Steuarfs Planter's Guide. 117 



Mr. Hibbert, in 1799, had made two purchases of 152 acres of 

 enclosed land, immediately abutting on the north-west side of 

 the old park of Chalfont House. This required to be dressed 

 in the same livery with the rest of the estate; and the park 

 was enlarged by the addition of 31 acres of meadow land, 

 which particularly called for the " immediate effect of wood " 

 to mark the property, extend the scenery, and give a unisem- 

 blance to the whole. The principal features were marked out 

 by Mr. Repton, and the execution, choice of trees, &c., were 

 committed to me. 



With full command of men, horses, and machines, many 

 trees of various heights, from 15 to 40 ft., were transplanted, 

 and in general safely, by means of a common timber truck. 

 This was a very high and strong machine of the kind, and on 

 the same principle with that used by Brown. The only fault 

 in its construction, either for the transport of living trees or 

 stocks of timber, is the difficulty of raising the pole, owing 

 to the ends of the axle-tree being, made drooping, to fit the 

 oblique dishing of the wheels. But some of the trees which 

 were translocated, especially horsechestnuts, were taken up 

 with larger balls than even, by extra-bolstering, the truck 

 would carry. For these we had a low oaken sledge, 5 ft. by 4, 

 running en low block wheels before, and resting on smooth 

 iron slides behind. On this, after the tree was pulled down, 

 the root was rolled like a wheel, by involving chains fixed as 

 low as possible on the opposite side, by a horse or two, driven 

 steadily. When such weighty trees were drawn to the hole 

 where they were intended to stand, and rolled off the sledge 

 into one side of it, the tree was raised by the horses with 

 the utmost ease, by means of two poles, 20 ft. long, crossed, 

 and made fast together about 2 ft. below their upper ends. 

 Over this crossing the rope by which the tree was pulled 

 down (being still attached) was passed; the poles were then 

 elevated across the line of draught (which was directly from 

 the butt of the tree) ; the horses were hooked to the end of the 

 rope, and gently moved forward ; and thus, from the elevated 

 direction of the rope from the tree to the crossing of the re- 



sisting poles, brought the tree upright. {Jig. 48.) In raising 

 a tree in this easy way, a litde judgment is necessary in keep- 



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