Y 



4 



any tolerable fkill in pruning by the tedious and per- j a per_f:.n Is very curious in his fruic, I would a:\vrys 



advilc the planting thcin againit tlpaliers, in whicli 

 method they take up but little roon^i in a garden, and 

 if they are well managed, appear very beautiful •, and 

 the fruit is larger and better rafted than thofe pro- 

 duced on dwarfs, as hath been already obferved ^ but 

 fome of the Winter Pears muft bt 



ir 



picxed dtreftions which are publifiicd by Monfieur 

 Quiatiny, and thofe who have copied from him -, 

 for, as thefe have all fet out wrong in the beginning, 

 by allowing their trees lefs than halt the diftance which 

 they {hould be planted, they have prefcribcd rules to 

 keep them within that compafs, which are the moft 

 abfurd, and contrary to all reafon, therefore fhould 

 not be pradtifed by thofe perfons who are defirous of 



having plenty of fruit. 



I fhall therefore only lay down a few neceflary direc- 

 tions for pruning and managing thefe trees, which 

 fnall be done in as few words as pofllble, that a learner 

 may the more eafily underftand it, and which (toge- 

 ther with proper obfervations) will be fufficient to in- 

 ftruft any perfon in the right management of them. 

 Pear-trees generally produce their bloflbm-buds firft 

 at the extremity of the laft year's fhoots, fo that if 

 thefe are Shortened, the bloflbms are cut off-, but this 

 is not all the damage, for (as I before faid) this occa- 

 fions the buds immediately below the ciit to put forth 

 two or more fhoots, whereby the number of branches 

 will be increafed, and the tree crowded too much 

 with wood i befides, thofe buds, which by this ma- 



■" nagement produce fhoots, would have only produced 

 curfons or fpurs, upon which the blofTom-buds are 

 produced, if the leading branch had not been fhort- 

 ened ; therefore thefe fhould never be flopped, unlefs 



/, tofurnifh wood to fill a vacancy. 



';; It is not necefTary to provide anew fupply of wood in 

 ■/. Eear-trees, as muft be done for Peaches, Ne6larines, 



/ ■ Sec. which only produce their fruit upon young woodj 

 ■for Pears produce their fruit upon curfons or fpurs, 

 whi(^h are emitted from' branches which are three or 

 ■ four 3^ears old ; which curfons continue fruitful many 

 j-^ars, fo that, where thefe trees have been Ikilfully 

 managed, I have feen branches which have Been 



■^A 



planted againft eaft, 

 fouth-eaft, or fouth-weft walls, otherwife thev will 

 not ripen well in England in bad feafons. 

 But although this may be the cafe with fome of the 

 late Winter Pears in very bad feafons, yet, in o-cne- 

 ral, moft forts of them will ripen extremely well in all 

 warm fituations, when they are planted in efpalier 

 and the fruit will be better flavoured than that which 

 grows againft walls, and will keep much longer good ; 

 for, as the heat againft walls which are expofed to the 

 fun will be very great at fome times, and at others 

 there will be little warmth, all fruit which grow near 

 them, will be haftened unequally,' and therefore is 

 never fo well flavoured as the fame forts are which ri- 

 pen well in the open air ; and all the fruit, which is 

 ripened thus unequally, will decay much foonerthan 

 thofe which ripen gradually in the open air ; there- 

 fore thofe Winter Pears which grow in efpalier, ma/ 

 be kept fix weeks longer than thofe which o-row 

 againft walls, which is a very defirable thing ; for to 

 have plenty of thefe fruit at a feafon when it is very 

 - rare to find any other fruit to fupply the table but 

 Apples, is what all lovers of fruit muft be greatly 

 pleafed to enjoy ; which is what may be effefted by 

 planting many of the late forts in efpalier, where, 

 although the fruit will not be fo well coloured as 

 thofe from the walls, yet they will be found exceeding 

 :ood. When the Befi de Chaumontelle came firft to 





^.;«' 



trained horizontally upSyards of twenty feet from 

 ^jhe trunk of the tree, and have been fruitful their 



> , ' 



' Vj 



»; 



I'l 



-J- 



:■)■ 



-\ •"' 



-^^ 



-■ ^ 





"vf%v,hole length.;- And if we do but carefully obferve 

 .. t- the branches of a healthy ftandard-tree, which has 

 been perniiitted to grow without pruning, we fhall find 

 '-^^^"^many that are ten or twelve years 'old, or more, which 

 ;-'- are very full of thefe curfons, upon which 'a good 

 r'-'-":, number of fruit is annually produced. 

