HOW TO GROW GOOD TIMBER.

Plate I.Oak leaves and acornsJ.E. Sowerby, sc.W. West, imp.Quercus Robur Pedunculata

Plate I.

J.E. Sowerby, sc.

W. West, imp.

Quercus Robur Pedunculata

Among all the varied productions (says Strutt[26]) with which nature has adorned the surface of the earth, none awakens our sympathies, or interests our imagination, so powerfully as those venerable trees which seem to have stood the lapse of ages—silent witnesses of the successive generations of man, to whose destiny they bear so touching a resemblance, alike in their budding, their pride, and their decay.

[26]Introduction to “Sylva Britannica.”

Hence, in all ages, the earliest dawn of civilization has been marked by a reverence of woods and groves; devotion has fled to their recesses for the performance of her most solemn rites; princes have chosen the embowering shade of some wide-spreading tree, under which to receive the deputations of the neighbouring “great ones of the earth;” and angels themselves, it is recorded, have not disdained to deliver their celestial messages beneath the same verdant canopy. To sit under the shadow of hisown fig-tree, and drink of the fruit of his own vine, is the reward promised, in Holy Writ, to the righteous man; and the gratification arising from the site of a favoured and long-remembered tree is one enjoyed in common by the peer, whom it reminds, as its branches wave over his head whilst wandering in his hereditary domains, of the illustrious ancestors who may have seen it planted; and by the peasant, who recalls, as he looks on it in his way to his daily labours, the sports of his infancy round its venerable trunk, and regards it at once as his chronicler and landmark.

Who indeed amongst us, in whatever position of life he may be, or in what land soever his lot may be cast, does not often find his mind’s eye resting upon some favourite tree; it may be some huge elm on his village green, where, in the dim twilight, he either told or listened to the fairy tale or exciting ghost story; or the spreading oak, beneath whose shade he has picnicked; or the haunted grove, where his tale, though only whispered, yet spoke loudly to a willing listener.

Now shift the scene to moonlight glade,Where dapper elves beneath the shadeOf oak or elm their revels keep,What time we plodding mortals sleep.Next lead me to some haunted grove,Such as the Fauns and Dryads love;Or seat me by some brook, whose swellMakes music like a Naiad’s shell;Then touch the tree ’neath which I lie,Till it unclose to ear and eyeWhate’er it may have heard or seenSince spring first clothed its stems with green.Spirit of the Woods.

Spirit of the Woods.

But we must not be led astray by the poetical emotions which are sure to rise up within us at the contemplation of forest trees; we shall therefore confine ourself, in this treatise, more particularly to a general description of the genera and species of trees usually grown in Great Britain for timber, with an explanation of some of the principles connected with the growth of timber.

Timber in a country where trees are almost, if not wholly, planted, affords a subject for consideration very different from that of wild aboriginal forests; in the former we have to consider our subjects as objects for cultivation, and that with a view of yielding profit or pleasure, or both, whilst the study of trees in the forest would naturally resolve itself into a botanical and physiological inquiry into specific forms. While, therefore, we would not here neglect the latter, our arrangement of trees and their history will have more particular reference to their cultivation, a subject which will probably address itself more especially to the landlord than to the tenant farmer.

In the main, then, the primary object of growing trees is that of profit, whilst a secondary—or with some even primary—consideration will be that of ornamentation; and we admit that, apart from any other consideration, a landed estate without timber would be as bare, cold, and comfortless as a house without furniture; at the same time, too many trees, and these in themselves awkwardly grown and stuck about in all sorts of awkward positions, would be like an over-furnished and ill-regulated mansion.

We would, then, have that kind of thought exercisedin planting which should result, if not in profit, at least in providing ornament without loss, either to the tenant on the one hand, or the proprietor on the other. To this end we would advocate setting apart portions of the estate for the cultivation of timber in belt plantations, or even in woods, having reference to the nature of the soil and general position, and this in preference to hedge-row planting, as long lines of ash or elm can never look ornamental however well-grown; but, inasmuch as this mode of growth necessitates lopping, the timber is so long in growing and then is never good, that it seldom pays even the expenses attendant upon its utilization.

In plantations, again, you can adopt such a system of growing nurses that some return for the outlay will not be many years in commencing, and so profit by way of rent is not delayed as in hedge-row growth.[27]

[27]We are aware that the landlord too often considers hedge-row timber as costless; but the injury which it entails upon the farm, and its nearly useless character, leads us to view the matter in a different light.

In order to understand what we would call a forest nurse, let us suppose that in a certain position our object is to grow a plantation of oak: we might in this case mix beech, elm, larch, Scotch firs, and spruce with the oak; these, by growing together, would increase an upward development; they would “pull each other up,” as usually expressed. Soon this lateral growth would cause them to approach each other too closely, and then the larch wouldbe first cut out, perhaps for hop-poles; next the spruce and Scotch firs for fencing and other purposes; then the beech and elm as they became useful; and at last, all the nurses gone, the oak would be sufficient to occupy the space, and, though many years have passed in the process, the wood has all the time yielded something towards rent and expenses.

