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LOU RN AL
OF THE
ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY
EDITED BY THE
REV. W. WILKS, M.A.
SECRETARY AND
MR. JOHN WEATHERS
ASSISTANT-SECRETARY
Woh. VILL.
LONDON Printed for the Ropal Porticultural Society BY
SPOTTISWOODE & CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE, E.C. 1895 -
CONTENTS OF VOL. XVIII.
RE PART i. PAGE CONFERENCE ON TREES— THe LarcH Cancer. By Mr. J. B. Carnuruers, F.L.S. ............ 1 THe UtruisaTioN oF WasTE Lanp. By Mr. J. Simpson ............ 6
Forest TREES FoR ComMERCcIAL Purposes. By Mr. Epmunp J.
EE Egor is nt) eas een dnatscdvanetine ne esueh es isapesstatseresdes 28 Tur MANAGEMENT OF PuantaTions. By Mr. A. C. Forpss......... 35 Tue Woops oF Kent. By Mr. Geo. Bunyarp, F.R.H.S............. 61 MR ol linic cig eed Ria mein ders aes cceweeckiasewavnis wevd doe 67 Peete Ot MERCUMMNG TISHIGTERD © ccceecagevsieessaucecdeascrcscenecee secsee 68
PART IL.
CONFERENCE ON BRITISH-GROWN FRUIT—
ere REO LG, God voc ac chic cdacsne cuss cegseveseesedeccrdhcwrsveveciececse 98 oe ES 2 0 a a 105 up NTNR SM ETER ERIC ERIINNI 9d oc ncys cad acne cie'e olo wv da. csnsleas we nsiclne Ve esacon desde es 122
Harpy Fruits ror Smautt GARDENS. By the Rev. W. Winxs,M.A. 124 How to Make a Fruit-Room. By Mr. Geo. Bunyarb............... 145
FRUIT-GROWING ON A Lance Scate. By Mr. C. D. Wiss, F.S.L.,
a ee ea a nsins aetha canis deethainaon\ennessaenannes 150 GRADING, PackING, AND MarxketinG Fruit. By Mr. Gro. Monro,
ene ee ee i seks lobe cunacVadocovadsiwetecdascdevsaces 175 BORE AMUN ye vo etiis oslo a otanelaicle vin vlvvie've ca ceccdeleuriseecueesacvnceccceccces 185
INDEX.
JOURNAL
OF THE
ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
Vou. XVIII. 1895.
Paw k: CONFERENCE ON TREES,
HELD AT CHISWICK GARDENS, SEPTEMBER 25, 1894.
Harp.y ever, if ever, in the history of the Society has such a magnificent and interesting collection of specimens of Hardy Trees and Shrubs been brought together at one time, and hardly ever, if ever, has the weather been so entirely, so absolutely pitiless; it rained unceasingly from morn till night, so that comparatively few Fellows and visitors were able to be present. The chair was taken at 12 o’clock by W. T. Thiselton Dyer, Ksq., C.M.G., and the following papers were communicated :—
THE LARCH CANKER.
By Mr. J. B. Carrutuers, F.L.8., the College of Agriculture, Downton.
Tue canker which occurs in fruit and timber trees has long been an enemy of no mean importance to the growers of such trees, so that any information which may lead to the exact knowledge of one or other of these diseases will be welcomed by practical men. Professor Marshall Ward (Professor of Forestry at Cooper’s Hill College), whose work on the parasitic diseases affecting British timber-trees has been of much value, in one of his B
2, JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
books * devotes a chapter to the description of the canker in Larch, and gives a brief account of the fungus which causes it.
In the following paper it is intended to give an account (as brief as is consistent with clearness) of the life-history of the fungus causing the disease, with the effects it produces ; and at the end an attempt will be made to suggest remedies, some of which—since I first suggested them in a paper in the Royal Agricultural Society’s Jowrnal—have been tried with success. In a paper to be read before a body of men exhibiting both scientific and practical knowledge it is not necessary to note how discouraging it is, after the life-history of a fungus like the Larch canker fungus (Dasyscypha Willkommu) has been carefully studied, observed, and described by such men as Professor Willkomm, of Dresden, and Professor Hartig, of Munich, that practical men still refuse to believe that the effects are produced by the fungus, and attribute the canker to climate, soil, bad drainage, poor seeds, and other causes, just as years ago many diseases attacking mankind—the history of which is now fully recognised—were attributed to such causes as climate, position, and that most useful of all attributable causes, ‘‘ the hand of God.’”’ The canker may be found in the Larch under every condition in which the tree is cultivated, and the writer has observed it on high hills and low-lying land, on thin calcareous soils as in Kent, as well as on the clayey loams of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with all aspects. And, this being the case, it does not point to a solution of the disease—as some would have it—being found in position or climate.
Most foresters and many gardeners, unfortunately, know too well the external appearance which the canker presents when first observed. The deformed, flattened stem or branch is gene- rally blackened, and this blackness, though it occurs almost always, is not due to the canker fungus, but to a smaller fungus (Antennaria pithyophila, Nees) which grows on the exuded resin and does no injury to the tree. The flattened side of the tree being kept under observation for a short time, round white pustules will be observed to be studded all over the surface, in size from that of a pin’s head to a rape-seed ; these are the fruits of the fungus parasite on the tree, and after a day or so they change their round shape and become cup-shaped, having a centre of a
* Diseases of Timber.”
THE LARCH CANKER. Fs}
brilliant orange colour. The whole flattened portion of the stem or branch is nearly all the time exuding resin, just as it would from an accidental injury, and if steps are not taken to rid the tree of its unwelcome visitor the deformation increases with more
. or less rapidity, nearly always ending in the death of the tree,
and in every case rendering the timber well-nigh valueless.
The cup-shaped fungus on the bark is the only part of this parasite which can be observed by the naked eye; but though important as the means of reproducing and spreading the disease, it is not the most important part of the fungus. The damage is done by the root portion, or mycelium, of the fungus, which has complete possession of the bark, and reaches to the cambium layer of the tree, abstracting all available nourishment and killing all adjacent cells, causing a darkening of a reddish colour, which can easily be observed if a portion of the bark is cut off and the cambium exposed. As the fungus grows year after year it pushes its borders wider and increases the affected portion—the tree at the same time attempting, by means of a callus, to cover up the wounded portion, and also putting on a larger quantity of wood on the side of the stem opposite to the cankered spot, in order to maintain a vital connection and to afford the necessary mechanical support. Thus we have a swollen condition of the tree on the side of the stem opposite to the cankered area. The fight goes on in some cases for a great number of years, but in most instances the fungus will in the end succeed in “ringing ”’ the tree, though it is possible that the tree might be able to close over the wound and form healthy wood on the outside of the canker, and thus immure it.
The spread of the fungus is naturally a most important point, and in order to understand with what remarkable pro- lificness the parasite will reproduce itself it is necessary to describe the cup-shaped fruits which produce the spores or seeds of the fungus. Hach cup has a rim or margin surrounding the orange- coloured part which contains the spores. The spores (which are oval in shape) are enclosed in sacs or asci, eight in each ascus, some ten to fifteen thousand of which are contained in each cup, so that the number of spores produced in every cup is very great, and if one spore in every ten thousand is successful in innocu- lating a new tree the spread of the disease is very rapid. It must, however, be borne in mind that this fungus, like most
B2
4 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
other parasitic plants, grows only upon its particular host—the Larch tree—and that should the spores light on any other plant they cannot grow and will do no harm.
There is one point about the Larch canker which is of great importance with regard to the cure and prevention of the disease, and that is that—as far as observation has gone—the disease does not attack trees of more than two or three years old, and it appears that when the tree has formed a sufficient layer of bark the germinating spore cannot find an entrance, and, therefore, all young trees of four or five years old which are absolutely free from disease may be considered to have passed the critical stage. It must, however, be remembered that there are always young branches in a healthy tree, and that these, with their soft cortex, are equally liable with the stems of young trees—though in the case of diseased branches pruning can easily be employed without depreciating the value of the timber. It seems, how- ever, that the tree and its branches, having got its coat of bark, can resist the germinating spore if it preserves its cortex unbroken, but should the bark be taken off, even from a small portion, a spore may be washed into the crevice and the disease propagated.
The ordinary forester cannot, perhaps, be expected to study the life-history of such a minute plant as Dasyscypha Will- kommit, but even with the help of a magnifying glass he should be able to recognise sufficient of the external structure of the parasite to satisfy himself of its true nature, and also to be able at the outset to detect it, and take such steps as he may deem best to circumvent it.
With regard to methods of prevention and cure, much might be written about the former, and much has been written by many eminently practical men on the subject of procuring good seeds, so that the seeding plants should not be already tainted with the disease. Until, however, it is conclusively proved that the seeds contain the spores or mycelium of the fungus, it cannot be positively stated that the seeds contain the disease, or that “unhealthy seedlings” are the cause of its appearance ; and as all the trees examined by both German and English workers show in section that they have been attacked after they have grown some little time, to cast the blame upon the seedlings seems hardly fair. There is no doubt that crowded plantations favour to no little extent the rapid spread
THE LARCH CANKER. 5
of the disease, and that well-managed and well-thinned mixed plantations afford the least chance for the propagation of the canker ; but at the same time it should be remembered that as this is a specific disease, if the trees are free from the canker, and no neighbouring trees producing the spores, the chance of infec- tion is reduced to a minimum.
In the case of this fungoidal attack, as in all others of a like nature, when it is observed care should at once be taken to destroy effectually—and the only effectual method is to burn with fire—all portions attacked, so that the spread of the disease is stopped, and it will be found better to sacrifice the life of a few trees rather than to expose the rest of a plantation to the risk of infection.
With regard to the treatment of individual trees, with a view to sparing their lives and saving the timber, the surgical method of excising the diseased parts, and protecting the necessarily exposed surfaces by means of grafting wax or any other innocuous substance, is worthy of the attention of foresters. This method of cutting out the bark and cambium at the diseased spot was recommended in my paper dealing more exactly than I can at the present time do with the life-history of the fungus, pub- lished in the Royal Agricultural Society’s Journal, 1891. Among others who were interested and good enough to give this suggested treatment a trial, Lord Moreton, then President of the Royal Agricultural Society, having some diseased trees, had the diseased portions cut out, taking care to leave none of the discoloured infected cortex or cambium behind, and then the wound so caused was protected by means of grafting wax and covered over with a piece of sacking. Some time after this treatment it was found on removing the bandage that the tree had been able to cover over the wound with new cambium and cortex, and to a great extent recover its original shape, and there is no doubt that if this treatment is effectually carried out it should lead to the cure of the tree. However, the discussion of the disease, with the treatments which practical men may devise to combat it, will no doubt lead to the discovery of methods of a practical, and at the same time effectual, nature of dealing with the disease, and Larch growers all over Britain will have reason to be grateful to the Royal Horticultural Society if they are able through their deliberations to help the forester in fighting this the most deadly enemy ofan almost indispensable tree.
6 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
THE UTILISATION OF LAND UNSUITABLE FOR AGRI- CULTURE BY PLANTING WITH FOREST TREES.
By Mr. J. Stmeson, Wortley.
THE utilisation of land which is unsuited for farming by planting it with forest-trees is a subject which has been dealt with by many writers from various points of view, for foresters differ on the subject of planting waste lands as they do on others con- nected with their business, a fact which has been attributed by some to the absence of any clearly recognised system of forestry in this country as regards the production of timber. I am care- ful to use the word ‘timber,’ for even expert Continental foresters admit that British gardeners and foresters can grow “ trees,’ but shrug their shoulders when timber is mentioned, which, one of them has said, we “ frequently grow within locked enclosures, of which the forester carries the key in his pocket,’’* implying, I suppose, that our operations in this direction are rather peculiar and not very extensive. There can be no doubt, however, about the actual present condition of our British woods’ Our mature timber is going down at a rate that few suspect, and nothing like an equivalent is being planted. In many districts Larch, probably the most profitable of all British trees, is prac- tically exhausted. Spruce for mining purposes, which can be pro- duced in thirty or forty years, is even scarcer, although the demand is so great. Ash is almost everywhere scarce, and big Oak, for which the demand (referred to further on) is enormous for railway carriages and waggons, will soon be a thing of the past. Hitherto English Oak exclusively has been used for these purposes, but recently American Oak, and even Pitch Pine—both inferior—have been substituted. Other timbers are being used up at a proportionate rate, and woods are either disappearing altogether or getting so thin as hardly to be worth calling woods.
I have divided the subject of my paper under four heads:
* See M. Boppe’s paper appended to Report of Select Committee on Forestry.
THE UTILISATION OF LAND UNSUITABLE FOR AGRICULTURE, v
First, land unsuitable for agricultural purposes, but suitable for the production of timber. Second, choice of situations for plant- ing. Third, kinds of trees to plant, and how to plant and tend such plantations. Fourth, prospects of remuneration from planting poor lands.
I. First, then, land unsuitable for agriculture, but suitable for the production of timber, I take to mean poor, sandy, and gravelly soils, mountain sides, glens and ravines inaccessible to the plough, sand-hills near the coast —perhaps the most worthless ofany—poor peaty wastes, and suchlike. That there are vast tracts of land of this description in the British Isles which would grow timber well there is no question ; but still, even such tracts are worth a small rent per acre for some purpose, and to turn them to better account in the production of timber can, I believe, only be done under certain conditions. First of all arises under this head the question, Who are the parties most likely to benefit by the extensive planting of waste lands? The answer is, Those who can afford to plant on the most extensive scale; and the State and the large landed proprietors are the parties who can do that best. Itisa fact that the comparatively small extent of our British plantations, and their isolated and patchy distribution everywhere, greatly obstruct their profitable management. The almost universal custom is to sell home-grown timber in the rough, either standing or felled, and in this state it is removed by the middleman or the consumer, but in either case to the loss of the vendor, because the bark (with the exception of peeled oak) and all the waste and refuse have to be removed with it, and its removal paid for, which payment comes out of the price in the wood. The cost of the removal of timber in the rough to the consumer often costs half, or more than half, of the delivered price. Very often it costs from 2d. to 4d. per cubic foot to haul and remove the timber to the nearest railway station, and perhaps as much again has to be paid for railway transit after that. As 50,000 cubic feet is not an uncommon quantity of timber to sell in one year from one estate, it may, therefore, be reckoned how much is spent in haulage, a large portion of which might be saved by converting, or partly converting, the timber in the wood where it fell, if the extent of the supply and its continwity made it worth the user’s while to bring his appliances to the wood instead of hauling the trees
8 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
miles upon miles to the saw-mill, and thus handicapping both producer and consumer, damaging standing timber, and cutting up roads that have afterwards to be repaired. This conversion in the wood is sometimes attempted, but our forestry practice and method of conducting sales is much against the plan. The foreign timber that comes to this country is all sized and sorted, travels in much less bulk, and can be handled far more con- veniently than home-grown timber, which after hauling to the railway wharf may have to lie for weeks before the travelling crane can be sent to hoist it on to waggons, or the waggons themselves can be got—always expensive work. Any extensive afforestation scheme would have to contemplate reform in this direction in order to keep down expenses, which in British woods are greater than they might be, and, coupled with the ever-increasing burdens on land, exceed greatly, I believe, those of other countries. It is from greater economy of management, as much as from other sources, that the margin of profit must be sought in the future.
As to the timber-producing power of poor or waste soils unsuitable for agriculture a good deal of misconception exists. One may often judge pretty safely from the vegetation and trees in any neighbourhood whether the soil is capable of producing timber, but it is not safe to conclude from a poor surface crop that it is unfit for that purpose. Trees, and especially the broad-leaved species, like the Oak, Beech, and Chestnut for example, respond to good soil and good root-culture as farm crops do, but not to the same extent as the latter. If timber- trees were grown for their crop of seed—the Oak for its acorns, and the Beech for its mast, and so on—it might be different, as it is into the seed or fruit that the principal constituents go in greatest proportion; but itis the wood the timber-grower requires, and the principal mineral substances taken from the soil to assist in building up the wood of a tree are very much less in quantity than is required by farm crops. The atmosphere supplies the greatest portion of the food of a timber-tree, hence the reason why very large trees are often found growing in very poor soils, which the casual observer would consider unfit for any crop. When the leaves of trees are analysed together with the wood, the constituents are found to approximate more nearly in quantity to those found in farm crops, but even then the nourishing
THE UTILISATION OF LAND UNSUITABLE FOR AGRICULTURE. 9
elements are in much less proportion. Moreover, the leaves of the trees in a forest are restored to the soil again, and the deposit thus accumulated in the shape of humusis of the greatest benefit to the trees, particularly on thin dry soils, which it pro- tects and enriches from year to year. I have often seen instruc- tive examples of this, and when listening to advocates of excessive thinning of woods, on the plea that a thick crop impoverished the soil, it seemed to me they, in the first place, over-estimated the demands of a tree upon the soil, and, in the second, forgot that it restored nearly as much as it took out of it. As will be shown further on, shelter and warmth and a favourable exposure to the light, while maintaining an unbroken leaf canopy, are of as much, if not more, importance to the healthy development of trees in a wood than the soil in which the roots grow. Given a root-hold in a healthy soil, however poor, a tree will grow and produce a timber trunk of surprising dimensions. Innumerable examples widely apart could be furnished to prove this, a few of which may be given. At Wharncliffe Chase, the scene of the opening chapter of ‘“‘ Ivanhoe ’”’ and the reputed haunt of “ The Dragon of Wantley ” of nursery lore, there still stand a number of the ‘“ broad-headed, short-stemmed, wide-branched oaks ” referred to by Sir Walter Scott, and, considering the soil and situation in which they grow, their bulk is surprising. Wharn- cliffe Chase is described in the Doomsday Book as a natural “waste,” and in that condition it remains for the most part to this day—the soil being so thin and scant, where there is any, and rocks projecting so above the surface in all directions, as to make it unfit for cultivation. Yet this poor tract, lying about 1,000 feet above the sea-level, was to a large extent once covered by forest, and, if it were not now tenanted by deer and rabbits, it would produce timber again, as its young plantations abundantly testify. The geological formation is the millstone grit lying above the coal-measures, and, according to Prof. McConnell,* usually the basis of one of the poorest and hungriest soils. Where the bulky Oaks referred to grow the surface soil consists of a poor, thin sod, lying on the rock, which forms a deep bed fissured in all directions, and so permitting the roots to descend deeply into it. One of the trees has apparently sprung from an acorn dropped into one of these fissures on the edge of the crags on an
* McConnell’s “ Agricultural Note-Book.”’
10 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
extremely lofty and exposed spot, and fulfils in every particular the description in Scott’s ‘‘ Lady of the Lake” :—
Moored in the rifted rock,
Proof to the tempest’s shock,
Firmer he roots him, the ruder it blow.
This gnarled and starved specimen is 12 feet in circumference a little way above the rock, and once contained about 60 cubic feet. Not far from it is another ancient example, where the soil consists of a thin sod through which the rocks project on all sides, which girths 22 feet 5 feet up. Another close by girths 12 feet, and contained, before it lost some of its limbs, about 270 cubic feet of good timber. Another tree on the same poor ground contained 170 cubic feet in the trunk, and about 50 feet in the boughs. Growing under the same conditions are many Birch, Ash, Hollies, Beech, Yews, &c., and throughout Wharn- cliffe Wood there are numbers of Oaks of various sizes growing on the rock; and these trees, as can be seen, have produced a second and third crop of timber from the same stools. These examples are mentioned to show under what poor conditions as regards soil timber-trees will thrive, for, unless the Wharncliffe trees were there to speak for themselves, I have no doubt that even some practical foresters would hardly believe that they could grow under such conditions. On the same rocks, about - 1,000 feet above the sea, on a peaty sod two or three inches deep, we have the Corsican Pine (Pinus Laricio) growing beautifully, and beating the Larch and Scotch Fir.
Not less remarkable than the size of the trees produced in poor soils is the variety of poor soils in which the same species will thrive. At Lord Salisbury’s, at Hatfield, I was much struck by the great size of the Oaks, Limes, Yews, and the usual forest- trees, when noticing at the same time in the kitchen-garden close by that the pure chalk was turned up everywhere at a spade’s depth. Equally striking are both the young and old plantations on the deep poor sandstone in some parts of Notting- hamshire. In Thoresby Park the sandstone is of great depth, and the surface soil is so poor that only. high culture keeps it up to the mark. Yet the size and health of both young and old trees there are remarkable, though, according to Professor McConnell, Sherwood Forest, with its great Oak-trees, lies on a member of the Upper New Red Sandstone, where the surface soil
a mae
THE UTILISATION OF LAND UNSUITABLE FOR AGRICULTURE. 11
is ‘fa barren gravel.” So at Bournemouth, again, there are extensive and thriving tracts of Scotch and other Firs grow- ing, for the most part, on pure sand-banks. Along the flat shores of North Wales and Lancashire, and elsewhere, there are similar extensive reaches of sand-dunes (of the same de- scription as those at Bournemouth), which threaten eventually to submerge the railway in some places, which, if planted, would undoubtedly produce good Fir timber. At present such sand-hill tracts are amongst the most worthless of lands for acricultural purposes, but would not be difficult to plant. In the Highlands of Scotland, again, in many parts, the size of the Larch and Scotch Fir trees, growing in very poor soils, has often excited the surprise of travellers, for in many places the soil con- sists of poor peat or gravel only. In the part of Yorkshire where I live I daresay travellers have often noticed consider- able tracts near collieries covered by deep mounds locally called “‘pit-hills.”” These hills, which consist wholly of a poor blue shale brought out of the coal-pits in getting the coal, do not contain a particle of what one would call “soil,” and would probably be regarded as the worst rooting medium that could be found. Yet it grows timber-trees. About thirty years ago some of these pit-hills on the Wortley estate were planted with a general mixture of forest-trees, which now form a dense and thriving plantation. In short, the indifference of forest-trees to their rooting medium, so long as the moisture is sufficient, is surprising, and I lay stress on the point to show that, however unfit for farming purposes, and however poor land may be, it will almost certainly grow good timber.
I do not know of any theory that is better sustained by facts than that timber-trees can be grown to good size on soils chemically poor from an agricultural point of view, because they need a much smaller quantity of the usual plant-food derived from the soil than farm and garden crops do. When I first studied analysts’ tables on this subject, I confess it was a kind of revelation to me, for it explained much that had before puzzled me—viz. why great trees should grow out of soils in which, according to our gardening and farming ideas of plant culture, they ought to starve. Schlich’s conclusions on this subject, from Ebermayer’s tables, briefly summarised, are that the substances required by forest-trees are qualitatively the same
12 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
as those required by field-crops, but quantitatively so much less that almost any soil can furnish a sufficient quantity of mineral substances for the production of trees, provided the leaf-mould accumulating from the fallen leaves is not removed. And, further, that Conifers require the least amount of such substances of any known plants.
