The Botanist's Companion Part 8

132. POPULUS monilifera. CANADA POPLAR.--This is also known by the name of BLACK ITALIAN POPLAR, but from whence it had this name I do not know.

This species, which is the finest of all the kinds, grows very commonly in woods and hedges in many parts of Worcestershire and Herefordshire, where it reaches to prodigious sizes. Perhaps no timber is more useful than this; it is very durable, and easy to be converted to all purposes in building. The floors of a great part of Downton Castle, the seat of R. Payne Knight, Esq. are laid with this wood, which have been used forty years and are perfectly sound. Trees are now growing on his estate which are three and four feet in diameter. I have one growing in my Botanic garden which is eight years old, and measures upwards of six cubic feet of timber. The parent of this tree which grew at Brompton I converted into boards. It was nineteen years growing; and when cut down it was worth upwards of fourteen pounds, rating it at the then price of deal, for which it was a good subst.i.tute. Some fine specimens of this tree are also to be seen at Garnins, the seat of Sir J. G. Cotterell, Bart. the present worthy member for the county of Hereford.

133. PRUNUS domestica. THE COMMON PLUM-TREE.--This is the parent of our fruit of this name.

134. PRUNUS Cerasus. WILD CHERRY-TREE.--Is the parent of our fine cherries. It is cultivated much in Scotland for the timber, which is hard, and of use for furniture and other domestic purposes. It is the best and most lasting stock for grafting on. Persons who are about to plant this fruit would do well to inquire into the nature of the stock, as no fruit-tree is so liable to disease and become gummy as cherries are, and that is often much owing to the improved kinds being sown for stocks, which are of a more tender texture and of course less hardy than this.

135. PRUNUS insit.i.tia. SLOE-TREE.--Is of little use except when it occurs in fences. The fruit is a fine acid, and is much used by the common people, mixed with other fruits less astringent and acid, to flavour made wines. It is believed that much Port wine is improved by the same means.

136. PYRUS communis. PEAR-TREE.--This is the parent of all our fine varieties of this fruit, and is used as the stock for propagating them; these are raised from seeds for that purpose. The wood of the Peartree is in great esteem for picture frames, it receiving a stain better than almost any other timber known.

137. PYRUS Malus. CRAB-TREE.--A tree of great account, as being the parent of all our varieties of apples, and is the stock on which the fine varieties are usually grafted. A dwarf variety of this tree, called the Paradise Apple, is used for stocks for making dwarf apple trees for gardens.

The juice of the Crab is called verjuice, which is in considerable demand for medicinal and other purposes.

138. QUERCUS robur. THE OAK.--Is a well known tree peculiar to Great Britain, and of the greatest interest to us as a nation. It is of very slow growth; but the timber is very strong and lasting, and hence it is used for building our shipping. The bark is supposed to contain more tannin than that of any other tree, and is valuable on that account. The acorns, or fruit, are good food for hogs, which are observed to grow very fat when turned into the forests at the season when they are ripe.

The tree is raised from the acorn, which grows very readily.

We have accounts of Oak trees growing to great ages, and to most enormous sizes. One instance is mentioned by Evelyn, of one growing at Cowthorp, near Weatherby, in 1776, which within three feet of the ground was sixteen yards in circ.u.mference, and its height about eighty-five feet. Hunter's Evelyn's Sylva, p. 500.

139. ROSA rubiginosa. SWEET-BRIAR.--Is a very fragrant shrub, for which it has long been cultivated in the gardens. There are several varieties in the nurseries; as the Double-flowering, Evergreen, &c. which are much esteemed.

140. RUBUS Idaeus. THE RASPBERRY.--Produces a well known fruit in great esteem, and of considerable use both as food and for medicine.

141. RUBUS fruticosus. BRAMBLE.--Produces a black insipid fruit, but which is used by the poor people for tarts and to form a made wine: when mixt with the juice of sloes it is rendered very palatable.

142. RUBUS caesius.--Is a dwarf kind of bramble, and produces fruit of a pleasant acid, and where it grows in plenty it is used by the poor people for pies and other purposes of domestic oeconomy.

