27 G 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ April 4,1889. 
of Dodona in Epirus enjoyed a great celebrity for its sacred Oaks. Pro¬ 
phecies were given by the Oak, called the Tree of Fate. At Rome 
courage and civic virtues were rewarded by a crown of Oak leaves. 
Oak forests were the temples of the Gauls. In the wood of Vincennes 
the Oak was long shown under which St. Louis rendered justice. 
“ Among the varieties of Oaks there i3 one which is somewhat rare. 
In the Landes it has its special history, and the inhabitants are veiy 
far from regarding it with veneration ; it is the Auzin Oak. 
“ On a metairie (farm) of mine, called Lesbordes, at Rion des Landes, 
near the farmer’s house is a fine Auzin Oak. It measures in circum¬ 
ference over 11 feet at a yard above the ground; its height is about 
65 feet, and the straight trunk before it branches out is about 32 feet. 
The blanches have a very wide spread. The acorn is very small ; the 
leaves are divided, and are not so velvety as those of the Tauzin or white 
Oaks. It is the first to bud, and the last to keep its leaves. 
“ A good old woman, seventy-five years old, who has lived in the 
house for some years, continually urges me to cut this Oak down. 1 It 
will,’ says she, 1 be the death of her.’ Already, within two years, two 
persons have died in the house, her daughter-in-law and her child. It 
is the Auzin which is the cause of these misfortunes. The branches of 
the tree shade a well. It is true the water has a disagreeable smell and 
an unpleasant taste. It is the Oak which is the cause of this. In order 
to satisfy these good people, and to prove to them how silly their belief 
is, I shall some day cut it down. There are a few trees of the kind in 
the neighbourhood, and this kind of Oak was known to the botanist 
Thore. In his 1 Essai d'une Chloris du Departement dts Landes,’ 
page 381 (1803), he gives the following description of it:—‘Oak, 
Quercus Mas, Male, or Auzin. It is still called the Oak of Maledic¬ 
tion, because the people have imagined and believe after the testimony 
of diviners and persons of that class, that he who cuts down one of 
these trees draws upon him the malediction of heaven ; that he will 
die within the year, or at least will fall ill and be very unfortunate ; 
that the same thing happens to whomsoever lives in a house in the 
woodwork of which there is a piece of this wood, and such is the 
force of this prejudice that no one will live in such a house until the 
piece is removed. This kind of Oak, nevertheless, is the finest of ail, 
its wood is the most compact, and it sinks to the bottom in water, 
whereas that of other Oaks floats more or less.’ ” 
I have since heard from M. Cuzacq that he has been obliged to cut 
down his Auzin. His tenants threatened to leave the farm if he did 
not do so, and, as tenants are scarce nowadays he sacrificed his tree. 
I have also heard that no one can die at peace in a bed made of Auzin 
wood, but lingers in a terrible death agony until taken out and placed 
on the floor or in another bed. 
I have not M. Rolland’s “ Fiore Populaire de France,” and do not 
know if he refers to it or not. In the Gascoun dictionaries I find, 
Miey-Tausii, variety of Oak, half Tausin, half Oak, roure (Lat., Robur), 
Tausii, Tausin, taussin, white Oak (“ Lespy Dictionaire Bdarnais,” two 
vols., 1887). 
In the ancient “ Fors et Costumes de Bdarn,” Oaks are mentioned in 
general terms as Quasso (Cassou Quercus) and Tauzii. 
In a MSS. vocabulary of the Bayonais dialect by M. P. T. Ducourrau, 
in my possession, I find Cassou, Oak (Quercus) ; Roure (Robur) the 
leaves of which are cottony underneath, and which bears the acorns ; 
the Taousin, the Yeuse Oak (Quercus Ilex) or Evergreen Oak in the 
neighbourhood of Bayonne, and La Teste, Q. Robur, Q. Suber, Q. nigra. 
Under Roure (Robur) he gives (1) a pedicules longues et a grappes; 
(2) a pedicules tres courtcs ; (3) pyramidal, origin from Basse Navarre. 
Elsewhere he notes, (1) Cassou Oak, (2) Roure ChSne, (3) Taousin, 
Chene vert ou Taousin, (4) Taousin, Cork Oak. This is very confused. 
I find no mention of the Auzin in these dictionaries, nor any derivation 
of the words Tauzin or Auzin. 
Can there be any connection between these Oaks of Malediction and 
the Gospel Oaks in England? The Latin, Quercus sacra, the Sacred 
Oak, might be taken either as the Consecrated or the Accursed Oak. 
according as it was devoted to good or evil deities, Superis an Inferis ? 
There was, and perhaps is still, a Gospel Oak on the Warren Farm on 
the Breakspear estate, close to the road between Uxbridge and Hare- 
field, Middlesex. 
JUDGING MELONS. 
