246 
Forestry  Exhibition  at  Gloucester. 
rather  a neglected  tree  as  a component  of  deciduous  woods  : 
and  as  both  the  English  elm  and  the  Huntingdon  elm  are, 
in  the  south  of  England  at  least,  fast-growing  trees,  which 
would  act  as  soil-improvers,  they  might  be  planted  success- 
fully in  many  situations. 
The  specimens  of  beech  were  very  fine  ; but  nothing  of 
special  interest  was  shown,  except  one  of  Mr.  Elwes’  numerous 
exhibits,  a wonderfully  well-preserved  plank,  many  hundreds 
of  years  old,  taken  from  the  foundation  of  Winchester 
Cathedral.  The  importance  of  beech  in  sylviculture  is  now 
universally  admitted  by  British  foresters  ; but  the  price 
remains  low,  except  in  the  Chilterns,  and  nothing  has  been 
done  to  extend  the  use  and  enhance  the  price  of  beech  timber 
in  this  country.  This  is  to  be  regretted,  seeing  how  largely 
this  wood  is  used  for  railway  sleepers  in  France  and  Germany. 
It  is  also,  in  Denmark  and  France,  increasing  in  importance 
for  making  casks.  It  pays  apparently,  as  I saw  last  summer, 
to  export  beech  staves  Horn  the  banks  of  the  Drina  in  Servia 
as  far  as  Marseilles.  I may  note  here  that  the  subject  of  the 
extension  of  the  profitable  use  of  many  kinds  of  home-grown 
timber  is  greatly  neglected,  though  at  the  Gloucester  Show  it 
was  illustrated  by  some  of  Mr.  Elwes’  exhibits. 
In  Class  3“,  Specimens  of  Miscellaneous  Kinds  of  Broad- 
leaved Timber,  a good  show  was  made  by  the  Marquis  of 
Exeter,  thirteen  species  ; Earl  Beauchamp,  twelve  species  ; and 
the  Earl  of  Dudley,  twenty  species.  With  this  group  must  be 
mentioned  the  magnificent  collection,  shown  by  Mr.  Elwes,  of 
about  100  different  species  of  British-grown  timbers,  which 
were  shown  on  both  sides  of  the  Education  Building.  Many 
rare  and  interesting  kinds  were  included,  amongst  which  I may 
mention  a fine  board  of  grey  poplar,  with  wavy  grain  ; a board 
of  black  poplar  {Populiis  nigra),  showing  curious  figure,  cut 
from  a tree  with  a burry  trunk ; a plank  of  the  hop-hornbeam 
(Ostrya),  one  of  the  rarest  trees  in  cultivation  ; black  walnut,'  a 
fine  plank,  nearly  3 ft.  wide,  and  equal  in  quality  to  imported 
wood  from  America  ; birch,  a plank  with  remarkable  figure, 
resembling  the  kind  that  is  so  much  valued  in  Finland  and 
northern  Russia  ; Quercus  Ilex,  a quartered  board  from  an  old 
tree,  showing  a beautiful  grain  and  dark  heartwood,  &c. 
The  most  interesting  species  in  this  section,  from  a sylvi- 
cultural point  of  view,  were  perhaps  the  Black  Walnut,  already 
referred  to,  the  Turkey  Oak,  and  Spanish  Chestnut.  The  two 
latter,  trees  of  southern  Europe,  which  grow  with  great  vigour 
in  the  southern  parts  of  England  and  Ireland,  are  worth 
* This  tree  can  possibly  be  grown  for  profit  on  good  soil  in  the  south  of 
England,  as  it  produces  an  excellent  timber  which  sells  at  a very  high  price, 
which  may  possibly  increase  in  future  years. 
