By the Rev. George Swayne. 317 



in the Filbert orchards in the county of Kent, in conjunction 

 with the result of the above detailed experiments ; I feel fully 

 persuaded that the possessors of Filbert-trees, as well those 

 who have adopted the Kentish method of pruning, as those 

 who never prune at all, would find their account in suspend- 

 ing a few small branches of catkins of the common Hazel on 

 the tops of their Filbert-trees, at the season of dispersing 

 their farina ; not only as making an addition to the too scanty 

 number of those naturally remainining thereon, after escaping 

 from the knife of the primer, the depredation of birdsfand 

 the inclemency of the winter, but (if my conjecture be well 

 founded) as supplying them with pollen of a more fertilizing 

 nature than their own. 



With respect to the extensive Filbert grounds in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Maidstone ; as it would be quite futile to recom- 

 mend a levy of auxiliaries from the lanes and hedges, or even 

 from the woods and coppices ; for concerns of such magni- 

 tude, it may deserve the consideration of the occupiers, whe- 

 ther, under the continuance of their present mode of pruning, 

 it would not be worth while to try the experiment of intro- 

 ducing a few growing plants of the native or wild Hazel into 

 their plantations of Filbert-trees, which last may be consider- 

 ed as exotics, and suffering them to grow at large, without 

 attempting to despoil them of any of their golden honours ; 

 as I entertain a strong suspicion that the very frequent failures 

 of the Filbert-crops, (Mr. Williamson tells us that they 

 totally fail three years out of five) are in great measure oc- 

 casioned by a deficiency either in number or in power, of the 

 male-blossoms. Without some such auxiliary dependence, I 

 should much prefer Mr. Williamson's method of pruning to 