In planting, of course, the kinds to be planted will depend upon circumstances, and so to a great extent will the methods to be adopted in planting; it may, however, be here stated that three plans of preparing the soil have been recommended:—1.Trenching; 2.Pitting; and 3.Ploughing.

1.Trenchingis a very expensive process, and, upon the whole, is scarcely worth the cost. It is true that digging and turning over the soil will cause a number of weeds to die, but, on the other hand, it encourages the growth of greater numbers than it destroys, and it is doubtful whether weeding can be done so well in the loosened ground as it could before. Supposing, then, the young trees to be planted in old turf, we consider trenching to be quite unnecessary; but, as the plants will flourish best when weeds and grass are kept under, we should advise the skinning of the turf round them annually for about three years with a common mattock, and at the same time advantage to be taken of the opportunity to tread in the trees more firmly when they may have become loosened; to remove any broken or decayed matter, as in the case of conifers, to see to the training of a single leader, rather than two or more; and in all cases where young conifers show an increasing disposition to grow a great quantity of fruits (cones), we shouldeither dig around it, and, perhaps, apply a portion of manure, or sacrifice the plant and put a fresh one in its stead.

This premature fruiting arises sometimes from the roots of the plant having been too much crippled, either by breaking or drying from being kept too long out of the ground; we may here state, then, that, if only to prevent this, in all cases of transplantation, they should be taken out of the nursery with great care, so as to injure the roots as little as possible, and further be planted in their new home with the utmost despatch. Disappointment is sure to result where trees of any kind have been kept long out of the ground, as they are when bought at market or in packets at sales. We should never purchase at the latter, unless they were left in the ground to be fetched as might be required.

As we have been led incidentally to remark upon the subject of crippling by means of injured roots, we may now point out that the same thing occurs where young trees have been topped either for mischief, or injudiciously pruned. We remember having some larches thus damaged by some vagabond boy, and in seven years they were only dwarf cone-bearing bushes, whilst others planted at the same time were 15 feet in height. In this case, then, instant removal, when discovered, and the being replaced by fresh plants, would after all be a saving of time in getting useful sticks.

2.Pitting.—In this process the soil is sometimes dug out so as to make holes about 2 feet square, the soil being left to weather by the sides of the holes, and returned around the trees when they are planted.This is not nearly so expensive as trenching; but it, too, is not always advisable, for trees have the tendency to confine their roots to the dug-out space for some years, and so they do not get the hold upon the ground that they otherwise would.

This plan is that of partial trenching, and we should prefer the former to the pitting process, unless where stones, such as those found in the oolite rocks, come to the surface. In such case, the removal of some of the larger stones and supplementing them with soil from some other source we have found to be of advantage.

3.Ploughingthe soil is as expeditious a plan of preparing and clearing it as we possess; and now that steam cultivation can be brought into action for a much greater depth than could be done with horses, smashing-up the land by its means would be no bad preparation for planting where this is to be done on tolerably level ground.

While upon this subject we may here quote, as still worthy of attention, the directions in the fourth edition of the “Sylva.”

