Chxap. 11.] TREES WHICH NEVER DEGENERATE. 461 
again in germination. Indeed, there are some trees that are 
capable of being propagated in no other way, the chesnut^^ 
and the walnut, for instance ; with the sole exception, of course, 
of such as are employed for coppice wood. Ey this method, 
too, as well as the others, some trees are propagated, though 
from a seed of a different nature, such, for instance, as the 
vine, the apple, and the pear the seed being in all these 
cases in the shape of a pip, and not the fruit itself, as in that of 
the chesnut and the walnut. The medlar, too, can also be 
propagated by the agency of seed. All trees, however, that are 
grown by this method are very slow in coming to maturity,^^ 
degenerated^ very rapidly, and must often be renewed by graft- 
ing : indeed, the chesnut even sometimes requires to be grafted. 
CHAP. 11. TREES WHICH NEVER DEGENERATE. 
On the other hand, there are some trees which have the pro- 
perty of never degenerating, in whatever manner they are re- 
produced, the cypress, palm, and laurel, for instance : for we 
find that the laurel is capable of being propagated in several 
ways. We have already made mention^^ of the various kinds 
of laurel ; those known as the Augustan, the baccalis, and the 
tinus^^ are all reproduced in a similar manner. The berries 
are gathered in the month of January, after they have been 
dried by the north-east winds which then prevail ; they are 
then kept^^ separate and exposed to the action of the air, being 
liable to ferment if left in a heap. After this, they are first 
19 Yirgil says, Georgics ii. 14 : 
" Pars autem posito surgunt de semine ; ut altae 
CastaneaB, nemorumque J ovi quae maxime frondet." 
20 This method of reproduction is seldom or never employed ; plants or 
cuttings only being used for the purpose. 
21 Besides which, it is doubtful if they will reproduce the variety, the 
seed of which was originally sown. 
22 In some cases, they are more particularly liable to disease — the apple, 
for instance. 
23 Because the mode of cultivation adopted has little or no influence upon 
them. The palm, however, to bear good fruit, requires the careful atten- 
tion of man. It is not capable of being grafted, 
21 In B. XV. c. 39. The laurel may be grown from cuttings or shoots, 
and from seed. 
25 Known as the Laurus tinus, or Yiburnum tinus of Linnaeus. 
26 This is not done at the present day, as it is found tbat the oil which 
they contain turns rancid, and prevents germination. 
