204 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. more florid : From thence I have received many of their berries ; so as it 

 "'"^'y'^ is a shameful neghgence, that we are not better provided with nurseries of 

 a tree so choice and universally acceptable : For so they may be raised 

 either of the seeds in October, or, with better success, by the suckers and 

 plants, which are treated after the same method, and in as great abund- 

 ance as the Elm, like to which it should be cultivated. You may know 

 whether the seeds be prolific, by searching the husk : if on biting, 

 or cutting it asunder, it be full and white, and not husky, as sometimes 

 we find the foreigners, the seeds are good. Be sure to collect your seed 

 in dry weather, airing it in an open room, and reserving it in sand (as has 

 been taught) till the middle of February, when you may sow it in pretty 

 strong, fresh, and loamy mould, kept shaded and moist^ as the season re- 

 quires, and clear of weeds ; and at the period of two years plant them out, 

 dressed and pruned, as discretion shall advise. But not only by the 

 suckers and layers at the roots, but even by branches lopped from the 

 head, may this tree be propagated ; and peeling off a little of the bark, 

 at a competent distance from the stem or arms, and covering it with loam 

 mingled with rich earth, they will shoot their fibres, and may be season- 

 ably separated : But to facilitate this and the like attempts, it is advisable 

 to apply a ligature above the place when the sap is ascending, or beneath 

 it, when it (as they say vulgarly) descends. From June to November 

 you may lay them ; the scrubs and less erect do excellently to thicken 

 copses, will yield lusty shoots and useful fire-wood. 



2. The Lime-tree affects a rich, feedingj loamy soil; in such ground 

 its growth will be most incredible for speed and spreading. It may be 

 planted as big as one's leg, and its head topped at about six or eight feet 

 bole; thus it will become, of all other, the most proper and beautiful for 

 walks, as producing an upright body, smooth and even bark, ample leaf, 

 sweet blossom, the delight of bees, and a goodly shade at the distance of 

 eighteen or twenty-five feet. It is also very patient of pruning ; but 

 if it taper over much, some of the collateral boughs should be cut off 

 to check the sap, which is best to be done about Midsummer ; and to 

 make it grow upright, take off the prepondering branches with discretion ; 

 and so may you correct any other tree, and redress its obliquity. The 

 root, in transplanting, should not be lopped ; and this, says Mr. Cook. 

 is a good lesson for all young-planted trees. 



