P I N 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



P I N 



327 



acquainted with this tree, which is remarkable for the wide 

 spread of its branches, rather than for its height. Had 

 Milton known it as well, he would never have spoken of it 

 as affording an 



" Insuperable height of loftiest shade." 



It is not only found on mount Lebanon or Libanus, but on 

 the mountains Amanus and Taurus. Solomon's fourscore 

 thousand hewers must have considerably thinned the forest 

 of Lebanon ; and in fact travellers concur generally in the 

 observation, that there are probably more Cedars now in Eng- 

 land than are remaining upon that celebrated mountain. 

 Those however which yet remain are preserved with religious 

 strictness, and on the day of the Transfiguration the Patriarch 

 repairs in procession to these trees, where he celebrates a 

 festival, called the Feast of Cedars. The Cedars at Chelsea, 

 which form such prominent objects upon the river Thames, 

 are probably the first that were planted in this country. 

 They still appear to be perfectly sound, and exactly correspond 

 with what has been above stated, of their being rather remark- 

 able for widely spreading branches, than for great height. 

 The following dimensions of a fine Cedar tree, growing at 

 Hillington near Uxbridge, will give the reader an apt idea of 

 the figure of this remarkable tree. The height fifty-three 

 feet; the extent of the branches from east to west ninety-six, 

 from north to south eighty-nine feet ; the circumference of 

 the trunk close to the ground, thirteen feet and a half; twelve 

 feet above the ground, fourteen feet eight inches; at the 

 height of thirty feet and a half, just under the branches, 

 fifteen feet eight inches. It has two principal branches, one 

 of which is forked eighteen inches above its origin, before it 

 divides it measures twelve feet round, after its division one of 

 the forks measures eight feet and a half, the other seven feet 

 ten inches. The other primary branch at its origin measures 

 ten feet, and soon dividing out two secondary ones, each five 

 feet and a half; it is supposed to be about J30 years old. 

 The cones of this tree are frequently brought from the Levant, 

 and we have them now of our own growth. If they be pre- 

 served entire, t'lie seeds will keep good in them several years; 

 the time of their ripening is commonly in the spring, and 

 those which come from abroad are nearly one year old before 

 we receive them, for which they are not the worse, but rather 

 the better, the cones having discharged a great part of their 

 resin by lying, and then the seeds are much more easily 

 extracted, than from such as are newly taken from the tree. 

 The best way to get the seeds out is to split the cones, by 

 driving a sharp piece of iron through the centre lengthways, 

 then with your fingers you may pull out the seeds, which you 

 will find fastened to a thin leafy substance, as are those of 

 the Fir tree : but before the seeds are taken out, it will be 

 proper to put the cones in water for twenty-four or thirty 

 hours, which will render them easier to split, so that the seeds 

 may be taken out with greater safety; for there will require 

 care in doing it, otherwise many of the seeds will be spoiled, 

 as they are very tender, and will bruise when there is any 

 force employed in their extraction. Some think it the best 

 mode to thrust a wooden peg down the hole, rather bigger 

 than the iron one, after the cones have been soaked. The 

 seeds should be sown in boxes or pots of light fresh earth in 

 March, and treated as directed for the Firs, only these require 

 more shade and water in summer time while young. When 

 the plants come up, which will be in seven or eight weeks, 

 they must be guarded from the birds, otherwise they will 

 pick off their tops, as they do those of the young Firs ; they 

 must also be constantly kept clean from weeds, and not 

 placer! under the drip of trees. The plants may remain in 

 iliesc boxes, or in the pots in which they were sown, till the fol- 

 VOL. ii. 93. 



lowing spring: but it will be proper to place them under a 

 frame in winter, or cover them with mats, if the season proves 

 very severe; for while they are young they are in danger of 

 losing' their tops, if pinched by frost, for they often shoot late 

 in the autumn. In April, before the plants begin to shoot, 

 they should be carefully taken up, and transplanted into beds 

 at about four inches' distance, closing the earth gently to their 

 roots : these beds should be arched over with hoops, and 

 covered with mats in the heat of the day, to shade the plants 

 from the sun till they have taken new root; and if the nights 

 prove frosty, it will be proper to keep the mats over them in 

 the night, but in cloudy or moist weather they must be always 

 open. After the plants are well rooted, they will require no 

 other care but to keep them clean from weeds, unless the 

 season should prove very dry, in which case it will be proper 

 to give them some water once or twice a week ; but it must 

 only be in small quantities, for too much wet is often very 

 injurious to them ; so that it will be better to screen them 

 from the sun in hot weather, to prevent the earth from drying 

 too fast, or cover the surface of the ground with moss to keep 

 it cool, than to water the plants often. In these beds, the 

 plants may stand two years, then in the spring they should 

 be either transplanted to the places where they are designed 

 to remain, or to a nursery where they may grow two years 

 more; but the younger these trees are when planted out for 

 good, the better they will thrive, and the longer continue. 

 When they begin to shoot strong, the leading shoot generally 

 inclines to one side; if therefore you intend to have them 

 straight, support them with stakes, observing to keep the 

 leader close tied up, until you have got them to the height 

 you design them, ottierwise their branches will extend on 

 every side, and prevent their growing tall. During the time 

 they are in the nursery, says Marshall, and after planting out, 

 many will frequently have a tendency to droop in their lead- 

 ing shoot ; as soon therefore as this is perceived, an upright 

 stake must be driven into the ground, to which the shoots 

 should be tied with bass-matting, to keep them in their up- 

 right growth. This, however, will not always effect it ; for 

 some plants, in spite of the bandage, will shoot downwards. 

 In this case, when they first discover signs of such a tendency, 

 it will not be injudicious to lighten the head, by nipping off 

 the extremities of some few of the largest branches. When 

 these trees are planted out to remain, they should be left to 

 nature, after being properly fenced ; not a knife nor a hatchet 

 should come near them ; lopping even their lowest branches 

 is so injurious, that it at once retards their growth, and 

 diminishes their beauty. They were formerly mutilated into 

 pyramids, and sheared as Yews, which wholly ruined their 

 appearance, which consists in the singular extension of their 

 branches. Their shoots being for the most part declining, 

 and thereby shewing their upper surface, which is constantly 

 clothed with green leaves, in so regular a manner as to appear 

 at some distance like a green carpet, and these waving about 

 with the wind, form a most agreeable object at a distance, 

 especially if planted on a rising ground. See the first and 

 sixth species. 



13. Pinus Pendula; Black Larch Tree. Leaves fascicled, 

 soft, bluntish ; scales of the strobiles covering the bractes. 

 This is not mentioned by botanists, nor has it been long 

 known in Europe: the wood is equal to the European Larch, 

 and the bark excellent for tanning. It does not promise to 

 form such large trees as the European, and therefore should 

 be planted with those of lower growth, to make a variety. 

 It will endure the severest cold of this climate. Found in 

 low cedar swamps, from Canada to New Jersey, flowering in 

 April and May. 

 4O 



