674 
June 24 , 1898. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
FORESTRY AT EARL’S 
COURT. 
Most of the exhibits pertaining to forestry, and 
which had been promised by public bodies and 
private individuals, are now in their places in the 
main exhibition building, mostly at the south end. 
They illustrate forest trees from various parts of the 
world, as well as various abnormal growths and 
eccentricities of tree life, the ravages com¬ 
mitted by insects and various fungi, and some 
of the uses to which the timber is put. An interest¬ 
ing consignment has been lent by the Queen from 
Windsor Forest as well as from Balmoral. A set of 
tools used in forestry also comes from Windsor, 
together with many instructive examples of bad or 
neglected pruning, showing what should be avoided. 
Reference to this is made lower down 
Many fine samples of New Zealand Coniferae have 
been sent in the form of slabs, which have been 
polished and one half of each varnished. They are 
3 ft. to 4 ft. long and 2 ft. to 4 ft. wide, according to 
the size the tree naturally attains. The samples of 
Dacrydium Cupressinum or Rimu and Vitex littoralis 
or Purira are 4 ft. wide and must have been taken 
from magnificent trees. Some slabs of the Kauri 
Pine (Dammara Australis) are fine, and a log from a 
tree is 5 ft. in diameter. Several slabs of Podocar- 
pus Totara show considerable variation in graining, 
and in some instances the numerous dark knots or 
small burrs give a more handsome effect than the 
bird's-eye Maple when polished. The New Zealand 
Beech or Tawhai (Fagus fusca) has a close and fine¬ 
grained wood of a reddish hue. A large number of 
kinds of wood showing their breaking weight and the 
nature of the breakage are arranged on folding leaves 
so as to facilitate examination. Another series of 
transverse, radial, and tangential sections of wood, 
polished and neatly arranged in a framework, has 
been lent by the Survej'ors’ Institution, but unfor¬ 
tunately for the British public, the descriptions are 
in German. 
Some wooden water pipes, that were originally 
used for conveying water to the works, have been 
lent by the New River Company. Various kinds of 
wood apparently have been used, but some of the 
best preserved examples evidently consist of Elm or 
Oak. The partly decayed trunk of a Beech tree from 
Burnham Beeches, and reckoned to be about 700 
years old, will no doubt interest many of the general 
public. Some planks of Teak show instances of 
damage that has been done to the interior by white 
ants (Termes). These had afterwards been driven 
out by ordinary ants, which, in their turn, were ex¬ 
pelled by a kind of honey-bee (Tregona). A large 
quantity of a resinous substance found in the cavity 
is supposed to be the product of the last-named. 
Some fine samples of the Scotch Pine from the forest 
of Ballochbuie, Balmoral, have been lent by the 
Queen, in some instances showing the uses to which 
the wood is put in that part of the country. Amongst 
the latter was a beautiful polished table-top made of 
burr knots of Pine. The dark and light graining and 
the twisting of the wood give the finished article a 
handsome appearance. A log of wood was taken from 
a tree 215 years old, grown at an elevation of 1,250 ft., 
and another 206 years old at 1.200 ft. elevation. 
A series of explanatory demonstrations on the spot 
will be carried out during the season under the 
direction of Mr. George Cadell, the president of the 
section. The first of the series w’as inaugurated 
last Saturday at three o'clock in the afternoon by 
Professor Curtis. The lecturer prefaced his discourse 
by explaining that the value of the exhibits would 
be to a great degree negative unless information should 
be disseminated with regard to the meaning that 
such ooject-lessons were intended to convey. There 
was scarcely a bit of timber, he continued, but had a 
history more or less important attaching to it. In 
Germany the forests belonged to the State, but in 
Britain they were private property and not always 
well managed. The object of the exhibition at 
Earl's Court was to improve upon that state of 
matters as far as possible. 
