December 21, 1371. ] 



JOUBNAL OP HOETIGULTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



489 



have suffered very severely the last two or three years. Dating 

 the present year the leaves have been three times suddenly 

 destroyed, and the result has been that the trees put forth fresh, 

 but very puny ones ; the trees will certainly die before long it 

 they continue to suffer the loss of foliage. The Birch (Batula 

 alba), Poplar, and the Lombardy Poplar (P. fastigiata), are now 

 suffering to some extent in various parts of the town. The 

 Ash (Frasinua excelsior), till two or three years ago was among 

 the trees least affected here. The late Mr. Eothwell placed 

 this tree among those most easily affected by chemical vapours; 

 as it here stood so well the dense smoke for many years and 

 now is so much affected, tends to show that though it will 

 not stand these vapours yet it will stand black smoke pretty well. 

 The Horse Chestnut (JSsculua Hippocastanum) a few years ago 

 grew well and flowered profusely, but is now suffering severely. 



I may remark that the fact of some sorts of trees, now sink- 

 ing so rapidly, being able to resist the effects of smoke a few 

 years ago, is a sign that there must be something in the atmo- 

 sphere that there was not formerly, for some trees that showed 

 little or no signs of decay through dense smoke are rapidly 

 giving way. While the large Elms suffer, the common English 

 Elm (XJlmas campestris) has so far proved to be one of the very 

 best growing trees in a smoky atmosphere, retaining its foliage 

 much longer than any other old-established tree that we are 

 acquainted with. We have two years ago planted several Plane 

 trees (Platanua ocoidentalis), and so far they appear to be the 

 very best trees to suit this locality. The Common Oak (Quer- 

 «as Eobur) stands as well here as in the country. One that 

 grew close to my cottage was cut down this spring, that was a 

 good specimen of early-foliaged trees. We have two or three 

 Turkish Oaks growing well. Among the others that stand well 

 is the Tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), common Laburnum 

 (Cytiaua Laburnum), and Lilac (Syringa vulgaris). The Mul- 

 berry (Moras nigra) keeps its foliage well. The Walnut (Jug- 

 lans nigra) we have not got, but in Orford Lane it grows well. 

 The Hawthorn (Crataegus Oxyacantha) and Elder (Sambucas 

 nigra) are the very best of all trees or shrubs to withstand dele- 

 terious vapours. They grow near Widnes better than any 

 other trees. 1 saw stunted plants of Elder, where the garden 

 at West Bank formerly was, alive when there was scarcely a 

 leaf of any other remaining plant to be seen. 



I do not think it necessary to dwell on fruit trees beyond 

 stating that the Eed and White Currant trees have nearly 

 succumbed. Black ones still grow. Gooseberries are getting 

 worse ; so are Apple trees ; but Pear trees still grow well, only 

 the fruit is dirty. 



In softwooded flowering plants, though some of them grow 

 very well, yet the flowers are unsatisfactory, with very fftw ex- 

 ceptions, among which are the Dahlia, Stocks, Pansies, Migno- 

 nette, Nasturtium, Lobelia, Ageratum, Pentstemon, Antirrhi- 

 num, and a few others. For the last few years I have paid 

 some attention to variegated and fine-foliaged plants in the 

 flower garden, and found this to be the best course to take to 

 get a good display of colour, which is a fine substitute for 

 flowers in a town atmosphere. 



The Rose we used to grow well, but now it is very inferior. 

 The Scotch Eose we have been compelled to destroy, it was so 

 bad. The Chrysanthemum is also very inferior to what it was 

 ,a few years ago. I may mention there is some variation under 

 peculiar circumstances. For instance, a Laurustinus might be 

 found somewhere in town, but not very healthy nor yet flower- 

 ing freely, and even that in some dry place, or it might be a 

 Teiv tree in some screened or sheltered spot, but the notes I 

 have given are from careful observations, and will apply to a 

 large majority of plants in Warrington. If we get a little out- 

 side we find some improvement. As a sample we might take 

 a walk from Bank Qaay through Orford to the cemetery. At 

 Orford we see the Fir has made very fair growth for a few years, 

 but on inspection we fiud the growth has become more retarded 

 every year. The same remarks will apply to the same trees at 

 the cemetery, more particularly those on the Warrington side. 



