weeping willow along with the Lombardy poplar, see Pópulus fastigiata in a future page.

A large weeping willow, in a scene in which there are no other trees at all harmonising with it by their form, however beautiful it may be in itself, always more or less injures the landscape. In Gilpin's Forest Scenery, he remarks that the "weeping willow is a very picturesque tree, and a perfect contrast to the Lombardy poplar. The light airy spray of the poplar," he adds,

"rises perpendicularly: that of the weeping willow is pendent. The shape of its leaf is conformable to the pensile character of the tree; and its spray, which is lighter than that of the poplar, is more easily put in motion by a breath of air. The weeping willow, however, is not adapted to sublime subjects. We wish it not to screen the broken buttresses and Gothic windows of an abbey, or to overshadow the battlements of a ruined castle. These offices it resigns to the oak, whose dignity can support them. The weeping willow seeks an humbler scene; some romantic footpath bridge, which it half conceals, or some glassy pond, over which it hangs its streaming foliage,

In these situations it appears in character, and, of course, to advantage." Sir Thomas Dick Lauder remarks on this tree, that it is a native of the East, and that interesting associations are awakened in conjunction with it by that very beautiful Psalm, "By the waters of Babylon we sat down and wept, when we remembered thee, O Sion! As for our harps, we hanged them up upon the willow trees that are therein." (Psalm 137.)" The tender and melancholy recollections of the captive children of Israel, when taken in conjunction with this tree," he adds, " are of themselves sufficient to give it an interest in every human bosom that may have been touched by the strains of the Psalmist." (Lauder's Gilpin, vol. i. p. 135.)

The weeping willow roots freely by cuttings, and grows with great rapidity in a rich soil, within reach of water, in the climate of London; but, in the north, the young shoots are very apt to be killed by frost. These shoots are brittle, and neither they nor the wood are ever applied to any useful purpose. The weeping willow is particularly subject to the attacks of the Curculio lápathi Lin., Cryptorhynchus Fab., and other insects, as already pointed out in our general view of the genus Salix. (p. 1478.)

A curious instance is given in the Gardener's Magazine, vol. ix. p. 267., of a weeping willow in the Botanic Garden at Carlsruhe. This willow, which was planted in 1787, was nearly thrown down by a storm in 1816; and, in consequence of the injury it received, one branch was cut off, and an oaken prop was put under the other, as represented in fig. 1308. a. The willow sent down a root under the decayed bark of the oaken prop. This root in 1829, when we saw it, being increased to about the thickness of a man's arm, had burst from the bark; which being removed the root stood alone, as shown at b; and we are informed that it has since so increased in size and strength as to render the oaken prop unnecessary. Varieties. There is one very decided variety, commonly treated as a species, under the name of S. annulàris; and Mr. Castles of the Twickenham Botanic Garden is of opinion that, exclusive of this variety, there are two forms of the species in the country, one of which he thinks may possibly be the male plant. This form, as it appears to be the same as the plant sent from St. Helena, we shall, till something further has been decided respecting it, call it S. b. Napoleòna. The varieties will, therefore,

stand as under:

S. b. 1 vulgaris fœm. Hort. has pale green young shoots, slender, with an angular twist above the axil of each leaf, and large stipules. It is the most common weeping willow in the neighbourhood of London, and flowers in June.

S. b. 2 Napoleona Hort. has round shoots, generally reddish, and the leaves are without stipules. It is of very vigorous growth; and there "are a number of plants of this kind in a brickfield close to the Lunatic Asylum at Hanwell; one at the Marsh Gate, Richmond, near the Poorhouse; and one at the Ferry, near Ham House. Mr. Castles's son, Mr. George Castles, says there are also some by the canal side, near Brentford." The tree at Richmond, when measured for us in November 1836, was 60 ft. high, and the diameter of the trunk was 3 ft. 3 in.

S. b. 3 crispa Hort.; S. annulàris Forbes in Sal. Wob., No. 21., with a fig. of the female; our fig. 21. in p. 1606.; and the plate of this tree in our last Volume. The ring-leaved Willow.- Leaves lanceolate, acuminate, serrated, curled, or twisted, glabrous, and glaucous beneath. Young twigs erect, pubescent at the points. Stipules half-heart-shaped. Ovary ovate, glabrous, and sessile. Stigmas notched. (Sal. Wob., p. 41.) The preceding year's branches are pendulous. A garden production, of uncertain origin, easily distinguished from the common weeping willow (S. babylonica), by the crowded mass of its young twigs, and its curled leaves. The tree does not appear as though it would attain the same height as the species. The catkins of the ring-leaved willow appear in May. The plant of this variety in the Horticultural Society's Garden, and figured in our last Volume, was, in 1834, 17 ft. high.

