The source of this uncorrected OCR text may be viewed in the DjVu format at: http://fax.libs.uga.edu/QK488xE4/4tgbi or http://purl.galileo.usg.edu/ugafax/QK488xE4/4tgbi G e t B i tain Ireland BY Henry John Elwes, F.R.S, AND •:. % Augustine Henry, M.A. Edinburgh: Privately Printed F \" V THE TREES OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND > * VK <«* \ , i \ .*•>** '.V NATIVE SCOTS PINE AT INVERGARR\ Fiom a Drawing by Miss Ruth Brand *.«•:' ..y *!• .t - "., v > The Trees of Great Britain £3 à'v v ' ' BY Henry John Elwes, F.R.S. Ireland AND Augustine Henry, M.A. VOLUME IV Edinburgh : Privately Printed MCMIX CONTENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS .... ABIES ...... ABIES PECTINATA, COMMON SILVER FIR ABIFS PINSAPO, SPANISH FIR ABIES NUMIDICA, ALGERIAN FIR ABIES CEPHAI.ONICA, GREEK FIR ABIES CILICICA, CILICIAN FIR ABIES NORDMANNIANA, CAUCASIAN FlR ABIES WEBBIANA, HIMALAYAN FIR . ABIES PINDROW, PINDROW FIR ABIES SIBIRICA, SIBERIAN FIR ABIES SACHALINENSIS, SAGHALIEN FIR ABIES FIRMA, JAPANESE FIR ABIFS HOMOLEPIS ..... ABIES BRACHYPHYLLA, NlKKO FlR . ABIES UMBELLATA ..... ABIES VEITCHII, VEITCH'S FIR ABIES MARIESII, MARIES' FIR ABIES GRANDIS, GIANT FIR .... ABIES CONCOLOR, COLORADO FIR ABIES LOWIANA, CALIFORNIAN FIR . ABIES AMAMLIS, LOVELY FIR ABIES NOEILIS, NOBLE FIR .... ABIES MAGNiFicA, RED FIR, SHASTA FIR ABIES BRACTEATA, BRISTLE-CONE FlR ABIES LASIOCARPA, ROCKY MOUNTAIN FIR . AlilES BALSAMEA, BALSAM FlR ABIES FRASERI, SOUTHERN BALSAM FIR ABIES RELIGIOSA, MEXICAN FIR PSEUDOTSUGA ..... PSEUDOTSUGA DOUGLASII, DOUGLAS FlR CASTANEA ...... CASTANEA SATIVA, SPANISH OR SWEET CHESTNUT . Hi VI1 713 720 732 737 739 744 746 75° 755 758 760 762 764 765 768 768 771 773 777 779 782 786 792 796 800 803 806 808 811 814 837 839 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland Contents V M CASTANEA CRENATA, JAPANESE CHESTNUT CASTANEA DENTATA, AMERICAN CHESTNUT . CASTANEA PUMILA, CHINQUAPIN FRAXINUS ...... FRAXINUS EXCELSIOR, COMMON ASH FRAXINUS ANGUSTIFOLIA, NARROW-LEAVED ASH FRAXINUS OXYCARPA .... FRAXINUS SYRIACA ..... FRAXINUS ELONZA ..... FRAXINUS WILLDENOWIANA .... FRAXINUS DIMORPHA .... FRAXINUS XANTHOXYLOIDES .... FRAXINUS POTAMOPHILA .... FRAXINUS RAIBOCARPA .... FRAXINUS HOLOTRICHA .... FRAXINUS ORNUS, FLOWERING ASH, MANNA ASH . FRAXINUS FLORIBUNDA .... FRAXINUS BUNGEANA .... FRAXINUS MARIESII ..... FRAXINUS RHYNCHOPHYLLA .... FRAXINUS MANDSHURICA .... FRAXINUS CHINENSIS .... FRAXINUS OEOVATA .... FRAXINUS PUEINERVIS .... FRAXINUS SPAETHIANA FRAXINUS LONGICUSPIS .... FRAXINUS NIGRA, BLACK ASH FRAXINUS ANOMALA, UTAH ASH FRAXINUS QUADRANGULATA, BLUE ASH FRAXINUS AMERICANA, WHITE ASH . FRAXINUS TEXENSIS, TEXAN ASH FRAXINUS BILTMOREANA, BILTMORE ASH FRAXINUS LANCEOLATA, GREEN ASH FRAXINUS PENNSYLVANIA, RED ASH FRAXINUS OREGONA, OREGON ASH . FRAXINUS CAROLINIANA, SWAMP ASH FRAXINUS VELUTINA ZELKOVA ...... ZELKOVA CRENATA . . . ... ZELKOVA ACUMINATA .... 854 856 857 859 864 8?9 882 883 883 884 884 885 885 886 887 887 890 891 892 892 893 895 895 896 897 897 898 900 900 901 9°5 906 907 908 910 912 912 914 CELTIS ..... CELTIS AUSTRALIS, NETTLE TREE . CELTIS CAUCASICA .... CELTIS GLABRATA .... CELTIS DAVIDIANA .... CELTIS OCCIDENTALS, HACKP.ERRV . CELTIS CRASSIFOLIA, HACKBERRY CELTIS MISSISSIPPIENSIS ALNUS ..... ALNUS GLUTINOSA, COMMON ALDER ALNUS INCANA, GREY ALDER ALNUS CORDATA, ITALIAN ALDER ALNUS SUBCORDATA, CAUCASIAN ALDER ALNUS FIRMA .... ALNUS JAPONICA, JAPANESE ALDER . ALNUS NITIDA, HIMALAYAN ALDER . ALNUS MARITIMA .... ALNUS RUERA, OREGON ALDER ALNUS TENUIFOLIA .... ALNUS RHOMEIFOLIA BETULA ..... BETULA PUBESCENS, COMMON BIRCH BETULA VERRUCOSA, SILVER BIRCH . BETULA DAVURICA . BETULA CORYLIFOLIA BETULA MAXIMOWICZII BETULA ERMANI .... BETULA ULMIFOLIA .... BETULA LUMINIFERA BETULA UTILIS, HIMALAYAN BIRCH . BETULA PAPYRIFERA, PAPER BIRCH, CANOE BIRCH BETULA POPULIFOLIA, GREY BIRCH . BETULA NIGRA, RED BIRCH BETULA LUTEA, YELLOW BIRCH BETULA LENTA, CHERRY BIRCH, BLACK BIRCH BETULA FONTINALIS .... DlOSPYROS ..... DlOSPYROS VIRGINIANA, AMERICAN PERSIMMON DIOSPYROS LOTUS, DATE-PLUM 925 926 928 929 929 93° 932 933 935 937 945 949 951 952 953 954 955 956 957 958 959 962 966 974 975 976 977 979 980 980 983 987 988 99° 991 992 995 996 999 920 6 \ ILLUSTRATIONS Native Scots Pine at Invergarry (from a drawing by Miss Ruth Brand) . Frontispiece PLATE No. Silver Fir at Cowdray . . ... . 208 Silver Fir at Longleat . . . ... 209 Silver Fir at Roseneath . . . .... 210 Silver Fir at Tullymore .... ...211 Spanish Fir in Andalusia .... ... 212 Spanish Fir at Longleat . ......213 Greek Fir at Barton . . . ....214 Himalayan Fir in Sikkirn . . . . . 215 Japanese Fir in Japan . . .....216 Giant Fir at Eastnor Castle ... ....217 Giant Fir in Vancouver's Island ..... . 218 Californian Fir at Linton . . . . . . . .219 Lovely Fir in British Columbia . . . . . . . .220 Noble Fir in Oregon . . . . . . . .221 Red or Shasta Fir at Bayfordbury . ..... 222 Red or Shasta Fir at Bonskeid . . . . . . .223 Bristle-cone Fir at Eastnor Castle . . . ... 224 Rocky Mountain Fir in Montana . ... 225 Mexican Fir at Fola . . ... 226 Douglas Fir on Barkley's Farm . . . . . . 227 Douglas Fir Forest in Vancouver's Island . . . 228 Douglas Fir at Eggesford . . . . . 229 Douglas Fir at Lynedoch . . . . ... 230 Douglas Fir at Tortworth . . . ... 231 Spanish Chestnut Grove at Bicton . . . . . . . .232 Spanish Chestnut at Althorp ......... 233 Spanish Chestnut at Thoresby . . . . . . . 234 Spanish Chestnut at Rydal . . . . . . . . • 235 Spanish Chestnut at Rossanagh . . . . . . . .236 vii Vlll The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland Japanese Chestnut at Atera, Japan . Weeping Ash at Elvaston Castle Tall Ash at Cobham Park . Twisted Ash at Cobham Park Tall Ash at Ashridge . Ash at Woodstock, Kilkenny Ash at Castlewellan . Diseased Ash at Colesborne ; Deformed Ash at Cirencester Narrow-leaved Ash at Rougham Hall White Ash at Kew . • • Biltmore Ash at Fawley Court Zelkova crenata at Wardour Castle . Zelkova crenata at Glasnevin Zelkova acuminata at Carlsruhe Celtis occidentalis at West Dean Park Alders at Lilford . Alders at Kilmacurragh Italian Alder at Tottenham House, Savernake Birch at Savernake Forest Birch at Merton Hall . Birches in Sherwood Forest . Gnarled Birches in Glenmore Paper Birch at Bicton . Yellow Birch at Oriel Temple Diospyros virginiana at Kew . Fraxinus ; leaves, etc. • Fraxinus ; leaves, etc. . Fraxinus ; leaves, etc. Fraxinus ; leaves, etc. • Fraxinus; leaves, etc. . Moms, Celtis, and Zelkova ; leaves, etc. Alnus.; leaves, etc. . Betula ; leaves, etc. . Betula; leaves, etc. . PLATE No. 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 ABIES A^ies, Linnaeus, Gen. PL 294 (in part) (1737); Bentham et Hooker, Gen. PI. iii. 441 (1880); Masters, Journ. Linn. Soc. (Bot) xxx. 34 (1893); Hickel, Bull. Soc. Dendr. France, 1907, pp. 5, 41, and 82 ; 1908, pp. 5 and 179. Picea, D. Don, in Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit. iv. 2293 (1838). EVERGREEN trees belonging to the order Coniferae ; bark containing numerous resin- vesicles ; branches whorled. Buds, with numerous imbricated scales, with or without resin, usually two to five at the ends of the branchlets, the central bud terminal and largest, the others surrounding it in a circle on upright shoots, whilst on lateral branchlets those on the upper side are not developed ; buds also occur rarely and few in number in the axils of the leaves on the branchlets below. Branchlets of one kind, usually smooth, but in certain species grooved, with raised pulvini ; each season's shoot * marked by a sheath at the base, composed of the persistent bud- scales of the previous spring. Leaves on fertile and barren branchlets, often different in length and thickness and in the nature of the apex ; arising from the branchlets in spiral order, radially disposed on vertical shoots, but variously arranged according to the species on lateral branchlets ; persisting for many years and giving the tree a dense mass of foliage ; leaving as they fall circular scars on the branchlets ; sessile, but usually narrowed just above the expanded circular base ; linear, flattened and thin in most species, quadrangular in section in a few species ; ventral surface always with two greyish or white stomatic bands, one on each side of the raised green midrib ; dorsal surface with or without stomata, which when present are either in continuous lines, as in the quadrangular-leaved species, or are confined to near the tip of the leaf in the middle line, as in some flat-leaved species ; apex acute, acuminate, or obtuse, notched or entire, spine-pointed in one or two species ; resin-canals 2 two, constant in position for each species in the leaves on lateral branchlets, but in some species3 differing in position in the leaves on the upright or fertile branchlets, either median, 1 In A. bracteata, all the bud-scales usually fall off, leaving ring-like scars at the base of the shoot. 2 The position of the resin-canals is easily seen on examining a thin section with a lens ; and can often be made out by squeezing the leaf, after it is cut across, when the resin will be observed exuding from the two canals. 3 In A. pectinata, A. ccphalonica, and A. Nordmanniana, the resin-canals are marginal in the leaves of lateral branches, and are median in the leaves of cone-bearing branches. Cf. Guinier and Maire, in Bull. Soc. Bot, France, Iv. 189 (1908). IV 713 B 714 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland when situated in the substance of the leaf about equidistant between its upper and lower surfaces, or marginal or sub-epidermal, when placed in the lower part of the leaf close to the epidermis ; fibro-vascular bundle simple in some species, divided into two parts in other species. Flowers monoecious, the two sexes on separate branchlets ; male flowers usually abundant and on the lower side of the branchlets over the upper half of the tree ; female cones on the upper side of the branchlets, usually only near the top of the tree, but in some species borne all over the upper half of the tree. Staminate flowers,1 solitary in the axils of the leaves of the preceding year's shoot ; stamens spirally crowded on a central axis, anthers surmounted by a knob-like projection and dehiscing transversely. Female cones,1 arising as short shoots, composed of numerous imbricated fan-shaped ovuliferous scales, and an equal number of much longer mucronate bracts ; ovules inverted, two on each scale. Mature cones erect on the branchlets, composed of closely imbricated woody scales, more or less fan-shaped with short stalks. Bracts adnate to the outer surface of the scales at the base ; either concealed between the scales or with their tips exserted and then often reflexed over the margin of the scale next below ; dilated at the apex, entire or two-lobed, prolonged into a triangular mucro. Seeds two on the inner surface of each scale, winged, and with resin-vesicles. The cones ripen in one season ; and the scales, bracts, and seeds fall away from the central spindle-like axis of the cone, which persists for a long time on the tree. The seedling has four to ten cotyledons, stomatiferous on their upper surface. The species of Abies are distinguishable from all other conifers by the circular base of the leaves, which on falling leave circular scars on the branchlets. The species of Abies have been variously divided into sections by different authors, but no satisfactory arrangement has yet been made out. M ay r proposed three sections based on the colour of the cones ; but, as Sargent2 points out, colour is not a constant character in several species. The cones are of value in the dis crimination of the species, by taking into account their age, general appearance, and characters as a whole ; but the scales are often very variable in shape in the same species, and the bracts, while more constant in form, often show considerable variation in their length. It is most convenient, in practice, especially as cones are in most cases not available for examination, to group the species, according to the characters of the buds, branchlets, and foliage, which are, as a rule, very constant in the same species. Hickel3 proposes three sections, based on the characters of the branchlets and buds ; but his division is artificial, as it separates species closely allied by the characters of their cones. Some notes on the genus Abies, for which we are indebted to Mr. J. D. Crozier, forester to H. R. Baird, Esq. of Durris, Kincardineshire, are inserted. Mr. Crozier's long experience in the east of Scotland gives a special value to his opinion on their respective qualities for planting in Scotland, which our own 1 Both the Staminate flowers and the young female cones are surrounded at the base by involucres of bud-scales. 2 Sitva N. Amer. xii. 97, adnot. (1898). Sargent proposes three sections, based on the characters of the leaves. 3 Bull. Soc. Dendr. France, 1907, p. II. Abies 715 could not have, though in almost every case he confirms the conclusions at which we had already arrived. About thirty species are known, of which twenty-six have been introduced and are distinguished below. The silver firs are natives of the temperate parts of the northern hemisphere, usually occurring in mountainous regions ; attaining high elevations towards the south, as in Guatemala, Algeria, Himalayas, and Formosa; and descending to low levels in the extreme north, as Alaska, Labrador, and Siberia. The following table is based upon characters taken from the foliage, buds, and shoots of lateral branches, occurring on the lower part of the tree. As regards the leaves, their arrangement upon the branchlets, the position of the resin-canals, and whether the apex is entire or bifid must be noted. The presence of stomata on the upper surface of the leaf is peculiar to certain species. The young shoots are either smooth or deeply grooved with prominent pulvini ; and are glabrous in some species, pubescent in others, the pubescence when present being either confined to the grooves or spread over the whole branchlet. The buds vary in size and shape and also in the quantity of resin, which in some cases is so slight that they may be described as non-resinous ; whilst in other species the scales are covered with or deeply immersed in resin. Certain species are distinguishable at a glance by some prominent character. A. bracteata has a bud entirely different from that of any other species. A. Pinsapo, with its short, thick, rigid leaves, standing out radially from the shoot, is unmis takable. A. cephalonica, with a more imperfect radial arrangement, is distinguished by its long flattened leaves ending in a single sharp cartilaginous point. A. ßrma is peculiar in its remarkably broad very coriaceous leaves, which end in two sharp unequal points. A. grandis has the leaves quite pectinate in the horizontal plane, those of the upper rank about half the size of those below. A. Mariesii is dis tinguished by the shoot being densely covered with a ferruginous tomentum. A. brachyphylla and A. Webbiana have deeply-furrowed shoots with prominent pulvini, which become more marked in the second year ; and the bark begins to scale very early on the branches and trunk of the tree. A. nobilis and A. magnißca are peculiar in the upper median leaves curving up from the shoot after being appressed to it for some distance. A. Pindrow has long pale green leaves very irregularly arranged. I. Leaves radially arranged on the branchlets ; apex of the leaf not bifid. 1. Abies Pinsapo, Boissier. Spain. See p. 732. Leaves rigid, short, less than f inch long, thick, acute at the apex ; resin- canals median. Shoots glabrous. Buds resinous. 2. Abies cephalonica, Loudon. Greece. See p. 739. Leaves thin, flattened, about i inch long, ending in a sharp cartilaginous point ; resin-canals marginal. Shoots glabrous. Buds resinous. In van Apollinis, the radial arrangement is imperfect, and the leaves end in a short point. 716 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland II. Leaves on the lateral branches pectinate in arrangement; the t^vo lateral sets either in one plane, or with their upper ranks directed upwards as well as outwards, showing a V-shaped depression, as seen from above, between the two sets. * Resin-canals marginal? 3. Abies bracteata, Nuttall. California. See p. 796. Leaves long, 2 inches or more, rigid, ending in a spine-like point. Shoots glabrous. Buds peculiar in the genus, elongated, fusiform, membranous, non-resinous. 4. Abies grandis, Lindley. Western N. America. See p. 773. Leaves all in one plane, those in the upper rank about half the length of those below, up to 2 inches long, bifid at the apex ; upper surface grooved and without stomata. Shoots minutely pubescent. Buds small, resinous. 5. Abies Lowiana, Murray. California. See p. 779. Leaves in a V-shaped arrangement, I\ to 2^ inches long, bifid at the apex ; upper surface grooved and with eight lines of stomata. Shoots and buds as in A. grandis. 6. Abiesßrma, Siebold and Zuccarini. Japan. See p. 762. Leaves in a V-shaped arrangement, rigid, very coriaceous, broad, up to \\ inch long, ending in two sharp cartilaginous points. Shoots pubescent in the furrows between the slightly raised pulvini. Buds small, ovoid, only slightly resinous. 7. Abies homolepis, Siebold and Zuccarini. Japan. See p. 764- Leaves in arrangement and appearance like A. ßrma ; but shorter, less coriaceous, narrower, and whiter beneath. Shoots with prominent pulvini, glabrous. Buds ovoid, resinous, larger than in A. ßrma. 8. Abiespectinata, De Candolle. Europe. See p. 720. Leaves pectinate in one plane or tending to a V-shaped arrangement, about an inch long, slightly bifid at the apex. Shoot grey, with short pubescence. Buds ovoid, non-resinous. 9. Abies Webbiana, Lindley. Himalayas. See p. 750. Leaves V-shaped in arrangement, up to 2^ inches long, bifid, silvery white beneath. Shoots with prominent pulvini and deep grooves, with a reddish pubescence confined to the grooves. Buds large, globose, resinous. ** Resin-canals median? to. Abies balsamea, Miller. Eastern N. America. See p. 803. Leaves slender, scarcely i inch long, bifid at the apex, with six to eight lines of stomata in each band on the lower surface. Shoots, smooth, grey, with scattered short erect grey pubescence. Buds globose, resinous. 11. Abies Fraseri, Poiret. Alleghany Mountains. See p. 806. Leaves as in A. balsamea, but shorter and whiter beneath, with eight to 1 A. cilicica and A. numidica, with weak shoots, come in this section. See Nos. 22 and 23. 2 Abies lasiocarfa, Nuttall, often has the leaves more or less pectinate, and might be sought for here. See No. 26. Abies 717 twelve lines of stomata in each band beneath. Shoots smooth, yellowish, with dense reddish curved or twisted pubescence. Buds globose, resinous. 12. Abies brachyphy lia, Maximowicz.1 Japan. Seep. 765. Leaves in a V-shaped arrangement, short, scarcely exceeding f inch, slightly bifid, white beneath. Shoots glabrous, with prominent pulvini and deep grooves. Buds conical, resinous. III. Leaves on lateral branches not pectinate above, but densely crowded, those in the middle hne directed forwards in imbricated ranks, their bases not being appressed to the branchlet. On the lower side of the shoot the leaves are in two lateral sets. * Resin-canals marginal? 13. Abies Nordmanniana, Spach.3 Caucasus, Northern Asia Minor. See p. 746. Leaves up to \\ inch long, with rounded bifid apex. Shoots smooth, with short scattered erect pubescence. Buds ovoid, brown, non-resinous. 14. Abies amabilis, Forbes. Western N. America. See p. 782. Leaves in arrangement and size like those of A. Nordmanniana, but much darker shining green, and with a truncate bifid apex ; they emit a fragrant odour when bruised. Shoots smooth, with short wavy pubescence. Buds small, globose, resinous. 15. Abies religiosa, Schlechtendal. Mexico, Guatemala. See p. 808. Leaves about i inch long, gradually narrowing from the middle to the usually entire apex, which is occasionally slightly emarginate. Shoots with prominent pulvini and dense minute erect pubescence. Buds shortly cylindrical, resinous. The median upper leaves are much less numerous than in the two preceding species. 16. Abies Mariesii, Masters. Japan, Formosa. See p. 771. Leaves shorter and broader than in Abies Veitchii, widest in their upper third, with a rounded and bifid apex. Shoot densely covered with a ferruginous tomentum. Buds small, globose, resinous. ** Resin-canals median. 17. Abies Veitchii, Lindley. Japan. Seep. 768. Leaves up to i inch long, truncate and bifid at the apex, uniform in width, very white beneath, with nine to ten lines of stomata in each band. Shoots smooth, covered with dense short erect pubescence. Buds small, globose, resinous. The upper median leaves, pointing forwards, stand off from the shoot at a wider angle than in A. Nordmanniana. 1 Abies umbellata, Mayr, is said to be very similar in foliage to this species. See the description of this species, p. 768. 2 A. numidica with strong shoots, is distinguished from all these species by the leaves of the upper side being directed backwards. See No. 23. 3 A. cilicica, with strong shoots, resembles a weak A. Nordmanniana. See No. 22. 718 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 18. Abies sachalinensis, Masters. Saghalien, Yezo, Kurile Isles. See p. 760. Leaves long and slender, up to if inch, uniform in width, with a rounded and bifid apex, white beneath, seven to eight lines in each stomatic band. Shoots with prominent pulvini, and a dense short pubescence confined to the grooves. Buds small, globose, resinous. 19. Abies sibirica, Ledebour. N. E. Russia, Siberia, Turkestan. See p. 758. Leaves long and slender, up to i J inch, uniform in width ; apex rounded and either slightly bifid or entire ; four to five lines in each stomatic band beneath. Shoots ashy grey, quite smooth, with a scattered minute pubescence. Buds small, globose, resinous. IV. Leaves on lateral branches not pectinate above; those in the middle line covering the branchlet, and curving itpwards after being appressed to the shoot for some distance at their base. The leaves are in two lateral sets on the lower side of the branchlet. Resin-canals marginal. 20. Abies nobilis, Lindley. Washington, Oregon, California. See p. 786. Leaves above closely appressed by their bases to the branchlet, which they completely conceal ; about i inch long, entire at the apex, flattened, grooved on the upper surface in the middle line ; stomata usually present on both surfaces. Shoots with a dense, short brown pubescence. Terminal buds girt at the base by a ring of acute or subulately-pointed pubescent scales. 21. Abies magnißca, Murray. Oregon, California. Seep. 792. Leaves above appressed at their bases, for a short distance only, to the branchlet, which they do not completely conceal ; longer than in A. nobilis, up to if inch, entire at the apex, quadrangular in section, not grooved on the upper surface ; stomata always present on both surfaces. Shoots and buds as in A. nobilis. V. Leaves on lateral branches arranged in two ways, which are often observable on the same tree, and depend vipon the vigour of the shoots. 22. Abies cilicica, Carrière. Asia Minor. See p. 744. Leaves either (A) pectinate above with a V-shaped depression between the lateral sets, or (B) with the median leaves above crowded and covering the branchlet, as in A. Nordmanniana. The leaves are slender, up to \\ inch long, not conspicuously white below, slightly bifid at the rounded or acute apex ; resin-canals marginal. Shoots smooth, with scattered short erect pubescence. Buds small, ovoid, non-resinous. Vigorous shoots of this species resemble a weak A. Nordmanniana ; but with the leaves shorter, more slender, and less white beneath, the buds being much smaller. 23. A. numidica, De Lannoy. Algeria. See p. 737. Leaves either (A) pectinate above with a V-shaped depression ; or (B) crowded and covering the upper side of the branchlet, but different from Abies 719 all other species in the median leaves above, in that case, being directed backwards and not forwards. Leaves short, up to f inch long, broad, rounded at the entire or slightly bifid apex ; in most cases with four to six broken lines of stomata on their upper surface near the tip ; resin-canals marginal. Shoots brown, shining, glabrous. Buds large, ovoid, non- resmous. VI. Leaves irregularly arranged; those on the lower side of the branches not truly pectinate. 24. Abies Pindroiv, Spach. W. Himalayas. See p. 755. Leaves all directed more or less forwards ; those above irregularly and imper fectly covering the branchlet ; those below mostly pectinate, but with some directed downwards and forwards. Leaves soft, pale green, up to z\ inches long, bifid at the apex with two sharp cartilaginous points ; resin-canals marginal. Shoots grey, glabrous. Buds large, globose, resinous. 25. Abies concolor, Lindley and Gordon. Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Northern Mexico, Southern California. See p. 777. Leaves imperfectly pectinate both above and below, some in the middle line being always directed forwards and not laterally outwards ; up to 2 to 3 inches long ; apex entire ; upper surface convex and not grooved, bearing fifteen to sixteen lines of stomata ; resin-canals marginal. Shoots smooth, olive-green, glabrous. Bud large, conical, resinous. 26. Abies lasiocarpa, Nuttall. Western N. America. See p. 800. Leaves either (A) in an imperfect pectinate arrangement, or (B) with most of the leaves directed upwards, those in the middle line above crowded, and standing edgeways ; i^ inches long, narrow, usually entire, with con spicuous lines of stomata on the upper surface, especially in its anterior half. Resin-canals median. Shoots smooth, with a moderately dense, short wavy pubescence. Buds small, conical, resinous. Four species, A. Delavayi, Franchet;1 A. Fargesii, Franchet ;2 A. squamata, Masters ;8 and A. recurvata, Masters ; * occur in the mountains of western China and are not included in the above list. The two first species are reported by Masters to have been introduced by Wilson ; but, on inquiry, we find that only one species of Abies from China is now growing in the Coombe Wood nursery. It is probably A. Fargesii; but, as the plants are still very young, we are uncertain of this identification, and think it best to leave this species undescribed for the present. (A. H.) ^ Journ. de Bot. 1899, p. 255; Masters, Gard. Chron. xxxix. 212, fig. 82(1906). 2 Journ. de Bot. 1899, p. 256 ; Masters, Gard. Chron. xxxix. 212, fig. 83 (1906). 3 Gard. Chron. xxxix. 299, fig. 121 (1906), snujourti. Linn. Soc. (Bot.), xxxvii. 423 (1906). 4 Journ. Linn. Soc. (Bot.), xxxvii. 423 (1906). The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland ABIES PECTIN AT A, COMMON SILVER FIR Abiespectinata, De Candolle, in Lamarck, More Franc, iii. 276 (1805); Willkomm, Forstliche Flora, 112 (1887); Mathieu, Flore Forestière, 525 (1897); Kent, Veitch's Man. Conifères, 530 (1900). Abies alba,1 Miller, Diet. ed. 8, No. i (1768); Kirchner, Lebengesch. Blutenpfl. Mitteleuropas, i. 78 (1904). Abies vulgaris, Poiret, in Lamarck, Diet. vi. 514 (1804). Abies Picea, Lindley, Penny Cycl. i. 29 (not Miller) (1833). Pinus Picea, Linnaeus, Sp. PI. 1001 (1753). Pinns Abies, Du Roi, Obs. Bot. 39 (1771). Pinus pectinata, Lamarck, Fl. Franc, ii. 202 (1778). Picea pectinata, Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit. iv. 2329 (1838). A tree attaining under favourable conditions about 150 feet in height and 20 feet or more in girth. Bark on young trees, smooth, greyish ; ultimately fissuring and becoming rough and scaly. Buds small, ovoid, non-resinous ; scales few, brownish, rounded at the apex. Young shoots grey, smooth, with a scattered short erect pubescence, which is retained in the second year. Leaves on lateral branches pectinately arranged in two lateral sets ; those below the longest and directed outwards and slightly forwards in the horizontal plane ; those above directed upwards and outwards, forming between the two sets a shallow V-shaped depression. Leaves about i inch long, -fa inch broad, linear, flattened, narrowed at the base, tapering slightly to the rounded, bifid apex ; upper surface dark green, shining, with a continuous median groove and without stomata ; lower surface with two white bands of stomata, each of seven to eight lines ; resin-canals marginal. On leading shoots the leaves are radially arranged, and differ considerably from those on lateral branches ; they are thicker, with median resin-canals, acute and not bifid at the apex, and often show lines of stomata on their upper surface towards the tip. Leaves on cone-bearing branches are nearly all directed upwards, very sharp- pointed, and almost tetragonal in section. Trees, standing in an isolated position, usually begin to flower at about thirty years old ; when crowded in dense forests, much later, usually not before sixty years old. Staminate flowers, surrounded at the base by numerous imbricated scales, cylindrical, about i inch long, with greenish - yellow stamens. Female cones, appearing in August of the previous year as large rounded buds, enclosed in brown scales, and situated just behind the apex of the shoot ; in spring, when developed, erect, cone-shaped, about i inch long, surrounded at the base by fringed scales ; bracts numerous, imbricated, denticulate, ending in long, acuminate points, and completely concealing the much smaller ovate, rounded ovuliferous scales. 1 Abies alba, the oldest name under the correct genus, was never in use until lately, when it has been resuscitated by Sargent and some continental botanists. This is one of the cases where adhesion to strict priority would lead to great con fusion ; and hence we have adopted the name Abies pectinata, by which the tree is generally known. Abies 72,1 Cones on short stout stalks, cylindrical, slightly narrowed at both ends, obtuse at the apex, about 6 inches long, 2 inches in diameter, greenish when growing, dull brown when mature, with the points of the bracts exserted and reflexed. Scales tomentose externally, fan - shaped, about i inch broad and long ; upper margin slightly uneven ; lateral margins denticulate, each usually with a sinus, below the slight wings on the outer side of the scale ; claw clavate. Bract with an oblong claw, extending up three-quarters the height of the scale, and expanding above into a lozenge-shaped denticulate lamina, which ends in a sharp long triangular mucro. Seed with wing about an inch long ; wing about twice as long as the body of the seed. SEEDLING Seed sown in spring germinates in three or four weeks. The cotyledons, usually five in number, are at first enveloped, as with a cap, by the albumen of the seed ; but speedily casting this off, they spread radially in a whorl at the summit of the short caulicle, and remain green on the plant for several years ; about an inch in length, linear, obtuse at the apex, flat beneath, and slightly ridged on the upper surface, which shows two whitish bands of stomata. In the first year only a single whorl of true leaves, arising immediately above the cotyledons and alternating with them, is produced. Primary leaves short, acute, or obtuse, but not emarginate at the apex, and with the stomatic bands on the lower surface. A terminal bud closes the first season's growth, the plant scarcely attaining two inches high. In the second year ordinary leaves, arranged spirally on the stem, are produced. The growth of the plant in the first two or three years is mainly concentrated in the root, which descends deep into the soil, the increase in height of the stem above ground being trifling. The stem branches in the third or fourth year, and produces annually for some years one or two lateral branches, making no great growth in height, reaching in the ninth year an average of two feet. About the tenth year normal verticillate branching begins ; and from this onwards the plant makes rapid growth. VARIETIES Dr. Klein gives in Vegetationsbilder illustrations of some remarkable forms1 which the silver fir assumes at high elevations in Central Europe, and which he calls " Wettertanne " or " Schirmtanne." These trees have lost their main leader through lightning, wind, or otherwise, and have developed immense side branches which spread and then ascend, sometimes forming a candelabra-like shape. The finest of this type known to him is at St. Cerques in Switzerland, and measures at breast height no less than 7.40 metres in girth, about the same as the largest of the Roseneath2 trees. Other varieties, distinguished by their peculiar habit, occur in the wild state. l These forms are also described by Dr. Christ in Garden and Forest, ix. 273 (1896). 3 One of the trees at Roseneath, Dumbartonshire, has a similar growth of erect branches, like leaders from some of the horizontal liinbs. This is figured, from a photograph by Vernon Heath, in Card. Chron. xxii. 8, fig. I (1884). At Powers- court there is also a large tree, 13 feet 3 inches in girth, with branches prostrate on the ground and sending up several upright stems. IV c 72,2, The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland Var. pendula? with weeping branches, has been found in the Vosges and in East Friesland. Var. virgata? found in Alsace and Bohemia, has long pendulous branches, only giving off branchlets near their apices, and densely covered with leaves. Var. pyramidalis? This form, which in habit resembles the cypress or a Lombardy poplar, was found growing wild in the department of Isère in France. A very fine example, about 35 feet high in 1904, is growing in the arboretum of Segrez. Var. columnaris? very slender in habit, with numerous short branches, all of equal length, and with leaves shorter and broader than in the type. Var. tortiiosa, a dwarf form, with twisted branches, and bent, irregularly-arranged leaves. Var. brevifolia, another dwarf form, distinguished by its short broad leaves. Remarkable variations in the cones have also been observed. A tree, discovered by Purkyne5 in Bohemia, bore cones, umbonate at the apex, and with short and non- reflexed bracts. Beissner6 mentions a tree, growing in the park at Worlitz near Dessau, which produced cones a foot in length. DISTRIBUTION The common silver fir is a native of the mountainous regions of central and southern Europe. The northern limit of its area of distribution begins in the western Pyrenees about lat. 43° in the neighbourhood of Roncesvalles in Navarre ; and crossing the chain it extends along its northern slope as far as St. Béat ; from here it bends northwards to the mountains of Auvergne, whence it is continued in a north-easterly direction through Burgundy and French Lorraine, crossing the eastern slope of the Vosges about the latitude of Strasburg. From here it curves for some distance westward, and reaching Luxemburg, is continued through Trier and Bonn to southern Westphalia. Across the rest of Germany, according to Drude, who gives a map of the distribution of the species, the northern limit extends as an irregular line about lat. 51°, which touches Hersfeld, Eisenach, the northern edge of the Thuringian forest, Glauchau, Rochlitz, Dresden, Bautzen, and Görlitz ; and ends in the southern point of the province of Posen. Around Spremberg to the north of the limit just traced, it is found wild in a small isolated territory. The eastern limit, beginning in Posen, extends through Poland along the River Wartha to Kolo, crosses to Warsaw, and descending through Galicia west of Lemberg, reaches the Carpathians in Bukowina ; and is continued along the mountains of Transylvania to Orsova on the Danube. The southern limit is not clearly known as regards the Balkan peninsula, as the silver fir, which occurs in the mountains of Roumelia, Macedonia, and Thrace, 1 Kottmeier found peculiar weeping silver firs in the Friedeberg forest, near Wittmund in East Friesland, in 1882. Cf. Wittmack's Gartemeitung, 1882, p. 406, and Conwentz, Seltene Waldbäume in Westfreussen, 161 (1895). 2 Caspary, in IlempeFs Oesterr. Forstzeitung, 1883, p. 43. 3 Carrière, Conif. 280. 4 Carrière, Rev. Hort. 1859, p. 39. 6 Willkomm, Forstliche Flora, 118 (1887). 8 Nadelhohkunde, 433 (1891). Abies 7*3 supposed to be A. pectinata, is more probably a form of A. Apollinis. In Italy the common silver fir reaches its most southerly point on the Nebroden and Madonia Mountains of Sicily at lat. 38°. From here the limit follows the Apennines up through Italy, crosses into Corsica, and from there passes into Spain, where it extends from Monseny, near the Mediterranean coast in lat. 41° 25', parallel to the Pyrenees, through the mountains of Catalonia and northern Aragon to Navarre. In Spain the silver fir also occurs westwards on a few points of the northern littoral in the Basque provinces and Asturias. Within the extensive territory just delimited, the silver fir is very irregularly distributed, being totally absent in many parts, as on the plains and lower mountains of southern Europe. In the eastern part of its area it occurs only as isolated trees or in small groups in the beech and spruce forests ; whereas, in the western part, as in France and in parts of Germany, it forms forests of great extent, either pure or in which it is the dominant species. In France the largest forests of the silver fir are in the Vosges and in the Jura. Important forests also occur in the eastern parts of the Pyrenees, the Cevennes, the mountains of Auvergne, and the Alps of Dauphiné. It is rare on the hills of Burgundy, and does not occur in the Ardennes. There are small woods of this species on some of the hills in Normandy, which are, however, supposed to be planted and not indigenous. The great forest of the Vosges1 is about 50 miles long by 5 to i o miles in width, and contains about 200,000 acres, situated mainly between I loo and 3300 feet elevation. This forest consists chiefly of silver fir, though, in some parts, there is a considerable mixture of beech, spruce, and common pine. The most productive woods are on siliceous soil, and only contain 10 per cent of beech and pine ; their mean annual production being about 100 cubic feet per acre, the volume of timber standing on each acre averaging 4500 cubic feet. In the Jura there are even richer and more homogeneous forests than in the Vosges, being according to Huffel the finest in Europe. Here the soil is limestone. One of these forests, which covers Mount La Joux, between 2100 and 3000 feet altitude, contains 10,600 acres, and consists of about 90 per cent silver fir and 10 per cent of spruce. The annual yield per acre is 170 cubic feet of timber. The total volume of standing timber, including only trees over 2 feet in girth, is 6000 cubic feet per acre. The net revenue is thirty-two shillings an acre. There are several other forests equally valuable in this region. One of the finest silver firs1 in France, a tree called "Le Président," is growing in the forest of La Joux. It is 163 feet high, with a clean stem of 93 feet, and a girth of 15 feet; and contains 1600 cubic feet of timber. In the forest2 of Gérardmer, in the Vosges, there are two fine trees. One, the Beau Sapin, has a height of 144 feet and a girth of 13 feet 8 inches ; it contains 777 cubic feet of timber, and is valued at ^16. The other, the Géant Sapin, has a height of 157 feet and a girth of 14 feet 5 inches ; it contains 1095 cubic feet of timber, and is valued at /"27. In the Pyrenees the silver fir occurs between 4500 and 6500 feet elevation, and trees 1 See Huffel, Economie Forestière, i, 349, 350, 353 (1904). 2 Cf. Trans. R. Scot. Arh. Soc. xviii. 131 (1905). 724 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland of great age, about 800 years old, are said1 to have existed there at the beginning of the 19th century. In Corsica the silver fir occurs in the great forests of Pinus Laricio, but is not abundant, as it only grows, as a rule, in scattered groups in the gullies, where the soil is deeper and richer than elsewhere ; and at Valdoniello I only saw a few trees, none of which were of large size. M. Rotges, of the Forest Service, informed me that it occurs in greatest quantity in the forest of Pietropiano, near Corte. In Italy the silver fir is unquestionably wild on the Apennines, and considerable forests exist at Vallombrosa and Camaldoli, which are now owned by the govern ment. That at Camaldoli is particularly fine, the total area covered by the silver fir being about 1600 acres. The trees are dense on the ground and very vigorous in growth ; and this is easily explained by the heavy rainfall, which, as measured at St Eremo, in the middle of the forest, at 3600 feet altitude, averages about 80 inches annually. I saw, when I visited Camaldoli, in December 1906, no trees of great size ; but one was cut down in 1884, and a log of it shown at the National Exhibition at Turin in that year, which measured 140 feet in height and 17 feet in girth. The silver fir also occurs in Sicily in small quantity, on the higher mountains, and specimens without cones, which I saw in the museum at Florence, are peculiar in the foliage, and form possibly a connecting link between A. pectinata and A. numidica. In Germany, towards the northern part of its area of distribution, the silver fir is met with growing wild on the plains, as in Saxony, Silesia, and Thuringia. Towards the south it is entirely a tree of the mountains, occupying a definite zone of altitude, which, in the Bavarian forest, lies between 950 and 400x3 feet. The largest forests, which are nearly pure, occur in the Black Forest and in Franconia ; those in Bavaria, Bohemia, Thuringia, and Saxony being smaller in extent. In Switzerland small forests occur at Zurich, Payerne, and on Mount Torat ; the silver fir ascending in the Swiss Alps to 530x3 feet altitude. (A. H.) As to the size2 which the silver fir attains in its native forests, many particulars are given by French and German foresters, some of which have been quoted above. None exceed, however, what I have seen in the virgin forests of Bosnia, where I measured near Han Semec, at an elevation of about 3000 feet, a fallen tree over 180 feet long, whose decayed top must have been at least 15 to 20 feet more. Loudon states that he saw, in the museum at Strasburg, a section of a tree of the estimated age of 360 years, cut in 1816 at Barr, in the Hochwald, which was 8 feet in diameter at the base and 150 feet high. The virgin forests of Silesia and Bohemia contain silver firs of immense size, of which very interesting particulars are given by Goppert,3 who states that, in Prince Schwarzenberg's forest of Krummau, there existed many silver firs of from 1 Willkomm, Forstliche Flora, 116, note (1887). 2 Kerner, Nat. Hist. Plants, Eng. trans. i. 722, gives the " certified height " of Abies pectinata as 75 metres, or 250 feet ; but this is not confirmed hy other authorities. 3 H. R. Göppert, Skizzen zur Kenntnis! der Urwälder Schlesiens und Böhmens, 18 (1868). Abies 7*5 120 to 200 feet high, free from branches up to 80 to 120 feet, and as much as 6 to 8 feet in diameter. He quotes Hochstetter,1 who measured in the Greinerwald, near Unter-Waldau, at an elevation of 2563 feet, a silver fir blown down by a storm, which was 9^- feet in diameter at breast height and 200 feet long, and produced 30 klafter of firewood. The silver fir is planted outside the area of its natural distribution in most parts of France, in Belgium, and in western and northern Germany, but not beyond lat. 51° in eastern Prussia. It is occasionally planted in Norway, and at Christiana has attained 68 feet in length by 3^ feet in girth. At Thlebjergene, near Trondhjem, where, on the side of a hill, sloping down to the sea, with an easterly exposure, a fine plantation,2 mainly of spruce and Scots pine, was made in 1872 and subsequent years,—there are some splendid groups of silver fir, 30 to 40 feet in height, appar ently exceeding in rapidity of growth the native spruce beside it. It is met with in gardens in the Baltic provinces of Russia, as in Lithuania where there is a small wood near Grodno, and in Courland and Livonia ; here, however, it always remains a small tree, never bears cones, and is much injured by severe winters. One of the most remarkable plantations in Europe is the one made by the Hanoverian Oberförster, J. G. von Langen, in the Royal Park of Jaegersborg, near Copenhagen, about 1765. I visited this place in 1908, and measured some of the trees. I found that the largest now standing near the entrance at Klampenborg was 125 feet by 12 feet 10 inches. This tree is figured in a work8 kindly sent me by Skovrider H. Mundt. There are, however, many taller trees on the south side of the main drive, two of which I found to be 140 feet by 9 feet, and 140 feet by 8 feet in girth, respectively. I measured the girth of twenty trees out of sixty- two which are growing on an area of 100 by 30 paces, and believe them to average over 130 feet high, with an average girth of 7^ feet. In Lutken's work full details are given of the measurements of these trees taken in 1893, and confirmed in 1898 by Oppermann, who found 432 trees, averaging 38-9 metres in height and containing 1400 cubic metres per hectare; which is equal to 20,0x30 cubic feet per acre in the round, or 15,700 feet English quarter-girth measure. My own hasty estimate on the spot was about 12,000 feet English quarter-girth measure per acre. These wonderful silver firs grow on a deep, sandy loam, on level ground near the sea, and seem to have passed their prime. Some of their timber has been used as rafters in the Secretariat hall of the new Raadhus at Copenhagen. A.pectinata* was brought to the eastern United States early in the nineteenth century ; but it is not hardy even in the middle states. Witches' brooms and cankered swellings, due to the fungus AZcidium elatinum, De Bary, are common on the silver fir in the continental forests ; and are often seen in Ireland and the south-west of Scotland,5 though apparently rare in England, where they have been noticed in Norfolk6 and at Haslemere.7 1 Hochstetter, Aus dem BShmerwalde, Allg. Augsb. Zeit. 1855, N°- l82- Cf- Sendtner, Die Vegetations-Verhältnisse des Bayerischen Waldes (1860). 2 Seen by Henry in 1908. 3 Lütken, Den Langenske Forstordning, p. 286, fig. 5 (Copenhagen, 1899). 4 Sargent, Silva N. Amer. xii. 100, adnot. (1898). 6 Somerville, in Hartig, Diseases of Trees, Eng. trans. 179 (1894). 6 Trans. Norfolk and Notwich Naturalist? Soc. vii. p. 255. i Specimens at Kew. 72,6 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland The swellings which affect the trunk or branches are due to the irritation of the fungus mycelium, which is perennial and stimulates the wood and bark to abnormal growth. These swellings become fissured and are entered by the spores of other fungi, which rot the wood ; and the tree, if the stem is affected, is often broken off at the weakened spot by storms or falls of snow. The witches' brooms begin as young shoots, bearing small yellowish leaves, on the under surface of which two rows of œcidia are developed in August. These shed their spores at the end of that month and the leaves soon afterwards die and fall off. The affected shoots keep on growing, and develop into peculiar growths, set upright generally on the branches, and consisting of numerous twigs anastomosed together. The fungus passes one stage of its life on various species of Stellaria, Cerastium, and their allies, and Fischer1 recommends the extirpation of these plants from nurseries in which the silver fir is raised. The silver fir is very liable in its native forests to be attacked by the mistletoe. Modified roots, the so-called sinkers of the parasite, have been found in the wood enclosed in forty annual rings and as much as 4 inches long, showing that mistletoe may live on the tree for forty years. When the mistletoe dies the rootlets and sinkers survive for a time, but finally moulder and fall to pieces. The affected parts of the wood show numerous perforations, and exactly resemble the wood of a target that has been penetrated by shot or small bullets." The bark of the silver fir remains alive on the surface to an advanced age ; and, on this account, when branches, stems, or roots of adjoining trees get into contact, they often become grafted together. This is the explanation of the curious phenomenon of the vitality of the stumps of certain trees in forests. After the stem is cut down, these stumps continue to increase in size and produce a callosity, which eventually covers the stump in the form of a hemispherical cap. Such a stump procures its nourishment from an adjoining tree, with which its roots have become grafted.8 CULTIVATION The silver fir4 was introduced into England about the beginning of the seventeenth century ; but the exact date is uncertain. The earliest trees recorded are two mentioned by Evelyn,8 which were planted in 1603 by Serjeant Newdigate in Harefield Park in Middlesex. These had attained about 80 feet high in 1679, but from inquiries made by the late Dr. Masters, there is no doubt that they have long since been cut down. Though in its own country the silver fir is a tree of the mountains, yet it attains its greatest perfection in the south and west of England, Scotland, and 1 Abstract of Fischer's paper \n.Journ. Roy. Hort. Soc. xxvii. 272 (1902). 1 See Kerner, Nat. Hist. Plants, Eng. trans. i. 210, fig. 48 (1898). We have never seen or heard of mistletoe on the silver fir in this country. 3 gee Mathieu, Flore Forestière, 529 (1897). 4 Staves were found, in 1900, lining the ancient wells in the Roman city of Silchester, Hants; and the wood was identified by Marshall Ward with A. pectinata. The casks, from which the staves had been taken, were probably imported from the region of the Pyrenees, and had either contained wine or Samian ware. Cf. Clement Reid, in Archaeclogia, Ivii. 253. 256 (I9°!)- 6 Sylva, 106 (1679). Abies 72,7 Ireland, under conditions of soil and climate very unlike those of its native forests. Though it will endure the severest winter frosts without injury, yet unless under the cover of other trees, or in very sheltered situations, it is often injured by spring frost, on account of its tendency to grow early. As regards soil it is somewhat critical, for though Boutcher1 says that he has seen the largest and most flourishing silver firs on sour, heavy, obstinate clay, yet I have never myself seen fine trees on any but deep, moist, sandy soils, or on hillsides where the subsoil was deep and fertile. He also says it is vain to plant them in hot, dry, rocky situations, and this is my own experience on oolite formations, where I have never seen a large or well-developed silver fir. In the east and midland counties they usually become ragged at the top before attaining maturity, and in this country rarely attain a great age without suffering from drought and wind. Though foresters of continental experience recommend this tree for under- planting, on account of its ability to grow under dense shade, yet from an economical point of view it cannot be recommended here ; and I do not know of any place in England where the financial results of planting the silver fir are, or seem likely to be, such as would justify growing it on a large scale ; partly because of its very slow growth when young, and partly because its timber is not valued as it is in France and Germany. Mr. Crozier's experience2 is very noteworthy. The silver fir seeds itself very freely in some parts of England, Scotland, and Ireland,3 but the seedlings are so slow in growth and so delicate for the first few years, that few survive the risk of frost, rabbits, and smothering. Sir Charles Strickland tells me that in a wood of silver firs at Boynton, Yorkshire, which were mostly blown down in 1839, he remembers that a few years afterwards the growth of young seedlings was in places so dense that he could hardly force his way through them. Some of these self-sown trees are now 6 feet in girth and 60 to 70 feet high, but many are stunted from want of space. Their parents are rough and branchy, dying at the top, and 10 to 12 feet in girth. REMARKABLE TREES Though the silver fir will probably be in time surpassed in height and girth by some of the conifers of the Pacific coast of America, yet at present it has no rival in size among coniferous trees in Great Britain. Perhaps the tallest which I have seen in England is the magnificent tree (Plate 208) which grows in Gates Wood, at the top of Cowdray Park, Sussex, at an elevation of 500 to 600 feet, and now owing to its being deprived of the shelter of the surrounding trees, likely to be blown down 1 Boutcher, A Treatise on Forest Trees, 146 (1775). 2 Formerly one of our most reliable trees, but now hopelessly unreliable as a timber crop, owing to its susceptibility to attack by Chermes. Like the larch, our old trees are practically immune to attack, but the difficulty in getting up young stock—experienced throughout the greater part of the country—is likely to lead to its extinction altogether as an economic species. Has been much recommended by continental trained foresters—even of late years—for the purpose of underplanting in our Scotch woods, and some of those experiments I saw lately. The result is a hopeless failure in all of them.— (J. D. CROZIER.) 3 At Auchendrane, near Ayr, according to Mr. J. A. Campbell, there are several acres of self-sown seedlings ; and in County Wexford I have also seen great numbers. 72,8 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland by the first severe gale. I measured this tree in 1906 in company with Mr. Roberts, forester to the Earl of Egmont, as carefully as the nature of the ground would allow, and believe it to be still over 130 feet in height ; when I first saw it in 1903 it was taller. It is clear of branches to at least 90 feet and 10 feet 2 inches in girth. In the background some spruce which are even taller may be seen in our illustration. I am informed by Mr. F. H. Jervoise, of Herriard Park, Hants, that there was a silver fir there which probably exceeded this height before its top was broken off about sixteen years ago. A photograph, taken in 1851, shows the height to have been then at least double what it now is, namely 70 feet, and another tree standing not far off measures approximately 140 feet. In the Shrubbery at Knole Park, Kent, a very large silver fir is now about i IQ feet high, with a clean bole about 80 feet by 12 feet ; but its top is broken off, and it looks as if it might have been much taller. At Longleat there are a great number of very fine silver firs near the Gardens; and also in the valley at Shearwater, the largest of which I measured in 1903, and found to be about 130 feet by 16 feet 5 inches in girth.1 Mr. A. C. Forbes estimated the contents of this tree at 550 feet, and in the Trans. Eng. Art. Soc. v. 399, gives the measurements of a group of twenty-seven trees, 120 years old, growing on an area of ^ of an acre at the same place as follows :—Average height, 130 feet ; average girth at 5 feet, 9 feet ; average contents, 180 cubic feet. Total, 5000 cubic feet. I doubt whether any similar area of ground in England carries so much timber, except, perhaps, a group of chestnut and oak in Lord Clinton's park at Bicton. Silver fir requires unusually good soil to attain these dimensions. Plate 209 shows a part of this grove which stands at an elevation of about 500 feet on a greensand formation. There is a row of very fine silver firs by the road on Breakneck hill in Windsor Park, one of which I measured as 130 feet by 11 feet, and no doubt many as large, or nearly so, can be found in other parts of the south and west of England ; but, as a rule, when the tree attains about 100 to no feet its top ceases to grow and becomes ragged. Near the great cedar at Stratton Straw less (see Plate 133) there are some tall silver firs, one of which in 1907 was 131 feet by 9 feet 7 inches ; and Mr. Birkbeck informed me that another, believed to be the tallest tree in Norfolk, and measuring 135 feet, had been blown down in 1895 at tne same place. There are some very fine silver firs still standing at Eslington Park, Northumber land, which were planted about 1760, though Mr. Wightman, the gardener, informs me that the largest, which could be seen standing above all the other trees, was blown down in a gale in December 1894. It measured 122 feet by 21 feet at five feet from the ground, and at fifty feet from the ground was still 9 feet in girth. Almost equal to these are the trees in the Ladieswell Drive, near Alnwick Castle, Northumberland, which I saw in 1907 ; though not much exceeding 100 feet 1 Loudon states that the tallest silver fir known in England in his time was believed to be at Longleat, and measured 138 feet high by 17 feet in girth ; but this tree cannot now be identified. Abies 729 in height, they measure from 14 feet to 16 feet in girth, the largest being estimated by Mr. A. T. Gillanders, forester to the Duke of Northumberland, to contain about 600 cubic feet each. At Rydal Park, Cumberland, Mr. W. F. Rawnsley informs me that a silver fir was felled which contained 420 cubic feet, and doubtless there are others in the north-west of England as large.1 In Wales, however, I have seen none remarkable for size, though there are many places which seem as suitable as those I have mentioned. In Scotland the silver fir attains its maximum of size in the south-west, and in a district where the climate is most unlike that of central Europe ; being much warmer in winter, cooler in summer, and with a rainfall of 60 to 80 inches and even more in exceptional years. On the Duke of Argyll's property at Roseneath are the champion silver firs of Great Britain, both as regards age and girth. Strutt figures them in Suva Scotica (plate 6), and states that the largest was then about 90 feet by 17 feet 5 inches. Loudon, twenty years later, gave the height as 124 feet, the age as 138 years, and the diameter of the trunk as 6 feet ; but this height is almost certainly an error, as when I visited Roseneath in September 1906, a careful measurement made the largest about no feet by 22 feet 7 inches, and the other, which stands close by it, 105 feet by 22 feet i inch.2 Plate 210, from a negative for which I have to thank Mr. Renwick, is the best I have been able to obtain of these noble trees, which grow close to sea-level in deep sandy soil. The Duke of Argyll believes them to have been planted about 1620 or 1630. Near Inveraray Castle, on the lower slopes of Dun-y-Cuagh, Mr. D. Campbell, the Duke's forester, showed me some splendid silver firs, over 120 feet high and 15 feet in girth, and assured me that in his younger days he had helped to measure some which were much larger; one he believed to have been 24 feet in girth, containing over 800 feet of timber. On the Dalmally road, a little above the stables at Inveraray, are the tallest trees of the species that I have seen in Scotland ; one measures 135 feet, or perhaps as much as 140 feet, by 16^ feet; another about 135 feet by 14 feet 3 inches ; and there may be even taller ones here which I could not measure. These splendid trees were, as the Duke of Argyll informs me, probably planted by Duke Archibald in 1750, but their timber is so coarse that it is of little value, and is principally used by Glasgow shipbuilders for keel blocks. Some of the most remarkable silver firs which I have seen in any country are at Ardkinglas, now the property of Sir Andrew Noble, near the head of Loch Fyne. They are described by J. Wilkie, and well illustrated in the Trans. Scot. Arb. Soc. ix. 174, and show a tendency, which I cannot explain, to throw out immense branches, which, after growing horizontally 10 to 15 feet from the main trunk, turn up and form an erect secondary stem. The largest of these (op. cit. plate 11), accord ing to Wilkie's careful measurement in 1881, was 114 feet high by 18 feet in girth at 1 Sir Richard Graham of Netherby Hall, Cumberland, showed me a very remarkable tree in a wood called Hog Knowe, which has large spreading branches, 80 paces in circumference, and measures 98 feet by 14^ feet. Mr. Watt of Carlisle has been good enough to send me a photograph of this tree, taken by his sister. " See Card. Chron. xxii. 8, fig. I (1884), and xxvii. 166, fig. 39 (1887), where good illustrations of these trees are given. IV D 73° The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 2\ feet. I made it in 1905 about 21 feet at the same height and 14 yards round the roots. Wilkie computed that the main stem contained 557 cubic feet and the branches 692 cubic feet, including bark, which exceeds the largest tree of the species recorded in this country. I certainly have never seen anything surpassing it in bulk, even in the virgin forests of Bosnia, though I have measured a fallen silver fir there which was at least 200 feet high. Another of these trees figured on plate 12 of the same volume, was estimated at 437 feet in the stem, and 449 feet in the ten principal limbs. At the same place is a very fine tree which Mrs. Henry Callender, who showed it to me, called " The Three Sisters," 115 feet high according to Wilkie,—I made it, twenty-four years later, 120 feet,—with a bole only 8 feet long, where it divides into three tall stems nearly equal in height and measuring just above where they separate, 8 feet 4 inches, 8 feet 5^ inches, and 8 feet 7 inches respectively. The Union trees,1 in the avenue at Auchendrane, Ayrshire, planted in 1707, are six in number, the largest being, in 1902, 97 feet high and 16 feet i inch in girth. Another tree in the flower garden here, planted at the same time, was 110 feet by 16 feet in 1902. In the island of Bute, James Kay describes, in Trans. Scot. Arb. Soc. ix. p. 75, some fine silver firs which grew in a clump north-east of the circle walk in the woods of Mountstuart, the seat of the Marquess of Bute. They were of immense height (120 feet), and could be seen for miles standing out like an island among this forest of sylvan beauty. There were nineteen silver firs, five spruce, one Scots pine, and two birches, all standing on a space of 60 yards square, where they were healthy and not overcrowded. They were very uniform in size, and ran from 10 to 12 feet in girth, ten being straight to the top and nine forked at 30 feet to 60 feet up.2 In other parts of Scotland the silver fir usually attains smaller dimensions, the largest that I have seen being on the banks of the Tay, near Dunkeld, and at Dupplin Castle, where I measured a tree over 100 feet high by 17^ feet in girth. But Mr. W. J. Bean, in Kew Bulletin, 1906, p. 266, mentions an immense tree, which was blown down on November 17, 1893, near Drummond Castle, when 210 years old. The stump of this tree was 6^ feet in diameter, and the cubic contents are said to have been 1010 cubic feet At Dawyck, near Peebles, in a cold situation at about 500 feet above the sea, Mr. F. R. S. Balfour showed me some large silver firs which far surpass the larches growing near them, which are believed to have been planted about 1730. The largest of the firs is 112 feet by 15^ feet. In most parts of Ireland the silver fir is a thriving tree wherever planted, and seems to be well suited to the climate. It was probably introduced early in the eighteenth century, as, according to Hayes, there were trees 100 feet high and 12 feet in girth in 1794 at Mount Usher, in Co. Wicklow. The largest silver fir in Ireland that we know of is at Tullymore Park, Co. Down, the seat of the Earl of Roden, growing in a sheltered valley below the house. Col. the Hon. R. Jocelyn, who showed me 1 Cf. Renwick, in Trans. Nat. Hist. Soc. Glasgow, vii. 265 (1905). 