2234

ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM.

PART III.

1834, after being 12 years planted, 18 ft. high. P. halepensis is the mosttender of European pines, not even excepting P. Pinea.

Geography. The Aleppo pine is indigenous in Syria, in the neighbour-hood of Aleppo, in Jerusalem ; in Barbary, on the mountains of Atlas; onthe hills of Provence, and in the neighbourhood of Toulon and Frejus, inFrance, where it is called the pin blanc; and throughout great part of Spain.According to Captain Cook, it forms great part of the forests of UpperCatalonia, and in the Aleborca, a district of New Castile, near the Guada-laxara, but not rising so high on the mountains as the P. Pinaster. It isalways found in dry, sandy, warm soils, and thrives admirably among rocks,where the roots of few other trees will find subsistence.

History. The Aleppo pine was first cultivated in England in 1683, byBishop Compton, under the name of P. hierosolymitana. ( Ray's Letters,p. 171.) In 1732, cones of the tree were sent from Aleppo to Miller, whoraised plants from them, most of which, however, were destroyed by thesevere winter of 1740. As cones are readily procured from France, thespecies is not rare in British nurseries; but, though one of the most orna-mental of the genus, it has not been much planted. In Scotland and Ire-land, it is rarely to be met with; it is not common in the neighbourhood ofParis, being destroyed there by very severe winters, such as that of 1788,which killed all the trees in the vicinity of the French capital; and in Ger-many, and at New York, it is a green-house plant.

Properties and Uses. The wood is white, with a fine grain, which becomesdark in old trees. In Provence, it is much used for joinery, and also formaking pumps for vessels. According to Bose {Ann. de FAgr., Feb. 1826,as quoted by Delamarre), the Aleppo pine is very common between Mar-seilles and Antibes, where it rivals in height and thickness the pinaster, andits wood is considered very superior. The chief employment, however, ofthe tree is for extracting its resinous products, for which it is much preferredto the pinaster. The liquid resin extracted from this tree in Provence,where it is called le pin blanc, is often sold for Venice turpentine; and thetar produced by it in the same country is esteemed greatly superior tothat of Bordeaux, which is made from the pinaster. The variety P. h. mari-tima, as we have seen, p. 2232., is used for various purposes in Greece, and,among others, the bark is employed for tanning hides. In Britain, P. hale-pensis can only be considered as ornamental; and, when planted singly on alawn, it forms one of the handsomest species of the genus. According toBose, it is the most elegant of European pines.

Statistics. In England. At Fulham Palace, 17 years planted, it is 20 ft. high. In Surrey, atOakham Park, 14 years planted, it is 13 ft. high. In Berkshire, at White Knights, 38 years plantedit is 57 ft. high. In Hertfordshire, at Cheshunt, 10 years planted, it is 16 ft. high. In Staffordshire^at Trentham, it is 20 ft. high. In Suffolk, at Ampton Hall, 12 years planted, it is 16 ft. high. InWorcestershire, at Croome, 40 years planted, it is 40 ft. high—In Ireland. In the Glasnevin BotanicGarden, 35 years planted, it is 15 ft. high} at Terenure, 8 years planted, it is 8 ft. high. In Kilkenny,at Woodstock, it is 20 ft. high.—In France, at Paris, in the Jardin des Plantes, 40 years planted,it is 45 ft. high, diameter of the trunk 1 ft., and of the head 20 ft.

Commercial Statistics. Plants, in the London nurseries, are 2s. 6d. each ;at Bollwyller, 1 franc 50 cents; and at New York, 75 cents.

1 15. P. bru'tia Ten. The Calabrian Pine.

Identification. Ten. FL Nap. Prod., p. 69. ; Synops., ed. alt.,p. 66.; Sy 11., p. 477.; Lamb. Pin., vol. S.

t. 82. j Lawson’s Manual, p. 336. ; Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836.

Synonyme. P. conglomerata Grcefer Pi. Exsicc., as quoted by Lambert.

Engravings. Lamb. Pin., vol. 3. t. 82.; and our Jigs. 2115. and 2116., from Lambert, and from a youngtree in the Horticultural Society’s Garden, sent there by Mr. Lambert.

Spec. Char., 8fc. Leaves in pairs, very long, slender, wavy. Cones sessile,crowded, ovate, smooth. Scales truncate at the apex, flattish, umbilicate.{Lamb.) Buds (s eefig. 2114.) f in. long, and | in. broad; ovate, pointed,whitish, and wholly without resin ; centre bud surrounded by three smallerbuds. Leaves from 3J in. to 4 in. long, on the young plant in the Horti-cultural Society’s Garden ; but above 6 in. long in Mr. Lambert’s figure.Sheaths, in both, less than Jin. in length.