1696 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 



St. Petersburg botanic garden. A tree 1 in the forest garden at Miinden, probably 

 derived from Van Houtte's original specimen, was 21 ft. high in 1895. 



This species is best raised from seed imported from Japan ; but it can be 

 propagated by cuttings of the half-ripened wood, which strike root if placed in 

 gentle heat. 1 Mayr says that it bears transplanting badly, often dying to the 

 ground, but afterwards producing an abundance of suckers from the collar of the 

 root. 



It ripens its young shoots well, and is perfectly hardy at Colesborne, where 

 seedlings, that I raised in 1906, are now 4 to 6 feet high. The best specimen that 

 I know in England is in the beautiful grounds of South Lodge, Horsham, the seat 

 of F. D. Godman, Esq., which was, in 1905, 28 ft. high, fifteen years after planting. 

 A solitary specimen at Kew has done badly, and appears to suffer from spring 

 frost. At Westonbirt, there is a vigorous young tree, about 20 ft. high. 2 



At Grafrath, near Munich, this species has been planted in plots, and has thriven 

 well for so far ; but the trees are too young to give as yet any evidence as to 

 their value in forestry. 8 M. Hickel states that there is a fine specimen in Messrs. 

 Barbier's nursery at Beuvronne. 4 



Timber 



Mayr says that this species yields a light timber, which, though disagreeable 

 in odour, is used in Japan for building generally, and for making shafts of spears. 

 Sargent states that the wood is rather hard, straight-grained, and light brown, with 

 a fine satiny surface. The timber has been largely imported into England during the 

 last few years under the name sen, by which it is known in Hokkaido. It has been 

 sold in some cases as Japanese ash, and mixed with the timber of Fraxinus 

 mandshurica, which it somewhat resembles ; but it is better fitted for making furni- 

 ture than for the purposes for which ash is generally used. (H. J. E.) 



1 Rehder, in Millers Deut. Gart. Zeit. 1st July 1897. 



2 In Card. Mag. 1888, p. 526, mention is made of a plant then 12 ft. high in Messrs. Veitch's nursery at Coombe Wood. 

 This was disposed of some years ago. 



3 Weiss, in Mitt. Deut. Dend. Ges. I9t2, p. 3, states that it has been tried in groups in the forest at Augsburg, where 

 the trees are about 20 ft. high, but show no sign of being useful. 



4 Cf. Hickel, in Bull. Soc. Dend. France, 1907, p. 153, and 1909, p. 230. 



