454 
THE COTTAGE GAEDENER. 
Marcu 17. 
and acquaintances. It is just tlie same with all tlie old 
race of fortunate gardeners whom we happen to know, 
wliile they, each and all of them, deplore the vanity and 
senseless pride and ignorance of a set of would-be-geu- 
tlemen-gardeners, who strut about in “ kids,” perfuming 
tlie whole air about them with the effects of their toilets 
and the affectation of their silly humanity. Then there 
were the two jirincipal court gardeners, Mr. Ingram, 
from Windsor, and Mr. Toward, from Osborne House, 
with iMr. Smith, the Curator of the Royal Gardens, 
Kew'; Mr. Barron, from Elvaston Castle, one of the 
most successful planters of large trees that ever took a 
spade in hand; Mr. Glendinning, though not a serving 
gardener, belongs to the genus of first and most suc¬ 
cessful jilanters of the ago ; he was the first who put 
correctly the philosophy of transplanting large ever¬ 
greens. Then, think of such experienced men and 
critics as Messrs. Mc.Vrthur, Jackson, Edmonds, Eraser, 
Standish, Ayres, Duncan, kloore, Hogg, Stevenson, and 
many move first-rate practicals, all willing to compare 
their experience with this exhibition, which, as we un¬ 
derstood it, was determined upon at the request of his 
Royal Highness Prince Albert, who was present, with 
a Highland jilaid, which he wore over both shoulders 
shepherd-fashion in a storm, and was as keen to every 
move as the most practical among us. 
By the time we all arrived at the garden of the society, 
the apparatus for moving a large, full-grown Poplar was 
fixed, and the operation of lifting the tree, with a ball of 
earth, reckoned to weigh nine or ton tons, was com' 
mcnccd by eight strong labourers turning as many 
screws, and they soon had it up, safe and sound, without 
moving the tree from the perpendicular, and there it 
stood suspended to a strong carriage on four wheels, 
ready to be carried away to a hole not far off; thick 
planks were tbon laid for the wheels of the carriage to 
run on to the hole. The moving of the loaded carriage 
along those planks was effected by two men working a 
windlass in the front of the carriage, and winding in 
through a pully a rope fastened to a tree beyond the hole. 
If the tree had to ho moved along distance, tlie carriage 
must have been drawn by so many horses instead of by 
the windlass. When tlie hall came over the centre of 
the hole, the two fore wheels were past the hole, and the 
hind ones not quite up to it; by unscrewing the tackle, 
the hall was lowered as easily as possible into the hole. 
Thoro was nothing like a jerk, or shaking about, from 
beginning to end, and every one acknowledged that the 
thing was done cleverly. 
Now for the principle, and the application of it. Uji 
to Ibis point we have only the principle of the screw 
involved, and we all know that, by that principle, a 
church CQuld bo moved if there was suflicient strength 
of machinery ajipliod. As soon as the large tree was 
up, wo couid all see, jdainly enough, how the lifting was 
done, hut how the rest of the apparatus was applied to 
the screw iirinciplo few of ns could understand, because 
we did not see that part of the process—all that being 
settled before wo entered the garden. But, ns is well 
known, Brince Albert is not to ho put off from seeing 
the whole working of any new scheme or invention in 
which he takes an interest; and there is no doubt but 
he took a very great interest in Mr. McGlashen’s 
machine. No sooner, therefore, was the Poplar out of 
the ground, than the Prince desired to see the whole 
process by which the ball of the tree was secured for 
the gripe of tlie screws. Consequently, a second, and 
a smallar apparatus was fixed to a large Sweet Bay, His 
.Royal Highness looking on as intently as any of the j 
grey-headed gardeners. When this was completed, and i 
the rest to bo only a repetition of the raising process, | 
the Prince took his dejiarture. The Bay tree was left i 
in the jaws of the clasping irons, and w'e all went to see 
the large tree planted, as I have just said.' I 
The Pojdar had the ball secured to the roots on this 
wise, and just in the shape of an orange-tree or aloe-hox, 
quite sipiai'e, and wider on the top than at the bottom. 1 f 
the four sides of an orange-tree-box were separated, and 
each side split down into six equal parts, there would be 
twenty-four pieces, of course; their, if you take number 
one piece, and drive it down in soft ground with a mallet^ 
and leaving six inches of it above the ground, it would stop ^ 
there while you took the next piece, and pushed it down 
close after the first, and to the same depth ; when the 
next four pieces are fixed in the same way, we have one 
side of the orange-troo-box in the ground, all but the little 
at the to]i. Now, turn round the corner, and drive in 
the next six pieces, and we have two sides of the box in 
the ground ; the other two come next, and we have an 
orange-box, as it were, sunk in the ground, with a few 
inches of it above the surface. The reason for splitting 
the box is that it would be easier to drive in one piece 
at a time than one whole side; particularly if it was a 
very large box. If it was a small box, ol’ course one 
could drive down one of the sides whole, and then the 
box would be got down in four pieces, instead of twenty- 
four. Well, the second box which was put in to show 
the Prince how the machine acted was really in four 
pieces, and they were joined at the corners as they wore 
driven in, two of them having projecting eyes, one at 
each corner, and those eyes received short projecting 
teeth, which were on the corners of the other two sides. 
Tlien they jmt an iron rod across the ball, inside this 
box, with a T at each end of it, just like wliat a hatter 
would use to stretch out a new hat. By dint of screw¬ 
ing, this rod stretched out the two sides of the box very 
much at the top, and the bottoms must necessarily 
close in upon tbe hall in the same projiortion. After 
that, the other two sides of the box were stretched out 
in the same way at the top, and, as consequently, 
pressed in at the bottom. Now, suppose the sides of 
this box to ho as sharp at the bottom as a knife, each 
of them must cut all tlie roots as low as it is driven j 
down; and so the four sides did most effectually ; and ! 
being now so much closer at the bottom tlian at the i 
^ I 
top, tlicy had the hall in their grasp, and when they i 
were ]mlled u|), as if pulling iqi a box without a bottom, ' 
the ball must come along witli it, and if there are tap- ; 
roots, they must ho pulled after the halt till they all j 
snap, and then there is only the weight of ball and i 
