Book Read Free

The Wisdom of Trees

Page 21

by Max Adams


  maple: field 50, 61, 159; sweet 63, 157

  matai 211

  Matsya Purana (Hindu text) 27

  May flowers 167

  Mirkwood (in Tolkien) 210

  Morgawr (boat) 135

  NECTAR 73; acacia 86

  neglect and deforestation 68–9, 81

  needles 37, 89, 90, 110, 150

  New Zealand, trees of 209–12

  Northumberland 28, 112, 189; ancient woods of 217, 221–2; see also Ashington

  Northumbria 195, 197, 221

  OAK 18, 60, 66, 67, 84, 106, 130; 201–5, 203, 208, 230, 239; in construction 202–3; and national identity 204–5; pedunculate / sessile distinction 202

  oilairë (in Tolkien) 209

  ‘Oswald’s tree’ 23

  PAPER 230; birch bark as 32

  persimmon 144

  pine 66, 98, 198; bristlecone 208; Corsican 40; Monterey 211; Norfolk Island 40, 123; Scots 63–4, 109–13, 111, 126, 188, 189, 239

  plane tree: London 80, 83; occidental 213, 230; oriental 21

  plantations 101, 112, 231–2

  planting trees 27–9, 68–71, 228–9, 250

  podocarps 210–11

  poison 74–5, 84, 86, 90, 184

  pollen and pollination 54–5, 62–3, 73

  Poolewe (Inverewe) Gardens 40

  poplar 24, 64; Southern 24; white 25

  Preston Park Twins (elms) 224

  RACKHAM, Oliver 218, 240

  rainforests 94–8

  rata tree 210

  redwood 160

  Reformers’ Attack on the Old Rotten Tree, The (cartoon) 26–7

  roots 20, 38, 41, 42, 57, 69–70, 81, 156, 157, 163; beech 147; birch and maple 63; in boreal forests 95; elm 224; rata tree 210; Scots pine 110

  Rose, Walter 205, 242

  roundhouses 192–4, 243

  rowan 48–51, 49, 66, 239; oldest 48; tallest 48

  SAP 58, 59, 63, 78

  Seahenge 178–80

  seeds and germination 47, 54, 59–62, 220; acacia 86; apple 72, 74–5; ash 60, 243; balsam 153; birch 30, 32, 60, 63; elm 222, 224; eucalyptus 61; rock whitebeam 107; rowan 48; Scots pine 64, 112; sycamore 18; yew 90

  Selwood 221

  shaving horse 137

  Sherwood Forest 221

  spindle 117, 155, 157

  spring 20, 30, 32, 55, 56–9, 144, 220, 222

  spruce 58, 198, 233; German 124; Norway 231; Sitka 231

  sticks, interesting uses of 22–3, 56, 117–22

  storms and storm damage 19, 57, 79–81, 147, 150, 163

  summer 20, 58, 64, 136–7, 156

  sustainability 199, 228–35, 236–7, 246, 249–50

  swamp gum 160

  sycamore 18, 20, 61, 67, 138, 139, 230; American 212, 230

  TAIGA forests 94, 95

  Tane Mahuta (kauri) 210

  teak 215

  Teredo navalis (wood-boring worm) 215, 217

  Thetford Forest 112

  Thoreau, Henry David 35, 100, 234, 242, 246

  thorns and prickles 81–2

  threats to trees 78–81, 98; see also drought; neglect; storms; wind

  Tien Shan apple groves (Kazakhstan) 72, 73

  tree ageing 180, 208

  tree defences 81–6

  tree evolution 44–7

  tree hydraulics 155–7, 160–4

  Tree of Liberty (1765) 24

  Tree of Liberty (poem by Burns) 24–5

  Tree Register of Great Britain and Ireland 33, 67

  tree reproduction 54–6, 59–61

  tree shelters 70

  trees and balance 161–4

  trees and death 23–4, 167;

  see also coffins

  trees and engineering 141–3, 151–5

  trees and light 37–44; photosynthesis 41–4

  trees and place-names 23, 32, 89, 103, 106, 146, 164, 184, 204, 218–20, 221

  trees and politics 24–7, 202

  trees in art 16–17, 26–7

  trees in literature 24, 27, 29, 87, 180–1, 209–10, 211, 246–8

  Tudge, Colin 10, 240

  Tuley, Graham 70

  WALDEN Pond see Thoreau

  walnut tree 84, 85

  Weald, Forest of the 181, 221

  Went, Fritz 150

  Wessex: Anglo-Saxon 28, 108, 221; Hardy’s 247

  whitebeam 18, 58, 66, 68, 70, 72, 105; Arran 106; Catacol 106–7; rock 106, 107

  wind and trees 79–80;

  see also storms

  willow 66, 189, 191

  windlass 153, 155

  winter 19, 29, 37, 56, 57, 64, 68, 79, 96, 183, 199, 220, 238–40

  woodcraft: boats and ships 88, 134, 135, 200, 212–15; Bronze Age 134–5, 138, 179; buildings 102–3; 104; 188–94, 203–4, 248; and Industrial Revolution 215–17; Jimmy Carter’s 143–4; medieval 102–6, 200–1; Mesolithic 189–90; Neolithic 134, 138–41; spoons 67; and Stonehenge 141–3; stringed instruments 124–6; surnames from 108; weapons 87, 88, 90, 118, 119; the wheel 154; see also lathe

  woodland flowers 58, 220

  woodland identification 217–22

  woodland living 99–102, 112, 246, 249

  woodland management 58–9, 229, 249–50; buying a wood 230–2; hazel as teacher 128; in medieval period 103–4, 107–9; see also coppicing

