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•^rhe feafon for this work is (as I fuid before) in the 

 autumn i at which time, if they arc carefully taken 

 up, there will be little danger of their fucceeding. In 

 tranfplanting thefe trees, you fhould by no means 

 cut their heads, which is too much praftifed j all that 

 fhould be done, muft be only to cut off any bruifed 

 or ill-placed branches, which lliould be taken off clofe 

 to the place where they are produced •, but there can 

 be no greater injury done to thefe trees, than to fhorten 

 their fhoots ; for when the leading bud (which is ab- 

 folutely necefTary to draw and attract the nourifn- 

 nient) is taken off, the branch often decays entirely, 

 or at leaft down to the next vigorous bud. 

 ' The trees thus raifed and managed, will, (if planted in 

 a proper foil) grow to a confiderable magnitude, and 

 are very proper for a wildernefs in large gardens, or 

 to plant in clumps in parks, &c. but if they are de- 

 figned for timber, it is much the better method to fow 

 the Acorns in the places where they are to remain ; in 

 order to which, you Ihould provide yourfelf in autumi) 

 with a fufficient quantity of Acorns, which Ihould be 

 always taken from ftrait, upright, vigorous growing 

 trees ; thefe fhould be gathered from under the trees 

 as foon as may be after they are fallen j and, if poffi- 

 ble, in a dry time, laid thin in fome open room to 

 dry •, after which they may be put into dry fand, and 

 preferved in a dry place until the beginning of No- 

 vember, when you ihould prepare the ground for 

 planting them. 



The direftions before given are defigned only for 

 fmall plantations in a garden prpark, which are only 

 for pleafure •, but where thefe trees are cultivated with 

 a view to profit, the Acorns fhould be fown "where the 

 trees are defigned to grov/ ; for thofe which are tranf- 

 planted will never grow to the fize of thofe which 

 ftand where they are fown, nor will they laft near fo 

 long found. For in fome places, where thefe trees have 

 been tranfplanted with the greatefl; care, and they have 

 grown very fail for feveral years after, yet they are 

 now decaying, when thofe which remain in the place 

 where they came up from the AcornS, are ftill very 

 thriving, and have not the leaft fign of decay. There- 

 fore, whoever defigns to cultivate thefe trees for tim- 



: ber, fhould never think of tranfplanting them, but 

 fow the Acorns on the fame ground where they are to 

 grow •, for the timber of all thofe trees which are 

 'tranfplanted, is not near fo valuable as that of the trees 

 . from Acorns. I fnall therefore add fome plain direc- 

 tions for fowing Acorns, and managing young trees 



■ during their minority, until they are out of danger, 



■'. and require no farther care. - .. ■ : r 



The firft thing to be done is, that of fencing the 

 ground very well, to keep out cattle, hares, and rab- 

 bets -, for if either of thefe can get into the ground, 



. they will foon deflrby 'all the young trees.: Indeed 

 they will in a few years grow to be out of danger 

 ' from hares and rabbets, but it will be many years be- 

 fore they will be pafl injury from cattle, if they are 

 permitted to get into the plantation, therefore durable 



^ fences fhould be put round the ground : if in the be- 

 * ginning a pale fence is made about the land, which 



" • may be clofe at the bottom and open above, and 



. within the pale a Quick-hedge planted, this will be- 

 come a good fence by the time the pale decays, 



. againfl all forts of cattle ; and then the trees will have 

 got above the reach of hares and rabbets, fo that they 

 cannot injure them, for the bark of the trees will be 



\ too hard for them to gnaw. . .- ^ ' 



After the ground is well fenced, it fhould be pre- 

 pared, by ploughing it three or four times, and after 

 each ploughing to harrow it well, to break the clods, 

 andcleanie the ground from Couch, and the roots of 

 all bad weeds. Indeed if the ground is green fward, 

 it will be better to have one crop of Beans, Peas, or 

 Turneps off the ground, before the Acorns are fown, 

 provided theffe crops are well hoed to flir the furface 

 and deflroy the weeds ; for if this is obferved, the 



: crop will mend arid improve the land for fowing ; but 

 in this cafe the ground fhould be ploughed as foon 



. as polTible, when the crop is taken off, to prepare it f 



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thriving; trees 



for the Acorns, which fliould be fown as foon asn^av 

 be after the Acorns are ripe -, for although thcfc may 

 be preferved in fand for fome time, yct'^thcy v/iJl be 

 apt to fprout; and if fo, the fhoots are in dang:er of 

 being broken and fpoilcd ; therefore I fhould advifc 

 fowing early, which is certainly the bcfl method. 

