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THE planter's GUIDE. 



In this view of the two methods, I am not conscious to 

 myself of having exaggerated the evils, or concealed any 

 of the advantages, attendant on the mutilating system ; 

 at least, if the opinions of Miller, Marshall, Pontey, and 

 other skilful planters and phytologists, be well founded. 

 Should any of my readers conceive that I have too highly 

 coloured the delineation of the preservative, let them do 

 me the honour to visit this place, and judge for themselves. 

 Which of the two methods is deserving of the preference, 

 I leave to the decision of the impartial. But I will take 

 the liberty to add, that as I write chiefly for the practical, 

 not for the speculative improver, probably those planters 

 will be found to judge most candidly, in this competition 

 between the systems, who have themselves tried the 

 practice of the art. 



Thus I have endeavoured, in the course of the foregoing 

 observations, to develop and illustrate certain principles 

 for the improvement of this art, and also that of general 

 planting ; which principles, though derived from science, 

 may not attract the notice they deserve. It is only on 

 an acquaintance with vegetable physiology and the 

 anatomy of plants, with the habits they display and the 

 organs and properties they possess, that any sound founda- 

 tion can be laid for practical arboriculture. The lessons 

 suggested by this inquiry, and the conclusions to which 

 it has led, are the fruit of long experience and a careful 

 induction of facts and experiments, the only safe and true 

 method of philosophising on any subject. From what 

 has been said, the inexperienced planter will see of how 

 much importance it is for him in this, as in othe^ things, 

 to distrust established dogmas, to adopt some phytological 

 inquiry as the groundwork of his practice, and to think 

 for himself. 



Yet there are those who may imagine that, in a treatise 



