TO HIS GARDENER 77 



nor an hour of a day. Attend you the Men close and make 

 them work or discharge them. It is picking my pocket to 

 make me pay Men that can't or won't work. But being well 

 overlooked and checking of them severely when they have been 

 idle or have wrought wrong in your absence are necessary 

 things in seeing me get justice, and I expect them of you. I 

 have very little time to write so dont expect my repeating, but 

 give attention to what I have or shall say. I have desired you 

 to get some Seeds, and I have ordered severals to be gathered 

 here for nurseries so prepare and sweeten ground for them. I 

 hope you have laid plenty of small leafed Elms ^ and have taken 

 what were well rooted off the Mothers. How does the Nursery 

 thrive in the Hay Yard ? Read over my last and omit nothing 

 I directed in it or any to J. Dods. When you come to plant 

 where the Firs were above pan Meadow don't grudge any 

 trouble in even enlarging large holes and diging well under the 

 surface as far as you can with a spade. An hour spent extra- 

 ordinary in right planting and in taking up with strong roots, 

 saves many hours in supplying besides the dispppointment of 

 a year's growth of the trees. I told you where I would have 

 Elms, and where I would have chiefly Oaks with one Ash to 

 two Oaks and one Beech to four Ashes. You may put one 

 Oak among the Elms to ten of the Elms and about 6 Beeches 

 dropp'd among the Elms. When the throng of your planta- 

 tions are over or when hard frost, sned up the old trees north 

 of this new plantation upon the head of the old Dyke, and also 

 the old plane tree and old Elm that their branches may not 

 drop upon what are to be planted. So leave them as little 

 Tops as you can. You know how small tops they leave to 

 hedge row Trees about this Town. Lay fine earth with your 

 hand to each fibre and tread all closs to the roots with great care 

 thrusting it well and closs in as far as you have cov'd ^ it under 

 the surface all round. If you follow the above directions this 



^ The English elm, preferred by Cockburn to the indigenous Scottish broad- 

 leaved or wych elm. 



2 The hole for the tree was to be at bottom widened for the roots by being 

 arched out or coved. A ' coved ceiling ' is known in architecture. He explains 

 himself a little before this, where he says, * diging well under the surface as far 

 as you can with a spade.' 



