391
THE ESTATES GAZETTE
March 11, 1899.
metal adornment of cabinets, was the insertion in each of the flutings of quills or husks, filing these in sections generally at top and bottom, and a varying point between. They were sometimes confined to the top, however. Another indubitable means of identification for the plainer Louis Seize panels consists in their broken corners.
The bourgeois class began in this reign to feel the influence of the aristocrats’ lavishness. “ When the house is built,” says a contemporary writer, “ nought is done. The magnificence of the nation is all in its interiors.”
(To be continued.)
.Aanrestrrr :
ITS SCIENCE AND PRACTICE.
CONDUCTED BY
CHARLES E. OTJRTIS, F.S.I.,
Professor of Forest Economy, Field Engineering, and General Estate Management at thè College of Agricolture. Downton, etc.. ete.
PRUNING SPRUCE FIR.
I was !struck with the ignorance shown in the cutting back of the branches! of spruce firs in a plantation I was passing only a few days ago. These were overhanging a railway line, and the branches—about 2in. to 3in. in diameter at the base—were cut off a foot ,or more away ficm the stem. These will die and cause dead knots, whereas if they had been cut off close to the trunk the wounds would have healed over completely and no injury would ,be caused to the future planks.
TREES ADAPTED TO CERTAIN SOILS.
I have been asked what trees might he planted on sandy soils. Assuming the soil to be of a simple sandy nature, and pot necessarily a drifting sand of the sea climes, I would recommend: —
(1)	Hardwoods : Sweet chestnut, Turkey oak, birch, sycamore, lime, etc. Although these trees will grow better on sandy loams, they will do fairly well on sands.
(2)	Conifers: Pinaster, Scotch pine, Austrian pine, etc.
If the soil is moist, poplar, ,willow, and alder may he added to the above list.
EFFECTOF CLIMATE AND SITE ON TIMBER
Many, doubtless, have noticed the great difference in the quality of timbers of the same kind. This is often very marked in the Scotch pine, which in the mild climate of the south of England is ,white and soft in texture ; whereas when taken from the northern forests and plantations it is red and hard, and much more resinous. In this country, when trees grow rapidly, we look upon the timber with suspicion, and with reason; but in warmer climates rapid growth is no sign of weakness, though the timber may appear coarse. The quality !of oak timber grown on a rich and humid soil, and in a warm climate, acquires great strength and durability; but the same timber grown on dry and poor soil—though it puts on a spongy growth in spring and a very hard growth in autumn—is never strong nor durable.
Oak, or other timber, of slow growth •is usually strong and durable ; but rapid growth, under conditions which tend to a full ripening, produces a ,quality equal in strength, but of greater coarseness.
QUERIES AND REPLIES.
E. S. Little sends a specimen for identification.
It is the Mimosa, e member of the great family of acacias, from tropical America and the West Indies.
[714]
W. G. (Shipton).—No. 1. Abies gramUs.—'The Western Balsam Fir. It is one of the silver iir fa mil v ; its native land is Oregon and California, but it is found also on the coast-11 ne of British Columbia. On the Colum׳ ia and the Williamette it is known as the “ White Spruce” to distinguish it from the Douglas Spruce. Most of the lumber exported from Oregon is from these two t׳ees (see Hough’s Elements of Forestry).—No. 2, same as No. 1.—No. 3, Pinus Sdbiniana.—The Californian Nut Pine, called also the Hard-nut or Digger Pine. This pine 18 0״e of the three-leaved gr up, and is remarkable for its very large cones. The seeds are used for food by the Indians.—No. 4. a Silver Fir ; but the specimen is too small to determine its species. The abnormal condition of the branch is due to insect attack. The leading bud oi each shoot is attacked by a gall-fly, and the abnormal condition is due to the globular growth of cellular tissue set np bv irritation at the time of the insertion of the egg by the ovipositor. I will examine more minutely into this subject and write further in a later issue — No. 5, Walnut.	[715]
“ M. C. R.” sends tiwigs •and timbers for identification. They are : —
No. 1, Poplar (probablv grey poplar).—No. 2, Hornbeam —No. 3, Alder.—No. 4, Turkov Oak.—No. 5, Elm. The timbers are :—No. 1, Turkey Oak.—No. 2, Laurel.—*No 3 Lignum vitee.—No. 4, Scotch Pine.—No. 5, Larch
*Lignum vitas is the Guaiacum officinale of the West Indies and Central America. The wood is dense and hard, and capable of taking a fine polish. A medicinal resin is also obtained from this tree.	[716]
of Luciennes were constructed by Ledoux and Gabriel, in a combination of the pure lines of the ancient monuments with the coquetry of French art. A happy fusion of the two styles was effected by the great sculptors, Falconet Pajou, Houdon and Pigalle. In painting, too, Greuze Vien, Langrenee and David tried to bring art more into accord with nature.
