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foos from hanging upon them and hindering 

 tlie due increase ot the fruit. 



In the act of planting or putting them into 

 the ground, great care sliould lie taken that they 

 are not put in to too great a depth, as where that 

 is the case they are in great danger of being de- 

 stroyed. It is' also necessary that a bed of tine 

 good mould be provided for them, and that it be 

 carefully put in with them, so as to be properly 

 insinuated among the fibres of the roots, and 

 afford them due support; the whole being 

 carefully trodden round the plants in finishing 

 the business. 



Upon this being performed in a proper and 

 perfect manner, and the young trees afterwards 

 kept perfectly steady by suitable supports, the suc- 

 cess of the planter in a great measure depends. 



Where the trees are planted in the quincunx 

 order, and at the distance of eighty feet, Mr, 

 Forsyth says, "the ground between the rows may 

 be ploughed and sown with wheat, turnips, &c. 

 or plant'cd with potatoes : the ploughing or dig- 

 ging the ground, provided it be not done so deep 

 as to hurt the roots, by admitting the sun and 

 rain to meliorate the ground, wUl, he thinks, 

 keep the trees in a healthy flourishing state. It 

 will be necessary to support the young trees by 

 tying them to stakes until they are well rooted, 

 to prevent their being loosened or blown down 

 by the wind. 



" In the spring after planting, if it prove dry, 

 some turf should be dug and laid round the stems 

 of the young trees with the grassy side down- 

 wards ; which will keep the ground moist, and 

 save a deal of watering : if tlie trees have taken 

 well, this need not be^vepeatcd, as they will be 

 out of danger the first year. The turf should be 

 laid as far as the roots of the trees are supposed 

 to extend ; and wiien it is rotted it should be 

 dug-in, which will be of great service to their 

 roots. 



" Such trees as are of very difiercnt sizes when 

 full grown should not, he says, be planted pro- 

 miscuously ; but, if the soil be properly adapted, 

 the larger planted in the back parts or higher 

 tirounds, or at the north ends of the row s, if 

 they run nearly north and south, and the others 

 in succession according to their size. The trees 

 when planted in this manner will have a fine 

 effect when grown up ; but if ihey are planted pro- 

 miscuously, they will not appear so agreeable to 

 the eye ; and, besides, the smaller trec-s will be 

 shaded by the larger, which injures them, and 

 spoils the flavour of the fruit. 



" It is advised that Orchards should be dunged 

 once in two or three years with some sort of 

 good manure, as this is of much advantage in 

 rendering them fruitful and productive. 



"The stems of trees in those where cattle feed 

 should be high enough to prevent iheir ealuig, 

 the lower branches ; ^md fenced in such a man- 

 ner as to prevent their being barked, or injured 

 by the cattle rubbing against them, particularly 

 when young ; which may be done by triangles 

 of wood, or the trees may be bushed with 

 thorns. 



But in orchards where cattle arc not permitted 

 to go, Mr. Forsyth prefers " dwarf-trees to 

 stan'dards, t.aking care to proportion the distance 

 of the rows to the size of the trees." 



After-Muiiageme7il . — This chiefly consists in 

 keeping the trees properly pruned and cut-in; as 

 where this is judiciously done the trees will come 

 into beariny; sooner, and continue in vigour hiE 

 neai-ly double the conmion time. But with these 

 standard-trees less culture is necessary tlian in 

 other cases. No branch should ever be short- 

 ened, unless for the figure of the tree, and then 

 it should be taken off close at the separation. 

 The more the range of branches shoot circularly, 

 a little inclining upwards, the more cqaady Will 

 the sap be distributed, and the better the tree 

 bear. The ranges of branches should not be 

 too near each other, that the fruit and leaves 

 mav not be deprived of their full share of sun ; 

 and where it suits, the middle of the tree 

 should be so free froni wood, that no branch 

 may cross another, but all the e\trcmities point 

 outwards. 



About October or November, or as soon as 

 the fruit is removed, is the most proper season 

 for this work. It is the best practice to take otV 

 superfluous branches with a saw, and afterwards 

 to smooth ihe place' with a knife; for it is essen- 

 tial that every branch which is to come otF 

 should be cut perfectly close and smooth. The 

 wounded part may then be smeared over with a 

 proper composition. Such branches should al- 

 ways be taken off as come near to the ground, 

 that have received any material injury, where the 

 leaves are much curled, or that liave a tendency 

 to cross the tree or run inwards. And a little 

 attention may be given to the beauty of the head, 

 leaving all the branches as nearly equidistant 

 as possible. Where there are any remaining 

 blotches, they should be opened or scored with 

 a knife ; and where the bark is ragged from any 

 laceration, it should be pared gently down to 

 the live wood : touching over each witii a pro- 

 per composition. This being done, the moss should 

 be rubbed clean off, and the trees scored. \a 

 this last operation, care should be taken not to 

 cut through the inner or white rind, which joins 

 the bark to the wood. When trees are much 

 thinned, they are subject to tlirow out great 

 quantity of young shoots in the spring, wliich 



