PER 
you (hould alfo cut out entirely all weak (hoots, tho 5 
they may have many bloffom-buds upon them ; for 
thefe have not ftrength enough to nourifh the fruit, 
but they will weaken the other parts of the tree. 
In nailing the (hoots to the wall, you mull be careful 
to place them at as equal diftances as poffible, that 
their leaves, when come out, may have room to grow 
without (hading the branches too much ; and you 
(hould never nail them upright if it can be avoided •, 
for when they are thus trained, they are very fubjedt 
to (hoot from the uppermoft eyes, and the lower 
part of the (hoots will thereby become naked. 
Tnere is not any thing in the bufmefs of gardening, 
which has more exerciied the thoughts of the curious, 
than how to preferve their tender forts of fruit from 
being blighted in the fpring of the year, and yet there 
has been iittle written upon this fubjedt which is 
worth notice : fome have propofed mattreffes of draw 
or Reeds to be placed before the fruit-trees againft 
walls, to prevent their being blafted ; others have di- 
rected the fixing horizontal lhekers in their walls, to 
prevent the perpendicular dew or rain from falling up- 
on the bloffoms of the fruit-trees, which they fup- 
pofed to be the chief caufe of their blighting ; but 
both thefe contrivances have been far from anlwering 
the expedlations of thofe per fops who have put them 
in practice, as I have elfewhere (hewn ; therefore it 
may not be improper to repeat fome things in this 
place, which I have before mentioned in relation to 
this matter. And 
Firft, I have already faid, that the blights which are 
fo often complained of, do not fo often proceed from 
any external caufe, or inclemency in the feafon, as 
from a diftemper or weaknefs in the trees ; for if we 
obferve the trees at that feafon, where they are the 
mod fubjedl to what is called a blight, we (hall find 
the branches very fmall, weak, and not half ripened, 
as alfo trained in very clofe to each other •, thefe 
branches are, for the mod part, full of bloffom-buds 
(which is chiefly occafioned by their want of drength.) 
Thefe buds do indeed open, and 10 perfons not (killed 
in fruit-trees, (hew a great profpedt of a plentiful 
crop of fruit •, whereas the whole drength of the 
branches is (pent in nourifhing the flowers, and be- 
ing unable to do any more, the bloffoms fall off, and 
the fmall efforts of the leaf-buds are checked, fo that 
many times great part of the branches die away, and 
this is called a great blight ; whereas, at the fame 
time it may be often obferved, that fome trees of a 
different fort, nay, even fome of the fame fort, were 
dronger and in health, though placed in the fame foil, 
expofed to the fame afped, and fubjed to the fame 
inclemency of air, have efcaped very well, when the 
weak trees have appeared to be almod dead •, which 
is a plain indication, that it proceeds from fome caufe 
within the tree, and not from any external blight. All 
this will therefore be remedied, by obferving the fore- 
going diredions in the pruning and management of 
the trees, fo as never to over-burden them with 
branches, nor to differ any particular part of the trees 
to exhaud the whole nouriihment from the root, 
which will caufe the other parts to be very weak; 
but to didribute the nouriihment equally to every 
(hoot, that there may be none too vigorous, at the 
fame time that others are too weak ; and by continu- 
ally rubbing off ufelefs or fore-right dioots as they are 
produced, the drength of the trees will not be fpent, 
to nourilh fuch branches as mud be afterwards cut 
out, which is too often (een in the management of 
thefe trees. And 
Secondly, It (bmetimes happens, that the roots of 
thefe trees are buried too deep in the ground, which, 
in a cold or moift foil is one of the greated difadvan- 
tages that can attend thefe tender fruits ; for the fap 
which is contained in the branches, being by the 
warmth of the fun, put drongly into motion early in 
the fpring, is exhaufted in nourifliing the bloffoms ; 
and a part of it is perfpired through the wood-branches, 
fo that its drength is lod before the warmth can reach 
to their roots, to put them into an equal motion in 
