O R C 



ORG 



• ■ from hanging upon them and hindering 

 lue increase ol the fruit. 

 In the act of planting or putting them into 

 t round, great care should be taken th.it they 

 are not put in to too rival a depth, as where that 

 ia tlie ca?e they are 1:1 great danger of being de- 

 stroyed. It is also necessary, that a bed of fine 

 good mould be provided for them, and that it be 

 carefully put in with them, so as to be properly 

 insinuated among the fibres of the roots, and 

 afford them due support ; the whole being 

 carefully trodden round the plants in finishing 

 the business. 



Upon this being performed in a proper and 

 perfect manner, and the young trees afterwards 

 kept perfectly steady by suitable supports, the suc- 

 cess of the planter in a great measure depend-. 



Where the trees are^planted in the quincunx 

 order, and at the distance of eighty feet, Mr. 

 Forsvth says, " the groundbetwecn the rowsmay 

 be ploughed and sown with wheat, turnips, &c. 

 or planted with potatoes : the ploughing or dig- 

 gins the ground, provided it be not done so deep 

 as to hurt the roots, by admitting the sun and 

 rain to meliorate the ground, will, he thinks, 

 keep the trees in a healthy flourishing state. It 

 will be necessary to support the young trees by 

 tying them to stakes until they are well rooted, 

 to prevent their being loosened or blown down 

 by the wind. 



" In the spring after planting, if it proyedry, 

 some turf should be dug and laid round the stems 

 of the young trees with the grassy side down- 

 wards; which will keep the ground moist, and 

 save a deal of watering : if the trees have taken 

 well, this need not be repeated, as they will be 

 out of dansxer the first year. The turf should be 

 laid as far as the roots of the trees are supposed 

 to extend ; and when it is rotted it should be 

 dus-in, which will be of great service to their 

 roots. 



•'Such trees as are ofyery different sizes when 

 full grown should not, he says, be planted pro- 

 mtfcoousiy ; but, if the soil be properly adapted, 

 the larger planted in the back parts or higher 

 grounds, or at the north ends ot the rows, if 

 tbev run nearly north and south, and the others 

 in succession according to their size. The trees 

 when planted in this manner will have a fine 

 effect when grow n up j but if they are planted pro- 

 miscuously, they .-.ill not appear so agreeable to 

 the eye; and, besides, the smaller tr.es will be 

 shaded by the larger, which injures them, and 

 spoils the flavour ot the fruit. 



" It is advised that Orchards should be dunged 

 once in two or three years with some surt of 

 good manure, as this is of much advantage in 

 rendering them fruitful and productive. 



"The stems of trees in tho-e where cattle feed 

 should be high enough to prevent their eating 

 the lower branches ; ami fenced ia such a man- 

 ner as to prevent their being barked, or injured 

 by the cattle rubl' nit them, particularly 



when young; which may be done by triang 

 of wood, or the trees may be bushed with 

 thorn-. 



But in orchards where cattle are not permitted 

 to go, Mr. Forsyth prefers " dwarf- trees to 

 standards, taking care to proportion the distance 

 of the rows to the size of the trees." 



After- Management . — This chiefly consist- in 

 keeping the trees properly pruned and cut-in; as 

 where this is judiciously done the trees will come 

 into bearing sooner, and continue in vigour for 

 nearly double the common time. But with these 

 standard-trees less culture is necessary than in 

 other cases. No branch should ever be short- 

 ened, unless fir the figure of the tree, and then 

 it should be taken off close at the separation. 

 The more the range of branches shoot circularly, 

 a little inclining upwards, the more equally will 

 the sap be distributed, and the better the tree 

 bear. The ranges of branches should not be 

 too near each other, that the fruit and leaves 

 mav not be deprived of their full share of sun ; 

 and where it suits, the" middle of the tree 

 should be so free from wood, that no branch 

 may cross another, but all the extremities point 

 outwards. 



About October or November, or as soon as 

 the fruit is removed, is the most proper sea-<ei 

 for this work. It is the best practice to take off 

 superfluous branches with a saw, and afterwards 

 to smooth the place with a knife; for it is essen- 

 tial that every branch which is to come off 

 should be cut perfectly close and smooth. The 

 wounded part may then be smeared over with a 

 proper composition. Such branches should al- 

 ways be taken off as come near to the ground, 

 that have received any material injury, where I 

 leaves are much curled, or that have a tendency 

 to cross the tree or run inwards. And a little 

 attention may be given to the beauty of the head, 

 leaving all the branches as nearly equidistant 

 as possible. Where there are any remain 

 blotches, they should be opened or scored with 

 a knife ; and where the bark is ragged from any 

 laceration) it should be pared gently down to 

 the live wood : touching over each with a pro- 

 per composition. Thisbciugdone, the moss should 

 be rubbed clean off, and the trees scored. In 

 this last operation, care should be taken not to 

 cut through the inner or white rind, which joins 

 the bark to the wood. When trees are much 

 thinned, they are subject to throw out great 

 quantity of young shoots in the spring, which 



