November 19, 1887. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
185 
TREE PLANTING IN TOWNS. 
Mb. George Cannon, the manager of Messrs. C. 
Lee & Sons’ outdoor nursery at Ealing, has sent the 
following communication to the Middlesex. County 
Times :—“Tree planting in our towns, and more es¬ 
pecially in the suburbs, is a subject that for some years 
past has engaged the serious attention of Local and 
Sanitary Boards, and in this respect it is clearly to be 
seen that the Ealing Local Board have not been 
behindhand, Mr. Jones, the surveyor, having for some 
years strongly advocated the planting of trees in the 
open spaces, and in the roads. That these trees give a 
striking, picturesque, and pleasing effect is unquestion¬ 
able, and those now established in our streets only 
require an ornamental iron guard to complete the 
work. Visitors to our town are much struck with their 
boulevard appearance, and have admitted that very 
few, if any, suburbs round London equal our own in 
this respect. It is now well understood that trees and 
shrubs exercise a most beneficial influence on health, 
owing to their 
absorbing the im¬ 
pure gases, there¬ 
by to a very large 
extent helping to 
purify the atmos¬ 
phere, attention 
being only re¬ 
quired to clean up 
and remove all 
fallen leaves in the 
autumn. There¬ 
fore, it is not to 
be wondered at, 
in these days of 
sanitary improve¬ 
ments, that this 
subject should re¬ 
ceive so much at¬ 
tention, especially 
considering the 
little cost for so 
much good that 
this work accom¬ 
plishes. 
“There can be 
no question about 
their utility in 
health giving, 
also affording 
shade and pleas¬ 
ant effect. Care, 
however, should 
be taken to select 
suitable trees for 
the various places, 
and different as¬ 
pects, soil, situ¬ 
ation, and local 
conditions should 
all have the care¬ 
ful thought of 
practical experi¬ 
ence. For street 
planting by the 
sides of main 
roads, where there 
is plenty of space, 
there are few, if 
any, trees more 
suitable than the 
Western Plane, 
variegated and 
green Sycamores, Acers, Elms, Italian, Canadian and 
Balsam Poplars, scarlet Oaks, or white and scarlet 
Chestnuts. All these come next in size, and are all 
suitable ; while Acacias (Bessoniana variety) and 
Limes are of moderate size for bye-streets, where there 
is less space. These trees can be kept in nice shape, 
well within bounds, and have a very pretty and neat 
appearance. The Balsam Poplar has large leaves, the 
tree grows to a large size, and is one of the very few 
deciduous subjects possessing a very powerful balsamic 
odour, having the effect, when in leaf, of filling the 
air in its vicinity, which is considered important as a 
disinfectant—a great sanitary point. 
“I have read with much interest an extract of a 
report by Surgeon-Gen. Koch, upon Cheltenham, in 
which he strongly recommends Coniferous trees—such 
as Spruce Firs and Pines—for street planting, instead 
of trees which lose their leaves, because of their balsamic 
odour and health-giving properties. It is generally 
known that the Pine woods of that salubrious seaside 
place, Bournemouth, and those among the Surrey hills 
and in many other parts of the country, conduce very 
materially to the healthful condition of those places, 
and many persons resort to them through medical 
advice. In my opinion, Coniferous trees are not suited 
for planting by the sides of roads, being of a pyramidal 
form of growth, and furnished to the ground, occupying 
too much space. They are, however, well suited for 
planting in clumps in open spaces, or as single specimens 
and railed in, in such places as Haven Green, Ealing 
Green, some parts of the Common, and many other 
parts of this town. It must also be borne in mind that 
only a few of the Pine tribe do well in Ealing, owing to 
the nature of the soil. 
