OF THE 



UJTIVEllSIT, 



NEW ENGLAND FRUIT BOOK 



ROOT SAP, &c. 



THE root being the commencement and founda- 

 tion of trees, its office is to collect and apply the 

 food which forms and determines its growth ; hence, 

 if the roots grow luxuriantly, the branches will also, 

 and the reverse. It often happens, says Miller, 

 that the roots of trees are buried too deep in the 

 ground, which, in a cold or moist soil, is one of the 

 greatest disadvantages that can attend fruits ; for 

 the sap in the branches being, by the warmth of the 

 air, put strongly into motion early in the spring, is 

 exhausted in nourishing the blossoms, and a part of 

 it is perspired through the wood branches, so that 

 its strength is lost before the warmth can reach the 

 shoots, to put them into an equal motion in search 

 of fresh nourishment, to supply the expenses of the 

 branches, for want of which the branches fall off 

 and decay. Most trees will thrive if they have two 

 feet in depth of good earth, especially when their 

 roots spread near the surface ; for whether that 

 which supplies food for the tree be a black, yellow, 

 1 



