December  13,  1900.  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
531 
•flowering  shiubs  of  various  kinds,  and  in  this  movement  none  have 
played  a  more  prominent  part  than  the  publishers  of  this  work  on 
Coniferae  which  we  have  now  the  pleasure  of  noticing.  Certainly 
the  love  of  Conifers  can  be  exaggerated,  and  when  in  passing  a 
£20  a-year  villa  by  the  roadside  we  see  a  Pinus  insignia  in  the 
central  bed  of  the  front  garden,  a  Wellingtonia  under  the  windowsill, 
and  a  Finns  monticola  somewhere  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  back 
door,  one  feels  that  a  time  must  come  when  the  occupant  will  realise 
that  the  planter  did  not  proportion  the  means  to  the  end.  But 
misuse  such  as  this  cannot  be  laid  at  the  door  of  Messrs.  Veitoh 
and  Sons,  and  besides  it  is  more  than  compensated  for  by  the  noble 
vistas  which  now  open  up  to  us  across  beautiful  lawns  where  Piceas, 
Abietes,  Thuias,  Pinus,  and  Araucarias  make  a  delightful  contrast 
to  the  ancestral  favourites  which  we  have  long  been  accustomed  to 
associate  in  our  minds  with  the  name  of  woodland  scenery. 
On  turning  to  the  section  “  Bibliography,”  where  are  set  out  the 
sources  from  whence  so  much  compressed  information  has  been  drawn, 
it  is  easy  to  see  that  the  book  before  us  represents  but  a  tithe  of  what 
Mr.  Kent  might  have  written  upon  his  favourite  subject.  Irrespective 
of  the  transactions  of  botanical  societies  home  and  foreign,  we  find 
sixty-three  quoted  authorities  comprising  most  of  the  names 
distinguished  in  botanical  science  during  the  last  two  hundred  years, 
from  Ksempfer,  Pallas,  and  Thunberg  down  to  Maximowicz,  Mayr,  and 
Masters.  In  this  concentrated  repertory  the  enthusiast  in  Conifers  will 
find  all  the  information  botanical,  paleontological,  and  historical  upon 
the  subject,  together  with  numerous  diagrams  enabling  him  to  identify 
most  of  the  species  attainable  in  this  country.  In  the  matter,  too,  of 
notes  and  references,  the  reader  will  never  be  left  in  doubt,  Mr.  Kent 
having  been  very  careful  to  indicate  the  authorities  upon  which  his 
statements  are  based.  One  may  say  that  the  book  comprises  a 
succession  of  small  monographs,  of  which  the  biographical  notices  alone 
afford  the  most  entertaining  reading. 
Mr.  Kent  sums  up  upon  the  Coniferae  by  enumerating  eighty-four 
genera  and  310  species.  He  indicates  their  distribution  over  eight  areas 
of  the  earth’s  surface;  these  are  respectively  the  Euro- Asiatic,  the 
Mediterranean,  the  East  Asiatic,  the  North  American  (east),  the  North 
American  (west),  the  Tropical,  the  Australian,  and  the  South  Temperate. 
Of  them  our  own,  i^e.,  the  Euro-Asiatic,  is  the  most  poverty  stricken 
region  in  respect  of  Conifers,  only  fourteen  species  being  indigenous  ;  and 
this  means  all  the  land  extending  north  of  the  Alps  from  Ireland  to 
Mongolia.  On  the  other  hand.  North  America  can  boast  of  ninety-nine 
indigenous  species,  while  south  of  the  Alps,  from  Spain  to  China  and 
Japan,  the  number  is  eighty-three.  Australasia  and  Chile  yield  seventy, 
three,  and  the  whole  trooical  zone  but  forty-four. 
