P E 



Art J which cannot be any other- 

 wife efFc£led, than by gently afTift- 

 ing her in her own Way. 



But to return to Pruning of thefe 

 trees: The Branches being care- 

 fully train'd in, as before dired:ed 

 in the Spring and Summer Seafonsj 

 we come now to treat of the Win- 

 ter Pruning, which is commonly 

 perform'd in Tebrtmry or March : 

 but the beft Seafon for this Work 

 is about Michaelmas, when their 

 Leaves begin to fall, which will 

 be early enough for their Wounds 

 tb heal before the Froft comes on, 

 ftt that there will be no Danger of 

 dieir being hurt thereby : And the 

 Branches of the Trees being pro- 

 portion'd to the Strength of the 

 Roots at that Seafon, all the afcend- 

 ing Sap in the Spring will be em- 

 ployed to nouridi only thofe ufeful 

 Parts of the Branches which are 

 left : whereas if they are lett un- 

 prun'd 'till February, the Sap in the 

 Branches being then in Motion, as 

 liiay be obferv'd by the fwelling of 

 the Buds, the greateft Part of it 

 will be drawn up to the extreme 

 Parts of the Branches, to nourifh 

 fuch Bloflbms as mufl: be after- 

 wards cut off; And this may be 

 cafily known, by obferving the 

 Xlrcngeft Shoots at that Seafon, 

 when you will find the extreme 

 Buds to fweli fafter than moft of 

 the lower oncsj for there being no 

 Leaves then upon the Branches to 

 detain the Sap to nourifli the lower 

 Buds, the upper ones will always 

 draw from thofe below. 



But it is a comlant Pra<Slice a- 

 mongfi: Gardeners, founded upon 

 long Experience, to prune weak 

 Trees early in the Winter, and lu- 

 xuriant Trees late in the Spring, in 

 order to check their Luxuviancy. 

 Now it is evident, that this Check 

 does not proceed from any confide- 



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table Lofs of 'Sap at the Wotinds of 

 the pruned Tree (excepting a few 

 of the bleeding Trees, when cut at 

 that Seafon) but muft arife from 

 (bme other Caufej tor by feveral 

 Experiments made by the P^eve- 

 rend Mr. Hales, in fixing mercu- 

 rial Gages to the Stems of frefh 

 cut Trees, he found thofe Wounds 

 were conftantly in an imbibing 

 State, except the Vine in the bleed- 

 ing Sealbn. 



When a weak Tree is pruned 

 early in the Beginning of Winter, 

 the Orifices of the Sap-velfels arc 

 clos'd up long before the Spring; 

 and confequently, when in the 

 Spring and Summer, the warm 

 Weather advancing, the attracting 

 Force of the perl'piring Leaves is 

 not then weakncd by many Inlets 

 from frefh Wounds, but is wholly 

 exerted in drawing Sap from the 

 Root : whereas, on the other hand^ 

 when a luxuriant Tree is pruned 

 late in the Spring, the Force of its 

 Leaves to attrad , Sap from the 

 Root will be much fpent and lofl 

 at the feveral frefh cut Inlets. 



Befides, if it were no Advantage 

 to the Trees to prune them at this 

 Seafon (which, I think no one will 

 have Reafon to doubt, after ma- 

 king the Trial) but that it only 

 fucceeds as well as the Spring Pru- 

 ning ; yet there is a great Advan- 

 tage in doing of it at Michaelmas ; 

 for that being a much more leifure 

 Seafon with Gardeners than the 

 Spring, they will have more Time 

 to perform it carefuily; and then 

 they will not have too many Things 

 come together, which may require 

 to be immediately executed : for 

 the Spring being the principal Sea- 

 fon for Cropping their Kitchen^ 

 Garden, and attending their Hot- 

 beds, if they are difingaged from 

 the Bttfinefs of Praning at that 



Time, 



