in this publication, will be at all affected by any concession which I make to this effect: my principal object has been, and will be, to show that, however clearly and strongly may have been shown, _the propriety of acting in conformity with the principles of science_, in the original formation of Woods and Plantations, in the planting of Hedge-row Timber, and in the general management of them all, the _practice_ of “_practical men_,” has been, “except as before excepted,” so bad, that the most charitable conclusion which can be drawn is, that they “_thoroughly_” _misunderstand_ almost every part of the subject! It seems rather to me, that instead of there being only one point in their practice on which they need enlightenment, that there is but one on which they may be said to agree, and that is in a _thorough_ contempt for all rules, all principles, all science! in other words, that this class of persons has displayed an amount of ignorance, (which, however, has been more their _misfortune_ than their _fault_,) and the want of a proper apprehension of the nature and extent of their obligations, and duties, which has no parallel in the management of any other description of property. But this is a digression: I pass on, therefore, to the question of _pruning_, on which I would again commend to the notice of my readers, the valuable remarks of Mr. Main, as well as some excellent practical observations from the pen of that veteran in the service, Francis Blakie, Esq., late Steward to the Earl of Leicester, from whose small pamphlet, entitled “A Treatise on the Management of Hedges and Hedge-row Timber,” the most useful information may be gathered. Mr. Main’s is an able and lucid examination of the question of pruning, and, to my thinking, most fully and satisfactorily settles it. He shows that when pruning is properly done, and when it is commenced _early_ enough, and so managed as to secure the desired result in fifteen or twenty years, it may not only be done with safety, and without material injury to the timber, but that no other plan or practice will answer so well. This he clearly proves upon scientific data, familiarly illustrated by numerous plates, and confirmed by practical statements. If, however, it were only from _neglecting to prune_ that the Plantations of this kingdom had gone wrong, the “mismanagement” would not have furnished a subject for remarks so strong as it now does; but, as I have stated over and over again, the practice is, in most cases and on many accounts, at every stage of their progress, almost as bad as it can be.