lO 



IRISH GARDENING. 



trunks of forest troes. i-linfjing tightly to thfiu, 

 witli ii'rial roots like Ivy; it often turns to a bright 

 canary yellow, but it failed altogetiier this year 

 on, account of tlie drought; it ordinarily makes 

 an effective object. The most jjopuiar cliinl)ers 

 are. however, to be foinid among the vines, of 

 which the Virginian ("reejjer, Vitis (ju'nuiiiefolia 

 and r. inri>n.'<t(i IIS. sometimes called Am pdojisis 

 \'i'if(li'i'i , are best known for their rich and bril- 

 liant ret! colouring. These were very satisfactory 

 this season, l)ut the remainder were hardly as 

 bright as might have been expected; l.ui this 

 failure is not a usual occurrence. T'. ('niniu'tuv 

 is to be reconnnended, being a rampant grower, 

 with very large cordate foliage, that turns well, 

 and makes a splendid autumn display; I'. <iiini- 

 iruxis is rather duller in tone; T'. nniKitu becomes 

 brigiU crimson, while the pur])le form of the 

 connnon vine, T'. riiiifrm puiiiurcn . the Tein- 

 turier Grape. l)ecomes a good ijurple at the fall 

 of the leaf. This last-named species is not at 

 ). resent in my collection. I do not propose to 

 make any coinment on the autunui a])peaian^'e 

 of lierbaceous plants, but I may just observe that 

 CiiUt.r npln/Un and Slioifid [iidacifoVm, both desir- 

 ;d)le inhabitants of North America, show fine red 

 shades — the former somewhat sombre, the latter 

 bright and sliining. Some others exliibited more 

 colour than is usual with them, and this is pro- 

 )ial)ly due to the (exceptional conditions that have 

 ))revailed during the past six months; while those 

 were very noticeal)le whose habit it is to change 

 the hue 'of their foliage, when it begins to fade 

 away on the approach of winter. 



We may now conclude l)y making a few^ olvser- 

 vations on forest trees, which, on account of their 

 great size and stately api)earance, are to many 

 more interesting than any other class of vegeta- 

 tion. Among the Oaks, the best is the true 

 (Jiiririis corriui'ii, that turns to a glorious crimson, 

 ,ind which, for brilliancy and effect, is hardly to 

 be surpassed by any other of its kind; (,>. puhis- 

 2)inis, the Pin Oak, is also red, but it does not 

 always exhibit its finest tints. A small specimen 

 of (/ iiKirt/ldndicii here began to show splashes of 

 ;t similar shade through the green of the leaves, 

 but then they, too, dropped off (probal)ly on 

 account of the frost) before the true autumn colour 

 was fully developed. Q. vclufiua becomes- soft, 

 yellow brown; Q. ru1>r(t and Q. floifnta light brown 

 .sienna; the latter, like Q. rnrriiird. holds its fine 

 large leaves on the plant for a long time after 

 they have turned. Of Maples, Acer ijiheum is 

 now rare, as the stock brought into the country 

 seems to have become nearly exhausted. Tt is 

 one of the most desirable species of the genus, 

 with a curious peeling liark. discovering under- 

 neath a light l)rown smooth skin, and in this re- 

 spec-t resembling a Birch; it turns a magnificent 

 scarlet. .1. iiildiisc is nearly as good, but this 

 year it failed altogether in tins place, and I am 

 informed that it was not successful elsewhere— 

 probal)ly on account of drought. A. pdlmatiim 

 and A. japov'icum are well known, and are tinted 

 red; so also .1. rirrivafurii . the Vine Manle, which 

 is further embellished by its crimson fruit. .4. 

 micniDfJnim made another fine red disi)lay. ,1. 

 l;i'tiim (•((/•. ruhrtim and .1. II chirr iilii were bright 

 yellow, the former with a rich golden hue. The 

 ordinary Horse Chestnut, .•7?.sri//i/.s II'i pjuinix- 

 tatnim,' shows red through the fading foliage. 

 ^. octnvdra (flam) is always con.spicuous with 

 brown yellow; Lir'iodejuhon tu1ii)ifprn, the Tidip 

 tree of the United States, becomes golden yellow. 



/.. chiiiensr is here, but T regret T missed seeing 

 it when the leaves were turning. Of the Hickories, 

 t'dnjti nihil and C tniiiciifiisn arc bright rich 

 yellow, sliowing up brilliantly against other trees. 

 hnjhiiis nipcstri.s liuiictl to a lemon colour. The 

 golden form of the common Ash, Frii.rhnis 

 rreelsinr nir. intim, is always a still richer tone 

 in 'autunui, and more observable then than at any 

 other time. Miiiinnlin h i/pnhiiiii . a tree from 

 .lapan, assumed a very remarkable deep warm 

 brown, looking ahnost "black at a distance; the 

 lettves are very large, and the plant formed a v.Ty 

 striking contrast with the surrounding foliage. 

 Whether this change takes place every year I 

 cannot be sure, but if it be repeated annually, it 

 will add much to th<' value of this handsome 

 species. So many of the Conifers are evergreen 

 that we do not expect to find much autunui effect 

 among them, but one or two may be mentioned. 

 The strange Gvnifl<() hUnhu, the Maidenhair tree, 

 is said to turn pale yellow; it is so here, but in 

 no very marked way. Liin.r h'pfoJcpis. the 

 .lat^anese Larch, and rsniiJnhiri.r K:i mpfni. the 

 so-called Golden Larch, become a fine rich yellow; 

 Titroilium distirliiim becomes a somewhat dull 

 ruddy red, and it is at its best now. at the end 

 of ' November. The golden form of the Scotch 

 Pine, riiiiia xyh-rsfris, has the curious habit of 

 changing its "needles, as winter begins, to the 

 colour of straw, and to hold that tint until the 

 followino- spring, when it reassumes its annual 

 "■reen which is l)rown, of a less sombre shade 

 Than the type. I need only add to thea^ notes 

 thAt when the ordinary Bracken is found estab- 

 lished through a wood, it forms in autumn a very 

 ])leasing setting, with its yellow-brown dying 

 fronds.— John Ross of Bladensburg. 



Forestry :— Trees for Shelter and 

 '; Ormirmnt.—contmned. 



to secure well-developed crowns they should be 

 allowed abundance of space from the first, and 

 should never be planted thickly at the outset, 

 although the ground between the trees may be 

 filVed up with hardy shrubs or low trees which will 

 not seriously interfere with the pines. 



Avsfnini Pine— The Austrian pine is one of the 

 best for shelter. It succeeds best on strong or limy 

 soils but, as a general nde, the nature of the soil 

 is of little importance so long as it is fairly dry. 



f'orsifiin inul Scots Pni e.s.— These are both good 

 shelter trees when young, but are apt to become 

 bare near the base, and may produce the best 

 shelter when mixed with mountain or Austrian 

 pines along the edge of the belt 



Moinihii)) Five.— One type of the mountain pine 

 assumes the form of a spreading bush, while 

 another attains to the size of a small tree. They 

 are known respectively as Pinus montnna var. 

 inimUio and P. montnna var. uncrnat-A. Both are 

 extremely hardy, will grow on almost any soil, and 

 are espe"cially "useful in cold, moory. and peaty 

 soils which are unsuitable for many trees. 



The bushy form makes a good shelter mixture 

 with the Austrian pine, planting the latter either 

 behind it or amongst it as isolated trees. 



All pines should be transplanted in early autumn 



