[ ] 



be taken on the authority of my own af- 

 furance only ; as alfo that I have already de- 

 monftrated the good efFedts of knife bark- 

 Jlitting on young Oaks, that there needs no 

 other arguments thereon than what have 

 been given. I would have no man on fu- 

 perficial motives, make light of the benefits 

 arifing from bark-JliUtng in general, no more 

 than from contufion : Becaufe that great and 

 ftrange efFeds often proceed from fimple 

 principles. Further — to inftance one mate- 

 rial efFeft of the former, not before menti- 

 oned ; I may appeal to an eftabliflied ex- 

 pedient to make a young crooked tree, of 

 any fort, grow flrait ; namely by Jlitting the 

 bark on the concave fide, which it performs, 

 as I conceive, by only the hollow being 

 thereby filled up with additional wood. 



But in reference to either of the per* 

 formances, I fliould not omit to intimate, 

 that fuch practices may not lie under difpa- 

 ragement for vain attempts ; that there are 

 fome Oaks fo full beforehand in their 

 bodies of fuch minutiae^ or continued clufter 

 of fuperfoetations, that moft will be tired 

 with drejjing them. Yet I have many times 

 had the fortunCj for experiment fake, to get 



ths 



