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toy tolerable {kill in pruning by the tedious and per- 
piexed directions which are publilhed by Monfieur 
Quintiny, and thofe who have copied from him •, 
for, as thefe have all fet out wrong in the beginning, 
by allowing their trees lefs than half the diftance which 
they fnould be planted, they have prefcribed rules to 
beep them within that compafs, which are the mold 
abfurd, and contrary to all reafon, therefore ihouid 
not be ,p radii fed by; thofe perfons who are defirous of 
having plenty of fruit. 
I fhall therefore only lay down a few neceffary direc- 
tions for pruning and managing thefe trees, which 
fhall b'e done in as few words as poffible, that a learner 
may the more eafily underhand it, and which (toge- 
ther with proper observations) will be fufficient to m- 
ftruCt any perfon in the right management of them. 
Pear-trees generally produce their bloffom bud' tuft 
at the extremity of the lad year’s flioots, fo that if 
thefe are fhortened, the bloffoms are cut off ; but this 
is not all the damage, for (as I before faid) this occa- 
sions the buds immediately below the cut to put forth 
two or more flioots, whereby the number of branches 
will be increafed, and the tree crowded too much 
with wood ; befides, thofe buds, which by this ma- 
nagement produce flioots, would have only produced 
cur foul or fpurs, upon which the bloffom-buds are 
produced, if the leading branch had not been fliort- 
erred ; therefore thefe fhould never be flopped, nnlefs 
to furnifh wood to fill a vacancy. 
It is not neceffary to provide anew fupply of wood in 
Pear-trees, as muft be done for Peaches, Nectarines, 
&c. which only produce their fruit upon young v/ood-, 
for Pears produce their fruit upon curfons or fpurs, 
which are emitted from branches which are three or 
four years old j which curfons continue fruitful many 
years, fo that, where thefe trees have been fkilfully 
managed, I have feen branches which have been 
trained horizontally upwards of twenty feet from 
the trunk of the tree, and have been fruitful their 
whole length. And if we do but carefully obferve 
the branches of a healthy ftandard-tree, which has 
been permitted to grow without pruning, we lhall find 
many that are ten or twelve years old, or more, which 
are very full of thefe curfons, upon which a good 
number of fruit is annually produced. 
During the fummerfeafon thefe trees Ihouid be often 
looked over to train in the flioots, as they are pro- 
duced, regularly to the wall or efpalier, and to dis- 
place fore-right and luxuriant branches as they fhoot 
out, whereby tae fruit will be equally expofed to the 
air and fun, which will render them more beautiful 
and better tailed than when they are fhaded by the 
branches and by thus managing the trees in fummer, 
they will always appear beautiful, and in winter they 
will want but little pruning. 
Where Pear-trees are thus regularly trained without 
flopping their fnoots, and have full room for their 
branches to extend on each fide, there will never be 
any occafion for dilbarking the branches, or cutting 
off the roots (as hath been directed by feveral writers 
on gardening ;) which methods, however they may 
anfwer the intention for the prefent, yet will certainly 
greatly injure the trees, as muft all violent amputa- 
tions, which fhould ever be avoided as much as pof- 
fible on fruit-trees and this, I am fure, can never 
be wanted, where trees have been rightly planted, and 
regularly trained, while young. 
The feafon for pruning thefe trees is any time after 
the fruits are gathered, until the beginning of March •, 
but the fooner it is done after the fruit is gathered, 
the better, for reafons already given for pruning of 
Peach-trees though indeed the deferring of thefe un- 
til iprirfg, where there are large quantities of trees 
to prune, is not fo injurious to them, as to fome ten- 
der fruits but if the branches are regularly trained 
in fummer, and the luxuriant Ihoots rubbed off, there 
will be little left to do to them in winter. 
