it has never become common, and is not often to be had from nurserymen. It is well worth cultivation on account of its large and beautiful foliage, and should be planted in deep moist soil in a warm aspect where it is sheltered by other trees at first. It ripens seeds in England, and I have raised plants from some sent me by the Earl of Ducie in 1900, which are now over 8 feet high.
It does fairly well as a planted tree in the lighter alkali lands of the San Joaquin valley in California, where only a few species will thrive, owing to the nature of the soil.[1]
Remarkable Trees
The largest specimen I know of the Oregon Maple is one at Boynton, Yorkshire, which Sir Charles Strickland to the best of his recollection planted himself about sixty years ago. It is not a well-shaped tree, as it is rather crowded, but measures 70 feet high by 6 feet in girth. There is another at Hildenley, probably of the same age, which measures 50 feet by 5 feet and bears fruit. There are several trees in Kew Gardens, the largest of which, near the entrance to the nursery, is 49 feet high by 3 feet 8 inches in girth. At Tortworth there is a tree in a rather exposed situation which is 45 feet by 5 feet 6 inches. At Syon a grafted tree is 50 feet high but only 3 feet in girth, and bore some fruit in 1905. In the Royal Avenue at Bath there is a tree 50 feet by 6 feet 2 inches, but it is not in a thriving condition, the soil being too dry to suit it. At Bicton, now the property of Lord Clinton, one of the most thriving young trees which I have seen grows near the house; and was in 1906 about 50 feet high but only 2 feet 9 inches in girth.
At Smeaton-Hepburn, East Lothian, there is a wide-spreading tree, with a bole of 6 feet, which Henry measured in 1905 as 50 feet high by 7 feet in girth.
At Glasnevin, Dublin, there is a fine tree, which in 1907 measured 51 feet high by 5 feet 4 inches in girth. There are two others about 4o feet high, with widespreading branches, growing in the quadrangle inside the main gate of Trinity College, Dublin.
Timber
This wood, though unknown in Europe, is equal in beauty, and similar in character to that of the eastern maples, and is more valued than any other native hardwood in British Columbia and Washington. In old trees it is often very well figured, though the figure is larger, bolder, and less regular than in the sugar maple, and the colour not so uniform; some parts of the heartwood being of a rich red brown. Some of the best houses in Victoria are decorated with this wood, that of the Hon. J. Dunsmuir, Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia, being a good example. If carefully selected and well seasoned it is fit for the finest cabinetmaker's work. I had a bedstead made from it by Messrs. Weiler of Victoria which shows the beauty of the wood very well; and it could be procured in fair quantity if desired, as there are many large trees still standing in accessible places. (H.J.E.)
- ↑ Hilyard, Soils, 481 (1906).
