at Chatstaorthi in Derbyshire . 391 



where lialf the trees round the house do not require cutting 

 down. 



" In recommending arboretums to those who have got but a 

 limited extent of ground, you should advise them not to plant 

 varieties. We intend doing so, because our space is unlimited : 

 but, if this practice were to become general, the nurserymen 

 would soon furnish us with catalogues of 20,000 species and 

 varieties ; which would put a damp to arboretums at once, from 

 the impossibility both of purchasing the plants, and of finding 

 room for them : and besides, in a few years, the species and 

 varieties would be so confounded, that they would, in many 

 cases, not be distinguishable from each other. I shall keep a 

 young man constantly examining the trees and shrubs in our 

 arboretum, till I have removed every thing from it that is not 

 perfectly distinct, and rendered it in every respect as perfect as it 

 can be made." 



The plants will be named on wooden tallies, in the form of 

 the letter T. These tallies will be made out of heart of oak, 

 which is first steamed in order to draw out any sap which it 

 may contain, and next boiled for a long time in linseed oil. 

 After this the tally receives three coats of black paint, and 

 when this is perfectly dry the names are written in white paint. 

 The size of the tallies will vary according to the size of the plants ; 

 but the smallest of them will be sufficiently large to admit of 

 the names being read at 10 yards' distance, and the largest 

 ones, which of course will be placed in front of the largest trees, 

 and these will naturally be farthest from the walk, may be read 

 at 20 yards' distance or more. Each tree or shrub will have 

 its scientific name on the first line ; its native country on the 

 second line ; its year of introduction, and the height it attains in 

 its native country, on the third line ; and its English name, and 

 the year in which it was planted in the arboretum, on the fourth 

 and last line. At the commencement of every order, sub-order, 

 or tribe, there will be an extra large tally, containing the name of 

 the order, and the sub-order, or tribe, in conspicuous characters ; 

 and, in order to distinguish these, at a distance, from the tallies 

 containing the names, they will be painted white, and the letters 

 black. 



Chatsworth, June 10. 1835. 



With Mr. Paxton's remarks on the subject of varieties, we 

 entirely concur. The frivolous distinctions made by some nur- 

 serymen, with a view of getting something new, which they 

 hope will, at least, be in demand among the trade, is in many 

 cases next to ridiculous; and we are certain that, in these days, 

 it has the very opposite effect from that which they intend it 



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