MANAGEMENT OF TREES. 
143 
an early period by using early kinds, and by 
planting early, perhaps even in autumn. We 
should protect ladybirds, ichneumons, and soft- 
billed birds, which feed upon them, and we may 
try the effect of ducks to gobble up the parasite. 
Mr. Smee treats his subject throughout in 
a comprehensive way, or, as he himself ex- 
presses it, he was induced to " consider all the 
assumed causes of the malady ;" and with this 
view we have chapters on the relation of the 
disease to internal causes, to external causes, to 
soils and manures, to fungi, to animal parasites; 
the disease in other plants; theory of the disease; 
f ut ure prospects ; artificial and n atural remedies, 
and on various other matters. The whole is 
handled in a thoroughly circumstantial and 
business-like way ; and whatever may come of 
Mr. Smee's assumed discovery of the cause of 
the disease, he has provided an instructive and 
entertaining volume, not the least commend- 
able feature of which consists in its originality. 
It is illustrated by several good lithographs. 
MANAGEMENT OF TREES ; 
THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH THEY MAY 
BE MOST BENEFICIALLY PLANTED.* 
The Oak delights in a strong deep loam ; 
will flourish in clay land, with a small pro- 
portion of surface loam ; very soon becomes 
bush-headed where there is a thin soil resting 
upon gravel or chalk ; cannot endure marshy 
ground, and should not be planted in very 
high elevations : there are many ornamental 
kinds, the most useful are the two indigenous 
varieties, the sessile-fruited and the stalk- 
fruited, respecting the good properties of 
which practical men are divided in opinion. 
The Ash delights in a sheltered situation, 
and good rich soil ; is not fond of gravel ; 
should never be planted in hedge-rows, as it 
will mat the ground to a considerable distance 
with its roots; makes good copsewood ; is 
always the better and tougher the faster it is 
grown ; its use for many agricultural and 
gardening purposes is well known ; makes 
excellent fire-wood, however wet. 
The Elm. — The two most important vari- 
eties are the narrow-leaved or English, and 
the Scotch ; the former requires a good soil 
and warm situation ; does not flourish in 
Scotland ; grows rapidly, and attains a great 
height. The Scotch is the most useful sort ; 
has smooth bai"k, and will grow in the most 
unfavourable soils, and very exposed situa- 
tions ; when cut up, does not long survive 
alternations of dryness and moisture. 
* From the " United Gardeners' and Land Stew- 
ards' Journal." 
The Beech delights in a chalky soil ; has 
a fine effect as a detached tree ; should not be 
grown in copsewoods, as scarcely any under- 
wood will flourish beneath it : the wood is of 
little use for open-air purposes, but stands 
uninjured a long time when kept constantly 
under water. 
The Sycamore flourishes in very poor soils, 
and in exposed and lofty situations ; can stand 
a dash of the sea spray with little injury ; 
grows very fast; is useful as a nurse to more 
valuable timber; was much used at one time 
for domestic utensils. 
The Birch is chiefly valuable as a nurse- 
wood, as fuel, and for common purposes ; will 
flourish in almost any soil, and in the coldest 
bleakest situation ; is very desirable for garden 
purposes, as supplying us with the best 
besoms ; is interesting on account of the fra- 
grance of its leaves,, and the whiteness of its 
bark, the latter property having often stirred 
up conscience-stricken alarms in the heart of 
the benighted wight, when stories of ghosts 
and spirits in white, as well as black, were 
more rife than now. 
The Scotch Laburnum, especially the broad- 
leaved, is valuable for cabinet-making ; obtains 
the best colour when grown on light sandy 
soils ; will grow in any situation ; has a fine 
effect on the borders of a wood skirting the 
high road, when in bloom ; is greatly prized 
by hares and rabbits ; is sometimes sown thickly 
as underwood, in plantations, for the purpose 
of saving other trees from these open enemies 
to the planter. 
The Mountain Ash is valuable for its hardi- 
ness, as it will grow in any soil, wet or dry ; 
forms a good nurse, as it grows very fast 
when young ; is useful as timber for many 
purposes, though there is not often much of 
it ; is beautiful both in flower and fruit, and 
was considered a most valuable exorcist in 
the hey-day of witchcraft, a piece of rowan 
tree and a ball of worsted constituting a greater 
bugbear to the broomstick sisterhood than the 
reversing of an old horse-shoe on the byre or 
stable door. 
The Wild Cherry is very ornamental ; is 
valuable for cabinet-making, and requires a 
dry soil ; beware of planting it near villages 
or hamlets, unless you can command the equa- 
nimity of mind to be careless at the sight of 
boys, as well as birds, perched upon the 
branches in search of the fruit. 
The Horse Chestnut requires a good loamy 
soil, and a sheltered situation ; is beautiful in 
its outline, and splendid when in bloom ; 
grows quickly, but the timber is useful for 
little else than firewood. 
The Alder and the Willow are useful for 
marshy ground, and the sides of streams, 
where the latter is always an interesting 
