Various Matters by Agronome. 287 



The oaks, in particular, should be stout and clean, not drawn 

 up in a crowd, and, in consequence, weak and spindly. 



In this way, on the most moderate soils, fine plantations of 

 oak may be raised with certainty. With the present pre- 

 judice against removing and shortening the taproot, we shall 

 have old England a plantation of firs, instead of its ancient 

 bulwark, the Quercus robur, which truly may be said to be 

 salus patrice. 



Should this be thought worthy a place in your Magazine, 

 I may perhaps again trouble you about plants and planting. 



I am, Sir, &c. 

 October, 1827. Quercus Secundus. 



Art. XII. How to conduct a Gardener's Magazine, and other 

 Matters. By Agronome. 



Dear Sir, 

 Having a leisure hour or two this evening, which, by the 

 by, I very seldom have at this time of the year, I have con- 

 cluded to scribble over a sheet of your paper. What the 

 subject may be is more than I can say at present. I have 

 been thinking that you have a very difficult as well as un- 

 pleasant task, conducting a work like the Gardener's Magazine. 

 No doubt you are very anxious to encourage all your cor- 

 respondents by inserting all their productions, however silly 

 or ridiculous ; and, on the other hand, very careful of insert- 

 ing any thing but what may be of real use to the public ; and 

 most of your correspondents, though they may be old gar- 

 deners, may be but very young authors, such as your humble 

 servant, who, whatever figure he may cut in a field of cabbage, 

 may be very inferior in the field of fame, or the pages of your 

 miscellany. I write this very feelingly, conscious of my great 

 imperfections, and think how much I could mend the letters 

 I have already written ; but, like the generality of tradesmen 

 nowadays, I will rather write new things, than try to mend 

 the old. My want of education, particularly that branch of 

 education called belles lettres, is a woeful drawback to an as- 

 piring author. All the compensation I can make for such 

 deficiency is, that if I am not very polite or good mannered, 

 I shall always be particularly good humoured. I shall not 

 take the smallest offence at whatever you may think of me, or 

 whatever your correspondents may say of me. " There must 

 be such as me to be of all sorts;" and if I ramble out of my 



