p 



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able to produce fruit-, for although by thus weaken- 

 ing the branches, it is ofceii the rncans to produce a 

 goodnunjber of blofibms (as may many times be ob- 

 ferved alfo upop autumnal fhoots ,) yet the utmoft of 

 their ftrcngth is fpent in expanding the flowers, fo that 

 they rarely produce fruit •, and very often the greateft 

 .part of the branches die foon after, v/hich is fuppofed 

 to be occafioned by abhght (as I have elfcwherc faid) 

 when in reality it is nothing Icfs than the fault ot thofe 

 ■who have the management of the trees. It is there- 

 fore of the greateft coniecuencc to wall-trees, efpeci- 

 ally of thek forrs, to go over them two or three 

 times in the months of April, May, and June, to 

 rub off all irregular Hioocs, and to train in the branches 

 that are left in due order to the wall, that each fhoot 

 may have an equal advantage of fun and air, both 

 of which are abfolutely necellary to ripen and pre- 

 pare the wood for the next year's bearing ; therefore 

 the ofcener the trees are looked over, to diveft them 

 of the ufeiefs branches, from the time they firfl be- 

 s?in to fnuot in the fpring till the autumin, the bet- 

 ter will the wood be ripened for the fucceeding year. 

 And by duly obferving this in fummer, there will not 

 be occafion for fu mucli cutting as is often praftifed 

 on Peach-trees, to their great injury ; for their wood 

 branches arc generally foft, tender, and pithy, which 

 when greatly wounded, are not healed over again fo 

 foon as in many other forts of trees ; and the wet in- 

 finuating into the wounded parts, doth often caufe the 

 branches to canker and die; which may be entirely 

 avoided by the gentle cafy method of pinching and 

 rubbing off the buds in the manner here direded, 

 which makes no wounds on the tree •, and hereby a 

 vaft deal of labour is faved, for one perfon who 

 ready at this bufinefs will go over a greater quantity 

 of walling in one day, than three or four can when 





Tuffered to 



grow rude 



fo that if the trees are 



*. 



permitted to grow rude all the fpring, they will re- 

 quire fix times the labour to reduce them into order. 

 Befides, it is a great difadvantage to the fruit, in 

 permitting tlic branches of the trees to extend from 

 the wall and fiiadc them -, and when they have grown 

 under the Ihelter of thcfc branches and leaves all the 

 fpring, until Midfummer, then by pruning off and 

 Ihortening mod of thcfc fhoots, and nailing the 

 others clofe to the wall,' the fruit are fuddenly ex- 

 jpofed to the fun and air, whereby they receive a very 

 reat check, and are not only i-ctarded in their growth. 



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ut often rendered ill tafVcd, and have tough ikins. 

 The diftance which the branches of thefe trees Ihould 

 be allowed againft the wall, mud be proportiojicd to 

 the fizc of the fruit or the length of the leaves ; for 

 if we obfcrve how the branches of the trees are natu- 

 rally dlfpofcd to grow, we fhall always find them 

 placed at a greater or lefs diflahce, as their leaves are 

 larger or fmallcr, as I have, already. obferved under 

 the article Leaves. And tlicre is no/urer guide to 

 a curious artifi: than nature, from whence a gardener 

 fliould always be direfted in every part of his profef- 

 fion, fince his bufinefs h to aid and aflift: nature, where 

 flie'is hot capable of bringmg her productions to ma- 

 turity', or where there is room, to make ccnfider- 

 able improvements by art ; which cannot be any 

 otherwife effcffled, than by gently' affilting her "in her 



^ --f 



own way. ' ^/^ ^, .; , ^ ..^ .. ., • .. 



But to return to pruning thcfc trees : the branches be- 



, ing carefully' trairied' in, as before direftcd, in the 



' fpring arid funimer feafons, we come now to treat of 



* "the Vinter pruning, which is commonly performed 



/ in February or March. But the beft fcalbn for diis 



?: .work is in October, when their leaves begin to fall, 



r which will be early enough for their wounds to heal 



■ before the frofl comes on, fo that there will be no 



danger of their being hurt hereby v and the branches 



of the trees being proportioned to the ftrength of 



tlie roots at that fcafpn, all the afcending fap in the 



fpring will Be employed to hourifli only thofe ufcful 



-. . parts of the branches v;hich are left ; whereas, if tliey 



arc left unprune'd till Febraary,'thc lap in the branches 



. ' being then in motipn, as 'may be obferved by the 



• p 



fweiling of the buds, the greateft part of it will be 

 drawn up to the extreme parts of the branches to 

 nourifti fuch bloifoms as muft be afterwards cut off- 

 and this may be eafi.lyknown byobfervingthe ftroneeft 

 fhoots at that feafon, when you will find the extreme 

 buds to fwell fafter than moft of the lower ones • for 

 there being no leaves then upon the branches to de> 

 tain the fap to nourifli the lower buds, the upper 

 ones v/ill always draw from thofe below. 

