SHELTER IN EXPOSED SITES. 



the dingy Yellow Monkshoods are not worth 

 planting, but in rough places where shades of 

 blue, purple, and white are wanting, use may 

 be made of any of these finer Aconites, and the 

 fact that they succeed well in shade, or under 

 trees, allows of their being planted in places 

 unfit for many herbaceous plants. 



SHELTER IN EXPOSED SITES. 



[To the Editor of " Flora." — " I want to make a sug- 

 gestion for an article which might be of great service to 

 many of your readers — what shrubs and plants to grow 

 in the rocky or poor soils on the crest of hills, probably 

 subject to sea gales, where, on account of the view, much 

 shelter cannot be given, and where there will be wind and j 

 dryness to be reckoned with ? With the new fashion (for 

 the old houses usually lie under the lee of a hill) of build- 

 ing houses in 'beautiful situations,' the question constantly 

 arises, ' What will grow here ? ' and the usual gardener or 

 the amateur cannot answer it.— R. C."] 



In bygone years our forefathers, judging by the 

 positions occupied by the majority of ancient 

 houses that did not aspire to the rank of forti- 

 fied castles, had little or no eye for beautiful 

 views, since the greater portion of these dwell- 

 ings command but a limited outlook owing to 

 the secluded nature of thespots selected for their 

 erection. Doubtless, in the troublous times of 

 long ago, safety was the main factor in deter- 

 mining the site, and the house ensconced in a 

 tree-embowered valley was more likely to es- 

 cape the notice of a marauding band than one 

 perched upon a hill-top. Nowadays,when peace 

 reigns throughout the length and breadth of the 

 land and the hill-tops are as safe as the valleys, 

 house-builders are enabled to indulge their aes- 

 thetic tendencies to the full and hence it has 

 happened that in some cases old houses have 

 been deserted for modern mansions, on the same 

 estate, commanding a wider view, while the 

 prospect obtainable is the main consideration 

 in determining the site of a dwelling to be erect- 

 ed on newly-purchased property. In the main, 

 the present generation is a gainer through the 

 altered circumstances,but in one respect (name- 

 ly Jack of shelter) many breezy abodes of to-day 

 compare unfavourably with the sequestered 

 homesteads of our ancestors nestling in wood- 

 ed hollows. To those who love their gardens 

 the question of shelter is a most important one, 

 for in an exposed situation, unless this be pro- 

 vided, it is practically certain that satisfactory 

 results will not be attained. Shelter is obtain- 

 able from walls, but these are objectionable to 



the eye unless covered with greenery, and even 

 then theirstraight lines detract from the beauty 

 of the landscape. There are, however, many 

 living things with which we may fashion a 

 wind-break that will enable us to grow plants 

 requiring protection from the rude blasts. The 

 first thing to be done is to provide an adequate 

 shelter from the prevailing wind for the very 

 subjects which will eventually afford the de- 

 sired protection, for it is desirable that the ram- 

 part should become effective as speedly as pos- 

 sible, and unless the plants forming it start into 

 growth at once and receive no check in their 

 earlier stages this will be a lengthy matter. Even 

 the hardiest trees and shrubs, if they are con- 

 tinually buffeted by rough winds before their 

 roots have become thoroughly established in 

 the soil, will make but little headway, whereas, 

 if they are allowed to complete their first two 

 or three years' growth behind a shelter-fence, 

 at the end of that time they will be so securely 

 anchored that gales will have but little effect 

 on them. This fact was once brought home to 

 me pointedly in a certain south-western garden 

 where a row of Cupressus macrocarpa had been 

 planted as a wind-break. Part of the row was 

 protected against the prevailing wind by stout 

 wattle hurdles about 4 feet in height, the other 

 portion had no protection. Behind the hurdles 

 the plants were sturdy and bushy little trees 

 of 5 feet. The best of the unprotected plants 

 were fully a foot shorter and had thrown out far 

 weaker side-shoots, some had made scarcely 

 any growth since they were planted, and others 

 were evidently dying. A wind-screen is easily 

 provided by reed or wattle hurdles 4 feet in 

 height, securely staked, or a bank the same 

 height maybe thrown up. Another thingtobe 

 borne in mind in the case of a screen of trees 

 is that the wider the screen the more ample is 

 the protection. A width of twenty yards is 

 better than ten, and fifty is better than twenty. 

 The same applies to shrubs but to a less degree. 

 As a shelter-tree none can excel the Holm Oak 

 [Quercus I/ex), generally known by the popu- 

 lar name of Ilex. Wonders have been worked 

 at Goodwood by its extensive planting, and at 

 Abbotsbury, on the Dorsetshire coast, the far- 

 famed garden is rendered secure from the wind 

 by groves of this tree, for a gale blowing through 

 a dozen Holm Oaks is a zephyr the other side. 

 Of conifers the Monterey Pine (P. insignis), 



