294; Arboriculture in relation to Geology. 



is small and stunted, and is by no means the most splendid 

 sample of the species. The ash, too, although it is spon- 

 taneously propagated in great plenty, does not, except in 

 certain soft beds of the chalk, attain great size ; and it is 

 extremely subject, on this, as well as on the mountain limestone, 

 and on other calcareous soils, to be affected and destroyed by 

 the canker ; which disease often also attacks and destroys 

 some of the young beeches. 



With these materials, however, it is very practicable to 

 create stately groves, dense covers, valuable timber, productive 

 coppices, and beautiful and varied scenery. 



There are also plants, as well many exotics long esta- 

 blished in this country as native species, which are not 

 the spontaneous growth of this stratum, to which, never- 

 theless, the chalk soil is congenial. Such are: — A^cer p\a.~ 

 tanoldes, Norway maple ; .^'sculus Hippocastanum (pro- 

 vided there be a depth of calcareous loam above the chalk 

 rock) ; ^'Inus glutinosa, common alder ; ^'rbutus C/'nedo, 

 arbutus; ^z/cwZ^a japonica, Japanese gold plant; Buddies glo- 

 bosa, globe flowered buddlea; Carpinus i?etulus, hornbeam; 

 Cistus, numerous, probably all the hardy sorts ; Coliitea, 

 bladder senna ; Cornus alba, white-berried cornel ; Cytisus 

 iaburnum, laburnum ; Cytisus alpinus, Scotch laburnum ; 

 Cytisus nigricans, black-rooted cytisus ; £u6nymus latifolius, 

 broad-leaved spindle tree; Kerrm (Corchorus) japonica, 

 Japanese kerria; iaurus nobilis, common bay tree; Phil- 

 adelphus coronarius, mock orange ; Platanus orientalis, orien- 

 tal plane ; Platanus occidentalis, occidental plane ; Pinus 

 Z/drix, larch ; Pinus Picea, silver fir ; Pinus A^hies, spruce 

 fir ; Pinus sylvestris, Scotch pine ; Pinus ^Strobus, Weymouth 

 pine; Populus acladesca, black Italian poplar; Populus dila- 

 tata, Lombardy poplar; Prunus armeniaca, apricot; Piunus 

 insititia, bullace plum ; Prunus domestica, common plum ; 

 J2hamnus ^laternus, alaternus; i?6sa moschata, musk-scented 

 rose; Pubus IdaeHis, raspberry; /Sambucus racemosa, red- 

 berried elder ; Thuja orientalis, Chinese arbor vitae ; Thuja 

 occidentalis, American arbor vitee; Pilia europse^a, common 

 linden tree; Fiburnum Tinus, laurustinus; and, doubtless, 

 many others, which have not met any observation. 



Of the pine tribe, the larch seems to succeed best ; next 

 to that the Weymouth pine and the silver fir. On some 

 exposed and barren parts of the chalk, even the hardy Scotch 

 pine can attain no stature, at least if planted without pre- 

 vious trenching; and in all, except the deepest and most 

 fertile of the chalk loams, the spruce fir, though it may 

 appear to flourish for a few years, yet, after a quarter of a 

 century, it becomes stunted and starved ; it loses its foliage, 



