building, and the like.

"In Buckinghamshire (he says,) after twenty years, it becomes tithe-free; but if any Beech is felled, and another from the same grows up, this is to be tithed whenever it is cut down." -Chiltern and Vale Farming, pp. 93, 94.

NOTE IX. Page 321.

The Beech had its name of Fagus from the Greek payos, (Dor. pñyos,) from pryw, to eat-because men at first lived on the mast of trees, before the use of corn. According to the Linnæan arrangement, this tree stands in the class Monacia polyandria, and is botanically described as Fagus silvatica, foliis ovatis obsoletè serratis.-Hort. Cliff. p. 447. An accurate botanist characterises it as follows: Fagus silvatica, foliis ovatis obsoletè serratis, aculeis fructûs simplicibus. - Smith, Flor. Britan. t. iii. p. 1028. ·

Bradley and other writers make mention of two varieties of this tree. The first they call the White or Silver Beech, from the colour of its wood, or of its bark, or probably of both; and the second they name the Black-grained Beech, for similar reasons. To the former they also give the appellation of the Mountain Beech; as it is supposed to thrive best in elevated situations, and on the sides of steep and chalky declivities. The latter they name the Wild or Vale Beech, from its being adapted to the deep loam of the Chiltern country, where it will make profitable returns. As for the nurserymen, with their usual incuriousness, they never inquire after these varieties, however interesting they may be to the planter, but raise and sell them together as only one sort. Besides these two principal varieties, there are the two others, well known to nurserymen-the one with white, the other with yellow stripes; but they are both mere shrubs. There is also the purplecopper-coloured Beech of Germany, which is now common as an ornamental tree in our plantations.

NOTE X. Page 322.

Cæsar, in his descriptive sketch of Britain, says that the woods of that country are nearly the same as those of Gaul, only that the former are without the Spruce Fir and the Beech; Materia cujusque generis, præter Fagum et Abietem.-De Bel. Gal. lib. v. 12. Lightfoot doubts if the Beech be a native of Scotland; and Marshall is of opinion, that in the northern counties of England it is not indigenous. We know that it is not found in the northern provinces of Sweden; and that it is little more than a century since it began to be cultivated in Scotland at all.

NOTE XI. Page 322.

Besides these properties, the Beech is well known to make excellent fuel. The mast, also, is nutritive to animals, especially to swine and deer; and an oil is expressed from it, (as Dr Yule informs us,) which, if properly manufactured, and the seeds freed from the husk, is of excellent quality, and nearly equal to oil of Olives. — See Mem. Caledon. Hort. Soc. vol. ii. P. 285. There is, however, one purpose to which the leaves of this tree are most usefully applied (as I have myself seen in other countries, and as is noticed by Evelyn,) viz., mattresses for beds; and I wish that the practice were better known in Britain. own experience at this moment, I can recommend these mattresses, as greatly more elastic, cleanly, and more durable than those of straw, if the leaves be gathered before frost affects them. Taking this property of the Beech, therefore, together with the fulness of its shade, it may be truly said of it,

"Silva domus, cubilia frondes."

NOTE XII. Page 329.

From my

Observing that one of the great excellencies of the Beech lay in accommodating itself to soils that were very light, as well as to such as were stiff and cold, I conceived the idea, about four-and-forty years since, of bringing it in aid of the thorn, by mixing them together in field hedges, and thus uniting the closeness of the one with the prickly quality of the other. In these sterile soils, I tried the proportion of three Beeches to a thorn, which admirably succeeded; and I was so much pleased with the rich winter shelter produced by the mixture, that I gradually adopted it for fences on all soils, however rich. On those of tolerable quality, the thorn of course was allowed to predominate, putting two and even three to a Beech. Thus, in good lands, the thorn became the staple of the hedge, and the Beech where it was poor; whether poverty arose from a deficiency or a superabundance of moisture. This practice I commenced in 1780 and 1781, when nothing of the kind had been attempted elsewhere, as far as I know; and have continued it since, over a pretty extensive surface. At present I have between twenty and thirty miles of hedges so executed in very various soils, and all in a state of greater vigour than I am persuaded could have been obtained by the Quick alone.

With agriculturists, the great problem to be solved respecting fences appears to be, how to raise a hedge on miserably poor lands, under the value of Gs. and 8s. per acre, where there is no stone to enclose them.

And there is another difficulty almost as great-viz., to discover some plant, or plants, together with the method of planting them, by which gaps or deficiences in old hedges, even in the best land, may be filled up; where the hedges have nearly decayed through neglect or ill usage, or where they have exhausted the pabulum allotted to them. By an attentive application and management of the Beech, I have reason to believe that both of these desiderata have been completely supplied. Hedges in my possession, on land worth not more than 7s. or 8s. per acre, are seen to grow singularly close and vigorous; and others, which were in the worst possible condition, have by this means been restored to a healthy and fencible condition, so as, within three years, to turn the Highland bullock, (Scotticé Stot,) by making them completely impervious to his eye for a Highland Stot, unless driven, will rarely break down what he cannot see through; although the reverse of this is the fact as to the Highland sheep. In a word, I consider the introduction of the Beech into field hedges as the most important improvement that has been made for a century on this branch of rural economy. But to give any idea of its various application and particular management would require a separate Essay.

