OF FRUIT TREES. 73 



erable therefore, to cut and graft them partially every 

 season until the whole is accomplished. It may also 

 be remarked that Mr. Forsyth's mode of heading 

 down old decayed trees, applies chiefly to those trees 

 whose branches are all nailed to walls; it will be found 

 difficult if not impracticable, to adopt his mode with 

 large apple and pear standard trees. This must be 

 left to the judgment and discretion of the cultivator; 



DIRECTIONS 



For making 1 a composition for curing diseases, defects, and in- 

 juries in all kinds of fruit and forest trees, and the method of 

 preparing- the trees, and laying- on the composition, by Wil- 

 liam Forsyth. 



Take one bushel of fresh cow-dung, half a bushel 

 of lime rubbish of old buildings, (that from the ceilings 

 of rooms is preferable) half a bushel of wood-ashes, 

 and a sixteenth part of a bushel of pit or river sand : 

 the three last articles are to be sifted fine before they 

 are mixed : then work them well together with a 

 spade, and afterwards with a wooden beater, until the 

 stuff is very smooth, like fine plaster used for the ceil- 

 ing of rooms. The composition being thus made, 

 care must be taken to prepare the tree properly for 

 its application, by cutting away all the dead, decayed, 

 and injured parts, till you come to the fresh sound 

 wood, leaving the surface of the wood very smooth, 

 and rounding off the edges of the bark, with a draw- 

 knife, or other instrument, perfectly smooth, which 

 must be particularly attended to : then lay on the 

 plaster about one eighth of an inch thick all over the 

 part where the wood or bark has been so cut away, 

 finishing off the edges as thin as possible : then take 

 a quantity of dry powder of wood-ashes, mixed with a 

 sixth part of the same quantity of the ashes of burnt 

 bones : put it into a tin box, with holes in the top, and 



