Harleian Dairy System. 99 



continues to furnish, are well calculated for enabling his readers to form a 

 correct judgment, if they have mind to enable them to think. But we must 

 ask Mr. Loudon's pardon for noticing the effusions of this anonymous writer, 

 who, Mr. Withers informs us, is ' a considerable land-owner, and a gentle- 

 man.' We thank Mr. Wi" hers for the latter piece of information ; for, ten 

 to one, if from his writings we could have made the discovery. How 

 could we ? Is it like a gentleman to fire incognito, right and left, and, when 

 his ammunition is spent, to conclude by saying, ' I hope, Withers, you are 

 not sufficiently sick of it to allow these Scotchmen to imagine they have 

 discomfited you.' (p. 75.) This, we are willing to believe, is not a fair spe- 

 cimen of an ' English gentleman.' It is unnecessary for Scotchmen to give 

 themselves any trouble about ' discomfiting ' Mr. Withers. He has taken 

 the matter into his own hands, and is perhaps the best hand in the world for 

 ' writing himself down.' " — Archibald Gorrie. Annat Gardens, Dec. 25. 1829. 

 Harley William : The Harleian Dairy System, and an Account of the va- 

 rious Methods of Dairy Husbandry pursued by the Dutch. Also, a 

 new and improved Mode of ventilating Stables. With an Appendix, 

 containing useful Hints (founded on the Author's Experience) for 

 the Management of Hedge-row Fences, Fruit Trees, &c. ; and the Means 

 of rendering Barren Land fruitful. London, 1829. 8vo. 21s. bds. 

 Mr. Harley had the merit of introducing various improvements in the 

 neighbourhood of Glasgow, besides his dairy system, such as warm baths, a 

 baking establishment; and he gave a powerful stimulus to the spirit of build- 

 ing in the Willow-bank suburb. Like many practical men, however, he 

 is but a poor book-maker, and has produced a bulky volume, rather dull and 

 heavy to read. His dairy system is essentially that of the Dutch and 

 Flemish ; and the only novelty that we can find in his manner of treating 

 pigs is that of having a trough of water as a sill to the opening which sepa- 

 rates then feeding place from their sleeping place ; so that the animal can- 

 not pass from the one to the other without wetting, or, as Mi*. Harley says, 

 washing, its feet. The utility of this conceit may be questioned. We 

 know Mr. Harley personally to be a worthy good man, and wish, for his 

 own sake, he had published a half-crown pamphlet with wood-cuts, instead 

 of his guinea book with copperplate engravings and his own portrait. 



M'lntosh, Mr. Charles, C.M.H.S., Gardener to Prince Leopold at Clare- 

 mont, Author of the Practical Gardener and Modern Horticidturist : 

 Flora and Pomona ; or, the British Fruit and Flower Garden : contain- 

 ing Descriptions of the most valuable and interesting Flowers and Fruits 

 cultivated in the Gardens of Great Britain, the Period of their Intro- 

 duction, Botanical Character, Mode of Culture, Time of Flowering, &c. ; 

 with a Definition of all the Botanical and Classical Terms which may 

 occur in the description of the respective subjects. To which will be 

 added, Instructions for Drawing and Colouring Fruits and Flowers, with 

 Directions for mixing the Colours, &c, by Mi*. E. D. Smith, F.L.S. 

 London. In Parts.* 8vo, plates plain in outline, Is. 6d. each Part; 

 coloured, 2s. 6d. : 4to, plain, 2s. ; coloured, 3s. each Part. 

 Bishop, Mr. David: Causal Botany; or, A Treatise on the Causes and 

 Character of Changes in Plants, especially of Changes which are pro- 

 ductive of Subspecies or Varieties. London, 1829. 8vo. 8s. 

 This is an original work on a subject of far more importance than would 

 at first view appear from its title. The author, a scientific botanist, and a 

 practical gardener of great and varied experience, shows that all improve- 

 ment in the plants of agriculture and horticulture, with reference to man, 

 is to be sought for in subspecies or varieties. We have already alluded to 

 the importance of this subject (p. 62.), and in our next Number shall 

 examine Mr. Bishop's treatise in detail. In the meantime, we can safely 

 recommend it to public patronage, as one of the most original works on the 

 science of vegetable culture which has appeared in our time. 



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