and possessed a thorough knowledge of the principles of design: And had it not been for the professional trammels, by which he was confined, he probably would have anticipated, as well as illustrated, in his own designs, those more correct notions of park-scenery, which Messrs Price and Knight afterwards had the merit of bringing into public notice.* As it was, White rather yielded to, than approved of the fashion of the day: Accordingly, he gave a Belt and Clumps to all the new places he laid out, and sometimes to the old ones, which he so ingeniously improved.

Although my little Park was not deficient in these necessary appendages, it must not be imagined, that such formal plantations, and especially the Clumps, were ever intended to be permanent, by this able artist. On the contrary, they were meant to act as kindly and sheltering masses, to a very open subject, and as the only means of protecting and getting up good Single Trees, and loose Dispositions of wood. I therefore trenched the ground, by his advice, and took from it a Potatoe crop (after the manner directed in the foregoing Section), before being planted. About the twelfth or fifteenth year, I began to cut away the Larch and Spruce-firs. These had been introduced merely as nurses to the deciduous Trees; and, from the warmth and

* NOTE III.

shelter they had afforded, and the previous doubledigging, the whole had rushed up with singular rapidity. The next thing I did was, to thin out the Trees to single distance, so as that the tops could not touch one another, and to cut away the side-branches, within about three, or three and a half feet of the surface. By this treatment, it will be perceived, that a considerable deal of air was admitted into the plantations. The light, which before had had access only at the top, was now equally diffused on all sides; and the Trees, although for a few years they advanced but little in height, made surprising efforts towards a full developement of their most important properties. They acquired greater strength of Stem, thickness of Bark, and extension of Roots, and consequently, of lateral branches.

But, at this time, it was apparent, that the Clumps had a remarkable advantage over the Belt, or continuous plantation. While in no part so deep as to impede the salutary action of the atmosphere, the circular or oval figure of the clumps, and their free exposure to the elements, furnished them with a far greater proportion of good outside Trees; and these, having acquired, from the beginning, a considerable share of the Protecting Properties, were in a situation to shelter the rest, and also to prevent the violence of the wind from injuriously acting on the interior

of the mass. It therefore became necessary to thin the belt for the second time, which was now done to double distance; that is to say, to a distance such as would have admitted of a similar number of Trees in every part, to stand between the existing plants. Thus, within four years from the first thinning, I began to have tolerable subjects for Removal, to situations of moderate exposure; while every succeeding season added fresh beauty and vigour to these thriving Nurseries, and made a visible accession to all the desirable Prerequisites.

It is deserving of remark in this place, that no second thinning of these clumps was necessary, although, on ordinary occasions, it would have been indispensable, for the free admission of air among the plants. At this period, I happened to have a good deal of Transplanting work upon my hands; by which means, the original trenching, and the successive removals that were made from the clumps, not only served this salutary purpose, but operated as a complete Preparation of the roots, as well as of every other part of the Trees, which were left behind; For I found, that, how severely soever they might be cut, I could always return to them, after two years, with renewed advantage. It so fortunately happened, that the clumps were pretty numerous. They had been planted in various soils, from the most tenacious

clay, to the lightest sand; therefore, no better opportunity could be figured, for raising forest Trees of almost every description with success. The clumps for the most part, by the above operations, were soon reduced to open dispositions of wood, and, in some instances, to mere groups of six and seven plants. But some still remained as Nurseries for subjects, which, at this moment, are of great size and beauty, and endued, in the most eminent degree, with all the Protecting Properties.

Although few planters may be so fortunate, as to possess such valuable remains of the former school of design, yet no one, I trust, will find much difficulty, from the statement just now made, in forming, out of the ordinary plantations of a place, a Transplanting Nursery for himself. The main object, in such a view, is to select a plantation, which has friable mould, for the developement of the roots, and, if possible, a dry subsoil; and such a plantation likewise as has been the least neglected in proper thinning. The first point, towards obtaining a good Nursery, is to cut away the spruce firs and larches, which have been planted as nurses. But if any Scotch Firs appear, with tolerable heads (a rare thing to be seen under such circumstances), they are well deserving of preservation. Such fine picturesque Pines are sometimes susceptible of Removal, on the principles

already laid down; and they always form noble Park-wood, particularly when of that species, which throws out its branches horizontally from the stem. The next object is, to clear away the most drawn-up and unsightly plants, by at once grubbing them up, so that their roots may not continue to exhaust the soil unprofitably, and that the best plants may be left free, and at single distance from one another. Last of all, the ground is to be trenched over, eighteen inches deep at the least, that is, supposing it never to have been trenched before; leaving open drains, deeper than the trench, for the surface water to run off properly.

During this operation, a few of the handsomest plants, and such as possess the desirable prerequisites in the greatest degree, must have about five feet broad of solid ground left round them, and two or three roots also entire and untouched on the stormy side. The rest of the Trees may have three feet and a half of solid ground left entire, during the trenching; also, two or three roots, in the same way, towards the west and southwest, and so passing through the trench. During the execution of this work, some tolerable mould, to the depth of a foot or better near the stem, and not less than six or eight inches at the extremity of the solid ground, should be thrown up, in order that the roots may send out new fibres into that