1904

ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM.

PART III.

takes place j after which operation being repeated a few times, every remnantis annihilated, and the country reduced to the open waste it now exhibits.”(,Sketches in Spain, vol. ii. p. 251.) In landscape-gardening, the ilex is of thegreatest value, both as a tree and a shrub : in both characters, it forms veryhandsome single objects, or small groups; and, in both, it is a most desirableunderwood in plantations of European oaks. It thrives better than mostother evergreen trees in the immediate vicinity of cities, even where coalsmoke abounds ; and hence it is a most desirable tree for public parks andgardens, though there is not one in Hyde Park, the Regent’s Park, or Green-wich Park. (See Gard. Mag,, vol. xiii. p. 155.)

Soil, Situation, §c. A dry deep soil, calcareous or sandy rather thanclayey, and a situation low rather than elevated, best suit the ilex. It isexceedingly difficult to propagate, otherwise than by the acorn ; and no tree,according to Boutcher, is more difficult to transplant ; “ as the roots of it,when not interrupted, run as straight down into the earth as a carrot, andwith as few fibres; so that for hedges, or large plantations,” Boutcher recom-mends the acorns “ to be put into the places where they are designed to re-main.” (Treat., &c., p. 168.) We agree in this advice ; but, as it cannotalways be followed, the next best mode is, to have the plants raised in smallpots, one in a pot, as is generally practised in the London nurseries. Soreared, the plants might be sent to any distance without the slightest injury;and, when they are turned out of the pot into the open ground, if the soiland situation be suitable, they will grow with amazing rapidity. In the year1824, we turned a one-year’s seedling out of a pot No. 60. into our gardenat Bayswater, and it is now upwards of 20 ft. high, and has for three yearspast borne acorns.

Accidents and Diseases. The toughness and solidity of the wood of thistree, with the compact form of its head, render it less liable to be injured bywind or lightning than any other species of oak; while its coriaceous leavesare very seldom attacked by insects, at least in Britain.

Statistics. In the environs of London, at Fulham Palace, 150 years old, it is 45 ft. high, the dia-meter of the trunk 3 ft. 9 in., and of the head 40ft.; at Syon it is 67 ft high, the diameter of the trunkQ ft. 1 in., and of the head 26 ft. A great many seedlings appear to have been planted here about themiddle of the last century; and these now exhibit so great a diversity in their foliage, that manypersons have been, till lately, in the habit of considering them as distinct species. At the Priory, atStanmore, it is 44ft. high, diameter of the trunk 2 ft., and of the head 32 ft.; and at Mount Grove,18 years planted, it is 28 ft high, the diameter of the head 20 ft.— South of London. In Cornwall,at Carclew, it is 40 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 2 ft. 7 in. In Devonshire, at Bicton, 25 yearsplanted, it is 14 ft. high ; in the Exeter Nursery, 60 years old, it is 34 ft. high, the diameter of thetrunk 2 ft 6 in., and that of the head 44 ft; at Killerton, 70 years planted, it is 50ft. high, the dia-meter of ftbe trunk 3ft., and of the head 52ft: at Mamhead, it is 85ft. high, circumference of thetrunk 11 ft.; another is 55 ft. high, with a trunk 22ft. in circumference : in Bvstock Park, 2 -2 yearsplanted, it is 20 ft. high 5 at Endsleigh Cottage, 18 years planted, it is 30 ft. high. In Dorsetshire, atMelbury Park. 40 years planted, it is 30 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 3ft, and of the head 27 ft.In the Isle of Wight, in Wilkins’s Nursery, 10 years planted, it is 20 ft. high. In Kent, at CobhamHall, it Is 60 ft. high, with a trunk 3ft. 6 in. in diameter. In Somersetshire, at Leigh Court, 14 yearsplanted, it is 28 ft. high j at Nettlecombe, 40 years planted, it is 31 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk2 ft., and of the head 32 ft.; at Hinton House, 20 years planted, it is 27 ft. high, the diameter of thetrunk 1 ft. 6 in., and of the head 20 ft In Surrey, at Farnham Castle, 50 years planted, it is 55 ft.high; at Oakham, 30 years planted, it is 30ft. high. In Wiltshire, at Wardour Castle, 50 yearsplanted, it is 50 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 2 ft, 10 in., and of the head 51 ft.— North of London.In Berkshire, at Ampthill, 16 years planted, it is 36 ft. high, diameter of the trunk 8 in., and of thehead 24 ft.; at Bear Wood, 12 years planted, it is'l ft. 6 in. high. In Cambridgeshire, in the Cam-bridge Botanic Garden, it is 35ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 2 ft. 6 in., and of the head 33 ft.In Cheshire, at Tabley Hall, 70 years old, it is 36 ft high, the diameter of the trunk 2 ft., and of thehead 132 ft. In Denbighshire, at Kinmel Park, 24 years planted, it is 20 ft. high, diameter of thetrunk 1 ft, and of the head 24 ft. In Lancashire, at Latham House, 60 years planted, it is 31 ft. high,diameter of the trunk 2 ft. 6 in., and of the head 54 ft. In Middlesex, at Harcfield Place, are someremarkably large trees, supposed to have been planted in the days of Evelyn, and by his suggestions.(See Gard. Mag., vi. p. 580.) In Northamptonshire, at Wakefield Lodge, 14 years planted, it is20 ft. high. In Nottinghamshire, at Wollaton Hall, are several immense ilexes, one na 9 the trunk15 ft 6 in. in circumference at 1 ft. from the ground, and the diameter of the head is 67 ft; there aretwo others, of nearly the same size : they are supposed to be of the same age as Wollaton Hall,which was built by Thorp in the time of Elizabeth, and consequently to be nearly 300 years old. (Seean engraving of this remarkable mansion in Gard Afog., vol. ii. fig. 130. In Oxfordshire, in theOxford Botanic Garden, 12 years planted, it is 20 ft. high. In Pembrokeshire, at Stackpole Court,100 years old, it is 78 ft high, the diameter of the trunk 2 ft 6 in., and of the head 50 ft. InRadnorshire, at Maeslaugh Castle, 50 years planted, it is 36 ft high thie diameter of the trunk.1 fc. 9 in., and of the head 34 ft. In Staffordshire, at Trentham, 15 yearsiplanted, it is 29 ft.high. In Suffolk, in the Bury Botanic Garden, 60 years planted, it is 45ft. high; at Bungay,it is 50 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 3 ft., and of the head 60 ft. ; at Great Livermere, 9 yearsplanted, it is 15 ft. high. In Westmoreland, at Holker Hall, it is 58 ft. high. In Worcestershire,at Croome, 80 years planted, it is 70 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 4 ft., and of the head