34 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
January 9. 1904. 
be well for county councils and otlieirs concerned with town 
planting to give some thought to. itlie natural habit of die 
tree, and select those which require little or no pruning. This 
would naturally suggest trees of upright habit, of which we 
already have a considerable number, though some of them 
might be unsuitable for town planting on account of the downy 
or woolly character of the leaves. The Lombardy Poplar 
would, we have no doubt, succeed very well, though it might 
not be considered a very durable tree; but we. think, if allowed 
to grow naturally, it would endure as long as those which are 
.severely pruned annually. There are. already several fine trees 
of it in the suburbs of London, and there was, until recently 
at least, a splendid tree in Cambridge. Moreover, this tree, 
like the Willow, would submit to pruning to keep it within 
reasonable bounds, and that pruning, if done sufficiently timely, 
could scarcely be called either pruning or cutting back, as the 
rampant branches could be removed while still quite young. 
Another tree of pyramidal habit, is the Ginkgo. or Maidenhair 
tree, of which there are .several fine samples in London and 
the suburbs. We think it a. greatly neglected and withal a 
beautiful tree, with smooth leaves that would not collect the 
filth of our atmosphere like those of evergreen, specie®. There 
is already a splendid avenue of this tree in Washington, U.S.A., 
the trees of which are twenty-three years old, and have never 
been pruned. We think this would prove as. suitable as the 
Plane for narrow streets, as the tree attains considerable height, 
always maintaining the same pyramidal habit, provided the 
leader lias not been destroyed by accident or otherwise. The 
tree® might be grown with a. clean stem to a height of G ft. 
at least before they are planted in London, and then, if the 
lower branches were likely to interfere with the traffic, they 
could be removed in the same way as is done with the Plane 
trees, with the difference that the top would not require annual 
pruning, if indeed it required any. 
It seems strange that our native Willows have been so much 
neglected as town trees, seeing that they are of such easy 
culture, and submit to any amount of annual pruning or lop¬ 
ping. The arboreal Willows—namely, Salix alba and S. 
fragilis, would be the more suitable for street planting, but 
particularly the White Willow first named. This is naturally 
of more upright habit, than, the Crack Willow, and would go 
into narrow spaces more conveniently than that. Those who 
live in the fen count,iy are very familiar with the pollarded 
trees >of both these species, but in the street® another method 
of pruning would have to be resorted to in order to get narrow 
and upright heads instead of spreading ones. This is just as 
easily accomplished as in the case of the London Plane, because 
the tree is naturally more erect than that, and less pruning 
would be required to keep the Willows in the proper shape 
after they have got over the early vigour which newly-planted 
trees of the Willow tribe exhibit. Moreover, should any of 
the Willows die early from accident or otherwise, their places 
ca,n very .soon he filled again,, owing to the rapid growth made 
by young trees. 
On the other hand, if county councils. should desire to plant 
long-lived trees, does it never occur to them to plant the 
British Oak ? The ordinary form of the tree has rather spread¬ 
ing limbs, but there is a fastigiate form. We believe, however, 
■that the common Oak could more easily be kept in the proper 
form than the Plane. We have seen trees in the western 
suburbs kept down, to a veiy small size; 'by a little pruning, 
which alone is necessary owing t® the slow growth of the tree. 
For .street planting, all that would be necessary would be to 
commence with trees of sufficient height to be out of the way 
of the traffic, and then wait for tlieir growth. Not many inches 
might be made in a year, but the growth would be sub¬ 
stantial, .and the leave® being .smooth and deciduous the tr a e 
should thrive just as readily a® the Plane, while its durability 
in this country should even be greater. 
The above-mentioned Bulletin shows a. splendid avenue of the 
Bed Oak (Quercus rubra) in Washington, but the street® there 
are wider than those of London. This may be imagined when 
we say that 80,000 shade trees are grown in Washington at an 
annual cost to the citizen® of 20,000 dels. .Not only do our 
American cousins have faith in the Bed Oak as a street tree, 
but they recommend five other Oaks for general street plant¬ 
ing, including the Pin (Q. palustris), the Scarlet. (Q. ooccinea), 
the Black (Q. velutina), the Shingle (Q. imbriearia), and the 
Widow (Q. Phellos). 
