1 0 5 7
which are neither too young nor too o k !; and auger holes are made in different
parts of the trunk, from which the turpentine flows through slender
tubes or gutters to a bucket at the bottom of the tree. The manna is collected
from the young shoots and leaves. The larch will grow rapidly upon almost
any soil, and in any situation, for the first 20 or 30 years; but it is only in a
clear dry atmosphere, on a cold-bottomed soil, somewliat moist on the surface,
that itsOmber is brought to perfection. In plains, and near the sea, it grows
rapidly for 30 or 35 years; but, when felled in such situations, the wood is
found rotten at the heart, and unfit for any purpose except fuel. This decay
of the wood is much aggravated vvhen the larches are planted thick, so as to
expose but a small portion of their foliage to the sun, and to retain among
their lower branches an atmosphere surcharged with moisture. The larch will
grow, and become valuable timber, at a much greater elevation above the sea
than the Scotch pine, thriving at the height of 1800 ft. in the Highlands,
where the Scotch pine does not attain a timber size at a greater elevation
than 900 ft. In Switzerland, KasthofFer inform us, it is found in the highest
perfection in soil composed of the debris of calcareous rocks, as well as in
granitic, argillaceous, and schistose soils. An immense mass of valuable
matter on the culture and uses of the larch, with a detailed account of the
pia
our 1st edition, vol. iv. p. 2353. to 2399.
¥ 2. L. a m e r i c a 'n a Michx. The American Larch.
Identification. Michx. N. Amer Syl., 3. p. 21.3
Synonymes. Plnus /aric inaD« RoiHnrbk. ed. Pott. 2. p. 117. ; P . microcàrpa Willd. Baum. p. 275. ;
A'bies microcàrpa Poir. ; Hackmatack, Amer. ; Tamarack, by the Dutch in New Jei sey ; E'pi-
nette rouge, in Canada.
Engravings. Michx. N. Amer. Syl., 3. t. 153. ; Lamb. Pin., cd. 2., t. 50. ; the plate of this tree in
Arb. Brit., 1st edit., vol. viii. ; and ourfig. 1973.
Spec. Char.y Leaves short. Cones small, ovate-roundish, with few scales.
Leaves from ¿ in . to f in . long. Cones from ¿ in. to f in . long, and from
f in. to -I in. broad. A deciduous tree, with a slender trunk. North America,
Newfoundland to Virginia. Height 80 ft. to 100 ft. Introduced in 1739,
Flowers red or yellow. Cones small, brown, or browni.sli red ; May.
Varieties. None of the forms of this species can be at all compared witii thc
European larch, in point of utility, or even ornament.
¥ h. a. 1 rubra. L. microcàrpa Laws. Man. p. 388. ; Pinus microcàrpa
Pursh Fl. Amer. Sept. p. 645., Lodd. Cat. ; E'pinette rouge, Canada.
— Tree medium-sized, upright, of a slender, conical, or pyramidal
habit of growth, but not so much so as in L . a. péndula. Branches
horizontal, or slightly pendulous, except the upper, whicli are rather
aspiring ; branchlets also pendulous, and, together with the branches,
more numerous and dense than those of L . a. pendula. The wood
is so ponderous that it will scarcely swim in water.
¥ L. a. 2 péndula. L. péndula Laws. Man. p. 387. ; Pinus péndula Ait.
Hort. Kew. ed. 1. iii. p, 369.; P . intermedia Du Roi Harbk. ii.
p. 115. ; P. Parix nigra Marsh. Arb. Amer. p. 203. ; /4'bies péndula
Poir. Diet. p. 514. ; Tamarack, Amer. — A tree of medium size,
slender, and generally bending towards the top. Branches verticillate,
few, remote, and pendulous ; branchlets also thin, and more
pendulous than the branches. Bark smooth, and very dark-coloured ;
that on the youngest twigs of a dark purplish colour, inclining to
grey. Leaves like those of the common larch in shape, but rather
longer, darker in colour, and arising from shorter and much darker-
coloured buds or sheaths.
¥ L. a. 3 prolifera. L. prolifera Malcolm, — In this variety, the axis of
the cones is prolonged in the form of a shoot ; a kind of monstrosity
or morphology which is found in all the varieties of L. americàna,
and also, occasionally, in some species of ^I'bies and Pícea.
Michaux describes the American larch as a tall slender tree, with a trunk
1973. L. americàna.
80 or 100 feet high, and only 2 or 3 feet in diameter. Its numerous branches,
except near the summit, are horizontal or declining. The bark is smooth and
shining on the trunk and larger branches, but rii^ ed on the smaller branches.
The leaves are flexible, and shorter than those o fth e European species. The
cones are small and e re c t; green in spring, and generally brown when ripe,
but sometimes they are found of a violet colour. The wood, Michaux says, is
equal to that of the European larch, being exceedingly strong, and singularly
durable. In Britain, it can only be considered as a curious or ornamental
tree. Seeds are sometimes ripened in this country, and are also sometimes
imported; in consequence of which, both varieties are not uncommon in the
nurseries.
G e n u s V .
CE'DRUS Barrel. T h e C e d a r . Lin. Syst. Monoe'cia Monadélphia.
I d e n i i j i c a t io n . Barrelier, Plantæ per Galliam, &c., observatæ, 8rc., Ic., 499.
Synonymes. P in u s L in. in part ; A'bies Poir. in part ; Xàrix Tourn. in p a rt ; Cèdre, Fr. ; Ceder
Ger. ; Cedro, Ital.
Derivation. Some suppose the word Cedrus to be derived from Cedron, a brook in Judea, on the
banks of which the cedar of Lebanon was once plentiful : others from kaio, I burn ; from the wood
of some of the kinds of cedar being burned as incense : and others, from the Arabic hedroum, or
hèdre, power
Gen. Char. The same as in P à rix ; hut with the carpels separating from the
axis, and the leaves evergreen. Cones erect, large, solitary. Anthers
crowned by an elliptical scabrous crest. Carpels coriaceous, compressed,
deciduous.
Leaves simple, in alternate fascicles, exstipulate, evergreen ; linear,
yellowish, powdery.— Trees majestic in form, and evergreen; natives
of Asia and Africa, with large spreading branches. Extremely ornamental,
and one species producing excellent timber.
i 1. C. L ib a'n i R am The Cedar of Lebanon.
Identification. Barrel. Ic., 499. ; Edw. Ornith., t. 188.
Synonymes. P in u s Cèdrus L in . Sp. PL 1420. ; P . fbliis fasciculàtis, Sec. D u Boi Ilarbk. ed. Pott.
2. p. 120. ; Z.àrix Cèdrus Mill. Dict. No. 3. ; Liirix orientàlis Tourn. Ins. p. 5 8 6 . ; Cèdrus mâgna
Dod. Pempt. 867. ; C. conifera Bauh. Pin. p. 4 9 0 . ; C. phoenicea Renealm. Sp. p. 4 7 . ; Cèdrus
Bell. II. p. 162. ; A'bies Cèdrus Poir. Dict. Encyc. 6. p. 510.
.......................................................te. ; Lamb.Engravings. Du'Ham. Arb., 1. t. 132, U n ., ed. 2., t. I
Brit., 1st e d it, vol. v iii.; and om fig. 1974
51. ; the plates o f this tree in Arb.
0! I,
i! li! .