CHAP. CV.

CORYLA'CE^E. QUE'RCUS.

1737

the Companion to the Botanical Magazine, it isstated that the forests of Mount Etna consistchiefly of this tree, which also forms some of thewoods of the Apennines, at least in the northof Italy. It is easily distinguished at first sightfrom the common oak, by its inferior dimensionsand less twisted stem. Travellers who climbMount Etna by the usual road from Nicolsisee scarcely any other tree. It is found at anelevation of from about 3200 ft. to 5000 ft. abovethe level of the sea; and on the eastern side,in the Val del Leone, to 5100 ft. {Comp, fyc., i. 91.) Martyn givesthe Chene noir of Secondat, pi. 5., as a synonyme to this variety ;but we have satisfied ourselves, from examining the plates inSecondat, that his Chene noir is the Q. Tauzin of Persoon, andBose is of the same opinion. Willdenow quotes the Chenenoir of Secondat as a synonyme of his Q. pubescens in his Ber-liniscke Baumzucht, ed. 1811, p. 349.; but not in his Abbildung, &c.,published in 1819. Professor Burnet falls into the same error asProfessor Martyn, in considering the Q. pubescens of Willdenow tobe the Chene noir of Secondat, and the Quercus cum longi pediculo(alluding to the leaves) of Fougeroux; adding, with Martyn, thesynonyme of the Durmast oak; and stating that he thinks the ap-pellation A’obur undoubtedly belongs to this species or variety.Whether Q. pubescens Willd. and the Durmast oak are synonymes,we are not quite certain, though we have very little doubt on thesubject. There is a tree with this name in the Horticultural So-ciety’s Garden, which scarcely differs from the species. Accordingto Martyn, there are trees of the durmast oak in the New Forest;and, according to Borrer, also in Sussex.

Other Varieties. Bose mentions, 1. le Chene a Trochets, or Chene a petitsGlands, which has the leaves velvety beneath ; 2. le Chene a Feuilles decou-ples, which has the leaves deeply lobed,and very small; 3. le Chene laineux, orChene des Collines, which has also the leaves deeply lobed, velvety beneath,andpubescent above; 4. le Chene noiratre, which has the acorns very large, andalmost solitary; and the leaves large, and pubescent beneath. This last varietymust not be confounded with the Q. nigra of America, or the Chene noir ofSecondat, which is the Q. Tauzin. Bose also mentions that “ he thinksthe Chene male of Secondat, the Quercus latifolia mas quas brevi pediculo estofBauhin, different from the chene male, or Q. sessiliflora, of the neighbour-hood of Paris.” It seems that this variety is known in the Landes underthe name of Auzin, or Chene de malediction; because the country peoplethere believe that any one who cuts down one of these trees, or who sleepsin a house built with any of the timber, will die within the year. Bose hadnever seen this variety, though he had traversed the country where it is saidto grow. It is described as a low spreading tree, with tortuous branches,of great toughness, and well adapted for ship-building; weighing 75 lb.per cubic foot, and consequently sinking in water. From the name auzinhad not Bose described Q. Tauzin separately, we should have supposed thiskind to be that species. Le Chene de Haies is also mentioned by Bose,under the head of Q. sessiliflora, as common on the Jura, and in the moun-tains of the Vosges, where it is planted for hedges, seldom growing abovethe height of 6 ft. or 8 ft. The shoots are used for basket-making andtying bundles. The leaves are like those of Q. pedunculata, but the acornsare sessile. It is said not to change its nature by transplantation; andhence Bose thinks that it may be a distinct species. (Nouv. Cours d’Ag.,art. Chene.)

In Britain, the varieties are very numerous, though none has hithertoreceived a technical designation, except the durmast, just described; respect-