THE SCOTS GARDENER 



cherrie, three or four foot ; dwarf and wall-trees, 

 half a foot ; then cut the top that runs straight up- 

 wards, making it to spread out in branches round. 

 Suffer no branch to aspire beyond others in hight, 

 nor any to cross, rub, or gall one another ; and what- 

 ever branch or twig you cut off, cut close and clean 

 by the body or branch, except in the case of old 

 trees and great branches, as I observed in pruning 

 forest-trees ; and in topping of branches, cut close 

 and smooth immediately above a leaf -bud, slanting 

 downwards to cover the wound. And when you 

 prune, spare the fruit-buds, (the full ones I mean) 

 except you see them too many, then purge by the 

 knife. Like wayes, if afterwards you find more fruit 

 knotted than the tree can be able to nurse to per- 

 fection, thin them in time. 



But your first work is to proportion the head to 

 the root by pruning ; cut the tops at a convenient 

 hight, that the tree may grow equally furnished 

 round ; for cutting, as it diminisheth, so it forms 

 and shapes the head, insomuch asitfurnisheth with 

 ne w young shoots, that may be train'd as you please, 



Standards should have but four arms breaking 

 out for a head, opening equally round ; thesedivided 

 into branches, and again subdividing the twigs. 



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