Silva; or, A discourse of forest-trees, and the propagation of timber in His Majesty's dominions; as it was delivered in the Royal society, on October XV, MDCLXII, upon occasion of certain queries propounded to that illustrious assembly, by the hon. the principal officers and commissioners of the Navy. Together with an historical account of the sacredness and use of standing groves. To which is added the Terra: a philosophical discource of earth

Front matter

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Chapter I

The CEDAR, JUNIPER, CYPRESS, SAVIN, TAMARISK, and THUY A.

Bur now after all the beautiful and stately trees, clad in perpetual verdure, let me not forget the CEDAR, * which grows in all extremes ; in the moist Barbadoes, the hot Bermudas, (I speak of those trees so denominated,) and in the cold New-England ; even where the snow lies,

* The Cepar of Lesanon is now classed with the Pines; and the other Cedars described by Mr. Evelyn, are classed with the Junipers. But as I did not choose to disturb the order of the chapters, I have reserved the description of the Cedar for this place. Linnzus calls it Pinus folits fasciculatis acutis. Sp. Pl. 1420.

This tree is generally supposed to be an inhabitant of Mount Libanus only, but it is now found upon Mount Taurus, Amanus, &c.; and, from its hardy nature, it is probable that it may easily be naturalized to any climate.

Having procured the cones from the Levant, or of our own growth, the seeds, a little before sowing, should be got out in the following manner: Let a hole be bored with a passer exactly up the centre of each cone, from the base to the apex; after this operation put them into a tub of water, where they should remain till the next day; then having a wooden peg, rather bigger than the passer, let it be thrust down the hole, and

Volume IT. B

Chap. I

BOOK I. rw as I am told, almost half the year; for so it does on the mountains of Libanus, from whence I have received cones and seeds of those few remaining trees. Why then should it not thrive in Old England ? I know not, save for want of industry and trial.

It grows in the bogs of America, and in the mountains of Asia, so as there is, it seems, no place or clime which affrights it. And I have it will so divide the cones, that the different scales may be taken, away, and the seeds picked out. In doing this, great care must be taken not to bruise or hurt the seeds.

The soil in which you sow these seeds should be rather of a sandy nature; or, for want of this, some mould taken fresh from a rich pasture, and mixed with a little drift sand, will serve the purpose.

Having the seeds ready, let them be sown about the middle of March in pots or boxes, near half an inch deep. In about seven or eight weeks the plants will come up, when they should be removed into the shade from the heat of the sun, where they may stand, but not under shelter, all the summer; during which time they should be kept clean of weeds, and watered now and then. In winter they must be removed into a warmer situation ; and if the season be likely to prove very severe, they should be sheltered either by mats, or removed into the green-house, or covered with a hot-bed frame; for they are subject to lose their young tops at first by the severity of frosts.

In the beginning of April following, these plants may be pricked out, in beds, four inches asunder ; and if the weather prove dry, they should be shaded and watered till they have taken root; after which they will want little shading and less watering, Indeed, nothing more is required than keeping them clean from weeds, and covering the ground so as to keep it moist, and prevent its chapping by the rays of the sun. In these beds they should continue two years, when, in the spring, they should be transplanted into the nursery, where they may remain till they are planted out for good. '

During the time they are in the nursery, and after planting out, many will have a tendency to droop in their leading shoot. As soon, therefore, as this is perceived, an upright stake must be driven into the ground, to which the shoot should be tied with bass matting, to keep them in their upright growth. The Larch-tree, which is nearly allied to this species, will sometimes rebel in this way; so that it would not be amiss, in both cases, when the first sign of such a tendency is discovered, to lighten the head by nipping off the extremities of some few of the largest branches.

When these trees are planted out for good they should be left to nature, after being properly fenced. Not a knife nor a hatchet should come near them ; lopping even their lowest branches is so injurious, that it both retards their growth and diminishes their beauty.

