Larch

“ The larch, known only to the people of the towns on the banks of the river Po and the shores of the Adriatic, is not only preserved from decay and the worm by the great bitterness of its sap, but also it cannot be kindled with fire nor ignite of itself, un­less like stone in a limekiln it is burned with other wood. ”

“ We see, too, the dark olive duskiness of the fir crown, with its flesh-like arms flung outwards, and the warm glow of the upper limbs dying out of its body as it nears the brown earth, reddened like the bed of the larch with the dropping spray of cast-off shreds; the fir and the larch, that never change their entire garments winter or summer, but only cast away the worn bits they have done with; the willow, that grows paler as the summer advances and the other trees flush, until she stands out white amongst the orange and the russet, and the intense purple fumes of the passing year ”

“ With the introduction of larch about the end of last century, which soon became, and deservedly, a favourite in the Highlands, it unhappily was used as a single belting in exposed places near farm houses and steadings. The consequence, as every one who travels through the Highlands must be painfully conscious of, has been trees shapeless and crooked, giving no shelter, and unpleasing in view. ”

“ But the glory of the woodland is in its trees; in its sturdy oaks, and stately beeches, its old Scotch firs and graceful larch trees. There is no season when the larch is without some charm. It is beautiful in the springtime, when its sprays are set with exquisite red blossoms, like fairy jewel-work. It is beautiful when among soft tufts of green the brown cones harden in the pleasant sun of May. It is beautiful now, when the flowing, feathery plumes wear the soberer hue of summer. Nor is the beauty greatly less [Pg 160] when, in the chill autumn days, that hue changes slowly into yellow. ”

“ The little knobs along the twigs are the stubs which bore leaves. In the spring new leaves come out, pale lettuce green, feathery, transforming the tree top into a thing of beauty.
This larch tree of ours is more sparsely branched than the larch of Europe. It looks ragged and unhappy when planted on our lawns. It is at its best in the cold North, where it grows in dense crowds, and the tall trunks are stripped free from limbs well towards the tops. These straight shafts are cut for telegraph poles, railroad ties, and posts. The heavy, resinous wood lasts a long time in the ground. ”

“ And the larch has hung all his tassels forth,
The fisher is out on the sunny sea,
And the rein-deer bounds through the pasture free,
And the pine has a fringe of softer green,
And the moss looks bright where my step has been. ”

“ CHAPTER IV THE TRAP It was an evening of golden silence, and the larch copse in its stillness was like an enchanted wood. Now and then something moved in the undergrowth with a swift rustle or a blackbird raised a long ripple of alarm. But for the most part all was still. No breeze came up the hillside, and in the west a long black line of cloud lay like a barrier across the sun, so that great rays slanted out over land and sea, transforming all things with their radiance. ”

“ It was so gorgeously delightful to find that nothing had shrunk, nothing lessened in beauty or mystery. A larch copse was every bit as much a haunt of the Little People as formerly; the moss every bit as much a cool green carpet for their tripping feet. ”

“ The redbreast sings from the tall larch That stands beside the door. "There is a blessing in the air, Which seems a sense of joy to yield To the bare trees, and mountains bare, And grass in the green field. ”

“ The LARCH (Pinus laryx) , a native of the Alps, and the mountains of Germany, is a species of fir, which has its leaves in tufts, and its cones oblong, and of somewhat oval shape, the margins of the scales bent back, and jagged.
The cultivation of larch-trees has of late been much recommended for adoption in this country, on account of the value of their timber, which for strength and durability, is equal to most kinds of deal. It is well calculated for masts, and the framework of vessels, being capable of sustaining much greater pressure even than oak. ”

“ In the year 1820, this patriotic nobleman had the satisfaction of seeing a thirty-six gun frigate launched, built entirely of larch timber of his own raising. Throughout the British Isles, the larch has been planted by thousands and millions; and, what is very extraordinary, the most barren land is converted into fine pasturage by the process. The larch succeeds best on poor land, while the annual fall of its leaves soon gives rise to a fine natural grass that is highly valuable for grazing. ”

