The tree of which we give a figure is growing at Broadlands, Hants, and is about 40 feet in height, with a trunk that measures 7 feet in girth at 3 feet from the ground, with a spread of branches measuring 45 feet. These dimensions have been considerably exceeded in other cases. In 1837 a tree at Purser's Cross measured 60 feet and more in height. Loudon himself had a small tree in his garden at Bayswater on which a female branch was grafted. It is to be feared that this specimen has long since perished.
We have already alluded to its deciduous character, in which it is allied to the larch. It presents another point of resemblance both to the larch and the cedar in the short spurs upon which both leaves and male catkins are borne, but these contracted branches are mingled with long extension shoots; there seems, however, no regular alternation between the short and the long shoots, at any rate the rationale of their production is not understood, though in all probability a little observation of the growing plant would soon clear the matter up.
The fruit is drupaceous, with a soft outer coat and a hard woody shell, greatly resembling that of a Cycad, both externally and internally. Whether the albumen contains the peculiar "corpuscles" common to Cycads and Conifers, we do not for certain know, though from the presence of 2 to 3 embryos in one seed, as noted by Endlicher, we presume this is the case. The interest of these corpuscles, it may be added, lies in the proof of affinity they offer between Conifers and the higher Cryptogams, such as ferns and lycopods--an affinity shown also in the peculiar venation of the Gingkgo. Conifers are in some degree links between ordinary flowering plants and the higher Cryptogams, and serve to connect in genealogical sequence groups once considered quite distinct. In germination the two fleshy cotyledons of the Gingkgo remain within the shell, leaving the three-sided plumule to pass upward; the young stem bears its leaves in threes.
We have no desire to enter further upon the botanical peculiarities of this tree; enough if we have indicated in what its peculiar interest consists. We have only to add that in gardens varieties exist some with leaves more deeply cut than usual, others with leaves nearly entire, and others with leaves of a golden-yellow color.--Gardeners' Chronicle.
THE MAIDENHAIR TREE IN THE GARDENS AT BROADLANDS.
THE WOODS OF AMERICA.
A collection of woods without a parallel in the world is now being prepared for exhibition by the Directors of the American Museum of Natural History. Scattered about the third floor of the Arsenal, in Central Park, lie 394 logs, some carefully wrapped in bagging, some inclosed in rough wooden cases, and others partially sawn longitudinally, horizontally, and diagonally. These logs represent all but 26 of the varieties of trees indigenous to this country, and nearly all have a greater or less economic or commercial value. The 26 varieties needed to complete the collection will arrive before winter sets in, a number of specimens being now on their way to this city from the groves of California. Mr. S. D. Dill and a number of assistants are engaged in preparing the specimens for exhibition. The logs as they reach the workroom are wrapped in bagging and inclosed in cases, this method being used so that the bark, with its growth of lichens and delicate exfoliations, shall not be injured while the logs are in process of transportation from various parts of the country to this city. The logs are each 6 feet in length, and each is the most perfect specimen of its class that could be found by the experts employed in making the collection. With the specimens of the trees come to the museum also specimens of the foliage and the fruits and flowers of the tree. These come from all parts of the Union--from Alaska on the north to Texas on the south, from Maine on the east to California on the west--and there is not a State or Territory in the Union which has not a representative in this collection of logs. On arrival here the logs are green, and the first thing in the way of treatment after their arrival is to season them, a work requiring great care to prevent them from "checking," as it is technically called, or "season cracking," as the unscientific term the splitting of the wood in radiating lines during the seasoning process. As is well known, the sap-wood of a tree seasons much more quickly than does the heart of the wood. The prevention of this splitting is very necessary in preparing these specimens for exhibition, for when once the wood has split its value for dressing for exhibition is gone. A new plan to prevent this destruction of specimens is now being tried with some success under the direction of Prof. Bickmore, superintendent of the museum. Into the base of the log and alongside the heart a deep hole is bored with an auger. As the wood seasons this hole permits of a pressure inward and so has in many instances doubtless saved valuable specimens. One of the finest in the collection, a specimen of the persimmon tree, some two feet in diameter, has been ruined by the seasoning process. On one side there is a huge crack, extending from the top to the bottom of the log, which looks as though some amateur woodman had attempted to split it with an ax and had made a poor job of it. The great shrinking of the sap-wood of the persimmon tree makes the wood of but trifling value commercially. It also has a discouraging effect upon collectors, as it is next to impossible to cure a specimen, so that all but this one characteristic of the wood can be shown to the public in a perfect form.