32 TRANSPLANTING. 



that the Romans made use of stamps containing letters 

 enough for a whole name. With these they branded 

 casks, &c. ; but it did not occur to them that, by set- 

 ting and transposing single letters^ they could apply 

 the rules of permutation and combination almost to 

 infinity. They approximated to the art of printing in 

 the use of their stamp, with a number of letters joined. 

 Had the thought occurred to them of the transposition 

 of single letters in their plate, the world might have 

 advanced in knowledge, and avoided that gulf of igno- 

 rance — the dark ages — through which, for a long 

 time, it was compelled to grope, for the want of readi- 

 er means of communicating intelligence. 



TRANSPLANTING. 



Trees for transplanting should be taken from the 

 nursery before they become too large. Two or three 

 years' growth from the bud or the graft is better than 

 a longer term for the apple or the pear, the peach or 

 the plum. When a tree is of longer growth, the root? 

 are extended farther than we are aAvare. To take it 

 up, we dig about it, and cut off a part of its roots : we 

 then seize hold of the body, and attempt to pull it up ; 

 it stands firm : we rack and twist it, and get out of all 

 patience with its tenacity of life. An assistant takes 

 hold to help pull it up, and to draw out some of the 

 roots full length. After shattering one or two of the 

 principal roots close to the body, one root is sometimes 

 drawn out nearly whole, and three feet long. These 

 shattered roots are like a shattered knee or ankle : 

 amputation only will prevent a lingering death. If 

 large trees are transplanted, they should be taken up 