I will now for a few moments draw your attention to the 

 general appearance of forest trees within a few miles of War- 

 rington. Leaving that desolate place Widnes, and passing to 

 Bold Heath, there we find trees in fair condition, but as we 

 near St. Helen's Junction they are again bad. In this locality 

 is a group of promising trees cut off in their prime. Near 

 Earlestown is another group, healthy on the east side but 

 injured on the west. At Bewsey the woods look pretty well, 

 but between there and Earlestown they are very bad. Near 

 Newton Bridge, in the valley round the lake, the trees look 

 well ; so they do at Kenyon. Crossing the moss through 



Eixton, High Leigh, Lymm, Grappenhall, Appleton, Walton, 

 and Daresbury, trees look well on the average. So they do on the 

 east side of Norton ; but on the west, near Eaneorn and Widnes 

 they are severely injured, whilst at Widnes, St. Helen's, and 

 Newton we find a very large number of trees entirely destroyed 

 by chemical vapours. We also find some trees in other parts 

 not looking healthy, but many of them never were anything 

 but stunted or starved, through the unsuitability of soils or 

 subsoils, or perhaps the trees were never properly planted, or 

 the ground properly prepared. But when trees that once were 

 vigorous become gradually destroyed, their leaves being injured 

 from time to time, then we feel sure some chemical agent is at 

 work ; nevertheless, we ought always to be cautious in our 

 judgment. Sometimes premature decay is laid to the charge 

 of smoke when something else is the cause of it. I have seen 

 a little of this. On one occasion there was pointed out to me 

 a lot of young Firs, in which a few were dead. The dead Firs 

 were not all together, but were intermixed with the healthy 

 ones ; they were diseased at the roots. I noticed that live 

 branches of the trees around them were intermixed with those 

 of the dead ones. All were of one variety. Had this been the 

 effect of chemical vapour some portion of the adjoining trees 

 would have been discoloured, while the other part which the 

 vapour did not pass over and fall upon would have remained 

 green. The sulphurous gas, or whatever it may be, passes over 

 in a body, very often in a direct line, injuring only that plant, 

 or portion of plant, on which it falls. Plants affected by smoke 

 only gradually decline, when by deleterious gas the destruction 

 is much quicker. 



We must bear in mind there are natural causes even in War- 

 rington, throug'n which certain plants will not grow ; it may be 

 soil, subsoil, or air. This we find to be the case with Ferns. 

 I have paid some attention to the growth of these plants. It is 

 remarkable that some of the Ferns that grow within a short dis- 

 tance of town, I have not been able to establish in Bank Hall 

 grounds, while others have grown successfully, and this ex- 

 periment was tried nearly twenty years ago, before our atmo- 

 sphere was so bad ; so the success or failure was from natural 

 causes. The following Ferns grow well with us : — Pteris 

 aquUina, long established in Bank Hall gardens ; most likely 

 brought in among the peat used for planting Rhododendrons ; 

 Lastrea Pilix-mas, L. dilatata, and Athyrium Filix-fcemina, all 

 found with a short distance from town on every side, in some 

 places very abundant, more particularly in Dallam and Burton 

 Wood. Many varieties of these Ferns grow vigorously. Os- 

 munda regalis is found at Dallam, Eisley, and Appleton, in 

 moderate quantities. A short time ago there was at Bold 

 Heath an old marshy piece of land brought under cultivation 

 by lowering the slope or bank of the marsh and digging and 

 planting with Potatoes, wherein came several young plants of 

 Osmunda, no trace of any old plant being seen, so I think we 

 may conclude the spores must have long lain dormant, and 

 when brought to the action of the air they vegetated. Among 

 those that grow moderately is Polystichum aculeatum, found 

 in Bewsey; P. lobatum; Lastrea Oreopteris, found at Appleton, 

 Penketh Common, Belman's Lane; Lastrea Thelypteris, Enuts- 

 ford Marsh; and Lomaria Spicant, in the outskirts of the 

 town. Onoclea sensibilis (American Fern), formerly grew 

 behind Orford Hall, but is now eradicated. Among those that 

 grew a few years and then died were Polypodinm Dryopteris (I 

 believe there is a plant of this kind growing near the Water 

 Works, but I have not seen it), Polypodium Phegopteris, 

 P. calcareum (not local here), Cystopteris fragilis, Lastrea 

 rigida (chiefly mountain Ferns), Soolopendrium vulgare (Burton 

 Wood), &o. Among those that live only two or three years are 

 Asplenium Adiantum-nigrum (Winwick), A. Trichomanes 

 (Appleton Park), A. Euta-muraria (Penketh and Stockton 

 Heath), Polypodium vulgare (very common), Asplenium lan- 

 eeolatum, A. viride, AUosorus crispus, Ceterach officinarum. 

 I have not seen these last four growing anywhere about here. 

 The last I name is Ophioglossum vulgatum, found on the river 

 bank below Atherton's Quay. I have taken great pains with 

 this plant, and tried it on its own soil, even taken up with a 

 large lump of earth, but in no way could I succeed. I have 

 tried almost every British Fern, but many of them without 

 success. We have still a few in pots that we have kept for 

 many years in the frames, growing only moderately. 



Some time ago we prepared a piece of land for bog plants 

 collected on Eisley, Woolston, and Eixton Moss ; Heaths and a 

 few others prospered for a few years, but the Sweet Gale 

 (Myrica Gale) we could not get established. Though we do 

 suffer, and suffer severely, from smoke and deleterious gas, we 