  Woodlanders, The (novel by Hardy) 27, 246–8

  woodsmanship 56–9; log splitting 134, 136–7; see also coppicing; planting; woodland management; see also individual seasons and tools

  woody plants (tracheophytes) 45–6

  World Tree 24, 242

  XYLEM 46

  YEW 89–90, 91, 208

  Ygdrassil 24, 242

  About this Book

  Trees are marvels of nature. They are the earth’s lungs, climate-regulators and habitat-protectors. Ever since our prehistoric ancestors emerged from the forests of a drying Africa, trees have given us shelter, medicine, shade, food and fuel in abundance.

  In an eclectic and beautifully written sequence of reflections, investigations, stories and tree profiles, Max Adams explores both the extraordinary biology of trees and humanity’s relationship with wood and forest across the centuries. He reveals why birch bark makes the best fire-lighter; why the fruits of the rowan must pass through a bird’s gut before its seeds can germinate; and how the wood of the venerable yew tree ensured that the English prevailed at Agincourt.

  Embellished with images from the 1776 edition of John Evelyn’s arboreal classic Sylva, The Wisdom of Trees will delight anyone who cares about the natural world and our interaction with it.

  Reviews

  The King in the North

  ‘A triumph. The most gripping portrait of 7th-Century Britain that I have read... A Game of Thrones in the Dark Ages.’

  The Times

  ‘The author has an engaging way with words, you feel personally guided in the quest.’

  Newcastle Chronicle

  ‘In his handsome biography, Adams makes a powerful case for Oswald as the man who conceived a Northumbrian golden age.’

  Newcastle Journal

  ‘A superb biography... a wonderfully vivid portrayal of early medieval England.’

  The Hexham Courant

  ‘Max Adams’ The King in the North… pulls off the feat of providing a gripping, panoramic portrait of seventh-century Britain without cutting corners’

  History Today

  ‘Max Adams is to be lauded for an engagingly populist and evocative book’

  Literary Review

  ‘The King in the North, biographer Max Adams’ fascinating insight into the life of King Oswald after who the Oswestry is named... sold out on Wednesday.’

  Shropshire Star

  About the Author

  MAX ADAMS is a critically acclaimed biographer and archaeologist and the author of Admiral Collingwood, The Prometheans and The King in the North. A teacher of woodland and tree histories, he manages an area of woodland in County Durham.

  Also by this Author

&n
bsp; The King in the North

  A charismatic leader, a warrior whose prowess in battle earned him the epithet Whiteblade, an exiled prince who returned to claim his birthright, the inspiration for Tolkein’s Aragorn.

  Oswald of Northumbria was the first great English monarch, yet today this legendary figure is all but forgotten. In this panoramic protrait of Dark Age Britain, archaeologist and biographer Max Adams returns the king in the North to his rightful place in history.

  The King in the North is available here.

  Jump to free preview here.

  Coming soon:

  Admiral Collingwood: Nelson’s Own Hero

  Admiral Lord Collingwood, the eldest son of a Newcastle merchant, went to sea in 1761 at the age of thirteen. In his nearly fifty years in the Navy he rose to become a fine seaman, a master of gunnery, a battle commander the equal of his friend – and rival in love – Nelson. He was also an accomplished writer and wit, a doting father, inveterate gossip and consummate diplomat and strategist.

  Collingwood’s service took him to Boston, where he lived and fought during the American War of Independence; to Antigua, where he and Nelson both fell in love with Mary Moutray; to Corsica; Sicily; and Menorca, where he began as a young midshipman and ended his career as the effective viceroy of the Mediterranean.

  Admiral Collingwood is an intimate portrait of a forgotten British naval hero and a thrilling portrait of the glory years of the age of sail.

  Admiral Collingwood is available here.

  A Letter from the Publisher

  We hope you enjoyed this book. We are an independent publisher dedicated to discovering brilliant books, new authors and great storytelling. Please join us at www.headofzeus.com and become part of our community of book-lovers.

  We will keep you up to date with our latest books, author blogs, special previews, tempting offers, chances to win signed editions and much more.

  If you have any questions, feedback or just want to say hi, please drop us a line on hello@headofzeus.com

  @HoZ_Books

  HeadofZeusBooks

  The story starts here.

  First published in 2014 by Head of Zeus Ltd

  Copyright © Max Adams 2014

  Jacket: James Nunn

  Author photograph © Kona McPhee

  The moral right of Max Adams to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988. All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  ISBN (HB) 9781781855461

  ISBN (E) 9781781855454

  Print book designed by Ken Wilson | point918

  eBook converted by Siliconchips Services

  Head of Zeus Ltd

  Clerkenwell House

  45–47 Clerkenwell Green

  London EC1R 0HT

  www.headofzeus.com

 

 

 


‹ Prev