Domestic Notices : — England. 329 



hausen. The total height of this tree is 90 Hessian feet, one third of which 

 is a clean, bare, straight stem of J 2 Hessian feet in circumference at 3 ft. above 

 the ground. A Hessian foot is 1 If in. 



This oak is generally propagated by grafting, the acorns not being sure to 

 produce plants of the same strict habit ; some, however, turn out the same as 

 the parent tree. The finest I have seen are on the lawn at Wilhelmshohe, 

 near Cassel, and in Mr. Wild's garden in Cassel ; they sometimes assume a 

 round bushy form, but will probably end by shooting upwards. (Gard. 

 Chron. for 1842, p. 36.) 



Art. III. Domestic Notices. 

 ENGLAND. 



Trees and Shrubs deserving to be more generally cultivated. — Cornus mas is 

 a small tree which will grow as large as a small apple tree. It has the male 

 and female flowers on different plants. The female flowers are inconspi- 

 cuous ; but the male blossoms are of a rich yellow. They appear about the 

 middle of January, in such profusion as to cover the entire tree ; and they 

 remain in that state for upwards of a month. Sometimes the tree comes 

 into blossom in the autumn, and remains covered with flowers through the 

 winter. There are very few plants of this species of Cornus in the neigh- 

 bourhood of London, and most of those that are there, as for example at 

 Syon, are crowded and deformed We would recommend this kind of Cornus 

 to be planted singly on lawns, where it will be found to form a handsome 

 symmetrical head, with a clear stem of 5 or 6 feet. It flowers when of very 

 small size ; and, as it is not exhausted by bearing fruit, it produces an abundant 

 crop of flowers every year. No lawn or shrubbery, however small, should 

 be without a plant of Cornus mas. 



Crataegus Oxyacantha obtusata, a very distinct variety of the common 

 thorn, a native of France, comes into bloom fully a fortnight before the spe- 

 cies, and bears a profusion of pure white blossoms, smaller and more compact 

 in form than those of the common kind. A double form of this variety 

 would be a most desirable acquisition. As the tree does not grow nearly so 

 large as the common hawthorn, it is well adapted for lawns and shrubberies of 

 limited extent. 



.Betula joopulifolia laciniata is one of the most graceful of small trees, and 

 in every garden or pleasure-ground, where trees can be cultivated, it deserves 

 a place. Populus balsarmfera is the first tree, after the common elder, that 

 comes into leaf in the neighbourhood of London ; and, its foliage being of a rich 

 yellow, it makes a fine appearance among evergreens, or trees which have not 

 yet come into leaf. In the direction of the wind, its fragrance, like that of 

 the wallflower and of the mignonnette, may be scented at half a mile's 

 distance. 



Clematis montana, a native of the Himalayas, appears to be the most 

 rapid-growing of all the Clematideas. A plant which we received from 

 Messrs. Whitley and Osborn in 1839, and planted at the foot of a wall co- 

 vered with the giant ivy, with no particular care and no training whatever, 

 has reached the top of the wall and extended among the ivy, 20 ft. on one 

 side, and 30 ft. on the other. At this moment (May 18th) it is covered with 

 its beautiful white blossoms, which appear in thousands over the ivy, like a 

 mantle of rich white lace over a robe of green velvet. It is the admiration 

 of every body. If the growth of this plant in a perpendicular direction is as 

 great as it is in a horizontal one, and we see no reason to doubt this, it will 

 be a delightful plant for placing at the root of unsightly tall trees, along with 

 the Virginian creeper, or five-leaved ivy, and the giant ivy. We have recom- 

 mended some friends at Brighton to try if it will endure the sea-breeze. — 

 Cond. 



