again and no Tree must be Prun'd above once a Year Keeping within these Bounds it will not be improper to Prune Weak Trees sooner and those that are Vigorous later As for the Cause there are two Reasons for Pruning the first to dispose Trees to bear finer Fruit and the second to render them at all Times more pleasing to sight than they should be if they were not Prun'd To attain the Effect of this second Condition must be by the means of the Figure that is given to every Tree That Figure must differ according to the difference of the Ground Plats and does not Extend beyond Dwarfs and Wall Trees for as for the generality high Standards are not Prun'd often The thick Branches only are capable of affording that Figure which is absolutely necessary to be well understood and must be had constantly in the Mind A Dwarf in order to be of a beautiful Figure must have a low Stem be open in the middle and of a round Circumference equally garnish'd on the Sides Of these four Conditions the most material is that which prescribes the opening of the middle the greatest Defect consisting in a Confusion of too much Wood in that very middle which of all things must be avoided The Perfection of a Wall Tree consists in having its strength and Branches equally divided on the two Opposite Sides in order to be equally furnish'd throughout the whole Extent of it whatever part the Head begins at whether it has a low Stem in which case it must begin within half a Foot from the Ground or high and then it begins from the Extremity of the Stem which is commonly about Six or Seven Foot The main thing in this depends on the Distinction which is to be made among the Branches and the good use that is to be made of them the Branches are either thick and strong or slender and weak every one of them furnishing us with a Reason to take it away or preserve it to leave it long or to prune it short Among both some are good and others ill whether Thick or Slender The good are those that grow according to the Order of Nature and those have thick or large Eyes pretty close to one another The ill ones on the contrary are such as grow against the Order of Nature have flat Eyes and at a great distance for which Reason they are call'd Branches of False Wood. To understand that Order of Nature you must know in the first Place that the Branches should only shoot from those that were cut shorter at the last Pruning and that all such as shoot from other Parts are Branches of False Wood. Secondly that according to the Order of New Branches if there be more than one that which shoots from the Extremity must be thicker and longer than that which grows immediately beneath it and this thicker and longer than the third and so of all the rest and consequently when any of them prove thick where they should be slender it is a Branch of False Wood. There are some few Exceptions set down in the Treatise of Pruning The good small Branches both as to Stone and Kernel Fruit are the bearing Branches and the good Thick ones are for Wood but quite contrary as to Fig-Trees and Vines As for the manner of Pruning it is generally look'd upon as much more difficult than really it is the Principles which are pretty easie being once understood there is no difficulty in the Operation and yet it is the Master-Piece of Gard'ning The Chief Maxims are First That Young Trees are much more easie to Purne than old Ones especially those having been often Ill Prun'd and not having the Figure they should have The best Gard'ners are very much put to it to correct those old Defects I have given particular Rules for such Inconveniencies Secondly That the strong Branohes must be cut short and commonly reduc'd to the length of Five Six or Seven Inches yet there are certain Cases in which they must be kept longer but those are not common I specifie them in my great Treatise Thirdly That among the others there are some that may be kept shorter and others longer that is even to Eight Nine and Ten Inches nay and to a Foot a Foot and a half and perhaps more especially in Peach Plum and Cherry Wall Trees which must be regulated accorded to their Strength and Thickness to be capable of Nourishing and Bearing without breaking such Fruits as they shall be Burthen'd with Upon Vigorous well Proportion'd Trees there can hardly be too many of those we call Branches for Fruit provided they cause no Confusion But as for the Thick ones which we call Branches for Wood for the Generality in all sorts of Trees only one must be preserv'd of all those that have been produc'd by every Branch having been Prun'd the preceding Year Unless the Trees being very Vigorous the Extremities of the new Branches chance to be very distant the one from the other and looking towards different opposite Parts being bare on the sides which of necessity will require being fill'd up for the perfecting of the Figure in which Case we may leave Two nay Three provided they be all of different Lengths and never form a forked Figure The Fruit bearing Branches perish after having perform'd their Duty with this Distinction that in Stone Fruit they die at the End of one Year or Two or Three at most And in Kernel Fruit not till after having served Four or Five Years Therefore foresight is of great Use to think betimes of providing new Branches to fill up the Room of such as we know are to die in order to avoid growing too bare and barren Those kind of Fruit Branches are good whatever part of the Tree they shoot from either Inwards or Outwards But a Thick one is always Ill when it shoots Inwards in a Dwarf unless it be to close such as open too much as it commonly happens in Butter Pear Trees So that the Beauty of the Trees and the Beauty and Abundance of the Fruit depend chiefly upon good Pruning the good Management of certain Branches that are at once Thick and Good and the taking quite away of such as are both Thick and Bad. And whereas it happens sometimes that a Branch having been left long the foregoing Year in order to bear Fruit receiving more Nourishment than naturally it ought to have grows thick and shoots other thick ones One of the material Points of Pruning consists not only in using this Branch like other Branches for Wood but especially in not leaving upon it any thick one grown on the Extremity of it unless it be with a design to let the Tree shoot upwards in order to make it a Standard This good Conduct teaches for the Generality to lower Trees I mean that it is better in Pruning wholly to take away the highest Branches that are thick preserving only the lowest than to do the contrary Provided always that
rather as half Wood-Branches They really are of some use for the Figure and to fill up some Vacuity for two or three Years after which they must perish which must be expected and without relying upon them endeavour to get others near them to supply their Room otherwise a Tree will soon grow defective 31. Observation WHen a Tree either Dwarf or particularly a Wall-Fruit-Tree especially Peach or Plumb-Tree no longer shoots new Branches it must be look'd upon as a decay'd Tree and therefore another must be prepar'd against the next Year and without Pruning any of its Branches for Wood all those that are likely to produce fine Fruit must be preserv'd to that end retrenching all the Sapless ones exactly as being incapable of doing any good 32. Observation YOU must never Prune a Branch for Wood when you have no such occasion for it and therefore for Example when a high Standard begins to be press'd by the Neighbourhood of a lower Tree so as to be partly necessitated to cut off some of the lowest Branches of that high Standard to make room for the highest of its Neighbour in such a Case those Branches of the high Standard must be left long for Fruit especially if it be vigorous and can nourish these without prejudicing the principal Branches And thereby Endeavours are us'd to get some Fruit by the extraordinary length of such Branches before one be necessitated to cut them off quite 33. Observation WE must cut Stump-wise that is entirely all the thick Branches that are shot from the Extremity of another passably thick and long which if Prun'd according to the common Method of Pruning wou'd grow too naked and too long and consequently wou'd look disagreeable By this manner of Pruning Stump-wise we may commonly hope for some new Branches from the Body of the old one proper to maintain the Beauty of the Figure in filling up every part 34. Observation WE likewise cut Stump-wise when upon a very vigorous Tree of two strong Branches grown on the Extremity of a vigorous one we think fit to use the Second preferably to the First and yet do not think it proper to strengthen that Second any more and so we leave for the space of a Year or two or more a small passage for the Sap to the highest cut Stumpwise in order to take it quite away as well as the new Branch that shall be shot from it as soon as the Tree shall begin to bear Fruit. However I must confess that the most common Use that is made of that way of Pruning Stump-wise is seldom for any Branches but such that from weak and passably long as they were are grown extraordinary thick and vigorous insomuch that they have shot from their Extremity one or two or many thick Branches The original Weakness of such Branches only proceeded from their length which shou'd not have been allow'd them had they been as thick as they are grown since and therefore being grown thick they must begin to be us'd like Branches for Wood that is they must be shorten'd 35. Observation AND in case that Branch cut Stump-wise has produc'd no Branches for Wood in its Extent especially drawing near to the place whence it proceeded and on the contrary has shot a thick Branch at the place of the Stump or close by it this last thick one must again be cut Stump-wise especially the old one not being too long for if it be too long and has not been shorten'd at a proper time the Pruning must be perform'd upon the Body of that old one and consequently shorten'd according to the Rules heretofore establish'd 36. Observation IF on an old but pretty vigorous Tree altogether disorder'd with false Wood barely by the defects of an ill-perform'd Pruning Care be not taken for three or four Years one after another to take it lower by a Branch or two yearly until it be quite shorten'd it will never yield any satisfaction but by that means it may very well be brought to be a fine and good Tree This is fit to be done when a Tree is of a very good kind If not it were better to take it quite down and to Graff a better kind upon it Slit-wise either of such as we have not already or have not a sufficient number of 37. Observation SOmetimes certain Trees are so vigorous that they cannot especially the first Years be reduc'd to a small compass therefore they must be allow'd to extend either upwards or on the sides otherwise they will only produce false Wood Afterwards you may by degrees reduce them to the Standard of others when they begin to bear Fruit. Such are commonly Virgoulé Lady-Thighs Saint-Lezin Robine Rousselets or Russettings c. 38. Observation A Very vigorous Tree can never have too many Branches provided they be well order'd and cause no Confusion whereas on the contrary a weak Tree can never have too few that the Burthen may be proportion'd to the Vigour of it and therefore you must seldom leave any upon it but such thick Branches as it may have 39. Observation THE Branches of false Wood or Suckers as to peach-Peach-Trees and other stone-Stone-Fruit are not commonly so defective as to the Eyes or Buds as those that grow upon Kernel-Fruit-Trees but are more subject to perish and to have their Eyes extinguish'd with Gum which is a peculiar Distemper to them As for the Pruning they must partly be manag'd like the Branches of false Wood of Pear-Trees when they are but in a small number upon a Tree but when there are a great many on the lower part of a Tree they must be look'd upon as proper to renew that Tree and therefore a considerable length must be allow'd to some in order to take them away when the fury shall be over and in the mean time those that shall be pitch'd upon for the Foundation of the Re-establishment of a fine Figure must be Prun'd according to the common Method We seldom meet with this abundance of thick Branches upon any but Peach-Trees especially Stone-Peaches which begin to grow ancient and worn out about the head 40. Observation ALL manner of Trees have a Branch or two predominant over the others and sometimes more happy are those in which the Vigour is divided unhappy those where the Torrent lies all on one side 41. Observation A Wood-Branch growing on the in-side of a Dwarf which you intend to close is ever welcome and the same if favourably plac'd to supply a thin side 42. Observation FRuit-Buds of Pear and Apple-Trees sometimes form themselves the very same Years in which the Branch they are adherent to has been form'd as generally all the Buds of Stone-Fruit do but sometimes there are some that are two or three Years and even longer before they come to perfection Some arrive to it at the Entrance of the Spring so that it happens that some may be seen at the time of the Blossom which did no wise appear during the
though those Branches be pretty thick and might be look'd upon as Branches for Wood yet they are not cut short because it is probable that in their Neighbourhood there may be other thicker that have been Prun'd for Wood and that according to the best Rules many thick Branches must never be left very near one to another Those different ways of Cutting long or short are the Cause that it cannot and must not be said that a peach-Peach-Tree is well Prun'd unless every Branch has one of those two Properties either actually fit to bear Fruit in the present Year or to produce fine Wood the Year following in those places where it may be requir'd and when these two Conditions meet and are perfectly observ'd we may say that a Peach-Tree is very well Prun'd Those kind of Regards must not only be had at the time of the first Pruning but yet particularly at the time of the second and third if perform'd and likewise at the time of the Trimming of the Buds and useless Branches The Mischief which attends Gum to which every body knows Peach-Trees are commonly subject and even much beyond all other Stone-Fruits hinders us from having any certainty that a thick Branch being Prun'd will produce others on its Extremity which is almost infallible in Pear Plumb and Apricock-Trees c. When Peach-Trees appear attack'd with that Gum and yet the Owners are willing to preserve them some Years longer they must Prune them late that is about the time they begin to blossom and shoot to be certain of preserving at least some good Eyes and some good Blossoms There can be no Certainty before that time I add farther that when a Peach-Tree has produc'd no Branch for Wood it must no longer be consider'd as a Tree to keep from the time the Fruit has been gather'd and a Successor must be provided I add besides that if it happens that an old Peach-Tree having been shorten'd has produc'd several Branches which happens but seldom unless it be a Tree grown from a Stone you must begin to Prune it upon those new Branches in the self-same manner as a young Tree is Prun'd excepting only that the Branches must be left a little longer for fear of the Gum. It is almost impossible not to be very uneasie at the Pruning of Peach-Trees either Dwarf-Standards or Wall-Trees by reason of an itching desire of preserving all the Buds that are ready form'd for the present Year and of not depriving ones self of a present Good But yet unless you be a little hard-hearted for the present in prospect of the future you may assure your selves to see those kind of Trees perish by your own Fault or at least become of no use 'T is true that in so doing you may perhaps get abundance of Fruit for two or three Years but it is as true that after that you must expect a very great Scarcity and very ugly Trees Those Uneasinesses or Conflicts I have mention'd are only undergone by skilful Gard'ners Others are not so much as sensible of the Danger and so are liable to no manner of Agitation The chief Cause of Disquiet is particularly when a weak Branch that had been left long for Fruit is grown thick contrary to the common Order of Vegetation and that the thick one which had been cut short in order to shoot abundance of new ones is as it were abandon'd and hardly produces any thing This Alteration generally produces a great Disorder in a Tree for