ON SOFT-WOODED FOREST TREES.
In this chapter we shall shortly direct attention to such soft-wooded
trees as the sycamore, plane, horse-chestnut, lime, willow, poplar, and
others, which, though commonly grown, are yet more so for ornament than
profit; for though their woods are found to be more or less useful, as a
general rule they must take a comparatively low rank as timber trees.
Both the Sycamore and the Plane are introduced trees; both attain to a
large size; and when judiciously mixed with other trees form a very
pleasing contrast. The plane has the property of withstanding the
effects of smoke in towns better than any other tree, and therefore it
is recommended for planting in public parks and town enclosures.
The Horse-Chestnut has much of the character of the above; it grows tall
and large, and its fine foliage and handsome bunches of flowers are very
attractive. It is an excellent tree for shade, and has the merit of
quick growth; but its wood is so brittle as to cause great limbs to be
too readily blown off with a high wind.
The Lime (_Tilia Europæa_) is one of our most charming native trees, for
so it has been pretty clearly proved to be by E. Lees, Esq., F.L.S., who
says “that at Shrawley, eight miles north from Worcester, there is a
wood, remote from any dwelling or public road, of about five hundred
acres in extent, the greater part of the undergrowth of which is
composed of _Tilia Europæa_, var. _Microphylla_;” and the same
gentleman, in a communication to the Botanical Society of London,
mentioned several places, in Worcestershire, Herefordshire,
Gloucestershire, Monmouthshire, and South Wales, where he considers the
lime to be indigenous, and where he met with many remarkable and aged
trees.
We shall not here enter into a discussion about species, but, from what
we saw in Shrawley wood and its district, we incline to the belief that
several names made to depend mainly upon the leaves, might well be
omitted, seeing that from Shrawley itself the leaves on the newly-sprung
underwood are fully five times larger than those on an old tree.
Putting such questions aside, we may well consider the lime as a truly
ornamental tree, _whose varieties_ give great charm to the forest or the
more limited plantation about the homestead, where its shade, its
perfume when in flower, and patience under lopping and training, must
ever recommend it.
The Willow, though usually cultivated in the shape of twigs for
basket-making and the like purposes, for which many species are
employed, is nevertheless grown upon the margins of streams and in damp
places about estates and farms for its lop, which is much used for
hurdle-bonds, thatching-spars, &c.
Amongst implements from this tree, the willow-wand of the cricketer has
now a fame in the New as well as in the Old world, and long may its
magic continue to develope the muscle and sharpen the faculties of the
youth of Old England; whilst well-developed muscle cannot better
maintain its tone than by a well-contested game of cricket.
In good situations the White Willow (_Salix alba_) attains to very
magnificent proportions. One at Siddington, near Cirencester, measures
22 feet in girth, at one foot from the ground; 18 ft. 6 in. at three
feet; and 20 ft. 6 in. at six feet. The principal limb measured 12 ft. 6
in., and the circumference of its fine top is as much as 72 feet. And
four trees by the Roman Amphitheatre at Cirencester, average somewhere
about 12 feet round at six feet from the ground. Trees of this size,
from their light, silvery foliage, give great character to the
surrounding scenery.
These soft-wooded trees, with some poplar and other ornamental trees,
furnish a more or less light, soft, spongy wood, very inferior for
timber, but yet capable of being put to various uses in turnery,
internal work, &c., in which white wood is employed.
The _Coniferæ_ (Cone-bearers).—The Fir tribe may well form a subject
even for a separate volume, for not only are some of them employed as
timber trees, but many are grown for their curious and interesting
structure.
The _Pinetum_ has become to be a matter of amusement to many a country
gentleman throughout the country; and in these are collected such new
forms as may in time become useful to the planter, as well as such
minute species as may illustrate the natural history of a subject well
worthy of extended study.
Amongst our giants of this natural order may be placed the yew (which
has been made a separate order under the name of _Taxaceæ_) and the
cedar; the spruce-fir, Scotch-pine, and larch being the more useful
members as timber trees.
The Yew (_Taxus baccata_) is generally considered as an indigenous tree,
and as we can certainly point to individuals that must have weathered
nearly, if not quite a thousand years, we are not disposed to quarrel
with the conclusion. Its former use in the construction of the English
long-bow is now obsolete, and so too has almost died out the taste for
growing this tree to torture into grotesque shapes. Still, as a
picturesque tree in woodland and home scenery, and even as an attendant
upon the parish church, we should like to see the yew more extensively
grown. It is also a most useful tree for close hedges and blinds in the
garden, as it will bear being clipped within due bounds with a great
amount of patience.
