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WOODLAND GLEANINGS.
WOODLAND GLEANINGS.
"Attractive is the Woodland scene, Diversified with trees of every growth— Alike yet various.... * * * * * No tree in all the grove but has its charms." WOODLAND GLEANINGS: BEING AN ACCOUNT OF BRITISH FOREST-TREES, INDIGENOUS AND INTRODUCED. SECOND EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED, WITH SIXTY-FOUR ILLUSTRATIONS. LONDON: ADAM SCOTT, CHARTERHOUSE SQUARE. 1853. GLASGOW: W. G. BLACKIE AND CO., PRINTERS, VILLAFIELD....
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ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
TO THE SECOND EDITION. To those who live in the country, or repair to it from our cities and towns for recreation or recruitment of health, we trust this will be an acceptable book, especially if they are unacquainted with Forest-trees. Our aim has been to produce a volume that will convey general and particular information respecting the timber-trees chiefly cultivated in the United Kingdom, to induce further inquiry respecting them, and to impart a new interest to the Woodland. To effect this
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INTRODUCTION.
INTRODUCTION.
The forest teems With forms of majesty and beauty; some, As the light poplar, wave with every sigh Of zephyr, and some scarcely bend their heads For very mightiness, when wintry storms Are maddening the sea! Carrington. Delightful Edlington! how we love to saunter up and down the broad and verdant pathway that traverses thy wild domain. There, amid the deep imbosomed thickets, we feel that we are in "the haunts of meditation"—we feel that these are, indeed, The scenes where ancient bards th' ins
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THE ALDER-TREE.
THE ALDER-TREE.
[ Alnus. [A] Nat. Ord.— Amentiferæ ; Linn.— Monœc. Tetra. ] [A] Generic characters. Scales of the barren catkins, 3-lobed, 3-flowered. Perianth 4-cleft. Scales of the fertile catkin ovate, 2-flowered, coriaceous, persistent. Styles 2, parallel, setiform, deciduous; stigma simple. Fruit a nut, ovate, 2-celled. Kernel solitary, ovate, acute. Name, Celtic, from al , and lan , a river bank. The Common Alder ( A. glutinosa ), is the most aquatic of European trees. It grows to the height of fifty or s
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THE ASH-TREE.
THE ASH-TREE.
[ Fraxinus. [B] Nat. Ord.— Oleaceæ ; Linn.— Dian. Monog. ] [B] Generic characters. Calyx none, or deeply 4-cleft. Corolla none, or of 4 petals. Perianth single, or none. Fruit a 2-celled, 2-seeded capsule, flattened and foliaceous at the extremity (a samara ). Name from φραξις, separation, on account of the ease with which the wood may be split. The Common Ash ( F. excelsior ), is one of the noblest of our forest-trees, and generally carries its principal stem higher than the oak, rising in an e
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THE BEECH-TREE.
THE BEECH-TREE.
[ Fagus. [C] Nat. Ord.— Amentiferæ ; Linn.— Monœc. Poly. ] [C] Generic characters. Barren flowers in a roundish catkin. Perianth campanulate, divided into 5 or 6 segments. Stamens 8 to 15. Fertile flowers, 2 together, within a 4-lobed prickly involucre. Stigma 3. Ovaries 3-cornered and 3-celled. Nut by abortion 1 or 2-seeded. Named from φαγω, to eat. The Common Beech ( F. sylvática ), is supposed to be indigenous to England, but not to Scotland or Ireland. According to Evelyn, it is a beautiful
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THE BIRCH-TREE.
THE BIRCH-TREE.
[ Betula. [D] Nat. Ord.— Amentiferæ ; Linn.— Monœc. Poly. ] [D] Generic characters. Barren flowers in a cylindrical catkin with ternate scales. Perianth none. Stamens 10 or 12. Fertile flowers in an oblong catkin, with 3-lobed, 3-flowered scales. Perianth none. Styles 2, filiform. Emit an oblong nut, deciduous, winged, 1-celled. Kernel solitary. —most beautiful Of forest trees, the lady of the woods. Coleridge. The common Birch ( B. alba ) is a native of the colder regions of Europe and Asia, be
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THE CEDAR OF LEBANON.