II.—Situations most suitable for Planting, and kinds of Trees to Plant.
That there are vast tracts of poor land unsuitable for agricul- ture but fit to grow timber in the three kingdoms has been admitted, but the plea so often advanced, that we should plant such tracts for profit in the expectation that the foreign supply of timber will at no distant date fail, or fall short, is one I have grave doubts about. Hitherto foreign countries have exercised more foresight in the management of their forests than Britain has done. We have great leeway to make up even to overtake other countries, which are not likely to be more shortsighted in the future than they have been in the past, and in planting extensively in this country I think it would be much the safer plan to indulge in no dreams of reduced competition, but to set to work on a sufficient scale and on business-like principles, and trust to the production of timber of a better quality by better culture, and to getting far more of it to the acre, in order to hold our own. I am sanguine that that much can be accomplished. It is not altogether excessive foreign competition that hurts our home timber trade. We have not always had the timber to offer, otherwise the price, grown as it is grown on the Con- tinent—that is, clean crops and heavy crops—would pay, and the foreigner would not find it worth his while trying to get in.
Neither do I, on the other hand, agree with the advocates of planting remote, and practically inaccessible, solitudes in the Highlands, or in Ireland, or anywhere else. Those who propose to do such things with philanthropic objects, in the expectation of creating new industries where none at present exist, deserve credit, but I never read of such projects without thinking of Miss Kdgeworth’s Irish landlord and his Scotch agent in her story of “The Absentee.” The landlord was always dreaming of some great far-off scheme for his estate, and was as constantly being lectured by his agent for neglecting the first principles of
THE UTILISATION OF LAND UNSUITABLE FOR AGRICULTURE. 18
good management and the work that lay at his hand. So the advocates of planting waste lands, I perceive, generally wish to start somewhere about John o’Groats, or the Land’s End, the west coast of Ireland, or the mountain-tops of the Isle of Man, where I understand a start has already been made, and neglect far more suitable and likely tracts of useless land at their doors. If experience of growing timber in such out-of-the-way localities up to the present time be worth anything, it is that when a vendor has any considerable quantity to dispose of he can hardly give it away. The truth, as I have already explained, is that every mile farther you get away from your customer, or from a railway or wharf, you reduce the prospect of profit till a limit is reached where profits disappear altogether. When a man buys timber in the wood or sells it from there, the first thing he deducts is the cost of felling, cleaning, delivery, and all inci- dental expenses. Whatever these amount to they are deducted from the price expected from the consumer, and the difference, after allowing for the profit to middlemen, if any, is the value the producer receives, which in many cases does not at present pay the rent of the land. As I have pointed out, the conversion of timber on the spot saves much, but in any case the expense is always considerable, and as in the past, so in the future, the income and expenditure in the production and disposal of timber are likely to maintain their present relative balance. There is no limit to the operations of the purchaser of home-grown timber as regards distance, except the cost of delivery. It is that alone that hinders the realisation of those windfalls that periodically occur in Scotland, otherwise I have no doubt but that the York- shire saw-mills alone could deal with the whole of the blown- down timber in a short while. I have known one purchaser to send 20,000 cubic feet of Spruce windfalls from Dumfriesshire to the borders of Nottingham to one colliery owner within a month. The middleman cleared just 1d. per foot by the transaction, but I doubt if the owner of the trees got as much, and the timber could not have been sold at all if the rail had not been convenient and other facilities afforded.* There ought to be (and I believe there are) large quantities of Fir timber in Scotland now fit for mining
* Since the above was written I have been assured by a Scotch agent in Perthshire that some owners of windfalls paid large sums to assist users to remove the timber, which was itself given away.
14 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
purposes there; but whether it is that the timber has not been properly grown, or will not pay for delivery, or the two causes put together, I do not know, but it is a fact that the mining branch of the timber trade in Scotland, which is enormous, is almost wholly in the hands of the Norwegians.
A noticeable difference between Scotch and English woods is the predominance of Conifers in the former and broad-leaved trees in the latter. Yet Ash, Sycamore, Elm, Beech, and other broad-leaved trees do well in Scotland, and why so many com- paratively worthless Firs have been planted by enterprising Scotch planters is a puzzle. Some of the tallest and finest Ash-trees I have ever seen grow at Dunkeld, and many fine examples are to be found elsewhere. Planting the wrong species, and planting good land when worse would have answered the purpose, has, in my opinion, been one of the worst faults of Scotch forestry. I have been assured by a Scotch nobleman, well known as a great planter, that he has found this out in his own case. English woods yield by far the best returns to their owners, because broad-leaved species have been mostly planted, and Oak timber still holds the field for quantity and value, as it always has done. It is a great mistake to. suppose that because Oak is now less used for ships that therefore the demand has fallen off, or is ever likely to do so; it has simply been transferred to the waggon- builder, and the quantity used for such purposes alone threatens to exterminate all the large Oaks in England in a very short time. There probably never was such a demand for Oak as there is at the present time, and the sales advertised week by week show that as much, if not more, Oak is offered than all the other kinds put together. It, however, takes a long time to realise a crop of Oak. We have disposed of from the Wortley estate as much as 20,000 cubic feet of Oak in two years to one coal and iron com- pany, who converted all the largest trees into waggons as fast as they left the wood, and they bought about as much from our neighbours at the same time. There is no time for seasoning nowadays, and when the waggons shrink they are tightened by means of screws. Some railway companies* own over 100,000 goods waggons alone, to provide the principal timbers for which
* At the last half-yearly meeting of the Midland Railway Company the
chairman stated that the company owned 78,558 goods waggons and 27,682 coal trucks, not to mention carriages.
THE UTILISATION OF LAND UNSUITABLE FOR AGRICULTURE. 15
the very soundest portions of probably 200,000 fair-sized Oak trees would be required, and thousands of waggons are every year being turned out. The soles and cross-bearers have hitherto been made almost exclusively of English Oak, but latterly American Oak, a much inferior article, has been substituted in second-class cheaper waggons, quoted at £52. 10s. per coal waggon. Immense quantities of Oak goes also for colliery and other purposes.*
All circumstances considered, my advice to those about to plant, in the expectation of even moderate profits after, say, forty or fifty years, would be to plant with the most useful species their waste lands as near as possible to railways, canals, and the consumer, and there are such tracts of sufficient extent in England alone (where all the most valuable timbers grow best) to engage the planter for a long time to come. You can hardly travel by any of our main railway lines without seeing ideal tracts of poor land and hill-sides that might be densely wooded for miles, often quite near to some of the largest towns and trade centres. These are the spots I should plant first, leaving all doubtful localities as they are till the last.
The next consideration is aspect and exposure. If I were asked what was the very worst natural obstacle to the production of useful timber in a reasonable time, I should answer “ cold,’’ and especially ‘exposure to cold winds.’’ Those who condemn thick planting at the outset, from the sight, perhaps, of a crowded young plantation just getting established, do so from want of experience. ‘Too thin planting and too severe thinnings afterwards are alone quite sufficient to far more than turn the scale between profit and loss. Foresters recognise the evils of exposure so far as to plant “nurses’’ for the protection of the permanent crop, but the nurses are usually a dead loss in them- selves, and take room which could be far more profitably occupied by trees of more value planted thicker. On the Wortley estate, which is high and inland, we have miles of belts planted for shelter, and the behaviour of the trees in these exposed belts affords, as similar belts do everywhere else, a lesson to foresters. However narrow the belt may be, the trees on the exposed side
* Quite recently a well-known Midland iron company have supplied waggons with light wrought-iron soles in place of oak. [If these answer much less oak will be sold in future,
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are always the most stunted and least bulky in the trunk. Looked at in the mass the tops of the trees rise up in a gently rounded slope from the exposed side to the sheltered side, and when you come to examine the trees critically the difference is only the more apparent. Here are examples of the relative dimensions of trees growing in an exposed narrow belt about 750 feet above the sea, consisting of Beech, Sycamore, Oak, Elm,
Chestnut, and Larch :— |
TABLE showing the Effects of Exposure and Shelter on the Growth of Forest Trees in Mill-Moor Plantation Belt on the Wortley Estate.
Height of trees on | Height of treesin the | Height of treeson the Kind the most exposed side | middle of belt where inner and most of belt less exposed sheltered side of belt Beech ... sks 31 feet 37 feet 43 feet Sycamore tins 20 4s BD x “ao 45 _,, Ash aie eee DG BOF gh 44 ,, Oak a a Dae Beis, £0 abe
The bulk of timber is in proportion to the height. Age of plantation about 69 years.
The trees in this plantation are growing under precisely the same conditions, except only as regards exposwre, and the table will show at a glance the immense difference that that would make in an acre as regards the quantity of timber obtained and its value. The practical conclusions to be drawn from data of this kind are that in deciding to plant poor land the warmest and least exposed situations should be chosen first, and these, in high-lying, hilly districts, are the situations that face south, west, or east, or any point between these, and the lower slopes of hills in preference to their tops. The tallest trees and greatest bulk of timber are produced much sooner at the bottom of the hill than higher up. The late Mr. John MacGregor, forester to the Duke of Atholl, told me (and also stated in his evidence before the Select Committee on Forestry) that his plantations of Larch in a certain wood were worth ‘“ perhaps nearly £100”’ per acre at the bottom of the Mill, and higher up, at an altitude of 1,000 feet, ‘‘ not worth more than £20 per acre” —a, vast difference, due mainly to altitude and exposure. In Wharnceliffe Wood, which runs for about four miles along the valley of the Don, ascending regularly its whole length to the top of Wharncliffe Crags, the same decrease in value is plainly
THE UTILISATION OF LAND UNSUITABLE FOR AGRICULTURE. Uy
observable, the height and bulk of the trees becoming steadily less as the hill is ascended. In the foregoing table the heights of the Elms, Chestnuts, and Larch are about the same as the others. The trees were carefully measured with rods, and the heights given are interesting as showing also what an even top- canopy different species preserve when mixed in a plantation—a fact doubted by some who would multiply the difficulties of forestry practice by treating every species separately. So far as I have observed this plantation habit of trees is constant. In our locality the Common Hawthorn in the open is more a bush than a tree, but we have had examples in crowded parts of Wharncliffe Wood where they were perfectly straight, and reached a height of nearly 50 feet—drawn up by the taller Oaks erowing around them. Under such circumstances the trees do not, of course, increase in girth at the same rate, but vary greatly, as will be shown.
The general conclusions to be drawn from these facts are, that in planting poor lands advantage should be taken of shelter wherever possible, by planting on the lee side of shelter- ing objects, such as hills, and by planting thickly on open and exposed plains, especially at the margins of the wood. The most severe struggle with a plantation occurs when it is first planted, and the struggle continues till the trees meet and cover the ground, which covering protects the roots and stems from cold and drought, and preserves a uniform temperature about the roots, the effects of which are soon noticeable in better growth, which continues as long as the conditions are maintained.
IlI.—Trees to Plant, and Tending, éc.
Species to plant.—This is the first question that arises under this head, and is an important one, because the returns from the sale of timber depend very much on the kind produced. Timber dealers find it best to have always a bit of everything on hand in some proportion, and planters should proceed on the same prin- ciple, keeping an eye to the demand and the value. The following table, drawn from experience at timber sales over a wide area, and from inquiries frequently addressed to me by consumers of timber, gives a fairly approximate idea of the demand for the different kinds of timber for a long period past.
Cc
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1. Oak, from 1 cubic foot dimension and upwards.
2. Ash, ditto ditto
3. Larch, from 3 inches quarter girth and upwards.
4. Sycamore of large size.
5. Scotch Fir and Spruce of large size, and poles for pit props.
6. Birch and Alder.
7. Beech and English Elm, trees and poles.
8. Poplar, Lime, and Firs, other than Scotch and Spruce.
The demand, of course, varies in different parts of the country, but the above gives a pretty good general idea of the comparative demand for the kinds named in the order given.
The next table following is intended to show what I believe might be accomplished on one acre of poor land in a given time, supposing the acre to be pure forest—that is all of one sort of tree. The average from a general mixture may also be reckoned approximately from the same table.
TABLE showing the relative Bulk of different kinds of Timber Trees and possible Number of Trees per Acre in a plantation about 60 years of age on poor land situated about 1,000 feet above the sea in Yorkshire.
Kina Average cubic feet Possible number of in each tree trees to the acre Beech se ne wae ee to 350 Spanish Chestnut ... or sh 113 350 Scotch Fir ... Bhs an <3 + 537 Larch dak is eas “ms 10 537 Sycamore ... ee aie oe if 350 Oak io. Ass ais wae a 6 603 Birch ha sere me “a 5 680
What I want to show here is the relative bulk of each kind of tree under equal conditions on the same ground, and the sizes given will be found to be pretty fairly constant everywhere. The money value of an acre of timber depends in the first instance upon the weight of the timber per acre, which may be reckoned by the number of cubic feet ; and next upon the price per foot that can be got for the trees as they stand wm the wood; and, as has been already explained, this price depends upon situation and circumstances. It will be seen from the table that the
a
THE UTILISATION OF LAND UNSUITABLE FOR AGRICULTURE. 19
biggest trees hardly exceed “ pole’ size, and the price would be pole price—always much below the price of big trees. The plantation from which the table is compiled would be easy to sell at from about 5d. to 9d. per foot, standing, in our neighbour- hood, and at a reasonable profit, because it is close to the railway and a good market ; but there are many situations even in our neighbourhood, let alone remote districts, where the cheap kinds of timber, like Scotch Fir and Birch and small poles of any kind, would not pay for removal, and where Beech, Sycamore, and Larch would leave but a narrow margin after paying carriage, felling, and all incidental expenses. It is of no use trying to give the precise value of a crop of timber to the producer without knowing everything, as hardly two cases are alike. The number of trees to the acre given in the table is what it would perhaps be difficult to find on any estate in this country. The number given is based upon the numbers said to be produced in well- managed forests in Germany, and upon calculations made by myself as regards the greatest head-space required by forest-trees to produce a trunk of a given size. I believe my estimate is not far from the mark, and may be accepted as a guide ; but it con- templates a careful regulation of the trees and general good management. Of course, where the supply was extensive, con- verting the timber in the wood would save much expense, and the older and bigger the trees the greater would be the value; but the expense and time would also be greater. Nothing is allowed for thinnings previous to sixty years, as they would hardly pay expenses in these days on such land. I might have given the actual value per acre of the wood from which the table is taken, but the wood had been over-thinned at an early period, and damaged by game and deer, and hence such a valuation would be misleading. I prefer to give what I believe might be accomplished by ordinary good culture and management in the time on land worth 7s. 6d. per acre in our locality, but which would be worth less in less populous centres.
It will be seen from the table that the Beech is a tree that puts on timber faster than most others, and this is true of it almost everywhere; and I know of no tree that stands and grows so well in bleak, exposed situations and on poor soils. It is a remarkable tree in these respects, and is only approached by the Spanish Chestnut and Sycamore. In our high-lying dis-
CZ
20 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
trict the Spanish Chestnut rarely ripens its seeds, and the Beech produces a very scant crop, but both trees grow into large-sized sound timber-trees sooner than others. The Chestnut makes a fine clean trunk in a plantation, and is almost as good to sell as Oak of a certain size. The Beech is one of the best shade-bearers, but it smothers everything else when it is allowed to become the dominant tree. These two trees and the Oak, Ash, Elm, Lime, Sycamore, Birch, Alder, Wild Cherry, Scotch Fir, Larch, Corsican and Austrian Pines (Pinus Laricio and P. austriaca) all grow well up to at least 1,000 feet above the sea wnder plantation cultwre—that is in pretty thick plantations. In the high inland districts of South Yorkshire the Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga Douglast) and the common Spruce are failures, except in sheltered valleys and ravines. In planting waste lands I do not advise any further expense to be incurred in preparation except draining (where necessary), fencing, and protection from game. ‘The venture will not stand anything but the most economical meal sures. Nor in planting the trees are big pits or holes necessary. Provided the young trees are got up with good roots and quickly transferred from the nursery to the plantation, they may be planted with a dibble or a narrow planting spade, letting the roots straight down and wedging them up tight in the natural soil ag it is. I have had some of the worst and most exposed ground in England to deal with, and I am also confident that if all kinds of Conifers are planted between the middle of Septem- ber and the middle of November, or, failing that period, then in March, April, and May, there will be very few losses anywhere. The notch system of planting is bad. A young tree’s roots soon spread out on all sides, and all that is needed in planting is to fix the roots in their natural position as quickly as possible. Planted at the seasons named, and in the way described, the Corsican Pine—perhaps the very worst transplanter known—will do just as well as the hardy Scotch Fir. Plant the same tree at midwinter, from a strange nursery, in any way you think best, and the probability is that at least 50 per cent. will die the first year.
The kinds of timber-trees most suitable for planting for profit consist of those just named, and their probable ultimate value to the grower in any locality should determine the propor- tion of each to be planted, and the foregoing tables may be of
THE UTILISATION OF LAND UNSUITABLE FOR AGRICULTURE. pe
assistance in that respect. Thick planting should be the rule, especially on cold exposed situations, where 18 inches or 2 feet asunder would not be too close, while 3 feet should not be exceeded. Where the natural herbage is poor, consisting of poor grasses and heather, the trees may be small. The younger they are the cheaper they are; they are also more easily planted, and they grow better. The only tending required after the trees are established consists in keeping the fences and drains in order and in regulating the trees so as to let every tree have its top fully exposed to the light, and in preventing destructive crowding in any part. But on no account should the ground between the trees be exposed. Indeed the plantation may be left almost undisturbed for fifteen or twenty years, and after that thinning should be sparingly practised till the trees have reached a size at which they can be profitably disposed of as timber.
IV.—Prospects of Profit from the Planting of Poor Lands.
It has been shown that nearly all kinds of timber-trees will grow to a large size on very poor soils, and on a great variety of poor soils, and that the value of the crop depends mainly on the species of trees grown, the quality of the timber, the quantity that can be grown to the acre, and reasonable proximity to the market. The most important factor, however, is a good heavy crop, for whether the price be high or low the number of cubic feet will determine the value. The produce in this respect will depend upon the system adopted and the degree of intelligence with which it is carried out from beginning to end. I have no doubt whatever that in the past incalculable losses have been sustained by neglect and mistakes on these points. The difference between the value of a crop of some cheap kind of timber and timber of considerable value may amount easily to from 50 to 70 per cent. The rent and expenses are the same, and a erop of some valuable kind of timber may be produced as easily as a crop of some cheap kind. As regards quantity to the acre, the severe and frequent thinnings to which plantations in this country have been subjected in the past have often con- verted what might have been a profitable crop into a dead loss, and every one who has sold much timber also knows well that
99 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
the difference in value between roughly-grown and clean-grown | timber of the same kind is so great as to at any time turn the scale either way. And this difference is one entirely under the control of the forester. The cost of producing a crop of timber under any given conditions could, I believe, be very nearly reckoned, and the value of the crop under an exact and clearly defined system of culture could also be estimated fairly well beforehand, for the number of trees to the acre, their kind, their bulk, and value at a given period are problems not difficult to work out where the wants of the locality are known. While railways exist, Yorkshire and Lancashire mills continue to run, mines to be worked, agricultural implements and appliances to be used, houses to be built and furnished, and all the multifarious needs of the community to be supplied, the demand for home-grown timber, such as Oak, Ash, Sycamore, Beech, Larch and other Firs, Elm, Birch, &c., will continue to be great, and the prices fairly re- munerative—that is to say, if past experience goes for anything. There has never been any difficulty about selling good timber whenever it has been reasonably accessible to the purchaser. The Government returns are silent about the quantity of home- grown timber that goes down annually, although it would be easy enough to get such returns; but there is no doubt about the quantity being enormous, and greatly in excess of the re- planting done. You may sometimes notice advertised in the trade journals lots of timber at one sale on single estates, com- prising from 7,000 to over 10,000 trees (trees, remember, not feet), and you may notice that such sales are repeated year after year. Multiply the trees by 20 to roughly find the feet; then reckon approximately the number of sales that take place all over England all the year round, and you will have some idea of what is going on in the home timber trade now, and ~ realise what is possible when I state that the turnover could be immensely increased if we had a greater variety of timber to sell and more of it. What profit might be expected from crops of timber on poor lands must always depend upon situation and circumstances and the cost of production, but that the margin might generally reach 3 per cent., and considerably more for good crops of certain kinds, I have little doubt—that is, under the maximum number of trees to the acre according to age and dimensions. I should fear bad management far more
THE UTILISATION OF LAND UNSUITABLE FOR AGRICULTURE. 293
than insect pests and tree diseases (except in the case of the Larch disease), for the damage from these causes is not so great in this country as some seem to think. When you see, what may often be seen, fewer trees planted to the acre at the outset than should be on the ground at the end of fifteen or twenty years, when a half or third of these consist of useless ‘‘ nurses ’’ which are never expected to pay the cost of removal, when pruning and thinning are frequent and severe, when needless draining is done, and expensive live fences maintained, and rabbits pre- served, you may bid farewell to any prospect of profit, and expect loss about as surely as anything can be expected. But all these ean be avoided, and when they are avoided I have no doubt whatever that good crops of timber can be produced more easily and more certainly than a great many garden and farm crops, making allowance, of course, for the difference of time required. The wants of forest-trees are few and simple, and the opera- tions of practical forestry are also so easy that any intelligent labourer may carry them out with no more training or instruc- tion than can be given him by a competent head forester from time to time. Hitherto it has not been the humble working woodman that has been to blame, but his master and employer. In this connection I may mention an extremely interesting example. I have on hand for sale, at this time, twenty acres of Larch, situated about 1,200 feet above the sea, on one of the poorest sites and soils imaginable, heather land before it was planted over sixty years ago. This land was owned by a small farmer, who planted it with Larch, and whose grandson is now offering the timber for sale because he can get more for the land for grouse, and because the trees have ceased growing. Still the Larch, though small, owing to the situation, could have been sold more than once for about £1,400 or more, stand- ing, being near consumers, which represents a rent for the land sreatly in excess of anything that could have been got for such land for any other purpose during the sixty years. The twenty acres contain a little under 7,000 trees and poles, or over 300 trees to the acre, averaging about 63 feet cubic each. The inter- esting fact about this wood is that it has never been looked after by a forester, and all the thinning it has been subjected to has been the occasional removal of a few of the worst trees for
24 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
fencing purposes by the owner. Itis the nearest approach to a natural forest, and one of the few examples of remunerative forestry I have seen that one could be sure about. Larch, how- ever, 1s an exceptional crop, and there can be no doubt that old planters were not so far out in their expectations concerning Larch-planting. Timber buyers well know large estates in York- shire where the annual Larch fall has for many years been a source of considerable income to the proprietor.
