Notbmbeb 17, 1888.] 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



569 



(1.) Measurements in the Taymount plantation. 



(2.) Height growth of two Douglas Firs on the 

 same estate, planted in 183-1. 



(3.) Information supplied by Dr. II. Mayr. 



(4.) Examination of a section of a full-grown 

 Douglas Fir, deposited in the Cooper's Hill Forest 

 Museum. 



(Ad. 1.) The details of the measurements made la 

 the Taymount plantation have been given above. 



(Ad. 2.) The Douglas Firs, planted in the year 

 1834, were about four years old when planted, so that 

 the trees were about fifty-seven years old in 1837, 

 when they showed a height of about 90 feet. 



(Ad. 3.) Dr. Mayr informs us in the Allge- 

 meiiie Forst und Jagd Zeitung of February, 1886, 

 p. 61, that the Douglas Fir reaches the highest degree 

 of perfection in the moist valleys of the Cascade 

 Range Mountains, which run parallel to the Pacific 

 coast. He found that in those localities the average 

 height of full-grown mature Douglas Firs, grown on 

 soil of the best quality, amounts to 213 feet, with a 

 diameter of 6| feet, measured at 6} feet above the 

 ground. In the same locality, on gravelly soil, the 

 trees only reached an average height of 148 feet, 

 and a diameter of 26 feet. Again, in the Rocky 

 Mountains, in Montana, at the same elevation and 

 degree of latitude as on the west coast, the Douglas 

 Fir reaches, on best soils only, the same dimensions as 

 on the gravelly soil of the Cascade Range Mountains, 

 that is to say a height of 148 feet, and adiameter of about 

 26 feet. The latter dimensions are not more than 

 what our Silver Fir will attain in localities of the 

 first quaality. The part of the Cascade Range, where 

 the Douglas Fir grows, has an annual rainfall of about 

 26 feet while in Montana only 24 inches fall. Dr. 

 Mayr believes that the development of the Douglas 

 Fir is proportionate to the rainfall, respectively to 

 the degree of moisture in the air. 



(Ad. 4.) The cross-section in question was sent 

 from America for exhibition in Europe ; it was then 

 made over to Kew, and by the kindness of the 

 Director of Kew Gardens it was lately presented to 

 the Cooper's Hill Forest Museum. The section 

 shows a total diameter, including the bark, of 7 feet 

 9 inches, and the counting of the concentric rings 

 indicates a total age of 515 years. A careful exami- 

 nation of the section has yielded the results exhibited 

 in the subjoined table :— 





Diameter in 

 Inches. 



Sectional Area in square feet. 



Age 

 Years. 



Total. 



Incre- 



during 

 every 



twentv- 

 five 

 years. 



Total, 



Increment 



Inrin.-even 



twenty-five 



years. 



Iurr.-ni.-iit 

 during 



every 100 



yejr~. 



25 



10-9 



10-9 



0-613 



0613 





90 



I4'l 



34 



1-115 



0-467 





75 



18-4 



41 



1-817 



0732 





100 



23-0 



4 



2-885 



1-038 



2 --."I 



125 



26-1 



3 1 



3715 



0-380 





ISO 



29-5 



3-4 



4746 



1-031 





175 



330 



3 5 



5-940 



1194 





200 



3d 6 



3-6 



7-306 



1366 



4 121 



225 



41-9 



53 



9 575 



2-269 





250 



47 1 



52 



12103 



2-525 





275 



51 6 



15 



14-522 



2122 





300 



5(56 



50 



17473 



2-951 



10-167 



325 



60'7 



4 1 



20 096 



2623 





350 



652 



4 5 



23186 



3090 





375 



69 6 



4 4 



26 121 



3235 





400 



74-8 



5-3 



30-516 



4 095 



13043 



425 



777 



2-9 



32-928 



2112 





450 



81-5 



3 - 



36-228 



3-300 





475 



8»«; 



3 1 



39036 



2-808 





500 



87 4 



2-8 



41-663 



2-627 



11117 



515 



89-5 





43-639 







In- . 

 clu- | 



the°l 

 bark) 



93 











In the first place, it shows that the tree was still 

 making good increment at an age of 515 years, which 

 is higher than that usually attained by the European 

 Larch, Scotch Pine, Spruce and Silver Fir. Secondly, 

 it shows, that the enormously rapid increase of the 

 diameter during the first twenty-five years is sud- 

 denly followed by a much smaller and an approxi- 

 mately even increment during each of the following 

 nineteen periods of twenty-five years. I have re- 

 presented the progress of the diameter increment 

 graphically in the appended drawing, which will 

 give a clear idea of it : — 



m 





































































































































5 /u 













































z 











































S3 





















































































30 

































































































































: 







i 



n 



i 



jO 



200 



250 



300 



350 



•100 



4i0 



500 



AGE IN YEARS 



Thirdly, the sectional area increases, on the whole, 

 steadily. The periodic increment increases up to the 

 age of 400 years, when it commences to fall. Taken 

 by centuries, we find that the fourth century yielded 

 the largest increment. The appended graphic re- 

 presentation will make this clear [— 









>^ . 









