384 



THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



Corylopsis continued. 

 the species are mentioned 

 Hamamelis. 



below. For culture, see 



C. himalayana (Himalayan). Jl. yellow, white; racemes many- 

 flowered. March. I. round, ovate, or acute, often cordate at the 

 base, plicate, glabrous above, silky or tomentose beneath. A. oft. 

 Khasia Mountains and Bhotan. (B. M. 6779.) 



C. mnltlflora (many-flowered), from the tea districts of Tokien , in 

 China has not yet been introduced. It has few-nerved, rather 

 rigid leaves, glaucous beneath, and long dense-flowered racemes. 



C. panciflora (few-flowered) resembles C. spicata in colour, scent, 

 habit, Ac.; but the leaves are smaller, the racemes contain fewer 

 (two to four) flowers, and the plant is dwarfer. Japan. 



Fio. 533. FLOWERS OF CORYLOPSIS SPICATA 



C. spicata (spicate). fl. pale yellow, with a fragrant Cowslip-like 

 odour ; issuing singly from the axil of a greenish-yellow bract 

 racemes eight to twelve-flowered, 2in. to Sin. long, drooping. 

 February. I. long-stalked, acutely cordate, strongly feather- 

 veined, mucronately serrated, somewhat hoary beneath, h. 3ft. 

 to 4ft. Japan, 1864. See Fig. 533. 



CORYLUS (from korys, a hood, or helmet; in refe- 

 rence to the calyx covering the nut). Hazel; Cob-nut. 

 ORD. Corylacea:. Low trees and large shrubs, deciduous. 

 Malo flowers whitish, in cylindrical catkins; bracts ses- 

 sile, imbricate. Female flowers red, in a bud-like catkin, 

 which is developed into a branchlet. Leaves simple, alter- 

 nate, exstipulate. 



CULTIVATION. The first object in successful Nut cul- 

 ture is to keep down suckers, unless required for propa- 

 gation. The more tree-like the plants, the more pro- 

 ductive they are; hence the importance of removing all 

 latent buds from the base and stems of seedlings or 

 plants of any description. The height of clear stem may 

 vary from 1ft. to 6ft. The trees are classified, according 

 to the height of their stems, as standards, half-standards, 

 and dwarf standards; the natural or many-stemmed bush 



Corylns continued. 



being generally termed a Nut or Filbert stool. As the 

 crop may be considered a permanent one, the soil should 

 be carefully prepared, by trenching and manuring. A 

 good deep loam, in a rather dry, sunny position, suits 

 Hazels best, as it encourages the production of short 

 fruit-bearing wood. During severe winters, the male 

 blossoms are sometimes injured by frost. In other sea- 

 sons, and in certain localities, the cultivated Filbert pro- 

 duces few catkins. In either case, these should be 

 collected from wild Hazel-nuts, when obtainable, and 

 suspended among the better varieties. When planting, 

 choose well-established suckers, or layers, four or more 

 years old. Firmly stake them as soon as inserted, and 

 place a spadeful or two of manure on the soil, over the 

 roots. The intermediate spaces may be cropped with 

 potatoes, or other dwarf vegetables, for a year or two. 



PROPAGATION may be effected by seed, by suckers, 

 or by layers. Grafting and budding are each practicable, 

 and are adopted when growing tall standards or scarce 

 varieties. 



Seed. For forming tall standards, seedlings of the 

 Constantinople Nut (0. Colurna), one of the strongest- 

 growing of all the Hazels, should be used. These should 

 be aUowed to run up to a height of 8ft. or 10ft., and 

 then be grafted with any desired variety. The seed of 

 all Nuts may be sown as soon as gathered, or stored 

 in sand till the following February or March. They 

 should be placed thinly in rows, and covered with at 

 least 2in. of soil. Most of the Nuts will have started 

 before midsummer. In October or November of the second 

 year, plant them in lines, 2ft. to 3ft. apart, and from 6in. 

 to 15in. from each other in the rows, according to their 

 strength. The seed of good varieties seldom produce 

 others equal to their parents in quality ; consequently, this 

 plan of propagation should not be practised with them. 



Suckers. For market and garden purposes, all superior 

 varieties should be propagated by suckers or layers. The 

 Filbert, if left to its own habit, produces stickers in 

 abundance. Good cultivators remove all these; but the 

 propagator encourages their growth, as each one forms a 

 plant. If the soil is poor, the stools should be manured. 

 Sometimes it may be well to take them up bodily, in 

 the autumn, to obtain good roots to each sucker ; but, 

 generally, the latter may be removed without disturbing 

 the stools. Another crop may be obtained the following 

 autumn. The small plants should be put out like the 

 two-year-old seedlings, when they will soon grow into 

 useful sizes. The large ones, some of which may be 

 2ft. to 3ft. high, are best planted out at wider distances, 

 or in their fruiting quarters, at once. 



Layers. Stools kept for layering must be allowed to 

 make more growth than those used for suckers only, as a 

 certain length and flexibility of shoot are essential to suc- 

 cessful propagation by this method. Free growth must 

 be encouraged for a year or two, and, any suitable time 

 in winter, the shoots should be bent to the ground, 

 pegged firmly, and covered to a depth of Sin. with earth. 

 They will be well rooted by the following autumn, and 

 may then be removed and planted out permanently. 



PRUNING, as distinct from mere heading back, is an 

 important feature in Filbert culture. Even the time to 

 prune becomes a matter of vital moment; for, by per- 

 forming this operation too early, a great many of the male 

 catkins may be cut away. March, or even April, when 

 the female blossoms are fully open, is the best time. The 

 plants bear on the lateral growth of the previous summer, 

 and most plentifully on moderate-sized wood. Hence, 

 the young shoots should be stopped to insure such growth, 

 and as much as possible of the old wood that has already 

 borne fruit, removed annually. The shape to which Fil- 

 berts are often formally trained for cultivation in gardens 

 is that of a cup or vase. The stem is kept quite clear for 

 1ft. or more at the bottom, and the head is formed by not 



