OAKS AT ALDENHAM. 



evergreen. A small tree." This clear and graphic picture calls up 

 a vision of a tree as far removed as can well be possible from either 

 of the two oaks Cerris and Suber which went to its making. My own 

 plant shows no sign of having been grafted, and I have no idea how 

 and where it was raised. Outside ours and the Kew specimens, I 

 have myself seen it nowhere else. 



Q. X Lucombeana fulhamensis. — This is perhaps the most charming 

 of the many and diverse forms of this hybrid. It owes its varietal 

 name to a famous tree which stood for many years in Osborne's 

 nursery at Fulham, but which was cut down, and the land devoted to 

 building, about 1890. 



It is a great pity that this particular tree was not preserved, as 

 could easily have been done by grafting, for the trees bearing that 

 name which now (191 9) exist at Kew differ materially from it in foliage . 

 and are to my taste inferior, though, as I have already said, their habit 

 is particularly graceful, owing to the terminal part of the boughs 

 being pendulous." I have seen dried specimens of the leaves of 

 Osborne's old tree, and they are about 3 in. long by nearly 2 in. broad, 

 and gradually and regularly lessen in width from base to apex ; they 

 have a scrolled edge with little, flat, shallow rounded lobes uniform 

 in size, and the base itself is full and rounded : on the other hand, the 

 leaves of the existing trees at Kew have much deeper, more pointed, 

 and more irregular lobes, and though the leaves are about the same 

 length they are narrower, and are more or less of the same width from- 

 base to apex, while the base itself, instead of being broad and gently 

 rounded, slopes off to a sharp point where it joins the stalk. At Ottery 

 St. Mary, above mentioned, there are two fine trees of this variety, 

 45 and 39 ft. high respectively, of which the stems are markedly 

 corky. It would seem that this pretty variety has almost gone out 

 of commerce in England. I suppose even ten years ago it would 

 have been easy enough for me to obtain an example from a 

 nurseryman, but I neglected to do so, and last year I tried for long in 

 vain to get one from the trade, but have lately secured a well-grown 

 plant 10 ft. high, as also a cut-leafed sport from this variety 2 ft. 

 6 in. high, called /. laciniata. I also hope to have wood from the 

 Kew tree grafted next March on an Ilex or Cerris stock. 



In the case of grafting it is obviously better to have the stock and 

 scion as closely allied as possible, and I should say that Q. rubra would 

 be the best stock for any American oak not easily obtainable on its 

 own roots, Q. Ilex for any evergreen oaks, Q. Cerris for any variety 

 of Lucombe, and Q. pedunculata for any others. 



The habit in English nurseries, so far as oak-grafting has of late 

 years been practised at all, has been, I understand, to employ Q. 

 pedunculata in all cases, although older examples of Q. X Lucombeana 

 are found to be grafted on Q. Cerris. I am quite convinced that saddle 

 or cleft grafting makes a better union than side grafting and should 

 always be adopted, at any rate for oaks. I think it highly probable 

 that some of the more delicate exotic oaks would do better in Eng- 

 land when grafted on vigorous appropriate stocks than on their own 