THE CEDAR OF LEBANON.
[ Cedrus Libani. Nat. Ord.— Coniferæ ; Linn.— Pinus C. Monœc. Monand. ] On high the Cedar Stoops, like a monarch to his people bending, And casts his sweets around him. Barry Cornwall. The Cedar of Lebanon is a majestic evergreen tree, generally from fifty to eighty feet in height, extending wide its boughs and branches; and its sturdy arms grow in time so weighty, as frequently to bend the very stem and main shaft. Phillips observes, that "this noble tree has a dignity and a general striking ch
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THE SWEET CHESTNUT-TREE.
THE SWEET CHESTNUT-TREE.
[ Castaneæ vulgaris. Nat. Ord.— Amentiferæ ; Linn.— Monœc. Poly. ] The Sweet Chestnut, so called with reference to the fruit, in contradistinction to that of the Horse-Chestnut, which is bitter, is also called the Spanish Chestnut, because the best chestnuts for the table are imported from Spain. In favourable situations, it becomes a magnificent tree, though it never attains a height, or diameter of head, equal to that of the oak. The trunk generally rises erect, forming, in all cases, a massy
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THE ELM-TREE.
THE ELM-TREE.
[ Ulmus [E] Nat. Ord.— Ulmaceæ ; Linn.— Pentand. Digy. ] [E] Generic characters of the Ulmi. Calyx campanulate, inferior, 4 to 5-cleft, persistent. Corolla none. Fruit a membranous, compressed, winged capsule (a samara ), 1-seeded. There stood the Elme, whose shade, so mildly dim, Doth nourish all that groweth under him. W. Browne. The Common Elm ( U. campestris ), after having assumed the dignity and hoary roughness of age, is not excelled in grandeur and beauty by any of its brethren. In this
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THE HAWTHORN-TREE.
THE HAWTHORN-TREE.
[ Cratægus . [F] Nat. Ord.— Rosaceæ ; Linn.— Icosand. Pentag. ] [F] Cratægus . Calyx superior, monosepalous, 5-cleft. Petals 5. Styles 2 to 5. Fruit a small pome , oval or round, concealing the upper end of the bony carpels. Flowers in cymes. Leaves lobed. The Hawthorn bush, with seats beneath the shade, For talking age and whispering lovers made. High as we admit Gilpin's taste for the picturesque to be, we are compelled to differ from him in his opinion of the Hawthorn. He observes that it has
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THE HAZEL-TREE.
THE HAZEL-TREE.
[ Corylus . [G] Nat. Ord.— Amentiferæ ; Linn.— Monœc. Polyan. ] [G] Corylus . Barren catkin long, pendulous, cylindrical. Scales 3-lobed, middle lobe covering the 2 lateral lobes. Stamens 8. Anther 1-celled. Perianth none. Fertile flowers, several surrounded by a scaly involucre. Styles 2. Nut 1-seeded, inclosed in the enlarged coriaceous laciniated involucre. The common Hazel, C. avellana , is a native of all the temperate climates of Europe and Asia, and grows wild in almost every part of Brit
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THE HOLLY-TREE.
THE HOLLY-TREE.
[ Ilex. [H] Nat. Ord.— Aquifoliaceæ ; Linn.— Tetram. Tetrag. ] [H] Ilex. Calyx inferior, 4 or 5-toothed, persistent. Corolla rotate, 4 or 5-cleft. Stigmas 4, sessile, or nearly so; distinct or united. Fruit a spherical berry, 4-celled, each cell 1-seeded. Flowers sometimes polygamous. Above all the evergreens which enrich our landscapes, there is none to be compared to the common Holly, I. aquifolium . This was a favourite plant with Evelyn. It grew spontaneously and luxuriantly near his own res
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THE HORNBEAM.
THE HORNBEAM.
[ Carpinus . [I] Nat. Ord.— Amentiferæ ; Linn.— Monœc. Polyan. ] [I] Carpinus . Barren catkin long, cylindrical. Scales roundish. Stamens 5 to 14. Anther 1-celled. Fertile flower in a lax catkin. Scales large, leaf-like, 3-lobed, 2-flowered. Styles 2. Nut ovate, 1-seeded. The Common Hornbeam, C. betulus , is a native of England and Ireland, and of the south of Scotland, and is also indigenous throughout the greater part of Europe and western Asia, but not in Africa. Picturesquely considered, the
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THE HORSE-CHESTNUT TREE.
