesqueness; while, for the union of grace and nobility, it may claim precedence over every other member of our sylva.Having said this, we must, as a matter of course, dissent from the opinion of Gilpin, the highly-gifted author of â€œForest Scenery,â€ who has, as we think, unjustly impugned the ornamental character of this generally favourite tree, and this because he had some crotchets of his own about landscape composition, and the shape that trees ought to take to make them good subjects for the pencil. The beech did not happen to fit itself to his theory, and so he quarrelled with it, and called it hard names.

Having said this, we must, as a matter of course, dissent from the opinion of Gilpin, the highly-gifted author of â€œForest Scenery,â€ who has, as we think, unjustly impugned the ornamental character of this generally favourite tree, and this because he had some crotchets of his own about landscape composition, and the shape that trees ought to take to make them good subjects for the pencil. The beech did not happen to fit itself to his theory, and so he quarrelled with it, and called it hard names.

Any one who has ever seen a well-grown beech tree, such as was once our delight to visit at Hartley Bottom, near the source of the Thames, or who has seen such masses of beech glowing with autumnal tints as may be witnessed in a journey on the Great Western Railway between Swindon and Cheltenham, will never speak disparagingly of the beech, which we think noble, alike by itself as in masses, or as a sylvan denizen with other trees.

But it has other claims besides that of ornament;it is a highly useful wood, much employed in carpentry, cabinet-work, and turnery; in the making of charcoal; and increasingly so in the manufacture of wood-spirit.

As a firewood it excels most others, as it burns with a clear flame, even when wet, and leaves behind only a small quantity of ash. How, indeed, could it possess much ash when it flourishes in positions where scarcely four inches of soil covers up the oolitic stone, its roots spreading over the rock and occasionally dipping into its fissures in a manner most aptly illustrative of the fact that this tree really derives but little nutrition from the soil, the rocks upon which it grows, for the most part, serving to moor the giant in position that it may spread forth its leaves to feed upon the atmosphere?

The beech is easily propagated from its fruitâ€”â€œmastâ€â€”which, indeed, so readily grows beneath the trees that thousands might be obtained for the purpose of pricking out in nursery lines, if looked after. The usual method of cultivation is to gather the mast in the autumn, to keep it well in sand, and sow in the spring. After two years it is pricked out in nursery rows, and is fit for planting in three years more.

Where once established it will soon spread, as the mast grows sporadically with great readiness, and this tree has a faculty for extending undisputed possession; thus, in America will be found wide-extended forests of scarcely anything but beech, which, though perhaps a little varied from our own, is yet doubtless of the same species.

There are several ornamental varieties of beech tobe obtained from the nurserymen, some of which are more curious than useful; but we must not omit to mention the Copper Beech (Fagus sylvatica, var.purpurea). This, judiciously disposed, is capable of affording a great charm to the wood, and more especially in plantations near the homestead. They are fast-growing trees, and at present are here and there to be met with of considerable size. We once possessed a couple on our lawn, the largest of which must have been nearly six feet in circumference; and what from its colour, the thickness of its foliage, and the fine sweep of its branches, it was capable of yielding shade and shelter of a most perfect and agreeable kind.

The drip of the beech is prejudicial to cultivation, we think, from the circumstance that the hard, though thin, leaves are so difficult of decomposition that where they fall they leave a thick carpet covering up the ground. If, then, these trees are in such a position as to do mischief from this cause, the leaves should be removed, and they will, if stored, be found very useful in making hotbeds, linings to pots, and other gardening work.

Beech is less liable to insect attacks than almost any other tree; the most annoying is that of theAphis, especially when near the house, as this harbours insects of all kinds, and the exuding honey-dew much injures the aspect of the tree.