2 Mr. Kay informs me that many of the trees described by him thirty years ago have since been blown down, and I could not identify these silver firs when I visited Bute recently. Abies 731 this tree in 1908, informed me that it was marked on a plan about 200 years old, and though still vigorous in appearance, it seems to be hollow for some way up. It measures from 115 to 120 feet high, with a girth of 18 feet 10 inches ; and at about 20 feet from the ground throws out four large branches, which become erect, and form a tree of the candelabra type. (Plate 211.) At Carton, the seat of the Duke of Leinster, a tree was 16 feet i inch in girth in 1904, but the top had been blown off by the great gale of 1903. The finest silver firs in Ireland are probably those growing at Woodstock, Co. Kilkenny, where the biggest tree was in 1904 over 120 feet high by 15 feet 4 inches in girth. There are also here four trees standing so close together that they can be encircled by a tape of 30 feet ; one of these is 133 feet high by 10 feet 10 inches in girth. At Avondale, Co. Wicklow, Mr. A. C. Forbes measured a tree in 1908, 125 feet in height and 15 feet 4 inches in girth. At Tykillen, Co. Wexford, the silver fir grows well and seeds itself freely, but does not attain anything like the dimensions above noted. There are fine trees at Castlemartyr, Co. Cork, one of which measures 114 feet by 14 feet 8 inches. TIMBER Though on the Continent the wood of the silver fir is in some districts, and for purposes where strength combined with lightness is required,1 valued more highly than that of the spruce or pine, yet in England it is little appreciated, because it seldom comes to market in any quantity, and the trees are rarely clean enough to make good boards. But I am assured by Dr. Watney that, when slowly and closely grown, it is distinctly superior in quality to that of the spruce, and that he uses it in preference on his own property for estate building ; and Mr. H. E. Asprey, agent to the Earl of Portsmouth at Eggesford, Devonshire, where this tree grows very well, tells me that he finds the timber quite equal to that of spruce for all estate purposes. The Marquess of Bath informs me that a lot of 22 trees, averaging 140 feet each, were sold privately at 5^d. per foot, and used at Trowbridge for making tin-plate boxes ; but most of his silver fir timber goes to the Radstock coal pits, where it is used underground. Laslett says2 that " the pinkish white and scarcely resinous wood works up well, with a bright silky lustre, and is of excellent quality for carpentry and ship-work. It is light and stiff, and like spruce takes glue well. Nevertheless it is as yet far less in request than the latter, though it is employed in the making of paper pulp, as well as for boards, rafters, etc."8 So little is it known, however, to the English timber merchant that the author of English Timber does not even mention it, and I am not aware that it is imported to England as an article of commerce. Strasburg turpentine, which was formerly extracted from the resinous glands found on its bark and largely used for the preparation of clear varnishes and at one time used as medicine, is now apparently superseded by other resins, though, according to Flückiger and Hanbury,4 it was still collected to a small extent in the Vosges in 1873. (H. J. E.) 1 Cf. Mouillefert, Essences Forestières, 338(1903). 3 Timber and Timber Trees, 343 (1896). 3 Christ, Flore de la Suisse, 255 (1907), says that its white wood is delicate and not so much in request as the more resinous wood of the spruce. 4 Pharmacographia, 615 (1879). 732 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland ABIES PINSAPO, SPANISH FIR Alles Pinsapo, Boissier, Biblioth. Univ. Genève, xiii. 167 (1838), and Voyage Espagne, ii. 584, tt. 167-169 (1845); Masters, Gard. Chron. xxiv. 468, f. 99 (1885), xxvi. 8, f. i (1886), and iii. 140, f. 22 (1888); Kent, Veitch's Man. Coniferœ, 534 (1900). finus Pinsapo, Antoine, Conif. 65, t. 26, f. 2 (1842-1847). Picea Pinsapo, Loudon, Etuycl. Trees, 1041 (1842). A tree attaining about 100 feet in height and 15 feet in girth. Bark smooth in young trees, becoming rugged and fissured on old trunks. Buds ovoid, obtuse at the apex, resinous. Young shoots glabrous, brownish, with slightly raised pulvini. Leaves on lateral branchlets radially arranged, linear, flattened, but thick, rigid, short, £ to f- inch long by about ^ inch wide, gradually narrowing in the upper third to the acute apex ; upper surface convex without a median furrow and with eight to fourteen lines of stomata ; lower surface with two bands of stomata, each of six or seven lines ; resin-canals usually median.1 In young plants the leaves are longer and end in sharp cartilaginous points. On cone-bearing branches the leaves are short and thick, lozenge-shaped in section, with twenty or more lines of stomata on the upper surface, and two bands of stomata of about ten lines each on the lower surface, which has a prominent keeled midrib. Staminate flowers crimson, cylindrical, J inch long, surrounded at the base by two series of broadly ovate obtuse scales. Cones sessile or subsessile, brownish when mature, pubescent, cylindrical, tapering to an obtuse apex ; 4 to 5 inches long by i^ to if inches in diameter. Scales : lamina three-sided, i inch wide by f inch long, upper margin almost entire, lateral margins nearly straight, laciniate ; claw short, obcuneate. Bract minute, situated at the base of the scale, ovate, orbicular or rectangular, denticulate, emarginate with a short mucro. Seed with wing i£ inch long ; wing two to three times as long as the body of the seed. In cultivated specimens the cones and scales are usually considerably smaller than in wild trees. Cotyledonsz six, convex and stomatiferous on the upper surface, flattish and green on the lower surface. HYBRIDS A series of hybrids have been obtained between A. Pinsapo and two other species, A. cephalonica and A. Nordmanniana, of which a full account is given by Dr. Masters in his valuable paper on hybrid conifers.3 i. Abies Vilmorini, Masters.4 This is a tree growing at Verrières near Paris, which has the following history. In 1867, M. de Vilmorin placed some pollen of A. cephalonica on the female flowers of a tree of A. Pinsapo. A single fertile seed was produced, which was sown in the following year ; germination ensued and the 1 The resin-canals in this species are variable in position. Cf. Guinier and Maire, in Bull. Soc. Bot. France, Iv. 190 (1908). 2 Masters, in litt. * Jcurn. Key. Hort. Soc. xxvi. 99 seq. (1901). 4 Ibid. 109. Abies 733 seedling was planted out in 1868. M. Phillipe L. de Vilmorin1 states that the tree was in 1905, 50 feet high by 5 feet in girth; and has three main stems, one of which, however, was broken by a storm two years ago. In its habit and foliage it resembles A. Pinsapo more than the other parent. The leaves, however, are longer and less rigid than in A. Pinsapo, and bear stomata only on their lower surface ; moreover their radial arrangement on the branchlets is imperfect. The cones, which are produced in abundance and contain fertile seeds, resemble those of A. cephalomca, being fusiform in shape ; they have longer bracts than in A. Pinsapo, in some years exserted, in other years shorter and concealed between the scales. Seedlings raised from this tree, now four years old, have acuminate sharp leaves like those of A. cephalonica. 2. Abies insignis, Carrière, Rev. Hort. 1890, p. 230. This hybrid was obtained or 1849 in the nursery of M. Renault at Bulgnéville in the Vosges. A in I branch of A. Pinsapo was grafted on a stock of the common silver fir (A. pectinata) ; and after some years the grafted plant produced cones. Seeds from these were sown ; and of the seedlings raised one-half were like A. Pinsapo, the remainder being intermediate in character, it was supposed, between A. Pinsapo and A. pectinata ; and the variation was considered to be the result of graft hybridisation. However, at no great distance there was growing a tree of A. Nordmanniana ; and it is more probable that the hybrid character of the seedlings was the result of a cross from A. Pinsapo fertilised by the pollen of A. Nordmanniana. A complete account of these seedlings is given by M. Bailly.2 3. Abies Nordmanniana speciosa, Hort.2 This hybrid was raised in 1871-1872 by M. Croux in his nurseries near Sceaux, the cross being effected by placing pollen from A. Pinsapo on female flowers of A. Nordmanniana. A full account of this hybrid is given by M. Bailly.2 4. Mosers hybrids. Four different forms, all raised from A. Pinsapo, fertilised by the pollen of A. Nordmanniana, which were obtained in 1878 by M. Moser at Versailles. Full details are given in Dr. Master's paper, to which we refer our readers. DISTRIBUTION A. Pinsapo has a restricted distribution, being confined to the Serrania de Ronda, a name given to the mountainous region around Ronda in the south of Spain. The late Lord Lilford informed Bunbury3 in 1870 that he had seen it growing on the Sierra d'Estrella in Portugal ; but we have not been able to confirm the statement. There are three main forests of this species, none of considerable extent, occurring in localities at considerable distances apart. I visited these forests in December 1906, and explain the rare occurrence of the tree as due to the fact, that in the dry climate of the south of Spain, it can only exist on the northern slopes of mountain > ffortus Vilmorinianus, 69, plate xii. (1906). See also Card. Chron. 1878, p. 438; Rev. Hort. 1889, p. 115, and 1902, p. 162, fig. 66. Rev. Hort. 1890, pp. 230, 231. 8 Arboretum Notes, 147 (1889). 734 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland chains running due east and west ; and these are seldom met with. In such situations the soil is never exposed to the direct rays of the noonday sun, and preserves in consequence a great deal of moisture. The tree never grows even on north-west or north-east slopes, and is strictly limited to aspects looking due north. The most important forest is in the Sierra de la Nieve, a few miles to the east of Ronda. Here the tree extends for several miles in scattered groves on the north slope of the range, growing on dolomitic limestone soil, usually in gullies or under the shade of the cliffs. It occurs mainly at elevations of 4000 to 5900 feet, though it occasionally descends to 3600 feet. In shaded situations and where the soil is deep, there are dense groves of thriving trees, without any admixture of other species ; but at the lower elevations, where there is more sun, the trees are scattered and mixed with oak and juniper. In exposed situations, at high elevations, the trees are windswept, stunted, and more or less broken. Seedlings are numerous in many places. The largest trees, seen by me, were a group, on the road across the mountain from Ronda to Tolox, at a spot called Puerto, de las animas. One of these (Plate 212) was 106 feet in height and 13 feet 8 inches in girth ; and another with a double stem, not so tall, girthed 16 feet 3 inches. This group is overhung by a precipice, and is at 4700 feet altitude. The stump of a tree, which had been cut down, showed 240 annual rings and was 32 inches in diameter. The second forest, and by far the most picturesque, lies to the west of Ronda, on the northern slope of the precipitous peak, Cerro S. Cristoval or Sierra del Pinar, close to the mediaeval town of Grazalema. The fir grows here on a talus, composed of sharp angular white limestone stones ; and the contrast between the dense mass of green foliage of the tree and the pure white ground from which it springs, is remarkably beautiful. The stones and pebbles are loosely aggregated ; and beneath the surface they are mixed with a mass of black mould, in which the roots of the tree freely spread. The fir extends along the precipitous side of the mountain for about two miles, forming a band of continuous forest, which reaches nearly to the summit of the peak, attaining about 5800 feet altitude, and descending generally to 4000 feet, reaching in one gully to 3600 feet. Seedlings are numerous. There is no undergrowth, except an occasional daphne ; but climbers like ivy and clematis are common. None of the trees are so tall as those in the Sierra de la Nieve; but many have gigantic short trunks, in one case girthing 25 feet, and are extremely old. In this forest, trees with glaucous foliage, not seen elsewhere, are not at all uncommon. The third wood of A. Pinsapo occurs on the Sierra de Bermeja, which overhangs the town of Estepona and the Mediterranean coast. This wood, which covers only a small area, is most accessible from Gaucin, a station on the railway between Gibraltar and Ronda. Here the soil is disintegrated serpentine rock, and the tree grows on the northern slope, between 4100 and 4900 feet, though stunted specimens occur up to 5400 feet. The fir is pure on the precipitous upper part of the mountain ; but lower down is mixed with Pinus Pinaster. The largest tree, which I measured, was 90 feet high by 13 feet 5 inches in girth. Abies 735 Isolated groups of a few trees, the remains of former forests, are reported to be growing on the Sierra de Alcaparain, near Carratraca, north-east of Ronda, and at Zahara and U brique, not far from Grazalema. Mr. Mosley of Gibraltar, who gave me valuable help and information, saw A. Pinsapo also growing on the Sierra Bianca de Ojen near Marbella. HISTORY AND CULTIVATION This species was discovered by Edmond Boissier in 1837. He sent about half-a-dozen seeds to M. de Vilmorin in the same year, and from one of these was raised the very fine tree, which is now growing at Verrières1 near Paris, and which is certainly the oldest cultivated specimen. This tree was in 1905, 70 feet high by 7 feet 3 inches in girth. Abies Pinsapo was introduced into England in 1839 by Captain Widdrington,2 who was the first to obtain information about the existence of a new species of Abies in Spain, though he was anticipated in its discovery by Boissier. (A. H.) In cultivation this has proved to be, all over the southern, midland, and eastern counties, one of the most ornamental of its genus, and is perfectly hardy on dry soils throughout Britain, ripening seed at least as far north as Yorkshire. It is one of the few silver firs that seems to require lime to bring it to perfection, and though it will grow fairly well on sandy soils, it will not thrive without perfect drainage, or on heavy clay. It seems to have a great tendency to divide into several leaders and often forms a bushy rather than a clean trunk, unless carefully pruned. It is not often injured by spring frost, and, though not likely to have any economic value, is a tree that should be planted in all pleasure grounds on well-drained soil, and in a sunny situation. The seedlings which I have raised grow at least as fast as those of A. pectinata, and are hardier when young, but require five or six years' nursery cultivation before they are fit to plant out. The wood is soft and knotty like that of most of the silver firs when grown singly in cultivation. REMARKABLE TREES Though specimens of this tree of from 50 to 60 feet high are found in many places all over England, we have not measured any which are specially remarkable. The largest recorded at the Conifer Conference in 1891 was a tree reported to be 62 feet high by 9 feet in girth, at Pampisford in Cambridgeshire ; but these measurements were erroneous, as it now is only 56 feet high by 7 feet 3 inches in girth. Here there is a remarkable dwarf form8 of this species, which is only a foot in height, with branches prostrate on the ground for 6 or 7 feet. The largest tree we know of is growing in a sheltered position in moist soil, at Coed Coch, near Abergele in North Wales, the residence of the Hon. Mrs. Brodrick. 1 Hortus Vilmorinianus, 69, pi. 7 (1906). 3 This is var. HammoncK, Veitch, Conifers, ed. i. p. 105. a Sketches in Spain, ii. 239. 73 6 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland The gardener, Mr. Hunter, informs us that it is 82 feet high by 10 feet 2 inches in girth ; but has never coned. There is a fine tree at Oakly Park, Ludlow, measuring 70 feet by 5 feet 8 inches in 1908. At Hardwicke, Bury St. Edmunds, Sir Hugh Beevor measured a tree in 1904, which was 63 feet high and 8 feet 11 inches in girth. At Fornham Park, also in Suffolk, he found a tree, which was planted in 1866, 50 feet by 6 feet 7 inches ; and says that its growth kept pace with that of an Atlantic Cedar close by. Col. Thynne has taken a photograph of a narrow, pyramidal, symmetrical tree at Longleat, which was 65 feet high by 7 feet 9 inches in 1906 (Plate 213). At Dogmersfield Park, Hants, the seat of Sir H. Mildmay, I measured a well-shaped tree, 65 feet high by 6 feet 10 inches. There are several good trees at Lilford Park, Oundle, growing on oolitic lime stone ; but Lord Lilford informed Henry that these were not raised from seed brought home by his father, and could give no confirmation of Bunbury's statement that the latter found the tree growing wild in Portugal. At Essendon Place, Hertford, a slender tree was 68 feet high by 5 feet i inch in 1907. At Merton Hall, near Thetford, Norfolk, there is a tall tree, 75 feet by 5 feet IQ inches, the stem being bare of branches for 30 feet. At Highnam, Gloucestershire, Major Gambier Parry reports a fine specimen, growing in the pinetum, which measured 60 feet by 6 feet 8 inches in 1906. At the Rookery, Down, Kent, the gardener, Mr. E. S. Wiles, reported in 1906 a fine specimen, 70 feet by 9 feet, which is growing on stiff yellow loam, intermingled with flint and clay, resting on chalk. In Wales the best that I have seen is a tree at Bodorgan, Anglesey, the seat of Sir G. E. Meyrick, which in 1906 was about 70 feet high, and had some large witches' brooms growing on it. In Scotland, we have seen none of more than average size, a tree at Scone being about the best, and, generally speaking, the climate seems too cold for this tree. Sir Archibald Buchan-Hepburn, however, reports one at Smeaton-Hepburn, East Lothian, which was 60 feet by 7 feet 9 inches in 1908. In Ireland, there is a tree at Curraghmore, Co. Waterford, which the gardener, Mr. D. Crombie, reported in 1905 to be 65 feet high by 8 feet in girth. At Carton, the seat of the Duke of Leinster, there is a good tree, 54 feet high by 8 feet in girth in 1903. At Coollattin, Wicklow, another was 55 feet by 4 feet IQ inches in 1906. Prof. Hansen states1 that fine trees of 50 feet high or more may be seen in several Danish gardens, where it has produced cones ; and that the tree exists in the south of Sweden and Norway. In the eastern United States it2 never really flourishes, although it is possible to keep it alive for many years in favourable situations, even as far north as eastern Massachusetts. (H. J. E.) 1 /. X. Hort. Soc. xiv. 476 (1892). 2 Sargent, Suva N. Amer. xii. 100, adnot. (1898). Abies 737 ABIES NUMIDICA, ALGERIAN FIR Abies numtdica, De Lannoy, ex Carrière, Rev. Hort. 1866, pp. 106, 203 ; Van Houtte, Flore des Serres, xvii. 9, t. 1717 (1867); Masters, Gard. Chron. iii. 140 (in part and excluding figures) (1888); Trabut, Rev. Gen. Bot. i. 405, ff. 17, 18 (1889); Kent, Veitch's Man. Coniferœ, 529 (1900). Abies Pinsapo, Boissier, var. baborensis, Cosson, Bull. Soc. Bot. France, viii. 607 (1861). Abies baborensis, Letourneux, Cat. Arb. et Arbust. d'Algérie (1888). Pimis Pinsapo, Parlatore, DC. Prod. xvi. 2, p. 423 (in part) (1868). Picea numidica, Gordon, Pinet. 220 (1875). A tree attaining 70 feet in height and 8 feet in girth. Bark grey, smooth in young trees, becoming scaly and fissured on old trunks. Buds large, ovoid, acute at the apex, non-resinous ; scales ovate, acute, with white scarious margins, usually free at the apex. Young shoots brown, shining, glabrous, with slightly raised pulvini but without grooves. Leaves on lateral branches pectinate below, the two lateral sets directed outwards in the horizontal plane ; those above shorter, crowded, directed upwards, and either, as on weak shoots, forming a narrow V-shaped pectinate arrangement, or, on strong shoots, with the median leaves directed backwards (not seen in any other species) and covering the upper side of the branchlet. Leaves short, ^ to f inch long, -fa inch broad, linear, flattened, gradually tapering to the base, broadest above the middle or uniform in width in the upper three-fourths, rounded at the apex, which is sometimes entire but usually slightly bifid ; upper surface dark green, shining, with the median groove often faint and rarely continued to the apex, in many leaves with four to six broken lines of stomata in the middle line near the apex ; under surface with two white bands of stomata, each of about eight to nine lines ; resin-canals marginal. Leaves on cone-bearing branches all more or less upturned, those of the middle ranks also directed slightly backwards, short, rigid, rounded and entire at the apex. Cones on short stout stalks, brownish, cylindrical with an obtuse apex and tapering base, about 5 inches long by \\ inch in diameter, with the bracts entirely concealed. Scales ; lamina fan-shaped, \\ inch wide, f inch long, upper margin almost entire, lateral margins denticulate and either straight or with a wing on each side above ; claw short, obcuneate. Bracts, scarcely reaching half the height of the scales, with a broad oblong claw and an expanded ovate denticulate lamina, which is acuminate or cuspidate at the mucronate apex. Seed with wing about an inch long ; wing about i^ times as long as the body of seed. Cones of cultivated trees have smaller scales with more developed lateral wings ; and shorter bracts, scarcely reaching % the height of the scale. The seedlings of this species have been fully described by Fliehe.1 In Bull. Soc. Forest. Franche-Conte et Belfort, 1903, p. 168. IV E 738 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland IDENTIFICATION The short broad leaves, which have usually four to six broken lines of stomata on their upper surface near the apex in the middle line, are a good mark of this species. On strong shoots the backward direction of the median leaves, which densely cover the upper side of the branchlet, is also very characteristic. DISTRIBUTION Abies numidica is very restricted in its distribution, being, so far as is known, confined to a small area towards the summit of the northern slope of Mount Babor, in the Kabylie range in Algeria. 11 grows between 5000 and 6600 feet altitude in a climate where snow lies upon the ground from December to April. In January, 1907, I visited Kerrata, at the head of the famous gorge of Chaba-el-Akra ; and found that the ascent of the mountain, only a few miles distant, was impracticable. M. Bernard, Inspector of Forests at Bougie, who has charge of the forest of Mt. Babor, informed me that the northern slope contains an area of 4000 acres, and is clothed with a dense forest, composed mainly of cedar and Quercus Mirbeckii in the upper zone between 4700 and 6600 feet, and of Q. Mirbeckii, Q. castanecefolia, and Acer obtusatum, in the lower zone below 4700 feet. The total number of trees of Abies numidica scarcely exceeds 3000 ; and they only grow towards the summit, where they occur scattered amongst the cedars and oaks. None of the trees are more than 70 feet high, and the largest is only 8 feet in girth. The small size is due to their exposed position, and possibly to the destruction of larger trees by the natives in former times. Seedlings are rare ; and according to M. Bernard, this is accounted for by the poor germinating quality of the seed, as only 4 to 15 per cent of it produced plants with him. The soil on which the tree grows is limestone, its surface being composed of stones and pebbles, underneath which there is a considerable mixture of mould.1 Abies marocana, Trabut,2 discovered in January 1906 by M. Joly, in the mountains south of Tetuan, in Morocco, is intermediate in the characters of the foliage between A. numidica and A. Pinsapo. M. Trabut showed me a branchlet, when I was in Algiers in 1907 ; but in the absence of cones, it is impossible to decide whether it deserves to rank as a new species. Seeds of this should be readily procurable ; and the attention of travellers is directed to the possibility of introducing a new silver fir. (A. H.) HISTORY AND CULTIVATION The Algerian fir was discovered in 1861 by Captain de Guibert. The first seeds were sent to France in 1862 by M. Davout, a forest officer; and another supply and six young plants were forwarded in 1864 by M- de Lannoy. M. Maurice de Vilmorin, in Arbres Forestiers Etrangers, 33 (1900) gives an account of Abies numidica on Mount Babor. He noticed that many of the trees had short stout trunks, free of branches to 10 or 12 feet, occasionally more or less twisted, and often dividing into several stems. " In Bull. Soc. Bot. France, lui. 154, t. 3 (1906). In the plate, the name Picea marocana, Trabut, appears by mistake. Abies 739 The tree is rare in cultivation in England. There are two or three young specimens at Kew ; and Kent, writing in 1900, mentions small trees, about 20 feet high, growing at Bicton, and Streatham Hall in Devonshire. At Pampisford, Cambridgeshire, there are two trees with fine healthy foliage, the larger of which, 37 feet high and 3 feet 2 inches in girth, bore cones in 1907. There is also a specimen at Highnam 35 feet by 3 feet 2 inches. Though we have not identified any specimens in Scotland Mr. Crozier speaks of it as a handsome and free-growing tree which bore cones in 1906 and seems quite at home at Durris. In Ireland the finest we know of is at Fota, where a tree 39 feet by 6 feet was bearing cones in 1908. Lord Barrymore informs us that it was planted in 1878. There is a good specimen at Glasnevin, 38 feet by 3 feet 7 inches in 1906 ; and one at Castlewellan measured, in the same year, 25 feet by 3 feet. At Verrières1 near Paris, two trees, dating from the original introduction in 1862, were, in 1905, 46 feet in height by 4 feet 3 inches in girth. (H. J. E.) ABIES CEPHALONICA, GREEK FIR Abies cephalonica, Loudon, Arb. et Fntt. Brit. iv. 2325 (1838); Masters, Gard. Chron. xxii. 592, f. 105 (1884); Kent, Veitch's Man. Conifera, 498(1900); Haläcsy, Consp. Fl. Grcecce, iii. 450 (1904). Abies Apollinis, Link, Linnœa, xv. 528 (1841). Abies Reginœ Amaliœ, Heldreich, Gartenflora, ix. 313 (1860). Abies Panachaica, Heldreich, Gartenflora, x. 286 (1861). Picea cephalonica, Loudon, Gard. Mag. xv. 238 (1839). Pinus cephalonica, Endlicher, Cat. Hort. Vindob. 1218(1842). A tree attaining about ioo feet in height. Bark greyish brown, smooth in young trees, in old trees fissuring into small oblong plates. Buds conical or ovoid, obtuse at the apex, composed of thick ovate acute keeled scales, with prominent tips, and covered with a layer of resin. Young shoots smooth, light brown, shining, glabrous. Leaves on lateral branches radially arranged, but not so regularly as in A. Pinsapo, their apices pointing outwards and slightly forwards, those of the upper ranks shorter than those beneath. Leaves linear, flattened, curved, about i inch long, TV to ^ inch broad, abruptly tapering at the base, narrowing gradually in the anterior two-thirds, and ending in a long cartilaginous point ; upper surface dark green, shining, with the median furrow not continued to the apex, and usually with several broken lines of stomata ; lower surface with two white bands of stomata, each of seven or eight lines; resin-canals marginal. Leaves on cone-bearing branches all upturned, curved, rigid, broad, with the apex simply acute and not prolonged into a fine cartilaginous point. Cones, on short stout stalks, about 6 inches long by \\ inch in diameter, cylindrical, slightly tapering at both ends, brownish, with the bracts golden brown, exposed, and reflexed. Scales: lamina narrowly fan-shaped, almost triangular; 1 Hortus Vilmorinianus, 69, pi. I (1906). 74° The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland upper margin convex, undulate or entire ; lateral margins with two short denticulate wings ; base curving but not auricled on each side of the oblong claw. Bracts : claw oblong, ^ inch wide, extending f the length of the scale ; lamina lozenge-shaped, % inch wide, denticulate, ending in a triangular mucro, exserted and reflexed over the edge of the scale next below. Seed-wing about twice as long as the seed ; seed with wing about i inch long. Seedling ;* caulicle tapering upwards, reddish brown, erect, stout. Cotyledons, five or six, acute not mucronate, about i£ inch long ; upper surface dotted irregularly with stomata and grooved in the middle line. Primary leaves half the length of the cotyledons, not mucronate ; lower surface with stomata. Var. Apollinis, Beissner, Nadelholzkunde, 440 (1891). Abies Apollinis, Link, Linnaea, xv. 528 (1841). This variety differs from the type in the arrangement and shape of the leaves. On lateral branchlets the radial arrangement is imperfect, most of the leaves standing crowded on the upper side of the branchlet, with their apices directed upwards, those in the middle line straight and vertical, those on the sides curved and bending upwards ; on the lower side of the branchlet a few leaves are directed downwards and forwards. Leaves thicker and broader than in the type, about i£ inch long by ^ to ^ inch broad, ending in a short acute point, bevelled off from behind ; upper surface with a continuous median groove and two to three short lines of stomata near the tip ; lower surface with two bands of stomata, each of ten lines. The cones do not differ in any essential characters from those of the type ; and the differences noted by Murray2 in the broader bract and expanded wing of the seed are trifling and inconstant. Halàcsy considers Abies Reginœ Amaliœ and Abies panachaiaca to be mere synonyms of Abies cephalonica ; and only allows the variety Apollinis, distinguished, according to him, by its acute leaves, those in the type ending in an acuminate or very sharp spine-like point. According to other authorities, A. Reginœ Amaliœ is more akin to var. Apollinis than to the type. In all probability there is a series of intermediate forms connecting the type and var. Apollinis:1' DISTRIBUTION According to Haläcsy this species occurs in the sub-alpine region of almost all the higher mountains of Greece, between 2700 and 5700 feet elevation. The type is met with in the island of Cephalonia on Mount Enos ; and on the mainland— m Doris on Mount Kiona, in Attica on Mount Farnes, and in Arcadia on » Masters, in MS., who states that in var. Apollinis the cotyledons are seven in number, sub-acute at the apex, and about I inch long ; primary leaves shorter and more pointed than the cotyledons. * Proc. Roy. Hort. Soc. iii. 141 (1863). • Guim« and Maire, in Bull. Soc. Bot. France, Iv. 187, figs. 2 and 3 (1908), describe a variety, with leaves like those of A. cilicua, which grows on Mount Pjndus in Thessaly. Abies Mounts Msenalus, Madara, Thaumasion, and Rhudia. Var. Apollinis occurs, in Epirus on Mounts Tsumerka, Strungula, Peristeri ; in Thessaly, on Pindus and Olympus ; in Eubcea on Mount Dirphys. It has also been found in Hellas on Mounts Œta, Tymphrestus, Parnassus, Helicon, Cithseron, Pateras, and Parnes ; and in Peloponnesus on Mounts Chelmos, Olenos, Malevo, Taygetos. As Halàcsy considers Abies Reginœ Amaliœ to be the same as the type, and not the var. Apollinis, his account of the distribution differs from that generally adopted, in which the view taken is that the type is confined to the island of Cephalonia, and that all the continental forms are referable to the var. Apollinis? In Cephalonia the forest of this species occurs on Mount Enos, along a ridge 4000 to 5000 feet above sea-level and about 12 to 15 miles in length. It was 36 miles in circumference in 1793 ; but its area was considerably reduced by disastrous fires in 1798. No recent account of this forest, of which full details were given by General Napier in 1833, nas come under our notice. The form which occurs in the mountains of Arcadia, distinguished as var. Reginœ Amaliœ'2' by some authors, is remarkable for its capacity of producing coppice shoots, when the trunk is felled ; and the main stem, even when untouched, is said often to produce secondary stems and branches from the old wood. (A. H.) CULTIVATION Seeds3 were first sent from Cephalonia to England by General Sir Charles Napier in 1824; and the first plants, few in number, were raised by Mr. C. Hoare of Luscombe Castle, who distributed them to various places.4 Some time after wards Mr. Charlwood5 sold seeds to the public, having received a cask of cones from General Napier. The form Reginœ Amaliœ was first noticed in 1856 by Schmidt of Athens, who found a forest of this tree near Tripolitza in Central Arcadia ; its seeds have recently been introduced abundantly. A. cephalonica seems to be quite hardy over the greater part of Great Britain, but it is rather more susceptible to spring frosts than A. Pinsapo, because it starts earlier into growth, and on this account should not be planted in low, damp, or exposed places. It seems to grow on limestone, but not to be so distinctly a lime- loving tree as A. Pinsapo. It ripens seeds in good years in the south of England, but the seedlings which I have raised do not grow so fast as those of A. Pinsapo? 1 With regard to the occurrence of this variety in Roumelia, Macedonia, and Thrace, see our remarks on p. 722 concerning the distribution of A. pectinata in the Balkan peninsula. 2 See Regel, Gartenßora, ix. 299, fig. (1860); and Seemann, Gard. Chron. 1861, p. 755 fig. 3 London, loc. cit. 4 A list of these places is given in Loudon, Gard. Mag. 1838, p. 31, and in Pinetum Britannicum, ii. p. 179. " Loudon, Gard. Mag. 1839, p. 238. 6 Owing to its susceptibility to late frosts and to attack by Chermes, it is now nearly impossible to grow this tree up to a planting size. Its timber, when closely grown and of some age, is, in my opinion, the best of the European silver firs, being hard, close in texture, and heavier in a dry state than any I have yet handled. Var. Apollinis is less subject to injury by frosts and attack by Chermes than the above, and seems well adapted for planting in the north of Scotland. In cultivation it maintains a more conical outline, and is easily distinguished from the type.—(J. D. CROZIER.) The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland REMARKABLE TREES Probably the finest tree in the British Isles is the one growing at Barton, Bury St. Edmunds, which in 1908 was 95 feet in height by 13 feet 3 inches in girth. This tree (Plate 214) is very symmetrical, branched to the ground, and in full vigour, though probably it has nearly attained its limit of height, as the top of the crown of foliage is flattened. This is one of the original plants raised at Luscombe, and was planted at Barton in 1838, being then about thirteen or fourteen years old. According to Bunbury,1 it did not suffer in the slightest degree from the severe winter of 1860. In 1857, it was 35 feet in height ; and in 1858 began to bear cones, which are confined to the topmost of the lateral branchlets. In 1867, the height had increased to 58 feet, and the trunk at three feet from the ground was 7 feet in girth. Seedlings have been frequently raised from its seed. One of these seedlings, which was sent many years ago to Lord Rayleigh, is now growing at Terling Place, Essex, and measures 53 feet high and 3 feet 3 inches in girth. Another of the original trees is now growing at Luscombe Castle, near Dawlish, in a rather exposed place, about 200 feet above sea level ; when I saw it, in April 1908, it was a healthy and well-shaped tree, 75 feet by n feet. There is a very fine healthy tree at Blount's Court, Oxfordshire, which Henry measured in 1907, as 87 feet in height by 10 feet 8 inches in girth. Another planted at the Coppice, Henley, in 1860, measured in 1905, 62 feet high by 8^- feet in girth. At Pampisford, Cambridgeshire, there are two trees, the larger of which was, in 1908, 55 feet by 6 feet i inch. The Cephalonian fir has been largely planted on Lord Walsingham's estate at Merton, Norfolk, the largest specimen, 52 feet by 9 feet 7 inches, dating from 1852. On the Thetford road there is an avenue of these trees, growing in loose, shallow sand, which have attained at forty-eight years old an average girth of 8^- feet. The growth of the tap-root is stopped by the compact chalk sub-soil, wide-spreading horizontal roots being formed, which have no great hold in the shifting sand ; and several trees have been uprooted by storms. At Heron Court, near Christchurch, I measured in 1906 a very large tree with ragged top, 82 feet by 10 feet 8 inches. At Beauport, Sussex, there is a good tree, which in 1904 was about 80 feet high by 10 feet 3 inches in girth. At Powderham there is a very large and spreading, but ill-shaped tree, which appears as though in the mild, soft climate of south Devon it would not be long lived. In 1892 it was recorded as the largest in Great Britain, being then 77 feet by 11 feet at 3 feet from the ground. At Killerton there is a large tree which measured in 1903 80 feet by n feet 9 inches. It forks at about 25 feet. At Highclere another, in the same year, measured 75 feet by n feet. At High Canons, Herts, Mr. H. Clinton Baker measured a tree in 1908, which was 58 feet by 8 feet 3 inches. At Bayfordbury, a tree planted in 1847 was 7° feet by 6 feet n inches in 1905. At Castle Kennedy there is a very wide-spreading tree, which in 1904 measured 1 Arboretum Notes, 144. Abies 743 59 feet by 9 feet 8 inches. Around it were several natural seedlings, from i foot to 5 feet in height. At Smeaton-Hepburn another measured, in 1905, 53 feet high by IG feet in girth. A number of Cephalonian firs were planted at Blairadam, the seat of Sir Charles Adam, Bart, in Kinross-shire, by his ancestor Sir Frederick Adam, who was governor of the Ionian Islands in 1824, and who was censured by General Napier for not sufficiently protecting the forests in Cephalonia. Several of these trees still survive at Blairadam, the largest in the garden near the entrance gate being 49 feet high, and 8 feet 2 inches in girth at 4 feet. It divides into several stems at about 25 feet. Another measures 42 by 5^ feet, and there are several smaller ones, but the tops in most cases have been at various times injured by wind and frost. In other parts of Scotland the tree grows fairly well, but not so fast as in the south, the best I have heard of being at Abercairney, where Mr. Bean1 records one 75 feet high in 1906. As this, however, was in 1892 only reported as 50 feet high there may be a mistake. Other good trees are growing at Whittingehame, East Lothian, at Haddo House, Aberdeenshire, and at Ochtertyre,1 Perthshire. In Ireland, the largest Cephalonian Fir known to us, is growing at Adare Manor, Co. Limerick, the seat of the Earl of Dunraven ; and, in 1903, was 86 feet high by 9 feet 4 inches in girth. At Powerscourt, Co. Wicklow, a tree measured, in 1903, 55 feet by 8 feet 9 inches; and at Hamwood, Co. Meath, there is a fair specimen which in 1904 was 50 feet by 9 feet 6 inches. At Cahir Park, Co. Tipperary, there are four trees of nearly equal size, one measuring 46 feet by 6 feet 2 inches. Specimens sent in 1906 by Mr. Austin Mackenzie show that these trees belong to var. Apollinis. In the Botanic Garden at Bergielund, near Stockholm, a tree, planted in 1890, was, when seen by Henry in August 1908, 30 feet in height and i foot in diameter, and exceeds in rapidity of growth all the other conifers in the garden. In the Botanic Garden, at Christiania, there is a tree, about 25 feet in height, which is, however, not quite hardy, being slightly browned by frost. Hansen2 says that this species had attained in 1891 a height of 44 feet and a girth of 6 feet, at 40 years old, in the gardens at Carlsberg, near Copenhagen. A. cephalonùa has proved hardy8 in eastern Massachusetts, where it has already borne cones. Though General Napier stated that the wood of this tree in Cephalonia is very hard and durable, yet as grown in this country it is not likely to have any economic value, as it is too knotty and coarse for any but the commonest purposes. (H. J. E.) J Ktw Bulletin, 1906, pp. 266, 267. 2 Journ. Roy. Hort. Soc. xiv. 463 (1892). 3 Sargent, Sihia N. Amer. xii. 99, adnot. (1898). Sargent, however, states in his account of the Pinetum at Wellesley in 1905, p. 12, that the tree here, which is 51 feet by 6 feet, was considerably injured in the severe winter of 1903-4. 744 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland ABIES CILICICA, CILICIAN FIR Abies cilicica, Carrière, Conif. 229 (1855), and flore des Serres, xi. 67, t. 1108 (1856) ; Tchihatcheff, Asie Mineure, ii. 494 (1860); Heuzé in Rev. Hort. 1856, p. 81, f. 14; Kent, Veitch's Man. Coniferœ, 500 (1900); Hickel, in Bull. Soc. Dend. France, 1908, p. 183. Abies selinusia, Carrière, Flore des Serres, xi. 69 (1856). Pinus cilicica, Kotschy, Oestr. Bot. Wochenbl. iii. 409 (1853). Picea cilicica, Gordon, Pin. Suppl. 50 (1862). A tree attaining in Asia Minor TOO feet in height and 7 feet in girth. Bark ashy-grey in colour, smooth in young trees, deeply fissured and scaly in old trees. Buds* small, non-resinous, ovoid, acute at the apex ; scales few, keeled, with their tips more or less free and not appressed. Young shoots smooth, greyish-brown, with scattered short erect pubescence ; bark fissuring slightly on the second year's shoot. Leaves on lateral branches usually pectinately arranged, the upper ranks pointing outwards and upwards, thus forming a V-shaped depression above between the two lateral sets ; on vigorous shoots, the median leaves on the upper side are directed forwards and upwards, and cover the branchlet, the V-shaped depression being obliterated. Leaves thin and slender, i to \\ inch long, ^ inch wide, linear, flattened, uniform in width except at the tapering base, apex rounded or acute and slightly bifid ; upper surface light green with a continuous median groove and usually without stomata, rarely with two to three short lines in the groove near the apex ; under surface with two narrow greyish bands of stomata, each of six to seven lines ; resin-canals marginal. Leaves on cone-bearing branches, upturned, curved, more rigid and broader than those on barren branches, minutely bifid at the truncate or obtuse apex. Cones of wild trees subsessile or on short stout stalks, cylindrical, tapering to an acute apex, 6 to 9 inches long by 2 to 2^ inches in diameter, brownish when ripe. Scales2 larger than in any other species ; lamina if inch wide, -f inch long, fan-shaped, upper margin thin and entire, lateral margins convex, denticulate, with a sinus on each side ; claw short, obcuneate. Bract with an oblong claw, expanding above into an ovate or quadrangular denticulate lamina, tipped with a short mucro, extending to £ or ^ the height of the scale. Seed-wing about i^ times as long as the seed ; seed with wing about i|- inch long. In cultivated specimens, scales smaller, i^ inch wide by f inch long ; bracts with a very short claw and a lamina not reaching more than \ the height of the scale ; seed with wing about i inch long. DISTRIBUTION This species is confined to Asia Minor and northern Syria, occurring on the Lebanon and the Antitaurus, and forming, in company with the cedar, great forests 1 The buds are characteristic ; and, as Hickel points out, distinguish this species from all the others. a The peculiar hook-like processes of the scales which occur in some specimens are probably abnormal. Abies 745 in the Cilician Taurus. It was first discovered by Kotschy1 in the Cilician Taurus in August 1853, in the valley of Agatsch Kisse, at an elevation of 4000 to 5000 feet. It is known to the Turks as Ak Illeden, white fir, and grows in thick forests sometimes unmixed with other trees, sometimes in company with oaks, cedars, and junipers. Yew and Pinus Laricio also occur in these forests, which are protected from woodcutters by their inaccessibility. The climate of these mountains is extremely hot in summer, and cold in winter, with much snow in the upper region. Post2 says that it is found in alpine and subalpine Lebanon, and in the Amanus Mountains in the extreme north of Syria, but does not give any details of its size or the elevation at which it grows. CULTIVATION The first seeds, received by the museum at Paris in 1854 from M. Blanch, French Consul at Saida, failed to germinate. Balansa sent a good supply of seed in 1855. From these or from Kotschy's seed the few trees which we have found in England were probably raised. The Cilician fir is extremely rare in cultivation in this country. The best speci men we have found is a tree, growing at Welford Park, Newbury, which in 1908 was 51 feet by 4 feet 4 inches. Mr. Ross, the gardener, informs us that he found this tree as a small plant in a pot, when he came to Welford Park in May, 1860. The tree has been considered by many people to be Abies homolepis, and was figured in the Garden, for 1904, under that name. It is unquestionably, however, Abies cilicica, of which it has the foliage, and only differs slightly from wild specimens in the smaller size of the cones and scales. Mr. A. B. Jackson has identified two at Bicton, 48 feet by 4 feet and 47 feet by 3^ feet respectively ; and another at the Heath, Leighton Buzzard, which is 48 feet by 3 feet 10 inches. The finest in Scotland is a tree at Durris, which Mr. Crozier reports to be 55 feet high and 5 feet 8 inches in girth. It was incorrectly labelled A. amabilis. Another good specimen is growing at Castle Kennedy, which measured in 1904, 48 feet in height by 5 feet i inch in girth. A second tree here, not so tall, is very thriving. Kent mentions a tree at Rossdhu in Dumbartonshire. A tree at Glasnevin was 34 feet by 3 feet 2 inches in 1907 ; and a specimen, at Powerscourt, 37 feet by 2 feet 8 inches in 1906, did not seem to be very thriving. There is a good specimen at Verrières, near Paris, of which a figure is given by M. Philippe L. de Vilmorin in Hortus Vilmorinianus (plate i). This tree is about 60 feet high. Another and slightly taller tree is growing in the Parc de Cheverny, in the department of Loir et Cher. Pardé says that at Harcourt (Eure) it reproduces itself naturally. According to Sargent,8 Abies cilicica, with the exception of Abies concolor, is the most beautiful of those silver firs, which are perfectly hardy and satisfactory in the north-eastern states of the U.S. Some trees are 40 feet in height, notably at 1 Reise in den Cilicischcn Taurus (1858). IV a Flora of Syria, p. 751. 3 Suva N. Amer. xii. 99 adnot. (1898). F 746 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland Mr. Hunnewell's pinetum, Wellesley, Mass, j1 Mr. Hall's garden, near Bristol, Rhode Island; and Mr. Hoope's pinetum, West Chester, Pennsylvania. Sargent states that the tree does not thrive in western Europe, as the young shoots, which appear early in the spring, are killed by late frosts ; and in consequence it is not propagated by nurserymen. Seeds from wild trees are difficult to procure. (A. H.) ABIES NORDMANN I AN A, CAUCASIAN FIR Abies Nordmanniana, Spach, Hist. Vég. xi. 418 (1842) ; Regel, in Gartenflora, xx. 259, t. 699 (1871) ; J. D. Hooker, Bot. Mag. t. 6992 (1888); Masters, Gard. Chron. xxv. 142, f. 30 (1886); Kent, Veitch's Man. Coniferœ, 526 (1900). Pinus Nordmanniana, Steven, Bull. Soc. Nat. Moscow, xi. 45, t. 2 (1838); Loudon, Gard. Mag. xv. 225 (1839). Picea Nordmanniana, Loudon, Encycl. Trees, 1042 (1842). A tree attaining in the Caucasus over 200 feet in height and 15 feet in girth. Bark in cultivated trees greyish brown, smooth when young, becoming slightly fissured in older trunks. Buds ovoid, acute at the apex, brown, non-resinous, with ovate, acute, slightly keeled scales. Young shoots grey, smooth, with very scattered short erect pubescence. Leaves on lateral branchlets, pectinately arranged below, the two lateral sets spreading more or less in the horizontal plane ; those above shorter, directed forwards and densely covering the branchlet in imbricated ranks. Leaves linear, flattened, about i to \\ inch long, ^ to ^ inch wide, uniform in width except at the gradually tapering base ; apex rounded and bifid ; upper surface dark green, shining, with a continuous median groove and without stomata ; lower surface with two con spicuously white bands of stomata, each of eight or nine lines ; resin-canals marginal. Leaves on cone-bearing branches all curved and upturned. Staminate flowers ovoid-cylindric, ^ inch long, each with three series of involucral bracts. Cones sub-sessile, cylindrical, tapering at both ends, about 6 inches long by 2 inches in diameter, brown in colour, with the bracts exserted and reflexed. Scales : lamina, about \\ inch wide by f inch long, either with a denticulate wing on each side or with straight lateral margins; claw obcuneate. Bract with oblong claw, expanding above into an almost orbicular lamina, which is denticulate and tipped with a long triangular mucro. Seed with wing about an inch long, the wing being twice the length of the body of the seed. VARIETIES AND HYBRIDS Several varieties are mentioned by Beissner, which are said to differ from the type in foliage, the leaves being shorter, glaucous, or yellow in colour. None of these appear to be in cultivation in England. 1 Elwes saw this tree in May 1905, and remarked that it was very similar in growth to A. Nordmanniana, which has shorter darker leaves and denser habit. It had not suffered from the severe frost of the preceding winter which in some places had injured the Caucasian fir. According to Sargent, The Pinetum at Wellesley in 1905, p. 12, this tree is 49 feet high and 5 feet in girth. Abies 747 Var. equi-Trojam, Guinier and Maire.1 A peculiar form, discovered by Sintenis on Mount Ida in north-west Anatolia. It has reddish-brown glabrous shoots, leaves acute at the apex and only slightly emarginate, and cones with bracts much exserted and almost concealing the scales. The hybrids, which have been obtained between A. Nordmanniana and A. Pinsapo are dealt with in our article on the latter species. DISTRIBUTION This species is a native of the mountains in the southern and south-eastern shores of the Black Sea, including the western spurs of the Caucasus. According to Radde,2 it is entirely absent from the eastern parts of the Caucasus and Talysch, its easterly limit being longitude 42°. It usually grows between 3000 and 6600 feet elevation, and either forms pure forests or is associated with Picea orientalis, being occasionally mixed both with that species and Pinus sylvestris. It is said to prefer calcareous soil and to be dominant on the limestone formations, which are not so favourable to the growth of the oriental spruce and the common pine. In pure forests, the trees stand very close together ; and in their deep shade underwood is absent and no light reaches the ground, which is very dry and covered with a thick layer of brown needles. Such forests are the last hiding-place of the European bison in a truly wild condition. The largest tree mentioned by Radde, the age of which is not given, grew in the valley of the Labba in the district of Kuban, and measured 213 feet in height and 15 feet in girth at breast height, and the stem alone had a volume of 1236 cubic feet. On an area of about 2^ acres in this forest fifteen trees nearly as large were growing. It thrives best and attains its largest size at high elevations, 5000 to 6000 feet; where stems 150 to 170 feet in height, with a girth of 10 feet, are quite common. The oldest tree, which is recorded by Radde, was 370 years old, and measured 170 feet high by 10 feet in girth. Abies Nordmanniana was also found by Balansa8 in Lazistan, and by Sintenis8 at Kostambul in Paphlagonia. Guinier and Maire4 in 1904 found it growing on Mount Olympus in Bithynia, where, on the northern slope between 3700 and 6000 feet, it forms extensive forests, either pure or mixed with Pinus Laricio, beech, oak, and chestnut, and constituting the timber line at 6300 feet. These botanists state that on Olympus, as well as in the Caucasus, it is a light-demanding tree, a least in the young stage, as the seeds everywhere germinate in open and unshaded places. The discovery by these authors of A. Nordmanniana on Mount Olympus and of the van equi-Trojani on Mount Ida extends the distribution of this species westwards through northern Asia Minor to the borders of the ^igean Sea. 1 In Bull. Soc. Bot. France, Iv. 186, fig. I (1908). This variety was referred to A. pectinata by Boissier, in Fl. Orientalis, v. 701 (1881). 2 Pßanzenverb. Kaukasusländ, 184, 222, 244, etc. (1899). 3 Specimens in Kew herbarium. 4 In Bull. Soc. Bot. France, Iv. 185, fig. I (1908). The silver fir on Mount Olympus was erroneously identified with A. pectinata by Boissier in Flora Orientalis, v. 701 (1881). 748 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland Abies Nordmanniana was first recognised as a distinct species by the Finnish botanist, Nordmann, Professor at Odessa, whose name it bears. He found it in 1836 in the Caucasian province of Imeretia. Pallas and other early botanists had referred the Caucasian silver fir to Abies pectinata. It was introduced1 into Europe in 1848, when Alexander von Humboldt obtained seeds from the Caucasus, which were sown in the Berlin Botanic Garden. (A. H.) CULTIVATION No other silver fir found in the Old World is more thoroughly at home in Great Britain, for it grows luxuriantly on soils where the common silver fir will not thrive ; is absolutely uninjured by spring frost, even in a young state, and ripens seed as far north as Perthshire and County Down. It seems equally at home on rich loam in the south-east of England, on oolite gravel in the Cotswold Hills, and in the peaty soil and wet climate of Argyllshire. Out of 102 returns sent to the Conifer Conference from all parts of Great Britain, 78 mention this tree and nearly all speak well of it, though it is said to fail at about thirty years old on strong loam in Worcestershire, and to be liable to aphis at Durris in Kincardineshire.2 Sir Herbert Maxwell3 states that the Crimean silver fir (a misleading name, as it does not occur wild in the Crimea), after it attains twenty to thirty years of age, frequently succumbs to the attacks of aphis, and gives as an instance in proof of this, that at Benmore, where large numbers were planted thirty to forty years ago, very few now remain. But I do not think that this is a fair example, as the climate of Benmore is very wet, and the soil in many places very shallow. In the warmer and drier parts of Scotland I have seen many flourishing specimens, though not so fine as in England. Wilkie4 says that at Tyninghame, in East Lothian, it is later in starting growth than the common silver fir, grows more freely when young, and either for use or ornament is certainly the more valuable of the two. Webster, also, whose experience was gained in Ireland, North Wales, and Kent, says,5 " If A. nobilis be the best of the Californian silver firs, this is without doubt the finest of the European or Asiatic species." He expected that at no distant date it would supplant the silver fir for forest planting, the timber being of excellent quality, the tree more ornamental, and less exacting as regards soil. He says that it succeeds well on reclaimed peat bog, stiff loam, decomposed vegetable matter, and light gravelly soils. 1 Hansen, \i\fourn. Roy. Horl. Sac. xiv. 471 (1892). In the catalogue of the Pinetum at Beernem, in western Flanders, Baron Serret says that he received his specimen in April 1847, from Lawson and Son, Edinburgh ; and the earliest intro duction would seem from this to have been prior to that stated by Hansen. 2 A. Nordmanniana, the most susceptible of all silvers to attack by Chermes either in a seedling or older state. For general purposes this tree is doomed, and it is only by repeated spraying with insecticide that it will be possible to preserve even the largest specimens. In growth, it has proved itself much slower than A. pectinata, and being densely branched and of a shade-bearing nature, its timber when cut up has generally been coarse and knotty. In Scotland it has never been regarded by foresters as of economic importance.—(J. D. CROZIER.) 3 Green's Encyclopedia of Agriculture, ii. 112 (1908). The erroneous statement that this fir occurs wild in the Crimea appears to have been first made in Veitch's Man. Coniferœ, ist ed. 102 (1881), and has been repeated by Masters, Hansen, the Kew Handlist of Conifers, etc. No species of Abies grows wild in the Crimea. Cf. Démidoff, Voyage Russie Méridionale et la Crimée, ii. 231, 232, 375, 646 (1842). 4 Trans. Royal Scot. Art. Soc. xii. 211 (1889). 6 Ibid. 257. Abies 749 As the seed can now be procured in quantity and at a cheap rate, even when home-grown seed is not available, there seems to be no reason why this beautiful tree should not be raised at the same rate as the common silver fir and planted in preference to the latter, for though it has not yet had time to attain its full size in this country it grows quite as fast, and from what little we know of its timber is likely to be at least as valuable. Its average rate of growth is from i to 2 feet annually when once established ; and though we have as yet no evidence that it will endure dense shade as well as the silver fir, yet the accounts of its growth in the Caucasus lead one to expect that it will do so. REMARKABLE TREES Among the numerous specimens that we have measured in various places in England, I have seen none to surpass a very healthy and vigorous tree which grows in a wood facing east on the banks of the river at Eggesford, the property of the Earl of Portsmouth in Devonshire, which in April 1904 measured 84 feet by 5 feet 7 inches, and had produced cones. But a tree growing in a wood called Hook's Grove at Bayfordbury is perhaps taller ; it was about 85 feet by 6 feet 10 inches in 1907. At Strathfieldsaye, in the same year, I measured one as 78 feet by 6 feet 7 inches, and at Hemsted, in Kent, there is a tall but very slender specimen, not over forty years planted, which bids fair to become a very large tree. In 1905 it was 68 feet by only 3 feet 7 inches. At Lynhales, Herefordshire, the seat of S. Robinson, Esq., another is 70 feet by 5^ feet and growing freely. In Wales it is thriving at Penrhyn ; where there are two trees, one with its top broken being about 75 feet by 10 feet; the other even taller measures 6 feet 10 inches in girth ; and at Hafodunos, where it does well in plantations, Henry measured one 60 feet by 6 feet 7 inches in 1904. In Scotland the largest recorded in 1891 was at Poltalloch, and then was said to measure 70 feet by 6 feet, but when measured by Mr. Melville in 1906 he made it only 73^ feet by 7 feet 4 inches. The finest I have seen myself is one at Moncreiffe which, in 1907, I made to be no less than 79 feet by 6^ feet ; a healthy tree from which many seedlings have been raised. This is stated by Hunter to have been planted about 1856, and in 1888 was only 30 feet by 2 feet 2 inches. It is said to have been hybridised by the silver fir, but I could not see anything in the seedlings to distinguish them. In Ireland it also grows very well. A tree at Carton, the seat of the Duke of Leinster, was 74 feet by 5 feet 4 inches, and one at Fota 68 feet by about 6 feet in 1903. Another at Mount Shannon, Limerick, measured, in 1905, 75 feet by 8 feet 9 inches. A good specimen at Ballykilcavan, Queen's County, measured 68 feet by 5 feet 2 inches in 1907. There are many fine healthy specimens at Dereen in Co. Kerry. In the University Botanic Garden at Upsala, in Sweden, a tree was seen by Henry in 1908 which was about 40 feet high and branched into three stems near the ground, the result evidently of injury to the leader by severe frost in early youth. 75° The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland According to Hansen,1 it is said to thrive at Trondhjem in Norway, but Henry saw no specimens at Trondhjem or Christiania. It is often planted in Danish gardens and forests, and is quite hardy in Denmark. According to Sargent,2 it is very hardy in the eastern United States, as far north, at least, as eastern Massachusetts, but although handsome when young, is apt to become thin and shabby here at an early stage. (H. J. E.) ABIES WEBBIANA, HIMALAYAN FIR Abies Webbiana, Lindley, Penny Cyclop, i. 30 (1833); Griffith, Icon. As. PI. t. 371 (1854) ; Masters, Gard. Chron. xxii. 467, f. 86 (1884), and x. 395, f. 47 (1891); Hooker, Gard. Chron. xxv. 788, ff. 174, 175 (1886), and Flora Brit. India, \. 654 (1888); Kent, Veitch's Man. Coniferee, 543 (1900); Gamble, Indian Timbers, 718 (1902). Abies spedabilis, Spach, Hist. Vég. xi. 422 (1842). Abies Mariesii, Masters, Bot. Mag. t. 8098 (1906) (not Masters, Gard. Chron. xii. 788 (1879)). Pinus Webbiana, Wallich, ex Lambert, Genus Pinus, 77, t. 44 (1828). Finns spedabilis, D. Don, Prod. fl. Nepal. 55 (1825). Picea Webbiana, London, Arb. et Frut. Brit. iv. 2344 (1838). A tree, attaining in the Himalayas 150 feet or more in height and 35 feet8 in girth, with thick spreading horizontal branches ; bearing a flattened crown of foliage. Bark speedily scaling on young stems ; on old trunks, greyish brown, rough, irregularly fissured and very scaly. Buds large, globose, brownish, covered with resin, which conceals the keeled obtuse scales. Young shoots reddish brown with prominent pulvini, separated by deep grooves ; pubescence short, erect, reddish, confined to the grooves and not spreading over the pulvini. In the second year's shoot the pulvini and grooves are more marked, the pubescence being retained. Leaves on lateral branchlets pectinately arranged, in two lateral sets, each of several apparent ranks ; the lower ranks on each side extending outwards in the horizontal plane ; the upper ranks, with leaves becoming gradually shorter, directed outwards and upwards, and forming a V-shaped depression, in the bottom of which the upper side of the branchlet is plainly visible. Leaves i to z\ inches long, •£$ inch wide or more, linear, flattened, uniform in width except at the shortly tapering base, rounded and bifid at the apex ; upper surface dark green, shining, with a continuous median groove and without stomata; lower surface with two broad conspicuously white bands of stomata; resin-canals marginal. Leaves on cone- bearing branchlets similar to those on barren branchlets. Cones on short stout stalks, resembling in shape and colour those of A. Pindrow ; in native specimens both from Sikkim and Kumaon, smaller than those on cultivated trees; scales fan-shaped, about % inch wide and | inch long (not including the short obcuneate claw) ; bracts extending to near the upper edge of the scale, with an oblong claw, expanding above into a suborbicular denticulate lamina, tipped with a 1 ïnjourn. Roy. Hort. Soc. xiv. 472 (1892). * Suva N. Amer. xii. 98, adnot. (1898). The trees, however, at Wellesley, one of which is 59 feet by 5 feet, were slightly injured during the severe winter of 1903-4. Cf. Sargent, The Pinetum at Wellesley in 1905, p. 12. 