434 ARBORETUM ET FRUTICETUM BRITANNICUM. 



In Britain it is later in coming into leaf than any other indigenous tree, except 

 the ash. It bears lopping, and permits the grass to grow under it. 



The wood is very hard, of a fine close grain, yellowish white, and susceptible 

 of a high polish. In a green state, it has a strong smell, which it retains, in a 

 slight degree, even after it is dried. It weighs, in that state, 55 Ib. 6 oz. per 

 cubic foot. It may be stained of any colour, and is much used in the smaller 

 manufactures, such as making handles to knives and forks, wooden spoons, 

 &c. ; and for musical instruments, and various turnery articles. It was uni- 

 versally employed as cogs for wheels till cast iron became generally substituted 

 for it. The leaves are eaten both by goats and sheep. The fruit is acid and 

 astringent ; but it is not disagreeable to eat, when it is in a state of incipient 

 decay? Dried, and reduced to powder, it has been formed into a sort of 

 bread, which has been eaten, both in France and Sweden, in years of great 

 scarcity. Fermented, the fruit affords a beer ; or, by distillation, a powerful 

 spirit. It is greedily eaten by small birds ; on which account the trees are 

 ordered to be preserved in the French forests, that the number of birds may 

 be increased, in order to keep down the insects. The fruit is also the food of 

 squirrels; and, when it drops, of the wild boar, the deer, the hedgehog, &c. 



As an ornamental tree, the white beam has some valuable properties. It is 

 of a moderate size, and of a definite shape ; and in summer, when clothed 

 with leaves, it forms a compact green mass, till it is ruffled by the wind, when 

 it suddenly assumes a mealy whiteness. In the winter season, the tree is at- 

 tractive from its smooth branches, and its large green buds. When the tree 

 is covered with its fruit, it is exceedingly ornamental. Among the different va- 

 rieties enumerated, P. A. cretica is by far the most distinct : but all of them 

 are well deserving of cultivation. 



A calcareous and dry soil is essential ; and the tree will not attain a timber 

 size unless it is placed in an airy situation. The situation may be exposed to 

 the highest and coldest winds that prevail in this country, and yet the tree 

 will never fail to grow erect, and produce a regular head ; and, for this reason, 

 no tree is better adapted for sheltering houses and gardens in very exposed 

 situations. 



The species may be raised from seed, and the varieties be grafted on stocks 

 of the species of the pear, of the Cratae x gus, and even of the quince and med- 

 lar ; which trees, it is almost unnecessary to add, may be reciprocally grafted 

 on the white beam tree. When plants are to be raised from seed, the seeds 

 should be sown as soon as the fruit is ripe ; otherwise, if kept till spring, and 

 then sown, they will not come up till the spring following. When it is incon- 

 venient to sow them immediately after they are gathered, they may be mixed 

 with soil, and treated like haws (see Pyrus aucuparia) ; and, if sown in the 

 March following, they will come up the same season. The varieties may be 

 propagated by cuttings, or by layering ; but they root by both modes, with 

 great difficulty. Layers require to be made of the young wood, and to remain 

 attached to the stool for two years. 



22. P. (A.} INTERMEDIA Ehrh. The intermediate White Beam Tree. 



Identification. Ehrh. Beitr., 4. p. 20. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 636. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 647. 

 Synonymes. Cratas'gus 4Via /3 Lin. Sp. 681. ; C. scandica Wahlenb. Fl. Ups. 165. ; C. suecica Ait, 

 Hort. Kew. 167. ; Alisier de Fontainebleau, Fr. ; Schwedischer Mehlbaum, Ger. 



Spec. Char., $c. Leaves ovate, incisely lobed, tomentose beneath, with white 

 appressed tomentum. Corymbs flat. Fruit eatable. (Dec. Prod.) A de- 

 ciduous tree. Europe, in France, Germany, and Sweden, and also in Wales 

 and Scotland. Height 15 ft. to 20 ft. Flowers and fruit as in the preceding 

 kind. 



Varieties. DeCandolle has described the two following forms of this species : 



P. (A.) i. 1 latifolia. Cratae'gus latifolia Poir. Diet. 4. p. 444., Du 



Ham. Arb. 1. t. 80., N. Du Ham. 4. t. 35.; Sorbus latifolia Pers. ; 



CYata2 v gus dentata ThuU. Fl. Par. Leaves broadly ovate. A native 



of the woods of Fontainebleau. 