We  learn  here  that  the  British  Isles  within  our  own  historical  period 
have  possessed  only  three  native  specimens  of  Conifers — the  Yew,  the 
Juniper,  and  the  Spits  Pine — but  this  was  not  always  so.  During  the 
Cainozoic  or  later  period  of  the  Tertiary  epoch,  ere  the  glacial  stage 
has  set  in,  Europe  was  well  favoured  with  Conifers,  and  the  fossil 
evidence  goes  to  show  that  at  one  time  in  these  islands  there  flourished 
Taxodiums,  Sequoias,  Ginkgos,  Podocarpus,  Araucarias,  Tsugas,  and 
Cryptomerias.  It  is  for  meteorologists  to  prophesy  what  fate  looms 
before  these  lands,  and  whether  the  climate  is  likely  to  become  milder 
or  more  rigorous.  At  present  it  would  seem  that  it  favours  many 
Conifers  which  anciently  could  not  survive,  and  that  the  whole  history 
of  their  acclimatisation  here  is  the  test  of  how  much  our  mean  tem¬ 
perature  has  risen  (we  do  not  speak  medically)  during  the  later 
historical  period.  In  publishing  this  work,  Messrs.  Yeitch  &  Sons  very 
materially  assist  in  this  experiment  of  re-establishing  the  Coniferae  in 
their  old  home,  a  process  which  will  extend  over  many  generations,  of 
which  we  shall  form  no  part.  However,  those  living  in  the  present 
generation  are  in  a  position  to  contribute  valuable  data  regarding 
the  peculiar  habit  of  many  newly  introduced  Conifers.  Perhaps  in 
none  is  a  greater  interest  taken  by  ornamental  gardeners  than  in  the 
Sequoia  Wellingtonia.  This  Dr.  Bindley  erected  into  a  distinct  genus 
and  named  after  the  Iron  Duke  in  1852,  within  a  year  of  his  death. 
We  English  still  continue  to  call  it  “  Wellingtonia,”  but  Dr.  Seeman, 
in  1855,  showed  that  it  is  a  species  of  Sequoia  and  that  the  correct 
designation  is  Sequoia  Wellingtonia.  The  following  extract  will  give 
the  best  idea  of  what  we  wish  to  express  when  speaking  of  Mr.  Kent’s 
dexterity  in  combining  excessive  information  with  a  good  narrative 
style  : — 
The  first  white  man  who  saw  the  “Big  Trees”  was  probably  John 
Bidwill,  who  crossed  the  Sierra  Nevada,  in  1841,  from  the  east  into 
California,  when  he  passed  in  haste  through  the  Calaveras  Grove,  at  that 
time  Indian  country  and  exceedingly  dangerous  to  traverse,  but  he  made 
no  mention  of  his  discovery  till  after  the  trees  had  been  seen  by  the  hunter, 
Dowd,  eleven  years  later.  In  1852,  Dowd,  while  following  a  wounded  bear, 
passed  through  the  forests  of  Pinus  Lambertiana  and  P.  ponderosa,  and 
entered  the  Calaveras  Grove,  where  he  saw  the  gigantic  trees  for  the  first 
time,  and  communicated  his  discovery  to  his  comrades.  Shortly  after¬ 
wards  Dr.  Kellogg  forwarded  specimens  to  Doctors  John  Torrey  and  Asa 
Gray,  and  he  also  informed  William  Lobb  of  the  discovery.  Lobb,  who 
had  been  sent  on  a  collecting  mission  to  California  by  the  late  Mr.  James 
Veitch,  was  at  that  time  staying  at  Monterey,  but  he  lost  no  time  in 
making  his  way  to  the  Calaveras  Grove,  where  he  collected  a  large 
quantity  of  cones  and  seeds,  which,  with  two  living  plants  and  herbarium 
specimens,  he  brought  to  England  late  in  the  autumn  of  1853,  and  from 
him  was  obtained  the  first  authentic  account  of  the  “Big  Trees.”  The 
specimens  brought  home  by  Lobb  were  placed  in  the  hands  of  Dr.  Bindley 
for  determination,  and  he,  believing  the  tree  to  be  generically  distinct  from 
the  Redwood,  created  for  its  reception  a  new  genus,  which  he  named 
Wellingtonia  in  these  terms  :  “  The  most  appropriate  name  for  the  most 
gigantic  tree  that  has  been  revealed  to  us  by  modern  discovery  is  that  of 
the  g’reatest  of  madern  heroes  ;  let  it  then  bear  henceforth  the  name  of 
Wellingtonia  gigantea.”  Lindley’s  generic  name  was,  hnwever,  soon  after 
challenged  by  botli  European  and  American  botanists,  and  when  staminato 
flowers  which  Bindley  had  not  seen  were  i)rocnrable  and  were  found  to  bo 
identical  in  structure  with  those  of  the  Redwood  Soijuoia  scmpervirens, 
the  conclusion  was  inevitable,  a  conclusion  strengthened  by  tlio  identity  in 
structure  also  of  the  ovuliferous  flowers  and  cones,  and  by  the  similarity 
of  the  two  trees  in  statui’e,  bark,  ramification,  and  even  in  certain  st.ites  of 
the  foliage. 