I have reason to think that the art of mixing the Beech with the Thorn in common field hedges originated with myself. Wherever it has been found, it could always be traced with certainty to Lanarkshire. At first it was adopted by my neighbours, from my practice in this country. From thence it was carried to Ayrshire and Yorkshire, by the late ingenious Mr White, the well-known landscape gardener, (to whom the merit of spreading the knowledge of some of the most useful rural arts is due,) and from thence all over Scotland, and the north of England.

That Beech hedges were currently raised in England, for parterres and gardens, as far back as the time of Henry VIII., and further-that is, in the beginning of the sixteenth century-can be distinctly proved from our early writers. But I believe I am the first person who mixed the Thorn with the Beech in hedges in the open field, or applied the practice to Agricultural purposes. Should it be claimed by any other person, he should show that he practised it previously to 1780; as in that year I had about half a mile of mixed hedges executed; and before 1785 I had several miles. In a few years after, the whole estate was enclosed with them. Should the honours of the improvement be denied to me hereafter, I can only say, Sic vos non vobis, &c.

In the course of a series of experiments, which I from that time commenced, on various plants for the improvement of hedges, I never found any that were of much general use, the Beech excepted. The Horn

beam and the Barberry are the best; but they require very good land. The Spruce Fir on peat moss may be trained into a hedge, where nothing but the Alder and the Birch will vegetate. If ornament rather than strength is required, the Beech and the Evergreen Privet form a good union in summer, and a fine contrast in winter. But the most beautiful of all hedges near a gentleman's residence, where a little nicety of keeping is not grudged, is composed of the Barberry and the Beech, equal parts a mixture, probably, that can be seen only in my own possession.

NOTE XIII. Page 330.

"Dorty," in the Scottish dialect, signifies, as nearly as may be, pettish, capricious, wayward; but those words fail to convey the meaning fully, as applied to plants. See Jamieson's Dict. in voc.

NOTE XIV. Page 331.

When this remedy first occurred to me, I was persuaded that I had struck out something quite new, as well as useful. But, alas! there is little or nothing new under the sun! for happening to look into old Ralph Austen, who wrote on fruit and forest trees two hundred years ago, I found the following directions for young plants of the former kind. "Stay not, (says he,) as the custom is, till November, or after, before you transplant; for the best time is about the latter end of September. It's a great advantage to remove plants betime; for such grow a while after in their roots before winter, and thereby not only preserve themselves in winter, but also make some preparation against the spring, which those removed in winter cannot doe. Stay not, therefore, till the leaves fall, ere you remove, although they may be removed then with good successe; but it is not so good at that time as before. The ancient proverb is; If a growing tree you would have, let him carry his green leaves to his grave." - P. 62. How old the proverb is, this writer does not say. Pliny, I think, has nothing of the kind in his work; although I should not wonder if Cato or Columella had been acquainted with it. But Austen's reasons for recommending this method are deserving 'of attention. They comprise nearly the theory which I had formed to myself, in attempting it; and it is substantially the same as is found so successful with the laurel, the holly, and the evergreens.

SECTION XIV.

NOTE I. Page 334.

The Maple, in the Linnæan system, is of the class and order Polygamia Monacia; and the Sycamore or greater Maple is thus described by botanists-Acer Psuedo-Platanus, foliis quinquelobis inæqualiter serratis, racemis pendulis, floribus accemosis.-See Lin. Sp. Plant, 1495. Smith Flor. Britan. t. i. p. 422. Sir James E. Smith calls it vix indigena. It has two varieties, now first noticed-the early and the late-of which the chief characteristics are, that the former comes out from a fortnight to three weeks before the latter.

NOTE II. Page 335.

Mr Pontey says that the Sycamore "will thrive in a considerable degree of wet." This, I apprehend, is erroneous; because, if what is stated in the text, that "a light and porous subsoil is necessary to its vigorous growth," be true, (which I conceive it to be,) it follows that it will not thrive in wet; because all situations must be dry of which the subsoil is light and porous. This may be assumed as a correct theory : and wherever there are appearances to the contrary, the inexperienced planter may rely upon it that there is some deception, as there can be no effect without a corresponding cause.

To the universality of this rule I thought I had, some years since, found a remarkable exception in some old Sycamores at this place, which are from three to four feet in diameter. Their age happens to stand on record, and is traced as far back as the battle of Langside, which took place in 1568, when the unfortunate Queen Mary was defeated by the Earl of Moray, and forced to take refuge in England. In this action my then ancestor commanded a troop of the Regent's horse, and, by suddenly occupying the hill of Langside, turned the fortune of the day. The trees in question grow upon a rich deep loam, with a stiff and retentive clay, as I had conceived, at bottom, which had been frequently turned up; so that there seemed no reason to doubt the fact that here was one example, at least, of this sort of tree