A chief obstacle to planting nowadays is that owners of estates are very reluctant to engage to any extent in planting as an investment. This is due to the fact that their past experience in that direction has been far from encouraging, and that, taking all contingencies into consideration, the length of time that must elapse before a crop of timber can be realised, the risk, and, at the best, the small ultimate profit to be expected, they do not consider it worth while to plant. They can do better with their money. I have always felt that no amount of persuasion would ever get over such considerations as these on private estates. It may be granted, however, that past forestry in this country is hardly a safe criterion to go by for the future. Owners of estates have certainly, and with the best intentions, spent their money freely in planting, without any certain prospect of even a small profit ever being realised, but they have also sacrificed much to game, and by careless management, and want of foresight in growing the wrong species of trees. Examples enough could be found of all the three. The value of the timber on many an estate might have been much higher if the timber had been of a different kind. Hitherto there has been far too much of the landscape gardener, the nurseryman, and the gamekeeper in British woods, and too little of the timber merchant, who in the end becomes the valuer. The whole British home timber trade rests upon about as many species of trees as could be counted on the fingers of both hands, or fewer, and the uses and value of these have been perfectly well known for generations; but instead of making the most of these, in far too many instances effort has been wasted on doubtful exotics, principally Conifers, and these have not been tested in the way to prove their value as timber- trees—a thing which can be done by plantation culture alone, under which many trees will thrive that would hardly exist as isolated specimens in the arboretum, which is no place to test
2 ihe
THE UTILISATION OF LAND UNSUITABLE FOR AGRICULTURE. 25
timber-trees. Examples without end could be found of Conifers growing freely in the inside of plantations where there is shelter from wind, that absolutely refuse to live at the exposed margins, and on dry eastern aspects the common Spruce is a well-known example.
In conclusion, I would add that I say nothing about probable effects, beneficial or otherwise, to climate by the extensive afforestation of waste lands, although “‘amelioration of climate ”’ is a stock argument on the subject. Planting belts for the shelter of crops and farm stock would probably not affect our climate ereatly, and such belts need not be reckoned upon for the pro- duction of timber, and hence should not be mixed up with the latter subject at all; but that extensive forest areas are likely to improve a climate cool enough and moist enough already, is, I think, hardly likely if meteorological record stands for anything.
DISCUSSION.
Professor MARSHALL WARD, Instructor at the Cooper’s Hill School of Forestry, said he was very pleased to hear one truth driven home, to the effect that we in this country had long been in the habit of under-estimating the capabilities of the soil in forestry operations. We had for many years been in the proud position of being authorities on the subject of soil; but Mr. Simpson’s paper rightly emphasised the fact that our notions of the value of the soil had been taken only from the point of view of the farmer and horticulturist, and that it was really a very difficult matter indeed to get it even considered from the point of _ view of forestry. One thing he would like to say, viz. that if anyone contemplated launching into forestry, he must make up his mind not to be deterred at the outset if the results did not come up to expectation, which had been based upon analyses of the chemistry of farm crops and fruit. That was a point in danger of being overlooked, and Mr. Simpson had done quite right in laying stress upon it.
A gentleman in the audience, whose name did not transpire, but who resides in Cornwall, said that he had had considerable experience in forestry, and had been most successful. He said that in the plantations in which he had been interested he had
26 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
followed Nature’s order as closely as he could. His plan had been to ventilate the woods by making roads, and cutting away the undergrowth where the trees wanted air. He had always thinned in May or June, and he never did the whole plantation at once. He had taken away two out of every ten trees, or one- fifth. After about twenty-five years other clearings were made parallel to the roads, leaving twelve trees and taking three. By that time the first cuts had nearly grown together, so that the side branches were being filled in as they would be in an ordinary plantation. Since then he had only taken out dead and sup- pressed trees. By proceeding in this method, he believed a leaf ~ canopy could be sufficiently preserved.
The Cuarrman (Mr. W. T. Thiselton-Dyer) said that when a body like the Royal Horticultural Society initiated a discussion like this, it undoubtedly assumed a certain responsibility. It was, of course, desirable to make use of every occasion to ventilate a subject, but they must be careful, as a body with an established reputation, that they did not lead the public to believe that they had any very decided views upon the subject, because it was one fraught with enormous difficulty. He must say that he was much struck with the fact that Mr. Simpson really answered, with almost destructive criticism, many of the suggestions raised in his own paper. There seemed to be some confusion in the matter. A landowner with an attractive estate planted trees for various purposes—for shelter, or to a very large extent from con- siderations of landscape effect. Of course, in so doing, he had his reward in the pleasure he derived. Such actions ought not to be regarded from a commercial point of view. There was, in point of fact, very little in this country of what could be called forestry. That arose from various considerations, and he would not then trouble them with details. On the Continent, however, forests to a large extent belonged to permanent bodies, such as the communes in Switzerland, and other great corporate bodies. Therefore such bodies could, if they liked, project the expenditure and the expected profit into the next century. That was im- possible for the private landowner in this country, therefore he did not himself see how they could ever seriously tell the private landowner that planting in the present state of things could be regarded as a profitable, or even a possibly profitable, investment. This matter was very carefully discussed some time ago before a
THE UTILISATION OF LAND UNSUITABLE FOR AGRICULTURE. 27
Committee of the House of Commons. He among others gave evidence, and he heard one landowner, who had been himself engaged in forest management in India, state that there was a time when he could use his own timber for purposes of his estate, but that there came a time when he found that Norwegian timber could be delivered cut at his own door at a cheaper rate than he could supply it from his own woods. When they heard that, it seemed perfectly useless to try and impress people with the statement that it would be a good thing to invest money in this particular industry. He had heard it said that the timber supply of the world would give out before that of the coal. In that case the condition of things would be very much changed, and timber would be of greater value than at present ; but as long as there were inexhaustive tracts of soft woods, especially in the northern hemisphere of the New World, he did not see how it was possible in this country to produce timber which would compete with that brought to our shores. At the same time, the discussion of the subject could not fail to be of use, although he did not think any very definite or decided general principles could be laid down as regards wood cultivation in this country; yet astute persons in different localities might, even under present conditions, get good results. For example, Elm wood—and he could speak from experience—was practically unsaleable in the neighbour- hood of London, but in Gloucestershire it commanded a good price, because locally Elm wood was found to make the best boxes for packing South Wales tin-plates. It was the only wood which did not deteriorate the polish of the tin-plates. He could mention other instances of local industries which were still profitable. It was difficult, however, to see what inducement could be held out to get a man to plant for posterity as a duty incumbent upon him. The Dean and Chapter of Durham were planting some of their own estates, but they were a landowning body, and not subject to the vicissitudes of the private owner. Anyhow, instructive experiments might be made, and a discus- sion of a paper so ably and impartially written could not fail to be of use.
The Conference at this stage adjourned for luncheon. At 3 P.M. the Conference re-assembled in the Great Vinery. Sir Alexander J. Arbuthnot, K.C.S.1., presided.
28 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
FOREST-TREES FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES. TREATED WITH REFERENCE To Soib, &c. By Mr. Epmunp J. Baruuiz, F.L.S.
In a conference of this character the time allotted for each paper must necessarily be brief, and when there is such a wide subject to be put into a thus needfully confined space, there must obviously be many things left unsaid, whilst nothing can be said as fully, perhaps, as the importance of the theme, or of the section of the theme, should warrant.
I conceive, then, that the proper method of treatment will be to let my paper be of a suggestive character upon many points, rather than of an exhaustive character over a narrowed area, and the discussion that is invited after the delivery of the paper will doubtless serve the purpose which was intended.
There is a word that should be said also to explain what must appear as a very obvious omission. The title speaks of ‘‘ Forest-Trees for Commercial Purposes,’’ but the paper does not touch the subject of Conifers. We are simply dealing with the Hard-woods. At first sight this must immediately appear as an inexplicable omission, but it will be remembered that the Conifers had an entire conference * to themselves quite recently, so that whilst a paper dealing with forest-trees could not be complete without including such trees as Larch, Scotch Fir, Austrian Pine, Corsican Pine, Spruce, and others, still we have to assume, on this occasion, that they have had due attention in the separate treatment to which they have been subjected so recently, and to which I have just referred.
Then there is a further aspect of the question which needs a passing word. A number of the hardwood trees may hardly be considered as coming within the scope of our purpose. But they should be mentioned, if only as a catalogue, for there are occasions when, for one reason or another, some one or other of these are brought in. We would, therefore, group the hard- woods somewhat as follows: Oak, Ash, Elm, Sycamore, Beech, Birch in the first group. Spanish Chestnut, Horse Chestnut, Poplar, Hornbeam, Alderin the second. Lime, Plane, Service,
* See Conifer Conference Report, R.H.S. Journal, Vol. XIV., 1892.
FOREST-TREES FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES. 29
Willow, Maple (Acer), Walnut, Wild Pear, Cherry, Crab, Acacia, Laburnum, Mountain Ash in the next.
Before dealing with the trees themselves, it will be well for us to take a survey, generally, of the subject before us in its wider aspect.
It is first needful for us to bear in mind that woodcraft, as a science, has not admittedly received in this country that attention which the importance of the subject demands and deserves. This is probably mainly due to the fact that woods have hitherto been regarded chiefly in connection with their ornamental character—as a necessary feature of the demesne, rather than as a source of profit to the estate. The arboricultural value, so to speak, of a plantation is one thing; its sylvicultural value, or otherwise, quite another, Woods have, therefore, been planted and cultivated with a view to their being a feature of beauty in the landscape, as well as an item of cost and revenue in the estate accounts. This, it would seem, is now to be rectified in great measure, as there has recently been a very general awakening upon questions affecting woods and forests. It is well that it should be so.
Whatever may have been urged against our climate in the past in connection with the production of fruit, as a British industry, there is no room for any such expression of opinion in connection with woodcraft, for the British Isles are specially adapted for the growing of trees. It is difficult to understand why such a comparatively small area is under forest, seeing, on the one hand, that the timber crop offers an avenue for safe extension, and, on the other, that there are thousands upon thousands of acres that stand naked and are awaiting the turn- over of the planter’s spade. In these days of quick returns, when the national attitude and habit is one of expectancy for immediate return, it is, perhaps, hardly to be wondered at that those crops force themselves to the front for first claim upon the land which yield a more frequent turnover than timber. Yet it is admitted, without much controversy, that even as woods are worked now—that is to say, from some other than an immediately purely profit-making point of view—there could be no better investment than forest-tree planting for certain wide tracts of land which the agriculturist neglects and Nature farms herself in her own prodigal fashion when left alone.
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As I have already intimated, the time present seems time opportune for the study and discussion of this question. The re-afforesting of large tracts of land in the Principality formed the subject of some of the later discussions in Parliament. Professor Fisher has been considering how best to put a green cloak upon the Black Country. Dr. Nisbet has been giving his Oxford lectures, excellent in every way, putting facts and figures before us in a very convincing fashion, and dealing with the subject in a masterly manner and with a complete hold upon the different features he brought under review ; whilst Professor Balfour made “ Forestry in Britain”’ the subject of his excellent paper delivered last month before the British Association in the Biological Section of this important scientific gathering ; and I have mentioned only some of the more prominent of the numerous features bearing directly upon the subject.
We may now proceed to review, briefly, the trees we have enumerated as worthy of consideration as representing the hard- wooded section of so-called British trees. It will be more convenient to reverse the order, taking the third group first, and in thus referring to them itis as well to point out that it is merely that we may by this means insure a more complete view than would otherwise be possible :—
Lime. Maple (Acer). Crab.
Plane. Walnut. Acacia. Service Tree. Wild Pear. Laburnum. Willow. Cherry. — Mountain Ash.
The list might readily be extended. Though very frequently some or other of the above trees are included in the list of trees and plants sent on to the nurseryman when the character of the planting is woodland, yet none of them can rightly come within the title of hard-wooded forest-trees. The fact that they are so frequently found included in written lists corroborates what I tried to make clear at the commencement, namely, that much of our woodland planting is carried out with, at any rate, some attention to its decorative character and ornamental effect. The fringe of the wood is to present a pleasant appearance, and this is to be secured by the variation as to character and foliage effects secured by the intermixing of some effective hardy tree which will by contrast give a desired diversity, and add to the
FOREST-TREES FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES. 31
broken outline the variation of form and colour upon which the eye will rest when taking its survey. The next group includes :—
Spanish Chestnut. Poplar. Alder. Horse Chestnut. Hornbeam.
These trees may again not come exactly within the limit of the list proper; they are, nevertheless, more essentially timber- trees. It is, of course, apparent that I am not dealing with native British trees alone, but with British trees in the widely accepted sense as covering those also now acclimatised, but which were originally introduced. This botanical analysis does not come within the scope of my paper, or it would be necessary to speak of a number of the trees named which are not native in the sense in which we regard, say, the Oak as a native British tree; but when dealing with the trees under the classification already explained, we take the occupants of the soil as we find them, without examining their passports and credentials.
It is hardly worth while mentioning the Horse Chestnut as a forest-tree. It is seldom grown as such, for its timber is prac- tically worthless, whilst the character and habit of the tree mark it out for avenue-planting, or to be grown in groups or as single specimens for parks and other places where some ghelter is afforded. It should have a deep sandy loam to enable it to attain its best, though it will thrive in almost any tolerably heavy soils.
The Spanish Chestnut is also a tree for park-planting rather
‘than the plantation, though in some parts of the country Spanish Chestnuts are largely grown for profit. It grows rapidly. Its timber is, in the earlier stages of its growth, most durable, but it is often ring-shaken after it has attained its mature growth. The Spanish Chestnut, too, should have a deep sandy loam and shelter.
Poplars will do anywhere, and should be planted more frequently than has been the ‘case generally, as on account of their rapid growth, and the fact that the timber has a particular value for certain uses owing to its elasticity giving it the power to remedy any indentation by contact, there are plenty of uses in estate economy for its timber. The sides of a cart or of a barrow made of Poplar wood seldom show signs of bruises as do those of harder woods. Poplar timber might very readily and
profitably be in greater demand than is at present the case.
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Hornbeam is almost entirely used as a hedge-plant or an ornamental tree, and need not, therefore, come under further review, though as a tree for planting in the open pastures for shelter it stands, perhaps, unrivalled.
Alder thrives best in damp places, and will thrive where very few other hardwoods will grow. Moisture is as indispensable to the Alder as light and air. There is a fair demand for the timber of the Alder, and marshy, swampy places might be planted almost entirely with this particular tree.
To come now to the half-dozen trees upon which our hard- wood plantations, in the main, depend, we will do well to take them somewhat in the order in which they may be placed accord- ing to relative value :—
Oak. Klin. Beech. Ash. Sycamore. Birch.
Oak.—We give the Oak the foremost place, and rightly. For the attainment of perfection it needs good soil and a temperate climate. Like most other trees, it will thrive in a deep sandy loam or in an ordinary vegetable soil, but for the attainment of its full size, and to bring its timber to the point of perfection, it must be more or less alluvial in character or a rich deep loam. The Oak is not found of the larger sizes at a great elevation above the level of the sea, nor does it get up to its full majesty where the climate is very severe in spring; in fact, the Oak, considering its robust constitution and its hardiness and hardness generally, is particularly susceptible to damage by spring frosts. This has been evident enough during the present season. The early growth of young Uaks was this spring abundant; it was burned and browned by the severe frost of the later weeks of spring, and old sturdy trees over all parts of the country were singed and spoiled on the outer sides by the frost of May 21.
I was through the Crown lands in Delamere Forest and through woodlands in Kent and Surrey about this time, and in every place the marks of damage of the frost were everywhere apparent. A judicious knifesman amongst young Oaks in the earlier stages of growth will do good work in the plantation, as the tree requires careful handling during the earlier stages to put it on the best foundation for future growth.
Ash is one of the most valuable of our timber-trees. The
FOREST-TREES FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES. 33
period during which it carries its leafage is shorter than that of most other trees, for it is the last to flower in the spring and generally among the first to shed its leaves in the autumn. The wood of the Ash is tough and pliant, though, as is well known, the extremities of the branches and branchlets are brittle and snap like sealing-wax. The character of its root-growth is peculiar, and must be kept in mind. It throws out numerous fibrous roots, which run along close to the surface of the soil, and so do not exhaust it. It grows best in good, somewhat calcareous soil, and is none the worse for tolerable nearness to adjoining water, provided the soil is not in any way boggy or rendered marsh-like in character. Ash in the earlier stages of its existence is of exceptionally rapid growth—straight without lateral branchings —and when, as in this year, severe frost follows an early forcing spring, the destruction is correspondingly great, but with a judicious use of the pruning-knife, cutting back the blackened, deadened top to its first uninjured eye, the second growth is so rapid and so abundant that the frost scars cannot be traced, and the wound of the knife is not even seen.
Elms.—Elms may be classified under the two species, Ulmus campestris (commonly called the English Elm, though it is doubtful what claim it really has to this title) and Ulmus montana (the Wych or Scotch Elm). The former is more largely planted for ornamental purposes, the latter is generally acknowledged as best for forest-tree planting. The Elm will thrive upon almost any soil. The growth of the Elm may be very rapid in certain situations, but its wood, under these condi- tions, lacks the hardness and stability of that grown on heavier land and more slowly.
Sycamore.—In common with the Acers generally, the Sycamore prefers a situation sheltered rather than exposed—a deep loamy soil, rich rather than sterile, though it will do well in light soil, not toodry, and not more than moderately damp. Its growth is very rapid compared to most others of the Acers, particularly when in a deep, free, rich soil and in a mild climate. It does well also near the sea, and in this connection I ought to mention the Norway Maple also. It is an excellent tree for such a situation, and should be planted more extensively than is the case at present.
Beech.—On dry, chalky soils the Beech may well be planted
D
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as a timber-tree. It seems to be one of those trees which may be said decidedly to succeed best in plantations by itself. In what may be called its wild state, it is observable that it grows without admixture almost—Beeches, and Beeches alone.
The particular value of the tree, from our present point of view, is due to the fact that it will grow on dry soils, and on even sandy gravel or chalky soils, more freely than any other tree of like value. The Beech grows best in sandy calcareous loam, or in fresh sandy loam, on clay or rock. It is a shallow- rooted tree, and does not therefore go deeply into the earth, but its roots extend to a considerable distance close under the surface of the soil.
Birch.—The Birch is one of our most graceful timber-trees, and is most accommodating as to soil. It will grow as well on a mountain-side as on a bleak moor or a marshy swamp. It is, perhaps, more ornamental than useful from a forester’s point of view, but it has a value higher than is apparently generally recognised, as it thrives well in any situation, and its timber can be put profitably to a variety of uses.
Thus hastily and briefly we have reviewed the main features of the principal trees in our woodlands, in our forest scenery, and in park landscape. It may be well first to make mention of some further facts connected with our subject which should find record here to suggest direction for after-discussion.
It should be remembered that the whole of the woodland area of Great Britain is extremely limited when compared with that of other countries; yet it has been computed that we have nearly 500 square miles of woods and forests.
Mixed plantations are the rule throughout the kingdom. Hardwood trees in mixed variety, planted with due regard to order, and at sufficient distance apart to permit of their standing permanently for timber, with Larch and other Firs for nurses, to be taken out from time to time as the permanent timber-trees demand and require. Of late several authorities upon planting seem to be advocating the planting up of woodlands on the pwre plantation principle; that is to say, with groups of particular trees over a wide area, and not a mixed wood.
This may not be the occasion to do more than make the
statement—it is not the time to state reasons or conclusions or
FOREST-TREES FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES. 85
advance ideas—but I think the present system of mixed planta- tions the best, so far as arrangement is concerned.
The more important questions really come in when consider: ing the formation and after-management of plantations. Hitherto the so-many-feet apart arrangement has held good, thinning out the trees with such frequency and regularity, or irregularity, as would permit free access of light and air, the ready growth of lateral branches, without any reference to the over-foliage, or “canopy ’’ as Dr. Nisbet very aptly calls this all-important con- dition of over-leafage, as a necessary factor in a successful plantation. -
It is now being urged that trees grown for profit should be so treated as to prevent undue development of lateral branches by planting so closely as to insure straightness of the tree-trunk with the minimum branchings until the head is reached, and with due balance and closeness of overhead cover to keep the ground in sufficient moist and clean condition as to insure maximum timber growth with minimum evaporation of earth moisture or waste of soil products in under-scrub.
To preserve the balance rightly as between the soil con- stituents and the growth upon it, as between the commercially valuable part of the tree itself and those parts of it which are conducive to its health, safe development, and growth—these are the problems that are seeking solution. These are the difficulties which conferences of this character are asked to help to solve.
THE MANAGEMENT OF PLANTATIONS. * By Mr. A. C. ForsBezs.
BEFORE going into any technical details regarding this subject, it will not be amiss to take a retrospective glance at the con- ditions under which woods and plantations have been planted and managed during the last half-century in Great Britain. While desiring to avoid the introduction of all irrelevant matter as much as possible, the consideration of certain points which have affected, and at present affect, British forestry are desirable in order to show what factors are responsible for the present condition and system of managing our woods. D2
36 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
During the last half-century, more or less, we may say that the planting of woods on estates has been done for one or other of the following reasons: Utilisation of waste land, such as heath or moorland; the improvement of the landscape; providing shelter for game, live-stock, and dwelling-houses ; gratification of the proprietor’s tastes and wishes; the production of poles, timber, &c. The depressed condition of agriculture has also re- sulted in some of the poorer and less favourably situated soils going out of cultivation altogether, and portions of these have in many cases been planted.
If it were possible to ascertain the ideas of estate-owners who have planted land during this period, regarding the probable return they would realise from the work, we have no hesitation in predicting that not one +n a hundred have given the question of personal and direct profit a moment’s serious thought. This prediction, of course, is not based on any pretence of knowing the motives which induce proprietors to plant, but simply on the strength of the fact that an average man’s lifetime must elapse between the planting and reaping of a crop of timber, even under the most favourable conditions. From the little at present known of human nature, therefore, it may be assumed that nothing less than a supernatural interest in the future value of the estate would induce a proprietor to plant solely with a view to ultimate returns. In other words, we may, I think, safely assume that plantations in this country have not been formed on economic lines alone, but owe their existence quite as much to the attractions they possess whilst growing, and their favourable influence upon game preservation, as to the probable returns they may ultimately yield when mature. The result of this is, that we find the production of good timber sacrificed for the sake of present appearances, OF slight present pecuniary gains in the form of over-drafts upon the immature crop, or in the saving of expenditure in the management. To illustrate these facts, we may mention some of the weak points of the average estate plantation, both in regard to its formation and management. In the first place, we usually find the crop planted to consist of a miscellaneous collection of trees and shrubs, which are arranged with mathematical precision, but without the slightest regard to the habits and rates of growth of the respective species. Fast-growing Conifers and slow-growing
THE MANAGEMENT OF PLANTATIONS. ot
hardwoods, shade-bearers and light-demanders, are mixed up in the most indiscriminate manner, as if the planter had mistaken a nurseryman’s price-list for a planter’s guide. The plants are often put in at too great a distance apart, and as deaths are sure to occur and increase that distance, the cleaning of the stems by suppression of side branches does not begin until the latter are large and strong. In thinning, again, we often see plantations treated as if crown formation or the growth of branches were the chief aim in view, instead of these being necessary evils in the sight of the economic forester. In cutting the timber little regard is paid to maturity, or the culmination of its financial value, upon which it will yield the highest rate of interest upon the initial and other outlays. The determination of this period is a difficult matter, I admit, but there is no reason why planta- tions should not be cut upon principles which are applied to every farm or garden crop, although clear fellings may not be desirable in all situations.
