144 
WINTER FLOWERING PELARGONIUMS. 
object ; the wood is comparatively of little 
value. 
The Lime and the Poplar, in all their 
vai'ieties, require good soil to grow them to 
advantage, and then, notwithstanding their 
quick growth, and the many uses to which 
the wood may be applied, they should not be 
much planted where ultimate profit, rather 
than immediate effect, is the object aimed at. 
Of resinous trees, the Scotch Pine may be 
first mentioned, as it will flourish in higher 
latitudes, more exposed situations, and poorer 
soil than any other of the resinous family ; 
as, like the larch and the spruce, its roots 
keep. near the surface, instead of descending 
to a great depth like the oak : trenching for 
its culture is almost a needless operation, 
unless where a very quick growth is required. 
In good loamy soils it will grow fast as a 
nurse plant, but in such circumstances its 
wood is soft and little worth ; when grown 
in elevated situations, and poor sandy, or 
gravelly soils, its timber is valuable and en- 
during. 
The Cluster Pine, the Stone Pine, and 
many others, though interesting as affording 
variety, have not yet been found equal in 
quality to the older sorts. 
The Spruce Fir presents its chief claims to 
our attention from its being a beautiful ever- 
green, growing generally, whether singly or 
in masses, as straight as a regular cone ; be- 
coming thus fitted for all sorts of poles, the 
youngest trees being, so far as their size is 
concerned, as durable as old ones ; making a 
good nurse plant from the warmth produced 
by its evergreen character ; growing freely 
on all soils, from those that are low and wet, 
to those that are high and dry, but presenting 
the drawback that, for general purposes, its 
wood is far inferior to the Scotch pine and 
the larch. 
The Larch is one of our most valuable 
timber trees, whether we consider its adapta- 
tion to all soils and situations, except a wet 
one, the rapidity of its growth, its admirable 
qualities as a nurse for the oak, &c, and the 
usefulness and enduring qualities of its timber, 
from the time it is fit for a rake handle, to the 
time it is cut up into boards and planking. In 
good deep loamy soils, it should only be used 
as a nurse, as the rapidity of its growth will 
deteriorate the timber if it does not render it 
hollow-hearted. The sides of mountains are 
its favourite sites, and poor scraggy land is to 
be chosen in preference to that which is richer ; 
it is one of the best improvers of poor land, 
from the droppings of leaves, as may easily be 
seen in the vigour and luxuriance with which 
the grasses grow, after the trees have received 
their different thinnings. Even on this ac- 
count it is valuable for covers for game, though 
it would be hard to make gamekeepers believe 
so, who prefer spruce, furze, and hazel, beneath 
which little will grow. 
The Hazel is a valuable shrub for under- 
wood and copsewood, especially where a hazelly 
loam preponderates ; when cut every eight or 
ten years, it furnishes abundance of shoots 
for crate and basket ware, &c, and in favour- 
able seasons, the nuts might be worth collect- 
ing ; where, however, squirrels and boys con- 
gregate in the neighbourhood, it is better to 
make no calculation of revenue from this latter 
source. Sir "Walter Scott was truly enthusi- 
astic in his care of his plantations, but he 
found it no loss to admit the public to the 
greatest part of his demesne ; and a fine sight 
it must have been to behold the younkers 
meeting the laird to show him the nuts in 
their pinafores, vastly proud if from any of 
them he would condescend to accept a hand- 
ful. Well did the baronet know that neither 
his trees nor hazels would suffer when every 
urchin was thus put upon his good behaviour. 
Notwithstanding all that has been said to the 
contrary, there is, in*%eneral, in the heart of 
a Britisher, that which causes him to look 
with an eye of conservatism upon objects when 
an appeal is thus openly made to his sense of 
right, integrity, and honour. 
WINTER FLOWERING PELARGONIUMS. 
To produce flowers of the Pelargonium 
during winter and early spring, the following 
treatment is recommended : — When the plants 
have done flowering, they are headed down, 
at different times, to secure a succession of 
bloom the next season. "When the plants 
have produced young shoots an inch long, the 
soil should be shaken from the roots, and 
they should be re-potted into their flowering- 
pots, the size of which will depend on the 
size of the plants, but should be as small as 
the roots can be got into without crowding. 
The young shoots should not be topped. By 
this treatment they will usually be knotted 
for bloom by the end of November, when 
they may be taken, in succession, into the 
flower-forcing house, or other structure where 
a genial warmth is kept up. There is no 
advantage in placing them in heat before the 
blooming buds are formed ; on the contrary, 
this is often the cause of failure. If pro- 
perly managed, the pelargonium will bear 
much more heat than is usually supposed. 
The following sorts are very suitable for early 
forcing : — Gauntlet, Grace Darling, Alba 
multiflora, Admiral Napier, General Wash- 
ington, Bella. These may be succeeded later 
in the season by — Duke of Cornwall, Una, 
Sultana, Victory, Luna, and Coronation ; but 
the latter sorts must not be placed in heat 
until they are well advanced. 
