I20 
FLORA AND SVLVA 
by rabbits or otherwise, the Durmast 
Oak will often spring again from the 
root. And though the planter might 
not himself reap the reward, he would 
leave a rich inheritance to his succes- 
sors, as the result of his patience and 
foresight. 
Management of Such Oak forcsts as are 
Oak Woods, sgen in Central France 
and other parts of Europe, are (as re- 
gards the State forests) usually worked 
on a rotation system of from 150 to 
200 years, sometimes even 250, or in 
fertile soils even 300 years, but this last 
is much too long, and in principle the 
best way is to fell the trees as soon as 
they attain maturity. The guiding 
principle in thinning should be to leave 
just sufficient canopy to keep the soil 
cool, fresh, and clean ; more shade will 
endanger the existence of the young 
Oaks, whereas with too much sun the 
soil becomes hard and covered with 
weeds. Thinnings for improvement 
should be frequent and systematic, the 
first at 7 or 8 years, the second at 14 
or 15, and at about the same season. 
At 20 years a third thinning should be 
made, while from the twentieth to the 
sixtieth years there should be at least one 
thinning every i o years. Natural resow- 
ing has its advantages, by preventing 
irregularity in the mass, and exhaustion 
of the soil by washing and drought. It 
also economises seed, and the cost of 
preparing the ground. 
Referencks. — Loudon, Arboretum, vol. 3, p. 1736 ; 
Selby, Forest Trees, p. 246 ; Mathieu, Flore Forestiere, 
p. 353 ; Boppe and Jolyet, Les Forets, p. 56 ; Mouillefert, 
Essences Forestieres, p. 70 ; Laslett, Timber Trees, p. 92 ; 
Forbes, English Estate Forestry, p. 67 ; Woods and 
Forests, p. 10. ^ ^. ^ 
NERINE, WITH A PLATE OF 
NERINE BOWDENL* 
A GROUP of tender bulbous plants from 
South Africa, often with brilliant flowers 
of varied colour, and all of elegantform. 
There is a strong likeness between the 
different kinds, and the plate of Nerine 
Bowdeni shows well what others are like. 
There is however much variation in size 
of flower, those of N. Bowdeni being 
among the largest, while many others 
come between it andiV. u?idulata.,vA{\f:\\ 
has flowers under an inch across. An- 
other point of difference, and one which 
offers a good reasonfor their division into 
two main sections, is that one group (in- 
cluding N. sar7iiensis2ind. N.curvifo/ia^ 
and with mostly scarlet, rose, or crimson 
flowers) has the petals or segments of 
the flowers nearly equally rayed, while 
in the N. flexuosa section — of which 
the highest example is N. Bowdeni — 
the segments are unequally displayed, 
the majority curving to the upper half 
of the flower. These two sections have 
been partially merged by crossing, but 
even in the hybrids traces of these struc- 
tural peculiarities remain. As regards 
foliage, the plants of the N. sarniensis 
group have generally broader leaves of 
darker or more glaucous green, and their 
bulbs need a more rigorous drying off 
than in the N. flexuosa section, though 
a definite time of rest is essential to all. 
Yet other differences are that the first 
section produce theirflower-spikesfrom 
the leafless bulbs, at the end of the dry 
season in summer ; while in the flexuosa 
class the leaves often come at the same 
time as the flowers, or follow them close- 
* From a drawing by H. G. Moon. 
