Quercus 1227 



Cultivation of the Mediterranean Oaks 



Though the species of oaks found in various parts of the Mediterranean region 

 are very numerous, few of them are fit for cultivation in England, as long experience 

 has proved. In the warmest parts of the south and east coast, especially near the 

 sea and on good deep soil in sheltered positions, some of them will attain very 

 large dimensions, as our account of the cork tree and Q. Ilex proves ; but the severe 

 winters which occur at long intervals even in these favoured places, and the 

 want of hot dry autumnal weather necessary to ripen their late growth, too 

 often cripple them when young, and destroy them when old. At the same time, 

 there are several which may, with care in planting and sheltering them during 

 their early years, be well worth more extended trials than they have had; and 

 now that modern means of communication has brought regions which were 

 formerly remote within easy reach by post, I would advise those planters who 

 like variety, to try such species as yEgilops, Libani, alnifolia, pontica, lusitanica, 

 macedonica, and Toza, as well as those which we know to be capable of becoming fine 

 trees like Mirbeckii, conferta, castanecsfolia, and perhaps macranthera. 



Cultivation of the Asiatic Oaks 



Though several of the Chinese, Japanese, and Himalayan oaks have proved 

 hardy in the warmer parts of England, and are more or less ornamental on account 

 of their evergreen foliage ; yet none, so far as we can judge at present, seem at all 

 likely to attain timber size in this country, or to be worthy of cultivation except 

 in botanic gardens. It is perhaps premature to condemn them until they have 

 been tried for a longer period, but it is evident that they require climatic conditions 

 which are rarely found. The same may be said of the Mexican oaks, many 

 of which grow at high elevations and were introduced long ago, but of which only 

 two or three species seem to have survived. 



Acorns should be procured as fresh as possible, and sown at once in deep 

 pots or boxes, which can be kept under glass for two or three years before 

 planting out. If acorns of suitable species are established in the places where 

 the trees are to be planted, to serve as stocks for grafting on, when the scions are 

 large enough, a double chance of success will be had. But in these days too 

 little care and attention is paid to the necessary pruning and training, which 

 almost all kinds of hardwoods require to make them really ornamental trees, and 

 unless this is attended to every two or three years for a considerable time, as 

 at Kew, the side branches often become so strong that the main trunk is 

 weakened, and the shape of the whole tree spoilt. The sooner this is done in 

 reason the better, and as the individuals of most species seem to vary very 

 much in their constitution and vigour, it is never wise to depend on one plant 



