ON THE ROOTS OF TKEES. g4^S 



The roots of fruit trees, herbaceous and annual pir.nts, will 

 be given in ray next letter. 



References io the Engraving, Plate Fill. 



Fig. 1, View cf the five rows of alburnum found in the 

 second part of the root. 



Fig. 2. View of the sort of folding of tlie oak and all forest 

 trees. Whether the shape of the wood be circular, ovalj ov 

 any other shape, it always folds in this manner. 



Fig, 3. View of the manner of folding of the firs : it all 

 joins underneath, though so ranch doubled under. 



Fig. 4. View of the piece of wood showing the spiral wire 

 running round the sap-vessels as it does in every slender cylin- 

 der of the wood. They are so thin, that more than 150 may 

 go to an inch in length. 



Fig. 5. I'he wood showing the penciling of the folds by the 

 spiral wire on the oak. 



Fig. 6. The hook of a young root of fir. 



Fig. 7. The root of the Weymouth pine reduced. 

 Great care should be taken, if the tree must come from tlie 

 nurseries, not to plant them too old. It is astonishing, when 

 you dissect wood, what a difference there is between wood thus 

 planted, and wood never removed and growing from the seed ; 

 there is a regularity in the latter, an evenness of grain ; particu- 

 larly if it is all the same degree of hardness ; not a piece almost 

 iron in one place, and perfectly sofi in another ; it is all equally 

 firm and solid. But I have repeatedly found in trees planted, 

 large alternate layers of hard and soft wood, that must make it 

 almost useless to the carpenter. There is also another defect, 

 which arises from allowing people to cut off large branches 

 from trees : the piece thus exposed will either decay and get 

 the rot, or will grow as hard as stone in the middle, while all 

 the circular part will be as soft as pith : if, therefore, three or 

 four large branches are cut from a fine oak, at ever such a dis- 

 tance of time, it will render that tree extremely inferior, in 

 point of wood, to that which never lost a large branch. If a 

 branch grows too low, it should be cut oif at first shooting, 

 when it can have no bad effect. There is not in nature any 

 thing which deceives so much, as buying trees while sanding, 

 unless the person is very knowing in wood, so various are the^ 



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