{^^ Prof. De CandoUe ori the Longevity of Trees, 



Cercis or Judas-tree*, Juniper -f-, &c. respecting which there is 

 a want of information. 



^iijAmong the exogenous trees in countries between the tropics, 

 •the Cheirostenion lias been cited (because there is a tree at To- 

 luca known since 1553), and the Ceiba, which astonishes by its 

 .thickness ; but it is improbable that trees, the wood of which is 

 so soft, should be among the number of those that are very old. 

 I confess, however, that the example of the Baobab, which, with- 

 out being very hard, attains, according to Adanson^ more than 

 5000 years of age, ought, in this respect, to render me circum- 

 ■spect. I shall rather call the attention of travellers to large 

 trees of hard wood ; such as the mahogany, which is generally 

 >Beven feet thick ; the Courbaril, which it is said attains, in the 

 Antilles, a diameter of twenty feet, and whose hardness is such 

 tliat its growth is very slow ; the various trees known under the 

 name of Iron- wood ; the Pinus lamhertiana of California, which 

 is said to be from 150 to 200 feet high, and from 20 to 60 feet in 

 circumference ; the fig-tree of the pagodas of India, &c. I shall 

 advise them, especially, to verify what is connected with the 

 Taxodiums of Mexico, Cup?'essus disticha, L. Is the immense 

 tree of Chapultepec, which is said to have attained a circumfe- 

 rence of 117 feet, 10 inches, really a single tree, or the amalga- 

 mation of many ? Has it a hollow cave at its base like those of 

 Louisiana, said to belong to the same species ? I venture to 

 recommend another examination of this gigantic tree : it may be 

 the most ancient vegetable production in the globe, mtj mu io 

 It is more difficult to find out the age of endogenous th^n of 

 exogenous trees, either because their native country has not been 

 so thoroughly examined, or because the absence of woody lay- 

 ers, and the preservation of the same diameter at different stages 

 of existence, actually render this investigation more difficult. 

 Endogenous trees generally present themselves under two as- 

 pects ; the first, such as the palm-trees, have almost the whole 



• In the same garden at Montpellier, there is the largest Judas-ttee 

 which is in Europe, and perhaps in the world. Its exact measurement should 

 te registered. 



•f- I have seen a gigantic juniper tree at Draguignan, which possesses this 

 peculiarity, that it is at the side of an ancient monument, called a Druidical 

 stone ; but from what I know of the increase of this tree, I doubt whethei^ it 

 be more than 380 years old. ^ 



