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Since this idea firft occurred to me fome years 

 ago, I have occafionally mentioned and recom- 

 mended it in ftrong terms, to very many gentlemen 

 farmers, cyder growers, and others, both in the eaft 

 and weft parts of Devonfhire, and in Cornwall; 

 but fo little are recommendations of any innovation 

 or improvement heeded, efpecially by the gene- 

 rality of farmers, that I have never heard, till very 

 lately, of any one having put it in pra&ice, and that 

 one inftance occafions my troubling you with it, 

 as the fuccefs of this farmer may induce others to 

 adopt it, until the fumigation of orchards, in blof- 

 foming feafon efpecially, becomes general; and a 

 moft precarious crop is thereby rendered as fure 

 and certain as a crop of corn. 



I have been well informed then (at firft by a 

 gentleman farmer, with great glee and fatisfaction, 

 to whom I had fome years ago recommended it) 

 of a farmer in the eaftern part of Devonfhire, who 

 this fpring determined to giv e a fair trial to the fuc- 

 ceis of fumigating orchards; and in order thereto, 

 made choice of one orchard to be fumigated, leav- 

 ing another (fimila.lv fuuated and circumltanced) 

 unfumigated. The event o< which was, that the 

 fumigated orchard had a very large and plentiful 

 bearing of apj les, to I is no fmall emolument -, 

 which he am.butes, and 1 bclicv£, very juftly, to 



this 