3 Hooker, Him. Journ. ii. p. 108. Abies 751 short triangular cusp and without any emargination. In cultivated specimens, cones very large, 6 to 8 inches long, 2 to 3 inches in diameter, bluish when growing, brownish when mature, cylindrical, slightly tapering to an obtuse apex ; scales much broader than in wild specimens (\\ inch) ; bracts only extending to about half the height of the scale, with a broad rectangular claw, only slightly narrower than the broadly ovate denticulate lamina, which is tipped with a short triangular cusp : seed with wing about an inch long ; wing broadly trapezoidal, shining brown, and about i \ times as long as the seed. The cones of Abies Pindrow are very similar, the main difference being that in the latter the expanded portion of the bract is situated close to the lower edge of the scale, and is oval, less finely denticulate, and emarginate above with a minute mucro in the emargination. VARIETIES The above description, which, as regards the leaves and branchlets, applies to ordinary cultivated specimens of Abies Webbiana, also fits exactly the form of that species which occurs in Sikkim, and does not differ from the original description which was founded on specimens from Nepal. The high-level silver fir, how ever, which occurs in the western Himalayas appears to be a much shorter- leaved tree than that which is common in Sikkim ; and has been supposed by some to be a form of Abies Pindrow. This form, which is apparently the same as specimens collected on the Chor mountain near Simla by Sir George Watt, is met with occasionally in cultivation, and may be distinguished as follows :— Var. brevifolia? a tree with smooth bark on the stem and branches. Young branchlets grey, with only slightly prominent pulvini; pubescence short, erect, brown, confined to the indistinct fine grooves between the pulvini. Leaves much shorter than in the type, not exceeding i|- inch in length, greyish beneath with two inconspicuous stomatic bands. This variety differs in appearance from the type, which has longer leaves, very silvery white beneath ; but agrees with it in the arrangement, texture, and shape of the leaves. The grey colour and comparative smoothness of the branchlets, and the smooth bark on the stem and branches, suggest some affinity with A. Pindrow ; but the long, slender, narrow leaves of the latter species, differently arranged on the glabrous branchlets, are entirely different. I first received cultivated specimens of this variety from Glasnevin, Kilma- curragh, and Batsford Park, where there are young trees, which have not yet produced cones. The Glasnevin and Kilmacurragh trees were raised from seed, sent from the Himalayas in 1879, but without any record of the precise locality; and they resemble the type in habit. The origin of the Batsford tree is obscure. i Brandis, in Indian Trees, 692 (1906), distinguishes two forms of A. Webbiana, viz. :— (a) "A. Webbiana, Lindley. High Level Silver Fir of N.W. Himalaya." This is identical with our var. brtvifolia, and is not the same as A. Webbiana, Lindley. (b\ " A. densa, Griffith. East Himalayan Silver Fir." This, from a comparison of type specimens in the Kew Her barium, is identical with A. Webbiana, Lindley, which was founded on Pinus Webbiana, Wallich, described from Nepal specimens. 75 2 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland A tree of this variety, with smooth bark on the trunk and branches, is growing at Powerscourt, and measured in 1906, 58 feet high by 5 feet 5 inches in girth. It bore numerous cones, similar to those of the type, but smaller in size and not so blue in colour. Another tree, about 40 feet high, also with very smooth bark, is growing at Holker Hall, Cark-in-Cartmel, Lancashire. (A. H.) DISTRIBUTION Abies Webbiana occurs in the inner Himalayas from Afghanistan to Bhutan at elevations of 10,000 to 14,000 feet, but rare1 below 11,000 feet. In its western area, i.e. in the north-west Himalaya, it usually commences to grow at looo to 2000 feet above the line where Abies Pindrow disappears ; and Gamble has never seen the two species growing together. It is here usually stunted and gnarled, with very short leaves and short thick cones, and occurs commonly with Betula utilis and Rhododendron campanulatum. Both it and the birch are the last trees to be seen before the treeless snowy wastes begin in the western Himalayas. In Nepal, according to Don, it occurs on Gosainthan. In its eastern area, Bhotan and Sikkim, it is apparently a larger and finer tree. Griffith 2 mentions it, under the temporary name of Abies densa, as constituting vast forests in Bhotan, remarkable for their sombre appearance, at 12,000 feet, being rare under 9500 feet. It is slow in growth, the average rate in Sikkim being about 12 rings per inch of radius, and is of much less economic importance than Abies Pindrow is in the north-west. Large quantities of planks, however, are exported from Lachoong to Tibet, and their preparation is an important native industry; but Hooker8 says that the timber of Sikkim conifers is generally soft and inferior to that of European species. In Sikkim this is the most abundant conifer in the interior ; extending from a little above 8000 to 13,000 feet or more; at its lower limits scattered or isolated among other trees at 9000 to 11,000 feet, and forming forests which are sometimes almost pure, or in the Lachen and Lachoong valleys mixed with Tsuga Brunoniana. Higher up on drier slopes it occurs scattered among Larix Griffithi and many species of shrubs and rhododendrons. On the Singalelah range which divides Sikkim from Nepal it begins to appear shortly before reaching Sandukpho, and on the boundary ridge north of that hill assumes a very wind-swept and often gnarled habit; the tops being often broken and covered with a dense mass of ferns, orchids, Ribes, begonias, and climbing plants of many species, and sometimes supporting shrubs and trees, which, favoured by the extremely moist summer climate, and from June to October almost constantly bathed in mist, become epiphytic. One tree which I specially noticed on this ridge at about 11,000 feet, bore on its decaying crown no less than four good-sized shrubs of different species, a Pyrus, an 1 As in the Chor Hills, south of Simla. 2 Notula, iv. 19 (1854), and Itin. Notes, ii. 141 (1848). Griffith subsequently abandoned his name A. densa and adopted that of A. Webbiana. 3 Himalayan Journals, ii. 45, note. Abies 753 Aralia, a Rhododendron, and a birch, some of which had stems as thick as my leg. Plate 215 from photographs taken by my late friend, Mr. C. B. Clarke, at this spot, very well represents the trees I saw. The largest trees which I have found of this species were on the track from Lachoong to the Tunkra Pass, leading into the Chumbi valley, some of which must have been nearly 200 feet high, with stems clean up to 40 feet, and Sir Joseph Hooker measured a tree here no less than 35 feet in girth. Higher up, however, it assumes a stunted form and grows mixed with junipers. HISTORY AND CULTIVATION Abies Webbiana was discovered early in the nineteenth century by Captain Webb. Seeds were repeatedly sent to England by Dr. Wallich, which probably came from Nepal, but none appear to have germinated till 1822, when some plants were raised in the Fulham Nursery. It is remarkable that most of the trees of A. Webbiana seen in this country resemble more nearly the Sikkim form, than the short-leaved Western form. It is probable that none of the original trees now exist, as they were planted in the vicinity of London, where the tree does not thrive, as it is very liable to be cut by spring frosts. Though this tree is one of the most beautiful of its genus in the few parts of England where it really succeeds ; and will resist severe winter frosts without injury when on well-drained soil, yet its tendency to start into growth before the danger of spring frosts has passed, has caused its death in very many places. If seeds could be procured from the more alpine regions of Kashmir or the trans-Indus mountains, they might endure our climate better, but most of the trees now growing in England were probably raised from seed collected by Sir J. D. Hooker in Sikkim. It ripens seed, however, in some parts of England and Scotland, and I have raised seedlings in 1901 from cones grown near Exeter, of which a few have survived though now not more than a foot high. A shady, elevated, and yet sheltered situation, is best for this species, and as regards soil a deep sandy loam. REMARKABLE TREES The largest specimen of A. Webbiana recorded at the Conifer Conference in 1891 was at Howick Hall, Northumberland, the seat of Earl Grey, and was then said to be 51 feet by 8 feet. I am informed by Mr. Lambert that it has lost its leader several times since this date, and now measures about 50 feet by 8^ feet. The largest we have measured is a double-stemmed tree at Beauport, Sussex, 64 feet by 84- feet in 1904; but Mr. A. B. Jackson found a tree at Tregothnan in Cornwall which was 74 feet by 8^ feet, and another tree at the same place 66 feet by 9 feet. Both of these bore cones in 1908. At Menabilly, Cornwall, there is a healthy tree of no great size, which bore large cones in 1907, and these remained in perfect condition on the tree in April 1908, when I visited the place ; and at Pencarrow there is one 64 feet by 6j feet G IV 754 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland At Fulmodestone, Norfolk, in a wood where the Earl of Leicester has planted on a deep moist soil a large number of conifers, close enough to shelter each other, a tree was measured by Henry in 1905 as 69 feet by 6| feet. It has since been much damaged by snow, but has produced cones from which Capt. R. Coke has raised a few seedlings, and now measures only about 60 feet high. At Enville Hall, Stourbridge, there is a tree, which now looks as if it were suffering from drought. It measured, in 1904, 68 feet by 5 feet 4 inches. A large tree, said to have been about 75 feet high, died and was cut down at Penrhyn in North Wales in 1902. The stump, which I saw, was about 7^ feet round. At Hafodunos, in North Wales, Colonel Sandbach states that this species is always nipped by the frost and forms new leaders when the old ones are killed, the growth being quite checked. At Castle Kennedy there is a short avenue of trees of this species, averaging about 40 feet high by 6 feet in girth ; but the tops had been cut off, as they had become bare and unsightly from exposure to wind. Here A. Webbiana begins to produce cones at an early age ; and there is a seedling 20 feet high, with many smaller ones near it. At Poltalloch, Argyllshire, I measured a fine healthy tree 61 feet by 5 feet 3 inches which in 1906 bore no cones. At Keir, Perthshire, there are two trees, one with a broken top, the other 57 feet by 4 feet 10 inches, and more narrowly pyramidal than is usually the case. Seedlings were raised from the seed of this tree about ten years ago ; but as a rule it bears very small cones (only 3 inches in length) with unfertile seed. A tree at Dunphail, Morayshire, has also produced small cones, which slightly resemble those of Abies Mariesu.1 This tree was probably planted in 1856, and is now only 33 feet in height ; but has a double leader.2 In Ireland, A. Webbiana thrives well, and there is a good number of fair-sized trees. It is said, however, to be slightly touched by frost at Fota, in the south of Ireland, where the temperature fell to 14" Fahr, during four nights in the winter of 1901-1902. A tree at Fota was in 1903, 47 feet high by 3 feet 7 inches in girth. At Churchhill, Armagh, the seat of Mr. Harry Verner, there was growing in 1904 a tree laden with cones, even on the lowermost branches ; it measured 53 feet by 4 feet 10 inches. At Courtown, Co. Wexford, a tree was recorded at the Conifer Conference of 1891, as being 52 feet by 6 feet 3 inches. (H. J. E.) 1 The Dunphail tree has been described and figured by Masters as Abies Mariesii, in Bot. Mag. t. 8098 ; but there is no doubt that this is erroneous. Specimens which I have seen show ordinary foliage and branches of A. Webbiana ; and some of the cones are as large as those usually produced by this species.—(A. H.) 2 Thrives at Durris only in partial shade, when exposed it suffers much from late spring frosts, both top and branch shoots become clubbed and unsightly. Cones at a comparatively early age—about 25 years. Is of no economic value. (J. D. CROZIER.) Abies 755 ABIES PINDROW, PINDROW FIR Abies Pindrow, Spach, Hist. Fég. xi. 423 (1842); Masters, Gard. Chron. xxv. 691, f. 154 (1886); Kent, Veitch's Man. Coniferœ, 533 (1900); Gamble, Indian Timbers, 719 (1902); Brandis, Indian Trees, 692, 720 (1906). Abies Webbiana, Lindley, var. Pindrow, Brandis, Forest Flora Brit. India, 528(1874); Hooker, Flora Brit. India, \. 655 (1888). Pinus Pindrow, Royle, Illust. Bot. Himalaya, 354, t. 86 (1839). Picea Pindrow, Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit. iv. 2346 (1838). A tree attaining in the Himalayas over 200 feet in height, with a girth of 25 feet. Narrowly pyramidal in habit, with the branches small and short. Bark smooth and silvery grey when young ; greyish brown, deeply and longitudinally fissured on old trunks. Buds large, globose, covered with white resin. Young shoots quite smooth, grey, glabrous, the bark assuring slightly in the second year. Leaves on lateral branches mostly pectinate below, pointing forwards and outwards in the horizontal plane, some of the median leaves, however, being directed downwards and forwards ; above, covering the shoot, those in the middle line much shorter and directed forwards and slightly upwards. Leaves, soft in texture, up to 2^ inches long, very narrow (^ inch wide), linear, flattened, shortly tapering at the base and narrowing gradually in the anterior third to the acute apex, which is bifid with sharp unequal cartilaginous points ; upper surface dark green, shining, with a continuous median groove and without stomata ; lower surface paler with two greyish bands of stomata, each of about eight lines ; resin-canals marginal. Leaves on cone-bearing shoots all upturned and more or less directed forwards, covering the shoot in the middle line above, shorter than on barren branches and only slightly bifid at the apex. Cones on short stout stalks, bluish when growing, brown when mature, cylindrical, about 6 inches long by 3 inches in diameter. Scales ; lamina about \\ inch wide by f inch long, fan-shaped, variable in form, with two slight wings in cultivated speci mens, not winged and with the lateral edges straight or curved in wild specimens, base auricled. Bracts with the expanded portion situated on the scale just above the claw, oval, denticulate, emarginate above with a minute mucro. Seed with wing about i inch long, the wing narrowly trapezoidal and about \\ times as long as the body of the seed. IDENTIFICATION Abies Pindrow is remarkably different in most characters from Abies Webbiana, with which it has been united by many authors. The trees are very distinct in habit, A. Pindrow forming, both in the Himalayas and in cultivation in England, a narrow pyramid with short branches ; while A. Webbiana is a broader tree with wide-spreading branches. The bark of the former is smooth, that of the latter scaly. The former has smooth, glabrous, grey shoots ; the latter has shoots with 756 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland prominent pulvini, separated by pubescent furrows. The cones are similar in size and colour ; but differ in the shape and position of the bracts. The arrangement and character of the foliage are entirely different. Var. intermedia. Pinus (Abies) sp. »ova (?), M'Nab, in Proc. Roy. Irish Acad. ii. 692, f. 19 (1876). A tree at Eastnor Castle, planted thirty-seven years ago, and about 60 feet in height with a girth of 3 feet 4 inches, is apparently identical with the form described by M'Nab, who mentions two specimens, one collected in the western Himalayas by Hooker and Thomson, and another from a tree, which formerly grew at Castle Kennedy. Mr. Mullins, the gardener at Eastnor Castle, informs me that the tree is narrowly pyramidal in habit, with dark green foliage, and smooth bark on the stem and branches. Specimens, which I have received, show the following characters :—Branchlets, buds, bark, and habit, as in A. Pindrow. Leaves more pectinate than in that species, and arranged on the branchlets as in A. Webbiana ; about 2^ inch in maximum length, dark shining green above ; gradually tapering in the upper third, as in A. Pindrow ; thicker than in this species ; lower surface convex ; resin-canals median, in which respect this variety differs from both A. Pindrow and A. Webbiana. Cones about 4 inches long and 2 to 3 inches in diameter, resembling those of A. Webbiana in the position and shape of the bracts. This variety is intermediate in many respects between A. Pindrow and A. Webbiana, and is possibly a hybrid. (A. H.) DISTRIBUTION Abies Pindrow is more restricted in distribution than A. Webbiana and occurs at a lower elevation. It is met with in the outer Himalayas from Chitral to Nepal, at elevations of 7000 to 9000 feet, occasionally ascending to 10,000 feet ; and commonly grows in ravines with a northerly or westerly aspect. It is often associated with Picea Morinda, Quercus dilatata, the deodar, and Pinus excelsa ; but more often is accompanied by broad-leaved trees, such as the walnut, maples, bird cherry, and Indian horse-chestnut. Madden says that it forms dense forests on all the great spurs of Kumaon and occurs in Kashmir. According to Gamble, it has the same narrowly pyramidal habit with short branches which it assumes in cultivation in England. It grows very tall, but does not attain so great a height as the deodar. The largest trees correctly noted were measured in the Mundali forest in Jaunsar, and had heights varying from 188 to 206 feet with girths of 19 to 25 feet. The rate of growth averages 13 rings per inch of radius. It bears intense shade and its natural reproduction is excellent. The timber is employed indis criminately with that of Picea Morinda, though not quite so good. It is used for planking, tea-boxes, packing-cases, and makes excellent shingles, and would be suitable for railway sleepers if creosoted. Abies 757 REMARKABLE TREES The finest trees in Britain are probably two, which I saw in 1906, growing in the grounds of Mr. Victor Marshall at Monk Coniston, the largest of which is now 69 feet high and 4 feet 9 inches in girth. The climate here is mild and damp, but the soil dry and slaty. Mr. S. A. Marshall wrote to Kew that one of these trees coned for the first time in 1902, and in 1904 produced many cones.1 There is a well-shaped tree at The Coppice, Henley, the seat of Sir Walter Phillimore, Bart. It came from Dropmore as a young plant in 1858, and grew very slowly at first, sustaining some damage from the frost of May 1867. It is now healthy and thriving, and measured, in 1907, 62 feet high by 3 feet 8 inches in girth. At Bury Hill, Dorking, the seat of R. Barclay, Esq., there is a well-grown specimen, which he informed me had been raised from a tree at Denbies in the same neighbourhood, and which in 1908 measured 58 feet by 3 feet 2 inches. It grows, like so many of the best conifers in this country, on greensand. At Dropmore, a tree 48 feet by 3 feet 10 inches in 1905, coned for the first time in 1907. At High Canons, Herts, Mr. H. Clinton Baker measured a tree, which was bearing cones in February 1908, as 48 feet high by 2 feet 8 inches in girth ; and in a wood, on his own property at Bayfordbury, there is a thriving young tree, 32 feet high and i foot 5 inches in girth. At Cuffnells, near Lyndhurst, a good-sized but badly-grown tree was bearing cones in 1907. At Leighton Hall, near Welsh- pool, the seat of Mrs. Naylor, there are three, at a considerable elevation, the best of which in 1908 was about 50 feet high. In the pinetum at Lyndon Hall, Oakham, Rutland, Henry measured in 1908 a fine specimen, 58 feet by 3 feet 3 inches, which was planted, according to Mr. E. L. P. Conant, by his father in 1864. In Scotland I measured a tree at Conon House in Ross-shire, in 1907, which was about 50 feet by only 3 feet 4 inches. At Smeaton-Hepburn, East Lothian, a tree planted in 1844, according to Sir Archibald Buchan-Hepburn, Bart., was, in 1908, 56 feet high by 4 feet i inch in girth. Seedlings have been raised from it. At Durris, Mr. Crozier says that it suffers from the same causes as A. Webbiana. In Wigtownshire, this species is tender, and a tree at Galloway House, 48 feet by 3 feet ID inches, as measured by Henry in 1908, has been much injured by frost. Sir Herbert Maxwell reports a good specimen at Stonefield, Loch Fyne ; and another, in the Quarry garden at Gordon Castle, which measures 69 feet by 4 feet 9 inches. In Ireland, the tallest tree is at Charleville, Co. Wicklow, the seat of Viscount Monck. In 1904 it was 60 feet by 5 feet i inch. It produced cones in 1903, and since then has been in an unhealthy state. This tree has sent forth from the stem epicormic branches. At Kilmacurragh, Co. Wicklow, the seat of Mr. Thomas Acton, there is a healthy tree, which, in 1904, was 51 feet high by 5 feet 5 inches. At Powerscourt, there are two good trees, one 55 feet by 5 feet in 1904, which bore cones in 1902, 1903, and 1904; the other is 42 feet by 6 feet 3 inches in girth. At Brockley Park, Queen's County, a tree, planted thirty-five years ago, measured in 1907, 51 feet by 5 feet 6 inches. (H. J. E.) 1 A tree at Kenfield Hall, near Canterbury, produced cones in 1886. Cf. Card. Chron. xxvi. 85 (1886)." 75 8 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland ABIES SIBIRICA, SIBERIAN FIR Abies sibirica, Ledebour, Fl. Alt. iv. 202 (1833); Masters, Journ. Linn. Soc. (Hot.) xviii. 519 (1881); Kent, Veitch's Man. Coniferœ, 539 (1900). Abies Pichta, Forbes, Pin. Woburn. 113, t. 39 (1840). Abies Semenovü, Fedtschenko, Bot. Centralblatt, Ixiii. 210 (1898), and Bull. Herb. Boissier, vii. 191 (1899). Pinus sibirica, Turczaninow, Bull. Soc. Nat. Mosc. xl. 101 (1838). Pinus Pichta, Endlicher, Syn. Conif. 108 (1847). Picea Pichta, Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit. iv. 2338 (1838). A tree attaining about 100 feet in height. Bark smooth, greyish, and covered with resin-blisters, even in old trees. Buds small, globose, brownish, smooth, and covered with resin. Young shoots ashy-grey, with a scattered minute erect pubes cence, quite smooth, the pulvini not being at all prominent ; in the second year, the bark fissures slightly, and the pubescence is retained. Leaves on lateral branches resembling in arrangement those of A. Veitchii, but more irregular ; the lower ones pectinate, and directed outwards and forwards, a few, however, in the middle line with their apices directed forwards and downwards ; on the upper side the leaves cover the branchlet and are directed forwards and upwards in the middle line, being about three-fourths the length of the lower leaves. Leaves linear, flattened, slender, up to i^ inch long, -£G inch wide, uniform in width except at the slightly narrowed base ; apex rounded, slightly bifid or entire ; upper surface light green, shining, with a continuous median groove and rarely two to three short lines of stomata near the apex in the middle line ; lower surface greyish in colour, with two narrow bands of stomata, each of four to five lines ; resin-canals median. Leaves on cone-bearing branches all upturned, curved, thick, short (f inch long), acute at the apex. Cones sessile, cylindrical, obtuse at the apex, 2 to 3 inches long, i£ inch in diameter, bluish when growing, brown when mature, with the bracts concealed. Scales ; lamina fan-shaped, thin, f to f inch wide, J inch long ; upper and lateral margins denticulate ; base with a sinus on each side of the obcuneate claw. Bract, at the base of the scale, rectangular or reniform, coarsely denticulate, j^ inch broad, with a short triangular mucro. Seed with wing about f inch long ; wing broad, purplish, about twice as long as the body of the seed. The formx described by Fedtschenko as a new species (A. Semenovii) occurs in Turkestan. Specimens show longer leaves, more pubescent branchlets, and slightly different cone-scales and bracts. Korshinsky, however, in a note in the Kew herbarium, states that the Turkestan tree is identical with A. sibirica from the Ural and Altai ; and the differences noted would probably disappear if there were more material to examine. A weeping variety of this species was seen by Conwentz2 in 1881 in Regel and Kesselring's nursery at St. Petersburg. This species, with long slender leaves covering the branchlet above, is best 1 Cf. Guinier and Maire's remarks on this form in Bull. Soc. Bot. France, Iv. 184 (1908). 2 Seltene Waldbäume in Westpreussen, 161 (1895). Abies 759 distinguished by its ashy-grey smooth shoots which are minutely pubescent, and its small globose resinous buds. It can only be confused with A. sachalinensis, which has shoots with prominent pulvini, and leaves with broader and whiter bands of stomata below. A. lasiocarpa, which has, like this species, median resin-canals, is distinguished by the peculiar arrangement of the leaves, which have conspicuous lines of stomata on their upper surface. DISTRIBUTION AND CULTIVATION This species is the most widely distributed of all the silver firs, occupying large areas of both the plains and mountains of north-eastern Russia and Siberia. In European Russia it forms forests in company with spruce and larch, or rarely with birch and aspen ; and occurs through the governments of Archangel, Vologda, Kostroma, Perm, Ufa, Kazan, and Orenburg. On the mountains it does not go as high as the timber line, and does not extend so far south in European Russia as the spruce. It is common in the Ural range, and attains perhaps its maximum develop ment in the Altai,1 where it forms vast forests between 2000 and 4500 feet elevation. In Turkestan it is found in the Thianshan mountains, and is reported by Korshinsky to form forests at low altitudes in the province of Ferghana, where it grows in mixture with Picea Schrenkiana. Its distribution in Siberia is not clearly known, but it appears to be widely spread from west to east, its northern limit on the Yenisei being 66° lat. and on the Lena 60° lat. It occurs on the high lands of Dahuria, and, according to Komarov, reaches its most easterly point in the Yablonoi mountains, being replaced in Kamtschatka, by A. gracilis, Komarov ; and on the borders of the sea of Okhotsk and in Manchuria by A. nephrolepis, Maximowicz. According to Loudon this species was introduced from the Altai into England in 1820. It is very rare in cultivation, and does not grow for any length of time in the south of England, where the climate is unsuitable to it. Even at Durris, Mr. Crozier describes it as "a slow-growing, many-headed, and evidently short lived tree." There is an unhealthy specimen, about 15 feet high, at Ochtertyre in Perthshire. At Pampisford, Cambridgeshire, there is a small tree, 30 feet high by 13 inches in girth in 1907, narrowly pyramidal in habit, with the lower branches layering and producing five independent stems about six feet in height. This tree has been badly damaged by the snowstorm of April 1908. Another at Bicton measured 28 feet by i foot 8 inches in 1908. In August 1908 I saw a fine specimen in the University Botanic Garden, Upsala, Sweden, which was 70 feet high and i foot in diameter, forming a very narrow pyramid, closely resembling the habit of A. Pindrow. Hansen2 says that specimens, forty years old, have attained a height of about 40 feet in Denmark ; and that there are beautiful examples in the Botanic Gardens at Helsingfors, Finland (lat. 60°), where many seedlings have sprung up around the old trees. (A. H.) 1 I saw this tree in the forests on the north slopes of the Altai, where the climate was damp, but it did not strike me as a fine or large tree, and was not seen in the drier valleys towards Mongolia.—(H. J. E.) 2 Journ. Roy. Hort. Soc. xiv. 477 (1892). 760 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland ABIES SACHALINENSIS, SAGHALIEN FIR Abies sachalinensis, Masters, Gard. Chron. xii. 588, f. 97 (1879), ar>d Journ. Linn. Soc. (£ot.) xviii. 517 (1881); Mayr, Abiet. jap. Reiches, 42, t. 3, f. 6 (1890); Sargent, forest Flora of Japan, 83 (1894); Kent, Veitch's Man. Coniferce, 537 (1900). Abies Veitchü, Lindley, var. sacJialinensis, F. Schmidt, Mém. Acad. St. Pétersbourg, séï. 7, xii. 175, t. 4, ff- 13-17(1868). A tree attaining in Yezo 130 feet in height. Bark smooth, grey in colour. Buds small, ovoid - globose, rounded at the apex, covered with white resin. Young shoots grey, with prominent pulvini and grooves ; pubescence, short, dense, and confined to the grooves. In the second year the pulvini, grooves, and pubescence are well-marked. Leaves on lateral shoots arranged similarly to those of A. Nordmanniana ; those below longest, pectinate in two sets in the horizontal plane, directed outwards and forwards ; those above covering the branchlet in imbricated ranks, the median leaves shortest, directed forwards and appressed to the shoot. Leaves linear, flattened, slender, very thin, about i|- inch long, ¥\j inch wide, uniform in width except at the shortly tapering base ; apex rounded and shortly bifid ; upper surface grass-green, shining, with a continuous median groove and without stomata ; lower surface with two narrow bands of stomata, each of seven to eight lines ; resin - canals median. Leaves on cone - bearing shoots up turned, acute or rounded at the minutely bifid apex. Cones, 3^r inches long, i£ inch in diameter, cylindrical, tapering to an obtuse or slightly acute apex, conspicuously marked externally by the reflexed greenish bracts, which leave little of the surface of the scales visible. Scales crescentic, small ; lamina, |- to f- inch wide, nearly \ inch long, deeply auricled by two basal sinuses, the denticulate wings ending in a sharp point on each side of the sinus ; upper margin entire ; outer surface densely tomentose. Bract with a broad cuneate claw, expanding above into an almost orbicular lamina, emarginate and mucronate on its upper margin. Seed with wing f inch long ; wing broader than long and shorter than the body of the seed. VARIETIES • Var. nemorensis, Mayr, loc. cit. This variety is met with in north-eastern Yezo and the Kurile Isles, and is distinguished by its smaller cones, about i\ inches in length, with minute concealed bracts. In the cones this variety resembles A. Veitchii. Sargent mentions a curious variety found by Miyabe in central Yezo, in which the bark, wood, and bracts of the cone are red in colour. IDENTIFICATION Abies sachalinensis agrees in many technical characters with A. Veitchii, but owing to its longer and more slender leaves looks different from that species, and would Abies 761 not in practice be confused with it. The prominent pulvini of the young branchlets, which are only pubescent in the grooves, will distinguish it at once from Abies sibirica, which it resembles in general appearance. The latter species has quite smooth branchlets, provided with a scattered minute pubescence. (A. H.) DISTRIBUTION AND CULTIVATION This species was discovered in the Island of Saghalien by Schmidt in 1866, and was subsequently found, in 1878, in Yezo by Maries, who sent home seeds in the following year.1 The tree is known in Japan as Todo-matsu. It is a native of the Kurile Islands, Saghalien, and the northern island of Japan.2 In Saghalien it either forms pure woods or is mixed with one or both of the spruces (Picea ajanensis and Picea Glehniï) which occur in that island. This is the common, and perhaps the only, silver fir of Hokkaido, where it extends from nearly sea-level up to 4000 or 5000 feet altitude, and all over the island in suitable places ; in the south usually as a scattered tree in mixed forests of deciduous trees ; in the north and some parts of the west central districts in dense pure forests, or with a mixture of birch and poplar. The finest areas of this species are in the Imperial domains at Tarunai, Uryu, Kushiro, and in the State forests at Shari, and Kunajiri. I endeavoured to visit some of these under the guidance of Mr. Shirasawa, but owing to the torrential rains which flooded the country in the middle of July and broke the railway in many places, I was unable to do so. The country where these forests occur is much like parts of eastern Siberia, having a hot, moist summer, a warm autumn, and a very heavy snowfall which lies for four to five months ; the climatic conditions, therefore, are such that the tree is not likely to be a success in Great Britain, and, so far as I could see, it has no special beauty to recommend it. The largest that I saw were about 100 feet by 9 feet, but it grows taller in some places. The timber is of fair quality, and is used in house- and ship-building, also for furniture and paper-making ; and is worth at Tokyo about lod. per cubic foot. The Saghalien fir is rare in cultivation, the largest specimen we have seen being one at Fota, in the south of Ireland, which was about 25 feet high in 1907. It looks healthy, but begins to grow early in the season, and is said to be frequently hurt by spring frost. We have measured no specimens in Scotland, but one at Murthly Castle, about 16 feet high, is reported by Mr. Bean8 as not looking healthy. According to Kent, the tree is, like most of the conifers coming from similar climates, unable to thrive in England. In New England, however, it grows much better, and I saw healthy young trees at Mr. Hunnewell's place at Wellesley, Massachusetts. (H. J. E.) 1 Hortus Veitchii, 337 (1906). 2 It was reported by Matsumura (Tokyo Bot. Mag. xv. (1901), p. 141), to occur in Formosa, on Mt. Morrison ; but this was a mistaken identification, as the silver fir in this locality is A. Mariesii, according to Hayata, in Tokyo Bot. Mag. xix. (1905), p. 45. 3 Gard- Chron. xii. 117 (1907). IV II 762 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland ABIES FIRMA, JAPANESE FIR Abies firma, Siebold et Zuccarini, Fl. Jap. ii. 15, t. 107 (1844); Masters, Gard. Chron. xii. 198, 199 (1879), ana Journ. Linn. Soc. (Bot.) xviii. 514 (1881); Mayr, Abiet. Jap. Reiches, 31, t. i, f. i (1890); Shirasawa, Icon. Ess. Forest. Japon, text 17, t. 6, ff. 1-21 (1900) ; Kent, Veitch's Man. Conifères, 506 (1900). Abies biflda, Siebold et Zuccarini, Fl. Jap. ii. 18, t. 109 (1844). Abies Momi? Siebold, Ver hand. Batav. Gen. xii. 101 (1830) (nomen nuditni). Pinus firma and Firms bißda, Antoine, Conif. 70, 79 (1846). Piceaflrma, Gordon, Pinet. 147 (1858). A tree, attaining 150 feet in height and 16 feet in girth. Bark of branches and trunk early becoming scaly, in old trees fissuring into small plates. Buds small, ovoid, obtuse at the apex, brown, glabrous, slightly resinous. Young shoots brownish grey, with the pulvini slightly raised and separated by grooves ; pubescence short, erect, scattered, confined to the grooves. Older shoots retaining the pubescence and fissuring between the pulvini, which are not very prominent. Leaves on lateral branches pectinately arranged ; those below extending laterally outwards in the horizontal plane ; those on the upper side gradually shortening to nearly one-third of the length of the lower leaves, and directed in two sets laterally outwards and slightly upwards, forming a shallow V-shaped arrange ment.2 Leaves up to i^ inch long, linear, flattened, very coriaceous, shortly tapering to the base, broadest about the middle (^ inch or more), gradually narrowing to the acute apex, which ends in two sharp cartilaginous points, unequal in size ; upper surface dark green, shining, with a continuous median groove and without stomata ; lower surface with broad greyish bands of stomata, each of about ten to twelve lines ; resin-canals close to the epidermis of the lower surface. Leaves on cone-bearing branches upturned, rounded and entire or only minutely bifid at the apex. Staminate flowers, \ inch long, ovoid-conic, surrounded at the base by two to three series of broadly ovate scales. Cones on stout short stalks, cylindrical, tapering shortly at the base, and obtuse or flattened at the slightly narrowed apex, yellowish-green before ripening, brown when mature, 4 to 5 inches long by i|- to if inches in diameter, with the tips of the bracts exserted between the scales but not reflexed. Scales : lamina i^ inches wide by f inch long, broadly trapezoidal ; upper margin thin, minutely denticulate ; lateral margins convex, denticulate ; base broad with a sinus on each side of the obcuneate claw. Bract extending either nearly up to the edge of the scale or beyond it, always visible externally between the scales, oblong in the lower half, expanding above into an oval lamina, which ends in a triangular cusp. Seed-wing broadly trapezoidal, about twice the length of the body of the seed. Seed with wing nearly f inch long. Cotyledons four. 1 This name, which has been adopted by Sargent, Suva N. Amer. xii. IOI, adnot., was published without any descrip tion, and cannot be maintained. Cf. Masters, Gard. Chron. loc. cit. 2 On vigorous shoots, the leaves are directed more upwards so that the V-shaped depression is very acute. Abies The broad coriaceous leaves, ending in two cartilaginous points of unequal size, and pectinately arranged, are characteristic of this species, which when once seen, can scarcely be confused with any other. Abies holopkylla, Maximowicz,1 which has been identified by Dr. Masters with A. ßrma, is considered by Komarov,2 the latest observer, to be a distinct species. It differs in the leaves not being bifid, and also in the bracts of the cone, which are short, scarcely extending more than one-third the length of the scale. This species, according to Komarov, attains 150 feet high, and grows in mountain woods at elevations not exceeding 1800 feet above sea-level, in the Manchurian provinces of Ussuri, Kirin, and Mukden, and also in northern Korea. It was introduced into cultivation in Russia by Komarov, who sent seeds in 1898. Other specimens of Abies from the Chinese provinces of Hupeh, Shensi, and Yunnans have also been considered by Dr. Masters to be A. ßrma ; but this identification is doubtful. (A. H.) DISTRIBUTION This, the best known fir in Japan, is widely distributed in the south, and, according to Mayr, does not extend north of lat. 40°, and attains perfection in the warm sub-tropical provinces of Kii, Shikoku, and Kiusiu. It is very commonly planted in temple grounds and parks, but few of these specimens looked as if the isolated situation agreed with them ; and wherever I saw the tree growing naturally, it was scattered among deciduous trees and other conifers in more or less shady places in the forest. It grows to a great size in the sheltered valleys and moist, deep soils of the central and southern provinces. I measured one at Myanohara, on the Nakasendo road near Wada, which was 135 feet by 16 feet, but this tree was dying at the top, and may have been planted or have been a natural seedling in a temple grove. Another in the forest near the entrance to Koyasan was about 120 feet high by 15 feet 9 inches in girth, but the average size of the mature trees that I saw was not over 100 feet by 9 feet. A third, growing close to a temple at Narai (Plate 216), measured 125 feet by nj feet. As the timber is of little value except for packing- cases, tea-boxes, and pulp-wood, the tree is not much planted at the present time except for ornament. It reproduces itself freely from seed whenever the conditions are suitable, and its large greenish-yellow cones are fully formed in August. According to Rein4 its natural habitat is from 1000 to 1500 metres, but though this may be the case in the southern island, I should say it was too high for the central provinces, as in Kisogawa I saw it much lower, and I do not think it there reaches 4000 feet. This species was introduced into Europe in 1861 by J. Gould Veitch,5 but has never become common in cultivation, though it seems to be hardy even in some parts of Scotland. It undoubtedly requires a warm, moist climate to bring it to 1 Met. Biol. vi. 22 (1866). 2 Flora Manshurice, 204(1901). 3 Journ. Linn. Soc. (Bot.) xxvi. 557 (1902); axAJourn. Bot. 1903, p. 270. 4 Industries of Japan, 235 (1889). Mayr says that it ascends to 700 feet in the north and to nearly 7000 feet in the south. 6 Hortus Veitchii, 335 (1906), where it is stated that it was also sent in 1878 by Maries. 764 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland perfection, and seems to be in most places a slow grower. The seedlings which I have raised from Japanese seed will not grow on my soil, from which I infer that lime is distasteful to them. REMARKABLE TREES The largest tree that we know of is at Carclew in Cornwall. This was reported in 1891 to be 45 feet by 2 feet 8 inches, and when I measured it in 1902 had increased to about 60 feet by 4 feet. Another at Pencarrow, in the same county, was about 59 feet by 6 feet 5 inches in 1908. At High Canons in Herts, Mr. Clinton Baker showed me a specimen which bore cones in 1907 and measured 47 feet by 3i feet. There is a good-sized tree at Grayswood, with longer and less sharp-pointed leaves than usual, and another at Tortworth which in 1905 was 30 feet by 3 feet 9 inches. A tree planted at Bagshot Park by the late Emperor of Germany on July jo, 1880, was, when I saw it in 1907, 36 feet by 3 feet n inches. In Scotland1 the best that we have seen is at Castle Kennedy, which, in 1904, Henry found to be 44 feet by 5 feet 5 inches. Another in a wood at Munches, Dalbeattie, was 30 feet by 2^ feet. Trees were reported to be growing in i8gi" at Balmoral, and at Haddo House in Aberdeenshire, but we have not identified them. In Ireland there were thriving trees at Fota 25 feet high, and bearing cones in 1907 ; at Hamwood, Co. Meath, 36 feet by 2 feet 10 inches in 1904 ; and at Powers- court, which in 1906 was bearing cones, and measured 39 feet by 3 feet n inches. (H. J. E.) ABIES HOMOLEPIS Abies homolepis, Siebold et Zuccarini, Fl. Jap. ii. 17, t. 108 (1844); Masters, Gard. Chron. 1879, p. 823, anAJourn. Linn. Soc. (Bot.) xviii. 518 (1881). Abies Tschonoskiana, Regel, in Index Sem. Hort. Petrop. 32 (1865). Pinus Harryana, M'Nab, Proc. R. Irish Acad. ii. 689, PI. 47, f. 16 (1876). This species, imperfectly described by Siebold and Zuccarini, is considered by Mayr to be a form of A. brachyphylla. It is different in the pulvini of the branchlets, in the shape and arrangement of the leaves, and in the position of the resin-canals in the latter. Specimens in cultivation, described below, agree with the type of Siebold and Zuccarini's species in the Leyden Museum. The cones are unknown ; and it is possible that it may be a juvenile form or variety of A. brachyphylla ; but in the present state of our knowledge, it is best kept distinct. 1 Has been tried at Durris repeatedly, but does not live beyond a year or two. Quite unfitted for our climate.—(J. D. CROZIER.) 3 Card. Chron. x. 458 (1891). Abies 765 As seen in cultivation at Kew, it is a small tree, resembling in bark and habit A. brachyphylla* The foliage, however, is rather like that of A.ßrma, and the tree is occasionally cultivated under that name.1 Buds ovoid, obtuse at the apex, whitened with resin, much larger than those of A.ßrma. Young shoots grey, glabrous, with prominent pulvini and grooves, which become less marked in the second year. Leaves on lateral branches arranged as in A. ßrma, those of the upper rank about half the length of those of the lower rank, linear, flattened, rigid and slightly coriaceous, up to about i^ inch long, ^ inch wide (much narrower than in A.ßrma), tapering gradually to the base, and narrowing near the rounded or acute apex, which is bifid with two short unequal cartilaginous points ; upper surface dark green, shining, with a continuous median groove and without stomata ; lower surface with two raised narrow white bands of stomata, each of about eight lines ; resin-canals marginal. Though this species has been in cultivation2 since 1876 or earlier, we have seen no large specimens ; and are ignorant as to whether it changes in character as it grows older or is short-lived. Its distribution in Japan is not known. (A. H.) ABIES BRACHYPHYLLA, NIKKO FIR Abies brachyphylla? Maximowicz, Mél. Biol. vi. 23 (1866); Masters, Gard. Chron. xii. 556 (1879), anàjourn. Linn. Soc. (Bot.) xviii. 515 (1881); Hooker, Bot. Mag. t. 7114 (1890). Abies homolepis? Mayr, Abiet. Jap. Reiches, 35, t. 2 f. 3 (1890); Shirasawa, Icon. Ess. Forest. Japon, text 14, t. 3, ff. I-I2 (1900); and Kent, Veitch's Man. Coniferœ, 513 (1900) (not Siebold et Zuccarini, Fl.Jap. ii. 17, t. 108 (1844)). Pinus brachyphylla, Parlatore, in D.C. Prod. xvi. 2, p. 424 (1868). Picea brachyphylla, Gordon, Pinetum, 201 (1875). A tree attaining in Japan over 100 feet in height and 16 feet in girth. Bark fissuring and scaly on young branches and on the stems of young trees, becoming like that of a spruce on old trees. Buds ellipsoid or broadly conical, obtuse at the apex, smooth, brownish, resinous. Young shoots greyish, glabrous, with prominent pulvini, separated by deep grooves, the pulvini and grooves becoming more marked in older shoots. Leaves on lateral branches pectinate ; those below extending laterally outwards in the horizontal plane, with a few in the middle line directed forwards and down wards ; those on the upper side of the branchlet directed upwards and outwards, in 1 It is readily distinguishable from A.ßrma by its glabrous shoots, larger buds, and much less coriaceous and narrower leaves. 2 M'Nab, foc. cit. mentions plants of this species, which were growing under the name of A. Veitchii in several nurseries. 3 The following description applies to the tree, described by Maximowicz, which is, in my opinion and that of Dr. Masters, very different from Abies homolepis, S. et Z., which is treated by us as a distinct species. The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland two lateral sets, separated by an acute V-shaped depression. Lower ranks with the longest leaves (about f inch), those in the other ranks gradually diminishing in size as they approach nearer the middle line above. Leaves linear, flattened, uniform in width except at the gradually tapering base, about TXF inch, rounded and slightly bifid at the apex; upper surface dark green, shining, with a continuous median groove and without stomata ; lower surface with two broad conspicuously white bands of stomata, each of ten to twelve lines ; resin-canals median. Leaves on cone-bearing branches shorter than on barren branches, those on the upper side of the shoot crowded and directed upwards, so that the V-shaped depression between the lateral sets is scarcely visible. Cones on short stalks, cylindrical, slightly narrowed at the base and apex, 4 inches long, i| inch in diameter, purple when growing, brown when mature. Scales very thin and flat ; lamina fan-shaped, i| inch long by f inch wide, upper margin entire, lateral margins with denticulate short wings ; claw short and obcuneate. Bract short, not extending half-way up the scale; with a sub-orbicular finely denticulate lamina, tipped by a minute mucro, and a short obcuneate claw. Seed with wing about f inch long, the wing about i| times as long as the body of the seed. In cultivated specimens, the scales of the cone and the seeds are smaller than in wild specimens. The very thin flat scales with the short minutely denticulate bract distinguish well this species. IDENTIFICATION This species has short leaves very white underneath, with an acute V-shaped depression between the lateral sets on the upper side of the branchlet, and is best distinguished by the very prominent pulvini and grooves on the branchlets. The bark of the branches and young stems begins to scale very early, an unusual character in the silver firs, and conspicuous in this species, in A. homo lefts, and in A. Webbiana. The resinous buds, glabrous shoots, and leaves with median resin-canals are additional points in the discrimination of A, brachyphylla. (A. H.) DISTRIBUTION According to Mayr this tree occurs on the main island of Japan, between lat. 36° and 38°, in the interior of the mountainous provinces ; where it attains its maximum development in the zone of the beech forests, some trees attaining as much as 130 feet in height. The Japanese informed Mayr that it was also present on the highest peaks of Shikoku ; but Shirasawa limits its distribution to the central chain of Honshu above 3000 feet elevation, and says that it grows in mixture with broad-leaved trees. To most Europeans it is the best known of the Japanese silver firs, as it grows abundantly at Chuzenji, a favourite tourist resort. Here at 4000 to 5000 feet it is Abies 767 scattered through the forest of deciduous trees and attains a height of 100 feet or more, the largest that I measured being 105 feet high by 16 feet in girth, and 95 feet by ii feet. Higher up the mountains it becomes mixed with Abies Veitchii and diminishes in size. Its range of distribution is not accurately known, for though Japanese botanists distinguish it from the other species, as Dake-momi, the foresters and woodmen, who call all silver firs momi, do not seem, so far as I could learn, to distinguish it from A. Veitchii and A. Mariesii. CULTIVATION The date of introduction of this tree is not certainly known. Kent gives it as about 1870, and Mr. H. J. Veitch tells me that he believes that the first seeds were sent by Dr. Regel from St. Petersburg, but it was at first grown under other names. It seems to thrive in most parts of England as well as or better than the other Japanese firs, but neither the trees I have planted, nor the seedlings I have raised from Japanese seed, will live long on the calcareous soil at Colesborne ; a moist climate in summer, and a deep sandy soil free from lime being apparently the most favourable conditions for its existence. At Kew it seems to grow faster than other firs. At Pampisford, Cambridge, a narrow conical tree measured in 1907, 44 feet by 3 feet 6 inches. At Grayswood, Haslemere, a tree, obtained from Messrs. Veitch in 1882, measured in 1906, 41 feet by 3 feet 3 inches. Both these trees bear cones freely. A specimen at Bicton is about 47 feet high, and bore cones in 1902. There is a very thriving one on the lawn at Bridge Park, Kent, planted by the Duke of Manchester in 1885, which now measures 30 feet high by 3 feet. At Dropmore there is one which in 1908 was 32 by 2 feet. At Kew, where there are several thriving trees, this species first produced1 cones in this country in 1887. At Pencarrow,2 a tree measured 40 feet by 3 feet 10 inches in 1907. In Scotland we have seen no specimen of any size.8 Kent figures a handsome tree at Castlewellan, Co. Down, which was about 35 feet high and coning freely in 1907. Henry measured one at Fota, which was, in 1903, 40 feet in height and 2 feet 8 inches in girth. Another at Glasnevin was, in 1906, 38 feet by 2 feet 6 inches. This species4 is very hardy in eastern Massachusetts, U.S., where it has already produced cones. A tree in Mr. Hunnewell's pinetum at Wellesley was 35 feet high in 1905. (H. J. E.) l Card. Chron. ii. 248 (1887). 1 This tree is figured under the erroneous name of A. Veitchii, in Hortus Veitchii, plate opposite p. 83 (1906). 3 A. brachyphylla seems in every way adapted for cultivation in the north of Scotland, but too little is yet known of rate of growth to enable an opinion to be formed of its economic value.—(J. D. CROZIER.) 4 Sargent, in Silva, N. Amer. xii. 102 adnot. (1898), and The Pinetum at Wellesley in 1905, p. 12. 768 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland ABIES UMBELLATA Abies umbellata, Mayr, Abiet. Jap. Reiches, 34, t. i, f. 2 (1890). Abies umbilicata, Beissner, ex Mayr, Fremdländ. Wald- u. Parkbäume, 258 (1906). This species is very imperfectly known ; and there are no specimens in the Kew herbarium. The plants distributed in England some years ago under the name by Messrs. Veitch are identical with Abies homolepis, and, when seen by Mayr, were pronounced by him to be a form of A. brachyphylla. According to Mayr this species is distinguishable with difficulty, when in the young state, from A. brachyphylla, with which it agrees in the disposition and form of the leaves, and in the characters of the buds and shoots. Mayr states, however, that the leaves are not so white underneath as in A. brachyphylla. I have received from Herr Späth of Berlin, a specimen of reputed A. umbellata, which agrees generally in buds, shoots, and foliage with A. brachyphylla ; but has leaves slightly longer than, and not so conspicuously white beneath, as is usual in that species. The cones, according to Mayr, resemble those of A. ßrma, and are very different in size, colour, scales, and bracts, from those of A. brachyphylla ; and are described by him as greenish-yellow when growing, brown when mature, about 4 inches long by i^ inch in diameter, cylindrical, the flattened apex having in its centre a raised umbo ; scales about ij inch broad by if inch long; bracts narrowed in the middle, slightly shorter than the scales, only exserted at the base of the cone. According to Mayr, this species is only found in a few localities in Japan, but grows in considerable quantity on Mount Mutzumine in the province of Musashi, where it occurs with A. brachyphylla in the beech forests. It grows also on the lumonji-toge, leading from Musashi to Shinano, and is also probably not un common on the neighbouring mountains of Hida and Kai. This species has been united by Sargent, Kent, and others with A. ßrma ; but it is very different from that species in foliage and shoots. It is possibly a hybrid between A. brachyphylla, of which it has the foliage, and A. ßrma, which it resembles in its cones. (A. H.) ABIES VEITCHII, VEITCH'S FIR Abies Veitchii, Lindley, Gard. Chron. 1861, p. 23; Masters, Gard. Chron. xiii. 275 (1880), and Journ. Linn. Soc. (Bot.) xviii. 515, t. 20 (1881); Mayr, Monog. Abiet. Jap. Reiches, 38, t. 2, f. 4 (1890); Kent, Veitch's Man. Conifères, 541 (1900); Shirasawa, Icon. Ess. Forest. Japon, text 16, t. 5, ff. 23-42 (1900). Abies Eichleri, Lauche, Berlin. Gartenzeit. 1882, p. 63. Pinus selenolepis, Parlatore, DC. Prod. xvi. 2, p. 427 (1868). Picea Veitchii, Murray, Prof. Roy. Hort. Soc. ii. 347, ff. 52-62 (1862). A tree, attaining 60 to 70 feet in height. Bark of trunk greyish and remaining smooth even in old trees. Buds small, subglobose, purplish, resinous. Young Abies 769 branchlets smooth, brown, covered with moderately dense, short, erect pubescence, retained on the older branchlets, the bark of which becomes slightly fissured. Leaves on lateral branches arranged almost as in A. Nordmanniana; those on the under side of the branchlet pectinate ; those on the upper side shorter and covering the branchlet, the median ones pointing upwards and forwards, and not appressed so much as in A. Nordmanniana. Leaves, about \ to i inch long, ^ inch wide, linear, flattened, gradually tapering to the base, uniform in width in the anterior half, with a truncate bifid apex ; upper surface dark green, shining, with a continuous median groove and without stomata ; lower surface with two conspicuously white, broad bands of stomata, in nine to ten lines ; resin - canals median. On cone - bearing branches, the leaves are more crowded, and less plainly pectinate below, than is the case in barren branches. Staminate flowers* \ inch long on a stalk of the same length ; anthers stalked, connective developed into a saddle-shaped flap, from the back of which projects a horizontal or deflexed spur-like process. Cones sessile or sub-sessile, cylindrical, flattened at the apex, 2 to z\ inches long, f to i inch in diameter, bluish before ripening, brown when mature. Scales small ; lamina f inch wide, f inch long, crescentic, with two lateral denticulate wings, which are separated from the narrow obcuneate base by rounded deep sinuses. Bract as long as the scale, obcuneate below, dilated above into a two- winged denticulate lamina, ending in a short mucro, slightly exserted and reflexed. Seed-wing very broad and short, scarcely the length of the body of the seed ; seed with wing about f inch long. VARIETIES Mayr distinguishes two forms of cones :— 1. Var. typica. Cones large, about z\ inches long ; bracts exserted and reflexed. 2. Var. Nikkoensis. Cones small, 2 inches long ; bracts scarcely visible, their fine points projecting only slightly between the scales. Abies nephrolepis, Maximowicz,2 has been united with Abies Veitchii by Masters, and is perhaps a geographical form of the latter species, occurring in Amurland. According to Maximowicz it differs in the leaves of cone-bearing branchlets being sometimes acute and not bifid, and in the smaller ovoid-cylindrical cones, the scales of which are longer than the bracts and less in size than those of the Japanese tree. This Manchurian tree has not apparently been introduced into cultivation and is still imperfectly known. Abies Eichleri, Lauche, was supposed to have been raised from seeds sent from Tiflis to Potsdam ; and was considered to be a new species from the Caucasus. Some error, however, had arisen, as the plants turned out to be identical with Abies Veitchii. Abies Veitchii has been collected according to Beissner3 by Père Giraldi at 1 Masters, loc. cit. IV a Mil. Biol. vi. 22 (1866). 3 See Journ. Linn. Sec. (Bot.) xxvi. 557 (1902). I 77° The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 9800 feet elevation in the Peling Mountains in the province of Kansu in China. The identification of herbarium specimens of Abies is difficult, and the Kansu plant will probably turn out to be a new and distinct species. IDENTIFICATION This species, with leaves covering the branchlet on the upper side, which are very white beneath, truncate and bifid at the apex, and less appressed than is the case in A. Nordmanniana, is further characterised by its small resinous buds, median resin-canals in the leaves, and smooth branchlets with short erect pubescence. The distinctions between it and A. Mariesii are given under the latter species. (A. H.) HISTORY AND DISTRIBUTION Abies Veitchii was discovered on Fuji-yama by J. Gould Veitch in 1860. According to Sargent* it was introduced by Mr. T. Hogg into Parson's nurseries in Flushing, New York, in 1876, and a plant raised there was 16 feet high in 1889. It was cultivated in the United States for a time under the name of Abies japonica. It was not known in England or on the continent until 1879, when seeds were sent home2 to Messrs. Veitch by their collector Maries. The best account of the distribution is given by Mayr, who considers the tree to be the typical silver fir of the cold region of Japan, a zone which does not occur in Kiushu, where there are no mountains high enough. In Shikoku, A. Veitchii is very rare, only about 200 trees being known, which grow on the summit (6600 feet elevation) of Ishitzuchi-yama. It extends in the main island of Japan over the central mountain chain, from Fuji-yama to lat. 39°, growing at elevations of 6600 feet and upwards. Mayr denies its occurrence beyond lat. 39°; and states that north of this line it is replaced by Abies Mariesii? which thus inter venes over three degrees of latitude between the southern region, occupied by A. Veitchii, and the northern region, occupied by A. sachalinensis, these two species not meeting at any point, and having no transitional forms. A. Veitchii either forms pure woods or is associated with Picea hondoensis and Picea Alcockiana, but never with Piceapolita. Sometimes it is mixed with Tsuga diversifolia or with A. Mariesii. Shirasawa gives its lower limit of altitude in the main island as 5000 feet, and states that it attains about 70 feet in height by 7 feet in girth. According to Mayr and Matsumura, the Japanese name, which is exclusively applied to this species, is Shirabiso. Shiramomi is also another name for the tree. So far as I could learn the tree is of no special economic value in Japan. 1 Garden and Forest, ii. 589 (1889). In this journal, x. 511 (1897) the statement is made that Mr. Hogg introduced it some forty years earlier, evidently a mistake for twenty years. A. Veitchii is very hardy in the United States, where it has produced cones. 2 Horttts Veitchii, 337 (1906). 3 Prof. Miyabe showed me, in his herbarium, a barren specimen with small leaves, from Samani, near Cape Erimo, in eastern Hokkaido, which he believed to be .4. Vcitthii. This was A. sachalinensis, Masters, var. nemorensis, Mayr. Abies 771 CULTIVATION It seems to grow fairly well though rather slowly on soils which contain no lime ; but it will not live on the calcareous soil at Colesborne. We have seen no trees of considerable size. One at Tregrehan near St. Austell, measured 27 feet by 2 feet in 1908; and another at Ochtertyre, Perth shire, measured 30 feet by 2 feet in the same year. Mr. Bean1 noticed in 1906 a specimen 31 feet high at Murthly Castle, and another 20 feet high at Dalkeith Palace. Small specimens will be found in most collections of conifers ; and the young trees at Kew at present appear to thrive better than most species of Abies. (H. J. E.) ABIES MARIESII, MARIES' FIR Abies Mariesii, Masters,2 Gard. Chron. xii. 788, f. 129 (1879), and Journ. Linn. Soc. (Bot.) xviii. 519 (1881) ; Mayr, Abiet. Japan. Reiches, 40, t. 2, f. 5 (1890); Shirasawa, Icon. Essences Forest. Japon, text 15, t. 4. ff. 15-28 (1900); Kent, Veitch's Man. Cotiiferœ, 520 (1900). A tree, attaining in Japan about 80 feet in height and 6 feet in girth. Buds small, globose, resinous ; terminal buds on strong shoots are girt at the base by a ring of ovate, acuminate, rusty-red pubescent scales. Young shoots densely covered with a rusty-red tomentum, retained more or less in older shoots, the bark slightly fissuring in the third year. Leaves on lateral branches arranged as in Abies Nordmanniana, the median leaves on the upper side almost appressed to the stem in imbricating ranks, and about i to f the length of the lower leaves, which spread pectinately outwards and slightly forwards in the horizontal plane. Leaves linear, flattened, tapering at the base and gradually widening beyond the middle, so that their broadest part is in the upper third ; about f inch in maximum length, ^ to ^ inch wide ; apex rounded and bifid ; upper surface yellowish green, shining, with a continuous median groove and without stomata ; lower surface with two white bands of stomata, each of eight or nine lines ; resin-canals marginal. Leaves on cone-bearing branches all appressed more or less to the shoot, upturned, and shorter than on barren branches. Cones sessile, deep blue with a velvety lustre before ripening, dark brown when mature, ellipsoid, with an obtuse apex, about 4 inches long by 2 inches in diameter. Scales fan-shaped ; lamina i inch wide, £ inch long, upper margin undulate, lateral margins with two denticulate wings ; claw broadly obcuneate. Bract with a broad obcuneate claw, expanding just above the base of the scale, into a broadly oval lamina, which is emarginate at the apex with a short mucro. Seed-wing nearly twice the length of the body of the seed ; seed with wing about f inch long. The cones show that the tree is nearly related to Abies Webbiana ; but it differs entirely from that species in the characters of the branchlets and foliage. 1 Cf. Kew Bulletin, 1906, pp. 260, 268. 2 Allies Mariesii, Masters, Bot. Mag. t. 8098 (1906), described from a tree at Dunphail, Morayshire, is referable to A. Welliana, as mentioned in our account of the latter species. 