feared of fre(h nouriihment, to fupply the expence of 
the branches ; for want of which, the bloffoms fail off 
and decay, and the (boots (eem to be at a (land, until 
the farther advance of the warmth penetrates to the 
roots, and lets them in motion : when Suddenly after, 
the trees, which before looked weak and decaying;, 
make prodigious progrefs in then (hoots ; and before 
the dimmer is fpent, are furnilhed with much dronger 
branches than thofe trees which have the full advan- 
tage of fun and (bowers, and are more fruitful and 
healthy ; which mud certainly be owing to the caufe 
here mentioned, as alfo to their drawing in a great, 
quantity of crude moifture, which, though produc- 
tive of wood, is yet unkindly for fruit : if therefore 
this be the cafe, there is no way of helping it, but by 
raifing up the trees, if they are young ; or if they 
are too old to remove, it is the better way to root 
them out and make new borders of freih earth, and 
plant down young trees *, for it is a great vexation to 
be at the trouble and expence of pruning and ma- 
naging thefe trees, without having the pleafure of 
reaping any advantage from them, which will always 
be the cafe where the trees are thus injudicipufly 
planted. Or, 
Thirdly, This may proceed from the trees wanting-' 
nouriihment, which is many times the cafe, where 
they are planted in a hard gravelly foil, in which it is 
the common practice to dig borders three or four feet 
wide, and three feet deep into the rock of gravel, 
which is filled with good freih earth, into which the 
trees are planted, where they will thrive pretty well 
for two years, until their roots reach the gravel, where 
they are confined as if planted in a pot ; and for want 
of proper nouriihment, the branches continually decay 
every year. This cannot be helped where the trees 
have been growing fome years, without taking them 
entirely up, or by digging away the gravel from their 
roots, and adding a large quantity of frefti earth, that 
may afford them a fupply of nouriihment a few years 
longer ; but trees fo planted, cannot by any art be con- 
tinued long in health. 
But if the unfruitfulnefs of the trees does not proceed 
from any of the before-mentioned caufes, and is the 
effect of unkindly feafons, then the bed method yet 
known is, in dry weather, when little dew falls, to 
fprinkle the branches of the trees gently with water 
loon alter the blofloming feafon, and while the yo.ung- 
fet fruit is tender, which (hould always be done be- 
fore noon, that the moifture may evaporate before 
the night comes on ; and if in the night ^ou carefully 
cover the trees with mats, canvas, or fome fuch light 
covering, it will be of great fervice to them : howe- 
ver, where the trees are ftrong and vigorous, they 
are not fo liable to iulter by a fmall inclemency, as are 
thofe which are weak, fo that there will be few feafons 
in which there may not be hopes of a moderate quan- 
tity of fruit from them, though there (hould be no 
covering ufed •, for where thefe coverings are ufed, if 
it is not performed with great care and diligence, it is 
much better to have no covering, but to shift to the 
clemency of the feafon ; for if the coverings are kept 
too clofe, or continued too long, the trees will receive 
more injury hereby, than from being conftantly ex- 
poled ; or, if after having been covered for fome 
time, and then incautioufly removed, fo as to.expofe 
the trees too (uddenly to the open air, they will fuffer 
more thereby than if they had not been covered. How- 
ever, I rnuft repeat in this place what has been before 
mentioned under another article, of a management 
which has been generally attended with fuccefs, which 
is, the putting up two feather-edge deal boards joined 
together over the top of the trees, fo as to form a 
pent-houfe to caft oft' perpendicular wet. Thefe (hould 
be fixed up when the trees begin to bloffom, and 
(hould remain till the fruit is well fee, when they 
(hould be taken down to admit the dew and rain to 
the leaves and branches of the trees, which muff not 
be longer kept off; and where the wall is long, and 
expofed to currents of wind, if at the diftance of forty 
feet from each other, are fixed fome crofs Reed- 
10 E Sedges 
