QUERCUS 301 



of course, be expected to keep up supplies for which there is no demand. 

 No firms appear now to grow oaks in such number and variety as did 

 Lee of Isleworth, Smith of Worcester, or Booth of Hamburg, thirty or 

 forty years ago. The finest collections to-day, after that at Kew, are Lord 

 Ducie's at Tortworth, and the one at Aldenham got together by Mr Vicary 

 Gibbs. To those who contemplate planting oaks I would recommend 

 the following as a selection of twenty of the best, apart from our British 

 species and their varieties : 



DECIDUOUS. *Casta?iecefolia, Cerris, *cocdnea *conferta, imbricaria, 

 *Leana, Libani, Lucombeana, * macranthera, *Mirbeckii, palustris, Phellos^ 

 *rubra, Toza, *velutina. 



EVERGREEN. '-Acuta, coccifera, densiflora. Ilex, phillyr&oides. 



Some of the deciduous species, like those marked *, are amongst the 

 handsomest and most striking in foliage of all our big trees, and would 

 impart distinction to any demesne, whilst coccinea and palustris give the 

 richest touches of crimson to our autumn landscape. Q. Ilex forms a class 

 by itself among evergreen trees hardy with us. Oaks, as a whole, thrive 

 best on good deep loams. The old conception that the value of a soil 

 for agriculture was indicated by the size and quality of the oaks upon it 

 has many times been verified, not only in this country but in others, 

 especially by the early settlers in both the east and west coast regions of 

 N. America. Oaks should always if possible be raised from acorns, which 

 should be kept from getting dry after gathering until sown. Grafting has, 

 perforce, to be resorted to for special varieties and rare species; but 

 although one may see occasionally fine grafted specimens, the practice 

 should only be adopted where absolutely necessary, for it tends to shorten 

 the life of the tree, and in the end retard its growth. I strongly advocate 

 getting all oaks into their permanent places as soon as possible. If I 

 could, I would sow all acorns in situ^ for thereby the tap-root is preserved 

 and the plant never checked, but for many reasons that is not often 

 possible except in pure forestry. Few trees in nurseries need transplanting 

 with greater regularity every two or three years than oaks do if their final 

 removal is to be accomplished safely, and few suffer more through shifting 

 if their roots have been allowed to wander at will for a longer term. 

 Evergreen species especially are liable to die. They should never be 

 transplanted until after they show signs of growth in late May or 

 early June, or else in September. 



Some of the deciduous oaks are infested with an extraordinary variety 

 of gall-producing insects, the best known of which are those that produce 

 oak-apples and flat, circular, disk-like galls, sometimes so dense on the 

 leaf as to partially overlay each other. Although frequently a disfigure- 

 ment, and inducing a premature yellowing of the leaf, the production 

 of galls does not seem to have noticeable, effects on the health of trees. 

 There is no generally practicable means of preventing them. 



Q. ACUTA, Thunberg. 



An evergreen tree up to 30 or 40 ft. high in Japan, often shrubby in this 

 country ; young shoots and leaves covered at first with a brown floss, then 

 quite smooth. Leaves stout and leathery, oval, sometimes inclined to ovate \ 



