was greatly distinguished, by his services during the militia and meal riots at the close of the last century. At an earlier period of his life he obtained a captaincy in the Fifeshire Fencibles; and, as we find from some of his papers still existing, interested himself in drawing up various regulations for that corps. Though fond of the usual country amusement-the necessary adjunct perhaps of every country proprietor-namely, of shooting, and we may add also, in its proper season, of skating (in which he excelled) upon the lake which he had formed in the park at Allanton, his chief exercise and enjoyment was transplanting, which formed the great business and pleasure of his life. The article on his work in the Westminster Review thus not inappropriately concludes: -“A great reward was once offered by a rich, and yet a very poor man, for the invention of a new pleasure: there are times when some of our country gentlemen would be tempted to give a good deal for that same invention. Men cannot be always shooting, or hunting, or seeing that the Game Laws are carried into execution, nor can dinner be made to last all the day long; had they but the heart to know it, Sir Henry Steuart has done for those gentlemen what the satiated prince asked in vain; what he has done for his country there has not yet been time fully to show."

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About the close of the year 1835, Sir Henry began to discover symptoms of a general breaking up of his constitution, and after a few months' lingering illness, died on 11th March 1836, aged seventy-six.* He was interred, according to the rites of the Episcopal Church, of which he had all his life been an attached and consistent member, in the family vault at Camnethan, a few miles

1821.

Lady Steuart predeceased her husband Sir Henry, having died in the year

distant from the original family burial-place at the old parish church, where most of his ancestors repose. He was succeeded in his estates by his only surviving daughter, Lady Seton Steuart, who had come into possession of her maternal property of Touch the year previous to Sir Henry's death, and in his title, by his sonin-law, Reginald Macdonald, Esq. of Staffa, to whom and Sir Henry's daughter, and their heirs male, the baronetage as formerly mentioned, had been especially limited. The present Sir Henry James Seton Steuart succeeded to the baronetcy on the death of his father in the year 1838. Sir Henry left two other grandsons, and two grand-daughters, who, with the exception of his younger grandson, now survive.

Thus lived and thus died this great and good man, if, at least, true greatness and goodness consist in the habitual and honourable discharge of all those duties which were imposed upon him, whether as a proprietor, as a subject, as a member of the church, or in all the ordinary or more peculiar relations of life. On reflection, we think that it will not fail to be admitted, that the statement advanced in the commencement of this Memoir, has been fully illustrated and confirmed; and that a life of country and literary retirement can be made most conducive to individual happiness and public usefulness, whether as a proprietor or a member of the state.

R.

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.

It might at first sight appear a needless task to undertake a formal treatise on an art which almost all men practise, and profess to understand, were it not for the fact that so few practise it with success.

The removal of large trees, for pleasure or use, is an art of great antiquity. As a branch of arboriculture, it is well known to most modern nations; but it has remained still longer than agriculture without any principles to regulate it, as chemistry and physiology, till of late years, have been confined to the recluse philosopher, and are little studied or understood by the active and the practical. I trust, however, that the time is not far distant when arboriculture, like husbandry, will engage the attention of some able physiologist, and be thoroughly illustrated in all its parts.

Meanwhile, it is the purpose of the present Essay to treat chiefly of "giving immediate effect to wood, by the removal of large trees," and to lay down the principles, and explain the practice, by which that desirable object may be accomplished. In doing this, it is obvious that the art of GENERAL PLANTING must at the same time be taught, as both, being governed by the same general laws, should of course be practised on the same known principles. In removing wood for the purpose of creating real landscape, plants of a large size are necessarily employed; and as such materials are far more unwieldy, and more difficult to manage, than those of ordinary planting, they require far greater dexterity, as well as greater science. If, then, it hold true in arboriculture, as it does in logic, that "the greater necessarily comprises the less," it is probable that the rules of general planting will in this way be more forcibly impressed on the reader's mind, than if they were studied in any other manner.

In order to render the art of giving immediate effect to wood as intelligible as possible, I have in the following pages considered it under three general heads.

First. I have given a history of the art of removing wood, from the earliest times down to the present; from which it appears, that it has always been vague and fortuitous, at variance with what we know of the laws of nature and the anatomy of plants, and for the most part both unsuccessful and expensive.

Secondly. I have attempted to discover some plain and rational theory, founded in nature and experience, for the guidance of the planter, and which may tend to raise it to the rank of a useful art.

Thirdly. I have endeavoured to deduce from this theory such a practice as shall ensure success, by in some sort precluding contingency, and also to diminish the expense by the one-half at least of the present amount.

In attempting these objects, I trust that I have treated with due respect the opinions of preceding writers. Where I have, from deliberate conviction, been forced to differ from them, I have done it with regret; being aware of the uncertainty in which all knowledge, on so obscure a subject as vegetable physiology, must ever be held, and in which, although much has been already brought to light by the patient industry of the philosopher, much, I am persuaded, still remains to be investigated.

For the deficiencies of the present work I should wish next to say something by way of apology, as I am conscious to myself how very greatly it stands in need of it. The fact is, it was undertaken at the desire of numerous friends, who approved of my system, which I have ventured to call the PRESERVATIVE, in order to serve as a manual for their own practice. Accordingly, about eighteen months since, the first section was written and printed, in order to convince myself, as well as others, that I was in earnest in undertaking the task; but it was soon after interrupted, and in the end thrown aside for other avocations. Within these few months the work was more seriously resumed-each section was thrown off as soon as it was composed; and the consequence was, that some omissions, which appeared prominent, were to be supplied in the

Notes, while others were found too extensive to be in any way supplied. As Notes are not the most popular medium through which information can be communicated, perhaps it will appear but a small countervail to this statement to add, that most of the information applicable to general planting is contained in them, as well as that which relates to both horticulture and agriculture.

In this condition of the Treatise, I submit it, imperfect as it is, to the candour of the reader; who, if he be a phytologist of research, or, still more, a planter of experience, will appreciate the difficulties which attend a new subject, and make some allowance for the execution under such circumstances.

In respect to the practical part, I must own that, in treating it, I should have been disposed to enter much less minutely into detail, had I merely consulted my own judgment. But as those friends most anxious about the book cried out most loudly for detail, and insisted that it was impossible to make it too copious, I have, for the purpose of gratifying them, introduced under this head so minute a statement of my own practice, that it may probably be considered as more suitable to private communication, or perhaps to oral discussion.

Presumptuous enough as I must appear to the English planters, in venturing to believe that I could say any thing that is new on a subject so familiar to them, or in reprobating some parts of their system, which in an evil hour I have termed the MUTILATING, I am not willing to add to my sins in this way, by seeming also to supersede their practice, and recommend something of my own, which they may think much worse, in its stead. The truth is, that for facility of execution, and despatch in the field, my method may be sufficiently well calculated, in the limited scale of work which I have found it expedient to adopt, and I may therefore view it with a partial

eye.

But candour obliges me to admit, that in some respects it is inferior to the English system, (for example, in wholly rejecting the upright position of the tree;) and it would be unsuitable to the large and expensive style of work which is often executed by that ingenious and opulent people, and in some instances with extraordinary success.