The Cedar (_Cedrus Libani_), which was probably introduced to this
country towards the end of the seventeenth century, has yet made such
progress as to rival in size and importance many of our more stately
native timber trees of far greater age.
Amongst the more stately examples of this tree, we may mention those at
the Chelsea Botanical Garden. There are some fine groups in Oakley Park,
Cirencester, growing on almost a bare rock of the Great or Bath Oolite,
and in the bleak Cotteswold country, attaining the circumference of from
10 to 12 feet, at three feet from the ground. Long may the cedar be
cultivated for the size and beauty to which it can attain, in which,
perhaps, it may yet be excelled by the _Cedrus deodara_, not many years
since introduced from the Himalayas. We rejoice to see such noble
specimens of vegetation grown, independent of profit, which, indeed, is
scarcely needed by a princely possessor of a fine estate handed down,
perhaps, from generation to generation, in which each tree may have a
history of its own.
The Spruce-Fir (_Abies excelsa_) is an elegant tree in composition, and
grows well on the thinnest and poorest soils. Its upright, tapering
mode of growth renders it a good nurse, with beech, larch, and other
_Coniferæ_. It may be planted thickly; the first thinning being used for
hop-poles, the next for spars, masts, &c.; and ultimately a few may be
left to attain size and height as shelter and for effect.
The Scotch Pine (_Pinus sylvestris_) is a native of North Britain, where
its fine trees in large forests or in great clumps, form a peculiar and
at times magnificent appearance. It is much used in planting in this
country, principally as a nurse; but its young sticks are not so durable
as those of the spruce, and much inferior to the larch. Its larger wood
forms the red deal—a timber so much used in all kinds of carpentry as to
give this tree a high value among timber trees.
The Larch (_Larix Europæa_) is a deciduous tree of the order, and though
it has not been introduced into general use for very many years, yet its
value is daily becoming more fully developed; and as a tree for general
plantation, either as a nurse or in belts, it has few, if any, equals.
As a curious tree, it appears to have been grown early in the eighteenth
century, and some fine trees are noticed by Selby at Dalwick in
Peeblesshire, and at Monzie in Argyleshire. The largest larch which we
have noticed was one which was felled in Oakley Park.
It had previously been injured by being struck with lightning, by which
large pieces of the bark had been torn away. We examined it at Lord
Bathurst’s desire, when it was found to be bored into from the base of
the trunk to as high as we could see, by that curious insect the _Sirex
gigas_, whose hornet-like appearance causes so much consternation in the
pine forests in Germany, from which it is often introduced into the
dwellings of the peasant with fir logs. It is quite as large as the
hornet, and much of the same bright colours, but its apparent sting of
more than half an inch in length is only an ovipositor, so that that
formidable-looking creature is perfectly harmless after all. This tree
was nearly twelve feet in circumference, at three feet from the ground,
in which condition its lower drooping branches give the larch a fine
picturesque appearance.
Larches, and, indeed, the whole of the _Coniferæ_, are best procured for
planting from the nursery, and much time will ultimately be saved by
planting them as soon after removal as possible, and that by the pit
method; and so done, larch, unlike most other young trees, shoots away
at once, and soon allows of thinning to profit.
We now bring this subject to an end, for the want of space; but we
cannot part with friends we love so much without a benediction; in the
words of Cowley then we say,—
Hail, old patrician trees!
DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.
Plate I. QUERCUS ROBUR PEDUNCULATA, nat. size, from Oakley Park,
Cirencester.
Fig. _a._ _Petiole_, or leaf-stalk.
Fig. _b._ _Peduncle_, or fruit-stalk.
Plate II. QUERCUS ROBUR SESSILIFLORA, from Wyre Forest, near
Kidderminster.
Fig. _a._ _Petiole_.
Fig. _b._ _Peduncle_.
NOTE.—The leaf of _Quercus Robur sessiliflora_ has a greater number
of divisions than that of _Q. Robur pedunculata_. These lobes are
somewhat more acute at the apex. This and its longer petiole, and
general brighter colour of the whole leaf, gives the former tree,
when in foliage, a lighter aspect than the latter.
HOW TO GROW GOOD ORCHARDS