84 Transactions of the London Horticultural Society. 



very few trees of large dimensions. Tlie largest I have seen are at the Mar- 

 quess of Downshire's, East Hampstead, in Berkshire. I had never been able to 

 obtain a specimen of the wood grown in England, till about five years ago, 

 when two trees were cut down at East Hampstead, and the wood was made 

 into doors for the principal rooms of the house. It is much finer in the 

 grain than our British oak, or foreign wainscot. It takes a better polish, and 

 is more beautiful than any other oak I have ever seen. From only a single 

 specimen I had broken, it was not so strong as our native oak, but equal in 

 toughness ; but my specimen being rather cross-grained, it was not a correct 

 experiment, and I suspect it is equal in strength to our oak. For all orna- 

 mental piu-poses, where the wood has to be polished, it is superior, and must 

 be a profitable tree to plant, as it grows much quicker than our common oaks, 

 and I have seen it thrive rapidly in poor land. 



" Oak timber has, for a great length of time, been imported into this 

 country, from Holland, by the name of Dutch wainscot, which is generally 

 used for floors, doors, and furniture. It is more straight in its growth, tender, 

 and more easy to work than British oak ; does not require so much seasoning ; 

 and stands better without warping : but it is not equal in strength or durability 

 to British oak. 



" Some years ago, I procured acorns from the Black Forest in Germany, 

 where this wood is grown. Three varieties were sent me by a botanist, who 

 collected them in the forest. Some of the trees from the acorns are now 

 about six feet high ; but I can only discover two distinct species, which appear 

 to me to be exactly the same as our Q. pedunculata and Q. sessiliflora. The 

 Dutch wainscot being from a natural wood, and the trees growing close, may 

 account for the straightness of the wood, and its being more tender than our 

 oak, which differences may also partly be owing to the soil. 



" There is no other oak that appears to thrive in this country, or likely to 

 be worth cultivating for timber, except the white oak (Q. alba) of North 

 America. Of this there are not many large trees in England ; but the young 

 trees appear to grow well, and I have seen them do best in a peaty sand. The 

 white oak imported from America is heavier than British oak : it appears to 

 be as strong, and is more difficult to work. There are a great variety of oaks 

 in America; but all, except the white oak, appear to be of an inferior quality. 



" As ornamental trees, there are many of the American kinds that are 

 beautiful in their foliage; and, from the various and rich tints the leaves take 

 in the autumn, are a great ornament to landscape scenery, and ought to be 

 planted moi'e than they have been, as ornamental trees in parks and pleasure- 

 grounds." 



42. On the Advantages of inigating Garden Grounds by Means of 

 Tanks or Ponds. By Thonias Andrew Knight, Esq., F.R.S., Pre- 

 sident. 



" The quantity of water which may be given with advantage to plants of 

 almost every kind, during warm and bright weather, is, I believe, very much 

 greater, than any gardener, who has not seen the result, will be inclined to 

 suppose possible ; and it is greater than I myself could have believed upon 

 any other evidence than that of actual experience. 



" My garden, in common with many others, is supplied with water by 

 springs, which rise in a more elevated situation ; and this circumstance 

 afforded me the means of making a small pond, from which I can cause the 

 water to flow out over every part of my garden whenever I wish. I am thus 

 enabled to irrigate my strawberr}' beds while in flower, and my alpine straw- 

 berry beds, and plants of every other kind, through every part of the summer ; 

 and I cause a stream to flow down the rows of celery, and along the rows of 

 broccoli and other plants which are planted out in summer, with very great 

 advantage. But the most extensive and beneficial use which I make of the 

 power to irrigate my garden by the means above mentioned is, in supplying 



