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hedges, to project about ten feet from the wall, thefe 
will break the force of the wind, and prevent its de~ 
ilroying of the bloffoms ; and thefe may be removed 
away as foon as the danger is over. Where thefe 
things have been prabtifed, they were generally at- 
tended with fuccefs ; and as there will be no trouble 
of covering and uncovering in this method, after they 
are fixed up, there can be no danger of neglebt, as 
very often is the cafe, when the trouble is great, or 
to be often repeated. 
When your fruit is fet, and grown to the bignefs of 
a fmall nut, you fhould look over the trees and thin 
them, leaving them at leaft five or fix inches afunder ; 
for when they are permitted to remain in bunches, as 
they areoften produced, the nourifiiment which fhould 
be employed wholly to the fruits defigned to ftand, 
will be equally fpent amongft the whole number, a 
great part of which muft be afterwards pulled off ; fo 
that the fooner this is done, the better it will be for 
the remaining fruit ; and if it fhould fometimes happen, 
that a part of thofe left, by any accident, fhould be 
deftroyed, yet the remaining ones will be much the 
larger and better tailed for it, and the trees will gain 
more flrength, for a moderate quantity of fruit is al- 
ways preferable to a great crop ; the fruit when but 
few, will be much larger, better tailed, and the trees 
in a condition to bear well the fucceeding year •, where- 
as when they are overcharged with fruit, it is always 
fmall, ill tailed, and the trees are generally fo much 
weakened thereby, as not to be in a condition for bear- 
ing well for two or three years after ; fo that upon the 
whole, it is much better to have a Idler number of 
fruit than is commonly efleemed a crop, than to have 
too many, fince the fruit and alfo the trees are bene- 
fited thereby. The quantity of fruit to be left on 
large full-grown trees fhould never be greater than five 
dozen upon each ; but on middling trees, three or four 
dozen will be enough. 
If the feafon fhould prove hot and dry, it will be pro- 
per to draw up the earth round the flem of each tree, 
to form a hollow bafon of about fix feet diameter, and 
cover the furface of the ground in this bafon with 
mulch ; and once in a week or fortnight, according 
to the heat and drought of the feafon, pour down 
eight or ten gallons of water to the root of each tree ; 
or where there is an engine which will difperfe the wa- 
ter in gentle eafy drops like rain, if the fame, or a 
larger quantity of water is fprinkled all over the 
branches of the trees, and this, foaking down to the 
roots, will keep the fruit conftantly growing, which 
will prevent their falling off the trees, as they gene- 
rally do where this method is not prabtifed ; and the 
fruit being thus conftantly nourifhed, will be much 
better tailed, and hereby the trees will be maintained 
in vigour ; fo that it is what I can from long experi- 
ence recommend, as one of the mod neceffary things 
to be prabtifed by all lovers of good fruit. But this 
Ihould not be continued longer than while the fruit are 
growing, for afterward it will be hurtful to the trees 
and fruit, for a dry autumn ripens both wood and 
fruit better than a moift later feafon. 
When the Peach-trees are carefully managed in the 
fpring of the year, according to the rules before laid 
down, all the nourilhment which the roots can fupply 
will be ufefully employed in nourilhing fuch Ihoots 
only as are to be continued, as alfo the quantity of 
fruit which is proper for each tree, therefore both muft 
of confequence be rendered better ; for where there 
is not this care, the trees foon grow ragged, and are 
not furnilhed properly with branches ; and thofe 
fhoots which are produced, are fome of them very 
weak, and others very luxuriant, whereby the trees 
are rendered very unfightly, as alfo unhealthy, and 
never continues many years fruitful ; and by thus 
training the branches to the wall as they are pro- 
duced, the fruit will be always expofed to the fun 
and air ; which in the common method of managing 
thefe trees, by letting their branches grow rude all 
the fpring, they are deprived from, and confequently 
do not receive the benefit from thefe equal to thofe 
PER 
which are properly managed and by the timely rub* 
bing off ufelefs and luxuriant fhoots, it will fave much 
trouble, and prevent the ufe of the knife in hammer, 
which is very hurtful to thefe trees, for there will be 
no need to fhorten any of the fhoots in hummer. 
