HARDY ORNAMENTAL TREES AND SHRUBS. 



337 



winds, of a projecting rock, of a neighbouring 

 building, or even of a single tree of the hardier 

 sort, must not be overlooked. It frequently 

 happens that a change of less than 50 feet in 

 the position of a tree or shrub may make all 

 the difference between rearing a well-formed 

 shapely specimen, or one that is quite the re- 

 verse. 



Besides the presence of saline matter in the 

 air, the difficulty of establishing trees and 

 shrubs in positions exposed to the fiercest 

 storms that visit our islands has to be con- 

 sidered. The mistake frequently made in sea- 

 side gardens, especially public ones, is in plant- 

 ing large specimens with a view to obtaining 

 an immediate effect. Such trees become loose 

 at the root before they have a chance to fix 

 themselves firmly by getting a thorough hold 

 of the new soil. Artificial supports (stakes, 

 wires, ropes, &c.) will, of course, afford some 

 help; but no ordinary staking will counteract 

 the persistent swaying and twisting effects of 

 the wind on a bushy tree or shrub of large size. 

 Three or four years, during which many such 

 trees will linger on, are often wasted in attempts 

 of this sort, as well as all the attendant expenses. 

 And at the end it is necessary to begin the work 

 anew by using trees of smaller size. 



Till the external screen recommended is well 

 grown a protection of hurdles or rough board- 

 ing fixed on the external wall during the winter 

 or windy season will be found of much advan- 

 tage. Similar screens may also be employed 

 for single plants or groups of plants within the 

 grounds. 



TREES FOR CHALK SOILS. 



Chalk soils are often difficult to furnish with 

 a thriving mantle of vegetation, and yet there 

 are many situations on elevated chalk land 

 which are exceedingly well adapted in other 

 respects for residential purposes, and in which, 

 as a consequence, planting becomes important. 



The chalk districts of England do not vary 

 much in their physical characters — bold, undu- 

 lating hills of great breadth and extent, with 

 open valleys, all much exposed to the action of 

 the wind. The soil of these chalk hills and 

 downs is very uniform, a thin crust of brown 

 loam immediately overlying the pure chalk. 

 Here and there on the highest hills and most 

 elevated flats are a few patches of plastic clay, 

 forming the basins of those perennial ponds 

 which one sees on the South Downs, and which 

 no drought can destroy. These clay patches 

 vol. i. 



are very valuable and important in many ways. 

 The chalk and the loam are very definite and 

 sharp in the line where they meet; there is no 

 mixing-up, no transition from one to the other; 

 but the line of union is often irregular, for in a 

 section it is sometimes seen that the loam will 

 be only 5 or 6 inches deep at one spot, and 2 or 

 3 feet at another close by. 



Chalk consists almost entirely of carbonate of 

 lime, with some silica and a trace of alumina. 

 It therefore very imperfectly supplies the mineral 

 elements necessary for vegetable growth. The 

 loam on chalk consists of carbonate of lime, some 

 clay, sand, and a considerable quantity of decayed 

 vegetable matter, and is, therefore, a fair sup- 

 porter of vegetable life. 



Trees of very large size will grow upon this 

 thin layer of soil, as is evident to anyone 

 w r ho travels through the chalk cuttings on our 

 southern railways. In many places the soil is 

 not 6 inches deep above the chalk, and yet 

 splendid trees, especially Beeches, are seen cloth- 

 ing the hills. 



In trenching chalk land the trench should be 

 carried to the bottom of the loam, but no further. 

 However thin the layer of soil may be, it alone 

 should be turned over. The chalk may be 

 broken up into large lumps w T ith a pick-axe ; 

 and left at the bottom of the trench. 



The following trees and shrubs will thrive in 

 a chalk soil: — 



Conifers. 



Abies magniflca. 



Pinus austriaca. 



,, nobilis. 



,, excelsa. 



,, Nordmanniana. 



,, Laricio. 



„ Pinsapo. 



,, Pinaster. 



Cedrus atlantica. 



„ sylvestris. 



,, Deodara. 



„ Torreyana. 



Cupressus Lawsoniana. 



Retinospora ericoides. 



,, macrocarpa. 



,, filicoides. 



,, nootkatensis. 



Sequoia gigantea. 



Ginkgo biloba. 



Taxus baccata. 



Juniperus chinensis. 



,, ,, var. fastigiata. 



„ communis. 



Thuja Lobbii. 



„ virginiana. 



,, occidentalis. 



,, Sabina. 



,, orientalis. 



Larix europsea. 



,, tatarica. 



,, leptolepis. 



,, Wareana. 



Picea excelsa. 





Dectduoi 



ts Trees. 



Acers of sorts. 



Fagus sylvatica var. purpurea. 



iEsculus Hippocastanum 



Fraxinus excelsior. 



Alnus glutinosa. 



Gleditschia triacanthos. 



Amelanchier canadensis. 



sinensis. 



Amygdalus communis. 



Halimodendron argenteum. 



Betula alba. 



Kolreuteria paniculate.. 



Caraganas of sorts. 



Populus alba. 



Castanea vulgaris. 



and others. 



Catalpa bignonioides. 



Prunus Padus 



Cladrastus tinctoria. 



Pyrus Aria. 



Crataegus Oxyacantha. 



,, Aucuparia. 



and others. 



„ Malus. 



Cytisus Laburnum. 



., salicifolia. 



and others. 



,, spectabilis. 



Fagus sylvatica. 



and others. 





22 



