MANAGEMENT OF FRUIT TREES, & c . 2 47 



nature of the foil ; whereas the fact is, that this frequently 

 arifes from the inattention or mifmanagement of the perfon 

 who plants and fuperintends them. If the injured and difeafed 

 parts be not cut out at an early period, the trees will not 

 thrive, but will become cankery and ftunted, and cannot be 

 recovered afterwards without a great deal of labour and 

 trouble; whereas, if the directions given for heading trees 

 the hrft year, and cutting out the difeafed parts, be attended 

 to, the trees will flourifh, and bear large crops of fine and 

 well-flavoured fruit. 



The Gum. 



The Gum is a kind of gangrene incident to fruit-trees of 

 the flone kind, and arifes from the following caufes : from 

 injudicious pruning, from bruifes, or any injuries received in 

 the wood or bark. This may happen from ftrokes of the 

 hammer in nailing, from pinching the fhoots by nailing the 

 fhreds too tight, or by driving the nails too clofe to the 

 branches. It may alfo be occafioned by leaving the footftalks 

 of the fruit, or by pruning in Summer and cutting the fhoots 

 to ihort (lumps, and by injuries fuftained by a carelefs appli- 

 cation of ladders in nailing and gathering the fruit, &c. but 

 it particularly originates where large limbs have been lopped 

 or broken off. This difeafe may be known before the gum 

 itfelf makes its appearance. The bark at firfh becomes of a 

 brownifh colour, which gradually grows darker, till at laft 

 the gum begins to ooze out like little blifters. As foon as 

 any of thefe fymptoms are obferved, the infected part ihould 

 be cut out with a fharp inftrument, and the Compolltion and. 



powder 



