It is true that the opinion which I have quoted, is afterwards qualified by the remark, that certain “circumstances connected with the growth of the various species of forest trees, effectually control the planter in his modes of arrangement, &c.” but even with this limitation, the planter is liable to be misled, for he is not taught to set a higher value upon the Larch, which may in almost every locality be planted with a much better chance of profit, than the other kinds with which it is ranked, and which ought therefore, if profit be the object, for that reason alone, to be preferred. In any thing else but planting, the mischief of such a mistake, as producing that which was worthless when produced, would, in a short time, have cured itself; but so little of science, or even of common calculation, have been brought to bear upon the practice of Arboriculture, that, notwithstanding the evidence which is every where to be met with, of serious “loss and disappointment,” for want of calculation, these matters go on very much as they “always have done.” Finally, as to planting, it must, in every case, be perfectly clear to one who is competent to judge, that, whether the object be profit merely, or the embellishment of the landscape, the land ought to be as well prepared as circumstances will permit, and that _such species of trees should be preferred, as are best adapted to the specific object of the planter_. The distance at which the plants shall be put in, is more a matter of opinion than some planters would be inclined to admit. For myself, I am disposed to think, that some advantages are lost to a Plantation, under certain combinations of soil and circumstances, when it is planted _thickly_, but I would not either rate the loss too highly, or express my opinion, with unseemly positiveness: my notion is, that the supposed advantages of planting thickly may generally be supplied by _early, judicious pruning_, and that the progress of the Plantation would be facilitated thereby: that, in fact, a Plantation of trees at a distance of three feet, being properly assorted, having had a good start, and suitable treatment in all respects afterwards, would reach any given point as to size, and quality, in less time than would another Plantation, upon the same soil, if the method of either sowing acorns, &c., or planting very thickly, were adopted. In saying this, I by no means wish to condemn the practice of thick planting; to do this, in the face of proofs of success, such as I have described as existing in this country, would be an absurdity of which I would not willingly be guilty; but at the same time, I would not hesitate to range myself among those who _prefer_, under ordinary circumstances, to plant at a moderate distance, and rely upon _early pruning_, for securing the object which the close planter has in view, viz., length of bole, or stem, and clearness of grain. I come now to remark upon the