those kind of Branches that are grown thick have probably shot a great many Branches for Fruit which occasions a very great and just Cause of Temptation and Desire of preserving them all So that unless the Desire of having a fine and lasting Tree opposes the Itch of preserving those Appearances of present Fruit there is a great deal of danger of being overcome by the Temptation and consequently of making soon a very ugly Tree as we have already instanc'd Therefore it is very material to examine what is most proper to be done in such Conjunctures It is sometimes necessary to take the advantage of such a Disorder to let the Tree shoot up in order to cover the Top of a Wall which may very well be allow'd of and in such a Case there will be no need of taking any of these terrible Resolutions But sometimes there may be a great deal of danger in so doing in which Case there is a necessity of resolving to sacrifice part of those fine Appearances of Fruit without any Mercy and consequently to shorten such Branches extreamly in prospect that in the following Years you shall be recompenc'd a hundred times for those Fruits which as I may say have been thus cruelly destroy'd This Disorder happens but seldom which is a Comfort but yet as it happens sometimes I thought my self oblig'd to give my Opinion about it When Walls are very low for Example about six or seven Foot high and yet People desire to have Peach-Trees against them which in such a Case must be Planted at a great distance from one another when I say along such low Walls Peach-Trees appear to be very vigorous for the two first Years the thick Branches that are to fill up the Sides must be kept pretty long because that in Pruning of them short they will only shoot False-Wood or Suckers and seldom or never produce any Fruit you may allow them twice the length of what is allow'd to common Wall-Trees and sometimes even thrice that is a Foot and a half or somewhat more When a Wall-Tree is reasonably vigorous it must of necessity be allow'd at least three Foot of Wall free above the Pruning that is perform'd upon it in the Spring for the placing of the new Shoots otherwise the greatest part of the principal Branches should be of no use growing over the Top and there should be a necessity of Cutting them often during the Summer lest the great Winds should break them And besides the Vexation of not enjoying the Benefit of the Vigour of ones Trees those Branches thus cut ever look ungainly upon a Wall-Tree by the quantity of Furzes that appear at the Extremity of such a Tree CHAP. XXXI Particular Remarks upon the Second and Third Pruning of Stone-Fruit THese Second and Third Prunings are altogether new and yet are altogether as necessary and material as the first and must be perform'd about the middle of May only upon weak Branches They were left long by the Winter Pruning in prospect of abundance of Fruit but whereas they are subject to certain Circumstances we are going to examine they made us bethink our selves of the necessity of a second Operation and sometimes of a third As to the thick Branches that have been Prun'd short in February or March they have sufficiently undergone the Dispensation of the Knife they require no more of it their Function not being to produce any thing that wants Retrenching at this time but on the contrary to
whereby the Bark may be rendered the more pliable and easie to be dilated and loos'd from its inclosed Trunk to give the freer passage for the Sap in its rising up from the Root Indeed I can never be persuaded to think that any Nourishment can be conveyed through that Rind but am of Opinion rather that a Tree depriv'd of all its Top Branches in a very hot Region as for instance we may suppose a Row of Trees cut even at the Tops and Planted in a Hedge to the South under the Torrid Zone would be so far from drawing in any Nourishment through the Bole that even the Sap would be so much hindred by the heat of the Air from ascending by its ordinary passage as that the upper part of the Tree would Infallibly perish whence it would follow that the Sap being made unable to rise up to the small upper Boughs would burst out at the foot into an infinite number of new and small Productions As for those who from the Experiment of making an Incision into a Tree pretend to prove this Intromission of Sap into the upper part or to defend the Circulation of the Sap from that Liquor which will run plentifully out of such an Incision in my Opinion they build their Hypothesis upon a very Sandy Foundation For First If we either cut or break off the Top of any Plant the Sap will be seen plainly to gush out in great abundance from each of the two Extremities bubling out of every Pore as well in that part which retain'd its Situation as in the other which was separated from the former Secondly If the Incision be made at the bottom there will run out not only some part of that Sap which is continually ascending but also a little of that which being already upon its rise and having till then been supported by the succeeding Sap must of necessity fall down when destitute of that Support and Foundation of which it was depriv'd by that Incision To conclude If this Incision were a sufficient proof of this Assertion it must follow that all the uppermost Sap must make its way out at one single hole as we see the Water in a Vessel runs all out at any hole it meets with But Experience tells us That how many Incisions soever you make either above or below the first the Sap will issue through all of them but most abundantly through the lowest and in least quantity through the highest which certainly must proceed from the Reason which I have given before CHAP. XX. Reflections upon the undistinguishable likeness of the Sap in the Wood Leaves and Fruit. THere is hardly any Plant growing with us during the whole Summer puts out more Roots and consequently produces greater plenty of Sap than the Fig-Tree does so that we may venture to build our Observations concerning Sap in general upon such Remarks as a particular Enquiry into the Nature of this Tree will afford us The Sap whereof appears to me to have exactly the same Colour Taste and Consistence both in the Wood of the Tree and the Stalk both of the Leaves and Fruit that it has in the Fruit it self whilst it is yet Green for when it comes to be Ripe and fit for Gathering there is not the least sign to be perceived of that white Sap with which it was so plentifully impregnated before it was come to Maturity From hence we may very well advance this general conclusion That there can be no material difference between that Sap which goes to the forming of the Fruit and that which enters into the Composition of all the other parts of the Tree since there is so great a Conformity between them at the time of its passing out of the Stalk into the Fruit. So that admitting the Sap for Fruit to be endued with some particular degrees of Perfection beyond what are to be found in the Sap of the Tree yet what do they think becomes of it when the Fruit which it was design'd to have form'd and nourish'd chances to perish as oftentimes it doth even in the Embryo or at least before it comes to Perfection In this case it must certainly be mixed with the rest of the Sap and be equally employ'd with it in the Production of something that is not Fruit. And this will suggest the Reason to us why Trees without Fruit abound more in Wood than those that bear Fruit plentifully which according to the Opinion I ever had is nothing else but the different proportions of the Sap the smaller quantity whereof causes plenty of Blossoms and Fruits as the greater quantity produces the like Encrease both in the Body and Leaves To this may be added what I have already repeated so often viz. That the Fruit grows at the Top of the weak Branches but at the Bottom of the strong whence it appears that no part of the Branch is exempted from bearing and that they are under a very great mistake who while they pretend to render an account why the weak Branches are generally most loaded with Fruit and particularly towards the Extremities put us off with this Reason That it is for the better concoction and refining of the Sap which say they can be effected no other way than by so long a Passage and Percolation through the narrow Conveyances But suppose this Fancy had some probability of Reason in it how shall we explain the Production of Grapes Quinces Mulberries Azerolles Rasberries c. which receive their Formation at the same time that the Wood does upon which they grow For Example There grows upon every old Branch of a Vine that used to be Pruned in the Spring as many new Branches as there were Eyes left upon it Upon these Branches and at the very same time with them are the Grapes formed which ordinarily do not grow nearer to the end than the third fourth or fifth Knot for from that distance the Branch runs up only in length without bearing any Fruit. This being granted which indeed cannot be denied I would ask them what Ground they have to assert That the Sap is not sufficiently prepared till it arrive at one of these three Eyes and there receive its perfect Digestion for they divide the Sap into two sorts viz. Digested and Indigested the former they tell us is employed both in forming the Grapes in some one of those three Knots and in Production of the Leaves and Branches and yet there is always some Wood Pulp and Husk of the Grape between every one of these Knots to the Formation of which both these Saps did contribute Lastly After this Secretion of the Digested Sap from the Indigested they come both of them to be re-united in order to the Production of Boughs and Leaves only for the remaining part of the Year I must confess ingenuously I am not quick enough to penetrate into and comprehend these so subtile and refined Notions of our modern Philosophers CHAP. XXI Reflections upon the Opinion
of those who from the Generation of Animals Argue concerning the Production of Fruits THere are some as I have formerly observed in my Treatise of Pruning who Treating of the Production of Fruits proceed the same way they do in their Considerations about the Generation of Animals Animals say they do not Procreate their Like but when they are in their Vigor Generation being an Act of Vigor in all Natural Productions Now since Trees are also Natural Beings 't will hence follow that they are never Capable of bearing Fruit but when they are in their full Strength and Vigour it being absurd to make the Production of Fruit a sign of the Weakness of the Tree And they further add That in all the Works of Nature the Cause is known by the Effects and every Extraordinary Effect must be produced by a suitable Strength and Vigour in its Agent These indeed are very plausible Arguments and Inferences and which when mentioned by Persons of Reputation may prevail with such as do not see into the Weakness of them But though I highly Esteem the Persons and the Works of those Ingenious Men who Argue after this manner yet when to expose my Notions they make me Advance such a one as this That the abundance of Moisture which makes the Trees produce a great quantity of Branches and Leaves is an Effect of their Vigour they must give me leave to say something in my own Defence I might well say and now I say it again That Blossoms and Fruits on Trees are signs of their Weakness or that they have but little Sap as on the contrary a great number of fair Branches without Fruit is of the Vigour or of the abounding quantity of their Sap. For I do not think that the word Moisture does properly signifie the Sap in a Tree and therefore should not be understood in that Assertion of mine for any thing else but the moisture of the Earth where a Tree is planted there being so great a Difference between it and Sap. And we seldom see any very great Quantity of Sap in such Fruit-Trees as have very much Moisture about their Roots Nay We sometimes see them die by having their Roots too much drenched in Water and they will never take well in very wet Ground whereas for the most part they afford both much Lop-wood and Fruit if they have naturally a Vigorous vital Principle and are planted in a good Earth indifferently mosten'd and do thereupon send forth good Roots to furnish the upper Parts with a sufficient Quantity of Sap. These Terms therefore of Moisture and Sap are not to be promiscuously used the one being to be understood only for that Nourishment which is in the Tree and the other for such Water as may be about the Root of it That which has given Occasion for Mens arguing upon the Production of Plants after the same manner they do upon the Generation of Animals has been this as I conceive that they imagin'd the Fruit to be the same in respect to the Tree that the young Animal is to its Syre that begat it and wou'd thence conclude that as Lyon's Whelp'd for Instance exactly resembles its Syre in all its Essentials so a Pear or a Cherry must in its Formation that of its Tree seeing that in time it may grow up to be as tall and big and every way like it just as the young Lyon does at length equal the Old One both in Largeness and Proportion of Parts Now Nature it self plainly shews us that it does not act the same way in both these Cases and that the most that can be gather'd from such Considerations is hat one Part of the Fruit of each sort of Trees is the same with respect to its Tree that the Seed of the Animals is to its respective Animal I am not so well skill'd in Anatomy as to know whether the Seminal Matter in Animals require as much Force and Vigor to be formed in the Body as it afterwards does in being duly employ'd in order to Generation But sure I am that no Man ever distinctly perceiv'd in himself either the Time or Manner of its Formation any more than he did those Circumstances of the Formation of his Muscles Bones or Cartilages and that 't is certainly a Provision in Nature that of the whole Mass of Nourishment one Part should go to the making of Seed and the rest should be imployed either to the Encrease or the Preservation of the Animal without ever making any sensible Effort either in Framing or perfecting any of the Internal Parts of the Body And besides he will find himself mightily mistaken that shall lay down this as a standing Rule that every kind of Fruit is in the Nature of a Case to such a Seed as is capable of producing the same sort of Tree with that it self grew upon The most ordinary way of Multiplying Trees being not by their Fruits And indeed who ever saw a Prunier de Perdrigon or a Bigarotier grow from the Stones of the Fruit a Fig or Mulberry-Tree from the Seed a Bon-Chrestien or Bergamotte from the Kernels of such Pears Though I know 't is common for an Oak to come of an Acorn and a Chestnut-Tree of its Nuts and some others to be produc'd in the same way yet Nature has provided other ways of multiplying them viz. by young Siens growing out at the Roots and several sorts of Graffs Some of those ways which Nature makes use of in preserving the several Kinds of Trees I have already treated of in another Place And now I come positively to affirm That if a Man first lays down such a Maxim as this that the only Reason why some Fir-Trees thrive well is because they grow on the South side of a Mountain And that others do not because they stand on the North Side of it And thence draw Inferences and apply them to Fruit-Trees such Arguments must necessarily be very weak for these two sorts of Trees are subjects very different and therefore should be as differently considered For what is chiefly to be considered in Fruit-Trees is scarcely at all taken notice of in Firrs In these latter we are only to compare one Part with another that is barely to consider the whole Bulk and Extent of the Tree to see whether it be good for Masts Planks Beams or Joists But in the other all the Branches are to be carefully considered both the Great and Small which may be of use and which not In these we observe the Working of Nature in Distributing the Sap to every single Part of the Tree But in the other only to what particular Use it may be put in the Building of a Ship Nature is not concern'd whether such a particular Firr-Tree be fit for Boards and whether or no it be put to that Use whereas it may not be improperly said that she is highly concerned in the Productions of Fruit-Trees which are to bethe Food of the noblest Part of