Beech timber would be more valuable than it is were it not for its liability, when in panels, tables, and furniture, to be attacked and bored by weevils. We once had our house so infested with these little beetles, derived from some furniture of this wood, asto cause considerable alarm; but fortunately our domesticâ€™s knowledge of natural history in the matter of bugs was somewhat defective, as she had mistaken the nature of the weevil. This pest can be removed by boiling in oil; but it is a great drawback to the use of a wood which otherwise might be applied to various domestic purposes.

In this chapter we shall shortly direct attention to such soft-wooded trees as the sycamore, plane, horse-chestnut, lime, willow, poplar, and others, which, though commonly grown, are yet more so for ornament than profit; for though their woods are found to be more or less useful, as a general rule they must take a comparatively low rank as timber trees.

Both the Sycamore and the Plane are introduced trees; both attain to a large size; and when judiciously mixed with other trees form a very pleasing contrast. The plane has the property of withstanding the effects of smoke in towns better than any other tree, and therefore it is recommended for planting in public parks and town enclosures.

The Horse-Chestnut has much of the character of the above; it grows tall and large, and its fine foliage and handsome bunches of flowers are very attractive. It is an excellent tree for shade, and has the merit of quick growth; but its wood is so brittle as to cause great limbs to be too readily blown off with a high wind.

The Lime (Tilia EuropÃ¦a) is one of our most charming native trees, for so it has been pretty clearly proved to be by E. Lees, Esq., F.L.S., who says â€œthat at Shrawley, eight miles north from Worcester, there is a wood, remote from any dwelling or public road, of about five hundred acres in extent, the greater part of the undergrowth of which is composedofTilia EuropÃ¦a, var.Microphylla;â€ and the same gentleman, in a communication to the Botanical Society of London, mentioned several places, in Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Monmouthshire, and South Wales, where he considers the lime to be indigenous, and where he met with many remarkable and aged trees.

We shall not here enter into a discussion about species, but, from what we saw in Shrawley wood and its district, we incline to the belief that several names made to depend mainly upon the leaves, might well be omitted, seeing that from Shrawley itself the leaves on the newly-sprung underwood are fully five times larger than those on an old tree.

Putting such questions aside, we may well consider the lime as a truly ornamental tree,whose varietiesgive great charm to the forest or the more limited plantation about the homestead, where its shade, its perfume when in flower, and patience under lopping and training, must ever recommend it.

The Willow, though usually cultivated in the shape of twigs for basket-making and the like purposes, for which many species are employed, is nevertheless grown upon the margins of streams and in damp places about estates and farms for its lop, which is much used for hurdle-bonds, thatching-spars, &c.

Amongst implements from this tree, the willow-wand of the cricketer has now a fame in the New as well as in the Old world, and long may its magic continue to develope the muscle and sharpen the faculties of the youth of Old England; whilst well-developed muscle cannot better maintain its tone than by a well-contested game of cricket.

In good situations the White Willow (Salix alba)attains to very magnificent proportions. One at Siddington, near Cirencester, measures 22 feet in girth, at one foot from the ground; 18 ft. 6 in. at three feet; and 20 ft. 6 in. at six feet. The principal limb measured 12 ft. 6 in., and the circumference of its fine top is as much as 72 feet. And four trees by the Roman Amphitheatre at Cirencester, average somewhere about 12 feet round at six feet from the ground. Trees of this size, from their light, silvery foliage, give great character to the surrounding scenery.

These soft-wooded trees, with some poplar and other ornamental trees, furnish a more or less light, soft, spongy wood, very inferior for timber, but yet capable of being put to various uses in turnery, internal work, &c., in which white wood is employed.

TheConiferÃ¦(Cone-bearers).â€”The Fir tribe may well form a subject even for a separate volume, for not only are some of them employed as timber trees, but many are grown for their curious and interesting structure.

ThePinetumhas become to be a matter of amusement to many a country gentleman throughout the country; and in these are collected such new forms as may in time become useful to the planter, as well as such minute species as may illustrate the natural history of a subject well worthy of extended study.

