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THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



[March 2, 1912. 



EDITORIAL NOTICE. 



ADVERTISEMENTS ihould be sent to the PUB- 

 LI5MEK, 4i, Wellington Street, Covent Garden, 



Special Notice to Correspondents.— The Editors do not 

 undertake to pay for any contributions or illustrations, of 

 to return unused communications or illustrations, unless by 

 special arrangement. The Editors do not hold themselves 

 responsible for any opinions expressed by their correspon- 

 dents. 



Illustrations.- The Editors will be glad to receive and to select 

 photographs or drawings, suitable for reproduction, of 

 gardens, or of remarkable plants, flowers, trees, &c. $ but 

 they cannot be responsible for loss or injury. 



APPOINTMENTS FOR MARCH. 



SATURDAY, MARCH 2— 



Soc. Franchise d'Hort. de Londres meet. 



TUESDAY, MARCH 5- 



Roy. Hort. Soc. Corns, meet and Spring Bulb Sh. (2 

 days). (Lecture at 3 p.m. by Prof. H. E. Armstrong on 

 "The Stimulation of Plant Growth.") 

 Scottish Hort. Assoc, meet. 



THURSDAY, MARCH 7- 



Linnean Soc. meet. Manchester and N. of England 

 Orchid Soc. meet. 



MONDAY, MARCH 11— 



U. H. Ben. and Prov. Soc. Ann. Meet, at 8 p.m. 



THURSDAY, MARCH 14- 



Roy. Hort. Soc Exh. of South African Products, includ- 

 ing Cereals (3 days). 

 North of England Hort. Soc. meet at Bradford. 



TUESDAY, MARCH 19- 



Roy. Hort. Soc. Corns, meet. (Lecture at 3 p.m. by Mr. 

 H. B. May on il Ferns.'') 



WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20- 



Roy. Meteorological Soc. meet. (Lecture by Dr. 



Pettersson.) 



THURSDAY, MARCH 21— 



Perpetual-flowering Carnation Soc. Sh. at R.H.S. Hall, 



Westminster (2 days). Linnean Soc. meet. Manchester 



Orchid Soc. meet. 



TUESDAY, MARCH 26- 



Bournemouth Spring Fl. Sh. (2 days). 



WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27— 



Roy. Hort. Soc. General Exam. Liverpool Hort. Assoc. 

 Sh. (2 days). Roy. Botanic Soc. meet. 



THURSDAY, MARCH 28- 



Torquay Dist. Gard. Assoc. Spring Fl. Sh. 



SATURDAY, MARCH 30- 



Soc. Franchise d'Hort. de Londres Ann. Dinner, 



Average Mean Temperature for the ensuing week 

 deduced from observations during the last Fifty Years 

 at Greenwich— 40*8°. 



Actual Temperatures: — 



London. — Wednesday , February 28 (6 p.m.): Max. 59°; 



Min. 50 w . 



Gardeners' Chronicle Office, 41, Wellington Street, 

 Covent Garden, London — Thursday, February 29 

 (10 a.m.) : Bar. 29*8° ; Temp. 54° ; Weather— 



Dull. 

 Provinces.— Wednesday, February 28: Max 54° Cam- 

 bridge ; Mia. 48° Scotland, N. 



SALES FOR THE ENSUING WEEK. 



MONDAY and WEDNESDAY - 



Rose Trees, Fruit Trees, Perennials, Liliums, Trained 

 Bay Trees, Palms, &c, at 12.30, at Stevens's Auction 

 Rooms, 38, King Street, Covent Garden, London. 



MONDAY and FRIDAY— 



Hardy Bulbs in Variety. Herbaceous and Border Plants, 

 at 12; Roses and Fruit Treas, at 1.30; at 67 & 68, 

 Cheapside, E.C., by Protheroe & Morris. 



WEDNESDAY— 



Perennials and Herbaceous Plants, Hardy Bulbs, &c, 

 at 12; Roses and Fruit Trees at 1.30; Palms and 

 Plants, at 5 ; Trade Sale of Miscellaneous Bulbs, at 12 ; 

 Japanese Lilies in Cases, at 2.30 ; at 67 & 68, Cheap- 

 side, E.C., by Protheroe & Morris. 



Forest 



Ornamental 

 Trees in 



1911. 



The " wonderful year " 1911 

 has left its mark on all 

 forms of vegetation. Shy 



Somersetshire, Devonshire, and in the growth, averaging li feet to 2i feet high, 



neighbourhood of Cambridge. 



sickly in appearance, and many died from 



At the beginning of spring the continued drought. On the third plot, where there 

 frosts, cold winds and generally wintry is also a good deal of grass, the Conifers 

 conditions affected Elms in particular, 

 especially Ulmus montana, U. glabra, 

 and the Huntingdon Elm. Many flowers 

 were produced, but only small quantities broad-leaved species mixed with them are 

 of the fruit developed properly, and the in the same condition as the Chestnuts 

 percentage of germination was very low in just referred to, reaching only 1| feet to 



made good growth in height, aver- 

 aging 4i feet to 5 feet, and were un- 

 affected by the drought ; whereas the 



species. 