Conditions only presses and hardens it by the Trampling which cannot be avoided in Tilling Therefore as I have already said elsewhere I would have the Dung used for Earth in the same Manner as Ashes are us'd in Washing that is that whereas the Ashes are only laid upon the Surface of the Linen that is heaped up in the Tub in order to cleanse it so the Dung should only be laid on the Surface of the Earth that is to be Amended I say it again it is not the gross Substance of the Dung which Fertilises as it is not the gross Substance of the Ashes which cleanses it is that invisible Salt which is contain'd in those Matters Incorporating wetted with the Waters that wet it descends with them whereever their Weight inclines them and there produces what it is capable of performing But it is not sufficient to know the best Place where the Dung is to be laid we must likewise examine what quantity may be proper for it In order to explain this Article it is proper to know that as some Dungs have a far greater quantity of Salt to Communicate than others so there are Earths which require and want more Amendments than others I still mean the Earth for Kitchen-Plants and not that Earth in which Trees are to be Planted for I will have none for these supposing always that if they have the least Goodness they have enough to Nourish Trees from which we expect Pallatable Fruit. He who studies to make Excellent Wine soon perceives that the use of Dung is directly contrary to his Intention and that if those Amendments augment the quantity at the same time it diminishes the Value though perhaps that defect might have been corrected by Fermentation and Boiling Therefore have we not yet much more cause to fear for the Taste of Fruits which without the Advantages of Boiling are to be transmitted directly from the Tree to the Mouth And when the Earth is naught I can not as I have already said forbear blaming those who lose their Time in Planting there instead of getting better Earth brought there the quantity cannot be Considerable nor consequently the Charge considering that none will go about to Plant many Trees in ill Grounds But if contrary to my Sentiment in this particular Case of Planting of Trees People will be obstinate in dunging of Trenches where they intend to Plant I am willing to Explain the Manner I think most proper for it to save Charges and to have the Work better done and sooner I suppose for Instance that a Trench six Foot deep is to be prepar'd either along a Wall to plant against it or about a Square to plant Dwarfs First I would have the quantity of Dung one has Examin'd either Horse or Cow Dung which are the two sorts that are most Commonly us'd and which are most plentiful this Knowledge will teach us whether we may use a great deal or not After this I would have it laid in equal distances all along the Trench that is to be made and the overture of the Trench dug three Foot deep and about a Fathom upon the breadth propos'd so that before we go about to employ the Dung we may have an empty free Space before us I would likewise have three Men two with Spades to stir the Ground and one with a Pitch-fork for the Dung and lastly I would have two of them take that Earth that is to be dug and throw it at the farther End of the Empty Place so that the height of the Trench may be fill'd and that half a Foot higher than the adjacent Surface taking care to place the Earth that lay on the Surface at the Bottom to the end that the Earth which lay at the bottom may in its turn become the Surface of the new Trench this Earth so thrown in the manner I mean makes a natural Declivity at the bottom of which all the Stones will fall by the same means which must be remov'd immediately and while the two Men thus throw the Earth which forms this Declivity I would have the third who shall be remaining upon the edge of the Trench to take the Dung with the Pitch-fork and throw it without Intermission not into the bottom but only upon the top of the Declivity in question and there spread it that it may be so well dispers'd that no great quantity of it may lye together by this means supposing always the Work-men act briskly and understand each other two very material things are done at once and in a small time with little Charge the first is that the Dung is plac'd and mix'd in the Earth as it should be and the second that this Earth being stirr'd from top to bottom grows easie and light as it should be I must not forget minding those who dig along a Wall to take care not to come too near the Foundations for fear of indamaging it the Wall might be in danger of falling a small slope of hard Ground must always be left untouched against it When besides the Trench for Trees there are to be others round about all the Squares or Ground Plots destin'd for Kitchen-Plants in a Garden not having the good Qualifications that are to be wish'd for the same Method must of necessity be us'd multiplying only the number of those that are to Till proportioning the number of those that are to spread the Dung accordingly there must always be the same depth of Earth ever making the first overture of the Trenches about a Fathom broad it being for Example of the length of the whole Square to which end the Earth that shall be taken out of the Trench must be laid along the Square that is to be fill'd which shall serve to fill up the Gage that shall lay empty at the end of the said Square in the mean time the Dung must be brought either in Baskets hand-Barrows or otherwise into the Neighbourhood or near that empty Place and a sufficient number of People shall be imployed to spread it upon the top of the slopes by degrees as the others continually throw new Earth towards the empty Places I warrant that with such a concert of Workmen well skill'd in their Work the Ground may be dispos'd to produce very fine and very good Legumes care being taken finally to make an universal Tillage to render all the Surface even I would only have People observe that in case the Earth which wants to be amended or improv'd is naturally dry and sandy fat Dung must be imploy'd for Example Cow-dung or else Horse-dung which shall have been rotten in a Morish Place I seldom mention the Dung of Hogs because that besides its being scarce it has an ill savour which hinders People from desiring it it is capable of infecting the Ground and giving it an ill taste which would infect the Fruit sooner than better it When they are course strong moist Earths the largest and dryest Dung will be most proper
second Dwarf but also for all the other Gardens alike well qualified for it in which I should have room for many more such Trees and particularly if there were but little Walling for those Trees that should be designed for that Station And this Boncretien-tree should first be graffed upon a Quince stock chiefly because the Boncretien-Dwarfs graffed on Free-stocks commonly bring Fruit spotted small crumpled c. And consequently disagreeable to the sight In the second place it should be Planted in that part of the Garden facing the Wall trees nearest the Wall exposed to the most favourable Sun and lastly immediately after the End of August I would have the leaves taken off that hindred the Sun from shining upon the Fruit which are all Precautions extreamly important I am not yet speaking of those Country Gardens that want all the good Qualities and other good Conditions which we have newly described in respect to the ordering of small Gardens and which yet I could wish to all good Fruit Trees for then I should be of a very different Sentiment from that I declare my self of here in regard to our Boncretien for I would Plant but little of it there unless it were in the Figure of Wall-trees being resolv'd in fine whatever it cost to Plant some Boncretiens in all sorts of Gardens since in Truth we have nothing better for the End of Winter than this Noble Fruit. CHAP. II. Concerning the Choice of a Second Dwarf-pear-tree and after that concerning the Choice of a Third Fourth Fifth and Sixth of the same c. NOW let us see upon what Pear-tree our Choice will fall to be the Second Dwarf as well of that little Garden where there can be but Two as the Second of all others where there is room for a greater Number for truly it is a point not over-easie to decide We have above all the rest Six different sorts of Pears that put in briskly for this Second place nay and which can hardly brook without murmuring that the Boncretien should peaceably enjoy the Honour it has newly received which are the Butter-pear the Autumn Bergamot the Virgoulee the Leschasserie the Winter Ambret and Winter Thorn-pear Nay and besides there are the ancient Petit-oin the Louise-bonne or Good Louise with four new Commers namely the St. Germain the Colmar the Crasanne and the Marquiss or Marchioness which finding themselves provided with sufficient Merit want not the Ambition to enter into this Dispute every one of these Twelve pretending severally to have more Perfections and fewer Defects than any one of its Rivals or at least to be nothing inferior to them and accordingly pretending too to win from them the Place that is here in Question And I grant they all have such powerful Motives for their several Pretentions that we cannot be censured to have made an ill Choice to which of them soever we shall give the Preference However my Judgment is That these Six last ought to retire for a time and leave the Six first to fight out this Quarrel and I shall give if I be not mistaken such good Reasons for it that I hope their Patrons will be satisfied with them But before I declare my self for any one of these Six it will be necessary to examine separately and without prejudice all the several Reasons pleaded by every one of them I begin with those of the Butter-pear concerning which I must first lay it down for a Conclusion That as well the red Butter-pear otherwise called the Ambroise or Isambert of the Normans as the grey Butter and green Butter-pears are but one and the same thing for that oftentimes all these pretended Sorts are found upon one and the same Tree those differences of Colour having no other Foundation in a manner than those which we have remarked in the Boncretien the fair Exposition of them or perhaps an indifferent weak Temper either in the whole Tree or in any particular Branch producing red Pears and a shady Situation and the vigour either of the whole Tree or of any particular Branch of it making grey or green ones And the Quince and Free-stocks upon which these Pear-trees are graffed shew themselves by the different Colours with which they tinge their Fruit the Colour of the Fruit of the Pear-trees on Free-stocks being quite another thing from that of the Boncretien graffed on a Quince-stock Besides which the dryness or moistness of the Soil in which they grow fail not to imprint some Marlts and Features of their own Fashion This being first laid down as a necessary Remark the Reasons of this Butter-pear are first That it is possess'd in such Perfection of the first Degree of Goodness that is to be desired in Fruits which is a smooth delicious melting Softness that the Name of Butter-pear was for that Quality given it by way of Excellence and in effect its name is borrowed to give to others whose Merit we would Extol and therefore this Pear believes to have Right to pretend that not one of the other Pears should dispute with it for an extream abundance of Juice nor for a fine and delicate Pulp and rich Taste which are all the Conditions necessary to constitute an excellent Pear In the second Place it pretends to have the advantage to charm the sight as well by the bigness of its Body as the goodliness of its Figure and Beauty of its Colour In the third place it is perswaded It may hope all Things from the Happiness it has to be extreamly fertile so that commonly every Year and in all sorts of Ground it is loaden almost ready to break and succeeds as well upon a Free-stock as upon a Quince one and almost as well under the Hands of Ignorant as of Able Gard'ners besides that it is seldom or never apt to be Doughy Insipid and Mealy as are most other tender Pears and that not only it is not so incommoded by the full Air as the Bergamot but also bears sooner than the Virgoulee and produces fairer Fruit than any of its Competitors Here are without doubt a great many Reasons and all of great Weight and Authority strongly to prove and confirm the right of the Butter-pears claim in this Cause Nay its Friends would fain believe further That if the Butter pear could be had at all Seasons of the Years and we could cure our selves of the natural Curiosity we have for Change and for the Variety of Fruits that in that case we ought not to think of any other than this Famous Butter-pear it being certain That it is really so Excellent that by the Confession of all at the End of September when it begins to ripen we are well enough content to see the Peaches pass away which is to say a great deal in its Commendation The Autumn Bergamot making no great Account of all that has just now been said in Favour of the Butter-pear presents it self to stop this Question of Precedence from
been sever'd violently their appearing without a Stalk may chance to prove a false Mark of Maturity Those Signs alone as to those kind of Fruits I say are not sufficient to Judge absolutely by the Eye of their Maturity the Hand must likewise act its part and concur therein tho' not to touch it roughly upon the Tree nothing is more offensive to me than those Gropers who to gather one according to their Mind will spoil a hundred by the violent impression of their Unskillful Thumb but I would have the Hand play its part in the manner I shall explain hereafter The Hand must likewise be us'd for a Peach that is ready gather'd when we are not certain it was gather'd by a Skillful Hand but then it must be perform'd very gently and that as I have already said near the Stalk In case it be a Fig whether gather'd or not it is allowable to touch it gently with the end of the Finger almost in the same manner as a Chyrurgeon feels for the Vein in order to Bleed for in case that Fig after having appear'd to the Eye of a yellowish Colour a shrivel'd Rind with some Crannies the Head hanging down and the Body shrunk likewise appears very Mellow under the Finger and that being still upon the Tree may be loosen'd by the least motion it is very sit for gathering and without doubt ripe and good But if notwithstanding all those fine appearances and all this Mystery it does not easily quit the Tree the gathering of it must be deferr'd for some days it is never perfectly good while it resists in gathering When a Fig having all the good Marks of Maturity has been gather'd by a Skillful Gard'ner and is afterwards presented to any body they may freely and without any rough feeling judge it to be fit to receive and eat We may say the same thing of a Plum ready gather'd that is that if besides the Beautiful Colour it ought to have which satisfies the Eye and the Mellowness which Skillful Fingers have discover'd without offering it any violence it proves without a Stalk being a little shrivel'd and wither'd on that side it may be inferr'd from thence that it is perfectly ripe and consequently fit to take Likewise if this Plum being still upon the Tree finely Colour'd for the Eye and Mellow for the Finger comes off with ease without a Stalk it is without doubt fully ripe but if not like the Fig itmust be left some days longer upon the Tree Two things may be inferr'd from this remark about the Stalk the first is that it must not stick to some kind of Fruits when they are ripe for instance Peaches Plums Straw-berries Raspberries c. insomuch that none of those Fruits should be eaten while the Stalk sticks close to them and the second that it may and ought to stick to others tho' never so ripe for Example to Figs Cherries Pears Apples c. to which the Stalks serve as an agreeable Ornament and their being without it would be a kind of Defect After having demonstrated that in some Fruits for Example Red Fruits the Eye alone is sufficient to judge of their Maturity and in others as Tender Mellow Pears the feeling only as also that some others require both Seeing and Feeling Viz. Peaches Plums Figs c. we may add that there are still some others in which Smelling may be admitted with Sight in order to Judge with more certainty for instance Melons after having approv'd their Colour Stalk and Beautiful Figure and examin'd their Ponderousness it is not improper to smell to them before we cut them to be able as 't is thought thereby to judge with more certainty of their Maturity and Goodness tho' at the same time