 In making choice of the Acorns, all thofe fl:ould be 

 preferred, which are taken from the hrcrcfl and mod 



and thofe of pollard-trces Ihould al- 

 ways be rejeftcd, though the latter are p-encrallv the 

 mofl produdive cf Acorns, but thole of the larfre 

 trees commonly produce the ftrongefl and moil thriv- 

 ing plants. 



The feafon for fowing the Acorns being com.e, and 

 the ground having been ploughed and levelled 

 fmooth, the next work is to fow the Acorns, which 

 mufl be done by drawing drills acrofs the ground, ac 

 about four feet afunder, and two inches deep, into 

 which the Acorns fhould be fcattered at two inches 

 diflance. Thefe drills may be drawn either v/ith a 

 drill plough, or by hand with a hoe ; but the former 



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plantations fhould be preferred. 



is the moll expeditious method, therefore in lar^^e 



In drawing the 

 drills, if the land has any flope to one fide, thefe 

 fhould be made the fame way as the ground Hopes, 

 that there may be no ftoppage of the wet by the rows 

 of plants crofTmg the hanging of the land. This fliould 

 ■ be particularly obferved in all wet ground, or where 

 ' the wet is fubjeft to lie in winter, but in dry land it is 

 ■ not of much confequence. When the Acorns are 

 fown, the drills fhould be carefully filled in, fo as to 

 cover the Acorns fecurely ; for if any of them are ex- 

 - ' pbfed, they will entice the birds and mice ; and if ei- 

 ther of thefe once attack them, they will make great 

 havock with them. ■ 



The reafon of my direfting the drills to be made at 

 this diflance, is for the more convenient flirring the 

 ground between the rows, to keep the young plants 

 clear from weeds; for if this is not carefully done, it 

 cannot be expefled that the young plants fhould make 

 much progrefs ; and yet this is generally negledled 

 by many who pretend to be great planters, who are 

 often at a large expence to plant, but feldom regard 

 them after ; fo that the young plants have the diffi- 

 culty to encounter the weeds, which are frequently 

 four or five times the height of the plants, and not 

 only fliade and draw them, but alfo exhauft all the 

 • goodnefs of the ground, and confcquently ftarve the 

 plants.^ Therefore, whoever hopes to have^fuccefs 

 ..- in their plantaViOns, fhould determine to be at the ex- 

 ■-^rice.of keeping 'them clean for eightor fen" years af- 

 ,--ter fowing, by which time the plants will have ob- 

 ■r tained ftrength enough to keep down the weeds j the 

 ;/negle6ling of this has occafioned fo'rriany plantations 

 ■^ to mifcarry, as are frequently to be m.et with in di- 

 vers parts of England. 



About the middle of April the young plants will ap- 

 pear above ground'; but before this, if the ground 

 fhould produce many young weeds, it will be" good 

 hufbandry tofcufBe the furface over with Dutch hoes, 

 iri a dry rime, either the latter end of March or the 

 beginning of April, to deflroy the v/eeds, whereby 

 the ground will be kept clean unril all the plants are 

 come up fo as to be plainly difcerned; by which time 

 It may be proper to hoe the ground over again, for 

 by doing it early, while the weeds are fmall, a man 

 will perform more of this work in one day than he 

 can in three or four when the weeds are grown large; 

 befides, there will be great hazard of cutting off or 

 injuring the young plants when they are hid by the 

 weeds ; and fmall weeds being cut, are foon dried 

 up by the fun •, but large weeds often take frefli root 

 and grow again, efpecially if rain fhould fall fooa 

 after, and then the weeds will grow the fafter for 

 being ftirred ; therefore it is not only the befl me^ 

 thod, but alio the cheapefl hufbandry, to begirt 

 cleaning early in the fpring, and to repeat it as often as 

 the weeds are produced 

 . The firfl fummer, while the plants are young, it will 



be the befl way to perform thefe hoeings by hand, 



but 



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