2052 ARBORETUM AND FUUTICETUM. PART III. 



It possesses nearly the same properties as the balsam of Tolu, and that of 

 Peru (both produced by a tree in Brazil), for which it is often substituted, as 

 well as for storax. The best liquidambar gum is obtained by making incisions 

 in the trunk, and suffering the resin to flow gradually ; but an inferior kind is 

 procured by boiling the small branches and leaves, and collecting the balsamic 

 oil which rises from them, and floats on the surface of the water. In England 

 and in North America, very little gum is produced from the trunk of the tree, 

 though a little exudes from the leaves ; and Michaux informs us that, in re- 

 peated experiments made in Carolina, he was never able to collect more than 

 half an ounce, from a tree 1 ft. in diameter, in a fortnight. In Britain, the 

 principal use of this tree is as an ornament to lawns and pleasure-grounds ; in 

 which it has a most striking appearance, when the leaves are dying off in 

 autumn ; and it is also very beautiful throughout the summer, from the dark 

 green and glossy surface of its elegantly shaped leaves. When bruised, the 

 leaves are fragrant at all seasons ; but in spring, when they are first un- 

 folding, after a warm shower, the surrounding air is filled with their refreshing 

 odour. 



Soil, Propagation, S^c. The liquidambar has a decided preference for a 

 moist soil, and will only attain a timber-like size in a sheltered situation. In 

 British nurseries, it is generally propagated by layers, which root with toler- 

 able facility, and may be taken off at the end of the first autumn after they have 

 been formed. It is also propagated by seeds imported from America. These 

 are brought over in the catkins, and should not be taken out of them till 

 the time of sowing ; because the seeds, like those of the pine and fir tribe, 

 do not keep well when exposed to the air. The round prickly catkins which 

 contain the seeds are hard, and not readily broken with the hand ; but, by 

 exposure to the sun, or to fire heat, they crack and open, and the seeds may 

 then be easily shaken out. They may be sown and treated like seeds of the 

 pine and fir tribe ; but, unlike them, they lie a year in the ground before 

 coming up. Seedlings generally attain the height of from 5 in. to Sin. the 

 first year, with numerous fibrous roots. They may either be transplanted that 

 year, or the next, and may afterwards undergo the usual routine culture in 

 nursery lines, till they are wanted for final transplanting. 



Accidents, Diseases, and Insects. The wood of the liquidambar being brittle, 

 the branches are liable to be broken oft" by very high winds ; and the wounds 

 left, if not smoothed and protected from the air, will greatly facilitate the 

 rotting of the tree, the timber of which is naturally not durable. In America, 

 several insects feed on the leaves, among which we may mention the green 

 swallow-tailed emperor moth (Phala^^na luna Abb. c^ Sinilh, t. 48., and our 

 ^g. 1962.) and the great plane moth (P. imperatoria Abb. <!if Smith, t. 55., Bom- 

 byx imperialis Fab.). Insects of the former species are not common ; but they 

 are very beautiful ; the caterpillar being bright orange with yellow spots, and 

 the moth bright yellow and pink. These insects are very difficult to rear, as 

 the moth generally dies in confinement, before depositing her eggs. 



statistics. In the environs of Ix)n(lon, at Syon, SO ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 1 ft. 7 in., 

 and of the head Sfi ft. ; in the Fulham Nursery, 15 years planted, it is 21) ft. high. South of London : 

 in Devonshire, at Lu.sroinbe, 18 years planted, it is 23 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk C in., and that 

 of the head 14 tt. ; in Hampshire, at .Strathfieldsaye, itis 64 11. high, the diameter of the trunk 2 ft. 6 in., 

 growing in rich soil, not much above the level of the river : in Kent, at Cobham Hall, 2,5 years planted, 

 itis .% ft. high, with a trunk Itt. 3in. in diameter: in Surrey, at Farnham Castle, on dry chalky 

 soil, 4^) years planted, it is 20 ft. high, with a trunk 1 ft. in diameter; at Woburn I'"arm, it is up. 

 wards of 60 ft. high. ; at Ockham I'ark, 2.3 years planted, it is 22 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 

 10 in., and of the head 1.0 ft. : in Wiltshire, at Wardour Ciistlc, ;>() years pLanted, it is 25 ft. high, the 

 diameter of the trunk .') in., and that of the head 8 ft. North of London : in liedfordshire, at Ampt- 

 hill, 38 years planted, it is UTi ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 1 ft., and of the space covered by the 

 branches 2Hl. : in Cheshire, at f^aton Hall, 13 years planted, it is 12 ft. high, the diameter of the 

 trunk 5 in., and that of the space covered by the branches 10 ft. : in Herefordshire, at Wormleybury, 

 80 years old, it is .0.0 ft. high, the circumference of the trunk at the ground ,0 ft.: in Monmouth, 

 khire, at Tredegar I'ark, .00 years planted, it is 2,0 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 1 ft., and that of 

 the head <JOft. : in Suffolk, at Ampton Hall, 12 years i)lanted, it is 16 ft. high, the diameter of the 

 trunk 3 in., and of the head 6 ft. : in Warwickshire, at Combe Abbey, it is 37 (t. high, the diameter 

 of the trunk 1 ft. 2 in., and that of the head 21 ft. : in Worcestershire, at Croome. 1.0 years planted, 

 it is 2.0 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk ,Oin., and that of the head 15 ft. : in Ycnkshire, in the Hull 

 Hotanic Garden, 12 years planted, it is 20 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 12 in. — In Scotland. In 

 Law.Hon's Nursery, I'xiinburgh, 4 years planted, it is 4 ft. high ; the young shoots being often injured 

 by the frost. In Hariffshirc, at Gordon Castle, 12 years planted, it is 10 ft. high, the diameter of the 

 trunk 4in. In I'ifeshire, at Danibrislle I'ark, 4 years planted, it is 4ft. 6 in. high, the diameter 