Such are a few of what may be termed defects in British wood-management of the past. We do not say that all of them have existed in any one plantation, but one or the other has left its mark upon every wood we have seen in this country, exceptions only proving the rule. What is true of the past is also, to a great extent, true of the present, and the various practices have gradually developed into a system, and find many supporters and followers even now. During the last few years, however, doubts have been expressed as to the soundness of our system of growing timber, and sufficient attention was given to the matter in Parlia- ment to secure the appointment of a Select Committee to look into the question. The recommendations made by this Com- mittee received little attention from the then or subsequent Governments, but a move has been made in respect to the teaching of scientific forestry which will doubtless bear fruit in good season. For in at least two centres—Edinburgh and Neweastle-on-Tyne—the principles of scientific forestry (as taught in Germany and elsewhere) are being imparted to
practical foresters who may be able to attend the classes, and
this in itself is bound to have some effect upon the future management of our woodlands. But we must not lose sight of the fact that Great Britain possesses an individuality of her own, and however successful and advantageous certain methods
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and systems have proved themselves to be in other countries, considerable difficulties may lie in the way of their adoption in these Isles. In all countries, for instance, which have made any great progress in forestry we find that the State owns a con- siderable portion of the forest area, and this alone means a continuity of systematic management which is of the highest importance in good forestry, but is difficult to secure on private estates with changing proprietors. Timber production, again, forms the primary object in view in the working of State forests, while game and other accompanying features are only of, secondary importance, whereas, as we have seen, the reverse is the case with us. Another distinguishing feature is the large and unbroken areas which Continental forests cover, in contrast to the small woods and thickets which, together with hedgerow timber, constitute the characteristic charm of an English land- scape. As arboriculturists we are, if anything, in advance of our neighbours in Europe, but as regards forestry we can never hope to see ourselves so proficient in the practice, and so well versed in the science of the craft, as our professional comrades in France or Germany.
Of course, from a forester’s point of view, the scientific management of woods presents no great difficulties. All that is necessary is to plant the proper species, treat the crop in the proper way, cut at the right time, and keep down ground- game. But itis only natural that a proprietor who regards his woods as a feature which constitutes the character and adds to the amenity of his estate should desire to have some say in regard to their management. It is all very well to show that a certain system will insure a return of so many shillings per acre annually, if only followed up for the next hundred years or so. The owner probably thanks you for the information, but intimates that as he doesn’t expect to be in the neighbourhood about that time, he would much prefer a trifling return in some shape or other during the next few years. This may involve methods of planting, thinning, and felling which are not in harmony with your system ; and, although recognising the truth of what you say, usually embodies his ideas in the formation and management of his plantations, whether you approve of them or not.
I fear that I have taken up too much time over this pre-
THE MANAGEMENT OF PLANTATIONS. 89
amble, but I think it necessary to look at things as they are before discussing things as they should be. No one, probably, denies the need of improved methods of rearing plantations, but many are apt to lose sight of the fact that lack of knowledge is not the only cause of the bad condition of many English woods. So long as proprietors prefer game to good timber, so long will the gzamekeeper exert a greater influence upon wood management (or mismanagement) than the forester. Some, I know, are sanguine enough to predict that forestry has a future before it in this country, but it is as well to remember that permanent changes are usually gradual ones, and that past methods cannot be dis- carded instantaneously. Bearing this, then, in mind, we will proceed with the subject proper.
I think it quite unnecessary to go into the details involved in fencing, draining, and other preliminaries connected with the formation of a plantation, as they vary in every locality, and all that could be said concerning them has been repeated over and over again by various writers. Assuming, then, that these have been attended to, the first thing we have to deal with is
THEt SELECTION OF THE SPECIES.
In selecting the most suitable species for any given piece of ground, an amount of knowledge is required that few are happy enough to possess. If properly selected, the species will show a healthy and normal growth at all stages of life; will be able to withstand the climatic changes and vicissitudes common to the locality, such as winter, spring, and autumn frosts, wind, rain- fall, and summer drought ; will produce timber of good specific quality ; in short, will yield by good management the largest financial return that the soil is capable of producing when under timber. The naming of a species which will fulfil all these conditions is attended with as much uncertainty as the preparation of a weather forecast for next month, and this fact being recognised by planters, has led to the mixed plantation being so popular. While no objection can be made to a proper mixture of two or three species, with due regard to their habit and rate of growth, the disadvantages of a miscellaneous mix- ture are manifold, and will be referred to later on. I believe, however, that the species which is found to be most suitable for
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extensive planting in any given locality usually turns out to be an indigenous one, and it is not difficult to see why this should be the case. In the first place, all risks incidental to climatic variations are reduced to a minimum, thus favouring the growth of a sound and healthy crop of timber. In the second place, all industries which regulate the demand for home-grown timber confine themselves almost exclusively to the timber of native trees, and therefore the market value of a crop composed of the latter is usually higher than one consisting of introduced species, although there are exceptions to this rule. In any case, we think the planting of our native trees has been, and is, too much neglected in England. Larch is still our most profitable coniferous tree where it thrives well, and a sound and healthy crop of it doubtless gives a better return, time considered, than one of Oak or Beech. But how many stunted and diseased planta- tions of Larch do we see standing on sites eminently adapted for one or both of the others in the lowlands, or for Scotch Pine in hilly districts. Even where Larch does succeed, however, it is doubtful if its value as a timber-tree exceeds that of the Ash, which grows almost as rapidly and fetches a higher price at any age than Larch does. The craze for novelties in the shape of introduced coniferous trees, which have little but a rapid growth to recommend them to the economic planter, has proceeded at such a rate that it is quite a rare sight to see a young plantation of indigenous hardwoods, although hundreds of coniferous ones have been planted during the last few years. The result is that our future supply of home-grown timber consists of species which the buyer will probably reject or view with suspicion, while our woods are crowded with exotic Conifers which may possess many attractions when in a healthy condition and grown singly or in characteristic masses, but when mixed in- discriminately present too confused an appearance to please the eye of good taste, and render the production of good timber impossible. Both from esthetic and economical points of view, therefore, we advocate the choice of indigenous or Huropean trees for forming the backbone of our plantations, confining recent introductions to groups in those sites which our limited experience points out as being most suitable for them.
Of course the particular species decided upon for a plantation must depend upon soil and situation, and as these often vary in
THE MANAGEMENT OF PLANTATIONS. 41
an area of any size, the species should vary with them. In extensive forests the species is usually determined by the general character of the soil, and differences of an acre or so in extent are usually ignored. In the smaller woods and plantations of this country, however, good forestry should recognise the nature of every half-acre which differs from the rest, and select a species adapted to it. This not only results in a healthier and more profitable crop, but lends true variety to the plantation, and is a very different style of mixing to that of planting so many different species at regular distances apart. A plantation formed on the former plan is thus made up of one or more (as the case may be) groups of pure or unmixed wood, and each can be treated according to the sylvicultural requirements of the species com- posing it, and the group cut when mature without interfering with other parts of the wood. It is scarcely necessary to enumerate the respective species which are adapted to different classes of soils, as those at all conversant with arboriculture will have these things at their finger-ends. Soils, however, should always be considered in relation to climate and rainfall, as the latter exert quite as much influence upon the growth of trees as the former, and it is only when both are favourable that the best results can be obtained. A few words may now be said regarding
SYLVICULTURAL MIxTURES
and their advantages. To some extent the practice of mixing different species of trees may be considered analogous to that of growing farm crops in rotation. As the requirements of different species with regard to plant-food vary, so the demand made upon the soil for any particular ingredient of plant-food is less in the case of a mixed than in that of a pure wood. This advantage alone may be practically insignificant, but the composition of the humus layer in a mixed wood is usually of a better character, and this increases the temporary fertility of the soil. Insect and fungoid pests are less troublesome, and cannot make such rapid headway where individual trees of the affected species are separated by those of another which enjoys complete immunity from attack. A judicious mixture of light-demanders and shade- bearers also enables a heavier crop of timber to be grown on the same area, and thus increases the productive power of the soil.
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The main conditions to be observed in forming such mixtures are: First, that the most valuable species shall dominate or grow most rapidly, and the other, or others, be subservient to it, so that the latter shall at no period of growth interfere injuriously with the former ; or, second, that the different species shall be of the same rate of growth and possess similar habits and require- ments as regards light, heat, moisture, &c. In the former case certain species are introduced for the benefit of the main crop; in the latter all are on an equal footing, or practically so. Examples of such mixtures are found in growing Beech with Scotch Pine, Larch, or other fast-growing Conifers, in which the latter form the dominant species, and the Beech is kept at a lower level by reason of its slower growth. Oak with Spanish Chestnut, or Beech with Hornbeam, furnish examples of mixtures in which both species are pretty evenly matched. Another form of mixed plantation is that wherein the main crop remains unmixed at first, but a shade-bearing species is introduced after a few years’ time, so that the wood becomes what is technically known as a ‘“‘two-storied-high forest.’’ A mixture of this kind is especially suited for light-demanding trees, which require a long period to mature, such as Oak, and is also advantageously adopted with Scotch Pine and Larch, Beech being the favourite tree for the second or lower story.
We now come to
PLANTING.
So long as a plant is able to re-establish itself in its new habitat without having its growth seriously checked, or its stability in after-life impaired, one system of planting is as good as another, if the aim of the planter is simply to leave a certain number of trees which shall at some future period occupy more or less completely the whole area planted. Such an object the arbori- culturist might have in view, and, as arboriculture has been long practised in this country, it is not surprising to find our woods planted on more or less arboricultural principles. But timber-growing and tree-growing are two different things, and the methods which would be suitably employed in the case of the one need not necessarily be so in the case of the other. Now good timber is produced not only by laws of growth peculiar to each genus and species, but by natural laws which are common to
THE MANAGEMENT OF PLANTATIONS. 43
both the vegetable and animal kingdom. One of the most pro- minent of these is known as the “survival of the fittest.” Before it comes into play, however, the struggle for existence, which is terminated by it, must proceed, and it is in this struggle that all weak and sickly individuals perish, and none but the strong and healthy survive. Now a young tree, or any other plant or animal which is surrounded by every condition essen- tial to health and growth, is not affected by this law until the proximity of another individual threatens to rob it of one or more of these essentials. This it may do by depriving it of what it already possesses, or by appropriating to itself the whole of an element which is required by both. A young tree, therefore, which is planted, say, four feet distant from its neighbour is not interrupted by the latter until eight or ten years after planting, according to soil and climate, and the size of the tree when . planted. By this time it will be fairly well clothed with branches, and when it is obliged to contend with its nearest neighbour for space, will be able to inflict great injury upon the latter before it finally succumbs, or is correspondingly injured should it prove the stronger. In other words, the struggle for existence becomes more severe and protracted the longer it is delayed and the older the plants which enter into it. This not only tends to weaken the survivors, but the size to which the branches have attained before being suppressed causes the timber of the lower part of the stem to be knotty and coarse. This at least is the result where the plantation has been left alone after planting, but where, as naturally happens, artificial thinning intervenes, the vitality of the tree is prevented from being weakened by overcrowding, but the rough and knotty character of the timber is increased. In either case, therefore, objections may be made to the methods employed, and we must seek one which obviates overcrowding on the one hand and prevents rough timber on the other. Suppose, then, we are planting a piece of old pasture or arable land which allows us to work a plough with comparative ease. The first thing we should do would be to turn back shallow double-furrow slices across the ground, leaving a distance of two to three feet between them. ‘This will leave bare strips for the reception of the seed or plants, and the work may be done with an ordinary moulding-plough, or with a forest-plough specially designed for the purpose.
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After ploughing, the furrows should be subsoil-ploughed if pos- sible, and the soil stirred to a fair depth, but the necessity for the work depends upon the nature of the subsoil. We should then choose a suitable spell of weather for planting, and proceed as follows: By means of the planting-iron seedlings would be put in one to two feet apart along the bottom of the furrows, using 10,000 to 20,000 plants per acre, according to the species and size of the seedlings. In good soil, and with fast-growing species, the smaller number would be amply sufficient, but where the condi- tions are reversed the larger number would be none too many, if expense be left out of account. In ordinary cases, however, 10,000 to 12,000 would be about the thing. Allowing 10s. per acre for ploughing, £1 for planting, and £2 for plants, would bring the total cost per acre to between £3 and £4. For the first year or two after planting weeds and rubbish must be kept down until the plants are out of danger, after which we may leave them alone for a time.
When ploughing is out of the question, as on rocky ground, or in replanting old woodland, small patches may be cleared of weeds with the spade, the soil loosened up, and three or four plants put in each patch, the latter being about a yard from the next one. Weeds, &c., must be kept down as before.
For either of the above methods to be successful, it is necessary that ground-game should be almost, if not quite, absent ; but the same may be said of all planting operations. It is also necessary that the seedlings should be planted so that their taproots are left in a natural position, and that they are not weakened, or practically killed, by long exposure. We do not assert that these methods are applicable in all cases, but we merely give them as suggestions which can be modified to suit each particular case. What we desire most to emphasise is the necessity for close planting, thus following more closely in the footsteps of Nature, and rearing timber by natural instead of artificial methods.
It may be asked, ‘‘ Why incur the expense of planting so many hundred trees which can never hope to reach maturity ?”’ The answer may be best given by considering what takes place in the struggle for existence. We have said that this struggle terminates in the survival of the fittest. What are the fittest ? In sylviculture they are those trees which Nature has endowed
THE MANAGEMENT OF PLANTATIONS. 45
with certain advantages over their fellows, by which they are enabled to thrive where others merely exist, and to exist where others perish. These advantages are of many kinds, such as exceptional vigour of growth, adaptability to the soil and situa- tion, hardiness of constitution, &c., according as they may be exposed to one or the other of the dangers which tend to bring out the capabilities of the tree in these respects. Now in a certain number of seeds, say 10,000, it is possible that 10 per cent. are thus endowed with one or the other of these advan- tages; consequently we may fairly assume that the greater the number of seeds or plants we have on a given area, the greater the number of individuals are present which find a-congenial home on that area, and therefore the chances of a good crop are improved. This is why mixed plantations are not so well able to produce timber of large size and good quality as pure ones. In the first place, the number of individuals of any one species must be reduced in proportion to the number of species represented ; secondly, the struggle for existence in a mixed wood results in the survival of the fittest species, instead of the fittest individuals of any one species. At first sight, this latter fact may not appear to be of any disadvantage, but rather the reverse ; but we will look into this later on.
Let us now watch the gradual development of this struggle for existence in the growth of the plantation we left a few moments ago, which we will suppose to consist of one species only. The first thing we shall notice is the pushing ahead of a certain number of trees above the heads of their neighbours, and each successive year makes this difference in growth more apparent. In like manner, the trees next in point of size and vigour to the leading or dominant ones get ahead of those weaker than themselves, so that we can divide the trees into three classes according to their size. As we have already seen, all have an equal chance of existing until their side branches come in contact with one another and the struggle begins. So long as the leading shoots are not interfered with, the existence of the trees is not in any great danger, but the loss of side branches checks the absolute growth of all classes as soon as close order is obtained. The effect of this check upon the dominant trees is at first very slight and scarcely perceptible. It is more apparent upon the second class, but in both
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classes tends to increase height-growth and to diminish the relative size of the crown. On the third class its effects are most felt, and in a few years not only is their side-growth entirely checked, but the crowns of the larger trees gradually overtop the leading shoots, and they become what is known as ‘“‘suppressed,’’ and henceforth take no part in the struggle. Their place, however, in the composition of the plantation is taken by the smaller trees of the second class, and these in turn become suppressed, and are replaced by the next in size. A constant process of weeding-out is thus continually going on so long as the height-growth of the trees is rapid, and by the time the latter culminates and begins to slacken, the majority of the trees will be long, clean poles with small crowns, the latter having been continually moved up the stem as growth proceeded. A certain proportion of the trees, however, will be stouter and longer in stem and wider and deeper in crown than the rest, being those which have proved themselves the “ fittest,’ and it is to these we must look as constituting the quality and value of the crop. It must not be supposed, however, that the whole of those trees which gave early promise of becoming dominant ones have fulfilled that expectation. Gales and other dangers to which the crop is exposed will con- stantly be doing some damage or other, and the dominant tree of one period may not be so of another, although the majority will probably retain their lead to the end.
The culmination of height-growth marks an important stage in the growth of a plantation, for after it has been reached the composition of the crop is usually fixed or rendered permanent for the remainder of its life, and the further development of the trees (as timber) is principally confined to the thickening of the stems, and (as vegetables or plants) to the widening of the crowns.
As we have brought our plantation to this stage without artificial aid, we may examine it a little more closely from the sylvicultural standpoint, and see wherein it differs from the ideal.
To obtain a full crop of good-sized timber it is necessary that the dominant trees at the culmination of height-growth shall be sufficiently numerous, and so regularly distributed over the ground, that their crowns may, after development. form a perfect
THE MANAGEMENT OF PLANTATIONS. AT
leaf canopy over the whole area covered by the crop. This may be termed the ideal crop, and, it is needless to say, is scarcely ever realised in practice. For, on looking through the planta- tion, we shall find that the dominant trees stand thicker in one part than in another. Differences of soil and situation will cause the struggle for existence to be short and sharp in one quarter and slow and protracted in another. In the latter case the trees will probably be weakened and drawn, and possess slender stems and small crowns. In other places, again, we may find one or two dominant trees which have met with little or no opposition from their neighbours, and are, in consequence, in possession of heavier crowns than is desirable. Such irregularities‘-may not be universal, but are sure to occur more or less in plantations left entirely to themselves. It is to remedy these defects that artificial thinning is necessary, and, although greater differences of opinion exist on this branch of forestry than on any other, we cannot pass it by altogether. The aim of thinning, in my opinion, should be the provision of a certain number of dominant trees in those parts where, as we have seen, they do not already exist in sufficient numbers, and thus bring the crop nearer its ideal condition. This is not a rule-of-thumb operation, such as the removal of every other tree, or leaving the distance between the trees equal to one-third of their height. These ancient rules have simplicity in their favour, it is true, but they ignore the fact that trees differ as much in their habit and rate of growth as any other class of animal or vegetable, and should be treated accordingly. Thinning, therefore, with the already mentioned object in view, should consist in giving the necessary number of trees an advantage over their neighbours, and this can only be done by removing or weakening the latter. The trees selected for becoming part of the main crop should, of course, be perfectly healthy, with straight stems, and sufficiently vigorous to enable them to continue the normal growth which the overcrowding threatens to interfere with. The exact mode of operating should depend upon circumstances. We are accustomed to regard thinning as cutting so many trees out of a wood, but in reality a plantation may be thinned without cutting a single tree. For we must remember that it is the crowns of the trees which alone necessitate thinning, and if we can give our selected trees the necessary space by cutting back the branches of, or beheading
48 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
their neighbours, we not only copy Nature’s method in the closest possible manner, but also gain the advantage of allowing the encroaching trees to add to their bulk before they are finally removed. Of course, where the crowns of the latter are so weak and small that further increase would be improbable, no advan- tage would be gained in retaining, and no harm done in remov- ing them altogether. But in taking out a tree with a crown sufficiently large to leave a gap behind it, we favour an irregular growth of crown in the surrounding trees, and this means rough timber. The entrance of sun and wind also has bad effects, and should be guarded against as much as possible. For these reasons, therefore, we advocate the first thinning or cutting back of branches to be done (where required) about the tenth or twelfth year after planting, according to the species and growth. For this purpose an intelligent man should go through the planta- tion, and with a light hedge-bill knock off the heads of the least promising trees in all places where the crop has too even and uniform an appearance. ‘This will not prevent them from forming a new leader; but by the time they have done so the others will have gained a lead they are not likely to lose, and that is all that is required. The next thinning may be carried out on similar principles about the twentieth year, and any dead or suppressed trees may also be removed. These two thinnings should suffice until height-growth culminates, beyond which our imaginary plantation has not advanced.
We have now to look at the conditions under which the further development of the trees and the thickening of the stems takes place. For a few years the gradual suppression of the second and third class trees will still be carried on by the dominant ones, but more slowly than heretofore, as, being larger, they are not so easily disposed of, and the growth of all classes proceeds less rapidly. The crowns of the trees will also begin to lose their conical, and assume a more or less semi-spherical, outline. This will increase the leaf area, and lateral branches will push out and fill up any open space within their reach. By the time height-growth has practically terminated the dominant trees will be left in undisturbed possession, and their whole energies will be devoted to crown formation. The larger the latter the better will the stem be nourished, but the actual increase of the clear bole in volume will depend upon its length and crown
THE MANAGEMENT OF PLANTATIONS. 49
combined. As the production of the greatest number of well- formed boles is the aim in view, we must see that these have sufficient head room necessary for crown formation, otherwise the breadth of the wood-ring and the resulting increment of timber will decrease. This may necessitate the removal of a certain number of the smallest and least promising trees, for at this, as at all previous stages, variations in the size of the trees will occur. Now it has been proved by careful measurements that thinning after height-growth has ‘terminated does not increase the total yield of timber at the final cutting, but affects the size and quality of individual trees only. Therefore, if the greatest number of cubic feet per acre is the main object, inde- pendent of quality and size of timber, it makes little difference whether we thin at this stage or not, as, although the trees will be smaller, there will be a greater number of them to the acre, and the balance will thus be restored. But in most cases we shall find that the additional value possessed by the thinned crop over that of the unthinned will make it worth our while to produce the former. And another advantage in thinning lies in the fact that we are able to realise a portion of the crop earlier than by waiting until the whole is ripe. Under these circum- stances, therefore, we should advise a judicious and moderate thinning, to begin as soon as it becomes evident that the larger trees no longer add appreciably to their height, as this is a sign that permanent crown formation is ready to begin. This thin- ning should be so regulated as ‘to prevent sun and wind from affecting the stems of the trees, or drying up and hardening the soil surface, and should merely keep pace with the growth and requirements of the trees until it is no longer required. It should not, on the other hand, be delayed until the growth of the trees has been checked, as when this has occurred they do not in all cases recover when the cause has been removed.
