94 



FLORA AND SYLVA. 



moist, the rainfall being not less than 

 6 feet. The conditions, therefore, are 

 not nearly so favourable in North Ger- 

 many, yet the growth of the Japanese 

 Larch is remarkable at Eberswalde, as, 

 indeed, nearly everywhere, save, per- 

 haps, in Northern and Central Russia, 

 where the superiority rests with the 

 Siberian Larch, which is more apt to 

 make the best of the short summer. 

 Trees of the Japanese Larch at Ebers- 

 walde are either isolated plants or 

 mixed with Lawson's Cypress or Red 

 Cedar. Those planted close in lines 

 have annually shoots often exceeding 

 30 inches in length. The fine green 

 dense foliage of this handsome Pine 

 gives it an appearance of great vigour. 

 In mixed plantations of Japanese Larch 

 and Lawson's Cypress, the trees being of 

 like age exhibit a striking superiority of 

 growth in the Larch, even to the extent 

 of being twice the size of the Lawson. 



The Weymouth or White Pine. — 

 The Weymouth Pine occupies no great 

 space in the experiments that are car- 

 ried out at Eberswalde, and the condi- 

 tions favourable to the growth of this 

 Pine are only beginning to be under- 

 stood. In Germany, more than in Eng- 

 land or in France, it has been planted 

 in parks and tried in forestry ; deep, 

 cool, and even moist sand suits it best. 

 I have seen in the Rhine provinces fine 

 close plantations of it. Its wood, which 

 is very white and homogeneous, will 

 certainly be in demand. The trees of it 

 at Eberswalde are ten-year-old trees ; 

 their growth is excellent even in those 

 parts of the forest where the soil is only 

 of medium coolness. 



Lawson's Cypress. — This tree en- 

 joys in the North-western States of 

 America or the maritime slopes of Bri- 

 tish Columbia conditions of climate 

 which are very rarely present at Ebers- 

 walde, and the conditions of its exis- 

 tence there are varied as much as pos- 

 sible. The result has been to show that 

 if the tree is hardy it is, on the other 

 hand, exacting : where the soil is some- 

 what cool and rich in leaf-mould it does 

 well, is very dense of foliage, and in 

 quickness of growth is about a third less 

 than the Douglas Fir. In the drier lo- 

 calities its development is not even half 

 that of the Douglas, even as regards 

 height, which means that the quantity 

 of wood given by it is not a fourth of 

 that produced by the Douglas. 



Honoki (Cupressus obtusd). — The 

 trees of this species at Eberswalde are 

 twelve years old, their verdure being re- 

 markable, and their vigour satisfactory 

 even in the less favourable situations. 

 In quickness of growth they cannot 

 compare with the trees above named, 

 and, moreover, rapidity of growth is not 

 in the nature of this tree ; in Europe, 

 at least, its yield of wood will there- 

 fore be restricted. 



The Yellow Wood {Thuya gigan- 

 ted). — The failure of this fine tree at 

 Eberswalde is complete; a result which 

 surprises me extremely; but I see no 

 reason why its condemnation should 

 be pronounced as final, and the cause 

 of its faulty growth would seem to be 

 entirely cryptogamic. Every tree, even 

 the youngest, is covered with withered 

 twigs. The evil is general in all parts 

 of the forest, but affects none of the 



