448 The Gardener's New Director. 



her, plant your Acorns into thefe pits two inches deep; 

 removing all weeds, and the grafs that grows within the 

 pit, and the plants will come up in March or April Such 

 grafs without the verge of the pits, will be of great ufe, 

 in giving fhelter to the young trees. This method of 

 planting Oaks, has wonderfully fucceeded with me; and, 

 I obfervcd there v/as lefs occafion for cutting when plant- 

 ed in this manner, than in the way which I firft menti- 

 oned; and I advife where ploughs cannot go, to purfue 

 one or other of ihefe methods. 



The tjiird and lall method of planting Acorns, is by 

 fpading and ploughing the whole ground, and fowing the 

 Acorns with a dnil plough. Thib method pleafes a great 

 many people, but li is not fo natural as the two methods 

 I formerly propofed. It is true, indeed, you can draw 

 thera and thin them ; but this work mull be done with 

 great caution. The good propofed in planting them m 

 the two firfl: methods, eipecialiy in grounds where there 

 is not much fiitlter, is, that being planted moderately 

 thick, they may cover one another from the feverities of 

 the weather. As your plants will probably come up ve- 

 ry thick, you muff, during the fecond year, weed in fuch 

 a manner, that the plants may be three fathom from 

 each other, and four feet row from row. Thofe which 

 you take out now may be planted in avenues and viTcos for 

 pleafure. Four or five years atter this, you may again 

 thin them to a greater diitance; what you take out will 

 fell for Pollards; and you may continue thinning them at 

 different times in this manner, until you leave your Oaks 

 tvi»enty, twenty-five, and thirty feet diifant, when your 

 plants will become rel"pe6table, ftately and flrong, and 

 will themfelves be able to iubdue whatever is below them. 

 But to bring thefe plants to this noble flate, you mud ob- 

 ferve a few things, particularly. That during the firil 

 twelve or fourteen years of their growth, you fuffer no 

 cattle to brouze among them till they are five and twenty 

 years old: That by all proper means you encourage them 

 to grow tali and llraight, permitting none of them to 

 fork: That in the autumn, when their leaves begin to 

 fall, or in fpring, before they begin to bud, you take off 

 many, but not all their fide branches, except you per- 

 ceive the laterals become too luxuriant, and run away 



with 



