objection to ufing it as a nurfe. The wind caufes it to lafh off its buds, and ends by killing it. It will
therefore neither do for a nurfe nor anything elfe in very expofed fituations. It will ftand long tracts of
heavy rain, or of fnow and cold, for to all thefe it is accuftomed in its native country; but to violent and
long-continued winds it is not: the deep, almoft ftifling, flickered valleys and ravines in which it is found
are very different from the bare fweep of a Scottifh hill-fide or Yorkfhire muir. If prote&ed from wind,
there is nothing in the climate of this country to difqualify it for the duties of a nurfe. The Himmalayan
climate is very variable from March to June, and very fine and dry from the middle of June to the middle
of September. The winter is very cold, and the mountains are for a confiderable time covered with fnow,
fo that, as regards temperature, there is as much variety there as in our own climate.
Culture.—As may be inferred from what has juft been faid regarding the climate and phyfical
conditions of its native habitat, the Deodar generally thrives well in this country. It is certainly not fo
hardy or fo well adapted to our climate as the Scotch Pine or Norway Spruce; but notwithftanding this, it
thrives too well to deter any one from planting it for fear of lofs. The winter of 1860-61 was the mod fevere
that has happened fince its introduction. It was a winter fuch as had fcarcely any parallel for feverity in
the memory of man, and unlefs fome general change of climate fhould take place, it may be looked upon as
exceedingly improbable that any cold of greater intenfity fhould again vifit us. The effect of that winter
upon the Deodar may therefore be taken as a fafe guide in judging of its fuitablenefs for our climate; what
that effect was we are, as already mentioned, enabled, through the kindnefs of Mr Palmer, to ftate with
accuracy.
Mr Palmer's record of obfervations fhews that the Deodar is by no means fo hardy a tree as the Larch,
and alfo that it is the leaft hardy of any of the Cedars. There is no inftance of any of the Larches reported
to him having been injured by the cold in 1860; while out of Deodars growing at 211 places in Great
Britain and Ireland, plants were killed at 55, and were uninjured only at 80, having been more or lefs
injured at the remaining 107, a percentage of frailty much greater than we fhould have anticipated.
The Cedar of Lebanon and the Cedrus Atlantica proved more hardy, and about equal between themfelves.
The following fummary will fhew the actual refults of Mr Palmer's report on all three:—
It may be interefting to notice in what proportions the three different parts of the kingdom suffered.
It was as follows :—
In Scotland, then, about one-third of the plants reported on efcaped without injury, and about onethirteenth
were killed. In England, nearly a half efcaped uninjured, while about one-third were killed ; but
the proportion of injured plants was twice as great in Scotland as in England. In Ireland the number of
plants reported on is too few for generalifation. The average of cold alfo in Scotland was confiderably
greater. Why in Scotland, where the cold was greater, and the climate lefs genial, it fhould happen that
a much fmalLer proportion (not a fourth of the number) of plants were killed, while more were injured and
fewer entirely efcaped, is a queftion which probably may in a great meafure depend on the age and
individual circumftances in which each plant was growing. Ceteris paribus, it appears that the younger the
plant, the worfe it has fared. In i860, the fine avenues in front of Chatsworth were killed, and almoft, if
not
not all, the Deodars in the park there; alfo the fineft fpecimens at Cloaton; and at Ravenfwood, near
Melrofe, feveral fine plants about 20 feet in height were killed.
There are at leaft five varieties of the Deodar, fome of a more robuft habit, fome more pendent, fome
more erect or more tabulated than others ; while the depth of colour alfo varies confiderably, fome being
brighter green, and fome more glaucous than others. Thefe, as already mentioned, have received nurferymen's
names, as Deodara robujla, D. viridis, D. nivea, D. c r a j f i f o l i a , &c. Mr Palmer found some
difference in the hardinefs of thefe, robujla having proved the hardieft, and viridis the moll tender, in
the proportion of more than two to one: out of 24 of each of thefe two, he found that 13 plants of robujla
efcaped uninjured, while 4 were killed ; and of viridis, only 6 efcaped uninjured, while 11 were killed.