As an example of what landowners should plant, 
with the object of growing as much timber as 
possible in a given time and area, he referred to the 
Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga Douglasii), pointing to a 
fine log cut from a tree about sixty years old, and 
amongst the first introduced to this country. As a 
timber tree its popularity is only growing and as yet 
it is expensive. In its native country it develops 
eight or ten rings of wood per annum, and in this 
country adds sometimes nearly iin. per annum 
increment to its bulk, being more than it does in its 
native home. The timber is not quite equal to that 
of the Scotch Fir, and in this country often gets 
broken off short by the wind. When not too much 
crowded by other trees it retains large branches 
from the ground upwards, a fact which goes to ex¬ 
plain the rapid growth which it makes. These 
large limbs, however, give rise to knots, which are 
objectional by deteriorating the timber. He showed 
a specimen of the Douglas Fir of twenty-five years’ 
growth, measuring iSin. to 2oin. in diameter, with 
an annual increment of nearly three-quarters of an 
inch, and a specimen of the Silver Fir of the same 
age, but only about 10 in. in diameter. Both samples 
had been grown in Ireland and under the same con¬ 
ditions The inference was that an acre of land 
planted with the Douglas Fir would produce more 
timber in a given time than would the Silver Fir. 
Owing to the high price of the young trees of the 
former, his advice was to plant only the requisite 
number of Douglas Firs at the proper distance 
apart for the mature trees, and to use Larch, Silver 
Fir, or others, as nurse plants, both for the sake of 
shelter and to encourage the development of clean 
timber without knots. An acre of land would pro¬ 
duce more timber but support fewer trees than in 
the case of the Silver Fir. 
He dwelt but a short time upon the Corsican Pine 
(Pinus Laricio), but said that it would go hand in 
hand with the Scotch Pine for the production of 
timber, and referred to some fine logs, about 2 ft. to 
2I ft. in diameter or more, cut from trees about 
sixty years old. The Californian Abies Menziesii 
next engaged his attention, and was described as of 
secondary importance to the above. He showed 
some specimens illustrating the injury caused to 
living trees by the Larch Disease or canker, and 
explained that the injury was brought about by a 
fungus belonging to the genus Peziza, the mycelium 
of which entered the living tissues and destroyed 
them, causing distortions of the wood, the exuding 
of resin, and ultimately the destruction of the 
tree or the whole plantation. The trees some¬ 
times partly recover themselves. The fungus or its 
spores entered the tree by small openings or wounds 
caused by frost or by other trees falling upon it, etc. 
His advice was to plant in suitable positions where 
a free growth could be made. Serious injury was 
also caused to Beech trees by a similar fungus, which 
he should consider as the Beech Peziza. The 
withering of the leaves and the poor growth made 
sometimes showed the presence of this disease before 
it could be detected externally by the eye. Some¬ 
times the wounds healed over, to be detected 
ultimately when the tree was cut into timber. He 
advised timely and proper pruning as one of the 
preventions of this destructive fungus. 
By means of selected examples from Windsor 
Forest, the prejudicial effects of bad-pruning were 
optically demonstrated. An Oak tree had a limb 
cut off about 18 in. from the trunk, and having no 
leaves to support it, the branch died. It was 
impossible for this to be healed over so -that the 
fresh growth of the trunk curved inwards so as to 
occupy the base of the decaying branch, thus form¬ 
ing a blemish in the wood for all time coming. 
Other logs showed holes in them made by wood¬ 
peckers, which took advantage of the remains of 
decaying branches. Water let in by these holes 
caused the wood in places of the interior to become 
decayed, thereby rendering it commercially value¬ 
less. The lecturer advised pruning close to the tree 
if pruning was done at all, so that nature might be 
able to heal over the wound, otherwise the branches 
should not be pruned so close as to deprive them of 
foliage. 
Some curious examples illustrating the power of 
nature to heal over a wound, was shown in pieces of 
tree-trunks that had been branded in numbering the 
trees about 100 years ago. The wound in some 
cases measured about 6 in. square, yet it had 
been completely covered over with fresh wood and 
bark, the latter merely showing a slight depression 
above the place of the hidden wound. When split 
open the figures were almost as fresh as when 
branded. Akin to this was the injury done to trees 
by driving nails and staples into them, as well as by 
placing the posts of fences too near the trunk. One 
of these posts is shown completely enclosed in the 
trunk of a tree. The evil effects cf allowing two leaders 
to take the place of one upon a tree was that water 
runs down between them, causing the wood beneath 
to decay. Leaves and other matters are carried into 
the cavity produced, and the tree often roots into 
the products of its own decay. Samples both of 
Spanish Chestnut and Oak from Windsor Forest 
showed this form of injury. The lecturer also 
showed a log Cf an Oak that had been planted in 
good soil and had formed a trunk 2 ft. to 3 ft. in 
diameter, while another on poor soil was only 12 in. 
in diameter. Both had been planted about seventy 
years ago. From this he argued that it was the duty 
of landlords to give orders not merely for the plant¬ 
ing of so many thousands of trees, but also that each 
particular species of tree should be planted in soil 
best suited to its requirements and profitable 
development. 
