APRICOT. 133 



any rate the transplanting wHl give tlie tree such a 

 check, as may induce a less vigorous groNvth and 

 proaiote fruitfalness. As this excessive growth is 

 often seen to happen to maiden plants, planted in 

 newly-made horders, it is a more judicious plan to 

 choose trees from the nursery which have already 

 been trained for a year or two. With these there is 

 less risk of over- luxuriant growth, and certainly a 

 better chance of early fruitfuhiess. For those writers, 

 who have advised the planting of maiden trees, both 

 in new built houses, and for new built walls, twelve 

 feet high, certainly never considered how long such 

 expensive erections would remain unnecessarily 

 barren. 



It is remarkable, that this variety of apricot is 

 subject to a defect or malady, which the others are 

 almost free from. This is the sudden failure of an 

 entire branch in the summer months, without any 

 apparent cause. The failure is quite partial ; the 

 branch shall be to all appearance in high health, 

 shooting freely, and bearing fruit on one day, and 

 on the next, every leaf will droop ; the motion of 

 the sap stops ; and the w^hole branch becomes 

 paralized, as if by a stroke of lightning. It is 

 difficult to account for this misfortune: it takes place 

 in all kinds of soil, in every mode of planting, and 

 under the most opposite circumstances ; and there 

 really appears no way of guarding against it, until 

 we can first discover the cause ; and which disco- 

 very, the author believes, has- not yet been made. 



An apricot was introduced, by the late Duke of 



