506 A HANDBOOK OF CONIFER.E 



latter region it forms large forests at an altitude of 3,500-6,000 ft. 

 He met with the variety Hondai on the Adzuma-san Mountain, on 

 the border of Iwashiro and Uzen provinces at elevations varying 

 from 3,500-5,500 ft., which appeared to be the dividing line 

 between it and var. australis. In Mutsu, the most northerly 

 province of Hondo, it is common from sea-level to an elevation 

 of 2,000 ft. in pure forests, also on Yake-yama Mountain up to 

 1,700 ft. The forest on Yake-yama has been known for more 

 than 200 years. 



The species was first collected by Kaempfer in 1712, but it 

 was not introduced to Britain until 1853, when Thomas Lobb 

 sent a small plant from the botanical garden Buitenzorg, Java, 

 to Messrs. Veitch of Exeter, which died, but the species was 

 reintroduced by Captain Fortescue, R.N., in 1859. Further 

 plants were received in 1861, including the variety nana. 



Wood light, soft, not strong, fragrant, durable, without resin, 

 yellowish, easily worked but liable to crack if not carefully 

 seasoned. It is used for building and engineering purposes, 

 bridges, conduits, etc., and is a useful wood for railway sleepers, 

 lasting 12-15 years in Japan without preservative treatment. 

 Small boxes made of thin wood of this tree may be seen in the 

 Kew Museums, but it is said not to wear well as thin boards. 



T. dolabrata is one of the celebrated " five trees " of Kiso. 

 When the Tokugawa family started the government in Edo in 

 the middle of the seventeenth century much attention was paid 

 to forest administration, and there were considerable restrictions 

 to felling, certain species being rigorously preserved. ^ 



These facts account for the preservation of handsome forests 

 in certain districts. T. dolabrata is said to constitute r4 per 

 cent, of the State forests of Japan, and has a rotation period 

 of 130-150 years ; the rotation period in the Imperial forests, 

 however, is 80-160 years. It is also largely planted in Japanese 

 gardens. 



In Britain it is only valued as an ornamental tree, and the 

 best specimens are found in the milder and moister parts of the 

 country, such as the south and south-west counties of England, 

 Wales, Ireland, and W. Scotland, although it succeeds in other 

 parts. It requires sweet, permanently moist soil and appears 

 to be better adapted to sandstone than to limestone formations. 

 Plants raised from seed exhibit considerable variation in habit 

 and develop very slowly for a number of years, some never 

 getting beyond the bush stage. For this reason it is best to 

 propagate it by cuttings taken from free -growing plants, leading 

 shoots from erect branches being preferable for this purpose. 

 The Japanese recognize the difficulty in obtaining uniform stock 

 from seed and prefer to raise their trees from cuttings for the 



1 For. of Japan (1910). 