Let us now see in what manner we are to prepare the ground for their reception. The best way is by trenching, or double digging, as deep as the soil will admit of; but as this is a very expensive proceeding, and consequently can only be practised upon a small scale, I shall recommend another good method of preparing the ground. This is to be done by proper ploughing, and, if agreeable, the year before the land is planted, it may bear a crop of oats, rape, or turnips. By this means the sward will be effectually destroyed. After the crop is off, let the ground be trench-ploughed, and then harrowed with very heavy harrows, to break the clods; about the end of October let it be again ploughed crossways, and harrowed as before. This is the season for planting the sets, for the ground, by being thus cross-ploughed[272]and well harrowed, will be in proper order for their reception. The manner of planting the sets is as follows:—First, carefully take the plants out of the seed-beds, shorten the tap-root, and take off part of the side-shoots, that there may be an equal proportion of strength between the stem and the root. If the wood is designed to be but small, ten, twenty, or thirty acres, then lines may be drawn, and the trees planted in rows, four feet distant from each other, and the trees two feet asunder in the row: each line must have a man and a boy for planting. The ground being made light and pliable by cross-ploughing and harrowing, the man strikes his spade into the earth close to the line; he then takes it out, and gives another stroke at right angles with it; then the boy, having a parcel of plants under his left arm, takes one with his right hand, and readily puts it into the crevice made by the spade at the second stroke; after this the man gently presses the mould to it with his foot, and thus the young oakling is planted. He proceeds in the same manner to the next, and so on till all is finished. An active man with his boy will plant 1,500 or 2,000 in a day; and while they are planting others should be employed in taking up fresh sets from the seed-bed, sorting them, and preparing their roots. In short, a sufficient number of hands should be set to every part of this work, that the whole may be carried on with despatch and regularity; for the ground cannot be too soon furnished with its plants after it is in readiness to receive them, neither can the plants be put too early into the ground after they are taken up from the seminary. Those plants which are nearly of the same size should be made to occupy a large quarter together, and the weakest should be left in the seminary a year longer to gain strength.The trees, either for small or large plantations, being in the ground, the first care should be to fence them well from cattle, and even, if possible, from rabbits and hares. The next should be to keep them clear from weeds, that they may not be incommoded in their growth. In all lands weeds must be carefully watched and destroyed at their first appearance. In small plantations hoeing may do; but where the plantations are large and noble, a double-shelving plough should be provided; and when the weeds are got two or three inches high, this must be drawn exactly down the middle of each row by horses with their mouths muzzled, somebody leading the foremost horse; this plough will effectually throw a ridge each way, so that[273]the edge of it will be almost contiguous to the plants on both sides. This being done, the whole surface of the ground will be changed, and the weeds all buried, except a few about the stems of the plants, which a man following the plough should cut or pluck up. In this manner the ground may lie until a fresh crop of weeds present themselves; when these are about three inches high, a common plough should be provided to go up one side of the row and down the other, to plough the ridges made by the double-shelving plough into their former places, men following with hoes to destroy such weeds as are near the stems of the trees. Thus will the whole scene be changed again; the ground will appear as new-tilled; and in this condition it may remain until the weeds call for the double-shelving plough a second time, which must also be followed alternately with the common plough as occasion may require. By this means the ground will not only be kept clear of weeds, but the earth, by constant stirring, will be more replete with nourishing juices, the gentle showers will produce their good effects, the sun will have his influence, and all the powers of vegetation will combine to nourish and set forward the infant oak. This work must be repeated every year, until the oaks are of a height sufficient to destroy the weeds, which may be, perhaps, in three or four years, according to the goodness of the ground in which they are planted.

First, carefully take the plants out of the seed-beds, shorten the tap-root, and take off part of the side-shoots, that there may be an equal proportion of strength between the stem and the root. If the wood is designed to be but small, ten, twenty, or thirty acres, then lines may be drawn, and the trees planted in rows, four feet distant from each other, and the trees two feet asunder in the row: each line must have a man and a boy for planting. The ground being made light and pliable by cross-ploughing and harrowing, the man strikes his spade into the earth close to the line; he then takes it out, and gives another stroke at right angles with it; then the boy, having a parcel of plants under his left arm, takes one with his right hand, and readily puts it into the crevice made by the spade at the second stroke; after this the man gently presses the mould to it with his foot, and thus the young oakling is planted. He proceeds in the same manner to the next, and so on till all is finished. An active man with his boy will plant 1,500 or 2,000 in a day; and while they are planting others should be employed in taking up fresh sets from the seed-bed, sorting them, and preparing their roots. In short, a sufficient number of hands should be set to every part of this work, that the whole may be carried on with despatch and regularity; for the ground cannot be too soon furnished with its plants after it is in readiness to receive them, neither can the plants be put too early into the ground after they are taken up from the seminary. Those plants which are nearly of the same size should be made to occupy a large quarter together, and the weakest should be left in the seminary a year longer to gain strength.

The trees, either for small or large plantations, being in the ground, the first care should be to fence them well from cattle, and even, if possible, from rabbits and hares. The next should be to keep them clear from weeds, that they may not be incommoded in their growth. In all lands weeds must be carefully watched and destroyed at their first appearance. In small plantations hoeing may do; but where the plantations are large and noble, a double-shelving plough should be provided; and when the weeds are got two or three inches high, this must be drawn exactly down the middle of each row by horses with their mouths muzzled, somebody leading the foremost horse; this plough will effectually throw a ridge each way, so that[273]the edge of it will be almost contiguous to the plants on both sides. This being done, the whole surface of the ground will be changed, and the weeds all buried, except a few about the stems of the plants, which a man following the plough should cut or pluck up. In this manner the ground may lie until a fresh crop of weeds present themselves; when these are about three inches high, a common plough should be provided to go up one side of the row and down the other, to plough the ridges made by the double-shelving plough into their former places, men following with hoes to destroy such weeds as are near the stems of the trees. Thus will the whole scene be changed again; the ground will appear as new-tilled; and in this condition it may remain until the weeds call for the double-shelving plough a second time, which must also be followed alternately with the common plough as occasion may require. By this means the ground will not only be kept clear of weeds, but the earth, by constant stirring, will be more replete with nourishing juices, the gentle showers will produce their good effects, the sun will have his influence, and all the powers of vegetation will combine to nourish and set forward the infant oak. This work must be repeated every year, until the oaks are of a height sufficient to destroy the weeds, which may be, perhaps, in three or four years, according to the goodness of the ground in which they are planted.

