LXIX. J?ETULA V CEA: : 



833 



X A g. macrocdrpa. A. macrocarpa Lcdd. Cat. 

 1836. Leaves and fruit rather larger than those 

 of the species, and the tree is also of somewhat 

 more vigorous growth. 



A. g. 7 foliis variegdtis Hort. Leaves variegated. 



Other Varieties. The following names are applied to 

 plants in the collection of Messrs. Looldiges : A. nigra, 

 A. riibra, a native of the Island of Sitcha, A. plicdta, and 

 A. unduldta. 



The alder, in a wild state, is seldom seen higher than 40 

 or 50 feet ; but, in good soil near water, it will attain the 

 height of 50 or 60 feet and upwards. A. g. laciniata 

 forms a handsome pyramidal tree, which, at Syon, has 

 attained the height of 63 ft. ; and at Woburn Farm, near 

 Chertsey, is still higher. The rate of growth of the alder, 

 in a favourable soil and situation, is about 2 or 3 feet a 

 year for four or five years ; so that a tree 10 years planted 

 will frequently attain the height of 20 or 25 feet ; and at 

 CO years the tree is supposed to have arrived at maturity. 15| _ 

 The roots are creeping ; and sometimes, but rarely, they 

 throw up suckers. The tree does not associate well with others, with the ex- 

 ception of the ash (Jjaudril.) ; but its shade and fallen leaves are not injurious 

 to grass. Near water it retains its leaves 

 longer than any other British deciduous 

 tree. The wood, though soft, is of great 

 durability in water. It weighs, when green, 

 62 Ib. 6 oz. ; half-dry, 48 Ib. 8 oz. ; and 

 quite dry, 39 Ib. 4 oz., per cubic foot ; thus 

 losing above a third of its weight by drying, 

 while it shrinks about a twelfth part of its 

 bulk. In the Dictionnaire des Eaux et 

 Forets, the wood is said to be unchange- 

 able either in water or earth. It is used 

 for all the various purposes to which soft 

 homogeneous woods are generally applied ; 

 viz. for turnery, sculpture, and cabinet- 

 making ; for wooden vessels, such as basins, 

 plates, and kneading-troughs ; for sabots, 

 wooden soles to shoes and pattens, clogs 

 for women, and similar purposes. At Culzean Castle, Ayrshire, the alder is 

 used as a nurse plant in situations exposed to the sea breeze. (See Card. 

 Mag. for 1841.) 



For raising the alder from seeds, the catkins should be gathered in dry 

 weather, as soon as the seeds are matured, and carried to a loft, where they 

 should be spread out thinly. The proper time of sowing is March ; and 

 the covering, which ought to be of very light soil, should on no account 

 exceed a- quarter of an inch in thickness. The plants from spring-sown 

 seeds will attain the height of from 3 in. to 6 in. the first summer. The 

 second year they will be double or treble that height ; and in three or 

 four years, if properly treated, they will be 5 or 6 feet high. The nursery 

 culture and after-management in plantations have nothing peculiar in them ; 

 except that, when full-grown trees are to be cut down, it is advisable to disbark 

 them a year before, that the wood, which is very watery, may be thoroughly 

 seasoned ; a practice as old as the time of Evelyn. When alders are cut 

 down as coppice-wood in spring, when the sap is in motion, care should 

 be taken that the cuts are not made later than March ; and that they are in 

 a sloping direction upwards. If, at this season, the cuts are made down- 

 wards, the section which remains on the stool will be so far fractured as, 



3 H 



I r 14. A. glutinosa. 