It is matter of surprise, that this tree hath not been more cultivated in England formerly ; for, till within a few years past, there were but few here; since it would be a great ornament to barren bleak mountains, where few other trees will grow so well, it being a native of the coldest parts of Mount Libanus, where the snow continues great part of the year. And, from the observations made of those now growing in England, it is found they

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RY frequently raised it from the seeds and berries, of which we have the CHAP. L very best in the world from the Summer-Islands, though now almost “” ¥—~ exhausted by the unaccountable negligence of the planters; as are

likewise those of Mount Libanus, by the wandering and barbarous

Arabs. The Cedar we have from Jamaica is a spurious sort, and

the wood so porous, that wine will soak into it. On the contrary, that

of Carolina is so firm and close, that barrels and other vessels preserve thrive best on the poorest soil; for such of them as have been planted in a strong, rich, loamy earth, have made but a poor progress, in comparison to such as have grown upon a stony, meagre soil. And that these trees are of quick growth, is evident from four of them now growing in the physic garden at Chelsea, which, as Mr. Miller observes, were planted there in the year 1683, being at that time not above three feet high; two of which trees are at this time (1774) upwards of twelve feet and a half in girt, at two feet above the ground, and their branches extend more than twenty feet on every side their trunks; which branches, though they are produced twelve or fourteen feet above the surface, do, at every termination, hang very near the ground, and thereby afford a cool shade in the hottest months of the year.

In the garden ef the old palace at Enfield, stands a Cedar of Libanus, of considerable stature. ‘lhe body, exclusive of the boughs, contains about 103 cubical feet. This tree “was planted by Dr. Uvedale, who kept a flourishing boarding-school in this house at the time of the great plague in 1665. It is in height about 45 feet at present, eight feet having been broken off from its top by the high wind in 1703. Several other Cedars of considerable size are scattered about in different parts of this kingdom. Of these, one of the most remarkable was blown down by the hurricane that happened on the Ist of January, 1779. It grew on the north-side of Hendon Place, eight miles from London.— The height 70 feet; the diameter of the horizontal extent of the branches, 100; the circumference of the trunk, seven feet above the ground, 16; twelve feet above the ground, 21. At this latter height it began to branch; and its limbs, about ten in number, were from six to twelve feet in circumference. This tree is supposed to have been two hundred years old, and planted in the reign of Queen Elizabeth: tradition says by her Majesty herself. When blown down, it was perfectly sound and undecayed, and seemed as if not grown to maturity. The following are the dimensions of a fine Cedar growing _at Hillington. The perpendicular height is 53 feet; the diameter of the horizontal extent of the branches from east to west, 96; from north to south, 89; the circumference of the trunk close to the ground, 133; seven feet above the ground, 121; twelve feet above the ground, 14 feet 8 inches ; and thirteen feet and a half above the ground, just under the branches, 15 feet 8 jabhed It has two principal branches, one of which is bifid 1} foot above its origin: before it divides it measures in circumference 12 feet: after its division, one of its forks measures 83 feet, the other 7 feet 10 inches. The other primary branch, at its origin, measures 10 feet; and soon dividing, throws out two secondary ones, each 5}. Its age is supposed to be 116 years.

We do not exactly know when and by whom the Cedar was first introduced into

B2

BOOK II. the strongest spirits in vigour. The New-England Cedar is a lofty

nye grower, and prospers into excellent timber, which, being sawed into planks, makes delicate floors. They shingle their houses also with it, and generally employ it in all their buildings. Why have we no more of it brought us, to raise, plant, and convert to the same uses ? There is the Oxycedros of Lycia, which the architect Vitruvius describes to have its leaf like the Cypress; but the right Phoenician resembles more the Juniper, bearing a cone not so pointed as the other, as we shall come to shew.

After these, I shall not here descend to the inferior kinds, which some call Dwarfs, and common Juniper-like shrubs, fitter to head the borders

England. Turner, one of our earliest herbalists, where he treats “of the Pyne-tree, and other of that Kynde,” says nothing of it. Gerarde, published by Johnson in 1636, mentions it not as growing here ; and Parkinson, in his Theatrum Botanicum, 1640, speaking of the Cedrus Magna conifera Libani, says, “ The branches, some say, all grow upright, but others, straight out.” It is very certain, from what Mr. Evelyn says in the beginning of this chapter, that the Cedar of Lebanon was not, in 1664, cultivated in England ; but from the warm manner that he expresses himself upon this head, it is probable that it soon after became an object of the planter’s attention.

