NEGLECTED PLANTATIONS. 227 



enlarged in diameter, beyond the extremity 

 of the stump, so shortened; as, in that case, 

 a blemish, or even the ruin of the tree, might 

 be the consequence. 



Instances of this are riot wanting, in cases 

 where, by the most inconsiderate absurdity* 

 branches have been hacked off at, perhaps, 

 the distance of a few inches from the stem, 

 which afterwards has swelled beyond, and 

 formed a kind of bason or hollow around the 

 extremity of the stump, becoming a recep- 

 tacle for water and the first seeds of cor- 

 ruption. 



But to enlarge farther on pruning, might 

 be deemed trifling with the reader's patience, 

 after having said so much on the subject in 

 this, and the two preceding Chapters. I 

 therefore recommend reclaiming and turning 

 to profit, in the manner most obviously prac- 

 ticable, all hedge-row and detached timber; 

 humbly hoping the foregoing rules and hints 

 may be found useful in determining the / 

 of the trees, and their respective distances. 



