56 Causes of Ignorance in Arboriculture, 



support of the second liypothesis, it had been observed that 

 trees planted on the edge of a Vv'ood, in such a situation as 

 only to have one side exposed to the full benefit of the sun 

 and air, and which, of course, have partially developed their 

 leaves and branches, are found invariably to have their con- 

 centric layers of wood broader on the vigorous than on the 

 stunted side. Mr. Lindley further stated that many ob-- 

 jections had been raised to the second of them, because its 

 first supporters had asserted that each individual leaf, or 

 rather bud, sent down fibres through the whole body of the 

 tree, directly to the ground. This, he observed, seemed to 

 be carrying the doctrine I'ather too far. Now, from what I 

 have observed and stated before, the second hypothesis 

 appears, at least to me, to be the true one. But let us see 

 what further Mr. Lindley has said on this subject, before I 

 state what more I have to say. 



In your Number of this Magazine for October, 1831 

 (Vol. VII. p. 584.), in Mr. Lindley's introduction to his book 

 entitled A Guide to the Orchard and Kitchen-Garden^ I find 

 the following statements on this subject : — " A plant is really 

 an animated body, composed of an infinite multitude of sys- 

 tems of life ; all, indeed, united in a whole, but each having 

 an independent existence. These systems of life are buds, 

 each having a power of emitting descending fibres in the 

 form of roots ; and also of ascending, in the form of stem. 

 The first of these buds is the embryo (in the seed) ; the 

 others are subsequently formed on the stem emitted by the 

 embryo (in the progress of germination). As these secondary 

 buds develope, their descending roots combine, and form the 

 wood. Their ascending stems give rise again to new buds. 



" Budding a7id G7'afti?ig. Budding differs from grafting 

 in this, that a portion of a stem is not made to strike root on 

 another stem ; but, on the contrary, a bud, deprived of all 

 trace of the woody part of a stem, is introduced beneath the 

 bark of the stock, and there induced to strike root." Here, 

 then, we have Mr. Lindley's opinions of the use of branches, 

 leaves, and leaf-buds, in combining and forming the w^ood. 



Let us now see Mr. Main's opinion respecting branches 

 and leaves assisting in the growth of timber. In his Essay on 

 Vegetable Physiology, now under preparation for the press; 

 extracts from which appeai'ed in this Magazine for June last 

 (Vol. VIII. p. 304. and 306.), on pruning forest trees. " If," 

 says he, " we except the failure of the lowest branches of 

 trees, there are few indications in nature showing the necessity 

 of pruning. In natural forests, trees grow generally close 

 together : of course, their branches, being deprived of air and 