The effect of this thinning upon the remaining trees will be to maintain the annual wood-ring at its proper breadth, instead of allowing it to decrease too rapidly, as is usually the case where the trees stand thickly together. This matter is stili engaging the attention of Prussian foresters, by whom investigations on the growth of various forest-trees under sylvicultural treatment have been carried on for more than twenty years. The princi- pal conclusions arrived at with regard to those species already
E
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reported upon are: first, that late thinning does not appreciably affect the total volume of the crop; second, that the stimulus to growth given by it is chiefly confined to the larger and more vigorous trees; third, that the quality of the timber, and conse- quently the financial value of the crop, is improved; and fourth, that the increase in volume due to it is not maintained for a long period, but culminates in four or five years, according to soil and situation. The better the soil and situation the longer are the effects ofthinning noticeable, and vice versd. With regard to the first of these conclusions, it may be explained that the removal of trees in thinning of course decreases the volume of the standing crop at the time, but thatthe increased growth later on makes up to some extent for this deficiency, so far as it affects the increase in volume which would take place between the tume of late thinning and the cutting of the crop. The advan- tage of thinning is, therefore, represented by the interest on the realised thinnings, plus the increase in value due to greater bulk and quality at the final cutting. These are, of course, general statements, and will not be verified in every case. It must also be remembered that the resulting benefits are greatly dependent upon the condition of the soil and crop previous to thinning. Where a rich store of humus is present, and the crop vigorous and healthy enough to make use of it, an increase of air and light cannot fail to stimulate the functional activity of the leaves, resulting in the better nourishment of the cambium and a broader wood-ring.
As a general rule, the necessity for thinning at any stage depends upon the soil and situation. When the latter are good, the trees quickly settle the question of predominance, and are also able to endure a greater amount of shade without succumb- ing. On the other hand, poverty of soil and unfavourable situation only support a relatively slow growth, and the aid of the forester is required in order to decide which are to remain for the final crop and which to go.
Such are the main points which require attention in growing a crop of unmixed timber-trees which is desired to yield the greatest bulk per acre, combined with the best quality. The principles involved are applicable to all species and to all climates, and although there are other systems of growing woods which are recognised by scientific foresters, yet the one I
THE MANAGEMENT OF PLANTATIONS. 51
have sketched in outline, viz. the ‘“ even-aged high forest” system, is the only one capable of yielding the best possible return. Iam not asserting that this method of raising woods is practicable in this country at the present day. The varied functions which woods perform in Great Britain, and the in- fluence of individual interests and tastes, have already been mentioned, but as these vary on every estate, it would be perfectly useless to consider them when dealing with general principles, which is all I have attempted to do in this paper. I might also explain that by ‘‘ unmixed” wood I do not mean that a plantation need consist of one species only, but that the different species which compose it should be grown in “unmixed” groups, or if mixed, mixed on the principles pre- viously explained.
Perhaps, however, the advantages of growing pure groups instead of the usual mixtures have not been made sufficiently clear to satisfy all minds. Let me briefly run over the growth and development of a typical mixed plantation, and note wherein it differs from our example. We will select one which is intended to produce a crop of hardwoods, Beech, Oak, and Ash. These are planted twelve feet apart, and the space between filled up with Larch and Pines, leaving the whole stand- ing four feet apart. At the time of planting the trees are two to four feet high, according to species, and as the roots are too strong and spreading to be placed perpendicularly into the ground, they are laid at the bottom of a shallow pit in a more or less horizontal position. This need not affect their growth to any great extent, but affects their stability, and in windy weather they get blown about if at all top-heavy, and require putting right again. This is disadvantage the first. Then it will take about eight or ten years for the branches of neighbouring trees to meet and form a perfect leaf canopy, and by that time the side branches will be strong and vigorous, and when choked off by the shade will leave dead knots and ugly blemishes in the timber. The stems of the hardwoods will be comparatively crooked and the heads bushy, especially if ground-game has nibbled them or the leading shoot been destroyed in any way. This means that a certain proportion of them have little chance of becoming good timber-trees, and the prospect of a good crop is lessened: disadvantage the second. During the next few
E 2
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years, after the trees have closed up the struggle for existence begins, but in place of the strongest individuals, we see the strongest species brought to the front. In the case we are supposing these will probably be Larch and Ash. In order to keep the other hardwoods alive, therefore, thinning must begin, and in so doing gaps are made, which weaken the leaf canopy and give many of the trees too much side-light. This encourages the growth of strong branches and crooked stems, and disad- vantage the second is repeated. ‘The faster growing species will also meet with too little opposition to keep their stems suffi- ciently clean, and rough timber is encouraged in both ways.
But suppose it has been decided to ignore the suppressed or slower-growing species and allow the dominant ones to have their own way. What happens then? Ash and Larch are the principal survivors, and the thickness of the crop of dominant trees, and the quality of the timber, depend a good deal upon the way these two species are distributed. Ifregularly distributed, and sufficiently close together to keep the stem-cleaning process in motion, fairly clean timber will result, for both being light- demanders and rapid growers (we are assuming that the soil and situation are favourable to both), they will constitute what we have termed a sylvicultural mixture. If, on the other hand, they are evenly distributed, but too far apart to counteract each other’s side-growth, wide-spreading crowns will prevail and rough timber result. With regard to these two species, however, the existence of large crowns is not such an evil as it would be with many, but in all cases it means that the proportion of timber to branches is too small, and the crop therefore pos- sesses a lower selling value.
Probably many of the commoner species of Conifers owe their existence in mixed plantations to the idea that they act as “nurses” to the more desirable kinds, and thus enable the planta- tion to be formed without using so large a number of the latter. Where the raising or purchase of the main-crop species is an expensive matter the plan is worth considering, but so far as the nursing business goes there is little init. The best nurses or stem-cleaners for any particular species are individuals of that same species, and the reason for this has already been made clear in describing the struggle for existence. It may be, how- ever, that a species may serve as a nurse and also be of more
THE MANAGEMENT OF PLANTATIONS. 53
value at its removal stage than the main-crop species of the same size and age. Larch might be mentioned as an instance of this, but it is necessary that those principles should be ob- served when using it, or any other species for this purpose, which were laid down in dealing with sylvicultural mixtures.
Such are the chief points for and against the formation of the ordinary mixed plantation. It will, doubtless, long retain its popularity for several reasons. In the first place, it presents a better appearance during the first few years than a pure wood of the same age; and, in the second, it can be depended upon to grow something or other—whether of any value as timber or not does not much matter to the planter, nor does he consider after effect to any great extent.
The last point I have to consider in connection with our subject is the
AGE AT WHICH A PLANTATION IS MOST PROFITABLY FELLED.
Local demands and circumstances affect this question to a great extent, and, as these vary on every estate, no fixed rule can be laid down. But I believe that a rotation based on the period of the greatest technical value of the crop is the most suitable one for woods and plantations in this country. Such a rotation may not satisfy the requirements of strictly economic forestry, which looks only at the net return, but is quite exact enough for adoption in this country. The period of the greatest techni- cal value of a crop of timber (in the sense in which we use that term) is that period in the life of a plantation at which its size and quality best meet the local or existing demand for that particular species. For instance, in high-lying districts a crop of Larch poles fit for fencing purposes may be worth more per cubic foot at thirty years of age than the same crop at fifty or sixty years of age. This does not necessarily mean that the absolute value of the younger crop is greater than it would be if left until the latter age, but that its relative value probably is so, and therefore it may pay the proprietor to cut early and grow two young crops to one older one. Where a species is most in demand when of large size, such as Beech or Sycamore, the period of the greatest technical value will coincide with that of the greatest average increase in volume, and it will pay to allow the crop to
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stand till a fairly advanced age. Oak, again, is sought after with as much heartwood as possible, and maturity of timber should regulate its cutting. In mixed plantations the technical maturity of the most valuable species should determine the period of cut- ting, but if the immature species can be left without loss so much the better. In ordinary practice the British forester is never called upon to calculate the exact financial condition of a crop of timber, but he may sometimes have to decide whether it may be more profitable to cut a crop at the present time, or five or ten years hence. All that is necessary for accomplishing this task is to ascertain, first, the present value of the crop; second, its annual increase in volume and value; and, third, the rate of interest chargeable upon it. If the money value of the annual increase in timber exceeds the interest on the gross money value of the present crop, he may assume that the plantation is still paying its way. When, on the other hand, the increase falls short of, or only equals the interest, then it will probably pay him to cut at once. For instance, the present gross value of a plantation, valued at 1s. per cubic foot, is £800, and its increase in volume during the last season reckoned to be 250 cubic feet, or £12. 10s. per acre respectively. The interest on £300 at 3 per cent. would be £9, thus showing a balance of £8. 10s. in favour of the grow- ing crop. In making such calculations, however, it is necessary to take into account the health of the trees, the present density of the crop, and the state of the soil, for, as we have already seen, these conditions affect the probable increase in volume to a great extent, while market fluctuations may upset the most careful calculation.
The actual money value of a plantation to the proprietor would, of course, be its net value, or the sum remaining after all costs of production, harvesting, ground-rent, rates, taxes, &c., during the whole rotation had been deducted from the gross amount realisable; but as the necessary records and data are scarcely ever forthcoming, the owner is spared the pain or pleasure of knowing exactly how much he has lost or gained on a crop of timber. ‘The question as to whether wood-growing does pay or not in this country is therefore usually unanswerable, although statements have been published which were intended to prove that particular plantations have returned 200 or 300 per cent. on the outlay. Some may probably pay well, but I
THE MANAGEMENT OF PLANTATIONS. 55
doubt if such statements will bear strict investigation. For in most cases we find that a number of invariable and inevitable items of expenditure have been omitted, and merely the cost of planting and other initial charges deducted from the gross returns. That woods do pay when properly managed has been conclusively proved in many countries, and I may cite a few returns gathered from official sources in various parts of the German Empire in support of this statement. For instance, the average net return per acre from the State forests in the
following States was as follows :— 1890 1891 1892
= S Ss. Grand Duchy of Anhalt . : ; 11 8 gees Sachsen-Altenburg . ? : : 20 19 17 Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt . , é 10 10 — Saxony . : : : : : — 16 16
These returns are obtained from millions of acres of forest-land, which are supervised by a well-organised staff of trained officials, and we may assume that over-felling or a decrease of the normal stock does not occur. They show clearly enough, therefore, that land of inferior quality can yield a better return to the proprietor when under timber than when let to a grazing or a sporting tenant at a low rental, although, as has been already pointed out, the State may be the only party able to look at this fact from an abstract point of view.
In conclusion I should like to emphasise the fact that the success of a plantation, whether grown with a view to profit or ornament, depends, not upon the care and attention of one, but of several generations of proprietors or foresters. The changes which so frequently occur in the working staff of an estate render the systematic treatment of plantations a weak feature in estate management, while present needs are usually considered of more importance than future prospects. Under these circumstances, therefore, we cannot reasonably expect to see any sudden change or rapid advance made in the existing customs of planting, thinning, and felling which would bring them into closer harmony with economic and scientific principles. The skill of the forester lies less in what he actually does than in his capa- bility of taking advantage of Nature in order to get his work done for him. The acquisition and the exercise of this skill neces- sitate close and constant observation, so that whatever opera-
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tions may be necessary may be done at the proper time, other- wise they may do more harm than good.
There are two facts which we should do well to remember in connection with timber-growing. One is, that arboriculture is not sylvicultwre ; and the other, that while “a tree may be » growing while we’re sleepin’,’’ yet it may not be growing into - good timber.
Pare.
CopricE AND HEDGEROW TIMBER.
Coppice.—The cultivation of coppice-wood is almost entirely confined to the Midland and Southern Counties of England, and © in some districts occupies practically the whole of the wood- land area. It is usually associated with Oak or Ash standards, which are either planted or raised from self-sown seed, or arise from ‘tellers’ which have been retained for that purpose. A few years back coppice was probably the most profitable forest crop in the country. During the last ten years, however, prices have fallen so low in many districts that it no longer pays adequate interest on the original outlay, and scarcely covers the cost of maintenance. This fall in value is chiefly due to agricul- tural depression and the monopolising of small wood-consuming industries by machine-worked factories. The former cause has operated by decreasing the demand for sheep-hurdles, cribs, rakes, stakes, &c., into which the greater part of coppice-wood is manu- factured, and the latter by cutting down the price of wooden articles so fine that the rural manufacturer is practically unable to compete with his stronger rival. In certain districts, however, coppice-wood still pays when properly managed, and although it may yield a smaller return than timber, yet it has an advantage over the latter in the possibility it affords of a comparatively quick return of a portion, if not the whole, of the initial outlay.
The chief products of coppice-wood are rods and poles. The former are obtained from Hazel or Willow, and the latter from Ash, Spanish Chestnut, Alder, Willow, Birch, &c. Local demand determines whether one or both of these products should be pro- duced, but in most districts poles pay better than rods, owing to the varied uses to which they can be put. Alder poles are less
THE MANAGEMENT OF PLANTATIONS. 57
in demand, and meet witha slow sale unless of large size. Hazel rods still sell well in districts in which basket and crate making flourishes, but elsewhere are of little value.
The class of land devoted to the growth of coppice- wood must be of good quality, soas to insure a vigorous and rapid growth, and also to meet the demand which frequent removal of the crop makes upon its resources. For Hazel or Spanish Chestnut a light or well-drained loam is preferable, while Ash, Willow, &c., thrive best in a moderately damp and deep soil. In planting a piece of ground for this crop strong healthy plants, two to four feet high, and with plenty of roots, should be selected, and none but those showing a vigorous habit of growth used. Where a hard subsoil or indurated plough pan exists, this should first be broken up in the most convenient manner. When planting more than one species it is better to keep each by itself, and not to mix Hazel with Ash, or other pole-producing species, as the former reaches its most saleable age several years earlier than the latter. Two or three years after planting, or as soon as the plants are thoroughly established, the Hazel should be cut over about three or four inches from the ground, as it is only those shoots which spring from adventitious buds that are of any use for rods. Ash, Alder, &c., should be left until large enough to be of some use, as they will throw up stronger shoots when cut over after attaining a fair size. The rotations fixed for underwood vary from ten to fifteen years. For Hazel, ten years is quite long enough, as, if left standing until the rods lose their pliancy, they depreciate in value. For pole-growing the longer rotations are usually adopted, according to the size of pole most in demand.
When once thoroughly established, and all blanks planted up, coppice requires little attention. At every cutting drains should be attended to, and diseased or sickly stools replaced with young plants. When very large poles are desired, it is advantageous to thin out the weaker shocts with the handsaw about four or five years after cutting, as this allows the remainder more space for development, and also allows rods to be utilised which would otherwise become dead and dry. In cutting, the stools should be cut as close down as possible, and in such a way as to leave no jagged wood or portions of stool stripped of bark. The main point requiring attention in growing good coppice is the subjec- tion of ground-game. Where the first year’s shoots are nibbled
58 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
off by rabbits or hares the wood never regains that straightness of growth which constitutes its most desirable quality, and: the number of weak shoots is increased.
The method of combining coppice and timber-growing to- gether, in what is known as ‘‘ coppice with standards,” cannot be recommended on economic grounds. A short acquaintance with it will soon convince’ one that the timber so grown is rough and short in the bole, or if sufficiently close to encourage height-growth, then the coppice suffers from overshading. If the coppice is worth growing at all it is much better to allow it full possession of the ground as far as it goes, and confine the timber to another part of the ground. A few of the best Ash “ tellers,” however, may always be left standing over two or three rotations without doing much harm, while they add to the value of the wood.
Probably underwood owes its existence on many estates quite as much to the cover it affords to game as to the profit attend- ing its cultivation. For this reason it will probably survive in many districts long after it has ceased to be a remunerative crop. Unless prices recover, however, it will be to the estate proprietor’s advantage to confine it within as narrow limits as possible, and gradually fill its place with timber-trees.
HEDGEROW TIMBER.
This, like coppice-wood, is principally confined to the Southern Counties, and is a system of timber-growing pecu- liar to this country. Oak and Elm constitute the great bulk of this timber, but the latter may be regarded as the more repre- sentative of the two. Probably most farmers look upon hedge- row timber as more or less of a nuisance, and on arable land it undoubtedly is so, by impoverishing the soil, choking drains, and hindering the uniform maturing of the crops. On grazing land it is beneficial in providing shelter for stock, whether from sun or wind; but, on the other hand, it is often responsible for the wretchedly weak and patchy hedges so frequently met with on South Country farms. Landlords who take an interest in arboriculture, however, are usually reluctant to cut large timber anywhere, while the warm and wooded appearance presented by a country-side well stocked with hedgerow timber induces many to tolerate its presence with a cheerful mind. Apart from the tenant-farmer’s point of view, the maintenance of a
RA ira
THE MANAGEMENT OF PLANTATIONS. 59
well-crown stock of hedgerow timber undoubtedly proves a source of profit, and, if properly managed, does less harm than might be supposed. Like coppice, however, it should only be grown in a good soil and climate, as poor soils cannot afford the drain which trees make upon their resources, and in unfavour- able climates the latter do not make a sufficiently free growth for producing good timber.
As numerous suckers are always thrown up from Elm roots, that tree usually reproduces itself without assistance from man, hence its frequency in hedgerows. The saplings from these suckers generally push up straight and clean for the first few years, and probably form better boles than would planted trees similarly placed, and, so long as horses are kept away from them, thrive well enough. The comparatively moderate crown and erect habit of growth also renders Elm a more suitable tree for the pur- pose than Beech or Oak, and with a little lopping near the base its shade is not too dense to prevent the growth of grass or other crops beneath. Probably less harm is done on the whole when the trees stand two or three together than when singly, as in the former case the growth of side branches is retarded, and when the height-growth of the trees has culminated the least promising can be removed. When Elm-trees stand in the line of Thorn hedges all suckers which are not reserved for timber should be regularly cut down to the ground, otherwise the hedge will soon consist of little but Elm.
In order to obviate all unnecessary damage to hedges or crops, pruning must take a prominent place in the growing of hedgerow timber. This sometimes takes the form of the periodical lopping off of all side branches, converting the trees so treated into objects closely resembling gigantic broomsticks with tufts of feathers at the top. This treatment favours the outgrowth of spray down the whole length of the stem, which every successive lopping increases, so that in some cases the bole is entirely obscured from view. This method of pruning both disfigures the landscape and also retards the growth of the trees, while the timber is simply a mass of knots. Generally speaking, free-growing suckers require little pruning beyond the removal of low branches, and any trees that show a bushy, flat top or crooked stem should be cut out entirely, as they are never likely to become well-shaped trees. The removal of double leaders
60 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
should always be attended to in good time, and any particularly strong growing branches can be shortened back. The cleaning of the lower part of the stem should be gradually performed at periodical intervals, until it is clear for at least twenty feet up. The branches should be cut close into the bole with the hand- saw, taking care that the operation is not delayed until they are so large as to involve a large wound being made, which four or five years will not see covered. Any spray which subsequently appears should be broken (not cut) off at the base of the shoots. Above twenty feet up the branches are not likely to do much injury to things below, but all far-spreading ones should be cut back to within ten or twelve feet of the bole, both on account of decreasing the shade and also to lighten their weight, as heavy limbs are very liable to break off at the point of union with the trunk. This shortening back of heavy branches is too often neglected in Elm-growing districts, for not only is their sudden fall a source of danger to men or animals, but the large exposed surface of the fracture allows fungi and water to enter the bole, whereby the timber of the whole tree is sometimes spoilt.
Besides Elm, Poplars are also suitable trees for hedgerows especially on wet soils. As timber-trees, the Abele and Black Italian are the most useful, the former throwing up suckers as freely as the Elm. The Lombardy has the most erect growth of any, but does not form such a good timber bole. Oak, Beech, Sycamore, &c., cannot be considered suitable hedgerow trees on account of their wide-spreading habit of growth and the injury they do to the hedges.
In the great majority of cases hedgerow timber is left pretty much to itself, except when the removal of a large limb becomes imperative, or the farmer finds low branches troublesome. In the latter case the trees are often subjected to the most brutal treatment by unskilled pruners, who either leave ugly snags upon the trees, or cut off the branches so carelessly that a portion of the bole is torn away with them when they fall. The farmer also utilises the trees as fencing posts, driving nails or staples into the butts with charming impartiality and unconcern. A large proportion of hedgerow timber is consequently of little value, and in many cases its removal would be of benefit to the farmer, without greatly detracting from the beauty of the landscape.
61
WOODS OF KENT. By Mr. Georce Bunyarp, F.R.H.S.
In the papers already given the main point touched upon appears to be the production of timber; but in the greater part of Kent (as also in Sussex), as a general rule, we do not plant for timber, such trees as are allowed to grow up being those natural to the soil (in the case of Oaks generally springing from seed), which, when they look promising, are marked off with red paint to be left standing as “ tellers’? when the underwood, the real crop of the land, is sold by auction. Im selling, the wood is first set out in “cants,’’ a ‘‘wash”’ being cut to show the dividing lines, and they are then numbered and sold by auction in lots of one acre or less, as the form of the wood allows. The buyer pays for his lots cash down, or makes an agreement to do so at a certain time, and pays a deposit. He then cuts all the underwood to the stubs or stools, leaving, as arranged, the marked “ tellers’? of Oak, Ash, Chestnut, &&. He makes from this wood “cant’’ the following various sorts and sizes of sticks, &c. :—
Use pieces, to split for fencing, sheep-gates, and wheelwrights’ work.
Hop-poles, 10 to 16 feet and 18 feet.
Clothes-props, for washing-grounds.
Birch, for turners, &c. In the North for clogs for the mines; in the South for brushes and turnery.
Birch-tops, for brooms, sold by the ‘ kid,” to make stable and lawn brooms.
Binders, for fencing and nurserymen’s use.
Bean-sticks, for scarlet runners.
Thatching-wood.
Hoop-wood, to be split for cask-hoops, mostly Hazel, Ash, and Willow.
Hedge-stakes, to repair gaps, «e. .
Flower-sticks, for florists and garden use.
Pea-sticks.
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Faggots, for the limekilns, cement works, bakers, and domestic use.
Bush-faggots, of Thorn and Crab, for dredging meadows in spring, and for gapping hedges.
Hazel-withes, for binding faggots and for packing.
Packing-sticks, split Hazel, pointed at both ends, for fruit packed in sieves.
Chips and bark from hop-poles—the workmen’s perquisite generally.
