S38 Sh- Henry Steuarfs Planter's Gw'cle. 



of practical experience, and that not of a superficial nature, is 

 exceedingly apt to lead to the opposite extreme from the state- 

 ments of empirical practice, or renders to the understanding of 

 the practical man what might otherwise be most useful and 

 valuable information, mere fanciful speculation. It has there- 

 fore followed, that the mere practical man's details have been 

 received with great caution by the physiologist ; because he 

 knows that there is a probability that the effects may have 

 been mistaken for the cause, or vice versa, in detailing the 

 practice or processes which may have produced results benefi- 

 cial or otherwise in the growth of crops, working of the land, 

 manures, species or varieties of plants, kind of soil, climate, or 

 with regard to any agent that influences vegetation and fructifi- 

 cation. 



The principle of Sir Henry Steuart's method of transplanting 

 forest trees of large growth, may be stated in a few words : — 

 Take up the tree with all its roots and fibres, and its external 

 system of branches and leaves, entire and unbroken ; then 

 transplant these roots, fibres, and external system of the tree, 

 in the same perfect state. 



The precautions which accompany the details of the manual 

 processes of transplanting are valuable, and could only have 

 been dictated by great practical experience. These processes 

 are such as every skilful gardener or planter would employ in 

 the transplantation of large evergreens and fruit trees, differing 

 only in the superior magnitude of the subjects and operations. 

 The directions for the preparation of the soil previously to 

 planting the tree in its new site, is another point of conse- 

 quence, as being warranted by experience. The minute in- 

 structions for the careful distribution of the roots and fibres 

 in planting, so as to maintain the tree upright in its new posi- 

 tion, without the necessity of having recourse to a violent or 

 unnatural consolidation of the earth at first, or to other artifi- 

 cial modes of support, are also clear and satisfactory. The 

 after-management, as keeping the soil in a due degree of mois- 

 ture, progressive consolidation, &c., is also to be carefully 

 attended to, to insure success. But the most important pre- 

 caution to be observed, so as to crown any attempt with suc- 

 cess, rests on the judicious selection of the subjects, or trees, to 

 be transplanted. Sir Henry Steuart observes that in this con- 

 sists the most difficult part of transplanting trees of large 

 growth. This point, doubtless, requires a very considerable 

 portion of practical knowledge of the natural habits of differ- 

 ent kinds of trees ; and, at least, to have witnessed, in nume- 

 rous instances, the state of the roots of different species of 

 trees in different kinds of soils. It is stated as a rule, that the 