All the forts of Summer Pears will ripen very well 
either on ftandards, dwarfs, or efpaliers, as will all 
Autumn Pears upon dwarfs or efpaliers but, where 
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a perfon is very curious in his fruit, 1 would always 
adviie the planting them againft efpaliers, in which 
method they take up but little room in a garden, and, 
if they are well managed, appear very beautiful - and 
the fruit is larger and better tailed than thofe pro- 
duced on dwarfs, as hath been already obferved , but 
fome of the Winter Pears muft be planted againft eaft, 
fouth-eaft, or fouth-weft walls, otherwife they will 
not ripen well in England in bad feafons. 
But although this may be the cafe with fome of the 
late Winter Pears in very bad feafons, yet, in gene- 
ral, moll forts of them will ripen extremely well in all 
warm fituations, when they are planted in efpalier, 
and the fruit will be better flavoured than that which 
grows againft walls, and will keep much longer good ; 
for, as the heat againft walls which are expofed to the 
fun will be very great at fome times, and at others 
there will be little warmth, all fruit which grow near 
them, will be haftened unequally, and therefore is 
never fo well flavoured as the fame forts are which ri- 
pen well in the open air ; and all the fruit, which is 
ripened thus unequally, will decay much fooner than 
thofe which ripen gradually in the open air ; there- 
fore thofe Winter Pears which grow in efpalier, may 
be kept fix weeks longer than thofe which grow 
againft walls, which is a very defirable thing for to 
have plenty of thefe fruit at a feafon when it is very 
rare to find any other fruit to fupply the table but 
Apples, is what all lovers of fruit muft be greatly 
pleafed to enjoy which is what may be ei ft fled by 
planting many of the late forts in efpalier, where, 
although the fruit will not be fo well coloured as 
thofe from the walls, yet they will be found exceeding 
good. When the Beli de Chaumontelle came firft to 
England, the trees were planted in efpalier, and fome 
of them not on a very good foil, or in a warm fituation, 
and yet from thefe trees I have eaten this Pear in great 
perfection in April, and fometimes it has kept till 
May ; whereas, all thofe which have been fince 
planted againft walls ripen their fruit by the begin- 
ning of November, and are generally gone by the 
middle of December ; nor are the latter fo well tailed 
as thofe off the efpaliers. 
The Yirgoleufe and St. Germain, as alfo the Colmar, 
are efteemed the moll difficult forts to ripen their 
fruit, yet thefe I have eaten in great perfection from 
efpaliers, and often from ftandard-trees, where they 
grew upon a warm foil ; but the fruit was much 
fmaller on the ftandard-trees than thofe of the fame 
forts which grew againft walls or efpaliers, but they 
were full as well flavoured, and fome of thefe forts I 
have eaten good.. in April, which is. two months later 
than they ufnally keep but yet I would not advife 
the planting thefe late Pears in ftandard-trees, be- 
caufe they Ihouid hang very late on the trees in au- 
tumn, at which feafon the winds are generally very 
high ; and thefe ftandard-trees being much expofed, 
the fruit is often blown off the trees before they 
are ripe ; and thofe of them, which may hang on the 
trees, are frequently bruifed by being forced againft 
the branches by the winds, fo that they feldom keep 
well. What I mentioned this for, is to prove, that 
thefe Pears will ripen very well without the affiftance 
of a wall ; fo that if they are planted in efpaliers 
where the trees are kept low, the fruit will not be 
fo much expoled to the ftrong winds in autumn as 
thofe on the ftandards, therefore can be in no danger 
of the fruit coming to perfection ; and as the trees 
in efpaliers will be conftantly pruned, and managed 
in the fame manner as thofe againft walls, the fruit 
will be as large on thofe trees ; therefore, where a 
perfon has a warm fituation and a kindly foil, 1 
would not advife the being at an expence to build 
walls on purpofe for Pears, but to plant them againft 
efpaliers : and where there is any one who is very cu- 
rious in having plenty of thefe fruit, and will be at 
the expence to procure them, I Ihouid advife having 
a fufficient quantity of Reed mats made to fix up 
againft the back of the efpalier in the fpring, when 
the trees are in blofTom 3 which will fcreen them 
from 