I am convinc'd that those which have the best scent or savour are not commonly the best This Maxim is sufficiently well establish'd But in fine generally speaking all the Marks above explain'd to distinguish Maturity may chance not to be certain and infallible they are Exteriour Signs which might be term'd Signs of Phisiognomy and Consequently deceitful something more is necessary in this Case it requires matter of Fact and therefore as we have already declar'd Tast only can decide in this Point and if I may use that Expression that only can affix the Seal and the Character of an absolute Decree as a Judgment which is to be Pronounc'd particularly in the Case of Goodness for let the Exteriour Marks be never so favourable unless the Peach Plum and Melon please the Pallat after having pleas'd the other Senses as it happens sometimes all the Preliminaries are useless therefore we must submit all to the Pallat however with this scruple which I cannot remove for the establishing of real goodness which is that Tasts are very different in themselves and that a thing which may please one Man's Pallat may displease another's But this discussion is out of my Province the Ancient Maxim de Gustibus forbids my medling with it and thus I can only speak of my own in particular and at the same time applaud those who have the good Fortune of liking that which does not seem good to me It would be Ridiculous in me to endeavour disabusing of them since probably I shou'd only lose my labour CHAP. V. Of the Causes of the forwardness or backwardness of Maturity in all manner of Fruits Fruits Ripen sooner or later first according as the Months of April and May are more or less warm to cause the Trees to Blossom or Knit Secondly according as those Fruits grow against a good Wall or good Shelter that is expos'd to the South or East and in fine particularly according as they are in a hot Climate and light Earth All which Considerations are very material for the forwardness of Fruits for the Months of April and May proving hot the Fruits knitting the sooner they will consequently ripen the sooner witness the maturity of Melons which is an undeniable Truth Fruits being as it were in respect to their Maturity like Bread in respect to its being Bak'd the sooner or later according to the time of its being put into the Oven When Fruits tho' knit betimes are in the open Air or only against some Walls expos'd to the West or North c. they will advance but little for want of the assistance of the heats of the Spring and likewise if notwithstanding the advantage of a pretty hot Season and happy exposure they are in a Cold Climate nay tho' in a moderate Clime the Earth being Course and consequently Cold they will not ripen so soon as those which have all things favourable For Example all manner of Fruits ripen sooner in Languedoc and Provence which are hot Soils than in the Neighbourhood of Paris and even in those parts of Paris Fruits Ripen much sooner within the City it self and in the Subburbs of St. Anthony and St. Germans as well as at Vincennes at Maisons Carriere c. where
Trees as they stand whether they be Dwarf or Wall-Trees ibid. Chap. XXVIII How to proceed in unexpected cases which commonly enough happen in all sorts of Trees though ordered according to all the rules of Art p. 36. Chap. XXIX Common remarks in certain particular and singular cases that concern the Pruning of all sorts of Trees p. 37. The first Observation p. 38. The second Observation ibid. The third Observation ib. The fourth Observation ibid. The fifth Observation ibid. The sixth Observation p. 39. The seventh Observation ibid. The eighth Observation ibid. The ninth Observation ib. The tenth Observation ibid. The eleventh Observation ibid. The twelfth Observation p. 40. The thirteenth Observation ib. The fourteenth Observation ibid. The fifteenth Observation ibid. The sixteenth Observation ibid. The seventeenth Observation ibid. The eighteenth Observation p. 41. The nineteenth Observation ibid. The twentieth Observation ib. The twenty first Observation ibid. The twenty second Observation ibid. The twenty third Observation ibid. The twenty fourth Observation p. 42. The twenty fifth Observation ibid. The twenty sixth Observation ibid. The twenty seventh Observation ibid. The twenty eighth Observation ibid. The twenty ninth Observation ibid. The thirtieth Observation ib. The thirty first Observation ib. The thirty second Observation p. 43. The thirty third Observation ib. The thirty fourth Observation ibid. The thirty fifth Observation ib. The thirty sixth Observation ib. The thirty seventh Observation ibid. The thirty eighth Observation p. 44. The thirty ninth Observation ibid. The fourtieth Observation ibid. The fourty first Observation ibid. The fourty second Observation ibid. The fourty third Observation ibid. The fourty fourth Observation ibid. The fourty fifth Observation ibid. The fourty sixth Observation p. 45. The fourty seventh Observation ibid. The fourty eighth Observation ibid. The fourty ninth Observation ibid. The fiftieth Observation ibid. The fifty first Observation ibid. The fifty second Observation ibid. The fifty third Observation ibid. The fifty fourth Observation p. 46. The fifty fifth Observation ibid. The fifty sixth Observation ibid. The fifty seventh Observation ibid. The fifty eighth Observation ibid. The fifty ninth Observation ibid. The sixtieth Observation ibid. The sixty first Observation p. 47. The sixty second Observation ibid. The sixty third Observation ibid. The sixty fourth Observation ibid. The sixty fifth Observation ibid. The sixty sixth Observation ibid. The sixty seventh Observation p. 48. Chap. XXX Particular Remarks to be observed in the first pruning performed every year in February and March upon Stone Fruit-Trees and especially upon Peach and Apricock-Trees whether Dwarfs or Wall-Trees ibid. Chap. XXXI Particular Remarks for the second and third prunings of Stone Fruit-Trees p. 51. Chap. XXXII Of the different ways of ordering Peach-Trees in the Summer p. 53. Chap. XXXIII Of disbudding and plucking of superfluous Buds and Branches ibid. Chap. XXXIV Particular remarks to be observed in another important operation used in Summer to some Trees which is called pinching p. 55. Chap. XXXV What is to be done to certain Trees that are so extraordinary vigorous that they bear no Fruit. p. 56. Chap. XXXVI Of the Ordering and Culture of Fig-Trees p. 57. Chap. XXXVII Of the manner of pruning Trees that are already old p. 66. Chap. XXXVIII Of the faults committed in pruning of old Dwarf-Trees p. 68. Chap. XXXIX Of faults committed in pruning of old Wall-Trees p. 70. Chap. XL. Of pruning of Vines p. 72. PART V. Chap. I. OF the Care that is to be taken in picking Fruits when we have too many of them p. 78. Chap. II. How to know when to uncover some Fruits that need it p. 81. Chap. III. Of the maturity and ripening of Fruits and the order Nature observes in it p. 82. Chap. IV. Of the marks by which we are to judge of the ripeness and goodness of Fruits p. 86. Chap. V. Of the causes of the hasty or backward ripening of all sorts of Fruits p. 87. Chap. VI. Of the particular marks of the ripeness of each sort of Fruit and first of the Summer Fruits that ripen that attain their full ripeness on the Trees p. 88. Chap. VII How to place Fruits when gathered in such fit places as may be most proper to preserve them for some time p. 92. Chap. VIII Of transporting of Fruits p. 93. Chap. IX Of Store-Houses or Fruit-Lofts p. 94. Chap. X. Of the Diseases of Fruit-Trees p. 99. Chap. XI A Treatise of the Graffs of Trees and of Nurseries p. 103. Chap. XII Of the kind of Graffs that are in use p. 105. Chap. XIII Of proper times to graff p. 106. Chap. XIV Of the manner of performing all manner of Graffs p. 107. Chap. XV. Which are the stocks that have a natural disposition to receive some kinds of Fruits each in particular and to receive no others p. 111. Chap. XVI Of Nurseries and Seminaries p. 113. Chap. XVII Of the different manners of Lettuces used to Pallisade p. 114. The VI. and last Part of the Treatise of Fruit-Gardens and Kitchen-Gardens Chap. I. OF the culture of Kitchen-Gardens p. 137. Chap. II. Containing the Description of the Seeds and other things that serve for the production and multiplication of every Plant and Legume p. 141. Chap. III. Shews us what things we may be supplied with out of a Kitchen-Garden every Month in the year and what a Gard'ner may and ought to do in them in every of those Months p. 147. Works to be done in the Month of Jan. p. 148. Works to be done in February p. 153. Works in March ibid. Works in April p. 155. Works in May. p. 159. Works in June p. 163. Works in July p. 164. Works in September p. 165. Works in October p. 167. Works in November ibid. Works in December p. 171. The Products and Provisions we may be supplied with from a Kitchen-Garden in the month of January p. 173. Products and Provisions of February p. ibid. Products and Provisions of March p. 174. Products and Provisions of April ibid. Products and Provisions of May. ibid. Products and Provisions of June p. 175. Products and Provisions of July ibid. Products and Provisions of August p. 176. Products and Provisions of September ibid. Products and Provisions of October ibid. Products and Provisions of November p. 177. Products and Provisions of December ibid. Chap. IV. How to know by viewing a Kitchen-Garden whether it wants any thing it should be furnish'd with ibid. Chap. V. What sort of Ground is most proper for every legume p. 181. Chap. VI. What sort of Culture is most agreeable to every particular Plant. p. 184. Chap. VII and last Shewing how long every Kitchen plant may profitably Occupy its place in a Kitchen-Garden p. 203. Which are they that need housing to supply us in the Winter ibid. Which are they that we may force to grow by Art in spite of the Frost ibid. And lastly how long every several sort of Seed will keep good The end of the Table of the Chapters of Fruit-Gardens and Kitchen-Gardens
The Fig-tree shall take the two first Toises or Fathoms The space between the third and fourth shall be for a first Admirable That from the fourth to the fifth for a first Violes Hasting peach That from the fifth to the sixth for a first Minion That from the sixth to the seventh for a first Chevreuse That from the seventh to the eighth shall remain void the better to facilitate the distances between the others which must be about eight Foot That from the eighth to the ninth shall be for a first Nivette That from the ninth to the tenth for a first Violet Perdrigon Plum That from the tenth to the eleventh shall remain void And That from to the eleventh to the twelfth for a second Admirable Peach The Minion Peach is certainly to the Eye the most beautiful Peach that can be seen It is very large very red sattin-skin'd and round It ripens the first of those of its Season and has a sine and very melting Pulp and a very small Stone its taste indeed is not always the richest nor briskest that is and sometimes it is a little faint and flat but that shall not hinder it from being the third in order here The Fair Chevreuse or Goat-Peach describes to us in its beautiful name a good part of its excellency it ripens next after the Minion and a little before the Violet-peach as the Admirable succeeds the Violet and comes in a little before the Nivette So that by the means of these five Peach-trees we may be furnish'd for about six Weeks together with an uninterrupted successive supply of the goodliest and best Peaches of all our Gardens The Chevreuse has some very considerable advantages for first it is hardly inferiour to any in largeness in beauty of colour in godly shape which is a little longish and in abundance of Sugred and well relish'd juice and over and above all that it further excells in the great increase it yields so that with a great deal of Justice I place it here for the fourth It has no other fault than that sometimes its pulp grows Doughy but it never contracts that fault but when it is let to ripen too much upon the Tree or when it grows in a cold and moist Soil or when it meets with a Summer that is neither hot enough nor dry enough It most particularly requires to be placed towards the East or South and in Grounds that are not over moist it do's well enough in a Western Exposition It is a very good sort of Peach and the commonest with those that plant them only to sell The Nivette otherwise called the Velvet-peach is likewise in my opinion a very fair and large Peach it has so fine a colour both within and without that it is most agreeable to look upon It has all the internal good qualities both of Pulp and Juice and of taste and of the smallness of Stone and loads its Trees with great abundance It is not quite so round as the Minions and Admirables but yet comes near enough that Figure when it grows upon a sound Branch otherwise it is a little horned and inclining to a longish shape It ripens about the twentieth of September just when the Admirables begin to go off and therefore with so many good qualities as it produces to maintain its claim who dare dispute it admittance among the Wall-trees in a good Exposition where there is room for five Peach trees If our midling Exposition cannot contain above four Peach-trees then I would fill it up with one Admirable and one Chevreuse or Goat-peach one Common Apricock-tree and one Purple otherwise called a Vinous-Peach This last is one of the Peach-trees that bears in greatest abundance and in my Judgment in little Gardens we should chiefly aim at abundance for which reason I preferr it before the Bourdin though that in reality be the better tasted of the two and thrives as well as that in a Westerly Exposition but yields not so much Fruit. I do not place any Maudlin-peaches in this Exposition neither nor any Minions Dandilli's Bellegardes c. because they thrive not there and are all apt there to have a Pulp too much like Dough. This Purple-peach denotes its colour by one of its names and the quality of its tast by the other and in effect it is of a brown dark red colour that penetrates pretty much into its Pulp It is very round and indifferent large its Pulp is pretty fine and its taste rich and exquisite In a word it will very well maintain its place in this little Garden The four Trees of the Northern Exposition shall be Pear-trees which shall be content with the distance of seven foot and a half from each other and they shall be one Orange green Pear two Butter-pears and one Verte longue or Long green pear all Pears that bear speedily easily and in great abundance Thus in a very little Garden whose Walls contain but about twenty two or twenty four Toises or Fathoms in compass we shall yet have sixteen of the choicest Fruit-trees namely one white Fig-tree one Violet-Perdrigon-plum-tree one Common Apricock-tree nine Peach-trees and four Pear-trees The Peach trees shall be three Admirables one Violet-Hasting one Minion two Chevreuses or Goat-peaches one Nivette and one Purple-peach and the four Pear-trees shall be two Butter-pears one Verte longue or Long green pear and one Orange-green pear After having thus furnished eleven or twelve Toises of good Exposition six or seven Toises or Fathoms of midling and five or six Toises or ten or twelve yards of bad which make in all four and twenty Toises or Fathoms in a Garden that contains no more in its four Walls I think for the better prosecuting the execution of my design it will be very pertinent for me to continue my directions for the proportion of thirty Toises or Fathoms of Good Exposition which make about fifteen Toises or Fathoms for the Eastern and as many for the Southern Exposition and afterwards to employ the remaining thirty Toises or Fathoms in the two other Expositions allotting the one half to the Midling one and the other half to the bad one after which I will fill up more and more of them augmenting still thirty Toises or Fathoms each time till I come to six hundred Toises or Fathoms of Good Exposition Methinks that in this Scheme or Project all the World may without trouble or Confusion find what they shall need for the stocking of their Wall-Plantations and in sine that the Directions which I shall give there may afford sufficient light to those who have a greater extent of Walling to stock how to fill it up For I dare affirm that unless it be for the Garden of some Great King that any private Subject will find he has a terrible quantity of Wall trees if he has 1200 Toises or Fathoms of them in all viz.