There are said to be a few Cedar-trees still remaining upon Mount Libanus, which are preserved with a religious strictness: for 'we are informed, from the Memoirs of the Missionaries in the Levant, that, upon the day of the Transfiguration, the Patriarch of the Maronites, (Christians inhabiting Mount Libanus,) attended by a number of bishops, priests, and monks, and followed by five or six thousand of the religious from all parts, repairs to these Cedars, and there celebrates that festival which is called “The feast of Cedars.”— We are also told that the Patriarch officiates pontifically on this solemn occasion ; that his followers are particularly mindful of the blessed Virgin on this day, because the Scripture compares her to the Cedars of Lebanon ; and that the same holy Father threatens with ecclesiastical censure those who presume to hurt or diminish the Cedars still remaining.

The epithet of lofty, sometimes given to the Cedar, is, by no means just; since from the experience we have of these trees growing in England, as also from the testimony of travellers who have visited the few remaining ones on Mount Libanus, they are not inclined to be lofty, but, on the contrary, extend their branches very wide. The Psalmist makes a proper allusion to this tree in his description of the flourishing state of a people. “They shall spread abroad like a Cedar in Libanus,” Had Milton been as good a naturalist as he was a poet, he would not have wrote, and over head upgrew Insuperable height of loftiest shade Cedar, and Pine, and Fir, and branching Palm. PARADISE LOST, B IV.

of coronary gardens, and to be shorn. There is yet another of the CHAP. I. North America, lighter than cork itself, of a fragrant scent which is its i only virtue.

After all these exotics brought from our plantations, answering to the name of Cedar, I should esteem that of the Bermuda little inferior, if not superior, to the noblest Lebanon ; and next, that of Carolina for its many uses and lasting.

Having spoken of their several species, we come now to the culture. These are best raised from the seeds, since it would be difficult to receive any store from abroad. To begin with that of Mount Libanus: those which seem of the greatest antiquity are indeed majestical, extending the boughs and branches, with their cones swrsum spectantia, as by most we are told ; though a late traveller * found them otherwise depending, like * Le Bruyn. other coniferous trees. The sturdy arms, though in smaller sprigs, grow in time so weighty as often to bend the very stem and main shaft, whilst that which is most remarkable, is the structure of the cones and seed receptacles, tacked and ranged between the branch-leaves in such order, as nothing appears more curious and artificial, and at a little distance exceedingly beautiful, ‘These cones have their bases rounder, shorter, or rather thicker, and with blunter points, the whole circumzoned, as it were, with pretty broad thick scales, which adhere together in exact series to the very top and summit, where they are somewhat smaller ; but the entire lorication smoother couched than those of the Fir-kind. Within these repositories, under the scales, nestle the small nutting seeds, or rather kernels, of a pear-shape; which, how nourished and furnished from the central stile, with their other integuments, is admirably described by Mr. Ray, as that of the stalk of the clogs, thicker and longer, and so firmly knit to them, that it requires considerable force to part them from the branch without splitting the arm itself. We have said nothing concerning the leavesof this tree, which much resemble those of the Larix, but somewhat longer and closer set; they are erect, and perpetually green, which those of the Larch are not,

The seeds drop out of the cones as the Fir and Pine kernels do when the air, sun, or moisture open and unglue the scales, which naturally it else does not in those of the Cedar till the second year; but which, after

BOOK IL. i A all the preparations of burying in holes made in the earth and sand, in which they are apter to rot, may more safely be done by exposing the clogs discreetly to the sun, or before a soft and gentle fire, or, I think, best of all, by soaking them in warm water.

