Biggar. 437 



assistance of notes and sketches to refresh the memory. We left 

 Corehouse ; and the kind and most intelligent family of Lord 

 Corehouse, with deep regret, and can only console ourselves by 

 hoping that, at some future time, we may have an opportunity of 

 visiting both again. 



We were sorry to observe, by a Railroad Report then just 

 issued from parliament, that a line of road is projected to pass 

 through the estate of Corehouse, between the house and the stable 

 offices. Fortunately there is little chance of this line being carried 

 into execution, otherwise it would completely destroy Corehouse 

 as a country residence. 



Corehouse to Peebles. Mr. Cree, the nurseryman at Lanark, 

 described to us some immense silver firs, planted by Lord Hynd- 

 ford, which had lately been cut down on a neighbouring estate, 

 and were the largest, he thinks, in Scotland ;. and he recommended 

 us to visit Carstairs, where, having seen it in 1804, we were aware 

 that there were many fine old trees. Time, however, would 

 not permit, and besides it was Sunday ; so we passed on to 

 Biggar, noticing some curious branchy-headed larches in the 

 hedge-rows near Hyndford Bridge, and that the pasture fields 

 were covered with weeds, chiefly ragwort, ripening their seeds* 

 Worse farming we did not see in any part of Scotland, though 

 here and there we found preparations for thorough draining. 



Biggar. Mr. Cree's mode of pruning trees we have already 

 done justice to in p. 34.; and, as it is now being very generally 

 discussed in the gardening newspapers, and apparently as ge- 

 nerally approved of, we hope it will soon be adopted in all 

 plantations the object of which is to have as much of the timber 

 produce as possible in a straight trunk. We call this mode of 

 pruning Mr. Cree's, without enquiring whether something like 

 it may not have been practised by Mr. Billington or others, 

 because Mr. Cree first reduced it to a regular system. It must 

 not be forgotten, that where ornament is the object, or, in other 

 words, where trees are to be encouraged to assume their natural 

 shapes, neither Mr. Cree's mode of pruning, nor any other of a 

 similar nature, should be adopted with young trees. We do not 

 mean by this that ornamental trees are never to be touched with 

 the knife or the saw ; on the contrary, all dead branches we 

 would cut off close to the bole ; when a tree offered a partial 

 exclusion of a desirable view, we would cut off part of its 

 branches; when it showed all branch and no stem, appearing 

 like a gigantic shrub, we would confer dignity on its expression 

 by showing part of the trunk; and, above all, when it stood near 

 a building, we would, if necessary, remove branches in such a 

 manner as to improve its effect as part of the group to which it 

 belonged, to prevent it from obscuring too much of the house as 



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