Description, &c. In its native countries, (the south of France and Italy,) this tree attains the height of 30 ft. or 40 ft.; though, in rocky exposed situations, it often forms only a large bush. The trunk is covered with a reddish brown bark. The leaves are chiefly 3-lobed, with an entire margin: they are dark green, and bear a general resemblance to those of A. campestre, which are about the same size, but of a paler green, and 5-lobed. The leaves, in mild seasons, remain on during great part of the winter, more especially in France. The flowers are produced just before the leaves: they are pendulous, on peduncles 1 in. or more long, disposed in dichotomous panicles, or corymbs, one from almost every bud, and consist of from 6 to 10 flowers. The flowers are of a pale yellow colour, and form a great source of attraction to bees. The tree of this species in the London Horticultural Society's Garden has the branches rather ascending, so as to form somewhat a fasciculate head; but in old trees, the head is roundish and spreading. Geography, History, &c. The tree abounds, in a wild state, in the south of France, and also in Spain and Italy, chiefly on rocky exposed situations. It is also much planted in the south of France as hedges, on account of the persistency of the leaves, which remain on during a great part of winter. The tree was introduced into England in 1739, and is to be met with in most botanic gardens. The wood, which is hard and heavy, is used in France by turners and cabinet-makers; but, in England, the tree may be considered as purely one of ornament; and, as such, it well deserves a place in every collection. It is easily propagated by seeds or by layers. Statistics. The largest tree in the neighbourhood of London is at Kenwood, where, in 35 years, it has attained the height of 47 ft.; there are two very handsome trees at Ham House, each nearly 30ft. high at Kew, 30 years planted, it is 29 ft. high; in the Oxford Botanic Garden, 40 years planted, it is 25 ft. high; in Worcestershire, at Croome, 30 years planted, 25 ft. high; in Staffordshire, at Trentham, 26 years planted, 27 ft. high. In Scotland, in the Perth Nursery, 14 years planted, and 14 ft. high. In France, in the Jardin des Plantes, 130 years planted, and 55 ft. high. In Saxony, at Wörlitz, 45 years planted, 30 ft. high; in Austria, at Vienna, in the garden of the University, 40 years planted, and 56 ft. high; and at Laxenburg, 35 years planted, and 30 ft. high. In Prussia, in the Berlin Botanic Garden, 18 ft. high. In Bavaria, in the Botanic Garden at Munich, 24 years planted, and 20 ft. high. Commercial Statistics. Plants, in the London nurseries, are 1s. 6d. each; at Bollwyller, 1 franc 50 cents; at New York, ?. 18. A. CAMPE'STRE L. The common, or Field, Maple. Identification. Lin. Spec., 1497.; Hayne, Dend., p. 211.; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 595.; Don's Mill., 1. p. 649. Synonymes. E'rable champêtre, Fr.; kleiner Ahorn, Feld Ahorn, Ger. Engravings. Engl. Bot., t. 304.; Fel. Dan., t. 1288.; Reitter and Abel, Abbild., t. 25.; Willd. Spec. Char., &c. Leaves cordate, with 5-toothed lobes. Racemes erect. A. c. 1 hebecarpum Dec. Prod., i. p. 594. The downy-fruited Field Maple.-Fruit clothed with velvety pubescence. A. campestre Wallr. in Litt. Tratt. Arch., i. No. 7; 4. mólle Opiz. (Don's Mill., i. p. 649.) * A. c. 2 folüs variegatis. The variegated-leaved Field Maple.- Next to the variegated-leaved variety of A. Pseudo-Plátanus, this seems the handsomest of all the variegated-leaved maples; the leaves preserving, with their variegation, the appearance of health, and the blotches, and stripes of white, or whitish yellow, being distinctly marked. A. c. 3 collinum Wallr. in Litt. Dec. Prod., i. p. 594. The hill-inhabiting Field Maple.- Fruit smooth. Lobes of leaves obtuse. Flower smaller. A. affine and A. macrocárpum Opiz. Native of France. (Don's Mill., i. p. 649.) † A. c. 4 austrìacum Tratt. Arch., i. No. 6. The Austrian Field Maple.