[No. 66, February 13, 1830.]

ADVERTISEMENTS,

Connected with Literature, Science, and the Arts.

ROYAL INSTITUTION.

PROMENADES.

FROM the hitherto crowded state of the EVEN

ING PROMENADES at the ROYAL INSTITUTION, the Directors have found it necessary to adopt the following Resolutions, which in no case can be deviated from :

1st, That there shall be Promenades every fortnight while the Exhibition is open, on Tuesdays, commencing with Tuesday the 16th of February.

2d, That each Life Governor shall be entitled to Two Tickets, one for himself (which if he does not use, he may transfer), and another.

3d, No Tickets can be issued without the Life Governor's written

order, addressed to the Assistant Secretary, containing the names of those intended to be introduced, which will be put upon the Tickets before they are given out.

4th. The Assistant Secretary will attend at the Rooms on the Saturdays preceding the Promenades, from twelve to three o'clock, and all tickets not applied for before the latter hour will be at the disposal of the Directors.

5th, All applications for Tickets by persons not Life Governors to be made in writing, containing the address of the applicant, and to be sent to the Assistant Secretary on Saturdays preceding the Promenades.

Tickets, 2s. 6d., payable at the door.
By order of the Directors,
Edinburgh, Feb. 8, 1830.

FRANCIS CAMERON, Assist. Sec.

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ficial culture, of which pruning, as well as manuring, forms a constituent part, as has been explained above at so much length. That it is by a diligent study of the peculiar habits of trees, and the characters of soils, illustrated and regulated by facts drawn from general experience, that rash or ignorant systems of arboriculture are to be best corrected, and science brought most beneficially to bear on general practice."

six Propositions, which he ought of course to have quoted in limine, and not to have misrepresented, before attempting to controvert them, we proceed at once to consider, upon its own merits, the weighty question" How is the best Oak to be obtained?" and, in doing so, we are happy to state, that our opinions differ in no one particular from those of the author of the "Planter's Guide."

In opposition to the conclusions contained in these pro- The first thing to be considered is, the peculiar characpositions, the object of Mr Withers's present "Letter" is ter of the oak, with which every intelligent planter is well to prove two things; 1st, that Sir Henry Steuart's prin- acquainted. It is in its habits the most accommodating ciples of arboriculture are inconsistent and contradictory, of all trees, and will grow in almost all soils and climates; inasmuch as he recommends culture and manuring in the but it will fully thrive in those soils and climates only that highest degree in the body of his work, and then repro- are natural to it—that is, where it most readily reprobates and rejects them in his notes and illustrations; and duces and perfects its species, and attains the greatest 2d, that the cultivating and manuring of woodlands is length of individual life. The intelligent planter is further necessarily beneficial in all cases, whatever may be said of aware, that, for these purposes, this tree requires a strong, the laws of nature, or the results of experience, to contro- | deep, loamy, or clayey soil, and a temperate climate. vert the practice. These form the conditions of its perfect existence. If, then, we are to enquire what will improve, or what will injure, the quality of the oak in general, or of different oak trees in different situations; or if we are to compare such trees with one another, for the sake of illustrating some principle of theory or practice, our enquiry must bear reference to the conditions of their existence, and to the extent to which those conditions may be supplied, if we wish the result to be correct or conclusive. For if we compare, for example, the qualities of slowly raised oaks on light land, or in a warm climate, with those of oaks quickly raised on heavy land, in a temperate climate, it is tantamount to the comparing of bad oaks with good, and of course there can be no doubt of the result of the comparison.

It will require very few words to make it evident to every one, that Mr Withers's first ground of complaint is captious and uncalled for. When Sir Henry Steuart undertook to draw up a Treatise on the best method of giving "Immediate Effect to Wood," he did not, of course, conceive himself bound to enter into a discussion or detail of the general principles, which are laid down in his six propositions. He took up, as his proximate object, a particular department of the art of Planting, and all he had to do was to make it appear, how trees could be raised within the shortest period, without taking into consideration, whether they contained the best possible timber or not; and if the system proposed should ensure to the possessors "sound and valuable wood," it was all they had a right to expect. For this purpose, it is obvious that, according to every principle of science, the highest degree of culture was requisite, that art or ingenuity could devise. But, at the same time, Sir Henry was careful to explain, that, as trenching and manuring can be advantageous only to particular portions of extensive woodlands, and under particular circumstances, in order to produce the best timber, so they cannot be applied to any woodland indiscriminately, "unless where either a speedy return of crop, and marketable timber, but nothing more, are expected." * There is, therefore, no inconsistency or contradiction whatever, in the arboricultural theories advanced in his work. The art of giving " immediate effect to wood," where artificial culture is essentially needful, is entirely distinct from that of general planting, the principles of which are contained in the six Propositions, together with a short view of the laws respecting growth, and of the salutary restraints which science dictates should be laid on artificial culture, of which trenching, manuring, and pruning, all form a part. Under this simple view of the subject, all Mr Withers's declamation evaporates in smoke, even although it is bolstered up with something like professional manoeuvring and mystification; for, be it remembered that Mr Withers is an attorney.+

What Mr Withers undertakes to prove under his second head, is of far greater interest and importance-namely, that trenching and manuring may be safely used in tree culture under any circumstances, and that, in fact, the richer the ground be made by manure, the better will be the quality of the wood. Passing over the garbled view which our attorney gives of Sir Henry Steuart's

Planter's Guide, p. 474.

