Mississippi more than 57,000 years ago, and that ten subterranean forests, extending over a period of
100,000 years, had already existed there anterior to these evidences of man's existence.
As to the age of individual trees, that also must be very great. If we find specimens entombed by the
constantly recurring deposits of the Mississippi, in the height of their growth, of such ages as those above
mentioned, it may be expected that those which have not been prematurely entombed, but allowed to finish
their natural term of years, must have achieved a still greater longevity. The tree that Montezuma knew
—the tree under which Cortes rested after the terrible slaughter of the Noche tristc, or that at Santa Maria
de Tula, in Oaxaca, must be much older than any of the Louisiana trees. These are, no doubt, specimens
of the Taxodium Montezuma, or the Mexican variety of the Taxodium distic/ium, and we shall refer more
precisely to their age and size when we come to that sub-species.
Properties and Uses—These are very much the same as those of the Red Wood of California,
Sequoia sempervirens, which is the most valued timber in California, and the most useful in the Southern
States. A special good property of both is splitting up straight, so as to serve for planks without the use
of a saw. In the Taxodium, Michaux says, they split off in a direction parallel to the concentric circles ;
but as these arc so large, the shingles split off are nearly flat; and it is the same with the Sequoia.
The colour of the timber of both is also alike. Michaux says—" The wood of the Cypress is fine
grained, and, after being for some time exposed to the light, of a reddish colour;" and in speaking of
the Sequoia sempervirens, Dr Bigelow says —"The wood resembles the Cedar" (that is, Juniperus
virginiana) " a good deal in lightness and susceptibility of polish, but it is of a slightly darker shade of
red. In the rural districts along the coast, farmers use it for making fencing rails; and it is almost
certain to excite incredulity to state the number of rails that can be made from a single tree. They
are counted by thousands, as we count them by hundreds in the Eastern States" (Bigelow, "Pacific
Railroad Reports," vol. iv. p. 24). The timber has also great durability, being almost incorruptible
even in water. It is also elastic as well as strong.
A resin of an agreeable odour and a red colour, of the clearness and colour of raspberry juice, exudes
from the Taxodium distichum. It is similar to the red or claret-coloured resin exuded by the Sequoias.
Culture.—This tree is pretty extensively distributed, chiefly in the South of England, where it does
fairly well. There should be some trees upwards of 200 years old, for it was introduced into England by
Tradescant prior to 1640. Parkinson, writing in that year, stated that "its seeds were brought by Master
Tradescant from Virginia and sown here, and do spring very bravely." (Parkinson, " Theol.," p. 1477.)
It is of the produce of this sowing, doubtless, that a tree is mentioned by Miller as growing in Tradescant's
garden in South Lambeth, near Vauxhall. " It is upwards of 30 feet high," he says, " and of considerable
bulk ; and though in a common yard at present, where no care is taken of it; but, on the contrary, many
hooks are driven into the trunk to fasten cords thereto for drying clothes, yet the tree is in great health and
vigour, but has not produced any fruit as yet, which may be occasioned by want of moisture."
The finest trees with which we are acquainted, are those at Syon House, a seat of the Duke of Northumberland,
near Brentford. Loudon, in his "Arboretum," gives a portrait of one of them, a very graceful
tree. Although he does not specially mention its dimensions, he speaks of the trees, generally, as being between
60 and 70 feet high. That was in 1854, and since then they have grown considerably. The tallest tree
growing there now [1876] is 105 feet high, with a girth of trunk of 12 feet, 2 feet from the ground. Another
tree is 84 feet high ; girth, 14 feet; spread of branches, 43 feet; which is probably that figured by Loudon.
