Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 2.djvu/674

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T R E

the remains of deftroyed forefts ; and though the profit to be reaped from the planting them would come late, yet the ex- pencc of doing it would be very trifling in comparlfon of that profit, and the means eafyi

The authors who have given rules for planting, having em- ployed themfelves only about fmall fpots of ground, the efta- blithing orchards or parks, are by no means to be fuppofed pro- per guides in attempts of this kind ; and Monfieur de Button, who had a great opinion of the knowledge of our Evelyn and Miller, who feem to fpeak of every thing from their own ex- perience, found when he fet about large plantations, that their opinions and rules were erroneous ; and was obliged to have recourfe to experiments only; which he varied a thou- fand ways : and though many of them proved unfuccefsful, yet they all gave hints toward others, by which the attempt might afterwards be brought to fucceed. This fagacious enquirer into the operations of nature in the growth of vegetables, having fet apart a confiderable quantity of land for the trial, and procured a number of young Trees, firft divided the whole quantity into a number of fmall lquares, and having made a plan of it, examined the nature, depth, and other circumftances of the foil in each, and minuted the whole down on a proper part of the plan : that himfelf or whoever fucceeded him might judge from the different growths of a number of Trees planted in the fame Irate in thefe different foils, the different advantages and disadvantages of every circum- ftance in the depth and nature of the ground, in regard to the growth of \i(e(ul Trees. Different numbers of labourers were employed about different fpots of this ground, and the acorns for the young growth planted at different feafons ; but the re- fult in general was, that what mould feem the beft methods fucceeded the worft ; and thofc pieces where many labourers had been employed, and the acorns planted before winter, were much thinner of young oaks, than thofe where the leaft labour had been beftowed upon the ground, and where the acorns had been planted in the fpring : but thofe places which fucceeded beft from the fowing, were thofc which had the acorns planted in holes made by a pick -ax, without any pre- ceding culture of the ground. And thofe where the acorns had only been laid upon the earth, under the grafs, afforded a great number of vigorous young Trees, though the greater part had been carried away by birds and other devouring animals. Thofe fpots of ground where the acorns were fet at fix inches depth, Were much worfe furniflied with young fhoots, than thofe where they had been buried but at an inch deep ; and in ibme places where they were buried at a foot deep not one ftioot appeared, though in others where they had been buried at nine inches there were many.

Thofe acorns which had been fteeped for eight or nine days in wine lees, and in the water of the common fewers, appeared out of the ground much earlier than thofc which were put in with- out this previous management.

But the moft fuccefsful of all the trials, was that of planting in the fpring fuch acorns as had been fown together in ano- ther place, and had time to flioot there ; of thefe fcarce any one failed, and the plantation was perfe&ly flourifhing, tho' the growth of thefe young fhoots was not fo quick or vigo- rous as thofe of the acorns, which had remained when firft fown ; which was probably owing to the injury the tender ra- dicles received in tranfplanting.

Thus fucceeded the experiments by fowing, while of thofe made by planting young Trees, fuch as had been brought out of woods and places under covert, fucceeded much worfe than thofe which had grown in more expofed places.

The young Trees of the feveral parts of the plantation kept on their growth in the manner they had begun to fhoot, thofe of the more laboured parts continuing more weak, and lower than thofe of the lefs laboured.

Thus were a number of neceilary experiments carefully tried, and the refult of the whole was, that to make a plantation of oaks, on a foil of the common clayey or loamy kind, the molt fuccefsful method is this : The acorns muft be preferved during the winter in the earth in this manner : let there be made a bed of earth of fix inches deep, on this place a layer of acorns two inches deep, over thefe lay a bed of an- other half foot of earth, over that another layer of acorns, and fo on fucccflively, till as many are employed as there will be occafion for ; the whole k then to be covered with a foot depth of earth, to prcferve all from the froft. In the beginning of March thefe beds are to be opened, and the acorns which will by that time have fhot out, and are then in reality fo many young oaks, are to be planted out at a foot diftance each, and the fuccefs of a plantation of this kind need not be feared. This is a manner of planting that is done at a fmall expence, and even that might be in a great meafure fpared, were it not for the birds and other devouring animals; fince, could the acorns be -defended from thefe, they might be only laid on the 1 iirface of the ground under the grafs in autumn, and they would infallibly fhew themfelves in fo many young oaks the fucceed- ing fpring.

It is eafy to continue the carrying the acorns, when taken out of their winters bed, to the place where they are to be planted, without doing them much injury; and the fmall ftop the tranf- phu.ting puts to their growths is in reality rather an advan-

tage than an injury; fince it only retards the young fhoots for about three weeks, or lefs than that: and by that means fecures them from the few cold mornings that may be expected about the time of their natural appearance. Memoires Acad. Scien. Paris 1739.

