FRUIT-TREES. 85 



left in each clutter ; ill twelve days tirade 

 another may be taken of, and in a week af- 

 ter that another, always leaving the largeft. 

 The difiance muft be recording to the fize 

 of the fruit ; on the nutmeg kind two 

 and thr,:e inches ; on the early forts, three 

 or four inches ; on the largeft forts five, 

 fix, and leven inches ; ne&arines do not 

 reqi.Le to ftand fo thin as peaches ; 

 three, four, or five inches will be fufficient, 



PEACHES and nectarines are generally 

 thinned with the hand, but that is not a 

 good method ; for where they are fet very 

 thick, it is irnpofTible to pull them off 

 without damaging the ftems of thofe left 

 on the tree : the beft way is to cut them 

 off with a lharp knife, leaving a thin piece 

 of fkin on the tree, which will loon drop j 

 if they are thus managed, neither the tree 

 nor fruit is hurt, both of which of- 

 ten happen in the common method of 

 thinning them. All large vegetables 

 ought to be banifhed from the peach 

 Borders ; then two inches of the prepared 

 F 3 com- 



