The Gardener's New Director. 443 

 leave them to themfelves, but vifit them oftLn, obferv- 

 ing if they have come up the firfl: year, and the fecond 

 year take notice if they have grown ftronger than the 

 firfl:, and fo the third year; and if they grow ftrongcr 

 and ftronger from year to year, do not didurb them ; 

 but it very often happens, that after tlie third year they 

 diminifli in their growth, and ftunt (as the gardeners 

 term it.) In tlie fourth year they do the fame ; there- 

 fore the fifth year, in the month ot March, cut them 

 quite down to the ground, in the fame manner I direded 

 formerly, and they will grow again with great vigour, 

 and fave you a great number of years in their growth ; 

 for the young tree being left to ilfclf in the flrong foil, 

 its tender herbaceous fibres cannot penetrate into the foil, 

 the juices ftagnate, which you will perceive by mofs and 

 knots grov/ing upon the bark of its ifem, and the tree 

 itfelf is deprived of thenourifiiment itfliould have, where- 

 by it produces nothing but leaves inftead of growth; but 

 when the llem of the tree is cut down, 'the whole force 

 of the fap defcends to the roots ; they open their germes, 

 and act with great vigour againft; the foil which oppofcs 

 them, v/here, when they come, and have alfo crtabiilh- 

 ed themfelves, they will fend up a ftronger fhoot the firfl: 

 year than the former (hoots of four years old, which you 

 cut away; and of this I had fo many repeated inftance«, 

 that I give it as an approved rule, and can adurc my 

 readers, that it is the betl way to cultivate v/oods in clay 

 grounds. 



In a foil which is firm, without being too hard, it 

 will be fufficient to cut the young plants once only ; and 

 I had a great many plantations in my own w^oods, planted 

 in a clay foil, cut once only, which have made very fine 

 trees; but in the other places, where the foil was hard 

 and ftiff, obferving my trees did not prow after the fe- 

 cond year, I cut them down, and four ye.irs .Tttcr 1 

 was obliged to cut them a fecond time, I fliall here 

 mention another experiment I made, from whence \ 

 found the necefllty, in fome cafes, of cutting young trees 

 twice. 



Twenty-two years ago, I made a conridenblc planta- 

 tion of fevcral kinds of trees, luch as Afh, Ilm, Plane*, 

 i^c. which I tranfplanted when they v.crc pretty old. The 



C g 4 firil 