The  immen.se  size  of  the  Welliiigtonias  naturally  led  to  conjectures  as 
to  the  ages  of  some  of  the  “full-grown  giants,”  but  which  in  the  first 
instances  were  enormously  in  excess  of  the  reality.  The  earliest  approxi¬ 
mation  to  the  truth  was  obtained  by  Professor  Whitney,  the  State 
Geologist  of  California,  by  counting  the  rings  of  a  felled'  tree  in  the 
Calaveras  Grove.  This  tree  was  24  feet  in  diameter  exclusive  of  the  bark, 
and  contained  1255  annual  rings  at  a  section  of  the  trunk  made  30  feet  from 
the  base.  “  There  was  a  small  cavity  in  the  centre  of  the  tree  which 
prevented  an  accurate  fixing  of  the  age ;  but  making  due  allowance  for 
that,  and  for  the  time  it  required  to  grow  to  the  height  at  which  the  count 
was  made,  it  will  be  safe  to  say  that  this  particular  tree,  which  was  as 
large  as  any  standing  in  the  grove,  was  in  round  numbers  thirteen  hundred 
years  old.”  The  annual  rings  of  other  trees  counted  by  different  persons 
gave  much  higher  results,  but  these  were  probably  exceptional  instances. 
Quite  recently  a  full-sized  tree  was  felled  in  Fresno  County,  California, 
and  a  section  of  its  trunk  set  up  in  the  .Tesup  collection  of  American  woods 
in  the  Museum  of  Natural  History  at  New  York,  and  another  section  from 
the  same  tree,  next  above  the  Jesup  section,  was  secured  for  the  British 
Museum  of  Natural  History  at  South  Kensington,  and  is  set  up  in  the 
Central  Hall  ;  the  anTiual  rings  of  this  section  have  been  carefully  counted, 
and  found  to  number  1335.  This  particular  tree  was  <32  feet  in  girth  at 
8  feet  from  the  ground,  300  feet  high,  and  without  branches  for  200  feet  of 
its  height.  From  these  and  other  autlientic  data  it  is  not  unsafe  to  infer 
that  none  of  the  existing  Wellingtonias  ante-date  the  Christian  era,  or  tliat 
with  very  few  exceptions  the  oldest  of  them  reach  within  five  hundred 
years  of  that  epoch,  and  whose  ages  therefore  do  not  much  exceed  that  of 
the  oldest  Yews  in  Great  Britain. 
