30 



ARBORICULTURAL GOSSIP. 



But the Pinetum at Dropmore, is the glo- 

 ry of the place. It contains one or more 

 specimens, in groups, of every cone-bear- 

 ing tree that will endure the climate of 

 Great Britain — one, on the whole, more 

 favorable to the fir and pine tribe, than any 

 other in the Avorld. I send you a list of all 

 the species of trees in this Pinetum [which 

 we regret to be obliged to omit for want of 

 room — Ed.] amounting to about 170 dis- 

 tinct species. Of course, among them are 

 the Araucaria imbricata and Deodar cedar, 

 the two largest specimens in Europe. The 

 great Douglass Pine, of California, which 

 grows in Western America to the height of 

 300 feet, has here already reached 45 feet. 

 It is one of the most striking and beautiful 

 vegetable productions I ever gazed upon. 



The site of this Pinetum was, I was told, 

 originally an old wet moor. It is now the 

 site of a perfectly fairy garden, and the 

 most superb lawns. 



We have but little idea in this country of 

 the perfection of the English gardening — 

 and I may say, especially tree cultiire. I 

 saw, while at Dropmore, something in this 

 way, that both amused and instructed me. 

 One or two of the trees in the Pinetum were 

 perhaps a little less luxuriant than the rest, 

 though by no means unhealthy. But it 

 was playing the laggard, and the gardener, 

 who had caught it napping, was bringing it 

 to reason by a little extra feeding. 



His proceeding was a good deal after 

 this fashion : Finding out in exactly what 

 direction each large root radiated from the 

 pfiain centre, he carried out the radiating 

 line on the surface of the ground, say 

 thirty or forty feet from the trunk, on all 

 sides. Beginning at the outer ends of 

 these lines — shooting out like the spokes of 

 a wheel, 40 feet from the tree — he opened 

 trenches three feet deep towards the tree, 

 till he reached the spot where he met the 



ends of the young roots. This course Avas 

 pursued all round the tree, at spaces of a 

 few feet apart — or wherever it was seen 

 that a set of roots extended. These trench- 

 es were soon cleared of the common soil, 

 and filled with rich compost and " maiden 

 loam." This, 1 was told, and I could not 

 doubt it for a moment, would soon bring 

 the tardy tree to a state of luxuriance quite 

 equal to that of any of its neighbors. But 

 how many persons in this country would 

 have dreamed of laying down whole canals 

 and feeders of nourishment for the roots of 

 a favorite ornamental tree ! Yet if luxu- 

 riance is beautiful, and rapid growth de- 

 sirable, the trouble is not thrown away. 



But a word about home arboriculture. 

 There are in the environs of this city, as I 

 have had the pleasure of pointing out to 

 yuu, many instances of good taste and zeal 

 in the planting of rare and fine trees, that 

 are worthy of being seen and chronicled. 

 I must send you, from time to time, as I 

 have leisure to measure them, the accurate 

 dimensions of some of the most striking 

 trees now existing about Philadelphia. At 

 present I can only give you the following, 

 wb.ich have been measured very recently, 

 and' especially to show your readers what 

 has been done at home. 



ViRGiLiA. {Cladastrus tinctoria, Torrey 

 & Gray.) There is a very noble specimen 

 of the Kentucky Virgilia (V. lutea of the 

 old botanists,) in the grounds of Mrs. 

 Price, near Germantown. Its height is 46 

 ft. 8 in. Its stem measures 6 ft. 7 in. in 

 girth at the ground, and 4 ft. 1 in. at six 

 feet above the ground. 



Tree Box. {Buxus arborescens.) The 

 great Tree Box on Judge Peters' place, 

 about three miles from this city, measures 

 33 ft. 6 in. in height, and is 5 ft. 4 in. in 

 girth at six inches from the ground. It 

 there forks into four limbs, the largest of 



