134 Practical Forestry 



if cut early, is of good quality. The common spruce soon 

 dies out, although it may grow freely enough for a number 

 of years after being planted, and wear a healthy appear- 

 ance. Oak and ash do fairly well, but they rarely attain to 

 a large size or produce first-class timber. Rhododendrons 

 almost revel in this soil, and some of the largest and healthiest 

 are growing with their roots in close contact with the coal 

 and ironstone. 



Shrubs for Hot and Dry Soils. The Bladder Senna 

 (Colutea arborescens) is one of the most useful of shrubs for 

 planting in poor, hot, dry soils, and not only will it succeed 

 and flower well in these, but it is equally valuable for using 

 where "the air is chemically impure, and for that reason 

 has few equals for the town or city shrubbery. C. cruenta is 

 also valuable in a similar way. The Sea Purslane (A triplex 

 ^alimus) is another valuable shrub for planting in hot and 

 dry situations as is Caragana arborescens, the native Barberry 

 (Berberis vulgaris), many forms of Genista and Cytisus, 

 Spartium junceum, and the double flowering Gorse. An- 

 other excellent shrub is the Box Thorn or Tea Tree (Lycium 

 Europceum) which is useful for covering an arid hot bank, 

 several species of Cotoneaster, particularly C. hosizontalis 

 and C. microphylla, and the neat and curious Mitchlenbeckia 

 complexa. Helianthemums also do well, so does the Vene- 

 tian Sumach (Rhus cotinus), and several varieties of bramble, 

 but especially the double pink flowering form. The Rest 

 Harrow (Ononis arvensis), a native shrubby plant of great 

 floral beauty, also does well ; while the little known Celas- 

 tris articulatus should not be neglected in hot and dry 

 situations. Other good shrubs for hot dry banks are 

 Potentilla fmticosa, the Tamarisk and Juniperus tamarisci- 

 folia. 



Concluding Remarks. In conclusion, it may be 

 pointed out that it is only by a careful selection of soil that 

 we may expect tree planting to be successful, and I have no 

 hesitation in saying that many failures can be clearly 

 traced to errors of judgment in the selection of trees for 

 planting on particular soils. The subject is a wide and 

 complicated one, and it must be admitted that very per- 