THE HORSE-CHESTNUT TREE.
[ Æsculus. Nat. Ord.— Æsculaceæ ; Linn.— Heptan. Monog. ] The Common Horse-chestnut, Æ. hippocastanum , is supposed to be a native of the north of India, and appears to have been introduced into England about the year 1575. It is a tree of the largest size, with an erect trunk and a pyramidal head. It forms its foliage generally in a round mass, with little appearance of those breaks which are so much to be admired, and which contribute to give an airiness and lightness, at least a richness and
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THE LARCH-TREE.
THE LARCH-TREE.
[ Abies Larix. [J] Nat. Ord.— Coniferæ ; Linn.— Monœc. Monand. ] [J] Abies Larix. Lind. Pinnis L. Linn. L. Europæa. Lond. The Larch claims the Alps and Apennines for its native country, where it thrives in higher regions of the air than any known tree of its large bulk, hanging over rocks and precipices which have never been trod by human feet. It is often felled by the Alpine peasant, to fall athwart some yawning chasm, where it affords an awful passage from cliff to cliff, while the roaring ca
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THE LIME, OR LINDEN TREE.
THE LIME, OR LINDEN TREE.
[ Tilia. [K] Europæa. Nat. Ord.— Tiliaceæ ; Linn.— Polyand. Monog. ] [K] Generic characters . Sepals 5, deciduous. Petals 5, with or without a scale at the base. Stamens indefinite, free, or polyadelphous. Ovary 5-celled, cells 2-seeded. Style 1. Fruit 1-celled, with 1 or 2 seeds. The Common Lime-tree grows naturally straight and taper, with a smooth erect trunk, and a fine spreading head, inclining to a conical form. In a good soil it arrives at a great height and size, and becomes a majestic o
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THE MAPLE-TREE.
THE MAPLE-TREE.
[ Acer. [L] Nat. Ord.— Aceraceæ ; Linn. Octan. Monog. ] [L] Generic characters. Calyx inferior, 5-cleft. Petals 5, obovate. Fruit consisting of 2 capsules, united at the base, indehiscent and winged (a samara ). Trees, with simple leaves and flowers, often polygamous, in axillary corymbs or racemes. The Common Maple ( A. campestre ) is found throughout the middle states of Europe, and in the north of Asia. It is common in hedges and thickets in the middle and south of England, but is rare in the
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THE MOUNTAIN-ASH, OR ROWAN-TREE.
THE MOUNTAIN-ASH, OR ROWAN-TREE.
[ Pyrus. [M] Nat. Ord.— Rosaceæ ; Linn.— Icosand. Pentag. ] [M] Generic characters. Calyx superior, monosepalous, 5-cleft. Petals 5. Styles 2 to 5. Fruit a pome , 5-celled, each cell 2-seeded, cartilaginous. The Mountain-Ash ( P. aucuparia ) is a native of most parts of Europe, and western Asia. It is also found in Japan, and in the most northern parts of North America. In Britain it is common in woods and hedges in mountainous, but rather moist situations, in every part of the island, and also
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THE BLACK-FRUITED MULBERRY.
THE BLACK-FRUITED MULBERRY.
[ Morus nigra. [N] Nat. Ord.— Urticaceæ ; Linn.— Monœc. Tetra. ] [N] Morus. Flowers unisexual; barren flowers disposed in a drooping, peduncled, axillary spike; fertile flowers in ovate, erect spikes. Calyx of 4 equal sepals, imbricate in estivation, expanded in flowering. Stamens 4. Ovary 2-celled, one including one pendulous ovate, the other devoid of any. Stigmas 2, long. Seed pendulous. The Black-fruited, or Common Mulberry, is generally supposed to be a native of Persia, where there are sti
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THE BRITISH OAK.
THE BRITISH OAK.