— Fruit smooth. Lobes of leaves somewhat acuminated. Flowers larger than those of the species. Native of Austria, Podolia, and Tauria. (Don's Mill., i. p. 649.) This variety is larger in all its parts than the original species, and is of much freer growth; the main stem rises crect and straight, and sends out its branches regularly on every side, so as to form a sort of cone, almost like a fir, as exhibited in the plate of this variety, in our Second Volume. A very handsome tree, from which our drawing was taken, exists in the garden of the London Horticultural Society, and, not far from it, a roundheaded shrubby tree of the original species. A subvariety of this sort, with variegated leaves, is propagated in the Bollwyller Nursery. Description. A. c. hebecarpum is the British form of this species; and it is thus characterised by Smith in his Eng. Flora, ii. p. 231. A rather small tree, with spreading branches; the bark corky, and full of fissures; that of the branches smooth. Leaves about 14 in. wide, downy while young, as are their footstalks, obtusely 5-lobed, here and there notched, sometimes quite entire. Flowers green, in clusters that terminate the young shoots, hairy, erect, short, and somewhat corymbose. Anthers hairy between the lobes. Capsules downy, spreading horizontally, with smooth, oblong, reddish wings. The character of the flowers, in being produced upon the young shoots, ascribed to the British field maple by Smith, is one which it possesses, and one in which it differs markedly from certain exotic kinds; as A. eriocárpum, A. rùbrum, and 4. monspessulanum; the flowers of which species are produced from buds distinct from those out of which the shoots are developed. In Britain, it seldom attains the height of more than 20 ft., except in a state of cultivation. Geography. This species is found throughout the middle states of Europe, and in the north of Asia. According to Pallas, it is found in New Russia, and about Caucasus. In Britain, it is common in hedges and thickets, in the middle and south of England; but is rare in the northern counties and in Scotland. It is not a native of Ireland, and, perhaps, not of Scotland. Properties and Uses. The wood weighs 61 lb. 9 oz. a cubic foot, in a green state, and 51 lb. 15 oz. when perfectly dry. It makes excellent fuel, and the very best charcoal. It is compact, of a fine grain, sometimes beautifully veined, and takes a high polish. It was celebrated among the ancient Romans for tables. In France, it is much sought after by turners, cabinet-makers, and the manufacturers of domestic utensils. The wood of the roots is frequently knotted; and, when that is the case, it is used for the manufacture of snuffboxes, pipes, and other fanciful productions. The young shoots, being tough and flexible, are employed by the coachmen, in some parts of France, instead of whips. The tree is much used in France for forming hedges, and for filling up gaps in old fences. It is also employed in topiary works, in geometrical gardens, being found to bear the shears better than most other trees. The leaves and young shoots are gathered green, and dried for winter provender for cattle. The sap yields more sugar, in proportion to the quantity taken, than that of the sycamore; but the tree does not bleed freely. In Britain, the tree is seldom planted for any other purpose than that of ornament, in which it is effective by adding to the variety of a collection, rather than to its positive beauty. The variegated variety is showy, and, if a mule could be procured with red flowers, by cross-fecundation with A. rùbrum, we should then have a singularly handsome little tree. Even a red tinge added to the autumnal foliage would be valuable. For the purpose of cross-fecundation, a plant of A. campestre would require to be forced forward in a green-house, or a plant of A. rubrum retarded in an ice-house, as the two species flower at different periods. Soil, Situation, &c. A dry soil suits this species best, and an open situation; but, to attain a timber-like size, it requires a deep free soil, and a situation sheltered by other trees. So circumstanced, it attains the height of 30 ft. or 40 ft., both in France and England, as may be seen in Eastwell Park, in Kent, and at Caversham Park, near Reading. In the nurseries, plants of this species are raised from seeds, most of which often remain eighteen months in the ground before they come up, though a few come up the first spring. The varieties are propagated by layers. Casualties. The mistletoe is sometimes found growing on this species. Statistics. In the environs of London, at Kew, A. campestre, 50 years planted, is 26 ft. high; in Dorsetshire, at Melbury Park, 100 years planted, and 38 ft. high, the trunk 2 ft. 9 in. in diameter, and the head 37 ft. in diameter, growing in stony clay; in Essex, at Braystock, 80 years planted, and 50 ft. high; in Surrey, at Farnham Castle, 50 years planted, 30 ft. high; in Suffolk, at Finbo borough Hall, 70 years planted, and 40 ft. high. In Denbighshire, at Llanbede, 20 years planted, 34 ft. high. In Scotland, near Edinburgh, at Hopeton House, 46 ft. high; in Argyllshire, at Hafton, 36 years planted, and 36 