148 TREE-PLANTING. 



of very opposite quality. The flower-spikes appear 

 early in June, and the blossoms are succeeded by 

 oval-shaped berries, which change from green to a 

 deep purple, by the end of autumn. Seeds sown in 

 autumn generally spring up during the following 

 March, when they are liable to suffer from the late 

 frosts which sometimes prevail. It can be grown from 

 cuttings in the same way as the common laurel, but 

 the handsomest plants are those which have been 

 produced from seeds. If the seedlings stand close in 

 the bed, they should be transplanted at the end of the 

 first season's growth, but if they have plenty of room 

 they may be allowed to stand for another year, and 

 then be transplanted into nursery lines, where room 

 enough should be given them, so that their foliage 

 does not touch that of each other in the progress of their 

 growth. After standing for two years in the nursery 

 lines, they are then fit for being planted out in the 

 situations they are destined to occupy. 



The Portugal laurel admits of pruning, and can be 

 trimmed into any desired shape, and forms a compact 

 ornamental hedge suitable for the boundary of a 

 parterre. Under favourable conditions it arrives at 

 the height of from twenty to thirty feet, and when 

 pruned early can be made to attain the dimensions of 

 a dwarf tree. 



The Rhododendron is another capital evergreen, 

 extremely hardy and appropriate for decorative pur- 

 poses, but, belonging more to the class of flowering 

 shrubs, scarcely comes within the province of this 

 work to describe. 



The Yew Tree (Taxus baccata), the common or 

 English yew. This is a very useful tree as underwood, 



