30 



JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



As I have already intimated, the time present seems time 

 opportune for the study and discussion of this question. The 

 re-afforesting of large tracts of land in the Principality formed 

 the subject of some of the later discussions in Parliament. 

 Professor Fisher has been considering how best to put a green 

 cloak upon the Black Country. Dr. Nisbet has been giving his 

 Oxford lectures, excellent in every way, putting facts and 

 figures before us in a very convincing fashion, and dealing with 

 the subject in a masterly manner and with a complete hold upon 

 the different features he brought under review ; whilst Professor 

 Balfour made " Forestry in Britain " the subject of his excellent 

 paper delivered last month before the British Association in the 

 Biological Section of this important scientific gathering ; and 

 I have mentioned only some of the more prominent of the 

 numerous features bearing directly upon the subject. 



We may now proceed to review, briefly, the trees we have 

 enumerated as worthy of consideration as representing the hard- 

 wooded section of so-called British trees. It will be more 

 convenient to reverse the order, taking the third group first, and 

 in thus referring to them it is as well to point out that it is 

 merely that we may by this means insure a more complete view 

 than would otherwise be possible : — 



Lime. Maple (Acer). Crab. 



Plane. Walnut. Acacia. 



Service Tree. Wild Pear. Laburnum. 



Willow. Cherry. Mountain Ash. 



The list might readily be extended. Though very frequently 

 some or other of the above trees are included in the list of trees 

 and plants sent on to the nurseryman when the character of the 

 planting is woodland, yet none of them can rightly come within 

 the title of hard-wooded forest-trees. The fact that they are 

 so frequently found included in written lists corroborates what 

 I tried to make clear at the commencement, namely, that much 

 of our woodland planting is carried out with, at any rate, some 

 attention to its decorative character and ornamental effect. The 

 fringe of the wood is to present a pleasant appearance, and this 

 is to be secured by the variation as to character and foliage 

 effects secured by the intermixing of some effective hardy tree 

 which will by contrast give a desired diversity, and add to the 



