December  10,  1903.  JOURNAL  CF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
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bo  transferred  for  the  maintenance  of  that  higher  intensity  of 
cultivation  and  crop-production  destined  to  suffice  for  double  our 
present  numerical  population  by  the  end  of  the  present  century. 
All  sections  of  cultivators  of  the  soil  should  arise — the  arable, 
the  pastoral,  the  market  gardener,  the  fruit  grower,  the  owner 
of  or  cultivator  of  large  estates  and  small. 
We  cannot  include  the  foraster,  for,  alas!  there  are  no  forests 
as  yet  on  a  whole  third  of  our  entire  insular  surface.  Here  is 
a  waste  of  sunshine  and  rain  alike,  and  with  them  near  fifty 
million  sterling  annually  (!)  for  the  indulgence  in  this  national 
laissez-faire;  that  conscious  submission  of  “intelligent”  man  to 
crude  evolution,  unassisted,  paying  abroad  over  twenty  million 
sterling  annually  for  hardy  timber,  and  losing  to  our  potential 
population  an  equal  amount  of  wages  in  its  production.  All 
those  above  named  (the  woidd-be  forester  included)  should  pre¬ 
pare  and  combine  to  give  utterance  to  their  long  suspended  claim 
to  be  heard. 
Thus  your  columns  would  only  fulfil  a  natural  function  of 
great  potentiality  in  the  furtherance  of  the  true  interests  of  the 
nation,  by  making  the  aspects  known  to  those  unacquainted  with, 
as  well  as  tq  those  really  interested,  the  question,  and  who  mefy 
have  under-valued  the  force  of  union  which  triumphs  so 
strikingly  in  little  Belgium. 
“  L’union  fait  la  force !  ”  Every  holder  and  every  cultivator 
of  an  acre  in  these  Islands  should  combine  for  the  efficient  repre¬ 
sentation  of  the  interests  of  agriculture  in  its  widest  sense.  I 
hope  that  the  Journal  of  Horticulture,  amidst  much  gardening, 
will  nevertheless  give  voice  to  the  need  for  greater  consideration 
of  this  greatest  of  all  the  industries.  The  most  precious  heritage 
of  the  British  nation  is  its  soil. 
The  vast  results  arising  from  the  influence  of  men  and 
measures  or  a  nation’s  development,  should  indeed  be  enough  to 
crystallise  attention  on  the  present  issue  developing  before  the 
nation. 
The  new  departure  in  Nature  Study  as  part  of  the  education 
of  the  young  is  quite  after  Huxley’s  own  heart’s  desire.  Nature 
study,  which,  enlarged,  means  geography  and  physiography,  is 
the  bedi'ock  of  all  sound  national  economic  knowledge  and 
experience,  and  will  again  engender  prosperity  in  its  wake. 
Professor  Dewar  told  his  audience  at  the  meeting  of  the  British 
Association  at  Belfast  a  year  ago  that  it  would  take  this  nation 
sixty  years  to  arrive  abreast  in  training  where  the  German 
nation  stands  now.  My  rejoinder  is  that,  with  Nature  Study 
to  develop  faculties  of  observation — a  spirit  of  inventiveness  and 
resource  will  be  evolved  from  a  thoroughly  organised  national 
system  on  Huxley’s  lines  that  will  at  that  distance  leave  all 
other  nations  behind,  unless  the  same  course  be  adopted  in  oi'der 
to  remain  a  match  for  us.  [Nature  Study,  that  is,  natural 
history,  is  taught  liberally  throughout  Germany. — Ed.]  Thus 
much  I  venture  to  prophesy,  but  all  depends  upon  the  earnest¬ 
ness  of  the  .sympathetic  trained  teacher. 
When  our  daughter  dependencies  see  our  destiny  is  being 
accomplished  on  lines  here  adumbrated,  they  will  need  no  per¬ 
suasion  or  any  agitation  as  now  progressing  at  home.  They  will 
acclaim,  of  their  own  accord,  that  the  time  has  come,  because 
the  motherland  is  awake !  This  is  the  interpretation  I  place  on 
the  late  Lord  Salisbury’s  last  platform  utterance,  in  May,  1902, 
on  this  pregnant  problem. — H.  H.  Raschen,  Sidcup,  Nov.  29, 
1903. 
National  Roads. 
