On Naval Timber and Arboriculture / With Critical Notes on Authors who have Recently Treated the Subject of Planting

After throwing together several of our own observations, we bethought ourselves of examining into the ideas and experience of recent writers on the same subject. Having taken notes of the more prominent matter contained in their pages, we believe we shall do the public a service by printing these notes, accompanied by slight remarks. This may be the more useful, especially as almost every author has his own particular mania, which few common readers have sufficient knowledge of the subject to discriminate from the saner matter: and as, from the nature of hobbies—from some shrewd enough guesses by the owner that they are his own undoubted property—and, perhaps, from some misgivings, that what he advances on these is not perfectly self-evident, he is thence the more disposed to expatiate upon them, and embellish. The {139} credulous and inexperienced, partly from this, and partly from the fascination of the very improbability, rush at once into the snare; bring the speculations or assertions to practical test; get quickly disenchanted by realities, and ever after are disposed to treat all written directions on material science with contempt. We bring forward these authors in the order of perusal. We have found several remarks similar to our own; this was to be expected.