HORNBEAMS (ONE WITH INOSCULATED TRUNK).
Var. quercifolia (Desf. tabl. de l'ecol. de bot. du Mus. d'hist. nat., 213; Ostrya quercifolia, Hort.; Carpinus heterophylla, Hort.)—This form, as will be seen by the figure, is thoroughly distinct from the common hornbeam; it has very much smaller leaves than the type, their outline, as implied by the varietal name, resembling that of the foliage of the oak. It frequently reverts to the type, and, as far as my experience goes, appears to be much less fixed than the variety incisa.
Var. purpurea (Hort.).—The young leaves of this are brownish red; it is well worth growing for the pleasing color effect produced by the young growths in spring. Apart from color it does not differ from the type.
Var. fastigiata (Hort.).—In this variety the branches are more ascending and the habit altogether more erect; indeed, among the hornbeams this is a counterpart of the fastigiate varieties of the common oak.
Var. variegata, aureo-variegata, albo-variegata (albo-marmorata).—These names represent forms differing so slightly from each other, that it is not worth while to notice them separately, or even to treat them as distinct. In no case that I have seen is the variegation at all striking, and, except in tree collections, variegated hornbeams are hardly worth growing.
FULL GROWN HORNBEAM IN WINTER.
CARPINUS BETULUS (Full grown tree at Chiswick, 45 ft. high in 1844).
Carpinus orientalis[2] (the Oriental hornbeam) principally differs from our native species in its smaller size, the lesser leaves with downy petioles, and the green, much-lacerated bractlets. It is a native of the south of Europe, whence it extends to the Caucasus, and probably also to China; the Carpinus Turczaninovi of Hance scarcely seems to differ, in any material point at any rate, from western examples of C. orientalis. According to Loudon, it was introduced to this country by Philip Miller in 1739, and there is no doubt that it is far from common even now. It is, however, well worth growing; the short twiggy branches, densely clothed with dark green leaves, form a thoroughly efficient screen. The plant bears cutting quite as well as the common hornbeam, and wherever the latter will grow this will also succeed. In that very interesting compilation, "Hortus Collinsonianus," the following memorandum occurs: "The Eastern hornbeam was raised from seed sent me from Persia, procured by Dr. Mounsey, physician to the Czarina. Received it August 2, 1751, and sowed it directly; next year (1752) the hornbeam came up, which was the original of all in England. Mr. Gordon soon increased it, and so it came into the gardens of the curious. At the same time, from the same source, were raised a new acacia, a quince, and a bermudiana, the former very different from any in our gardens." This memorandum was probably written from recollection long afterward, with an error in the dates, and the species was first entered in the catalogue as follows: "Azad, arbor persica carpinus folio, Persian hornbeam, raised from seed, anno 1747; not in England before." It appears, however, from Rand's "Index" that there was a plant of it in the Chelsea Garden in 1739. The name duinensis was given by Scopoli, because of his having first found it wild at Duino. As, however, Miller had previously described it under the name orientalis, that one is adopted in accordance with the rule of priority, by which must be decided all such questions in nomenclature.
The American Hornbeam [3] also known under the names of blue beech, water beech, and iron wood, although a less tree than our native species, which it resembles a good deal in size of foliage and general aspect, is nevertheless a most desirable one for the park or pleasure ground, on account of the gorgeous tint assumed by the decaying leaves in autumn. Emerson, in his "Trees and Shrubs of Massachusetts," pays a just tribute to this tree from a decorative standpoint. He says: "The crimson, scarlet, and orange of its autumnal colors, mingling into a rich purplish red, as seen at a distance, make it rank in splendor almost with the tupelo and the scarlet oak. It is easily cultivated, and should have a corner in every collection of trees." It has pointed, ovate oblong, sharply double serrate, nearly smooth leaves. The acute bractlets are three-lobed, halberd-shaped, sparingly cut-toothed on one side. Professor C. S. Sargent, in his catalogue of the "Forest Trees-of North America," gives the distribution, etc., of the American hornbeam as follows: "Northern Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, through the valley of St. Lawrence and Lower Ottawa Rivers, along the northern shores of Lake Huron to Northern Wisconsin and Minnesota; south to Florida and Eastern Texas. Wood resembling that of ostrya (hop hornbeam). At the north generally a shrub or small tree, but becoming, in the Southern Alleghany Mountains, a tree sometimes 50 feet in height, with a trunk 2 feet to 3 feet in diameter." It will almost grow in any soil or exposition in this country.
Carpinus viminea [4] is a rather striking species with long-pointed leaves; the accompanying figure scarcely gives a sufficiently clear representation of their long, tail-like prolongations. Judging from the height at which it grows, it would probably prove hardy in this country, and, if so, the distinct aspect and graceful habit of the tree would render it a decided acquisition. It is a moderate-sized tree, with thin gray bark, and slender, drooping warted branches. The blade of the smooth leave measures from 3 inches to 4 inches in length, the hairy leaf-stalk being about half an inch long. It is a native of Himalaya, where it occurs at elevations of from 5000 to 7000 feet above sea-level. As in our common hornbeam, the male catkins appear before the leaves, and the female flowers develop in spring at the same time as the leaves. The hard, yellowish white wood—a cubic foot of which weighs 50 lb.—is used for ordinary building purposes by the natives of Nepaul.