174 



NUR 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL; 



NUR 



design to make their plantation. For if these are large, the 

 expense of carrying a great number of trees, if the distance 

 be great, will be no small expense, besides the hazard of 

 their growing; which when the plants hate been trained up 

 in good land, and removed to an indifferent one, is very great. 

 Therefore it is of the utmost consequence to every planter 

 to begin by making a nursery. But in this article I must 

 beg leave to observe, that a nursery should not be fixed to 

 any particular spot: I mean by this, that it would be wrong 

 to continue the raising of trees any number of years upon 

 the same spot of ground, because hereby the ground will be 

 so much exhausted by the trees, as to render it unfit for the 

 same purpose. Therefore all good nursery gardeners shift 

 and change their land from time to time, for when they have 

 drawn off the trees from a spot of ground they plant kitchen 

 herbs, or other things, upon the ground, for a year or two ; 

 by which time, as also by dunging or trenching the land, 

 it is recovered, and make fit to receive other trees. But this 

 they are obliged to from necessity, being confined to the 

 same land ; which is not the case with those gentlemen who 

 have, large extent of ground in the country. Therefore I 

 would advise all such persons to make nurseries upon the 

 ground which is intended for planting, where a sufficient 

 number of trees may be left standing after the others have 

 been drawn out to plant in other places ; which, for all 

 large-growing trees, but particularly such as are cultivated for 

 timber, will be found by much the most advantageous method ; 

 for all those trees which come up from the seed, or which 

 are transplanted very young into the places where they are 

 designed to remain, will make a much greater progress, and 

 become larger trees, than any of those which are transplanted 

 at a greater age. Therefore the nurseries should be thinned 

 early, by removing all those trees which are intended for 

 other plantations while they are young, because hereby the 

 expense and trouble of staking, watering, &c. will be saved, 

 and the trees will succeed much better. But in exposed 

 situations, where there are nurseries made, it will be neces- 

 sary to permit the trees to stand much longer, that by grow- 

 ing close together they may shelter each other, and draw 

 themselves up; and these should be thinned gradually as 

 the trees advance, for by taking away too many at once 

 the cold will check the growth of the remaining trees. But 

 then those trees which are taken out from these nurseries, 

 after a certain age should not be depended on for planting; 

 and it will be prudent rather to consign them for fuel than 

 to attempt to remove them large, whereby in endeavouring 

 to get them up with good roots, the roots of the trees left 

 standing will often be much injured. What has been here 

 proposed must be understood for all large plantations in 

 parks, woods, &c. but those nurseries which are only intended 

 for raising evergreens, flowering shrubs or plants, which are 

 designed to embellish gardens, may be confined to one spot, 

 because a small compass of ground will be sufficient for this 

 purpose. Two or three acres of land employed this way, 

 will be sufficient for the most extensive designs, and one 

 acre will be full enough for those of moderate extent. And 

 such' a spot of ground may be always employed for sowing 

 the seeds of foreign trees and plants, as also for raising many 

 sorts of biennial and perennial flowers to transplant into the 

 borders of the pleasure-garden, and for raising many kinds 

 of bulbous-rooted flowers from seeds; whereby a variety of 

 new sorts may be obtained annually, which will recompense for 

 the trouble and expense, and will also be an agreeable diver- 

 lion to all those persons who delight in the amusements of 

 gardening. Such a nursery as this should be situated con- 

 veniently for water; for where that is wanting, there must 



be an expense attending the carriage of water in dry weather. 

 It should also be as near the house as it can with convenieftcy 

 be admitted, in order to render it easy to visit at all times of 

 the year, because it is absolutely necessary it should be under 

 the inspection of the master, for unless he delights in it there 

 will be little hopes of success. The soil of this nursery 

 should also be good, and not too heavy and stiff, for such 

 land will be very improper for sowing most sorts of seeds ; 

 because as this will detain the moisture in the spring and 

 winter, the seeds of most tender things, especially of 

 flowers, will rot in the ground, if sown early ; therefore 

 where persons are Confined to such land, there should be a 

 good quantity of sand, ashes, and other light manures, buried^ 

 in order to separate the parts, and pulverize the ground; 

 and if it be thrown up in ridges to receive the frost in winter, 

 it will be of great use to it, as will also the frequent forking 

 or stirring of the ground, both before and -after it is planted. 

 The many advantages which attend the having such a nur- 

 sery, are so obvious to every person who has turned his 

 thoughts in the least to this subject, that it is needless for 

 me to mention them here; and therefore I shall only repeat 

 here what I have so frequently recommended, which is the 

 carefully keeping the ground always clean from weeds ; 

 which would soon rob the young trees of their nourishment. 

 Another principal business is to dig the ground between the 

 young plants at least once every year, to loosen it for the 

 roots to strike out; but if the ground is stiff, it will be better 

 if it is repeated twice a year, in October and March> which 

 will greatly promote the growth of the plants, and prepare 

 their roots for transplanting. But there may be many person* 

 who have the curiosity to raise their own fruit-trees, which 

 I would recommend to every lover of good fruit, because 

 the uncertainty of procuring the intended kinds of each fruit 

 is very great, when taken from the common nursery gardens, 

 so that most gentlemen who have planted many, have con- 

 stantly complained of this disappointment; but besides this 

 there is another inconvenience, which for want of skill is 

 scarcely taken notice of, which is, the taking the buds or 

 grafts from young trees in the nurseries which have not borne 

 fruit; this having been frequently repeated, renders the trees 

 so raised as luxuriant as willows, making shoots to the top 

 of the wall in two or three years, and hardly ever become 

 fruitful with the most skilful management. I shall therefore 

 treat of the proper method to make a nursery of these trees; 

 in the doing which the following rules must be observed. 

 1. That the soil in which you make the nursery, be not 

 better than that where the trees are to be planted out for 

 good; the not observing this is the reason that trees are often 

 at a stand, or make but little progress, for three or four years 

 after they come from the nursery, as it commonly happens 

 to such trees as are raised near London, and carried into the 

 northern parts of England, where, being planted in a poor 

 soil and a much colder situation, the trees seldom succeed 

 well; therefore it is by far the better method, when you have 

 obtained the sorts you would wish to propagate, to raise a 

 nursery of the several sorts of stocks proper for the various 

 kinds of fruit, upon which you may bud or graft them; and 

 those trees which are thus raised upon the soil, and in the 

 same degree of warmth, where they are to be planted, will 

 succeed much better than those brought from a greater dis- 

 tance and from a richer soil. 2. This ground ought to be 

 fresh, and not such as has been already worn out by trees, 

 or other large-growing plants ; for in such soil your stocks 

 will not make any progress. ,1. It ought never to be too 

 wet, nor over dry, but rather of a middling nature; though 

 of the two extremes a dry is to be preferred, because in such 



