40 



A DISCOURSE 



THUYA\ 



BOOK II. This tree, by some called ARBOR VIT^, (brought from Canada,) is 



shallow, the stem needs support. The leaf being bruised between the 



^ Of the THUYA there are two species : 



1. THUYA TocciDENT^LisJ strobilis leevibus ; squamis obtusis. Lin. Sp. PL 1421. — 

 Thuya with smooth cones and obtuse scales. Thuya Theophrasti. C, B. P. 488. The com- 

 mon ARBOR VITM. 



This sort grows naturally in Canada, Siberia, and other northern countries, and has been long 

 cultivated in the English gardens. In some of these gardens, which have not been altered, 

 there are few of these trees which are of a large size. The Thuya has a strong woody 

 trunk, which rises to the height of thirty feet or more. The bark, while young, is smooth, 

 and of a dark-brown colour ; but, as the trees advance, the bark becomes cracked and less 

 smooth. The branches are produced irregularly on every side, standing almost horizontal, 

 and the young slender shoots frequently hang downward ; these branches stand but thin, 

 and the young branches only are garnished with leaves, so that when the trees are grown 

 large, they make but an indifferent appearance, being so thinly clothed with leaves. The 

 young branches are flat, and the small leaves are placed over each other like the scales 

 of fish ; the flowers are produced from the sides of the young branches, pretty near to the 

 foot-stalk ; the male flowers grow oblong catkins, and between these the female flowers are 

 collected in form of cones. ■\^Tien the former have shed their farina, they soon after diop 

 off", but the female flowers are succeeded by oblong cones, having obtuse smooth scales, 

 containing one or two oblong seeds. It flowers early in the spring, and the seeds ripen in 

 September. The leaves of this tree have a rank, oily scent when bruised. Professor Kalm 

 informs us, that the Thuya is not seen farther south than Saratoga, in the province of New 

 York ; this place is forty-two degrees and ten minutes north latitude. The Canadians 

 call it Cedre hlanc. In its natural state it seems to prefer swamps, marshes, and other wet 

 places. In Canada the tallest trees do not exceed thirty-six feet. 



2. THUYA foRiENTALis J strobiHs squarrosis, squamis acuminatis reflexis. Lin. Sp. PI, 

 1422. Thuya with rugged cones, and acute-pointed rejlepced scales. Thuya strobilis uncinatis, 

 squamis reflexo-acuminatis. Flor. Leyd. Prod. 87. The china arbor vitje. 



This kind grows naturally in the northern parts of China, where it rises to a considerable 

 height. The seeds were first sent to Paris by some of the missionaries, and there are some 

 of the trees growing in the gardens of some curious persons there, which are more than 

 twenty feet high. The branches of this sort grow closer together, and are much better 

 adorned with leaves ; these are of a brighter green than the other, so make a much better 

 appearance. Being very hardy, it is esteemed much preferable to most of the evergreen 

 trees with small leaves, for ornament in gardens. The branches of this tree cross each other 

 at right angles ; the leaves are flat, but the single divisions of the leaves are slender, and the > 



