PRU 



PRU 



the branches without any yielding footstalks, as 

 in cherries, &c. they, in their advancing growth, 

 must impoverish and thrust one another off; 

 thinning becomes necessary, which in wall- 

 trees particularly should not be omitted, and it 

 is also proper occasionally in standards in some 

 degree. This business should be begun when 

 about the size of large cherries, &c. and should 

 be done with great regularity, leaving the largest, 

 fairest, and best situated to grow to maturity, 

 mostly all singly, or at least never more than 

 two at the same eye, but most commonly single 

 in the large kinds. The fruit thinned off makes 

 excellent tarts, and should always be saved for 

 that purpose, and for which use they may be 

 thinned by degrees, both in wall-trees and 

 standards ; but not, in the former, so as to leave 

 the superabundant fruit to grow large in any 

 considerable degree, nor in great quantity, to 

 rob the continuing crop of its proper nourish- 

 ment : for this use they should always be ga- 

 thered before they stone, or harden in the heart 

 or middle. 



Forcing of Aprtcois. — In this method the 

 fruit is obtained much more early than in the 

 natural way, and is effected by having the trees 

 in hot-houses, or on hot-walls, or in bark hot- 

 beds. 



The proper trees for this purpose are the 

 dwarfs, trained as wall or espalier-trees, but 

 sometimes as small low standards : they are 

 mostly trained in the full ground till advanced 

 to some degree of bearing, and then planted 

 in the borders of the forcing-house and hot- 

 wall, and trained in the manner of wall-trees, 

 to a light open treillis : some also, as small 

 dwarf standards, placed forward in the former, 

 or occasionally in pots, and introduced in the 

 same situation ; in all of which, the trees, being 

 well fresh-rooted in their places, are forced at 

 the proper season by means either of fire-heat, 

 or bark-bed, or sometimes both occasionally in 

 forcing houses, but in hot-walls mostly by the 

 former : the forcing-houses and hot-walls have 

 mostly flues for fire-heat, and sometimes the 

 former have a pit for a bark -bed ; but where 

 this is not the case, the whole bottom space is 

 formed of good earth, and the trees planted in 

 are generally in assemblage with peaches, nec- 

 tarines, plums, &c. as the same degree of heat 

 is suitable to the whole. 



The proper season to begin the work of forcing 

 is principally in January, or earlv in the follow- 

 ing month ; when, or rather a little time be- 

 fore, the glasses are shut close ; and at the pro- 

 per time the fires made in the furnace mode- 

 rately every evening and morning, to heat the 

 flues in a proper degree, to aftbrd a moderate 



regular heat, to warm the internal air to a pro- 

 per degree, which forwards the trees to early 

 blossoming and fruiting ; having fresh air mo- 

 derately admitted in fine days, and more freely 

 when there is a warm sun ; being sometimes 

 watered both in the earth, and over the branches 

 after the blossom is past, and the fruit fairly 

 set. See Forcing-Frames, &c. 



Culture in the Cherry kind. — These are all 

 increased by grafting, and budding them upon 

 stocks of any of the cherry kind, raised from 

 the stones of the fruit of any of the sorts ; 

 but for having larger-growing trees, for stand- 

 ards, walls, and espaliers, the most general 

 stocks used are the Wild Black and Red Cherry, 

 raised from the stones of the fruit : they, how- 

 ever, grow upon any sort of these stocks, and 

 likewise take upon Plums, though these stocks 

 are not proper for general use : they are also 

 capable of growing upon laurel-stocks ; which, 

 however, is only practised for curiosity, suffer- 

 ing a small part of the stock to grow up to show 

 the singularity of the two sorts growing upon 

 the same root. All the varieties likewise take 

 upon the Bird-Cherry stocks ; but this should 

 only be practised when it is required to dwarf 

 any of them as much as possible ; which in 

 this way are proper to train for small dwarf 

 trees, either to plant in pots, or in the open 

 borders, and in pots for forcing, or to plant in 

 the borders of a forcing-frame. See Forcing- 

 Frames. 



But, for general use, stocks either of 3ny of 

 the Common Cherry varieties; or, to have larger 

 trees, the Wild Cherry-stocks, should be used, 

 as being the freest shooters and of longest dura- 

 tion ; though, in raising the stocks, it is from 

 the stones of the fruit, which should be sown 

 in autumn in beds of light earth, covering 

 them near two inches deep : they come up in 

 the spring, and in the autumn or spring follow- 

 ing, if the plants are strong, plant them out in 

 nursery-rows two feet and half asunder, to 

 remain for grafting, &c. which, when about 

 the size of a large goose-quill to that of a per- 

 son's little finger, or little more, they are fit to 

 work for dwarf trees ; but for standards, they 

 must have at least four years' growth, as they 

 must be grafted at five or six feet height. And 

 to have trees of more moderate growth either 

 for walls, small standards, or dwarfs, the Mo- 

 rcllo and small May Cherry stocks may be 

 proper. 



The grafting and budding of all the sorts is 

 performed in the usual wav, though the former 

 is most proper for general practice, as thev are 

 not so liable to gum in the grafted part as in 

 that of the budded trees. Though both methods 



