INTRODUCTION. 



The cultivation of fruits, whether native or 

 exotic, is a principal part of the business of 

 the gardener; and, in many places, orchard- 

 ing is an important branch of rural economy. 

 Few objects are more engaging than the cul- 

 ture of fruit. The very act of planting a fruit 

 tree is attended with a pleasing hope. Seeing 

 it year after year advancing to a bearing state, 

 is interesting ; and witnessing it at last loaded 

 with, or bending under, its burden of fruit, is 

 at once as gratifying as it is a profitable 

 spectacle. 



Many books have been written on this sub- 

 ject ; some of them, when the art was in its 



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