APRICOTS, PEACHES, PLUMS. 69 



by a place near the throne ; but why to mend the 

 bad exclude the good, and suffer loss by doing in- 

 justice 2 The excellent may-duke cherry will have 

 abundantly fruitful branches, though only four 

 inches apart; and as it is more given to bearing 

 than idle growth, it ought to have the fan form, 

 by which, as the radii widen, you have room to lay 

 in the side shoots. And even the breastwood 

 (that which grows right forward) is not to be lost; 

 for if, instead of cutting it entirely off, you leave 

 nearly a handbreadth, the stump or snag will carry 

 a large bunch of rich dark fruit enough to fill both 

 mouth and hands. The black geen may be treated 

 in the sauie way; and is well worthy of a place on 

 the wall, though not of the best exposure. 



With regard to apricots, peaches, and plums, 

 the training is the easiest thing in the world; and 

 if the work be as pleasant to you as I could wish 

 it, you will find an entertainment of some dura- 

 tion, and of frequent repetition in this department 

 of your wall. They are free growers, and afford 

 plenty of wood for laying in. The most important 

 rule concerning this class is to look to the space 

 which you design the tree to occupy, whether thirty 

 or forty feet in the length of your wall; and to set 

 off the branches fan-like in such a way as to reach 

 the several parts of the ultimate boundary in 

 straight lines. By this you will avoid an awk- 

 wardness that is often to be met with, in having 

 the branches first more vertical and then more in- 

 clined to the horizontal, resembling the figure of a 



