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d iftemper'd Trees ? We may witk as 

 inuch Juftice affirm, that a diflem- 

 per'd Woman will give healthy Milk, 

 which I believe no one will dare to 

 fay, tho' there is equally the fame 

 Probability in both. 



And fince I am upon this Article 

 of clofe Planting, fuffer me to make 

 a little DigreiTion, not altogether fo- 

 reign to our prefentPurpoie j which 

 is to take Notice of a prevailing Er- 

 ror, in planting of Fruit- Gardens, 

 like Wildernefs-Trces, or Flowering- 

 Shrubs, clofe together, and mixing 

 the different Sorts of Fruits in each 

 Divifion, in fuch a Manner, that no 

 two Trees of the fame Kind (hail 

 (land near each other, fuppofing 

 each Tree to draw different Particles 

 from the Ground for their Nourifli- 

 ment, and fuffering them to grow, 

 as they are naturally difpos'd, without 

 ever pruning them, hereby hoping 

 to have great Quantities of Fruit with 

 very little Trouble after the firit 

 Planting,. 



Now granting thislafl Supposition 

 to be true, ( tho' 1 am fully con- 

 vinc'd of the contrary ) yet how ab- 

 furd is it to think, that what little 

 Fruit may be produc'd in this Way, 

 can be equally ib good or wholfbme, 

 as thofe which are the Produ6l of 

 heakhy Trees, and have the Advan- 

 tages of a free Air, and the Benefit 

 of the kindly Sun, to correct and dif- 

 £pate the Crudities of the Earth 

 round the Roots, as alfo thofe moift 

 Vapours, which are almoil continu- 

 ally perfpiring from the Trunks, 

 Branches, and Leaves of thefe Trees, 

 which, for Want of the Air's free 

 Admittance, are conlHmlyh ovcring 

 about the Trees in thefe Plantations ? 

 and in cold Weather, or the Night- 

 time, when the Trees are in a State 

 of Refpirat ion, thefe rancid Vapours 

 ^re imbib'd thro' the Pores of the 

 l^eaves, ^d x»u'd with the Juices, 



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and are protruded thro' the Vel!ek^ 

 and enter the Fruits, whereby the/ 

 mud be render'd ili-tafted and un* 

 wholfome. 



But as this Pradkice v^ras introdac'd 

 by fome Perfons, who were intirely 

 ignorant of what they undertook, 

 and fet out upon wrong Principles of 

 Philofophy, fo, I hope, the Gentle- 

 men, to whom this Method may be 

 propos'd, will be fo kind to them- 

 felves, as to wait a little, and fee the 

 Effedl of thofe Plantations already 

 made, before they fet on Foot fo 

 wild a Projed:. 



Indeed I am avvare how many 

 Enemies I fhall raife, by retrenching 

 the great Demand for Fruit-trees, 

 which muft of NeceiTity be made in 

 the feveral Nurferies in England, if 

 this Pradlice be continued j but as I 

 ihali thro' the whole Book deliver 

 my Sentiments freely on every Ar- 

 ticle here treated of, aiming at no- 

 thing more than the Information of 

 my Readers, fo I hope there will be 

 found none of my Profeflion of fuck 

 mercenary Tempers, as to condema 

 me for telling Truth, tho* it may 

 not always exadly agree with their 

 prefent Interefts : But enough o-f 

 this at prefent J let us now return to 

 our Planting. 



W hen the Seafcm for Planting is 

 come, as was before dirc6ted, we 

 mufl: make Choice of good thriving 

 Trees, of about thi-ee Year jgraftingj 

 but by no means chufe old Trees, as 

 is the Pradbice of fome, thinking 

 thereby to fave Time i whereas a 

 young thriving Tree will in three or 

 four Years after Planting overtake 

 one of thefe old ones, and make far 

 better Trees in a few Years, than 

 they ever will do : Nor Ihould you 

 take Trees from a rich Soil, to plant 

 into a poor one, or from a wet Soil, 

 for a dry one i but endeavour, ifpof- 

 fible, to have yoiir^Trees from a Soil 



