JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



no aistaut shelter of woods or plantations. Witli tliese 



at sncli a distance, or with a well-wooded park or cotintry 



rounding the grounds, fiu'ther shelter would not be 



PINUS LAEICIO (The Corsic.\n Pine). 



g(^^^=' LWAYS hi the laying-out of new or the reno , o..i^««.^«...,., .--.- o 



^&~/r^( vation of old gardens it is found necessary of such importance if it were not that by haiiug shelter 

 to plant some parts to shut oiTt unsightly ^lose at hand we considerably mitigate the effects of cold 

 objects, wlhlst there are few sites which 

 enjoy perfect immunity from cold withering 

 winds : hence the necessity of planting liardy 

 trees from the north-west to the north-east 

 to afford shelter in those du'ections. In 

 most situations shelter from cold and high 

 winds is as important as the foundation is to 

 a building. It is common enough, however, to see the most 

 exposed ground planted ^vith the same subjects as more 

 sheltered spots. Apparently, it is forgotten that most of 

 the trees planted are exotic, and not so capable of endm'ing 

 bleak positions as our indigenous trees, or the hardier 

 exotic kinds. Shelter may be given in coui'se of time by 

 almost everything that wUI withstand the ^-icissitudes of 

 our uncertain climate, but it is evident that that wliich 

 will give us the best shelter in the least time is what we 

 must prefer. Some subjects are of veiy rapid growth, 

 and may on that account force themselves on oiu- notice, 

 yet trees for shelter should not only be quick-gi'owing 

 and useful in a yoimg state, but after they are grown 

 up answer every purpose of a permanent screen, and if 

 they are ornamental as well, all the better. 



Locahties vary considerably in climate, and nowhere, 

 probably, more so than in the British isles. Places within 

 a few miles of each other are often very different as re- 

 gards theu' suitabihty for trees. One may be in a vaUey, 

 or on the southern slope of a hUl, natm'aUy sheltered 

 fi-om the north, north-east, and north-west, rendering 

 shelter necessary fi'om the west and east only, or from 

 other pouits to wliich the site is exposed, the shelter- 

 giving trees on these points being at such a distance as 

 not to intercept the sun's rays, causing shade where hght 

 is wanted. Another place may be elevated, having no 

 natm-al shelter, as that of hills or woods at a distance or 

 near, whilst a thh-d may be in a flat and wooded district. 

 It is hardly necessary to say that the trees suitable for 

 shelter in the tlui'd case are not so in the second, nor 

 that those which answer for the exposed elevated spot 

 whl do as well for the other two. 



Shelter, as sought to be given by trees, may be said to 

 be of two kinds — ^^z., near and distant. The near .apphes 

 uumediately to garden and pleasure grounds, and the 

 distant to the park or otlier parts of the domain at some 

 way off' from the groimds. The latter is, probably, the 

 more effectual, as the planting can be carried out on a 

 more extensive scale — the plantation can be thicker, and 

 the force of the wind is more effectually broken than by 

 a thinner or narrower plantation. Where there is scope, 

 I should always seek to plant most extensivelj' for shelter 

 at some chstance rather than close to the object to be 

 sheltered. Plantations at the distance of from a quarter 

 to half a mile will render immediate shelter of less im- 

 portance, and for shelter to the garden and grounds we 

 may safely plant subjects we dare not do where there is 



No. 58.1.— Vol. XXII.. New Series. 



close at hand we considerably : „ 



aud violent winds— secure, in fact, double shelter, and 

 are enabled to insm-e for the choicest and best ornaments 

 of our gardens a more favourable cUmate. 



Some places are of such hmited extent as not to allow 

 of distant as well as near shelter, the latter being aU that 

 can reasonably be attempted. No place is so small but 

 that the hardier kinds of trees can be planted on the parts 

 most exposed— if not aU round, at least on the outside or 

 exposed side of the chmip or plantation, reserving the 

 mner side or face for the more select subjects. 



In planting new places or renovating old, we have also 

 to provide shelter of a temporary as well as permanent 

 character, as nurses to the less hardy sorts. The perma- 

 nent trees or shi-ulis are planted out in the first instance 

 at such places and distances that they wOI, when grown 

 up, have proper space for development ; aud the mtervals 

 should be fiUed with subjects which, whilst they shelter 

 those in the immediate vicmity, and add to the ctlect tor 

 a time, are only to remain imtQ they mterfere with the 

 gi-owth of the trees which they were planted to shelter. 

 When this takes place it may be desirable to leave some 

 of the nurses on the more exposed sides of the plantation 

 (and in small places this wiU be a matter of necessity), 

 so as to form a first break from wind. 



The subjects suitable for shelter are numerous, but 1 

 need not name the whole of the trees I have seen em- 

 ployed. I may say, however, that no tree is of any value 

 for a bleak position if it is not very hardy, of erect 

 gi-owth, and able to maintaui its position against any 

 wind. I want to be infoi-med wha,t wiU serve as shelter 

 to a spot 500 feet above the sea level, fom- mUes ilistant 

 (or about tlu-ee as the rooks fly) from the sea, with nothing 

 to break the force of the wind fi-om Norway on the north- 

 east and Denmark east, wlhlst south-eastward it is fuUy 

 exposed to the sweep of the wind from the North Sea. 

 Northwards there are some hills and a badly-wooded 

 country, the woods being m the hollows, and a wood 

 within'half a mile, so that there is not much to complam 

 of in that direction ; but fi'om the north-west to the south- 

 east there is no shelter but Heath-clad Inlls. 



The first subject that I wiU name is Pmus Laricio. 

 It is of erect habit, quick-growing, of moderately spread- 

 in" habit, and densely clad with branchlets. It grows as 

 quickly as Larch in the most sheltered situations, and 

 where, owing to the cold, the latter is dwarfed, the Corsi- 

 can Pine gi'ows as well as it does in the most favoured 

 position. Besides, in plantations where the Sprace, Larch, 

 Scotch Fir, and Austrian Pine are kept completely under 

 by hares and rabbits, the Corsican Pme rears its stately 

 form unmolested. Hares and rabbits do not eat it. In 

 a word, it gi-ows twice as quickly as Scotch Fir, it is as 

 hardy as that tree, or harsher, and from all accounts the 

 timber is excellent. As we have several millions of acres 

 in this country said to be incapable of tiUage, would it 



No. 1:37. -Vol. XLVIL. Old Series. 