[ Quercus . [O] Nat. Ord.— Amentiferæ ; Linn.— Monœc. Polya. ] [O] Generic characters. Barren flowers arranged in a loose, pendulous catkin, the perianth single, the stamens 5-10. Fertile flower in a cupulate, scaly involucrum, with 3 stigmas. Fruit an acorn, 1-celled, 1-seeded, seated in the cupulate, scaly involucrum. The Oak, when living, monarch of the wood; The English Oak, when dead, commands the flood. Churchill. On our entrance into the Woodland, the eye first greets the majestic Oak, wh
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THE ORIENTAL PLANE.
THE ORIENTAL PLANE.
[ Platanus [P] orientalis. Nat. Ord.— Platanaceæ ; Linn.— Monœc. Polya. ] [P] Platanus. Flowers unisexual, the barren and fertile upon one plant, disposed many together, and densely, in globular catkins. Pistils numerous, approximately pairs. Ovary 1-celled, including 1-2 pendulous ovules. Stigmas 2, long, filiform, glandular in the upper part. Fruit autricle, densely covered with articulated hairs, including one pendulous, oblong, exalbuminous seed. The Oriental Plane is a native of Greece, and
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THE OCCIDENTAL OR AMERICAN PLANE.
THE OCCIDENTAL OR AMERICAN PLANE.
[ Platanus occidentalis. Nat. Ord.— Platanaceæ ; Linn.— Monœc. Polya. ] The American or Western Plane is found over an immense area in North America, comprising the Atlantic and western states, and extending beyond the Mississippi. In the Atlantic states, this tree is commonly known by the name of button-wood; and sometimes, in Virginia, by that of water-beech, from its preferring moist localities, "where the soil is loose, deep, and fertile." On the banks of the Ohio, and in the states of Kentu
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THE POPLAR TREE.
THE POPLAR TREE.
[ Populus. [Q] Nat. Ord.— Amentiferæ ; Linn.— Diœc. Octa. ] [Q] Generic characters. Flowers of both kinds in cylindrical catkins. Barren flowers consisting of numerous stamens, arising out of a small, oblique, cup-like perianth. Fertile flowers consisting of 4 or 8 stigmas, arising out of a cup-like perianth; fruit a follicle, 2-valved, almost 2-celled by the rolling in of the margins of the valves. The Poplars are deciduous trees, mostly growing to a large size; natives of Europe, North America
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THE SCOTCH FIR, OR PINE.
THE SCOTCH FIR, OR PINE.
[ Pinus [R] sylvestris. Nat. Ord.— Coniferæ ; Linn.— Monœc. Mon. ] [R] Generic characters. Flowers monœcious. Cones woody, with numerous 2-seeded scales, thickened and angular at the end. Seeds with a crustaceous coat, winged. Leaves acerose, in clusters of from 2 to 5, surrounded by scarious scales at the base. The Scotch Fir or Pine, and its varieties, are indigenous throughout the greater part of Europe. It also extends into the north, east, and west of Asia; and is found at Nootka Sound in V
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THE SILVER FIR.
THE SILVER FIR.
[ Abies [S] picea. Nat. Ord— Coniferæ ; Linn.— Monœc. Mon. ] [S] For the generic characters, see p. 221. The Silver Fir is indigenous to the mountains of Central Europe, and to the west and north of Asia, rising to the commencement of the zone of the Scotch fir. It is found in France, on the Pyrenees, the Alps, and the Vosges; in Italy, Spain, Greece, and the south of Germany; also in Russia and Siberia; but it is not found indigenous in Britain or Ireland. On the Carpathian mountains it is foun
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THE NORWAY SPRUCE.
THE NORWAY SPRUCE.
[ Abies [T] excelsa. Nat. Ord.— Coniferæ ; Linn.— Monœc. Mon. ] [T] Generic characters. Flowers monœcious. Barren catkins crowded, racemose. Scales of the cone thinned away to the edge, and usually membranous or coriaceous. Leaves never fascicled. Though a native of the mountains of Europe and Asia in similar parallels of latitude, the Spruce Fir is not considered indigenous to Britain. It must, however, have been introduced at an early period, as it is mentioned by our oldest writers on arboric
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THE SYCAMORE, OR GREATER MAPLE.