“ The cultivation of the tree rapidly spread, and the larch has become a conspicuous feature of the scenery in many parts of Scotland. It grows as rapidly and attains as large a size in British habitats suited to it as in its home on the Alps, and often produces equally good timber. The larch of Europe is essentially a mountain tree, and requires not only free air above, but a certain moderate amount of moisture in the soil beneath, with, at the same time, perfect drainage, to bring the timber to perfection. ”

“ THE LARCH Family Pinaceæ The larch is the only native Northern genus of the pine family which loses its leaves in winter; all the other native genera are evergreens. There is one indigenous species, and one from Europe which is cultivated even more commonly than the American tree.
American Larch; Tamarack or Hackmatack Larix americana
A large tree, 50 to 100 feet high. The bark is rough with small, flat scales. The stems are pliable, and are covered with knobby buds. ”

“ A larch-wood in winter presents rather a weird and dreary aspect, the grey branches and trunks appearing as if dead and withered, an aspect that is intensified when, as frequently happens, the branches are thickly invested with the lichens Ramalina and Evernia. ”

“ The larch is said not to succeed on arable land, especially where corn has been grown, but experience does not seem to support this view; that against the previous occupation of the ground by Scotch fir or Norway spruce is probably better founded, and, where timber is the object, it should not be planted with other conifers. On the Grampians and neighbouring hills the larch will flourish at a greater elevation than the pine, and will grow up to an altitude of 1700 or even 1800 ft. ”

“ You humans, who never go anywhere without stamping, and running, and talking loudly, and lighting pipes with crackly matches, have no idea what the real life of the woods is like, especially on a fine June afternoon such as this one was. Though our larch was one of a thick clump, yet from the great height of our nest we could see right across into the belt of oaks, beeches, and old thorn-trees which lay along the slope below, and could even catch a glimpse of the tall hedge and bank, and of the sandy turf beyond where the rabbit-warren lay. ”

“ The larch, from its lofty straight trunk and the high quality of its wood, is one of the most important of coniferous trees; its growth is extremely rapid, the stem attaining a large size in from sixty to eighty years, while the tree yields good useful timber at forty or fifty; it forms firm heartwood at an early age, and the sapwood is less perishable than that of the firs, rendering it more valuable in the young state. ”

“ When standing in an open space, the larch grows of a nearly conical shape, with the lower branches almost reaching the ground, while those above gradually diminish in length towards the top of the trunk, presenting a very symmetrical form; but in dense woods the lower parts become bare of foliage, as with the firs under similar circumstances. When springing up among rocks or on ledges, the stem sometimes becomes much curved, and, with its spreading boughs and pendent branchlets, often forms a striking and picturesque object in alpine passes and steep ravines. ”

“ It is much employed for house-building; most of the picturesque log-houses in Vaud and the adjacent cantons are built of squared larch trunks, and derive their fine brown tint from the hardened resin that slowly exudes from the wood after long exposure to the summer sun; the wooden shingles, that in Switzerland supply the place of tiles, are also frequently of larch. In Germany it is much used by the cooper as well as the carpenter, while the form of the trunk admirably adapts it for all purposes for which long straight timber is needed. ”

“ The trunk of a full-grown Larch is reddish brown in colour, and it is covered with a rough, scaly bark, which is often hung with hoary tufts of pale grey lichen.
Larch wood is very valuable, and is used for many purposes. It is very tough, and does not rot in water. Joiners tell us there are fewer knots in planks of Larch than in those of either Silver Fir or Spruce. Wood knots are scars which occur where a dead branch has fallen from the tree, and builders complain that when the tree is sawn into planks, the knots shrink and fall out, leaving a round hole. ”

“ Rich deaf earth, or vegetable {88} mould.—Independently of receiving ultimate contamination from the putrid juices or exhalations of this soil, the larch does not seem, even while remaining sound, to make so much comparative progress of growth, as some of the hard wood trees, as elm, ash, plane. ”

