L.XIX. BETULA‘CEX: 4/LNUS. 833 
¥ A. g. 6 macrocdrpa, A. macrocarpa Ledd. Cat. 
1836.—Leaves and fruit rather larger than those 
of the species, and the tree is also of somewhat 
more vigorous growth. 
¥ A, g.7 folas variegatis Hort. — Leaves variegated: 
Other Varieties, The following names are applied to 
plants in the collection of Messrs. Loddiges: A. nigra, 
A. rubra, a native of the Island of Sitcha, A. plicdla, and 
A. undulata. 
The alder, in a wild state, is seldom seen higher than 40 
or 50 feet ; but, in good soil nezr water, it will attain the 
height of 50 or 60 feet and upwards. 4. g. laciniata 
forms a handsome pyramidal tree, which, at Syon, has 
attained the height of 63 ft. ; and at Woburn Farm, near 
Chertsey, is still higher. The rate of growth of the alder, 
in a favourable soil and situation, is about 2 or 3 feet a 
year for four or five years; so that a tree 10 years planted 
will frequently attain the height of 20 or 25 feet ; and at 
60 years the tree is supposed to have arrived at maturity. 1515 4 ¢ ovacanihetoli 
The roots are creeping; and sometimes, but rarely, they — ““*°7*"enel 
throw up suckers. The tree does not associate well with others, with the ex- 
ception of the ash (Baudril.); but its shade and fallen leaves are not injurious 
to grass. Near water it retains its leaves 
longer than any other British deciduous 
tree. The wood, though soft, is of great 
durability in water. It weighs, when green, 
62 lb. 6 0z.; half-dry, 48 lb. 80z.; and 
quite dry, 39 Ib. ¢ oz., per cubic foot ; thus 
losing above a third of its weight by drying, 
while it shrinks about a twelfth part of its 
bulk. In the Dictionnaire des Eaux et 
Foréts, the wood is said to*be unchange- 
able either in water or earth. It is used 
for all the various purposes to which soft 
homogeneous woods are generally applied ; 
viz. for turnery, sculpture, and cabinet- 
making ; for wooden vessels, such as basins, 
plates, and kneading-troughs ; for sabots, : 
wooden soles to shoes and pattens, clogs 1514. 4. glutindsa, 
for women, and similar purposes. At Culzean Castle, Ayrshire, the alder is 
used as a nurse plant in situations exposed to the sea breeze. (See Gard. 
Mag. for 1841.) 
For raising the alder from seeds, the catkins should be gathered in dry 
weather, as soon as the seeds are matured, and carried to a loft, where they 
should be spread out thinly. The proper time of sowing is March; ana 
the covering, which ought to be of very light soil, should on no account 
exceed a quarter of an inch in thickness. The plants from spring-sown 
seeds will attain the height of from 3in. to Gin. the first summer. The 
second year they will be double or treble that height; and in three or 
four years, if properly treated, they will be 5 or 6 feet high. The nursery 
culture and after-management in plantations have nothing peculiar in them ; 
except that, when full-grown trees ure to be cut down, it is advisable to disbark 
them a year before, that the wood, which is very watery, may be thoroughly 
seasoned ; a practice as old as the time of Evelyn. When alders are cut 
down as coppice-wood in spring, when the sap is in motion, care should 
be taken that the cuts are not made later than March; and that they are in 
a sloping direction upwards. If, at this season, the cuts are made down- 
wards, the section which remains on the stool will be so far fractured as, 
3H 