We  learn  that  a  great  scheme  of  National  Roads  to  serve  the 
immensely-increased  and  rapidly-increasing  road  traffic  of  the 
United  Kingdom  may  be  brought  before  Parliament  as  a  result 
of  the  inquiry  just  concluded  by  a  Departmental  Committee 
appointed  by  the  President  of  the  Local  Government  Board. 
This  Committee,  of  which  Mr.  J.  G.  Lawson,  M.P.,  was  chair¬ 
man,  will,  it  is  understood,  make  some  striking  recommendations 
in  its  report  witli  regard  to  the  construction  and  maintenance 
of  roads,  but  none  more  interesting  than  that  the  great  roads — 
such  as  the  North  Road  or  the  Bath  Road — should  be  taken  over 
by  a  new  department  of  the  Local  Government  Board  and  im¬ 
proved  and  maintained  by  the  State.  There  is  at  present  an 
almost  Chinese  jumble  in  the  distribution  of  authority  over 
roads  in  England  and  Wales.  Tliere  are  in  London  alone 
twenty-nine  highway  authorities,  and  1,855  throughout  the  rest 
of  the  country.  It  is  understood  that  it  will  propose  that  all 
the  chief  roads  in  a  county  shall  be  placed  under  newly-consti¬ 
tuted  county  highway  boards,  to  which  county  boroughs  shall 
have  the  option  of  entrusting  through  routes  in  their  boroughs. 
This  is  what  France  has  already  done,  for  the  Paris  roads  come 
under  the  Seine  department.  These  county  authorities  should 
have  power  to  compulsorily  acquire  land  for  road  improvements. 
One  of  the  witnesses  before  the  Committee,  Mr.  Moncur, 
chief  surveyor  of  Staffordshire,  is  understood  to  have  given  a 
sketch  of  a  scheme  for  special  side  tracks  for  motor  traffic  along 
roads  in  the  country,  with  bridges  or  short  tunnels  at  junction 
points.  To  meet  the  cost  he  .suggested  an  annual  tax  of  £10 
on  motor-cars  and  10s.  on  bicycles. 
Trees  and  Shrobs. 
Olearias. 
No  better  shrubs  for  planting  in  town  gardens  or  on  dry-land 
place.s,  can  be  chosen  than  Olearia  Haasti.  Plant  it  where  ,vou 
will,  it  seems  to  flourish  and  produce  masses  of  its  white.  Daisy¬ 
like  flowers.  The  plants  may  be  placed  2ft  to  3ft  apart  where 
close  groups  are  desired,  and  it  is  frequently  planted  in  such  a 
fashion  as  this,  or  for  covert-belts  in  the  more  forward  parts  of 
outlying  grounds,  yet  this  is  perhaps  putting  it  to  too  mean  a 
u.se.  The  species  stellata  (syn.  Eurybia  Gunni)  is  not  generally 
.so  utilisable,  but  the  .starry  flowers  are  more  beautiful  than 
those  of  the  former.  It  is  well  worthy  of  pot  culture. 
O  macrodonta  (O.  dentata)  is  the  largest  species,  and  furnishes 
a  handsome  dwarf  foliage  shrub. — F. 
White  Pine  as  a  Shelter' Tree. 
That  the  branches  of  the  White  Pine  are  apt  to  snap  in 
severe  storms  when  trees  are  old  i,s  well  known,  and  this  fact 
sometimes  deters  one  from  planting  the  tree.  But  this  snap¬ 
ping  does  not  occur  to  any  great  extent  wlien  the  trees  are 
young,  the  branches  being  more  flexible.  This  should  be  remem¬ 
bered  in  connection  with  its  use  as  a  wind-break  or  shelter- 
affording  tree,  for  which  purpose  but  few  evergreens  are  its 
equal.  In  the  most  expo.sed  places  it  stands  better  than  almost 
any  other  tree.  The  reason  is  to  be  found  in  the  soft  needles  it 
possesses.  The.se  .suffer  but  little  in  gales  of  cold  wind,  as  they 
give  to  the  gale,  instead  of  .standing  rigid  and  combating  the 
wind  as  does  the  Norway  Spruce,  for  example.  By  a  little 
pruning  of  side  branches  when  jmung,  the  White  Pine  can  bo 
made  a  bushy  tree. 
Veronicas. 
