Ballard's Treatise 07i Trees. 68 Y 



ening. It was no part of Mr. Blaikie's plan to " promul- 

 gate a system of late pruning," but rather to diminish the 

 injury done to corn fields by hedgerow trees which had not 

 been properly pruned in due time. Mr. Murphy considers 

 two inches as the maximum diameter of a branch which can 

 be safely removed close to the bole ; larger branches he would 

 foreshorten, that is, cut off at a considerable lateral or second- 

 ary branch. He says that he has " seen more trees, not only 

 disfigured, but destroyed, by late pruning, than by any other 

 malpractice, neglect of thinning alone excepted." 



In the introduction to the agricultural part of the work, we 

 are informed that " Irish farmers, of the lower classes espe- 

 cially, despise any thing that appeal's in print on the subject 

 of agriculture." The same thing might be said of English 

 farmers. The state of agriculture in Ireland is compared 

 with what its state was in Scotland about the beginning of 

 the last century, and their condition said to be nearly the 

 same, except that Ireland is in rather a worse state than we 

 are aware of Scotland having ever been in. Scotland being 

 now the theatre of the most improved agriculture of the three 

 kingdoms, in consequence of the intelligence of her farmers, 

 it is very properly argued that Ireland may become equally 

 so by the same means. At the conclusion of the work are 

 given some extracts, a review, and notices of the transactions 

 of Irish provincial horticultural and agricultural societies. 



We hope Mr. Murphy will gratify us by notes of his per- 

 sonal inspection of Irish gardens of every description, from 

 those of the cottage to those under the care of Mr. Nevin ; 

 whose paper on villa plantations affords a favourable speci- 

 men of his taste. 



Ballard, Stephen: A Treatise on the Nature of Trees and 

 the Pruning of Timber Trees ; showing the Impossibility 

 of increasing the Quantity, or improving the Quality, of 

 Timber by Pruning. 12mo. Ledbury, 1833. 



Mr. Ballard describes the manner of the growth of timber 

 trees very faithfully. Fie maintains that mutilation of any 

 one part of such trees must necessarily affect every other part, 

 by checking its enlargement. Hence he infers, that all pruning 

 is prejudicial; more especially the practice of those who 

 prune off the branches with a view to enlarge the trunk. This 

 latter idea he rejects and with much reason refutes. He is, 

 however, chargeable with misrepresentation, when he asserts 

 that the sole object of the forest pruner is to obtain bulk of 

 stem. This is not true ; because the length of the bole, and the 

 clearness of its grain, are equally the objects and intention of 



