656 Summary View of the Progress of Gardening, 



This plant lias, however, through the patriotic efforts of a 

 private gentleman, been, in the autumn of 1841, introduced to 

 the extent of 30,000 plants, 20,000 of which will be disposed of 

 to nurserymen. We hope they will be tried in the south of 

 the island, more especially in the warmer districts. At present, 

 with the exception of the tree in Messrs. Loddiges's arboretum, 

 we do not recollect one plant in England ; the tree at Twicken- 

 ham, recorded in our Arb. Brit, p. 1868., on the authority of a 

 correspondent, as Q. alba, being, as we ascertained after the 

 Arboretum was published, Quercus J°rinus, the white chestnut 

 oak ; and that at Muswell Hill having been cut down when the 

 place was sold three years ago. The Woods and Forests a few 

 years ago formed an experimental plantation in the neighbour- 

 hood of Southampton, in which there are a great many Ame- 

 rican oaks and other trees, and placed it under the care of Mr. 

 Page. We hope to receive some account of it by Mr. Page, in 

 addition to the notice already given in our Volume for 1839, 

 p. 624. ; or perhaps to inspect it ourselves in the course of next 

 summer. Plants of the durmast oak, a strong-growing variety 

 of Q. pedunculata, which, it is said, has produced the best naval 

 timber sent into the dockyard, have been raised in abundance 

 in Mr. Rogers's nursery at Southampton. " Nearly all those 

 majestic oaks which grow in North Stoneham Park, in Hamp- 

 shire," says Dr. Lindley, " are the durmast ; and some of the 

 finest oak timber that now goes into Her Majesty's dockyard is 

 from thence. There can be no doubt that oaks raised from the 

 acorns of these noble trees are infinitely to be preferred to such 

 as are obtained in the nurseries from acorns gathered at random 

 from trees of all sorts of constitutions, none of which, perhaps, 

 are really above the average in point of stature. As a Shetland 

 pony is not likely to be the parent of a dray-horse, so a pygmy 

 oak cannot be expected to produce anything better than a 

 pygmy race of seedlings." {Gard. Chron. 1842, p. 724.) It 

 would be well if the principle implied in this sentence were 

 acted on in the case of propagating by seed every tree, shrub, 

 and plant whatever. Gardeners are too apt to limit this prin- 

 ciple, viz. that like begets like, to annual and biennial plants ; 

 whereas a more extended experience proves it holds good 

 equally in the case of trees and shrubs. 



Floriculture. — Since the publication of Chevreul's work, en- 

 titled De la Loi du Contraste simultane des Couleurs, et des 

 Applications, noticed in a former Volume (1840, p. 563.), more 

 attention is being paid to the massing of colours in flower beds, 

 fioricultural part of this Avork we shall give a translation 

 V^olume for the ensuing year, having already given a 

 aon of it in the Gardeners' Gazette, p. 501. and 662., when 

 that periodical was under our care; but in the meantime Ave 