The tastes of Marie Antoinette, who was married to the Dauphin, grandson of Louis XV., in 1770, were, in fact, of great simplicity, until some time after her husband’s ׳accession. She disliked the pomp of Court functions ; and thus there were several influences operating simultaneously in the direction of simplicity.
Van Spaendonck, who was entrusted with the works for the Comte d’Artois, ׳employed panels painted white, and decorated only by arabesques with garlands, and bouquets at the centre and angles, while in the midst he would set a pair of doves. Hanson was content with a central bouquet of flowers, set amid a border of garlands. Often the panels were almost plain, only the space between the pairs of pilasters being decorated.
To the discoveries at Pompeii may, doubtless, be traced the employment of terminal figures for the support of chimneypiece®, the use of various׳ tints for the painting of the wall panels, and the division of the sides of the saloons into arched recesses in which the ornamentation was concentrated. Lunettes, often painted en grisaille, filled the sweep of the arch. On the ceilings were represented classical figures, embosomed in clouds.
There is at South Kensington a very splendid specimen of the lavish decoration bestowed on the boudoirs of ladies connected with the Court, in the shape of the actual chamber devised by Marie Antoinette in concert with one of her ladies of honour, Madame de Serilly, at the hotel ׳of the latter’s husband, 106, Rue Vieille du Temple, Paris, whence it was removed, when acquired for £2,100, by the authorities in 1869, the house then being known as the Hotel du Comte d׳e Saint Albin. The boudoir, which js in a perfect state of preservation, measures in its present form 14ft. bv 10ft6 .׳in., and 16ft. in height. The general decorations are by Jean
Jfurnito mb jEUfo
XXVII.
THE LOUIS SEIZE STYLE OF DECORATION.
The reaction against the puerilities of the Rococo style, and the return to greater simplicity which characterised the style of Louis XVI., were not quite coeval with the commencement of that monarch’s reign in 1774 ; but were actually in evidence about the year 1760 ; and, in fact, the great artists who carried the simpler style into the department of furniture were all well at work toward the close of the Louis XV. period ; Nicholas Petit in 1763, Gouthiere in 1771, and, perhaps the greatest of them, Riesener in 1768, while Georges Jacob became Master of the Corps of Ebenistes in 1765.
“La Petite Maison,” a romance published in 1758, thus describes the home of a wealthy man : T:h׳e dining room had the walls decorated with stucco pilasters by Clerisseau. The panels contained bas-reliefs representing fêtes of Cornus and Bacchus, by Falconet. The trophies which ornamented the pilasters, and depicted the pleasures of the chase and of angling, good cheer in general, were by Vassi, the King’s sculptor. From each of the 12 trophies׳ issued candelabra in gilt bronze. The panels of the ante-room were painted in the lightest green tints, and decked with pictorial subjects, heightened with gold.
