122 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



of Gleditschia triacanthos and of the silver-leaved lime {Tilia 

 argentea) are frequent. The latter, the habitat of which is 

 south-east Europe, I noticed had suffered more in Savoy from 

 the drought of last summer than the two native species, 

 T. platyphyllos and T. parvifolia. The black walnut of North 

 America {/uglans nigra) is occasionally planted, and at Moutiers 

 I noticed a fine specimen planted in the middle of the town. 

 The nettle-tree or "micoculier de Provence" {Celtis aiistralis) 

 is planted occasionally ; at Annecy by the side of the lake 

 it was bearing its small black fruits profusely. I know of no 

 trees of it in England, and the other member of the genus, 

 Celtis occidentaiis, from eastern North America, is a very rare 

 tree with us. 



The fields and lower hillsides are dotted with walnuts, the 

 wood of which is used throughout the country for the making 

 of better-class furniture ; the shop fronts and their variously 

 panelled shutters are invariably of walnut, often of considerable 

 antiquity. I found that it commanded a higher price than the 

 wood of "cerisier" and "merisier," though these are much in 

 request for such articles as the small tables of restaurants and 

 shop counters. So far as I can find out "cerisier" is the name 

 given loosely to the timber of cultivated cherries, and " merisier " 

 to that of the wild gean {Primus Avium), though I think the 

 latter name is also applied to the woods of P. Mahaleb and 

 P. Padus. I found in Savoy, as in other parts of France, that 

 the material used for such special purposes as joiners' adjustable 

 " plough " planes and sash-fellisters, where great hardness, 

 rigidity and closeness of grain are required, is the wood of 

 "sorbier" {Sorbus dojnestica) ; I wonder why this admirable tree 

 is so seldom planted in Britain. "Jack," "Trying" and 

 hand-planes as used in Savoy are most commonly made from 

 pearwood and evergreen oak {Quercus ilex), though the latter 

 is not native in the district. Sweet chestnut {Castanea sativa) 

 is not thought so highly of as oak for furniture-making or other 

 purposes, but is regarded as valuable timber. Trees of this 

 species are not grown so frequently as on the Italian side of 

 the Alps, and I saw none that would compare with the great 

 sweet chestnuts of England. 



As one ascends from the valleys to 1500 feet and over, in all 

 parts of Savoy, pedunculate oak forms the scrub forest growth, 

 often mixed with and gradually giving place to hornbeam. 



