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part of the wall (To far as the trees are advanced) he 

 lefc unfurniflied with bearing wood. A tree v/cll 

 managed, though it does not reprefent any regular 

 figure, yet will appear very beautiful to the fight, 

 when it thus drefied and nailed to the wall. 

 3. It is of great advantage to the fruit; for the cutting 

 away all uickfs branches, and Ihortening all the bearing 

 fhoots according to the ftrength of the tree, will render 

 the tree more capable to nonrifli thofe fruit and 

 branches whicli are left remaining, fo that the fruit 

 will be much larger and better tafted. And this is the 

 advantage which thofe trees againfl walls or efpaliers 

 have to I'uch as are ftandards, and are permitted to 

 grow as they are naturally inclined ; for it is not 

 their being trained either to a wall or efpalier which 

 . renders their fruit fo much better than ftandards, but 

 becaufe the roots have a lefs quantity of branches 

 and fruit to nourifh, and confequently their frui 

 v.'ill be lar,g;er and better tafted; 





ix. 



\ 



The realbns for IVunirtg being thus exhibited, the 

 next thing is the method of performing it ; but this 

 being fully handled' under the feveral articles of tHe 

 different kinds of fruit, I Ihall not repeat it again in 

 this place, and therefore fhall only add fome few 

 general inftruftions, which are necefiary to be un- 

 dcrdcod, in order to the right managem.ent of fruit- 

 trees. 



There are many pcrfons who fuppofe, that if their 

 fruit-trees are but kept up to the wall or efpalier 

 during the fummcr fcafon, fo as hot to hang in very 

 great diforder, and in winter to get a gardener to 

 ^prune them, it isfufficienr, tut this isa miftakc ; for 

 the greatefl care ought to be employed about tTiem 

 in the fpring,' when the trees arc in vigorous growth, 

 which is the only proper feafon to procure a quantity 

 of good wood in the different parts of the tree, and 

 to difplace all ufclefs branches as foon' as they are 

 produced,, whereby the vigour of the tree will be 

 ■""•entirely diftributcd to fuch branches only as are de- 



- figned to remaain, which will render them ftrong, and 

 • more capable to produce good fruit- whereas, if all 

 *" the branches are permitted to remain which are pro- 



ducedy fome of the more vigorous will att'rsft the 

 . greatefl fl-iare of the fap from the tree, v^hereby they 



will be too luxuriant for producing fruit, and the 



' greateft part of the other fhoots will be ftarved, and 



' lendered ft) weak, as not to be able to produce any 



thinin; elfe but blolToms and leaves fas hath been be- 



- fore micntioned ;) fo that it is impofTible for a perfon, 

 - let him* be ever fo well fl^illed in fruit-trees,^ to reduce 



them into any tolerable order by Wimer-prunirig on- 



-]y, if they are wholly negle£tc4 in the fpring/' ■;"%'.. 



There are others who do not entirely neglect their 



trees during the fummicr leafori, as thofe fcefore-men- 



■ tioned, but yet do little more good to them by what 



-"' they call Sumrfier-pruning ; for thefe perfons neglect 



•:■ their treses at the proper feafon, which is in April and 



■ : May, wheTT their flioots ?rre p'rocJuced^ and only about 



Midfummer go over them, nailing in'^'all their braricKcs, 



except fuch as are produced fore-right from the \vall, 

 Vv'hich they cut our, and at the fame time often fliort- 

 en moft- of the other branches ; all which is' entirely 

 UTongpraitice, for thofe branches, which are intend- 

 ed for bearing the fucceeding year, fhoukl not be 

 fliortened during the time of their growth, which will 

 caufe them to produce one or two lateral niootsfrom 

 the eyes below the place v/here they were jftopped, 

 which (hoots will draw much of the ftrenc^th from 

 the buds of the firft Ihoot, whereby they are oft«n 

 fiat, and do not produce their blofToms ; and, if thofe 

 tv/o lateral fhoots are not entirely cut away at the 

 Winter-pruning, they will prove injurious to the tree, 

 as the fnoots which thefe produce, will be what the 

 French call water fnoots ; and in fuffering thofe luxu- 

 riant ftoots to rem.uin upon the tree until Midfum- 

 mer before they are difplaced, they will exhauft a great 

 fnare of the nourifliment from the other branches (as 

 was before obfervcd •,) and, by fhading the fruit all 

 the fpring feafon, when the/ are cut away, and the 

 other branches fallened to the wall, the fruit, by be- 



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mg fo fuddenly expofed, will receive a very great 

 check, which will caufe their flcins to grow rough, 

 and thereby render them lcf> delicate. 7'ii:s is to^'bc 

 chiefly underllood of ftone fruit and Graocs, but Pears 

 and Apples being much hardier, fuffer'not fa much, 

 though it is a great difadvantage to thofe alfo to be 

 thus managed. 