The Apollo Gallery at the Louvre is considered not, only Le Brun’s masterpiece, but the chef-d'œuvre of decorative art in France. Another great decorative de׳signer was Jean Lepautre (1617-82), who did for the most brilliant period of Louis XIV. what Du Cerceau had accomplished for the Renais׳sance. Better acquainted with the human form than the last-named, his abundance of ideas was such that in the panels of his ceilings and overmantels the general lines of a single design often contain many different motives. Another famous designer was Robert de Cotbe, who executed between 1699 and 1714 the beautiful wood carvings in the choir of Notre
A SHEKATON SOFA.
Simeon Rassian de la Rottiere ; the paintings and lunettes by Jean Jacques Langren6e la jeune ; and the gilt metal ornaments by the prince of bronze carvers, Gouthiere, who worked for the best decorators and ebenists of the period.
The sides of the room are formed into four arched recesses, with a lunette in the sweep of each, containing each a single figure from Greek mythology :—Vulcan with his hammer, as one enters ; Pomona with her cornucopia, above the fireplace ; and so on. The low-domed ceiling is painted with Jupiter seated on the clouds. The broad panelled pilasters which support the arches are ornamented with arabesques and paintings. Each of the intermediate panels has three beautifully painted lunettes, with gilt metal ornaments between and below of Greek vases and figures, supporting baskets of flowers. The panels below the dado are painted with amorini, interspersed with vases in gilt bronze.
The chimneypiece is of gray marble with a running pattern of gilt bronze ornament by Gouthiere, while •the muffled terminal figures which form the supports are by Claude Michel Clodion.
In the wall panels is repeated a curious device by Gouthiere ; candlesticks in relief, filled apparently with extinguished tapers, appear projecting from the walls in pairs, but this is one of the pretty deceptions common to the period.
To give character to the room there have been placed therein a harp, which belonged to Marie Antoinette, a writing table, by Roentgen, which belonged to ,the Princess Lamballe, and a carved stool covered in silk.
Though the reflection of the more sumptuous class of Pompeian decoration is visible in the Serilly boudoir, it was not commonly adopted. The happy and placid children of Greuze and his compeers commonly ousted the bold divinities of Boucher and his school. A peculiarity of the fluted ornament of the time, from the j huge Corinthian pilasters that reached to the cornice of the loftiest room, down to the gilt- |
Dame, at Paris. Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer was another celebrated artist, who was engaged in the decoration of the Apollo Gallery. Mural painting allied with imposing sculpture and sumptuous ornament was the mark of the Louis XIV. period.
In the card room tire panels were adorned with the finest Chinese lacquer. The furniture, also ornamented in lacquer, was upholstered with Indian embroidery. The girandoles were of rock crystal, while the branches and nozzles were of Dresden and Japanese porcelain.
The boudoir was screened by a tapestry portiere. The garden entrance had in its recesses panels by Halle, Boucher’s imitator. Tiie panels painted with lilac-framed mirrors. The over-doors were painted with mythological subjects!. The candelabra were of Sevres porcelain with mountings of ormolu.
The bedroom terminated above in a vaulted arch, having in a circular frame a picture by Pierre, representing “ Hercules in the׳ Arms of Morpheus.” The wall panels were of a delicate sulphur tint. Consoles in either corner displayed porcelain and bronzes. The bed was hung with rich jonquil-coloured Chinese silk ; and was enclosed in an alcove corresponding to the wardrobe and bathing apartments. The furniture consisted of ottamans and several specimens of the duchesse or double couch, and of ■the sultane. The furniture of other rooms was of watered silk, embroidered in a chain pattern.
About this time there was a return to simplicity in architecture ; columns and pilasters were again used for the facades of great structures, and straight lines and rectangular forms took the place of curves.
Many authorities attribute the simplifications embodied in architecture and wall decoration to the discoveries at Pompeii in 1750. The change was encouraged both by the Marquise de Pompadour and the young Marie Antoinette. The pavilion of the Petit Treanon and of the chateau
the law to the facts. The first difficulty was with regard to the proof necessary in order to establish the right of one man to claim that his neighbour should fence for his benefit as well as for his own. His impression was that the present rule of agriculture in Cumberland, by which the owner of the land almost invariably took upon himself the burthen of maintaining the fence that was made upon his land, and outside which the ditch, also his property, runs, is very much for the benefit of the community at large. He thought the second of Judge Steavenson’s alternatives was the best solution. If not by judge law, it should be done by legislation, namely, to put upon the landowner upon whose land the fence stands the burden of the obligation to keep the fence in turnable and ,tenantable repair for the benefit of his neighbour as well as himself.