77^ The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland IDENTIFICATION This species is similar in the arrangement and size of the leaves to A. Veitchii; but is distinguishable from that and from all other species of Abies, by the rusty-red or chocolate colour of the densely tomentose branchlets. The leaves are shorter and broader in proportion than those of A. Veitchii, being widest in their upper third, with their apex rounded and not truncate as in that species. The two species differ also in the position of the resin-canals. (A. H.) HISTORY AND DISTRIBUTION This species was discovered1 in 1878, by Charles Maries, when collecting for Messrs. Veitch, on Mount Hakkoda near Aomori in northern Hondo ; and for some years it was supposed to occur only in the main island of Japan, where Mayr gives its distribution as from lat. 36° to the extreme northerly point of the island. It has since been found, according to Sargent,2 by Tokubuchi in 1892 in one place on the shores of southern Yezo ;3 and Dr. Honda lately discovered it in Formosa on Mount Morrison at 10,000 feet elevation. Sargent saw it on Mount Hakkoda, and says that it is common at about 5000 feet, scattered amongst deciduous trees, and is the only species of Abies in this locality, where it forms a compact pyramid, 40 to 50 feet high, with crowded branches and many large dark purple cones. Maries also found it on Nantai above Nikko, which I had not time to ascend ; Mr. Tome Shirasawa, who was my companion in North Japan, says that it grows here in company with Abies Veitchii on the upper zone of the mountain at 7000 to 8000 feet. The tree according to Mayr is the smallest of all the Japanese silver firs, its maximum height being 80 feet, with a girth of about 6 feet. It is known in Japan as Aomori-todo-matsu, and, so far as I could learn, has no economic value. CULTIVATION Seeds were sent home by Maries in 1879, but gave poor results ; and we have not found anywhere in this country a single tree of any size ; but Mr. Bean4 has seen a small but healthy tree at Scone Palace in Perthshire. As seen in the nursery at Kew and Coombe Wood, it is very slow and feeble in growth, and apparently is not suited to the English climate, young plants usually having very small leaves and short shoots. There are, however, three flourishing young trees at Bayford- bury, which were obtained from Hesse's nursery at Weener, in Hanover. It seems to do very much better in America, where I saw a vigorous tree5 growing at Mr. Hunnewell's pinetum at Wellesley, Massachusetts. Reputed trees of Abies Mariesii usually turn out on examination to be Abies Veitchii. (H. J. E.) 1 Hortus Veitchii, 336 (1906). 2 Forest Flora of Japan, $2 (1894). 3 liut Prof. Miyabe told me in 1904 that he had seen no specimens from this place, and doubted its occurrence in Hokkaido. lie had specimens in his herbarium from Nambu near Morioka. 4 Gard. Chron. xli. 117 (1907). 6 Reported to be 9 feet high, by Sargent, in The Pinetum at Wellesley in jcoj, p. 13. Abies 773 ABIES GRANDIS, GIANT FIR Abies grandis, Lindley, Penny Cycl. i. 30 (1833); Masters, Gard. Chron. xv. 179, ff. 33-36 (1881) xvii. 400 (1882), and xxiv. 563, ff. 128-131 (1885), and Journ. Linn. Soc. (Bot.\ xxii. 174 (1886); Sargent, Silva N. Amer. xii. 117, t. 612 (1898), and Trees N. Amer. 60 (1905); Kent, Veitch's Man. Coniferœ, 510 (1900). Abies Gordoniana, Carrière, Conif. 298 (1867). Abies amabilis, Murray, Proc. Roy. Hort. Soc. iii. 310 (1863) (not Forbes). Pinus grandis, Hooker, FI. Bor. Amer. ii. 163 (1839). Picea grandis, Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit. 2341 (in part) (1838). A tree attaining in America in the coast regions 300 feet in height and 16 feet in girth ; but on the mountains of the interior rarely more than 100 feet high by 6 feet in girth ; often smaller and stunted at high elevations. Bark of young trees smooth, thin, and pale ; of older trees in America, brownish, divided by shallow fissures into low flat ridges roughened by thick appressed scales ; in cultivated trees fissuring into thin irregular plates, exposing the reddish brown cortex. Buds small, conical, obtuse at the apex, resinous, roughened by the raised tips of the scales. Young shoots olive-green, smooth, with a minute, erect, not dense pubescence. Leaves on lateral branchlets pectinate, in two lateral sets in the horizontal plane, each set of apparently two ranks, the upper rank with leaves about half the length of those below. Leaves linear, flattened, up to about ij to 2 inches long, ^ to ^ inch in width, narrowed at the base, uniform in breadth elsewhere, with a rounded and bifid apex ; upper surface dark green, shining, with a continuous median groove and without stomata ; lower surface with two white bands of stomata, each of about eight lines ; resin-canals marginal. Leaves on cone-bearing branches crowded, less spreading or nearly erect, blunt or bifid at the apex, shorter than on sterile branches. Cones 2 to 4 inches long by i to \\ inch in diameter, cylindrical, slightly narrowed towards the rounded or retuse apex, bright green in colour, with the bracts concealed. Scales resembling those of Abies Loiviana, but smaller. Bract situated a little above the base of the scale, quadrangular ; upper margin broad, denticulate, deeply emarginate, and with a minute mucro. Seeds f inch long, light brown, with pale shining wings about | inch long. IDENTIFICATION Abies grandis is readily distinguished by the very flat pectinate arrangement of the leaves ; those of the upper rank being about half the length of those in the lower rank. Abies Loiviana, when growing feebly, resembles it somewhat in arrange ment ; but in this species the upper surface of the leaves has stomatic lines, absent in A. grandis, and the leaves in the upper rank are only slightly shorter than those in the lower rank. (A. H.) 774 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland DISTRIBUTION On the north-west coast of America this magnificent tree has a wide range, from Vancouver Island, where it grows at low levels and is not, so far as I saw, a conspicuous feature in the forest ; through Washington and Oregon as far south as Mendocino County in California, where it does not extend far from the coast, and grows in company with Sequoia sempervirens and Picea sitchensis. Inland it is less abundant on the eastern slopes of the Cascade Mountains, but extends to the Cœur d'Alêne and Bitter-root Mountains of Idaho and Montana. In the Flathead Lake Country it is a comparatively small tree, attaining only 12 to 15 inches in diameter, and ascending to about 3500 feet. It reaches its maximum development in a damp climate and in sheltered valleys, where I have measured trees much over 200 feet in height, and where, according to Sargent and Sheldon, it sometimes reaches as much as 300 feet. So far as I saw, and Sargent confirms this observation, it never grows gregariously, but scattered among other species ; and rarely forms an important element in the timber. It is easy to recognise when young by the flat arrangement of the leaves, but when its branches are far above one's head I could not distinguish it from A. amabilis in the Cascade mountains, or from A. Lowiana which seems to take its place in southern Oregon and northern California. It grows very fast in its own country, a specimen measured at 2500 feet altitude on the Cascade Mountains being 140 feet by 16 feet on the stump, at only 106 years old. Though the timber is not much valued by lumbermen, it is used for various purposes locally, and, according to Sheldon, makes the most durable shakes—a name used for large shingles cleft with the axe—used in Oregon. The tree figured (Plate 218) was growing in 1904 on Swallowfield farm, about fifty miles north of Victoria, in Vancouver Island, and when I measured it, was 215 feet by 19 feet. Abies grandis was discovered on the Columbia river by Douglas in 1825, though he does not seem to have sent seeds to the Horticultural Society until 1831 or 1832. Very few of these germinated, and it is doubtful if any of the original seedlings are still living.1 The next consignment2 of seed was sent by William Lobb in 1851 to Messrs. Veitch at Exeter; and about the same time seeds were received by the Scottish Oregon Association from their collector Jeffrey. REMARKABLE TREES There are many fine trees of this species in the warmer and moister parts of England, Scotland, and Ireland ; and, with A. nobilis and A. Lowiana, it seems best suited of all the American firs to our climate.8 1 Murray, Proc. Roy. Hort. Soc. 311 ( 1863), states that there were then living no authentic seedling specimens of A. grandis raised from the seeds sent by Douglas, but a multitude of young plants existed which had been raised from cuttings. 2 Horlus Veitchii, 336(1906). 3 The most vigorous of all the genus. Thrives admirably on gneiss, free from all trace of disease, is not susceptible to frosts or Chermes, and as a shade bearer has no equal amongst silver firs. Produces timber, which is white and Abies 775 The tallest that I have seen in England grows in Oakly Park near Ludlow, the property of Lord Plymouth, on the rich flat by the river Teme, and measured 102 feet by 8£ feet in 1908. Other fine trees are at Fonthill Abbey, which was 98 feet by 8 feet in 1906 ; and at Madresfield Court1 and Eastnor Castle, both of which are over 95 feet high and 7! feet in girth. The latter is figured (Plate 217). I have seen several others over 90 feet, of which perhaps the one at Heanton Satchville is the largest, though it is too spreading to be a typical specimen. In 1903 it was about 94 feet by 9 feet 7 inches, and 56 yards in circum ference of the branches. At Castlehill there are some fine trees, one of which measured 92 feet by 7 feet 10 inches in 1904. At Petworth there is a very tall but not a well-grown tree, 94 feet by 6 feet 6 inches. At Eridge Park a very handsome tree, planted by Mr. Disraeli in 1868, measures 76 feet by 6£ feet. At Youngsbury, Ware, in Herts, Mr. H. Clinton Baker measured a tree in 1907, which was 91 feet in height and 9 feet 8 inches in girth ; and at his own place, Bayfordbury, there is another, 73 feet by 5 feet 9 inches in 1905. He also reports two good trees at The Heath, Leighton Buzzard, 98 feet by 8 feet 6 inches, and 88 feet by 7 feet 10 inches respectively. There is also a very large tree in a belt by the road at Flitwick Manor, near Ampthill, Bedfordshire, the seat of Miss Brooks, which is 95 feet by 10 feet. At Welford Park there are two trees which though only planted in 1878, are now about 90 feet high by 7 feet in girth. At Barton a thriving tree, 68 feet by 4 feet 3 inches, is the best we know in the eastern counties, and this is sheltered and drawn up by tall trees around it. At Golden Grove, Carmarthenshire, there is a fine tree which in 1892 was 60 feet by 7 feet 8 inches, and when I saw it in 1905 had increased to 80 feet. In Scotland there are many fine specimens, of which one at Riccarton, in Mid lothian, was reported at the Conifer Conference in 1891 to have been 83 feet 3 inches high and only 3 feet 8£ inches in girth, as carefully measured by the owner, Sir James Gibson Craig ; and stated by him to have grown 53 feet in twelve years. Soon after this it was attacked by Chermes and was cut down. At Glenlee, near New Galloway, Mr. T. R. Bruce informs me that there is a tree, planted by Mrs. Melville in 1864, which in 1905 measured no less than 95 feet by ID feet, though, having lost its leader four years previously, it has now three leads. At Castle Kennedy this species grows much faster than any of the other numerous firs planted there. In 1904, one of two trees, nearly equal in size, was 78 feet high by 6 feet in girth. This tree* was only twelve years old in 1891, when it measured 30 feet by i foot 7 inches. At Benmore, in Argyllshire, one of the wettest places in Scotland, a tree said to be only thirty-five years planted was, in 1907, 80 feet by 7 feet 4 inches; but the trunk was infested with scale and did not seem to be healthy when I saw it. At Poltalloch, there is a fine specimen over 80 feet high, and at Inveraray and somewhat soft, in great volume, and which is found useful in connection with box-making and other industries in Aberdeen. Specially adapted for cultivation for profit where a large volume of timber is a desideratum.—(J. D. CROZIER.) 1 A note signed J. N. in the Trans. Scot. Art. Soc. xx. 126 (1907) states that this tree, in Sept. 1906, was 114 feet by 8 feet 4 inches. When I measured it in 1904, I made it 96 feet by J% feet ; and though owing to the ground I could not get a level base line, I can hardly believe that it is now so tall as stated. 2 Jonrn. Roy. Hort. Soc. xiv. 547 (1892). The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland Ardkinglas, in the same county, are trees over 70 feet, which in that wet climate flourish exceedingly. In the Keillour Pinetum, near Balgowan, in Perthshire, a tree growing in boggy soil was, in 1904, 90 feet high by 7 feet 3 inches. It is not well furnished above, and is perhaps beginning to suffer from the nature of the soil. At Keir, Dunblane, there is a tree which in 1904 measured 82 feet high by 9 feet 3 inches in girth. This tree1 was twenty-eight years old in 1891, and then measured 55 feet by 4 feet 2 inches. At Abercairney, Perthshire, there is a fine tree, which in 1904 was 91 feet by 8 feet 4 inches. This tree2 was about thirty years old in 1891, and then measured 58 feet by 4 feet 6 inches. At Durris, Aberdeenshire, there is a good tree, which Mr. Crozier measured in 1904 as 82 feet high by 9 feet 6 inches in girth. When 1 saw it in 1907 it had increased to nearly 90 feet. The largest tree in Ireland was formerly at Carton, which was reported in 1891 to be 80 feet high by 6 feet in girth. The top was blown off by the gale of February 1903, and when seen by Henry in the autumn of that year, the tree measured 67 feet by 9 feet 6 inches. At Kilmacurragh, Co. Wicklow, a fine specimen was, in 1906, 86 feet by 7 feet 2 inches ; and at Coollattin, in the same county, another measured 63 feet by 6 feet 4 inches. At Powerscourt I measured one in 1903 which was about 87 feet by 7^ feet. Abies grandis thrives very well in north-western Germany, and according to Count Von Wilamitz-Möllendorf s grows at Gadow faster than any other silver fir, a specimen figured being 25 metres by 1.40 metre when only twenty-five years old. It also succeeds in some parts of Denmark, where Hansen4 states that a specimen planted in 1864 had attained, in 1891, 53 feet by 6 feet. (H. J. E.) 1 Journ. Roy. Hort. Soc. xiv. 531 (1892). 3 Mitt. D. Dcndr. Ges., 1907, p. 138. 1 Ibid. 527. 4 Journ. Roy. Hort. See. xiv. 469 (1892). Abies 777 ABIES CONCOLOR, COLORADO FIR Abies concolor,1 Lindley and Gordon, Journ. Hort. Soc. v. 210 (1850); Masters, four». Linn. Soc. (Ätf.) xxii. 177, ff. 8-11 (1886), and Gard. Chron. viii. 748, ff. 147, 148 (1890); Sargent, Silva 2V. Amer. xii. 121, t. 613 (1898) (in part), and Trees N. Amer. 62 (1905) (in part); Kent, Veitch's Ma». Conifer«, 501 (1900). Picea concolor, Gordon, Pinetum, 155 (1858). Picea concolor, var. violacea, Roezl, ex Murray, Gard. Chron. iii. 464 (1875). Pinus concolor, Engelmann, ex Parlatore, in DC. Prod. xvi. 2, p. 427 (1868). A tree attaining in America 100 to 125 feet in height, with a girth of 9 feet. Bark of old trees fissuring into small irregular plates. Buds, much larger than those of A. Lowiana, broadly conical, rounded at the apex, brownish, resinous, and slightly roughened by the raised tips of the scales. Young shoots smooth, yellowish-green, with a minute scattered pubescence, variable in quantity and often absent from the greater part of the branchlet. Second year's shoot greyish and irregularly fissuring. Leaves on lateral branchlets irregularly arranged and not truly pectinate ; most of the leaves extending laterally outwards and curving upwards, a few on the lower side directed downwards and forwards, some on the upper side directed upwards and forwards ; those above shorter than those below. Leaves up to 2 to 3 inches long, fy inch broad, glaucous on both surfaces, linear, flattened, slightly tapering at the base, uniform in width elsewhere ; apex acute or rounded and not bifid, though occasionally a slight emargination is discernible with a lens ; upper surface slightly convex, not grooved, with fifteen to sixteen regular lines of stomata ; lower surface convex with two bands of stomata, each of about eight irregular lines, not con spicuously white ; resin-canals marginal. Leaves on cone-bearing branches shorter, thicker, falcate, all curving upwards. Cones, 3 to 5 inches long, i^ inch in diameter, cylindrical, narrowed at both ends, rounded or obtuse at the apex ; greenish or purple before ripening, brown when mature. Scales of native Colorado specimens much broader than long ; lamina about I inch wide by £ inch long, upper margin entire, lateral margins rounded and denticulate, gradually passing into the obcuneate claw or with a slightly auricled truncate base. Bract, at the base of the scale, rectangular, denticulate, with truncate upper margin and a minute mucro ; in some specimens deeply bifid above. Seeds ^ inch long, with broad shining pinkish wings, about £ inch long. In cultivated specimens, both brown and purple cones occur. The following varieties have arisen in continental nurseries :— r. Var. falcata, Beissner,2 leaves sickle-shaped, curving upwards. 2. Var. glabosa, Beissner,2 globose in habit, with symmetrical short branches. 1 According to the view taken here, Abies concolor includes only the tree found in Colorado, Utah, and Southern California. Sargent and other American botanists combine with this species the tree found in the Californian Sierras, which is considered by us to be a distinct species, A. Lowiana. The two forms differ remarkably in buds and foliage ; and it is most convenient to regard them as distinct species. * Mitt. Deut. Dendr. Ces. 1905, p. 112. K IV 77$ The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 3. Var. aurea, Beissner,1 young foliage golden yellow, gradually changing to a silvery grey colour. 4. Var. brevifolia, Beissner,1 leaves short, thick, obtuse, twice as broad as in the typical form. DISTRIBUTION Abies concolor occurs in the Rocky Mountains of southern Colorado and extends southwards over the mountains of New Mexico and Arizona into northern Mexico, being the only silver fir in the arid regions of the Great Basin and of southern New Mexico and Arizona. It occurs also in Utah in the Wasatch Mountains, and in southern California, in the San Bernardino and San Jacinto Mountains. It is accordingly confined to dry regions, while Abies Lowiana, which is in all probability only a geographical form of it, occurs in the more rainy regions of the Sierra Nevada of California and the southern mountains of Oregon. According to some opinions, the three species, Abies grandis, Abies Lowiana, and Abies concolor are only geographical forms of one large species. Sargent says, of Abies concolor, that it endures heat and dryness best of all the silver firs of North America, and its distribution is accordingly more southerly than that of the other species, which occur in the United States. HISTORY AND CULTIVATION This species was discovered by Fendler, near Santé Fé, in 1847, and was first clearly described by Parlatore, who adopted for it Engelmann's MS. name, Pinus concolor. It does not appear to have been introduced2 into cultivation until about 1872. Syme mentions8 two-year-old seedlings of it as a new species in 1875. Roezl, apparently in 1874, sent specimens and seeds, which were labelled Picea concolor violacea,* from New Mexico to Messrs. Sanders and Co., St. Albans. This species has been much confused with A. Lowiana, which was introduced considerably earlier. It is probable that there are no trees of true A. concolor in cultivation, older than 1873 or 1874. Abies concolor, according to Sargent, is the only American silver fir, which is really successful in cultivation in the eastern part of the United States, where it grows better than A. Lowiana. We have seen few trees of large size, though one at Highnam Court, Gloucester shire, of no great age, was 44 feet by 2 feet 9 inches in 1908. It is less common in cultivation than A. Lowiana, which it much excels in beauty of foliage. Mr. Crozier says that young trees growing at Durris are quite healthy. (A. H.) 1 Mitt. Deut. Dendr. Ges. 1906, p. 144. 2 Roezl sent a few seeds in 1872. Cf. Lavallée, Nouveaux Conifères du Colorado et de la Californie, vnjourn. Suc. Cent. Hort, fronce, viii. (1875). 3 Gard. Chron. iii. 563 (1875). * IKd- 464- Abies 779 ABIES LOWIANA, CALIFORNIAN FIR Abies Lowiana, A. Murray, Proc. Key. Hort. Soc. iii. 317 (1863). Abies lasiocarpa, Masters (not Nuttall or Murray), Gard. Chron. xiii. 8, f. i ( 1880). Abies grandis, Lindley, van Lowiana, Masters, Journ. Linn. Soc. (-Bot.), xxii. 175, ff. 6, 7 (1886). Allies concolor, Sargent, Si/va N. Amer. xii. 121 (1898), and Trees N. Atner. 62 (1905) (in part). Abies concolor, Lindley and Gordon, var. lasiocarpa, Beissner, Handb. Conif. 71 (1887). Abies concolor, Lindley and Gordon, var. Lowiana, I.emmon, W. Amer. Cone-Bearers, 64 (1895); Kent, Veitch's Man. Conif. 502 (1900). Picea Lmviana, Gordon, Pinet. Suffi 53 (1862). Picea Parsonsiana, Barren, Catalogue, 1859, and Gard. Chron. \. 77 (1876). Pinus Lowiana, M'Nab, Proc. R. Irish Acad. ii. 680 (1877). A tree, attaining on the Californian Sierras 200 to 250 feet in height, with a trunk often 18 feet in girth. Bark in cultivated specimens as in A. concolor; in wild trees becoming, near the ground, on old trunks, very thick and deeply divided into broad, rounded, scaly ridges. Buds ovoid, blunt at the apex, brownish, resinous, roughened by the raised tips of the scales. Young shoots yellowish green, smooth, covered with a minute scattered pubescence. Leaves on lateral branchlets pectinately arranged, each lateral set of about two ranks, directed almost horizontally outwards, or curving upwards and outwards, so as to assume above a V-shaped arrangement. None of the leaves are directed irregularly in the middle line ; and those of the upper rank are only slightly shorter than those of the lower rank. Leaves, up to 2^ inches long, about TX2 inch broad, linear, flattened, slightly tapering at the base, uniform in width elsewhere, rounded and bifid at the apex ; upper surface with a wide median furrow, usually not continued to the apex, and with eight lines of stomata in the furrow ; lower surface with two white bands of stomata, each of eight to nine lines ; resin-canals, marginal. Leaves on cone-bearing branches, upturned. Cones, according to Sargent, not distinguishable from those of Abies concolor. Wild specimens, however, from California slightly differ, in having larger scales and broader bracts. Cultivated specimens in England bear cones which are chestnut- brown, and apparently never purple, as is often the case in Abies concolor. IDENTIFICATION Abies Lowiana is regarded by Sargent and other American botanists as a form of A. concolor. As seen in cultivation it is very distinct from that species : more over, it has a different distribution in the wild state. We have kept it separate, as being more convenient to cultivators. In practice it can only be confused with A. grandis, and true A. concolor. The characters distinguishing it from A. grandis are given under this species on p. 773. In A. concolor the arrangement of the leaves is irregular, not being truly pectinate. Many of the leaves in the middle line, both above and below, are not 780 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland directed outwards, but point forwards parallel to the axis of the branchlet. In A. concolor the leaves are entire at the apex, and their convex upper surface shows six teen lines of stomata, and is without a groove ; whereas, in A. Loiviana, the apex of the leaves is bifid, and their upper surface is grooved, showing eight lines of stomata. The buds are smaller in the latter species. (A. H.) DISTRIBUTION Abies Lowiana is found on the Siskiyou Mountains in southern Oregon, and on Mt. Shasta and the Sierra Nevada ranges in California. Its northern limit is the dry interior of southern Oregon, near the divide between the headwaters of the Umpqua and Rogue rivers, which, according to Sargent, is the real northern boundary of the Californian flora.1 With Abus magnified it forms in great part one of the principal forest belts on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains for 450 miles, and extends from 4000 to 9000 feet above sea-level. Here I saw it on my way into the Yosemite Valley in 1888, but did not then measure any trees. I found it in September 1904 in company with A. magnißca, Pinus ponderosa, and Pinus Lambertiana abundant on Mount Shasta, from about 3000 to 6000 feet ; and here it was of moderate size, the largest that I measured being 140 feet by n feet 8 inches. It attains, however, 200 to 250 feet on the Sierra Nevada, and as much as 200 feet in Oregon. HISTORY AND CULTIVATION Abies Lowiana was introduced from the Sierra Nevada of California by William Lobb in 1851 ; and about the same time seeds were sent from southern Oregon by John Jeffrey, who collected for the Scottish Oregon Association. The plants raised from Lobb's seeds were distributed by Messrs. Veitch of Exeter as Picea lasiocarpa, while those raised in Scotland from Jeffrey's seeds were distributed as Picea grandis? Messrs. Parsons of Flushing, United States, received seeds from California in 1853; and plants raised from these were imported to England in 1855 by Messrs. Low of Clapton. These passed into commerce as Picea Parsonsiana, a name which first appeared in Barren's Catalogue in 1859, and as Picea Lo-wiana, the name given by Gordon in 1862. Of all the western silver firs this seems to be the most accommodating to the varied conditions of England, growing well on soils where A. nobilis will not thrive, and in a drier climate than A. grandis prefers. It is usually grown under the name of A. lasiocarpa, in the pineta which I have visited, and generally seen in good health and with a symmetrical top ; as it is not so liable to become stunted by the production of cones as A. nobilis. According to Sargent, the Californian form of A. concolor grows in the eastern 1 The fir named A. concolor by Plummer in his Report on the Mt. Rainier Forest Reserve, p. 101 (Washington, 1900), is evidently A. grandis, which he does not mention, and all his references to white fir no doubt relate to that species. ' Cf. Hoi tus Veitchii, 39, 335 (1906). Abies States with less vigour and rapidity than the Colorado form ; but is equally hardy, and has attained 40 to 50 feet in height in New England. REMARKABLE TREES Among the numerous trees that I have measured I find it difficult to say which is the finest specimen. The one at Linton Park was the largest recorded at the time of the Conifer Conference, when it was 64 feet by 8 feet 7 inches. In 1902 I found it to be 85 feet by 10 feet 6 inches, a great increase in ten years (Plate 219). There is, however, a tree at Fonthill Abbey which I believe to be A. Loiuiana, though I could not reach the branches in order to identify it, which, in 1906, measured 90 feet by 6£ feet, and resembled, by its short branches, the typical habit of A. magnified. At Highnam Court, Gloucester, there is a fine specimen which was figured by Kent ; according to Major Gambier Parry, it measured 77 feet by 9 feet 2 inches in 1906. I made it 80 feet by 9^ feet in 1908. Another at Eastnor Castle is about 88 feet by 7 feet 4 inches. In Herts there are several good trees, one at Essendon Place being 82 feet high by 5 feet 9 inches in 1907 ; another at Youngsbury, Ware, which was planted in 1866, being 68 feet by 5 feet 6 inches in the same year; and a third at Bayford- bury, which was 69 feet by 6 feet 9 inches in 1905. A very remarkable specimen, narrow and almost columnar in habit, which was planted twenty-six years ago, was seen by Henry at Crowsley Park, Oxfordshire, the seat of Colonel Baskerville, and measured, in 1907, 71 feet by 6 feet. In Wales there is a very fine tree at Hafodunos, which Henry measured, in 1904, as 87 feet by 7 feet 9 inches ; and I saw one at Glanusk Park in Breconshire, which was over 80 feet high in 1906. In Scotland this species is not usually so large as in the south, though it grows well even in the west, where I have seen good trees at Inveraray and Poltalloch ; and in the reports of the Conifer Conference it is generally described as thriving, and several trees of 40 to 50 feet high are mentioned. The largest we have heard of is at Abercairney, mentioned by Mr. Bean l as 65 feet by 5 feet. In Ireland the tree does not appear to have been often planted, and the largest reported at the Conifer Conference in 1891 was growing at Abbeyleix in Queen's County, and measured 45 feet by 6 feet 10 inches. At Coollattin, Co. Wicklow, another was, in 1906, 52 feet by 4 feet 9 inches; and, in the same year, a fine specimen at Castlewellan, Co. Down, measured 67 feet in height and 9 feet in girth. (H. J. E.) 1 Keui Bulletin, 1906, p. 258, and Card. Chron. xli. 168 (1907), where it is named through inadvertence A. concolor 782, The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland ABIES AMABILIS, LOVELY FIR Abies amabilis, Forbes, Pitut. Woburn. 125, t. 44 (1840); Masters, Jmtrn. Linn. Soc. (Bot.) xxii. 171, t. 2 (1886), and Gard. Chron. iii. 754, f. 102 (1888); Sargent, Silva N. Amer. xii. 125, t. 614 (1898), and Trees N. Amer. 59 (1905); Kent, Veitch's Man. Conif. 489 (1900). Abies grandis, Murray, Proc. Roy. Hort. Soc. iii. 308 (1863) (not Lindley). Pinus amabilis, Douglas, Comp. Bot. Mag. ii. 93 (name only) (1836); Antoine, Conif. 63 (1846). Pinus grandis, Don, in Lambert, Pinus, iii. t. (1837). Picea amabilis, Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit. iv. 2342 (in part) (1838). A tree sometimes attaining in America 250 feet in height and 18 feet in girth, but at high altitudes and in the north usually not more than 80 feet. Bark thin, smooth, pale or silvery white ; becoming, on very old trunks, thick near the ground and irregularly divided into small scaly plates. Buds small, globose, resinous, smooth, with purple scales all immersed in the resin, except occasionally two or three, small and keeled, at the base of the bud. Young shoots grey, smooth, densely covered with short, loose, wavy pubescence. Leaves on lateral branches arranged as in A. Nordmanniana, up to i^ to i J inch long by jJj inch broad, fragrant, linear, flattened, gradually tapering from the middle to the base, slightly broader in the anterior half, with a truncate and bifid apex ; upper surface very dark green and lustrous, with a continuous median groove and without stomata ; lower surface with two broad white bands of stomata, each of eight to ten lines ; resin-canals marginal. Leaves on vigorous leading shoots acute with long rigid points, closely appressed or recurved near the middle. Leaves on cone-bearing branches upturned, acute or acuminate. Cones ovoid-cylindric, slightly narrowing to the rounded apex, dark purple when growing, brown when mature ; 3^ to 6 inches long by 2 to 2^ inches in diameter. Scales, i to i^ inch wide, nearly as long as broad, inflexed at the upper rounded margin, gradually narrowing towards the base. Bracts rhombic or obovate- oblong ; lamina situated just above the base of the scale and ending in a long acuminate tip, which reaches half the height of the scale. Seeds light yellowish brown, J inch long, with oblique pale brown shining wings about J inch long. Abies amabilis resembles A. Nordmanniana in the arrangement and size of the leaves ; but is readily distinguished from it by the small globose resinous buds. The leaves are also much darker, shining above, more truncate at the apex ; and emit, especially when bruised, a strong fragrant odour which resembles that of mandarin orange peel. (A. H.) DISTRIBUTION AND HISTORY Abies amabilis occurs on mountain slopes and terraces from British Columbia southward along the Cascade Mountains to northern Oregon, and on the coast ranges of Oregon and Washington. According to Sargent, it attains its largest size on the Olympic Mountains, where it is the most common silver fir, Abies 783 extending from 1200 feet up to timber line at about 4500 feet, and forming, with the Western Hemlock, a large part of the forest between 3000 and 4000 feet. In the Cascade Mountains it extends south to about 20 miles north of Crater Lake where Mr. Coville found it on the east side of Diamond Mountain. It occurs1 in the extreme south-eastern end of Alaska, at the Boca de Quatre inlet, ranging from sea-level to 1000 feet altitude ; but has not yet been found between this point and the northern end of Vancouver Island. It is the common fir - in south-western Vancouver Island, where it grows abundantly from sea-level up to the summits of the highest mountains. Near the sea it often forms groves of almost pure growth, the trees standing close together and having very tall slender trunks, about 3 feet in diameter at the base, and often unbranched to a height of 100 feet or more. At an altitude of 3000 feet it is a comparatively small tree, often clothed with branches to the base. Plate 220, taken from a photograph, for which I am indebted to Mr. J. M. Macoun of the Geological Survey of Canada, shows the tree as growing near Kamloops, in British Columbia. Sargent says, " unsurpassed among fir trees in the beauty of its snowy bark, dark green lustrous foliage, and great purple cones, Abies amabilis can never be forgotten by those who have seen it in the alpine meadows covered with lilies, dog's-tooth violets, heaths, and other flowers which make the valleys of the northern Cascade Mountains the most charming natural gardens of the continent. " Engelmann in a letter, dated " Portland, Or., August 6," 1880, and quoted in Gardeners' Chronicle of December 4, 1880, says of it :—" A. amabilis, on the same mountain where Douglas discovered it, just south of the Cascades of the Columbia, is a magnificent tree, at about 4000 feet, attaining 150 to 200 feet high with a trunk 4 feet in diameter, branching to the ground and forming a perfect cone. The bark of old trees is i^ to 2 inches thick, furrowed and reddish grey, that of younger trees, less than 100 years, is quite thin and smooth, light grey or almost white. It is certainly very closely allied to A. grandis, but readily distinguished by its very crowded dark green foliage and its large dark purple cones. It has the purple cones and sharp-pointed leaves (on fertile branches) of A. subalpina, but this latter has much smaller cones, and not such crowded leaves." Though I saw this tree in abundance on Mount Rainier I cannot say that I know how to distinguish it in the forest from A. nobilis without the leaves and cones. It has, according to Plummer, a wider range of elevation than that species, and grows from 800 up to 5500 feet. The cone is as large as that of A. nobilis, but without the projecting bracts. From A. lasiocarpa? with which it was mixed in the upper part of its range, it is distinguished by its habit, which is much less slender and spiry, by its greater size, and by its cones, which are nearly twice as large. Plummer says that it attains 200 feet in height by 15 feet in girth, but I saw none so large as this that I could identify. It is a slow-growing tree, one 20 inches in diameter having 288 rings. 1 U.S. Forest Service, Sylvical Leaßet, 22, p. i (1908). Its most southerly point in the coast range is Saddle Mountain, 25 miles south of the mouth of the Columbia River. z Cf. Butters, Conifers of Vancouver Island, in Postelsia, 187 (St. Taul, Minn., 1906). 3 Sargent, Silva, xii. 126, adnot., mentions the occurrence in a wild state of a hybrid between these two species. 784 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland As there were no cones on any of the firs on this side of Mount Rainier in 1904 I was unable to procure seed of either of these species, though Prof. Alien sent me both of them in 1905. The wood is yellowish and can, according to Plummer, be distinguished from that of A. lasiocarpa, by its darker colour. It is soft and perishable, and of no commercial importance at the present time. Abies amabilis was discovered in 1825 by Douglas on a high mountain south of the Grand Rapids of the Columbia River ; but it was not until 1830 that he succeeded in sending to England seed, from which a few plants were raised in the garden of the Horticultural Society at Chiswick ; and of these original trees hardly any now survive. For many years afterwards the tree was not seen by any traveller or collector ; and seeds of reputed A. amabilis sent to Europe invariably turned out to be some other species ; and much confusion resulted in the nomenclature of the western American silver firs. In 1880 the tree was re-discovered by Sargent in company with Engelmann and Parry, who found it on Silver Mountain near Fort Hope on the Fraser River ; and a few days later Sargent himself observed it on the mountain where it had first been seen by Douglas. Large supplies of seed were sent from Oregon in 1882, and young trees are not now uncommon. REMARKABLE TREES Of the original trees, those raised from seed sent home by Douglas, Kent knew only of two surviving in 1900, one at Dropmore and another at Orton Longueville. The latter, as I was told by Mr. Harding, was cut down in 1905, when it measured 5 feet 9 inches in girth. The tree at Dropmore, which was received from the Royal Horticultural Society, and planted in 1835, was cut down four years ago. Mr. Page informs us that the trunk in the timber yard measured 36 feet long by 8 feet 4 inches in girth at 5 feet from the lower end. A cutting from the tree was raised in 1847 by the late Mr. Frost, and is now growing at Dropmore, and measures 50 feet high by 7 feet 3 inches. For a time, up to 1873, it promised to be a better tree than its parent; but it is now a miserable object, being badly affected by " knotty " disease.1 This disease has attacked also all the young trees of this species at Dropmore, some fourteen or fifteen in number, which were planted a few years ago. 1 Dr. Masters, in Gard. Chron. xvii. 812, xviii. 109, figs. 19, 20 (1882) states that Mr. Barren had proved the gouty swellings on branchlets of A. amabilis and A. nolilis to be due to a woolly aphis, and had succeeded in killing the pest, in his nursery at Borrowash, by applications of fir-tree oil. A petroleum emulsion is recommended in Gard. Chron. xxvii. 190 (1900). I am indebted to Prof. Borthwick of Edinburgh for a paper on the subject (in Nat. ZeitscJir. Forst, u. Landwirth- schaft, 1908, p. 151, figs. 1-4) by Dr. E. VVolz, who states that these swellings are caused by a Chermes which Cholodkovsky has named C. piceœ, var. Bouvieri. The life-history of this insect does not seem to have been fully worked out ; and it may not be identical with the Chermes piceœ, which attacks the bark of silver firs, and is said by Gillanders (Forest Entomology, 333) t° be common in the nursery on young plants of A. pectinata and of A. Nordmanniana. The figures given by Wolz, however, of Abies nobilis, attacked by the disease, represent exactly the swellings which I have seen on that species at Carlisle, and which is present on most of the trees of A. amabilis in England. E. R. Bnrdon, in Journal of Economic Biology, 1908, ii. 132, states that Cholodkovsky's drawing looks more like the effect attributed to ^Eciditim elalinum. Cf. Hartig, Diseases of Trees, 180, fig. 109 (1894), who states that no formation of spores ever takes place on these swellings. Abies 785 We have, however, found several other old trees, none of which are fine specimens, and may have been planted later. A tree at Bayfordbury, with a broken top, is about 20 feet high. At Brickendon Grange, Herts, there is a remarkable specimen, only a foot in height, with long branches spreading over the ground for about 12 feet. This curiosity is probably very old ; and its peculiar form is possibly due to the leader having been repeatedly bitten by animals. At Pencarrow, Cornwall, a tree is growing, which I made in 1905 47 feet high by 7 feet 10 inches in girth. Mr. Bartlett, in a letter dated February, 1906, gives the following interesting particulars concerning this tree : — " According to Sir W. Molesworth's catalogue of the trees at Pencarrow, the Abies amabilis was planted in 1843. The soil is well-drained loam, and the tree stands in a sheltered position. For many years it was a strikingly beautiful specimen, quite symmetrical and feathered to the ground. A few years ago it was attacked by Chermes, and is now in a poor state and likely to be completely ruined by the disease in a few years. The tree bore a few cones near the top, four years ago ; but these contained no good seeds. The cones were resinous, dark blue in colour when growing, fading to a dull brown towards autumn. The bark of the trunk and branches is covered with resin- blisters, which exude a liquid resembling golden syrup in colour and consistency. The buds are late in unfolding." Mr. Bartlett states that there is, at Lamellan, in north Cornwall, a perfectly healthy but stunted example of Abies amabilis, growing on very poor soil on the edge of a quarry. This tree was probably raised from a cutting of the Pencarrow tree. At Menabilly, in the same county, there is another tree, the flowers of which have been figured.1 In 1908 it measured 37 feet by 3 feet 7 inches. At Brocklesby Park, Lincolnshire, Henry measured in 1908 a tree, 50 feet by 4 feet, the date of planting of which is unknown. Though very healthy in general appearance, some of the lower branches are beginning to suffer from knotty disease. The bark is very smooth and covered with numerous resin blisters, differing markedly from the rough bark of an A. Nordmanniana, of the same size, growing beside it. At Smeaton-Hepburn, in East Lothian, there is a tree,2 which was planted in 1843 ; but its top was blown off in 1859, and it is now only 31 feet high, but has a girth of 8 feet (o inches. It produced staminate flowers in 1886. At Castle Kennedy, Abies amabilis takes on a low creeping bushy habit, possibly due to the plants being raised from cuttings, and I saw a similar dwarf stunted plant at Moncreiffe, which I believe to be A. amabilis. On the whole this species appears to be a failure in cultivation, in Europe ; and does not succeed any better in New England, where, according to Sargent,3 it has proved rather tender and grows very slowly. (H. J. E.) 1 Gard. Chron. iii. 755, f. IO2 (1888). 2 Cf. Sir Archibald Buchan-Hepburn's account in Prof. Berwickshire Naturalists1 Club, xviii. 207, 210 (1904). It was 8 inches high at the time of planting, when it was supposed to be A. grandis. 3 Sargent, in The Pinetum at IVellesley in scoj, p. 12, mentions a small healthy specimen, which was raised in the Veitcliian nurseries near London, from seeds collected in Oregon by C. S. Pringle in 1882. IV r 786 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland ABIES NOBILIS, NOBLE FIR Abies nobilis, Lindley, Penny Cycl. i. 30 (1833); Masters, Gard. Chron. xxiv. 652, f. 146 (1885), and Journ. Linn. Soc. (Bot.) xxii. 188 (excl. habitat Mt. Shasta, and var. magnified) (1886); Sargent, Suva N. Amer. xii. 133, t. 617 (1898), and Trees N. Amer. 65 (1905); Kent, Veitch's Man. Conifères, 521 (1900). Pinus nobilis, Douglas, in Comp. Bot. Mag. ii. 147 (1836). Picea nobilis, Loudon, Arb. etFrut. Brit. iv. 2342 (1838). A tree, attaining in America occasionally 250 feet in height with a girth up to 24 feet, but more usually 150 to 200 feet high. Bark smooth on young trees, becoming on old trunks reddish-brown and deeply divided by broad flat ridges, irregularly broken by cross fissures and covered with thick closely appressed scales. Buds concealed by the leaves at the tips of the branchlets, ovoid-globose ; terminal bud resinous above and surrounded at the base by a ring of lanceolate acuminate or subulately pointed pubescent brown scales ; lateral buds with ovate basal scales. Young shoots smooth, densely covered with minute rusty brown tomentum, which is retained in the second year. Leaves on lateral branches pectinate below, extending outwards in the horizontal plane in two lateral sets ; above, the leaves in the middle line, much shorter, com pletely cover the shoot, from which they arise curving upwards, after being appressed to the branchlet for a short distance near their bases, their tips usually having a slight inclination forwards. Leaves up to about i£ inch long, ^ inch wide, linear, flattened, narrowed at the base, uniform in width elsewhere, rounded and entire at the apex ; upper surface with a continuous median groove and variable as regards the stomata, which are sometimes in two definite bands each of six to eight lines or some times present as a few irregular lines, or rarely absent ; lower surface with two narrow bands of stomata, each of five to six lines ; resin-canals marginal. Leaves on cone-bearing branches all upturned, thickened, and with sharp cartilaginous points. Staminate flowers reddish. Pistillate flowers with broad rounded scales, much shorter than the nearly orbicular bracts, which are erose in margin and contracted above into slender elongated reflexed tips. Cones cylindrical, but narrowing towards the full and rounded apex ; 4 to 5 inches long by 2 inches in diameter on wild trees, 6 to 10 inches long by 3 to 4 inches in diameter on cultivated trees ; pubescent, purplish-brown with green bracts when growing, the bracts becoming bright chestnut brown in the mature fruit. Scales : lamina, i£ to i^ inch broad, i inch long, variable in shape ; gradually narrowing to the base with straight lateral margins, or rounded and denticulate on the sides above the middle and contracted below ; claw short, clavate. Bracts exserted and strongly reflexed, covering the greater part of the scale next below ; lamina, broad, full and rounded above, fimbriate in margin, and with a conspicuous midrib prolonged into a mucro about J inch long ; claw long and cuneate. Seeds pale brown, about J inch Abies 787 long, with similarly coloured obovate-cuneate wings, which in cultivated specimens are considerably longer than the body of the seed. This tree can only be confused with A. magnified, which has a different habit. The difference between these two trees in the shape and disposition of the leaves is given in the Key, p. 718. (A. H.) DISTRIBUTION According to Sargent, this species forms extensive forests on the Cascade Mountains in Washington, extending southwards to the valley of the Mackenzie River, Oregon. It also occurs on the coast ranges of Washington, and the Siskiyou Mountains of California. It is most abundant on the western slopes of the Cascade Mountains, and ranges from 2500 to 5000 feet above sea level, attaining its largest size at 3000 to 4000 feet. It is less abundant and of smaller size on the northern and eastern slopes of these mountains. It commonly attains 200 feet in height ; and often grows to 250 feet; Sheldon says, even to 300 feet. In the Cascade Range Forest Reserve1 the noble fir forms about 6 per cent of the total, and is an important element in the mixed forests of the middle zone on the western slope, where it often comprises 15 or 20 per cent of the forest. It crosses the summit in lat. 45° where a moist climate prevails, but cannot compete with pine and larch in the drier areas. It is closely associated with the lovely fir, and among lumbermen both species are called larch. Some individuals attain as much as 8 feet in diameter, but the average size is about 150 feet high by 12 feet in girth at the base. Langille states2 that this tree cannot hold its own against the lovely fir (A. amabilis} and hemlock, which are superseding it, and that a sapling is seldom seen. A tree growing at 6000 feet elevation was 163 years old and 125 feet in height, with a diameter of 4 feet 5 inches at the base. In the forests of Mt. Rainier in Washington, Plummer says that the noble fir is the finest timber tree and is found from 1800 to 5200 feet. The largest that he measured was 225 feet by 18 feet. But when I ascended this mountain from Longmire's Springs I did not see it, or perhaps I did not distinguish it in the absence of cones from Abies amabilis. In the watershed of the Washougal and Rock Creek rivers, however, which are very heavily timbered, it forms, according to Plummer, 25 per cent of the timber. The cones here measure about 4^ inches long by 2\ inches wide, not so large as some I have seen in England. I saw this tree at its best in the Cascade Mountains above Bridal Veil in northern Oregon in June 1904. In this district the tree is known to the lumber men as larch, and grows in thick forest, more or less mixed with Douglas fir and hemlock ; with Acer circinatum and other shrubs as underwood, where there is light enough for any to exist. The largest trees I saw here were above 200 feet in height, and were clear of branches for at least two-thirds of their height, as in the illustration, which was taken from a tree at this place which measured 210 feet by 13 1 Forest Conditions of the Cascade Range Forest Reserve, U.S. Geological Survey, Washingtoii, 1903. 8 Ibid. p. 35. y88 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland feet. (Plate 221.) A stump close by showed 360 rings on a diameter of 4 feet, the first fifty being twice as wide as any of the later ones. I could find no seedlings of the noble fir in this part of the forest, and my guide said that he had seen none except at higher elevations. The wood of this tree, though not of equal value to that of Douglas fir, is beginning to be more appreciated, and I saw it being cut up at the mill at Bridal Veil where the owner, Mr. Bradley, told me it was worth twenty to twenty-five dollars per 1000 feet, and was sent east to be used for the same purposes as white pine. HISTORY This tree was discovered by David Douglas on the south side of the Columbia river in September 1825, and introduced by him five years later on his second journey. Ravenscroft,1 after quoting Douglas's account of the collection of the seeds, which was published in the Companion to the Botanical Magazine, vol. ii. p. 130, says that the seeds arrived in good condition, and were successfully grown and distributed among the Fellows of the Royal Horticultural Society for whom at that time Douglas was working. " Extravagant prices were paid for the plants, fifteen and twenty guineas being then no unusual price." As it usually does, the demand called forth a supply, but for a long time this supply was in a great measure obtained by making grafts and cuttings from the older plants. Plants grown from this source, however, seldom have the same beauty as seedling trees. The next importation was a small package of seed sent by Mr. Peter Banks, who was drowned soon after. After him Jeffrey sent a quantity to the Oregon Association, but not a plant came up, as the seeds had been destroyed in the cone by the larva of a hymenopterous insect, Megastigmus pint, and the same thing happened to the greater part of the seeds sent by William Murray and Beardsley. Afterwards Lobb and Bridges sent more consignments. Ravenscroft says that plants raised from home-grown seeds are not so strong and healthy as those from imported seed, and have often died from a fungoid attack. CULTIVATION Among the silver firs of North America none has had a greater success as an ornamental tree than this, but it is only after many years of cultivation that we are able to say with confidence, what are the conditions of soil under which it will preserve its beauty. When first introduced it became so popular that seedlings could not be pro cured in sufficient quantity to supply the demand, and grafting was resorted to by nurserymen ; the silver fir being usually the stock selected. These trees grew well for a good many years, and some grafted trees are still thriving ; but the majority of 1 In Lawson, Pinet. Brit. ii. 184. Abies 789 them have shown a tendency to produce cones in such quantity and so prematurely, that the trees have ceased to produce a straight leader, and have often become unsightly and ragged. This applies specially to those which were planted on lawns or on pleasure-grounds, without much shelter. An avenue of this tree was planted in 1868 at Madresfield Court, Worcester shire, with grafted trees of the glaucous variety from the Worcester nurseries. It was figured in Veitch's Manual of Coniferœ, ed. 2, p. 524. Though every care has been taken by top-dressing, and removing the cones to keep these healthy, they do not seem likely to remain so, as the lateral branches are, in many cases, covered with the knotty swellings described under Abies amabilis, p. 784, note i. Mr. W. E. Gumbleton of Belgrove, near Queenstown, tells me that many years ago when Abies nobilis was still scarce, the Duke of Leinster, whose tree was one of the first to produce cones, sold the seed of it for ,£40. The cones were artificially fertilised by shaking out the pollen from the male catkins at the foot of the tree, and dusting it from a ladder on the female flowers at the top. It is often stated that this is one of the few silver firs which grows well on limestone, but my own experience disproves this, and I have never seen a really fine tree where there was much lime in the soil. A deep sand resting on rock or a hill side, where good drainage is combined with plenty of humus, seem to be the best conditions for the noble fir ; and if the glaucous variety, of which seedlings are difficult to obtain, is desired, I would graft it on A. Nordmanniana, which is usually a most vigorous grower, and endures spring frosts better than the common silver fir. In woods the noble fir is often healthier than in the open, and in some cases has reproduced itself, though not abundantly. I have raised numbers of seedlings from grafted trees, but they were always sickly and died young on my soil, and in any case their growth is slow at first, six to ten years being required to produce trees fit to plant out. But in Scotland seedlings raised from home-grown seed are healthy and vigorous. The tree is quite hardy in all parts of the country, even in the severe climate of upper Deeside, where at Balmoral it thrives well, and has endured several degrees below zero without injury.1 It enjoys a fairly wet climate, but will also grow well in the drier parts of England if the soil is deep and cool. REMARKABLE TREES The largest noble fir that I know of in England is at Tortworth, where, on a deep bed of sand sloping down to the lake, it had attained in 1901 a height of about loo feet and 9 feet 6 inches in girth in forty-seven years from the date of planting. 1 A. nobilis, one of the hardiest and best wind-resisting conifers in cultivation, thrives well on gneiss or granite, and may be planted on the most exposed sites. It is the most prolific of all silvers in seed bearing, and readily reproduces itself. Commercially it may be placed next to A. gtandis amongst exotic firs. The timber, like all the west North American trees of the genus, is white, soft, and light, but closer in texture than A. grandis. Root formation ruined by frequent transplanting.— (J. D. CROZIEE.) 79° The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland This tree has suffered to some extent from an attack of Chermes, with which the trunk was covered in 1903, but when I last saw it this had mostly disappeared. Lord Ducie had the tree accurately measured by a man climbing it in May 1908, and informs me that it was then 103 feet 9 inches high, by 9 feet 11 inches in girth. It was planted in 1854, and was 7 feet high in 1855 and 23 feet in 1864. At Highnam Court, Gloucestershire, there is also a fine specimen in the pinetum, measuring 75 feet by 8 feet, but the trees here seem, as they do in many other places, to have nearly exhausted the soil they grow in, and are beginning to go off. At Miserden Park, the seat of A. Leatham, Esq., in the same county, there is an avenue of grafted trees on dry oolite soil, which were so laden with cones in the year 1900 that they have suffered much in consequence, though hitherto they have borne the exposed situation well. At Chatsworth Mr. Robertson has measured a tree 85 feet by 8 feet 5 inches with a fine clean stem containing 195 cubic feet. At Walcot, the seat of the Earl of Powis, in Shropshire, I measured in 1906 a very fine glaucous specimen which, though grafted, was 86 feet by 10 feet 9 inches. At Beauport, Sussex, there is a tree, also grafted, 86 feet by 8 feet i inch in 1905. At Linton, Kent, there is a tree 90 feet by 8 feet 6 inches in 1902. At Barton there is a tree 80 feet by 7 feet, sheltered in a high wood, and growing fast. In Fulmodestone Wood, on the Earl of Leicester's property, there is a tree 74 feet by 9 feet 6 inches, from which a self-sown seedling has sprung up, which at eleven to twelve years old was, in 1903, 3 feet 6 inches high ; another self-sown seedling in the same place was 20 feet high at about 23 to 25 years old. At Sandringham there are two fine trees in a shrubbery near York House, the largest of which, in October 1907, measured 85 to 90 feet by 8 feet 10 inches. At Twizell, Northumberland, once the property of Selby, the author of British Forest Trees, I saw in 1906 a tree 80 feet by 8 feet, the top of which, however, was damaged by wind. In Wales it seems to thrive well both at Penrhyn and Hafodunos, in the north ; and at Dinas Mawddwy in Merionethshire, where in 1906 1 measured a very flourishing tree 75 feet by 5 feet 8 inches. In Scotland1 it generally succeeds better than in England, and where it has sufficient shelter seems likely to attain a great size and age. By far the finest that I have seen, are some trees growing at the foot of a sheltered bank on deep sandy soil, in the Dolphin walk at Murthly, four of which certainly exceed 100 feet in height, and the tallest was, as nearly as I could measure it, from 105 feet to 110 feet by 7 feet 11 inches in September 1906. A tree growing at Ballindalloch Castle, Banffshire, the seat of Sir J. Macpherson- Grant, is said to be the finest in the north of Scotland, and is stated to have measured in August 1907, 94 feet by 9 feet i \\ inches, and to be only forty-seven years planted.1 The next largest we have seen is at Keir,2 Perthshire, which was, in 1905, 99 1 Trans. Roy. Scot. Arb. Sac. xxi. 98 (1908). * This tree was reported to be forty years old in 1891, and then measured 82 feet by 5 feet 8 incbes (Jotim. Key. Hort. Soc. xiv. 531 (1892)). Abies 79 feet high by 7 feet 5 inches in girth, remarkable for its clean stem and short branches occurring only on the upper half of the tree. Another tree at Keillour, in the same county, was 91 feet by 7 feet i inch in 1904; and at Castle Kennedy, Wigtonshire, another measured in the same year 80 feet by 7 feet 10 inches. Sir Archibald Buchan-Hepburn reports one at Smeaton-Hepburn, East Lothian, which measured, in 1908, 84 feet by 8 feet 10 inches. It was planted in 1843. At Blair Castle, a tree planted by the Duke of Atholl about forty-two years ago was, in 1904, 70 feet by 5 feet ; and at Balmoral, though of no great size, it seems to be the best of the silver firs, and has endured a temperature of — 15° without injury. In Ireland, Abies nobilis thrives well. At Churchill, Armagh, there is a magnificent specimen, which in 1904 was covered with cones, and measured 73 feet by 8 feet 4 inches. At Curraghmore, Co. Waterford, a tree measured, in 1907, 75 feet in height by 10 feet in girth. At Powerscourt, a tree in 1903 was 59 feet by 6^ feet. At Carton, in the same year, a tree measured 61 feet by 6 feet. At Birr Castle, King's County, there is a very tall tree, which was reported1 in 1891 to be 83 feet high and 6 feet in girth. There is an avenue of this species at Woodstock, Kilkenny; and good specimens are growing at Castlewellan in Down. In a plantation behind the old deer park at Castle Martyr, Co. Cork, there is a very large tree of the glaucous variety, which, though I could not measure the height accurately, seems to be about 75 feet high and is 10 feet 4 inches in girth. (H. J. E.) 1 Journ. Roy. ffoit. Soc. xiv. 557 (1892). The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland ABIES MAGNIFICA, RED FIR, SHASTA FIR Abies magnified, A. Murray, Proc. R. Hort. Soc. iii. 318, ff. 25-33 (l863) > Masters, Gard. Chron. xxiv. 652, f. 148 (1885); Sargent, Silva N. Amer. xii. 137, tt. 618, 619(1898), and Trees N. Amer. 66 (1905); Kent, Veitch's Man. Coniferœ, 516 (1900). Abies nobilis, Lindley, var. magnifiai, Kellogg, Trees of California, 28 (1882); Masters, Journ. Linn. Soc. (£ot.) xxii. 189, t. 5, ff. 19-21 (1886). Abies shastensis, Lemrnon, Garden and Forest, x. 184 (1897). Picea magnifica, Gordon, Pinetum, 219 (1875). Pinus magnifica, M'Nab, Proc. JR. I. Acad. ii. 700 (1876). Pinus amabilis, Parlatore, in DC. Prod. xvi. 2, p. 426 (in part) (1868). A tree, attaining in America 200 feet in height and 30 feet in girth. Bark, buds, and branchlets similar in all respects to those of Abies nobilis. Leaves on lateral branchlets arranged as in A. nobilis; but with the median leaves above not so densely crowded as in that species, portions of the branchlet being visible from above, whereas in A. nobilis the branchlet is completely concealed ; moreover, these median leaves are appressed to the branchlet at their bases for a shorter distance than in the other species. Leaves longer than in A. nobilis, up to about if inch long, ^ inch wide, tapering gradually to the base, uniform in width elsewhere ; apex rounded, entire ; obscurely quadrangular in section ; upper surface with a central ridge and several (often eight) rows of stomata ; lower surface with two bands of stomata, each of four to six lines ; resin-canals marginal. Leaves on leading shoots erect and acuminate, with long rigid points pressed against the stem. Leaves on fertile branches much thickened, crowded, upturned, acute with short callous tips. Staminate flowers dark reddish. Pistillate flowers with rounded scales much shorter than their oblong pale green bracts, which end in elongated slender tips. Cones very large, 6 to 9 inches long, 3 to 5 inches in diameter, cylindrical, but slightly narrowing to the rounded, truncate or retuse apex ; purplish-violet when growing, brown when mature, pubescent. Scales fan-shaped ; lamina, i^ to i^ inch broad, i inch long, upper margin rounded and incurved, the sides gradually narrowing to a cordate base ; claw nearly ^ inch long, narrowly obcuneate. Bracts, in the usual form of the species, about two-thirds as long as the scale and not exserted ; variable in shape ; upper expanded part oval, acute or acuminate, terminated by a mucro ; claw sharply contracted below the lamina. Seeds brownish, more than |- inch long, slightly shorter than their pink obovate-cuneate wings. Abies 793 Var. shastensis, Lemmon, West. Amer. Cone-bearers, 62 (1895); Sargent, Suva N. Amer. xii. 138, t. 620 (1898), and Trees N. Amer. 67 (1905). Var. xanthocarpa, Lemrnon, Third Report, ex Masters,/»»/-//. Roy. Hort. Soc. xiv. 193 (1892), and Gard. Chron. xii. 114, figs. 51, 52, 53 (1907). Abies shastensis, Lemmon, Garden and Forest, x. 184 (1897); Coville, Garden and Forest, x. 516 (1897). Abies nobilis robusta, Masters, Gard. Chron. xxiv. 652, f. 147 (1885) (not Carrière). Abies nobilis, Lindley, var. magnifica, Masters, Journ. Linn. Soc. (Bot.) xxii. 193, PI. 5 (1886). This differs from the type only in the cones, which have much longer bracts, yellow in colour, rounded or obtusely pointed (not acute), exserted, usually reflexed, and covering about half the outer surface of the scales. This variety, which is known as the Shasta Fir, occurs on the mountains of southern Oregon, in the cross and coast ranges of northern California and on the southern Sierra Nevada. In Oregon it is met with in the lower parts of the mountains ; but in the other localities it only occurs at very high elevations. It is rare in cultivation in England, or at any rate has been rarely noticed. A tree at the Cranston Nursery, near Hereford, produced cones1 of this kind in 1878, which were figured2 by Dr. Masters. Another is growing at Durris Castle, Aberdeenshire, where Mr. Crozier states that intermediate forms between this and A. nobilis exist. IDENTIFICATION This species is only liable to be confused with A. nobilis ; but in large trees, as seen in cultivation, the difference in habit between the two species is remarkable. The formal arrangement of the branches in A. magnifica, though difficult to describe, when once seen can seldom be mistaken. The differences in the foliage are given in the Key, p. 718. (A. H.) DISTRIBUTION The most northerly point at which this tree has been found is on the mountains east of Odell Lake in about lat. 44° N. in southern Oregon, where Dr. Coville collected it in 1897, many miles south of where A. nobilis occurs ; and it is not men tioned among the trees of the Cascade Forest Reserve, so that it really belongs to the Californian rather than to the North Pacific flora. It becomes common on the Trinity Mountains, and on Mt. Shasta is the only fir besides A. Lowiana. The tree extends along the entire length of the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, from 6000 to 9000 feet above the sea, and extends to the eastern slope at high elevations. The northern form has been separated by Lemmon under the name of A. shastensis, on account of the bracts which protrude from the scales ; being in this respect, as in its geographical distribution, midway between A. nobilis and A. magnifica ; 1 Card. Chron. 