The Gardener's New Director. 31 



flandard Plums between the dwarfs, then twenty-four 

 feet dwarf from dwarf will be a good diftance, and lefs 

 will not do. But I would chufe to have dwarfs alone, 

 rather than flandards and dwarfs upon one and the fame 

 wall. 



There are no greater miftakes committed, than In 

 the management and pruning of Plum-trees. Our gar- 

 deners in general think they cannot give them too much 

 of the difcipline of the knife, their wood being ftrong 

 and hardy, and the fruit eafily obtained. But they 

 are miftaken ; few fruit-trees, except Cherries, can en- 

 dure the knife worfe : for by experience I have found, 

 that frequent and unfkilful pruning does not only affeft 

 their branches, but their fruits alfo, by gumming of 

 both, which ends in fterility, and at lafl in certain 

 death. 



Plums bear their fruit upon fpurs or curfons, and alfo 

 upon the laft year's wood ; whereby there is no necefiity 

 of pruning them, as you do Peaches and Nectarines, by 

 fliortening their branches annually, to obtain a new {lock 

 of bearing wood ; for their fpurs will, if rightly manag- 

 ed, continue fruitful feveral years ; nor fliouid you ftior- 

 ten their branches, but where there is a neceffity to have 

 a vacancy in the walls filled up; and this fliould be done 

 in the end of May^ and not later. You muft alfo at 

 that feafon rub off all fore-right and ill-placed fhoots and 

 buds, which, if done carefully, will fupercede the ne- 

 ceffity of too much winter-pruning, which is prejudicial 

 to moft forts of ftone-fruit. This tree always produ- 

 ces a great quantity of bloffoms at the extremities of its 

 Ihoots, which fhews the abfurdity of taking them off, 

 and the unneceffarily flopping thcfc (hoots, gives a multi- 

 plicity of branches, which deprives the few fruit that are 

 upon the trees of their proper nourifhment. Hence it 

 is, that, in many gardens, I have feen a quantity of 

 lUong woody large gummy plum-trees, all made barren 

 by this knife-exercife. I would never therefore advife to 

 pinch the extremity of the fhoots later than May ; and 

 even not tben, but when there is a neceffity for it, and 

 you want branches to fill up vacancies; and be fure to 

 lay in all the branches horiiontally, and not too thick, 



the 



