OP FRUIT TREES. 71 



all the dead wood at once, which would weaken the 

 tree too much and endanger its being blown down 

 by the wind. It will, therefore, be necessary to 

 leave part of the dead wood at first to strengthen 

 the tree, and to cut it out by degrees as the new 

 wood is formed. If there be any canker or gum 

 oozing, the infected parts must be pared off or 

 cut with a proper instrument. When the stem is 

 very much decayed and hollow, it will be necessary 

 to open the ground and examine the roots ; then 

 proceed as directed for hollow peach trees. 



By using the composition in a liquid state, more 

 than three fourths of the time and labour is saved ; 

 and I find it is not so liable to be thrown off as the 

 lips grow, as when laid on in the consistence of 

 plaster : it adheres firmly to the naked part of the 

 wound, and yet easily gives way as the new wood 

 and bark advance. 



In his introduction to the American edition of 

 Forsyth, Mr. W. Cobbett says, "During the last 

 summer, (1801,) I went with a party of friends to 

 be an eye-witness of the effects (of which I had 

 heard such wonders related) of this gentleman's 

 mode of cultivating and curing trees ; and though 

 my mind had received a strong prepossession in its 

 favour, what I saw very far surpassed my expecta- 

 tions. Mr. Forsyth, whose book was not then pub- 

 lished, did us the favour to show us the manuscript 

 of it, and also the drawings for the plates, which 

 are now to be found at the end of the work. After 

 having read those parts of the manuscript which 

 more immediately referred to the drawings, we 

 went into the gardens, and there saw every tree 

 which the drawings were intended to represent, and 

 of which we found them to be a most exact repre- 

 sentation. We examined these trees from the ground 

 to the topmost branches; we counted the joints in 

 the wood ; ascertained the time and extent of its 

 growth : and, in short, verified every fact that the 