1878, p. 343. 2 Jouin. Linn. Soc. (Bol), xxii. 193, plate v. (1886). IV M 794 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland but this character is variable, and I judged from the specimens shown me by Miss A. Eastwood, that the two forms cannot always be defined. On the west slopes of Mount Shasta the tree occurs higher up than A. Lo-wiana, mixing with it at about 6000 feet, and at 8000 feet it is the only species of fir. It is not on Mount Shasta a very large tree, the biggest that I measured being not much over loo feet in height, and 15^ feet in girth, the average being 80 to 100 feet high, by 6 to 8 feet in girth. I could not see very much difference in the bark ; though A. magnified, is known as the red, and A. Lowiana as the white fir, but the very much larger cones of the former distinguish it at once. These were borne only near the summit of the trees, and could only be procured by shooting them off with a rifle, or by felling trees on purpose. They were fully formed but un ripe in the first week of September. The soil here was very rocky, and drier than that of any mountain which I have ascended in this latitude ; and there was little herbaceous vegetation, though the snow is said to lie deep from November until May or June. INTRODUCTION This species was introduced in 1851 by John Jeffrey, who believed it to be A. amabilis; and the seedlings were distributed under this name amongst the members of the Scottish Oregon Association. The tree in Scotland is frequently labelled A. amabilis, in consequence of this error. W. Lobb1 sent seed in 1852, also under the name of A. amabilis; but later on the plants were found to differ from that species, and were distributed by Messrs. Veitch as A. nobilis robusta. REMARKABLE TREES Though it is quite possible that larger trees exist, which have been mistaken for A. nobilis, yet we have identified none in England which at all approach that species in size, and all the best we have seen are in the eastern and southern counties. The largest perhaps is one at Fulmodestone, Norfolk, a handsome and well-shaped tree growing in a damp soil and well sheltered situation, which in 1905 was 61 feet by 5 feet 9 inches, and bore cones near the summit. At Bayfordbury, on a much drier soil, it has flourished better than A. nobilis, and in 1905 was 56 feet by 5 feet 9 inches (Plate 222). Mr. H. Clinton Baker recently measured a good specimen, 61 feet by 4 feet 4 inches, at Flitwick Manor; and another, 60 feet by 4 feet 9 inches at High Leigh, near Hoddesdon. At Grayswood, Haslemere, a tree planted as recently as 1881, measured in 1906 56 feet by 4 feet ii inches; and at Petworth, in 1905, there was a slender and less vigorous tree 47 feet by 3 feet i inch. At Eridge Park, Kent, a tree planted in 1880 by Count Gleichen was, in 1905, 34 feet by 3^ feet. In a pinetum close to Presteign, Radnorshire, planted about fifty years ago, 1 Hortus Veitchii, 336 (1906). Abies 795 now the property of Mr. J. H. Wall, I saw a good specimen of Abies magnifica in 1906, which measured 53 feet by 5 feet 7 inches. The largest reported1 at the Conifer Conference in 1891 was at Revesby Abbey, Lincolnshire, and then measured only 40 feet by 5 feet. In Scotland it is more numerous and larger. The late Malcolm Dunn, who had an exceptionally wide experience in the cultivation of conifers in Great Britain, wrote of it as follows in a paper2 which he sent to the Conifer Conference :— " It is in truth a stately tree and one of the handsomest of all the taller-growing conifers for ornamental purposes. It is one of the very hardiest of the firs, and is seldom affected by spring frost, and the timber being straight, clean-grained, and of good quality, it will no doubt be a useful forest tree." But this latter opinion has not so far received any proof so far as we know, for the tree is, and seems likely to remain, difficult to obtain, and like most of its congeners is slow and costly to raise from seed. Probably the finest trees in Scotland are one at Durris,8 Aberdeenshire, which was, in 1904, 80 feet high by 6 feet 6 inches in girth, and when I measured it in 1907 had increased to about 85 feet; and another (Plate 223) at Bonskeid, near Pitlochry, of which Mr. J. Forgan has been good enough to send me a photograph, and which measured, in 1908, 87 feet by 8 feet. When he first knew it thirty-five years ago it was about 12 feet high ; it has not produced cones. Mr. Bean4 noticed in 1906 a tree at Abercairney 70 feet high, and another at Blair Castle 60 feet high. At Farthingbank, Drumlanrig, there is, growing on clay loam at 650 feet above sea-level, a tree 50 feet by 5 feet 3 inches in 1905, which was planted, according to Mr. Menzies, the forester, thirty-one years previously. The tree is rare in Ireland, but there is a specimen8 at Castlewellan, which was 47 feet by 6 feet in 1906; and at Powerscourt, a tree, planted thirty-five years ago, was 57 feet by 6 feet 8 inches in 1906, and is said to bear cones nearly every year. (H. J. E.) 1 Journ. Roy. Hort. Soc. xiv. 568 (1892). * Journ. Roy. Hort. Soc. xiv. 83 (1892). 3 A. magnified closely resembles A. nobilis, but in strong contrast as regards seed-bearing. It does not seem as if the tree is likely to become acclimatised in this respect as, although planted in considerable numbers throughout the policy grounds and plantations, and most of those trees now between fifty and sixty years of age, cones have been produced only on one occasion, and that on only a few trees. The timber when closely grown is closer in texture, richer in colour, and better in quality than A. nobilis. Like that species it is impatient of side shade and sheds its branches freely. Constitutionally it is less robust than its near relative, and also less accommodating in its demands on site and soil.—(J. D. CROZIER.) 4 Kew Bulletin, 1906, pp. 264, 267. 6 Figured in Garden, June 28, 1890, p. 591. The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland ABIES BRACTEATA, BRISTLE-CONE FIR Abies bracteata, Nuttall, Sylva N. Amer. iii. 137, t. 118 (1849); Hooker, Bot. Mag. t. 4740 (1853)5 Masters, Gard. Citron. \. 242, f. 44 (1889),and vu. 672, f. 112 (1890); Kent, Veitch's Man. Coniferce, 493 (1900). Abies venusta, Koch, Dendrol. ii. 210 (1873); Sargent, Suva N. Amer. xii. 129, tt. 615, 616 (1898), and Trees N. Amer. 63 (i9°s)- Pinus venusta, Douglas, Comp. Bot. Mag. ii. 152 (1836). Pinus bracteata, Don, Trans. Linn. Soc. xvii. 442 (1837). Picea bracteata, Loudon, Arb. et Fritt. Brit. iv. 2348 (1838); Coleman, Garden, xxxv. 12, with fig. (1889). A tree attaining in America 150 feet in height and 9 feet in girth. Bark brown, smooth ; becoming, near the base in old trees, slightly fissured and broken into thick appressed scales. Buds unique in the genus, elongated, fusiform, broadest near the base, and gradually tapering to a sharp point, about \ to f inch long, brown in colour, non-resinous ; scales thin, membranous, glabrous, loosely imbricated, obtuse at the apex, shorter at the base of the bud, gradually lengthening above. Young shoots glabrous, greenish, with slightly raised pulvini and incon spicuous furrows. Base of the shoots usually ringed with the scars of the previous season's bud-scales, which in most cases all fall off and do not persist in part, as is usual in other species. Leaves on lateral branches pectinately arranged, those below spreading outwards in two sets in the horizontal plane ; those above slightly shorter, falcate, directed outwards and slightly upwards and forwards, forming a shallow V-shaped depression on the upper side of the branchlet. Leaves, up to 2 inches long, £$ inch wide, rigid, thin, flat, linear, ending in long spine-like cartilaginous points, never bifid ; widest in the lower third, gradually tapering to the apex, and abruptly narrowed close to the base ; upper surface dark-green, shining, slightly concave in the lower half and flat near the apex, no definite median groove being formed ; lower surface with two wide white bands of stomata, each of 10 to 12 lines; resin-canals marginal. Leaves on cone-bearing branches upturned, falcate. Male flowers, i£ to i^ inch long, cylindric, shortly-stalked, surrounded at the base by numerous lanceolate, fawn-coloured parchment-like scales, similar to those of the leaf-buds. Pistillate flowers, with oblong scales rounded above and nearly as long as the cuneate obcordate yellow-green bracts, which end in slender elongated awns. Cones, remarkable for the long spiny rigid tips to the bracts, ovoid, rounded and full at the apex, 3 to 4 inches long, about 2 inches in diameter, glabrous,1 resinous, purplish brown. Scales, about i inch broad by ^ inch long, almost reniform; upper margin incurved, with a short obtuse denticulate cusp; claw obcuneate. Bracts oblong-obovate, adnate to the scale to beyond the middle and Remarkable, as all the other species of Abies have the scales of the cones pubescent. Abies 797 deciduous with it, terminating in linear, rigid spines, i to 2 inches long, which in the upper half of the cone point towards its apex, and in the lower half are spreading and often recurved. Seeds dark reddish-brown, about g inch long and nearly as long as their pale reddish-brown shining wings. (A. H.) DISTRIBUTION AND HISTORY Abies bracteata has perhaps the most restricted distribution of all the silver firs, as, according to Sargent, it only occurs in a few isolated groves along the moist bottoms of canons at about 3000 feet elevation on both slopes of the western ridge of the Santa Lucia Mountains in Monterey County, California. The most northerly point where it is now known to grow is in Bear Canon, twenty-five miles south of the Los Burros mines ; the other localities mentioned by Sargent are in the San Miguel Canon and in a gorge at the head of the Nacimiento river. The discovery of this tree is assigned by Don, Sir VV. J. Hooker,1 and Sargent to Dr. T. Coulter, who, according to a letterz of Douglas to Hooker dated November 23, 1831, arrived at Monterey after he began the letter in question. Douglas also, in a letter8 dated October 1832, states4 that he found the tree, which he called Pinus venusta, in the preceding March " on the high mountains of Cali fornia," and that it is never seen at a lower elevation than 6000 feet above sea-level, in lat. 36°, where it is not uncommon. But Kent says,5 in a note, that a comparison of the dates shows that Douglas was the first discoverer, which, however, is not proved ; as, according to Douglas's own showing, Coulter was at Monterey, near to the place where the tree grows, three months before Douglas found the tree himself. Prof. Hansen6 also has incorrectly stated the date of Douglas's discovery of this tree as March 1831 instead of March 1832. William Lobb, when collecting for Messrs. Veitch in 1853, introduced it to cultivation, and in a letter in Gardeners' Chronicle, 1853, p. 435, describes it as "the most conspicuous ornament of the arborescent vegetation. On the western slopes, towards the sea, it occupies the deep ravines, and attains the height of from 120 to 150 feet, and from i to 2 feet in diameter, the trunk as straight as an arrow, the lower branches decumbent. The branches above are numerous, short, and thickly set, forming a long tapering pyramid or spire, which gives to the tree that peculiar appearance not seen in any other kind of the Pinus tribe. Along the summit of the central ridges, and about the highest peaks, in the most exposed and coldest places imaginable, where no other pine makes its appearance, it stands the severity of the climate without the slightest perceptible injury, growing in slaty rubbish, which to all appearance is incapable of supporting vegetation. In such situations it becomes stunted and bushy. The cones are quite as singular as the growth of the tree is beautiful ; when fully developed the scales, as well as i Bot. Mag. t. 4740(i853)- 3 Ibid. 151. 6 Veitch's Man. Conifères, 497, note (1900). * Comp. Bot. Mag. ii. p. 149. 4 Ibid. 152. " Journ. Roy. Hort. Soc. xiv. 459 (1892). 798 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland the long leaf-like bracts, are covered with globules of thin transparent resin. Douglas was mistaken in saying that this tree does not occur below 6000 feet elevation ; on the contrary, it is found as low as 3000 feet, where it meets Taxodium sempervirens." In 1856 another expedition to collect seeds was made by W. Beardsley, who gives a good account of his journey, which is quoted from by Murray.1 In the middle of October the seeds were already shed, and Murray says that Mr. W. Peebles, who went for the same purpose on September 17, 1858, found the cones so ripe that when the tree was felled they fell to pieces. According to Beardsley, the soil on which it grows is " exclusively the calcareous districts, abounding with ledges of white, veined, and grey marble." CULTIVATION A. bracteata has never been a common tree in English gardens and, owing to the difficulty of procuring seeds in California, it is rarely to be had from nurseries. It seems to be quite hardy as regards winter cold, but susceptible to spring frosts ; and all the good specimens I have seen are in sheltered and rather elevated situations on well drained soil. The seedlings which I have raised from English-grown seeds have not thriven on my soil, though the tree does not appear to dislike a moderate amount of lime. All the best specimens we know of are in the south and west of England, and in Ireland. A list of them is given by Kent,2 and they all are probably of about the same age, being raised from William Lobb's seeds by Messrs. Veitch in 1854. REMARKABLE TREES The finest trees in England are in the valley of the Severn, the largest being at Eastnor Castle (Plate 224), where two are growing. They were stated8 by the late Mr. Coleman to have been planted in 1865, and the best of them was 40 feet high in 1889. It first bore cones in 1888 ; when I measured it last in 1908, I found it to be 78 feet by 9 feet, and though very healthy and handsome in appearance, the top had become forked. It bore cones freely in 1900, from which I raised numerous seedlings, but these have grown very slowly, and do not seem able to make roots freely on my soil. At Highnam Court, Gloucester, the seat of Sir Hubert Parry, there is another fine tree, difficult to measure on account of its situation, but, in 1908, I made it 64 feet by 6 feet 5 inches. It has several times produced cones, four being borne in 1907, from which seedlings were raised. At Tortworth Court there is a tree which Lord Ducie believes to have been planted between 1858 and 1862, and in 1908 was 63 feet by 6 feet. It is growing on old red sandstone, about 250 feet above sea level in a situation much exposed to the south-west wind. 1 Edin. New Phil. Jotirn. x. I, pis. I and 2 (1859). 3 Garden, 1889, xxxv. 12. 2 Veitch's Man. Conifertf, lof. cit. Abies 799 At Nevill Court, near Tunbridge Wells, I measured a tree which, though only 48 by 4^ feet in 1906, is one of the best shaped I have seen, with a very slender spire, as described by Lobb in California. At Fonthill Abbey there is a tree about 72 feet by 5^ feet, in a sheltered though elevated situation on greensand. At Osborne, in the Isle of Wight, a tree was 60 feet by 5 feet 9 inches in 1908, but this does not appear to be thriving, on account perhaps, of the dry soil. At Ponfield, Hertford, the seat of P. Bosanquet, Esq., Henry saw in 1906 a tree, very thriving and about 25 feet in height ; and in the same district, at High Canons, near Shenley, Mr. Clinton Baker showed me a tree 53 feet by 4 feet which bore about twenty cones in 1907. At Pampisford, Cambridgeshire, there is a tree, about 25 feet high, growing in a sheltered position, and very thriving. At Monk Coniston, in Westmorland, the seat of Victor Marshall, Esq., I have seen a tree which has borne cones, and which measured, in 1906, 60 feet by 5 feet. Several others are mentioned by Kent : at Kenfield Hall,1 near Canterbury ; at New Court, and at Streatham, near Exeter ; at Upcott, near Barnstaple ; and at Warnham Court, near Horsham. A large tree at Orton Hall, Peterborough, was, before it was cut down in 1905, 59 by 6 feet, but became unhealthy owing to the soil being too heavy. In Wales, where the species should grow well, I have seen no trees of any size. In Scotland the only specimens I have seen are at Castle Kennedy and at Cawdor Castle, neither of which are large, and the climate of Scotland generally seems to be too cold for it.2 In Ireland Henry has seen specimens at Fota, in the south-west, a fine young tree which, in 1903, was 48 feet by 4 feet; at Castlewellan, in the north-east, another, in 1906, was 35 feet by 3 feet 2 inches ; and a smaller one also exists at Glasnevin. On the continent of Europe this tree is very rare, the only fine one I have seen being a tree at Pallanza in the nursery grounds of Messrs. Rovelli, which, in 1906, was about 70 feet by 7 feet, but not very healthy and bearing no cones. M. Pardé states that there is a fine specimen in the domain of the National Society of Agriculture at Harcourt (Eure) ; and I saw a small one in M. Allard's collection at Angers. (H. J. E.) 1 This tree produced cones in 1886. Cf. Gard. Chron. xxvi. 85 (1886). 2 The one specimen now remaining at Durris—between forty and fifty years of age—if it can possibly be taken as a fair example of the growth of the tree in this locality, proves it of little use for planting. It is quite healthy, but its growth is slow in proportion to that of A. pectinata.—(J. D. CROZIER.) 8oo The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland ABIES LASIOCARPA, ROCKY MOUNTAIN FIR Abies lasioearpa, Nuttall, Sylva, m. 138 (1849); Masters, Gard. Chron. v. 172, ff. 23-27, 32, (1889), and Journ. Bot. xxvii. 129 (1889); Sargent, Suva N. Amer. xii. 113, t. 611 (1898), and Trees N. Amer. 61 (1905); Kent, Veitch's Man. Coniferœ, 515 (1900). Abies bifolia, Murray, Proc. Roy. Hort. Soc. iii. 320 (1863). Abies subalpina, Engelmann, Am. Nat. x. 555 (1876). Abies arizonica, Merriam, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. x. 115, ff. 24, 25 (1896). Pinus lasioearpa, W. J. Hooker, K. Bor. Am. ii. 163 (1839). Picea bifolia, Murray, Gard. Chron. iii. 106 (1875). Picea lasioearpa, Murray, Gard. Chron. iv. 135 (1875). A tree, attaining occasionally 175 feet in height, with a trunk 15 feet in girth, but usually not over 80 to 100 feet high. Bark of young trees smooth and silvery grey ; of old trees shallowly fissured and roughened by reddish brown or whitish scales ; in some trees becoming corky and white in colour. Buds small, about \ inch long, ovoid-conical, obtuse at the apex, brownish, resinous ; scales embedded in the resin but roughening the surface of the bud by their raised tips. Branchlets swollen at the nodes, those of the first year ashy grey, smooth, and covered with a moderately dense short wavy pubescence. Branchlets of the second year retaining some pubescence, darker grey, smooth, with the bark slightly fissuring. Leaves on lateral branchlets irregularly arranged; sometimes irregularly pectinate with some of the leaves above and below not directed outwards, but forwards at an angle with the axis of the shoot ; usually with most of the leaves directed upwards, those in the middle line above covering the shoot and standing edgeways with their apices almost vertical, a few leaves in the middle line below pointing forwards and downwards. Leaves linear, up to i£ inch long by T^ inch broad, uniform in width except at the gradually tapering base ; apex rounded and either entire or with a slight emargination ; upper surface with a shallow continuous median groove, and with four to five lines of stomata on each side of the groove in its anterior half, the lines fewer in number and broken in the basal half; under surface with two bands of stomata, each of six to eight lines ; resin-canals median. The stomatic lines above give the foliage a glaucous appearance ; the bands below vary very much in whiteness. Leaves on leading shoots closely appressed to the stem with their tips directed forwards, flattened in section, and ending in long slender rigid points. Leaves on cone-bearing branchlets upturned, directed forwards, usually acute and not more than ^ inch long. Cones sub-sessile, cylindrical ; rounded, truncate or depressed at the slightly narrowed apex ; 2 to 4 inches long by i^ inch in diameter, dark purple and tomentose, with the bracts concealed.1 Scales very variable in size and shape, from f inch long by f inch wide to ^ inch long by i inch wide : lateral margins rounded or with sinuses, usually auricled on each side of the short obcuneate claw. Bract situated at the base of the scale or slightly above it, quadrangular or 1 According to Piper, Contrib. U.S. Nat. Herb. xi. 93 (1906), cones on trees growing in the Olympic Mountains have exserted bracts. Abies 801 orbicular, denticulate, emarginate with a long slender mucro. Seed ^ inch long, with dark purplish shining wings, which vary in length according to the height of the scale which they cover almost completely. Var. arizonica, Lemmon, Bull. Sierra Club, ii. 167 (1897) ; Masters, Gard. Chron. xxix. 86, 134, ff. 52, 53 (1901). Abies arizonica, Merriam, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. x. 115, ff. 24, 25 (1896); Purpus, Garten welt, v. 4, 26 (1896). This form occurs in the San Francisco mountains in Arizona, where it is common between 8500 and 9500 feet elevation, and occasionally ascends to 12,000 feet. It is remarkable for the creamy-white thick corky bark of the trunk. As seen in cultivation, young plants differ from the type, in the leaves being emarginate at the apex, whiter beneath, and more regularly pectinate in arrangement. Sargent* states that bark equally corky occurs in trees of Abies lasioearpa in other regions, as in Colorado, Oregon, South Alberta, and British Columbia ; and, as there is no difference in the cones, he does not assign even varietal rank to the Arizona tree. The best account of this variety is by Prof. Purpus in Mitt. D. D. Ges., No. 13, p. 47 (1904), who visited the San Francisco mountains in 1901, and introduced the tree to Europe. It seems to be a strictly alpine tree, growing on basaltic and trachytic rocks, where the soil is never quite dry, either scattered or mixed with Populus tremuloides, Pinus flexilis, Pseudotsuga Douglasii, and Picea Engelmanni. It attains a height of 60 to 70 feet with a girth of 6 to 9 feet. The bark is very corky and corrugated, in old trees milk-white or silver-grey in colour. It is replaced in these mountains at 7000 to 8000 feet by Abies concolor. This form has only recently been introduced into cultivation. Plants were for sale in the Pinehurst Nurseries, North Carolina, in 1901 ; and Dr. Masters saw a stock of young plants in Moser's nursery at Versailles in 1903. It is too soon yet to form any opinion as to the suitability of this variety for ornamental gardening. IDENTIFICATION Abies lasioearpa is perhaps most readily distinguished by the conspicuous bands of stomata on the upper surface of the leaf, which separate it clearly from the other species2 with median resin-canals and long narrow leaves. The following points are also noteworthy :—the irregular arrangement of the leaves, which are usually quite entire at the apex ; the ashy-grey pubescent shoots ; and the resinous obtuse buds. (A. H.) DISTRIBUTION This is essentially the alpine fir of the Rocky Mountains and higher ranges on the west coast of North America, and is the most widely distributed fir of the New World, occurring from about lat. 61° N. in Alaska to Arizona and New Mexico. It does not occur in California.8 In the west it extends to the summits of the Olympic l Silva, xii. 113. IV 2 As A. sibirica and A. sachalinensis, which it somewhat resembles in general appearance 3 U.S. Forest Service, Syhncal Leaflet I, Alpine Fir. N 8o2 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland Mountains in Washington, and in the east to the mountains of Idaho, Montana (Plate 225), Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah. Everywhere it grows up to or very near the timber line, and on the shores of Lake Bennett in northern British Columbia descends to 2500 feet. In Colorado it reaches 10,000 feet. Macoun states that it crosses the Rocky Mountains into the Peace River region, and the country between the Little Slave Lake and the Athabasca River ; and that in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta it occurs with Picea Engelmanni, but is less common ; and in a letter states that it is an enormous tree at Glacier, but becomes dwarfed at higher elevations, ascending to 7000 feet in that region. Wilcox* writes of it as follows :— " The balsam fir has about the same range as the white spruce (Picea Engelmanni) but is less common. At a distance it is hardly to be distinguished from the spruce, but the bark on branches and young trees is raised in blisters which contain a drop or two of balsam. This balsam exudes from the bark wherever it is bruised. At first it is a very clear liquid, regarded by old trappers and woodsmen as a certain cure, when brewed with hot water, for colds and throat troubles. On exposure to the air it hardens into a brittle resin, which the woodsman melts into pitch to seal boxes or mend leaky canvas. The camper-out makes his bed from balsam boughs, as they are more springy and less rigid than those of the spruce." I saw this tree in perfection in the Paradise valley on the south-west slopes of Mount Rainier in August 1904. An excellent illustration of this locality is given by C. O. Piper in Garden and Forest, vol. iv. p. 382, which shows the tall slender spiry habit of the fir. Here it lives in company with A. amabilis in the lower part of its range, and with Tsuga Pattoniana, and Cupressus nootkatensis higher up ; growing in small clumps and groves, as shown in the illustration referred to. It seems to be a very slow grower, a tree felled by Plummer being only 15 inches in diameter at 125 years old. The tallest that I measured here was 77 feet by 5 feet 8 inches, but Sargent says that it occasionally attains 175 feet in height (probably in the Olympic Mountains). The seedlings, which I usually found growing on rotten logs, were very slow in growth, and must be often eight to ten years old before their roots reach the soil. HISTORY AND CULTIVATION Abies lasiocarpa was discovered by Douglas in 1832, and his specimen, which is the type of Pinus lasiocarpa of W. J. Hooker, the first name applied to the species, is preserved in the herbarium at Kew. Seeds were first collected about 1863, by Dr. Parry in Colorado; but it is not known if any plants raised from these still survive. The first plants raised in the Arnold Arboretum date from 1873, tne largest of them being now only 10 to 12 feet in height. Roezl collected seeds in 1874 in Colorado.2 According to Syme,8 a small 1 The Rockies of Canada, 62 (1900). 2 Masters,/«»-». Bot. xxvii. 135 (1889), refers these seeds doubtfully to New Mexico ; but there is no doubt that they were collected in Colorado. Cf. Lavallée's article on Nouveaux Conifères au Colorado et de la Californie, mjourn. Soc. Cent. Hort. France, 1875. 3 Gard. Chron. iii. 586 (1888). Abies 803 plant of this origin was alive in Perthshire in 1888 ; but it was only 2\ feet in height, forming a wide spreading bush, though it was growing in rich black loam. No trees of this species are recorded by Kent ; nor were any specimens sent to the Conifer Conference in 1891. It appears to be unsuitable for cultivation in this country. Young trees at Kew, a few feet in height, are stunted and dying. Waterer had a large stock of plants in 1889 in the nursery at Bagshot ; but they all did badly and were thrown away, only one or two surviving and showing the same wretched appearance as the young trees at Kew. Plants cultivated some years ago at Glasnevin have since died. Henry, however, lately saw in the Pinetum at Hatfield, Herts, a tree, planted in 1893 when it was about 3 feet high, which is now 20 feet in height and 15 inches in girth. It has thriven well hitherto, but is slightly attacked by knotty disease. The best specimen we have seen is one at Bayfordbury, about 14 feet high, and fairly thriving. A small tree at Ochtertyre bore cones in 1906. The tree appears to succeed better in Germany. I have raised seedlings from cones sent by Prof. Alien in 1905 from Mount Rainier. (H. J. E.) ABIES BALSAME A, BALSAM FIR Alnes balsamea, Miller, Diet. No. 3 (1768); Sargent, Suva N. Amer. xii. 107, t. 610 (1898), and Trees N. Amer. 58 (1905)5 Masters, Gard. Chron. xvii. 422, figs. 57-60 (1895); Kent, Veitch's Man. Coniferœ, 492 (1900). Abies balsamifera, Michaux, FI. Bor. Am. ii. 207 (1803) (in part). Pinus bahamea, Linnaeus, Sp. PI. 1002 (1753). Picea balsamea, Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit. iv. 2339 (1838). A tree, commonly 50 to 60 feet in height and 3 to 5 feet in girth, but sometimes larger, with spreading branches, usually forming an open broad-based pyramid. Bark, greyish brown and with numerous blisters ; on old trees broken on the surface into small scaly plates. Buds small, globose or occasionally dome-shaped, reddish, shining and resinous. Young shoots smooth, ashy grey, with very short scattered pub escence ; on the shoots of the second year some of the pubescence is retained, and the bark fissures slightly between the pulvini. The branchlets when cut have a very resinous odour. Leaves on lateral branches pectinately arranged, in two sets directed outwards in the horizontal plane ; upper leaves of each set shorter than the others, and directed also slightly upwards, thus forming a shallow V-shaped arrangement. Leaves linear, flattened, uniform in width except at the tapering base ; rounded and slightly bifid at the apex, up to about i inch long and ^ to TV inch wide ; upper surface dark green, shining, with a median continuous groove, and with two or three broken rows of stomata in the middle line towards the apex ; lower surface with two narrow, greyish bands of stomata, composed of six to eight lines ; resin-canals median. Leaves on cone-bearing branches more or less upturned, stouter and broader than those on barren shoots, acute and not bifid at the apex. 8 04 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland Staminate flowers yellow, tinged with purple. Pistillate flowers with nearly orbicular purple scales, shorter than the serrulate greenish-yellow bracts, which are emarginate above and end in long, recurved tips. Cones sub-sessile, ovoid-cylindrical, tapering both at the base and towards the round or flattened apex ; purple1 in colour, 2 to 4 inches long, about an inch in diameter. Scales, about f inch wide and long ; lamina fan-shaped, rounded and undulate above, lateral margins denticulate and curving to the truncate or auricled base ; claw wedge-shaped. Bracts variable in length, exserted or concealed between the scales ; claw oblong ; lamina trapezoidal and denticulate, ending in a mucro. Seeds purplish, about ^ inch long ; wing about as long as the body of the seed. In the wild state considerable variation occurs in the habit of the tree, which becomes a mere shrub at high altitudes. The cones vary both in size and in the length of the bracts, which are either slightly exserted, or quite concealed between the scales. Prof. Balfour found on the same tree at Keillour cones both with long and with short bracts. Var. Hudsonia, Engelmann, Trans. St. Louis Acad. iii. 597 (1878). Abies Hudsonia, Bosc. ex Carrière, Conif. i. 200 (1855). According to Engelmann this is a sterile dwarf form which occurs above the timber line on the White Mountains in New Hampshire. Whether this is identical with the A. Hudsonia, which occurs in cultivation, is uncertain. The latter, according to Sargent,2 is of unknown origin, but is probably, though it has never produced cones, a depauperate form of A. balsamea. It has densely crowded branches, short numerous branchlets, and small broad leaves, about £ inch in length ; and is a dwarf spreading shrub, only a foot or two in height. It differs from A. balsamea in having marginal resin-canals. Var. macrocarpa? This was discovered near the Wolf River, Wisconsin, and raised by Robert Douglas at Waukegan nursery ; it is said to be a distinct and beautiful form with longer leaves and larger cones than the type. DISTRIBUTION The balsam fir extends far to the northward in the Dominion of Canada, its northerly limit being a line drawn from the interior of Labrador north-westward to the shores of the Lesser Slave Lake. It occurs in Newfoundland and in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario, and descends in the United States in the west through northern Michigan and Minnesota to northern and central Iowa, and in the east extends through New England and New York, along the Catskill and Alleghany mountains to south-western Virginia. It is common and often forms a considerable part of the forest on low swampy ground, while on well-drained hill-sides it is met with as single trees or small groves chiefly in the spruce forests. It ascends to 5000 feet on the Adirondacks. (A. H.) 1 In cultivated specimens the cones are occasionally olive-green in colour, and rarely exceed 2 inches in length. 2 Garden and Forest, x. 510 (1897). 3 Ibid. v. 274 (1892) and x. 510 (1897). Abies 805 REMARKABLE TREES The most noted trees of this species in cultivation were those growing in the Keillour Pinetum, Perthshire, now the property of Captain Black of Balgowan. This pinetum was visited by Prof. Balfour1 in 1895, who found about 30 trees still living out of 200, which were planted in 1831. The largest tree was about 60 feet high with a girth of 5 feet i inch at three feet from the ground. There were several others over 4 feet in girth. In 1904, when Henry made a hurried visit to the Keillour Pinetum, where there was much of interest to be seen, he only saw one tree of A. balsamea, with the top broken and in a dying state. Mr. W. Causand informed him that in 1903 there was a tree 68 feet by 5 feet. The finest specimen of which we have any account in Great Britain is recorded in the Conifer Conference Report, Journ. Roy. Hort. Soc. xiv. 511, as having grown at Saltoun Hall, East Lothian, the seat of A. Fletcher, Esq., until 1891, when it was swept away by a flood on the river Tyne. This tree was supposed to have been given by Bishop Compton, who introduced the species in 1697, to Bishop Burnet, formerly incumbent of the parish of Pencaitland, and was thus something like 190 years old. It was 68 feet high though it had lost its top, and at ten feet from the ground no less than 7 feet 10 inches in girth, and was said to have been healthy and growing vigorously up till the time of its destruction. In England we have never seen a tree of any great size or age, the largest being at Bicton, 52 feet by 4 feet 4 inches in 1908 ; and this species seems to have been neglected and forgotten by modern planters, as it is only twice mentioned in the numerous reports sent to the Conifer Conference. Loudon states that it arrives at maturity in twenty to twenty-five years, after which it soon dies, though he mentions trees of 30 to 40 feet high as then existing at Syon, Whitton, and Chiswick. It appears therefore to be of no horticultural value in this country, though if the Saltoun report was correct it may be grown successfully in some parts of Scotland.2 In Norway, according to Schübeler, the Balsam fir succeeds better than here. He mentions three at Bogstad near Christiania, planted about 1772, of which the largest was 55 feet by 6 feet 4 inches, and another 8 feet 2 inches in girth ; but when I visited this place in 1904 I could not find these trees, and do not know whether they are still living. Hansen3 states that specimens, about 50 years old and 40 feet high, are to be met with in Danish Gardens. TIMBER, RESIN Sargent describes the wood4 as being light, soft, coarse-grained, and perishable, and only used for cheap lumber. From the blisters on the bark, a straw-coloured 1 See Card. Chron. xvii. 422 (1895), which gives an interesting account of this remarkable pinetum. ^ A. balsamea was planted at Durris freely about fifty years ago, the largest trees now being from 40 to 45 feet in height. Timber of good quality, and contains an exceptionally small percentage of water in a green state. I have seen no account taken of the latter fact, but it has been a continual surprise to me in handling timber in a green state.—(J. D. CROZIER.) 3 Journ. Roy. Hort. Soc. xiv. 458 (1892). 4 H. von Schrenk, in Missouri Bot. Garden Report, 1905, p. 117, describes and figures logs of this timber, felled in Maine for pulpwood, which show on cross-section irregular areas, perfectly smooth and shining as if they had been planed. 8o6 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland transparent resin, known as Canada balsam, is collected by Indians and poor whites in the province of Quebec. This resin, which was formerly largely used in medicine on account of its stimulating action on the mucous membrane, is now chiefly used for mounting objects to be examined under the microscope, for which, and kindred purposes, it is specially suitable by reason of its transparency. (H. J. E.) ABIES FRASERI, SOUTHERN BALSAM FIR Abies Fräsen, Poiret, in Lamarck, Diet. Suppl. v. 35 (1817); Forbes, Pine turn Woburnense, in, t. 38 (1840); Sargent, Silva N. Amer. xii. 105, t. 609 (1898), and Trees N. Amer. 57 (1905); Masters, Gard. Chron. viii. 684, fig. 132 (1890); Kent, Veitch's Man. Conifene, 509 (1900). Finns Fraseri, Lambert, Genus Pinus, ii. t. 42 (1837). Picea Fraseri, Loudon, Arb. et Fr ut. Brit. iv. 2340 (1838). A tree attaining in America 70 feet in height and 7 feet in girth, with rather rigid branches, forming an open symmetrical pyramid. Bark smooth and with numerous blisters in young trees, becoming on older trunks covered with thin appressed reddish scales. Buds small, broadly ovoid or globose, reddish, resinous. Young shoots smooth, yellowish grey, densely covered with reddish, short, twisted or curved hairs, the pubescence being retained on the older branchlets. Leaves on lateral branches pectinately arranged, as in A. balsamea ; linear, flat tened, shorter than in that species, rarely exceeding f inch long and ^ inch broad, uniform in width except at the shortly tapering base, rounded and bifid at the apex ; upper surface dark green, shining, with a continuous median groove and without stomata ; lower surface with two broad conspicuously white bands of stomata, each of eight to twelve lines ; resin-canals median. Leaves on cone-bearing shoots upturned, crowded, broader than on barren shoots, rounded and entire at the apex. Staminate flowers yellow tinged with red. Pistillate flowers, with rounded scales, shorter than the oblong bracts, which are broad and rounded above, ending in long slender tips. Cones sub-sessile, ovoid, cylindrical, slightly tapering at the base and towards the rounded or flattened apex, purple, about 2 inches long by ij inch in diameter, with the bracts conspicuously exserted and reflected. Scales as in A. balsamea, but wider in proportion to their length. Bracts ; claw oblong ; lamina broad, trapezoidal, denticulate in margin and bifid above with a mucro in the emargination. Seed with wing about \ inch long ; wing purplish, broadly trapezoidal, denticulate in the upper margin, about twice as long as the body of the seed. IDENTIFICATION This species can readily be distinguished from Abies balsamea by the different pubescence on the young hranchlets and the shorter, more coriaceous leaves, which Logs with this so-called " glassy " appearance are occasionally rejected ; but examination showed that this peculiarity was simply due to the presence of ice, which follows the radial lines on the hcaled-over branches of the logs. Abies 807 have broader bands of stomata than in that species—eight to twelve lines in A. Fraseri, usually only six lines in A. balsamea. The cones differ mainly in the larger bracts, which are much exserted and refiexed over the edges of the scales next below ; whereas in A. balsamea the bracts are either concealed, or, if slightly exserted, are never refiexed. (A. H.) DISTRIBUTION Abies Fraseri is very restricted in its range of distribution, being only found in the Alleghany Mountains of south-western Virginia, North Carolina, and eastern Tennessee, where it often forms forests of considerable extent at elevations of 4000 to 6000 feet above sea-level. These forests are usually pure ; but occasionally this species grows mixed with black spruce, birch, and beech. The tree averages about 40 feet in height ; it only rarely attains 70 feet. Sargent in an article1 on this species gives a good illustration of a forest, at about 5000 feet altitude on the Black Mountain range, a spur of the Blue Ridge in North Carolina; which is very like some forests that I saw when I visited this most interesting region in 1895. HISTORY AND CULTIVATION Abies Fraseri was discovered by the Scotch traveller and botanist whose name it bears, John Fraser, in the first decade of the nineteenth century ; and plants of it were first distributed from Messrs. Lee's nursery, at Hammersmith, in 1811. The excellent figure in Pinetum Woburnense, was taken from the original tree in this nursery, where it had then attained 16 feet in height, at about twenty-eight years of age. The tree is short-lived, and the plants of the first introduction are probably all long since dead. According to Sargent,1 seeds of A. balsamea, collected in Pennsyl vania and Canada, where specimens are occasionally found, in which the tips of the bracts of the cone are slightly exserted, have been very generally sold as A. Fraseri. Seedlings of the Carolina tree were, however, distributed by the Arnold Arboretum a few years prior to 1889. We know of no trees of any size now living in this country. Some seedlings which I brought from N. Carolina in 1895 soon died. (H. J. E.) 1 Garden and Forest, ii. 472, fig. 132 (1889). 8o8 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland ABIES RELIGIOSA, MEXICAN FIR Abies religlosa, Schlechtendal, Lintuea, v. 77 (1830); Lindley, Penny. Cyd. i. 31 (1833); Seemann, Bot. Voy. 'Herald? 335 (1852-1857); Hooker, Bot. Mag. t. 6753 (1884); Masters, Gard. Chron. xxiii. 56, f. 13 (1885), and ix. 304, ff. 69, 70 (1891), and Journ. Linn. Soc. (£ot.) xxii. 194, t. 6 (1886); Kent, Veitch's Man. Coniferee, 536 (1900). Abies hirtella, IJndley, loc. fit. (1833). Finns religiosa, Humboldt, Bonpland et Kunth, Nov. Gen. et Spec. ii. 5 (1817); Parlatore, in DC. Prod. xvi. 2, p. 420 (1868). Pinus hirtella, Humboldt, Blonpland et Kunth, loc. at. (1817). Picea religiosa, Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit. iv. 2349 (1838). Picea hirtella, Loudon, loc. cit. (1838). A tree, attaining in Mexico 150 feet in height and 18 feet in girth. Bark1 greyish-white, rough, divided into small roundish plates. Buds shortly cylindrical, rounded at the apex, covered with white resin. Young shoots brown on the upper surface, olive green beneath, covered with minute erect pubescence ; pulvini prominent. Second year's shoots reddish-brown, smooth, and striate between the pulvini, which are no longer raised. Leaves on lateral branches, arranged as in A. Nordmanniana ; but with the median upper leaves much fewer than in that species, covering the upper side of the branchlet, and pointing forwards and slightly upwards ; lower leaves in two lateral sets, spreading outwards and slightly forwards in the horizontal plane. Leaves twisted above the base, linear, flattened, gradually narrowing in the anterior half to an obtuse apex, which is usually entire or rarely minutely bifid ; upper surface dark green, shining, with a median groove (usually not continued to the apex) and without stomata;2 lower surface with two greyish bands of stomata, each of eight to ten lines ; resin-canals marginal. The upper leaves are about half the length of those below, the latter about an inch in length and about ^6 inch broad. Leaves on cone-bearing branches similar to those on barren branches. Cones on short stout stalks, 4 inches long, 2 inches in diameter, conical, broadest near the base and gradually tapering to an obtuse and narrowed apex, bluish before ripening, dark brown when mature, the large reflexed bracts being then of a chestnut brown colour. Scales broadly fan-shaped, nearly i£ inch wide by f inch long ; upper margin almost entire ; lateral margins laciniate and denticulate ; base broad with a sinus on each side of the short obcuneate claw. Bract : claw wide, obcuneate ; lamina quadrangular, denticulate, emarginate with a short triangular cusp. Seed with wing about f inch long ; wing broad and ij times the length of the body of the seed. DISTRIBUTION This species extends throughout the mountains of Mexico, from near Durango in the Sierra Madre range (lat. 24°), where it was collected by Seemann,3 to the 1 In this tree, as in the other species with prominent pulvini on the branchlets, the bark of the trunk speedily becomes scaly and like that of a spruce, not remaining smooth for a considerable period, as in the common species of silver fir. 2 On leaves towards the tip of the shoot, short irregular lines of stomata are present on their upper surface near the apex. Some of these leaves turn their ventral surfaces upwards towards the light. 3 Bot. Voy. Herald, 335 (1852). Abies 809 mountains of northern Guatemala (lat. 15°), where it was observed by Hartweg1 and collected by Skinner. It is known to the natives as Oyamel, and occurs mainly in forests at 8000 to 10,000 feet, though it occasionally descends to 4000 feet. It apparently reaches its best development on the Campanario, the highest point of the mountains of Angangueo, a range about 100 miles west of the city of Mexico. Here Hartweg found trees 150 feet in height and 5 to 6 feet in diameter. Parry and Palmer collected it in the province of San Luis Potosi in Central Mexico, and gave its range as from 6000 to 8000 feet. Linden found it on the peak of Orizaba, inland from Vera Cruz, growing between 9000 and 10,000 feet elevation. Stahl, in Karsten and Schenk's Vegetationsbilder, 2 Reihe, Heft 3, gives a good account of this tree, which he found growing near Orizaba between 2600 and 3500 metres above sea-level, and in the higher mountains round the valley of Mexico, in pure forests or mixed with pines, oaks, and alders. He gives no dimensions, and the two excellent figures 17 and 18 taken in the Sierra de Ajusco, near Salazar, at about 9500 feet, show the trees to be smaller there than those which Elwes saw on Popocatapetl.2 Dr. Gadows found it growing in the mountains of Omiltelme, at 8000 feet ; and describes the trees as " veritable giants, from 5 to 6 feet in diameter, as straight as a mast, and may be 100 feet high." Humboldt supposed that there were two species, one with glabrous and the other with pubescent branchlets ; but Seemann and Hartweg were convinced that this distinction is unfounded ; and the type specimen of Pinus religiosa, the supposed glabrous form, according to Bolle, has pubescent branchlets. The branches of the tree, which are very elegant, are used in Mexico for decorating churches at the times of religious festivals. This species was discovered in 1799 by Humboldt, who saw it near the city of Mexico in two localities, at 4000 feet elevation between Masantla and Chilpantzingo, and near El Guardia at 8400 feet. It was introduced into cultivation in 1838 by Hartweg, who collected for the Horticultural Society of London. REMARKABLE TREES Abies religiosa is tender and will not live, except in the warmer parts of these islands, close to the sea coast, where the temperature never falls much below freezing point. Trees planted long ago at Kew and Bayfordbury, do not now survive. Murray mentions4 in 1876 specimens growing at Woodstock in Kilkenny, Highnam 1 Trans. Hort. Soc. iii. 123, 138 (1848). * I believe that this was the silver fir which clothes the lower slopes of the volcano of Popocatepetl, in Mexico, which I ascended to the limit of vegetation, about 13,000 feet, in March 1888, with my wife and Mr. F. D. Godman. The trees formed in some places dense forests at an elevation of 9000 to 10,000 feet, bnt though my recollection is that they grew to a great size, we took no measurements, being at the time engaged in collecting birds and insects. In the dry volcanic soil in which they grow we found abundantly Pinguicula rosea, one of the most charming ornaments of our greenhouses ; and higher up lupins and pentstemons were the most conspicuous plants.—(H. J. E.) 3 Through Southern Mexico, 378 (1908). * Gard. Chron. \. 560 (1876). IV O 8lo The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland Court in Gloucestershire, Munches in Kirkcudbright, and Hafodunos in Denbighshire, places which we have visited ; but none of these trees can now be found. There are several trees in Cornwall. Specimens with cones were sent to Kew in 1899 from Trevince, near Redruth, the residence of Mr. E. B. Beauchamp. There is also a tree1 in Mr. Boscawen's garden at Lamorran, which produced cones in iSgo.2 There is a small tree at Mr. Rashleigh's garden, Menabilly, which was figured in the Gardeners Chronicle ;* and at Tregothnan, the seat of Viscount Falmouth, there is a large tree which Elwes measured in 1905 as 56 feet by 6^ feet. Though bearing cones, this tree did not seem healthy, and its top was broken by the wind. A tree at Castle Kennedy is fairly large in size; but it was blown down some years ago, and then replaced in position. It is in consequence very irregular in shape. It produces cones freely, but the seeds are never fertile. There were formerly two trees at Fota, which differed somewhat in colour of the foliage and hardihood ; one 8 has since been blown down. The surviving tree (Plate 226) is a handsome one, though its trunk was broken at about thirty-six feet up, and it has now four leaders : when measured by Elwes, in 1908, it was 66 feet high by 7 feet 3 inches in girth. It is branched to the ground, one very large branch coming off near the base. The foliage is variable in colour, being bluish- green towards the ends of the branchlets, and elsewhere of a light or dark green colour, so that there are three tints visible on the tree. It was bearing in August 1904 numerous cones and male flowers, scattered all over the tree. The cones exude a white resin ; and are peculiar, as the scales do not all fall at the same time, some remaining at the base and apex of the axis for two or three years. The tree does remarkably well on the shores of the Italian Lakes.4 Carrière says it is killed by frost at Paris ; but at Cherbourg5 there was a tree 30 feet high in 1867. It seems, however, to be very rare if at all existing in France. (A. H.) 1 Gard. Chron. ix. 304, figs. 69, 70 (1891). 2 This tree was the first in Britain to produce cones, which were exhibited at the Royal Horticultural Society in 1876. 3 This tree was much more tender than the other, and had the top and some lateral branches killed by frost in the winter of 1880-1881. See Osborne, in Card. Chron. xxiii. 56 (1885). 4 Sargent, Silva N. Amer. xii. 97, adnot. (1898). But Elwes saw none that he could identify in the neighbourhood of Fallanza. 6 Hickel and Pardé, in Bull. See. Dendr. France, 1908, pp. 206, 224, state that the trees of this species in the neighbourhood of Cherbourg died in the severe winter of 1879-1880 ; and believe that there are now no living specimens in France. PSEUDOTSUGA Pseudotsuga, Carrière, Conif. 256 (1867); Bentham et Hooker, Gen. PL iii. 441 (1880); Masters, Jonrn. Linn. Soc. (Sot.) xxx. 35 (1893). Abies, section Peucoides, Spach, Hist. Vég. xi. 423 (1842). Pinus, section Tsuga, Endlicher, Gen. PI. Suppl. iv. Ft. ii. 6 (1847). Tsuga, section Peucoides, Engelmann, Trans. St. Louis Acad. ii. 211 (1863). Abietia, Kent, Veitch's Man. Coniferœ, 474 (1900). EVERGREEN trees belonging to the tribe Abietineae of the order Coniferae. Branches irregularly whorled. Branchlets of one kind ; pulvini slightly projecting, persistent, and showing, when the leaves have fallen, an oval scar at their apex. Buds spindle- shaped, acute at the apex, brownish, shining, glabrous ; one terminal larger, and one to four lateral and smaller in the axils of the uppermost leaves ; scales numerous, imbricated, rounded and entire at the upper margin, increasing in size from below upwards ; some of the scales persistent for three or four years at the base of the branchlets, ultimately falling and leaving ring-like scars. Leaves arising in spiral order ; but on lateral branches, thrown by a twist of their bases into two spreading ranks ; persistent for four to eight years ; linear, flat, narrowed at the base ; upper surface green and longitudinally furrowed; lower surface with a prominent midrib and two stomatic bands ; fibro-vascular bundle single, resin-canals two on the under surface next the epidermis. Flowers, arising from buds formed in the previous summer, erect, solitary, surrounded at the base by involucral scales. Male flowers axillary, scattered along the branchlets, cylindrical ; pedicel short at first, ultimately elongated ; composed of numerous spirally arranged short-stalked globose anthers, opening obliquely : con nective surmounted by a short spur ; pollen-grains globose, without air-sacs. Pis tillate flowers, terminal or in the axils of the uppermost leaves, composed of numerous spirally imbricated rounded scales, much shorter than the acutely three-lobed bracts ; ovules two on each scale, inverted. Fruit, a woody pendulous cone, ripening in the first season, ovoid-oblong, acute at the apex, rounded and narrowed at the base ; peduncle short and stout ; scales persistent on the axis after the fall of the seeds, small and sterile towards the base and apex of the cone, rounded, concave, rigid ; bracts conspicuous, exserted, oblong, three-lobed at the apex, the middle lobe awn- like and longer than the two lateral lobes. Seeds, two in shallow depressions, which occupy about half the surface of the scale, triangular, without resin-vesicles, winged. Cotyledons, six to twelve, linear ; with a prominent midrib and stomatiferous on the upper surface. 811 812, The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland The genus comprises three species, two inhabiting western North America, and the third restricted to small areas in Japan and Formosa. In the absence of cones, they are distinguishable as follows :— 1. Pseudotsuga Douglasii, Carrière. Western North America. Branchlets usually pubescent, occasionally glabrous. Leaves straight, undivided at the apex. 2. Pseiidotsuga macrocarpa, Mayr. Southern California. Branchlets covered with short, stiff pubescence. Leaves curved, undivided at the apex. 3. Pseudotsuga japonica, Sargent. Japan, Formosa. Branchlets glabrous. Leaves straight or curved, bifid at the apex. The latter two species, not being yet introduced into England, will now be briefly dealt with. PSEUDOTSUGA MACROCARPA, Mayr, Wald. Nordamer. 278 (1890); Sargent, Suva N. Amer. xii. 93, t. 608 (1898), and Trees N. America, 54 (1905). Abies Douglasii, var. macrocarpa, Torrey, Ives' Rep. pt. iv. 28 (1861). Abies macrocarpa, Vasey, Gardener? Monthly, xviii. 21 (1876). Tsuga macrocarpa, Lemmon, Pacific Rural Press, xvii. No. 5, p. 75 (1879). Pseudotsuga Douglasii, var. macrocarpa, Engelmann, in Brewer and Watson, Bot. Calif, ii. 120 (1880). Abietia Douglasii, var. macrocarpa, Kent, Veitch's Man. Coniferœ, 478 (1900). A tree usually 50, rarely 80 feet high, with a trunk 3 to 4 feet in diameter. It differs from the common species in the following characters : — Branches com paratively larger and more remotely placed. Branchlets covered with a short, stiff, white pubescence. Leaves, f to i inch long, resembling those of P. Douglasii, except that they are distinctly curved. Buds short and broad, usually not more than \ inch long. Cones very large, 4^ to 6 inches long ; scales \\ to 2 inches wide, thick, very concave, puberulous on the outer surface ; bracts, only slightly exserted, short, narrow, with broad midribs produced into short flattened flexible tips. Seeds, £ inch long, dark brown or nearly black and shining above, pale brown below ; wing \ inch long. This species1 occupies an isolated area in the arid mountains of southern California, at 3000 to 5000 feet elevation, forming open groves or growing in mixture with oak and pines on western and southern slopes. Its distribution extends from the Santa Inez Mountains near Santa Barbara on the coast to the Cuyamaca Mountains on the southern border of California. PSEUDOTSUGA JAPONICA, Sargent, Suva N. Amer. xii. 84, adnot. 2 (1898); Shirasawa, Icon. Ess. Forest. Japon, text 21, t. 7 (1900). Tsuga japonica, Shirasawa, Tokyo Bot. Mag. ix. 86, t. 3 (1895). This species is not represented by dried material in European herbaria ; but I have seen a specimen2 recently sent from Japan by Capt. L. Clinton Baker, R.N. 1 A view of a forest of this species is given in Garden and Forest, x. 24, f. 5 (1897). The buds on this specimen were not developed ; but the scales of the previous season's buds remained persistent at the base of the branchlets, and resembled those of P. Douglasii. Pseudotsuga 813 It is distinguished from the other species by its glabrous branchlets and by its leaves bifid at the apex. The leaves are pectinately arranged, f to i inch long, ^ to -£f inch wide, straight or curved, yellowish green above, conspicuously white beneath, broadest near the contracted base, and gradually tapering to an acute apex, which is minutely bifid. The cones are small, ijto if inch long, i inch in diameter ; scales few, about twenty in number, more woody in consistence than those of P. Douglasii, glabrous externally ; bracts strongly reflexed, the central awn-like lobe only slightly larger than the lateral lobes. According to Shirasawa, its discoverer,1 the tree attains a height of 100 feet and a diameter of 3 feet, and occurs at 1000 to 3000 feet elevation in the mountains of the provinces of I se, Yamato, and Kii in Japan. It grows in mixed forests, composed mainly of Tsuga, Oak, Beech, Mag nolia, and other broad-leaved species. Elwes, when at Koyasan, endeavoured to reach the habitat of this species, but owing to the distance, the heavy rain, and inability to find a guide, was unsuccessful. According to Hayata,2 this species occurs also on Mount Morrison in Formosa. Its Japanese name is Togasawara. Young plants are reported by Beissner3 to be in cultivation in Ansorge's nursery, at Flottbeck near Altona, and in the Botanic Garden at Hamburg. Two small branches, recently sent to Kew from Flottbeck and from Herr Langen's nursery at Grevenbroich, are only distinguishable from those of the American species by some of the leaves being bifid at the apex. Apparently in the young stage, the leaves are acute or mucronate and entire, the bifid character only being assumed after two or three years. Except for its botanical interest this species does not seem likely to have any value in this country.4 (A. H.) 1 Shirasawa discovered this species in July 1893, on the road between Owashi (in Kii province) and Yoshino (Yamato province), about 10 miles from the coast. He states that the forests in which it occurs are small in area and very inaccessible. 2 Tokyo Bot. Mag. xix. 45 (1905). 3 Mitt. Dent. Dendr. Gesell. 1902, p. 53, and 1906, pp. 84 and 144. Mayr, in Frcmdländ. Wald- u. Parkbäume, 406 (1906), states that seeds of the Japanese species have never germinated in Europe. The young plants, however, referred to above, are unquestionably this species. 4 While the above was passing through the press, Mr. H. Clinton Baker writes that he had just received from Fallanza four plants of /'. japonica, about 2 feet high, which are being planted at Bayfordbury. The buds on these plants are about \ inch long, shining brown, and without resin ; and the leaves are nearly all bifid at the apex. 814 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland PSEUDOTSUGA DOUGLASII, DOUGLAS FIR Pseiidotsuga Douglasii, Carrière, Conif. 256 (1867); Mayr, Fremdländ. Wald- u. Parkbäume, 396 (1906). Pseudotsuga Lindleyana, Carrière, Rev. Hort. 1868, p. 152, fig. Pseudotsuga taxifolia? Britton, Trans. N. York Acad. Se. viii. 74 (1889); Sargent, Bot. Gazette, xliv. 226 (1907). Pseudotsuga mucronata, Sudworth, Contrib. U.S. Nat. Herb. iii. 266 (1895); Sargent, Si/va N. Amer. xii. 87, t. 607 (1898), and Trees N. Amer. 53 (1905). Pseudotsuga glaucescens, Bailly, Rev. Hort. 1895, p. 88, fig.; André, Rev. Hort. 1895, p. 159; Bellair, Rev. Hort. 1903, p. 208, f. 85. Pseudotsuga glauca, Mayr. Mitt. Deut. Dendr. Ges. 1902, p. 86, and Fremdländ. Wald-u. Parkbäume, 404 (1906). Pinus taxifolia, Lambert, Pinus, i. 51, t. 33 (1803) (not Salisbury). Pinus Douglasii, D. Don, in Lambert, Pinus, iii. t, (1837). Abies taxifolia, Poiret, in Lamarck, Diet. vi. 523 (1804). Abies mucronata, Rafinesque, Atlant. Journ. 120 (1832). Abies Douglasii, Lindley, Penny Cycl. i. 32 (1833); Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit. iv. 2319 (1838). Picea Douglasii, Link, Linnœa, xv. 524 (1841). Tsuga Douglasii, Carrière, Conif. 192 (1855). Tsuga Lindleyana, Roezl, Cat. Conif. M ex. 8 (1857). Tsuga taxifolia, Kuntze, Rev. Gen. PL ii. 802 (1891). Abietia Douglasii, Kent, Veitch's Man. Conif. 