THE ECONOMIC PLANTS OF J A PA A— V. 



267 



feet ; but the dense, broad head and sturdy trunk give 

 the impression of massive strength, which the slender 

 pines do not convey. The trunk is very thick at the 

 base, in proportion to its height. Many specimens can 

 be found which have a diameter of betwpen six and 

 seven feet a couple of feet above the ground ; but the 

 trunk rapidly tapers upwards, and at a height of forty or 

 fifty feet it usually loses itself in branches. If left to 



eral trees in temple grounds in Tokio and vicinity esti- 

 mated to be a thousand years old. Two such giants 

 adorn the yard of an old thatched temple in the district 

 called Kowaba, a short distance west of Tokio. 



The icho is not exempt from the training and mutila- 

 tion that every ornamental bush and tree is liable to 

 undergo, but it bears it well. The most unnatural form 

 that I have known it to be given is that of a tall shaft. 



Fig. 



Japanese Hazel. - 



SlEBOLDIANA. 



-CORYLUS ROSTRATA, VAR 



Full Size. 



itself it branches very low, and on most old trees the 

 lower limbs are not over eight or ten feet from the 

 ground. Clothed with foliage, such old trees offer a se- 

 cure shelter, both against rain and sunshine. The finest 

 specimens can be found in old temple grounds, where 

 they have been planted for ornament. There are sev- 



all the branches having been cropped close to 

 the trunk ; but in due time it sent out a numer- 

 ous army of young shoots, from base to top, 

 and when I saw it, it was a unique pillar of 

 living green. 



The ginkgo is a deciduous tree. The leaf is 

 remarkable in that the veins fork like the ribs 

 of a fan, as may be seen in Fig. 4, where a 

 twig in leaf is represented natural size. In 

 shape it is triangular, more or less distinctly 

 tvvo-lobed, resembling those of the maiden- 

 hair fern. In the fall the leaves turn a bright 

 yellow, some time before they drop. This feat- 

 ure makes a large tree a conspicuous object in the land- 

 scape as far as it can be seen, especially when it is set off 

 against a group of bamboos or dark pines. This yellow 

 coloring matter is used as a dye-stuff. 



The fruit ripens in October when the foliage begins to 

 turn yellow. It has the appearance of a medium-sized 



