MARCH.] THE ORCHARD. 223 



Choice of Trees, &c. 



If not provided with trees in your own Nursery, you must apply- 

 to some public Nursery-man of integrity, who will not deceive you 

 in the varieties of the kinds wanted : observe, in the first place, that 

 the trees are healthy and fresh looking, without any blemishes, or 

 appearance of canker, or worms, in the bark ; that they have been 

 raised at proper distances, and not drawn up spindling ; that their 

 heads are well formed and well furnished ; that their stems are 

 stout, proportionate to their heads, straight, clean, and from five 

 to six feet high, from the surface, to the spreading of the branches ; 

 that they are not more than from two to four years old, from the 

 bud or graft, and that all have been worked ; that is, budded, or 

 grafted, for otherwise, there would be no certainty of having good 

 fruit, and besides, they would be much longer coming into bearing. 



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 underside, 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 lat- 

 est, 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 cyder-making, 

 choose proper juicy kinds for that purpose, and quantities propor- 

 tionate to your intentions. 



Method of Planting. 



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

 ing heads, tiiey 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 considerably longer than the generality of the others ; either 

 cutting them clean off, close to the places from whence they pro- 

 ceed, or to some young shoot or small leading branch, as may ap- 

 pear 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 that you are obliged to take such as are thin 

 f wood, and running up tall ; plant them, having their roots dress* 



