16 Various Hints. 



therefore conclude that I am as learned as my neighbour, 

 though my college was neither Oxford nor Cambridge, and 

 my kind of learning not so much prized as divinity, law, or 

 physic. Yet, in my humble opinion, it ought to be prized as 

 the mainspring of all other callings in the world, and I shall 

 glory in not having spent seven years of my precious life in 

 a college, learning dead languages, or the like. My school 

 education was finished at twelve years of age ; it is true, I 

 afterwards bought a Latin dictionary and grammar, and pored 

 over them for some winter evenings, just till I could translate 

 a motto on a coat of arms, or an epitaph on a tombstone, or 

 the like. I also bought a lot of French books at a sale for 

 four shillings, among which was Le Nouveau Testament de 

 notre Seigneur. I commenced reading in good earnest, and 

 before I got through the Apocalypse, I understood it nearly 

 as well as the English version, and though I cannot parler a la 

 Francoise, I can understand French books tolerably well. I 

 was always fond of books, but the book which did me the 

 most good, or, as I may say, " let me get my head above 

 water," was Hutton's Mathematics, in 2 vols., which I re- 

 deemed out of a pawnbroker's shop for one of my companions. 

 I got a case of instruments, and commenced operations with 

 such enthusiasm, that, in far less time than I had calculated 

 upon, I got acquainted with far more problems and theorems 

 than ever I had occasion for in practice. 



I would just here give a hint to all young gardeners, &c, to 

 be sure to get perfectly acquainted with mensuration in all its 

 various cases, as when once a man can measure every kind of 

 tradesman's work, it is a grand step towards not being obliged 

 to work very hard himself, particularly after he becomes very 

 old, and not very able to work very hard ; and indeed no gar- 

 dener should look upon himself as any thing superior to a 

 common labourer, who cannot make himself thus useful on a 

 gentleman's premises. 



The scale and compasses should be very familiar to every 

 gardener. What is the use of visiting distant gardens, &c, 

 if one cannot bring home dimensions near enough to imitate 

 or improve upon ? And here I must give myself a severe wipe, 

 for though I can take the plans of buildings, and the like, 

 I am the worst at taking off landscapes, &c, in the world. 

 Drawing, indeed! why, I never could write fit to be seen, 

 much less make pictures. One study I was always very fond 

 of, and that was the nature of fluids ; the learned call it hy- 

 drostatics, and pneumatics, but I merely mean air, fire, and 

 water. From the first time that I saw a conservatory flue 