476 (1900). A tree, attaining in the moist climate of the Pacific coast 250 to 300 feet in height and 40 feet in girth ; but in the dry regions of the interior and at high altitudes rarely more than 100 feet high and 10 feet in girth. Bark of young stems thin, smooth, shining, grey ; on older trunks, 2 to 12 inches in thickness, corky, divided by deep longitudinal furrows into broad oblong scaly ridges. Young branchlets usually pubescent, occasionally glabrous. Buds \ to | inch long. Leaves f to i\ inch long, straight, rounded or obtuse, rarely acute at the apex ; variable in colour, the stomatic bands beneath either dull grey or conspicuously white. Cones, 2 to 4^ inches long ; scales thin, slightly concave, rounded or slightly prolonged at the apex, about f inch wide ; pubescent on both surfaces ; before ripening bluish below, purple towards the apex and bright red on the closely appressed margins, the bracts being pale green ; scales and bracts brown when ripe. Bracts variable in length ; the three-pointed apex always, however, extending beyond the scale, usually appressed, but occasionally reflexed. Seeds, about \ inch long, reddish brown and shining above, paler and with whitish spots below ; wings longer than the body of the seed, dark brown, rounded at the apex. VARIETIES i. Var. glauca, Beissner, Nadelholzkunde 419 (1891), Colorado Douglas fir. In the interior of the continent, the Douglas fir, growing in a dry climate at 1 According to the rules of botanical nomenclature adopted by the Vienna Congress of 1905, P. taxifolia is the correct name for the species, as pointed out by Sargent, in Bot. Gaz. xliv. 226 (1907) ; but we prefer to use P. Douglasii, the name which is universally in use amongst foresters and arboriculturists. Pseudotsuga high elevations in the Rocky Mountains, through Montana, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Mexico, is a smaller tree than the form which occurs in the moist climate of the Pacific coast region. It bears small cones, 2 to 3 inches in length, which in rare cases have the bracts reflexed, but resemble in all essential characters, except size, the cones of the coast form. The leaves are usually thicker in texture and are very glaucous beneath; but the bluish tint visible on the upper surface of the leaves, which is supposed to be characteristic, while common in certain localities, and in others occurring on scattered individual trees, is no more constant than the similar coloured variation which is met with in trees like Picea pungens and Cedrus atlantica. Mayr has separated the Rocky Mountain form as a distinct species, P. glauca ; but the differences, being rather physiological than morpho logical, do not entitle it to rank as more than a variety. The main difference lies in the rate of growth and the hardiness of the tree, when seeds of it are raised in countries remote from its native habitat. Dr. C. C. Parry discovered this variety of the Douglas fir in the outer ranges of the Rocky Mountains in 1862 ; and in the following year seeds were sent to the Botanic Garden of Harvard College, from which plants were raised, that have proved perfectly hardy and vigorous in growth in New England. In the north eastern States the Pacific Coast form, whether introduced by seeds collected in Oregon or produced by trees growing in England, has not proved hardy. The exact date of the introduction of the Colorado Douglas into Europe is uncertain ; but it appears to have been unknown in 1884, when the first edition of Veitch's Manual was published, and was described as a distinct variety by Beissner in 1891. Seeds were apparently sent from Mexico by Roezl in 1856, and plants1 raised from these on the continent do not seem to differ from the Colorado Douglas. According to the experiments of Johannes Rafn, of Copenhagen, the germination of the seed of Douglas fir from Colorado is quicker and much better than that from the Pacific coast.2 In England young plants of the Colorado Douglas3 have ascending branches, and are more narrowly pyramidal in habit than the Oregon Douglas, which has wide-spreading horizontal branches. Owing to its slowness of growth, the Colorado variety has short internodes between the branches, which give it a bushy appearance. The blue tint of the foliage can scarcely be relied on as a distinctive character, as it is variable in intensity and often disappears with age. The leaves are usually thicker, but do not differ in length or shape from those of the Oregon Douglas, the sharp-pointed apex being characteristic of both forms in the young stage. The young branchlets of the Colorado variety are often either quite glabrous or show only a few minute hairs under the lens, whereas those of the other form are distinctly pubescent. In wild trees, judging from herbarium specimens, this distinction does not occur. 1 Pseudotsuga Lindleyana, Carrière, raised from Mexican seed sent by Roezl, and P. glaucesccns, Bailly, also probably from Mexican seed, belong to var. glauca, and bear cones with strongly reflexed bracts. ' Trans. Roy. Scot. Arbor. Soc., xvi. 408 (1901). 3 The Colorado Douglas in cultivation in England has been supposed by Schwappach (cf. Richardson in Trans. Key. Scot. Arbor. Soc. xviii. 195, with figure) to be Pseudotsuga macrocarpa ; but there is no evidence to support this opinion. 8i6 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland The Colorado Douglas displays in cultivation well-marked peculiarities, which are mentioned in detail on pages 825, 826. 2. Lemmon1 has described several other wild varieties, as var. suberosa from Arizona and New Mexico, var. elongata from the base of Mount Hood in Oregon, and var. palustris from swamps in the Lower Columbia Valley. 3. A considerable number of cultivated varieties have been distinguished by Carrière and Beissner, most of which are not worth mentioning, as their distinctive characters are trifling and inconstant. Fastigiate and pendulous forms are known, but are rarely met with. Var. Stairii, with yellowish foliage, originatedz at Castle Kennedy. Var. Fretsii, Beissner,8 is very peculiar in the foliage, as the leaves are short and broad, only \ inch in length, very obtuse at the apex, and resembling those of Tsuga Sieboldii. This originated in the seed-bed, and was sent out by Messrs. Frets & Sons of Boskoop, Holland. (A. H.) Other varieties occur in cultivation which, though very distinct in habit, are not, in my opinion, worth naming. Among the best of the pendulous forms is one at Bury Hill, Dorking, the seat of R. Barclay, Esq., which in 1908 was 88 feet high. I noticed in October 1907, near Boldrewood in the New Forest, on the north side of the drive, two trees, one of which was a typical Oregon Douglas fir with drooping branches, and leaves very silvery on the under side. Another close by had much narrower, suffer, and darker foliage, and denser branches, the leaves much less silvery, and the cones closely packed near the summit of the tree in a manner unusual in this species. The former tree measured 70 feet by 6 feet 10 inches, the latter 66 feet by 5 feet 2 inches. Others of the latter type, standing near the gate leading into Mark Ash, bore no cones at all. Near Eggesford House, in the higher walk, I saw a Douglas fir tree, so distinct in habit that it might be easily mistaken for another species. It had thin greyish foliage, pendulous branchlets, and very few cones, and measured 80 feet by 5 feet 7 inches, whilst ordinary Douglas firs planted close by were much thicker in pro portion. I believe that by selecting such trees as seed-bearers we may ultimately succeed in obtaining distinct races which, for economic planting, will be much more valuable than trees of unknown origin. (H. J. E.) DISTRIBUTION The Douglas fir has an extremely wide distribution in western North America, extending from north to south over 33° of latitude, between the parallels of 55° and 22°, and ranging from the Pacific coast to east of the Rocky Mountains. It occupies practically all of this vast territory except the higher elevations of the mountains and the desert and prairie regions of lower altitudes, where the rainfall is slight. It is the dominant tree of the great western forest, always growing in mixture with other 1 West American Conebearers, 57 (1895). 2 This variety is fully described in Card. Chron. 1871, p. 1481. I have seen the original, which is now a small unhealthy looking tree ; as are all those we have seen elsewhere. The best, perhaps, is a large dense bush rather than a tree, growing in Wood's nursery, near Buxsted, Sussex.—(H. J. E.) 3 Milt. Dent. Vend. Gesell. 1905, p. 74, f. 8. Pseud ot su ga 817 conifers, which have a much more restricted distribution. In Montana it is associated with the western larch : in California it encroaches on the redwood belt ; in south western Oregon it is mixed with the Lawson cypress ; while in the rest of the great forest of this state, and of Washington and northern Idaho, Thuya plicata is usually its constant companion. The various silver firs, hemlocks, and the Sitka spruce also take part, in different localities, in the mixture of coniferous trees in the Douglas forest. Towards the edges of the prairie regions and in the drier parts of the mountains, the Douglas fir gradually gives place to Pinus ponderosa, which is the characteristic tree of dry soils, where a very moderate rainfall prevails. The northern limit of the Douglas fir extends from near the head of the Skeena River, latitude 54°, in the coast range of British Columbia to Lake Tacla in the Rocky Mountains, latitude 55°, reaching its most easterly point near Calgary in Alberta. In the coast range, the tree grows at some distance inland north of latitude 51° ; while south of this line it is common on the coast of the mainland and in the island of Vancouver ; and in this region, and in Washington and Oregon, between the western foothills of the Cascades and the sea, it is most abundant and of its largest size. It attains its maximum development, 300 feet in height, in Vancouver Island and on the northern slopes of the Olympic Mountains in Washington, where the rainfall is excessive ; whereas, on the Cascades and in the interior of the continent, it rarely exceeds 150 feet in height. It is common, but only of moderate size, in the forests of northern Idaho and of western Montana,1 ascending to 6000 feet. The Douglas fir extends southwards along the Rocky Mountains, in the Yellowstone Park in Colorado, where it grows between 6000 and 11,000 feet altitude ; in Utah, to the east of the Wasatch range ; in northern and central New Mexico and northern Arizona, where it is common between 8200 and 9000 feet, being rare and of small size in the southern parts of these two states, where it ascends to 6000 or 7000 feet ; in the Guadalupe Mountains of western Texas, where it is abundant ; and it spreads into Mexico, along the Sierra Madre range of Chihuahua and the mountains of Nuevo Leon, reaching its most southerly point near the city of San Luis Potosi. In California it extends southward in the coast mountains2 as far as PuntaGorda in Monterey county, but is not abundant, and is rarely over 150 feet in height; inland it extends to the Sierra Nevada,8 where it grows to a large size and ascends to 7000 feet. It does not occur in the arid tracts of Nevada and Utah, which lie between the Sierra Nevada and the Wasatch ranges. (A. H.) So little seems to be known by British foresters as to the conditions under which the tree grows in America, that though I quite agree with the preceding account, it may be as well to add some of my personal experience of the tree as I saw it on my last journey in 1904. In the Blackfoot valley of Montana it is associated 1 At \Vhitefish, Montana, an average tree, growing with the western larch, was 140 feet in height and 8 feet in girth, and showed 245 annual rings ; the sapwood, £ inch wide, containing 45 rings ; the bark was 2^ inches in thickness. 2 Jepson, in Flora Western Mid. California, 19 (i901) says that it is frequent in the Santa Cruz mountains; but is not known in the Mt. Diabolo and Mt. Hamilton ranges, or in the Oakland hills. 3 Sargent in Garden and Forest, x. 25 (1897), says that it does not extend in the Sierras, south of the head of King's river, or within loo miles of the territory occupied by P. macrocarpa. Jepson (op. cit. 20), makes its southern limit on the Sierras, about the head-waters of Stevenson Creek, which is not far from the head of King's river. XV p 8i8 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland with Larix occidentalis, on the damper and shadier slopes of the mountains, at 4000 to 6000 feet, giving place to Pinus ponderosa in drier and sunnier situations, and never attains, so far as I could see or learn, more than 140 to 150 feet in height. In Washington and British Columbia it is not seen in the dry country east of the Cascade range, but appears 'as soon as the forest begins to thicken near the watershed ; and on the western slopes of the mountains, from about 6000 feet down wards, is almost everywhere, except in swampy land, the dominant tree of the forest, attaining 200 to 300 feet in height from sea level to about 2000 feet. It grows usually in mixture with Thuya plicata, Tsuga Albertiana, Picea sitchensis, and Abies grandis ; sometimes with a smaller proportion of Pinus monticola, and in drier situations with Pinus ponderosa •? but in all the coast forests which I saw in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, including Vancouver Island, it out numbers all the other conifers, except where forest fires have destroyed it, and its place is being to some extent taken by the hemlock, whose seeds seem able to germinate and grow in denser shade and in deeper humus than the young plants of the Douglas fir can endure. Wherever the soil becomes too dry and rocky for hemlock and Thuya, the Douglas fir is able to grow, climbing up to the dry ridges and sunny slopes until it meets the more alpine species of conifers. Its habit and size vary according to the soil and situation ; but I never observed any trees even in the most open situations, whose branches extended so far from the trunk as they do in English parks and gardens, and it does not attain anything like its full size unless it has a deep soil, a sheltered situation, and has been drawn up in youth by the struggle for existence, which prevails everywhere in the forest. I saw a section of bark in the Washington State exhibit at the St. Louis Exhibition, taken from a tree cut at M'Cormick in Lewis Co., Washington, in the spring of 1904 ; which was said by Mr. Baker, who was in charge of it, to have been 390 feet high. The same tree was recorded, however, in a Washington newspaper as having been 340 feet high and 42 feet in circumference (probably at three to four feet from the ground), and above 300 years old. The tree is said to have contained 79,218 feet board measure, equal to above 8000 cubic feet, quarter-girth measure. The discrepancy in the account of the height and that given me by Mr. Baker may arise, in part, from the tree in falling, having jumped some distance from its stump. Another tree even more remarkable, though not so large, was cut by Mr. Angus M'Dougall of Tacoma for the Chicago Exhibition in 1893. This grew in Snohomish Co., Washington, and measured on the stump only 4 feet in diameter. In falling it broke off at a height of 238 feet, where it measured 17^ inches in diameter, and was nearly free from branches to a height of 216 feet, which length was sent to Chicago. The largest tree I have ever seen myself, which is said to be perhaps the largest known in Vancouver Island, grows by the roadside at Mr. P. Barkley's farm at Westholme, about 40 miles north of Victoria and 4 miles south of Chemainus Station. 1 In the Bow river of Alberta it grows mixed with aspen (Populus tremuloides), and cottonwood (P. talsamifera).— Wilcox, Tlie Rockies of Canada, p. 65. Pseudotsuga 819 What its height may originally have been is impossible to say, as it is broken off at about 175 feet. This tree has a very swelling base, which does not show so well as I could wish in the photograph (Plate 227). At the ground it measures 21 paces in circumference. Above the swelling, at about 6^ feet, I made it 41 feet 5 inches in girth. Assuming this tree to be 24 feet in girth at 100 feet high, and to have had a top at all in proportion to its girth, it must have contained 7000 to 8000 cubic feet of timber, or even more. The soil in which it grows is a deep fertile loam, and the timber standing in the valley is some of the finest in the island. Plate 228, from a photograph also taken in Vancouver Island, gives an idea of the forest, and shows on the right the trunk of a typical Douglas Fir ; on the left, a trunk of Thuya plicata. In the eastern part of the Washington Forest Reserve, Mr. Martin W. German found this species up to 6000 feet, and measured a tree growing at 5500 feet, 132 years old, which was i8f inches diameter on the stump, with the bark 3 inches thick. Another tree at 1200 feet elevation, 244 years old, was 43 inches in diameter, with bark 6 inches thick. In the dry region the tree ranges from 70 to 120 feet high and from 20 to 50 inches diameter. He remarks that the species resists fire better than any other conifer of this region, and bears fertile cones at an earlier age than any other, a tree of only twelve years old having well developed cones. Observations on the rapid growth of Douglas fir at various ages in its own country are given by Mayr.1 In southern Oregon, on the best sandy loam, with a rich humus, he measured Douglas firs 130 feet high at eighty years old; a fallen stem, loo feet high, contained 135 cubic feet. The wood of the Douglas fir is known in the European, South African, and Australian markets as Oregon pine or Oregon fir, on the Pacific coast of North America as red fir or yellow fir, in Utah, Idaho, and Colorado as red pine, and in California is sometimes incorrectly called spruce or hemlock. It produces probably a larger quantity of commercial lumber than any other conifer in the new world, or at least on the Pacific coast ; and is likely to continue the principal source of supply for most purposes, as the white pine (P. Strobus) of the New England states and Canada, and the long-leaved or pitch pine of the southern states become scarcer ; and as its timber is likely in the future to become an important article of trade in Europe, both as an imported and home-grown product, I think it may be useful to give some particulars of the way in which the immense sawmills of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia are managed. First, as regards the growth of the timber, Prof. Sheldon, the Oregon State forestry expert, has published in the Oregon Timberman, May 1904, a valuable paper, which entirely confirms my own much more limited observations, and goes to show that the two forms locally known as red and yellow fir are not in any way distinct, but are simply the result of different conditions of growth. When the trees grow in an open space, and have the annual rings, as is usually the case in youth, pretty far apart, they may attain at the butt 16 to 18 inches diameter at forty years. In such trees the thickness of the sap-wood is from 2 to 3 1 Frcmdländ. Wald- u. Parkbäume, 398 (1906). 820 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland inches, and the thickness of the bark, which under such conditions is comparatively smooth and greyish in colour, is about 5- inch. The timber of such trees would be known as red fir. When the tree, however, becomes crowded by its neighbours, and its girth increment is much slower, all the energy of the tree being devoted to upward growth, the rings become much closer, and trees of fifty to sixty years of age may be only i foot in diameter. The bark in such cases is much thinner, and the quality of the timber from the point at which the slower growth began much better, so that it would be classed as yellow fir when sawn up. Prof. Sheldon gives figures showing sections of such trees, his Plate 6 showing the influence of light, room, and nourishment on the growing tree. The tree from which this section was made was 143 years old with a diameter of only 16^ inches. For 116 years it had stood in a crowded forest with large trees 4 and 5 feet in diameter all round it. Twenty-seven years ago the large trees were felled, and the growth immediately became much more rapid. The sap-wood in this case is 3^ to 4 inches and the bark i^ inch thick. He says, " The result of this study is to conclude that the rapid growth of Oregon fir in the open produces red fir, and the subsequent growth when the trees begin to crowd each other produces yellow fir. Trees grown in dense clumps crowded all their life produce solid yellow fir. The growth of the upper portion of the tree may show larger annual growths in the centre than are found near the butt of the same tree. This is of interest in accounting for the immense height of the Oregon fir in many places, as trees 300 to 350 feet high are found in the forests of Oregon and Washington." I asked experienced loggers whether they could distinguish red from yellow fir as they grew, and my impression was that they could not, though they said a very few blows of the axe would soon show the difference in the hardness of the wood. With the object of finding out the age at which the tree comes to maturity, I measured the rings of several trees recently felled at the logging camps which I visited. I am much indebted to the managers of these mills, for the facilities which they gave me to see the whole operations of a modern west coast lumberman. Among them Mr. Bradley of the Bridal Veil Company, Oregon ; Mr. Browne, president of the St. Paul and Tacoma Sawmills, Tacoma, Washington, and his logging contractor, Mr. M'Dougall ; Mr. Palmer of the Chemainus Mills, Vancouver Island ; and Mr. Kenneth Ross, manager of the Big Blackfoot Lumber Company, Montana, were all most obliging and hospitable. I found that the average age of mature trees 4 to 6 feet in diameter on the stump is 300 to 500 years. At an age of from 400 to 500 years, and possibly much sooner in some cases, the trees begin to decline in health, and some of those felled are more or less hollow. In all cases the annual rings for the first fifty to seventy years are very much thicker than for the next 300 years, the best trees having from four to five rings to the inch at first, and afterwards as many as fifteen to twenty. The better class trees are clear of branches up to about 120 to 150 feet, and in such cases produce wood free from knots, or " clear lumber " as it is called in the trade. Such clear lumber, however, even when a large number of trees are rejected by the fellers, does not exceed 15 to 30 per cent of the total Pseudotsuga 821 product, and is worth a much higher price than the more or less knotty lumber known as " merchantable." The business of lumbering which has been carried on for many years on a very large scale is, on the Pacific coast, as in most parts of North America, conducted in a way which, though perhaps necessary in order to meet the severe competition for price which everywhere prevails, would shock the feelings of any European forester, on account of its wastefulness and the absolute disregard which is paid to the future of the forest ; which is in most cases abandoned to fire, as soon as the soundest, cleanest, and most accessible trees have been extracted. A tract of land having been first surveyed, and its probable contents roughly estimated by the " cruiser," on whose judgment in selecting the best field of operations much of the success of the business depends, is purchased or leased from the owner on the basis of so much per thousand feet board measure. This estimate runs in most cases from 20,000 to 70,000 feet per acre, and as far as I could judge is rarely more than half, and often much less than half, of the actual contents, which in favourable situations amounts to as much as 300,000 to 500,000 feet per acre. Unless the timber to be felled is near the sea,—in which case it is on Puget Sound often slid direct into the salt water, made up into rafts, and towed by steamers to the sawmill,—the next operation is to build a railroad up the valley to bring the logs from the forest to the sawmill. Sometimes the mill is in the forest itself, and a wooden flume of many miles in length is built, by which the sawn boards can be floated down to the nearest railway station. Sometimes the logs themselves are floated to the mill, where a large enough river exists ; or a combination of railway, river, and flume may have to be adopted as the distance from the mill or station increases. The cost of extracting the logs from the forest and bringing them to their shipping point, governs the value of the growing timber, which is rapidly becoming less and less accessible as the best areas are cut over. When the means of transport are completed, a "skid road" or a temporary tramway is built right up to where the trees grow, and powerful movable donkey engines are used, which are able, with a steel-wire rope, to drag logs of 40 to 50 feet long to a distance of 1000 yards or more from where they fall. Felling then commences and is managed as follows :—The most experienced man in the gang, having marked the trees to be felled, cuts a deep notch into one side at 4 to 6 feet from the ground, after carefully considering which way the tree should fall, so as to run least risk of lodging, or of breaking in falling. Both the undercutting and the sawing which follows, are done on spring boards fixed into a notch cut into the butt at 3 to 4 feet from the ground. When the two fellers, who sometimes make the notch themselves, have got within 5 to 6 inches of it, they insert large iron wedges in the sawcut, carefully watching the top of the tree to see where the wedges should be driven, so as to fell the tree with least danger to themselves and the log. After a few blows on the wedges the tree begins to lean and the men jump clear, calling out to warn others who may be near. There is some risk of large branches being torn off the falling tree or adjacent trees, and many accidents occur. 822 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland When the tree comes down, it is cross-cut by other men paid at a lower rate than the fellers, into such lengths as seem best. The smaller end of the log is then bevelled off and two deep notches cut, into which a pair of iron claws are fixed, and attached to the wire rope of the donkey engine. A signal is then given by wire from the men in charge of the log to the engineer, who commences winding up the rope, and with frequent stoppages caused by the log being jammed among stumps and other obstructions, it is at last dragged either to a prepared skid road, where another donkey engine hauls it to the loading point, or direct to where the trucks are able to load it. The loading is managed by building a rolling stage of heavy timbers down which the logs can be slid, or up which they are rolled by a donkey engine on to the trucks. Sometimes a dam is built and a pond formed, into which all the logs are dragged and rolled out on to the trucks. In fact there is no end to the ingenuity of the logging contractor in devising mechanical means for handling these great logs, often 4, 5, and 6 feet in diameter, with the least expense and trouble. Many logs which to an inexperienced eye would be thought valuable, are left either because they would cost more than they are worth to get out, or because they are more or less faulty ; and in all cases that I saw, the work is done without the least regard to the younger trees, or to the future. Sometimes half the trees are left standing and as much is left after felling as is taken. The price per 1000 feet at the sawmill is the one governing idea. When the logs reach the sawmill they usually go into a pond, from which they are hauled as required up an inclined plane to the saw bench. In the largest and modern mills the band-saw has replaced the gang-saws formerly used, and works at an incredible speed, saving a great deal of wood which was formerly eaten up by the saw. Some of the band-saws are double-edged; and after taking off the slabs and squaring the log, it is then converted into whatever sized lumber is wanted; the best quality being cut into vertical grained decking or flooring, 4 to 6 inches wide. The ingenious arrangements by which everything in these great mills is arranged so as to save manual labour, must be seen to be appreciated. I found many of the men employed were Japanese, who are said to be excellent workmen and to possess both nerve and pluck. When the boards are cut, the best are sorted out and sent to the drying kiln where they are dried for four or six days in order to prepare them for planing, tonguing, and grooving; which is usually done in another part of the same establishment by machinery, before the finished wood is put in cars for transport to the interior. Much of it now goes to the middle states, and a great deal to South Africa, China, and Australia ; but whenever very large-sized balks, masts, or piles are wanted, the Puget Sound mills are called on to fill the order, because no others in the world can supply timbers of such great size at so cheap a rate. Logs of 24 inches square and up to loo feet long are regularly quoted. The Douglas Flagstaff,1 in Kew Gardens, came from Vancouver Island, and was 1 Cf.Jburn. K. Hort. Soc, xiv. 452 (1892). Pseudotsuga 823 presented in 1861 by Mr. Edward Stamp. It is 159 feet high, about 12 feet being underground, and is about 4^ feet in girth at ground-level. It weighed 4 tons 8 cwt., and was about 250 years old. In the British Museum of Natural History there is a section cut in 1885, 7 feet 7 inches in diameter, including bark, on which 533 annual rings may be counted. There is also in the Timbers Museum at Kew a fine section, 8 feet in diameter, cut from a tree on Puget Sound. A technical report on the strength, weight, and structural value of Douglas timber is given by Halt in U.S. ßureazi of Forestry, Circular No. 32 (1904), from which it appears that the possibility of obtaining long and large pieces, combined with the exceptional strength and stiffness of the material, compared with its very moderate weight, renders it an ideal timber for structural purposes, and durable on exposure to weather. In a report on the Forest Products of the United States for 1906 (issued March I9O8)1 I find that this species now comes second in the quantity of timber produced, being only surpassed by "yellow pine," under which heading are included all the various pines of the south and east except white and Norway pine (P. Strobus and P. resinosa). The quantity cut in 1906 was estimated at 5 billion feet, valued at 70 million dollars, of which the state of Washington yielded 68.5 per cent, Oregon 27.2 per cent, and all the other states together less than 5 per cent. The increase in production was very rapid in the last few years, and the average value had increased from 8.67 dollars per 1000 in 1899 to 14.20 dollars in 1906. I am informed by Mr. R. S. Kellogg of the United States Forestry Bureau, Washington, that on the Pacific coast all masts except the smallest, and on the east coast the largest masts, are made of Douglas fir, which is transported overland from the Pacific coast. It is the opinion of Lieut.-Commander Williams of the Bureau of Construction and Repair, U.S. Navy Dept., that there is practically no difference in the strength of Douglas fir and long-leaf pine (P. pahistris) ; the latter, however, is considerably heavier. This appears to be now generally recognised by yacht - builders in Europe who use Douglas fir in preference to any other timber for the masts of racing yachts. A letter on the timber of this tree in Gardeners Chronicle, 1862, p. 452, gives the results of experiments made at Cherbourg by M. Serres on twelve specimens of squared mast timber sent from Vancouver, which showed that in strength it was almost equal to Florida pitch pine, and stronger than Baltic or Canadian pine. The weight of a compound mast made up of pitch pine in the centre and Baltic or Canada pine on the outside was about 12,200 kilos., whilst a solid mast of the same dimensions, made of Douglas fir, weighed only 8900 kilos. The cost of material and workmanship of the latter was very much less. Mayr's comparison2 of the wood as grown in various parts of Europe, with that grown in America, and also with that of silver fir, spruce, and larch, is well worth studying ; but the age of the trees was insufficient to make the comparison conclusive. 1 U.S. Dept. Agr. Forest Service Bull. 77. 2 Fremdländ. Wald- ». Parkbäume, 399, 400 (1906). 824 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland With regard to the future of the Douglas fir forests it is very hard to say to what extent or for what period the present supply will last. Axe and fire are certainly destroying them at a great rate, but the reproduction all over the coast region is so good, and the danger of fire in dense young growths of trees so small, that many places cleared twenty to forty years ago are already covered with healthy young trees ; and though the size and quality of these will probably never equal those of the virgin forests, yet there is no reason why, with reasonable care, the forests should be devastated as they are now. On the drier mountains of the interior, the danger of destruction is greater ; and it seems to me that whilst Douglas pine is the dominant tree of the coast region, Pinus ponderosa, owing to its thicker bark and greater adaptability to dry soils and climates, will replace it in the interior. INTRODUCTION The Douglas fir was discovered by Menzies at Nootka Sound in 1797. Seeds were, however, first sent home by Douglas in 1827, from which plants were raised by the Horticultural Society of London and distributed throughout the country. According to a note by Mr. Frostl the tree at Dropmore, which is usually considered to be the oldest in England, was raised from seed sown by himself in the winter of 1827-1828. CULTIVATION The best account2 of the cultivation of Douglas fir yet written is by Mr. Crozier, forester on the Durris estate in Kincardineshire, who has paid special attention to this tree, and is one of the most experienced foresters in Scotland. He prefers to collect home-grown seed, and considers that much may be done to improve the type of the tree commercially, by selection of the best varieties as seed- bearers ; and states that the production of seed in good years is enormous, no less than 15,000 cones having been counted on an outlying specimen tree about 40 years old. The seed ripens about the beginning of October, when the cones should be gathered without delay before the seed escapes. After storage in a dry loft through the winter, the cones are exposed to sun heat, which causes them to shed the seed. In the beginning of May the seed is sown in beds 3 to 3^ feet wide, one pound being allowed to every 8 or 10 yards. The seedlings are transplanted at two years old, and Mr. Crozier prefers to plant them out in the month of April one year later by notching, or if the ground is liable to be covered with bracken or herbage, by pitting in plants a year older. So far as my own observations go this tree will not grow well on clay or on the oolite formation, but it thrives on greensand, and on sandstone of the Llandovery group at Tortworth. If desired to grow to a large size, it should be planted in a well-sheltered situation, where the soil is of sufficient depth and fertility to keep the trees growing for a long period, but in exposed situations the tops are ruined by the 1 Card. Chron. 1871, p. 1360. 2 Trans. Roy. Scot. Arb. Soc. xxi. 31 (1908). Pseudotsuga 825 wind. All attempts to grow this tree into timber on bare, exposed, or barren downs and hillsides will, I believe, prove futile.1 The Colorado or glaucous variety has been so much spoken of, and is recognised so universally in cultivation as a distinct form, that we must speak of its peculiarities in full. It is usually supposed to be known by its colour, which is variable in all races of the tree ; and I know of a case in which colour alone was considered by a forestry expert, to be sufficient to condemn as seed-bearing parents, a large number of vigorous healthy trees of great size, which were certainly of Pacific coast origin. The Rocky Mountain forms, of which the Colorado one may be taken as typical, are constitutionally able to endure a continental climate ; namely, one characterised by extremes of summer heat and winter cold ; whilst the coast form is less hardy, though it will endure the extremes of climate in most parts of Great Britain, and is a very much larger, faster-growing, and, from a forester's point of view, more valuable tree. They are at Colesborne equally liable to suffer from late spring frost after growth has commenced ; but Mayr, whose experience of both is considerable, says that the Colorado form in Germany, does not suffer like the other, from the freezing of the immature shoots in autumn and early winter ; and wherever this is a common cause of injury to the coast form, the mountain form should be tried instead. Such places, however, are rare in England ; and on this subject I cannot do better than quote the opinion of Mr. Crozier. In a letter to me he says, "That there are two well-defined forms no one with practical experience of the tree will deny, but whether that known as ' Colorado ' is confined to the state of that name seems doubtful. As a timber tree, however, my experience convinces me that in the north of Scotland at least it is a failure, and whatever advantages it may possess over the Oregon variety in its nursery stages, is really of no moment, as after a trial of between thirty and forty years, under the most favourable conditions of soil, shelter, etc., it has failed to make timber on this estate; while the Oregon variety, under much less favourable conditions, has never failed to make good headway. The cone2 also differs from that of the Oregon variety in some important respects, being much smaller, with the bracts a great deal longer and reflexed." " I made a further experiment with this tree some years ago, and may give you the dimensions of average specimens at the present time of Oregon and Colorado Douglas and Norway spruce, grown under exactly similar conditions side by side. The age of the Colorado Douglas and Norway spruce is twelve years, while the Oregon Douglas is ten years from sowing. Height. Three last years' growth. Girth at 6 inches high. Oregon Douglas 15 feet 6 inches 8 feet 10 inches 9^ inches Colorado Douglas 10 ,, n ,, 5 » 5 » 6^ „ Spruce 8 „ 10 ,, 4-5 » 5ï -, 1 According to Mr. Bean, in Kew Bulletin, 1906, p. 268, this species is used as a hedge plant at Monzie Castle, and answers the purpose very well, heing dense and well-furnished. 2 The cones on cultivated trees are very variahle. Cf. Gard. Chron. xxviii. 12 (1900). IV Q 826 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland These have been planted seven years, and though for a time the Colorado held their own with the spruce they are now being left behind." " We have raised some millions of the Oregon variety and find it sufficiently hardy for all practical purposes. It does frequently make a second growth in the nursery stages, and these may be killed back, but the damage done in this respect is not serious. After being planted out and established in the plantation, they are capable of bearing a greater degree of exposure than the Norway spruce, and may be seen on the lower spurs of the Grampians easily beating the latter. In the treeless district of Buchan it does not do well, but neither does any other tree ; but for general planting in Scotland, and with ordinary precautions, it is quite valuable." " A member of an old firm of nurserymen informed me that it is about fifteen years since the Colorado variety first began to be sent to this country in quantity, and they only found out the mistake after the seedlings came up. To speak of the Colorado as ' glaucous ' and the Oregon as the green variety would be incorrect, as both vary in colour. The Colorado may be found of all shades from green to a rich glaucous, while the Oregon runs from a dark bluish tint to a light green." A most striking instance of the different rate of growth of the two trees may be seen in Dr. Watney's avenue at Buckhold in Berkshire, where Oregon Douglas about 3^ feet high were planted in the winter of 1882-83, in trenched ground on a gravelly soil with some clay, underlaid at a depth of 10 to 12 feet by chalk. Five of the best of these average in 1908 59 feet 8 inches in height by 4 feet in girth. The largest was 65 feet by 5 feet 3 inches, showing 2^ feet of annual height increase for twenty-four years. Colorado Douglas (so-called) planted on the same land at the same time, were, when I saw them, not above half this size. In the Great Bear plantation, on the same estate, planted October 1895, and steam cultivated 15 inches deep, Dr. Watney has measured six average Colorado Douglas, planted about 3 feet high, now 13 feet by 6§ inches ; six average Scots pine, planted about i^ feet high, now 18 feet by 12 inches ; six average larch, planted about 2 feet high, now 19 feet 7 inches by 9^ inches. According to his experience the Colorado have many small branches which extend but a short distance from the stem, whilst the Oregon are distinguished by wide-spreading branches set much farther apart on the stem. He says that the latter is the fastest-growing tree he knows, whilst the former is probably the most useless of all the common conifers he has grown ; and yet he is told by a leading nurseryman that about one-third of the seed he buys produces plants which are apparently of the Colorado variety. These trees are sold and planted somewhere, to the great ultimate loss and disappointment of the unwary planter. The Douglas fir is usually healthy and little liable to insect or fungus attacks. However, of late years, a fungus, Botrytis Douglasii, Tubeuf, which is known as the Douglas fir blight,1 has caused considerable danger to young trees growing in nurseries. The leaves, especially those on the upper shoots, wilt and fall off ; and 1 Fisher, Schlich's Man. Forestry, iv. 461 (1907). Pseudotsuga 827 the plants frequently die. There is an illustrated article on this fungus in the Journal of the Board of Agriculture for June 1903. I am informed by Capt. the Hon. R. Coke that in January 1907 there was a bad attack of this fungus, on two-year-old plants in the nurseries at Weasenham, Norfolk, and on some trees of the same age which were planted out in the previous autumn. He was advised at Kew to burn all the affected plants, and spray the remainder with "Violet Mixture."1 About 25 per cent of the infected plants died or were removed as worthless ; the remainder outgrew the disease, and are now (June 1908) looking well, though the fungus has not entirely disappeared. Capt. Coke adds that, after trying the so-called Colorado variety, he will plant no more of them ; and that as seedlings of the Oregon variety vary a good deal, he prefers those which show a tendency to stop growing in time to ripen their leader. The seeds are liable to be destroyed by the larva of an insect,2 Megastigmus spermotropkus, which has been introduced into Europe from Oregon. The eggs are laid by the insect in the young cones, and one larva develops in each seed and destroys it. This pest has been observed at Mariabrunn, and has done great damage in Denmark ; and during 1905 and 1906 was so serious at Durris in Aber- deenshire, that no seed was worth collecting there. REMARKABLE TREES AND PLANTATIONS The largest tree that we have heard of in Europe, is at Eggesford, in Devon shire (Plate 229). This tree must be as old as any existing, for it was reported8 in 1865 to be then about forty years old and too feet high. This, however, was an exaggeration, as three years later it was recorded4 by Mr. A. Spreadbury, as being 93 feet by 12 feet at three feet from the ground. I measured it carefully in com pany with Mr. Asprey, agent to the Earl of Portsmouth, in April 1908, and found it, by the mean of two measurements from opposite sides, to be 128 feet by i8£ feet. About four feet from the ground two very large spreading branches come off, which at two feet from the trunk are 6 feet 9 inches and 5 feet in girth. At 30 feet from the ground, the stem is still 13 feet 5 inches round, and at 100 feet it girths 3 feet 3 inches ; so that it must contain about 700 feet of timber. It grows on a lawn facing east, a little above the river Exe, on a soil which is evidently deep and fertile ; and if the top is not broken may become a much larger tree, though it has only increased 35 feet in height in forty years. The largest tree in the grounds at Endsleigh was reported by Mr. R. G. Forbes to be, in 1906, 100 feet high, with a quarter-girth of 26 inches in the middle; but in remeasuring it by climbing in 1908, he informs me that it is only measurable to a height of 87 feet. The quarter-girth over bark at 43^- feet is 26^ inches. Allowing 1 This is composed of sulphate of copper, 2 Ibs. ; carbonate of copper, 3 Ibs. ; permanganate of potash, 3 oz. ; soft soap, \ Ib. ; rain water, 18 gallons. 2 Cf. Gard. Chron. xxxix. 57 (1906), Trans. R. Scot. Arb. Soc. xix. 52 (1906), and Jonrn. Board Agriculture, xii. 615 (1906), where an article on the insect with figures is given by Dr. R. Stewart MacDougall. 3 Trans. Seul. Arb. Soc. iii. 80. * Card. Chron. 1868, p. 1189. 828 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 2^ inches for bark, its contents are therefore 87 feet by 24^ inches, making 355 cubic feet, instead of 469, as stated in Quarterly Journal of Forestry, i. 107 (1907). At the time of the Conifer Conference in 1891, a tree1 at Dropmore was stated to have been then 120 feet by 11 feet; but I measured this tree in 1905 and could not make it more than 107 feet by i r^ feet, a considerable part of the top having been, as I was told, broken off by the wind. I measured it again carefully in June 1908, when it was no feet by 12 feet in girth. At VValcot there is a very large tree planted in 1842, of which the Earl of Powis gave me a series of measurements. The first taken in 1860 was 74 feet by 7 feet ; the second in 1872, 85 feet by 8 feet 10 inches; the third in 1892, 107 feet by 12 feet 9 inches ; the fourth in April 1906, taken with a theodolite, was given as 122 feet by 15 feet 6 inches; all the girths taken at 4 feet. The cubic contents were 393 feet. [ measured what I believed to be the same tree carefully from both sides, in March 1906, and made it 114 feet by 14 feet 2 inches at 5 feet, and noticed that the top had been somewhat broken. Thus it is evident in both these trees that after they had attained about sixty years old, the height increased much more slowly. There are two trees at Powis Castle, one of which on the rabbit bank, near the park gate, I made from 112 to 115 feet by n feet 10 inches (this is the mean of two measurements from opposite sides as the tree ~ leans a good deal), and the other in a thick plantation, close to a pond, which, though I cannot, owing to its position, be confident that it is over 130 feet, may be 5 feet or more higher, and is more likely to increase in height than any Douglas fir that I have seen. It is only 9 feet 5 inches in girth and quite the finest timber tree of the sort I know in England.8 There is a tree at Highclere which, in 1903, was about 100 feet by 13 feet 8 inches. At Barton, Suffolk, a tree planted in 1831 measured in 1904, 107 feet high by IG feet i inch in girth, and, while beautifully clothed to the base, was rather thin at the top with a divided leader. At Bury Hill, near Dorking, are perhaps the oldest and largest trees in Surrey, which, as Mr. R. Barclay told me, were planted by his father about 1832. The largest in 1908 measured 104 feet by 12 feet 2 inches, and appeared to have lost its leader recently. At Albury, Sussex, there are two trees, which in 1904 measured 95 feet by 6 feet 2 inches and 82 feet by 8 feet 3 inches. At Cassiobury, Herts, there is another, which, according to the label, was planted in 1830, and had attained in 1904, 99 feet in height and 11 feet 3 inches in girth. This has now lost its leader, and has remarkably pendent branches, with leaves conspicuously white 1 The tree at Dropmore, raised from seed, sown in the mid-winter of 1827, was planted out in 1829, and has shown the following growth :— Measured 1837 1843 1846 1851 1853 1860 1862 1867 1868 1871 Height in feet 18 40 48^ 62^ 65 78 85 93 95 100 Cf. Gard. Chron. 1843, p. 808 ; 1846, p. 661 ; 1851, p. 246 ; 1853, P- 343 > '860, p. 854 ; 1867, p. 808 ; 1868, p. 465 ; 1871, p. 1360. a Lord Powis had this tree measured in 1908, L>y a man climbing, as 127 feet by 12 feet i inch. I cannot account for the difference. 3 I measured this tree again in July 1908, and having found a spot from which I could see the top, am confident that it is more than 130 feet high. It had increased 5 inches in girth in two years. Pseudotsuga 829 beneath. At Fulmodestone, Norfolk, Sir Hugh Beevor measured, in 1904, a tree 98 feet high by 8^ feet in girth. Henry saw a tree there in 1905, which was 82 feet by 9 feet 4 inches. Many other trees which approach if they do not exceed 100 feet in height, may be found in the southern and western counties. At Endsleigh, in Devonshire, which was visited by the English Arboricultural Society1 in August 1906, there is a very fine plantation of Douglas fir in Gunoak Wood, of which careful measurements were made by Mr. R. G. Forbes, forester to the Duke of Bedford, in November 1906, from which it appears that the three largest trees in this plantation measure as follows :— No. 16. 120 feet high by n inches quarter-girth = 100 cubic feet. No. 23. loo „ 13 „ =II7 No. 30. no ., 13 „ =I29 Mr. E. C. Rundle, agent for the property, writes to me as follows : " The forester says that the trees must not be taken as a full crop, for there is space on the £ acre for forty trees instead of thirty-two. As to their age I believe they must be over fifty years, probably fifty-five, though an old man remembers their being planted. The quarter-girth was taken over bark at half the length of the tree, and an inch to the foot would be sufficient allowance. They are growing in an exposed position, but in the middle of a wood on high ground, and the soil is not at all good." The total contents of the thirty-two trees is 2857 cubic feet, an average of rather over 89 feet per tree. If 357 feet is deducted from the total for bark and small tops, it will leave a result of 10,000 feet per acre. At Woburn, in a plantation called "The Evergreens," on a very light sandy soil, Mr. Mitchell, forester to the Duke of Bedford, showed me a plantation made in 1882, well sheltered by surrounding trees, and wrote me the following particulars :— "The number of trees planted was 160, of which 132 are now left. I thinned them a few years ago, taking out only dead and suppressed trees. The area of land is as nearly as possible 2 chains square, and includes a few old Scotch and spruce fir. I measured the trees in three classes, as follows :— 72 trees : 50 feet by 6 inches quarter-girth = 900 cubic feet. 4° .. 55 .. 6i .. •> 645 20 „ 5° .. 4 n » Deduct for bark at 8 per cent Total contents of timber . in 1656 136 1520 This works out at 3800 cubic feet per acre at twenty-six years after planting," say thirty years from seed. I may add that though these trees were planted close enough to kill all their lower branches, yet none of these had fallen, and a good many of the stems showed the same want of straightness which is so often evident in this 1 Quarterly Journal ofForestry, i. 64 (1907). 830 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland species in England, and which I attribute to the unripeness of their sappy leaders before winter. In 1904 the Earl of Ducie showed me a plantation of Douglas fir on a steep bank called Ironmill Wood near Tortworth, which, though of insufficient area to give the best results, is a good illustration of the growth of this tree on sand stone (Plate 231). The plantation was made in 1868, and was therefore thirty-six years old when I saw it. The area, as measured by Mr. Harle, agent to Lord Ducie, was i acre 28 perches ; the number of trees standing was 238 ; their average height was about 80 feet; and their average cubic contents I estimated at slightly over 20 feet, making a total of about 5000 feet per acre. Mr. A. P. Grenfell, who visited the same place in the same year, made a more careful estimate based on the measurements of the trees standing on ^ of an acre, and came to the conclusion that the total volume, with allowance for bark, was 5250 feet, which gives an annual average increase of 150 cubic feet per acre, no allowance being made for thinnings. Mr. G. F. Luttrell of Dunster Castle, Somersetshire, showed me, in August 1906, a plantation of Douglas fir which he made in 1880 on a piece of waste land, which was growing only furze, on gravelly soil close to the rock, which is on the Old Red Sandstone formation. In the following December he had this carefully measured, with the following result :—Broom Ball Wood, area 3 roods 10 perches, planted entirely with Douglas fir at about 10 feet apart. Number of trees now standing, 264. Total contents, allowing half an inch for bark, 2491 cubic feet. Of these, 158 trees contain less than 10 cubic feet each, and only 7 contain above 20 cubic feet, the largest tree measuring 42 feet timber length and 10 inches quarter- girth, equal to a volume of 29 cubic feet. The actual height of the tallest was 73 feet, of the shortest 48 feet. The trees are valued as timber by Mr. Luttrell's forester at 6d. a foot, which amounts on the estimated quantity to £62:65., equal to ^76:13:6 per acre. Deducting from this sum, the expenses of planting and fencing, £6 an acre in 1880, equivalent in 1906, at 4 per cent, interest, to . . £16 12 6 and the annual deferred rent at 53. an acre, from 1880 to 1906, equivalent to . . . . . . 11 o o the balance, ^49 : is., represents the actual profit per acre ^27 12 6 49 i o £76 13 6 It seems to me that the price of 6d. per foot for trees of this size is somewhat excessive, as those of less than 10 feet are hardly fit for anything but pitwood or rough fencing ; but the value of the trees over 10 feet might be somewhat higher. From the appearance of this plantation, in which many of the smaller trees were already suppressed and not likely to grow much more, it seemed to me that either a heavy thinning or clean felling was the proper thing to do, but this must depend on the local demand for timber of this size and quality. And if the small area, exposed position, and inferior agricultural quality of the land be taken into Pseud otsuga 831 consideration, there can be no doubt that this has been an unusually profitable investment, and one which would fully justify planting Douglas fir on a large scale in this district. Mr. Luttrell states that where there is sufficient room and light the trees reproduce freely from seed. In Scotland there are many Douglas firs exceeding 100 feet in height, but we cannot say which is actually the largest ; and if we did, it would not hold good for many years to come. The tallest recorded at the Conifer Conference * in 1891 was at Lynedoch, on Lord Mansfield's property in Perthshire, which was then reported to be 92 feet by 12 feet, but had a fork at 60 feet from the ground2 (Plate 230). Another tree at the same place, is the parent of the seedlings planted at Scone and Taymount, and was only 72^ feet by n feet 2 inches, though planted in 1834. One of the oldest trees is in the grounds of Scone Palace, and bears the inscription "raised from the first seed, brought by David Douglas in 1827, planted 1834." In 1850 it was transplanted to its present position, and this has doubtless checked its growth. It measured, in 1904, 96 feet high by 10 feet in girth. Its foliage is conspicuously white beneath. At Drumlanrig, in Dumfriesshire, there is also an original tree, which was sent by David Douglas to his brother, who was clerk of works at Drumlanrig about 1832. It is growing in shallow gravelly soil near the top of a hill, overlooking a glen, and in 1904 measured 90 feet high by n feet 4 inches in girth. Mr. R. Macleod of Cadboll sends me the measurements of four trees taken in 1907 by Mr. C. E. Cranstoun at Corehouse, near Lanark, as follows :— No. i. „ 2. .. 3- „ 4- Height. 70^ feet. 83 - 85 - 92 Girth at 5 feet. 12 feet 5 inches. 10 „ 12 „ 7 .. 7 4 6 He adds that these were raised from the first seed sent to Scotland by Douglas ; and that he finds by repeated measurements of several trees, that their rate of girth increase is about 2 inches per annum. At Durris, in Kincardineshire, the original and largest tree, planted about seventy-two years ago, has now reached 114 feet by \2\ feet, and contains over 300 feet of timber. At Buchanan Castle, Stirlingshire, Mr. Renwick measured3 in 1900 an original tree 85 feet by 13 feet 2 inches. He informs us that the girth in 1908 is 14 feet 2^ inches. At Murthly Castle there are probably more large trees of this species than anywhere in Scotland, the plantation below the castle being especially fine, and also the avenue called the Dolphin Walk, where the trees, planted about 8 yards apart, 1 Jcntrn. Roy. Hort. Soc. xiv. 537 (1892). 2 An accurate measurement of this tree, made in January 1908 by Mr. A. T. Kinnear, makes it 108 feet high by 13 feet 9 inches at 5 feet. The main stem up to the fork, 60 feet from the ground, contains 415 feet, and the two tops together, 48 feet, making the whole 463 cubic feet. 3 Trans. Nat. Hist. Soc. Glasgow, vi. 256 (1900). 832 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland average about 90 feet by 8 feet, and grow at the foot of a bank, in deep sand with pebbles in it, which looks like an old bank of the Tay, which is not far off. In The Garden for igth May 1900, some particulars are given of the trees here. One, planted in 1847, measured on nth August 1892, 86^ feet by 8 feet 10 inches, and on 24th March 1900, 97 feet 4 inches by 9 feet 10 inches. A great many others were of about the same size. This proves the diminishing rate of increase, both in height and girth, after forty to fifty years' growth, even when the lower branches remain. Mr. Fothringham states that all these measurements were taken by sending men or boys up the trees, and not with a dendrometer. He adds that the temperature1 in February 1895 was for several days below zero, and on one night went down to - 11°. There is probably no plantation in Great Britain about which so much has been written as the Taymount plantation on the estate of the Earl of Mansfield, in Perthshire. It lies about seven miles north of Perth, one mile from Stanley Station, and may be seen from the Highland Railway, which passes close to the east of it. The plantation covers eight acres of flat land, which is locally known as "till," two feet of light loam over red clay, and which may be worth for agricultural purposes I2S. to 155. per acre. This plantation was first fully described in the Gardeners Chronicle of loth, i7th, and 24th November 1888, by Dr. Schlich, than whom there can be no higher authority. It was planted by the late W. M'Corquodale in the spring of 1860, with Douglas firs, two-year seedlings, two years transplanted, at 9 feet by 9 feet apart, with larch four years old, between every two firs, and an additional line of larch between every two rows, so that the trees stood 4^ feet apart, and each acre contained 538 Douglas and 1613 larch. The latter were gradually thinned out, and were all removed by 1880. The first thinning of Douglas took place in 1887, when about half the trees had already disappeared, 277 per acre only remaining. Of these 75 per acre were cut, leaving 202 per acre. Dr. Schlich made a careful estimate of a sample plot measuring ^ of an acre of average appearance, and had a tree felled to ascertain its actual contents ; and from these data came to the conclusion that the total per acre was 3738 cubic feet of wood over 3 inches diameter, exclusive of top and branches, which gives an annual increment of 133 cubic feet per acre. But this estimate being the gross volume, when reduced by about one-fourth, makes the quarter-girth measurement, as adopted in English practice, to be 2934 cubic feet. After inspecting a sample area of Scots pine in the same district, Dr. Schlich goes on to say, " If grown in a well-stocked, overcrowded wood, and in localities of equal quality, Douglas fir is not likely to produce more solid wood, during the first thirty or forty years, than the larch, and probably also not more than Scotch pine." He then goes into careful estimates of the probable future increase of the Douglas, based on data taken from America, where Dr. Mayr found that in the most favourable localities in the Cascade Mountains the average height of mature Douglas At Balmoral, where there are 25,000 to 30,000 trees, planted in the 'eighties, on a northern aspect at looo to 1200 feet altitude, Mr. Michie informs me in a letter that this severe frost, when the temperature fell to - 17^°, did no harm to the Douglas fir. Pseudotsuga 833 firs on the best soil was 2 1 3 feet, with a diameter of 6j feet, whilst in Montana it only reached an average height of 148 feet, with a diameter of 2.6 feet, thus showing what an immense influence the soil and rainfall have on the growth of this tree. From a cross section of Douglas fir grown in Washington and then in the museum at Cooper's Hill, Dr. Schlich remarks " that the rate of growth indicated in this section, up to thirty years old, resembles that of an average tree in the Taymount plantation in a striking degree, as follows : diameter of average tree at Taymount at 4^ feet, 1 2 inches ; diameter of thirty years' growth on the section from America, 11.9 inches. After visiting a second growth area of pure Douglas fir on Ladds farm, about four miles from Portland, Oregon, which was believed to be of about fifty years' growth ; I came to precisely the same conclusion, and though I had not then seen Dr. Schlich's article, I wrote in my journal at the time, that the trees in Oregon were very similar in density to those at Taymount, but decidedly cleaner and better grown, and having regard to their greater age and better soil, they might average loo feet by 4 feet, and I estimated their cubic contents at something like 6000 feet per acre. When I first visited Taymount, in April 1904, I determined to estimate it for myself, without regard to what others had done. I therefore paced an area of 100 yards long by 50 yards wide in what I thought a fair average of the whole planta tion, and found that there were on it ninety-nine trees of the first size, and fifty trees of the second. I did not reckon a number of other trees, which were so small, crooked, or poor, that they could not have been sold profitably with the better ones ; and, judging from a fallen tree which I was able to measure accurately, which was 55 feet long by 10 inches quarter-girth, equal to 3 8 cubic feet, came to the conclusion that the total volume of saleable timber at forty-four years after planting, or forty- eight years from the seed, did not much exceed 5000 feet per acre. Sir Hugh Beevor visited Taymount in the autumn after I was there, and made an estimate in a different way by taking three different areas of £ acre each, and measuring everything on those areas. He found 96 trees of 12 inches quarter-girth and upwards at six feet from ground; 44 of 10 and n inches; 44 of below 10 inches ; and estimated the total contents per acre at 6226 cubic feet. I revisited Taymount in September 1906 in order to compare it again with what I had seen since in America and in England. I measured twenty trees in the fifth row and twenty in the tenth row from the bank on the east side of the plantation nearest to the high road. I found that their average girth over bark at 5 feet was slightly under 4 feet, the largest being 7 feet 10 inches and the smallest 2 feet 3 inches. I estimated the average timber length of these trees at 60 feet, and the quarter-girth, under bark at half this length, at 8 inches. If this is approximately correct, their average contents would be 26 feet 8 inches, and their total per acre something like 5400 feet, which very closely agrees with my previous estimate, allowing for the increase of two years. A very different estimate was made by Dr. Somerville in a paper on " Exotic Conifers in Britain," which was printed in the Journal of the Board of Agricul- IV 834 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland ture, December 1903, and of which an abstract appeared in Transactions of Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society, xvii. 269. This was based on measurements made in June 1903, by the late Mr. Pitcaithley, forester to the late Earl of Mansfield, who selected two typical areas of ^ acre each, on which he counted and measured the trees, of which he found eighteen on one and twenty-five on the other area, and accurately measured the cubic contents of two trees, one of which contained 46.76 cubic feet and the other 39.49 cubic feet measured down to 3 inches diameter. Dr. Somerville, assuming Mr. Pitcaithley's measured trees to be average ones, brings out the total cubic contents per acre by quarter-girth measure as 7977 cubic feet, and comparing this with Dr. Schlich's estimate of 2934 cubic feet made fifteen years previously, comes to the conclusion that the average increase per acre in that period was no less than 336 cubic feet per annum. This in my opinion is a mistaken calculation, and if compared with the annual increment of 150 feet per acre per annum in Lord Ducie's plantation and the results of the measurement of Gunoak wood, both on better land than that at Taymount, we must hesitate to accept it as even approximately correct.1 The important point to consider is how long these trees will continue to main tain their rapidity of growth, and what will be the value of the timber ? My own belief is that they fall off in their rate of increase ; that the larger ones will continue to suppress and starve out the weaker ones, as they have already done to a great extent; and that the timber of Douglas fir grown in the country will never compare in quality or value with the imported timber, which, it must always be remembered, is from 200 to 300 years old, and selected both in the forest and the mill from a very much larger quantity. Dr. Schlich writes me as follows : — " As to the quality of the Douglas fir timber, I merely quoted what the late Mr. M'Corquodale told me. Since then I have paid some attention to the subject and noticed that in timber from young Douglas firs there is a considerable difference between spring wood and summer wood ; hence I am sure, and in this I agree with you, that only trees of considerable age will yield timber equal in quality to that of larch, if at all." There are other causes, which tend to make the production of clean, straight timber difficult, in many situations and on many soils in this country, and which should be considered by all who contemplate planting this species largely for profit. The first is its tendency to form large and spreading branches, which it shows in a very marked degree. In order to prevent this, the trees must be crowded to an extent which is only possible with success on soils of unusual depth, or on slopes composed of rock which is sufficiently disintegrated to allow the roots to penetrate deeply ; in which case they may clean themselves when they attain a height of 60 to 80 feet ; though I have never seen any in England which have naturally cleaned 1 After this was in print I sent it to the Earl of Mansfield for his opinion, and am informed that in 1908 a careful measurement was made by his forester, Mr. A. T. Kinnear, of the whole of Taymount plantation, which now contains 1536 Douglas firs on the whole area= 192 trees to the acre. These contain 51,456 cubic feet (under bark) or 6432 cubic feet per acre, being an increase of 3498 cubic feet per acre since it was measured by Dr. Schlich in 1888, equal to about 134 feet per acre per annum since it was planted, the rate of increase from 1888 to 1908 being about 175 feet. The largest tree is 93 feet high, and contains 118 cubic feet. Pseudotsuga 835 their trunks. In default of these conditions recourse must be had to pruning, which entails considerable expense, and must be repeated at frequent intervals. The second is the tendency which I have observed in so many places for the trees to ripen their leading shoot prematurely in dry summers, and to make a fresh start in the autumn when wet warm weather sets in. The result is that the second shoot is weak, immature, and usually becomes crooked either from frost, wind, or the settling of birds on it. A double lead is then often produced, and the result is seen in many plantations, in the more or less crooked stems,1 or in forks, which must seriously depreciate the value of the timber when brought to the sawmill. A third is the effect of gales on the leading shoots, which owing to their great length and weakness, seems greater than on any other conifer, especially as owing to the rapid growth of the tree it overtops other species with which it may be mixed. Even if the tops are not broken they become crooked, and often forked, in places exposed to wind, and the taller the trees become the more they are liable to this source of injury. For these reasons it seems to me that the most profitable way of utilising Douglas fir, is to cut it at a comparatively early age, and utilise the wood for pit timber and estate purposes, for which purposes I am disposed to class it as superior to spruce or silver fir and inferior to larch. In Ireland the Douglas fir grows very fast, and has attained in many places a large size. The late Lord Powerscourt planted at Powerscourt in 1865, with his own hands a tree which measured in 1904 100 feet in height and 9^ feet in girth. There are good trees at Fota, Queenstown, 84 feet by g\ feet in 1903 ; at Carton, 81 feet by 7^ feet in the same year; at Stradbally Hall, Queen's County, 86 feet by 8 feet 3 inches in 1907 ; at Coollattin, Wicklow, 85 feet by 9 feet in 1906. At Coollattin there are a few natural seedlings,2 and several trees bear cones profusely ; but the forester has not been able to raise plants from their seeds, doubtless owing to the cones being attacked by the insect which has done so much damage at Durris in Kincardineshire. At Castlewellan, Co. Down, there are fine trees, about 80 feet in height, which I could not measure on account of heavy rain when I was there in 1908. One measured by the Earl of Annesley in August 1908 is 79 feet by 10 feet, but lost 12 feet of its top in a gale in 1902. The late Mr. John Booth of Berlin was a great admirer of this tree, and for many years advocated its planting in Germany, where it is now beginning to be looked upon as one of the most valuable forest trees. The result3 of an experiment made by the late Prince Bismarck, on his estates at Sachsenwald near Hamburg, was sent me by Mr. Booth just before his death, and may be summarised as follows :— An area of 1.16 acre, the soil being a coarse, somewhat loamy, diluvial sand, was planted in 1881, half with four-year old Douglas, 5 feet apart, and half with spruce, 4 feet apart. In 1906, the Douglas plot consisted of 869 trees, measuring 3300 cubic feet of timber; while the spruce plot, 1335 trees, only 1 This defect is clearly seen in the Taymount plantation. 