43 



the honour he felt at being connected at this meeting with 

 the distinguished persons around him. 



Dr. Lyon Playfair briefly returned thanks to the 

 Society for having elected him one of its members. 



Professor Liebig made a few observations in the German 

 language, and at the request of the Chairman, Dr. Lyon 

 Playfair stated that Professor Liebig had said, that owing to 

 his ignorance of the English language, he was unable to 

 express, except in his native tongue, his thanks for the 

 honour they had conferred upon him in electing him a mem- 

 ber of the Society. 



The Chairman then called upon Mr. Hamerton to read 

 the following paper. 



ON ARBORICULTURE. BY JAMES HAMERTON, ESQ., HELLI- 



FIELD PEEL, SKIPTON. 



I purpose in the following remarks to demonstrate the 

 great loss which gentlemen suffer in the management of their 

 plantations, by keeping too many trees on the ground, a treat- 

 ment by which they can never arrive at maturity. I next wish 

 to make intelligible the great and valuable increase of wood 

 annually, where trees have room allowed to grow; also the 

 injurious effects of injudicious pruning off large branches. 

 I do not mean to object to what may be done with the knife 

 in a state of infancy, when trees are under six feet high : my 

 observations are aimed at pruning off large branches with the 

 axe and saw. I purpose, by drawings taken from nature, to 

 put It in the power of any gentleman to know ajid calculate 

 what per cent, he is obtaining by the annual increase of his 

 timber. These are the great national advantages I wish to 

 exhibit to view, than which I know not any of greater im- 

 portance. 



I will not allow myself to give the names of the owners of 

 woods and plantations from which my specimens have been 



