152 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
February  25,  18#?. 
covered  track,  and  take  some  little  notes  in  their  leisure  hours  of 
tree  life  in  the  locality ;  to  detail  the  features  of  any  notable 
examples,  to  tell  us  what  they  see,  and  what  they  think,  may  I  add, 
upon  the  matter.  Oue  could  then  judge  whether  these  pessimistic 
views  are  justified  or  not,  whilst  at  present  there  is  a  lack  of 
evidence  to  show  that  any  thoughts  on  this  subject  are  occupying 
their  minds. 
Ere  turning  to  the  practical  part  of  our  text  I  would  ask  young 
gardeners  to  contemplate  the  loftiness  of  our  theme  by  referring 
to  the  remarks  of  a  writer  (unknown  to  me)  upon  the  Wellingtonia, 
now  so  well  known  to  us,  in  its  infant  stage.  He  says,  “  These  mam¬ 
moth  trees  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  for  antiquity  and  size  surpass  all 
the  vegetable  products  of  the  known  world  .  .  .  Coeval  with 
Solomon  and  David,  there  they  have  stood,  and  have  continued  to 
grow  while  kingdoms,  empires,  and  dynasties  have  arisen  and  dis¬ 
appeared,  and  there  they  stand,  the  living  patriarchs  of  3000  years ! 
These  giant  productions  of  the  vegetable  kingdom  appear  to  average 
from  3000  to  4000  years  ;  two  of  them  (two  lives)  would,  there¬ 
fore,  span  the  entire  period  of  historical  time,  from  the  day*  of 
Adam  to  the  present  period  ?  ”  Since  the  above  was  written  it 
may,  or  may  not,  be  qualified  in  some  degree  by  more  recent ' 
discoveries  among  the  Eucalypti  of  Australia,  in  any  case  it  cannot 
stultify  our  feelings  of  veneration  and  regard. 
Another  conclusion  is,  of  course,  clearly  pointed — viz.,  that 
these  particular  trees  have  been  very  well  able  to  take  care  of 
themselves,  although  probably  they  are  the  survivors  of  the  fittest. 
It  is,  I  grant  you,  a  far-fetched  example,  but  sufficiently  near  to 
our  purpose  I  trust  to  draw  our  minds  for  the  nonce  from 
cherished,  and  rightly  cherished,  little  things  of  plant  life  to  our 
own  indigenous  trees,  but  few  of  which  claim  some  simple  atten¬ 
tion,  and  to  many  of  which  such  is  absolutely  necessary.  From  a 
long  study  of  the  subject  I  conclude  that  a  very  high  percentage  of 
those  disasters  frequently  occurring  in  tree  life  are  preventible  by 
the  “stitch  in  time.”  A  few  example*  of  the  evil  will  serve  to 
illustrate  this.  One  is  furnished  by  a  grove  of  magnificent  Silver 
Firs,  the  bulk  of  which  had  developed  either  twin  or  triplet  leaders, 
possibly  arising  from  a  check  to  the  legitimate  leader  in  early  life, 
bat  it  bad  gone  on  unheeded  until  it  was  too  late  to  mend.  These 
trees  being  the  noblest  examples  of  their  kind  I  have  met  with, 
they  were  as  highly  appreciated  by  many  tree  lovers  who  saw 
them  in  their  prime,  but  within  the  space  of  one  decade  it  was 
lamentable  to  see  how  many  of  them  were  laid  low  or  disfigured 
by  dismemberment.  This  was  particularly  the  case  with  those 
having  triplet  stems,  forming  a  handsome  arboreal  candelabra,  with 
the  side  stem  springing  in  a  graceful  curve  from  the  main  trunk 
about  10  feet  from  the  base,  and  from  thence  of  equal  dimensions 
to  the  legitimate  leader. 
These  trees  were,  I  suppose,  during  the  period  of  my  observa¬ 
tion  just  ripe  for  destruction  either  by  wind  or  snow,  and  on  one, 
occasion  at  least  the  calamity  proceeded  from  no  other  exciting 
cause  than  the  moisture  superimposed  upon  the  foliage  by  an 
exceptionally  still  damp  day,  which  brought  the  crack  of  doom. 
Noticing  the  disposition  of  these  bastard  leaders,  springing  at  right 
angles  from  the  trunk,  whereby  the  whole  weight  is  devoid  of  a 
basis  of  support,  obviously  this  Nemesis  of  neglect  must  come 
sooner  or  later,  generally  later,  and  the  later  the  larger  the  sacrifice. 
Howover,  so  these  noble  trees  disappeared.  With  some  fine  and 
much-prized  Tulip  Trees  considerable  ingenuity  was  displayed  in 
tying  their  limbs  together  with  chains  and  iron  bands,  also  a  matter 
of  considerable  labour,  and  not  quite  satisfactory  when  accomplished. 
In  both  of  the  above  instances  the  survival  of  the  fittest  pointed  a 
forcible  moral.  These  were  those  whose  vigour  and  growth  were 
concentrated  in  the  single  trunk,  with  the  whole  weight  directly 
vertical.  Needless  to  say  they  were  shapely  trees,  well  balanced, 
and  in  thi#  case  probably  the  result  of  accident ;  yet  all  those 
which  suffered  or  came  to  an  untimely  end  might  by  forethought 
have  been  prepared  to  withstand  ordinary  adversity. 
