241 



so well grown as with M. Leichtlin, who sent 

 plants to America. There they throve with 

 Dr. Van Fleet, who succeeded in crossing it 

 with G. Childsii. The resulting hybrid, Gla- 

 diolus princeps, exceeded all expectation. Its 

 flowers of crimson-scarlet are rich and intense 

 in colour, widely expanding, of great size and 

 fine form. The brightness of the flower is re- 

 lieved by touches of white, or frequently by a 

 white stripe across the centre of the lower 

 petals, which are very full and rounded. The 

 new plant flowers late in August and Septem- 

 ber when other kinds are on the wane ; this 

 fact alone will give the newcomer an added 

 value. Though expanding in slow succession, 

 and never having more than three or four open 

 at the same time, the size and lasting quality 

 of its flowers do much to atone for this fact. To 

 the present, raisers have failed to induce much 

 variation in colour from the scarlet of the first 

 G. princeps,bx\X it is not too much to hope that 

 colours may yet be gained as varied as in the 

 finest strains of hybrid Gladioli. — Philip de 

 Vilmorin, "Revue Horticole." 



WASTED OAKS. — Some feeble ex- 

 cuse for the general neglect of woodland 

 work and forestry in England may be 

 found in the fact that in continental 

 countries vast forest districts belong to 

 the State and are taken good care of to 

 its profit, whereas here we have little of 

 national forest, and what we have is of no 

 great credit to us. The training of many 

 of the best men for State forest work 

 has its effect also on private property, 

 and the landowners in Germany think 

 it worth their while to know something 

 of their woods in order to take care of 

 them. But apart from forest work pro- 

 per there is a form of tree waste which 

 consists in letting the fine Oaks of the 

 country die on their feet, instances of 

 which can be seen in many districts of 

 the southern and midland counties. In 

 the north, where the Pine is a better 



grower than the Oak, this form of waste 

 is less noticeable. When it is a question 

 of the monumental trees such as the 

 "Beggar's Oak" in Bagot Park or the 

 "Bear Oak" at Penshurst — trees that 

 make the history of the Oak in our coun- 

 try — none can begrudge the care be- 

 stowed upon them ; but in the districts 

 where we see these precious trees dozens 

 of Oaks may sometimes be seen with 

 their tops perishing and allowed to cum- 

 ber the ground when long past their 

 prime. This is the case also when the 

 owners of mature woods, pressed for 

 money, cut down their half-grown trees 

 of other kinds. These half-dying Oaks 

 mar the beauty of the wood, chase, or 

 park. The sort of man — not rare — who 

 perpetuates this disgrace, boasting that 

 he never cuts down a tree, probably 

 never plants many trees. This neglected 

 source of wealth is brought forcibly to 

 mind of late from facts which have gone 

 the round of The Field and other coun- 

 try papers regarding the sale of Oaks 

 by Messrs. Richardson of Stamford for 

 ^"ioo apiece, the buyer in each case 

 taking the tree with all faults and at his 

 own risk. They were exceptionally fine 

 Oaks of the brown wood sought by 

 cabinet-makers : the price was remark- 

 able, and may remind us of the waste 

 we speak of. There are thousands of 

 Oaks in Britain allowed to encumber 

 the ground beyond their time of matu- 

 rity, which, if cut down and sold when 

 at their best, would have been a very 

 material aid to their owners, and have 

 enabled them among other things to 

 renew their woods and plant waste and 

 poor ground. 



