Sargent’ gives an illustration of a beautiful specimen in a garden near Boston which, 35 years after planting, was 35 feet high and had a spread of nearly 60 feet. I saw several in this district, but none so large as those which I have seen in England.
Though it germinates quickly, and seems easy to raise from seed, the tree is now seldom planted in England, but may be recommended for warm sheltered situations in good soil in the south and east, though perhaps the damp climate of the west does not suit it; and as most of the trees mentioned by Loudon have disappeared, it seems to be short-lived in this country. The seedlings which I have raised from American seed are fairly hardy, and after the first two years grow better than many American trees on my soil.
This species was introduced into cultivation in England in 1812, by John Lyon, a Scotsman who travelled in Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.
Remarkable Trees
The largest tree known to us is at Syon (Plate 124), which in 1904 was no less than 60 feet in height by 7 feet in girth and still a fine tree, though its trunk is decaying inside. There is another in Kew Gardens, near the Director’s office, which measures 35 feet high, with a bole of 3 feet girthing 5 feet 4 inches and dividing into six main stems, which sub-divide into numerous upright branches. At the Knaphill Nursery near Woking is a very well grown tree about 45 feet high and 8 feet in girth, the head spreading to 16 yards in diameter.
At Highclere there is a tree which measures 42 feet by 7 feet with a spread of branches of 45 feet. Although there is some decay near the root the tree seems to have become more vigorous recently. At Blenheim there is an old specimen, with a stem divided close to the ground, and forming rather a large bush than a tree. At Cornbury Park there is also a fair-sized tree. At Barton, Suffolk, a tree planted ” in 1832 was in 1904 25 feet high with a short bole, 5 feet 6 inches in girth, dividing into three wide-spreading main branches.
We have not seen any large enough to mention in Scotland or Ireland.
Timber
The wood, according to Sargent, is heavy, hard, strong, and close-grained, and is susceptible of a fine polish. At one time it was used in Kentucky for making gun-stocks; but is too rare to have any commercial importance. It produces a yellow dye. (H.J.E.)
1 Garden and Forest, i. p. 92.
2 Bunbury, Arboretum Notes, p. 1.
