THE planter's GUIDE. 



347 



rarely damaged hj the winds ; and sliould they occasion- 

 ally suffer, there is no tree we know whose wounds so 

 speedily heal. 



The Lime loves a deep and rich loam, but with a dry 

 subsoil, in which species of ground it will shoot surpris- 

 ingly, and attain a great size. But it is singular that 

 this essential requisite in the subsoil has not been suffici- 

 ently attended to by preceding writers, and, I am inclined 

 to think, as little by planters ; else we should much oftener 

 see this elegant tree in perfection. A subsoil of cold 

 clay or bog it abhors ; and a fine Lime I belieye, of large 

 dimensions, cannot be pointed out upon such a bottom. 

 So adverse indeed is it to wet, that when it begins to 

 languish in consequence of being planted on a thin 

 mould, with a stiff clay below, it may be successively 

 earthed up Hke celery in the kitchen garden, and thereby 

 got into vigorous health. The process is a simple one. 

 A body of good mould, about eighteen inches deep, and 

 perhaps four or five yards in diameter, is laid upon the 

 surface round the tree. A new set of roots from the 

 stem is speedily thrown out, immediately above the old 

 ones ; and the whole subsistence of the tree, together with 

 a renovation of its vigour, is supplied by the superinduced 

 stratum. The practice is probably new ; but he who tries 

 it with care on a Lime which he is anxious to renovate, 

 will find it to be successful.*'^ 



The utility of the Lime, as now considered, is not 

 great ; so little that, when compared with that of the Oak, 

 the Ash, and some other trees, I should not hesitate to 

 recommend it as a suitable companion to the Horse- 

 Chestnut in wooding the parks of Scotland, wherever the 

 owner is partial to his place, and the estate happens to be 



* Note XII. 



