1262

ARBORETUM AND FROTiCETUM.

PART m.

southern regions,” says Michaux, “ it frequently exceeds 50 ft. in height,with a diameter of from 18 in. to 24 in. It is easily recognised by its bark,which is of silver grey, and but slightly furrowed; by its ample leaves, andby its wide-spreading head, disproportioned in size to the diameter of itstrunk. It differs from other trees, also, in the fewness of its branches.”(JV. Amer. Sylva, ii. p. 64.) The catalpa is a tree of rapid growth, andits timber is remarkably light, of very fine texture, and brilliant when po-lished : its colour is of a greyish white; and, when properly seasoned, it isvery durable. If a portion of the bark of this tree be removed in spring,“a venomous and offensive odour is exhaled.” The bark is said to betonic, stimulant, and more powerfully antiseptic than the Peruvian bark;and the honey collected from its flowers to be poisonous, and analogous inits effects to that made from the flowers of Gelsemiuvi nitidum. Thecatalpa is generally propagated by seeds, which are imported from America ;but it will grow readily by cuttings of the root; and, of course, plantsso raised will flower much sooner than those which are raised from seed.The tree is of rapid growth till it attains the height of 20 ft., which, in deepfree soil, in the neighbourhood of London , it does in 10 years. Seedlingplants begin to flower, under favourable circumstances, in 12 or 15 years;and, in soils and situations where the wood is well ripened, they continueflowering every year, making a splendid appearance, not only from the largesize and lively colour of the flowers, which are white, marked with purpleand yellow spots, but from the fine pale green of its very large leaves, whichare of a different shade of green from those of almost every other tree; thenearest approach to it being that of the leaves of Negundo /raxinifdlium.In fine seasons, the flowers are succeeded by seed-pods, which somewhatresemble those of the common cabbage, but on a large scale; being fre-quently 2 ft. long, and curved upwards so as to resemble horns.

Statistics. Cat&lpa syringje/olm in the Environs of London . At Kenwood, 40 years planted, 40ft.high ; diameter of trunk 1 ft. 5 in., and that of the head 35 ft.; head irregular ; in sandy loam onclay. At Fulham Palace, 150 years planted, and 25 ft. high ; diameter of the trunk 2 ft., and of thehead 20 ft. At Syon, the tree figured in our last Volume, 52 ft. high ; diameter of the trunk 3 ft,and that of the space covered by the branches 50 ft. At Kensington Gravel Pits, in the grounds oiS. C. Hall, Esq., 30 ft. high ; diameter of the trunk 1ft., and of the head 40 ft.; on gravelly soil; andflowering abundantly every year. At Muswell Hill, 31 ft. high, with a head 30 ft. in diameter. Inthe Mile End Nursery, 35 ft. high.

Cathlpa syringa ifolia South of London . In Devonshire, at Luscombe, 19 years planted, and 27 ft.high ; diameter of trunk 11 in., and that of the space covered by the branches 24 ft.; estimated height,in 10 years, 15 ft.; in loam on gravel. In Kent, at Cobham Hall, 30 years planted, and 30 ft. high,diameter of trunk 2 ft. 3 in., and that of the head 35 ft. •, at Eastwell Park, 50 ft high. In Wiltshire ,at Longleat, 65 years planted, and 35 ft. high, diameter of the trunk 2 ft. 5 in., and of the head 37 ft.;at Wardour Castle, 50 years planted, and 30 ft. high j at Longford Castle, 25 years planted, and30 ft. high.

Catalpa syringae/oZm North of London. In Bedfordshire , at Ampthill, 38 years planted, andSO ft. high ; diameter of the trunk 2ft., and of the head 40 ft. In Berkshire, at White Knights, 25years' planted, and 30 ft. high. In Buckinghamshire , at Temple House, 35 years planted, and 27 ft.high. In Cheshire, at Eaton Hall, 13 years planted, 14 ft. high. In Essex, at Hylands, 10 yearsplanted, 21 ft. high : at Witham, two trees, from 40 to 50 years planted; one with a trunk free frombranches to the height of 17| ft., and the other to the height of 19^ ft.; both have wide-spreadingheads, and flower abundantly every year. In Gloucestershire , at Doddington, 20 years planted,and 20 ft. high. In Hertfordshire, at Cheshunt, 10 years planted, 18 ft. high. In Lancashire , atLatham House, 60 years planted, and 33 ft. high. In Oxfordshire , at Blenheim, several fine oldtrees, upwards of 30 ft. high, with heads from 30 ft. to 50 ft. in diameter. In Pembrokeshire, atStackpole Court, 6 years planted, and 6 ft. high. In Suffolk, in the Bury Botanic Garden , 11 yearsplanted, and 13 ft. high. In Warwickshire , at Combe Abbey, 20 years planted, and 10 ft. high.In Worcestershire , at Croome, 40 years old, 60 ft. high; at Hagley, 8 years planted, 8 feet high. InYorkshire , in the Hull Botanic Garden, 8 years old, and 6 ft. high.

C. syringa folia in Scotland. At Gosford House, 12 years planted, and 15 ft. high. In the GlasgowBotanic Garden , almost herbaceous, even under the shelter of a wall; a proof of the coldness andmoisture of the autumnal months in that part of Scotland , so very different from the climate of theeast coast.

C. syringEqftft'a in Ireland . In the Glasnevin Botanic Garden, 30 years old, and 16 ft. high,diameter of the trunk 12 in., and of the top 15 ft.; at Cypress Grove, 16 ft. high, diameter of trunk14 in., and of the top 12 ft.; at Terenure, 8 years planted, and 7 ft. high. In Galway , at Cool, 25 ft.high.

Catalpa syringa?/o&a in France. In the Jardin des Plantes , 60 years planted, it is 40 ft. high, thediameter of the trunk 20 in., and that of the head 40 ft.; at Sceaux , 30 years planted, it is 50 ft. high,the diameter of the trunk 2 ft., and of the head 30ft.; in the Botanic Garden at Toulon , 36 yearsplanted, it is 36 ft. high, with a trunk 1A ft. in diameter ; at Nantes , in the nursery of M. De Nerrifires,30 years planted, it is 29 ft. high, tne diameter of the trunk 2 ft.; in the Botanic Garden atAvranches , 29 years planted, it is 89 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 1 ft. 8 in., and of the headsoft.

Cal&lpa syringa 2 /o/ia in Germany. In Hanover, at Schwobber, it is 30 ft. high ; in the Gottingen