290 Frauds of Correspondents upon Readers of 



judging from their present practice, seem not to have been 

 actuated by such laudable intentions. These persons, appa- 

 rently from an ostentatious desire of bringing themselves and 

 their plans before the public, or from some other mean design, 

 )Kave set forward, as a great acquisition to the horticultural 

 world, the result of some experiments intended to set aside 

 established methods of practice ; but, being unable to substan- 

 tiate their discoveries by reason, they are often obliged to 

 appeal- to their own success, or to what they choose to call 

 undisputed facts. The language, too, is sometimes peculiar, 

 and savours not a little of presumption. You may observe in 

 almost every instance, the participles " convinced " and " con- 

 verted," preceded by determinate adverbs in the superlative 

 degree, such as " most fully," " most completely," or 

 6 * most decidedly." These practices, although bad enough, are, 

 I am sorry to say, only precursors to one infinitely worse; 

 for the communications, not being fixed upon solid bases, 

 must give way to after experience : and accordingly we often 

 find the very projectors themselves returning to the plans 

 their ingenious communications were intended to supersede. 

 I know several whose present practice actually gives the lie 

 to their self-sufficient papers. Some persons with whom I 

 have conversed upon this subject, assert their knowledge of 

 similar cases ; and from this I conclude that such instances are 

 by no means uncommon. But have any of them had the 

 honesty to publish their discontinuance of practices which 

 they have found untenable, in order to prevent others from 

 adopting their plans, at the risk of much trouble, expense, 

 and disappointment ? No : not a single instance has ap- 

 peared. To speak about the impropriety of such conduct 

 would be useless; its inconsistency and injustice must be evi- 

 dent to every one. 



I do not wish you to suppose that I write in this manner 

 without sufficient facts to prove my statements. I could give 

 you several ; but one example will suffice at this time, and I 

 will leave the rest to some other opportunity : in the mean 

 time hoping the authors will save me the trouble, by confess- 

 ing it themselves where their plans have failed : as, if they do 

 not, I shall take the liberty to do it for them. For the ex^ 

 ample I refer to, I must first invite you to turn to Vol. I. 

 p. 70., where you have abridged a paper from the London 

 Horticultural Society's Transactions, on the growing of pines 

 without bottom heat, communicated by Mr. Stewart, gardener 

 to Sir Robert Preston, Bart., Valleyfield, near Culross, Perth- 

 shire. Mr. Stewart says he is " fully convinced of the effi- 

 ciency of his method, after three years' experience. " He wishes, 

 also, that his experience may in some degree tend to establish 



