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tie<l^es, to project about ten feet from the wall, thefe 



will break the force of the wind, and prevent iis de- 

 ftroying of the blofibms ^ and thefc may be removed 

 away as foon'as the danger is over. Where thele 

 things have been praflifed, they were generally at- 

 tended with fuccefs •, and as there will be no trouble 

 of covering and uncovering in this method, afcer they 

 are fixed up, there can be no danger of negleft, as 

 Very often is the cafe, when the trouble is great, or 



to be often repeated. 



■ When your fruit is fet, and grown to die bignefs of 

 - a fmall nut, you fliould look over the trees and thin 

 ; them, leaving them at leaft five or fix inches afunder ; 

 . for when they are permitted to remain in bunches, as 

 . they areoften produced, the nourifliment which Ihould 

 -. be employed wholly to the fruits defigncd to ftand, 



will be equally fpent amongft the whole number, a 

 great part of which muft be afterwards pulled off; fo 

 that the fooner this is done, the better it will be for 

 the remaining fruit; and if it Ihouldfometimes happen, 

 that a part of thofe left, by any accident, Ihould be 

 deftroyed, yet the remaining ones will be much the 

 larger and better tailed for it, and the trees will gain 

 more ftrength, for a moderate quantity of fruit is al- 

 ways preferable to a great crop ; the fruit when but 

 few, will be much larger, better tailed, and the trees 

 . in a condition to bear wtII the fucceeding year ; w^here- 



■ as when they are overcharged with fruit, it is alv/ays 

 fmall, ill tailed, and the trees are generally fo much 



! weakened thereby, as not to be in a condition for bear- 

 • ,ing well for two or three years after j fo that upon the 

 . whole, it is much better to have a lefl^er number of 



fruit than is commonly eftcemed a crop, than to have 

 . too many, fince the fruit and alfo the trees are bene- 

 ' fited thereby. . The quantity of fruit to be hh on 



large full-grown trees fhould never be greater than five I difpofition, feem unlikely to overtake them ; for they 



PER 



which are properly managed ; and by the timely rub- 



bing offufelei^ and luxuriant flioots, it will lave muc!- 

 trouble, and prevent the ufeof the knife in fummeT 

 which is very iuirtful to thefe trees, for there will be 

 no need to fhorten any of the llioots in fummer. 

 When thefe rules are duly executed, there will be no 

 occafion to pull off the leaves of the trees, to admit 

 the fun to the fruit, which is often pradifed; for if 

 we confider, that the leaves are abfoliitely necelTary 

 to cherifh the bloffom-buds, which are always formed 

 at the foot4lalks of the leaves, the pulling them 

 off before they have performed the office affigned 

 them by nature, is doing great injury to the trees 

 therefore I caution every one againft that praftice. * 

 It is a common opinion which has for fome years pre- 

 vailed, even amongft perfons of good Underftandina 

 that Peach-trees are not long lived, therefore fiiouki 

 be renewed every twenty years ; but this is a ^reat 

 miftake, for I have eaten fome of the fineft Peaches 

 of various kinds, which grew on trees which had 

 been planted above fifty years : and lam convinced 

 by experience, that when the trees are budded upon 

 proper ftocks, and carefully planted and managed, 



they may be continued fruitful and healthy fixty years 

 and upward ; and the fruit produced on thefe old trees 

 w^ill be much better flavoured, than any of thofe upon' 

 young trees -, but I fuppofe the foundation of the above 

 opinion was taken from the French, who generally 

 bud their Peaches upon Almond ftocks, which are of 

 ftiort duration, thefe feldom lafting good more thai 

 twenty years ; but this feldom being praftifed 

 in England, the cafe is widely different > nor in- 

 deed fhould we fetch our examples from that nation, 

 where the profefibrs of the art of gardening are at leafl 

 a century behind the Englifh ; and from their prefent 



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dozen upon each ; but on middling trees, three or four [ depart from nature in almoft every part of gardening, 

 dozen will be enough. ' ■ ..* .;-.V- . | ' and are more pleafed with introducing their little in- 



If the feafon fliould prove hot and dry, it will be pro- [ 'ventibns of pruning and rnanaging their fruit-trees. 



