184 THE PRACTICAL PLANTER. 



gree, while the bark remains in a perfectly 

 sound state, that the trunk is enfeebled, and 

 easily broken. This is demonstrated by cut- 

 ting affected trees at different ages, and the 

 rot is generally found less or more advanced 

 upwards, according to the size of the cavity.* 

 The remedy here is, be at all due pains to 

 prevent the cause, by carefully draining the 

 soil of poisonous, ochry water, and when ne- 

 cessity occasions the cutting of large roots, 

 treat them in the manner of an amputated 

 branch. 



Thirdly, the rot is also frequently occa- 

 sioned by stagnant water lodging in the an- 

 gle formed by the stem and an upright 



* A very curious instance of this species of rot occur- 

 red at Wemyss Castle in 1795. We were thinning a 

 wood, whose trees consisted chiefly of Elm and Ash. In 

 one part of it, the soil was observed to be spouty, and 

 the Elm trees rather in a sickly condition. Every Elm 

 tree we cut in this part was less or more affected ; some 

 were rotted a foot, others two, three, &c. feet upwards, 

 and the wood above, to the extremity of the bole, was 

 uniformly sound, and sold at two shillings a foot. One 

 beautiful Ash-tree, in particular, was sold standing, at the 

 rate of half a crown a foot of timber ; nor was there the 

 smallest outward blemish from the ground to the very 

 top. When it was cut down, a complete, ready-made 

 Pump, fifteen feet in length from the ground upwards, 

 was discovered, and actually, as I was afterwards in- 

 formed, applied as such. 



