1849. 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



147 



THE JAPAN C" 



Wmi.r, in England wo were 



this tr< -. v. herever - e •.- it in the 

 open ground or in I he house. \ i 

 unquestionably the mi >s1 graceful and ele- 

 ganl evergreen tree of the ii • le number 

 now cultivated in Europe. It has p 

 perfectly hardy in England, and 

 i 3 exceedin I; rapid, equaling the Norway 

 Spruce. We saw an elegant specimen in 

 the Chiswick garden, nine feet high, that 

 hail made torn- feet growth last season. 



The introduction of this tree is quite re- 

 cent — the first seeds having been received 

 from Mr. Fortune, in 1844. He collected 

 ai, north of China, where it 

 attains the height of one hundred feet. We 

 i1 may prove hardy here, and have but 

 A mbt it will. The accompanying cut, 

 and following remarks, we take from the 

 April number of the Horticulturist: 

 - "The English periodicals abound with 

 notices of this tree, which, along with the 

 Deodara, or In !ian Cedar, is decidedly the 

 rage in that evergreen loving country. 



" The Japan Cedar, Cryp'omeria japonica, 

 which is nearly allied to the Cypress, is one 

 of the many treasures brought home by Mr. 

 Fortune, the Chinese traveller, to the Lon- 

 don Horticultural Society. As it grows in 

 the north of China, about Shangai, where 

 the thermometer sinks nearly to zero, and 

 forms large forests on the mountains of Ja- 

 pan, at the height of more than a thousand 

 feet, it follows that it is a hardy evergreen 

 in all temperate climates. 



"The English accounts of this tree state, 

 that for beauty and rapidity of growth, it 

 has no rivals among hardy evergreen trees. 

 In the garden of the London Horticultural 

 Society, young trees have grown four feet in a 

 single season. It is described by some of its ad- 

 mirers as the "Queen of Evergreen Trees." Its 

 peculiar beauty is in the graceful droop of its 

 branches. It is a great, favorite in China for avenue?, 

 growing up 100 feet high, with a remarkably straight 

 stem, and dense and hand-some foliage. The wood 

 is said to be very hard, and elastic, and " withstands 

 the most terrific winds or monsoons which sometimes 

 devastate that country. It is employed in China for 

 the high poles, which are everywhere placed at the 

 dwellings of mandarins, to denote their rank, where 

 it lasts for ages." 



" The Japan Cedar is said to be as hardy in England 

 as the Deodar Cedar. As the latter tree, even in 

 young specimens, has, in this country, withstood 

 without injury, a winter temperature of 6° below 

 the zero of Fahrenheit, we may safely say that the 

 Japan Cedar, or Cryptomeria, will endure the winters 

 of the middle states, and possibly those of the eastern 

 states, in proper situations, i. e. those sheltered from 

 sudden thawings in winter. 



"The soil considered most favorable to the growth 

 of this tree, is a sandy loam, mixed with some peat 

 or leaf mould. Those inclined to plant it where 

 there is doubt of its standing the winter, will take 

 care that the subsoil is ivell drained when preparing 

 to plant it. 



" This tree is, of course, yet very scarce in this 



The new Japan Cedar, from a tree six feet high. 



country. Plants about a foot high may, however, be 

 obtained of Buist, Parsons, and other leading nur- 

 serymen. Ellwanger & Barry have also, we 

 notice, imported a few for sale, and for trial, in the 

 interior of this State. Every amateur will be glad 

 to make trial of a tree that promises to add so much 

 to the beauty of our lawns and pleasure grounds; 

 and we hope, in another season, the Japan Cedar, if 

 found quite hardy, will be imported, so as to be af- 

 forded at a moderate price in our nurseries." 



Honey Locust for Hedges.— (To A. Eaton, of 

 Benton Centre, N. Y.) Seeds of the Honey LocOst 

 may be obtained at any of the seed stores in this city, 

 if applied for in the fall. They may be sown in the 

 spring, as soon as the ground is dry and warm enough 

 to receive seeds, but should be soaked a few hours in 

 warm water. In one year the plants will be tit for 

 hedge rows. It grows very rapidly, and makes a 

 strong and beautiful hedge. We know of no other 

 deciduous plant that wil} make a thorough hedge fence 

 in so short a time. The objections to it are that it 

 grows too large, but by proper care in cutting, it will 

 endure a very long time. 



Chemistry is the key which unlocks the great 

 laboratory of nature, and shows us how she performs 

 her complicated processes, and produces all her won- 

 derful phenomena. 