New Conservatory at Nun Appleton. 
(See Supplement l) 
Our Supplement this week represents outside and inside 
views of the splendid conservatory quite recently built for Sir 
Angus Holden at Nun Appleton, Bolton Percy, B.S.O., York¬ 
shire. The conservatory presents a very imposing effect, with 
its high front and semi-circular roof both back and front. 
The ends are also on the curve, a® may be seen by reference to 
our illustration. The front is. very substantially built, the sills, 
muntins, and plates .being of pitch pine, .so as to adequately 
withstand the great weight which is placed upon them. The 
glazing ha® been, done with 21-oz. glass. 
The roof is formed with cast iron principals of an ornamental 
design, with wrought iron bars to take the glass.. These rafters 
are secured to the front uprights by specially-designed brackets, 
and the whole is. trussed with iron rods so as to obtain the 
ne.cessa.iy strength. The ends; of the roof are semi-circular, 
with leaded flat® against the wall of the mansion. This design 
was adopted to retain, the symmetrical proportions of a down, 
roof, and at the; same time to cover the desired area. 
Ventilation is obtained by opening .the whole of the lantern 
light® on each side, and, although these are curved by an 
ingenious arrangement of rods., they are opened with the 
greatest ease. All the main sashes in front open ■with brass 
casement stays. The roof glass is: bedded into the bars with 
special Thermo. Plastic putty, which, renders leakage from ex¬ 
pansion. ,and contraction of the iron roof impossible. 
A pair of folding doors keep the conservatory closed from 
the outside. Inside there are also two. door® leading into the 
mansion, and p third gives access to the potting-shed and stoke- 
hole. Inside the conservatory iron stage® are fitted round the 
side®, while the centre is occupied with a stepped wood-staging 
of circular .outline. The structure is. heated by row® of curved 
pipes under the side staging, and also, by a coil of pipes in the 
vault under the floor, the heated air reaching the interior 
through circular gratings. 
The .boiler employed for heating this structure is of the 
Chatsworth Saddle pattern, with check ends. Under the floor 
of the potting-shed is a large tank to. receive the rain water 
.from the roof, and this; is conveyed into the conservatory as 
required for use by means, of a, pump. This fine building has 
been erected by the well-known firm of horticultural builder®, 
Messrs. Messenger and Co., of Loughborough, Leicestershire, 
and London. 
No doubt gardeners will be most interested in the interior of 
this fine and very unusual form of conservatory, and in the con¬ 
venience® for the cultivation or the keeping of plants. It is 
evidently well lighted, and the. tall roof should furnish con¬ 
venience for the growing o.f very tall plants for year® to come. 
At the time the photographs were taken the central staging 
arrangement, consisted of Palms, such a® Kentia. belmore>a.na, 
Latania borbo-nica, and others of that class. Beaders will also 
be able to discern some other familiar objects in. Ficus elastica, 
Nepbrolepis tuberosa, Pteris .serrulata, P. s. cristata, and other 
varieties. At this time some Coleus were also, staged, and 
some of the early-flowering Chrysanthemums, such as Mme. 
Marie Masse, Mme. C. De.sgra.nges, and Precocite. 
Smaller plants were arranged on the side stages, including 
young specimens of Grevillea robusta,, small Keutias, Begonia 
Bex, and other foliage plants. Flowering subject® included 
Petunias, Abutilons, Ivy-leaved and zonal Pelargoniums. Pre¬ 
parations have also been made to furnish the. roof with climbers, 
and with that object in view the border round the back wall 
lias been planted with Nerium Oleander, Asparagus plumo®us, 
.Plumbago capensi®, Acacia, longifolia., and Ivy-leaved Pelar¬ 
goniums. The principal climber is Cobaea scandens variegate, 
which ha® .been planted with the intention of training it. along 
the. iron tension, rods and stays near the roof, this subject being 