Amongst our giants of this natural order may be placed the yew (which has been made a separate order under the name ofTaxaceÃ¦) and the cedar; the spruce-fir, Scotch-pine, and larch being the more useful members as timber trees.

The Yew (Taxus baccata) is generally considered as an indigenous tree, and as we can certainly point to individuals that must have weathered nearly, ifnot quite a thousand years, we are not disposed to quarrel with the conclusion. Its former use in the construction of the English long-bow is now obsolete, and so too has almost died out the taste for growing this tree to torture into grotesque shapes. Still, as a picturesque tree in woodland and home scenery, and even as an attendant upon the parish church, we should like to see the yew more extensively grown. It is also a most useful tree for close hedges and blinds in the garden, as it will bear being clipped within due bounds with a great amount of patience.

The Cedar (Cedrus Libani), which was probably introduced to this country towards the end of the seventeenth century, has yet made such progress as to rival in size and importance many of our more stately native timber trees of far greater age.

Amongst the more stately examples of this tree, we may mention those at the Chelsea Botanical Garden. There are some fine groups in Oakley Park, Cirencester, growing on almost a bare rock of the Great or Bath Oolite, and in the bleak Cotteswold country, attaining the circumference of from 10 to 12 feet, at three feet from the ground. Long may the cedar be cultivated for the size and beauty to which it can attain, in which, perhaps, it may yet be excelled by theCedrus deodara, not many years since introduced from the Himalayas. We rejoice to see such noble specimens of vegetation grown, independent of profit, which, indeed, is scarcely needed by a princely possessor of a fine estate handed down, perhaps, from generation to generation, in which each tree may have a history of its own.

The Spruce-Fir (Abies excelsa) is an elegant tree in composition, and grows well on the thinnest andpoorest soils. Its upright, tapering mode of growth renders it a good nurse, with beech, larch, and otherConiferÃ¦. It may be planted thickly; the first thinning being used for hop-poles, the next for spars, masts, &c.; and ultimately a few may be left to attain size and height as shelter and for effect.

The Scotch Pine (Pinus sylvestris) is a native of North Britain, where its fine trees in large forests or in great clumps, form a peculiar and at times magnificent appearance. It is much used in planting in this country, principally as a nurse; but its young sticks are not so durable as those of the spruce, and much inferior to the larch. Its larger wood forms the red dealâ€”a timber so much used in all kinds of carpentry as to give this tree a high value among timber trees.

The Larch (Larix EuropÃ¦a) is a deciduous tree of the order, and though it has not been introduced into general use for very many years, yet its value is daily becoming more fully developed; and as a tree for general plantation, either as a nurse or in belts, it has few, if any, equals. As a curious tree, it appears to have been grown early in the eighteenth century, and some fine trees are noticed by Selby at Dalwick in Peeblesshire, and at Monzie in Argyleshire. The largest larch which we have noticed was one which was felled in Oakley Park.

It had previously been injured by being struck with lightning, by which large pieces of the bark had been torn away. We examined it at Lord Bathurstâ€™s desire, when it was found to be bored into from the base of the trunk to as high as we could see, by that curious insect theSirex gigas, whose hornet-like appearance causes so much consternation in the pineforests in Germany, from which it is often introduced into the dwellings of the peasant with fir logs. It is quite as large as the hornet, and much of the same bright colours, but its apparent sting of more than half an inch in length is only an ovipositor, so that that formidable-looking creature is perfectly harmless after all. This tree was nearly twelve feet in circumference, at three feet from the ground, in which condition its lower drooping branches give the larch a fine picturesque appearance.

Larches, and, indeed, the whole of theConiferÃ¦, are best procured for planting from the nursery, and much time will ultimately be saved by planting them as soon after removal as possible, and that by the pit method; and so done, larch, unlike most other young trees, shoots away at once, and soon allows of thinning to profit.

We now bring this subject to an end, for the want of space; but we cannot part with friends we love so much without a benediction; in the words of Cowley then we say,â€”

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