ON SOFT-WOODED FOREST TREES.
In this chapter we shall shortly direct attention to such soft-wooded trees as the sycamore, plane, horse-chestnut, lime, willow, poplar, and others, which, though commonly grown, are yet more so for ornament than profit; for though their woods are found to be more or less useful, as a general rule they must take a comparatively low rank as timber trees.
Both the Sycamore and the Plane are introduced trees; both attain to a large size; and when judiciously mixed with other trees form a very pleasing contrast. The plane has the property of withstanding the effects of smoke in towns better than any other tree, and therefore it is recommended for planting in public parks and town enclosures.
The Horse-Chestnut has much of the character of the above; it grows tall and large, and its fine foliage and handsome bunches of flowers are very attractive. It is an excellent tree for shade, and has the merit of quick growth; but its wood is so brittle as to cause great limbs to be too readily blown off with a high wind.
The Lime (Tilia Europæa) is one of our most charming native trees, for so it has been pretty clearly proved to be by E. Lees, Esq., F.L.S., who says “that at Shrawley, eight miles north from Worcester, there is a wood, remote from any dwelling or public road, of about five hundred acres in extent, the greater part of the undergrowth of which is composed of Tilia Europæa, var. Microphylla;” and the same gentleman, in a communication to the Botanical Society of London, mentioned several places, in Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Monmouthshire, and South Wales, where he considers the lime to be indigenous, and where he met with many remarkable and aged trees.
We shall not here enter into a discussion about species, but, from what we saw in Shrawley wood and its district, we incline to the belief that several names made to depend mainly upon the leaves, might well be omitted, seeing that from Shrawley itself the leaves on the newly-sprung underwood are fully five times larger than those on an old tree.
Putting such questions aside, we may well consider the lime as a truly ornamental tree, whose varieties give great charm to the forest or the more limited plantation about the homestead, where its shade, its perfume when in flower, and patience under lopping and training, must ever recommend it.
The Willow, though usually cultivated in the shape of twigs for basket-making and the like purposes, for which many species are employed, is nevertheless grown upon the margins of streams and in damp places about estates and farms for its lop, which is much used for hurdle-bonds, thatching-spars, &c.
Amongst implements from this tree, the willow-wand of the cricketer has now a fame in the New as well as in the Old world, and long may its magic continue to develope the muscle and sharpen the faculties of the youth of Old England; whilst well-developed muscle cannot better maintain its tone than by a well-contested game of cricket.
In good situations the White Willow (Salix alba) attains to very magnificent proportions. One at Siddington, near Cirencester, measures 22 feet in girth, at one foot from the ground; 18 ft. 6 in. at three feet; and 20 ft. 6 in. at six feet. The principal limb measured 12 ft. 6 in., and the circumference of its fine top is as much as 72 feet. And four trees by the Roman Amphitheatre at Cirencester, average somewhere about 12 feet round at six feet from the ground. Trees of this size, from their light, silvery foliage, give great character to the surrounding scenery.