The underwood is all cleared out of the “cants ’ by May 1 in the best woods, or, if the Oak-trees are sold, the buyer is allowed till August 1 to flay and faggot and remove the timber, and sells the lot out by a fixed time, and removes from the wood all that remains. ‘The stubs throw out fresh shoots in May, and the year following the woodreve proceeds to fill up vacancies by planting Spanish Chestnut or Ash, whichever the land will best carry. This plan, I venture to say, is a great mistake, for, unless great care has been taken, the new plants put in are choked by the vigour of the first year’s growth from the old stubs, which may reach to 8 feet in one year. The system of allowing the underwood when cut to remain till May 1 appears to me also to be a mistake, as it could just as well be all removed by February 1, except in years when deep snow prevails, and the woodreve could then at once fill up the vacancies with young plants, which would get firm hold of the soil, and be able to hold their own before the strong second year’s growth from the stubs had begun. Under the usual system nothing but Ash and Chestnut are planted ; all the other trees are the produce of natural seedlings, such as Pyrus, white Beam- tree, Thorns, Mountain Ash, Sloes, Birch, Cherries, Crabs, &c. These are mostly scattered by birds ; and others are brought by the winds, as Hornbeam and Sycamore, while Hazel-nuts and Beech are stored up by the mice, and thus become part of the woodland. But in our Kent woods the only really valuable underwoods are the Ash and the Chestnut, the others being almost entirely the natural products of the district, which have asserted themselves in the bare, open spaces, and formed stools in the course of years.
The best managed woods on good, deep soil, say in the valleys, come to cut when eight to ten yearsold while upland woods, and
WOODS OF KENT. 63
others on very poor soil, may be from twelve to twenty years before they are fit to cut; but the value of the hop poles and stakes is increased where it requires the longer period to come to sale size, as the timber is closer grained. On the other hand, the valuable underwood is not so plentiful in exposed woods. Where the water lies (in small ponds, &c.), or where the surface water from the main roads runs into the woods, Alder and Plum-leaved Willow are planted also, and Ash and Chestnut should not be put in where spring frosts are frequent.
Where underwood is shaded too much by large Oaks its value is much depreciated. For example, I am told by Mr. Carman, of Larkfield, an old experienced dealer, who,-with his son, has kindly given me much valuable information, that in a large wood the shaded part only made £4 to £6 per acre, while where there were no timber-trees the same wood made £40. The timber (Oaks, &c.) should, therefore, be from 50 to 100 feet apart.
As stated in previous papers, the plantations of any district must be formed to meet the trade demands of that district, and the most profitable woods in Kent are those with thick, straight, well-grown underwood. The hop trade of Kent has in the past given an impetus to the growth and care of woods; but great changes have taken place in my recollection. In the 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s nearly all the hops were polled with home-grown poles, the tallest, 16 feet to 18 feet, being used for the Mid-Kent Goldings and Colegates, and the shorter poles, 10 feet to 14 feet, being for the Weald of Kent hops, such as Prolifics, Jones, and others. Then a rage began for poles of perfectly straight out- line, and they were brought from Norway and sold by auction from 40s. to 60s. per 100, thus displacing the home-grown ones. During the last five years hop-growers have used strings fastened to overhead wires, and less poles are wanted—in many hop gardens but few are used, the overhead wires being strained from large posts of Ash and Chestnut, 18 to 21 inches in girth at the base, the bines of the hops being led up by cocoa- nut fibre string from the ground to the wire. So that good wood that once fetched as much as £40 per acre is now worth only £10, after a growth of ten to fourteen years. When large, tall Chestnut and Ash poles were in vogue as much as £80 per acre has been made. However, this new method of stringing hops is
64 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
so expensive to start that there will always be many who keep to the old system of two, three, or four poles to a hill, because they cannot afford the initial expense of the new system.
It follows, then, that when hops sell well, and sell freely early in the season, that the woods make good prices. At the same time it is obvious that the small sum of £10 per acre would only pay rates and taxes, and were it not that much woodland is only kept up for sporting purposes, this return would not encourage a landowner to lay out any money on filling-up and replanting, though I am confident that if owners would insist on the rabbits being kept down they could get a far better return from their woods than they do.
Old Chestnut woods that are thin, and where young plants of the same nature cannot establish themselves, could be filled up with the Plum-leaved Willow, which comes in for faggots, and tends, by occupying vacant spaces, to make the Chestnut straighter and more useful for the wheelwright and sheep-gate maker. Crooked butts are of no value, and for this reason Ash drawn up among Chestnut produces the greatest number of useful hop- poles. And as the Hazel is valuable for hoop-wood, it should be planted for that purpose.
A word as to the formation of woods. Ash and Chestnut should be at least 6 feet from plant to plant, and to raise them a Larch Fir should be planted between each stool to act as nurses. These come in to cut before the main wood, and can generally be sold to the florists, or as poles for young hops, at a remunerative price. I would urge landowners to endeavour to keep their young woods free from coarse weeds by a regular use of the horse-hoe; and, although the labour is expensive, a wood gets on so much faster under this treatment, that Iam sure it would pay, as where an open young wood once becomes covered with weeds and coarse grasses its growth is impeded for years. If the Larch nurses were ready for cutting at ten years old, it would be best to grub them out roots and all, and then cut the Chestnut and Ash stools to the ground, when, if kept clean, the next crop of underwood would only be about ten years before it was again ready to cut. Thousands of acres of fresh woods are ruined by the want of systematic care and attention, and, what with the rabbits and weeds, become almost useless for under-
wood.
WOODS OF KENT. 65
A word as to Oaks. From time to time it is as well to thin out the trees from 50 to 100 feet apart; but the value of Oak timber and bark is heavily discounted by the importation of foreign timber and new methods of tanning, so that this bark is of secondary importance. I offer these few remarks in the hope that it may induce some to utilise that vast acreage of land now arable which, owing to the present distressed state of agri- culture and to foreign competition, cannot be made to pay with cereals, and I am not alone in giving an opinion that well- managed woods will yet pay well for attention.
DISCUSSION.
The CHarrRMAN (Sir Alexander Arbuthnot) said before speak- ing on the subject of the Conference he would like to read a telegram which had been received from their valuable Secretary, Mr. Wilks, whose absence they all regretted. Mr. Wilks had been very seriously ill, and a few days before that meeting under- went a painful operation. The telegram read: ‘ Greetings to all. Progressing most favourably. ‘Try voice to-morrow.” (Cheers.) Sir Alexander went on to say that he wished Mr. Dyer could have been in the chair at that, the second of their meetings that day, because Mr. Dyer was far more competent than he was to draw attention to the points which had been raised in Mr. Forbes’s interesting paper. He thought they would all feel that his lecture was a most valuable one, and he had no doubt that those present that day, and many who were not present, would be very greatly interested in reading it when it appeared in the Journal. If he were to express an opinion on Mr. Forbes’s lecture, it would be that the observations contained in it would be most valuable to planters. The paper contributed by Mr. Simpson in the morning was a valuable one, but if it proved anything, it proved one thing, viz. the enormous diificulty of the question of forestry in England considered from a commercial point of view. When considering the subject, he thought they should not leave out of sight altogether the risk, as time goes on, of our coal supply greatly diminishing and our wood supply diminishing at the same time, and he thought that arrangements should be made by which the State should, as in some Con- tinental countries, and as Englishmen are now doing in India,
F
66 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY,
take into its own hands, he would not say the conservancy of our forests, but the re-afforestation of portions of the soil. That was a matter which deserved the consideration of statesmen. The policy of the age had had effects on the land of this country, which were not encouraging to the investment of capital in land. Events were marching very rapidly, and the events of the present year had been such as to afford anything but encouragement to the owners of land. Therefore he thought that when we legis- lated in the direction which the new views now so much in favour appeared to indicate, a matter which should occupy the serious attention of our statesmen and political leaders was whether they might not do something to applying capital to the renewal and increasing of our forests.
Mr. WEBSTER said he was very pleased with Mr. Forbes’s paper. Hecondemned the “ fallacy ’’ of the ‘‘ mixed plantation ” system.
Mr. Gro. Paut said he could not help thinking that the Society was fulfilling one of its best functions in endeavouring to improve forestry. The question of leaf-canopy, mentioned by Mr. Forbes, was a novelty to him, and seemed to carry great weight with it. The only statement on which he differed from the writer of the paper was that in which he said that we ought to confine ourselves to native trees, because in certain parts of England there might be climatic risks. He thought the papers they had heard that day were of such practical value that all the Fellows of the Society would be glad to read them. He would, therefore, propose a hearty vote of thanks on behalf of the Fellows of the Society to the writers.
Mr. Gro. Bunyarp seconded the motion.
Ths Conference then terminated.
67
EXHIBITION OF TREES AND SHRUBS.
Awards Recommended :— Silver Gilt Flora Medal.
To Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea,-for a collection of rare plants. (See p. 70.)
To Messrs. Paul & Son, Cheshunt, for a collection of hardy plants. (See p. 71.)
Silver Flora Medal.
To His Grace the Duke of Buccleuch, Dalkeith Palace, N.B. (gr. Mr. Malcolm Dunn), for a large collection of trees and shrubs. (See p. 72.)
To Colonel Sir Patrick Keith Murray, Bart., Ochtertyre, N.B., for a collection of hardy trees and shrubs. (See p. 82.)
To Messrs. R. Veitch & Sons, Exeter, for a group of plants. (See p. 85.)
To Messrs. G. Bunyard & Co., Maidstone, for a collection of hardy trees and shrubs. (See p. 86.)
Silver Kiughtian Medal.
To Her Majesty the Queen, Royal Gardens, Windsor (gr. Mr. Owen Thomas), for large bunches of Mistletoe. (See p. 68.)
To Captain Holford, Westonbirt, Tetbury, Gloucestershire (gr. Mr. T. Rattray), for a collection of trees. (See p. 87.)
To His Grace the Duke of Northumberland, Syon House, Brentford (gr. Mr. Geo. Wythes), for a collection of rare trees and shrubs. (See p. 88.)
To Messrs. C. Lee & Son, Hammersmith, for a collection of trees. (See p. 89.)
Silver Gilt Banksian Medal. To His Grace the Duke of Wellington, Strathfieldsaye, N.B. (gr. Mr. J. W. McHattie), for a collection of trees. (See p. 90.)
Silver Banksian Medal.
To Viscount Powerscourt, Powerscourt, Enniskerry (gr. Mr. D. Crombie), for a choice collection of Conifers and their fruits. (See p. 90.)
F2
—
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To Wellwood H. Maxwell, Esq., Munches, Dalbeattie, N.B., for a collection of trees. (See p. 90.) 3
To A. Waterhouse, Esq., Yattendon Court, Newbury, Berks (gr. Mr. Maher), for a collection of trees. (See p. 92.)
To Colonel Tremayne, Carclew, Perran-ar-worthal, Cornwall (gr. Mr. Jas. Simmons), for a collection of hardy shrubs. (See p. 93.)
Bronze Banksian Medal.
To the Marchioness of Huntly, Orton Longueville, Peter- borough (gr. Mr. A. Harding) for specimens of Conifers and cones. (See p. 93.)
To Earl Cowper, Panshanger (gr. Mr. Fitt), fora small collec- tion of plants. (See p. 93.)
First Class Certificate. To Tex Aquifolium Lawsoniana, from Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea.
To Veronica cupressoides, V. salicornoides, and V. lycopodi- oides, from Messrs. Paul & Son, Cheshunt.
Award of Merit. To Acer purpufascens Nizelli, from Messrs. Paul & Son, Cheshunt.
Other Exhibits.
[These were So many that it is very difficult to know what to chronicle and what to omit. Some exhibitors kindly handed in a list of their specimens, Mr. Malcolm Dunn in particular having taken great pains with that from Dalkeith, and made it really interesting reading (p. 72). The day also was so unutterably wet that it was with the utmost difficulty that the Society’s officials and the reporters of the gardening papers could get about to make notes ; however, all did all they could to help one another, and where the exhibitors did not hand in lists the following report is made up from the Society’s records combined with those of the Gardeners’ Chronicle, the Journal of Horti- culture, the Garden, and the Gardeners’ Magazine.—Ep1rTor. |
From tne Royal Gardens, Windsor, by Her Majesty’s com- mand, Mr. Owen Thomas brought most interesting specimens of Mistletoe. Some, of course, was on Apple, and this specimen seemed to be the strongest; but there were others on Mountain
EXHIBITION OF TREES AND SHRUBS. 69
Ash, Lime, Hawthorn, Maple, Robinia, and Hickory. Mr. Thomas also brought other specimens of trees and shrubs, amongst which Kolreuteria paniculata, Sophora japonica, Taxodium distichum, and a branch of Cratzgus Aronia full of berries, were the most noticeable.
From the Royal Gardens, Kew, came a magnificent collection of rare trees and shrubs, some of them being very rarely seen out- side botanic gardens. Amongst them were : —
Amorpha canescens, the Bastard Indigo, with dark blue flowers.
Carya sulcata, the furrow-leaved Hickory, and C. microcarpa, the small-fruited Hickory.
Castanopsis chrysophylla.
Clematis brevicaudata, with small creamy flowers.
Cornus brachypoda variegata, a fine silver variegated Dog- wood; C. sibirica variegata, with bright red shoots; C. Gouchautti, the clusters of pale pinkish blue berries, making it very distinct.
Cotoneaster horizontalis, full of deep scarlet berries.
Cytisus nigricans, a curious dark-coloured Broom, and C. supinus, with bright yellow flowers.
Desmodium pendulefiorum, a very pretty and elegant plant with rosy flowers.
Genista elatior, with golden flowers.
Hippophaé rhamnoides, the Sea Buckthorn, with deep yellow berries.
Hypericum Moserianum, a beautiful golden flower; H. patu- lum, H. oblongifolium, and H. nepalense. ‘These are all beau-
_ tiful golden flowering autumn plants, the two first being probably
hardy, and the two last, from Northern India, probably not quite so.
Indigofera Gerardiana, a doubtfully hardy species, but well worth a trial on account of its deep pink blossoms.
Ligustrum Quihoni, a Privet with beautiful panicles of white flowers.
Ptelea trifoliata, with its Hop-like cluster of fruit.
Quercus densifolia, a rare and almost evergreen species from California, and Q. rubra palustifolia, the finest of the red Oaks.
Rhus semi-alata Osbecki, a very fine bold foliage plant for
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autumnal effect, and R. vernicifolia, another good Sumach from Japan.
Rosa Wichuriana, a Japanese trailing species, and R. micro- phylla, a Chinese species, which has a scent like Pineapple.
Rubus sorbifolius, a Japanese Bramble with finely cut foliage and yellow berries, and R. biflorus, a white-stemmed Bramble from the Himalayas.
Ulex Gallii, a dwarf Gorse with yellow flowers.
Viburnum molle, with deep-coloured berries of a blue-purple colour.
Vitis Coignetiz, a dark-coloured species from Japan, and V. vinifera purpurea, with still darker crimson and copper-coloured foliage.
Professor Maxime Cornu sent from the Jardin des Plantes at Paris leaves of Vitis Coignetie for purposes of identification. They were similar to those shown by Mr. Anthony Waterer, but differed from those shown by others under the same name.
Messrs. James Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, sent a very fine col- lection of rare trees and shrubs, amongst which were the following :—
Acer argutum, a charming species, and A. carpinifolium.
Alnus glutinosus aureus.
Aralia cachemirica, a very fine plant.
Berberis Thunbergi and B. Lelandi.
Calluna vulgaris Alporti.
Calycanthus macrophyllus.
Castanea sativa argentea, a silver variegated Spanish Chestnut.
Catalpa bignonioides and C. b. aurea.
Citrus trifoliata.
Cladastris tinctoria.
Clerodendron trichotomum, from Japan.
Colutea arborescens purpurea.
Colletia spinosa, a very formidable-looking plant.
Cornus elegantissima and C. Spathi, two of the best Dog- woods.
Cotoneaster frigida, covered with orange-scarlet berries.
Crategus orientalis.
EXHIBITION OF TREES AND SHRUBS. val
Daphniphyllum glaucescens, a fine evergreen from China.
Dimorphanthus mandschuricus, with long spikes of blossom.
Gaultheria procumbens.
Hypericum oblongifolium.
Ligustrum lucidum tricolor, a beautiful coloured Privet, and L. ovalifolium elegantissimum.
Liquidambar styraciflua.
Menziesia polifolia erecta.
Nandina domestica.
Olearia macrodonta.
Osmanthus ilicifolius purpureus, one of the prettiest ever- greens we have. ;
Parottia persica.
Pernettya mucronata, and other varieties.
Philadelphus coronarius argenteo-variegatus, a beautiful silver variety.
Ptelea trifoliata aurea.
Quercus palustris, one of the fine crimson-leaved Oaks.
Rhodotypus kerrioides.
Rhus glabra laciniata, R. g. coccinea, and R. Toxicodendron radicans, with gloriously coloured foliage.
Rubus laciniatus.
Sambucus racemosus serratifolius.
Spirea Lindleyana.
Stephanandra flexuosa.
Styrax japonica.
Symphoricarpus vulgaris variegatus, a very pretty plant.
Vitis flexuosa, with beautiful small crimson leaves; VY. Coignetie, of the most glorious colour, and V. vinifera pur- purea.
Weigela amabilis variegata.
Messrs. Paul & Son, Cheshunt, also sent a very fine collection, mostly in pots, amongst which might be noticed :—
Acer purpurascens Nizelli, a very bronzy plant, to which an Award of Merit was given.
Alnus prunifolia plena and A. frutex speciosa.
Althea frutex in great variety.
Azara microphylla.
‘Ceanothus Gloire de Versailles, with its elegant sprays of grey- blue blossom.
72, JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL OCIETY.
Cornus Mas aurea and C. Spathi.
Cotoneaster affinis, with clusters of bright red berries.
Crategus coccinea maxima.
Edwardsia microphylla.
Kricas in great variety.
Kurya latifolia.
Garrya elliptica foomina, a rare plant.
Hollies in great variety, to one of which, Lawsoniana, a First Class Certificate was given.
Hypericum Moserianum.
Magnolia grandiflora.
Pernettyas in great variety.
Persica purpurea.
Phillyrea decora, bearing a quantity of fruits like Sloes,
Quercus concordia.
Syringa hyacinthina fl. pl., with bronzy leaves.
Ulmus aurea, the Golden Elm.
Veronica cupressoides, a tiny plant only a few inches high ; V. salicornoides, almost golden; and V. lycopodioides, to all three of which First Class Certificates were given.
Viburnum Oxycoccus and V. Opulus aureus.
COLLECTION OF SPECIMENS OF TREES AND SHRUBS SENT TO THE CONFERENCE FROM THE GARDENS OF THE DUKE OF BuccLheucH at DawuKkeEItH, MipLoTHIAN, BY Mr. Mancoum Dunn.
The gardens and pleasure-grounds at Dalkeith, where the trees and shrubs are growing from which the specimens sent to the Conference had been collected, extend to about 200 acres, through which the North Esk and South Esk rivers flow on their way to the sea, about three miles distant. They lie at an altitude of 120 to 200 feet above sea-level, with a gentle northern slope towards the Firth of Forth, and are well sheltered by woods and many fine old trees. The soil is a sandy loam, resting on an open, gravelly subsoil, through which water percolates freely. A light-coloured sandstone is the prevailing rock, which crops out in picturesque cliffs along the banks of the rivers, which are well clothed with trees and beautifully draped with Ivy and other creeping plants. Below the sandstone lie
EXHIBITION OF TREES AND SHRUBS. 78
the Lothian coal measures, with beds of various clays and lime- stone. The soil is of a good depth and generally fertile, and all kinds of hardy trees and shrubs for which it is suitable thrive well in it. Even many of those of a more or less tender nature in this northern latitude are found to do wellin sheltered places, and stand the severities of ordinary winters with little or no injury from frost.
The collection of trees and shrubs has been chiefly formed during the present century ; those of an older date being either indigenous—of which the ‘‘ Old Oak Wood,” covering an area of about 160 acres on the peninsula between the Esk rivers, just before they meet in the middle of the park, is a notable example —or planted forest and ornamental trees. Beside the Oak, Quercus Robur pedunculata, the Ash, Alder, Beech, Wych Elm, Sycamore, Hornbeam, Holly, Elder, Hazel, Thorn, Yew, and some other trees and shrubs appear to be either indigenous or now quite naturalised in the park, and spring up freely from seeds or from suckers. Of the introduced trees more than a century old, the Limes and Cedars of Lebanon are the most con- spicuous. There arealso many fine Horse and Spanish Chestnut trees, some of which have attained a considerable size, and are very effective park-trees. Holly, Yew, Laurel, Privet, Boxwood, Rhododendron, and some other evergreen shrubs have been extensively planted as underwood, and form a feature in the woods and plantations during the winter, when the deciduous trees are bare of foliage. The Holly is in greatest abundance, thriving well and fruiting freely in the warm soil; it is much used for hedges.
Specimens of about 280 species of trees and shrubs were sent to the Conference, but there are a host of others of less interest, or of which the species sent may be considered fairly representative of the genus. No Conifers are included, except the Cedar of Lebanon, which is bearing a fine crop of cones for the first time for many years ; and the large-leaved variety of the Maidenhair tree, Salisburia adiantifolia macrophylla.
All the specimens stood through the severe frost of January 1894, when the thermometer fell to 4° Fahr. on the 7th of that month. The species that were in any way injured are noted in the following list. Those noted as “rather tender”? have been injured by 15 degrees or more of frost; and those “ injured by severe frost’ have stood 20 degrees of frost uninjured.
74 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIRTY.
Inst of the Specimens.
Acer palmatum vars. atropurpureum, dissectum, flavescens, laciniatum. All the Japanese Maples are beautiful small trees or shrubs, and very effective on lawns and shrubbery borders.
Acer Pseudo-Platanus vars. Fine ornamental trees.
Acer rubrum vars. Fine ornamental trees.
/KXsculus Hippocastanum vars. Fine ornamental trees.
Ailanthus glandulosa. A handsome-foliaged small tree.
Akebia quinata. Hardy and interesting climber on wall.
Alnus glutinosa vars. Useful trees for wet spots.
Ampelopsis hederacea, A. lucida, and A. Veitchii. Brilliant foliage it autumn. A. Veitchii is one of the very best of climbers for covering walls.
Amygdalus nana. Very pretty flowers in profusion in spring.
Aralia mandschurica. <A striking shrub, with extra large foliage.
Aralia Sieboldii. Hardy only in warm sheltered spots.
Aralia spinosa. A small and effective foliage tree.
Arbutus Unedo. Flowers freely, but seldom fruits.
Aristolochia Sipho. Large dark green foliage; a fine climber.
Aucuba japonica (male and female) and A. j. maculata nana. The female plants fruit freely some seasons, but none this year.
Azalea mollis, A. pontica, and A. speciosa. A large num- ber of varieties of these free-flowering shrubs are grown, and many seedlings have sprung up around them in recent years.
Azara microphylla. A fine shrub; lost a few twigs last winter with 28 degs. of frost.