Unfortunately,  these  things  are  not  forced  upon  our  notice  till 
late  in  life — tree  life  ;  but  I  have  seen  a  great  deal  of  laborious 
heavy  *aw  pruning  carried  out  in  the  commendable  anxiety  to  set 
matters  right  late  in  the  day,  all  of  which  work  forethought  and 
the  pruning- knife  could  have  done  in  a  moment  infinitely  better  at 
the  early  stage,  and  at  what  a  saving  of  arboreal  vital  force  and 
energy.  Respecting  our  indigenous  trees  the  same  moral  applies  in 
more  or  less  degree.  Many  of  them  are  disposed  to  lose  their 
balance  through  mis-directed  efforts  on  the  part  of  one  or  more 
branches,  which  in  their  excess  of  strength  leave  an  opening  for 
mutilation  at  least.  From  a  pictureique  point  of  view  some  will 
not  see  the  matter  in  the  same  light.  We  may  safely  say  that  there 
is  but  little  danger  of  their  being  deprived  of  ample  examples  of 
their  particular  lines  of  beauty.  The  prostrate  giant  reclining  on 
its  elbows,  those  delightfal  forest  peeps  with  tree*  growing  au 
naturel,  the  Ivy-clad  ruin  of  tome  noble  tree  ;  there  is  room  for  all, 
but  a  great  deal  more  room  for  skilled  arboriculture  in  those  places 
we  rightly  look  for  it,  and  too  often  find  it  the  one  thing  wanting. 
The  subject  appears  to  be  in  direct  relation  to  a  gardener’s 
duties.  It  does  not  concern  the  forester  ;  his  work  is,  practically, 
the  production  of  timber,  and  moreover  the  methods  of  forestry 
planting  are  such  as  are  conducive  to  the  development  of  single, 
straight  stems,  leaving  but  little  opening  for  the  evils  pointed  out, 
and  in  any  case  no  opening  for  my  criticism.  I  trust  the  gardeners 
of  the  future  will  not  only  include  this  subject  in  their  work  but 
also  make  it  a  prominent  one,  and  the  chief  onus  of  this  is  upon 
our  young  gardeners  of  to-day.  Whether  by  rail  or  by  road  the 
necessity  for  it  is  continually  forced  upon  me  when  criticising  my 
neighbour’s  landmarks — his  trees.- 
The  saddest  thing  seen  of  late  is  the  outcome  of  some  burst  of 
energy  on  the  part  of  our  county  surveyor,  by  which  miles  and 
miles  of  trees  condemned  to  exist  by  the  road*ides  are  being  hewed 
and  hacked  at  by  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men,  except  gardeners, 
resalting  in  unsightly  stumps,  splintered  limbs,  and  in  fact  every 
possible  kind  of  pruning  to  show  how  not  to  do  it.  This,  however, 
if  within  the  limits  of  oar  text  is  farther  than  I  intended  to  go. 
There  is,  apparently,  more  work  in  hand  for  our  County  Council 
instructors,  who  more  than  probably  have  their  hands  full  already. 
Yet  the  subject  is  one  of  national  interest,  for  it  concerns  the  public 
good,— Sylva. 
OUR  HARDY  PLANT  BORDER. 
( Continued  from  'page  132.) 
Wallflowers. 
Nothing  has  yielded  such  good  results  in  the  way  of  fertilisers 
in  the  soil  both  for  Wallflowers  in  the  seed  and  the  permanent  beds 
as  superphosphate  of  lime  applied  as  a  surface  dressing  at  the 
rate  of  1  oz.  to  the  square  yard,  and  raked  in  before  planting,  a 
sprinkling  of  nitrate  of  soda  at  the  same  rate  as  that  named  for 
the  seed  bed  (quarter  oz.  per  square  yard)  being  given  once  after 
the  plants  have  recovered  from  the  transplanting.  No  other 
chemical  manure  or  stable  manure  produced  such  vigorous  and 
floriferou8  plants  as  this  treatment ;  the  flowers  both  in  size  and 
colour  surpassed  thoae  from  other  plants,  while  the  time  of  flowering 
was  prolonged,  showing  that  the  plants  had  not  been  exhau*tively 
stimulated. 
Where  there  is  sufficient  space  if  is  as  well  to  allow  the 
•eedling*  plenty  of  room  at  transplanting  time.  I  am  exception¬ 
ally  placed  as  regards  that,  and  in  conacquence  a  distance  of  9  to 
12  inches  has  been  preferred,  for  the  best  results  have  been  found 
to  follow  this  liberal  treatment.  If  strong,  well-developed  plants 
are  not  obtained  before  the  final  planting,  a  full  measure  of  success 
must  not  be  expected,  and  it  is  surprising  what  can  be  done  with 
Wallflowers  if  the  best  attention  be  given  to  details  that  seem 
almost  insignificant.  It  is  not  only  to  Wallflowers  that  this  truth 
applies,  for  much  of  a  gardener’s  success  depends  upon  recognising 
the  importance  of  details,  and  amongst  many  sentences  worthy  of 
remembrance  in  that  remarkable  little  work,  “  Mushrooms  for  the 
Million,”  occurs  the  following,  which  was  credited  to  the  founder 
of  the  Journal  of  Horticulture.  “  In  whatever  you  do  either  in 
writing  or  working,  do  not  ignore  the  simplicities  that  bear  upon 
your  object,  but  attend  to  what  are  termed  small  matters.  ‘  I 
promote,’  said  Napoleon,  ‘  the  man  who  i*  capable  of  mastering 
•mail  details  ;  any  elephant  can  lift  a  hundredweight,  few  can  pick 
up  a  pin.’  ” 