^, per to draw up the earth round the ftem of each tree, 

 to form a hollow bafon of about fix feet diameter, and 

 ^.^coyer the furface of the ground in this bafon with 

 *.. mulch ; and once in a weelc or fortnight, according 

 |/ to Ihe" Iieat arid ^drought of the feafon, pour down 

 ^^cight or tefi gallons of water to the root of each tree j 



• OXwhere there is an engine which will difperfe the wa- 

 ^,ter in gentle ealy drops like rain, if the fame, or a 

 ;■ larger quantity of water is fprinkled all over the 



* branches of the trees, and this, foaking down to the 

 ..foots, will keep the fruit conftantly. growing, which 

 ," will prevent their falling off the trees, as they gene- 

 . rally do where this method is not pfaftifed •, and the 

 . fruity being thus conftantly nourilhed, will be much 

 jJbetter tafted, and hereby the trees will be maintained 



fo that itis ^yhat I can from long experi- 

 jv:ence recommend, as one* of the molf neceffary things 





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according to their own fancy, than they are careful to 

 draw their inftrudlions from nature, from whence the 

 the true^.art is to be obtained j fp that in very fewin- 

 .ftances gardeners fliould deviate from nature, unlefs 

 it be in thofe particulars, where art may be practifed 

 to the greateft advantage, which is in^ the procuring 

 many forts of efculent plants and fruits eariierand 

 better flavoured than can be obtained without, in 

 which the French are extremely deficient v and herein 

 they truft too much to nature, and ufe too little art. 

 In one of, the moft celebrated of their authors^ who 

 treats very particularly of fruit-trees, there are direc- 

 tions for planting of Peach-trees twelve feet afunder, 

 and at the fame time he advifes the planting of Pear- 

 trees but nine or ten feet diftance; and vet he fays, 

 that aPear-tree in health will ftioot three feet on each 

 fide every year ; therefore he does not allow room for 

 thefe ti-ees to grow more than two years, before they 

 meet.#>There is alfo another thing pofitively laid 

 growing, for afterward it will be hurtful to ;he trees j- . down by the fame author, which is, never to lay any ^ 

 ^nd fruit, for a diy autumn ripens both wood and J: ;, dung upon the borders where fruit-trees are growing, 

 fruit better than a moift later feafon. K -which, he fays, will render the fruit ill tafted ; and 



. this opinion has top generally prevailed in England; 



, but this hath been exploded by one of his own coun- 

 trymen, who ^affirms, that from upward of twenty 

 .: years experience, thofe trees where the borders had 



-, been conftantly dunged, always produced the molt 



' delicious fruit, and the trees were in the greateft vi- 

 gour ; and the fame gendeman mentions the 'praqice 



in vigour , 



^C:to te praftifed by all lovers of good fruit, l^ But this 

 J;*}Kduld not Be continued longer than while the fruit are 



•i--;^ 



4 When the Peach-trees, are carefully managed in the 

 . Ipring of the year, according to the rules before laid 

 iaown, all the nourifliment which the roots can fuppTy 

 ^vrill be ufefully employed in nouriftiing fuch flioots 

 only as are to be continued, as alfo the quantity of 

 fruit which is proper for each tree, therefore both muft 

 of confequence be rendered better ; for where there 

 r^ IS not this care, the trees foon grow ragged, and are 

 /'not furniftied' properly with branches ; arid thofe 

 J, fhbots which are produced, are fome of, them very 

 ■^w^ak, ^nd others very luxuriant, whereby the trees 

 . ,?il^^ rendered very unfightly, as alfo unhealthy, and 

 ^ never continues many years fruitful j and by thus 

 training the branches to the wall as they are pro- 

 duced, th6 fruit will be always expofed to the fun 

 and air 5 which in'tlie common method of managing 

 thefe trees, by letung their branches' grow rude all 

 ' ^^ felpg'i^^y ^^^ deprived from, and confequently 

 ,Mo norreceive the benefit from thefe equal to thofe 



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of the gardeners at. Montreuil near Paris, who have 

 for fome generations been famous for the culture or 

 Peaches ; and are as careful to dutig the borders where 



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their Peach-trees" grow \ every, .other year, as 

 kitchen-gardeners are for their legumes. . . - 

 And from a long experience it is, that I can lubicnbe 

 to the truth of this ; for in fome particular gardens, 

 where the bert fruit grev/ that I have yet tafted, the 

 ground was-cohflantly dunged every other year; there- 

 fore It is what I muft recommend to the pradice ot 

 every curious perfon, with this caution, always to uje 

 fuch dung for their borders asjs well rotted, and to 



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