It mufl: alfo be remarked, that Peaches, Nectarines. 

 Apricots, Cherries, and Plums, are always in the 

 greateft vigour, when they are the leaft miaimed hy 

 the knife , for where thefe trees have large aniputa- 

 tions, they are very fubjefl: to gum and decay \ Vo 

 that it is certaiaily the moft prudent niethod carefully 

 to rub off all ufelefs buds when they are firft produ- 

 ced, and pinch others, where new fhoots are wanted 

 to fupply the vacancies of the wall, by which ma- 

 nagement trees may be fo ordered, as to want but 

 little of the knife in Winter-pruning, which is thefureft 

 way to preferve thefe trees healthful, and is perform- 

 ed with lefs trouble than the common method. 

 The management of Pears and Apples is much the 

 fame v,ith thefe trees in fummer, but in winter they 

 muft be very differently pruned ; for as Peaches and 

 Neftarines for the moll part produce their fruit upon 

 the former year's wood, therefore they muft have 

 their branch:fs fhortened according to their ftrength, 

 in order to produce new llioots' for the fucceeding 

 year -, fo Pears, Apples, Plums, and Cherries, oa 

 the contrary, producing their fruit upon curfons or 

 fpurs, which come out of the wood of five, fix, or 

 feven years old, fnould not be fhortened, becaufe 

 thereby thofe buds, which were naturally difpofed to 

 form thefe curfons or fpurs, would produce wood 

 branches, whereby the trees would be filled ^yith 

 wood, but never produce much fruit ; and as it often 

 happens that the bloffom buds are firft produced atVhe 

 extremity of the laft year's (hoot, by fliortening the 



branches the bloffoms are cut away, which fliould 

 alvv'ays be carefully avoided. 



There are feveral authors who have written on the 

 fubjeft of Pruning in fuch a prolix manner, that it is 

 impoffible for a learner to underftand their meaning, 

 Thefe have defcribed the feveral forts of branches 



r 



whichare produced on fruit-trees -, as wood branches, 

 fruit branches, irregular branches, falle branches, and 



i 



. .luxuriant branches, all which they affert every perfon, 

 who pretends to Pruning, fhould diftinguifh well ; 

 ^^'^%rea5 there is notliing more in ^11 this but a parcel 

 ^.. of words tp.amufe the reader, without any real mean- 

 "' inff J for all thefe are comprehended under tfie de- 

 \ ;/cription a!ready given of luxuriant or ufelefs branches, 

 ^a^d fuch as are ^termed ufeful or fruit-bearing branches; 

 ^^and, where due care is taken in the fpring of the year 

 '"'"to dilplace thefe ufelefs branches (as was before 'di- 

 ^ refted,), there will be no fuch thing as irregular, falfe,. 

 'or luxuriant branches at the Winter-pruning ; there- 

 fore It is to no purpofe to amufe people with a cant of 

 . words, which, when fully underftood, fignify juft . 





V* .; 



nothing at all. 



But fince I have explained the different methods of 

 Pruning the feveral forts of fruits under the refpec- 

 tive articles, I fhall forbear repeating it again in this 



- place, but fliall only give fome general hints for the 

 Pruning cf ftandard fruit-trees, and fo conclude.; - 



\Firil, you fliould never fhorten the branches of thefe 

 trees, unlefs it be where they are very luxuriant, and 

 grow irregular on one fide of .the. tree, attrafting the 

 greateft part of the fap of the tree, whereby the other 

 parts are unfurnifhed with branches, or rendered very 

 weak -, in which cafe the branch fhould be fhortened 

 dov/n as lov; as is neceffary, in order to obtain more 

 branches, to fill up the hoilov/ of the trees ; but this 

 is only to be underftood of Pears and Apples, which 

 will produce fhoots from wood of three, four, or 

 more years old, wh^rJas mjoft forts of ftone fruit will 

 gum and decay after fuch amputations. 

 But from hence I would not have it underftood, that 

 I would diixftthe reducing of thefe ttces into an ex- - 

 aft fpherical figure, fince there is nothing more de- 

 teftable than to l^e a tree (which fnould be permuted 



10 U to 



a. 