Bambusa Fortunei variegata. Quite hardy and pretty.
Bambusa Metake. Hardy; a very graceful plant.
Berberis Darwinii. One of the best, and thrives well.
Berberis dulcis, B. japonica, B. stenophylla, B. vulgaris purpurea, and B. Wallichii. All the Barberries are useful shrubs; very hardy, flower profusely, and bear showy berries.
Buxus arborea aurea, B. balearica, and B.thymifolia. Useful and distinct evergreen shrubs.
Calycanthus floridus and C. macrophyllus. Sweet-s¢ented flowers, produced freely on plants on walls.
EXHIBITION OF TREES AND SHRUBS. 75
Camellia japonica vars. Stand the winter in sheltered places.
Caragana arborescens pendula. Peculiar weeping small tree.
Carpinus Betulus vars. Useful medium-sized trees.
Carya alba. Grows freely, but seldom fruits.
Catalpa bignonioides aurea. An effective small tree; fine large leaves.
Cedrus Libani. Bearing cones for first time for many years. Tree about 120 years old.
Cerasus Avium multiplex. Very beautiful when in flower.
Cerasus Lauro-Cerasus vars. and C. lusitanicus vars.- Among the finest and most useful of evergreen shrubs. Seldom injured by frost.
Cerasus Padus. Indigenous, and flowers profusely every year.
Cercidiphyllum japonicum. MHardy on wall.
Cercis Siliquastrum. Very distinct and pretty flowers; on wall.
Chimonanthus fragrans. Very sweet flowers; most useful on wall.
Chionanthus virginicus. A fine hardy shrub.
Choisya ternata. One of the best flowering shrubs; sweet scented.
Cistus ladaniferus. Occasionally injured by frost; flowers freely.
Citrus trifoliata. Interesting; only small plants; quite hardy.
Cladrastis tinctoria. A pretty shrub; in sheltered places.
Clematis Jackmani and C. Vitalba. Many varieties grown ; the hardiest, freest, and most showy of climbers.
Clerodendron trichotomum. Requires a warm spot; nearly killed last winter.
Cornus brachypoda variegata, C. Mas variegata, and C. san- guinea variegata. All pretty foliaged shrubs.
Corylus Avellana purpurea. Fine dark foliage.
Cotoneaster buxifolia, C. microphylla, and C. Simonsii. Neat foliage, and abundance of crimson berries.
Cratzgus coccinea vars., C. Crus-galli vars., C. Oxyacantha vars., C. punctata vars., and C. tanacetifolia. The park is famed
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76 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
for its fine old Thorn-trees (C. Oxyacantha), and numerous other species and varieties thrive well in the pleasure-grounds.
Pyrus (Cydonia) japonica vars. Nearly always in flower in mild weather.
Pyrus (Cydonia) Maulei. Flowers freely on wall in spring.
Cytisus alba. A most useful and pretty flowering shrub.
Cytisus Scoparius Andreanus. A first-rate acquisition ; quite hardy.
Daphne laureola and D. pontica. Useful for undergrowth, but rather strong smelling.
D. Mezereum. Beautiful early-flowering shrub.
Daphniphyllum glaucescens vars. Fine hardy shrubs.
Desfontainea spinosa. Quite hardy; grows well; flowers sparsely.
Deutzia crenata vars. and D. gracilis. Well-known useful shrubs.
Diplopappus chrysophyllus. Distinct bushy-growing shrub.
Eleagnus pungens variegata. Injured by 20 degs. of frost. — On wall.
Ercilla spicata. Injured by 20 degs. of frost. On wall.
Krica Alportii, E. arborea, HE. mediterranea, EK. Tetralix alba, and EK. vagans alba. All the Heaths are useful decorative plants.
Escallonia macrantha and EK. rubra. Useful evergreens for covering walls and buildings.
Kuonymus europeus vars. Grow freely and flower well.
Kuonymus japonicus vars. Thrive fairly well. Injured by severe frost.
Eucalyptus amygdalina, E. coccifera, E. Gunnii, and E. urni- gera, All growing in sheltered places, and stood through the severe frost of last winter with very little injury.
Kurya japonica variegata. Pretty shrub ; fairly hardy.
Exochorda grandiflora. A fine Spirza-lke shrub.
Fagus sylvatica vars. Useful and very ornamental trees.
Forsythia viridissima. A good flowering plant for walls.
Fothergilla alnifoha. A pretty shrub.
Fraxinus excelsior pendula. One of the best of weeping trees.
Fraxinus ornus. Grows well, and flowers freely in good seasons,
EXHIBITION OF TREES AND SHRUBS. TF
Fremontia californica. A pretty yellow-flowered shrub.
Fuchsia Riccartonii, and others. Hardy and free flowering ; very fine.
Garrya elliptica, male and female. Male bears catkins freely ; a fine shrub.
Gaultheria Shallon. A fine hardy dwarf shrub; _ berries freely.
Ginkgo biloba macrophylla. A very distinct variety of this fine tree.
Gleditschia triacanthos. Slghtly injured by 28 degs. of frost ; interesting tree.
Griselinia littoralis. Fine dwarf shrub; sometimes injured by frost.
Grevillea rosmarinifolia. A nice shrub fora wall; rather tender.
Halesia hispida. A fine hardy shrub.
Halimodendron argenteum. A good wall plant; rather tender.
Hamamelis japonica vars. Fine winter-flowering shrubs ; hardy.
Hartogia capensis. Requires a warm spot; a neat shrub.
Hedera helix vars. All varieties useful for covering walls, &c.
Hydrangea hortensis. Stands well; injured only by severe frost.
Hydrangea paniculata. Perfectly hardy, and flowers freely.
Hypericum calycinum. Useful for undergrowth.
Hypericum Moserianum. A very handsome St. John’s Wort.
Hippophe rhamnoides. A useful and effective shrub.
Hymenanthera crassifolia, A distinct and pretty shrub. On wall.
ex Aquifolium angustifolium, I. A. ferox vars., I. A. Golden Queen, I. A. Hodginsii, I. A. Lawsoniana, I. A. made- rensis vars., I. A. pendula, I. A. salicifolia, and I. A. Silver Queen. All the varieties of the common Holly thrive well, and berry freely in most seasons. This year the crop is abundant. Hollies are perhaps the most useful of all evergreen trees for decorative purposes.
Ilex cornuta. Very distinct and fairly hardy.
Ilex crenata. Slightly injured in severe winters.
Jasminum nudiflorum. Flowers freely on walls in early spring.
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78 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
Jasminum officinale. The sweet-scented Jasmine.
Jasminum Wallichianum. A useful hardy species.
Juglans regia. Grows well and fruits freely; no fruit this year.
Kalmia latifolia. Thrives only moderately well on the dry, hot soil.
Kerria japonica vars. Fine hardy free-flowering shrubs.
Laburnum Adamii, L. alpinum, and L. vulgare vars. Splendid _ flowering trees.
Laurus nobilis vars. Slightly injured by severe frost.
Lavendula spica. Slightly injured by severe frost.
Ledum latifolium. Grows well and flowers freely.
Leycesteria formosa. Hardy, useful, and very effective shrub.
Ligustrum japonicum and L. lucidum. Useful evergreen shrubs; fairly hardy.
Liriodendron tulipifera. A handsome foliage tree.
Lonicera brachypoda aureo-reticulata, L. flava, L. Lede- bourii, and L. sempervirens. Well-known useful climbers. The perfume of the Honeysuckle is generally liked.
Lycium barbarum. An interesting hardy climber.
Magnolia acuminata and M. conspicua. Thrive well; flower occasionally.
Magnolia grandiflora. Thrives well and grows freely; seldom flowers.
Magnolia macrophylla. Grows well, but often injured by frost.
Magnolia purpurea. ‘Thrives well; flowers occasionally.
Magnolia tripetala. Grows freely and flowers in good seasons.
Mahonia Aquifolium. Most useful of dwarf shrubs.
Mahonia glumacea. A fine flowering species.
Menziesia polifolia vars. Very pretty dwarf Heaths.
Mespilus germanica. A useful ornamental small tree.
Morus nigra. Grows well; seldom fruits; bearing this year.
Myrtus communis. Grows well in shelter; nipped by severe frost.
Negundo fraxinifolium vars. Very ornamental; injured by severe frost.
Olearia Gunni. Does well on wall.
Olearia Haastii. A fine free-flowering hardy shrub.
EXHIBITION OF TREES AND SHRUBS 79
Oreodaphne bullata. On wall; fairly hardy.
Oreodaphne californica. A fine wall shrub; seldom injured by frost.
Osmanthus ilicifolius. Slow growing, but very neat Holly- like shrub.
Ozothamnus rosmarinifolius. Nice for wall; injured by severe frost.
Peonia Moutan vars. Hardy, and flower well in mild springs.
Paulownia imperialis. Very effective small tree; large leaves.
Pernettya mucronata vars. Neat and free-fruiting dwarf shrubs. . :
Philadelphus coronarius vars. Free-growing and free-flower- ing ; fine shrubs.
Philesia buxifolia. Neat dwarf shrub; hardy.
Phillyrea latifolia. Useful evergreen shrub.
P. Vilmoriniana. A fine species; hardy.
Photinia serrulata. Grows well, but injured by severe frost.
Pittosporum eugenioides and P. Ralphi. Fine New Zealand shrubs ; fairly hardy.
Populus alba vars. Fine ornamental trees.
Prunus (Myrobalana) flore pleno. Beautiful flowering small tree.
Prunus Pissardi. One of the finest of dark-foliaged small trees.
Prunus sinensis. Hardy and free-flowering.
Pyrus Aucuparia, P. Sorbus, P. vestita. Fine ornamental trees.
Pyrus Malus ‘ Dartmouth,” P. M. “John Downie,” P. M. **Mammoth,” P. M. “ Siberian,” P. M. “ 'Toringo,” and P. M. “Transparent.” The Crab Apples are very effective orna- mental trees, flowering profusely in spring and loaded with bright-coloured fruit in autumn.
Pyrus spectabilis flore pleno. One of the best of small flowering trees.
Quercus Robur fastigiata. A very distinct form of Oak.
Quercus Robur variegata. Beautiful foliaged tree.
Quercus Cerris, Q. coccinea, Q. Ilex, Q. palustris, Q. rubra, and Q. Zau. The numerous species of ornamental Oaks are very effective in the landscape, especially those that assume brilliant tints of foliage in the autumn.
80 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
Rhamnus Alaternus vars. Good evergreen shrubs.
Rhododendron arboreum, R. catawbiense, and R. ponticum. Numerous varieties of Rhododendron thrive well, flower pro- fusely, and seedlings of the common varieties come up in perfect thickets.
Rhus Cotinus. A fine shrub, but injured by severe frost.
Rhus typhina. Hardy and distinct.
Ribes aureum. Hardy and free flowering.
Ribes rubrum variegatum. Nice ornamental foliaged shrub.
Ribes sanguineum vars. Most effective flowering shrubs.
Robinia Pseudacacia vars. Grow freely, but seldom flower.
Rosa elegantissima. A graceful and sweetly perfumed Briar.
Rosa centifolia vars. The Cabbage Rose; finely scented.
Rosa gallica vars. Bourbon Rose; free-flowering, and useful.
Rosa hybrida vars. Many varieties, and general favourites.
Rosa indica vars. China Rose; nearly always in flower.
Rosa lutea vars. Austrian Briar; free-flowering and attrac- tive.
Rosa rubiginosa. Sweet Briar; a general favourite.
Rosa rugosa vars. Japan Rose ; fine for front of shrubberies.
Rosa spinosissima vars. Scots Rose; many varieties; very pretty.
Rosmarinus officinalis. Forms a nice shrub; dwarf and bushy.
Rubus fruticosus flore pleno. Fine for covering rough places.
Ruscus aculeatus. A useful dwarf shrub.
Ruscus racemosus. Graceful habit; dwarf.
Salix alba vitellina. Golden Willow ; fine for moist spots.
Salix babylonica. Common Weeping Willow ; one of the best,
Salix Caprea pendula. Kilmarnock Weeping Willow; very distinct.
Sambucus nigra vars. Very hardy, and useful where little else will grow.
Sambucus racemosa. Berries profusely, but taken early by birds.
Senecio rotundifolia. A fine shrub from New Zealand.
Skimmia Foremanii. A handsome berried shrub; one of the best.
Skimmia japonica. Berries profusely ; often cleared by birds.
Sophora japonica. <A fine small tree; grows well.
Spartium junceum. Spanish Broom; useful, but rather tender.
EXHIBITION OF TREES AND SHRUBS. 81
Spirea bella, S. Bumalda, S. callosa, 8. ¢. pumila alba, S. confusa, S. Douglasii, §. Lindleyana, and S. Reevesiana. All the ligneous Spireeas are useful and attractive flowering shrubs, generally hardy, and thriving well in most soils and situations.
Staphylea Bumalda, 8. colchica, and §. pinnata. Useful and interesting shrubs ; flower freely, but seldom fruit.
Stauntonia latifolia. Hardy on wall; free-growing; seldom flowers.
Styrax japonica. A slow-growing dwarf shrub.
Symphoricarpus racemosus. Large showy white berries.
Syringa persica vars., 8. vulgaris vars., and S. v. flore pleno vars. The Lilacs are among the very best of deciduous’ flower- ing shrubs, and the double-flowered varieties are an acquisition.
Thea viridis. In sheltered corner ; seldom injured by frost.
Thermopsis laburnifolia. Grows well, and flowers freely on wall.
Tilia europea vars. Very handsome ornamental trees.
Ulmus montana pendula. The Camperdown Elm; fine weeping tree.
Ulex europea vars. Useful hardy shrubs.
Veronica Armstrongii, V. carnosula, V. cupressoides, V. diosmefolia, V. ignota, V. Kirku, V. Lyallii, and V. Traversii. Most of the shrubby Veronicas from the southern parts of New Zealand are quite hardy, growing and flowering freely, and form neat, compact bushes.
Viburnum Awafuki. A distinct evergreen shrub; rather tender.
Viburnum Lantana, V. Opulus, and V. plicatum. Fine de- ciduous flowering shrubs.
Viburnum Tinus. Flowers well in mild seasons; injured by severe frost.
Vinea major and V. minor. The Periwinkles are very useful for covering ground shaded by trees.
Viscum album. The Mistletoe grows freely, and fruits in fine seasons. |
Weigela amabilis variegata. ree flowering, with pretty foliage.
_ Weigela rosea vars. All the varieties flower profusely fine shrubs.
Wistaria sinensis. Grows very freely, and flowers well.
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82, JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY,
Xanthoceras sorbifolia. Fine foliage ; grown on wall ; rather tender.
Colonel Sir Patrick Keith Murray, Bart., sent a grand col- lection of Cupressus, Taxus, and other varieties of Conifers, showing fruit and foliage, from his garden at Ochtertyre, N.B.
Cupressus Lawsoniana and its varieties, alba spica nana, alba pendula, albo-variegata, Allumii, argentea, argenteo-varie- gata, aureo-variegata, Bowlerii pendula, erecta viridis, erecta stricta, ericoides, filiformis, Fleetii, Fraserii, intertexta, lutea, patula, Shawii, and Ochtertyre Seedling.
Cupressus nutkaénsis and its varieties, variegata argentea, variegata aureo-nova, compacta, and glauca,
Cupressus arizonica.
Cupressus McNabiana.
Cupressus macrocarpa.
Cupressus thyoides and its varieties, aurea, glauca, leptoclada, and variegata.
Taxus adpressa and its variety, stricta.
Taxus baccata varieties, argentea, aurea, Dovastonii, D. aurea, and a French form of Dovastonii, elegantissima, erecta, e. varie- gata, ericoides, fastigiata argentea, f. aurea, Foxii, fructo-lutea, clauca, pendula, pyramidalis variegata, recurva.
Taxus canadensis varieties, aurea and Washingtonii.
Taxus cuspidata.
Taxus Lindleyana.
Torreya grandis.
Cephalotaxus drupacea.
Cephalotaxus Fortunei.
Cephalotaxus pedunculata and its variety fastigiata.
Abies cephalonica, A. grandis, A. nobilis, A. Nordmanniana, A. Veitchii.
Picea ajanensis, P. Menziesi, P. orientalis, P. Smithiana.
Tsuga Mertensiana, Pseudotsuga Douglasii.
Biota orientalis aurea.
Cedrus Libani glauca.
Juniperus communis, J. Sabina, J. recurva.
Pinus montana, P. Murrayana, P. koraiensis.
Retinospora obtusa, R. filifera, R. pisifera.
Saxe-Gothexa conspicua.
Sequoia gigantea.
EXHIBITION OF TREEW AND SHRUBS. 88
Thuia gigantea, T. occidentalis and its varieties elegant- issima, Ellwangeriana, and Vervgeneana. Thuia Standishii.
Ornamental Trees.
Acer macrophyllum, A. platanoides, A. rubrum, A. Pseudo- Platanus varieties albo-variegata, foliis purpureis, and variegata aurea.
AXsculus rubicunda.
Fagus sylvatica varieties asplenifolia and purpurea.
Juglans regia laciniata.
Pyrus americana, P. aucuparia variegata pendula, P. pruni- folia, P. Aria.
Quercus Ilex, Q. pannonica, Q. coccinea, Q. Cerris fulham- ensis, Q. pedunculata varieties, asplenifolia, cucullata, fastigiata, and pyramidalis.
Sambucus nigra varieties, foliis aureis and racemosus.
Ulmus montana varieties, fastigiata and pendula.
Evergreen Shrubs.
Andromeda floribunda, A. japonica.
Berberis Darwinii, B. japonica.
Buxus balearica, B. thymifolia variegata, and seven other varieties.
Cerasus lusitanicus myrtifolia, C. Lauro-Cerasus angustifolia and its varieties caucasica, colchica, latifolia, rotundifolia, parvi- folia, variegata aurea, and variegata argentea.
Cotoneaster microphylla.
Crategus Pyracantha.
Kseallonia rubra.
Garrya elliptica.
Hartogia capensis.
Jasminum humile, J. officinale.
Kalmia latifolia.
Laurus nobilis.
Osmanthus ilicifolium and its variety argenteum.
Rhamnus Alaternus.
Ruscus aculeatus, R. Hypoglossum.
Skimmia japonica.
Hedera donerailensis variegata, H. maderensis variegata,
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84 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
H. hibernica variegata, H. Oshorn’s New Silver, H. maculata minor, H. fructo-lutea, H. picta, H. Golden Gem, H. tricolor, H. palmata, H. Clouded Gem, H. taurica, and three other varieties.
Deciduous Shrubs.
Ampelopsis hederacea. Cotoneaster frigida.
Cydonia japonica and variety rosea. Dimorphanthus mandschuricus. Jasminum nudifiorum.
Kerria japonica.
Ligustrum vulgare variegata. Lonicera Ledebouri. Philadelphus coronarius nanus. Ribes floridum.
Rubus laciniatus.
Salisburia adiantifolia. Symphoricarpus racemosus. Viburnum Opulus. Xanthorhiza apiifolia.
Hollies.
Leaves Green.—1 Ilex nobilis, 4 I. latifolia, 5 I. Hodgins, 6 I. platiphylla, 71. belgica, 8 I. rigida, 9 I. alcicornis, 12 I. fructu-luteo, 14 I. costita, 16 I. heterophylla, 18 I. Beetii, 19 I. handsworthensis, 20 I. Smithiana, 22 I. whittingtonensis, 23 I. donningtonensis, 24 I. myrtifolia, 25 I. serratifolia, 26 I. re- curva, 27 I. hastata, 31 I. maderensis, 32 I. balearica, 38 I. Hen- dersoni, 89 I. ovata, 40 I. Foxii, 41 I. ciliata major, 50 I. lauri- folia, 58 I. integrifolia, 54 I. scotica, 55 I. trapeziformis, 56 I. latispina, 57 I. tortuosa, 58 I. ferox.
Leaves Silver-variegated.—Ilex argentea varieties: 60 mar- ginata major, 63 regina, 65 varians, 67 elegantissima, 68 mar- ginata, 75 mediopicta, 76 handsworthensis, 77 purpurea, 79 ob- scura, 80 pectinata major, 82 pectinata minor, 86 laurifolia, 87 sulphurea, 91 ferox.
Leaves Gold-variegated.—Ilex aurea varieties : 92 regina and 93 regina nigra, 96 I. aureo-marginata; I. aurea varieties : 99
Notz.—The numbers used here are those of the late M Monogram (see Gardeners’ Chronicle for 1874, 1875, 1876). r. one s
EXHIBITION OF TREES AND SHRUBS. 85
angustifolia and 107 muricata; 103 I. aureo-marginata fructu- luteo; I. aurea varieties: 108 angustifolia marginata, 105 mar- ginata intermedia, 112 nana, 120 maculata; 1311. Lawsoni, 135 I. heterophylla aureo-marginata ; I. aurea varieties: 188 laurifolia and 141 longifolia ; 142 I. Watereriana, 146 I. heterophylla aureo-picta, 147 I. aureo-mediopicta, 151 I. aurea ferox.
Additional varieties.—(a) Ilex Cunninghamii, (0) I. crenata and its variety (c) Fortunei.
Messrs. R. Veitch & Son, of Exeter, sent a beautiful group, some of them obviously being only suitable to the South and West of England. Amongst them were :—
Acacia angustifolia.
Acer tataricum Ginnala.
Aralia spinosa and A. cachemerica. Bignonia radicans.
Buddleya Lindleyana.
Catalpa aurea.
Ceanothus americanus and C. Gloire de Versailles. Choisya ternata.
Colutea arborescens purpurea. Cotoneaster Hookeri.
Desmodium penduliflorum. Dimorphanthus mandschuricus. Kuonymus purpureus.
Krythrina Crista-galli.
Kscallonia exoniensis.
Genista tinctoria.
Ginkgo biloba.
Hippophaé rhamnoides.
Hydrangea albo-rosea.
Leycesteria formosa.
Magnolia conspicua and M. tripetala. Populus Riccardii.
Pterocarya sinensis.
Rhus coccinea.
Rosa rugosa.
Sorbus Aria and §. macrophyllus rotundifolius. Spartium junceum.
86 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
Messrs. George Bunyard & Co., Maidstone, sent a very interesting collection, containing :—
Aralia chinensis (Dimorphanthus mandschuricus), which makes a noble tree of moderate size.
Acer tataricum Ginnaea, leaves crimson in autumn.
Arundo donax and donax var., handsome tall plants for pond- sides.
Aralia Maximowiczii, very fine palmate foliage, striking and quite hardy.
Beech, Purple Weeping, a new variety, which promises to bea great acquisition.
Betula purpurea, a distinct and telling small tree.
Betula Youngii pendula, striking weeping subject.
Betula Maximowiczii, the new large-leaved Japanese Birch.
