MARCH] THE ORCHARD. 241 



These are important objects, and such as you cannot be deceived 

 in. Never make choice of larger trees nor higher in the stems than 

 six feet, especially for general plantations, for they never thrive as 

 well as young trees, and are subject to be dashed about by the wind 

 after planting. 



The next object is to see them taken up with care, so as to pre- 

 serve all their roots as entire as possible; when taken up, prune off 

 any broken or bruised parts of the roots, shorten long stragglers, 

 and top the ends of the principal roots in general with the knife ; 

 always observing to prune these roots on the under side, and sloping 

 outwards. 



Let several varieties of each particular kind be chosen, such as 

 ripen their fruit at different periods from the earliest to the latest, 

 especially when they are wanted for the table; but by much a greater 

 number of autumnal and late ripening kinds, than of the early sorts, 

 particularly of the apples; for the early ripening fruits are of short 

 duration, and only proper for temporary service. When you want 

 apples or peaches for distillation, or cider-making, choose proper 

 juicy kinds for that purpose, and quantities proportionate to your in- 

 tentions. 



METHOD OF PLANTING. 



If the trees have been already trained so as to have full branch- 

 ing heads, they must be planted with those entire, only retrenching 

 or shortening any irregular or ill-placed branches or shoots that take 

 an awkward direction, or that grow across others or such as run con- 

 siderably longer than the generality of the others, either cutting them 

 clean off, close to the places from whence they proceed, or to some 

 young shoot or small leading branch, as may appear most eligible for 

 giving the tree an open spreading form, leaving no stumps or spurs. 



Should you not be able to procure trees having furnished and well 

 formed heads, and you are obliged to take such as are thin of wood, 

 and running up tall, plant them, having their roots dressed as before, 

 but without touching their heads for the present. So soon after 

 planting as their buds begin to push, head them down to within six, 

 eight, or ten inches of the place where you wish them to branch out 

 for forming their heads ; they will then throw out young vigorous 

 shoots, which yt>u may afterwards train and thicken, or make thin 

 at pleasure, by judicious pruning in the following years ; or should 

 any of these young shoots in the course of the succeeding months 

 take too great a lead of the others, you may top them in July, which 

 will stop their rampant growth, and cause them to throw out side 

 shoots that will still enlarge a foundation for numerous branches, 

 and not carry off too much of the sap from the others. 



Should it happen that any of your trees have large heads and but 

 few or scanty roots, reduce their tops by a select and judicious 

 pruning to a due proportion with their roots ; for an ox fed only 

 through a wren's quill, could not long exist. This will seldom 

 happen, unless by accident or carelessness in the taking of them 

 up, provided they are raised at proper distances in the nursery. 

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