Still, notwithstanding the care sometimes taken in planting, we have often observed that the simple method of making triangular or cruciform openings with the spade, thus—Y +, and carefully dividing the roots in putting the plants in their places, and afterwards well pressing the turf against them, has succeeded as well as any other method. Indeed, we have known plants put in with only a single slit; but this never succeeds so well, though it is more expeditiously performed. Where, however, trees are put in at so much an acre, the plan of action must be specified, and the proceedings carefully watched, to ensure its due performance, or the work will most likely be done in the quickest, and not best, manner.

That the growth and quality of timber will be influenced by the nature of the soil is a matter so well understood that it would scarcely require to be treated of in this place, if we did not daily see examples of planting in which all laws of growth have been set at defiance; still, occasionally, experience has lent her aid and produced some satisfactory results; and, as an exemplification of our meaning, and as showing the influence of geological position upon planting, we would direct attention to the following section:—

ALICE HOLT FOREST.Section through forest4. Chalk.3. Chalk Marl.2. Upper G. S.1. Gault Clay.

ALICE HOLT FOREST.

4. Chalk.3. Chalk Marl.2. Upper G. S.1. Gault Clay.

Here we have the oak—of both varieties known to planters, to be hereafter described—flourishing most luxuriantly on the stiff soil of the gault; the chalk-marl, upper green sand, and gault—the two latter only partially—being engaged in hop cultivation.The green sand surrounding the forest is mostly devoted to the growth of larch or spruce, the thinnings of which are used for hop-poles and the larger trees are left as timber-belts; whilst the beech will be found to favour the chalk. Hops and other cultivated plants flourish according to geological position.

That the geology of a district affects vegetation mainly, according to the mechanical and chemical structure of its individual rocks and the climate in which they are situate, is quite true; and yet the following table will show that different formations favour the growth of trees upon other conditions than those named.

Choosing figures to represent relative values, the annexed table is intended to show the amount of influence exercised by certain geological rocks in the growth of different fruit and forest trees met with in England.

These figures may serve to express—althoughroughly—the capacities of different formations for the production of fruit and forest trees, and it may be curious to note that, while the chalk and the oolite freestones, both composed of carbonate of lime, offer a remarkable agreement in point of dendrological productions, the mountain limestone, also consisting of carbonate of lime, affords very different results; here, no doubt, the different kinds of scenery presented by the rocks themselves have a decided influence on the general results.

Much, however, of any geological influence in the growth of trees must depend upon the material rather than upon the position of the rocks forming the subsoil upon which they occur, and thus it may be expected that clays, limestones, and sands, and different mixtures of these, will each favour the growth of a peculiar spontaneous or native vegetation; so that, if we looked to a larger list of trees and coupled it with lists of herbaceous plants, we might make out even a stronger case, either for the effects of geological or lithological conditions; but enough has been said to point out that various trees naturally affect one position more than another, and so they succeed as the results of planting and cultivation in one kind of soil in preference to another, and it may be laid down as a rule, that pomaceous fruits and hard-wooded trees, as oak and elm, onlyflourishin strong soils, though they may be imperfectly grown in all soils, whilst soft-wooded trees, as beech, lime, and the coniferæ, succeed best in lighter soils; hence, then, the planter who would try to grow vigorous oak on sandbeds would be disappointed, and while beech is the “weed” of the Cotteswoldoolite, whoever tries to grow an orchard upon the freestone rocks is sure to meet with disappointment.

As regards forest trees we shall, for the most part, confine our remarks to those of the following list, as, although of recent years many new genera and species have been introduced, they are not yet in general cultivation even for ornamental purposes, much less as a source of profit.

Whilst the discussion is still pending, of iron against wooden bulwarks, if only for the love we feel towards the “brave old oak,” a few notes upon the forms of this truly national tree can hardly fail to be acceptable. At starting, however, we must bear in mind, that though we have ever looked upon the oak as so thoroughly British that we had almost been brought to think that it was made for the sole glory of our land, yet there are those who would wish to cast a doubt upon its true aboriginal nature, and who, according to their custom, represent everything great as borrowed from the Continent. What says, however, that pleasant discourser on forest trees, Jacob George Strutt, of imperishable sylvan fame:—“In proportion as the oak is valued above all other trees, so is the English oak esteemed above that of any other country, for its particular characteristics of hardness and toughness, qualities which so peculiarly fit it to be the ‘father of ships,’ and which are so admirably expressed in two epithets by that great poet, to whom the book of nature and of the human heart seemed alike laid open:—

Thou rather with thy sharp and sulph’rous boltSplitt’st theunwedgeableandgnarledoak,Than the soft myrtle.”—Shakespeare.

