P E 



tirne, it will be of great Advan- 

 tage, cfpecially where there is a 

 great Quantity oF Walling. And 

 here is alio another Benefit in Pru- 

 ning at this Scaibn, which is, the 

 having the Borders at liberty to dig 

 and make clean before the Spring, 

 £o that the Garden may not appear 

 in Litter at that Seafon. 



Having faid thus much concern- 

 ing the Time of Pruning, I fhall 

 now proceed to give fome general 

 Dire6lions how it is to be per- 

 form'd on Peach and Ne^arine 

 Trees, which require a very diffe- 

 rent Management from moll other 

 Sorts of Fruits. 



In Pruning of thefe Trees, you 

 liiould always obferve to cut them 

 behind a Wood-bud (which may 

 be eaiily diflinguifli'd from the 

 Blollbm-buds, that are fliorter, roun- 

 der, and more turgid than the 

 Wood-buds j) for if the Shoot have 

 not a leading Bud where it is 

 cut, it is very apt to die down to 

 the next leading Bud i fo that what 

 Fruit may be produced above that, 

 v/ill come to nothing, there being 

 always a Neceffity ot a leading Bud 

 to attradt the Nourilhment j for it 

 is not fuiricient that they have a 

 Leaf-bud, as feme have imagined, 

 iince that will attradl but a fmall 

 Quantity of Nourifhment j the great 

 "Ufe of the Leaves being to per- 

 fpire away fuch crude Juices as arc 

 unfit to enter the Fruit : The 

 Length you fhould leave theie 

 Branches, ihould be proporticn'd to 

 tlie Strength ot the Tree, which, 

 in a healthy flrong Tree^ may be 

 left ten Inches or more ; but in a 

 weak one, they Oiould not be more 

 than fix Inches : however, in this 

 you mud be guided by the Pofi- 

 tion of a leading Bud j for it is bet= 

 ter to leave a Shoot three or four 

 inches longer, or to cut it two or 



Vol. II, 



P E 



three Inches fhorter than we would 

 chufe to do, provided there be one 

 of thefe Buds, it being abfolutely 

 necefTary, for the future Welfare oi 

 the Tree : You fliould alfo cut out 

 entirely all weak Shoots, tho' they 

 may have many Bloirom-buds upon 

 them ; for theie have not Strength 

 enough to nourilh the Fruit, fo as 

 to give it a kindly Flavour, but 

 they will weaken the other Parts 

 of the Tree. 



In nailing the Shoots to the Wall, 

 you muft be careful to place them 

 at as equal Diffances as poflible, 

 that their Leaves, when come out, 

 may have Room to grow, with- 

 out (hading the Branches too much j 

 and you Ihould never nail them 

 upright, if It can be prevented ; 

 for when they are thus train'd, 

 they are very fubjed: to flioot from, 

 the upper- moft Eyes, and the low- 

 er part of the Shoots will thereby 

 become naked. 



There is not any Thing in the 

 Bufineis of Gardening, which has 

 more exercis'd the Thoughts of the 

 Curious, than how to prefervc 

 their tender Sorts of Fruit from 

 being blighted in the Spring of 

 the Year 5 and yet there has been 

 little wrote upon this Subje<5t 

 which is v/orth Notice : Some 

 have propos'd Mattrcffes of Straw 

 or Reeds to be placed before the 

 Fruit-Trees againft Walls, to pre- 

 vent their being blafted : Others 

 have dire<tl:ed the fixing horizontal 

 Shelters. in their Walls, to prevent 

 the perpendicular Dew or Rain 

 from falling upon the Blolloms of 

 the FruitpTrces, which they liip^ 

 pos'd to be the chief Caufe of their 

 Blighting: But both thefe Contri- 

 vances have been far from anfwer- 

 ing the Ex Delations of rhofe Per- 

 fons who have put them in Pra- 

 dice (as I have elfew.here Ihewn;) 

 i'^ therefore 



