OF THE CANKER, AND GUM. 3^3 



tribute their unthriving state to the nature of the 

 soil, whereas the fact is, that this frequently arises 

 from the inattention or mismanagement of the 

 person who plants and superintends them. If the 

 injured and diseased parts be not cut out at an early 

 period, the trees will not thrive, but will become 

 cankery and stunted, and cannot be recovered af- 

 terwards without a great deal of labour and trouble ; 

 whereas, if the directions given for heading trees 

 the first year, and cutting out the diseased parts, 

 be attended to, the trees will flourish, and bear 

 large crops of fine and well-flavoured fruit. 



The Gum. 



The Gum is a kind of gangrene incident to fruit 

 trees of the stone kind, and arises from the fol- 

 lowing causes : from injudicious pruning, from 

 bruises, or any injuries received in the wood or bark- 

 This may happen from strokes of the hammer in 

 nailing, from pinching the shoots by nailing the 

 shreds too tight, or by driving the nails too 

 close to the branches. It may also be occasioned 

 by leaving the foot-stalks of the fruit, or by pruning 

 in Summer, and cutting the shoots to short stumps, 

 and by injuries sustained by a careless application 

 of ladders in nailing and gathering the fruit, &c. 

 but it particularly originates where large limbs have 

 been lopped or broken off. This disease may be 

 known before the gum itself makes its appearance. 

 The bark at first becomes of a brownish colour, 



y ^ 



