October 311, 180C. I 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



331 



the tips, is much less so in the adult specimen ; and a pecu- 

 liarity in tho bark is, that it is very thick ami spongy, almost 

 like a quantity of cocoa-nut fibro united I 



to the touch. It has been said that this tree thrives best in a 

 damp situation ; but the specimen, of which the dimensions are 

 given above, is placed under conditions precisely the reverse of 

 and somo other younger trees also promise well on a dry 

 stony soil, but one or two plants near water and on a very stiff 

 loam are also healthy and vigorous. The general outline of this 

 tree is conical, its lower branches sweeping the ground, and it 

 bears no resemblance whatever to tho common Yew to which it 

 is related, bnt its foliage is never so deep-coloured and clean ; 

 nevertheless, there are few collections in which this does not 

 deserve a place. 



Thujofsis BOHEALis, 111 feet high and C feet in diameter, 

 having grown 8 feet in the last five years. A sturdy grower, 

 starting away with a clear head, which is apparently likely to 

 continue so, and differing widely from the older forms of Arbor 

 Vita;, to which it is related. I do not know how aged trees of 

 this species may look, but young ones promise well, and I ex- 

 pect this Thujopsis will become a dense, massive-looking tree ; 

 its foliage is stronger than that of any of the Thujas, and, with 

 the exception of T. gigantea, it is the darkest. It is apparently 

 very hardy, and transplants well. 



Thuja aueea. — This has no claim to be called a tree ; but 

 is certainly a handsome shrub, having a balloon shaped out- 

 line. I may, however, remark to those who wish to plant it 

 in exposed places, that rabbits are very fond of it, speedily 

 disfiguring and eventually destroying it if protection is not 

 afforded. They are also very destructive to other Conifers as well. 

 Thuja gigantea. — There is some doubt as to the tree which 

 we have under this name being the true one. It is about the 

 same size as Thujopsis borealis, but differs widely from it in 

 the foliage being of a darker green on the under side. It seems 

 to be very hardy and deserving of attention. 



Thuja Lobbi. — This is by far the most promising tree intro- 

 duced of late years, with the exception of the Wellingtonia 

 and, perhaps, Cupressus Lawsoniana ; I am not certain that 

 it yields to the latter in point of merit, while in rapidity of 

 growth it is even superior to the Mammoth Tree itself. A 

 specimen here measured last December 19 feet in height, and 

 was C feet in diameter, having grown 15t feet in five years, 

 and in two consecutive seasons it grew altogether 8! feet. 

 The position which this tree occupies is sheltered, and it has 

 perhaps run up faster than it would have done if it had been 

 more exposed ; but the species is undoubtedly of rapid growth. 

 Nothing can exceed the beauty of tho foliage on the lower part 

 of the tree, for unlike many of its class, whose branches have 

 a vertical character, they have in this rather the graceful curve 

 of the Fern, the flattened side of the foliage being upwards, 

 while the leading stem rises up like a fishing-rod, and is quite 

 as straight. As a tree it is much admired, and deserves to be 

 more extensively grown. It is also apparently as hardy as the 

 Tew, and will evidently be a popular tree. 



Thujopsis dolabrata. — The plants are as yet too small to 

 comment upon, and their growth is not by any means so rapid 

 as that of some of the Thujas above mentioned. It is. however, 

 interesting as a species, and differs widely from others. 



Weluxgtonia gigantea, 18.J feet high, and 10J feet in 

 diameter, having grown nearly 12 feet in five years, and 

 during that time twice lost a leader of 'J or 10 inches in length. 

 This specimen differs from others which we possess in being 

 of a true conical form, with the branches close and compact, 

 and looking at a little way off as if it had been clipped into 

 shape, although the knife has never touched it, showing what 

 different forms such trees will assume. We have others as 

 much broken in outline as a Scotch Fir would be if left alone in 

 an open place ; not but that the conical form is still preserved, 

 lint the outward feathering of the tips of the branches gives, 

 perhaps, a more natural form than the exact symmetry of out- 

 line exhibited by the tree referred to, and yet the branches 

 are dense also. A tree of the latter description, growing in a 

 very exposed place in the park, was 14 feet high and nearly as 

 much in diameter, healthy and robust to a degree which no in- 

 digenous tree could excel. I found a cone upon a tree some- 

 what smaller than the last-mentioned ; it is about the size of 

 a moderately large hen's egg. Some very small trees have on 

 more occasions than one put forth cones ; but I never saw one 

 advance so far as this has done, and it is not to be desired 

 that cones should be produced on trees so young. The Welling- 

 tonia, however, seems to adapt itself to situations of all kinds ; 

