992 



PRACTICE OP GARDENING. 



Part III. 



where an old hedge is to be removed, and the labor of selecting and preparing them falls little short of 

 the price of good two-year seedling plants ; so that unless in a season when thorn-plants are scarce and 

 dear, few advantages attend this practice. 



7122. The yew is the Taxus baccata, L. (E?2g, Bot. 746.) Polyg. Monccc. L. and 

 Coniferce, J. If, Fr. ; Eihenbaum, Ger. ; and Tasso, Ital. It is a low, bush-like, dark, 

 evergreen tree, of great longevity, slow in growth, and affording a hard, white, valuable 

 timber. It flowers in April and May, and its berries are ripe in November. It is found 

 in a wild state in bleak situations, and on a variety of soils, dry and moist. It is very 

 common in ancient churchyards, in many of which it has attained a great size and age. 

 Evelyn, and after him, Professor Martyn, have referred to a great number of examples 

 of notable trees of this species. 



7123. Use. The timber is used by the cabinet-maker for inlaying, and by the mathematical-instru- 

 ment-maker, and whipmaker. It is sometimes used as a substitute for box and other hard woods, and 

 every one knows it was formerly used for bows, and the spray as palm-leaves by the ancient Christians. 

 It forms one of the best hedge plants for gardens, topiary work, &C; and for this purpose was much em- 

 ployed when tlie geometric style of. gardening prevailed. 



7124. tioil and situatioti. Almost any soil, not over-wet, will suit the yew, and it will grow on the 

 bleak sides of mountains, and under the drip of trees. 



Sect. III. Soft-wooded Trees. 



7125. The soft-iuooded timber-trees may be considered as characterised by great rapidity ^ 

 of growth, comparatively limited duration, and timber of inferior value. 



7126. The horse-chestnut (^scidus hippocastanum, L. [Schmidt, arb. 1. t. 38.) Hqi- 

 tand. Mniiog. L. *and Acerece, J. Marronier, Fr. ; Marronienbaum, Ger. ; and Mar- 

 rone, Ital.) is a magnificent and beautiful tree, when in May it is covered with its 

 digitate foliage, and fine large spikes of white flowers. It is of rapid growth, and 

 speedily produces a considerable bulk of timber, which, liowever, is of no great value. 

 Being highly ornamental as a single tree, and in the outskirts of plantations, it need 

 never be planted in masses for timber. It was brought from the northern parts of 

 Asia into Europe, about the year 1 550, and was cultivated by Gerrard and Tradescant. 

 As Gilpin observes, it is far from being a picturesque tree, its outline being that of 

 a parabola : but all beauty is not picturesque beauty, and the foliage and flowers will 

 ever advocate the cause of this tree, (wliich the Hon. D. Barrington compares to a giant's 

 nosegay,) though "its leaves begin to di-op early in summer, and make a litter around 

 the trees during the remainder of the season." 



7127. Soil and situation. It requires a good, rather dry soil, and suffers materially from storms of every 

 kind when planted in exposed situations. It used formerly to be much used as an avenue tree, especially 

 by the French, and is particularly adapted for this purpose, and the margins of plantations. 



7128. The li?ne. — Tilia Europtna, 1^. [Eng. Bot. 610.) Polyaiid. Monog. 1^. and 

 Tiliacece, J. Tilleul, Fr. ; Lindenbaum, Ger. ; and Tiglio, Ital. Tliis is one of the 

 most beautiful, graceful, and fragrant of our native trees, rising to tlie height of seventy 

 or eighty feet, and finely clothed with pendulous recurved branches, from the ground 

 or the browsing line formed by cattle upwards. It is found wild in woods and grassy 

 declivities, sends out its leaves in April, flowers in May, and ripens its seeds, though 

 sparingly, unless under favorable circumstances, in October. 



7129. Use. It was much valued by the Romans for its shade, and the multiplicity of purposes to which 

 the timber was applied. It is now more a tree of ornament than of profit, but the timber is still used for 

 various common purposes in general economy, and by the carver, turner, and musical-instrument- 

 TOaker. It forms an excellent charcoal for gunpowder ; and of its inner bark, macerated in water, is 

 formed, in the north of Europe, the bass mats of commerce. This bark is called in Sweden and Russia, 

 bast, whence, by corruption, bass. It is the fittest of all trees for avenues, and forms good tree-hedges. 

 The famous Kowno honey is made exclusively from the blossom of this tree. 



7130. Varieties and Species. There are several sorts noticed in our Encyclopcedia of Plants, but 

 the best, both for effect and timber, is the red-twigged {T. Etc. var. corallina), and the broad-leaved 

 American {T. Americana), which is a distinct species, distinguished by the larger size of the leaves, and 

 elegant pendulous flowers. 



7131. Soil and situation. All the sorts prefer a deep loam, and rather sheltered situation, for though 

 patient of cold, they are much injured by storms. In Sweden, the common species abound among the 

 debris of granite and trap rocks ; and in Russia it covers extensive tracts of deep, soft, black earth. In 

 bleak situations, where it is not covered by snow in winter at the roots, or sheltered by other trees, it will 

 not thrive. 



7132. The alder {Alnus glutinosa, W. (Eng. Bot. 1505.) Mo7icec. Tetrand. L. and 

 Avientacees, J. ) is a middle-sized native aquatic tree of no great value, either as timber 

 or ornament farther than that it will grow where few other trees will thrive, excepting 

 the birch, poplar, and willow. It flowers in May, and ripens its seeds in September and 

 October. a', 



7133. Use. The timber is used in water-works, and by the turner, millwright, lastmakers, and others, 

 as well as for common country purposes, and charcoal. 



7134. T/ie poplar. — Populus, W. Dicec. Dodec. L. and Amentacece, J. Peuplier, Fr. ; 

 Poppelbaum, Ger. ; and Poppio, Ital. There are several species which may be reckoned 

 timber-trees. 



