i6 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



AMERICAN FOREST TREES. 



Persimmon. 

 Diospyion Viigiiiiuiw — Liuu. 



Persimmon is found from southern Con- 

 necticut along Long Island and southward to 

 Florida, east of the Allegheny mountains; it 

 grows through southern Ohio down into Ala- 

 bama, and westward to southwestern Iowa, 

 southern Missouri and eastern Kansas; 

 through Indian Territory and Texas. 



It is known by the name persim- 

 mon in Connecticut, New York, 

 New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Dela- 

 ware, Virginia, West Virginia, 

 North Carolina, South Carolina, 

 Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Louis- 

 iana, Kentucky, Missouri, Texas, 

 Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa 

 and Ohio. It is called date plum 

 in New Jersey and Tennessee; Sim- 

 mon and possumwood in Florida, 

 and plaqueminier in Louisiana. 



The genus Diospyros, to which 

 this tree belongs, is of the ebony 

 family ; the ebony of commerce — a 

 native of Ceylon and the East 

 Indies — is one of its numerous 

 species. Aside from being used as 

 lumber, the ebonies are planted for 

 ornament, on account of their 

 lustrous foliage and decorative 

 fruits. 



The leaves of persimmon are 

 three to five inches long ; simple and 

 alternate, with short pubescent 

 petioles; in shape they are thick, 

 broad and oval, with pointed apex 

 and rounded base; they are dark 

 green and lustrous above, paler and 

 dull below, and are bordered with a 

 dainty fringe. 



The flowers blossom in June, 

 after the leaves appear; they are 

 dioecious, the staminate in three- 

 flowered cymes hardly opening; the 

 pistillate are solitary and wide 

 open. They are small and of a yel- 

 lowish color. 



The fruit of the persimmon is 

 globose and pulpy, also sessile ; 

 when green it is exceedingly astrin- 

 gent, but when ripe edible and 

 sweet. In color it is recldish-yellow, 

 and is usually about an inch and a 

 half in diameter. The negro and 

 the southerner alike enjoy this queer 

 fruit after it has been touched by 

 frost, but the majority of people 

 are quite content to let it alone, 

 ticularly if they happen to have 

 tempted when it was green. A traveler in 

 the old Virginia colony a hundred years 

 ago wrote back to England about ' ' the pes- 

 semins that grow on a most high tree, that 

 are harsh and choakie and furre in a m^n's 

 mouth like allam ! ' ' Tannin is found in the 

 fruit, and to this element it owes its astrin- 

 gent property; a coloring matter obtained 



SIXTY-FIRST PAPER. 



from it is useful in making indelible ink. 

 The Indians roasted the seeds and made a 

 beverage somewhat similar to coffee. In com- 

 bination with hops it is still brewed into beer 

 and made into brandy. 



The bark is broken into rough plates; it is 

 very dark colored, and tinged with red. From 

 it a medicinal extract is brewed. 



In general appearance the tree is slender 



par- 

 been 



FOREST GKUWTU Ol' I'EKSIMMOX. ALABAMA. 



with a handsome round top and spreading 

 or pendulous branches. It reaches a height 

 of from twenty to sixty feet. The branches 

 are often hollow. For ornamental purposes 

 the tree is desirable on account of its rich 

 green foliage in late summer and its grace- 

 ful habit. It is not often successfully trans- 

 planted, but may be readily raised from the 

 seed. 



Persimmon reaches its highest development 



in light, sandy soil, or in damp woodlands; 

 it is prone to grow well in fence rows, or 

 abandoned fields. It is distinctively a south- 

 ern tree, and although occasionally found 

 quite far north, in Ohio and New York, this 

 climate is by no means best adapted to it. 

 Perhaps its finest proportions are reached in 

 Oklahoma forests. 



The Diospyros Icaki, or Japanese persim- 

 mon, is now planted largely in 

 many of the southern states, and 

 seems to thrive almost as well as in 

 its native land. Its picturesque fig- 

 ure, large, thick, glossy leaves, and 

 rich fruit make it decidedly orna- 

 mental in landscape gardening. 



The wood of persimmon is very 

 close-grained and of compact struc- 

 ture, resembling hickory to a con- 

 siderable degree. The medullary 

 rays are conspicuous. The heart- 

 wood, which does not develop un- 

 til the tree is about a hundred 

 years old, is very dark brown or 

 black, the sapwood lighter, often 

 having dark spots upon it. As to 

 structural qualities, persimmon is 

 hard, strong and heavy, a cubic foot 

 weighing about forty-nine pounds. 

 It is very popular in this country 

 for making plane-stocks, shuttles, 

 etc., and manufacturers in England 

 are constantly calling for supplies 

 of it to be used in making golf 

 sticks and heads for baseball bats, 

 etc. In fact, foreign buyers seem 

 to stand ready at all times to absorb 

 as much of the entire cut of the 

 country as they ean lay hands upon. 



Transplanting a Great Tree. 

 The oldest yew tree in Germany, 

 perhaps in the world, has just been 

 transplanted from the old to the 

 new botanical gardens of Frank- 

 fort-on-the-Main. Its age is esti- 

 mated at 700 years. Expert botan- 

 ists began preparations for its re- 

 \ moval three years ago, by gradu- 



ally clipping off the root tendrils 

 to a radius of about six feet. 

 When it came time to remove the 

 tree from the ground a crate was 

 built about the roots and clinging 

 earth and the tree kept erect by 

 guy ropes, so that it could be 

 skidded. The crate was about thir- 

 teen feet square and six feet deep, 

 while the tree is sixty feet tall and its weight 

 when packed was about 90,000 pounds. In- 

 stead of putting the truck which carried it on 

 wheels rollers of hickory were used, and in 

 places where pipes or sewers were under- 

 ground heavy timber beams were arranged to 

 take the weight of the rollers. The tree is 

 now propped in its new location lest the 

 wind blow it down before the roots get a 

 firm hold on the soil. 



