698 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 



are three trees, nearly equal in size, one of which measured in 1906 ^y feet by 

 II feet 5 inches. This' was 55 feet by 8^ feet in 189 1. At Hamwood, Co. Meath, 

 a tree, said to have been planted in 1847, was 59 feet high by 11 feet in girth in 

 1905. At Woodstock, in Kilkenny, there is a tree, which in 1904 was 91 feet by 

 13 feet 3 inches. This' was 68 feet by 10 feet 4 inches in 1891. At Churchill, 

 Armagh, a tree,^ planted in a bog in 1862, was 60 feet high by b\ feet in 1884 ; but 

 had lost its leader several times. Henry did not see this tree on his visit to 

 Churchill in 1904. At the Conifer Conference of 1891 good trees were also 

 reported to be growing at Shane's Castle in Antrim, Clonbrock in Galway, 

 Courtown in Wexford, and Powerscourt in Wicklow. 



The largest tree of this species that I have seen in Europe is a well-shaped 

 one, branching to the ground, on the I sola Madre in Lake Maggiore, which in 

 1906 was no less than 104 feet high by 14 feet 8 inches in girth. 



Pard^ ' says that the trees at Les Barres were mostly killed to the ground in 

 the winter of 1879-80, but have thrown up vigorous shoots which produce cones 

 every year; and at Segrez I saw a tree which was killed in the winter of 1870-71 

 and afterwards threw up six or seven straight stems from the stool, which are now 

 over 50 feet high. 



Timber 



The best timber, as a rule, is produced by trees growing on alluvial flats, that 

 from trees growing on the slopes being hard and flinty. The sapwood, which is of 

 no service, is whitish in colour and i or 2 inches in thickness. The heartwood varies 

 in colour from light pink to dark mahogany, and is esteemed for many purposes. It 

 is light in weight, soft, straight-grained, is easily worked ; and although it requires 

 much filling, is capable of taking a fine polish. Its durability is attested by the fact 

 that trees which have lain for centuries in the forest have been taken to the sawmill 

 and converted into useful lumber. Mr. D. N. M'Chesney says* that in Manila the 

 wood has been found proof against the attacks of the white ant, together with that of 

 Tsuga Albertiana and Libocedrus decurrens, while the timber of Pinus ponderosa, 

 Picea Engelmanni, and the Douglas fir suffered badly from these destructive insects. 



In Europe the Californian redwood has established a market for itself, 

 but supplies have been steadily falling off for some years. It is, however, still 

 shipped in considerable quantities to China, Japan, Honolulu, and Australia. 

 In its native country it is employed for both exterior and interior fittings 

 of houses, sleepers, electric light and telephone poles, shingles, tanks, and vats. 

 Very frequently the grain is bold, wavy, and very handsome ; and is in 

 demand for ceilings and large panels. Some splendid examples were used for the 

 decoration of the Californian Court at the St. Louis Exhibition of 1904. The large 

 burrs which are not uncommon in some districts, when cut into slabs, make very fine 

 table tops showing a mass of close small eyes of a deep red colour. A very large 

 plank of the wood was exhibited at the World's Fair, Chicago, 1903, which measured 



^ Joum. Roy. Hort. Soc. xiv. 556, 565 (1892). ' Woods and Forests, 1884, p. 624. 



' Arbor. Nat. des Barres, 52 (1 906). 

 Bull. Nos. 30 and 33, New Series, Division of Entomology ; U.S. Department of Agriculture (1901), p. 95. 