-- I - — 
YORK HORTICULTURAL 
FETE. 
All concerned in the organisation of the great 
horticultural event of the year in Yorkshire, are to 
be heartily congratulated on the glorious success 
which crowned their efforts last week, when the 
thirty-fifth gala was held at York. Last year, it will 
be remembered, owing to two wet days, the ex¬ 
hibition was a profitless one, but the committee, 
nothing daunted, raised the amount offered in prizes 
from £600 to £650 for this year's show, and the com¬ 
bination of vigour, liberal management, and 
tropical sunshine, resulted in a record attendance of 
visitors, the total number of persons passed through the 
turnstiles being no less than 52,915 in the three days. 
This number largely exceeds any previous record, 
and the succes achieved must be highly gratifying to 
Mr. Simmons and his committee, who certainly 
spared no pains to deserve it. 
We have seen some features stronger at York in 
other years than they were this, but taking the show 
as a whole, we doubt if it has ever been excelled for 
the general excellence of the exhibits all round, 
which did honour to the county of broad acres. The 
non-competitive contributions were numerous and 
exceedingly good, and here the Messrs. Backhouse 
were “ at home " with a charming bit of rock work,- a 
tasty bit of work that greatly took the public fancy. 
The same distinguished firm also exhibited largely 
of their wealth of herbaceous and Alpine plants. 
Messrs. F. Sander & Co., St. Albans, and Messrs. 
Charlesworth, Shuttleworth & Co., Heaton, Bradford, 
were also extensive exhibitors of Orchids, and the St. 
Albans firm had besides, some very striking new and 
rare plants. 
Mr. Letts, gardener to the Marquis of Zetland, 
Aske, beat Mr. Cypher and Mr. J. F. Mould with 
ten stove and greenhouse plants in bloom, with a 
grand lot of specimens ; but with six specimens the 
two last-named exhibitors turned the tables on the 
local grower, Mr. Letts in this competition only 
coming in third. In an amateurs' competition with 
three plants in bloom Mr. Nicholas, gardener to the 
Marquis of Zetland, at Upleathan, came to the front 
with grandly grown specimens. The competition 
with a group not exceeding 300 square feet was a 
very good one, the principal awards going to Mr. 
McIntyre, gardener to Mrs Gurney Pease, Darling¬ 
ton, and Mr. Edmonds, Bestwood Lodge, Notting¬ 
ham. Mr. Letts, Mr. McIntyre, and Mr. Leadbetter, 
gardener to A. Wilson, Esq., Tranby Croft, were 
also well to the front with specimen fine foliaged 
plants; and the same competitors also scored heavily 
in the classes for Ferns 
With ten Orchids in an open class Mr. Cypher 
beat Mr. Holmes, gardener to George Hardy, Esq., 
Timperley, but in a competition with six Mr. Holmes 
turned the tables on the Cheltenham grower, and 
secured first honours as well in the amateurs’ class 
for four. The Pelargoniums, always a prime 
feature at Fork, were simply magnificent and 
beyond all praise, though the hot weather had 
naturally told its tale on some of the show varieties. 
F’or twelve of the latter type Mr. Year, gardener to 
Miss Steward, York, came in first; Mr. Eastwood, 
gardener to Mrs. Tetley, Leeds, being second. In 
the corresponding class for zonals, the Leeds growers, 
Mr. H. Pybus, Monkton Moor, and Mr. Eastwood, 
secured the first and second awards, Mr. Vear coming 
in third, and all showing perfect examples of cultural 
skill. The Ivy leaved class was a revelation, and 
anything finer than the magnificent pyramids staged 
by Mr. Pybus has never come under our observation. 