2 Natural seedlings were seen by Henry, also at Dereen and at Powerscourt. 3 Published in detail in Zeitsch? iff für Forst- und Jagdwesen, 1906, p. 8, of which a translation appeared in Trans. Koy. Scot. Arbor. Soc. xx. 104 (1907). 836 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland measured 1700 cubic feet. The market value of the timber, which could be used for poles and pit-props, worked out at about 1000 marks for the Douglas, and about 360 marks for the spruce. Thus, growing on the same soil, the Douglas, as compared with the spruce, had yielded about twice the amount of timber, with about three times the value. I visited this plantation in August 1908, and measured two of the largest trees, which were 74 feet high by 3 feet 8 inches, and 2 feet 7 inches ; but the average was considerably less. I noticed that the lower branches, though dead for several years, were not falling off; and that many of the trees showed the same irregularity in straightness that I have noticed elsewhere. My impression was that unless heavily thinned, a large proportion of the trees would soon be suppressed by their more vigorous neighbours, and that such close planting was neither economic nor desirable. TIMBER I have said so much about the timber of this tree in its own country that it only remains to speak of its probable future value here, and as this subject has been ably dealt with in a recent paper by Mr. J. D. Crozier,1 I cannot do better than summarise his opinions. He agrees with me that we cannot hope to compete with the imported timber in size, age, or quality, and thinks that in a young state it is not so dense in fibre or so tough as larch of the same age. " For standing in contact with soil, and for such purposes as gate-making, fencing, etc., where the ability to stand wear and tear is a desideratum, it is inferior to larch, but there are many other purposes for which it is infinitely superior, and for the supply of which an infinitely greater volume of timber is required. For constructive purposes of all kinds it is especially suited, and owing to the beauty of its grain and the ease with which it can be worked, it is valuable for the finished work of interiors. The timber stains well, and when varnished, takes on and retains a beautiful gloss. Outlying and badly-grown trees, when sawn up are liable to warp, but this defect is not apparent when dealing with trees of clean straight growth ; and with home timber more freedom may be used in regard to nailing. In a younger state it has been tried and found useful as curing-barrel staves and headings, and for box wood, for which in this locality there is an unlimited demand." " What the most profitable length of rotation may be is a question which will have to be determined by trade demands, but to provide timber of a class fitted for house construction, any period short of 100 years need not, I feel convinced, be contemplated, and on deep rich soils, probably other ten or twenty years will require to be added to that period." "As a pitwood tree the Douglas fir is well adapted, and is deserving of con sideration wherever crops cultivated for that purpose are found to pay. Crowded together in pure plantation, by the time they have reached their thirtieth year, they will be found capable of yielding an amount of pitwood almost incredible to those who have not seen the tree so grown. For this purpose the planting should not be done at more than 3 feet apart." (H. J. E.) 1 Trans. Key. Scot. Art. Sec. xxi. 31 (1908). CASTANEA Cas/anea, Adanson, Fain. PL ii. 375 (1763); Bentham et Hooker, Gen. PI. iii. 409 (1880); Dode, Bull. Sot. Dendr. France, 1908, p. 140. Fagus, Linnaeus, Gen. PI. 292 (in part) (1737). Casanophorum, Necker, Elcm. Bot. iii. 257 (1790). TREES or shrubs, belonging to the order Fagacese. Bark furrowed. Buds all axillary, no true terminal bud being formed, as the tip of the branchlet falls off in early summer, leaving a small circular scar close to the uppermost axillary bud, which prolongs the branchlet in the following year. Buds alternate, arranged on the long shoots in two ranks ; scales numerous, two or three of which are visible externally, lowest pair lateral and each composed of two connate stipules, next pair each corre sponding to a stipule and with or without a leaf-rudiment, following pairs of single stipules each covering a young leaf ; all the single stipules accrescent and marking in their fall the base of the shoot with ring-like scars. Leaves deciduous, alternate, simple, stalked, dentate with slender glandular teeth, penninerved, each lateral nerve ending in a tooth. Stipules ovate or lanceolate, scarious, deciduous, their scars visible in winter on each side of the leaf-scars, which show three groups of bundle-dots, and are placed on prominent pulvini, from which decurrent lines descend along the branchlet. Flowers monœcious, strong-smelling,1 fertilised by the wind, unisexual, in slender elongated erect catkins, of which those arising in the axils of the lower leaves of the branchlet open early and are entirely composed of male flowers, while the catkins arising in the axils of the upper leaves are shorter and bear female flowers at their base and male flowers on their upper part, the latter not opening until after the female flowers have been fertilised. Staminate flowers three to seven, in a cyme in the axil of a bract, and surrounded by minute bracteoles ; calyx campanulate, deeply divided into usually six segments, stamens twice or thrice as many as the calyx lobes; filaments filiform ; anthers two-celled, dehiscing longitudinally ; ovary aborted. Pistillate flowers, sessile, solitary or two to three together, placed within an involucre of closely imbricated scales, subtended by a bract and two bracteoles ; calyx-tube urn-shaped, divided above into six short lobes ; ovary adnate to the calyx tube, six-celled, each cell containing two ovules, surmounted by six simple styles, which are exserted out of the involucre. i Cf Kerner Nat Hist. Plants, Eng. Irans, ii. 2OO (1898), concerning the nature of ihe odour of the flowers. 837 838 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland Fruit, ripening in one season, one to three nuts, ovoid, plano-convex or com pressed, enclosed in an involucre, which is tomentose within and is covered externally with branched spines fascicled between deciduous scales, the nuts escaping by the ultimate splitting of the involucre above into two to four valves. Nut crowned by the styles, marked with a scar at the base, its shell lined with tomentum. Seed usually solitary, occasionally two to three in each nut, the aborted ovules, two to eleven in number, remaining at the apex of the seed. Albumen absent. Cotyledons thick, fleshy, undulate, sweet, farinaceous, remaining under ground on germination. The genus 1 is confined to the warmer parts of the northern temperate zone, and much difference of opinion exists as to the various forms2 which are met with. Formerly only two species were recognised, viz. C. sativa and C.pumila; but the former, widely spread over North America, Europe, and Asia, exists in certain well- marked geographical forms, which it is convenient to treat as distinct species. A small shrub, occurring in North America, near the coast in the South Atlantic states and in Louisiana and Arkansas, is considered by American botanists to be another distinct species, Castanea alnifolia, Nuttall, and will not be further alluded to. Four species have been introduced into cultivation and are distinguished as follows :— I. Leaves without stellate tomentum, acute at the base. 1. Castanea dentata, Borkhausen. N. America. See p. 856. Leaves tapering at the base, long acuminate at the apex, green and glabrous beneath, pendulous. Petiole glabrous. II. Leaves with stellate tomentum, rounded or cordate at the base. 2. Castanea sativa, Miller. Europe, N. Africa, Asia Minor, Caucasus, Persia. See p. 839. Leaves green beneath, always showing some trace at least of tomentum, not pendulous, coarsely serrate. Petiole and young shoots scurfy pubescent. 3. Castanea crenata, Siebold et Zuccarini. China, Japan. See p. 854. Leaves green beneath, tomentum variable in quantity, shallowly and crenately serrate, the teeth often reduced to bristle-like points. Petiole, young shoots, and midrib densely pubescent with short hairs. 4. Castaneapumila, Miller. N. America. See p. 857. Leaves silvery white and always tomentose beneath. Petiole and young shoots strongly pubescent. 1 In Castanea, the leaves are deciduous, no terminal bud is formed, and the fruits ripen in one season. In Castanopsis the leaves are persistent, a terminal bud is present, and the fruits ripen at the end of the second season. 2 Dode enumerates twelve species, some of which are alluded to in our accounts of C. crenata and C. pumila. Castanea 839 CASTANEA SATIVA, SPANISH OR SWEET CHESTNUT Castanea sativa, Miller, Diet. ed. 8, No. i. (1768). Castanea vulgaris, Lamarck, Diet. i. 708 (1783); Willkomm, Forstliche flora, 428 (1887); Mathieu, flore Forestière, 325 (1897). Castanea vesca, Gaertner, fruct. i. 181, t. 37 (1788); London, Arb. et frut. Brit. iii. 1983 (1838). Castanea Castanea, Karsten, Pharm. Med. Bot. 495 (1882). Fagus Castanea, Linnaeus, Sp. PL 997 (1753). A tree, attaining over ioo feet in height and an immense girth. Bark of very young stems smooth and olive green, soon becoming greyish white, after fifteen to twenty years gradually changing into a thick brown bark, which is deeply and longitudinally fissured. Young branchlets green, covered with a minute scattered pubescence above, and with longer hairs near the base ; in the second year grey, glabrous. Leaves (Plate 202, Fig. n) not pendulous, oblong-lanceolate; broad, unequal, rounded and often auricled at the base ; acuminate at the apex ; with about twenty pairs of parallel nerves, raised on the under surface of the blade, each ending in a triangular tooth, which is prolonged into a long fine point ; upper surface dark green, shining, covered with minute scattered pubescence ; lower surface lighter green, with dense appressed stellate pubescence.1 Petiole scurfy pubescent, £ to i inch long. Stipules | inch long. Nut, variable in size, abruptly and shortly acuminate at the apex, usually three in each involucre, in wild trees. An elaborate description of the fruit is given by Lubbock.2 The cotyledons are fleshy, occupying nearly the whole of the seed, undulate, and interlocking with each other at the margins. When sown, the pericarp, owing to the swelling of the cotyledons, splits in the soil at the apex, so that the shoot and rootlet emerge, the cotyledons remaining enclosed in the pericarp and being gradually absorbed. The germination thus resembles that of the oak ; and the young stem similarly bears several scales (two to six in number) below the primary leaves, which resemble in shape those of the adult plant and bear deciduous stipules. IDENTIFICATION In summer the leaves are unmistakable and can only possibly be confused with certain species of oak, like Quercus serrata and Q. casfaneœfolia, which have, how ever, very different buds. From the other species of the genus, it is distinguished by the characters given in the key. In winter the following characters (Plate 200, Fig. i) are available :—Twigs stout, reddish brown or olive green, shining, conspicuously angled, glabrous for the most part but showing remains of glands and pubescence towards the base, which is conspicuously ringed by the fall of the previous season's bud-scales. Leaf-scars 1 This pubescence often wears off, so that the leaves are glabrescent or even glabrous, when gathered in summer. 1 Seedlings, ii. 537 (1892). 840 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland obcordate or semicircular, with three groups of bundle-dots, and set parallel to the twig on prominent pulvini, distichous on the long shoots. Stipule-scars long, linear. Buds ovoid, slightly rounded and not acute at the apex, those nearest the apex of the twig the largest ; three scales visible externally, first scale small and short, second scale longer, both glabrous and ciliate ; third scale clothed with appressed pubescence and appearing at the apex of the bud. The twigs and buds of the chestnut resemble those of the lime tree. The pith affords a good mark of distinction, being greenish and five-rayed in Castanea, and whitish and round in Tilia. In France, single trees have been noticed1 in several localities, which bore catkins entirely formed of pistillate flowers. Such trees, according to Dode,2 bear a large quantity of fruit ; but the presence in the neighbourhood of a tree with staminate flowers is necessary for fertilisation. Mr. Lynch informs me that an isolated tree in a garden at Cambridge never bore fruit, until branches, with staminate flowers from another tree, were laid upon it ; but it is uncertain whether this tree bore only pistillate flowers, or whether its own pollen was ineffective. Dode also mentions2 a tree in the department of the Loire which never bore fruit, as its catkins were entirely composed of staminate flowers. The number of seeds in the nut is also variable ; and a single chestnut with three seeds has been known to germinate and produce three plants.1 VARIETIES The chestnut varies very little in the wild state, though the amount of pubescence which occurs on the leaf is remarkably different in many specimens. At the Scientific Committee meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society on 6th November 1900, some remarkable leaves were shown, consisting of but little more than the midribs, which had issued from the stump of a tree that had been felled ; and it is possible that some of the narrow-leaved varieties originated in this way. Schelle3 enumerates nineteen varieties, which have been obtained in cultivation. Seven of these are forms with variously coloured and variegated leaves, viz.— argentea, marginata, argenteo-marginata, argenteo-variegata, aureo-maculata, aureo- marginata, and aureo-variegata. These are sufficiently explained by their names ; and of those we have seen aureo-marginata is the best.4 Var. keteropkylla.5 Leaves variable in shape, some with irregularly-shaped teeth and occasional deep sinuses, others répand in margin and with few teeth. Var. aspleniifolia (var. laciniatd). Leaves with long narrow teeth, ending in long subulate points. 1 Clos, in Bull. Sec. Bot. France, xiii. 96 (1866). 2 Dode, in Bull. Sec. Dendr. France, 1908, p. 147. 3 Latiblwh-benennung, 63 (1903). 4 There are small trees of the silver and golden variegated forms at Aldenham which are very handsome and well worth growing. A curious purple-leaved variety is described on p. 852.—(H. J. E.) 6 At Verrières, near Paris, there is a tree, 28 feet high and 5 feet in girth, which has a few branches with normal foliage, all the others bearing leaves deeply and irregularly lobed. These two different kinds of branches bear fruit, which reproduces, when sown, seedlings with the form of foliage from which the nuts have been derived. Cf. ffortus Vilmcrinianus, 56 (1906). There is a fine specimen of this variety at Murthly Castle ; and Mr. Renwick has sent us specimens from a large tree at Finlayson, Renfrewshire, a few of the leaves of which are of the heterophylla type. Castanea 841 Var. cochlcata. Leaves small, irregularly cut, hollow or with swellings in the middle. Var. proliféra. Some of the leaves, usually the uppermost ones, remaining whitish tomentose beneath. Var. glabra. Leaves thin and shining. Var. rotundifolia. Leaves small, not exceeding 2^ inches in length, oval in shape. Var. pendulifolia? Branches pendulous. Many varieties of the fruit, which are propagated by grafting, are cultivated in France and Italy. In France, the name marron is given to the best varieties, in which the fruit is large, globular, broader than long, and usually single in the involucre. According to de Candolle,2 the Romans in Pliny's time already dis tinguished eight varieties, but it is impossible to discover from the text of this author whether they possessed the variety with a single kernel. Olivier de Serress in the sixteenth century praises the chestnuts, Sardonne and Tuscane, which pro duced the single-kernelled fruit called the marron de Lyons. He considered that these varieties came from Italy; and Targioni* states that the name marrone or marone was employed in that country in the Middle Ages (1170). In England, the cultiva tion 6 of special varieties of the chestnut for its fruit is so little in vogue that it is not even mentioned in a late and comprehensive book on fruit culture, The Fruit Garden? by Bunyard and Thomas.7 DISTRIBUTION The chestnut occurs wild throughout the whole of southern Europe, in Algeria, Tunis,8 Asia Minor, the Caucasus, and northern Persia. It has not been found in the Himalayas where there are several species of Castanopsis occasionally known in India" as chestnuts, and is replaced in China and Japan by a closely allied species.10 Its northern limit in Europe is difficult to trace with accuracy, as the original area of distribution has been much extended by cultivation since the time of the Romans ; and it has become naturalised in many parts. According to Willkomm the northern limit runs along the edge of the Jura and is continued through Switzer land to the south Tyrol, Carinthia, Styria, and Hungary, where it reaches Pressburg 1 Lavallée, Arb. Segrez. 113. t. 33 (1885). " Origin cf Cultivated Plants, 353 (1886). 3 Théâtre de FAgric. p. 114. * Cenni Slorici, p. 180. 6 Hogg, in Fruit Manual, 224 (1875), says that the chestnuts produced even in the southern counties are so inferior to those imported from Spain and the south of France, that no one would think of planting the chestnut for its fruit alone. He mentions two varieties, Devonshire Prolific and Dmviitcn, which succeed in hot seasons. Lord Ducie, however, informed Sir W. Thiselton-Dyer that he had once sent a sack of chestnuts to Covent Garden market, which realised £3 ; and was asked to send more, as they were the first on the market. 6 In Country Life Libraiy, 1904. 7 W. A. Taylor, in Bailey, Cycl. Amer. Hort. i. 296 (1900), enumerates and describes seventeen varieties of the European chestnut which are in cultivation in the United States. 8 Battandier et Traliut, Flore de FAlgdrie, 819 (1888) ; wild in forests of Edough near Bone in Algeria, and in Tunisia near Ain-Drahm. Though cultivated near Tangiers and Tetuan it has not yet been found wild in Morocco. Cf. Ball, in Joani. Linn. Sec. (Bot.) xvi. 666 (1878). 9 The chestnut has been planted at Bashahr, in the Punjab, where trees fifteen years old are 30 feet high and 4 feet in girth. Kew Bull. 1897, p. 113. 10 The chestnut has been erroneously supposed, mainly on philological grounds, not to be a native of Europe, but to have been introduced at an early period from Asia Minor. The best discussion on this subject is by De Candolle, in Geog. Bet. ii. 688 (1855). A learned paper on the classical names of the oak and chestnut by H. L. Long appeared in Loudon, Gard. Mag. 1839, pp. 9-20. Dr. Bettelini's excellent account of this tree in Flora Legiwsa del Sottoceneri, pp. 83-112 (1904), should also be consulted. He describes sixteen varieties, cultivated for their fruit in Switzerland and Italy. IV S 842 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland in the west and the Bihar Mountains in Transylvania. According, however, to Fliehe,1 it is not truly wild in any part of France nor even in Corsica, as it never forms part of the real forests and is generally found either as coppice or as isolated trees planted by man rather than as a true forest tree. In France it is common in Provence, Dauphiné, the Cevennes, Perigord, Limousin, and all the central plateau, and it fruits abundantly in the environs of Paris. As in England, it was long supposed that there were large forests of chestnut in ancient times, and it is popularly believed that the severe winter of 1709 caused their destruction in the region of the Loire. This is, however, an error, and the wood supposed to be chestnut, occurring in ancient churches and other buildings at Troyes, Reims, Sens, Chartres, and in Notre Dame at Paris has been conclusively proved to be oak.2 The chestnut in France is rarely cultivated in high forest, as the timber is very liable to shake and to rot at the heart, so that sound pieces of considerable size are rarely obtained. It is, however, often cultivated as coppice, for use as vine props and hoops for casks. Mathieu mentions a tree growing near Sancerre in the department of Cher, which is 30 feet in girth and appears to be perfectly sound. Mr. Chaumette3 saw a chestnut in 1851 near Evian in Savoy, which had a girth of 54 feet, was 85 feet high, wide-spreading and well-shaped, but the trunk was perfectly hollow. The chestnut is truly wild in Spain,4 and appears to attain there a greater development than in any other country. In the north, as in the provinces of Galicia, Asturias, and Biscaya, it constitutes forests of great extent, growing in company with Qiiercus Toza, Q. sessiliflora and Q. pedunculata or occasionally with the beech, and ascends from sea-level up to 2500 feet. It abounds in the mountains near Avila ; and between Banos and Bejar there are vast woods in which it occurs mixed with Qwrcus Suber. It also occurs in the mountains of Toledo and of Estremadura and in the Sierra Morena. In the northern parts of Navarre and Aragon, it ascends in the Pyrenees to 3000 feet. In the extreme south of Spain, it no longer descends to sea-level, but forms a zone between 2 700 and 5400 feet altitude in the Serrania de Ronda and the Sierra Nevada ; and small woods also occur on the Alpujarras. The chestnut is also common in Portugal, and various localities are mentioned for it by Colmeiro. In Italy the chestnut occurs throughout the Apennines and also in Sicily, rising to 3000 or 4000 feet elevation ; and pure woods are found, especially in Tuscany. The most celebrated tree of this species, the Castagno di Cento Cavalli, growing on Mount Etna, was visited by Brydone5 in 1770, who found it to be a hollow shell, which looked rather like a group of five trees growing together than a single tree. Brydone made its girth 204 feet. This ruin has lately been seen by Mr. Druce6 of Oxford, who found four distinct parts still remaining, three of which 1 Cf. Fliehe, in Bull. Soc. Bot. France, liv. 132 (1907), concerning the recent discovery of chestnut charcoal at a prehistoric station in the department of Dordogne. Dr. Christ, in Flore de la Suisse, snppl. 48 (1907), discusses the question of the distribution of the chestnut, and now agrees with Engler (Ber. Schweiz. Bot. Ces. xi. 8l) that it is not truly wild in Switzerland, either in the Jura or in the Alps. 2 Mathieu, Flore Forestière, 328, 329 (1897). 3 Phytologist, iv. 71 (1851). 4 Cf. Willkomm et Lange, Prod. FI. Hispanica, i. 246 (1861) ; and Willkomm, Forstliche Flore, loc. cit. 6 Brydone, A Tour through Sicily and Malta, i. 119 (1790). 6 Cf. Pharmac. Journ. Feb. 27, 1904, p. 258. Castanea 843 looked like mighty trees, though not over 70 feet in height. It still fruits freely, and bears on its branches several bunches of the southern species1 of mistletoe. Besides this great tree, there are four other enormous trees on Mount Etna, mentioned by Parlatore and Tornabene, viz. the Castagno della Nave, 22 metres in girth; the C. della Navota, 18.7 metres; and the two C. di Santa Agata, 22.6 and 26.3 metres, all sound and much more beautiful than the C. di Cento Cavalh. The chestnut forms a part of the forests in the south of Germany, but is not indigenous, being introduced, it is supposed, by the Romans, as in Alsace, where it forms large woods, ascending to 2000 feet, on the slopes of the Vosges, and in the plain, as around Sulzmatt and Rohrbach. Along the foot of the Vosges in Alsace, chestnut coppice, treated on a fifteen years' rotation, is very common, the wood being used for vine-props. The chestnut is cultivated largely in southern Germany as a fruit tree, and as an ornamental tree in parts of north Germany, where in favourable situations, as near Brunswick and at Blankenburg, it ripens its fruit perfectly. It is planted in southern Sweden and on the coast of Norway between Christiania and Christiansand, and occasionally ripens its fruit. According to Schiibeler, it exists in Norway as a bush as far north on the coast as lat. 63°. In Austria it is commonly planted, as in Bohemia and Moravia, while farther south it is supposed to be often wild. There is a remarkable wood of chestnut, on the domain of Mokritz in lower Carniola, which lies between 500 and 1500 feet elevation. In Carinthia, the chestnut constitutes 10 per cent of the mixed forest on the Neuhaus estate, ascending to 1800 feet ; and at Bleiburg it is still a fine tree at 3100 feet elevation. On the eastern side of the Adriatic,2 from Fiume to Castelnuova, the chestnut forms a part of the forest, which is composed mainly of oak and laurel ; while in the interior it is a considerable element in the oak forests of western Bosnia and Croatia. It occurs also mixed with the beech in Croatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Montenegro. Wilkonim speaks of grand woods of chestnut in southern Hungary, Slavonia, Croatia, and Dalmatia ; and mentions large wild forests in the Etsch valley in the Tyrol. Velenovsky8 states that in the western Balkans, not far from the town of Berkovitza, there are extensive woods of chestnut, which are apparently wild, and have an undergrowth of the common hazel. Elsewhere in Bulgaria the chestnut appears to be planted, and is not a common tree. The chestnut4 is very common in the mountains of Greece, and is met with also in the islands of Keos, Naxos, and Crete. It occurs either solitary or gregariously, and in some parts of the mountains forms extensive woods. In Macedonia,6 Thrace, Albania, and Bithynia, the chestnut often forms the lower border of the deciduous forest, at 1200 to 3000 feet, occurring above the region of ever green shrubs ; but here and there it descends to sea-level. Chestnut woods occur on Olympus, in the peninsula of Mount Athos, and on Mount Kortiach near Salonica. 1 This appears to be, judging from an imperfect specimen kindly sent by Mr. llruce, Viscum laxitm, Hoissier et Reuter. Cf. Nyman, Consp. Fl. Eurof. i. 320(1878). 3 Cf. Beck von Mannagetta, Veg. Verh. Illyrischtn landein, 147, etc. (1901). 3 Flora Bulgaria, Suppl. i. 254 (1898). 4 Halacsy, Consp. /•'/. Cneea, iii. 125 (1904). 6 Grisebach, Fl. Kumelica, \. 339 (1843). 844 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland In Asia Minor the chestnut has been found wild in northern and western Anatolia ; but it appears to be absent from the Taurus and Lebanon. In the Caucasus1 it is found throughout the whole territory, and also in the Talysch, up to 6000 feet elevation ; and it extends into north Persia. A large chestnut grew in Madeira, on the estate of Count Carvalhal, at Achada, 23 kilometres from Funchal, and was reported by M. Joly2 to have been about 160 feet in height with a girth at 3 feet 4 inches from the ground of 38 feet 8 inches. It was burnt down three years ago, and no trace of it now exists. The chestnut is not indigenous3 in Madeira, although formerly many large planted woods existed there, most of which have disappeared. The chestnut was probably introduced into England by the Romans. Charcoal, supposed to be of chestnut, was discovered by Mr. H. N. Ridley * associated with palaeolithic implements and the bones of the rhinoceros in a brick-earth pit between Erith and Crayford in Kent. Mr. Clement Reid5 has not found any evidence corroborating the possibility of the tree being a native of Britain in prehistoric times, and Mr. Ridley's specimen may be capable of some other explanation. The tree15 is mentioned in Anglo-Saxon literature as the cisten or cyst-beam. The modern name chestnut is a shortened form of ckesten-nut, the fruit of the ehesten, the early English name of the tree, representing the old French chastaigne, from the Latin castanea. King Henry II., in a grant to the Abbey of Flaxley in the Forest of Dean, says :7 " de eadem foresta dedi eis decimam castanearum mearum " ; and it is probable that the chestnuts here referred to were cultivated at this early time for their fruit and not for their timber. Natural seedlings8 are common in the southern counties, as in Kent, Surrey, Sussex, and Hampshire; and the chestnut may be considered to be naturalised in some places. Briggs states that it is naturalised in Cotehele wood near Plymouth ; but as Bromfield remarks, it does not spread over waste places in the way that oak and pine commonly do. (A. H.) CULTIVATION The Sweet or Spanish Chestnut, as it is usually called, is on soils and situations which suit it one of the largest trees in England, and both from an ornamental and an economic point of view one of the most important of exotic hard-woods. It is most at home in the southern counties, for though hardy in almost any part of Great Britain, it loves a warm soil and a warm summer climate, but will grow to a large size where the rainfall is as much as 60 inches per annum. 1 Radde, Pßanzenverbreit. Kaukasusländ, 182 (1899). s Cf. Vahl, in Engler, Bot. Jahrb. 1905, p. 307. 6 Origin British Flora, 146 (1899). 0 Cf. Murray, New English Dictionary, ii. 329 (1893). The village of Cheshunt does not take its name, as has been supposed by Ducarel and others, from the chestnut. Skeat, in Place Names of Hertfordshire, 37 (1904), proves that Cheshunt is a corruption of Cestrehunt, derived from Anglo-Saxon ceaster, a camp, and httnta, a huntsman. 7 Ducarel, in Phil. Trans. 1771. 8 There are numerous natural seedlings in Windsor Park, especially amongst the tall pines near Virginia Water. They are also common in Norfolk, at Fulmodestone and at Ilargham. 2 Note sur un Châtaignier Colossal. 4 Journ. Bot. 1885, p. 253. Castanea 845 With regard to soil, the chestnut is rather fastidious, as, though it will exist for a time, it rarely thrives on soils of a chalky or limy1 nature, and will not grow in stiff clay or in peaty soil. All the largest I have seen are on greensand or old red sandstone ; and when cultivated for coppice-wood, which is probably its best economic use, it requires a better soil and climate than any other tree usually so treated. It is propagated by seed, which ripens in the southern counties abundantly in good seasons, though the fruit is inferior in size and quality to what is imported from Spain and France. The largest nuts should be chosen and kept dry in sand until spring, as they are devoured by mice, and if sown in autumn are liable to rot if exposed to much frost and wet. They should be transplanted when one year old and kept rather crowded in the nursery until they are 5 to 6 feet high, as they are liable to become very bushy if they have room to spread. They are not difficult to transplant, if grown in light soil, but must not be left more than two years before transplanting.8 A remarkable instance of the grafting of the chestnut on the oaks was shown me in the Botanic Garden of Dijon in France by M. Genty, the professor of botany there. The history of this tree is given in full by M. A. Baudot, in a pamphlet published at Dijon in 1907, from which I gather that in 1835 some acorns of the pedunculate oak were sown by M. Meline, five of which were grafted in 1839 with scions from the chestnut. Three of the grafts failed to take, another was injured by wind, the fifth pushed a shoot in the first year about 4 feet long, and grew so vigorously that it is now nearly 40 feet high with a girth of 4^ feet. The tree bore small fruit in 1852 ; and in 1903 some were sown, which germinated and produced three young plants, of which two are now planted out in the garden at Dijon, and a third was sent to M. M. de Vilmorin at Les Barres. The varieties of the chestnut grown for fruit are usually grafted in French nurseries, but are rarely planted in England at present so far as I have seen. As coppice-wood the chestnut is principally found in the hop-growing districts of Kent, Sussex, and Hants, where, until wiring was introduced, it was one of the most valuable products of English woodland, being cut at intervals of 8 to 12 years and realising frequently £2 to £$ per acre per annum. But now, though still more valuable than ash or hazel, it has fallen so much in price that these coppices are not as carefully managed as they used to be ; and the split poles, which are so largely used for fencing, are said to be imported from France. In such coppices the stools are at 5 to 6 feet apart, because the thinner a hop pole is in proportion to its height the 1 Fliehe and Grandeau (^4»«. Chemie et Physique, 1874, p. 354) proved by experiments, that the presence of a consider able amount of lime in the soil causes the chestnut to languish or to die, as too little iron is absorbed by the tree, and the normal function of the chlorophyll is deleteriously affected. Alphonse de Candolle, in N-uovo dorn. Bot. Ital. x. 228 (1878), states that the chestnut is never found growing in Switzerland on limestone, and that in places where it is believed to occur on limestone, careful examination shows that the roots are surrounded by siliceous soil. However, he brings forward evidence to show that in the climate of south-eastern Europe, as in Hungary and Istria, the chestnut is occasionally found thriving on pure limestone. 2 Sir H. Maxwell recommends sowing the best foreign nuts, but these produce seedlings which in my nursery are much more tender when young, than those raised from smaller English-grown seed, and when required for timber trees I should prefer the latter. 3 M. Trabut, in his pamphlet, Le châtaignier en Algérie, published as bulletin 37, by the Department of Agriculture in Algeria, states that he saw at the Villa Thuret in Antibes, a fine chestnut, which had been grafted on Qvercus Mirbeckii. 846 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland more valuable it is, the young hop shoots, according to Cobbett, disliking a thick pole to twine round. At Welbeck the chestnut is considered by Mr. Michie,1 forester to the Duke of Portland, to be the most profitable tree to grow on sandy soil, as it grows much faster than oak and realises about is. 2d. per foot at a much earlier period. He showed me a plantation on Tressless Hill thirty-eight years old in 1903, in which the trees averaged about 65 feet high by 3 feet in girth, and stood about 150 to the acre. He said that they should not be grown without underwood, because in severe winters the unprotected trunks were liable to be cracked by frost near the ground.2 We have no exact records of the amount of timber per acre that may be produced by the chestnut when grown for timber in England, but I think that in the south on good land it would probably be greater than that of any other tree. One very remarkable case is a grove of 34 chestnuts and 9 oaks by the drive leading to Bicton House, Devonshire, which average about 100 feet high, by 6 to 7 feet in girth in the middle of the grove, and 9 to 12 feet on the outside (Plate 232). [ estimated that this area was about half an acre, and the cubic contents of the timber on it about 5000 feet. At my request the late Mr. Mark Rolle had it care fully measured and wrote me on December 19, 1903, that the exact area on which the trunks stood was i rood 32 poles, though, of course, the branches extended over much more. The cubic contents were 7300 feet and the age of the trees about 150 years. We may therefore take at least 10,000 feet per acre as the result here. Another very striking instance of the same character is a grove called "The Chestnut Tole"3 in Mr. Ashley Dodd's park at Godinton, Kent, where a great number of fine trees, having clean boles of 5010 70 feet high by 8 to 10 feet in girth, grow mixed with ash. One of the chestnut trees was 86 feet to the point where the branches began, and I think that the timber in this grove would produce as great 1 Mr. Michie has sent the following note :— "Sow seed in March, collected from sound, healthy, straight-growing trees, forty-five to fifty-five years of age, as I find that seeds from trees of that age produce stronger seedlings thaii seed from younger or older trees, or than foreign seed. At one year old I lift the seedlings, shorten the tap-root, and plant in nursery lines. Care must be taken to plant in fresh, sweet soil, as the root is very liable to malformation if in contact with fresh manure. In the following year cut them down to within one inch of the ground, which will cause them to throw out a strong and straight stem from 2 to 3 feet long ; after which, at three years old, they can be planted out with safety. Without this treatment before planting out, they generally require cutting off close to the surface, which is not always desirable in the planted area, owing to rank grass, bracken, etc., which smothers the young shoots. 1 am greatly in favour of pure chestnut woods, very little thinning, and the encouraging of as much undergrowth as possible, especially on the outsides of plantations, to prevent cold and frosty winds blowing through. At sixty years of age the trees should stand no more than 16 feet apart, which equals 170 per acre, and taking them at the low average of 50 cubic feet per tree, means /425 (at is. per foot) when the crop is realised. The above crop can be grown on a sandy soil, which is of little value for ordinary agricultural purposes ; for instance, in Birklands Wood, adjoining Budly Forest, where the soil is very sandy and light, oaks covering an area of about 100 acres, although from sixty to eighty years of age, are long and slender, and contain on an average not more than 6 cubic feet of timber each ; whereas some Spanish chestnuts, planted less than sixty years ago, contain fully eight times as much timber as the oaks. On this estate the timber is used for making gates, gate-posts, and all kinds of fencing; also for window-sills of faim buildings, etc. Timber merchants buy it to supply the Sheffield trade (strickle handles, etc. ), and also to put in the inside of threshing machines, for coffin boards, etc. The timber should be slowly and thoroughly dried before being used. 2 The same thing has occurred at Kew ; and, as Sir W. Thiselton-Dyer pointed out, the cracks occur on the south side, and are the result of too rapid thawing by the sun. 3 Tole seems to be a local name for a clump of trees standing on the crown of a hill. Castanea 847 a quantity per acre and of better quality, than the grove at Bicton. But, however attractive such plantations may be from an ornamental point of view, there is no doubt that the timber is worth much more if cut young ; and, as a matter of fact, most of the old chestnut trees in the south of England are so shaky that a great part of their timber is only fit for firewood or fencing. The chestnut is a good avenue tree in those parts of England where the soil and climate suit it, and there are fine avenues at several places. One of the best known to me is at Cowdray Park where there is an avenue about a mile long, commencing at the bottom of the hill, where the trees are very large, and running up to an elevation of 500 feet or more. According to Loudon this avenue contained 300 trees. Another very fine one at Thoresby is supposed to have been planted by Evelyn, many of the trees in which are about 20 feet in girth. I noticed here that the spiral twist in the trunk of the chestnut is variable in direction. Of three trees standing together in this avenue, one was twisted from left to right, one from right to left, and one had no twist at all ; but this twisting of the trunk is com monest on light sandy soil and usually indicates shaky timber. Another fine avenue of chestnuts is at Newhouse Park, on the property of Sir Robert Newman, near Mamhead, Exeter. This is 24 yards wide, with the trees 12 yards apart, which seems to be the correct distance for this tree in an avenue, as it requires more room than the lime or elm. These trees average about 15 feet in girth and are 70 to 80 feet high. The largest that I measured was 18 feet 8 inches in girth. REMARKABLE TREES The number of large chestnut trees is so great that it is quite possible we may omit some of them, but there is no doubt that the most celebrated, and perhaps the oldest planted tree in England, is the Tortworth chestnut, which has been frequently described, and is figured by Strutt, plate xxix., and by Loudon, p. 1988. Strutt says that in 1766 it measured 50 feet in circumference at 5 feet from the ground, had a stem 10 feet high to the fork, and had three limbs, one of which was at that time 28^ feet in girth. It was said by Sir R. Atkyns, in his History of Gloucestershire, p. 413, to have been growing in King John's reign, and to have been " 197 yards in compass." It has since been mentioned and described by almost every writer on trees, but I am informed by Lord Ducie that a good deal of its history is more or less mythical. At present it is by no means a beautiful tree, and so much of its original trunk is decayed, that no measurement is of much value. I think that no one would recognise the existing tree as having formed the subject of Strutt's plate ; but notwithstanding its age it still produces nuts, from which several trees have been raised and planted. Another very large and celebrated chestnut, also figured by Strutt, plate xiii., and by Loudon, p. 1989, grew at Cobham Hall,1 Kent, and must have been a finer tree than the one at Tortworth. It measured in 1822, according to Strutt, 29 feet in 1 The finest chestnut now existing in this park grows at Ashenbank, and measured, in 1906, 93 feet in height and 13 feet lo inches in girth, with a good bole 40 feet in length. 848 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland girth at the narrowest part 3 feet from the ground, 33 feet at 12 feet up, and 40 feet at the point where the trunk divided. It was " called the four sisters, from its four branching stems closely combined in one massive trunk," though the figure does not show this clearly. It has now entirely decayed. Another historic tree, the " Monmouth Tree,"1 at White Lackington, in Somerset, was destroyed by the severe storm of Ash Wednesday in 1897. It was reputed by tradition to have been the tree under which the Duke of Monmouth had a famous banquet in 1680. It was 25 feet in girth with a total height of only 49 feet, and had a very venerable appearance. Lord Petre measured in 1758 in Writtle Park, three miles from Ingatestone in Essex, a chestnut 45 feet in girth at 5 feet from the ground.2 In Waldershare Park, Kent, the seat of the Earl of Guilford, there are some remarkably fine chestnuts, the largest in girth being 23 feet 3 inches, but not a well- shaped or tall tree. The finest, in my opinion, is a tree 112 feet high with a straight and clean bole 50 feet long by 15 feet 2 inches at 5 feet, and carrying its girth well up. I estimated the contents of the first length alone at 50 feet by 36 inches quarter girth, making 450 feet of clean timber. Fredville Park, the seat of H. W. Plumptre, Esq., in the same district of Kent, contains some splendid chestnuts, the largest of which is about 80 feet by 26 feet 3 inches. Another is called the Crows' Nest, from the fact of its having a platform, with benches and a table large enough to seat about twenty people, built in the crown at about 12 feet from the ground and reached by a ladder. An immense but very ill-shaped chestnut tree dividing at 5 feet into three main limbs grows at Sunninghill Lodge, near Ascot, the seat of Percy Crutchley, Esq., of which a photograph was shown by him at the Lincoln Exhibition of the Royal Agricultural Society in 1907. This tree was carefully measured in 1816 by T. Luff, who estimated its contents at 716 cubic feet. A measurement made June 15, 1907, by M. C. Squires, gives its contents as 1282 feet, an allowance for bark of i^ to 2 inches being made. The finest chestnuts growing near London are those in Kew Gardens, the largest of which measures 75 feet high, and 20 feet 10 inches in girth. These were probably planted early in the eighteenth century. In Herts, there is a large chestnut at Lockleys Park near Welwyn, which the Hon. Arthur Bligh informs us is 21 feet in girth; and at Broxbournebury, Mr. H. Clinton Baker measured a tree in 1908, 65 feet by 23 feet 9 inches. At Betchworth Park, part of the Deepdene estate, near Dorking, Surrey, there are many splendid chestnuts,8 the finest though not the largest round, being 21 feet 5 inches in girth and 90 feet in height. For girth alone I know of few trees in England equal to one measured here by Henry, which, though its bole is only 8 feet long, is 26^ feet in girth at the narrowest point. 1 Cf. H. Norris in Proc. Somerset Archaeological Society (1897), where a figure of the tree is given. 2 Ducarel, Phil. Trans. 1771. 3 An interesting article on the chestnut trees in Betchworth Park appeared in Gardeners' Chronicle, 1841, p. 4. At that date there were about 80 trees, all of large dimensions. Dr. Aikin, in Monthly Magazine for 1798, mentions the rows of old chestnut trees in this park. Castanea 849 At Petworth Park, Sussex, there are several very fine chestnuts, of which one measured by Sir Hugh Beevorin 1904, was no less than 118 feet high by 19 feet in girth, with a trunk clean to about 70 feet, and estimated to contain 800 feet of timber. It grows on the west side of the drive on the west side of the park, about two miles from the house. Another in a clump close to the house I found to be about loo feet high by 21 feet 9 inches in girth. At Steventon, North Devon, there is a very large tree in the garden, which Mr. Barrie measured as follows in 1890:—height 86 feet, bole 22 feet 6 inches, girth 16 feet ii inches, spread 100 feet in diameter, contents 833 feet. At Tyberton Court, Herefordshire, near the place where the big oak formerly grew,1 and on soil heavier than the chestnut usually likes, there is a very fine twin tree, which looks as if two stems had started together from the same root. At the base the two measure 31 feet round and are about 95 feet high, one trunk being 20 feet, the other 17 feet 6 inches in girth. At Highnam Court, Gloucestershire, there is a chestnut stool, which girths 32 feet at 3 feet from the ground, giving off four great stems 80 to 90 feet in height. At Croft Castle, Herefordshire, there is a row of fourteen trees which were described in the Transactions of the Woolhope Society, 1871, p. 306, where their respective girths are given, and average about 17 feet, the two largest being then 20 feet 3 inches and 20 feet 5 inches. They seemed, when I saw them in 1904, to be long past maturity. Below Warwick Castle, on the banks of the Avon, there is a chestnut having a large branch resting on the ground, where it has taken root and thrown up a large vertical stem, the only instance of self-layering2 I have seen in this tree. The trunk in 1907 measured 16 feet 3 inches in girth. This tree is figured in Gardeners Chronicle, 1873, fig. 222. In Ashridge Park there are many fine chestnuts, one of which has its trunk covered with great burrs and is 24 feet in girth. At Chatsworth there is a chestnut tree of which Mr. Robertson, forester to the Duke of Devonshire, has been good enough to send me a photograph. He makes it 86 feet high, with a bole 45 feet by 15 feet IQ inches, and the cubic contents about 700 feet. At Harleston, near Althorp, on Lord Spencer's property, are some immense chestnuts growing in a field near the church, on rich red sandy soil, the survivors of a row of which many were blown down many years ago. The largest measures 90 feet by 22 feet 6 inches, and was estimated by Mr. Mitchell, now forester at Woburn, to contain 1200 feet of timber (Plate 233). Another of about the same height has a bole 27 feet by 21 feet 6 inches and contains about 887 cubic feet. If the length of clean trunk be considered, I have seen no chestnut equal to one at Thoresby (Plate 234), which has been drawn up in a thick wood of beech trees called Osland, and has a clean bole as straight as possible, 70 feet long by 11 feet 3 inches in girth, and a total height of about no feet. This was planted about 1730, and is on a sandy soil overlying the Bunter beds of New Red Sandstone.3 1 Cf. vol. ii. p. 310. 2 Henry saw a self-layering tree at Riccarton. Cf. p. 851. 3 For further particulars of this remarkable plantation see our article on the oak, p. 322. IV 850 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland At Euston Park, Suffolk, the property of the Duke of Grafton, Mr. Marshall showed me, in 1905, in a wood called Barnham Springs, a remarkable growth of chestnut from a stool cut forty-two years previously. Sixteen straight stems about 60 feet high, and z\ feet in girth, had sprung up from the outer edge of the stump, and collectively measured 30 feet in circumference. This growth seems to show how such trees as the one on Mount Etna have been originally formed, as in another 50 or 100 years these stems will probably seem like one tree. At Merton Hall, Thetford, Norfolk, a chestnut, planted about 1660, is 87 feet high, with a clean bole, 40 feet in length and 11 feet 4 inches in girth. At Shrubland Park, Ipswich, the property of Lady de Saumarez, there are some very large chestnut trees in the grounds. The largest of these, according to Mr. Taylor, measures at ground line 47 feet; at 3 feet 31 feet; at 6 feet 27\ feet. Having had its top blown off some years ago, it is now only 55 feet high. The finest existing chestnut, if height and girth together are considered, that I have seen, is a tree in a valley called Mackershaw, near Studley Royal, which seems to be the one figured by Loudon, p. 1986, of which he gives the height as 112 feet and the girth at i foot as about 23 feet. When I measured this splendid tree in 1904 I made it 112 feet by 20 feet at 5 feet from the ground, and it seemed to be in perfectly sound condition. At Rydal Hall, Westmoreland, there is a very fine tree, girthing 26^ feet at 5 feet and 37 feet at the ground, of which the owner, Mr. S. H. le Fleming, has kindly sent me a photograph (Plate 235). In Wales the finest tree I have seen is one which grows just outside the garden at Dynevor Castle, and measured in 1908 about 113 feet by i6j feet, with a clean bole about 30 feet high. A photograph which was taken proved unsuccessful owing to its being surrounded by other trees. Notwithstanding its southern origin, the chestnut grows with great vigour in many parts of Scotland, and, according to Loudon,1 who quotes from Walker's Essays, p. 29, the first exotic tree planted north of the Tweed was a chestnut, of which in 1760 a part of the trunk remained, at Finhaven, an ancient seat of the Earls of Crawford. This was measured in 1744, and, as attested before two justices, was 42 feet 8£ inches in circumference close to the ground. The largest tree I have seen myself is in the Cherry Park, near the stables at Inveraray Castle, and measures about 77 feet by 20 feet, with a bole about 16 feet long. This tree was said in the Old and Remarkable Trees of Scotland to have been in 1867 the largest in Scotland, though one at Tyninghame was as tall; and there are two fine ones, both over 16 feet in girth, at Ardkinglas, in the same neighbourhood. Lord Kesteven informs us that there is a chestnut 25 feet in girth, growing at Stonefield, near Tarbert, Argyllshire. At Kirkconnell, south of Dum fries, Henry measured in 1904 a fine tree, 73 feet high and 18 feet in girth, with a bole of 25 feet. At Kirkmichael House, Ayrshire, a tree measured i8£ feet in girth in 1892 ; and at the Auld House, near Glasgow, two trees, about 60 feet high in 1904, were 16 feet 3 inches and 14 feet n inches in girth respectively. 1 Arb. et Fnit. Brit. i. 34, 90 (1838). r Castanea At Castle Menzies in Perthshire there are several very large trees, perhaps over 300 years old, one of which, in the washing-green, is about 20 feet in girth. Another in the park at Murthly, though not remarkable for height, has a trunk about 15 feet high and 19 feet 7 inches in girth, twisting from left to right. At Dupplin Castle, Perthshire, there are some very fine trees in a sheltered dell below the castle. One of these has a short bole no less than 21 feet 4 inches in girth ; another is about 70 feet high by 17 feet 9 inches in girth. Many other large chestnuts in this county are recorded by Hunter ; but as a rule they are remarkable rather for their age and girth than for their height, which rarely exceeds 80 feet in Scotland. Sir Herbert Maxwell says1 that the tallest recorded in Scotland is at March- mont House, Berwickshire, which in 1878 measured 102 feet by 14^ feet, with a bole of 32 feet; but Sir Archibald Buchan-Hepburn tells us that a tree at Yester House, Haddingtonshire, is 112 feet high by 18 feet 8 inches in girth, according to careful measurements, taken in 1908 by Lord Tweeddale's forester. The chestnut at Riccarton, near Edinburgh,—which was described and figured in 1829 by Monteath, System of Draining, 209, as an old tree remarkable for layering, had two stems in 1905, one 17 feet in girth and the other, very decayed, 12 feet in girth, both giving off branches which had layered and become independent trees. From Castle Leod in Ross-shire Mr. Wotherspoon sends me a photograph of a tree, which is probably the largest of the species existing so far north. It is 76 feet high and girths 28 feet close to the ground, 21 feet 4 inches at 5 feet, with a bole 14 feet long.2 In Ireland the chestnut thrives remarkably well, and, growing fast, might in many places be cultivated for its timber. At Fota the chestnuts in a plantation much exposed to the strong winds from the sea, withstood without injury the severe gale of 1903, when many other species were blown down. The most remarkable chestnut in Ireland is the famous tree at Rossanagh, Wicklow, which was planted, according to Colonel Tighe, who has the family records, in 1718 (Plate 236). This tree is of the large spreading type with a short bole which divides into three mighty limbs. The girth of the main stem close to the ground was in 1903 49 feet, at 3 feet up 27^ feet, and at 5 feet 29^ feet. The height of the tree is about 80 feet, the spread of the branches being 100 feet in diameter. The three limbs girth respectively 12 feet 8 inches, n feet 2 inches, and 10 feet. A very fine tree is growing at Powerscourt which was 84 feet high in 1905, with a good trunk carrying its full girth up to 18 feet and giving off the first branch at 20 feet up. It was 28^ feet in girth at the ground, and 22! feet at 5 feet up. At Clonbrock, Co. Galway, there is a tree growing on limestone, planted in 1801. It was 8 feet 6 inches in girth at 3 feet up in 1871, and 12 feet 9 inches in 1904. The chestnut grows at Clonbrock, where rhododendrons refuse to grow ; and in the case of the tree just mentioned there is undoubtedly a large proportion of lime in the forest soil on which it stands. At Shannongrove, near Limerick, 1 Green's Encycl. Agric. i. 373 (1907). 2 This is probably the same tree which Loudon mentions, p. 2001, as growing at Castle Send (sic) in Cromarty. 