136 OF PRUNING. SLCT. XII. 



cutting. Cutclofe and doping behind the eye; neither 

 fo near as to injure it, nor fo wide as to leave a flub. 



Digging deep with a fpade about borders fometimes 

 injures the roots, and keeps them too low in the ground, 

 when they mould be encouraged to run higher; and as 

 nothing but well con fumed dung, or other manure that 

 drops freely, ihould be ufed about fruit trees, it is a good 

 way to dig, or flir the ground carefully with an a/pa- 

 ragus fork. Wounds and bruifes hurt roots, as much 

 as branches, and though cutting fmall roots afunder by 

 a fpade, does good rather than harm, yet large onc-3 

 are often much injured by this infirument. 



The extremities ol a tree will not be in vigour with- 

 out a ftricl attention votivz middle, that it have no ftrong. 

 wood, growing erectly: this was before directed, and 

 mujl be obferved. When the fides of a tree are well 

 extended, and full of healthy wood, then fome moots 

 of moderald fubfbn-ce may be trained up the middle. 



The bending of a branch much is a violence to be 

 avoided ; fo that every fhoot mould be kept from the 

 firjl in the direction it is to grow. 



Luxuriant wood mull be particularly attended to, to 

 get rid of it in time, before it has robbed the weaker 

 branches too much. That is luxuriant wood, whicfe^ 

 according to the general habit of the tree, is much larger 

 than the- reft ; for a fhoot that is deemed luxuriant in 

 one tree, may* not be loin another. It ilrong woody 

 that is not very luxuriant, happens to be at the bottom 

 of the tree, io that it can be trained quite horizon- 

 tally, it may often be^ ufed to good purpofe, as this; 

 pofrtion checks the fap. A luxuriant fhoot may be. 

 kept in fummer where it is not defigned to retain it, , 

 merely to cut it down at winter pruning to two or three 

 eyes, for getting wood where wanted the next year ; 

 or this ihortening may take place in June, to have new 

 ihoots the prefent year. Luxuriant Ihoots may be> 

 fometimes retained for a time, merely as wafte pipes... 



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