Trees in corn fields are a worfe enemy than any weeds, they fuck up the nourifhment from the corn about them, even to a great diftance : nor is it peculiar to corn to fufter by them. Mr. Tull gives an inftance of a fmgle Tree Banding in a field of turneps, which fpoiled no lefs than half an acre of the crop. ■ It has been fuppofed that Trees injured thefe lower herbs by their fhadow ; and fome thought that the mifebief they faw from them, was owing to their droppings ; but by this inftance, it is plain both thefe conjectures are erroneous : the fouth fide of the Tree, where no fhadow comes, is found to fuffer as much as any other ; and the droppings reaching only as far as the bows, and the mifchief fo much farther^ it is plain that the mifchief is owing to neither of thefe caufcs, but to the tree's drawing all the nourifhment, by extending its roots fo far, and in fuch numbers^ on every fide the extent of ground through which the turneps were thus injured, pro- bably fhewing the extent of the roots of the Tree, which arc found by this to run farther than is ufually fuppofed. On felling of Trees, letters have fomctimes been found in the midft of them. We have inftances of this kind; mentioned in the Phil. Tranfi N°. 454. Sect. 16. Where the trunk of of a beach being fawed, difcovered feveral letters in the wood, about one inch and an half from the bark, and near the fame diftance from the center of the trunk. It fcems thefe letters had been formerly cut into the bark, and in procefs of time thefe might be covered. See the place cited. See alio the fame number Seel. 17. in the remarks.

In the fame Tranfaction, we have an account of the horn of a deer, found in the heart of an oak. Crucifixes have alfa been found in Trees, and were to be fure lhcwn as miracu- lous to the ignorant. Sec p. 236. of the faid Tranfaction in. the remarks.

Trees are often found buried in the earth. See the -article Foffik Wood;

How Tubes maybe injured by froft. See the article Frost.

Fruit-T-RV. es. See the article Fruit -Trees.

Juices of Trees. See the articles Juice and Sap,

Dijlemperature of Tr e e s. See the article Distemperature*

Felling of Trees. See the articles Felling andTiMBER.

Trees in a fhip are of feveral forts, as, Chefs-Trees, Crofs- Trees, Roof-Trees, Wajle-Trecs, Treffel-Trees. See the arti- cle Chess-TVwj, CROss-Trees, &c.

Roof-TREES, in a fhip, final! timbers that bear up the gratings from the half deck to the fore-caflle, fupported by flantions that reft upon the half 4eck.

TREENELS, in a fhip, long pins or nails of wood, whence they are called Tree-nells, or Tree-nails^ made out of the heart of oak, to faften the planks to the timber ; and thofe' have always oakam driven into them to prevent any leak.

TREET, Triticum, in our ftatutes, is ufed for fine wheat. See Statute 51. Hen. 3. Blount.

TREFOIL, Trifollum, in botany, the name of a genus of plants ; the characters of which are thefe : The flower is of the papilionaceous kind: The piftil which ariles from the cup finally becomes a capfule^ which remains covered with the cup, and ufually contains kidncy-fhaped feeds. To this it is to be added, that the leaves grow three on every ftalfc % though there are fome inftances of thefe plants truly of this genus, which have four or five on the ftalk. The fpecies of Trefoil, enumerated by Mr. Tournefort, arc thefe: 1. The bituminous, or ffinking Trefoil, 2. The com- mon purple meadow- Trefoil 3. The larger purple Trefoil* with longer and narrower leaves, and deeper coloured flowers. 4. The common white-flowered Trefoil, 5. The fmaller and fmoother white-flowered meadow- Trefoil, called by fome the female lasddaw-Trefoxl. 6. The white meadow-TV^//, with a bivalve pod, a hollow f talk, and leaves marked un- derneath with purple fpots. 7. The bladder purple Trefoil 8. The wild hop-Trefoil. 9. The frnalleft hop-TrefoiL 10. The mountain hop-Trefoil. n. The large purpto mountain-TV*^//. 12. The purple mountain 'Trefoil, with fharp-pointed and crenated leaves. 13. The purple moun- Um-Trefoil, with obtufe-pointcd crenated leaves. 14. The lefler purple mountain -Trefoil. 15. The white mountain- Trefoil. 16. The Trefoil with a round red fpike, called the greateft lagopus or hares-foot Trefoil. \ 7. The Trefoil, with an oblong red fpike. 18. The mountain- 'Trefoil, with 3 very long red fpike. 19. The narroweft-leaved fpikedmoun- tain-Trefoil. 20. The narrow-leaved Spanifh Trefoil, with. a pale red fpike. 21. The narrow-leaved Spanifh hares-foot Trefoil, with very red flowers. 22. The common fmall-fpikcd Bern-Trefoil, called common lagopus, or hares-foot Trefoil, 23. 'J 'he fmall hares-foot Trefoil, with fharp-pointed and not crenated leaves, and fmall pale purple flowers. 24. The yellowifh flowered hares-foot Trefoil, called the meadow-7W- foil, with hilphur-coloured flowers. 25. The ftarry-beaded Trefoil, with globofe hufks. 26. The common purple itarry- ~" fi w7. 27. The fmall (tarry-headed Trefoil, refoil, 28. The globofe Trefoil, or round-

headed French Trefoil. r dipfacus-headed Tt

headed