Statistics of the Species. Salix babylonica in the Environs of London. There are many immense trees on the banks of the Thames, and in villa gardens where the soil is moist, from 50 ft. to 60 ft. high, with heads 60 ft. or 80 ft. in diameter. In the Horticultural Society's Garden, in 1834, two trees, 8 years planted, were 18 ft. high. At Mount Grove, Hampstead, 4 years planted, it is 12 ft. high. Salix babylonica South of London. In Devonshire, in Bystock Park, 12 years planted, it is 24 ft. high; at Endsleigh Cottage, 10 years planted, 20 ft. high. In Dorsetshire, at Melbury Park, 20 years

planted, it is 31 ft. high. In the Isle of Jersey, in Saunders's Nursery, 10 years planted, it is 30 ft. high. In Somersetshire, at Nettlecombe, 24 years planted, it is 34 ft. high. In Surrey, at Claremont, it is 30 ft. high; the diameter of the trunk i ft. 9 in., and of the head 45 ft.

Salir babylonica North of London. In Berkshire, at Bear Wood, 10 years planted, it is 20 ft. high. In Buckinghamshire, at Temple House, 40 years planted, it is 30 ft. high. In Denbighshire, at Llanbede Hall, 44 years planted, it is 54 ft. high. In Oxfordshire, in the Oxford Botanic Garden, 12 years planted, it is 30 ft. high. In Pembrokeshire, at Golden Grove, 50 years planted, it is 20 ft. high; the diameter of the trunk 14 ft., and of the head 20 ft. In Radnorshire, at Maeslaugh Castle, 50 years planted, it is 42 ft. high. In Suffolk, in the Bury Botanic Garden, 10 years planted, it is 26 ft. high; at Finborough Hall, 70 years planted, it is 70 ft, high; the diameter of the trunk 3 ft., and of the head 54 ft. In Warwickshire, at Combe Abbey, 10 years planted, it is 24 ft. high. In Worcestershire, at Hagley, 10 years planted, it is 20 ft. high; at Croome, 70 years planted, it is 50 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 2 ft., and of the head 30 ft. In Yorkshire, at Grimston, 30 years planted, it is 25 ft. high.

Saliz babylonica in Scotland. At Hopetoun House, near Edinburgh, 16 years planted, it is 20 ft. high; the diameter of the trunk 8 in., and of the head 24 ft. In Fifeshire, at Danibristle Park, 10 years planted, it is 8 ft. high. In Perthshire, at Taymouth, S6 years planted, it is 70 ft. high; the diameter of the trunk 34 ft., and of the head 60 ft. In Stirlingshire, at Callender Park, 5 years planted, it is 16 ft. high.

Salir babylonica in Ireland. Near Dublin, at Terenure, 50 years planted, it is 35 ft. high. In Galway, at Coole, it is 50 ft. high; the diameter of the trunk 24 ft., and of the head 60 ft.

Saliz babylonica in Foreign Countries. In France, near Paris, at Scéaux, 40 years planted, it is 50 ft. high; the diameter of the trunk 3 ft, and of the head 60 ft. In Austria, at Vienna, in the University Botanic Garden, 50 years planted, it is 20 ft. high; the diameter of the trunk 10 in., and of the head 12 ft. in Baron Loudon's garden, at Hadersdorf, near the tomb of the celebrated Marshal Loudon, 12 years planted, it is 14 ft. high: at Brück on the Leytha, 50 years planted, it is 49 ft. high; the diameter of the trunk 3 ft., and of the head 48 ft. In Prussia, near Berlin, at Sans Souci, 40 years old, it is 24 ft. high; the diameter of the trunk 9 in., of the head 7 ft. In the south of Russia, the tree is met with in the gardens of some noblemen, and in the government garden at Nikitka. In Italy it is frequent. In the burial-grounds of Turkey it is common; and it may be found in various parts of India, and even in China. It is commoner in almost every other country than in its native habitat, the banks of the Euphrates.

20. S. DECI PIENS Hoffm. The deceptive, White Welch, or varnished,

Willow.

Identification. Hoff. Sal., 2. p. 2. t. 31.; Sm. Eng. Bot., t. 1937.; Rees's Cyclo., No. 37.; Engl. Fl., 4. p. 184.; Forbes in Sal. Wob., No. 29.; Hook. Br. Fl., ed. 3.; Mackay Fl. Hibern., pt. 1. p. 246. Synonymes. S. amerina Walker Essays on Nat. Hist.; S. frágilis, part of, Koch Comm., p. 15. The Sexes. Both sexes are described in Eng. Fl.: the male is figured in Eng. Bot. and Sal. Wob. "I am only acquainted with the sterile plant." (Hook. Br. Fl.)

