52 Causes of Ignorance in Arboriculture, 



pruning, and the functions of branches, are in substance the 

 same that I published some years since. 



I cannot see the analogy of Mr. Howden's comparison of 

 the leaves of a tree and the wool of a sheep : " that we might 

 divest the tree of its leaves in summer without injuring it, if 

 we could keep the sun from blistering it." This is wonderful, 

 if it were true ; as it is evident a tree could make little, if any, 

 progress, till it had produced fresh leaves. 



Mr. Howden further asserts that " the branches are ohItj 

 the offspring of the tree ; " and quotes St. Paul to prove it. 

 That " they draw up sap only to enrich themselves," and 

 that they are " complete bloodsuckers ; " consequently, that 

 they add nothing to the stock whence they sprang : a very 

 ungrateful progeny, to be sure, if they return nothing ! 



Before I quote any author who seems to be of my opinion, 

 to corroborate what I shall have to say, I would just premise 

 that there appear to be but three ways, as I humbly conceive, 

 by which the trunk and branches of a tree are increased in 

 bulk. First, by the descending radicles, roots, filaments, 

 tissue, or fibres, as they are variously termed, from the leaves 

 and leaf-buds annually, as Dr. Darwin supposed. Secondly, 

 from ascending fibres from the root or collar upwards. Or, 

 thirdly, in a horizontal direction, from the sap only, in its 

 ascension and descension, or rather flowing state, adding to 

 the trunk, like paint or plaster to a wall, or, as Mr. Howden 

 says, like as candles are increased in thickness by frequent 

 dipping. In that case, one would suppose every part of the 

 stem, branch, and twig would thicken equally alike, which, we 

 find, is not the case. Then, if timber is not increased by 

 something that grows longitudinallj^, it must, according to 

 Mr. Howden and others, be by the condensation of the sap, 

 in the fashion of candlemaking. Query, Were this the case, 

 would not timber, v/hen dry, break to pieces like candles ? and 

 if it would, Mr. Howden, perhaps, can inform us of what use 

 it would be. 



Now, we see, as the young shoots of a tree increase in length, 

 they increase in thickness, from the extremities downwards or 

 backwards ; so also with the branches and the trunks. But 

 if the increase in thickness of the timber and branches were 

 from the root upwards, one would suppose, by analogy, that 

 the case would be reversed, and that every part of a tree 

 would be thicker upwards. What sort of trees they would 

 be, I cannot conceive, or how they would be supported in the 

 earth : there must be cleverer men, I presume, than either 

 Mr. Thom or Sir Henry Steuart, to transplant and support 

 them afterwards. 



There is a nectarine tree in my garden, which I have been 



