420 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
May 20, 1905. 
of English Elms, many of them have been blown down and 
their places filled up by Limes, Horse Chestnuts, English and 
Cornish Elms. The present building was commenced about 
1565, and has been added to from time to time. A very 
line garden was laid out by London and Wise in 1690, and 
followed the then prevailing Dutch fashion. 
“ Capability ” Brown laid his destroying hand upon these 
gardens about 1750, and cleared out most of the formal 
planting which then existed. The groves or avenues were 
allowed to remain, and now contain some of the finest trees 
on the estate. Some photographic illustrations are given of 
these monarchs of the park in the “ Transactions ” of the 
English Aboricultural Society. One fine White Poplar in the 
grove towers up to a height of 120 ft., and contains 450 
cubic feet of timber. It may here be stated that the geolo¬ 
gical formation of this part of the estate consists of Oxford 
clay. The common Oak on the park, on the same geological 
formation, runs up to- 90 ft., and has a more stately form 
than we usually see in Oaks that have been planted in pleasure-¬ 
grounds, where' the soil is often of a poor character. 
At the present day the principal features of the park owe 
their origin to the master hand of “ Capability ” Brown. The 
more important. of these trees consist of Beech, which has 
proved the most vigorous tree upon the greensand ridge on the 
east side of the park. On the slopes of this ridge clumps and 
single trees have been planted with considerable taste and fine 
effect, but these only date back for about fifty years. They 
include Elms, Beeches, Limes, Planes, Horse Chestnuts and 
Birches. 
In the immediate neighbourhood of the mansion avenues of 
trees radiate from a centre close to the house, and consist 
almost entirely of common Lime. In the vicinity, however, 
are fine specimens of Silver Fir, Oak, Poplar, and Lime. In the 
grove is a Weymouth Pine, which was planted when first in¬ 
troduced into this country in 1705. The other trees of the 
grove, or, at least, the larger specimens, are considered to date 
from 1690, when the gardens were laid out. There is an in¬ 
teresting bit on the north side of the park which includes a 
small fragment of the ancient Selwood Forest, and the trees 
belonging to this consist of Oak and Ash, which had been 
pollarded according to the custom of the times. Many of 
them have trunks of great girth, but all are hollow, and merely 
interesting as relics of ancient times. 
The finest trees are those situated on soil of a substantial 
character, such as that of Oxford clay. In the grove, for 
instance, the pedunculate Oak has reached a height of 100 ft., 
the White Poplar 120 ft., and the common Lime also 120 ft. 
There are at least two others of equal height, so that they 
may be taken as the limits in height of the common Lime in 
this country. Strangely enough, also, the common Ash has 
reached a height of 120 ft., while two Sweet Chestnuts measure 
90 ft. and 80 ft. respectively. In the main avenue three 
English Elms have attained a height of 110 ft., and 
three others 120 ft., while another specimen of the Lime is 
also equal to that. 
The woods are fairly extensive at Longleat, and vary, as do 
the geological formations. On the chalk downs the trees are 
of small size, and consist of Beech, Larch, Scotch Fir, Corsican 
and Austrian Pines. The Beech has succeeded best on the 
chalk. The Scotch Fir thrives only to about fifty or sixty years 
of age and then loses its vigour. English Elms have fur¬ 
nished the best timber upon the chalk. The greensand for¬ 
mation gives more character and more interesting features 
to the woodlands. The ridges run up to an elevation of 
300 ft. to 600 ft. above the level of the sea. This formation 
supports about 2,000 acres of woodland. About half of this 
was planted between 1750 and 1800. 
Other interesting trees on this estate include an Ash grown 
for timber with a straight and handsome trunk running up t-oi 
100 ft., though this is at an altitude of 300 ft. Its fine growth 
is due, however, to the Oxford clay formation. Very interest¬ 
ing, also, is the Corsley Yew, which, though only 40 ft. high, 
has a diameter of 60 ft. spread, while the trunk at 5 ft. from 
the ground has a girth of 24 ft. This monarchial specimen has 
been grown on the greensand, and stands at an elevation of 
400 ft. In another part of the grounds a fine Tulip tree towers 
up to a height of 100 ft., but. those who wish to see the' flowers 
of a Tulip tree, would have to restrain its vigour at an early 
stage of growth. Two Wellingtonias measure 84 ft. and 80 ft 
respectively, while the Oriental Plane runs up to. 96 ft. The 
gigantic character of the common Silver Fir under favourable 
conditions may be gleaned from the fact that three trees each 
measure 130 ft. in height, while another one runs to 140 ft., 
being thus the tallest tree on the estate. 
Ware’s Eremurus. 
Eremurus Warei. 
(See Supplement.) 
Until 1903 this was considered a. rare plant, and some' were 
even inclined to think it had become extinct. Thanks to cul¬ 
tivators, however, particularly to Mr. G. Reuthe, Fox Hill 
Hardy Plant Nursery, Keston, Kent, there are still a consider¬ 
able number of plants of it in the country, as several have got 
distributed from that nursery since then. We also learn that 
there are some plants on the Continent, but as they vary some¬ 
what in colour it is doubtful whether they are the ti-ue original 
E. Warei. 
Our illustration will serve to give an idea of the character of 
the flowers, which are of a rich buff-orange colour, the darker 
shade overlying a lighter yellow on both surfaces of the flowers. 
Each segment has a brownish-green line. Contrast is also 
produced by the pale yellow ovary in the centre. The fila- 
ments are twice as long as the segments, and cany orange 
anthers, which in the aggregate are veiy effective. 
The raceme has not the diameter or bulk of E. robustus, but 
the flowers are produced close together, thus making a raceme 
as dense as that of E. robustus and much more so than that of 
E. Olgae, which is a late-flowering species and quite of a 
different colour. Most cultivators are agreed that E. Warei is 
the finest of the yellow-flowered species. The leaves are keeled, 
glaucous-green and more or less incurved towards the stem, 
and as in all other species coming under our notice, they are 
produced direct from the rootstock. 
Some years ago', when the species of Eremurus were first 
being introduced, cultivators were not altogether certain about 
their requirements or even hardiness, but- thanks to the skill 
of British gardeners, the cultivation of these noble Lilywo-rts 
is now much better understood. Occasionally they may be 
seen planted under the shelter of walls, though that is 
altogether unnecessary. A little shelter is advantageous to 
protect the stately stems from the effect-of winds which we 
often get during late spring and early summer. This may be 
furnished by planting in the areas between the shrubs, and the 
effect of both will be heightened. Some of the finest speci¬ 
mens may therefore be seen in places that are fully exposed to 
wind in all directions. In selecting a site for planting 
Eremurus the cultivator should lay most stress on selecting a 
soil that is friable and well drained, so that there may be no 
stagnant moisture about the roots in winter. A liberal admix¬ 
ture of leaf-soil will also prove advantageous, and even a top¬ 
dressing of well-decayed manure over the roots, but clear of 
the crowns, would assist the vigour of the stems when they 
begin to be thrown up. 
The peculiar character of the roots makes the plant difficult 
to transplant unless the cultivator is fully aware of their 
nature. They are fleshy and radiate horizontally like a wheel 
from the crown of the plant, some portions being thickened and 
being so juicy they are also brittle, and to- break them in the 
operation of transplanting would be to weaken the plant in 
proportion to the number of roots broken. These roots con¬ 
stitute a storehouse of food laid up by the plant- during the 
previous summer, and the stored material is necessary for the 
support- of the stately and strong stems as well as the numerous 
flowers. As in the case of other plants which make such pre¬ 
paration, growth is very rapid, so that the cultivator who 
understands these peculiarities will take the utmost care of the 