 ^^tv-Durin^ the fummer feafon thefe trees fhould be often 

 ^^r^j^Jooked over to train in .the fhoots, as they are pro- 



^'^^"duced, "regularly to the wall or efpalier, and to dif- 



•^V place fore-right and luxuriant branches as they fhoot 



out, whereby the fruit will be equally expofed to the 



■* air and fun, which will render them more beautiful 

 ' ^' and better tafted than when they are fliaded by the 



"'" branches ; and by thus manao-inp; the trees in fummer, 

 ■^r-^^they will always appear beautiful, and in winter they 

 ' rf" will v/ant but little pruninp;.^-.^' ... l.v /•^^;'-"^ '^'^ ' ^ i 



England, the trees were planted in efpalier, and fome 



-'■'' of them not on a very good foil, or in a warm fituation, 



and yet from thefe trees I have eaten this Pear in great 



perfedion in April, an3" fometimes Tt "Has' kept till 



May ; whereas, all thofe which have Been fincc 



?? planted againfl walls ripen their fruit by the begin- 



'^'ning of November, and are generally gone by the 



middle of December ; nor are the latter fo well tafted 



. ,. "*- A.^ J 



■ » . ■ 



^ ^'j^ ^^'.J- 





as thofe off the efpaliers. 



^ The' Virgoleufe and St. Germain, as alfo the Colmar, 

 are efteemed the moft difficult forts to ripen their 



^ fruit, yet thefe I have eaten in great perfeftion from 

 e^^liers, and often from ftandard-trees, where they 

 grew upon a warm foil j but the fruit was much 

 fmaller on the ftandard-trees than thofe of the fame 

 forts which grew againft walls or efpaliers, but they 



- were full as well flavoured, and fome of thefe forts I 

 have eaten good in April, which is two months later 

 than they ufually keep -, but yet I would not advife 

 the planting thefe late Pears in ftandard-trees, be- 

 caufe thej fhould hang very late on the trees in au- 



^*. 



' . 



.'.^.Where Pear-trees ai-e thus regularly trained without T Ttumh, at which feafon the winds are generally very 

 "^^ flopping their fhoots, and have full room foVtheir j ?■ high ; and tHefe ftandard-trees being much expofed 

 branches to extend on each fide, there will never be I ., the fruit is'bfteii blown off the ifces before they 



% f'' -. -*AX 



p* . ' '>' 







amr occafion for difbarking the branches, or cutting 

 on the roots (as hath been direfted^by feveral writers 

 ^"?>?" gardening \j Avhich methods, however they may 

 , anfwer the intention for the prefent, yet will certainly 

 ^;reatly injure the trees, as muft all violent amputa- 

 tions, 5vhich fhould ever be avoided as much as pof- 

 r|j^,fible^gn fruit-trees ; and this, I am fure, can never 

 '^yj-',-';^^-^^ wanted, where trees b^ve been rightly planted, and 

 '-■/r "f^^egularly trained, while young. ^"v^'C-f^-i^^^^^^V 

 ;:^ .-.r: ihe feafon tor pruning jhefe trees is.any time^after 

 ^" ' . V!"!- the fruits are gathered, untifthe beginning of March: 

 . , -^^ but the looner it is done after the fruit is gathered, 

 r?^" the betler, for reafons alreadjTgiveri'for'prunincr of 

 , *^Peach-tfeesvtKbugKmdeed the deferring of thefe uri- 

 V;til fpring,^where .there are large quantities of trees 

 ';^^o prune," IS not fo injurious to theni;' as to fome ten- 

 ""aer fruits ; but ifthe branches are regularly trained 



■^ 



r- ' _ 



are ripe ; and thofe of them, which may hang on the 

 trees,' are frequently broifed by being forced againft 

 the branches by the winds, fo that they feldom keep 

 well. ■ What I mentioned this for, is to prove, that 

 thefe Pears will ripen very well without the affiftance 

 of a wall; fo that if they are planteH in efpaliers 

 "where the trees aire kept low, the fruit will not be 

 fo much expofed to the ftrong winds in autumn as 

 thofe oritHe ftandards, therefore can be in no danger 

 of the fruit coming to perfedlion ; ""dnd as the trees 

 in efpaliers will be conftantly pruned, and managed 

 -in the fame manner as thofe againft walls, the fruit 

 will be as large on "ttiolc trees ; therefore, where a 



has "a warm fituation and a kindly foil, I 



on 



-would not advife the being ^at an expence to build 

 ■ walls'oh purpolefbr Pears, but to plant them againft 

 ■ ' efpalieVs'fand where there is any cne who is very cu- 



in fummer, and the luxuriant fhoots rubbed off, there j ^;^Tious in having plenty of thefe fruit, and will be ar 

 "..'Will be little left to do to them in winter? :1 ■-"'-:* ^ - I ^ -the expence to procure them, I fhould advife having 

 '.. -^U^^^^o^^s of Sumrner Pears will ripen Very well I ^r a tufficient quantity ^^ mats made to fix up 



; cither on ftandards, dwarfs, &' efpaliers," as will all r;:^ againft the back of the efpalier In the fpring, when 



' Autumn Pears upon dwarfs or efpaliers i but* where ( .^:the""trees are in blofibma which "will fcreen"" 



< 



-■\ 



from 



-.--- 



I 



' - 



* -- - 



.y. 



'I- - 

 1 * 



'''■> 



V 



-. >*.- 



1-^ ^ ■ » > 



* ' 



^ _- 



I .r- 



•^■y^^ 



» v^; 



* ■- 



' -' t. -- 



■» -■■- - _. 



■-■<-; ■^"■'■'.' 



\ 



^ - 



4 



^i 



''I 



* > 



I ■ 



