SECT. XII. 



OF PRUNING. 



159 



SECTION XII. 



OF PRUNING. 



I. OF WALL TREES. 



OF this " mailer work of gardening,'* it has been - 

 faidj 44 that gentlemen prune too little* and' 

 gardeners too muchj'/thefe extremes are to be avoided, . 

 as attended with peculiar evils, equally mifchievous : • 

 Wall-trees are prefentlv fpoiled by either practice. It 

 they are too full of wood, the (hoots and fruits can- 

 not be properly ripened, and if they are too thin, the 

 confequence of the .cutting that has made them fo, is the 

 production of wood, rather than fruit, farcing out 

 fihqots, where otherwife bloffom buds would have been 

 formed. The defignation of trees to a wall neceiTarily 

 occahons cutting, and on the Jhlful ufe of the knife ? 

 much depends ; but let not the ingenious young gardener 

 be difcouraged at the appearance of difficulty : a little 

 ftudy, practice, and perfeverance will clear the way, 

 and it he does not become a complete pruher at once, he - 

 will in a reafonable time,, and the. work will prove one 

 of the pleafanteft amufements of a garden, not attended 

 with fatigue. . 



Every one who. has wall-trees cannot keep a profeJJ'ed 

 gardener, nor is every one who calls himfelf lb, , 

 qualified to prune properly. It is a great mortification 

 to a man, who wUhes to fee his trees in order, not to ■ 

 G $ be •' 



