Wayside and woodland trees : $b a pocket guide to the British sylvaStep, Edward
Science
Wayside and woodland trees : $b a pocket guide to the British sylva
Step, Edward
Shrubs -- Great Britain; Trees -- Great Britain
The typical species (Corsican Pine) is a slender tree of somewhat
pyramidal form, growing to the height of 80 to 120 feet. The Austrian
Pine, though a large tree, is of smaller proportions--from 60 to 80 feet
high--but with stouter and longer branches, and denser foliage. The
leaves, which vary from three to five inches in length, are sheathed in
pairs, convex on the outer side, rigid, glossy, dark green, and with
toothed margins. The cone is conical (!), with a rounded base, two to
three inches in length, and its position on the branch is almost
horizontal, the scales somewhat similar to those of the Scots Pine, but
with stronger bosses, and of a yellowish-brown colour, polished. It
takes about seventeen months to become full grown and ripen the seeds.
[Illustration: _Pl. 168._ Cones of Austrian Pine.]
The Austrian Pine is one of those that do well on poor soils, and takes
kindly to chalk. From the density of its foliage, it makes a good shade
and shelter tree. Its timber, though coarse in grain, is very durable,
and useful for outside work.
* * * * *
[Illustration: _Pl. 169._ Cedar of Lebanon.]
Cedar of Lebanon (_Cedrus libani_).
Made familiar, by name at least, from very early times by frequent
references to it in the books of the Old Testament, it is rather strange
that so hardy a tree was not one of the first of those introduced for
ornament into Britain. It is true that local legends attaching to some
old Cedars in this country credit them with having been planted in "the
spacious times of great Elizabeth"--as the great Cedar at Whitton,
Middlesex, blown down in 1779; but, on the other hand, we have the fact
that no mention is made of the Cedar by John Evelyn in his "Sylva"
(1664). This, it is true, is only negative evidence; but it is strong
none the less, for it is not at all likely that so keen and pious an
arboriculturist would have omitted mention of so noteworthy a tree had
such been growing here when he wrote. There is reason to believe,
however, that the still-existing Enfield Cedar was planted about the
date of Evelyn's publication by Dr. Uvedale, master of the Enfield
Grammar School.
The researches of Sir J. D. Hooker, subsequent to his memorable
expedition to Lebanon and Taurus in 1860, established the specific
identity of the three Cedars known as the Mount Atlas Cedar, the Cedar
of Lebanon, and the Deodar. Though the arboriculturist still treats them
as distinct species, they are scientifically regarded as geographical
forms of one species. For convenience we here adopt the
arboriculturist's view.
[Illustration: _Pl. 170._ Bole of Cedar of Lebanon.]
[Illustration: Cedar of Lebanon.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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