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O U C H A 11 D.. G05 
level ; which is an exceeding benefit to the fruit, by difli- 
pating fogs and drying up the damps, which, \frhen de¬ 
tained amongft: the trees, mix with the air and render it 
rancid. If it be defended from the well, north, and eaft, 
winds, it will alfo render the fituation Hill more advan¬ 
tageous; for it is chiefly from thofe quarters that fruit- 
trees receive the greatdl injury ; therefore, if the place 
be not naturally defended from thefe by riling hills, which 
is always to be preferred, then you fliould plant large 
growing timber-trees at fome dillance from the orchard, 
to anfwer this purpofe. 
You Ihould alfo have a great regal'd to the dillance of 
planting the trees, which is what few people have rightly 
conlidered ; for, if you plant them too clofe, they will 
be liable to blights; the air being hereby pent in amongft 
them, will alfo caufe the fruit to be ill-tailed, having a 
great quantity of damp vapours from the perfpiration 
of the trees, and the exhalations from the earth mixed 
with it, which will be imbibed by the fruit, and render 
their juices crude and unvvholefome. Therefore we may 
recommend the method which has been lately praftifed 
by fome particular gentlemen with very good fuccefs; 
and that is, to plant the trees fourfcore feet afunder, but 
not in regular rows. The ground between the trees they 
plough and fow with wheat and other crops, in the fame 
manner as if it were clear from trees; and they obferve 
their crops to be full as good as thofe quite expofed, ex¬ 
cept juft under each tree, until they are grown large, 
and afford a great (hade; and, by thus ploughingand tilling 
the ground, the trees are rendered more vigorous and 
healthy, fcarcely ever having any mofs, or other marks 
of poverty, and will abide much longer, and produce 
better fruit. 
If the ground in which you intend to plant an orchard 
has been pafture for fome years, then you fliould plough 
in the green-(ward the fpring before you plant the trees ; 
and, if you will permit it to lie a fummer fallow, it will 
greatly mend it, provided you ftir it two or three times, 
to rot the fvvard of grafs, and prevent weeds growing 
thereon. At Michaelmas you fliould plough it pretty 
deep, in order to make it loofe for the roots of the trees, 
which fliould be planted thereon in Oftober, provided the 
foil is dry; but, rf it be moift, the beginning of March 
‘will be abetter feafon. The dillance, if dengned for a 
clofe orchard, mull not be lefs than forty feet; but the 
trees planted twice that dillance, as mentioned above, 
will fucceed better. 
When you have finiflied planting the trees, you fliould 
provide fome Hakes to fupport them, otherwife the wind 
will blow them out of the ground; which will do them 
much injury, efpecialiy after they have been planted fome 
time ; for, the ground in the autumn being warm, and 
for the moll part moift, the trees will very foon pufli out 
a great number of young fibres; which, if broken off'by 
their being difplaced, will greatly retard the growth of 
the trees. In the fpring following, if the feafon fliould 
prove dry, you fliould cut a quantity of green-fward, 
which mult be laid upon the furface of the ground about 
their roots, turning the grafs downward, which will pre¬ 
vent the fun and. wind from drying the ground, whereby 
a great expenfe of watering will be faved ; and, after the 
fir It year, they will be out of danger, provided they have 
taken well. Whenever you plough the ground betwixt 
thele trees,you mull be careful nottogo toodeep amongft 
their roots, left you Ihould cut them off, which would 
greatly damage the trees; but, if you do it cautioufly, 
ftirringthe furface of the ground will be of great benefit 
to them ; though you fliould obferve never to fow too 
near the trees, nor luffer any great rooting-weeds to grow 
about them, which would exhauft the goodnefs of the 
foil, and ftarve them. If, after the turf which was laid 
round the trees be rotted, you dig it in gently about the 
roots, it will greatly encourage them. 
