372 Betyospedive Criticism. 



well as any of you. I have said before, that every thing the tree produces 

 is the offspring of the tree ; they bear not the tree,' but the tree them ; 

 whether they are branches, leaves, flowers, or fruits, they send nothing 

 back to their parent, and yet they are the most grateful progeny in nature. 

 No animal ever returns the kindness of its parent : it is seldom seen that 

 the chickens scratch for the old hen : but vegetables really are fed from 

 their own offspring ; I mean, from the rotten leaves : a tree actually devours 

 its own offspring. Now, brother-gardeners, I appeal to you (for I will 

 not appeal to those who style themselves the learned) : have you not seen 

 some of your vines break out very weakly in spring, yet by the end of 

 summer the shoots are most luxuriant, with monstrous large leaves 

 (famous mouths, say certain physiologists) ; all blood-suckers, say we, 

 and they are hewn down, to be cast into the oven. And thus would I hew 

 down all such long lumbering letters as that of Mr. Billington, to be put 

 either into the oven or under the boiler. 



P. S. I fear this will be thought a long lumbering letter, so you may 

 hew it down and cast it where you please. — John Howden. Heath House, 

 Feb. 24. 1833. 



Sir, I feel as if again called upon to come to the scratch ; for, al- 

 though I wrote to you only a few weeks ago, I had then only once read 

 over Mr. Billington's long communication (p. 50 — 59.), and wrote my 

 reply right off hand, without any corrections ; and I never retain dupli- 

 cates. On again perusing Mr. Billington's letter, I am the more convinced 

 of the truth of my doctrine ; and, as we are both writing solely for the good 

 of the public, our very opposite opinions should be fairly weighed in the 

 balance by all who are desirous of proving all things, and holding fast that 

 which is good. I am still determined to stand or fall by my bill ; and, 

 should I be cast off, like a withered leaf, I shall have the consolation of 

 thinking that I have done my duty. Here, then, I take my stand ; here 

 I take my text : — We are all of the earth earthly : all food comes from 

 the earth, either directly or indirectly ; whether it be for the support of 

 animal or vegetable life. Air, light, and heat are all absorbents : they take 

 all, but return nothing but a shower of rain, which may wash and clean 

 the leaves of a tree, and give moisture to its roots, which are indeed its 

 only mouths. The vital air we breathe does not support us ; but, on the 

 contrary, it really exhausts us, if not supplied with more substantial food ; 

 witness Ann Moor, the famous fasting woman of Tutbury; or, on the 

 other hand, a live toad in the heart of a tree, or in a solid block of marble. 

 Heat, air, and light are the chief promoters of vegetation. Electricity 

 also acts a conspicuous part. It is an established fact that heat expands 

 and cold condenses all substances. It is heat that causes the buds of 

 trees to swell ; air causes them to expand, and light gives them colour and 

 taste or flavour. This is not from their imbibing any thing from these 

 elements, but from these elements abstracting certain fluids, leaving the 

 grosser matter to form various shades, colours, and consistencies of the 

 various species of vegetable productions. Heat, air, light, and cleanliness 

 all promote the growth of both animals and vegetables : but we should be 

 very wrong in saying that the skin of animals, or the leaves of vegetables, 

 imbibed any nourishment from such sources. As well might we say that 

 a dirty child derived nourishment from the soap and water it was washed 

 with, or that a horse got nourishment out of the currycomb. The changes 

 of atmospheric pressure have a wonderful effect on vegetation : if you 

 take a withered shrivelled fruit of any kind — say an apple — and put it 

 into a vessel to which an air-pump can be attached, and work the pump 

 gradually, the fruit will as gradually swell to its original size and plump 

 form. If such apple had been growing on a tree, the air so di'awn out of 

 it would have acted as a sucker-pump, and drawn up sap to supply the 



