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Royal Gardens, Kensington, May, 11, 17'91, 



Directions for making a Composition for curiiig Diseases^ Defects^, 

 and Injuries^ in all kinds of Fruit and Forest-Trees^ and the 

 Method of preparing the Trees and laying on the Composi" 

 tion^ by William Forsyth. 



Take one bushel of fresh cow dung, half a bushel of lime 

 rubbish of old buildings (that from the ceilings of rooms is 

 preferable), half a bushel of wood ashes, and a sixteenth part 

 of a bushel of pit or river sand : The three last articles are to 

 be sifted fine before they are mixed ; then work them well to^ 

 gether with a spade, and afterwards with a wooden beater, 

 until the stuff is very smooth, like fine plaster used for the ceil- 

 ings of rooms. 



The composition being thus made, care must be taken to 

 prepare the tree properly for its application, by cutting away 

 all the dead, decayed, and injured part, till you come to the 

 fresh sound wood, leaving the surface of the wood, very smooth, 

 and rounding off the edges of the bark with a draw-knife, or 

 other instrument, perfectly smooth, which must be particularly 

 attended to ; then lay on the plaster about one eighth of an 

 inch thick, all over the part where the wood or bark has been so 

 cut away, finishing off the edges as thin as possible : Then take 

 a quantity of dry powder of wood ashes mixed with a sixth part 

 of the same quantity of the ashes of burnt bones ; put it into 

 a tin box, with holes in the top, and shake the powder on the 

 surface of the plaster, till the whole is covered over with it^ 

 letting it remain for half an hour, to absorb the moisture ; then 

 apply more powder, rubbing it on gently with the hand, and 

 repeating the application of the powder till the whole plaster be- 

 comes a dry smooth surface. 



All trees cut down near the ground should have the sur- 

 face made quite smooth, rounding it off in a small degree, a& 

 before mentioned ; and the dry powder directed to be used af- 

 terwards should have an equal quantity of powder of alabaster 

 mixed with it, in order the better to resist the dripping of trees 

 and heavy rains. 



If any of the composition be left for a future occasion, it 

 should be kept in a tub, or other vessel^ and urin^ of any kind 