The  Wellingtonia  has  proved  hardy  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  ;  it 
grows  in  all  ordinary  soils  in  which  water  does  not  stagnate,  but  prefers 
a  retentive  loam  with  a  porous  subsoil,  in  open  airy  places,  but  not  exposed 
to  piercing  winds  ;  in  dry  and  shallow  soils  its  progress  is  much  slower, 
and  it  soon  loses  its  ornamental  qualities.  The  average  annual  rate  of 
increase  in  height  of  the  “  leader  shoot  ”  varies  with  the  locality  and  its 
environment  from  15  to  25  inches,  and  even  more  in  young  vigorous  trees 
planted  in  good  soil.  But  the  older  trees  growing  under  the  most  favour¬ 
able  circumstances  are  beginning  to  show  a  slow  but  steady  diminution  of 
the  annual  increase  in  height  of  the  tnmk,  so  that  there  is  no  probability 
of  the  Wellingtonia  ever  attaining  in  Great  Britain  more  than  one-half  the 
size  and  age  of  its  gigantic  Californian  progenitors.  The  trunk  increases 
in  thickness  in  proi:)ortion  to  its  height  faster  than  in  most  other  large 
coniferous  trees,  the  circumference  near  the  base  being  often  as  much  as 
one-fifth  or  one-sixth  of  the  height ;  in  Abietia  Douglasi  the  circumference 
of  the  trunk  at  the  base  is  generally  not  more  than  one-eighth  or  one-tenth 
of  the  height,  and  this  proportion  is  not  much  exceeded  in  other  tall  Conifers 
as  Abies  grandis,  A.  nobilis,  Cedrus  Deodara,  Pinus  Lambertiana,  &c. 
The  formality  of  the  Wellingtonia  as  a  landscape  tree  is  well  known  ; 
as  such  it  offers  a  strong  contrast  to  the  irregular  contour  of  many 
deciduous  trees,  and  is  of  itself  a  striking  object  when  standing  alone  and 
feathered  with  branches  from  the  base  to  the  summit.  One  of  the  most 
remarkable  arb or i cultural  effects  produced  by  it  is  the  Wellingtonia 
Avenue  at  Orton  Hall,  near  Peterborough  ;  this  avenue  extends  700  yards 
in  an  east- west  direction,  and  is  composed  of  two  rows  of  trees  standing 
30  feet  apart  with  an  interval  of  3S  feet  between  the  rows  ;  the  trees  are 
fairly  uniform,  and  range  srom  60  to  70  feet  in  height.  Vieweil  from  the 
west  end,  the  avenue  ap)pears  like  two  enormous  walls  of  green  foliage ; 
the  impression  caused  by  the  vista  is  not  easily  forgotten.  There  is  also 
a  fine  avenue  of  Wellingtonias  at  Linton  Park,  near  Maidstone. 
- - — - - - 
Denmark  and  the  Rural  Exodus. — In  a  leaflet  issued.. by  the 
Howard  Association,  how  the  Government  of  Denmark  have  assisted 
their  farmers  is  shown  in  detail,  together  with  the  extraordinary 
successful  results  of  such  aids.  Rural  education  is  said  to  be  the  main 
secret  of  Denmark’s  success,  and  it  is  stated  that  the  contrast  between 
the  British  and  Danish  rural  districts  is  somewhat  humiliating  to 
Englishmen.  The  leaflet  says,  “  How  deficient,  compared  with 
Denmark,  are  the  rural  schools  of  England,  and  how  backward  are  the 
conditions  of  rustic  society.  It  is  hardly  too  much  to  say  that  the 
British  agricultural  interests  and  population  are  a  century  or  more 
behind  Denmark.  If  energetic  individuals  and  societies  in  both  the 
rural  and  urban  districts  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  will  imitate 
the  example  of  the  Danish  pioneers  to  the  land  a  ‘  rural  exodus  ’  may 
be  reversed  by  a  strong  current  of  ‘  back  to  the  land.’  Then  it  may  be 
no  longer  needful,  as  now,  for  Great  Britain  to  spend  some  150  million 
pounds  annually  for  foreign  produce  which  might  be  grown  at  home.” 
Denmark  has  within  a  few  years  reclaimed  some  2000  square  miles  of 
previously  waste,  and  which  had  been  regarded  as  almost  valueless. 
About  five-sixths  of  her  territory  is  possessed  by  smill  freeholders  and 
peasants.  The  peasantry  have  established  some  400  banks,  chiefly 
under  their  own  management.  They  have  set  up  cattle-breeding 
societies,  co-operative  steam  dairies,  bakedes,  factories,  and  mills. 
To-day,  says  a  daily  paper,  Denmark  is  the  second  country  in  the 
world  in  regard  to  wealth  per  head  of  its  population. 
