ORNAMENTAL TREES. 



MS 



first, changing to bronze crimson. They are shrubs rather than trees, and can only 

 be recommended for warm districts and sheltered positions. 



Acacias have been mentioned amongst flowering trees, but one at least deserves 

 special notice for its free, yet symmetrical, contour and elegant foliage, namely, 

 Acacia Bessoniana. An avenue of these in Sutton Court Eoad, Chiswick, near the 

 Eoyal Horticultural Society's Gardens, would form one of the most beautiful vistas 

 near London, but for the parochial mutilation of the trees which passes under the 

 name of pruning. This forms a charming lawn tree in the south, and very graceful 

 is the glossy acacia-like Gleditschia inermis, which is too little seen in gardens. 



"Where there is ample room the tree of heaven (Ailantus glaiidulosa) should 

 be planted ; it forms a stately tree with handsome pinnate leaves, and, though hardy, 

 is not happy in bleak situations. The silver birch (Betula alba), and especially the 

 pendulous variety, are elegant lawn trees ; while the hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) 

 with its gold and silver variegated forms, are suitable for pleasure grounds and large 

 shrubberies. The beech (Fagus sylvatica) is prone to render lawns unsightly by 

 dead leaves and husks, but this must not prejudice the copper (cuprea), purple 

 (purpurea), or the cut-leaved varieties — asplenifolia, hcterophylla, incisa, and quercifolia 

 — as these are distinctly ornamental, and those with coloured leaves indispensable. 

 The weeping form, F. sylvatica pendula, is also worthy of more general cultivation. 



The London plane (Platanus occidentalis) makes a noble specimen, and succeeds 

 in damp positions. It is one of the best of shade trees, and also for towns, but often 

 fails in the northerly parts of the kingdom. It ought only to be planted where 

 there is ample space, as it may grow from 50 to 80 feet high. The Oriental plane 

 is of lower growth, with more deeply cut leaves. The value of poplars as screen 

 trees has been pointed out, but, in many high and dry positions, a group of three 

 or four of the Lombardy species (Populus fastigiata) might be planted advantageously ; 

 when developed they become prominent landmarks. Oaks, suitable for extensive 

 pleasure grounds, are the Turkey (Quercus cerris), which is not slow in obtaining a 

 height of 40 feet; the scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea), 50 feet; and the slower-growing 

 common oak (Quercus robur). Quercus rubicunda has reddish purple foliage and 

 is of free growth. 



Of a very different description, and more ornamental in a small state, is the 

 stag's-horn sumach (Ehus typhina), which grows to a height of 10 to 20 feet. The 

 purple osier (Salix purpurea), and hybrids, Lambertiana, ramulosa, and Woolgariana, 

 VOL. I. u 



