Prunus 1549 



following spring. Another not far from the Buck Gate was 46 ft. by 6J ft., and had 



a large limb broken off, from which I got a small board which shows nice colour and 



well-marked medullary rays. 



There was a large but decayed tree at Chiswick House near Kew, which in 



1904 was about 50 ft. by 7 ft., probably the same as the tree mentioned by Loudon 



in 1838 as being 25 ft. high, eight years after planting. 



At Arley Castle a tree, probably planted about 1820, was, in 1904, 53 ft. high and 



y^ ft. in girth near the ground, below the point where it gives off a large limb. 



Judging from these, and from what I know of its native habitat, this species 



might be tried with a fair chance of becoming a small timber tree, in rich sandy 



soil and sheltered woods in the warmest parts of England ; but the tree has 



such a strong tendency to become bushy, that unless carefully pruned and closely 



crowded it will form a large shrub rather than a tree. 



Seedlings raised at Colesborne from seed which I collected near Ottawa grow 



slowly and seem to want more heat than they get here, but my soil probably 



contains more lime than this tree likes. 



It is rare in Scotland, but Renwick^ measured in 1907 a tree at Auchendrane, 

 Ayrshire, 42 ft. high with a short bole 5 ft. 8 in. in girth, and dividing into two stems 

 at three feet from the ground. It was planted in 1818. Walker^ mentions a tree at 

 Hopetoun House, which was planted in 1747, and cut down in 1788, when it was 

 3 ft. 10 in. in girth. It yielded a plank, a foot broad, of red wood, which was finely 

 veined and took a good polish, equalling mahogany in appearance. 



In an article on this species by Graf von Schwerin ^ a tree is mentioned as growing 

 in the Palace garden at Rastede, Oldenburg, which at seventy-six years old is 15 

 metres high and 2.35 metres in girth at one metre from the ground. The photograph 

 of this tree shows it to be a very well-shaped one with a fine head 12 metres in 

 diameter ; and a coloured plate of the leaves, flowers, and fruit is given. It is said to 

 succeed best in dry sandy ground, and to be well worth cultivating as a forest tree 

 on account of its beauty and the value of its wood. 



This species has been tried as a forest tree in Germany. Schwappach lately 

 reports * that it thrives well on fresh loamy sand, attaining about 50 ft. in height and 

 10 in. in diameter at twenty years old. It grows remarkably fast in youth, and is very 

 suitable for filling up gaps in broad-leaved woods or in pine plantations. It succeeds 

 best when mixed singly with beech, as it then forms a clean stem. When planted 

 in groups, it is apt to become very branching. It has been tried ^ in Belgium for 

 planting along roads, and has been successful between Curange and Zolder in 



Campine, 



Mayr however considered that it will only be a success as a timber tree in those 

 localities which have a warm summer, and rich light soil, for though it exists as far 

 north as Canada, it only attains large size where the summers are longer and hotter 

 than in any part of England, and where the soil is unusually fertile. 



1 Tram. Nat. Hist. Soc. Glasgow, viii. 234 (1907). ^ ^.ssays on Nat. Hist. 81 (1812). 



3 Mitt. Deut. Dend. Ges. 1906, p. i. 

 4 In Zeitschrift Forst- mid Jagdwesen, xliii. 610 (191 1). ^ Bull. Soc. Cent, Forest. Belg. xvii. 180 (1910). 



