Cheshire. 105 



There is a notion very general amongst country gentlemen, that every 

 thing is got of better quality from the metropolis than it can be had from 

 any little place in the country. If this is true in some things, it is at all 

 events false in regard to plants; for it is obvious that any species or 

 variety of tree is the same thing, wherever it may be grown. The indivi- 

 dual plant may, no doubt, be stronger or weaker when obtained from one 

 nursery than from another ; but that will depend upon the soil and culture, 

 and not on the locality ; and, so far from the chance of town plants being 

 the best, they are likely to be the worst, from the dearness of land and 

 labour, and the temptation, in consequence, to crowd plants together. 

 Unless, therefore, it can be shown that local nurserymen misname their 

 plants, trees, or seeds, it must, for various reasons sufficiently obvious, be 

 the interest of persons living in the country to purchase garden articles 

 from their neighbours, rather than to send to a distance for them. 



In short, as a general principle, it is the interest of landed j)roprietors 

 to encourage local tradesmen and local merit of every description. It is 

 only in an early stage of the improvement of a country, that wealth and 

 talents are necessarily concentrated in the capital. As improvement be- 

 comes general, trades, manufactures, and skill of every kind, become com- 

 paratively equalised over a whole state. We recommend, therefore, not 

 merely the employment of local labourers and tradesmen, but of artists 

 and scientific men j provided always that these scientific men and artists 

 have travelled, and spent some time in the study of their profession or art 

 in some capital town. Reading and extensive travel will, indeed, almost 

 supersede the latter means of improvement in engineers, architects, and 

 painters ; and, if gardeners could afford it, it would have the same effect 

 on them. As they generally cannot, however, the next resource is their 

 serving as journeymen in some garden in the neighbourhood of the metro- 

 polis ; within 20 miles of which are concentrated more species of plants, 

 and a greater variety of other garden productions, and modes of garden- 

 ing, and more gardeners of every description, than are to be found in any 

 other circuit of equal extent in any country. While we recommend gen- 

 tlemen, therefore, to purchase their plants, trees, and seeds, as much as 

 they can, from local nurserymen, we would not recommend them to em- 

 ploy local gardeners who have never been from home. 



But the metropolitan nurserymen will ask how this doctrine is to be 

 reconciled with their prosperity. We answer, that whatever contributes 

 to the prosperity of country nurserymen will produce a corresponding 

 effect upon those of the metropolis and other capital cities ; since the 

 former must necessarily depend on the latter for their wholesale pur- 

 chases, of seeds more especially, and of all new things. The London and 

 Edinburgh nursery and seedsmen, therefore, must, in conformity with the 

 natural progress of things, prepare themselves for living by the country 

 nurserymen as wholesale customers, and depending upon their immediate 

 neighbourhoods for their retail business. 



In the present Number, we can only spare room to notice such of the 

 nurseries as have made good their promises to furnish us with lists. 



ENGLAND. 



Cheshire. 



The Baclie Pool Nursery, near Chester, Messrs. F. and J. Dickson, 

 containing upwards of 50 acres, was commenced in 1816, by the present 

 occupiers. It was formed by breaking up some pasture fields of sandy 

 soil, and lajang them out in parallel strips, and small squares, sheltered by 

 privet, thorn, hornbeam, yew, and holly hedges. Every description of 

 hardy article is cultivated on an extensive scale. There are some green- 