ft. high; in Clackmannanshire, in the garden of the Dollar Institution, 12 years planted, and 20 ft. high; in Forfarshire, at Airlie Castle, 10 years planted, and 14 ft. high; in Stirlingshire, at Blairlogie, 302 years old, and 55 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 4 ft., and of the head 45 ft., the soil, a light loam on dry gravel, and the situation exposed. In France, in the Botanic Garden at Toulon, 48 years planted, and 45 ft. high. In Saxony, at Wörlitz, 65 years planted, and 40 ft. high; in Austria, in the University Botanic Garden at Vienna, 20 years planted, and 25 ft. high; at Laxenburg, 60 years planted, and 45 ft. high; at Kopenzel, 45 years planted, and 30 ft. high; at Hädersdorf, 40 years planted, and 21 ft. high. In Prussia, at Sans Souci, 40 years planted, and 35 ft. high. In Bavaria, at Munich, 24 years planted, and 20 ft. high. Commercial Statistics. Plants, in London, seedlings 10s. a 1000, of a larger size 20s. a 1000; the variegated-leaved variety 2s. 6d. a plant. At Bollwyller, the broad-leaved variegated subvariety, 1 franc 50 cents a plant; at New York, ?. 19. A. CRETICUM L. The Cretan Maple. Identification. Lin. Spec., 1497.; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 594.; Don's Mill, 1. p. 649. Synonymes. A. heterophyllum Willd. En.; A. sempervirens L. Mant.; E'rable de Crète, Fr.; Cretischer Ahorn, Ger. Engravings. Tratt. Arch., 1. No. 19.; Duh. Arb., 1. p. 28. t. 10. f. 9.; Alp. Exot., 9. t. 8.; Pocock Orient., 197. t. 85.; Schmidt Arb., t. 15.; Krause, t. 120.; our fig. 132. in p. 459.; and the plate of this species in our Second Volume. Spec. Char., &c. Leaves permanent, cuneated at the base, acutely 3-lobed at the top. Lobes entire, or toothleted; lateral ones shortest. Corymbs fewflowered, erect. Fruit smooth, with the wings hardly diverging. (Don's Mill., i. p. 649.) A diminutive slow-growing sub-evergreen tree; native of Candia, and of other islands in the Grecian Archipelago. Introduced in 1752. Description, &c. This species is seldom seen in British collections, and then more frequently as a shrub than as a tree; but it is readily known from all the others, and from A. monspessulanum, to which it makes the nearest approach, by its being nearly evergreen; and by the great variety of the forms of its leaves; and, according to the specific character, by the flowers being erect; those of A. monspessulanum being pendulous. In young plants, the leaves are seldom much lobed; and this, we suppose, has given rise to the species or variety known in gardens as A. heterophyllum, which appears to be only A. créticum in a young state. We are only aware of three plants of this species which have assumed the character of trees in the neighbourhood of London; viz. that at Syon, figured in our Second Volume, which is 28 ft. high, flowers freely, and produces seeds almost every year; one in the Chelsea Botanic Garden, about 8 ft. high, which has stood there since the time of Miller; and a third, of equal age, which was in the Mile End Nursery, and which, in 1834, was 10 ft. high. This last tree has since been sold, and removed to the garden of the Rev. T. Williams, at Hendon, Middlesex. This species is generally propagated by layers; though it might, probably, be grafted on the Montpelier maple. Where a miniature arboretum is formed in a small garden, this species may be considered valuable, as exemplifying the order Aceràceæ, in a space not larger than what would be required for a herbaceous plant. Statistics. The only specimens worth recording in Britain are those already referred to at Syon, Chelsea, and Hendon. The plants in the London Horticultural Society's Garden, and at Messrs. Loddiges's, are not above a foot and a half high. In France, in the Jardin des Plantes, a tree 130 years planted is 31 ft. high. In Saxony, at Wörlitz, one 55 years planted is 40 ft. high. Commercial Statistics. Plants, in the London nurseries, cost 5s. each; at Bollwyller, where it is considered as synonymous with A. heterophyllum, 2 francs each; at New York, ?. App. i. Doubtful Species of Acer. We have not been able to satisfy ourselves respecting the distinctness of A. O'palus and A. opulifòlium; and we are very much inclined to think that the sort which we have figured as A. barbàtum is a European species, and, consequently, not the A. barbàtum of Michaux. To us, it appears that the A. barbatum, of which a leaf is figured in the Penny Cyclopædia, and several in our fig. 125. p. 452., may possibly be only a variety of A. Pseudo-Plátanus, diminished in all its parts. A. coriàceum, which we consider as a synonyme of A. O'palus, and which, in the Penny Cycl., is considered a synonyme of A. créticum, may be a more distinct sort than we think it is, from having seen only small plants of it. These small plants have leaves as nearly as possible of the same form as those of A. O'palus, exhibited in fig. 126. p. 453.; and, therefore, the A. coriàceum mentioned in the Penny Cycl, as a synonyme of A.créticum, must refer to a different plant from the specimen of A. coriàceum in Loddiges's arboretum. 