NURSERY AND PLANTING. 



95 



tions, it is apt to be broken, and the timber injured by the 

 boisterous winds with which we are visited during spring and 

 autumn in this country. Its flowers and foHage are pecuHarly 

 interesting and beautiful ; but, as an ornamental tree in its 

 general outline, it cannot be allowed much merit. Its leaves 

 are late in spring before they appear, and they fall again early 

 in autumn. It is of rapid growth while young, and better 

 calculated for copse-wood than for forest planting. It is a 

 native of North-America, where it is much prized on account 

 of its durability ; and for gate-posts, palings, and similar pur- 

 poses, has considerable merits, and may be advantageously 

 planted with us. It is not likely ever to become a timber-tree 

 of the first class in this country ; but in North-America it 

 attains a large size, and the wood is esteemed by the cabinet- 

 maker more than that of any other timber whatever. It pre- 

 fers a deep sandy soil, and bears cutting freely, and in this 

 way has been advantageously cultivated as a copse-tree, as 

 appears from a communication to the Board of Agriculture. 



It ripens its seed in September, by which it is readily in- 

 creased, and which should be saved till spring, and sown in 

 any moderately good nursery-ground, where it will soon come 

 up, and will be, by the spring following, in a fit state for 

 transplanting into nursery-lines, when, after one or two years 

 growth, it may be planted out, where it is permanently to 

 remain. 



This tree succeeds best when planted young, for from the 

 nature of its roots, which are long and thinly furnished with 

 fibres, it seldom succeeds well, if planted when of a large size. 



Laburnum. — {Cytissus Alpimis.) 



The tree, or Scotch Laburnum, is so called to distinguish 

 it from the common laburnum, with which it is often con- 

 founded, but which are very distinct species, the latter only 

 attaining the size and character of a straggling large shrub ; 

 whereas the former attains that of a considerable sized tree. 

 They are both natives of Europe, and have long been culti- 

 vated in this country as plants of ornament ; the former, how- 