Mr. R. Tinniswood, Rose Bank, said that if that law was as laid down by Judge Steaven-son, it was very bad- law, and the remedy seemed to be worse. He endorsed wha't had been said by Mr. Saul. Dual ownership in fences would be most serious. Each owner should have his fence defined, if it was only one-half, and it ought to be an obligation upon him to maintain it.
Mr. W. Little, Penrith, said he was astonished to find from judgments of learned judges that no evidence of prescription was put before ־them. He would not like anything better than to ask a jury to decide that there was an implied agreement that each man had bound himself to maintain the fence on his own land. He could rely upon a Cumberland jury giving him a verdict.
Mr. W. Dobson, Tarn House, said he thought the solution suggested by Judge Steavenson was the right one. Some legal means of defining boundary fences not covered by prescription, agreement or the Enclosure Act were needed.
Mr. J. W. Hayton suggested that the words “ or user ” should be added to prescription.
Mr. T. Carlisle, Tarraby, said the one defect in the law was this, a man was not bound to fence against his neighbour’s cattle. If this was remedied it would meet most of the complaints.
Mr. Smith Hill, Aspatria Agricultural College, also spoke.
Judge Steavenson replied, and said he agreed with Mr. Saul that the law was too strict. He wished some Judge in a Superior Court would give weight to evidence of user, which would be a very good solution of the difficulty. It would lay down judge law, case law, which could be easily followed, and no Act of Parliament would be needed. He commented upon the complexity of the paragraphs in the proposed Bill drawn up by the Royal Agricultural Society, and said he wished he was at the Bar again, if those paragraphs were passed, for he would be filling his pockets (laughter). So it would be if they made statute law on the subject. Every word had to be construed. If an enactment must be made let it be a departure that had been considered by other countries, and such as in Scotland had. been the law since 1661. With regard to the giving away of land, that must be provided for (applause).
On the motion of the Chairman, seconded by Mr. Punchard, a hearty vote of thanks was accorded to his Honour for the paper.
Mr. Saul observed that the Judge had said he would be glad to see the law less strict. He could suggest one way in which he might carry that view into practical effect—■let him make it less strict himself (laughter) and leave it to some one to appeal ■against his decision, which would be upheld (hear, hear, and applause).
Shipment of Pedigree Bulls.—On February 26, Messrs. Alfred Mansell and Co. shipped per the ss. Bellevue, for a leading Estanciero in the Argentine, two high-class shorthorn bulls, viz., Duke of Somerset 4th, 68537, bred by Mr. G. F. King, by Yain Knight, 66451, out of Leila’s Forest, by Lord of the Forest 5th, 51623. This is a stylish roan bull of about three years of age, which lias already proved himself a sire of a lot of good stock in ׳this country. The other is an equally good-looking bull, Nelson (vol. 45), bred by Mr. Robert Jacobs, by Wiltshire Star, 63565, from Princess Janette 11th, by General Sale 10th, 52927, and then going back to a long line of good blood to three crosses of Favourite, 252. The animals were much admired on the quay at Liverpool prior to shipment, and if they arrive in good condition, should give unqualified satisfaction to the buyer. On the previous day the same firm shipped to France a very nice Hereford bull, from the herd of Mr. John Jones, of Brompton, by Roundabout, 19066, dam Blowdy (vol. 26, p. 427), by Blythe, 1194, then to Buxom, also by Blythe, li940, and going back to the well-known bull, Emperor, 221. This bull was specially selected for crossing with Normandy cows, and we have little doubt that the progeny will be satisfactory to the breeder.