4. Lobèlü Tenore, of which there is a tree, 20 ft. high, at Croome, in Worcestershire, certainly appears very distinct from A. platanöìdes (of which we have set it down as a variety) in the foliage of the plants about 2 ft high in the London nurseries; but not so in the specimens which we have received from Croome. A. nigrum, which we consider as a variety of A. sacchárinum, ought to be proved by raising plants from seeds, which can be procured from America at the same price as those of A. saccharinum. It would not surprise us if A. platanöìdes and A. saccharinum were ultimately to turn out to be races of one and the same species. Under the name of A. hybridum, it is probable that there is more than one variety or species in cultivation. The A. hýbridum of Bosc, with coriaceous leaves, profoundly trifid, seems to be different from the A. hýbridum of Baudrillart, which he describes as intermediate between 4. monspessulanum and A. tatáricum. In Don's Miller, there is A. obtusifolium Flor. Græc., t. 361., a native of Crete; and there is also A. obtusàtum Kit., a native of Hungary: these may possibly be names applicable to one and the same species. A. lobàtum Don's Miller, i. p. 651., a native of Siberia, and said to have been introduced in 1820, is there designated an "extremely doubtful" species. App. ii. Anticipated Species of A'cer. All the species of this family are so interesting and ornamental, that it is desirable to procure additions to those already introduced into Britain, from every quarter of the globe, and by every resource which art supplies. It appears, from Don's Miller and Royle's Illustrations, that there are one or two European species, one from N. America, several from the Himalayas, and some from Japan, all likely to prove hardy, which are at present wanting in British collections. We shall give the names of these, in the hope of directing to them the attention of travellers, collectors, and patriotic amateurs. A. ibéricum Bieb., a tree 20 ft. high, native of Iberia, with greenish yellow flowers, and shining 3-lobed leaves, is described in Bieberstein's Flora Taurico-Caucasica, vol. ii. p. 447.; in Dec. Prod., i. p. 594.; and in Don's Mill., 1. p. 649. A. obtusifolium Sibth. and Smith, a native of Crete, a tree 15 ft. high, with 3-lobed crenated leaves, is described in the Flora Græca, and in Don's Mill.; in the latter work it is mentioned as being of doubtful introduction, A. parvifolium Tausch is described as having 5-lobed leaves, and nodding corymbs of flowers. It is a native of the south of Europe, growing to the height of 20 ft., by some confounded with A. créticum, and by others with 4. monspessulanum. A. glabrum Torrey has smooth roundish 5-lobed leaves, and is found in North America, on the Rocky Mountains. Very little appears to be known of this species. A. laevigatum Wall has oblong, acuminated, smooth, shining, leaves, and white flowers. It is a native of Nepal, on high mountains, where it forms a tree 40 ft. high. It is described and figured by Dr. Wallich in his Plant. Asiat. rar., 2. p. 3. t. 104. A. acuminatum Wall, a tree of Nepal, with leaves varying from 3-lobed to 5-lobed, is described in Don's Prod. Fl. Nep., p. 249. A. cultràtum Wall., a tree of Himalaya, with cordate, 7-lobed, acuminated leaves, is described by Wallich in his Planta Asiatica rariores, vol. ii. p. 4. A. caudatum Wall., a tree from the highest regions of Nepal, with long pointed leaves, is described in the work last quoted, vol. ii. p. 4., and in Don's Mill., i. p. 648. A. villosum Wall., a tree 50 it. high, native of the high alps of the Himalaya, near to perpetual snow, has cordate 5-lobed leaves, and fragant flowers. It is described in Dr. Wallich s work, and in Don's Mill., as before quoted. A. sterculiaceum Wall., is a tree 50 ft. high, with a trunk 3 ft. in diameter. The leaves are very large, with long petioles, and the flowers are white. It is found in Nepal, on Mount Shiopore. A. dissectum 'Thun. is a tree of Japan, with leaves 9-10-parted, and oblong acuminated lobes, with a red corolla. It is described by Thunberg in