THE SYCAMORE, OR GREATER MAPLE.
[ Acer [U] pseudo-platanus. Nat. Ord.— Aceraceæ ; Linn.— Polyg. Monœc. ] [U] For the generic characters, see p. 139. Turner , who wrote in 1551, considered the Sycamore as a stranger, or tree that had been introduced. On the Continent it is spread over the mountains of middle Europe; and is found in Switzerland, where it particularly abounds, growing at an elevation of from 2000 to 3000 feet above the level of the sea, where the soil is dry and of a good quality. The Sycamore is "certainly a nob
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THE COMMON WALNUT TREE.
THE COMMON WALNUT TREE.
[ Juglans [V] regia. Nat. Ord.— Juglandaceæ ; Linn.— Monœc. Polya. ] [V] Generic characters. Flowers monœcious. Stamens 18 to 24. Drupe with a 2-valved deciduous sarcocarp, or rind; and a deeply-wrinkled putamen or shell. The Walnut tree is a native of Persia, and is found growing wild in the North of China. It was known to the Greeks and Romans, and was probably introduced into this country by the latter. It is now to be met with in every part of Europe, as far north as Warsaw; but it is nowher
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THE WEYMOUTH PINE.
THE WEYMOUTH PINE.
[ Pinus [W] strobus . Nat. Ord.— Coniferæ ; Linn.— Monœc. Monan. ] [W] For the generic characters, see p. 207. This Pine is a native of North America, growing in fertile soils, on the sides of hills, from Canada to Virginia. It was introduced about 1705, and was soon after planted in great quantities at Longleat, in Wiltshire, the seat of Lord Weymouth, where the trees prospered amazingly, and whence the species received the name of the Weymouth Pine. In America, in the state of Vermont, and nea
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THE WILD BLACK CHERRY OR GEAN.
THE WILD BLACK CHERRY OR GEAN.
[ Prunus Avium. [Y] Nat. Ord.— Rosaceæ ; Linn.— Icosand. Monogy. ] [Y] Generic character. Calyx inferior, 5-cleft. Petals 5. Drupe roundish, covered with bloom; the stone furrowed at its inner edge. The Cherry, in a wild state, is indigenous in Central Europe, and is also found in Russia up to 56° N. lat. In England, it is met with in woods and hedges; and is found apparently wild in Scotland and Ireland. The Wild Cherry has grown in this country from fifty to eighty-five feet in height. In cult
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THE WILD SERVICE-TREE.
THE WILD SERVICE-TREE.
[ Pyrus [Z] torminalis. Nat. Ord.— Rosaceæ ; Linn.— Icosand. Pentag. ] [Z] For the generic characters, see p. 243. The Common Wild Service-tree is a native of various parts of Europe, from Germany to the Mediterranean, and of the south of Russia, and Western Asia. It is found in woods and hedges in the middle and south of England, but not in Scotland or Ireland. It generally grows in strong clayey soils. This tree grows to the height of forty or fifty feet, spreading at the top into many branche
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THE WILLOW-TREE.
THE WILLOW-TREE.
[ Salix [AA] Nat. Ord.— Amentiferæ ; Linn.— Diœc. Diand. ] [AA] Generic characters. Catkins oblong, imbricated all round, with oblong scales. Perianth none. Stamens 1-5. Fruit a 1-celled follicle with 1-2 glands at its base. The willow tribes that ever weep, Hang drooping o'er the glassy-bosom'd wave. Bidlake. The Willows are chiefly natives of the colder parts of the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. More than two hundred species of this genus have been described by botanists, of wh
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THE YEW-TREE.
THE YEW-TREE.
[ Taxus [AB] baccata. Nat. Ord.— Taxaceæ ; Linn.— Diœc. Monad. ] [AB] Generic characters. Barren flowers in oval catkins, with crowded, peltate scales, bearing 3 to 8 anther-cells. Stamens numerous. Style 1. Anthers peltate, with several lobes. Fertile flowers scaly below. Ovule surrounded at the base by a ring, which becomes a fleshy cup-shaped disk surrounding the seed. The Berried or Common Yew is indigenous to most parts of Europe, from 58° N. lat. to the Mediterranean Sea; also to the east
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