Selby again, in his “History of Forest Trees,” awork which should be in the hands of all lovers of the beautiful natural objects of which it treats, describes the finding of some bog oaks, which would almost connect the present race with a fossilized past:—

At the Linden, the seat of C. W. Bigge, Esq., the trunk of a magnificent oak was extracted from a peat moss that fills a small basin or hollow, evidently produced by the stagnation of a stream, which now passes through it, and which, at some distant period, had been dammed back by the fall of the trees upon its margins. This oak was covered by a layer of the peat to the depth of about three feet, and was discovered by probing the moss. The trunk, with a small portion of one of the larger limbs, was with great labour and difficulty dragged from its miry bed. The contents of the portion recovered contained 545 cubic feet, although the whole of the sap-wood had perished. The timber was perfectly sound, and the tree, by whatever accident it had been overthrown, had fallen in the vigour of its growth. When sawn up, the interior planks were found of a deep rich brown colour; those nearer the exterior darker, or approaching to black. A variety of elegant furniture has been made from the wood; but it has been found necessary, for fine cabinet-work, to have it cut into veneers, for, when worked in bulk, it is apt to crack and become warped. Remains of other huge oaks have also been met with on the banks of the Tyne, the Alne, and other rivers, as well as in various bogs and morasses; and we mention these instances to show that in a district where, at the present day, nothing but recently-planted oak or dwarfish timber from stock-shoots exists, in former times the monarch of the forest grew luxuriantly, and attained a splendid development; and also as an inducement to the planter not to neglect the liberal insertion of this national tree wherever soil and situation are found congenial to its growth. In other parts of England, the oak still grows in all its native magnificence of form and dimensions, and the remains of those ancient forests, which are chronicled by our earliest writers, and which, in the time of our Saxon ancestors, spread over the greater portion of the country, are still to be traced in the venerable but living relics of enormous oaks, many of which are supposed to number more than a thousand years.

Not to neglect to plant the national tree! We hopeindeed that there is no possessor of broad acres who does not esteem it a duty, regardless of profit, to provide for a succession of forest kings, if only to beautify the face of the country, and to leave the people of the present, some grand living object to connect them with the history of the past. In fact, planting of the “British oak” has not only been considered a duty, but followed out with the keenest pleasure by the country gentleman. In so doing, the question has scarcely until lately occurred, is the British oak always the same? or, are there not different species, or at least varieties of the genusquercuswhich have been confounded by the planter? To this question we now propose to address our inquiries.

On referring to different authors, we shall find mention of the following names as applied to the British oak:—

1. Quercus robur,Linn.2.„sessiliflora,Salisbury.3.„intermedia,Don.

This method of nomenclature would, however, be only tenable on the supposition that we considered the trees so namedspecificallydistinct; but as we incline to believe them to be only varieties—though highly important as such—we intend to treat of them as follows:—

1st.Quercus RoburPEDUNCULATA.2nd.„„SESSILIFLORA.3rd.„„INTERMEDIA.

Plate II.Oak leaves and acornsJ. E. Sowerby, scW. West imp.Quercus Robur Sessiliflora.

Plate II.

J. E. Sowerby, sc

W. West imp.

Quercus Robur Sessiliflora.

1st.Quercus Robur pedunculatais readily distinguished in trees separate from others by its robust habits, thick, gnarled, twisted, and more or less horizontally inclined branches. The leaves have comparatively few broad, wavy indentations, and are set on a short leaf-stalk (petiole) (Plate I. fig.a), the fruit being situate on long footstalks (peduncles), varying from two to upwards of four inches (fig.b).

This is the typical British oak, the pride of our sailors, when men fought bravely and did not care to vie with each other as to who should make the most secure skulking-places. The tree—

Whose roots descendAs low towards Pluto’s realms, as high in airIts massive branches rise. The utmost rageOf wintry storms howls o’er its strength in vain.Successive generations of mankind,Revolving ages flourish and decay,Yet still immovable it stands, and throwsIts vigorous limbs around, and proudly bearsWith firm and solid trunk its stately form,A mighty canopy of thickest shade.Virgil,Georg.ii. 291.

Virgil,Georg.ii. 291.

This is the tree that seems to be longer lived than any other in Britain, and though it would appear to be the prey of nearly, if not quite, two hundred species of insects, it has still had vigour of constitution to survive them all; and in many instances we might point to brave old trees which must have been veterans at the time of the Norman Conquest. Now, however, they are old and staggy, with hollow trunks truly—but what trunks!—from forty to fifty feet in circumference, presenting the following picture to us as it did to Spenser:—

There grew an aged tree on the green,A goodly oak some time had it been,[282]With arms full long, and largely displayed,But of their leaves they were disarrayed;The body big, and mightily pight,Thoroughly rooted, and of wond’rous height:Whilom had been the king of the field,And mockel mast to the husband did yield;And with his nuts larded many a swine,But now the grey moss marred his rine;His bared boughs were beaten with storms,His top was bald and wasted with worms,His honour decay’d, his branches sere.Shepherd’s Calendar.

