CHAP, in S Y L V A 251 



and other Alpine Countries : The change of the 

 colour of the old leaf, made an ignorant gardiner of 

 mine erradicate what I had brought up with much 

 care, as dead ; let this therefore be a warning : The 

 leaves are thin, pretty long and bristly ; the cones 

 small, grow irregular, as do the branches, like the 

 cypress, a very beautiful tree, the pondrous branches 

 bending a little, which makes it differ from the 

 Libanus cedar, to which some would have it ally'd, 

 nor are any found in Syria. Of the deep wounded 

 bark, exsudes the purest of our shop-turpentine, (at 

 least as reputed) as also the drug agaric : That it 

 flourishes with us, a tree of good stature (not long 

 since to be seen about Chelmsford in Essex) sufficiently 

 reproaches our not cultivating so useful a material for 

 many purposes, where lasting and substantial timber 

 is required : For we read of beams of no less than 

 1 20 foot in length, made out of this goodly tree, 

 which is of so strange a composition, that 'twill hardly 

 burn ; whence Mantuan, et robusta larix igni impene- 

 trable lignum : for so Caesar found it in a castle he 

 besieg'd, built of it ; (the story is recited at large by 

 Vitruvius, 1. 2. c. 9.) but see what Philander says 

 upon the place, on his own experience : Yet the coals 

 thereof were held far better than any other, for the 

 melting of iron, and the lock-smith ; and to say the 

 truth, we find they burn it frequently as common fuel 

 in the Valtoline, if at least it be the true /arix, which 

 they now call me/ere. There is abundance of this 

 larch timber in the buildings at Venice, especially 

 about the palaces in Piazza San Marco, where I 

 remember Scamozzi says he himself us'd much of it, 

 and infinitely commends it. Nor did they only use 

 it in houses, but in naval architecture also : The ship 



