THE planter's guide. 



19 



friend of his own, that he had there learned the method of 

 successfully removing an entire orchard of old trees, as 

 practised by the latter ; that the trees, after the third and 

 fourth year, produced an abundant crop of fruit, with the 

 fairest promise of thriving luxuriantly, and continuing 

 their shade to a late period. This, he adds, was an inte- 

 resting lesson for him at an advanced time of life, when 

 men naturally wish to plant for themselves, although they 

 generally do so for posterity/'' Virgil, in the same way, 

 in describing his old Corycian, takes care to celebrate his 

 skill in the planting of wood of a large size, as one of the 

 accomplishments of a Roman husbandman. t But no 

 ancient author, as far as I know, has left us any body of 

 practical precepts respecting the execution. The only 

 two who have handed down any thing Hke a description 

 of it are the younger Seneca, who. lived in the time of 

 Nero, and Anatolius, a Greek physician, and one of the 

 Geoponic writers, who, according to the best critics, was 

 contemporary with the Emperor Constantino. Ij. These 

 accounts, therefore, may properly be considered as de- 

 scribing the Greek and the Roman methods of transplant- 

 ing ; and as the subject is cuiious, it may be worth while 

 to give their respective statements in their own words. 



Anatolius, as far as we can judge, possessed consider- 

 able skill in this department. " If," says he "you would 

 remove a large tree to advantage, open a very deep trench 

 or pit. (This planter, we may suppose, had a very porous 

 subsoil.) Be careful to cut away the spray and smaller 

 branches, but without injuring the larger ones ; and also 

 to leave the whole of the roots entire and untouched. 

 Then place the tree carefully in the pit, covering up its 

 roots with a quantity of good mould and manure. Observe, 



Note V. f Note VI. 



t Niclas, Proleg. in Geopon. p. 48. 