As a specimen of this mystification, which, perhaps, may succeed with some of the country gentlemen of England, it is worth while remarking, that Mr Withers asserts, that the application of trenching and manuring to tree culture is an "original discovery" of his own, although Sir Henry Steuart has shown it to be as old as the time of the Romans, and the practice of which has been familiar to every intelligent gardener in this country for the two last centuries. Sixty years ago, Mr Guthrie of Craigie, in the county of Angus, trenched and manured all his plantations at that place, and introduced the practice among his neighbours. Several gentlemen, in both Aberdeenshire and Northumberland, did the same thing soon after this period. We wonder that Mr Withers does not write a pamphlet to recommend the public use of rail-ways and steam-navigation, both of which might then come to be considered "as original discoveries."

:

These premises being shortly stated, we come to the question at issue,-What is the effect that general culture produces on the oak?-culture, of course, including trenching and manuring, or amelioration of the soil or climate beyond the natural state. The answer is precisely what Sir Henry Steuart has set forth. It expands the vegetable fibre; it unduly promotes quickness of growth, and consequently deteriorates the quality of the wood; it being always understood, that the tree previously is in possession of the conditions already described. On the other hand, a certain slowness of growth improves the quality of the wood, by adding to its closeness of texture and durability. It follows, then-as is distinctly stated in Sir Henry's fourth proposition that wherever growth is unduly accelerated by culture of the soil, such as by trenching and manuring, or by undue superiority of climate, the wood will be injured in quality, in the precise ratio in which those agents are employed. In like manner-as is mentioned in the fifth proposition-if trees be in a soil or climate worse than is natural to them, then culture will be of advantage, and will improve the quality of the wood. On the other hand, if trees be in a better soil or climate than is natural to them, and culture be applied, it will be a disadvantage, and deteriorate the wood. In the same way, if trees be in their natural state, culture will injure the quality of the timber, in a degree corresponding to the increased quantity produced. Hence it is plain, that, in certain cases, culture may be very properly applied for the amelioration of timber, but it should be done under the control of science, and of a sound judgment.

This short account of the operation of those general laws respecting growth which govern the whole vegetable kingdom, is such as we should really have supposed could not have been easily misunderstood or misrepre sented, had not Mr Withers come forward with his present attempt. Let us, however, look for a moment to the proofs of his position, that the highest degree of culture is in all cases the best. him to deduce his evidence physiologically, from the soil It were in vain to expect and climate, natural or unnatural to the oak, or from the style of its organization and peculiar habits. We have it on the authority of Mr Withers himself that there are few

men in England, who have ever planted a tree, so utterly ignorant of all arboricultural science. From his " Letter to Sir Walter Scott," published in 1828, we learn that he knows nothing of Scotland or Ireland, or of any other part of the world, except Norfolk, and that his observations on wood, and the modes of raising it, are wholly confined to that county, where, as we understand, he possesses a cabbage garden, and a small piece of nursery ground. From his pamphlet, we clearly perceive, that he is utterly ignorant of general planting, or its history and progress in Britain, in France, or any other continental country, and that vegetable physiology and the anatomy of plants have not come within the line of his studies. What a man, therefore, so admirably qualified to maintain a phytological argument, does not know himself, he naturally seeks to learn from others. With a peculiar obtuseness of intellect, however, Mr Withers, instead of propounding Sir Henry Steuart's six propositions, or any thing like them, to competent judges, puts the following notable query to about eighteen or nineteen different persons, who, being for the most part timber-merchants, are nearly as ignorant of raising the oak as himself :-" Whether have you found," says he, "that fine fast-growing timber, when arrived at maturity, was inferior in quality to timber of slower growth; and whether do you think that the application of manure to poor land at the time of planting, and the cleaning of the land for a few years, can have any injurious effect on the quality of the wood, when it has attained its full growth?" Now, this has as much to do with the object of the six propositions, as if he had quoted the first proposition in Euclid. Respecting both divisions of the query, as put in the abstract, no one of the least knowledge of wood would ever hesitate to answer in the negative; and such an answer, so far from refuting, would rather strengthen the conclusions come to by Sir Henry Steuart.

