CIIAP. CXI1I.

coni'fer.®. cupre'ssus.

2485

which, when they exceed 18 ft. or 20 ft. in height, proves how much they areaffected by the barrenness of the soil. From these particulars an idea may beformed of the situations and soils in which the deciduous cypresses are found,over an extent of more than 1500 miles, from their first appearance inthe north, to the Mississippi . Michaux adds that he has some reason tobelieve that the deciduous cypress is found as far south as the mouth of theRio del Norte, Iat. 36°; which, if we measure the circuit of the Gulf ofMexico , makes a range for this tree of more than 3000 miles. ( Michx .)

History. The deciduous cypress appears to have been introduced before16+0; as Parkinson , writing in that year, speaks of it. “ The Americane ci-presseis, as it is said, in sundrie countries of the North America ; its seed wasbroughtby Master Tradescant from Virginia,and sown here,and doe spring verybravely.” (Park. Tkeat., &c., p. 1477.) Miller, speaking of this tree, says :“ One in the gardens of John Tradescant , in South Lambeth, near Vauxhall,is upwards of 30 ft. high, and of considerable bulk ; and, though in a commonyard at present, where no care is taken of it, but, on the contrary, many hooksare driven into the trunk to fasten cords thereto for drying clothes, yet thetree is in great health and vigour, but has not produced any fruit as yet,which may be occasioned for want of moisture; for we often see aquaticplants will grow upon a drier soil, but yet are seldom so productive of eitherflowers or fruit as those which remain growing in the water.” (Diet. , ed. 1731.)In a subsequent edition, Miller says : “ There is also a pretty large Tree ofthis kind now growing in the gardens of Sir Abraham Jansen, Bart., at Wim-bledon,in Surrey, which has produced a great quantity of cones for some yearspast, which, in favourable seasons, come to maturity; and the seeds have beenas good as those which have been brought from America . This tree was trans-planted when it was very large, which has stunted its growth,” and may havethrown it into fruit. (See Diet. , ed. 1752.)

The deciduous cypress appears to have been introduced into Scotland about 1746; as Dr. Walker, in 1776, speaks of a fine tree of it in the groundsat Loudon Castle, in Ayrshire, which, he says, was then 30 years old, and 25 ft.high. This tree, he adds, was “ the only considerable tree of the kind in NorthBritain. It was feathered down to the ground with branches; and is, withoutexception, the most elegant tree of the kind to be seen in our climate. Itused formerly to be kept in the green-house, which, from this instance, appearsquite unnecessary, as the tree has never suffered in winter. It stood wellsheltered, and in a heavy clay soil.” (Essays, & c., p. 80.) Humboldt mentionsthat there are some trees in Mexico , which were planted in the garden of theemperor there, before the Spanish invasion ; and it is probably to these thatWard alludes in his Mexico . “ The cypress of Montezuma,” he says, “ standsin the gardens of Chapultipec, near Mexico ; and, as it had attained its fullgrowth when that monarch was on the throne (1520), it must now be nearly400 years old. The trunk is 41 ft. in circumference, and it is so high as toappear slender.” At Santa Maria de Tula, in Oaxaca , is a cypress 93J ft. incircumference.

Botanical History. Parkinson , in 1640, expresses his doubts that thistree was not “ a true cipresse,” and suggests that it must have been calledso from the fragrance of the wood. It was, however, classed by Linnaeus ,and all succeeding botanists, as a Cupressus, till M. Richard, in the Annalesdu Musee, tom. xvi. p. 269., constituted it a genus, under the name of Taxo-dium ; which name was applied from the leaves being disposed in the samemanner as those of the yew. Two years afterwards, M. Mirbel and M.Schubert described it as a separate genus, under the name of Sehubertia(Houv. Bull, dcla Soc. Phil., iii. p. 123.) ; but the name of Taxodium havingbeen applied first, and accompanied by a scientific description, necessarilytakes precedence.

Properties and Uses. The wood is universally employed, throughout theUnited States, for the best kind of shingles; and in Louisiana it is usedfor almost every other purpose to which timber is applied. Nearly all the

7x4