The lachryme, gum, and other transudations serve more for unguents and the chirurgeon’s box, than for other medicaments, in which we find Pliny has little faith. But that which is more remarkable, is the virtue of the famous timber of this noble tree, being proof against all putrefaction of human and other bodies, above all other ingredients and composition of embalmers; and that by a pretty contradiction, giving life, as it were, to the dead, and destroying the worms which are living, as it does where any goods are kept in chests and presses of the wood, excepting woollen cloth and furs, which it is observed they corrupt.— In the mean time, touching the manner of these operations, as it concerns the preservation of the dead, see more where we speak of Cypress; the effects being ascribed to the extreme bitterness of the resinous juices, whilst the odour is most grateful. The worthy Mr. Ray mentions the powder and saw-dust of Cedar to be one of the greatest secrets used by our pollinctors and mountebanks, who pretend to this embalming mystery ; and indeed, that the dust and very chips are exitial to moths and worms, daily experience shews us; though none in mine, better than the dried leaves and stalks of Marum Syriacum, familiarly planted in our gardens. What, therefore, the late traveller, Dampier, speaks of Cedar, which he has seen worm-eaten, could neither be that of Libanus or Bermudas, but haply of Barbadoes, Jamaica, or some other species.— Note, that the Cedar is of so dry a nature, that it does not well endure to be fastened with nails, from which it usually shrinks, and therefore pins of the same wood are better. Whatever other property this noble tree is deservedly famous for, it is said to yield an oil, which above all other, best preserves the monuments of the learned, books and writings ; whence Cedro Dignus became one of the highest eulogies °.

Touching the diuturnity of this material, it is recorded, that in the temple of Apollo at Utica, there were found sound beams of Numidian e sic ex Cedro oleum, ‘quod cedreum dicitur, nascitur : quo relique res cum sunt uncte, uti etiam libri, a tineis et a carie non leduntur. VITRUVIUS.

OF FOREST-TREES. ll

Cedar near twelve hundred years old; and at Saguntum in Spain, in a certain oratory consecrated to Diana, there were seen, in the days of Pliny, beams of Juniper, that had been placed there by the founders of the temple, who came from Zant two centuries before the destruction of Troy. The great Sesostris, king of Egypt, built a vessel of Cedar of two hundred and eighty cubits, all over gilded without and within: and the statue of the goddess in the famous Ephesine temple was said to be of this material also, as was most of the timber work of that glorious structure. ‘Though as to the idol, mentioned in the Acts, (when the mob rose up.against the Apostle,) some will have it to be of Ebony, others, of a Vine-tree, the most unlikely of all the rest for the carver. The Shittim, mentioned in holy writ, is thought to have been a kind of Cedar, of which most precious utensils were formed.

As to the magnitude of Cedar-trees, we read of divers whose bodies eight or nine persons could not embrace, as we shall shew hereafter ; not here to let pass what Josephus relates Solomon planted in Judea, who doubtless tried many experiments of this nature, none being more kingly than that of planting for posterity. I do not speak of those growing on the mountains of Lebanon, in the northern and colder tracts of Syria, or what store those forests of them then afforded. But, as we are informed by that curious traveller Rauwolfius *, since confirmed also by the Virtuoso Monconys, there were not remaining above twenty-five of those stately trees ; and since they were there, but sixteen of that small number, as the ingenious Mr. Maundrell reports in his journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem: There was yet, says he, abundance of young trees, and a single old one of a prodigious size, twelve yards and six inches in the girt, and thirty-seven yards in the spread of its boughs.— I suppose the same described by the late traveller Bruyn, who, speaking of the shadow of this umbrageous tree, alludes to that of Hosea xiv. 5, which, it is not improbable, might be one of those yet remaining in the place, where that heroic Prince Solomon employed fourscore thousand hewers at work for the materials of only one temple and a palace ; a pregnant instance what time, negligence, and war will bring to ruin. But to return to what is said of their present number; Le Bruyn, whom just now we mentioned, makes them thirty-five or thirty-six, for he could not exactly tell; and pretends, like our Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain, none could ever yet agree in their number,

