chosen; for every other species we consider as a kind of encumbrance, which ought to be done' away, as soon as it can with any colour of propriety.

Ir is bad practice to permit Hedges to remain crouded with timber stands; they should, in general, be set out singly, and at distances proportioned to their respective sizes; so that their tops be not suffered to interfere too much with each other.

THERE is, however, one exception to this rule: where two trees, standing near each other, have grown up, in such a manner, that their joint branches form, in appearance, but one top, they should both be permitted to stand; for if one of them be removed, the other will not only take an unsightly outline, but will receive a check in its growth, which it will not overcome for several years. It is, nevertheless, observable, that twin trees, as well as those which are double stemmed, are dangerous to stock: not only cattle, but even horses, have been known to be strangled, by getting their heads locked in between them.

THE method of training the young plants has already been described; it now only remains to say a few words, as to the PRUNING and SETTING ur Hedgerow timbers.

LOW-HEADED trees have been already condemned, as being injurious to the Hedge, as well as to the Corn which grows under them. To remove or alleviate these evils, without injuring the tree itself, requires the best skill of the woodman. The usual method is to hack off the offending bough; no matter how nor where; but, most probably, a few inches from the body of the tree, with an axe; leaving the end of the stump ragged, and full of clifts and fissures, which, by receiving and retaining the wet that drips upon them, render the wound incurable. The mortification, in a short time, is communicated to the stem, in which a recess or hollow being once formed, so as to receive and retain water, the decline of the tree, though otherwise in its prime, from that time, must be dated; and, if not presently taken down, its properties, as a timber tree, will, in a few years, be changed into those of firewood only. How many thousand timber trees stand, at this hour, in the predicament here described; merely through injudicious treatment! It is this improper treatment, which has brought Hedgerow timber into a disrepute, otherwise undeserved.

THERE is a wonderful similarity in the operations of Nature upon the Vegetable and the Animal Creation. A slight wound in the Animal Body soon heals up, and skins over, while the

wound succeeding the amputation of a limb, is with difficulty cicatrized. The effects are similar with respect to the Vegetable Body: a twig may be taken off with safety, while the amputation of a large bough will endanger the life of the tree. Again, pare off a small portion of the outer bark of a young thriving tree, the first summer's sap will heal up the wound; if a small twig had been taken off with this patch of bark, the effect would have been nearly the same; the wound would have been cicatrized, or barked over, in a similar manner; and the body of the tree as safely secured from outward injury, as if no such amputation had taken place. Even a considerable branch may be taken off, in this manner, with impunity, provided the surface of the wound be left smooth and flush with the bark of the Tree; for, in a few years, it will be completely closed up, and secured from injury; though an eschar may remain for some years longer. But if a large bough be thus severed, the wound is left so wide, that it requires, in most trees, a length of time to bark it over; during which time, the body of the tree having increased in size, the parts immediately round the wound become turgid, while the face of the wound itself is thrown back into a recess; and, whenever this becomes deep enough to hold water, from that time the wound is rendered incurable: Nature has, at least, done her part; and, whether

or not, in this case, assistance may be given, by opening the lower lip of the wound, remains yet (it is probable) to be tried by experiment: until that be ascertained, or some other certain method of cure be known, it were the height of imprudence to risk the welfare of a Tree on such hazardous treatment.

FURTHER, although a branch of considerable size may be taken off, close to the body of the Tree, with safety; yet, if the same branch be cut a few inches from it, the effect is not the same; for, in this case, the stump generally dies; conse quently, the cicatrization cannot take place, until the stem of the Tree has swelled over the stump, or the stump has rotted away to the stem; and, either way, a mortification is the probable con-、 sequence. Even supposing the stump to live, either by means of some twig being left upon it, or from fresh shoots thrown out, the cicatrization, in this case, will be slow (depending entirely upon the feeble efforts of the bark of the stump); and before it can be accomplished, the Tree itself may be in danger. But, had the amputation been made at a distance from the stem, and immediately above a twig, strong enough to draw up a supply of sap, and keep the stump alive, with certainty, no risk would have

been incurred; especially if the end of the stump had been left smooth, with the slope on the under side, so that no water could hang, nor recess be formed.

FROM what has been said, the following general rules, with respect to setting up low-headed trees, may, we humbly conceive, be drawn with safety: small boughs should be cut off, close to the stem; but large ones, at a distance from it; and above a lateral branch, large enough to keep the stump alive. Thus, supposing the stem of a tree, in full growth, to be the size of a man's waist, a bough the thickness of his wrist may be taken off, with safety, near the stem; but one as thick as his thigh should be cut at the distance of two feet from it, at least: leaving a side branch, at least an inch in diameter, with a top in proportion, and with air and headroom enough to keep it in a flourishing state. For this purpose, as well as for the general purpose of throwing light into the head, the standing boughs should be cleared from their lower branches, particularly such as grow in a drooping direction. In doing this, no great caution is required; for, in taking a bough from a bough, let their sizes be what they may, little risque can be thereby incurred, upon the main body of the

tree.