TIIE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, girra mb*b 14,1858. 377 
depressed; On a Very sunny day, the air being given 
early will prevent a dangerous rise in the temperature, 
and that rise will be so gradual, that there will be no 
danger from scorching, by heated confined vapours. 
In your case, and under your proposed forcing, your 
sheet-anchor of safety will depend on early air-giving. 
I once forced a vinery very sucessfully on that prin¬ 
ciple. The temperature at night was scarcely ever 
above 60 a . On bright days it would rise from 90° 
to 100°, and above it, and, of course, rose and fell 
gradually. Without the early air-giving, I should 
have expected scorching, burning, and other evils. 
You may bloom your Camellias, in winter, in a tem¬ 
perature averaging from 40° to 45°, and that will not 
prematurely start your Peach tree, if plenty of air is 
given, Camellias are best forced to set their buds in 
May, or thereabouts, and then they will bloom early 
without forcing. If you raise your house above from 
40° to 45° in winter, no matting-up of your Peach tree 
will save it from being excited. If you could cover it 
with glass, shaded with boarded shutters, or even thick 
canvass, and have an opening all along the top to the 
! open air, you might force the house moderately as you 
liked. It would, however, be better never to raise the 
: heat much above 40°, until you intend starting your 
trees in pots, and then all such trouble of keeping the 
Peach tree cool would be avoided. R. Fish. 
THE AVENUE. 
As the time for planting is now fast approaching, I 
judge a few remarks on the once fashionable avenue 
will not be unacceptable to the readers of The Cottage 
Gardener. It is a matter of doubt, whether avenues 
are desirable in point of taste; but I think a noble 
avenue in a large domain is a fine object. The mistake 
too often made is that of not giving sufficient space 
between the rows of trees and between each tree. I 
remember an avenue of this kind on the estate of the 
late Sir William Watkin Wynne, near Wrexham, in 
North Wales. The trees were Limes, and planted so 
close that when in foliage nothing could be seen 
through them, and the space enclosed was so narrow 
that little else but the road was visible. Excepting 
the trunks and the foliage, the spectator might as 
well have been confined within two lofty walls. In 
small grounds, the avenue has this bad effect, that the 
ground is cut in two parts, rendering the views from 
the mansion more confined. An instance of this in¬ 
judicious mode of forming a straight avenue came 
under my notice a few days ago, at Burnage Hall, 
i near Manchester, the residence of Samuel Watts, Esq. 
Straight avenues should never be planted through the 
centre of a small estate. They might be planted on 
one side with advantage ; but I would always recom¬ 
mend them to be of a winding character, unless some 
pleasing object—such as an obelisk, a temple, or a 
Church—terminated the straight avenue. The width 
of the avenue, even in a small place, should never be 
less than sixty feet, and in a large park may even be 
200 feet. A few days ago I met with a pleasing wind¬ 
ing avenue, at Heath Bank, Cheadle, near Manchester, 
belonging to S. Ilendell, Esq., planted with the 
Cedrus deodcircc. This will be in time a really beau¬ 
tiful object. In the noble grounds at Elvaston Park, 
the residence of the Earl of Harrington, on the con¬ 
trary, there is a long straight avenue, planted with 
Araucaria imbricata. This is in a right position and 
form, for the park is extensive, and the views from the 
castle are varied. The avenue at Windsor is an ex¬ 
ample what effect a wide long avenue has, and there 
no idea of contraction enters the mind of the spectator. 
It is, as is well known, terminated by a noble figure 
on horseback. Avenues in public? parks are desirable* 
because of the pleasant shade they afford in hot, sun-’ 
shiny, summer days. I observed in Hyd© Park, last 
winter, that the Commissioners had planted an avenue 
of the western Plane tree, JPlatanus occidental^*! n 
very proper sort of tree near a large town, because' it 
bears the smoke better than any other tree. They 
have, however, in my humble opinion, made a great 
mistake in planting them on raised platforms, and for 
this reason, that the soil of Hyde Park is dry, and the 
raising the trees on mounds is an itnneeessary and 
even hurtful expense. In low, or wet, grounds the 
planting on platforms is requisite, and of great service, 
lifting, as it were, the trees out of the wet. 
The question may be asked, what are the best kinds 
of trees for avenues ? The answer is, that it depends 
upon the kind of soil, and the situation of the estate. 
If the soil is moderately good, and the situation a 
level, sheltered one, then I would recommend, above 
all others, the Deodar Cedar. Its graceful habit, and 
lovely silvery green, renders it the most ornamental 
avenue we possess. It has the advantage, also, that 
winds will not break its branches off, which most other 
Conifers are liable, to ; and it is perfectly hardy, a 
character that, unfortunately, does not belong to the 
beautiful Araucaria imbricata. The Abies Doiiglassii 
is also a fine avenue tree, but in limestone soils its 
foliage is apt to turn yellow. In other soils, not too 
wet, it thrives well, and forms a handsome tree. Then 
there is our own noble Oak ; but that is a spreading 
tree, and requires a large estate, and good, deep loam, 
to render it a suitable tree for this purpose. The 
avenue, if planted with the Oak, should be of the 
widest in space, never less than from 100 feet, nor less 
in length than at least half a mile. 
The Lime tree, on account of its beautiful form, 
fine foliage, and rich perfume when in blossom, is a 
very desirable tree, and may be used for this purpose 
in a moderately-sized estate ; only take care to place 
the avenue on one side, so that it may not divide the 
domain into two parts. 
The upright Elm is also a good avenue tree, and 
thrives well in most soils. It may be planted, if care¬ 
fully taken up, when of a good size, even to twelve 
feet, and thus have an immediate effect. It also has 
the advantage of not spreading so much as most other 
trees ; hence, it will not injure the grass of the pasture 
or park. 
The Horse Chesnut, in sheltered places, forms a 
handsome avenue. Its foliage is good, and it flowers 
profusely. A good example may be seen at Bushy 
JPark, near Hampton Court. If this tree is planted in 
an exposed situation, the strong winds are almost sure 
to split off large branches anuualty. 
The Beech tree may also be planted to form an 
avenue. It will grow well in most soils, and will bear 
exposure the best of any tree ; but it must be planted 
young, not more than four feet high, and must have 
been often transplanted in the nursery, so as to have 
numerous fibrous roots, in order to ensure success. 
Some recommend Poplars as avenue trees, but I 
cannot admire them, excepting, perhaps, the Abele 
Poplar. In low, damp soils, it is a very desirable 
kind for this purpose. 
Whatever tree is fixed upon, the soil should be well 
prepared previous to planting. In July, or August, 
let the turf be pared off, the land trenched, and laid 
up as rough as possible. The space trenched should 
be at least six feet in diameter. If the situation is 
low, or wet, raise a platform for each tree, two feet 
above the level, and place under the soil a layer of 
broken bricks, or stones, to drain it. The platform 
may be kept up at the sides with turf, sloping upwards 
to the level; but the top part of the platform should 
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