Shepherd’s Calendar.

This, indeed, is a melancholy sight, like the Stag’s Horn Oak by the roadside between Farnham and Woolmer, in the ancient boundary of Alice Holt Forest; yet this has a young tree growing by its side, perhaps one of his own children, which gracefully conceals much of his gaunt nakedness. In the same forest are many old staggy trees, their contorted horn-like branches sticking out in a most picturesque manner from the top and sides of a still leafy head. In these the white owls may yet be seen peering out of dark cavernous hollows as they did in Gilbert White’s day; and during the summer of 1861 we with pleasure watched their motions, which so minutely agreed with those described by the father of observing naturalists, that we cannot forbear quoting his remarks thereon in his “Natural History of Selborne,” a not very distant parish from the Holt, and to which he indeed often refers:—

As I have paid particular attention to the manner of life of these birds (the White Owl), during their season of breeding, which lasts the summer through, the following remarks may not be unacceptable. About an hour before sunset (for then the mice begin to run), they[283]sally forth in quest of prey, and hunt all round the hedges of meadows and small enclosures for them, which seem to be their only food. In this irregular country we can stand on an eminence and see them beat the fields over like a setting-dog, and often drop down in the grass or corn. I have minuted these birds with my watch for an hour together, and have found that they return to their nest, the one or the other of them, about once in five minutes; reflecting at the same time on the adroitness that every animal is possessed of as far as regards the well-being of itself and offspring.

Notwithstanding the good done by these birds in keeping under mice, all our eloquence could scarcely preserve them from the onslaught of the keeper; they were, however, protected during our pleasant sojourn at the Holt; but we much fear only, after all, to gratify the taste for stuffed birds, alovewhich is equally fatal to the feathered race (and especially the finest examples thereof) as thehateof the keeper.

But we are digressing sadly, and must return toQuercus Robur pedunculata, and complete our observations thereon with the statement that most, if not all, the nobler examples of oaks in England belong to this form. Selby directs attention to the “Flitton Oak, in Devonshire, of theSessilifloravariety, supposed to be one thousand years old, and which is thirty-three feet in circumference at one foot from the ground.” However, nearly every historical oak is of the pedunculate variety. In the Holt forest are still left some huge examples; the same in the Dean forest; and Braydon, near Swindon, Wilts, though disafforested, can yet show noble trees of this form. Indeed, throughout England it is difficult to meet with many examples of any other form, except in Wyre forest, Worcestershire, where the tree next to be described is perhaps the more general, and itwould also appear that in the New Forest theQ. sessiliflorais also frequently met with.

Quercus Robur sessilifloramay be generally described as of a more upright and formal habit. Limbs straighter and less gnarled. Bark usually smoother than the former. The leaf has many sinuosities, and is set on a comparatively long leaf-stalk (petiole) (Plate II. fig.a).

The fruit, on the contrary, is so nearly sessile that it may be said to have little more than the indication of a peduncle (fig.b).

We have already stated our opinion that the sessile-fruited oak does not usually attain the huge dimensions of the pedunculate form; but on the other hand we incline to the belief that it grows more rapidly, and is best adapted for a lighter soil than the latter. There are conditions which might to a greater or less extent affect the quality of its timber, but we do not think that there is much difference in this respect. We believe that their wood has been used indifferently, and the quality is influenced by surrounding circumstances. Selby, in his “History of Forest Trees,” states on this head:—“The result, perhaps, of some original constitutional defect, or arising from the nature of the soil, situation, or other local peculiarities of the ground upon which the timber has been raised; such at least is the result of our own experience, as we have met with oak of thepeduncledkind, its timber possessing all the inferior qualities attributed to, and supposed to be possessed exclusively by,Q. sessiliflora.” The longer, straighter spars of the Sessiliflora, in days when oak was so uniformly used for roofs, seem to have pointed out thisvariety for roof-timbering; and hence some of the finest ancient timbered roofs of this country have been ascertained to have been formed from its wood. With respect to these the opinion long prevailed that they were formed of the wood of the Spanish chestnut. This, however, is but a poor timber tree, as, long before it could afford so large a scantling as would be required by the roof of the Parliament House at Edinburgh or of Westminster Abbey (both of which were supposed to be of chestnut), the chestnut would begin to decay at the heart; in fact, just at the period when the heart-wood of oak begins to harden, that of the chestnut would appear to deteriorate.

Quercus Robur intermedia, having a petiole intermediate in length between the other two varieties described, and a peduncle varying from a quarter to one inch in length, may with propriety be deemed a variety intermediate between “Sessiliflora” and “Pedunculata,” and a comparison of the three will substantiate its claim to this title.

As a tree it is impossible to make out any specific character from its mode of growth, and, indeed, without the fruit, it is extremely difficult even to distinguish it as a variety.