Berberis Thunbergii, leaves flame colour in October.
Berberis vulgaris purpurea, telling and useful to cut.
Buxus pyramidalis or acuminata (?), a fine but little known form of close conical growth.
Cornus sibirica elegantissima, one of our best silvery-leaved shrubs.
Cornus alba (?) ‘‘ Spathi,” fine golden shrub.
Cercis Siliquastrum (Judas-tree), one of the best flowering trees.
Cotoneaster frigida, covered with berries of coral colour in October ; small tree.
Comptonia asplenifolia (Fern-leaf Gale), an almost lost form.
Kulalia japonica gracillima, narrow-leaved, elegant.
Kulalia japonica variegata, a good silvery form.
Eulalia japonica Zebrina. The Eulalias are hardy at Maidstone.
Huonymus europeus fructu-albo, an interesting sub-shrub.
Gymnocladus canadensis (Kentucky Coffee), a distinct small tree, elegant foliage.
Hydrangea paniculata grandiflora, one of the best hardy low shrubs.
Hypericum prolificum, pretty, a close small shrub.
Hypericum elatum, berries red and purple, good.
Hypericum Moserianum, the best of the low-growing kinds.
\
ae yh
EXHIBITION OF TREES AND SHRUBS. 87
Laurus (Laurel) pseudo-Cerasus caucasicus rotundifolius. In this variety the leaves are dark olive-green, close habit.
Populus argentea Bolleana, a strict, distinct, and valuable white-leaved Poplar.
Prunus Myrobalana Pissardi, a fine ornamental tree for town gardens.
Phillyrea Vilmoriniana, a good town evergreen.
Pyrus Aria (white var.), foliage silvery-white beneath ; good on chalky soils.
Quercus pannonica, a very bold foliaged sort.
Quercus palustris, foliage intense crimson in October, leaves much cut. s
Rubus leucodermis, stems glaucous, striking.
Rhus glabra laciniata, a valuable Fern-leaved Sumach, small tree ; bears cutting back for bedding.
Spireas, good, late in autumn, as Nobleana, Billardi, Fontenaysi or alba, and the dwarf Bumalda and callogsa alba.
Styrax japonica. This lovely Japanese shrub is not quite hardy at Maidstone.
Tamarix gallica, a fine glaucous form.
Tilia mississippiensis, foliage very large.
Tilia Parmentierii pendula, one of the most striking trees, foliage silvery beneath.
Ulmus monumentalis, a strict form, leaves clasping the stem, striking.
Ulmus Wreedi aurea, a good golden tree.
Ulmus campestris (?) albo-variegata, large-leaved form of variegated Elm.
Captain Holford, Westonbirt, Gloucestershire, sent a large collection, containing splendid cones of Pinus Ayacuite, Cornus, Maples, Oaks, Birches, and Viburnum. Especially noticeable were :—
Acer palmatum dissectum.
Berberis Thunbergi.
Cornus sibirica.
Cotoneaster ovalifolia, Nummularia, and others.
Cratzgus in great variety.
Hippophaé rhamnoides.
Leycesteria formosa.
88 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
Magnolia acuminata.
Pavia macrostachya.
Pyrus americana and P. Maulei. Quercus nigra.
From the Duke of Northumberland, Syon House, Mr. Wythes brought a magnificent collection, including :—
Quercus Brantii; Q. ambigua; Q. castanefolia; Q. Cerris (Turkey Oak); Q. C. argentea; Q. C. fulhamensis; Q. C. pendula; Q. coccinea; Q. Daimio; Q. discolor; Q. laurifolia ; Q. macrocarpa; Q. palustris; Q. pedunculata; Q. p. argenteo- variegata ; Q. p. asplenifolia; Q. p. concordia; Q. p. latifolia ; Q. p. Louettei; Q. p. purpurea; Q. rubra (Champion Oak) ; Q. Tauzin; Q. splendens; Q. pannonica; Q. nigra ; Q. coccinea macrophylla; Q. serrata; Q. lutea; Q. stellata; Q. pubescens ; Q. laciniata ; Q. regia; Q. r. glaucescens; Q. r. spicata; Q. r. sessiliflora; Q. sessiliflora purpurea; Q.s. heterophylla; Q. alba; Q. rubra; Q. glauca; Q. Suber; Q. reticulata; Q. falcata; Q. bambusifolia; Q. nobilis; Q. Adgilops.
Acer saccharinum (Sugar Maple); A. tataricum; A. plata- noides Reitenbachii; A. rubrum; A. macrophyllum ; A.palmatum atropurpureum; A. platanoides aureo-variegatum ; A. creticum ; A. Pseudo-Platanus atro-purpureum.
Abelia serrata; A. triflora.
Aisculus hippocastanum ; Ai. (Pavia) flava; AX. sinensis.
Alnus tinctoria; A. glutinosa monstrosa; A. g. laciniata.
Ailanthus flavescens; A. glandulosa. <
Aralia spinosa; A. japonica; A. hybrida; A. pentaphylla variegata.
Calycanthus floridus.
Carpinus Betulus.
Carya alba.
Castanea vesca; C. sativa aureo-variegata.
Catalpa Bungei; C. Keempferii ; C. bignonioides.
Cerasus japonica flore roseo-pleno; C. j. multiplex.
Cercis Siliquastrum.
Chimonanthus fragrans.
Cornus stolonifera Spathii.
Corylus Avellana laciniata; C. A. pendula.
Crategus coccinea.
EXHIBITION OF TREES AND SHRUBS. 89
Diospyros Lotus; D. virginiana.
Cydonia japonica.
Fraxinus excelsior Wentworthi; EF’. e. pendula; F.e. argenteo- variegata.
Ginkgo biloba macrophylla.
Gleditschia sinensis and sinensis pendula.
Halesia hispida; H. tetraptera.
Taxodium distichum.
Hippophaé rhamnoides.
Hydrangea paniculata.
Kolreuteria paniculata.
Liquidambar styraciflua. :
Juglans fraxinifolia ; J. nigra.
Pterocarya caucasica.
Liriodendron tulipifera; L. t. aureum.
Magnolia conspicua; M. c. acuminata; M. c. Soulangeana ; M. c. speciosa; M. c. stellata; M. c. obovata.
Morus alba.
Negundo fraxinifolium albo-variegatum ; N. f. cissifolium.
Platanus orientalis; P. californica.
Pyrus prunifolia; P. sinensis; P. Sorbus; P. Aria; P. americana.
Robinia Pseudacacia angustitolia elegans ; R. P. monophylla ; R. P. tortuosa; R. P. Bessoniana.
Sophora japonica; §. j. pendula.
Tamarix gallica.
Sambucus nigra argenteo-variegata; S. n. heterophylla.
Stuartia virginica.
Messrs. Lee & Son, Hammersmith, sent a collection in- cluding :—
Acer platanoides elegantissimum ; A. laciniatum ; A. Colchi- cum rubrum.
Castanea vesca albo-marginata.
Cornus feemina variegata.
Fagus sylvatica asplenifolia.
Gleditschia triacanthos.
Ginkgo biloba.
Populus tremula and P. canadensis aurea.
Pyrus Sorbus Aria.
90 JOURNAL_OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
Quercus Cerris variegata; Q. concordia; Q. tricolor; Q. tinctoria. r
Robinia Pseudacacia aurea.
Salix rosmarinifolia.
Ulmus viminalis variegata.
The Duke of Wellington sent from Strathfieldsaye a very large collection containing 200 varieties, amongst them :—
Acer Colchicum rubrum and A. Lorbergi. Ailanthus glandulosus.
Alnus glutinosa laciniata. Ampelopsis quinquefolia.
Berberis nepalensis and B. Darwini. Buddleia globosa.
Crategus Pyracantha.
Danaé racemosa.
Kerria japonica.
Libocedrus decurrens.
Liriodendron tulipifera.
Nyssa biflora.
Quercus pedunculata.
Rhus Cotinus.
Rosa rugosa.
Symphoricarpus racemosus. Viburnum Opulus and VY. Tinus.
Viscount Powerscourt sent from Ireland a collection chiefly composed of Conifers, and these mostly bearing fruit, and so greatly adding to their interest. Amongst the finest examples sent were :—
Abies Webbiana ; A. cephalonica ; A. Nordmanniana; A. con- torta.
Cupressus torulosa; C. Corneyana; C. atlantica.
Desfontainea spinosa.
Fitzroya patagonica.
Picea magnifica; P. Pindrow; P. Pinsapo.
Wellwood H. Maxwell, Esq., sent about 150 specimens from his estate at Munches, Dalbeattie, of which he says, ‘‘ They
EXHIBITION OF TREES AND SHRUBS. 91
certainly are hardy, as they have most of them stood the storms and frosts of twenty years and more.”
Acer dasycarpum vars., Jiihlkei, Wier laciniatum, pulveru- lentum, macrophyllum, pyramidalis, longifolium, lutescens, and six unnamed Japanese vars.; A. platanoides vars., Lorbergi digitat. fol. aureo-marginitum, Buntzeli, Ockonomicrath Stoll, pur- pureum Reitenbachi, Schwedleri, laciniatum (eagle-clawed) ; A. Pseudo-Platanus vars., Simon Louis fréres, fol. purpureis ** Prinz Handjery,” erythrocarpum, aureo-variegatum, rubrum var. Schlessenceri; A. rubrum; A. saccharinum; A. pennsyl- vanicum ; A. Negundo variegatum, and N, aureum.
Alnus monstrosa; A. aurea; A. laciniata; A. oregona; A. incana occidentalis.
Corylus aurea; C. purpurea; C. laciniata.
Quercus, seven varieties.
Ulmus glabra sibirica; U. campestris vars., argentea mar- ginata, myrtifolia purpurea, latifolia alba var. pyramidalis; U. montana vars., atropurpurea, gigantea, macrophylla, crispa, crispa aria, turkestanica, pendula macrophylla.
Fraxinus americana and a. variegata.
Castanea vars., alba, aurea, cut-leaved, and C. laciniata.
Carpinus, two varieties.
Prunus Pissardi; P. padus; P. allechanensis.
Betula, eight varieties.
Crategus, three varieties.
Sambucus, three varieties.
Viburnum, two varieties.
Tilia gigantea ; T. americana; T. heterophylla.
Fagus, cut-leaved.
Populus canadensis vars., aurea and alba.
Kolreuteria paniculata.
Pittosporum. ,
Aristotelia.
Buffalo-berry.
June-berry.
Pyrus Maulei; P. japonica.
Cornus alba (Spathii) ; C. elegantissima, and three varieties unnamed.
Elegnus longipes; E. variegata.
Weigela rosea nana fol. var.; W. striata.
92 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
Rhus Cotinus ; R. americana.
Rhamunus.
Cladrastis tinctoria.
Ptelea trifoliata.
Shepherdia argentea.
Dimorphanthus mandschuricus. Cercidiphyllum japonicum.
Lonicera tartarica and two unnamed varieties. Pyrus Malus floribunda. Amelanchier canadensis. Abelia rupestris. Leycesteria formosa. Veronica.
Hypericum, two varieties. Ligustrum aurea var. Cydonia japonica. Hedysarum multijugum. Carpenteria californica. Chimonanthus fragrans. Andromeda floribunda. Ostrya virginiana. Fontanesia tilariensis. Garrya elliptica.
Azara microphylla. Diplopappus chrysophyllus. Gaultheria procumbens. Spirea, two varieties. Bird-Cherry.
Barberry, two varieties. Cotoneaster. Pyracantha. Hammamelis.
A. Waterhouse, Hsq., Yattendon Court, Newbury, sent, amongst other things, very fine examples of :—
Cassinia fulvida.
Cornus sanguinea.
Dimorphanthus mandschuricus.
Olea fragrans.
Quercus coccinea.
EXHIBITION OF TREES AND SHRUBS. 93
Colonel Tremayne, Carclew, Cornwall, sent a good collection, mostly of Conifers bearing fruit, with a few other plants ; amongst them were :—
Abies Albertiana.
Azara microphylla.
Benthamia fragifera.
Berberis Bealei.
Chionanthus virginicus.
Desfontainea spinosa.
Embothrium coccineum.
Kurya latifolia.
Ginkgo biloba.
Larix Kempferi.
Osmanthus ilicifolius.
Phyllocladus rhomboidalis.
Pinus patula.
Sciadopitys verticillata.
The Marchioness of Huntly sent Conifers in fruit, and other things; amongst them were :—
Libocedrus decurrens.
Thuia gigantea.
Wellingtonia gigantea.
Torreya myristica.
Abies Douglasi, A. grandis, A. Morinda, A. concolor, A. nobilis, A. cephalonica, A. magnifica, A. amabilis, A. Pinsapo, A. lasio- carpa.
Cedrus atlantica, C. Libani, C. Deodara.
A section of Thuia gigantea was also shown from the same collection, cut from a pole 21 feet high, and it was stated that trees of it 60 feet high have a girth of 5 feet at 1 foot from the ground, and seed saved from them and sown in 1879 has now produced beautiful specimens 30 to 40 feet high.
Earl Cowper, Panshanger, showed sprays of Loquat, a large branch of Azara microphylla, some growths of a very handsome Vine with deep red foliage, and magnificent specimens of Magnolia erandifiora. |
Mr. Anthony Waiterer, Woking, exhibited his magnificent new
94. JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
deep crimson variety of Spirea Bumalda called ‘ Anthony Waterer,’’ two fine specimens of Picea pungens, and the beautiful glaucous variety of Cedrus atlantica, together with a basket of Pernettya mucronata in berry. Also Weigela Eva Rathke, a fine dark red variety, and a Vine (the true Vitis Coignetie) of most glorious crimson colour and large thick leathery leaves.
Messrs. Cripps, Tunbridge Wells, sent a pretty variegated form of Hypericum labelled tricolor.
Mr. F’. Riddell, Pakenham, Stroud, sent a yery remarkable specimen of contorted Hazel.
Mr. H. Smale, Tawsley Gardens, sent Pyrus domesticus and P. torminalis, bearing an abundance of fruit.
The Rev. Dennis Knox, of Virginia, Ireland, gives the follow- ing short notice of the effects of frost the first week in January 1894 :—
Eurybia Gunni.—Kalled to ground under south wall, but shooting now at base.
Double striped Camellia—Against south wall, all flower buds destroyed.
Lonicera brachypoda.—On south wall, a good deal cut up; on west wall, a very little injured; on north wall, not touched at all.
Lonicera yaponica.—On south wall, killed; on west wall, very much injured.
Lomcera flecuosa.—On south wall the long hanging shoots all killed, the body of plant uninjured.
Ehododendrons.—All the old early crimsons very much injured. The following new hybrids killed :—Leopardi, Lady Alice Peel, Baron Schréder, Joseph Whitworth, Soleil d’ Austerlitz.
Choisya ternata.—Against south wall, tips of shoots injured.
Messrs. Dicksons, of Chester, have kindly sent us the follow- ing list of the observed hardiness of the shrubs named :— (i) Lowest temperature registered, 10°. (ii) Altitude of position, 724 feet above sea. (iii) General nature of soil, plunged in pots.
i
EXHIBITION OF TREES AND SHRUBS. 95
(iv) List of new, and not sufficiently known older, shrubs (a) uninjured, (b) touched, (c) crippled, (d) killed.
(a) Eurybia ilicifolia, Azalea amcena, Veronica cupressoides, RomneyaCoulteri, Nerium splendens, Senecio eleagnifolia, Laurus lusitanicus azorica, Hugenia Ugni, Eugenia apiculata, Kuonymus fimbriatus, Embothrium coecineum, Camellia pontica, Escal- lonia viscosa, Escallonia philippiana, Rhamnus angustifolia fol. aur., Fabiana imbricata, Eurybia Gunni, Photinia arbu- tifolia, Cassinia leptophylla, Olearia macrodonta, Swammer- damia antennaria, Pittosporum Mayii, Grevillea rosmarinifolia, Dracena australis, EKurya angustifolia variegata, Fontanesia phillyreoides, Cupressus pyramidalis, Spanish Broom (new variegated), Azara integrifolia, Hphedra distachya, Corylopsis spicata, Aloysia citriodora, Caryopteris masticanthus.
(6) Hypericum empetriforme, Phormium tenax, Abelia rupestris, Viburnum odoratissimum, Benthamia fragifera, Chamerops humilis, Eugenia Ugni variegata, Pittosporum macrophyllum variegatum, Smilax sagittefolia, Clethra arborea, Pittosporum eugenioides variegata, Rubus australis, Corokia Cotoneaster, Cunninghamia lanceolata, Acacia armata, Cupressus macrocarpa alba variegata, Pittosporum coriaceum.
(c) Ardisia japonica, Nandina tenuifolia, Grevillea robusta, Casuarina tenuissima, Smilax asparagoides, Citharexylum ligus- trum, Diosma capitata, Corypha australis, Hakea suaveolens, Clethra arborea variegata.
(d) Griselinia macrophylla, Acacia Riceana, Anthericum varie- gatum.
Peery i EY,
GREAT EXHIBITION OF AND CONFERENCE ON BRITISH-GROWN FRUIT,
HELD AT THE CrysTAL PALACE, SEPTEMBER 29 AND OcTOBER 1 AND 2, 1894,
For many years the Directors of the Crystal Palace at Sydenham have held a large Autumn Fruit Show, which had come to be regarded by gardeners throughout the country as the principal Annual Exhibition of British-grown Fruit in the Kingdom. This Show the Directors of the Palace discontinued in 1893, and in the spring of 1894 an appeal was made to the Council of the Royal Horticultural Society to step in and fill up the gap thus left in the year’s horticultural meetings. The Crystal Palace offered to assist the Society by lending the building and con- tributing £100 towards the working expenses, &c. The Secretary of the R.H.S. then issued an appeal to all interested in fruit culture in this country to contribute a sum of not less than £100 towards the prizes, and on condition of this sum being raised the Council of the Society agreed to accept the responsibility of the Show and to combine with it a Conference on British Fruit Culture.
Those whose names are given below kindly and generously responded to the invitation, and to them, in conjunction with the Royal Horticultural Society and the Crystal Palace Company, the 1894 Autumn Fruit Show was due.
H
98 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS TO THE PRIZE FUND. £ S$. Aexanper, Mrs. B., The Bury, Pavenham, Bedford oe Barker, JOHN, 51 Portland Place, W. . : . : 10 0 Barrrum, Rev. Dr., D.D., Wake’s Colne, Halstead, Essex - 0410 Bonavia, Dr., Harrington Mansions, South Kensington - }" ap Bounvarp & Co., The Old Nurseries, Maidstone . & 5 CannELL & Sons, H., Swanley 3 . 4 : . ae Curat & Sons, J., Lowfield Nurseries, Crawley, Sussex. 2 Cuester Paxton Socrety, Grosvenor Museum, Chester Lal: Grasp, T. H., Clyne Valley Nursery, Sketty, Swansea . | ies Cripps & Son, THos., Tunbridge Wells . ; 5 3 1 oti CursusH & Son, W., Highgate, N. 4 4 ; {Scat Dicxsons, The Nurseries, Chester . A ‘ ; . 5 Dunn, Maucoum, Dalkeith Palace Gardens, N.B. . . 3 2 Fisu, D. T., Hardwick House, Bury St. Edmunds. a? ae Foster & Pearson, Beeston, Notts ; : 9-2 Fraser, Joun, The Nurseries, South Woodford ae Gaymer & Son, W., Banham, Attleborough, Norfolk 5 0 Grant, W. J., Bassaleg, Newport, Mon. ‘ 0 10 Harrison & Sons, Joun, Market Place, Leicester . a ae Haywoop, T. B., Woodhatch, Reigate .. 5 . ae Herrerorp Fruir anp Rosz Company, Hereford 5 aa? Horticunturat Cotter, Swanley 1° 4 Hurst, B., Burbach Grove, near Hinckley 1-2 Hurst & Sons, 152 Houndsditch, London, E.C. oe 4 Jerrertzs, W. J., Royal Nurseries, Cirencester . aL at Laine & Sons, J., Forest Hill, S.E. : 3 p . Boe Ler Campspety, C., Glewston Court, Ross, Hereford mes: [| Low & Co., H., Clapton, N.E. : 4 : : . as McInvor, J., Hutton Hall Gardens, Guisborough . . es. 8 McKenzir, J., Linton Park Gardens, Maidstone . 010 Miner, R., Penrice Castle Gardens, Swansea , "0" 10 Murr, Jas., Margam Park Gardens, Glamorgan . bal Paut & Son, The Old Nurseries, Cheshunt 2-2 Prarson & Sons, J. R., Chilwell, Notts . ees Perkins & Sons, T., Northampton 1 Veal Prat, J., Brenchley, Kent ; ‘ 0 10 ProtHERoE & Morris, 67 Cheapside, H.C. pay ae Rrvers & Son, T., Sawbridgeworth, Herts 5 5 Srocock, W. C., Goldworth, Woking ety a: Suitu & Co., R., St. John’s, Worcester . ye ee. Surrn, R., Shrewsbury - : : . gag Spooner & Sons, S., Hounslow ee | Surron & Sons, Reading ; : : mre ee) Tomas, OWEN, Royal Gardens, Windsor fa TourNER & Sons, C., Royal Nurseries, Slough php Sheu Turton, T., Maiden Erlegh, Reading : 5 oe eee) Verton & Sons, J., Royal Exotic Nurseries, Chelsea . 10 10 Vurtce & Sons, R., Royal Nurseries, Exeter . ieee Warp, H. W., Longford Castle, Salisbury . ‘ . : 0 10 Warxins, Joun, Pomona Farm, Withington, near Hereford . 1 WestMiInsTER, DUKE OF, Grosvenor House, 8.W. . , ‘ 5.00 Wueeer & Son, J. C., Kingsholm Nursery, Gloucester 22
SUBSCRIBERS OF SPECIAL PRIZES. Tre WorsHIPFUL CoMPANY OF GARDENERS x : : Oe Weir, ARCHIBALD, Bendarrock, Ottery St. Mary, Devon a) ie Wereser, J., Covent Garden Market r 4 . . Meer et Monro, GEO., Covent Garden Market 3 10
VEGETARIAN FEDERAL UNION, Memorial Hall, Farringdon Street, E.C. 15 0
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BRITISH-GROWN FRUIT 99
The Council of the Society wish it to be ag widely known as possible that they are at all times willing to undertake the work and organisation of any great national show, whether of fruit or of flowers or of vegetables, or of anything interesting or instructive to gardeners or to the public, but the regular work of the Society is already so large that in any exceptional cases they must_ look to the public for funds, as the means at the disposal of the Council are not sufficient to supply all the prize-money for any great National Show. The Council have, however, accepted the responsibility of another similar British Fruit Show ahd Con- ference at the Crystal Palace in 1895. Promises of help towards the prize-fund should