116 NAT. ORDER. AMYDALACE*. 



full growth ; and if all were to remain it would hurt the trees in 

 their future bearing ; therefore they should be timely thinned when 

 of the size of large peas or half-grow n gooseberries. There should 

 be a preparatory thinning before the time of stoning, and a final 

 thinning afterwards, because most plants, especially such as have 

 overborne themselves, drop many fruit at that crisis. Finish the 

 thinning with great regularity, leaving those retained at proper dis- 

 tances, three, four, or five on strong shoots, two or three on middling, 

 and one or two on weaker shoots, and never leaving more than one 

 Peach at the same eye. The fruit on weakly trees should be thinned 

 more in proportion. 



Reiiovativg old decayed trees. Head down, and renew the soil 

 from an old upland pasture, and if the bottom of the border is moist, 

 or if the roots have gone more tlian two feet downwards, pave the 

 bottom, or otherwise render it dry, and impervious to roots at the 

 depth of twenty inches from the surface. This plan will be found 

 almost universally successful in restoring suflicient vigor to resist 

 insects, and produce abundance of fruit. 



Protecting the blossoms. This may be done by various modes. 

 Forsyth recommends old netting as the best covering. C. Harrison 

 recommends, to protect the trees from the frost in tiie month of Jan- 

 uary by branches of broom ; these are previously steeped in soap- 

 suds mixed with one-third of urine for forty-eight iiours, in order 

 to clear them from insects ; and vi'hen dry are disposed thinly over 

 the whole tree, letting them remain on only until the trees begin to 

 break into leaf At the time of the blooming and setting of the 

 fruit, lije applies cold water in tlie following manner, viz : if upon 

 visiting the trees before the sun is up in the morning, after a frosty 

 night, he finds there is any appearance of frost on the bloom or 

 young fruit, he waters the bloom or young fruit thoroughly with cold 

 water from a garden-engine, and he affirms that even if the blossoms 

 or young fruit are discolored, this operation recovers them. Dr. 

 Noehden remarks, " tiiat this operation of watering before sunrise. 