Blade to conduct the motion of the Saw the streighter and to that end is requir'd in the first place a considerable application of the Mind to what is to be Saw'd without the least distraction by any thing and at the same time the Saw must be manag'd with an extream quickness and Vigour for working slowly or thinking upon any thing else the Work wou'd not succeed well and the Saw would often bend or break You must not Saw quite through but stop just close to the last Bark otherwise you might be in danger of tearing the Bark from off the remaining Branch and consequently peel it dangerously so that the Pruning-Knife must always end the work of the Saw both to cut off clean what has not been made an end of Sawing and to smooth the part that has been Saw'd that is to cut off all that remains rough from the Action of Sawing since otherwise it would hardly recover the Saw having in some manner burnt the part so Saw'd There are likewise certain Occasions in which the Left Hand by gently bending the Branch to be Saw'd makes the Saw play the better and sooner and more neatly finishes the Work But you must be very exact in the strength you use or apply in bending lest you should make a dangerous Slit in the part that is to remain This is what I had to say as to our Tools let us now proceed to the application of the use that is to be made of them CHAP. XI Of the manner of Pruning Trees in the first year of their being Planted A Fruit-Tree of what kind soever Pear-Tree Apple-Tree Plumb-Tree Peach-Tree c. which seem'd to promise all the good and necessary Qualifications requir'd in order to be Planted and has actually been Planted with all the Skill and Consideration which we have heretofore explain'd in the Chapter of Plantations This Fruit-Tree I say from the Month of March until the Months of September and October following will of necessity perform one of these four Things either it will not Shoot at all or little or it will Shoot reasonably that is at least One Fine Branch or else it will Shoot much that is Two or Three Fine Branches and perhaps more as it appears by the Figures We must exactly Explain what is to be done in these Four Particulars CHAP. XII Of the first Pruning of a Tree that has not Sprouted at all the first Year AS to the first Case in which we suppose the Tree to have shot forth nothing the first Year perhaps it may be dead and appears visibly so and perhaps it is really dead tho' it does not seem to be so by reason of a little Green which the Pruning-Knife discovers under the Bark for without doubt it may seem alive at the Head and yet be dead at the Root and that is likewise call'd being quite dead without however appearing so outwardly or else it may seem dead either because it has produc'd nothing or perhaps because part of the Stem is really dead tho' it be no wise dead in the Principal Place which is the Place of the Principle of Life and of the thick Roots on which depends the whole Spring of Vegetation When the Tree is dead on all sides it is easily known by the dryness or blackness either of the whole Stem or a main part of it especially if that blackness appears about the Graff in which Case it is neither difficult of giving nor of receiving good Advice that is such a Tree must be remov'd as soon as you are convinc'd of its being Dead but ever with an intention of putting another in the room of it at the first moderate Shower of Rain Provided the death of such a Tree be perceiv'd in the Month of May or at the beginning of June 'till which time you may plant others in the room of it but it is not so safe to be done during the rest of the Summer This Re-implacement sufficiently shews that I design it should be done by means of those Trees which are brought up in Baskets if as I have so much exhorted People to do the Curious have taken care to raise some in that manner not only in the first year of their Planting but likewise all the following years to the end that this first year and even at all times they may have the satisfaction of seeing their Garden perfectly Stock'd Without doubt such Basket Trees in the Months of July and August would have shot their Roots beyond the Baskets in case they had taken so well as to produce very fine Shoots which are the only ones you must re-implace but it is very dangerous to take them out to Transport or Plant them in the Summer when their Roots are thus shot out for they either break in removing or as their Extremities are White they easily blacken in a hot Air and consequently perish and cause the Tree to pine long and even often kills it But if you do not use Baskets in the Months of May and June you must stay until the return of the next Season of Planting which is from November to the middle of March and then they may be us'd or having none you must Re-plant a new Tree well qualify'd in the Room of that which is dead In the mean time we must carefully examine how we happen'd to be deceiv'd in that Tree in which we had observ'd all the appearances of a better fortune since without that it should not have been Planted to the end that if it be possible to discover or avoid the Inconveniencies that have kill'd it we may endeavour to remedy it for the future For Example it may be the great Cold during the Winter which happens but seldom or else the great Heat during the Summer which may happen Then since great Colds and great Heats are capable of spoiling and ruining the Roots of a Tree the best way to prevent it is to cover the Foot of that which is newly Planted with something for it is an ill Expedient to Plant it deeper than I have said in the Treatise of Plantations pretending thereby to preserve the Roots from the Cold or Heat It is better then to Plant it according to our Rules and take care in the Summer to cover the Foot with Fearn or dry Dung or else new drawn Weeds c. If the Tree be dead only for want of watering the new one must be water'd if for want of good Mould you must put some fresh there if it proceed from having been too often and maliciously shaken or loosen'd at the time of the first Sprouting it must be prevented by putting some fence before it or not suffering the unlucky Wags that have done it to come near it If it proceeds from having been Planted too low or in too moist a Ground the other must be Planted a little higher or else the Ground rais'd to enable it to drain it self If it preceeds from having
been under the shade of other Trees or in the Neighbour-hood of some Wood or Pallisades which by an Infinity of Roots exhaust all the Ground about them you must resolve to remove either those Trees that make the Shade or those that waste the Ground so much and before you Re-plant any thing in their room you must remove all the Earth that is worn out to put better in the room of it without imagining to better it with Dung or else resolve to Plant no more Fruit-Trees in that unhappy Place If in fine some Moles have rais'd and shaken them you must endeavour to catch them if the Worms have gnaw'd them they must be look'd for and destroy'd tho' as we have already said elsewhere it be of all the Evils that may afflict Plantations the greatest most dangerous and most incurable All the Comfort that can be had in this is That it is a kind of Torrent that must of necessity have its Course but passes and does not return often and this is what I have to say as to a Tree which is and actually appears dead the first year of its being Planted If the Tree remain green in the whole Stem or at least in a great part of it without having produc'd any thing and that perhaps it be only a kind of Lethargy which has in some measure benum'd the Vegetative Faculty as it happens to some Orange-Trees newly Planted which remain sometimes two three or four years without coming to any thing and yet at last perform Wonders 'T is strange and difficult to apprehend that the Principle of Life of those kind of Trees which in effect are so easie to take and yet are so hard to dye shou'd not withstanding be so difficult to be mov'd to begin some Roots But this is not the Point in question here our Fruit-Trees are not so long without shewing the certainty of their Life or Death In case I say this Fruit-Tree has preserv'd its greenness all the Summer without producing any Shoots it may perhaps give some hope of satisfaction for the time to come but indeed that hope is very slight and if it may be done conveniently the surest way is to replant as soon as can be another new one that appears better or at least equally good in the room of it but if no other can be had I am still of Opinion that it will be proper in the Month of November to search round about that suspicious Foot to see whether there appears any good beginning of thick Roots or none at all In the First Case that is if any good Signs be discover'd consisting in the beginning or growing of some thick Roots which is very extraordinary for as soon as any new Roots grow in Summer new Shoots appear at the same time If then I say any beginning of thick Roots be discover'd which perhaps only began to form themselves since the end of Summer you must rest there without doing any thing more and only cover the Place well again where you have open'd the Ground and besides the following Summer take some extraordinary Carefrom time to time to Water it if the Ground and the Season seem to requireit Such a Tree may very well make up the time it has lost and become fine the following years In the Second Case that is when the Tree has perform'd nothing by its Root it must be wholly taken out of the Ground and Prun'd again that is according to the Term of a Gard'ner all its Roots must be refresh'd doing the same to the Head of which the Extremity may perhaps be dead and in such a Case it must be refresh'd as far as the quick and then the Tree may be re-planted at that very time and in the same place if it be judg'd worth it having preserv'd its Roots sound and entire or you must fling it quite away if the principal Roots be defective either in being dry or black or being actually rotten or gnaw'd as it happens sometimes for in that Case no good can be expected from them The Case is different when there are only some small Roots tainted tho' it be not a good Sign but however in that Case it wou'd be sufficient to Cut them again to the quick and Re-plant the Tree in the same place where it has given Cause to believe its Destiny doubtful I have pretty often Re-planted such Trees in Nurseries where they have thriven so well that some years after I have successfully given them some of the Chief Places of the Garden and yet I had Planted very good new Trees in the Places where those could not thrive It is very difficult to have perfect Plantations without all those necessary Considerations The Coolness of a moist Ground is sometimes sufficient to preserve for a year or more uncertain signs of Life both in the Roots and Stem of a Tree as well as it preserves it in Cut Branches and yet without any certainty of their performing afterwards any happy Operation that is to Operate in the same manner as well qualify'd Trees use to do therefore it is fit to be very nice upon those kind of appearances of Life by which so many People suffer themselves to be amuz'd and deceiv'd for so many Years This is what I had to say upon those appearances of Life whether Good and Certain or Ill and Doubtful CHAP. XIII Of the first Pruning of a Tree that has sprouted weakly I pass now to the second Article of a Tree newly Planted which is to sprout but little especially if the Shoot be weak small and yellowish and sometimes accompany'd with some Fruit-Buds Upon which I declare that I have but little more value for that Tree than for the Preceeding which we have just examin'd and found it either quite Dead as well in the Roots as in the Stem or only dead as to the Roots tho' it appear'd green at the Bark or else have found it to have yet some small signs of Life in the Roots as well as in the Stem both these and the others having still preserv'd some signs of Life that is some green and a little Sap. Therefore when I am furnish'd with good Trees I never fail rejecting this altho' it has sprouted a little as well as the preceeding which has not sprouted at all But when I find my self in want or unprovided I am contented with cutting these little Shoots close to the Stem shortning that above by the half and besides I never fail to search the Foot and if I find that the Roots have Shot nothing as it happens sometime I pluck up the Tree quite and refresh the Roots to see if they are all sound which being so I plant them again or else some of the Principals being spoil'd I fling it away If in order to Replant such a Tree I fear the Earth be not good enough I put better in the room of it this is the only good expedient to be us'd the
help of Dung being too uncertain and deceitful to rely upon it In fine I do the same thing to this Tree as I do either to that which did nothing but remain'd Green both at the Head and Roots which we Prun'd anew every where and afterwards Replanted either in the Garden or in the Nursery or else like the other whose Head is really in a pretty good Condition that is Green but yet has its principal Roots entirely spoil'd which upon that account we have rejected as dead therefore I ev'n look for a new Tree to put in the room of that which as it were only seem'd to Sprout such little Shoots being properly but false marks of its having taken new Root they being only produc'd by the effect of Rarefaction and without the help of the Roots as I explain elsewhere That pitiful Fruit-Bud which appears upon the languishing Head of that Tree newly Planted far from producing in me the effect it operates upon so many Philosophers that is from raising any Joy in me or giving me the least Consideration either for the Father that has brought it to light or for the Action by which it is produc'd creates in me on the contrary a real scorn for both which confirming me in the Maxims I have advanc'd to prove that Fruits are only marks of weakness puts me upon the resolution of forsaking that Tree and to fling it away like a piece of dead or useless Wood This I do not only to low Trees that are to make Dwarfs or part of the Wall-Trees but likewise to Standards both the one and the other being a-like in respect to their taking new Root I will say here by the by that this despicable Bud which I think I may call a Bud of Poverty has rais'd a War between some Philosophers and I because I will not grant them that the Production of it is a sign of Vigour in the Tree as commonly the Generation of Animals is a mark of it in the Fathers I explain this matter more at large in my Reflections not having thought it proper to proceed any further here upon the Reasonings I have had cause to make upon it conformably to a thousand irreproachable Experiences The Different Situations of the first Branches which a tree newly Planted somtimes makes CHAP. XIV Of the first Pruning of a Tree that has at least produc'd one fine Branch WE must now proceed to the Third Article which relates to our low Trees newly Planted either for a Dwarf or Wall-Tree and declare what we are to do if they Sprout reasonably that is at least one Beautiful and sufficiently thick Branch which is commonly attended with some weak ones In that case we are to make Three particular Considerations viz. Whether that fine Branch proceeds from the extremity of the Stem the middle or the lower part If altogether from the extremity out of the fear of falling into the inconvenience I dread which is a defect for a Dwarf that is its growing too high in the Stem into which inconvenience I should undoubtedly fall if I perform'd my Pruning upon that new Shoot I rather resolve to shorten the Stem of that young Tree about an Inch or two and so put it back to the A. B. C. Being certain that round the extremity where I shall lower it it will produce fine new Branches all well plac'd and in a sufficient Number and this is grounded upon that fine Shoot it has produc'd which convinces me fully that it has shot forth good Roots Thus in putting back perhaps the Pleasure of a Year because I run the hazard of having my Fruit somewhat later I avoid the dissatisfaction of having a Tree rise too high as it would do if I permitted it wholly to Shoot out of that Branch which would offend me perpetually whereas in taking it a little lower I put it in a way of appearing with all the advantage that can be desir'd in a well order'd Tree and consequently I put it in a condition of rewarding me yet better as well by a fine Figure as by the pleasure of abundance of Fruit. But if the fine Branch shoot out of the middle of the Stem you must without hesitation cut down the Stem to that Branch and even shorten that Branch within the compass of four or five Eyes at most therein to place the whole foundation and all the hope of a Beautiful figure in your Tree it being certain that at the place where you have shorten'd it it will produce in the second Year at least two fine Branches opposite to each other This is sufficient to make a fine Tree for those who know how to order it well but if that shorten'd Branch shoots forth three or four as it happens pretty often the success will still be the more favourable easie and agreeable I suppose still that the Gard'ners who are any thing careful will have taken care to order that only Branch we speak of in such a manner that it may be very upright in order to form a streight Tree upon its Center as it is necessary it should be If they have been wanting as to that Precaution they must have recourse to the grand Remedy which is to shorten that Branch within the compass of two or three Eyes which rough Treatment had not been necessary had it been well rear'd up from the beginning In Pruning that Branch which is come here by its self one may still preserve not the very small Branches which I call Sappless and must be utterly exterminated from our new planted Tree but only some of those that are either short or passably thick or longish and likewise passably thick in whatever place either of them may be provided they have pretty good Eyes and are well plac'd we may securely expect to have soon Fruit upon them without fearing it might prejudice the vigour of our Tree especially in stone Fruit and even in Kernel Fruit taking care however to shorten those Branches a little which are really too long without medling with the others that are short and passably thick The Reason why I do not hinder the preserving of some of those weak Branches is that being very certain as I have so often repeated that it is the small quantity of Sap which produces the Fruit it follows from thence that the little Sap that goes towards the making of it cannot considerably prejudice our new Tree and yet it will afford us a great deal of Pleasure in giving us Fruit betimes It is not that I think it a great fault the first Year unmercifully to take away all those hopes of the First Fruits The Curious may do in this as they think fit but for my part I preserve them If our only Branch shoots out of the lower part of the Stem we have Reason to rejoice at it it is very well plac'd provided the Gard'ner has taken care of it betimes to keep it upright in case it were not so as
