Geology^ as a Study for Gardeners. 433 



Art. II. Importance of Geology, as a Study for Gardeners. 

 By Peter Mackenzie. 



It has been said by an eminent philosopher, that " man is the 

 servant and interpreter of Nature." I am not aware of any class 

 of men that have better opportunities for studying the v^'ide field 

 of created objects, and making that knowledge bear upon the 

 welfare of their fellow-men, than gardeners. The situation in 

 which they are placed by Providence affords them facilities for 

 unfolding many of the secret workings of Nature that must be 

 diligently sought after to be rightly understood. Their own 

 existence in a great measure depends upon observation and ex- 

 periment ; and the more these are directed in a right course, in 

 proportion will their own advantage and that of their employers 

 be furthered. How necessary, then, must it be for them to 

 endeavour to trace the relation which one department of creation 

 has with another ! Geology, that noble and interesting branch 

 of knowledge, ought to form part of a gardener's study. It not 

 unfrequently happens that gardeners have to remove from one 

 district of country to another : at one time they may be working 

 in soil that is chiefly formed by the disintegration of granite and 

 gneiss and mica slate ; at another time it may be that sort of soil 

 the earthy ingredients of which may be composed almost entirely 

 of sandstone or amorphous trap ; or it may be a calcareous soil, 

 or those that are formed by diluvial or alluvial deposits. It is 

 well known that different varieties of soil require different treat- 

 ment ; and how to treat them in the best way ought to be the 

 object of every cultivator of the soil. And while they are actively 

 engaged in acquiring knowledge for themselves, they may at the 

 same time be the means of extending the knowledge of geology 

 to^ others. Those who are placed upon the grauwacke group 

 may be useful in collecting remains of the A'\gse, i^ilices, jEquise- 

 taceae, and Lycopodiacese of a former world. Others, on the 

 carbonaceous formation, could direct their attention to the Coni- 

 ferae, Cacteae, and EuphoYhzdce{^. With a little perseverance, 

 they might obtain knowledge that would enable them to stand 

 upright in the presence of closeted philosophers, and exchange 

 information with any F.R.S. they might come in contact with. 

 While they may become the auxiliaries of such men as Buckland 

 and Lyell, and Murchison, on the one hand, they may on the 

 other, be the means of sowing the seeds of useful instruction 

 among a rural population, and leading their minds to closer 

 contact with the works of their great Preserver and Benefactor ; 

 and thus, by the subordinate agency of gardeners, many may be 

 turned from grovelling pursuits to seek higher and more en- 

 nobling food to nourish their immortal minds. 

 West Plean, August 13.1841. 



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