62 THE PEACH 



lation, and in the course of a few months a new 

 supply of fine surface roots from the tree encircling 

 the whole stock, spreading in every direction in the 

 alkaline compost, and taking up the nutritious ele- 

 ments they contain, increasing the thrift and fruit- 

 fulness of the tree. Here we have the evidence 

 that this portion of the tree, at least, absorbs nu- 

 triment as well as the roots and leaves, and that 

 every portion of the tree performs the same office." 



This practice is directly in the teeth of the the- 

 ory of Professor Lindley, (England's great vegeta- 

 ble physiologist), in his facetious ridicule in the 

 closing page of his work on "Horticulture," in 

 which he says : 



" I have seen a gardener, who ought to have 

 known much better, seduously administering liquid 

 manure, by pouring it into the soil at the base of 

 the stem, which is much the same thing as if an 

 attempt were made to feed a man through the soles 

 of his feet." 



There is not, I would suppose, an intelligent far- 

 mer in Chester county but who could convince the 

 old philosopher of the error implied in his ridicule 

 of the wise gardener, nor is there a doctor within 

 the same limits but would confirm it practical- 

 ly, by the insertion of a little solution of mor- 

 phia in the professor's back for lumbago. I may 

 here add that the Chinese system of manuring by 

 a direct application, as the manure of the profes- 

 sor's gardener, is the most plausible argument that 