143. SALIX Russelliana. THE WILLOW.--No trees in this country are of more use than the species of this genus: many are grown for basket-makers in form of osiers, and other larger sorts serve for stakes, rails, hop-poles, and many other useful purposes. The bark of several species has been considered as useful for tanning leather. The charcoal of the Willow is also much in demand for making gunpowder.

144. SALIX viminalis. THE OSIER.--These are cultivated in watery places for making baskets, which are become a profitable article, and are the shoots of one season's growth cut every winter. The species best adapted to this purpose, besides the common osier, are

The Salix vitellina. Golden Willow. The Salix monandria. Monandrous Willow. The Salix triandria. Triandrous Willow. The Salix mollissima.

Silky-leaved Willow. The Salix stipularis. Auriculated Osier. The Salix purpurea. Bitter Purple Willow. The Salix Helix. Rose Willow. The Salix Lambertiana. Boyton Willow. The Salix Forbyana. Basket Osier. The Salix rubra. Green Osier. The Salix nigricans. Dark Purple Osier.

145. SAMBUCUS nigra. ELDER.--The timber of the Elder is useful for making musical instruments, and the berries made into wine and fermented make a useful and valuable beverage. A variety with green berries is much esteemed for wine also.

146. SORBUS Aucuparia. QUICKEN-TREE, or MOUNTAIN-ASH.--In this part of Britain we usually find this tree in plantations, where it is very ornamental; and the berries, which are of a fine scarlet, are the food of many species of birds. The wood is also useful for posts, &c. and is considered lasting.

147. SORBUS domestica. TRUE SERVICE.--Produces a fruit much like the Medlar, and when ripe is in great esteem. The only tree in this country in a wild state, is growing in Bewdley Forest, Worcester-shire.

148. SPARTIUM Scoparium. BROOM.--Is a very ornamental plant, and is used for making besoms. It was once considered as a specific in the cure of dropsy, but is now seldom used for medicial purposes.

149. STAPHYLEA pinnata. BLADDER-NUT.--This is not a common plant in this country. I know of no other use to which it is applied, but its being cultivated in nurseries and sold as an ornamental shrub. The seed-vessel, from whence it takes its name, is a curious example of the inflated capsule.

150. TAMARIX gallica. A shrub of large growth; and being less affected by the sea breeze than any others, is useful to form a shelter in situations where the bleak winds will not admit of trees of more tender kinds to flourish.

151. TAXUS baccata. THE YEW.--Was formerly much esteemed for making bows: but since those instruments of war and destruction have given place to the more powerful gun-powder, it is not so much in request. The wood is very hard and durable, and admits of a fine polish. The foliage of Yew is poisonous to cattle, who will readily eat it, if cut and thrown in their way in frosty weather.

152. TILIA europaea. THE LIME or LINDEN-TREE.--Is a very ornamental tree in plantations, and from its early putting forth its leaves is much esteemed. The flowers emit a very fine scent, and the inhabitants of Switzerland make a favourite beverage from them. The wood is very soft, though white and beautiful. It is much used for the ornamental boxes, &c. so well known by the name of Turnbridge-ware.

153. VACCINIUM uliginosum. GREAT BILBERRY. Vaccinium Vitis Idaea, RED WHORTLE-BERRY, and Vaccinium Oxycoccos, CRANBERRY, are all edible fruits, but do not grow in this part of the kingdom. Great quant.i.ties of Cranberries are imported every winter and spring from Russia; they are much esteemed by the confectioners for tarts, &c. and are sold at high prices. These three kinds grow only in wet boggy places. A species which is native of America, called Vaccinium macrocarpon, has been very successfully cultivated at Spring Grove by Sir Joseph Banks, Bart. and which has also been attempted in various other places, but not with the same success. The fruit of this species is larger and of better flavour than either of the other kinds.

154. VACCINIUM Myrtillus. WHORTS, or BILBERRIES.--To a common observer this would appear to be a very insignificant shrub; it is not uncommonly met with on our heaths: but it is only in particular places where it fruits in abundance, and in such districts it is of considerable value.