220 
give a list of these harbingers of summer, but my space 
is now full. 1- Appleby. 
(To be continued.) 
WOODS AND FORESTS. 
THE OAK. 
(Continued from page 159.) 
Sowing the Acorns .—The only objection to this mode 
: of forming an Oak wood is the expense, and this 
1 resolves itself into two points; the expense of preparing 
I the ground and sowing the seed; and the loss (con- 
i sequent on devoting that portion of the estate to this 
1 purpose) in the shape of rent or crop. I will candidly 
j confess, it requires a large portion of disinterested spirit 
' to induce any individual, however high bis position, 
or great bis wealth, to incur this expense and loss tor 
the benefit of his posterity. Yet there are many such 
noble-minded, unselfish men amongst us, who will, and 
do, devote part of their income and ground to forestry, 
i May they receive a due reward, and may their numbers 
. increase. I am reminded, however, that this planting 
| or sowing of the Oak is not left entirely to private 
j gentlemen. We have, it is said, our national Woods 
i and Forests, and our officers yclept Commissioners of 
the Woods and Forests, and it is their duty to read, 
mark, and learn the culture of timber trees, and see 
that the best mode of doing so is carried out for the 
benefit of the people, who, through their representatives, 
have placed them in that office for that specific purpose. 
T may ask, have they, or are they doing that duty? 
Let the state the woods are in now, and the report in 
the Blue Book give the answer. 
i mentioned, at the beginning of this paper, that the 
expense of preparing the ground for sowing the acorns 
is considerable, and so it is; but not more than is 
necessary even for planting young trees. It should be 
trenched at least two spits deep, and all perennial 
weeds, such as docks, nettles, and thistles, carefully 
picked out. This work should be done during the 
| summer and autumn months, or even through the 
i winter, if the weather is moderately dry. I ought to 
have mentioned first about the drainage; but I have 
so often insisted on the absolute necessity of this 
important point of culture, whether the Fir, the Oak, 
or Florist s Flowers are to be the crop, that I need not 
. repeat it here. 
The acorns will, of course, be duly looked to, and 
; kept through the winter in a dry, cool room. Some 
j recommend mixing them with sand; but that is not 
j necessary, only they should not be laid up on too large 
j a heap so as to heat. And it will be desirable to turn 
[ them over occasionally, to prevent those on the under 
side of the heap from moulding or sprouting pre¬ 
maturely. 
In or about the middle of February, the ground 
should be examined, and if in a tolerably dry and friable 
condition, it should be thrown up in beds, or ridges, 
about three feet wide; the ditches thus formed may be 
used as walks, and the beds are to receive the acorns. 
This being done, and the soil levelled, the ground may 
lay for a week or a fortnight to dry. When that is so, 
then prepare to sow, by drawing drills lengthwise on 
each bed. Some sow but one row, others, two or three; 
J, for my part, prefer the last number, because then, when 
j the trees are advanced so far as to require thinning, the 
i rows will not stand so far apart, and each tree will be a 
I shelter for its neighbour. As it is always desirable to 
do work of this kind quickly, and acting upon the prin¬ 
ciple of division of labour, there should be men to draw 
I drills, others to sow the seed, and a third set to cover it 
j in. By this division of the work each part is rapidly 
June 22. 
performed, and the whole accomplished in much less j 
time, in proportion to the number of hands, than it 
any other mode was attempted. There is a sowing- 
machine that might be used with advantage, but a man 
could quickly pass down the line, and drop the seed as 
he went on, and practice would soon enable him to 
sow it quite regularly. If the seed is good, it may, of 
course, be sown thin, about six or eight inches apart; 
but if doubtful, sow it then as thick again. It is easier 
to pull up when too thick, than to plant when too thin. 
The acorns may be covered three inches deep, by way 
of preventing mice, rooks, or squirrels, from getting to 
them. If the country around where this sowing of the 
acorn is being done abounds with these vermin, then it 
may be worth while to protect the acorns from them; 
and the method I have followed is as follows:—I have 
some of the common whin, or gorse, cut up and brought 
home, and chopped moderately small; then, when the 
drills are drawn, and the acorns sown, this chopped 
whin is placed upon them just thick enough to allow ! 
of its being covered with the soil thrown up by drawing 
the drill. The person who puts in the whin will require 
a pair of thick leather gloves to protect his hand. This 
I have found a pretty certain preventive of the attacks 
of mice, &c., on the seed, not only of the Oak, but also 
the Beech, Walnut, and even garden Peas. Frequently 
I have observed holes bored down to the whin, but there j 
I suppose the sharp prickles wounded their tender noses, 
and so they desisted trying to penetrate through this 
sharp fence. 
All these points having been attended to, and the 
sowing finished, the only care requisite through the 
summer will be careful weeding. This work is often 
done by females, but they should be shown what are 
weeds, and which are young trees; for very lately I had 
the greater part of a crop of Portugal Laurels plucked 
up as weeds. 
As the trees stand in rows, a careful man might be 
employed to hoe between them; this would destroy the 
young weeds and stir the surface—both beneficial points 
of culture for the young Oaks. Yet it would not be 
desirable to allow the hoe to come too near to the young 
trees, for often the hoe then comes in contact with them, 
and the tender bark is removed off, which is very inju¬ 
rious to such young trees. Let, therefore, all weeds 
growing near to, or in, the row of trees be carefully drawn 
out by hand. T. Appleby. 
(To be continued.) 
CELERY, AND ITS CULTURE. 
Ix is somewhat to be regretted that the persevering i 
energy which has exhibited itself in the present day in : 
searching out works of art and other remains of bygone | 
days, should not likewise devote some part of its in- j 
quiries into the means that had been adopted to alter, j 
improve, and, to a certain extent, re-model those objects 
in the vegetable world, which, by a happy arrangement, 1 
have been brought to such a condition as to minister so j 
much to our necessities, as well as our gratification; j 
for while the ponderous ruins of some city, which have , 
laid for centuries untouched, or the no less impressive 
works of art, which, by the barbarous act of some ruth¬ 
less invaders, had been buried in obscurity for countless 
ages, is again resuscitated by some enthusiastic adven¬ 
turer, the applause of mankind is not withheld from 
the individual by whose aid this was done: but, if an 
inquiry be set on foot with a view to ascertain the 
native country and original character of any of the non- 
essential plants to our existence, it is often met with 
indifference, if not with direct contempt. Now this 
ought not to be so. What can be more interesting than 
to know “ from what country did the Wheat have its 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
