96 Wiihersh Letter to Sir H. Steitart. 



such an immense discovery ; it was cruel in the baronet to throw cold water 

 on the subject, by saying that ' from the very nature of the thing it is evident 

 that it cannot be adopted for general planting, or ever come into universal 

 use.' (p. 17.) This was rather a home thrust, and Mr. Withers seems to 

 have some misgivings on the vulnerable point ; he is evidently embarrassed. 

 ' I have never,' says he, ' recommended its universal application.' (p. 9.) 

 *. The general adoption of this method of planting poor lands would, I feel 

 confident, be attended with great individual and national advantage, and I 

 claim the credit of being its author.' (p. 16.) 'I cannot perceive any thing 

 in the nature of trenching and manuring, which must preclude its adoption 

 for general planting, or prevent it ever coming into universal use.' (p. 18.) 

 And neither do we, with this single exception, that manure is not to be had. 

 Every method which ingenuity can invent is resorted to, for accumulating 

 an article of so much immediate necessity. Such is the demand, that it is 

 but lately we noticed in the newspapers an account of a vessel freighted with 

 bones from the trenches at Leipsic, bound for Britain, these bones to be 

 ground into dust to increase the stock of manure for agricultural purposes ; 

 and numbers of human teeth may be seen bleaching on the surface 

 of turnip fields, which in all likelihood were lately brought from a similar 

 quarter. If we are (at the expense of the finer feelings of human nature) 

 brought to submit to such shifts for manure where it is indispensable, what 

 degree of ' credit ' can we afford to spare to the man, who, although he 

 ' does not recommend,' yet ' cannot perceive any thing to prevent its uni- 

 versal application to forest trees. The substitute of ' peat moss and lime ' 

 we cannot see to be of universal application. Peat moss is not to be met 

 with every where ; there is nothing deserving the name within twenty miles 

 of the spot where we reside, nor is the situation singular in this respect ; and 

 what is still more unfortunate for its general application, where moss is most 

 plenty, the adjoining waste grounds have often too much peat in the compo- 

 sition of their surface soils to be benefited by such substitute. — Lime in- 

 deed might be a sort of panacea alone, in such cases, when there is much 

 vegetable matter in the surface soil to be acted upon, or ferrugineous matter 

 to neutralise ; but then some say lime is not a manure, and, except in cases 

 where coal is near the lime quarry, its application to arboriculture will not pay. 

 " With regard to trenching, where the subsoil is tenacious, and consists of 

 nothing injurious to vegetation, if the operation of trenching is performed 

 carefully, by mixing the surface mould regularly with the subsoil, a more 

 extended nidus will thus be prepared for the roots of the young trees, which 

 for some time may prove advantageous ; but soils of this nature are but 

 rarely to be met with in ' waste lands,' and where they are to be found, they 

 are generally of the best description of wastes. Now were the expense of 

 trenching and manuring such lands extensively gone into, and if the happi- 

 ness of the ' surplus population,' about which Mr. Withers expresses so 

 much becoming concern, occupies so much of his mind, as does his favourite 

 theory of manuring ground for plantations, we would put it to his good 

 sense and good feeling, to say, whether such ' surplus population ' would 

 not derive greater benefit by becoming occupiers of small portions of soil 

 so trenched and manured, at fair rents, the grounds being sheltered with 

 judiciously laid off slips of planting. Would not this enable them to con- 

 tribute something towards their future subsistence ? For, granting that the 

 trenching, and manuring, and planting system were carried as far as he could 

 wish, a single quartern loaf would not thereby be added to the home pro- 

 duce of human food; but much pasture, and consequently much animal food, 

 would be for a time withdrawn. The work of planting once accomplished, 

 they would have to emigrate, or still continue in the condition of ' half- 

 starved labourers,' unless they could continue to live on the roots of oak 

 trees, like the mice in Dean Forest. We do not say this to discourage any 

 from the useful operation of planting; we can have no possible interest to 