to different Distempers Gardners would certainly be blame-worthy if they did not make it their Study to find out effectual Remedies for some and to satisfie themselves as to the others and if knowing those Remedies they were not careful to apply them upon occasion For it were vain for them to breed Trees in their Gardens to be liable to see them perish in their prime for want of knowing how to Cure them and restore them to their pristine Vigour In Order not to omit any thing relating to those Accidents which our Trees are liable to without including such as proceed from too long wounds of great Heat of great Cold of Storms of Whirlwinds Hails c. I think my self oblig'd to say in the first place that there are Distempers common to all Trees in general Secondly that there are some that are peculiar to every particular kind The common Distempers consist either in a defect of Vigour which makes the Trees appear in a languishing Condition or else in a storm of large white Worms which are sometimes form'd in the Earth and there gnaw the Roots or the Bark of the Neighbouring Stem those mischievous little Insects which we call Tons by degrees cause so great a disorder that the Tree which is attack'd by them and had always appear'd Vigorous before all on a suddain dies without any Remedy The Peculiar Distempers are for Example in Pear-Treees against a Wall when their Leaves are attack'd with what we call Tigers Cankers and Scabs in other Pear-Trees Viz. Robins small Muscadins c. Gum on Stone Fruit-Trees especially Peach-Trees which commonly destroys that part on which it fixes either Branch or Stem and when unfortunately it attacks the part where the Tree is graffed which is often hid under ground it insensibly spreads round about that Graff without any bodies observing of it for the Tree still continues in a good Condition while there remains any passage for the Sap but finally this Gum hindering this Sap from rising to the upper parts of the Tree makes that Tree die suddenly as if it had been suffocated by a kind of Apoplectick Fit Moreover some Peach-Trees are also attack'd with Aemets and a small kind of green Fleas which sometimes fasten on the young Shoots and hinder them from thriving sometimes on the new Leaves and cause them first to shrink next to dry and fall We have likewise North-East Winds which blast in some Springs wither and as it were burn all the new Shoots insomuch that the Trees on which this unlucky Influence lights appears dead while others about them are green full of fine Leaves and continue to produce fine Shoots Besides this are not the most Vigorous Trees subject to have the end of their new Shoots intirely cut off by a little black round Insect call'd Bud-Cutter Fig Trees dread the great Colds of the Winter which are capable of Freezing their whole head unless they be extreamly well Cover'd but it is not sufficient to have secur'd them against Frost They are likewise subject in that Winter Season to have the lower part of their Stems gnaw'd by Rats and Mulots which makes them pine and die Those very Animals together with Laires Ear-wigs and Snails likewise spoil the very Fruit on the Trees when they approach to maturity especially Peaches and Plums have not Goosberry-shrubs their peculiar Enemies also which are a kind of small green Caterpillars which form themselves towards the Months of May and June on the back part of their Leaves and eat them to that degree that those little Shrubs remain altogether bare and their Fruit no longer having any thing to cover and defend them from the great heats of the Sun is destroy'd without being able to Ripen I might run over all the Accidents which all the rest of Gard'ning is liable to and cause abundance of Disorders in it For Example Strawberry-Plants in the prime of their Youth and Vigour are as it were treacherously attack'd in their very Roots by those wicked Tons which destroy them Kitchen-Plants especially Lettuce and Succory c. constantly have some of those Tons or other little reddish Worms which gnaw them about the neck and kill them just as they come to perfection How much do Artichokes suffer by little black Flies which infest them towards the end of Summer and Mulots or Garden-Mice which gnaw their Roots in the Winter Lettuce and Succory are absolutely devour'd by Snails some of which are long and yellow some blackish and gray and others little and white especially in Rainy Weather Sorell is tormented in very hot weather with little Black Fleas which gnaw all the Leaves insomuch that it becomes of no use Even Cabbages are spoil'd by green Snails which gnaw and spoil all their Leaves but I am only to speak in this place of those Distempers that may be Cur'd in Fruit-Trees and not of such as are Incurable nor of those that are incident to Kitchen-Plants those commonly proceed either from the defect of the Ground which does not furnish nourishment enough or from an ill Culture or a defect in Pruning or finally from a defect in the Tree which was not well-condition'd either before it was Planted or in Planting of it It therefore follows in the first place that the Soil may contribute to Distemper our Trees which commonly happens when the Earth is not Fruitful in it self or is perhaps become so by being exhausted or when it is too dry or too moist or else when tho' never so good there is not a sufficient quantity of it In order to remedy all those kind of Inconvenients I say that when the Soil is infertile as it happens in many places where there is nothing but clear Sand the Master is to blame to have Planted any thing in it the defect of it can never be Corrected whatever quantity of Dung he puts into it the only Expedient is to remove that Earth and put better Mould in the room of it Happy are those who can meet with it in their Neighbourhood and thereby avoid the Trouble and Charge of fetching it at a distance As to that which is worn out it is likely that there may be some better about it which may be us'd unless People would allow it two or three years time to lie Fallow in order to amend it by rest but there is no pleasure in losing so much time When we resolve to make this Exchange of Mould and yet are unwilling to remove the Tree which is not Old one half of the Roots must be Prun'd short again which will suffice for the first Year doing the same again at the end of two years to the other half of the Tree Nothing Exhausts the Ground more than the Roots of Trees lying long in the same place especially the Roots of Neighbouring Trees particularly Pallisado's of Elms Fruit-Trees must of necessity Pine or Perish if that Neighbourhood subsists When the Ground is too dry and
light the best Remedy is to soak it often with frequent Waterings or by Artificial falls of Water or else by ordering Spouts or Dreins in such a manner that they may Conduct the Water of Rains into the Squares and Bordures as I have explain'd it in the Treatise about Soils When the Ground is too moist that part must be rais'd where the Trees stand making lower Ridges to receive the Waters and Conduct them out of the Gardens by Gutters or Aqueducts as I have done in the Kitchen-Garden of Versailles When there is not Mold enough it must be augmented either about the Roots removing all the ill Mould to put better in the room of it or else laying new Mould over the Surface of it the Mould being thus amended without doubt the Trees will thrive better in it and grow more Vigorous When the distemper is only visible by a certain yellowness as for Example Pear-Trees Graffed upon Quince-Stocks in certain Grounds always grow yellow tho' the Ground seems to be pretty good it is a good and certain Advertisement to remove them and to place others in their room upon Free-Stocks which are much more Vigorous and agree better in an indifferent Soil than others When Peaches Graffed upon Almond-Stocks cast too much Gum in moist Grounds others must be Planted upon Plum-Stocks and when they do not thrive upon Plum-Stocks in Sandy Grounds only such must be Planted there as are Graffed upon Almonds If on the other hand the Tree appears over-burthen'd with Branches so as only to shoot very small ones it must be eas'd until it begins again to produce fine Shoots always performing that Pruning by lowering the uppermost Branches or by removing part of those that cause a Confusion in the middle observing the Maxims I have establish'd for good Pruning When the Distemper proceeds from the Trees being ill-Condition'd before its being Planted as for instance from its having a Scabby poor Foot half dead for want or from its being too weak the best way is to pull it out and place a better in the room of it If the Tree being good in it self has been Planted too deep or too shallow or with too many Roots the best expedient is to take it up again Prune the Roots a-new and Re-plant it according to the Rules of Art And to all these Ends it is very necessary to keep always some Dozens of good Trees in Baskets to place new ones ready grown in the room of such as must be remov'd When the Trees are attack'd with some Cankers you must with the point of a Knife remove the part so tainted to the quick and then apply a little Cow-Dung to it covering it with a piece of Linen a kind of Rind will grow over it which will cover the Wound and so that Accident will be Cur'd When Catterpillars annoy a Tree Care must be taken to remove them When Rats gnaw the Barks Snares and Traps must be laid for them When the Distemper is suppos'd to proceed from Tons the Foot of the Tree must be uncover'd to Extirpate them absolutely putting new Mould in the room of the old after having shortned the Roots that are gnaw'd Among the Incurable Distempers of our Trees I reckon first Old Age when for Instance a Pear-Tree or Plum-Tree has serv'd for Thirty Forty or Fifty years we may conclude that it has attain'd a decrepit Age and consequently that it has perform'd its part and is out of date there is no hopes of a return it must be taken out not leaving any of its Roots into the Ground putting new Mould into the room of it in order to Plant new Trees there when People are desirous of seeing Trees in the same Place In the second place I reckon the Tigers which stick to the back of the Leaves of Wall-Pear-Trees and dry them up by sucking all the green Matter that was in them among the Incurable Distempers I have imploy'd all manner of strong sower corrosive stinking Lees Viz. of Rue Tabacco Salt Vinegar c. to wash the Leaves and Branches I have by the Advice of some of the Curious imploy'd Oyl I have smoak'd them with Brimstone by the Advice of others I have burnt the Old Leaves I have scrap'd the back of the Branches and Stem to which the Seed sticks I daily endeavour to find out some new Expedient and after all I confess freely and to my shame that I have never succeeded in any of them there still remains some of the Seed of that Cursed Insect in some part or other And in the Months of May and June this Seed is hatch'd by the heat of the Sun and then multiplies ad Infinitum and therefore one of these two things must be done either no Pear-Trees must be suffer'd against a Wall or in Espalier which is a violent Remedy especially for small Muscat-Pears Burgamots and Winter Bon-Chretiens which seldom thrive from a Wall or else we must resolve to see those Tigers upon them contenting our selves with burning all the Leaves yearly and with cleansing the Trees as much as is possible Thirdly I reckon among the Incurable Distempers the Gum which fastens to Peach-Trees and other Stone-Fruits when it only appears on one Branch it is no great matter 't is but cutting the said Branch two or three inches below the part so Distemper'd whereby this kind of Gangreen is hinder'd from extending farther as it would Infallibly do if it stuck about the Graff or all over the Stem or on most of the Roots and then the sole Expedient is to lose no more time about it and consequently to remove such a Tree out of the Ground in the manner aforesaid The Gum sometimes proceeds from an external Accident for instance from a Wound which has been made by way of Incision by a Scratch and sometimes from an Evil inward disposition In the first Case that Gum is nothing but a spurted Sap which is subject to Corruption and Rottenness from the time it ceases to be inclos'd in its Ordinary Channels which lye between the Wood and the Bark in that Case the Remedy is easie especially when it happens only on a Branch as I have declar'd in the preceeding Article when the Distemper affects the Stem it often Cures it self by a knob or a Continuation of new Bark which extends over the part so Wounded sometimes it is necessary to apply a Plaister of Cow-dung over it cover'd with a piece of Linen until the Wound be clos'd When the Gum proceeds from the inside I judge it Incurable on the Stem or Roots A TREATISE OF THE Graffs of Trees AND OF NURSERIES CHAP. XI Of Graffs I Never Reflect on what we call Graffing of Trees and the Advantage which accrues from thence for the Imbellishment of our Gardens but at the same time in my mind I compare all young Persons before their being Educated to so many Wildlings to be Graffed It really seems to me that as most Trees before their