There  are  three  principal  groups  of  these  flowers  for  the  garden 
—the  shrubby  kinds  from  New  Zealand,  the  tall  or  long-spiked 
European  and  American  Veronicas,  and  last  and  least  the  tiny 
creeping  herbs,  found  in  many  places  of  the  world.  The  fairest 
of  the  latter  is  the  little  Germander  Speedwell,  the  prettiest  of 
native  blue  flowers,  the  Forget-me-not  excepted.  There  is  a 
variegated  form  of  the  plant,  but  like  the  variegated  Strawberry, 
and  many  other  streaked  leaves,  it  is  apt  to  revert  again  to 
green.  But  the  normal  wild  plant  is  prettier  than  any  of  its 
exceptional  forms. 
There  are  several  creeping  Veronicas  quite  worth  a  garden 
place,  and  none  better  could  be  chosen  than  V.  Teucrium  or 
V.  rupestris,  as  it  is  .sometimes  sold  under.  Carpets  of  these 
spread  on  a  dry,  hungry  soil,  and  are  masses  of  colour  during 
July.  There  is  a  little  Veronica  that  is  sometime.s  u.sed  for  cover¬ 
ing  plots^  in  cemetei'ies.  It  is  V.  repens,  a  plant  much  like  a 
reduced  Creeping  Jenny  in  appearance,  but  with  pale  blue  flowers. 
The  plant  has  much  less  claims  to  a  place  than  has  V.  Teucrium, 
for  it  sugge-sts  in  appearance  one  of  the  Veronicas  found  in  this 
country  as  a  weed.  The  increase  of  these  .small  plant.s  must  be 
more  than  whispered  of.  They  are  only  small  in  stature,  for, 
spreading  and  rootjug  every  month,  they  will  choke  any  small 
thing  near.  That  is  why  the  finest  plant  of  this  section,  V.  Teu¬ 
crium,  or  V.  rupestris,  is  safer  in  a  border  that  does  not  favour 
luxurious  plants.  It  is  a  fine  subject  for  a  roof  garden,  as 
illustrated  in  the  last  volume  of  this  Journal,  and  "is  nowhere 
better  than  when  strayed  on  to  a  gravel  path.  If  the  borders 
of  a  garden  were  edged  with  the  variety  of  plants  put  forward 
for  this  purpose  at  some  time  or  another,  the  result  would  be  of 
a  truly  mixed  style,  for  almost  each  plant  would  be  of  a  different 
kind.  Yet-good  edgings  luade  of  living  materials  are  not  common, 
and  tiled  and  other  devices  are  often  preferable.  One  of  the 
best  plants  to  form  an  ornamental  edging  with  is  the  golden 
green  V.  cupressoides  variabilis.  The  typical  V.  cupressoides  is 
juot  so  useful,  as  its  foliage  is  green,  whereas  the  former  is  very 
effective  in  colouring,  especially  during  winter.  It  is  very  com¬ 
pact  and  dwarf  in  habit,  and  has  leaves  as  much  unlike  a  usual 
shrubby  Veronica  as  could  well  be.  So  like  the  Cupressus  or 
Retinosporas  is  this  and  other  similar  Veronicas,  that  for  a  time 
they  were  supposed  to  be  such.  The  structure  of  their  wood 
reveals  their  true  character,  as  also  do  their  flowers,  but  in  this 
group  of  queer  leaved  kinds,  these  are  not  freel,y  produced  by 
young  plants,  and  often  not  by  old.  They  ai’e  usually  small  and 
white  in  colour. 
One  of  the  most  useful  of  robu.st  shrubby  Veronicas  is  the 
willow-leaved,  V.  salieifolia,  often  literally  covered  with  short 
spikes  of  pale  purplish  fragrant  flowers.  No  Veronica  seeds  so 
freely,  or  is  better  adapted  for  .shrubbery  i^lanting,  or  in  planta¬ 
tions  with  Mahonia.  To  reach  its  best  condition  it  should  be 
grown  in  an  isolated  bed,  where  its  evergreen  foliage  is  ever 
attractive.  The  leaves  of  V.  Bidwilli  are  small  and  in  keeping 
with  the  plant,  for  the  flowers  only  rise  about  Gin  above  the 
ground.  It  is  one  of  the  latest  flowering  plants:  commencing  in 
July,  it  continues  until  severe  frosts  occur. — D.  S.  Fish  (in 
“  Agricultural  Economist.”) 