852, The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland there are some large trees, more remarkable for girth than for height, one being 24^ feet round at two feet from the ground. At Rostrevor House, Co. Down, the seat of Colonel Sir J. Ross of Bladensburg, a chestnut, about 25 feet high, is remarkable for the large size and colour of the young leaves, which were purplish when I saw them in July, and are said to turn copper colour in autumn. This variety is of unknown origin, and I have seen nothing like it at Kew or elsewhere. TIMBER, MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTS A great deal has been written as to the use of chestnut wood for the beams and roofs of ancient buildings, both in Englandl and France, but it is now pretty generally admitted that most of the supposed chestnut wood is really that of the oak, which it slightly resembles.2 This subject has been so well discussed by Loudon (pp. 1787, 1989, and 1992) that I need not further allude to it; but the properties and uses of the wood were apparently much better known formerly than now, and Mr. N. Kent, in 1792, wrote an excellent paper on the subject from which Loudon quotes largely (p. 1993). The pith of it all agrees with what I have been able to learn from various practical men—that the wood when young is as good or better than oak (because it has much less sapwood) for fencing, gate-posts, piles, and hop-poles ; but that if allowed to become more than 3 to 4 feet in girth it is so apt to be shaky, that its value rapidly diminishes, and very old trees are usually only fit for firewood. The timber in some cases remains quite sound to a great age and becomes mottled and streaked with dark brown like brown oak. I found the butt of an old tree of this nature, in a small timber yard in Wilts, where it had been lying seventeen years without any use being found for it. I had it cut into boards, from which the stiles and rails of an overmantel, and the frames of some doors have been made ; and these, when polished with oil, were both in grain and colour of remarkable beauty. But even after this long period the wood was not dry, and shrank con siderably after it was cut up, so that care must be taken not to put such wood together in a hurry. Mr. T. Roberts, forester to the Earl of Egmont, at Cowdray, informs me that chestnut is used on that estate for joists, window-sills, door-jambs, and other purposes, and is found to last quite as long as oak and to be much easier to work up ; he also thinks it less liable to insect attacks than oak (presumably sappy oak). But the trees when a hundred years old are all more or less inclined to be shaky, 1 Sir George Birdwood in Reports on the Cultivation of the Spanish Chestnut, p. 9, note (India Office, I2th March 1892), states that the late Mr. T. Blashill, who was architect to the London County Council, pointed out in a letter to the Times, that the only instance he knew of chestnut wood in English medireval carpentry is that of the chancel screen of the church, formerly of the Knights of St. John, at Rodmersham in Kent. The Rev. A. II. J. Massey, Vicar of Rodmersham, tells me, however, that the chancel screen is a modern one of oak, with portions of an ancient screen of chestnut wood worked into it ; but the screen separating the Lady Chapel from the chancel, is composed entirely of chestnut wood. a Mr. Blashill, in Sessional Papers of the Royal Institute of Architects, No. 12 (1877-78), has finally settled any lingering doubts which may exist. On the question of oak or chestnut in old timber roofs, he says that in some specimens of English oak, particularly in the variety called sessiliflora, the medullary plates are very thin and wide apart, and such specimens are often mistaken for chestnut, but a very clean transverse section will always render the plates visible. Though usually lighter than the rest of the wood, they are often dark, and such specimens have also been mistaken for chestnut. He goes on to say that the clean grain and pleasant working of chestnut make it very suitable for joinery, and there is no fear of its durability Castanea «S3 which prevents their being cut into small scantlings. Mr. Weale tells me that it is used extensively in London for making coffins instead of oak. For making hoops, poles of chestnut are considered the best ; and the wood is also largely used for making wine casks in France and Spain. A section from the butt of a chestnut tree, said to be two hundred years old, was shown by the Marquis of Exeter at the Forestry Exhibition of the Royal Agri cultural Society at Lincoln in 1907. This tree measured 7 feet in diameter at the butt and was fairly sound and free from shakes. I am informed by Mr. Danson that this tree was grown on a clay soil overlying ironstone, with a north-west exposure, about 230 feet above sea level. At Shobdon Court, Herefordshire, the seat of Lord Bateman, I saw the trunk of a large chestnut, measuring 19^ feet in girth, lying on the ground. It was quite sound, with the exception of two small ring-shakes, and by counting the rings I found that it was 207 years old. Such poles as are too thick for hop-poles make, on account of their durability, one of the best forms of park fencing that I know, of which many instances are quoted by Loudon. It is said that a park fence, erected in 1772 by Mr. Windham of Felbrigg, of oak and chestnut thinnings, was taken down in 1792, when the chestnut was found as sound as when put down, while the oak was so much wasted at the ground level that it could not be used again without support. The Earl of Ducie exhibited at the Stroud show of the Gloucestershire Agricul tural Society in June 1907 specimens of fencing posts made from chestnut, planted by himself in 1855, and cut in 1885, which had been in use for twenty-two years, and were still quite sound. The walking- and umbrella-sticks, which are known in the trade as "Congo sticks," are saplings of the chestnut, which are easily manipulated when growing, the knots or markings for which these sticks are valued being produced by lacerating the bark through to the wood. They were formerly obtained from the north of France, but are now almost exclusively produced near Carlstadt in Croatia.1 The fruit of the chestnut is so well known that I need say little about it, and though in the colder parts of England it is often so small as to be of little use for human food, it is eaten by pheasants and deer. The large chestnuts eaten at dessert are imported, and are known under the name of " marrons " in France where they are preserved in sugar and form a very favourite sweetmeat.2 being equal, and probably superior to that of any wood (presumably he meant English wood) except oak. He spoke of a large bridge having been built about 1858 of chestnut timber, over the river Wye at Hoarwithy near Hereford. The bridge after nineteen years was taken down in a crippled condition, which he attributed partly to the design of the bridge, and partly to the decay of the timber at the numerous joints where water could lodge. Yet the great bulk of the wood was perfectly sound ; and seemed to show that for ordinary work not subject to damp, the timber may be very useful. Although he could not admit its occurrence in ancient roofs, it might be very suitably used in preference to deal or pitch pine ; and in church furniture it would probably, in course of time, take a colour which would be far better than that of the stained woods now so much used. 1 Keui Bulletin, 1899, p. 53. 2 In some parts of Spain and Italy, and in the south of France, chestnuts are ground into flour ; and in the form of cakes, soup, and porridge, form a considerable part of the food of the poorer classes during winter. Specimens of chestnut flour and cakes are exhibited in the museum at Kew ; and in Kew Bulletin, 1890, p. 173, an analysis of the flour is given by Professor Church, who considers that it is easily digestible and probably useful as food for children. Further interesting particulars concerning the use of the chestnut are given in Reports on the Cultivation of the Spanish Chestnut (India Office, I2th March 1892). 854 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland A tanning material,1 extracted from chestnut bark, is prepared near St. Malo in France, and is largely exported to Belgium and to Glasgow. It is said to be used to modify the colour produced by hemlock extract obtained from Tsuga canadensis? (H. J. E.) CASTANEA CRENATA, JAPANESE CHESTNUT Castanea crenata, Siebold et Zuccarini, Alh. Akad. Mnench. IV. iii. 224 (1846); Schneider, Laubholzkunde, i. 804 (1906). Castanea japonica, Blume, Mus. Bot. Lugd. Bat. i. 284 (1850). Castanea vesca, Gaertner, var. pubinervis, Hasskarl, Cat. Hort. Bog. Alt. 73 (1844). Castanea vulgaris, Lamarck, var. japonica, A. DC. Prod. xvi. 2, p. 115 (1864); Shirasawa, Icon Forest. Japon, text 63, t. xxxiv. ff. 14-25 (1900). Castanea vulgaris, Lamarck, var. yunnanensis, Franchet, Journ. de Bot. 1899, p. 196. Castanea saliva, Miller, var. acuminatissima, von Seeman, in Diels, Flora von Central China, 287 (1901). Castaneapubinervis, Schneider, Latibholzkunde, i. 158 (1904). A tree, usually smaller in size than the European species, but occasionally attaining large dimensions. It is probably only a geographical form of that species, but can readily be distinguished and may be kept separate, as it probably differs in growth and in cultural requirements. The leaves are borne on shorter petioles, but resemble those of the common chestnut in shape, being rounded or cordate at the base and having about twenty pairs of nerves ; but they are smaller in size and have much shallower serrations, with very long and fine spine - like points. The main difference lies in the pubescence,8 which is short and dense on the young branchlets, on the petioles, and on the midrib of both sides of the leaf. In the common chestnut this very distinct pubescence is either absent or replaced by a scurf, very different in appearance. The catkins of the eastern tree are more slender and the fruits of wild trees smaller than in the common species. Castanea crenata also comes into flower, when still very young, and often bears fruit when quite a small shrub. In China Castanea crenata* occurs wild, mainly in the mountains of the central provinces, as a tree about 40 feet in height ; and is nowhere abundant, and so far as I have seen never forms woods of any extent. 1 -V similar extract, prepared from the wood of the chestnut, is largely manufactured in Corsica. Mr. Southwell, Vice- Consul at Bastia, gave me some interesting particulars about this industry, when I visited Corsica in December 1906. There are four factories near Bastia, which produce about 25,000 tons of extract annually. The bark is not employed in Corsica, as the dark colour of the extract produced from it is objectionable. Four tons of wood yield about one ton of extract. The wood is cut into chips, which are soaked under pressure in hot water, which extracts all the tannin and some of the colouring matter. The resulting liquor is concentrated in vacua. Practically the whole of this extract is used in England and Germany for sole-leather. Mr. Southwell informed me that certain trees in "Corsica had brown-coloured wood, which produced an unsaleable extract. He had found by experiment that this brown colour in the wood is due to the presence of iron in the soil.—(A. II.) 2 Kew Bulletin, 1893, p. 229. 3 The pubescence over the lower surface of the leaf is similar to that of the European tree, and is very variable in quantity and persistence. 4 The large chestnut tree occurring wild in China is considered by Dode to be distinct from the Japanese tree, and has been named by him C. Dudouxii and C. Fargesii, in Bull. Soc. Dendr. France, 1908, pp. 150, 158. Castanea «SS The low grassy hills of the Yangtse valley and the hills in Chekiang are often covered in places with a scrubby growth of chestnut bushes, scarcely ever over 5 feet in height. This is a distinct species,1 and corresponds in many respects to C. pumila of America, the branchlets and petioles being covered with a dense, bristly pubescence, and the fruits extremely small, usually three in each involucre. This has been supposed to be Castanea mollissima, Blume,2 an imperfectly known species. The Chinese have distinguished from the most ancient times two kinds of chestnut, classically known as the K and the erh. The former, now known as the pan-li is the cultivated tree, the latter, known as the mao-li, is the wild form of the species, which produces remarkably sweet small fruit. These have been noticed by many observers, as by Abel8 at Tatung on the Yangtze, by Père David4 at Kiukiang, and by Fortune5 near Ningpo, who introduced the small-fruited chestnut into England6 in 1853; but we are unacquainted with any trees raised at that time. Similar small-fruited chestnuts are known in Japan, and were exhibited in London7 in 1873. (A. H.) The chestnut is widely distributed in Japan where it is called " kuri," from Kiusiu and Shikoku, through the greater part of the mountain forests of Hondo, and in the plains as far north as central Hokkaido. It is usually mixed with other deciduous trees, but in some places forms pure forests of small area. Its wood is preferred for railway sleepers to any other timber, but is not much valued for building purposes. Though, according to Sargent,8 it does not attain any great size, yet I measured an old tree in the Atera valley which was 15 feet in girth (Plate 237). The tree is commonly seen on dry and barren hillsides in the form of coppice, which is cut every few years for firewood. It is also cultivated for its fruit, and several large-fruited varieties are grown which Sargent8 says are equal in size to the best in southern Europe, and are largely consumed as food in the towns, and also exported from Kobe to San Francisco. These varieties are more precocious than the European tree, bearing abundant fruit when only 10 or 12 feet high, and he recom mends their introduction from Aomori in the north of Hondo, as being more likely to endure cold winters than the French or Kobe varieties. The Japanese chestnut was introduced into the United States0 about 1891, and Rehder10 states that it is shrubby and usually begins to fruit when about six years old. It has proved hardy as far north as Massachusetts. So far as we know it has not yet been introduced into England. (H. J. E.) 1 The shrubby chestnut of China is considered by Dode, in Btill. Soc. Dendr. France, 1908, pp. 151, 152, 153, to constitute three new species, C. hufehensis, C. Seguinii, and C. Davidii. 2 Mus. Bot. Lugd. Bat. i. 286 (1850). Cf. Diels, Flora tion Central China, 288 (1901). 3 Narrative of a Journey in China, 165 (1818). * Planta Davidiana, i. 277 (1884). 6 Residence among the Chinese, 51, 144 (1857). e Card. Chron. 1860, p. 170. 1 Ibid. 1875, p. 270. 8 Forest Flora of Japan, 69 (1894). 9 Cf. Bailey in Amer. Gardin, May 1891, who gives a description and figure of the tree ; and Garden and Forest, viii. 460 (1895). W. A. Taylor, in Cycl. Amer. Hort. i. 294 (1900), who enumerates nineteen varieties of the Japanese chestnut, which have been introduced of late years into North America, gives the date of the first introduction as 1876. 1° Cycl. Amer. Hort. i. 257 (1900). 856 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland CAST AN E A DENTATA, AMERICAN CHESTNUT Castanea dentata, Borkhausen, Handb. Forstbot, i. 741 (1800) ; Sargent, Situa N. Amer. ix. 13, tt. 440, 441 (1896), and Man. Trees, N. Amer. 220 (1905). Castanea vesca americana, Michaux, Fl. Bor. Amer. ii. 193 (1803); Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit. iii. 1984 (1838). Castanea americana, Rafinesque, New PL iii. 82 (1836). Castanea vulgaris, y. americana, A. De Candolle, Prod. xvi. 2, p. 114 (1864). Castanea sativa, var. americana, Sargent, Garden and Forest, ii. 484 (1889). Fagus Castanea dentata, Marshall, Arbust. Amer. 46 (1785). A tree attaining in America 100 feet in height. Bark dark brown, and divided by shallow irregular fissures into broad flat ridges, separating on the surface into small thin appressed scales. Young branchlets with minute scurfy pubescence above, and with long hairs near the base ; glabrous and grey in the second year. Leaves (Plate 202, Fig. 13), pendulous, oblong-lanceolate, gradually tapering and unequal at the base, long acuminate at the apex, with about twenty pairs of parallel nerves, raised on the under surface, each ending in a triangular tooth, which is prolonged into a fine point ; upper surface dull, dark green, glabrous ; lower surface lighter green, glabrous, or with minute scattered hairs, thin but firm in texture. Petiole, \ to f inch long, glabrous. Stipules, ovate-lanceolate, acute, puberulous, about \ inch long. Nut,1 usually much compressed, \ to i inch wide, gradually acuminate at the apex ; two to three fruits together in each involucre. This species is distinguished from the European one by the leaves being always cuneate and never cordate at the base, and never having any stellate tomentum, the under surface being either glabrous or covered with minute glandular hairs. In winter it is readily distinguishable from C. sativa by the glabrous twigs and the more pointed ovoid buds, which have glabrous ciliate scales as in that species. The buds are smaller than in C. sativa, being only about ^. inch long. In the specimens seen the twigs are much more slender, with very minute lenticels and small semicircular leaf-scars. (A. H.) In America the chestnut is a common tree, and has a wide range from New England and southern Ontario southward along the Alleghany Mountains to central Alabama and Mississippi, and westward to Michigan, Indiana, central Kentucky, and Tennessee. So far as I have seen it does not attain so large a size as the European species, though Sargent says it occasionally reaches 100 feet in height.2 The largest I saw was a fine old tree on the lawn of Mr. Nathaniel Thayer's house at Lancaster, Mass., which was 80 feet by 13 feet 6 inches, and though rather decayed at the top, where its branches were supported by iron stays, had produced suckers from the root, 40 feet high. 1 The seedling of this species is described and figured by Rowlee and Hastings, in Bot. Gazette, xxvi. 351, fig. 18 ([898). 2 In U.S. Forest Service, Circ. 71 (1907), a leaflet on the cultivation of this species, it is stated that the tree has been known in the region of its best development to reach a height of 120 feet. Throughout the greatest part of its range, it is much smaller, with an average height of 80 to 100 feet, and a diameter of from 2 to 4 feet. Castanea 857 Emerson mentions a tree at Bolton, Mass., which in 1840 was 15^ feet in girth at 6 feet, with an unbranched trunk 24 feet long; and another, on the road to Sheffield, which was 21 feet in girth at 4 feet from the ground. He states that though near the coast it does not ripen fruit so well, yet that in the interior when growing in sunny places it yields abundance of sweet and delicious nuts ; and according to Sargent these, though smaller than European chestnuts, are superior to them in sweetness and flavour, and are sold for food in the eastern cities. In Garden and Forest1 there are several pictures of the chestnut in America, one representing a large tree at Dauphin in Pennsylvania, which is about 6 feet in diameter. Another represents a young forest in West Virginia about forty years old, showing good natural reproduction. A tree on a farm belonging to D. M. Ridgely, near Dover in Delaware, is noted for its excellent fruit, and it has been propagated, the chestnuts being known as Ridgely or Dupont chestnuts. In the United States Bureau of Forestry Bulletin No. 53 (1904). R- Zon gives an interesting account of the chestnut tree in Maryland, where it is an important timber tree, being used for railway sleepers, telegraph poles, and fencing. It is usually coppiced, and Zon states that the sprouts usually come from the root collar, only ID per cent, arising from the top of the stump. He has never seen any sucker shoots. The capacity of sprouting from the stool is retained to an advanced age, over loo years. The tree in America usually becomes unsound at about 100 years old. The American chestnut has rarely been tried in cultivation in Europe, and though not likely to succeed so well as the common species, there are thriving young trees at Kew. Emerson states that the timber is one of the best native woods on which to lay mahogany veneers ; and Mr. Weale informs me that it is now imported into England both in logs and boards ; but the demand is not very great. It is used by builders as a substitute for oak, and by cabinetmakers. It carves well, and as it fumes readily, is a favourite wood with makers of antique furniture. In the log its value is from is. 6d. to is. cd. per cube foot in Liverpool. In the board it is worth from 2S. to 2S. 6d. After conversion it cannot be distinguished from the English-grown chestnut. Hough states that the wood is rich in tannin, which is extracted and used for tanning purposes. (H. J. E.) CASTANEA PUMILA, CHINQUAPIN Castanea pumila, Miller, Diet., ed. 8, No. 2 (1768); Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit. iii. 2002 (1838); Sargent, Suva N. Amer., ix. 17, tt. 442, 443 (1896), and Trees N. Amer., 221 (1905). Fagus pumila, Linnaeus, Sp. PI. 998 (1753). A tree, rarely attaining in America 50 feet in height and 9 feet in girth, usually much smaller. Bark light-brown, slightly furrowed and broken on the surface 1 Garden and Fürest, ix. 114, f. 12, 234, f. 34 (1896), and vu. 484 (1894). Cf. also Jbid. x. 372, f. 48 (1897). IV U 858 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland into loose plate-like scales. Young branchlets covered with numerous long erect hairs, becoming grey and glabrous in the second year. Leaves (Plate 202, Fig. 12) smaller than in C. sativa, rarely as much as 5 inches long, not pendulous, oblong-oval, base unequal and rounded or tapering, apex acute, with about 15 pairs of nerves, which end in triangular serrations, tipped by short spine-like points ; upper surface dull dark green, minutely pubescent ; lower surface greyish white and densely tomentose. Petioles short, \ inch long, pubescent. Stipules about \ inch long, pubescent, those of the two lowest leaves broad, ovate, acute, on the middle leaves ovate-lanceolate, towards the top of the branch linear. Nut ovoid, rounded at the slightly narrowed base, gradually narrowed and pointed at the apex, f to i inch long, \ inch broad ; only one fruit in each involucre, which opens generally by two or three valves. The fruit,1 which is ripe in America in September, is delicious in flavour, and is occasionally gathered for market. Castanea pumila is distinguished from the other species by its smaller leaves, which remain densely whitish tomentose underneath and have fewer nerves. In winter it is distinguished from the common chestnut by the twigs being slender and having a scattered loose pubescence, especially marked towards their apex. The buds are ovoid, not acute at the apex, minute, about ^ to ^ inch long, with both the first and second scales appressed-pubescent and ciliate. The leaf-scars and stipule-scars are smaller than in C. sativa. Castanea pumila? according to Sargent, occurs on dry, sandy ridges, rich hill sides, and the borders of swamps, from southern Pennsylvania to northern Florida and the valley of the Neches River, Texas. It is usually shrubby east of the Alleghany Mountains, becoming a tree west of the Mississippi River, and is most abundant and largest in size in southern Arkansas and eastern Texas.8 The wood * is similar to that of C. crenata, with very thin sapwood, and is used for fences, posts, railway sleepers, etc. According to Loudon it was introduced in 1699 by the Duchess of Beaufort, but it is extremely rare in cultivation, the only specimens which we have seen being small shrubs at Kew, which, however, seem perfectly hardy. There are two specimens at Verrières,5 near Paris, the smaller of which has a curiously twisted stem and resembles in appearance a dwarf Japanese tree. The other has two stems, each about 28 inches in girth and about 18 feet high, and produces fruit regularly and often in great abundance.6 (A. H.) 1 Hough, Trees of N. States and Canada, 137 (1907). " According to Taylor, in Bailey, Cycl. Amer. Hort. i. 295 (1900), this species commonly throws up root-suckers. 3 Castanea neglecta, Dode, in Bull. Soc. Dmdr. France, 1908, p. 155, said by Dode to occur in the eastern part of the United States, is apparently only distinguishable from C. pumila by its larger and less pubescent leaves. It is possibly, as this author points out, a hybrid between C. dentata and C. ftimila. 4 Hough, loc. cit. 6 Hortus Vilmoriamis, 55 (1906). 6 Since tins article was corrected for the press, a leaflet has been issued by the U.S. Forest Service, on Chestnut Bark disease, which is caused by a fungus, known as Diaporthe parasitica or Valsonectria parasitica. This has recently destroyed an immense number of trees in the north-eastern states, spreading with great rapidity. As the disease, if once introduced, may be equally destructive in Europe, we think it well to warn arboriculturists against importing American chestnuts at present. FRAXINUS Fraxinus, Linnaeus, Gen. PI. 318 (1737); Bentham et Hooker, Gen. PI. ii. 676 (1876) ; Wenzig, in Engler, Bot. Jahrb., iv. 165 (1883) ; Lingelsheim, in Engler, Bot. Jahrb. xl. 185 (1907). TREES or shrubs, belonging to the natural order Oleaceae ; leaves opposite, com pound, unequally pinnate, rarely reduced to a single leaflet ; stipules absent. Buds, large terminal and small axillary, the former usually with four scales visible exter nally, the latter with two outer scales ; these scales are rudimentary leaf-stalks, often showing at their apex traces of the pinnate leaf, and increase in size after the bud opens, falling off eventually and leaving ring-like scars at the base of the shoots. Flowers polygamous or dioecious, in panicles or fascicled racemes, terminal on leafy shoots of the year, or developed from separate buds either in the axils of the leaf-scars of the previous year, or at the base of the young branchlets. Calyx absent in some species ; when present, campanulate and four-lobed. Corolla absent in many species ; when present, of two to four (rarely five to six) petals, free or connate in pairs at the base. Stamens two, rarely three or four, affixed to the base of the petals or hypogynous. Ovary, with a style divided above into a two-lobed stigma, two-celled, each cell containing two pendulous ovules. Fruit, a samara, indéhiscent, convex or compressed below, with a dry pericarp produced into an elongated terminal and more or less decurrent wing,1 usually one-celled and one-seeded. Seed pendulous ; embryo erect in a fleshy albumen ; cotyledons flat. The genus Fraxinus is widely distributed over the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, three2 species, however, occurring within the tropics in Cuba and the Philippines, and south of the equator in Java. The genus consists of nearly sixty species, many of which are imperfectly known and require further study in the field. Even in the case of the Mediterranean species, authorities are at variance. The present account deals only with the species which have been seen in the living state. The genus is divided into five sections :— I. Ornus, Persoon, Syn. PI. ii. 605 (1807). Calyx and corolla both present, the calyx persisting under the samara. Panicles terminal on leafy shoots or axillary on the branchlets of the current year. About eighteen species. 1 Abnormal fruit with three wings, has been observed in several species, as f. americana, F. caroliniana, F. Berlandieriana. 2 F. caroliniana, a native of the United States, is met with in Cuba. f. Eedenii, Boerl et Koord, occurs in Java ; and F. philippinensis, Merrill, in the Philippine Islands. 859 86o The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland II. Ornaster, Koehne and Lingelsheim, Mitt. Deut. Dendr. Gesell. 1906, p. 66. Calyx present, persistent under the samara. Corolla absent. Flowers in terminal panicles, appearing with the leaves. Seven species. III. Sciadanthus, Cosson et Durieu, Bull. Soc. Bot. France, ii. 367 (1855). Calyx present, persistent under the samara. Corolla absent. Flowers in dense fascicled cymes, axillary on the preceding year's shoot. Two species. IV. Leptalix, Rafinesque, New Flora, iii. 93 (1836). Calyx present, persistent under the samara. Corolla absent. Flowers in panicles, axillary on the preceding year's shoot. About fifteen species. V. Fraxinaster, De Candolle, Prod. viii. 276 (in part) (1844). Calyx and corolla both absent. Flowers in panicles or racemes on the pre ceding year's shoot. About twelve species. These sections, based on the characters of the flowers, are not available in practice in the determination of living trees, flowering specimens of which are often not obtainable ; and the following key groups the species according to the characters of the branchlets and foliage :— KEY TO THE SPECIES IN CULTIVATION I. Leaves simple or -with two to three leaflets. * Branchlets four-angled. 1. Fraxinus anomala, Watson. Colorada, Utah, Nevada. Seep. 898. Leaves usually simple, ovate or obovate, glabrous beneath. ** Branches terete. 2. Fraximis angustifolia, Vahl., var. monophylla. See p. 880. Leaves opposite, simple or two- to three - foliolate, lanceolate, glabrous beneath. 3. Fraxinus excelsior, Linnaeus, var. monophylla. See p. 866. Leaves opposite, simple or two- to three-foliolate, ovate or oval, pubescent beneath at the base. 4. Fraxinus syriaca, Boissier. Western Asia. See p. 883. Leaves in whorls. Leaflets usually three (occasionally five to seven occurring on the same branch), lanceolate, glabrous. II. Leaves with five or more leaflets^ A. Branchlets, leaf-rachis, and leaflets quite glabrous. * Leaflets stalked. 5. Fraxinus potamophila, Herder. Turkestan. See p. 885. Leaflets seven to nine, ovate, serrate. 1 Cf. F. syriaca (No. 4), which has occasionally five to seven leaflets. Fraxinus 861 * * Leaflets sessile. 6. Fraxinus angustifolia, Vahl. S. France, Spain, Portugal, N. Africa. See p. 879. Leaflets seven to thirteen, lanceolate. Leaf-rachis strongly winged, the wings meeting above ; groove interrupted. 7. Fraxinus Willdenowiana, Koehne. Origin unknown. See p. 884. Leaflets, seven to eleven, ovate or lanceolate, increasing markedly in size from the base to the apex of the leaf. Leaf-rachis with a continuous open groove. B. Branchlets glabrous ; leaflets pubescent on part of the lower surface. * Leaf-rachis strongly winged on the upper side, the wings meeting in part above, forming an interrupted open groove. 8 to 11. Leaf-rachis not conspicuously bearded at the nodes. 8. Fraxinus oxycarpa, Willdenow. Italy, S.E. Europe, Asia Minor, Caucasus. See p. 882. Leaflets seven to thirteen, ovate or lanceolate ; serrations few, ending in long incurved points. 9. Fraxinus excelsior, Linnaeus. Europe, Caucasus. See p. 864. Leaflets, five to eleven, oblong-lanceolate ; serrations crenate, numerous, exceeding in number the lateral nerves. ID. Fraxinus excelsior, Linnaeus, var. rotundifolia. See p. 866. Leaflets nine to thirteen, i^ to 2^ inches long, ovate, oval, or orbicular, coarsely bi-serrate. 11. Fraxinus Elonza, Dippel.1 Origin unknown. Seep. 883. Leaflets, eleven to thirteen, small, less than 2\ inches long, irregularly serrate, oblong, lanceolate or oval ; under surface with brown tomentum near the base. 12, 13. Leaf-rachis with conspicuous tufts of brownish-red tomentum at the nodes. 12. Fraxinus nigra, Marshall. N. America. Seep. 898. Leaflets, seven to eleven, oblong-lanceolate, rounded or broadly cuneate at the base, sessile. 13. Fraxinus mandshurica, Ruprecht. Eastern Asia. See p. 893. Leaflets seven to thirteen, oblong-lanceolate, gradually tapering at the base, sub-sessile. * * Leaf-rachis with a continuous open groove on its iipper side, which is sometimes almost obsolete. f Some or all of the leaflets distinctly stalked. 14, 15. Leaflets white beneath. 14. Fraxinus americana, Linnaeus. N. America. See p. 901. Leaflets seven to nine, 4 to 6 inches long, long-acuminate, dull light green above ; rachis with an extremely slight groove. 1 The groove on the leaf-rachis is variable in this species, sometimes being open its whole length. 862, The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 15. Fraxinus texensis, Sargent. Texas. See p. 907. Leaflets five to nine, z\ to 3^ inches long, shortly acuminate, shining bluish-green above ; rachis with a very slight groove. 16. Leaflets green beneath; rackis glabrous? 16. Fraxinus caroliniana, Miller.2 S.E. United States, Cuba. See p. 904. Leaflets, five to seven, about 3 inches long, shortly acuminate ; rachis with a well-defined but shallow groove. 17 to 23. Leaflets green beneath ; rachis slightly pubescent at the nodes. 17. Fraxinus rhynchophy lia, Hance. N. China, Manchuria. Seep. 892. Leaflets five to seven, 3 to 4 inches long, coriaceous, terminating in an obtuse- tipped acumen, entire or very obscurely serrate. 18. Fraxinus chinensis, Roxburgh. Central and Southern China. See p. 895. Leaflets seven to nine, 3 to 4 inches long, coriaceous, shortly cuspidate at the apex, crenately serrate. 19. Fraxinus obovata, Blume. Japan. See p. 895. Leaflets five to seven, 2 to 3 inches long, membranous, variable in shape, irregularly serrate, with minute curved bristles on the lower surface and petiolules, which are also present on the rachis of the leaf. 20. Fraxinus longicuspis, Blume. Japan. See p. 897. Leaflets five, 3 to 4 inches long, membranous, very pale beneath, abruptly contracted into a long cuspidate apex, crenately serrate. 21. Fraxinus Ornus, Linnaeus. S. Europe, Asia Minor. See p. 887. Leaflets five to nine, 2 to 3 inches long, membranous, shortly acuminate, serrate. 22. Fraxinus floribunda, Wallich. Himalayas, Upper Burma. See p. 890. Leaflets seven to nine, 4 to 6 inches long, membranous, apex long-acuminate, serrate ; lateral nerves prominent and numerous. 23. Fraxinus quadrangulata, Michaux. N. America. See p. 900. Branchlets quadrangular and four-winged. Leaflets seven to nine, 3 to 5 inches long. 11 Leaflets sessile or sub-sessile? 24. Fraxinus Spaethiana, Lingelsheim. Japan. See p. 897. Leaflets seven to nine, 4 to 6 inches long, coriaceous, lanceolate, long- acuminate, irregularly and often crenately serrate. Distinguished from all other species in cultivation by the dilated swollen base of the leaf-stalk. 25. Fraxinus lanceolata, Borkhausen. N. America. See p. 906. Leaflets seven to nine, 3 to 6 inches long, lanceolate, long-acuminate. Rachis grooved. 26. Fraxinus Berlandieriana, De Candolle. Texas, Mexico. See p. 907, note i. Leaflets, five to seven, 2 to 3 inches long, oval or obovate. Rachis grooved. 1 Fraxinus lanceolata (cf. No. 21), has occasionally the leaflets distinctly stalked, and might on that account be sought for here. 1 Cf. No. 31 A. Two forms of this species occur in cultivation, differing in the absence or presence of pubescence on the branchlets and leaf-rachis. 3 Fraxinus Elonza (cf. No. II), sometimes having an open continuous groove on the rachis, might be sought for here. Fraxinus 863 27. Fraxinus dimorpha, Cosson et Durieu. N. Africa. See p. 884. Leaflets, seven to nine, about f inch long, ovate. Rachis with wide-spreading wings. C. Branchlets minutely pubescent ; leaflets glabrous. 28. Fraxinus Mariesii, J. D. Hooker. Central China. See p. 892. Leaflets five, coriaceous, about 2^ inches long, oval, stalked, crenately serrate. 29. Fraximis Bungeana, De Candolle. North China, See p. 891. Leaflets five to seven, membranous, about i^ inch long, mostly stalked, oval or rhomboid, long-acuminate, irregularly serrate. 30. Fraxinus raibocarpa, Regel. Turkestan. See p. 886. Leaflets five to seven, oval, entire, about i^ inch long ; upper leaflets sub- sessile, lower leaflets stalked. D. Branchlets, leaf-rachis, and leaflets pubescent. * Leaflets distinctly stalked. 31. Fraxinus Biltmoreana, Beadle. United States. Seep. 905. Leaflets seven to nine, oval, about 4 inches long, white beneath ; rachis very slightly grooved. 31 A. Fraxinus caroliniana, Miller.1 S.E. United States, Cuba. See p. 912. Leaflets five to seven, oval, about 3 inches long, green beneath, rounded or broadly cuneate at the base ; rachis with a well-defined but shallow groove. * * Leaflets stalked, sessile, or sub-sessile. 32. Fraxinuspennsylvanica, Marshall. N. America. See p. 908. Leaflets, seven to nine, lanceolate, 4 to 5 inches long, green beneath, pubescent on both surfaces, long-acuminate, tapering at the base ; rachis densely white- pubescent, and with a narrow, shallow groove. Buds reddish pubescent. 33. Fraxinuspubinervis, Blume. Japan. See p. 896. Leaflets five to seven, lanceolate, 3 to 4 inches long, glabrous above, green and pubescent beneath, acuminate, tapering at the base ; rachis grooved, with pubescence densest at the nodes. Buds greyish pubescent. * * * Leaflets sessile or sub-sessile. 34. Fraxinus oregona, Nuttall. Western United States. See p. 910. Leaflets seven to nine, oval, 3 to 4 inches long, green beneath, shortly acuminate, entire or obscurely crenate in margin. 35. Fraxinus velutina, Torrey. Texas to California. See p. 912. Leaflets three to five, about i£ inch long ; lateral leaflets variable in shape and serration, terminal leaflet obovate. 36. Fraxinus xanthoxyloides, Wallich. Baluchistan, Afghanistan, N.W. Himalayas. See p. 885. Leaflets, five to nine, about f inch long, ovate. Rachis with wide-spreading wings. » Cf. No. 16. 864 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 37. Fraxinus holotricha, Koehne. Origin unknown. See p. 887. Leaflets nine to thirteen, lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, about 2 inches long, sharply serrate. (A. H.) FRAXINUS EXCELSIOR, COMMON ASH Fraxinus excelsior, Linnaeus, Sp. PI. 1057 (1753); Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit. ii. 1214 (1838); Willkomm, Forstliche Flora, 658 (1897); Mathieu, Flore Forestière, 241 (1897). A large tree, attaining 140 feet in height. Bark smooth and greyish when young, becoming rough and fissured in old trees. Branchlets glabrous. Leaflets (Plate 262, Fig. 4), 9 to 15, sessile and articulate, oval- or oblong-lanceolate, acuminate at the apex, tapering at the base, where the margin is entire, elsewhere crenately serrate, the serrations more numerous than the lateral nerves ; upper surface glabrous and green ; lower surface paler with pubescence on the midrib, extending over the basal part of the leaflet ; venation pinnate, the lateral nerves forming loops near the margin. Rachis glabrous or pubescent, strongly winged, the wings meeting above,1 except opposite the insertion of the leaflets where there is an open channel, and below the leaflets where the rachis is flattened or broadly grooved. Flowers,2 opening before the leaves appear, fertilised by the wind, in dense axillary panicles, polygamous or occasionally dioecious, without calyx or corolla. Male flowers with two stamens more or less connate below. Female flowers with a two-celled superior ovary, the style being dilated above into two thick stigmas. Perfect flowers with an ovary and two stamens.3 Fruit, of two carpels, joined together to form the body of the samara, which is compressed at right angles to the partition and is produced in front into a veined membranous wing. The samarae are very variable in shape, but are usually linear-oblong or elliptic, obtuse at both ends, and notched at the tip. They hang in racemes on long stalks, and, ripening in autumn, generally remain on the tree till the following spring ; and are ultimately carried by the wind a short distance away from the parent tree. SEEDLING* The young plant on appearing raises the samara out of the soil, the two cotyledons being united together at first by a cap formed of the albumen. The 1 Rain collecting on the leaflets drains into the ducts thus formed, inside of which are hairs and peltate groups of cells that gradually absorb the water, which is retained for several days after a fall of rain. See Kemer, Nat. Hist. Plants, Eng. Transi, i. 231, fig. 54 (1898). 2 Section Fraxiiiaster. 3 Schulz, in Bet-, Deutsch. Bot. Ges. x. 401 ( 1892), has shown that trees of the common ash greatly vary in the kind of flowers which they produce. Trees bearing only male flowers are common ; while those with only female flowers or with only perfect flowers are rare. In many cases two of the three kinds of flowers are borne on the same tree ; and what is very remarkable, a tree is not necessarily of the same sex in successive years. Ash trees do not flower, as a rule, regularly every year ; and fruit is much more abundant in some years than in others. * Figured in Lubbock, Seedlings, ii. 214, fig. 512 (1892). Fraxinus cotyledons, when developed, are about f to i^ inch long, oblong, obtuse, entire, glabrous, pale beneath, tapering at the base into a very short winged petiole. Caulicle terete, i to 3 inches long, ending in a long yellow, fleshy, flexuose tap-root. Young stem, green and glabrous, terete below, angled above. First pair of leaves, arising £ to i inch above the cotyledons, simple, ovate, acuminate or acute, irregularly serrate and ciliate, minutely pubescent, on a winged petiole about ^ inch long. Second pair of leaves, three-foliolate, on a petiole about an inch long, the terminal leaflet the largest. Third pair with either three or five leaflets. IDENTIFICATION The common ash is only liable to be confused with species like F. angustifolia and F. oxycarpa ; but is readily distinguished by its black buds, and the crenate serrations more numerous than the lateral nerves in the leaflets. In winter, the twigs are stout, shining-grey or olive green, compressed towards the tip, swollen at the nodes. Leaf-scars, opposite, obliquely set on projecting pulvini, semicircular or almost orbicular, often with lateral projecting horns, and showing an almost circular row of bundle-dots. Terminal buds black, conical, quadrate, with four scales visible externally, but consisting altogether of seven to eight pairs of scales. Lateral buds smaller, given off at a wide angle, with two or three external scales. VARIETIES The common ash, though distributed over a wide area, varies little in the wild state ; and such varieties, as have been based on the form of the fruit, cannot be considered as well established. Near Perpignan a form with small leaves has been collected, which is var. australis, Godron et Grenier, Flore de France, ii. 471. In thé province of Talysch in the Caucasus, a remarkable form occurs with large leaflets, velvety pubescent underneath ; and the shoots, buds, and leaf-rachis are densely pubescent. This variety, which was described by Scheele1 as a distinct species (F. coriarœfolia), is said by Koch2 to be met with occasionally in cultivation in gardens, where it is known as Fraxinus expansa. A curious variation in the common ash was observed by A. D. Richardson3 in the case of four young plants, found growing in a clump of several hundreds, on the banks of the Boyne near Navan in Co. Meath. The leader shoots had the leaves alternate in a 2/5 spiral arrangement, instead of the normal opposite and decussate one. Numerous varieties have been obtained as seedlings in nurseries or as isolated specimens growing wild. 1 Linnœa, xvii. 350 (1843). 2 Dendrologie, ii. I, 243 (1872). 3 Gard. Chron. xxxvi. 133, fig. 55 (1904). IV 866 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 1. Var. monophylla, O. Kuntze, Flora von Leipzig, 82 (1867). Fraxinns monophylla, Desfontaines, Tab. de T École de Bot. 52 (1804). Fraxinus heterophylla, Vahl. Enum. PI. i. 53 (1804); Loudon, Arl>. et Frut. Brit. ii. 1228 (1838). Fraxinus simplicifolia, Willdenow, Sp. PI. iv. 1098 (1805). Fraxinus excelsior, var. diversifolia, Alton, Hort. Kew. iii. 445 (1789). This remarkable variety, which is usually known as the laurel-leaved or simple- leaved ash, is met with in the wild state in the forests near Nancy in France, and also rarely in England and Ireland. It appears1 occasionally when a quantity of ash seeds is sown, and intermediate forms are found with three, five, and seven leaflets. The shoots and buds are identical with those of the common ash. In the ordinary form of the variety, the leaf (Plate 262, Fig. 2) is simple, not being divided into leaflets. Occasionally there is a large leaflet, with one or two small leaflets at its base ; and this form is known as var. monophylla laciniata. The simple - leaved form or the terminal leaflet in the two- to three-leaflet form, has a stalk about half as long as the blade or a little longer, and is variable in shape, being usually oval in outline with an obtuse, acute, or acuminate apex ; margin coarsely serrate ; lower surface pubescent except towards the apex ; petiole widely grooved on its upper side. A form of the single - leaved ash with variegated leaves, was discovered, according to Loudon, in 1830 at Eglantine, near Hillsborough, Co. Down, Ireland. The simple-leaved ash is very distinct in appearance and thrives well in towns. It is usually propagated by grafting. At Beauport, Sussex, there is a tree of this kind, 70 feet by 5 feet 9 inches ; and self-sown seedlings reproducing the variety have been observed by us there. Other large specimens occur : at Syon, a tree2 84 feet by 7 feet 6 inches ; at Sidmouth, measured by Miss Woolward in 1904, two trees 9 feet 4 inches each in girth, the taller being 86 feet high ; also three good trees in the grounds at Woburn growing beside the lake. Lord Kesteven reports one at Stubton Hall, Newark, which was 67 feet high by 8 feet i inch in girth in 1906. Elwes has seen others from 50 to 70 feet high at Scampston Hall, Yorkshire ; at Sharpham, near Totnes ; and at Dodington Park, Gloucestershire. A tree at Oxford, near the east end of the broad walk in Christchurch meadow, mentioned by Walker3 in 1833, is, according to Mr. Druce, about 65 feet high and 4 feet 7 inches in girth. It is crowded by other trees and is not thriving. On the Pitfour estate near Mintlaw in Aberdeenshire, a tree 55 feet high by 7 feet 9 inches is reported by Mr. Ainslie ; and Elwes saw one at Gordon Castle, which in July 1907 was covered with fruit and measured about 60 feet by 9 feet 2 inches in girth. There is a very good specimen in Stephen's Green, Dublin ; one at Beauparc House in Co. Meath measured, in 1905, 40 feet high by 6 feet 2 inches in girth ; and another at Curraghmore, Co. Waterford, was 50 feet by 5 feet in 1907. 2. Var. rotundifolia. A tree growing in a wood at Strete Ralegh, near Exeter, 1 Cf. Mathieu, Flore Forestière, 241 (1897), and Allgem. Garten-Zeitung, iii. 6 (cited by Loudon). 2 This tree in 1849 was 50 feet high by 4 feet in girth ; it is now beginning to decay at the top. 3 Flora of Oxfordshire, 3 (1833). Cf. also Dyer, injourn. Bot. ix. 147 (1871). Fraxinus 867 the seat of H. Imbert Terry, Esq., who has sent specimens, is remarkably distinct in the shape of the foliage from any ash known to me ; but is probably only a variety of the common ash, with which it agrees in bark and in buds. In the absence of flowers and fruit, this identification is not quite certain, and on that account a full description is now given : Leaflets (Plate 266, Fig. 32), nine to thirteen, i^ to 2^ inches long ; terminal leaflet stalked, with a long cuneate base ; lateral leaflets, sessile, broadly oval or ovate, unequal at the usually cuneate, but occasionally broad and rounded base, acute or slightly acuminate at the apex, coarsely bi-serrate, slightly scabrous with scattered stiff hairs on the upper surface, pale beneath with dense woolly pubescence on the sides of the midrib and lateral nerves near the base. Leaf-rachis, strongly winged, the wings meeting above in its apical half, but forming a wide open groove towards the base ; pubescent on the dorsal side with scattered stiff hairs, densest at the nodes. This ash resembles in foliage the figure of F. rotundifolia, Aiton,1 which is given by Willdenow.2 The latter species, according to Aiton, Willdenow, and Loudon,3 is a small tree of Italy, with flowers and buds like F. Ornus; and the Strete Ralegh tree cannot be identified with it, as in all essential characters4 it resembles the common ash. Nothing is known of the origin of the tree at Strete Ralegh, which Miss Woolward found in 1905 to be about 75 feet in height, the bole dividing near the ground into two stems, 3 feet i inch and 2 feet 7 inches in girth respectively. 3. Var. angustifolia, Schelle. A variety5 with small narrow leaves (Plate 262, Fig- 5)i which differs in no essential character from the common ash, of which it has the buds and the characteristic serrations and pubescence of the leaflets ; and in this way can be readily distinguished from such species as F. angiistifolia, Vahl, and F. oxycarpa, Willd. 4. Var. crispa, Loudon (also known in gardens as var. atrovirens and var. cucullatd). Leaflets dark green, curled and twisted. Plant usually rigid and stunted, of very slow growth. 5. Var. nana, Loudon (also known in gardens as var. pokmoniifolia and var. globosa). A compact slow-growing dwarf form, with very small leaves. 6. Var. aurea, Loudon. With yellow branches. A pendulous form of this is known. 7. Var. asplenifolia, Koch. Leaflets very narrow, almost linear. 8. Var. fungosa, Loddiges. Bark remarkably wrinkled, with corky ridges. 9. Var. verticillata, Loudon. Leaves whorled, not opposite as in the common form. ID. Var. monstrosa, Koch. Young branches fasciated. ii. Var. erosa, Persoon. Leaflets incised. 1 Hort. fCcw. iii. 445 (1789). Cf. our remarks on this species under F. Ornus, p. 888. 2 Berlin. Baumzucht, Il6, fig. vi. 1 (1796). 3 Art. et Frut. Brit. ii. 1244 (1838). 4 Bark and buds especially. The pale uuder surface of the leaf, which is thin in texture, is seen in common ash seedlings and in some forms of var. nwnophylla. The strongly-winged rachis of the leaf is characteristic of F. excelsior and its near allies. 6 Var. elegantissima, in cultivation at Aldenham, obtained from Simon-Louis, is scarcely to be distinguished from this variety. 868 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 12. Var. verrucosa, Desfontaines. Branchlets warty. 13. Certain variegated forms are known, as—var. albo-marginata, leaflets edged with white, and var. albo-variegata, in which the white colour appears as blotches on the leaflets. Most of the foregoing varieties are of little or no beauty or interest, and do not, so far as we know, become large or shapely trees. (A. H.) 14. Vsx.pendula, Aiton. The weeping ash in some form or other is found in almost every garden, but rarely as a large tree. Loudon describes several forms of it, and says that the original tree was discovered near Wimpole in Cambridgeshire 150 years or more ago, and was decaying in 1835. Another form, the Cowpen ash, which grew near Morpeth, is figured by Loudon ;1 and I have seen two trees which have naturally assumed a very similar habit. One stands by the road in the village of Ollerton, Notts. The other is in a field at Marsden, in the parish of Rendcombe, Gloucestershire. A third form, called by Loudon the Kincairney Ash, grew in the parish of Caputh, near Dunkeld, Perthshire, and was distinguished by its alternately pendulous and upright branches. It was propagated at the Perth Nurseries, but I have not noticed any of this variety now in cultivation. To make an effective tree, the weeping ash should be grafted on a very tall stock, and if the branches are attended to, may be trained into a shady arbour like a great umbrella. But if the stock is also allowed to grow as well as the graft, the effect will be more curious than beautiful ; and the weeping ash is not so much admired or planted as it was formerly when trained and clipped trees were more in fashion. At Heanton Satchville, in North Devon, the seat of Lord Clinton, I saw it trained in combination with a trellis of living ashes which were planted all round the central weeping tree, and had their stems woven together when young so as to form the walls of the arbour ; but in the course of time this had become ragged ; and as the ash does not bear clipping like the beech or hornbeam, I should prefer either of those trees for such a purpose. By far the finest grafted weeping ash that we know of is growing in the gardens of Elvaston Castle, near Derby, the seat of the Earl of Harrington. It was reported2 in 1905 to be 98 feet high, with long weeping branches hanging vertically from the summit of the tree, one of them descending to about 20 feet from the ground; but when I saw it in 1906 I did not think it was more than about 90 feet high, the bole, 6 to 7 feet in girth, being straight and clean. (Plate 238.) This tree was grafted by Barren about 1848. Another larger tree also exists here, which has a bole 50 feet by 12^ feet, and was apparently grafted with weeping ash at the same time, but in this case the branches of the stock have outgrown the grafts. In Ireland there is a very handsome and well shaped weeping ash at Castle- wellan, 41 feet high, with a trunk 5 feet in girth with branches hanging to the ground all round it. (H. J. E.) 1 Arb. et Frut. Brit. ii. 1216, f. 1045 (1838). Garden, 1905, Ixvui. 400, with figure. Fraxinus 869 DISTRIBUTION The common ash is spread through almost all Europe, and occurs also in the Caucasus. The northern limit in Europe passes from the Trondhjem fjord in Norway, about lat. 63° 40', through Sweden at about lat. 61°, and in Finland extends to lat. 62°, descending from there through Russia in a S.E. direction to Riazan, whence it continues N.N.E. to Kazan, its extreme eastern point in Europe. From Kazan, the eastern limit descends in a S.W. direction through Penza, Saratof, and Voronej to Kharkof, and then passes by Ekaterinoslav to the Crimea. In the Caucasus1 the ash does not occur north of the rivers Kuban and Terek. The southern limit extends from the Transcaucasian province of Talysch through Asia Minor and Turkey to Dalmatia, and across Italy and southern France to the Pyrenees. In the Iberian peninsula2 it is met with, according to Willkomm, in the mountains of Catalonia, Aragon, Burgos, Santander, Leon, Asturias, Galicia, and northern Portugal. The western limit takes in the western coast of France and the British Isles. Outside the range mentioned above, it occurs as small scrub in rare situations, as in Norway at Troinsö (lat. 69° 40'), and in the government of St. Petersburg. An ash occurs in the western Himalayan region which, according to most of the authorities, is Fraxinus excelsior. It has been distinguished as a distinct species by Wenzig,3 and, so far as I can judge from dried specimens, is very different indeed from the common ash. Sir George Watt informs me that this ash is always an insignificant tree, never attaining more than 30 feet in height and a foot in girth. The ash is generally met with growing wild as isolated trees or in small groups in the continental forests, but pure woods of some extent occur in moist situations, as in river valleys subject to flooding, in Hungary, Slavonia, Poland, and Russia. In northern regions it is rather a tree of the plains and valleys than of the mountains ; but in southern Europe it is only met with in the mountains. It ascends in south Tyrol to 4000 feet, and in Switzerland to about 4400 feet. The ash is a true native of the British Isles, and has been found in a fossil state in the interglacial beds at Hitchin in Hertfordshire, and in neolithic deposits at Crossness in Essex.4 It may be said to occur wild in every part of the British Isles, except in the northern part of Scotland, where, however, it bears the climate in plantations. In Yorkshire6 it ascends to 1250 feet elevation. In Braemar, H. B. Watt0 observed it up to 1200 feet. In Ireland7 it is frequent in woods, hedges, and rocky places ; and ascends in Donegal to 800 feet, in Down to 1000 feet, and in Wicklow to 1300 feet. 1 It ascends in the Caucasus to 6000 feet, according to Radde, Fflanscnverbrcitimg in den Kaukasiislundcrti, 181 (1899). 2 Cf. Captain Widdrington's account of the distribution of the ashes in Spain, given under Fraxinus angustifolia, p. 880. 3 Fraxinus Hcckeri, Wenzig, in Engler, Bot. Jahrb. iv. 179 (1883). It differs from the common ash in having fewer leaflets, usually five, rarely seven. The bud is also very distinct, being dark yellow in colour, and covered with minute warts. The leaflets are sessile, oval, broadly cuneate at the base, acuminate at the apex, pale beneath, with pubescence on each side of the midrib, minutely crenulate-serrate. The rachis appears to have a wide open groove above ; and the fruit in its lower part is longitudinally and deeply grooved in the middle line. 4 C. Reid, Origin Brit. Flora, 133 (1899). 6 Lees, Flora of W. Yorkshire, 322 (1888). 8 Cairngorm Club Journal, iv. 114 (1903). 7 Cybele Hibernica, 236 (1898). 870 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland Ash woods, supposed to be wild, occur on limestone in hilly districts in Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and Somerset. In the latter county, they are very numerous in the Mendip Hills, and have been mapped by Mr. C. E. Moss,1 who gives an in teresting account of their distribution and peculiar features. The ash is often pure, with a dense undergrowth of hazel, or it is mixed with yew and whitebeam. Mr. Moss notices the prevalence of dog's mercury and wood garlic2 in many of these ash woods. The Gaelic name of the ash, according to Sir H. Maxwell,3 is uinnse (inshy), and becomes Inshawhill in Wigtonshire, and the plural uinnsean (inshan) takes the peculiar form of Inshanks, the name of two places in that county, and Inshewan, near Kirriemuir ; while the common alternative form uinnseog (inshog) remains as Inshock in Forfarshire, Inshaig in Argyllshire, Inshog near Nairn. Analogous forms,4 with the initial letter^! appear in names of places in the south and west of Ireland, as the river Puncheon in Co. Cork. (A. H.) CULTIVATION Though the oak will always be looked on as the premier tree of Great Britain, yet now that its most important use has passed away, the ash must be considered as the most economically valuable of all our native trees, and is perhaps the only hardwood from which a quick and certain return can be expected by the planter. It is almost the only tree whose value has not fallen in consequence of foreign competition, and, though a good deal of American and some Hungarian and Japanese ash is now imported, yet the timber of these is not considered equal for toughness, strength, and elasticity to the best English ash, for which no foreign wood forms an efficient substitute. And as the tree can be grown over all parts of our islands, and attains a great size wherever suitable soil is found, it should be planted more largely in all favourable situations, where it produces timber of good quality. In considering the requirements of the ash, one must always remember that it is a bad neighbour both to other trees and to crops, and that it is far more valuable as timber when grown in woods where it can be drawn up to a good height, than in hedgerows where it produces many branches. It likes a deep, rich soil, neither too wet nor too dry, and grows very well on limestone formations, even on a shallow soil, if the rock is sufficiently disintegrated for the roots to penetrate the crevices. It is short-lived on wet or swampy soils, and the timber is inferior on sandy or peaty land. The finest trees are generally in sheltered situations, but though it is the latest of our native trees to come into leaf, none suffers more from late frosts ; and therefore when planted in low situations it is often severely injured when young. It will grow up to a great elevation, and in the most exposed situa tions, though here it becomes stunted and branchy. No hardwood except that of the chestnut becomes valuable at so early an age, but the wood of old trees, even when sound, usually becomes discoloured or " black-hearted," and ash is never 1 Geog. Distribution of Vegetation in Somerset, 41 (Roy. Geog. Soc., 1907). 2 Mr. A. C. Forbes, in Eng. Estate Forestry, 72 (1904) says :—"We have always noticed that the existence of the wild garlic, Allium ursinum, is an almost certain indication of good ash ground." 3 Scottish Land Names, 109 (1894). 4 Cf. Joyce, Irish Names of Places, 488 (1870). Fraxinus 871 more valuable than when it is from 3 to 6 feet in girth, with a clean stem, a size often attained at fifty to sixty years of age. In plantations ash is often mixed with other trees, and if allowed to take the lead will do them more harm than oak, but a few ash should be introduced in the best soil of larch or other plantations, because the seedlings, which spring up abundantly, will, when the conifers are cut, renew the plantation naturally, and the parent trees will throw up vigorous shoots from the stool after felling. In the midland counties, ash is the commonest, and by far the most profitable underwood, being cut at intervals of twelve to twenty years ; when the poles are much in demand for many purposes, especially for sheep hurdles. But in most places during the last twenty years ash poles have fallen in value, though larger timber has increased in price ; and so much damage has been done to the stools by rabbits that large areas are now becoming very thin, and the crop inferior. No tree except beech suffers more from rabbits than ash, and where they are allowed to increase, and are not killed before winter, the bark of old trees as well as of under wood is sure to be peeled, and the natural reproduction from seed checked. I believe that where the soil is stiff, young ash will pay for some cultivation when young, as their shade is not dense enough to keep down grass and weeds, and if they become stunted, as they often do after planting, it is better, and, indeed, necessary, to cut them down to the ground two to five years later. Self-sown ash seem to grow more vigorously than planted ones, if not too crowded, and their rate of growth is sometimes extraordinary. An ash self-sown in my nursery, at three years old was 7 to 8 feet high, whilst the transplanted seedlings on the same ground were only 3 feet high at the same age. I have seen shoots 6 to 7 feet long the first year from strong healthy stools, and poles worth ^15 to /"20 per acre at sixteen years old, on land which for agricultural purposes was not worth 8s. an acre. The stools, however, often become worn out and hollow at the base after five or six cuttings, and these should be replaced with seedling plants every time the crop is cut. Some years ago, when ash coppice began to fall in price, I left the strongest and straightest pole on every stool at the rate of about 160 per acre, with the object of converting the coppice into timber trees. But though, where the soil is good and the stools young, these poles are likely to make useful trees at fifty to sixty years from the last cutting over, yet where the land is poor they have increased but little, and have a hidebound appearance, owing, no doubt, to the want of shelter and the exposure to the sun and wind. I should advise all intending planters of ash to examine carefully the best local ash plantations, and inquire into the probable demand for poles before adopting this course. The ash is always raised from seed, except in the case of varieties which are grafted on stocks of the common ash. The keys are ripe in late autumn, and often hang on the tree till the following summer, especially when they are not mature. The best-ripened seed, I believe, usually falls first, and should be gathered before winter, and put in a shallow layer mixed and covered with earth or sand, and kept fairly dry until the following winter, when it should be sown. It is advised in books 872 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland that they should be turned over several times during the year before sowing, but 1 have not found this necessary ; and with regard to the time of sowing, it should be put off as long as possible, because the natural germination of the seed takes place six to eight weeks before the tree comes into leaf, and the tender seedlings are thus often injured and killed by late frost. Therefore I advise storing them in a cold place, and not sowing until they begin to germinate. If they come up too thickly and survive the first spring, they may be transplanted in the following March or April, which will tend to check their early leafing, but if thin on the ground they may be allowed to stand two years before transplanting into rows. At three, or at most four, years old, they will be fit to go out permanently, the stronger side branches and double leads, if any, being first pruned. If intended for copsewood, they must be cut over in the month of April, two or three years after planting, and any pruning necessary to older trees should be done in summer or early autumn, so that the wounds may heal as soon as possible. The tree makes an abundance of fibrous roots, and unless these are allowed to become dry, the proportion of loss from trans planting should be very small, and transplanting may be done later than in the case of most hard woods. For ash coppice, 4 or 5 feet apart is the right distance ; for timber trees, they may be alternated with spruce or larch, which will keep them from becoming branchy. The cutting of the stools must be done with a sharp knife or axe as near the ground as possible, and with an upward cut, and the poles removed at latest by the middle of May, as much harm is caused by getting the poles away after the stools have begun to push new growth. One of the best examples of copse-grown ash that I have seen in England is the Walk Copse near Buckhold, Berks, where a number of tall, slender, clean poles, believed by Dr. Watney to be about sixty years old, have originally sprung up from seed, in a plantation once largely composed of silver firs. Though the soil is a flinty clay, now of little agricultural value, the majority of these trees are 90 to 100 feet high, by 3 to 4 feet in girth, and quite clean to 50 or 60 feet. One of the best was quite straight and clean to 65 feet high, but only about 3 feet in girth. Such poles as these are much sought for by agricultural implement and coach makers, and are worth from 2S. 6d. to 35. per foot. REMARKABLE TREES I do not know of any ash at present alive in England which equals in size a tree mentioned by Loudon as growing near Moccas Court, Herefordshire, on the edge of a dingle. This had immensely large roots, running on the surface for 50 feet or more down the steep hillside, and a clear trunk of 30 feet long, 7 feet in diameter at 15 feet from the ground. This, including three large limbs, was estimated to contain 1003 cubic feet of timber. This ash is remembered as a marvellous tree, though quite decayed, by the Rev. Sir George Cornewall, who told me that not a vestige of it now remains. The