373 



The fact is, that the practice of trcnchiiij^ and inanuriitg land for 

 plantations (as may be seen in Sociion VII. of the present work), had 

 considerably attracted my own attention, about forty years ago. I have 

 since made many comparative and pretty extensive trials of the deepen- 

 ing and the common metliod, which led to the same results as those 

 stated by Mr. Withers ; and, had not that gentleman brought forth his 

 first pamphlet when he did, I probably should, ere now, have drawn up 

 a similar tract myself, for the purpose of illustrating, to a certain ex- 

 tent, a similar practice.* 



The principle of deepening and pulverizing soils, to forward the 

 growth of trees, is, as already said, far from being new. It is a mode 

 of culture, which was well known to the ancients. It was fully recog- 

 nised and acted on in the days of Evelyn and Cooke ; and it has, since 

 their time, been familiar to every well-instructed gardener and nursery- 

 man in the United Kingdoms, down to the present period. The main 

 use, therefore, of Mr. Withers's pamphlet, is to show its superior advan- 

 tages, and give a more extensive application. Why it has so seldom 

 been applied by land-owners beyond the kitchen garden and the shrub- 

 bery seems very surprising, since the slightest trial is sufficient to con- 

 vince any gentleman, that plantations made on any land susceptible of 

 culture, may in this way certainly be more speedily raised, and probably 

 more cheaply, than by any other method. The scientific principles on 

 which the process should be conducted, and my anxiety to impress them 

 on the minds of planters, are sufl[iciently shown in the present Section 

 and Notes, whether for arboricultural or agricultural purposes, to which 

 Mr. Withers's able pamphlet may serve as a practical commentary. 

 The most material point, on which he has gone wrong, is the application 

 of fresh-made dung or " muck" to the roots of woody plants, which, on 

 considering what I have stated, he will readily perceive to be both phy- 

 tologically and chemically erroneous ; and that the intervention of a 

 green-crop, while it constitutes a superior practice, creates a vast sav- 

 ing of expense in executing the work. See Section VI. of my Trea- 

 tise (Second Edition) p. 190-200 ; also p. 202-204, et seqq. 



For all plantations in parks and pleasure-grounds, and even in many 

 that are intended solely for profit, I highly approve of previous trench- 

 ing and manuring, and keeping the ground clean with the hoe, but by no 



* If Mr. Withers will take the trouble to peruse the next Note, namely, No V., being 

 the last of the present Section, and the text to which it refers, he will see, that I have 

 had some experience in the business of trenching, and that I have long had occasion to 

 apply it to sonic striking objects of utility, as well as ornament. 



