FRUITS. CHAP. 



the objects are, to render trees productive, to preserve 

 their health, and to keep them in regular and convenient 

 form ; for, in this case, as well as in almost every other, 

 though nature does a great deal, she will not do all : she 

 will not do every thing : she must be and will be as- 

 sisted j and certainly the management of fruit-trees may 

 be considered as one of the principal parts of the art of 

 gardening. 



223. I shall now give instructions for the pruning"of 

 peach trees placed against walls. If I were to stop at every 

 particular part of the instructions, in order to point out 

 the difference between the pruning of a peach tree and 

 that of the apricot and other trees, the mind of the 

 reader would be bewildered : therefore, I shall keep the 

 peach tree solely in my eye while giving these instruc- 

 tions j and, as this head of training and pruning will im- 

 mediately be followed by an Alphabetical List of Fruits, 

 the reader will find, under the name of each fruit, such 

 remarks as are required to point out to him in what 

 respect he is to differ in his training and pruning from 

 the rules laid down in the case of the peach. He will, 

 therefore, please to observe, that, in the instructions 

 which I am now about to give, I have the peach tree 

 solely in my eye. 



224. Training and pruning involve so many circum- 

 stances, such a great variety of objects and of opera- 

 tions, that to give minute instructions upon the subject 

 absolutely demand a great space ; and, after all, it is 

 fortunate, when mechanical operations are to be de- 

 scribed by words ; it is extremely fortunate, if the writer 





