171 



what naturally follows from tlie bottom 

 part, (say that above the swell of the 

 roots,) being older than the top; which 

 clearly demonstrates, that extra branches 

 are a detriment. Most certainl}^ unas- 

 sisted nature would form trees with little 

 or no clean stem ; and of course very lit- 

 tle good timber would be found in them : 

 while, on the contrary, we observe every 

 tree clean, and nearly of one thickness, 

 as far as means have been used to make it 

 so ; whether it be a few feet only, as in 

 the case of those in the New Forestj 

 Hedge Rows, &c. — or a great many, as in 

 that represented in the Frontispiece. 



Had we been left to guess only at the 

 method, in which the stem of a tree is 

 fed, or increased, the lower parts would 

 have been thought to have monopolized 

 by far the greater quantity of sap; and 

 that its circumference there, would have 

 increased much faster than where more 

 t^levated; but facts shew clearly the 