“The Spruce Fir, Scotch, Weymouth, and Excelsa 
Pines, so conspicuous at Bournemouth and other parts 
mentioned, will not thrive well in Ealing, and therefore 
should not be planted. The Austrian Pine is well 
suited to the soil of thisjolaee, and makes noble trees, 
Lapagbria rosea—Nash Court variety. 
doing wonderfully well; as also do W ellingtonias, 
Picea Nordmanniana, Cedrus deodara, and Cupressus 
Lawsoniana, all of which contain the aromatic resinous 
odour desired. Clumps of these trees would undoubtedly 
give a refreshing park-like appearance at all times of 
the year, more especially in winter, when other trees 
are leafless, and should be planted when practicable, 
and so give our town the name of the prettiest and 
healthiest suburb round London.” 
-~>Xc~- 
HOLLYHOCKS, 
(Concluded from p. 150). 
Pot into thumb-pots, using moderately moist soil, 
plunge the pots to the rims in a frame with a gentle 
heat, give no water, but shade and keep close, giving 
only sufficient air to let off any injurious heat and 
steam. When rooted, pot into larger pots, harden off 
gradually, and keep all constantly but moderately 
watered. Cuttings may be struck during the summer 
and autumn in the open air, if kept shaded from the 
bright sun and well watered. Never wet the foliage of 
cuttings or grafts till they are well rooted, and should 
they get too dry before being rooted, place in a pan of 
water deep enough to wet them to the base of the 
cutting; remove all decaying leaves daily. By division: 
When done flowering, old stools may be taken up and 
cut into pieces with a strong knife, taking care to have 
a shoot and root on each piece; plant out in a shady 
place away from the drip of trees, aud remove to 
flowering quarters in March. Eyes: When the first 
flowers open, so that the colours can be distinguished 
to ensure a correct description, this method of pro¬ 
pagation may be commenced. Cut off the side branches 
close to the main stem, and trim all leaves off, leaving 
their foot-stalks at full length; cut the shoot clean 
through close under the bud, leaving about 2 ins. of the 
internode. This wood above the eye gives sustenance 
during the formation of callus and roots, and all joints 
which give 
promise to form 
an eye are suit¬ 
able, thus every 
eye forms a cut¬ 
ting, but the 
flowering portion 
is unsuitable. In 
the earlier part of 
the season these 
will do well under 
small handlights 
on a cool bottom, 
using any light 
sandy soil, and 
later on a slight 
bottom heat is 
desirable. Shade 
them from bright 
sun and keep well 
attended to with 
water, using a pot 
with a very fine 
rose or the sy¬ 
ringe ; remove 
dead leaf-stalks, 
and when rooted 
pot into 60’s and 
thence into 48- 
size pots. Keep 
in a cold frame 
and afterwards 
plant them out 
into their bloom¬ 
ing quarters, as 
advised for seed¬ 
lings. These 
generally produce 
the finest exhibi¬ 
tion spikes, and 
cuttings and 
grafts the largest 
flowers. 
For culture in a 
mixed border or 
shrubbery dig out 
at planting time 
a good-sized hole 
and fill it with a 
rich compost of 
f JE fresh earth and 
decayed manure; 
if in lines for 
exhibition purposes, trench and manure heavily a 
piece of well-drained ground, plant out early in spring 
during fine open weather. Should wintry weather set 
in after planting them out some temporary shelter will 
be advisable ; mulch the ground not less than 2 ins. 
with littery manure and place a good stout stake to 
each plant, this need not be more than 4 ft. high ; tie 
the shoots regularly but not tightly to it, leaving room 
for the stems to swell. Water well in dry weather, 
once a week may be often enough provided they receive 
a good soaking when it is done. If they are intended 
for exhibition, take the points out at about 6 ft., this 
will give increased strength to those which are left. Cut 
the flower stems dotvn when they have done flowering 
and the seed is ripe ; this operation must not be delayed 
a day longer than is absolutely necessary. All stools 
left in the ground during the winter should have a good 
mulching of half - decayed manure thrown well up 
around them to protect them from frost. 
