198 SOME ACCOUNT OF A NEW LEVEL. 



ever the style : and I may be allowed to express a hope, that 

 all intent on beautifying their gardens, parks, &c., will take 

 into consideration the propriety of paying a due regard to the 

 habitudes and adaptabilities of trees and shrubs. 



XIV. — Some Account of a Neiv Level. By A. Forsyth, 

 C.M.H.S., St. Mary's Church, Torquay. 



(Communicated April 28, 1852.) 



I NEED not say one word on the importance of the plumb-rule 

 and level ; they are essentially necessary in ground-work, and 

 indeed in all the operations of horticulture they play a promi- 

 nent part. 



Persons employed in other branches of industry have imple- 

 ments peculiar to their trades : the cooper would not be able to 

 do his work with the cabinet-maker's tools, and the mason would 

 be puzzled to keep his work right with the surveyor's swing 

 level and graduated staff. In the various divisions of labour, 

 therefore, every class clings to its particular character of tools, and 

 as new branches are introduced fresh implements must be had. 



Having been accustomed to gardening from my infancy, I 

 may take some credit at this time for knowing what tools may be 

 required for the ordinary operations of horticulture ; and, not to 

 tire the reader with a useless list, I will confine my observations 

 to the point at issue, and state what difficulties I have expe- 

 rienced in getting things true to the horizontal and the ver- 

 tical lines. For example, we shall suppose that five tliousand 

 stakes of various sizes, from 4^ feet to 10 feet in length, are to 

 be inserted in the ground by the gardener in one month, viz. 

 the month of May, as props for Hollyhocks, Dalilias, Roses, &c. ; 

 these stakes, being neatly planed and painted, are stuck up 

 quite naked, a forest of green sticks, and they are contiguous 

 to the main-lines of walks, where highly educated parties are 

 constantly passing: now, I would ask, could a handy man, with 

 rule of thumb, do this neatly ? He could not. This is no fan- 

 cied case ; I have tried it with good workmen, I have tried it 

 myself ; it could not be done. I had to get the plummet, and 

 stand by the pole, and first set it right from south to north, and 

 then from east to west, and this in windy weather is not a very 

 straightforward job. 



Again, in plunging Pine-apple pots in a bark-bed sloping to 

 the south, it is not very easy even for a practised eye to put 

 them level, and, if they are not, the water will flow over one 

 side and leave the other dry. I need not adduce further 

 instances : these two examples may suffice, as they are taken 



