OAKS AT ALDENHAM. 



193 



in England, our plants show no sign of ill-health, although they have 

 not progressed very rapidly. In appearance it is very like its close 

 relative, Q. bicolor, but lacks the shaggy bark, and has more deeply- 

 lobed leaves than the latter. It was introduced in 181 1, but has 

 always been rare, and the finest tree recorded by Mr. Elwes at Eastnor 

 Castle was not more than 40 ft. high, though in its own habitat 

 it is one of the tallest of the genus, sometimes reaching as much 

 as 170 ft. 



Owing to their general similarity of appearance few besides collectors 

 would want more than one of the three Eastern white oaks, alba, 

 bicolor, and macrocarpa, and having regard to the small likelihood of 

 alba ever attaining maturity here, I should recommend bicolor in 

 preference to either of the others, principally on account of its 

 conspicuously shaggy stem. 



Besides the three above-named varieties of Q. macrocarpa, I have 

 two hybrids where this oak has supplied the pollen, one being crossed 

 with Q. alba and the other with Q. Toza, which are both dealt with 

 under those headings. 



Q. marylandica (Muenchhausen).— Of all the members of this 

 genus this is, I consider, the handsomest in foliage, though in habit it 

 cannot claim nearly so high a place. Its leaves are large, leathery, 

 and irregular in shape, recalling both those of Q. cimeata and of the 

 fig-tree; they are of a rich dark green and carry a very high polish 

 on the upper side, while underneath they have a brownish buff and 

 hairy surface. I have two healthy plants, of which the taller is only 

 12 ft. high. 



They are not rapid growers nor trees which readily make a good 

 upright leader and symmetrical form ; they are generally but sparsely 

 branched, and unless judiciously pruned are disposed to a rugged 

 outline. The most shapely and promising young tree of this species 

 which I have ever seen is in the grounds of my friend Mr. Charles 

 Eley, at East Bergholt, in Suffolk ; writing from memory, I should 

 say it was about 20 ft. high. 



They figured for a long time in our arboretum as Q. nigra. It is very 

 confusing that besides the true Q. nigra, or Water Oak (see later), 

 there should be two others, this and Q. velutina, which have the 

 synonym nigra. 



It never attains apparently more than 50 ft. in its native home, 

 so cannot be of great importance from anything but an ornamental 

 standpoint. It must, I suppose, be rare here, considering that Mr. 

 Elwes thought my plant, though then a mere stripling, worthy of 

 being chronicled. Having regard to its being so distinct, conspicuous, 

 and hardy, it should be more planted, and is particularly suited to 

 gardens in that it is never likely to take up a great deal of room, 

 nor to make a very dense mass overhead. Anyone looking at it in 

 summer without previous knowledge would guess it to be evergreen, 

 whereas it is altogether deciduous. Neither of our plants has yet 

 borne fruit. 



