JAN.] THE NURSERY 49 



A similar training, both for wall and espalier-fruit-trees, may be 

 practised to some principal sorts in the nursery-rows in the open 

 quarters of ground, by arranging their branches in a spreading 

 manner, to stakes placed for that purpose. 



But for standard fruit-trees, they should be trained with a clean 

 single stem, five or six feet for full standards, by cutting off all 

 lateral shoots arising below; half standards trained with a three or 

 four feet stem, and dwarf standards in proportion, by the same means ; 

 and as to the heads of the standards, it may be proper, in some, 

 to have the first immediate shoots from the graft or bud when a 

 year old, pruned short in spring, to procure several laterals ; in order 

 to form a fuller spread of branches, proceeding regularly together 

 from near the summit of the stem, that the head may advance in a 

 more regular branchy growth. 



Forest-trees, in general, should be encouraged to form straight 

 clean single stems, by occasional triming of the largest lateral 

 branches ; which will also promote the leading top-shoot in aspiring 

 straight, and faster in height ; always suffering that part of each 

 tree to shoot at full length, that is not to top it, unless, however, 

 where the stem divides into forks, to trim off the weakest, and 

 leave the straightest and strongest shoot or branch, to shoot out 

 at its proper length to form the aspiring top, as above. 



The different sorts of shrubs may either be suffered to branch 

 out in their own natural way, except just regulating very disorderly 

 growths ; or some may be trained with single clean stems, from 

 about a foot, to two or three high, according as you shall think 

 proper with respect to the sorts, or the purposes for which you design 

 them in the shrubbery ; but many shrubs appear the most agreeable 

 when permitted to shoot out laterally all the way, so as to be 

 branchy or feathered to the bottom. 



Each species of fruit-trees, as soon as grafted or budded, should 

 have all its different varieties numbered by placing large flat- 

 sided sticks at the ends of the rows, for which purpose some Nur- 

 serymen use the spokes of old coach-wheels, or any thing about 

 that size of any durable wood, painting or marking the numbers 

 thereon, 1,2, 3, &c. to different sticks, entering the numbers in the 

 Nursery -book, with the name of the varieties to which the number- 

 sticks are placed ; whereby you can at all times readily have re- 

 course to the sorts wanted. 



The same method may be practised to any other trees, shrubs, 

 or herbaceous plants, especially the varieties of particular species, 

 when they are numerous as in many of the flowery-tribe, such as 

 auriculas, carnations, tulips, anemones, ranunculuses, and the like. 

 With respect to watering the Nursery-plants ; this may be very 

 requisite in dry hot weather in spring and summer, to seed-beds, 

 and tender seedling-plants while young, and when first planted out, 

 till they have taken good root ; also occasionally to new-layed lay- 

 ers, and newly planted cuttings in dry warm weather ; but as to 

 hardy trees and shrubs of all sorts, if planted out at the proper 

 time, that is, not too late in spring, no great regard need be paid to 

 watering, for they will generally succeed very well without any : 