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In short, upon reflection of what we have hitherto said concerning the universal waste and destruction of timber-trees, where due regard is not taken to propagate and supply them, whole countries have suffered as well as particular provinces. Thus the Apennines are stripped of their goodly Pine and Fir-trees, (which formerly the naturalist commends those mountains for,) to that degree, as to render not only the city of Florence, but Rome herself, so exposed to the nipping Tramontans, (for so they call the northern winds,) that almost nothing which is rare and curious will thrive without hyemation and art; so as, even through the most of those parts of Italy, on this side the kingdom of Naples, flankered by the Alpestral hills, (clad, as they perpetually are, with snow,) they are fain to house and retire their Orange, Citron, and other delicate and tender plants as we do in England. There remains yet one mountain among the Apennines, covered and crowned with Cypress, whereof some are of a considerable stature. Nor is all this indeed so great a wonder, if we find the entire species of some trees totally lost in countries, as if there never had been any such planted or growing in them. Be this applied to Fir and Pine, and several other trees, for want of culture, several accidents in the soil, air, &c. which we daily find produces strange alterations in our woods, the Beech almost constantly succeeding the Oak, to our great disadvantage, whilst we neglect new seminations. Herodotus, speaking of the Palms plentifully growing about Delos, says the whole species was utterly lost. More I might add on this subject ; but perhaps I have been too long on these remarks— and long enough on cold Mount Libanus.

JUNIPE R*.

1. Let it not seem unduly placed, if, after such giants, we bring this humble shrub (such as abound with us being so reckoned) to claim

© The real and distinct species of the JuNIPER are:

1. JUNIPERUS (communis) foliis ternis patentibus mucronatis bacca longioribus:—~ Lin. Sp. Plant. 1470. Juniper mith spreading, sharp-pointed leaves placed by threes. Juniperis vulgaris fruticosa. C. B. P. 488. THE coMMON JUNIPER.

Of the common Juniper there are two sorts: 1. The English Juniper. 2. The Swedish Juniper.

i. The English Juniper, though naturally of our own growth, is very little known in many affinity to the tallest Cedar; since, were not ours continually cropped, but maintained in single stems, we might perhaps see some of them rise to competent trees, fit for many curious works, such as tables, cabinets, coffers, inlaying, floors, carvings, &c. We read of some of these trees so large as to have made beams and rafters for a certain temple in Spain, dedicated to Diana; nor need we question their being

* parts of England; for it grows naturally only in dry, chalky, sandy land; and where the soil is opposite to this, it is rarely found. Thus, in Leicestershire it is so little known, that when growing amongst other trees in a shrubbery, it is as much inquired after as any of the most rare and curious shrubs; and indeed, when properly raised from seeds, and planted in gardens, it is a pretty spreading evergreen. Those who have been used to see it in its wild state, on sandy, barren commons, &c. will have little inducement to plant it, as there they see it procumbent, seldom shewing a natural tendency to aspire; but when planted in a good soil, it grows to the height of fifteen or sixteen feet, and produces numerous branches from the bottom to the top, forming a well-looking, bushy plant. These branches are exceedingly tough, and are covered with a smooth bark of a reddish colour, with a gentle tinge of purple. The leaves are narrow and sharp-pointed; they grow by threes on the ‘ranches; their upper surface has a grayish streak down the middle, but their under is of a fine green colour, and they garnish the shrub in great plenty. This shrub flowers in April and May. The flowers are small, of a yellowish colour, and make no figure. They are succeeded by berries, which are of a blueish purple when ripe.

The Swedish Juniper has a natural tendency to grow to a greater height, and consequently has more the appearance of a tree than the former. Sixteen or eighteen feet, however, is the highest it commonly grows to; and the plants raised from its seeds have, for the most part, a tendency to grow higher, and become more woody and branching. The leaves, flowers, and fruit grow in the same manner as the former, which shews it to be a variety only. Old botanists mention it as a distinct species: Caspar Bauhine asserts this, and calls one the Shrubby Juniper, and the other the Tree Juniper; he also mentions another sort, which he calls the Lesser Mountain Juniper, with a broader leaf and a larger fruit.

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2. JUNIPERUS (oxycepnrus ) foliis undique imbricatis obtusis, ramis teretibus. Mill. Dict. Juniper with obtuse leaves every where lying over each other, and taper branches. Juniperus major, bacca rufescente. C. B. P. 489. Greater Juniper mith a brownish berry. Oxycedrus. Clus. Hist. 1. SPANISH JUNIPER.