When thefe rules are duly executed, there will be no 
occafion to pull off the leaves of the trees, to admit 
the fun to the fruit, which is often prabtifed •, for if 
we confider, that the leaves are abfoluteiy neceffary 
to cherifh the bloffom-buds, which are always formed 
at the foot-ftalks of the leaves, the pulling them 
off before they have performed the office affigned 
them by nature, is doing great injury to the trees, 
therefore I caution every one againft that prabtice. 
It is a common opinion which has for fome years pre- 
vailed, even amongft perfons of good underftanding, 
that Peach-trees are not long lived, therefore fhould 
be renewed every twenty years •, but this is a great 
miftake, for I have eaten fome of the fineft Peaches 
of various kinds, which grew on trees which had 
been planted above fifty years : and I am convinced 
by experience, that when the trees are budded upon 
proper flocks, and carefully planted and managed, 
they may be continued fruitful and healthy fixty years 
and upward * and the fruit produced on thefe old trees 
will be much better flavoured, than any of thofe upon 
young trees ; but I fuppofe the foundation of the above 
opinion was taken from the French, who generally 
bud their Peaches upon Almond flocks, which are of 
fhort duration, thefe feldom lafting good more than 
twenty years ; but this feldom being prabtifed 
in England, the cafe is widely different ; nor in- 
deed fhould we fetch our examples from that nation, 
where the profeffors of the art of gardening are at leaft: 
a century behind the Englifh ; and from their prefent 
difpofition, feem unlikely to overtake them ; for they 
depart from nature in almoft every part of gardening, 
and are more pleafed with introducing their little in- 
ventions of pruning and managing their fruit-trees, 
according to their own fancy, than they are careful to 
draw their inftrubtions from nature, from whence the 
the true art is to be obtained ; fo that in very few in- 
flances gardeners fhould deviate from nature, unlefs 
it be in thofe particulars, where art may be prabtifed 
to the greateft advantage, which is in the procuring 
many forts of efculent plants and fruits earlier and 
better flavoured than can be obtained without, in 
which the French are extremely deficient ; and herein 
they truft too much to nature, and ufe too little art. 
In one of the moft celebrated of their authors, who 
treats very particularly of fruit-trees, there are direc- 
tions for planting of Peach-trees twelve feet afunder, 
and at the fame time he advifes the planting of Pear- 
trees but nine or ten feet diftance ; and yet he fays, 
that aPear-tree in health will fhoot three feet on each 
fide every year ; therefore he does not allow room for 
thefe trees to grow more than two years, before they 
meet. There is alfo another thing pofitively laid 
down by the fame author, which is, never to lay any 
dung upon the borders where fruit-trees are growing, 
which, he fays, will render the fruit ill tailed ; and 
this opinion has too generally prevailed in England ; 
but this hath been exploded by one of his own coun- 
trymen, who affirms, that from upward of twenty 
years experience, thofe trees where the borders had 
been conftantly dunged, always produced the moft 
delicious fruit, and the trees were in the greateft vi- 
gour ; and the fame gentleman mentions the'prablice 
of the gardeners at Montreuil near Paris, who have 
for fome generations been famous for the culture of 
Peaches ; and are as careful to dung the bqrders where 
their Peach-trees grow every other year, as the 
kitchen-gardeners are for their legumes. 
And from a long experience it is, that I can fubfcribe 
to the truth of this ; for in fome particular gardens, 
where the bell fruit grew that I have yet tailed, the 
ground was conftantly dunged every other year; there- 
fore it is what I muft recommend to the prabtice of 
every curious perfon, with this caution, always to uie 
fuch" dung for their borders as is well rotted, and to 
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