“ Carduus Marianus is the Lady’s Thistle, the blessed Milk Thistle, whose green leaves have been spotted white ever since the milk of the Virgin fell upon it when she was nursing Jesus, and endowed it with miraculous virtues.
LARCH.—There has long been a superstitious belief that the wood of the Larch-tree (Pinus Larix) is impenetrable by fire, and a story is told by Vitruvius of a castle besieged by Cæsar, which, from being built largely of Larch timber, was found most difficult to consume.——Evelyn calls the Larch a “goodly tree, which is of so strange a composition, that ’twill hardly burn ”

“ I do not wish to be understood as particularly recommending the German larch, though I think it highly worthy of a trial on poor land. Nothing but experiment can determine the trees best suited to this climate, if indeed any can be found superior to the old stocks. It is time that attention was awakened to the subject; for who can calculate the advantages of an abundant supply of useful timber to a commercial and manufacturing people?
We possess one tree, among many that are richly ornamental, of surpassing beauty. ”

“ The form of the larch’s trunk is perfect, from the lumberman’s viewpoint, and its size is all that could be desired. It is amply able to perpetuate its species, though it consumes a great deal of time in the process. Abundant crops of seeds are borne, but only once in several years. It rarely bears seeds as early as its twenty-fifth year, and generally not until it passes forty ”

“ Considerable quantities of larch timber are imported into Britain for use in the dockyards, in addition to the large home supply. The quality varies much, as well as the colour and density; an Italian sample in the museum at Kew (of a very dark red tint) weighs about 241⁄2 ℔ to the cub. ft., while a Polish specimen, of equally deep hue, is 44 ℔ 1 oz. to the same measurement.
For the landscape gardener, the larch is a valuable aid in the formation of park and pleasure ground; but it is never seen to such advantage as when hanging over some tumbling burn or rocky pass among the mountains. ”

“ In Massachusetts the larch does not attain a great height, but in cold Northern swamps it grows to be a large tree. It is not dependent on a wet situation, but grows well after being transplanted into upland soil. Its growth is rapid, and it is often chosen for “quick effects” in landscape gardening,—a choice which is to be regretted for the most part, as few trees have so little beauty as the larch. ”

“ The common larch (L. europaea) is, when grown in perfection, a stately tree with tall erect trunk, gradually tapering from root to summit, and horizontal branches springing at irregular intervals from the stem, and in old trees often becoming more or less drooping, but rising again towards the extremities; the branchlets or side shoots, very slender and pendulous, are pretty thickly studded with the spurs each bearing a fascicle of thirty or more narrow linear leaves, of a peculiar bright light green when they first appear in the spring, but becoming of a deeper hue when mature. ”

“ The thinnings of the larch woods in the Highlands are in demand for railway sleepers, scaffold poles, and mining timber, and are applied to a variety of agricultural purposes. The tree generally succeeds on the Welsh hills.
The young seedlings are sometimes nibbled by the hare and rabbit; and on parts of the highland hills both bark and shoots are eaten in the winter by the roe-deer; larch woods should always be fenced in to keep out the hill-cattle, which will browse upon the shoots in spring. ”

“ It is admirably adapted for the frames of buildings. Grigor, an eminent English writer on forestry, says, "No tree is so valuable as the larch in its fertilizing effects, arising from the richness of the foliage which it sheds annually." ”

“ Each male also appears to have some suitable position in his territory—a dead tree or perhaps some prominent larch—which he uses as his headquarters, and from which he makes little excursions into the different parts of his territory, always, however, returning sooner or later to this central position. ”

“ Its branches—for boughs it has none—have no variety in the youth of the tree, and little dignity even when it attains its full growth; leaves it cannot be said to have, consequently affords neither shade nor shelter. In spring, the larch becomes green long before the native trees, and its green is so peculiar and vivid, that, finding nothing to harmonize with it, wherever it comes forth a disagreeable speck is produced. ”