It grows by the side of the lake, and is very remarkable for the number of knees or roots that grow out of
the ground. These extend fully 30 yards from the trunk of the tree, and are of various and curious forms,
and some are 18 inches high. The next best specimens that we know of, are two that are growing in a tiny
little island in the middle of a small stream called the Colne, that drives the flour mills at Uxbridge. The
island
island is attached to the residence of Mr Mercer of Denham Lodge, but it and the trees can be well seen
from the bridge that crosses the Colne, just at the foot of the main street of Uxbridge, and the trees are well
worth a visit on purpose to see them. One is upwards of 50 feet in height, and 7 feet in circumference
at 2 feet from the ground ; and the other upwards of 60 feet high, but the latter was injured by a hurricane
about 1872, and it was somewhat stripped of its branches, which it has not yet quite recovered. Its foliage
is, consequently, somewhat sparse, but the other is a perfect beauty—thickly clothed and of great symmetry.
They are about fifty years of age, but have never borne cones.
Loudon mentions a number of other trees, in the neighbourhood of London, as being remarkable, but
of these we have no recent record. The most remarkable were at Whitton, at Purser's Cross, at Stanmore
Priory, at Gunnersbury Park, and at Ditton Park, of which the height then ran from 45 to 80 feet.
It appears to have been introduced into Scotland about 1746. Loudon quotes Dr Walker (" Essays,"
p. 80) as speaking, in 1776, of a tree feathered down to the ground, at Loudoun Castle, in Ayrshire, which
was then thirty years old, and 25 feet high. He said it was the only considerable tree of the kind in North
Britain. At first it was kept in a greenhouse, but on planting out it was found that this had been an
unnecessary precaution, as it stood the winter veiy well.
On the whole, it may be said to be hardy in this country. Mr Palmer's tables of the cffects of the
severe winter of 1860-61 on it, shew that out of trees reported on from twenty-nine places in England,
they were killed at one only, much injured at another, injured at four, and not injured at twenty-three. At
those reported on from Scotland and Ireland (two in each), none were injured.
It does not fruit very freely in Britain. Miller mentions a tree in the gardens of Sir Abraham Janser,
at Wimbledon, in Surrey, which had produced a great quantity of cones for some years, which ripened in
favourable seasons—a degree of fecundity which he attributes to the tree having been thrown back by trees
transplanted when very large. Mr Lambert (" Pinus," ed. 2, p. 117) shews the rareness of its fruiting by
the exuberance of his satisfaction on procuring cones. " On my way from the country in the beginning of
November 1823, I was fortunate in meeting with a single tree of Taxodium distichum bearing plenty of ripe
fruit, in the garden of a blacksmith, opposite the King's Arms, Bagshot. I was delighted with my discovery,
as I never had before the pleasure of meeting with this interesting tree in fruit, a circumstance of very rare
occurrence in this country. At the parsonage in the vicinity of Bagshot, there are two trees of the Taxodmm,
even larger than the one in the blacksmith's garden, but on them I was able to find a single cone only." It
seems, however, somewhat uncertain in its fruiting ; for instance, a tree at Sedbury Park, near Chepstow,
which is described as veiy luxuriant and feathering to the ground, produced fruit when forty years old, but no
seed in the cones. The occurrence of trees in fruit seems to be not much more frequent at the present day.
It grows well on the Continent and in the south of France, and in Italy there are some very fine trees.
Those at Padua and Naples especially deserve attention.
Two varieties were described by Brongnart under the names of Taxodium microphyllum and
T. ascendens, both from North America, which appear to be only varieties of the common species, with
a slightly different habit or smaller leaves.
Under cultivation in Europe, it, like most other Conifers, also indulges in occasional variations. M.
Carrière mentions and figures three varieties with sufficiently notable differences of the cones. The first
(fig. 7) he calls Taxodium distichum tuberculatum, another (fig. 8) he calls Taxodium distichum protuberans,
and a third (fig. 9) Taxodium distichum conicum. We reproduce these as illustrations of the manner in
which this species sports, so that it is unnecessary to give any additional description of them.
The great essential for the successful cultivation of the deciduous Cypress, besides the climate, is a rich
soil and a well-sheltered site, with a good deal of moisture, not stagnant, but frequently renewed and rapidly
passing away—in other words, with good drainage. These conditions being more generally found where
the geological formation is sandstone, that is probably the reason why a sandstone district is preferred ; a
clay subsoil is too apt to be defective in drainage, and a chalk soil is too dry.
[ 30 ] c The