202 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



that, though not otherwise than ornamental, it is not a fine specimen 

 from a forester's point of view. I suppose it must now be about 

 forty to forty-five years old. I have another much younger tree of 

 the same species which I did treat rather drastically a few years ago, 

 and with the best results; it is now as correct in outline as those 

 admirably pruned planes adorning the Mall, which were the subject 

 of violent and ill-informed criticism some ten years ago in The Times. 

 This tree is 20 ft. high, with a girth of 1 ft. 4 in. Judging from the 

 relation of girth to height in this tree, I estimate that had the older 

 one, girthing 4 ft. 6 in., been properly pruned it would have now scaled 

 at least 60 ft. in height instead of 37 ft. ! The branches in this tree 

 are generally slender, which gives it an elegant and graceful look. 

 It has been an alien immigrant for over a century, and with the ex- 

 ception of rubra and coccinea is the most often planted and one of the 

 best doers here of any of the American oaks. Mr. Elwes notes a 

 tree in Windsor Park 113 ft. high in 1910. 



The colour of the dying leaves in 19 19 was exceptionally fine. 

 It was not the bright scarlet of Q. coccinea splendens, but a deep 

 dark crimson merging into claret colour. 



There is a weeping variety of this species, Q. palustris pendula, which 

 I do not possess at present, but which is to be seen at Kew, and which 

 I hope to get grafted on a rubra stock and have growing at Aldenham 

 in the course of next year. 



Q. pedunculata (Ehrhart). — This in our neighbourhood is, with 

 the exception of Ulmus campestris, the commonest hedgerow tree, 

 and as a general rule grows very well, though I know of none which 

 has attained exceptional dimensions. The best tree in our grounds, 

 growing in the open, is 64 ft. high, and has a girth 3 ft. above ground 

 of 14 ft. 6 in. ; it is a fine old fellow (see fig. 20), and as yet shows 

 no signs of decay, but it would pass quite unnoticed alongside of the 

 giants in the park of Lord Powis. The main stem has been allowed 

 to fork at a low level, which of course detracts from its value as timber, 

 and contrasts markedly with those growing close by in the home wood 

 (see fig. 21), which in this respect are very fine. They must originally 

 have been grown in close canopy, and show straight clean boles 25 ft. 

 or more high without a branch. The tallest of these reaches 65 ft. , 

 a foot higher than the one last described, but in girth it is in no way 

 remarkable, and neither in this case nor in any in the wood have I 

 found one that attains to 12 ft., still the impression of dignity and 

 quality produced by these tall columns, almost entirely unmarred 

 by epicormic growth, is very good, and would make any woodman 

 lick his lips. During the war, when there was such a scarcity of timber, 

 I trembled lest they should be commandeered by the Government. 



While I am on the subject of pedunculates I should like to mention 

 one at Aldenham which has no botanical interest, but of which I know 

 the chequered career from the acorn to its present age of seventy-three. 

 The acorn was planted without much consideration for the future on 

 the lawn in the autumn of 1846 to commemorate the birth of my eldest 



