1 198 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 



I have rarely seen a sickly, diseased, 1 or frost-bitten tree of this species in 

 England, and though on good soils I would prefer Lawson cypress, I have so 

 much confidence in its ultimate value as a timber tree, that I would on my own 

 soil plant ten thousand, if I could get that number of seedlings at anything like 

 a forest tree price. It seems to grow equally well on limestone, clay, or sand, 

 but I have no experience on peat. I have not observed any case of rabbits eating 

 the bark of this tree. 



In its native country the yellow cedar seems to grow best in a mild damp 

 climate, where the rainfall ranges from 30 to 100 in. or more. It seems abso- 

 lutely indifferent to any sudden changes, and endures the severest frosts, whether 

 in winter, spring, or autumn, without the slightest injury. 



Though it grows faster and larger on deep fertile well-drained soils, it seems 

 to suffer less from drought on dry oolite soil than any of the trees which accompany 

 it in its native country. It will grow, perhaps, better than any other western 

 conifer on this soil. Six trees which I planted in 1876 or 1877 are now 35 ft. 

 high by 2 ft. in girth, and very uniform in height and habit ; whilst Corsican pines 

 planted close to them at the same time are about 40 ft. It does not seem to respond 

 to good soil so well as most trees; the largest that I know in England having made 

 about the same rate of growth, namely, one foot per annum. 



It has a narrow conical crown, a rapidly-tapering stem set with persistent, 

 horizontal or slightly-drooping branches, and flattened pendent sprays of foliage. 

 The branches do not seem to die, however closely the tree may be crowded, 

 until it has attained considerable age. The root-system is comparatively shallow 

 and fibrous, making the tree very easy to transplant in spring or autumn ; and the 

 percentage of death after transplantation on my soil is unusually small. 



Remarkable Trees 



The largest that I have measured in England grows not far from the great 

 Douglas fir at Eggesford, and in 1908 measured 61 ft. by 5 ft. 7 in., a tree of perfect 

 shape with a very good trunk. At Killerton there is one of 52 ft. by 5 ft. 



At Streatham Hall, near Exeter, there are many good trees growing on each 

 side of the drive, which prove the fitness of this species for planting avenues of 

 moderate width and length. At Tortworth there are two fine trees, one of which 

 (Plate 308) is about 55 ft. by 4^ ft. ; another, with a double leader, is about 50 ft. 

 high. At Eastnor Castle there is one which Mr. Mullins reported in 1909 to be 

 57 ft. by 41 ft. 



At Leonardslee there is a well-shaped tree about 50 ft. high and only 3 ft. 

 8 in. in girth. At Hewell Grange there is a very thriving specimen 60 ft. high by 

 4 ft. 4 in. in girth. At Bayfordbury, in a drier soil and climate, there is a tree with 

 such a graceful pendulous habit, and which has the rank disagreeable smell, usually 

 possessed by this species, so faint, that I at first mistook it for Cupressus funebris. 



1 In Germany, according to Unwin, Future Forest Trees, 96 (1905), it suffers more even than Lawson cypress, from a 

 fungus, Pestalozzia funerea, which causes the decay of the bark of the young shoots. 