 The plantation has a north aspect. This 



the seed that did mature. 2 feet high. In this plot Ash suffered 

 In Larch, Poplars and Willows the same least and Beech most of the broad-leaved 

 effect was less marked, and the crop of 

 Larch cones was fair on the whole. Pop- 

 lars and Willows are generally propagated fact raises another interesting point 

 by cuttings and sets, and we are apt to worthy of further investigation. In every 

 forget that these trees reproduce them- case noted this year trees planted on the 

 selves by seed ; yet in one nursery about north side of a slope succeeded better than 

 200 seedlings of Populus nigra are raised those on the south side. On the Conti- 

 annually. Birches produced but little nent, even old woods and forests with a 

 good seed, whilst Alders were remarkably north aspect are much more vigorous in 



prolific in most cases. 



growth and produce a larger volume of 



The warm weather which set in soon timber than those with a south aspect, 

 after Easter brought out flowers of the It would be instructive to see how far 

 Oaks as early as the first week in May. this applies to England, and to obtain 



figures relating to the comparative value 

 of aspect. 



many places the drought killed a 

 great number of plants both in young and 

 older plantations ; and in some cases total 



Two not- 



In 



Those of Sweet Chestnut, Beech, Walnut, 

 Pterocarya, Horse Chestnut, Sycamore, 

 and Maple soon followed. All of these 

 produced abundant flowers, and were in 

 most cases very successful in maturing 

 large quantities of fruit. Hence there 

 were abundant crops of fruit, especially 

 of the Oaks, Sweet Chestnut, Sycamore 

 and Maples, providing a chance for 

 foresters that probably w T ill not recur for 

 some years to come. 



Beech was an exception in the south 

 and Midlands of England, where the most 

 produced was very poor in quality. There 

 were only small quantities of Ash " keys/ 7 shallow soil overlying hard rock, and even 



replanting will be necessary, 

 able exceptions, however, may be noticed. 

 At Culford, near Bury St. Edmunds, land 

 previous to planting is ploughed to a depth 

 of about 16 inches with a forest plough. 

 The extra cost of tillage is amply repaid, 

 as there were scarcely any fatalities 

 amongst the plants, even on coarse sand. 

 In the neighbourhood of Bristol, on very 



except on young trees. 



in the rock itself, planting is done in holes 



filled with 



a mattock, and 

 soil. Under these conditions plants sue 



Cyclonia cathayensis fruited in th(**sum- made by 

 mer for the first time at Tortworth Court, 

 in Gloucestershire. Alder fruits were late ceeded last year where others of the same 

 in ripening, but Larch cones were mature age near them in a good depth of soil were 

 in a great many cases as early as the completely parched. In many cases, 

 second week in September. Cypresses plants so treated are the only specimens 

 and Thuyas produced large quantities of 

 fruits, but many of them, like the Acorns 

 and Chestnuts, fell early. 



remaining alive on the whole area. 

 Many species of Japanese trees suffered 



much from the drought. 



The effects of the long-continued drought tations in the south-west of 



Young plan- 

 England 



and heat greatly influenced vegetative 

 growth, especially in the case of recently- 

 planted, broad-leaved trees, which had to 

 contend with coarse grasses, brambles, 



and other rivals. Everywhere broad- was generally the case with most planta- 

 tions of this tree that are under 10 years 



of age. The Japanese Larch is evidently 



dry 



containing Japanese Larch (Larix lepto- 

 lepis) were dotted here and there with 

 scarlet tints due to parched and dead 

 trees of this species. It appears that this 



leaved species suffered more from priva- 

 tion in early life than Conifers 



For example, at Portbury, Bristol, on 

 the Ashton Court estate, a plantation, 

 five years old, of Conifers and broad- 



seeders bore seed prof usely ; leaved species, consists of three equal 

 late-flowering plants proved areas. One plot was formerly an old 



precocious; drought scorched and de- mixed wood, which was felled and later 



stroyed whole hosts of plants: ; nor were 



the trees, those members of the vegetable 



kingdom which are generally less obviously 



dependent on weather and seasonal con- 

 ditions, immune from the effects, good and 



bad, of the exceptional summer. 

 These effects will have in the coming and Beech. The Chestnuts on the plot 



replanted with Chestnut. Adjoining this 

 is another plot, which was an old pasture, 

 but is now planted also with pure 

 Chestnut. A third adjoining plot, also an 

 old pasture, was planted with a mixture 

 of Scots Pine, European Larch, Oak, Ash 



season their after-effects, hence it is where there is no grass are healthy and a fe<£>^3£alities. 



well to recall in general terms some of vigorous, with an average height of 4j 



the more salient features of the tree- feet to 5 feet, and were in no way affected 



Tegetation in 1911. The following re- by the drought. On the second plot, 



marks are based upon observations made where there is a considerable growth of 



unsuitable for planting on hot or 

 banks, especially those having a south as- 

 pect. The trees bear a greater quantity 

 of foliage when young than the European 

 species, and probably on this account 

 make a greater demand on the water 

 contained in the soil. The European 

 species suffered very little from drougn 

 in the past season, and ^rhen it did suffer 

 it made a more rapid recovery on the ter- 

 mination of the drought. 



Cryptomeria japonica ana some Japa ' 

 ese Maples were similarly overcome in no 



Young Beech plants 

 almost everywhere were killed or suffere 

 greatly, but Pedunculate Oak, Elms and 

 Sycamore survived the ordeal better. 



The Sessile Oak, Ash, Sweet Chest- 









bj Mr. A. P. Long in Gloucestershire, grass, the Chestnuts are stunted in nut and Norway Maple made good gro 



wth 



