The feafon for this work is (as 1 faid before) in the 
autumn ; at which time, if they are carefully taken 
up, there v/ill be little danger of their fucceeding. In 
tranfplanting thefe trees, you fnould by no means 
cut their heads, which is too much pra&ifed ; all that 
fhould be done, muft be only to cut off any bruifed 
or ill-placed branches, which fhould be taken off dole 
to the place where they are produced •, but there can 
be no greater injury done to thefe trees, than to fhorten 
their (hoots ; for when the leading bud (which is ab- 
folutely neceffary to draw and attrad the nourifh- 
ment) is taken off, the branch often decays entirely, 
or at lead down to the next vigorous bud. 
' The trees thus raifed and managed, will, (if planted in 
a proper foil) grow to a confiderable magnitude, and 
are very proper for a wildernefs in large gardens, or 
to plant in clumps in parks, &c. but if they are de- 
figned for timber, it is much the better method to fow 
the Acorns in the places where they are to remain ; in 
order to which, you (hould provide yourfelf in autumn 
with a fuffident quantity of Acorns, which fhould be 
always taken from ftrait, upright, vigorous growing 
trees ; thefe fnould be gathered from under the trees 
as foon as may be after they are fallen •, and, if poffi- 
ble, in a dry time, laid thin in fome open room to 
dry ; after which they may be put into dry fand, and 
preferved in a dry place until the beginning of No- 
vember, when you (hould prepare the ground for 
planting them. 
The diredtions before given are defigned only for 
fmall plantations in a garden or park, which are only 
for pleafure ; but where thefe trees are cultivated with 
a view to profit, the Acorns (hould be fown where the 
trees are defigned to grow •, for thofe which are tranf- 
planted will never grow to the fize of thofe which 
(land where they are fown, nor will they laft near fo 
long found. For in fome places, where thefe trees have 
been tranfplanted with the greateft care, and they have 
grown very fait for feveral years after, yet they are 
now decaying, when thofe which remain in the place 
where they came up from the Acorns, are dill very 
thriving, and have not the lead: fign of decay. There- 
fore, whoever defigns to cultivate thefe trees for tim- 
ber, (hould never think of tranfplanting them, but 
fow the Acorns on the fame ground where they are to 
grow •, for the timber of all thofe trees which are 
tranfplanted, is not near fo valuable as that of the trees 
from Acorns. I (hall therefore add fome plain direc-- 
tions for fowing Acorns, and managing young trees 
during their minority, until they are out of danger, 
and require no farther care. 
The firft thing to be done is, that of fencing the 
ground very well, to keep out cattle, hares, and rab- 
bets •, for if either of thefe can get into the ground, 
they will foon deftroy all the young trees. Indeed 
they will in a few years grow to be out of danger 
from hares and rabbets, but it will be many years be- 
fore they will be pad injury from cattle, if they are 
permitted to get into the plantation, therefore durable 
fences ffiould be put round the ground : if in the be- 
ginning a pale fence is made about the land, which 
may be clofe at the bottom and open above, and 
within the pale a Quick-hedge planted, this will be- 
come a good fence by the time the pale decays, 
againft all forts of cattle •, and then the trees will have 
got above the reach of hares and rabbets, fo that they 
cannot injure them, for the bark of the trees will be 
too hard for them to gnaw. 
After the ground is well fenced, it fhould be pre- 
pared, by ploughing it three or four times, and after 
each ploughing to harrow it well, to break the clods, 
and cleanfe the ground from Couch, and the roots of 
all bad weeds. Indeed if the ground is green fward, 
it will be better to have one crop of Beans, Peas, or 
Turneps off the ground, before the Acorns are fown, 
provided thefe crops are well hoed to dir the furface 
and deftroy the weeds ; for if this is obferved, the 
crop will mend and improve the land for fowing ; but 
in this cafe the ground (hould be ploughed as foon 
as poffible, when the crop is taken off, to prepare it 
for the Acorns, which fnould be fown as foon as mav 
be after the Acorns are ripe ; for although thefe may 
be preferved in fand for fome time, yet they will be 
apt to fprout ; and if fo, the flioots are in danger of 
being broken and fpoiied ; therefore I fhould advife 
fowing early, which is certainly the beft method. 
