EVERGREENS. 169 



intention is to plant a large quantity, either for 

 shelter, for ornament, or for timber, for which it is 

 very valuable, rivalling even the Common Oak in 

 strength and durability, we recommend the following 

 method: As soon as the acorns are gathered, let 

 them be sown in small pots, one in each, and plunged 

 in the ground, just deep enough to cover them ; but 

 they must be carefully watched, to prevent the depre- 

 dation of mice, which are sure to attack them. It is 

 the better to preserve the acorns from destruction, 

 that we recommend them to be sown in pots, or the 

 trouble would be less to sow them where they are to 

 remain. If properly attended to, by August the 

 young oaks will be from four to six inches high. The 

 ground having been previously prepared to receive 

 them, they may now be planted out ; and in the fol- 

 lowing year they will make long clean growths, and 

 preserve good leading shoots, which they rarely do 

 when raised and transplanted in the ordinary way; 

 for, unlike most other trees and shrubs, however often 

 they may be transplanted, very few fibrous roots are 

 produced, and the less frequently they are removed 

 before occupying their final position the better. 



Although the evergreen oak is generally supposed 

 to thrive best in a strong loamy soil, it is by no means 

 particular in that respect, and may be successfully 

 planted in almost any kind. Upon strong clays, in 

 exposed places, and where scarcely any other tree would 

 progress at all, there it can be employed with advan- 

 tage. Some of the finest trees in the country are in 

 the grounds at Holkham House, the seat of the Earl 