Olive-Trees in hopes to get Bunches of Oyl or to Graff good Fruits upon Plain-Trees or Ash and Cherries upon Lawrel Chesnuts upon Beach Trees Oaks upon Elms Wallnuts upon a Shrub and all in hopes of raising new kinds of Fruits and therefore tho' with submission and respect to the memory of Great Men I must needs say that all their Attempts have for the most part been faulty it is sufficient that all good kinds of Fruits may be Graffed with success upon Wildings or other Stocks of a Nature approaching to theirs and the only use we ought to make of the Visions of the Curiosos which have preceeded us is to avoid falling in the same Inconvenience with them in losing so much time and Pains as they have done in making a thousand such Extraordinary Essays Now in order to enter upon the Matter you must know that as I have already said else where Graffing and Enter or Ingrassing are Sinonimous Terms only us'd in Gard'ning which without doubt are meerly of the Institution of our own Tongue and my reason for it is that they have no relation to the Latin Term Inserere which apparently has preceeded them and signifies the same thing with this difference that it is much more significant But however to give as perfect a Notion of it as we can we are oblig'd to say that those two Terms have the same signification as the Latin Term to Plant part of some Tree which we valued upon some part of another Tree of which we do not like the kind this manner of Planting is very singular and causes as the Prince of Poets tells us the head of that last Tree to change its kind in the whole or in part according to the Intention of the Gard'ner thus an Almond Tree becomes a Peach Tree a Quince Tree a Pear-Tree c. Another Illustrious Poet of the same Age casually speaking about that manner of Graffing says very Ingeniously that it is a kind of Adoption Introduc'd among Trees by means of which good Trees are Multiply'd with ease in making use of those Stocks which produc'd none that were good This alteration of Kind or this Adoption cannot be perform'd without some operations of which the very names are Capable to strike People with Horror Heads to be Saw'd Arms to be Cut Bodies to be split Ligatures Plaisters Incisions c. The explication of what relates to this matter of Graffs will unriddle this Mystery clearly In the first Place it is to be noted that Graffing is not perform'd all the Year round but only in certain Months Secondly that in relation to the Trees you Graff upon you must of necessity Cut and retrench a great deal of them sometimes immediately and at other times only five or six Months after that is a considerable part either of the Stem or Branches and that without meddling in the least with what we call the Foot of the Tree This Tree being as it were Ignorant of what has been done to its Superiour Part and Subsisting still that is continuing to Act in the Ground as it us'd to do and tho it no longer has occasion to Nourish either the Stem or Branches which it had Originally produc'd and were its real Offspring this Foot I say in obedience to the Gard'ners Industry labours to stretch out thicken multiply and cause to Fructify either the bare Eyes or Buds or the foreign Branches that are Substituted while small upon its Stem or Branches and those new Branches in the sequel taking the room of those that have been retrench'd become the Adopted Children of that Foot and Joyn so perfectly and so closely to it that they appear to be absolutely its Legitimate Offspring whence it follows that its Function for the Future is no other than to serve as it were for a Nurse to these new Infants In order to understand this Description of Graffs perfectly which hitherto appears obscure and enigmatick it is necessary in the first Place to declare the different kinds of Graffs that are in use Secondly the proper time to make them and finally the manner of making them well there are great differences among the one and the others In the next Place we shall add which are the proper Stocks that have a Natural Disposition to receive certain kinds of Fruits and can agree with no other CHAP. XII Of the kind of Graffs that are in use THE Graffs that are most commonly us'd are Inarching Budding or Inoculating the Cleft the Crown or Graff's between the Wood and the Bark and Whip-Graffing Inarching is for Chesnuts Marons Fig-Trees c. Budding or Inoculateing is for all manner of Fruits both Kernel and Stone and sometimes for other Trees that bear no Fruit. The Cleft is also proper for all manner of good Fruit Trees and even for other great Trees provided both the one and the other have at least three or four Inches Circumference at the place where the Graff is to be so perform'd Clefts are not generally so proper for Stone Fruit especially Peaches as for Kernel Fruit the Curiosos of some Provinces in Guyenne affirm the Contrary The Crown or Graffs between the Wood and the Bark as well as Whip-Graffing are particularly for thick Branches or for thick shorten'd Stems of Kernel Fruit and are nought for Stone Fruit as well as for all Branches and Stems of a moderate Size which are too weak to press their Graffs sufficiently CHAP. XIII Of Proper Times to Graff THE Proper Times to Graff are First the beginning of May in which the Sap being risen into the Trees especially in the Branches of the preceeding years Growth without the Eyes or Buds having shot yet the Bark loosens easily insomuch that they may be stript with ease which is necessary for those kind of Graffs in question This Month of May is only proper for Inarching which as we have already said is only fit for Chesnut Maron and Fig-Trees c. Secondly The middle of June is proper for Inoculating which is only to be us'd for certain Stone Fruits for Instance for Cherries Morellos and Bigarreaux upon a small bitter Wild-Cherry and Peaches upon old Almond-Trees c. Thirdly The Months of July and August for Budding or Inoculating Trees which by the small Vigour of their Foot or else by reason of the excessive Heat and Draughts which happen sometimes at that Time seem to have a visible if not total dimunition of Sap for you must know that this way of Inoculating with a close Eye or shut Bud requires but little Sap particularly from the Stock upon which after having made the necessary Incision the Scutcheon must be apply'd Too great an abundance of Sap in the Stock is pernicious to that apply'd Scutcheon by reason that it is commonly Drown'd there with Gum whereas it should only stick without meeting any thing there for the remainder of the year capable of making it Shoot it stands in need but of a very small
Orange-Tree be it one brought from hot Countries or that has only been newly chang'd into another Box may now and then remain two or three years without pushing either Roots or Branches whatever pains one takes about it which is very irksome But even in this case one is not presently to despair of the Tree or cast it away seeing so long as the Stem and Branches continue fresh you may be sure it is alive and may for all this Emerge Nor will I advise you to change its Case but to continue your wonted care of him as he stands and you 'll after a while find him to Recover and answer all your Pains and Patience it familiarly happening that this Lethargie and Benumb'ness from I know not what unknown and secret Cause is at last vanquish'd and overcome But where an orange-Orange-Tree that for instance has been In-Cas'd and diligently Dress'd for three or four years ceafes for a whole Twelve-month to Spring at all you may as already we have noted conclude that he is beginning to be Sick and speedily Re-Case him the next year following To perform this well you shall first of all pare off two Thirds of the Old Mould or Clod which indeed looks very frightful at first to those who are yet unacquainted with the Government of Cased Trees Though it be indispensably necessary at every Re-Casing especially if the Tree have been in the same Box four or five years or perhaps a a longer time for 't is sometimes expedient to diminish and take away a full half of its Clod as when through the negligence or imprudence of former Gard'ners you find a Tree become excessively Gross and Over-grown for want of being duly Prun'd and Trimm'd on its precedent Re-Casings The second thing to be done in Re-Casing well is before you begin this Important Work In the first place to consider the Mould and Earth of the Clod In the next to see what condition the Case and Box is in As for the Mould if you find it over light and that you conceive the Root has but a small Clod about it you must then Water it plentifully the day before you stir any thing that so the Moisture may cause it to adhere to the Roots least otherwise the Earth fall wholly away from them leaving them quite Naked when you come to take the Tree out of its Case but if you perceive the Earth to be solid and material so as in likelihood the Root has a sufficient Clod about it you may altogether omit the previous Watering and proceed to Un-Case The Earth will hold well enough to the Roots and you may Work without any danger As for the Box you were before to consider whether it be fit to serve any more and if so to Reserve it If not to dispose of it accordingly Now for the saving of the Case be it with a Wicket or as ordinarily without any you should with some fitting Instrument Howe or Trowel scrape and take away from about the Roots Clod and all the four sides of the Case as much old Earth as until you can conveniently arrive at the Clod and then also pare off as much of the ancient Roots as you can without disordering of the Clod of which you should leave three parts This is a necessary Operation for the cleansing of it quite round which otherwise you would not be able to reach and come at This done lift the Tree out of the Case with either strength of Arm if it be not too heavy or by the help of a Crane Pully and Ropes if it be of too great a bulk and so without demolishing any part of the Old Case you may keep or make use of it again either to Re-Case the same Tree in or some other whilst the former with some small Reparations may last perhaps four or five years longer But if you find it not worth the mending let it be broken up for the Fire and so you shall come to the intire Clod and as before abating about two Thirds or more of the Mould as you see cause since in either respect Retrenchments are to be made as well on every of the four sides as underneath scraping away so much of the old Exhausted Earth as till you discover and lay bare about two Inches of the ends of the Roots that had been Cut to be Revested and turnish'd in Re-Casing with new and fresh Mould as shall hereafter be shown that so they may at their Extremities put forth new and lusty Roots sufficiently to Re-establish the Tree By the way I Advertise that in Pruning the Roots which you will find twisted and intangled one within the other you be careful to take clean away all that you Cut off without leaving so much as a Fragment or Chip remaining thereby preventing the Rotting and Infecting of their Neighbours which were very dangerous In a word after these Retrenchments made of Earth and Roots if the Weight and Bulk of Earth permit I Counsel you to dip it in some Tub or Vessel full of Water or Fountain Basin deep enough to cover the intire Clod and there to let it remain as long as the Water Works and Boils about it for so it will soaking in by degrees where the ordinary Waterings could not penetrate and consequently the Earth excessively dry'd and Water taking place will force out and expel the latent and prejudicial Air which causes the Ebullition and Disorder So soon as the Boiling ceases take the drenched Tree out of the Water and placing it on some Block or Case laid side-long or any thing that stands a little higher than the Ground there let it rest until all the Water be drain'd from it and it have almost quite done dropping For this Reason That whilst the Clod is thus streaming should one put it into a new Earth'd Case it would make it all into a Mortar which were very pernicious to the Tree for being necessarily oblig'd to press and close the Mould to the sides of the Clod and crowd as much into the Case as is possible as well about the Naked Roots as where ever one finds a void it could not be but the Earth thus moisten'd beaten and press'd would turn all to pap and Mortar which would at last grow hard and petrifie like Stone by all means to be prevented Now in case the Clod be too big to be thus plung'd in Water When the Re-Casing is finish'd with a good big pointed Stake made of some hard Wood or an Iron Crow or Pin made for the purpose endeavour to pierce the Clod in several places of it and pour Water in the holes gently from time to time as long almost as it will imbibe any and that you judge the whole Mass of Earth may sufficiently be soak'd with it Let us next proceed to fit our new Case be it of the smaller middle or largest size The Custom is and 't is a very good one both for the benefit of the
stablish those which happly are deficient in nothing but their Shape and Figure being otherwise Vigorous and Lusty Trees as also such as are of Shape and Figure beautiful enough but wanting strength and health and lastly to Recover those which labouring under both these Defects together Languish and are ready to Perish Generally The great disorder of Orange-Trees happen to them from these four different Causes First from the In-Casing which peradventure was not carefully done or with improper Mould or for want of Renewing in due time Secondly from some defect in the Green-House its being over-Heated with Fire or from the Cold or too much Moisture Thirdly it may proceed from Without as by Hail Impetuous Winds or some other unforeseen Accident And Lastly from their being ill and unskilfully Prun'd and Cut or perhaps too unmercifully Also from over-Watering without necessity or neglect of due Refreshment during the Months of May June and July These are in my Opinion the principle Causes of orange-Orange-Trees being reduc'd many times to a miserable Condition That which many Gard'ners are so afraid of and does not a little trouble them is That to Remedy these Defects they are often necessitated to have recourse to the Severity of Abating and Cutting off both the Head and Foot of their Trees Which Operation very few save the skilful in these matters are capable of and all the World are ready to Condemn at first sight how well soever it be perform'd But however we hope the Curious truly knowing and Experienc'd will Approve of it and are certain that the Success will Justifie it though it indeed require some time To Commence first with the Roots of a Sick Orange or Lemon-Tree if it has long been Cas'd so as one may reasonably suspect that the Roots are come to Touch the bottom of the Box and so to receive no Nourishment there One is then to Resolve without more ado to take it quite out of the Case and Abate two third parts of the Clod and withall to examine whether the Mould of the Clod be not too Light and if so to Water it sufficiently for three or four Hours before you lift it out Thus the Earth being well drench'd the Roots may adhere the faster to it and you with more ease and assurance take away what you judge Convenient This is not to be done where you find the Earth so light excessive dry and exhausted as to fall and crumble away at every touch more than it should But in case it be sufficiently tenacious and consistent to hold spare the Pains of the Watering we speak of in New Casing If the Trees have not been Cas'd above a Year or Two and have perhaps been planted too deep and low You should then examine in what Temper the Earth is as whether too strong or over light If the Latter you must give them an half Re-Casing That is supply them with as much well prepared and better condition'd Mould as you can and be careful in the mean time that you neither shake the Tree or lay bare its Roots which would be very prejudicial But if you find the Earth to be over Gross and Stiff or not sufficient I hold your best course is to Uncase it quite and to abate part of the Clod after 't is well Sob'd and Moistned and to replace and set it in again as already we have taught since in truth all that can be done about the Head will be of small Advantage unless you begin first to fecure the Foot which is the Basis and Foundation of all and the sole Architect able to Preserve both Head and all the rest Having thus perform'd what is due to the Foot your next work must be about the Head again and make account that what you 'l most Regret are the Extremities and Tops of the Branches to which hardly any Nourishment for a long time has been able to arrive and accordingly you 'l find them Chang'd and Dry'd exceedingly either by reason of the diminution of the Sap it self in the Roots or that the Head and Branches are charg'd beyond what the Foot is able to Support Not unlike those Fountains which cannot Rise to their accustomed height either from the failure of the Spring or Sourse or that the Waters are too much divided and have taken some other Course In this Exigent you must not only pluck away and cut off the Tops of those Branches but do it to the purpose since your own Reason will tell you that having Treated the Foot as a Sick and Crazy Member you should not charge it with a greater Burden than it can bear Now supposing the Tree to be in a languishing Condition as by its Root appears and that you have been oblig'd to retrench a considerable part of it That is That a great many of those Agents which wrought and endeavoured to Maintain the whole Tree be extreamly diminish'd by these great Abatements and Amputations of the Roots although for the good and benefit of all You must resolve to do as much proportionably by diminishing of the Head Moreover as you expect your Tree should likely put forth new Branches at the Tops of the old ones which you have shortn'd You should carry such an Idea in your Mind of the Shape and Beauty you would bring it to that no more new Branches succeed in any place than what may serve and contribute to that conceiv'd Idea Now according to this Idea one ought to be as Discreet as Bold Discreet to Cut and Prune off no more than is necessary Bold to spare no unprofitable Branches In a word one should be Compleat Master of the Operation and proceed Couragiously and without hesitation He shall else work with a Trembling Hand in fear of being blam'd for having been too free with his Knife and cut too much and by this means falling into the common and contrary Error of not Cutting enough at first be at last reduc'd to a necessity of still Cutting more for two or three Years successively by which a great deal of Time 's lost that one shall afterwards repent of Not but that however Skilful and dextrous one be in Pruning one shall now and then find some Tops of cut Branches to die without putting forth any Shoots at all especially among the Sick and long diseased Trees so as one shall be forc'd to cut them again lower and that immediately as soon as ever one finds that there 's nothing to be hop'd for or expected as you 'l know by a Dryness accompanied with a certain Blackness or some Cleft and then you 'l never be in danger of Reproach for having abated too much For in â—ine altho' in such like Re-Casing of Trees one ought to Cut a great deal yet should one also be exceedingly Cautious in sparing what ought to be preferr'd Especially among the greater Branches The small ones are not of the same Consequence though by reason of a shew they make of some remaining Leaves
