AN INDEX TO TREES AND SHRUBS FOR SPECIAL 
SITUATIONS AND SOILS. 
()" the many books that have been written on Dendrology, Vorestry, and cognate subjects, 
some contain list of Trees and Shrubs for particular purposes and positions, but the lists 
are, as a rule, of the most meagre description. Hence, perhaps, the monotony which is 
conspicuous in so many of our plantations and shrubberies, The exhaustive classification 
here presented embraces, in a condensed form, the practical results of the experience of 
several eminent authorities on the treatment of hardy ligneous plants. By its help, the 
reader may readily make varied selections of Trees and Shrubs that will thrive in Chalky, 
Peaty, or Clay Soils, in Marshes and Swamps, on Mountains, in dense Towns and Cities, 
by the Riverside, or in close proximity to the Sea. A list of the best Trees and Shrubs 
for the formation of Hedges is also included. 
After each name is given abbreviated information as to whether the plant is eyer- 
green (ev), nearly or partially so (s-ev), or deciduous (dec). The figures represent the 
approximate height in feet. 
Much of the so-called waste land which is at present a blot on many an English 
landscape might, by careful selection and a moderate expenditure of the proprietor’s time 
and money, be converted into woodlands, which would become not only a source of plea- 
sure to himself, but also a valuable legacy to posterity. 
CHALKY SOILS.—Calcareous or Chalky Soils are 
those which contain more than 20 per cent. of Carbonate 
of Lime. ‘They are variously known as Calcareous Sands, 
Caleareous Loams, and Calcareous Clays, according to the 
amount of sand, loam, or clay, that enters into their com- 
position. A large number of trees and shrubs will grow 
in calcareous soils, as is evidenced by the following list. 
“There is a prevailing idea that trees require a deep soil 
for their growth; but this is an entire fallacy as regards 
the greater portion of them. That trees will prosper more 
in a good deep soil than ina similar soil that is superficial, 
is no doubt true; but a thin rich soil is better than a 
deep poor one; and the most fatal mistake that can be 
Chalky Soils—continued. 
made in trenching land preparatory to planting is to 
throw up a barren subsoil, and bury the better elements 
beneath it. This is particularly the case on the Chalk 
lands. That trees of very large size will grow upon the 
very thin soil may be rendered evident to anyone who 
travels through the Chalk cuttings on our southern rail- 
ways. In many places the soil is not 6in. deep above the 
Chalk, and yet splendid trees, especially Beeches, are seen 
clothing the hills... .. In trenching Chalk land such as 
I am referring to, the trench should be carried to the 
bottom of the loam, but no further. However superficial 
the top soil may be, even 3in, or 4in., it alone should be 