There are fome perfons who plant many forts of fruit 
together in the fame orchard, mixing the trees alternately; 
but this is a method which fliould always be avoided ; for 
hereby there will be a great difference in the growth of 
the trees, which will not only.render them unlightly,but 
alfo make the fruit upon the lower trees ill-tailed, by the 
tall ones overfliadowing them ; fo that, if you are deter¬ 
mined to plant fevernl forts of fruit on the fame fpor, 
you fliould obferve to place the largell-growing trees back¬ 
ward, and fo proceed to thofe of lefs growth, continuing 
the fame method quite through the whole plantation ; 
whereby it will appear at a dillance in a regular (lope, and 
the fun p.nd air will more equally pafs throughout the 
whole orchard, fo that every tree may have an equal be¬ 
nefit therefrom; but this can only be praftifed upon 
good- ground, in which nioft forts of fruit-trees will 
thrive. 
In making choice of trees for an orchard, you fliould 
always obferve to procure them from a foil nearly a-kin 
to that where they are to be planted, or rather poorer ; 
for, if you have them- from a very rich foil, and that 
wherein you plant them is but indifferent, they will not 
thrive well, efpecialiy for four or five years after planting ; 
fo that it is a very wrong practice to make the nurfery 
where young trees are railed very rich, when the trees 
are defigned for a middling or poor foil. 
It ma}' perhaps feem ftrange to fome perfons, that we 
fliould recommend the allowing fo much dillance to the 
trees in an orchard, becaufe a final 1 piece of ground will 
admit of very few trees when planted in this method ; 
but, when the trees are grown up, they will produce 
more fruit than twice the number when planted clofe, 
and it will be vaftly better tailed; the trees, when placet! 
at a large dillance, being never fo much in danger of 
blighting as in clofe plantations, as has been obfervedin 
Herefordlhire, the great county for orchards, where they 
find, that, when orchards are lo planted or fituated that 
the air is pent upair.ongft the trees, the vapours which 
arife from the damp of the ground and the perfpiration 
of the trees colleft the heat of the fun, and reflect it in 
ft reams fo as to caufe what they call a fire-blall, which is 
the moll hurtful t<$ their fruits ; and this is moll frequent 
where the orchards are open to the fouth fun. But, as 
orchards fliould never be planted unlefs where large 
quantities of fruit are defired, fo it w'ill be the fame thing 
to allow twice or three times the quantity of ground ; 
Alice there may be a crop of grain of any fort upon the 
Aime place, (as was before faid,) fo that there is no lofs 
of ground ; and, for a family only, it is hardly wosth 
while to plant an orchard, iince a kitchen-garden well 
planted with efpaliers will afford more fruit than can be 
eaten while good, efpecialiy if the garden be proportioned 
to the largenefs of the family; and, if cider be required, 
there may he a large avenue of apple-trees extended atrols 
a neighbouring field, which will render it pleafant, and 
produce a great quantity of fruit; or there may be fome 
Angle rows of trees planted tofurround fields, &c. which 
will fully anfwer the fame purpofe, and be lefs liable to 
the fire-blafts before mentioned. 
The time of planting is Oftoberand November, or Fe¬ 
bruary, March, and April. Where the loil is dry and 
light, autumn is preferable; but, in a cold wet Amadou, 
and tenacious foil, the fpring-months are bed. The com¬ 
mon method of planting is to diga hole wide enough to 
receive the roots, which being placed within it, the mould 
is returned upon them in the order in which it came our, 
carefully replacing the lods on the furface, that no grazing- 
ground may be loll. A better method is this: The ground 
being fet out with flakes driven in the centres of the in¬ 
tended holes, deferibe a circle five or fix feet in diameter 
round each flake. If the ground be in grafs, remove pl*K 
Award in (hallow fpits, placing it on one fide of the hole. 
Place the bed of the loofe mould by itfelf on another fide, 
and the dead earth in a third heap. Where the fubfoil 
is cold and retentive, the holes fltould not be made much 
deeper than the cultivated foil. In a dry light foil, the 
holes fliould be made deeper, botli to obtain a degree cf 
coolnels 
