Our author states, that the timber of pruned trees must be inferior to that of trees with many side-branches, because the consequent contracting and twisting of the vessels as they pass the junction of the branches and stem, obstruct the descent of the sap, thence the timber is better matured, and in firs has more of resinous deposit. We admit that the resinous deposition is more abundant in knots and in some of the parts adjacent; but the timber is not better throughout. Worm-eating may be observed to commence generally in the neighbourhood of knots. Although one part of the wood, in consequence of the obstruction of the knot, be more dense and resinous, another part, immediately above or below the knot, where the growths are extended to fill up the vacant space, where the worming commences, is less dense, and of inferior durability, and corruption begun, extends. The knotted timber, of course, is very inferior in strength and value to the clean. We would refer the longer continued flow of sap from maple and birches, which have many side-branches, in part, to the lower or side-branches commencing to vegetate sooner in the {306} spring than the top of the tree; this successive commencement of vegetation prolonging the bleeding. Again, in larch, we find that by far the hardest and most durable wood is grown upon poor, hard, thin tills (that is, thin of vegetable mould upon the diluvium), even where the root-rot commences about thirty years of age. Now, we ask, is this the natural soil of larches? We have not, however, found larch from rich loam, of better quality than from poor sand, as we have observed in Scots fir. We also consider larch, grown on a proper larch soil—on sound soil and subsoil, or sound rock, common in acclivous situation—superior in quality to larch of equal quickness of growth, raised on rich loam or sand, though not equal to larch of slow growth from the above mentioned poor tills.