42 



enough sees with tlie eyes, and hears with the ears of his 

 gardener ; and, as the gardener, ninety-nine times in a hun- 

 dred, knows nothing himself, it is " the bUnd leading the 

 blind," in this important branch of rural economy. Some- 

 times the forester is the operating person, which is still more 

 unfortunate ; for this is generally a mere lopper and cutter 

 of wood. In ordinary cases, he is much worse educated 

 than the gardener, with equal pretensions as to arboriculture, 

 and equal ignorance. 



On the gardeners of Scotland it is not here intended to 

 throw the sUghtest reflection, unless for wandering out of 

 the line of their own profession. They are a class of men, 

 possessed of superior intelligence, as well as su})erior respect- 

 ability. They have done great honour to their native coun- 

 try, both at home and abroad. But this very intelligence 

 should prevent them from engaging in a department, for 

 which they know they cannot have leisure, if they duly cul- 

 tivate their own, but w hich is often put upon them by the in- 

 dolence, and still more by the ignorance of their employers. 



The fact is, that of all land-produce Wood is the least 

 studied and understood by the land-owners themselves, and, 

 by consequence, the worst managed. To all estates this 

 subject must be of some value ; to many it is of vast and 

 vital importance, involving the interests of more than one 

 generation ; while to others it is the principal and paramount 

 source of their revenue. In an age, therefore, when every 

 thing useful and ornamental l^ecomes the subject of scientific 

 investigation, and general study, it seems singular, that arbo- 

 riculture should be at once so universally practised, and the 

 physiological principles, which regulate it, so generally un- 

 known. 



The lords of the soil in this kingdom have, from time im- 

 memorial, been good sportsmen. Of late, they have become 

 knowing agriculturists and cattle-breeders ; and, as the tide 

 of fashion ha^ not long since set in from the south, in favour 



