P YR 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



P YR 



435 



and do more harm than good to the trees. The following 

 spring, before the trees begin to push, there should be two 

 or three short stakes put down on each side every tree, to 

 which the branches should be fastened down as horizontally 

 as possible; never cutting them down, for there will be no 

 dagger of their putting out branches enough to furnish the 

 espalier, if the trees are once well established in their new 

 quarters. In the pruning of these trees, the chief point is, 

 never to shorten any of the branches, unless there be an 

 absolute want of shoots to fill the spaces of the espalier, so 

 that the best method to manage these trees is to go over them 

 three or four times in the growing season, and rub ofl all 

 such shoots as are irregularly produced, and train the others 

 down to the stakes in the position they are to remain : if this 

 be carefully performed in summer, there will be little left to 

 be done in the winter ; and by bending their shoots from time 

 to time a? they are produced, there will be no occasion to 

 use force to bring them down, nor any danger of breaking 

 the branches. The distance which these branches should be 

 trained from each other, for the largest sorts of fruit, should 

 be about seven or eight inches, and for the smaller four or 

 five. If these plain instructions be followed, it will save 

 much unnecessary labour of pruning, and the trees will at 

 all times make a handsomer appearance. The cursons or 

 spurs upon which all the sorts of Apples produce their fruit, 

 will continue fruitful a great number of years, and should 

 not be cut off in pruning, for that very reason. The method 

 of making Espaliers will be found under that article ; here it 

 is only necessary to repeat, that it will be best to defer mak- 

 ing the espalier till the trees have had three or four years' 

 growth ; for before that time the branches may be supported 

 by a few upright stakes, so that there will be no necessity 

 to make the espalier until there are sufficient branches to 

 furnish all the lower part. Orchards. The following are 

 Mr. Miller's directions for planting an orchard, so as to pro- 

 duce the greatest profit. The best situation for an orchard 

 is on the ascent of gentle hills, facing .the south or south- 

 east; but this ascent must not be too steep, lest the earth be 

 washed down by hasty rains. There are many who prefer 

 low situations at the foot of hills, but I am thoroughly con- 

 vinced that all bottoms, where there are hills on each side, 

 are very improper for this purpose ; for the air is drawn down 

 into these valleys in strong currents, which, being pent in, 

 renders these bottoms much colder than the open situatio'ns ; 

 during the winter and spring they are very damp, and un- 

 healthy to all vegetables: therefore the gentle rise of a hill, 

 fully exposed to the sun and air, is by much the best situa- 

 tion. As to the soil., a gentle hazel-loam which is easy to 

 work, and that does not detain the wet, is the best ; if this 

 happens to be three feet deep, it will be better for the growth 

 of the trees ; for although these trees will grow upon very 

 strong land, yet they are seldom so thriving, nor is their fruit 

 so well flavoured, as those which grow in a gentle soil : while, 

 on the other hand, these trees will not do well upon a dry 

 gravel or sand ; so that those soils should never be chosen 

 for orchards. The ground intended to be planted ought to 

 be well prepared the week before, by ploughing it thoroughly; 

 and if some dung be laid upon it the year before, it will be 

 of great service to the trees ; if in the preceding spring a 

 crop of Peas or Beans be planted on the ground, provided 

 they are sown or planted in rows art a proper distance, so 

 that the ground between maybe horse-hoed, that will destroy 

 the weeds and loosen the ground, and form a good prepa- 

 ration for the trees, as the earth cannot be too much wrought 

 or pulverized for this purpose : these crops will be taken off 

 the ground long before the season for planting these trees, 

 VOL. ii. 102. 



which should be performed instantly when the trees begin 

 to shed their leaves. In chusing orchard trees, 'I would 

 advise the taking such as are but of two years' growth from 

 the graft, and never to plant old trees, or such as are grafted 

 upon old stocks, for young trees are not only more certain 

 to grow, but make a much greater progress. The roots must 

 be pruned in the same manner as above directed for the 

 espaliers : in pruning their heads, little more is necessary 

 than to cut out such branches as are ill placed, or that cross 

 and chafe each other : heading them down, as it is properly 

 called, never fails to injure and kill many trees. The dis- 

 tance at which these orchard trees should be planted, where 

 the soil is good, must be fifty or sixty feet, and forty feet only 

 in inferior soils. Nothing is worse than crowding trees too 

 closely in orchards ; and it appears to have been the opinion 

 of the most eminent cultivators, that the trees had much 

 better be too far apart than too near, the latter excluding 

 the sunshine and fresh arr from the roots, trunks, branches, 

 and blossoms of the tree. When the trees are planted, they 

 should be staked, to prevent their being shaken or blown 

 out of the ground by strong winds ; but in doing this there 

 should be particular care taken to put either straw, hay- 

 bands, or woollen cloth, between the trees and the stakes, 

 to pivent the trees from being rubbed and bruised by the 

 shaking against the stakes. If the first winter should prove 

 very severe, it will be proper to cover the surface of the 

 ground about their roots with some mulch, to defend the fibres 

 of their roots : this mulch ought not to be too soon laid on, 

 lest it should prevent the moisture from soaking down to the 

 roots of the trees ; nor should it lie on too long in the spring, 

 for the same reason : but where persons will be at the trouble 

 to lay it on in frosty weather, and remove it again after the 

 frost is over, that the wet in February may have free access 

 to the roots of the trees, it will do good ; and if March should 

 prove dry, with sharp north or west winds, which often 

 happens, it will be proper to cover the ground again with 

 the mulch, to prevent the winds from penetrating and drying 

 the ground, and will be of singular service to the trees. 

 Many will object to this on account of the trouble, which may 

 appear to be great; but when it is considered how much of 

 this business may be done by a single person in a short time, 

 it can have little force ; and the benefit which the trees will 

 receive by this management, will greatly recompense the 

 trouble and expense. As these trees must be constantly 

 fenced from cattle, it will be the best way to keep the land 

 in tillage for some years, that by constant ploughing or dig- 

 ging the ground, the roots of the trees may be more encou- 

 raged, and they will mak'e the more progress in their growth ; 

 but where this is done, whatever crops are sown or planted 

 should not be brought too near the trees, lest the nourish- 

 ment be drawn away from them : and as in the ploughing of 

 fhe ground, where it is so tilled, there must be care taken 

 not to go too near the stem of the trees, whereby their roots 

 would be injured, or the bark of the stems rubbed off; so 

 it will be of great service to dig the ground about the trees 

 where the plough does not come, every autumn, for five or 

 six years after planting, by which time their roots will have 

 extended themselves to a greater distance. It is a common 

 practice in many parts of England to lay the ground down 

 for pasture after the orchard-trees are grown pretty large; 

 but this is injudicious, for horses will destroy trees even of 

 twenty years' growth, and sheep will constantly rub their 

 bodies against the steins of the trees, and their grease adher- 

 ing to the bark is very detrimental. In pruning these trees 

 after they are established, nothing more should be done than 

 to cut out all those branches which cross each other, and if 

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