Engravings. Hoffm. Sal., 2. t. 31.; Eng. Bot., t. 1937.; Sal. Wob., No. 29.; our fig. 1309.; and fig. 29. p. 1609.

Spec. Char., &c. Leaves lanceolate, pointed, serrated, very smooth; floral ones partly obovate and recurved. Footstalks somewhat glandular. Ovary tapering, stalked, smooth. Style longer than the cloven stigmas. Branches smooth, highly polished. (Sal. Wob., p. 57.) A native of Britain, growing plentifully in woods and hedges; and flowering in May. According to Pursh, it grows in North America, on road sides and about plantations; but was introduced from Europe. (Fl. Amer. Sept.) It forms an upright, but not lofty, tree, distinguished by the smooth clay-coloured bark of the last year's branches, which shine like porcelain, as if varnished; the shoots of the present year being stained of a fine red or crimson. This species is frequently cultivated for basketwork; and, when planted in moist ground, it produces annual shoots 6 ft. or 8 ft. in length, when cut down; but, in a few years, these gradually become shorter, and the plant ceases to be worth cultivating. The crimson colour of its twigs, in this state, readily distinguishes it from every other species; though it is often confounded with S. frágilis. A tree in the Horticultural Society's Garden was, in 1834, after being ten years planted, 14 ft. high.

Statistics. In Oxfordshire, on the banks of the Cherwell, in Christ Church Meadow, a tree, estimated to be of 40 years' growth, is 40 ft. high; the diameter of the trunk 3 ft., and of the head 60 ft. There are plants in the Hackney and Goldworth arboretums, and at Henfield.

Identification. Forbes in Sal. Wob., No. 19.
The Sexes. The female is figured in Sal. Wob.
Engravings. Sal. Wob., No. 19.; and our fig. 19. in p. 1606.

Spec. Char., &c. Leaves lanceolate, with long, narrow, tapering points; glaucous, and slightly hairy beneath; margins closely serrated. Branches yellow. Catkins accompanying the leaves. Ovary nearly sessile, ovate-lanceolate,

glabrous. Styles scarcely so long as the notched stigmas. (Sal. Wob., p. 37.) A native of Switzerland, where it forms an upright-growing tree, much resembling S. vitellina, both in twigs and foliage. Catkins accompanying the leaves, or appearing immediately after their expansion in May and June, and nearly 2 in. long. According to Mr. Forbes, this species deserves cultivation for the sake of its twigs and rods, which are little, if at all, inferior to those of S. vitellina for tying, and for the finer sorts of wickerwork, baskets, &c. There are plants in the Goldworth Arboretum, and also at Woburn Abbey and Flitwick House.

I 22. S FRAGILIS L. The brittle-twigged, or Crack, Willow.

Identification Lin. Sp. Pl., 1443.; Willd. Sp. Pl., 4. p. 669.; Smith Eng. Bot., t. 1807.; Eng. Fl., 4. p. 1804; Forbes in Sal. Wob., No. 27.; Hook. Br. Fl., ed. S., p. 421.; Mackay Fl. Hibern., pt. 1.

p. 246.

Synonyme. S. fragilis, in part, Koch Comm., p. 15.

The Sexes. Both sexes are figured in Eng. Bot. and Sal. Fob.

Engravings. Lin. Fl. Lapp., No. 349. t. 8. f. b.; Eng. Bot., t. 1807.; Sal. Wob., No. 27.; our fig. 1310.; fg. 27. in p. 1608.; and the plate of this tree in our last Volume.

Spec. Char., &c. Leaves ovate-lanceolate, pointed, serrated throughout, very glabrous. Footstalks glandular. Ovary ovate, abrupt, nearly sessile, glabrous. Bracteas oblong, about equal to the stamens and pistils. Stigmas

cloven, longer than the style. (Smith E. F.) A native of Britain, and frequent on the banks of rivers in marshy ground; flowering in April and May. A tall bushy-headed tree, sometimes found from 80 ft. to 90 ft. in height, with the branches set on obliquely, somewhat crossing each other, not continued in a straight line outwards from the trunk; by which character, Sir J. E. Smith observes, it may readily be distinguished even in winter. The branches are round, very smooth," and so brittle at the base, in spring, that with the slightest blow they start from the trunk." Whence the name of crack willow; though, according to Sir J. E. Smith, this "is more or less the case with S. decipiens, and several other willows, both native and exotic." Many medical properties were formerly attributed to