This sort grows rather higher than the Swedish in some soils. It will be feathered from the bottom to the top, if left untouched from the first planting, or if not crowded with other trees. The leaves are awl-shaped, and finely spread open. They are very short, sharp-pointed, and give the tree a fine look. The flowers of this shrub are succeeded by large reddish berries, which are very beautiful when ripe.

3. JUNIPERUS (ruvrirera) foliis quadrifariam imbricatis acutis. Lin. Sp. 1471— Juniper with acute leaves placed by fours, lying over each other. Juniperus major bacc4 ceruled.

Volume Ii. C

CHAP. I.

BOOK II. fit for other buildings; it is celebrated for its emulating the Cedar, though vr —~ not in stature, yet in its lastingness; and such, I think, the learned Dr. Sloane mentions growing in Jamaica, little inferior to the Bermudas.

2. Of Juniper we have three or four sorts, male, female, and dwarf ;

whereof one is much taller and more fit for improvement. The wood .

—C.B.P. Greater Juniper with blue berries. Cedrus Hispanica procerior, fructu maximo nigro. Tourn. Inst. SPANISH CEDAR.

The Spanish Cedar grows plentifully in the country from whence it derives its name, and is itself a regular growing tree, rising in a conical form, if the branches are untouched, to the height of thirty feet or more. The leaves are imbricated, and lie over each other four ways; they are acute, and of a fine green colour: from these properties only an idea of a fine tree may be had. The flowers are insignificant to a common observer, but they are succeeded by berries which make a good show when ripe; they are very large, and of a fine black colour, and adorn the young branches in great plenty.

4, JUNIPERUS (rycr4) foliis ternis undique imbricatis ovatis obtusis. Lin. Sp. Pl. 1471, Juniper mith oval, blunt leaves placed by threes, which every where lie over each other. Cedrus, folio Cupressi, media, majoribus baccis. C. B. P. 487. Middle Cedar with a Cypress leaf, and larger berries. THE LYCIAN CEDAR.

The Lycian Cedar grows naturally in the country so called, and is as common in Spaim as the former sort. It will rise to the height of about twenty-five feet. The branches have naturally an upright position, and their bark is of a reddish hue. The leaves are every where imbricated, obtuse, and of an oval figure. They resemble those of the Cypress, and are very beautiful. The flowers are succeeded by large oval berries, of a brown colour, and are produced in plenty from the sides of the younger branches all over the tree. The resinous gum, called Olibanum, is the produce of this tree: when burnt upon live coals, it sends forth a most agreeable smell, which induces me to think that it might be the frankincense of the Jews. The thus, or frankincense of the shops, is a very different substance from this, being a concrete on the surface of the terebinthinate juice of the Pine, that produces the Terebinthina communis.

5. JUNIPERUS (pHanicra ) foliis ternis obliteratis imbricatis obtusis, Lin. Sp. 1471. Juniper nith leaves placed by threes, which are obliterate, obtuse, and lying over each “other. Cedrus folio Cupressi major, fructu flavescente. C. B. P. Greater Cedar mith a Cypress leaf and yellowish fruit. THE PHO@NICIAN CEDAR.

The Pheenician Cedar seldom grows higher than twenty feet, and is a beautiful upright tree, forming a kind of pyramid, if untouched, from the bottom. It has both ternate and imbricated leaves ; the under ones grow by threes, and spread open; and the upper ones are obtuse, and lie over each other like the Cypress. The flowers are produced from the ends of the branches ; and the fruit that succeeds them is rather small, and of a yellow colour.— is yellow, and being cut in March, sweet as Cedar, whereof it is accounted a spurious kind; all of them difficult to remove with success : nor prosper they being shaded at all, or over-dripped.— The Swedish Juniper, now so frequent in our modish gardens, and shorn into pyramids, is but a taller and somewhat brighter sort of the vulgar.

It is commonly called the Pheenician Cedar, though it is found growing naturally in most of the southern parts of Europe.