 some of the best specimens which I have seen are, however, 



growing on what I would call a good deep garden soil, neither 

 too dry nor too wet, and with a healthy, ssvoet subsoil. Here 

 we have them on various kinds of soils ; some succeeding very 

 well .hi a dry hill, where at least tlm e fourths "f tin' material 

 in which they are growing consists of stones. The substratum, 

 however, is accessible to their roots. I am far from certain 

 that much stone is beneficial, for a neighbour of mine, who 

 had a very line tree growing on a soil overlying limestone 

 rock, found that it throve remarkably well for a time, but it 

 afterwards began to languish, and has since merely existed. 

 This result has been ascribed to the roots coming in contact 

 with the stone. Other trees near it look well ; a large Cedar 

 of Lebanon appears as if it would live some centuries, and the 

 robust Paulownia imperialis flowers well in most years. The 

 plant in question may, however, have been injured in other 

 ways, for it is not certain that the presence of limestone under 

 the surface was the cause. 



One drawback, perhaps, to the Wellingtonia is that it trans- 

 plants badly after being longer than a year in one place, 

 and it is not advisable to transplant it from pots unless 

 the plants are very small, and consequently have not formed 

 roots too thick to be disentangled and laid out straight. In 

 the autumn of 1863 I planted out in a nursery-bed upwards 

 of two hundred small plants, which were in three-inch pots ; 

 the roots were easily disentangled, and being carefully spread 

 out formed nice matted bottoms when the plants were 

 wanted to take up again. The Wellingtonia also, I may add, 

 grows later in the autumn than most other trees. I think in 

 mild seasons it is in active growth until the middle of Decem- 

 ber. I expect, however, that September or the early part of 

 October is the best time to transplant it ; but I have removed 

 small plants not in pots in all the summer months with a fair 

 share of success, while I have been unsuccessful with some 

 fine plants that were removed in January, simply, I believe, 

 because they had been too long in the place whence they had 

 come. 



The merits of this tree are so well known as to require no 

 comment ; but all that has been said in its praise is not too 

 much, and I expect in ages to come the time when the Welling- 

 tonia was first introduced into England will be looked upon as 

 an epoch in the history of its natural productions, and one 

 which was destined to alter or add materially to the landscape 

 scenery of the country. The abundance of plants now to be 

 had offers advantages to those disposed, to plant this fine tree 

 in every possible way, and there are few places in which it will 

 not be at home. I'erhaps the only one where it ought not to 

 be planted is very near a dwelling-house, where its towering 

 proportions may eventually occasion chimneys to smoke, as 

 well as be inconvenient in other ways. Not many days ago I 

 saw a Wellingtonia not more than C feet from a sitting-r.om 

 window, and no doubt the owner prided himself on possessing 

 a specimen of the largest tree in the world ; but excepting 

 such ill-chosen situations as these, there are few I believe to 

 which it would not quickly adapt itself, and where it would not 

 do credit to the planter. 



In drawing these remarks to a close, I may observe that all 

 mention of small specimens of the Conifer family has been 

 avoided, as they are not sufficiently proved to warrant much 

 being said of them. Of the species which I have named there 

 are, doubtless, some larger specimens in the country, and es- 

 pecially of the Wellingtonia. Of this, one of the largest trees 

 which I have seen is at Fairlawn, and I expect by this time 

 that it will be 26 or 28 feet high. Some of the species, as 

 Abies Douglasii, do not seem to thrive very well here ; but 

 with this exception and that of the Picea Webbiana, I hardly 

 know of any that have not done well, except, perhaps, some of 

 the very delicate or slow-growing kinds. Sciadopitys verticil 

 lata makes no progress, neither does Abies Kaempferi, or but 

 very little, and I question much if Torreya grandis and T. my- 

 ristica will ever become large trees. There is, however, abun- 

 dant variety amongst those which really do prosper; and 

 amongst the Retinosporas and Cypresses of recent introduc- 

 tion, there are some, doubtless, which not many years hence 

 will attain an altitude of 20 feet or upwards. When they do 

 that they are entitled to the character of trees, and probably 

 other parts of the globe will yield us species during that time 

 as useful and interesting as those which we now possess. It 

 would certainly be worth while on the part of those who 

 minister to the taste of the horticultural world for new things, 

 to turn their attention to the introduction of other hardy trees 

 as well as Conifers, for assuredly something useful of this 

 description is to be had in the regions whence these come. 



