476 
CUPRESSUS. 
no care is taken of it, but, on the contrary, many hooks 
are driven into the trunk to fatten cords thereto for dry¬ 
ing clothes, yet the tree is in great health and vigour, 
but has not produced any fruit, which may be occafioned 
for want of moifture : for we often fee many aquatic 
lants growing upon a drier foil, but are feldom fo pro- 
uctive of either flowers or fruit as thofc which grow in 
the water.” John Tradefcant, fen. introduced this tree 
from Virginia before the year 1640. His tree at South 
Lambeth has long been deftroyed, together with all the 
other trees and plants in his curious garden there. Ano¬ 
ther large tree of this fort in the gardens of the late fir 
Abraham Janffen, bart. at Wimbledon in Surrey, pro¬ 
duced great quantities of cones for fonie years, which in 
favourable feafons came to maturity, and the feeds were 
as good as thofe which have been brought from America. 
This tree was tranfplanted when it was very large, which 
fiinted its growth ; and tills may have occafioned its fruit- 
fulnefs, for it made very little progrefs in its growth af¬ 
ter it was removed. This tree cafts its leaves in winter, 
but in fummer refembles an evergreen : the leaves have 
a pleafing effeft, appearing like fome forts of acacia. 
3. Cupreffus thyoides, white cedar, or arbor-vitte- 
leaved cyprefs; leaves imbricate, fronds ancipital. This 
grows tp a considerable fize in North America, of which 
it is a native. With us it feldom rifes much higher 
. than fifteen feet; when raifed from cuttings it has rather 
the appearance of a flirub, and is not above nine or ten 
feet high. Loureiro informs us, that in China and Cochin- 
china, where it alfo grows naturally, it is only about eight 
feet in height. The branches are numerous, and Hand 
two ways ; the tree naturally forms itfelf into a regular 
head: the leaves are evergreen, flat, (harp, very fhort, 
imbricated, and refemble thofe of the arbor-vita;; they 
are fmall, and of a browner green than the common cy¬ 
prefs. The fruit is blue, and no larger than the berry 
of the juniper, from which it is not eafily diftinguifhed 
at a little diftance; but it is a perfedt cone or ftrobile, 
having feveral nuts like that of the common cyprefs. It 
is abundant in the fwamps of New Jerfey, and fome parts 
of Pennfylvania and New York; but not to the north of 
Goflien, latitude 41° 25'. The number, however, has 
been greatly reduced ; and, as this tree requires to be of 
eighty years growth from the feed before it can be ufed 
for timber, poflerity will probably find the want of this 
•ufeful tree in America. It is ufed for fencing, and even 
for ports, but it does not laft in the ground fo well as the 
red cedar (juniperus Virginiana); it makes good canoes, 
hcops, and other coopers’ ware. Many houfes are built 
of it; but it is in the higheft efteem for fhingles, and for 
that purpofe great quantities are fent to the town of New 
York. It is alfo exported to the Well Indies, both for 
fhingles and pipe-ftaves. This tree, planted in a rtrong 
moill foil, may become profitable for timber, and grow¬ 
ing in a climate much colder than England, there is no 
hazard of its fucceeding in the open air here. However 
this may be, being an evergreen of regular growth, and 
-thriving in cold fituations and a moift foil not adapted to 
.trees of this family, it is a great ornament to large plan¬ 
tations, It was introduced among us in 1736, by Peter 
Collinfon, efq. 
4. Cupreffus juniperoides, African or Cape cyprefs : 
leaves oppofite, deculfated, fubulate, patulous. The 
young plants raifed here from feeds have loofe fpreading 
branches, clofely befet with narrow rtraight leaves, alter¬ 
nately oppofite, near an inch long, of a light green co¬ 
lour, and continuing in verdure all the year. The cones 
are black when ripe. Mr. Miller had the feeds from 
the Cape of Good Hope, where it grows naturally, be¬ 
fore 1756; in which year he had two plants growing in 
the full ground, which were killed that winter. 
