44 



THE PLANTEe's GUIDE. 



serves the tops of his trees entire ; but the ordinary 

 method still is to transfer old trees in the same way as 

 nursery-plants — that is, by lopping off a third part, a half, 

 and sometimes the whole of the top, erroneously conceiv- 

 ing that both can be managed on the same principles.'"' 

 They trust implicitly to the plastic powers of the 

 trees to replace these amputations with fresh wood, and 

 to recover themselves from these severities. But they 

 seem entirely to overlook two main objections, that can 

 never be obviated — first, the length of time which the 

 trees require to recover from any considerable curtailment 

 of their heads, and the deaths and failures that occur 

 when they do not recover at all ; and secondly, the com- 

 plete loss of distinctive and peculiar character which 

 ensues, by reducing the heads of the most different trees 

 to one monotonous and formal figure. 



In respect to the first objection, it is not easy to speak 

 to it with perfect accuracy. In the superior climates of 

 England — that is, the districts south of Yorkshire, and 

 particularly the Devonshire, Dorsetshire, and Hampshire 

 coasts, perhaps the candid planter will admit, that fifteen 

 years at least would be necessary to recover any great 

 bulk of top, after severe mutilation. In the districts on 

 the parallel of Yorkshire, and in the best Scotch climates, 

 twenty, and five-and-twenty, would scarcely be adequate ; 

 and in many parts of Scotland they would never recover 

 at all. 



As to the second, and far more important objection, 

 that their distinctive character as trees would be oblite- 

 rated, nature has given to different woody plants quite 

 different and opposite styles of ramification of top. 

 Some, such as the Lime and the Horse-Ohestnut, are 



Note XV. 



