24-38 ARBORETUM AND FRUT1CETUM. PART III. 



required. (See Lamb. Pin., ed. 2., ii. p. 108.) Dr. Pceppig says: " The 

 araucaria is the palm of those Indians who inhabit the Chilian Andes, from 

 lat. 37 to 48 ; yielding to these nomade nations, a vegetable substance that is 

 found in the greater plenty the more they recede from the whites, and the 

 more difficult they find it to obtain corn by commerce. Such is the extent 

 of the araucarian forests (pinares\ and the amazing quantity of nutritious 

 seeds that each full-grown tree produces, that the Indians are ever secure 

 from want; and even the discord that prevails frequently among the different 

 hordes does not prevent the quiet collection of this kind of harvest. A single 

 fruit (cabeza, a head,) contains between 200 and 300 kernels ; and there 

 are frequently 20 or 30 fruits on one stem ; and, as even a hearty eater among 

 the Indians, except he should be wholly deprived of every other kind of sus- 

 tenance, cannot consume more than 200 nuts in a day, it is obvious that 

 18 araucarias \vill maintain a single person for a whole" year. The kernel, 

 which is of the shape of an almond, but double the size, is surrounded with a 

 coriaceous membrane, that is easily removed ; though relishing, when pre- 

 pared, it is not easily digestible, and, containing but a small quantity of oil, is 

 apt to cause disorders in the stomach with those who are not accustomed to 

 this diet. When the scarcely matured seeds are dried in the sun, a sugary 

 substance exudes, which appears to reside chiefly in the embryo. The Indians 

 eat them either fresh, boiled, or roasted ; and the latter mode of cooking 

 gives them a flavour something like that of a chestnut. For winter's use, they 

 are dried after being boiled ; and the women prepare a kind of flour and pastry 

 from them. The collecting of these fruits would be attended with great labour, 

 if it were always necessary to climb the gigantic trunks ; but, as soon as the 

 kernels are ripe, towards the end of March, the cones drop off of themselves, 

 and, shedding their contents on the ground, scatter liberally a boon, which 

 nothing but the little parrot (.Psittacus chorae v us MoL), and a species of 

 cherry finch, divide with the Indians. In the vast forests, of a day's journey 

 in extent, that are formed by these trees in the districts of Pehuenches and 

 Huilliches, the fruits lie in such plenty on the ground, that but a very small 

 part of them can be consumed. In former times, a great quantity came to 

 Concepcion and Valdivia, by trading with the Indians ; and thence they found 

 their way to Valparaiso and Lima ; but now they are seldom met with any 

 where near the coast, till they are too old to be palatable." (Ibid.) 



Propagation, Culture, $c. The treatment of this tree, when raised from 

 seeds, may be considered in all respects the same as that of the cedar ; regard 

 being had to the different size of the seeds, which will, of course, require a 

 thicker covering. Plants may be raised from cuttings ; and these, we have no 

 doubt, will in time assume a leading shoot, like that of seedlings ; but, as the 

 plant has been only a short time propagated in this way, the only instance in 

 which we are certain of this having taken place is at Dropmore ; where, in con- 

 sequence of all the shoots of a plant raised from a cutting, now 6 or 8 years 

 old, having been pegged down to the ground, a vigorous erect shoot, which, 

 in 1837, was 2 ft. high, has been protruded from the collar, and promises to 

 make as handsome a tree as any seedling plant whatever. 



Statistics. The largest specimen in the neighbourhood of London is that at Kew, which, in 1836, 

 was 12 it. high, having been raised from seed in 1796, and planted out in the open air in 1806. In 

 the Horticultural Society's Garden, 8 years planted, it is 6 ft. high. In Bedfordshire, at Flitwick, 

 4 years planted, it is 3 ft. 5 in. high. In Berkshire, at Dropmore, are several from 8 ft. to 9ft. high. 

 In Hertfordshire, at Cheshunt, 3 years planted, it is 3ft. 6 in. high ; at Bayfordbury, it is 4 ft. Sin. 

 high. In Kent, at Redleaf, it is 5ft. high. In Lancashire, in the Manchester Botanic Garden, 

 2 ft. 8 in. In Northumberland, at Belsay, it is 5 ft. 1 in. high In Scotland, in the Experimental 

 Garden at Inverleith, 6 years planted, it is 3 ft. high ; and in the Botanic Garden, 3 ft 6 in. high } 

 in Lawson's Nursery, 3 years planted, it is 2 ft. 6 in. high. At Aberdeen, in Roy's Nursery, it is 2 ft. 

 6 in. In Stirlingshire, at Buchanan, 3ft. high. In all these places, except Kew, it stands without 

 the slightest protection ; and, at Aberdeen, is found more hardy than the common cedar of Lebanon. 

 In France, in the garden of M. Brunei, at Avranches, 6 years planted, it is 11 ft. high. 



Commercial Statistics. Plants, in the London nurseries, are rarely to be met 

 with, and they are charged from 2 to 5 guineas each, according to their size. 



