

f At flu f.. --■«<?, 



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Japan Cedar is a tall, portly tree, of somewhat conical 

 habit of growth, with a clean, straight fctera of fully 

 lUOO feet high, and 4 feet or so in diameter. 



The branches spread liorizontally, are slightly droop- 

 ing with up-curved tips, the lateral ones dividing iuto 

 numerous frondose brauchlets, thickly covered with 

 bright, glossy green foliage. 



Leaves fully half-an-inch in length, rigid, incurved or 

 awlshaped, and oppressed to the stem, obscurely quad- 

 rangular, and marked rather indistinctly with two 

 glaucous silvery lines beneath. The flowers are monce- 

 cious, or both male and female on the «ame plant. 

 Male catkins of an oval or oblong shape, and produced 

 iu great abundance in the a.xils of the leaves at the 

 extremities of the branchlets. Cones globular, about 

 three-(iuarters of an inch iu diameter, terniinal, singly, 

 and usually erect. This distinct and beautiful cornier, 

 although at first branded with a semi-tender character, 

 is found to be perfectly hardy, sound in constitution, of 

 very rapid growth after it has become thoroughly 

 established, and by no means fastidious as to soil or 

 situation, provided the former be naturally sweet and 

 healthy, or artificially made so. Although usually assert- 

 ed that this tree only thrives, or at least thrives best, on 

 damp soil and in low sheltered situations, a comparison of 

 the trees growing in I'enrhyn Park a?id in other situations 

 over the estate, hardly upholds this theory, for some of 

 our most luxuriant specimens are growing in deep, sandy- 

 loam, with the happy medium of neither excess nor 

 want of moisture. Judging from the specimens here, 

 I should say plant the Cryptomeria in good dampish, 

 but not stiff loam, where partial shelter is afforded, 

 and all the better if in a sbadyish situation — by this 

 I mean a northern or eastern aspect, where direct 

 sunshine is prevented. Better, indeed, than the general- 

 ity of couferous trses, the Japan Oedar seems to thrive 

 in the dense, still air of mid-woodland, and is even 

 not fastidious about the juxtaposition of surrounding 

 trees, so as their extending branches do not actually 

 commingle with its own. 



Both in Japan and China, into which latter couttry 

 it is generally supposed to have been introduced, 

 this tree is largely employed for ornamental planting, 

 such as iu the formation of avenues for clumps and 

 groves, and as single specimens in the gardens and 

 grounds. 



In Japan there is an avenue of fully thirty miles 

 in length closely planted with this tree, while others 

 of shorter lengths are not uncommon. 



The timber of Cr}/2>tomeria Jcijwnica is light but 

 lasting, and largely employed for room-panelling, for 

 furniture generally, and in the making of light 

 packing-cases. It is white, soft, and easily worked, 

 with a pleasant perfume, which makes its adoption 

 for panelling or room furniture particularly desirable. 

 As might be expected, the wood of this tree produced 

 in Britain differs but little from foreign specimens, 

 at least such was our verdict after an impartial 

 ezaminatiou. 



A. D. Webster. 



Penrhyn Castle, North Wales. 



CoAl.— At a recent lecture delivered in Philadelphia 

 by a promiaent scientist, the gentleman said it takes a 

 prodigious amount of vegetable matter to form a layer 

 of coal ; that the present growth of the world would make, 

 a layer only oue-eighth of an inch thick, and that it would ' 

 take a million years to form a Coal-bed 100 feet thick. — 

 Journal of Forestry. 



Amono articles exported from India spices figure to 

 the extent of 43,0G1,;^35 rupees, an augmentatiou of 

 nearly 100 per cent during the last live years, not- 

 withstanding the ilecline in the exp(»rts of pepper. 

 The shipments fif ginger are growing very rapidly. 

 About 7 millions out of 10^ millions lb, exported 

 7>ere sent t^« Eurojye, where a fine >fppetite for Indian 

 ginger .teems developing. Exports of cardamoms are 

 falling heavily, and no wonder, since Ceylon — which 

 is not, of course, included in the report — has nearly 

 supplanted India as a purveyor of that spice.-- C/jfWi«i 

 and JJruggist. 