It occurs—only occasionally—in the Cotteswold district, and we suppose the same elsewhere. One meets with it here and there in the hedge-rows, and in Oakley Park, the seat of Earl Bathurst, we can point out a few specimens.

GallsGalls of theCynips Quercus petiolata.(Natural size.)

Galls of theCynips Quercus petiolata.(Natural size.)

Passing from the subject of the varieties of our British oak, it now remains to mention a most formidable enemy by which it has of late years been attacked, and so exclusively, that in plantationswhere may be found the American oaks, the Ilex oak, and Turkey oak trees, it has been the only one subjected to the operations of the new gall pest. It has long been known that our native oaks were subject to excrescences of different forms and sizes, such, for example, as oak-apples, oakleaf galls, oak spangles, &c., all of which were ascertained to be caused by several species ofcynips; but lately we have to lament the introduction of a new species of the same insect, forming a new kind of gall, which, instead of attacking the backs of the leaves, as does the oakleaf gall, occupies the stem that belongs to the leaf; in fact, the attacked leaves seem to be converted into bunches of galls, as represented in the adjoining figure, which presents an illustration of the new pest. They are hard galls, more or less like the “nut-gall” from Aleppo, of which ink is made, and it will be seen that the little twig supports no less than five galls, in the interior of each of which may be found the maggot orlarvaof an insect; and, as this is affected at the expense of the buds and leaves, the mode of injury must be obvious, as the new twigswhich would have been formed, had there been no galls, would in their turn have produced branches and leaves. Trees thus infested are crippled as though they had been subjected to constant pruning.

As much of the natural history of thecynips, by which these gall-nuts are formed, as is necessary for our purpose, may be gathered from a paper by Mr. Parfitt, who seems to have well studied the gall insect in Devon, its head-quarters. We quote it from the Journal of the Bath and West of England Agricultural Society for 1861:—

The eggs deposited by the females in the oak buds in September remain there in a state of apparent quiescence till the following spring; then, as soon as the sap begins to flow, the irritant injected into the wound at the same time theeggwas deposited, or possibly the combined action of the egg and irritant, causes the sap to diverge; that portion of the bud which should have formed a young shoot is converted into a spherical ball; the outer scales of the bud fall away, and it is the woody secretion which entirely forms the gall. The cells in the gall are not elongated and regular, as in the young shoot, but confused and irregular; and in the centre of each gall lies a young grub of thecynips, forming a living nucleus, around which is deposited a thin, hard, woody envelope, much more compact in substance than the sponge-like tissue which fills up the interstice between it and the shining outer coat of the gall. This compactness of structure is a necessary and all-wise provision of nature for protecting the delicate insect which lies within from destruction; for if the gall were composed entirely of large spongy cells, the rapid flow of sap in the early spring would be more than the creature could consume, and it would consequently be drowned. I am aware that some naturalists incline to the opinion that thelarvæof thecynipsfeed on the gall. From this view, however, I venture to dissent; for not only is it inconsistent with the structure of the creature’s mouth, and the position in which the younglarvæare invariably found, with the head tucked under the apex of the abdomen, but if they fed on the substance or crude material of the gall, the undigested parts would certainly be[288]found in the interior of its cell: in other words, the excrement would be there, for there is no outlet, and the lacteals or absorbent vessels of the gall could not take it up. I therefore think that the creature feeds entirely on the sap of the tree—an elaborate food fit for it without the need of mastication. This explains how it happens that the galls of commerce, with the insects in them, are so much better and dearer than those from which thecynipshas escaped; in a word, the tannic acid is more abundant.It has been before observed, that there are two broods of the insect in a season; thus, those which do not emerge from the gall in September remain on till the following April or May. This is a wise provision of nature for continuing the species, should anything befall the autumn brood; and it is the more deserving of notice, because the gall-producingcynipshas a deadly enemy which accompanies or follows it in its flight from bud to bud, and deposits an egg wherever it finds the egg of thecynips. Here, as soon as thecynipslarva is hatched, the larva of the parasite is hatched also; forthwith the latter proceeds to eat a hole in the skin of the rightful occupant of the nidus, and the two larvæ go on growing together till thecynipsis ready to assume the pupal state; then the parasite cuts the vital thread of thecynips, and uses its skin for a pupal envelope for itself; and thus, instead of the gall-fly emerging into day, a beautiful green insect makes its appearance on the stage of life. I had the pleasure of first discovering this parasite while engaged in studying thecynips; it belongs to the genusCallimone, and from the fact of having discovered it in Devonshire, I gave it the name ofCallimone Devoniensis. It is one of the handsomest of our British insects; its costume a brilliant green, shot with gold; the abdominal segments green, gold, and purple; legs yellow; tarsi reddish; and it has four beautiful transparent and iridescent wings.It has been stated that oak-galls are produced at the expense of acorns. From this view my experience leads me to dissent. In exceptional instances it may have been the case; but as a rule thecynipsconfines its attacks to young trees and young growths in hedges, within a range of ten or twelve feet from the ground, and the nearer the ground the more numerous the galls. Young trees which have not attained a greater height than that I have indicated suffer so much that many of them can scarcely make headway against their foe; and in several nurseries I have visited, where it might be expected that[289]greater care would be paid than in the case of ordinary plantations, the young stock of oaks has been rendered quite unsaleable by the pest. This year I have noticed the progress of the insect on two groups of young English and Turkey oaks growing side by side; and although there are hundreds of galls on the English oaks, there are none on the Turkey oaks. From this I am led to infer that the species ofcynipsnow under notice is confined in its depredations to the English oak; and as it invariably selects trees of younger or restricted growth—probably because the temperature at a higher elevation than ten or twelve feet from the earth is unfavourable to it—it would seem that children might be advantageously employed in young plantations in collecting the galls by means of cutting-hooks, such as are used for thistles. The galls, when once collected, might either be crushed for tanning purposes, or consumed by fire, and if the process were repeated for two or three seasons, it is more than probable that the plantation would be altogether free from the pest.

