10S HORTICULTURAL TOUR. 



A catiilpa, situated at no great distance from the purple 

 beech, &r excels the specimens of this American tree, 

 which we have already praised (pp. 8. and 10.), at Lam- 

 beth Palace and Mile-End Nurseries near London. A. 

 short way from the ground, the stem was 8 feet 8 inches 

 in circumference. The bole of the tree was upwards of 

 (j feet in height before any branches set off. The snag of 

 a large branch which had been amputated, was more than 

 a foot in diameter. The towering branches rose to the 

 height of 35 or 40 feet. The foliage was very large and per- 

 fect, not torn by the winds as at London ; and the whole tree 

 was at this time covered with its branching panicles of flow- 

 ers. Another American tree, the liquidambar or sweet-gum 

 (Liquidambar styraciflua), likewise excelled every speci- 

 men to be seen near London. At a foot above the ground, 

 the stem measured six feet in circumference ; it continued 

 bare to the height of about twelve feet, when it branched 

 out ; and the branching part of the tree, somewhat of a 

 conical shape, rose to the height of at least fifty feet. 

 Both of these American trees, we understand, were planted 

 at the same time with the great purple-beech, 1752 ; and 

 they were the first of their respective kinds which appeared 

 at Antwerp. 



It is to be understood, therefore, that the purple-beech, 

 catalpa, and liquidambar, which have now been described, 

 are regarded as very fine specimens even in the Nether- 

 lands. The soil, which is at once light and rich, and 

 moist, seems peculiarly well adapted to their growth. It is 

 (0 be observed, on the other hand, that neither the weep- 

 ing willow nor the cedar of Lebanon had here attained 

 their usual size, nor did they promise to do so : they evi- 

 dently thrive much better in the strong soil of England. 