5. Cuprelfus pendula, or Portuguefe cyprefs: leaves 
imbricate, glandulofe ; fronds quadrangular, glaucous ; 
branches hanging down. This is a fmall tree with a 
.glaucous appearance. The leaves are glandulofe, but 
the glands are lefs apparent than in cupreffus thyoides- 
The flowers are like thofe of the firft Species ; and are 
diftindt from thofe of the third, which has the feales of 
tire ament pedicelled, and not peltate, as in this ; two 
antherse (not four) under each fcale, and two ftigmas to 
each germ, tvhereas in this the ftigmas are Ample. It 
grows to be a large timber-tree in Portugal, but in Eng¬ 
land it is not above fifteen feet high ; the branches ex¬ 
tend horizontally to a great diftance every way, quite 
from the ground; they grow without much order, and 
the tree has a very different appearance from all the 
other forts. Tlninberg deferibes cupreffus pendula ot 
Japan to be a tree of a man’s height or more, eredt, and 
fmooth. He adds, that this handfome fingular tree is 
eafily diftinguiftied from all the evergreens of this order, 
by its abundance of very long, dichotomous, pendent, 
branchlets. It is at prefent pretty rare in the Englifh 
gardens, though there have been many plants raifed here; 
but this fort is not quite fo hardy as the common cyprefs, 
for the plants are frequently killed or greatly injured in 
fevere winters; and in the hard frort in 1740, there was 
a large tree of this kind entirely killed in the gardens of 
the duke of Richmond, at Goodwood, in Suffex, which 
had been growing there feveral years ; and in the year 
1762, many large trees were killed. There are great plen¬ 
ty of thefe trees growing at a place called Bufaco, near 
Coimbra, in Portugal, where this tree is called the cedar 
of Bufaco ; and there it grows to be a timber-tree, fo that 
from thence the feeds may be eafiiy procured. This tree 
grows naturally at Goa, whence it was firft brought to 
Portugal, where it has fucceeded, and been propagated; 
formerly there were fome trees of this fort growing in the 
biftiop of London’s garden at Fulham, where it parted 
under the title of cedar of Goa, by which name it was fent 
thence to ,the Leyden garden. It appears from Mr. Ray’s 
letters (171) that this was cultivated here in 1683. 
6. Cuprelfus Japonica, or Japan cyprefs : leaves in 
four rows, fickled, compreffed, furrowed, decurrent. A 
very lofty rtraight tree, with a trunk the thicknefs of the 
human thigh, or more. Leaves in three or four rows, 
decurrent by the keel, fubulate, bent at the end like a 
fickle, marked with four furrows, fpreading, fmooth. 
The wood is very foft, and is much ufed for Cabinets 
and other furniture, that are varniflied, or japanned, as 
we call it. 
7. Cupreffus columnaris, or fluted cyprefs: leaves im¬ 
bricate, fubulate, furrowed ; ftrobiles cylindric, elon¬ 
gated. Native of New Caledonia and Norfolk ifland. 
Propagation and Culture. Thefe trees are all propagated 
from feeds, which ftiould be fown early in the fpring on 
a bed of warm, dry, fandy, earth, which muft be level¬ 
led very fmooth ; then fow the feeds pretty thick, fitting 
the fame light earth over them half an inch thick. If 
the weather fhould prove very warm and dry, it will be 
proper to fhade the bed from the fun in the day-time, 
and water the bed, which muft be done very carefully, 
obferving not to walh the feeds out of the ground. In 
about two months time, if your feeds are good, the young 
plants will appear above ground, which muft be con- 
llantly kept clean from weeds, and in very dry weather 
fhould be often refreftied with water; but this fhould be 
done with great caution, left you beat thefe tender-root¬ 
ed plants out of the ground. If the feeds are fown upon, 
a moderate hot-bed, and the beds covered with mats, 
they will come up much fooner, and with greater cer¬ 
tainty, than when they arc fown in the cold ground. In 
this bed the young plants may remain two years, by 
which time they will have ftrength enough to be trans¬ 
planted into a nurfery; but, while the plants are young, 
they are tender, and fhould be covered in fevere frofts 
with mats. 
The belt feafon for removing them is in the beginning 
of April, when the drying eaiferly winds of March are 
over, and, if pofiible, choofe a cloudy day, when it is 
inclinable to rain ; and, in taking them out of the feecf- 
bed. 
