210 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Franchet, probably wrongly relying on a treacherous likeness of leaf, 

 and overlooking difference in fruit, regarded it as a mere variety of 

 Q. Ilex. It is also described by Dr. Henry in " Trees of Great Britain," 

 pp. 1298-9. 



Q. ponlica (Koch). — I have a thriving shapely specimen of this 

 uncommon Caucasian or Armenian oak. It was given me some 

 five years ago by Mr. Elwes and is now 4 ft. 9. in. high, and as well 

 as I can judge ten to twelve years old. For the last three years it has 

 regularly borne three or four acorns, from which I have been successful 

 in raising some promising seedlings. It is not unknown for quite 

 young oaks to bear fruit, but this is the only occasion in my limited 

 experience when the acorns have proved fertile. 



My Quercus Libani had quite a crop of apparently fully de- 

 veloped acorns at a very early stage of its career, but not one of them 

 would germinate. Q. pontica is described both by Henry and Bean 

 as a shrub, but there is nothing shrubby about my plant — that is to 

 say, it has one clean central stem, with a defined leader, and regular 

 lateral branches, not set very close together. Though looking perfectly 

 robust and happy, it is clearly a very slow grower, only increasing at 

 the rate of two or three inches a year. I should describe it as an 

 ideally healthy dwarf tree. With its large leaves, rigid growth, and 

 pale green colour of the young wood, and in spring the profuse show 

 of long slender brown catkins or tassels of flower, it presents a most 

 noticeable and attractive appearance. It is still very rare in culti- 

 vation, the acorns having been only introduced into England as 

 lately as 1905 by the late Lord Kesteven. 



Q. prinoidcs (Willdenow), Chinquapin, Scrub Oak. — My best 

 plant of this deciduous native of the Eastern U.S.A. is now 7 ft. high, 

 which, considering that it is said never to exceed 12 to 15 ft. in 

 its own habitat, is quite a respectable size. 



Personally, I have never seen it growing elsewhere, though I 

 might have done so both at Kew and Tortworth, and except on 

 botanical grounds I see no special reason why anyone should take 

 great pains to acquire it. The distinguishing feature of this oak, which 

 separates it from any other with which I am acquainted, is that it 

 increases by root suckers. Dr. Henry describes the leaves as " 4 in. 

 long and 2 in. broad, obovate or ovate, acute at the apex, cuneate 

 at the base " ; he also mentions their fine " orange and scarlet colour 

 before falling," but this so far has not been noticeable with us. 



Having regard to the few years which it has taken in reaching 

 7 ft., I am inclined to anticipate that it will grow taller in the strong 

 clay of Aldenham than it has ever been known to do on the stony, 

 rocky hillsides and prairies of its own country. It was first introduced 

 in 1823, but is still, has always been, and is likely to be, a rarity in 

 Great Britain. 



Q. Prinus (Linnaeus), Chestnut Oak. — Of this tree, which hails 

 from the Eastern United States, we have only small plants not more 

 than 2 ft. high. Though one of the earliest of foreign oaks to be in- 



