cruickshakk's practical planter. 329 



some severe strictures on planters in general for their 

 ignorance of the proper location of trees. He says, 

 " Scots fir, on soils of a fertile character, is short 

 lived, and the excellence of its timher is in proportion 

 to the slowness of its growth." This is erroneous. 

 We would rather say it is short-lived in bad soil : 

 IMemel fir (Pinus sylvestris), is of very superior qua- 

 lity, very large growthed, and of great age. He also 

 asserts " elm prefers a strong clay soil, and it is per- 

 haps impossible to bring this tree to the utmost size 

 it is capable of attaining in land of a different qua- 

 lity," This is also erroneous. We have seen very 

 beautiful large Scots elms grubbed out from a soil 

 of pure gravel, and we can shov,^ thousands of instances 

 where Scots elms do not thrive well in clay — in rich 

 as well as poor clay. We are aware that in every vo- 

 lume treating of numerous facts, such as Mr Cruick- 

 shank's, many inaccuracies may always be picked out, 

 but the above are rather too prominent. 



Mr Cruickshank censiues the practice of covering 

 fir seeds one-half inch deep in England, referring the 



lar, life — and the instrumentality of zoophytes of the lower order of 

 organization, in hastening this decomposition by the balancing of 

 the attractions of this secondary life, afford a wide field for inves- 

 tigation. Those uncouth sportings of nature quickly appear and 

 disappear as material spectres, feeding on corruption^ and mock- 

 ing at primary life. 



