32 



JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Hornbeam is almost entirely used as a hedge-plant or an 

 ornamental tree, and need not, therefore, come under further 

 review, though as a tree for planting in the open pastures for 

 shelter it stands, perhaps, unrivalled. 



Alder thrives best in damp places, and will thrive where very 

 few other hardwoods will grow. Moisture is as indispensable to 

 the Alder as light and air. There is a fair demand for the 

 timber of the Alder, and marshy, swampy places might be planted 

 almost entirely with this particular tree. 



To come now to the half-dozen trees upon which our hard- 

 wood plantations, in the main, depend, we will do well to take 

 them somewhat in the order in which they may be placed accord- 

 ing to relative value : — 



Oak. Elm. Beech. 



Ash. Sycamore. Birch. 



Oak. — We give the Oak the foremost place, and rightly. For 

 the attainment of perfection it needs good soil and a temperate 

 climate. Like most other trees, it will thrive in a deep sandy 

 loam or in an ordinary vegetable soil, but for the attainment of 

 its full size, and to bring its timber to the point of perfection, it 

 must be more or less alluvial in character or a rich deep loam. 

 The Oak is not found of the larger sizes at a great elevation 

 above the level of the sea, nor does it get up to its full majesty 

 where the climate is very severe in spring ; in fact, the Oak, 

 considering its robust constitution and its hardiness and hardness 

 generally, is particularly susceptible to damage by spring frosts. 

 This has been evident enough during the present season. The 

 early growth of young Oaks was this spring abundant ; it was 

 burned and browned by the severe frost of the later weeks of 

 spring, and old sturdy trees over all parts of the country were 

 singed and spoiled on the outer sides by the frost of May 21. 



I was through the Crown lands in Delamere Forest and 

 through woodlands in Kent and Surrey about this time, and in 

 every place the marks of damage of the frost were everywhere 

 apparent. A judicious knifesman amongst young Oaks in the 

 earlier stages of growth will do good work in the plantation, as 

 the tree requires careful handling during the earlier stages to 

 put it on the best foundation for future growth. 



Ash is one of the most valuable of our timber-trees. The 