Of the eighteen referees to whom Mr Withers applies, two are men of real science;-1st, The Editor of the Domestic Gardener's Manual; and 2d, Mr G. W. Johnson, the well-known writer on Horticultural Chemistry. To these may justly be added a very sensible landowner (No. 2), whose name is not given, but whose judicious opinions we formerly met with, in the "Letter to Sir Walter Scott." All these, as well as the referees Nos. 1, 7, 10, 13, and 16, unwittingly confirm, instead of controverting, the propositions. And we find that there were several others, whose answers were so hostile to Mr Withers's opinions, that he does not publish them at all.

that will decline, or altogether become stationary, if planted on any other soils. Some, however, show more, and some less, of this sort of phytological affinity. But the oak is, of all plants, the most accommodating, as has been already observed. It will grow in any sort of soil, from the dampest to the driest, from the most silicious to the most aluminous. But it loves only the last mentioned, and will truly thrive-that is, it will perfect its species— on one that is strong, deep, and loamy, or, in other words, a good, rich, heavy soil. Mr Withers either does, or does not, know this. If he does know it, he means, by a statement like the above-and there are many such to be found in his pamphlet—to impose upon his readers, whom he must consider as the most gullible of men. If he does not, then he is the most ignorant planter that ever pretended to write upon trees, or to give instruction to others.

But we have not yet got to the summit of Mr Withers's absurdity as a planter, which, in legitimate climax, rises to the last, and is to be found at page 115, et seqq., near the close of the pamphlet. A Mr Farrow-still another | timber-merchant-here comes forward to his assistance. This man modestly professes no knowledge of arboriculture, but he merely practises (as he says) the buying, selling, and "converting" of wood, by which, we suppose, he means the converting it into cash. Well, this Mr Farrow tells a strange story of two oak trees, that grew in the same field, the same soil, and the same climate. The first tree (No. 1), as it appears, had no aid but what was furnished by the soil itself, which was "good, with a bluish clay bottom;" whereas the other (No. 2) grew near the "rack-yard of the farm," and close to a ditch or drain, which conducted the moisture from the yard, and in fact the roots appear to have extended to the yard itself. Both, as Mr Farrow adds, grew well, but the one near the drain by far the more rapidly of the two; and it was the current opinion about the place, that they had been planted about the saine period. On cutting down the trees and weighing the wood, No. 2 was found to be 14 lbs. in 10 lbs. the heavier. Specimens of both were tried by Professor Barlow, as above, when No. 1 was fractured by a weight of 835 lbs. superinduced upon it, but No. 2 required 972 lbs. to fracture it. These facts, in the way they are stated, we cannot be brought to believe, as Mr Farrow, a very ignorant individual, is the only evidence brought forward to support them. We take them, as we should take the supposed facts and circumstances of a well-authenticated ghost story, and for this simple reason, that they contradict the laws of Nature, and the general results of experience; and, for the same reason, we reject any inference that can be drawn from them.

Calling in some corroborative circumstances to his aid, Mr Withers mentions (at page 115) that he got, from Mr Boorne of Erpingham, (another timber-merchant,) two specimens of oak-wood, the one taken from a fast, the other from a slow growing tree. The former, as Mr Last of all, comes Mr Withers's grand and sweeping Boorne describes it, was raised in "a very strong, good conclusion, which at once announces his victory, and sums soil," the latter on 66 a light soil, with a gravelly bottom;" up his argument. "These experiments," says he, "throw and both specimens were forwarded, by Mr Withers, to new light upon the subject, and lead to the most importProfessor Barlow, of the Royal Academy at Woolwich, ant conclusions. They prove, not only that fast-growing oak in order that he might try their respective strengths. timber is superior in quality to that of slower growth, but This, as we conceive it, was equivalent to saying to the that by the constant application of manure to the roots of learned Professor," Here is a specimen of the very best trees, planted even in a good soil, nearly double the quanoak that can be found, and here is also a specimen of the tity of timber may be obtained in the same period, while very worst ; pray, which is the stronger of the two, as veri- its strength, instead of being diminished, will be thereby infied by experiment?" Had Professor Barlow been at all creased." We certainly never thought that Mr Withers acquainted with arboriculture—which does not seem to be had much practical skill, even in the mechanical part of the case he would have been much amused with the ap- planting; we never believed that he possessed any smatpeal thus made to him, and of which the consequences tering of science, beyond what he had picked up from may be easily conjectured. The two specimens of tim- reading the Planter's Guide;—but little as that is, we ber were squared down to pieces of equal sizes, when the really think he might have seen to what consequences all first mentioned was broken with a weight of 999lbs., and this nonsense tended, even could country gentlemen be the last with one of only 6771bs., respectively laid upon them. brought to swallow it. In the first place, it would go Now, it is a fact well known to every planter of expe- near to destroy our belief in what is denominated “phyrience, although, from the folly of this proceeding, it does tological affinity" in woody plants, than which no arborinot seem to be known to Mr Withers, that all woody cultural fact is better ascertained, or more generally creplants have their peculiar and favourite soils, on which dited. And, in the second place, it would give to garthey will grow luxuriantly; and there are many trees | deners this new and curious piece of information; that,