 But it isa conllantpractice amongft gardeners, founded 

 upon long experience, to prune weak trees early ia 

 the winter, and luxuriant trees late in the fprina in 

 order to check their luxuriancy. Now it is evident 

 that this check docs not proceed from any confidera- 

 ble lofs of fap at the wounds of the pruned tree (ex- 

 cepting a few of the bleeding trees, when cut at that 

 feafon) but muft arife from fome other caufe ; for by 

 feveral experiments made by the Rev. Dr. Hales in 

 fixing m^crcurial gages to the ftems of frelh cut trees 

 he found thofe wounds were conftandy in an imbibing 

 ftate, except the Vine in the bleeding feafon. 

 Therefore when a weak tree is pruned early in the be- 

 ginning of winter, the orifices of the fap-veficls are 

 clofed up long before the fpring ; and confequend^, 

 when in the Ipring and fummer, the warm weather 

 advancing, the attrafling force of the perfpiring leaves 

 is not then weakened by many inlets from frefli 

 wounds, but is wholly exerted in drawing fap from 

 the root ; whereas, on the other hand, when a luxu- 

 riant tree is pruned late in the fpring, the force of 

 its leaves to attraft fap from the root, will be much 

 fpent and loft at the feveral frelh cut inlets. ... ' ■ 

 Befides, if it were no advantage to the trees to prune 

 them at this feafon, (which I think no one will have 

 reafon to doubt after making the trial) but that it 

 , only fiicceeds as well as the fpring pruning ; yet there 

 is a great advantage in doing it at Michaelmas, for. 

 that being, a much more leifure feafon with garden- 

 ers than the fpring, they will have more time to per- 

 form it carefully; and then they will not havet09;; 

 many things come together, which may require to be- 

 immediately executed , for the fpring being the prin- 

 cipal feafon for cropping their kitchen-gardens and at- 

 tending their hot-beds, if they are difengagcd from 

 the bufinefs of pruning at that time, jt will be of 

 great advantage, efpecially where there is a great 

 quantity of walling. And here'^is alfo another bene- 

 fit in prtining at this feafon, which is, the having the 

 borders at liberty to dig and make clean before the ■ 

 fpring, fo that the garden may not appear in a litter 

 at that feafon. . ' . v % ; 



I 



Having faid thus much concerning the timeof prun-' 

 ing, I fhall now proceed to give fome general direc- 

 tioiis how it is to be performed on Peacn and Ne6ta- 

 rine-trees, which require a very different management 



- from moft other forts of fruits. ." t 



In pruning thefe trees, you fliould always obferve; 



where branches are Ihortencd, to cut them behind 

 a wood-bud, which may be eafily diftinguiflied from 

 the blofibm-buds, which are fhorter, rounder, and 

 more uirgidHhan the wood-buds ; for;, if the llioot 

 have not a leading bud where it is cut, it is very apt 

 to die down to the next leading bud ; fo that what 



, fruit may be produced above that, will come to no* 

 thing, there being always a necelfity oFa leading bud 

 to attraft the nburiflarnent i For it is not fufEcient to . 

 have a leaf-bud, as fome have imagined, fince that 

 will attra(5t but a fmall quantity of nourilhment, tnc 

 great ufe of the leaves being to pcrfpire away fuch 

 crude juices as are unfit to enter the fruit. The 

 length you fliould leave thefe branches, fliould be pro- 

 portioned to the ftrength of the tree, which, in a 

 healthy ftrong tree, may be left ten or twelve inches, 

 or more i but in a wxak one, they fliould not be more 

 than fix inches ; however, in this you muft be guided 

 by the pofition of a leading bud -, for it is better to 

 Icave^a ftioot three or four inches longer, or to cut it 

 two or three inches fliorter than might be proper to 

 do, provided there be one of thefe buds, it being 

 abfolutely neccflary for the future welfare of the tree j 



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