466 ON USEFUL AND BOOK I. 



as the acorn and the beech-mast ; some again are poisonous, 

 as the berries of the deadly nightshade, and those of the meze- 

 rion. The observations which follow, along with characteristic 

 distinctions, comprise what may be called particular properties 

 of trees. 



12. The roots of trees are as much varied below ground, as 

 the stems and branches are above the surface. Some spread 

 themselves horizontally, as those of the pine and the fir tribe ; 

 others send down perpendicular roots to a great depth, as those 

 of the oak and the chesnut. There is a medium between these 

 two extremes, in those of the lime and the beech. 



13. The modes of propagating trees and shrubs are various. 

 Some are raised from, seeds, as most forest trees, such as the 

 oak, ash, elm, larch, &c. ; others from layers, as the lime, pla- 

 tanus, rose, and most shrubs ; others from cuttings, as the pop- 

 lar, willow, honeysuckle, &c. ; others from suckers, as the abele, 

 gale spirea, &c. Others are propagated by ingrafting, as the 

 weeping ash, &c. others by inoculation, as the double-blos- 

 somed almond, and the weeping cherry. And some kinds are, 

 or may be, propagated from the roots, as the thorn, meze- 

 rion, &c. 



14. With respect to the natural soils of trees : some love a 



