436 Retrospective Criticism. 



detailed account of the treatment pursued by himself, his ultimate failure, and 

 unqualified disapproval of the system. That Mr. Fish has been unsuccessful 

 in his first trial will not, I imagine, excite any surprise in the minds of those 

 who are acquainted with the practical operations of gardening ; for, to use Mr. 

 Fish's own words, " he judged from first principles ;" and as, unlike those of 

 a mechanical science, principles in the art of gardening are liable to a vast 

 number of exceptions, success can never be insured by a literal adherence to 

 prescribed rules; a fact, with which, I think, I may fairly presume few persons 

 are better acquainted than Mr. Fish. It may, therefore, be mentioned that the 

 efforts of even the most skilful practitioner, although made on sound and clear 

 principles, are, nevertheless, attended with many probabilities of disappoint- 

 ment; and, although the trial made by Mr. Fish is deserving of consideration, 

 he will, I am sure, readily admit that the general way in which he has alluded 

 to those "individuals" to whom he applied for information respecting the 

 result of their experiments, as well as " all" those of his acquaintances in his 

 own neighbourhood, without even giving a single name, is not a very definite 

 or satisfactory mode of reasoning, and scarcely fair in a case like the present, 

 where it is clearly meant as evidence to prove that Mr. Mearns has published 

 an untruth. So far, however, as Mr. Fish's own experiment is concerned, it 

 ought to be borne in mind the more particularly, as he has himself candidly 

 admitted the fact, that his own mind was unfavourably biased previously to 

 making the experiment. It may also be worthy of remark, that the trial was 

 commenced in the beginning of December, and the result forwarded for public- 

 ation by the 24th of March. It is, therefore, to be regretted, that one whose 

 abilities eminently qualify him either to benefit or injure a cause did not con- 

 tent himself with stating the result of his own experiment, or, if accompanied 

 with comment, to use such language only as, on cool reflection, he himself 

 could approve, and as one gardener has a right to expect from another. As the 

 whole of Mr. Fish's paper is, of course, intended to apply to Mr. Mearns, few, 

 who know any thing of the latter, will differ from me in thinking that he had 

 reason to expect to be addressed in more respectful language than such as 

 " the delusive vanity of individuals, who, in order to bring themselves into 

 prominent notice, have, without sufficient proof," (kc. It is surely unneces- 

 sary to mention, that, as a first-rate horticulturist, Mr. Mearns has stood at 

 the head of his profession for nearly thirty years ; and, if proof of this be re- 

 quired, abundant evidence will be found in the Encyclopcedia of Gardening. 

 It may be further remarked, that, among the senior branches of the profession, 

 there are many valuable practices in gardening that have never yet been given 

 to the public ; but, unless gardeners are protected, and their opinions treated 

 with more courtesy than has been the case with Mr. Mearns, in this instance 

 at least, it is to be feared but few of them will venture to jjublish. 



Within the last three years the gardens at Welbeck have undergone the most 

 complete renovation of any place with which I am acquainted. The vegetable 

 and forcing departments, in addition to the walls and hot-houses being stocked 

 with healthy trees bearing excellent crops of fruit, have all that neat and pleas- 

 ing appearance common to a new garden. The melon ground is within the 

 walls, and heated with steam through perforated pipes ; there are no linings to 

 displease the eye, and the spaces between the pits being covered with gravel, 

 gives the whole an unusually clean and orderly appearance. In passing 

 through the hot-houses, among many other coiled vines of this spring that 

 were bearing fruit, I particularly noticed one in a square box, labelled " excited, 

 Feb. 1835," and counted 15 bunches of fruit on it, with the berries well 

 swelled and coloured. The others were chiefly black Hamburgh muscats, 

 sweet water, &c., in pots of sizes from 16 to 12. The shoots of old wood, 

 above the soil, were fi"om 18 in. to 6 ft. and upwards ; the pots were placed on 

 the front and back curb of the back flue, &c. of the pine-stoves. Many of 

 the shoots, when coiled, would appear to have been very small. There were 

 also many pots labelled " 1834," bearing a still greater quantity of fruit than 

 those of 1835, differing, however, but little in the size or colouring of the fruit. 