The Deodar feems very indifferent to fite, foil, and fubftratum, flourilhing in its native mountains
equally amongft the clefts of the moft fearped rocks, gneifs, quartz, limeftone, granite, clay, and mica fiate,
as in the black vegetable mould of the glen or ravine. It is the fame in this country. No foil feems
unfuited for it except fand; indeed, few Conifers thrive in fand. For example, in Bcrkfhire, where the foil
is fandy loam without lime, it makes flow progrefs; while in Gloucefterfhire it grows rapidly on a lime and
clay foil without fand. It thrives well on the oolite. Even in undrained wet clay it thrives. It cannot,
however, ftand the fea breeze. Wherever it is expofed to its faline influence it dies; but when protected
from it, though only a very little inland, it does well.
Its growth is rapid. On an examination of the Indian flab already mentioned, it was found that,
notwithftanding it was 4 feet 6 inches in diameter, it was not more than 190 years old. The rate of
o-rowth had varied between 65 and 3! inches of increafe for every ten years, the larger increafe taking
place chiefly in its older ftage. According to this datum, and fuppofing the trees to grow as faft in
England as in their native country, in the fpaCe of thirty years they fhould be 26 inches in diameter, or
about three times as thick as Larch of the fame age. Mr Brown, in his tables, gives 9; inches as the
average diameter of Larch in Scotland of that age. It is rather furprifing that the fact of fuch a rapid increafe
of growth in their native country fhould not have fuggefted doubts of the ftrength of the timber: foftnefs and
rapidity of growth being almoft fynonymous terms. " A flow fupply of nutriment is neceffary to prevent
the tree growing too rapidly," fays Dr Lindley ; and Dr Royle, in his Report already quoted from, feems to
have contemplated the. neceffity of checking its too rapid growth. lie fays, "The great precaution
required in planting this, as in other timber trees, is to avoid planting it in too moift or too rich a foil, when
it is required for timber. It would be proper, indeed, to felect well-drained fites on the fteep and barren
acclivities of hills." Excellent advice, from one point of view; excellent for checking the rapidity of growth,
and improving the quality of the timber, if the trees would but grow there. • Unfortunately, the expofure to
wind neutralifes all the benefit; it lafhes them to death—the cure kills the patient.
The actual growth in this country does not equal that of the tree in the Himmalayas; the average
proves to be about 20 feet in height, and about half a foot in diameter every ten years: equal to about
2 feet in height and about three-quarters of an inch in diameter each year. The beft and largeft fpecimens
which we know of, are fome fine trees at Lady Rolle's, at Bicton, near Exeter. Thefe are upwards of
60 feet in height, and are the produce of the firft feeds introduced into this country. At Blenheim Park,
in Oxfordfliire, there are trees upwards of 50 feet in height, which alfo no doubt belong to the firft flight.
At Osberton Hall, in Nottinghamfliire, there was a plant 45 feet in height, which, however, was killed by
the cold in i860. At Beechland, in Suffex, there is a plant 40 feet in height; at Nettlecombe, in Somerfetfhire,
one 37 feet; at Linton Park, another 32 feet; and a multitude of others all over the kingdom,
varying from 20 to 30 feet. One of the fineft and beft grown of the medium fize that we have feen is
at Mr Henry Watfon's, Dartington Houfe, near Totnes. At Caftle Martyr, near Cork, there is a fine
specimen 18 years old and 38 feet high. At Dropmore there are a number of 'plants which
have probably been raifed from the firft feeds. Mr Froft, as already mentioned, dates them from 1829;
we have taken the liberty of reckoning them as only dating from 1832. At any rate, there feems no
doubt that they have all been raifed from the fame fowing, and their heights are 40 ft., 40 ft. 3 in.,
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