,j# 



• 



• 



\ 





^/< 









'/^ 













11 







2( 



H> 



if 



O 



4 



6' 



500 



ACE IN YEARS 



Fourthly, the rate of growth indicated in the 

 section up to the year thirty resembles that of the 

 average tree in the Taymount plantation in a strik- 

 ing degree, as the following figures will show : — 

 Diameter of average tree at Taymount "[ .„. 



at 4 feet 6 inches above the ground I 



Diameter of thirty years' growth on the 1 . 



„ , i 11 J Indies, 



section from America J 



W. Schlich, Coopers Hill. 



(To be continued.) 



This table exhibits some very remarkable facts, 



Florists' Flowers. 



THE CHRYSANTHEMUM. 



Beyond attending to the proper watering of the 

 plants— in doing which no water should be slopped 

 about the house— airing the plants, and removing 

 decaying flowers and leaves, nothing more is neces- 

 sary for the present. Mildew must be sharply 

 watched for, and the sulphurator put into use on its 

 first slight appearance. In dull cold weather the 

 plants are better for being ventilated than kept 

 shut up ; and to do this it may be needful to have 

 a little heat in the pipes ; but there is economy 

 in it, as the flowers last longer, and the plants are 

 healthier. 



It is good practice to get the cuttings in as soon 



as possible, so that the old plants may be turned ot t 

 to make room for something else. It is not safe to 

 turn the old plants out-of-doors until the cuttings 

 have all been taken off. Put singly into small pots ; 

 they will make roots in a frame or cool greenhouse. 

 Shy rooting varieties should be afforded a mild 

 bottom heat. 



The Pelargonium. 



Now that the value of the single and double zon: 1 

 varieties for winter blooming has been discoverei', 

 few gardens are found without them. When arranged 

 with Bouvardias and Carnations they have a charming 

 effect. What with Chrysanlhemums, winter-flower- 

 ing Orchids, and the above class of plants no garden 

 need be without flowers during the next two month?. 

 Zonal Pelargoniums, Bouvardias, and perpetual 

 flowering Carnations do well together at this season 

 in a minimum temperature of about 55°, the venti- 

 lators being opened a little on every favourable 

 occasion, and allowing a email amount of 

 ventilation at the highest point of the house, 

 at all times. The points of the growing shoots t f 

 Pelargoniums ought to be pinched out to cause tl.e 

 flower trusses to develope .more perfectly and in 

 greater numbers. 



Specimen plants of show Pelargoniums intended 

 to flower early should be repotted into their flowering 

 pots, if this was not done last month. Large speci- 

 mens are usually flowered in 8J inch pots, and such 

 plants are usually placed at first in 6 or 7-inch pols. 

 The soil should be in a medium state of dryness, and 

 consist of turfy loam four parts, decayed manure, 

 one part, leaf soil one part, and some sharp sand ; 

 a sprinkling of bone-dust may be added, especially 

 for the largest plants, as they are not naturally so 

 vigorous as younger ones. The small-flowered fancy 

 varieties are tenderer than the others, and like a 

 warmer atmosphere. A little peat should also be 

 added to the potting soil to make it lighter. Seme 

 few varieties amongst the others are more delicate in 

 constitution, and may require jl little more care. 

 Cleanliness, and a free exposure of the plants to 

 light and air are of prime importance. J. Douglas. 



PLANT PORTRAITS. 



Albides quinquevulneepm, Lindenia, t. 150. — 

 Philippines. 



Apple Teansfabent, Bulletin d' Arboriculture, 

 September. 



Aqcilegia Stcarti, Garden, October 13. 



Abistolochia elegans, Noniteur Hortieole 

 October 10. 



Azalea aeborescens. Garden and Fonst, Octo- 

 ber 17. — Flowers white, stamens scarlet. Hardy 

 shrub. 



Catasetum Bcngeeothi, Orchid Album, t. 352. 



Cypeipedium bellatulum, Lindenia, t. 142. — A 

 form of C. Godefroya?, with richly spotted flowers. 



Cvpripedium Fitcuianumx, Orchid A'bu.ii, t. 330. 

 — A cross between C. Hookeri and C. barbatum. 



Deutzia parvifloea, Garden and Forest, Septem- 

 ber 26. 



Eeythronium Hendersoni, Garden and Forest, 

 August 29. 



Hippeastrum solandrifloeum, Illustration Horti- 

 eole, t. 58. 



Nepenthes CfRTisn, Illustration Hortieole, t. 59. 



Nymph.ea tcberosa, Garden and Forest, Septem- 

 ber 20. 



Odontoglosscm odoratum vab. Gloneriandm, 

 Lindenia, t. 151. — Venezuela. May, June. 



Oncidium macranthum, Lindenia, t. 152. — New 

 Granada. 



PeabChaumontelle Geas, Rivue Hortieole, Oct. 16. 



Rhododendron (Azalea) Vaseyi, Garden and 

 Forest, October 3.— A native of North Carolina; 

 flowers bright pink, appearing before the leaves. 



Rodbiguezia secunda, Orchid Allium, t. 351. 



Tigbidia PuiNGLEr, Garden and Forest, October 10. 



Tbichopilia tobtilis, Orchid Album, t. 34. 



Ti t lipa Greigi, I/tustrierlc Monatshefte, November. 