We see it asserted in a French medical journal 

 that a correspondent has " killed " the phylloxera by 

 planting Datura Stramonium among his vines. We 

 venture to doubt the correctness ol the assertion, or 

 at least to suggest that more evidence be lorth- 

 coming. — Indian Agriculturist. 



MosQUJTOiS. — It IS .saic-l that nitre paper burned in a 

 room will drive out mosquitoes. AVe have not tried 

 this, but a mixture of equal parts of essential oils of 

 eucalyptus and lavender applied freely to the skin 

 will repel their attacks. And we can assert from ex- 

 perience that essential oil of lavender appUed to a bite 

 without delay will at once relieve all irritation and 

 prevent swelling.— C/itmse and Druyyid. 



TiAinEu merctiauts are anxiously watching the pro- 

 gress of an American invention for drying wood by a 

 quick process in which cold air plays an important part. 

 Instead of wasting time and causing loss of interest on 

 capital in the shape of timber on hand, which needs 

 three to seven years to mature Uiituraiiy, it is claimed 

 for tha new process that it matures wooU in three day.'?. 

 A tree felled to-day can be ilelivered, sawn iuto shape," 

 and ready for use in the building and furniture traaes 

 next week. — Journal of Forentry. 



Tea Plants and thkih Lka'ves.— The Editor of the 

 Forestry replying to a correspondent, who stated 

 " the Tea plauts live though denuded of their leaves," 

 wrote :— That "tea plauts will live without leaves" 

 tor a time is true (so also will plauts generally), but 

 that they will do so for long or indefinitely is an er- 

 ror borne out by everyday experience. Kespousive 

 action between the leaves and the roots must be 

 sustained, else there can be no living and thriviu"' 

 for any length of time in any plant. The herba°- 

 ceous condition of the shoots that spring from the 

 roots of recently felled trees enable them to lulhl 

 the functions ot leaves for a time, till leaves are put 

 forth, and prove that nature is not without resource 

 when by accident or design disturbance of the balance 

 of functional action takes place. 



A SHORT time ago it was given out that paper 

 rails had been made and successfully tested. Kow, 

 the same material has been utilised lor making pipes, 

 and a certain quantity of such pipes ha>c been 

 exhibited iu Vienna. The process is as follows: — 

 Strips of paper, the width ol which corresponds with 

 the length or one pipe section, are drawn through 

 melted asphalt and wound upon a mandril. When 

 the pipe thus made has cooled the mandril is 

 withdrawn, and the inside is covered witn a kind 

 of enamel the nature of which comprises the main 

 secret of the invention, and is, therefore, not made 

 known. The outside is painted with aspualt varnish, 

 and dusted over with saud. Id is seated oh.it such a 

 pipe will resist some 2000 lb. internal pressure, 

 though the thickness of the stuff is only about h inch. 

 Indian Agriculturist. 



EuCALYPTs IN Italy.— We learn from a German 



authority that the plantations of eucalypts made iu 



malarious districts in Italy have so far proved a 



failure. The trees do not grow ; either the soil or 



the climate, or both, are unfavourable. This is flome* 



what wondertul in a tree that in this less favoured 



climate makes astonishing progress in summer; only, 



however, in the milder uisiricts, and not always iu 



even them, to be spared by our severe winters, It 



is not only wonderiul, but dieappointiug that a tree 



which a few years ago wae trumpeted so luudly as 



a specific against malarial fever, should fail in the 



largest experiment ever tried y^ith it. AVe are afraid 



it IS no fit subject to plant in marshes, for even if 



it succeeded in growing well, the growtu would be of 



such a sj,>ongy nature that winter's frost even iu many 



parts of sunny Italy would be fatal to it, AVe tiud 



the same autUority recommending Lanrus gla^ dulosv.s, 



various American and ludiaE Acers, Halix Jioliyfouicaj 



and several poplars as substitutes for the eucaiypts, 



and claiming for them several febi-ifugal properties 



to those claimed f''r the 'lucalypts. We are n'>t aWare 



that this claim for the latter has ever been advanced 



on reliable grounds, and this grand Italian experiment 



having failed, we are not likely soon to have the POint 



gatisfaclorJly settled.— </ou;v;fl/ of Fonatrt/, 



