i 5 8 



FLORA AND SYLVA. 



SOWING 



The rapid way in which trees sow themselves 

 in our woodlands might lead people to think 

 of the advantages of sowing the seeds of some 

 trees direct. Perhaps in planting with Pine an 

 arable field in which a tree has not grown for 

 ages, among the young Pines we may find in 

 a few years' time numbers of Ash trees also, 

 and perhaps clean young saplings of the native 

 Oak brought thither by squirrels, rats, birds, 

 or mice, which may one day take the place 

 of the Pines. The Scotch Fir sows itself 

 rapidly in certain heaths and rough lands in 

 Surrey, Devon, and Hants, and many other 

 places ; Larch we have seen come up on poor 

 soilless railway banks. Sycamore comes up 

 as thickly as chickweed, and, though not a 

 popular tree at present, is really a valuable one 

 in many ways, both for its timber and also as 

 a seaside tree. Chestnuts are more easily raised 

 from seed than in any other way, by dibbling 

 in the fruit. The squirrel, long-tailed bank 

 mouse, the bank vole, the jay, and the rook are 

 among the living things that bring and scatter 

 the seeds of Oak and other trees for us. Our 

 reasons for sowing are various ; plants for 

 forest purposes are not easy to get in many dis- 

 tricts, in the rough state, and there is a way of 

 planting trees too large, which is fatal to suc- 

 cess. As the ordinary nursery does not every- 

 where lend itself to the cultivation of forest 

 plants in the best state for woodland planting, 

 growers very often have to apply to others 

 for them, and hence there is a double move- 

 ment of the plants, often to their injury. Un- 

 less, moreover, the ground and labour are ready, 

 the plants sometimes suffer after getting home. 



A Giant Honeysuckle (Lonicera Hilde- 

 brandiand). — Visitors to the Drill Hall, West- 

 minster, at a recent meeting of the Royal 

 Horticultural Society, were interested in some 

 flowering branches of this plant shown by 

 Messrs. Paul, of Cheshunt. Found in the Shan 

 States of Upper Cochin China, it proves quite 

 at home in a cool greenhouse,where its growth 

 is rapid. I have seen a plant of L. Hildebrandi- 

 ana, bearing only six leaves, planted in rich 

 light soil at the base of a small Pine tree upon 

 the Riviera, and in two years its long pendant 



WOODS. 



The best results are from little trees, say under 

 a foot high generally, but during hot years, in 

 the southern and midland counites, failures are 

 common, even of sound little trees. Planting 

 as usually done is expensive. This is especially 

 so if the work is not organised by an expert 

 woodman, who knows what it ought to cost 

 and how promptly planting should be done. 

 No doubt we shall have to wait for results, but 

 every art has its routine way, which, when 

 looked into sometimes, is not always the best 

 way for the purchaser, and is often nothing 

 more than a trade convenience. In any case, 

 sowing trees is a most interesting way, and 

 also the natural way. Our experience is much 

 in favour of seedling trees as against planted 

 trees ; and we advise those who have poor fields 

 of ground to sow them with tree seeds, getting 

 sound seed, and from good sources. The sow- 

 ing of trees may be done in different ways ac- 

 cording to the soil, the trees chosen, and the 

 labour at our disposal. It may be done broad- 

 cast, and not a bad way in good Oak land is to 

 scatter acorns over the ground and then run 

 a light plough over it, which throws them 

 into lines and also preserves the acorns from 

 their numerous enemies during the winter. 

 Acorns may be dibbled with success in the 

 underwood also. Chestnuts may be planted in 

 the same way. Larch and Scotch Fir we have 

 successfully grown broadcast, but where there 

 is time and labour to spare these might also 

 be sown in lines. Bare rocky surfaces may 

 be sown broadcast. These remarks apply to 

 native trees and such hardy forest trees as 

 readily take to our climate. 



branches formed a festoon at the summit, 

 while during the third season it bloomed 

 freely, the main stems being already the thick- 

 ness of an old vine stem. The flowers, sparsely 

 clustered, are about 5 inches in length, the tube 

 very long, and the throat small ; the colour is 

 at first creamy-white, then yellow, shading to 

 orange before the blossoms die away ; very 

 fragrant. In its native country it covers trees 

 with rope-like stems. Its culture is perfectly 

 simple, as is also its propagation by layers. — 

 J. H. B. 



