208 



simple, and not less expeditious, hoWfever it may appear in 

 tlie nariative, it becomes quite an easy, instead of a formi- 

 dable undertaking, to draw the tree from the pit. 



Before the tree is pulled down, as just now described, there 

 is one thing more, which must not be omitted. Almost all 

 trees, as stated in Section IV., are ill balanced in point of 

 ramification, and towards the stormy quarter, usually the 

 southwest, they exhibit a " w^eather side ;" which side, ac- 

 cordingly, is on removal to be reversed, as shall be directed 

 in the sequel. Therefore, while the tree retains its upright 

 position, is the only certain time to ascertain the side where 

 the longest branches have been thrown out. This is now 

 accurately done by the director of the work, and the side in 

 question marked on the stem wnth chalk, or very slightly 

 with a knife, care being taken not to penetrate beyond the 

 epidermis. After which, the tree is ready to be put upon 

 the machine, and drawn out of the pit. 



In giving the history of the progress of the art during the 

 last century, it was stated above, that Brown, the celebrated 

 landscape gardener, was the inventor of the best and simplest 

 transplanting machine now known. It consists of a strong 

 pole and two wheels, with a smaller wheel occasionally used, 

 which is fixed at the extremity of the pole, and turns on a 

 pivot. The pole operates both as a powerful lever, to bring 

 down the trees to the horizontal position, and in conjunction 

 with the wheels, as a still more powerful conveyance, to re- 

 move them to their new situation. Various, however, are 

 the machines, which the caprice of fashion, the love of 

 novelty, and in some instances the ambition of attempting 

 a stupendous scale of work, have introduced into both France 

 and England, within the last century and a half. Among 

 these are the great machine of Versailles, constructed by 

 order of Louis XIV., with its broad and powerful wheels and 

 platforms ; the high three-wheeled machine of England 

 during the last century, of ponderous make, with its platform 