It has been before observed, that there are two broods of the insect in a season; thus, those which do not emerge from the gall in September remain on till the following April or May. This is a wise provision of nature for continuing the species, should anything befall the autumn brood; and it is the more deserving of notice, because the gall-producingcynipshas a deadly enemy which accompanies or follows it in its flight from bud to bud, and deposits an egg wherever it finds the egg of thecynips. Here, as soon as thecynipslarva is hatched, the larva of the parasite is hatched also; forthwith the latter proceeds to eat a hole in the skin of the rightful occupant of the nidus, and the two larvæ go on growing together till thecynipsis ready to assume the pupal state; then the parasite cuts the vital thread of thecynips, and uses its skin for a pupal envelope for itself; and thus, instead of the gall-fly emerging into day, a beautiful green insect makes its appearance on the stage of life. I had the pleasure of first discovering this parasite while engaged in studying thecynips; it belongs to the genusCallimone, and from the fact of having discovered it in Devonshire, I gave it the name ofCallimone Devoniensis. It is one of the handsomest of our British insects; its costume a brilliant green, shot with gold; the abdominal segments green, gold, and purple; legs yellow; tarsi reddish; and it has four beautiful transparent and iridescent wings.

It has been stated that oak-galls are produced at the expense of acorns. From this view my experience leads me to dissent. In exceptional instances it may have been the case; but as a rule thecynipsconfines its attacks to young trees and young growths in hedges, within a range of ten or twelve feet from the ground, and the nearer the ground the more numerous the galls. Young trees which have not attained a greater height than that I have indicated suffer so much that many of them can scarcely make headway against their foe; and in several nurseries I have visited, where it might be expected that[289]greater care would be paid than in the case of ordinary plantations, the young stock of oaks has been rendered quite unsaleable by the pest. This year I have noticed the progress of the insect on two groups of young English and Turkey oaks growing side by side; and although there are hundreds of galls on the English oaks, there are none on the Turkey oaks. From this I am led to infer that the species ofcynipsnow under notice is confined in its depredations to the English oak; and as it invariably selects trees of younger or restricted growth—probably because the temperature at a higher elevation than ten or twelve feet from the earth is unfavourable to it—it would seem that children might be advantageously employed in young plantations in collecting the galls by means of cutting-hooks, such as are used for thistles. The galls, when once collected, might either be crushed for tanning purposes, or consumed by fire, and if the process were repeated for two or three seasons, it is more than probable that the plantation would be altogether free from the pest.

These able remarks not only well describe the nature of the attack, but also point to a cure—a matter to which we would direct the most serious attention of the planter; for we may state that, in 1853, we saw some very small oak trees, in the neighbourhood of Dawlish, Devon, from which some hundreds of these galls might have been gathered. This was the first time we had noticed this pest, though it appears that it had been under Mr. Parfitt’s notice as long as a dozen years. Since then (1853) we have traced it in its progress as follows:—

Having observed the galls in Devon in 1853, we were yearly on the look-out in the Midland and Eastern counties for its appearance, and the following dates will show that its spread, though gradual, was sufficiently rapid:—

We have this season observed a lot of the young galls; but last year, for the first time, we discovered that, in many cases, the maggot had been extracted by some small bird, one of the titmice (Parus cæruleus); and, if so, wherever young oaks may be growing, it should afford an additional reason for the protection of these useful birds. The magnitude of the evil, unless checked by some means, may be estimated from the fact that, in 1856, we could scarcely find half a dozen galls within a wide district, and now all around may be found trees, not more than 10 feet high, upon which are no less than from one to five hundred distinct galls.

We conclude these remarks upon our native oaks with the fervent hope that in “Merry England” it may ever be as described by dear old Chaucer:—

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