164 TRANSACTIONS OF KOYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Himalayas, but which has been introduced into Italy and south- 

 east France. There it grows with vigour, and propagates itself 

 extravagantly by root-suckers and by its winged seed. More- 

 over in south-east France it will grow up to an altitude of 500 

 metres, so that it would seem possible to grow it at lower 

 altitudes farther north. M. Gouy says it is very hardy and 

 grows in any soil, whatever its physical nature or chemical 

 composition — even among rocks or boulders with scarcely a 

 trace of vegetable soil. He mentions two individual Ailanthus 

 trees of his acquaintance, of which the first grows in a crack 

 in a masonry bridge, and has in a few years reached 5 to 6 

 metres in height, and the thickness of a forearm ; and the second 

 in a crack three fingers broad in a block of granite, which has 

 similarly grown to 7 metres in height, with the thickness of a 

 man's thigh. 



Unfortunately the wood is of very poor quality and very weak. 

 Nevertheless it has come into use since the Avar for cabinet 

 work, coach-building, wheelwright's work, furniture and toys. 

 It works easily, takes a good polish, and does not suff^er from 

 insects or exposure. The wood is also quite good for paper- 

 making. M. Gouy had had a request from a Lyons firm who 

 used this wood in their works, and wanted more than they 

 could get of it. What these works were is- not stated. Their 

 offer was 130 francs per cubic metre, f.o.r. 



There is another use for this species. Its leaves are eaten 

 by silkworms, and before the war of 1870 they were being used 

 with success for this purpose, but the economic upheaval due 

 to that war put an end to that industry. 



In any case this species should be very useful for consolidating 

 loose banks, or for rapidly covering, with the extreme of cheap- 

 ness, bare ground, however inhospitable. Such ground so 

 covered might then be interplanted with more valuable species. 



IX. — M. H. de Brun describes the great success of the 

 Cedar of Lebanon on Mont Ventoux, which is no great distance 

 from Avignon. The altitude of the wood in question is con- 

 siderable, viz. 2600 feet, though the latitude is low. I'he 

 original home of the species (Lebanon, Taurus mountains and 

 Atlas mountains) is at a low latitude, but the tree grows there 

 at 4500 feet. 



The cedar was introduced at Mont Ventoux about 1863. 

 In 1885 natural seedlings appeared, and thereafter the germina- 