It would be of special advantage to those, like the writer, who are 
often engaged during the summer and autumn season judging horticul¬ 
tural products, if Mr. Mclndoe would give the benefit of his experience 
as to the correct method of judging Melons without cutting them to 
examine the substance of which they are composed, and ascertain the 
flavour. Like others, I in many cases find it a very unpleasant duty to 
cut and taste Melons, sometimes by the dozen. Nausea is often the 
result of the work, and the delicious aroma sometimes discernible 
whilst the rind is intact is often the forerunner of a flavour of the 
most obnoxious kind. If exhibitors and managers at horticultural ex¬ 
hibitions accepted external qualities to decide the merits of the fruits, 
the labours of judges would be greatly reduced. When sending Melons 
in for dessert we find it difficult to choose the best, and to be certain we 
use an instrument to test them, such as grocers use for tasting their 
cheese. Melons are unlike Grapes, Peaches, Pines, and other fruits, 
because they are so easily changed from their original state. They may 
be green-fleshed this season of the finest quality, but by growing them 
amongst other varieties their entire character may be changed and 
rendered worthless, and nothing with which we are acquainted can prove 
this without mutilating the fruit more or less. Having been a grower of 
this fruit in large quantities for several years, and frequently employed 
in various parts of the country as a judge, I have never been able to 
give a correct verdict as to flavour by the usual external marks—viz., 
rich and pleasant perfume, great weight in proportion to size, handsome 
form, beautiful colour ; and with each of these qualities present, size 
would then have favourable consideration. Some instructions from 
Mr. Mclndoe would, I have no doubt, be valued by many others as well 
as by an— Old Amateur. _ 
Your correspondent “ W. H.,” page 219, seems to think with 
Mr. Mclndoe that judges should not cut Melons at horticultural shows, 
but should decide on their merits by outward examination. This I fear 
would be very misleading, although much can be said on the point. For 
instance, suppose we are showing a new Melon for the first time. . This 
might be by far the best looking fruit staged, yet at the same time it 
might be useless as regards flavour. I remember showing a new Melon 
at Yarmouth, and it was the best looking one out of about thirty, but 
to my surprise it was passed, though I did not ask the reason why 
after tasting it. As an exhibitor of fruit I should like all kinds to be 
judged by their eating qualities in preference to their size and outward 
appearance.— Alfred Bishop, Westlcy. 
As a large grower of Melons and a fairly successful exhibitor of those 
fruits, I am of opinion that it is an impossibility for any man to ac¬ 
curately judge the fruits without tasting them. 1 well remember when 
foreman to the late Mr. MacEwan at Arundel, on one occasion we were 
going to exhibit Melons at Regents Park, and had the pick of a dozen 
good fruit. We smelt and examined then carefully, and after spending 
at least half an hour, we selected the fruit which was to go, but it had the 
misfortune to be placed nowhere. This is not the only time that I have 
been deceived ; nor very likely will it be the last. I join hands with 
your correspondents “ R. M.” and “ A. D.,” and feel sure that they have 
both hit the mark. The true old Victory of Bath is the sort to depend 
on, as, when properly ripened, they are alike all good. 
I possess one hundred seeds of the true Victory of Bath Melon, of 
which I shall be happy to present one packet containing half a dozen 
seeds to any of your correspondents by their enclosing a stamped 
directed envelope. First come first served. —R. Gilbert, Burghley, 
Stamford. 
Events of the Week. —On April 5th Messrs. Protheroe &. Morris 
will sell at their Cheapside Rooms the remaining portion of the late 
Mr. J. Southgate’s Orchids ; on April 9th, the first portion of the late 
Mr. J. H. Bath’s Orchids will be sold ; and on April 12th a consign¬ 
ment of established Orchids from Clovenfords will be disposed of at the 
same rooms. Messrs. Hepper & Sons will also hold a sale of Orchids at 
Rrantingham Thorpe, Brough, on April 10th. The Committees of the 
Royal Horticultural Society will meet at the Drill Hall, Westminster, 
on Tuesday, April 9th, at 11 A.H., and in the afternoon a lecture will be 
delivered on Dafiodils. The second spring Shovv of the R">yal Botanic 
Society will be held at Regent’s Park on the following day, April 10th. 
- Horticultural Club. —The monthly dinner of this Club, 
which had been postponed from the second Tuesday of the month in 
order to give an opportunity of inviting the Dutch growers who had 
come over to the Exhibition of the Royal Horticultural Society, took 
place on Tuesday evening, the 2Gth, and was the largest and most 
successful one held by the Club since its establishment in its new 
quarters. The chair was occupied by Dr. Hogg in the absence of the 
Chairman, Mr. John Lee; and besides the Dutch growers, Messrs. 
Iversten, De Graaf, Barnaart, and By voet, there were present the Rev. W, 
Wilks, Messrs. Harry J. Veitch, G. Dea>, Girdlestone, Crowley, Harrison 
Weir, H. J. Pearson, Geo. Paul, Bunyard, A. J. Pearson, Walker, Peter 
Veitch, T. Francis Rivers, A. Moss, &c., &c. A very pleasant evening 
was spent, and the Dutch florists highly appreciated (as they indeed 
said) the hospitality and friendly feeling shown to them by the Club. 
- Floral Decorations.—A t the recent banquet given to Lord 
Salisbury at Watford “ C. D.” requests us to say, “ The floral decorations, 
which were on a very extensive scale, were entrusted and ably carried 
out by Mr. Beckett, gardener to II. H. Gibbs, Esq., Aldenham House. 
The principal table was very effective, Orchids taking a prominent part. 
About 100 table plants were used in the body of the hall, relieved by 
epergnes of cut flowers. Some fine specimen Palms and other plants 
were tastefully arranged in groups about the hall, the whole having a 
very pleasing and grand effect.” 