In making choice of the Acorns, all thofe (hould be 
preferred, which are taken from the largeft and moil 
thriving trees ; and thofe of pollard-trees ffiould al- 
ways be rejedted, though the latter are generally the 
mod produdive of Acorns, but thofe of the large 
trees commonly produce the ftrongeft and moft thriv- 
ing plants. 
The feafon for fowing the Acorns being come, and 
the ground having been ploughed and levelled 
fmooth, the next work is to fow the Acorns, which 
muft be done by drawing drills acrofs the ground, at 
about four feet afunder, and two inches deep, into 
which the Acorns ffiould be fcattered at two inches 
diftance. Thefe drills may be drawn either with & 
drill plough, or by hand with a hoe ; but the former 
is the moft expeditious method, therefore in large 
plantations ffiould be preferred. In drawing the 
drills, if the land has any dope to one fide, thefe 
ffiould be made the fame way as the ground (lopes, 
that there may be no ftoppage of the wet by the rows 
of plants crofting the hanging of the land. This ffiould 
be particularly obferved in all wet ground, or where 
the wet is lubjedt to lie in winter, but in dry land it is 
not of much confequence. When ,the Acorns are 
fown, the drills ffiould be carefully filled in, fo as to 
cover the Acorns fecurely ; for if any of them are ex- 
pofed, they will entice the birds and mice ; and if ei- 
ther of thefe once attack them, they will make great 
havock with them. 
The reafon of my diredling the drills to be made at 
this diftance, is for the more convenient ftirring the 
ground between the rows, to keep the young plants 
clear from weeds ; for if this is not carefully done, it 
cannot be expedted that the young plants ffiould make 
much progrefs ; and yet this is generally negledted 
by many who pretend to be great planters, who are 
often at a large expence to plant, but feldom regard 
them after ; fo that the young plants have the diffi- 
culty to encounter the weeds, which are frequently 
four or five times the height of the plants, arid not 
only (hade and draw them, but alfo exhauft all the 
*♦ goodnefs of the ground, and confequently ftarve the 
plants. Therefore, whoever hopes to have fuccefs 
in their plantations, ffiould determine to be at the ex- 
pence of keeping them clean for eight or ten years af- 
ter fowing, by which time the plants will have ob- 
tained ftrength enough to keep down the weeds ; the 
negledling of this has occafioned fo many plantations 
to mifearry, as are frequently to be met with in di- 
vers parts of England. 
About the middle of April the young plants will ap- 
pear above ground ; but before this, if the ground 
(hould produce many young weeds, it will be good 
hufbandry to feuffle the furface over with Dutch hoes, 
in a dry time, either the latter end of March or the 
beginning of April, to deftroy the weeds, whereby 
the ground will be kept clean until all the plants are 
come up fo as to be plainly difcernecl ; by which time 
it may be proper to hoe the ground over again, for 
by doing it early, while the weeds are fmall, a mail 
will perform more of this work in one day than he 
can in three or four when the weed s are grown large; 
befides, there will be great hazard of cutting off or 
injuring the young plants when they are hid by the 
weeds ; and fmall weeds being cut, are foon dried 
up by the fun •, but large weeds often take frefh root 
and grow again, eipecially if rain ffiould fall foon 
after, and then the weeds will grow the fafter for 
being ftirred ; therefore it is not only the beft me- 
thod, but alfo the cheapeft hufbandry, to begin 
cleaning early in the fpring, and to repeat it as often as 
the weeds are produced 
The firft fummer, while the plants are young, it will 
be the beft way to perform thefe hoeings by hands, 
but 
