III., 



-t, 



"• 3s tk 



e 



"■«", be. 



"«^« be. 



1 



acid. ■ 



•arde 



rodua; 



^lers- 



ion 



^'iftead of 

 ^ by the 

 ^» as th 



Spirituous 

 -'Hv hole- 

 gathered 

 mber the- 



g acquire 

 and the 



; old one. 

 bark, as 



he parent 



» foil. 



the itai 



f.. 



a 



n 



iid that 



,"•000} 



T 



mod of 



woo 



3» 



thr: 



ther 



{late 



1 



or 



c: 



;iitate& 



Sect. XVIII. 2. i. LEAVES AND WOOD. 



/ 



5^5 



r 



cilitates the produflion of the new caudexes of the leaf-buds proba- 

 bly by leflening the cohefion of the cuticle, or mechanically relax- 

 ing it, like the cuticle of our hands when long foaked in water, as 



I ^ 



well as by fupplying them with more nutriment. 



It may fometimes occur, that the cuticle of trees, or exterior bark, 

 may adhere too flrongly, and by not opening In cracks confine the 

 growth, or prevent the produdlon of the caudexes of the new buds. 

 There is annually a new cuticle produced beneath the old ones, as 

 well as a new bark above the old ones ; hence fome trees have as 



r 



many cuticles as they are years old, others call: them more eafily, as 

 a fnake cafts its cuticle. When a number of cuticles thus exifl one 

 over another, it Is ufeful to fcratch them longitudinally, which will 

 admit the new bark beneath, confillino; of the caudexes of the various 



buds to fwell out, and form a line more prominent than the other parts 

 of the trunk of the tree. If crooked young trees be thus fcratched in- 

 ternally in refped to the curvature, and this repeatedly, I am in- 

 formed, that they will gradually become flralght, by thus encourag- 

 ino- the growth within the curvature more than on Its convex fide. 



Another method of increafing the number and vigoub of the leaf- 

 buds, and In confequence of enlarging the wood of a tree, confifls In 

 pinching off the flowers, as foon as they appear; as the nourishment 

 is thus fupplied to the leaf-buds by the Inofculatlon of the veflels of 

 the bark, which otherwife would have been expended on the flowers, 



^ 



fruit, and feeds. The truth of this circumflance is not only coun- 

 tenanced by gardeners, who pull off the flowers of fruit-trees lately 

 planted to encourage their growth, but alfo from the appearance of 

 fickly trees ; which are liable to perlfli, when In flower. In this cafe 

 it often happens, that, after the flowers fade, fome of the leaf-buds 

 continue to expand, or new ones put out, owing to the fupply of 

 nutriment not being now expended on the flowers. 



2. As tall timber trees without branches, and confequent knots in 



the timber, are mofl valuable except for (hip-building, this may be 



2 U 2 certainly 



\ 



