470 Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Sfc. 



Art. II. Catalogue of Works on Gardening, Agriculture, Botany, 

 Rural Architecture, fyc, lately published, with some Account of those 

 considered the more interesting. 



Algje Maris Mediterranei et Adriatici, Observationes in Diagnosin Specierum et 

 Dispositionem Generum. Auctore Jacobo G. Agardh. The Algae of the 

 Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas, &c. 8vo, pp. 157. Paris, 1842. 



Eighty-three genera and two hundred and ninety three species are described, 

 with their synonymes, habitats, and every other desirable particular. They 

 are arranged under the following six tribes : — Ceramieae, Cryptonemeae, 

 Chondrieae, Rhodomeleae, Sphaerococcordeas, and Delesseriecs. 



Remarks on the Management, or rather the Mis- Management, of Woods, Planta- 

 tions, and Hedge-row Timber. By J. West, Land- Agent, &c. &c, North 

 Collingham, Newark, Notts. 8vo, pp.128. Newark and London, 1842. 



In looking over this work for an extract to quote, we were glad to find the 

 following : — 



" My own experience, as well as that of many others whom I have con- 

 sulted, convinces me that the notion, which so extensively prevails, as to the 

 injurious effects of pruning, is decidedly incorrect. It may have had its origin 

 in the evidence of injury to timber, which has been furnished by injudicious 

 pruning; and thus what would have else been universally seen to be necessary 

 has come to be almost universally condemned : but this is a common error, 

 and has been too often shown to render it necessary for me to expose it here. 

 Some very valuable observations on pruning have been published by Mr. Main, 

 in' his excellent little work, entitled ' The Forest Planter and Primer's As- 

 sistant.' At p. 53. the following paragraph occurs : — ' But the only part of 

 a woodman's duty which does not appear to be well defined, or at least not 

 generally agreed upon by practical men, is relative to the necessity of carefully 

 pruning and managing the trees during the first fifteen or twenty years of their 

 growth.' 



" I quote the last member of the above with entire approbation; that is, so 

 far as the necessity for pruning is recognised in it ; and I further think that 

 the reasons which are given by Mr. Main for pruning, and the manner in which 

 he has illustrated his principle — the clear and satisfactory way in which he 

 has treated the whole subject — entitle him to the confidence, and to the 

 thanks, of all who are interested in the growth of trees." (p. 89.) 



" Mr. Main's is an able and lucid examination of the question of pruning, 

 and, to my thinking, most fully and satisfactorily settles it. He shows that 

 when pruning is properly done, and when it is commenced early enough, and 

 so managed as to secure the desired result in fifteen or twenty years, it may 

 not only be done with safety, and without material injury to the timber, but 

 that no other plan or practice will answer so well. This he clearly proves 

 upon scientific data, familiarly illustrated by numerous plates, and confirmed 

 by practical statements." (p. 92.) 



" Every considerable estate ought to have a person upon it, whose attention 

 shall exclusively be devoted to the supervision of the woods, plantations, and 

 hedge-rows, &c. He should be a well-educated and an intelligent man ; and 

 should be so well paid for his services, as to feel that his employer has a moral 

 claim upon him, for the entire devotion of his mind, as well as his physical 

 powers, to the efficient discharge of his duties." (p. 118.) 



There is a good deal of useful matter in this book, but it would be greatly 

 improved by infusing into it the system of Mr. Billington and Mr. Cree, as 

 well as that of Mr. Main. The great advantage of Cree's system is, that it is 

 reduced to a rule as plain as the simplest rule in arithmetic. We recommend 

 Mr. West to consult what is written on Mr. Cree's system in the current 

 volume of this magazine, and in that for 1841. The systems of Mr. Billington 



