tity of water against the stem of each; but in large quantities poured into a ring made near the outfide of the hole; fo that the whole mafs of broken earth may be thoroughly moistened, without wafhing off the finer mould from the fibres. A fuperficial watering tantalizes the plants, and leads the fibres towards the furface for nourishment: the moisture thus partially given foon evaporates, and the disappointed fibres become expofed to the parchings of the fun and wind.

Plantations in rows are beft CLEANED with the plow. In the fpring gather two furrows, or if room four furrows, into the middle of the interval: in fummer fplit thefe interval-ridges, throwing the mould to the roots of the plants, to fave them from the drought in autumn gather them again into the interval; and in winter again return them to the rows to keep out the froft. If the foil be good, and dung can be had, a row of potatoes, cabbages, &c. may be planted in each interval, or turnips fown over the whole in either cafe, the inter-fpaces of the rows fhould be kept clean hoed or handweeded. To be brief, a plantation of this kind fhould be confidered, whilft young, as a kitchengarden, and ought to be treated accordingly.

:

As the plants increase in bulk and ftature, they will require PRUNING. Much depends upon doing this judiciously. If it has been neglected too long, care must be had not to do too much at once.

The

leader is the principal and firft object; the fidebranches may be afterwards taken off gradually, fo as not to wound the plant too much, nor let too much air at once into the plantation. The time of pruning is generally confidered to be in autumn or winter, when the fap is down and the leaves off; but for plants which are not liable to bleed, we rather recommend midfummer, as fhoots taken off at that time are not fo apt to be followed by fresh fhoots as thofe taken off in winter. If the fhoots be young and flender, it is better to rub them off than to cut them off clean with a fharp inftrument : boughs and ftrong fhoots however require an inftrument, and from young trees they fhould be taken off as fmooth and close to the ftem as poffible. If a ftump be left, it will be fome years before it be grown over, and a flaw, if not a decayed place, will be the confequence; but if a fhoot, or even a confiderable bough of a young growing tree, be taken off level with the bark of the ftem, the wound will skin over the first year, and in a year or two more no traces of it will be left. A large bough of an aged full-grown tree requires a different treatment, which will be given under the article HEDGE-ROW TIMBER.

Great judgment is required in THINNING plantations. The fame rule holds good in nursery-plantations as in the nursery itself and the fame general rule (liable no doubt to many exceptions) may

be

be extended to woodlands and ornamental plantations. But of thefe hereafter: fuffice it to repeat in this part of our Work, that whenever the roots of plants begin to interfere with each other, their growth from that time is more or lefs checked; and whenever their branches are permitted to clafh, from that time their beauty and elegance are more or less injured.

TRANSPLANTING TREES AND SHRUBS.

BY this is meant the removal of trees and fhrubs, which, having formerly been planted out, have acquired fome confiderable fize. We do not mean to recommend the practice in general terms; but for thinning a plantation, for removing obftructions, or hiding deformities, or for the purpofe of raifing ornamental clumps or fingle trees expeditioufly, it may frequently be useful, and is univerfally practifed, though feldom with uniform fuccefs. This is indeed the moft difficult part of planting, and requires confiderable skill-with great care and attention in applying it.

It is in vain to attempt the removal of a taprooted plant (as the oak), which has not previously been tapped; that is, its tap-root taken off; and not lefs arduous to make a weak-rooted plant of almost any species (the aquatics excepted) fucceed

with a large top upon it: much therefore depends upen taking-up and trimming trees and fhrubs for transplantation.

Before a tap-rooted plant, which has never been removed from its place of femination, can be taken up with propriety, it must be tapped in this manner: Dig a trench or hole by the fide of the plant, large enough to make room to undermine it, in fuch a manner as to be able to fever the tap; which done, fill in the mould, and let the plant remain in this state one, two, or three years, according to its fize and age. By this time the horizontal roots will have furnished themfelves with ftrength and fibres; efpecially thofe which were lopped in the excavation; and the plant may be taken up and removed in the fame manner as if it had been tapped and tranfplanted whilst a feedling, though not with equal fafety; for plants which have never been removed have long branching roots, and the fibres lie at a distance from the body of the plant; whilft those which have been taken up and have had their roots trimmed when young are provided with fibres, which, being lefs remote from the stem, may be taken up with the plant, and conveyed withi it to its new fituation. This naturally leads to what may perhaps be called a refinement in taking up large plants for tranfplantation; namely, lopping the whole, or a part of the horizontal roots, twelve months or a longer time before the plant be taken

up;

up; leaving the downward roots, and (if neceffary) part of the horizontal ones, to fupport the plant until the time of removal *. It would be needless to add, that in taking up plants in general, the greater length of root and the greater number of fibres there is taken up, the more probable will be the fuccefs. It is also a circumftance well understood, that too much earth cannot be retained among the fibres.

The plant being thrown down, and the roots difentangled, it is proper, before it be removed from its place, to trim the top, in order that the carriage may be lightened. In doing this, a confiderable share of judgment is requifite: to head it down in the pollard manner is very unfightly; and to trim it up to a mere May-pole, or fo as to leavé only a small broom-like head at the top, is equally deftructive of its beauty. The moft rational, the moft natural, and, at the fame time, the moft elegant, manner of doing this, is to trim the boughs in such a manner as to form the head of the plant into a conoid, in refemblance of the natural head of the Lombardy poplar, and of a fize proportioned to the ability of the root. Whoever was the inventor of this method of trimming the heads of trees, deferves infinite credit: it only wants to be known in order to be approved; and we are happy to fee it growing into univerfal practice.

* In this case the head ought at the fame time to be trimmed, and the plant, if exposed, supported.