208 Arboricultural Works. 



through our pages, to give the writer and the public the benefit of their 

 animadversions, be they commendatory or critical. 



The writer's remarks on soil are admirable, as teaching persons con- 

 cerned in planting the necessity of greater definiteness in their frequent 

 mentions of soil. He distinguishes " heath soil," p. 48., and " peat soil," 

 p. 51.; and exhibits the constituent ingredients of each, as learned from 

 chemical analysis. He discusses ten prevalent kinds of soil in the same 

 manner ; but we notice the above two kinds for the sake of remarking, that 

 what he has done in a scientific manner, we had had the pleasure to do a 

 few weeks before the appearance of his book, in an empirical one : see the 

 remarks " On Heath mould and Peat," Vol. VII. p. 285. 



At p. 71. a list of the insects which are most injurious to forest trees is 

 given. Among these, Scolytus destructor occurs, and in the remarks sub- 

 joined to this list is denominated " a formidable insect." The writer deems 

 this pretty little animal guilty of the murder of healthy living trees, and 

 decries it accordingly ; but remarks, " It has been supposed to be the effect 

 of the disease, rather than the cause of it." In viewing the historical cir- 

 cumstances appertaining to the Scolytus destructor, the writer refers to the 

 well known case of the trees in Camberwell Grove, all the circumstances 

 relative to which will be found detailed in Vol. I. p. 378., and some anno- 

 tations on those details are presented p. 383., which go to " suppose " the 

 Scolytus destructor the " effect rather than the cause " of the death of these 

 trees. Since that period, a writer in the Magazine of Natural History 

 (Vol. IV. p. 152—156., published March, 1831) stoutly contends, and 

 exhibits arguments derived from experiment and patient research to prove, 

 that " the Scolytus destructor is altogether guiltless of causing the death 

 of healthy growing trees." Which of the two opinions is the true one, 

 future observation must determine. 



The kind of tree, whether living or dying, in which Scolytus destructor 

 is most usually found, is elm ; but in the Treatise on Planting before us, 

 p. 73., is this remark : — " The pine is liable to be injured by the insect 

 before mentioned, in the same manner as the elm." Is not this a mistake ? 

 Are not the erosions in pine bark effected by Hylurgus piniperda? and are 

 not this insect and the Scolytus destructor essentially distinct ? Of the 

 Hylurgus piniperda under the name of Bostrichus piniperda, see a figure 

 and a short notice in Vol. II. p. 355. — J. D. 



Horton, Richard, Land Steward and Surveyor : Tables for planting and 

 valuing Underwood and Woodland; also Lineal, Superficial, Cubical, 

 Wages, Marketing, and Decimal Tables : together with Tables for con- 

 verting Land Measure from one denomination into another, and Instruc- 

 tions for measuring Pound Timber. Small 8vo. Saffron Walden, and 

 Longman and Co., London, 1832. 6s. 6d. 



A most useful work for bailiffs, foresters, stewards, &c. 



A Woodman of Arden [a Warwickshire Clergyman, we believe] : The Mid- 

 land Forester. 12mo. Birmingham, Wrightson, 1829. 6d. 



Concise, judicious, and practical. The author wisely answers the ques- 

 tion, Which is the most profitable employment for capital, planting for 

 timber, for shelter, or for ornament ? by recommending ornamental planting 

 as the most profitable for a populous and increasing neighbourhood. " It 

 often adds, in a very few years, cent per cent to the value of an estate." 

 (p. 51.) 



Henslow, Rev. J. S., M.A., Professor of Botany in the University of 

 Cambridge : On the Examination of a Hybrid Digitalis. A quarto 

 pamphlet, being a detached copy of the article published in the Trans- 