his Flora Japonica, p. 160.; in Dec. Prod., i. p. 955.; and Don's Mill., i. p. 650. HH A. japonicum Thun., with roundish palmate leaves, is a Japan tree, 20 ft. high, with the bark of the branches, and the corollas purple, and the fruit woolly. It is described in Thunberg's Flora Japonica, p. 161. ; in Dec. Prod., i. p. 595.; and in Don's Mill., i. p. 650. A. septentlobum Thun., with smooth, acuminated, 7-lobed leaves, is a Japan tree, 40ft. high, described by Thunberg, and, after him, by De Candolle and G. Don, as before quoted. A. pictum Thun., with smooth, palmate, 7-lobed leaves, is a Japan tree, 30 ft. high, with ashcoloured branches, and leaves variegated with white. Described as above. A. trifidum Thun., with undivided and trifid entire leaves, and twigs smooth and purplish, is a Japan tree, 20 ft. high, described in the works quoted. A. truncatum, described in Bunge's List of Plants of the North of China, noticed in p. 176. New Sorts from Cross-Fecundation. A. obtusàtum has very much the appearance of a hybrid between A. Pseudo-Plátanus and A. O'palus; but, whether this be the case or not, there seems no reason for doubting that cross-fecundation might be effected in this genus, as well as it is in various others. The objects ought to be, to get more colour into the flowers, and more red into the leaves. A. monspessulanum, with flowers as red as those of A. rùbrum, would be a fine variety. Possibly some of the species might be fecundated by some species of the genus Negúndo, which would lead to great changes in the leaves. As a number of the species of Acer do not flower and perfect seeds, till they become considerable trees, it would be desirable, when experiments are to be made by cross-fecundation, and the person wishing to try these experiments possesses only young trees, to graft them with scions from trees which already flower and fruit. In collecting species for this purpose, care must be taken, either to procure plants producing hermaphrodite flowers, or plants having male and female flowers on the same tree; unless, indeed, advantage is proposed to be taken of the circumstance of the tree being only of one sex, to fecundate its flowers, if female, or pistilliferous, with the male flowers of another species; or, if staminiferous, to fecundate with them the female flowers of some other kind. We are strongly inclined to believe that some of what are now considered aboriginal species of Acer are only the result of cross-fecundation, produced by accident; and hence we anticipate a number of new forms, when the attention of cultivators is powerfully directed to this object. Negundo fraxinifòlium will, in all probability, fecundate, and be fecundated by, acers of different kinds; and this alone would produce something which would amply repay the curious cultivator. The tree produces flowers at an early age; and, as there are in almost every part of the country abundance of trees of Acer campestris, and A. Pseudo-Plátanus, which flower every year, we would recommend a trial to be made between these sorts without delay. Success may not attend the first trial, but the object ought to be persisted in till some result be obtained. A. créticum, A. monspessulanum, and A. campestre will, doubtless, fertilise together; because, in foliage, in mode of growth, in time of flowering, and in the form of the fruit, they are very much alike; and something might be done with them with very little trouble. Additional Sorts from accidental Forms of Growth. The eagle's claw maple is a well known and very curious variety. Whenever any appearance of the same kind is observed in any of the other species, it ought to be continued by grafting. By carefully looking out for sports from the average forms, we shall probably, at some future day, have weeping maples, as well as the weeping ash; fastigiate maples, like the Lombardy poplar; and purpleleaved kinds, like the purple-leaved beech or common hazel. Though scarcely any of the variegated maples now known can be considered as very handsome, yet a new and beautiful variety of them may one day be procured. App. iii. Half-hardy Species of A`cer. A. palmatum Thun,, described p.422., is, in all probability, only half-hardy; or, at all events, it is safe to treat this, and the other Japan species, and also those from Nepal, when once they are procured, as half-hardy, when in their young state. A. oblongum, described in p. 405. according to Mr. Royle, descends to the lowest level of all the species found in Nepal, and is, therefore, probably the tenderest of those from that part of the world. |