I. Of the Easie Culture of Orange-Trees Pag. 3. CHAP. II. Of the Conditions of a good Green-House Pag. 5. CHAP. III. Of the several Parts belonging to the Culture of Orange-Trees Pag. 6. CHAP. IV. Of the Composition and Mixture of Earth proper for the In-Casing of Orange and Lemon-Trees c. Pag. 7. CHAP. V. Of the manner how to raise Orange-Trees from the Seeds and afterwards to Graft them How first to Cultivate those which are newly brought us from the Countries where they grow and live without Art whether they come Stripp'd and Naked without Clod or with it having some Leaves upon them P. 10. CHAP. VI. Of the Size and Bigness of good Cases and other Circumstances relating to m. P. 12. CHAP. VII Of Re-Casings and the best manner of doing it P. 13. CHAP. VIII Of Watering Its Use and Way of Applying it P. 17. CHAP. IX Of the Inconveniences which happen to Orange-Trees as well from Over-Waterings as from the Fire which is made in Green-Houses P. 20. CHAP. X. What there is to be done to the Heads of Orange-Trees as well in order to the Recovery of such as have been long Neglected Ill Govern'd or Spoil'd either by Cold Wet Hail as also how to Attain the having such Trees as shall be always Beautiful and Agreeable both in Shape and Figure Health and Vigour P. 22. CHAP. XI Directions for the Carrying and Transporting of Orange-Trees and how toplace them when they are brought out of the Green-House and at what Season best What is to be done both at their Carrying in and Bringing out and whilst they are shut up Lastly Of the Ornament they will afford whilst they stand in the Green-House P. 30. CHAP. XII Of the Fruits of Orange and Lemon-Trees P. 32. CHAP. XIII Of Orange and Lemon-Trees Planted Abroad in the open Ground P. 33. REFLECTIONS Upon some Parts of AGRICULTURE The INTRODUCTION THE same Curiosity which made me take Notice of those usual Faults in Gard'ning I have already Discoursed of and Endeavoured to Correct has frequently put me upon making Observations upon Plants and Engaged me in some Natural Disquisitions And now having Reduced those Particular Remarks and General Considerations which were both the First Ground and the main Proof of what I here Advance into the Form of a Treatise under the Title of Reflections I think it my Duty to Communicate them to the World 'T is like they may not Relish well with some of our New Philosophers And indeed it were an Extravagant Pretence to Please every Body However it is possible that among so many great Wits in this our Enlightened Age there may be some that may observe something in them worth their Notice and thence take occasion to push on their own Enquiries to greater Attainments then a Person of my weak Abilities can Pretend to for having carefully Employ'd so many Years in making such Observations upon the ordinary Productions of Nature as might be some ways Serviceable to Perfect the Art of Gard'ning I can hardly think so very ill of my own Endeavours as that they should be despised by every Body as Useless and Insignificant and that at least my good Intentions should be so Unhappy as not to meet with some few that may Approve of them They will however I presume Accept of this Franc and Ingenuous Account of my Observations and Pardon the weakness of my Judgment and Reasonings thereupon And with this I shall be very well satisfied I will therefore begin with an Account of what stirr'd up my Curiosity and first put me upon making these Reâ—lectionâ— CHAP. 1. Reflections upon the Different Condition wherein Fruit-Trees appear in those two different Seasons of the Tear Autumn and Spring IF you look upon Fruit-Trees in the latter end of Autumn when they are dispoiled of the Ornaments of there Fruits and Leaves and when there appears no sign of Life in them as also upon such as are newly Planted you wou'd take them for dead Trunks or Poles rather than Live Trees both of them seem to have so perfectly lost the Principle of Vegetation that there appears not the least hopes they should ever Recover themselves But then if you look upon them again in the beginning of the Spring when both the Old and the Young ones begin on all sides either to Blossom or Bud or put forth Cions you wou'd think they were either performing a kind of Resurrection or that they were not really the same we lately saw in so deplorable a Condition and wherein we shall first consider them These as well as many other things wou'd doubtless be very Surprizing to us if they were not common in the ordinary Course of Nature and if those continual Miracles were not become so familiar to us though when a Man seriously considers them he cannot but be much Abash'd at his own Ignorance and very desirous by all means possible to find out the Causes and the Manner of such Alterations And this Particular affords us Matter for two Nice and Weighty Enquiries The one is Whence this Cessation of Action proceeds which makes the Trees all on a sudden appear Dead when really they are not And the other is How that Wonderful Change is Effected which a few Months after puts them into the same Course of Acting as before so that the Old Trees becoming in a very little space as Gay as ever and the Young ones as it were after their Example Shooting out Roots at the one end and Branches at the other plainly shew that quite contrary to what they appeared they still continued Live Trees As also how they should be always liable to the same vicissitudes of Nature That as Autumn and Spring make their Annual Returns so they make our Gardens their Theatre and as often present us with new Scenes For these Trees upon the first Nipping Frost Return to the very same Desolate Condition from which we lately saw them Recover themselves but as soon as ever the Severity of the Weather is over they as it were Conquer and Triumph over their Enemy which had brought them so very low and present us with the same Beauty and Agreeable Verdure wherewith they had formerly Charmed our Senses Now the better to Represent to others the Conceptions I have of these Different Appearances of Trees I shall Illustrate them by Plain Vulgar and Sensible Comparisons First then I imagine an Artificial Tree of as solid a Matter as you please of Iron suppose or Copper and that it stands upright exactly resembling a real Tree and having Tubes or Passages in all parts of it the greater for the Use of the Trunk and the lesser for the Branches and Roots I imagine further those Tubs or Passages filled either up to the top or a good way with Milk Things thus prepared I suppose this Liquor at Rest and in its Natural Consistencies taking up no more space than its ordinary Quantity requires nor any more at one time than another
since furnish'd him with so many Varieties This Artificial and Curious Edging may very well deserve some Place in our Philosophical Meditations If we consider the Circumstances attending the Bulbs of Tulips we cannot but acknowledge that Philosophy has not yet been able to give us a satisfactory Account of them They are put into the Ground in October and there take Root and in March following each of them puts out a Stalk in order to Budding and Blossoming in due time Hitherto you will say there is nothing extraordinary since the same thing is always seen in the Imperial Crown the Hyacinth Tuberose Jonquil c. but here then lyes the Wonder that this Tulip-Stalh which grew manifestly out of the very Middle or Center of the Bulb just as the Stalk usually grows out of the Middle in all other Bulbs is at length remov'd from its first Seat viz. the Center to the Outside or Superficies of its Bulb a peculiar Case which happens not to any other Plant. Now who is it that can solve the Difficulty how this Transposition is brought to pass Does the Bulb force it back again Or does it by a sort of Leger de main in its Ascent penetrate the sides of the Bulb This indeed is a Mystery in Vigetation that can never be look'd upon with sufficient Astonishment and Admiration It would be an endless Labour should I particularize all my Observations of this kind in Vegetables But these are sufficient to demonstrate that every Plant has a peculiar determinate certain and infallible Stint or Term for the Beginning and Duration of its Action for the Manner of its Appearance above Ground for the Quality of its Soil for the Taste Colour and size of its Fruit for the Figure Bigness and Colour of the Seed the Difference of its Leaves and Stalk or for the Parts of the Tree where the Fruit and the Seed grows And though as I have said divers times it be very difficult to explain all these peculiar Differences by the Doctrine of Pores the different Configuration of Parts or Atoms of a Figure justly proportioned for the Penetration of them I shall here notwithstanding conclude this Subject at present after I have given the Reader my Thoughts concerning that Circulation of the Sap which some pretend to have discovered in Plants CHAP. XVIII Reflections upon their Opinion that maintains the Circulation of the Sap. AS I am of Opinion First That there is in the Spring a certain Rarefaction in all Vegetables which is the first Mover in Vegetation And Secondly That there is in every Plant a Vital Principle which being a necessary Agent receives the first Effects of that Rarefaction as I have already discoursed elsewhere So I cannot think of any Comparison fitter to make my Notion intelligible than that of a Clock which needs no more to set it going than only to pull up the Weight and give a little Jog to the Pendulum The Truth is I always thought it absolutely impossible to make this pretended Circulation consistent with the Action of the Roots which we daily see to extend themselves both in Length and Thickness at the very same Instant that they receive their Nourishment And the Objections that prevail'd with me were these First I cannot apprehend either at what time or in what Place this Circulation should begin Secondly I cannot see either any Necessity or Advantage of it Thirdly Supposing we should admit it I am in the dark whether we must assert one general Circulation only in every Tree or whether there must be as many Circulations as there are particular Branches c. As for the Time when it begins if there be such a Circulation it must certainly have its Beginning the very same Instant that the Roots begin their Action and also must owe that very Beginning to the Influence and Virtue of the Roots so that consequently there may be a Time when there will be no Circulation for as much as the Roots are not continually in Action Now as the principal Reason of admitting this Hypothesis of Circulation in Animals is drawn from the Necessity of it viz. for the Purifying the Blood which we are told would be in great Danger of being corrupted if not kept in continual Motion So if that Instance hold in Plants it must then also follow that the Sap would be in the like Danger of Corruption that very first Moment of its Circulations being intermitted and consequently we should see a general Mortality of all those Trees that should happen not to be in Action whatever the Cause of it might be whether their being hindred by the Frost or their lying out of the Ground and much more that all Branches when once separated from the Tree that bare them must immediately perish just as the Members as soon as they are cut off from the Body But now there is nothing more contrary to the Experience of every one than this will as appears evidently by that infinite Number of Plants and Grafts which are so frequently and with such good Success sent into foreign Countries without the least ill Accident provided they be not overmuch dry'd by excess of Heat But supposing there be really such a Circulation and that it commences at the same time with the Action of the Roots Yet how will they be able to solve the Production of those Branches which shoot forth in the Spring without any Dependance upon the Roots That it is so there can be no doubt since we have Instances of it every Spring in Trees newly planted and which have not yet put forth any new Roots As also in Trees digg'd up in the Winter and left lying on the Ground and even Branches lopp'd off in that Season and set up an end in the Ground will put out little Shoots in the Spring In fine How is it possible to give a clear Account of this Circulation when we find that Almonds Nuts and even common Seeds shoot out within the Earth and in a few days put forth a Root growing in length downward but do not cause any Production to rise up out of the Ground When we see that the Bulb of the Imperial will send out Roots in August but no Stalk and on the contrary other Bulbs put out Stalks in the Autumn and Spring but no Roots when Tulips Tuberose's and especially the Asparagus grow upright in such a manner as that which was the extream Part at its first Appearance still continues so and that all of it rises entirely and at once from the Bottom to the Top when the Sprouts shooting out from the Extremity of a Branch which has been cut or cropt have such an extream difference in Length and Thickness as I have formerly described It is I think sufficiently clear from hence that there is a very unequal Distribution made of the Sap seeing that the Fruit-buds are form'd only upon the Top of the weak Branches and grow only at the Bottom of the Strong I
of Norway Or if on the contrary he should lay down this as the only Reason why Firrs that stand exposed to the South are the Best namely Because nothing else but the excessive Heat of the Sun can compress the Parts of that matter wherewith they are Nourished and consequently harden and strengthen the Fibers of such Trees more than of those that are not so directly exposed to its Influence How will this way of Arguing hold concerning such Firrs as are almost continually in a Frozen Condition Pray Is not Cold as apt to close and harden and strengthen any thing as Heat And is it not as usual for Rains to come from the South as from the North And consequently are not such things as as lie to the South as liable to be kept moist as those that lie towards the North From all which it appears how unsafe it is in Treating of Vegetation to go upon General Considerations And that it is much better to examine Particulars And that not barely with a Design to Feed and Gratifie a vain and useless Curiosity but especially to discover something that may be of real Use and Benefit to the Artist in the way of his Profession We shall therefore take little or no notice of such Notions as being but barely probable are not sufficient to advance any general Maxime upon and keep our selves from paying too great a defference to the Authority and being Prepossessed with all the Opinions of Persons who not contenting themselves to know and to be justly esteemed for their Skill in some Things take upon them to lay down Rules in others they do not so well understand Every Body knows that Trees that grow in an open Plain and in a dry Earth yield more Top-Wood then such as grow in a Forest and in a moist Ground But I believe it matters not much whether such Trees as grow in a Plain be more exposed to the South or to the North Such Positions being in some Countries not at all taken notice of And this is evident particularly in the Vines of Versenay which are much better when they are exposed to the North then to the South notwithstanding that General Maxim of the Ancients to the contrary Now he that taking these Words in their strict Literal Sense for an Universal Maxim should go about to Maintain and Propagate it by Reasons and Arguments would find many Dissenters from this Opinion of his and the Ancients How Necessary soever the Heat and Influences of the Sun may be in themselves and how advantageously soever any Plant may be exposed to it yet if it have not the Benefit of a good Earth as well as the Prospect of the Mid-day or Afternoon Sun we very seldom see that its Productions are any way Extraordinary Hence comes that vast Difference we see in Vines that have all exactly the same Position towards the Sun And hence also it comes that we have so much Marsh Ground that is wholly Useless so many Plains that are Rich and Fruitful even without Tillage and so many Mountains that produce nothing at all If the Pipes of an Organ or any other Instrument be not good and well made to what purpose is it to put them into the most Skillful Musicians Hand Are not all Mens Souls of the same Immaterial Substance and equally Perfect in themselves To what therefore shall we ascribe that Wonderful Difference we find between the Abilities of Wise Ministers of State or Great Philosophers and the others who are so Dull and Rude that they are capable neither of Ingenious Arts nor Common Civility but to the Difference of their Temper and of the Organs of their Body 'T is most certain therefore that the Good or Bad Disposition of the Earth is chiefly to be look'd upon as the Principal Cause of whatsoever Difference we find in its Productions And in order to the several uses they are to be put to all that is necessary to be here further observed is That such Trees as grow in large and thick Forests are much taller and their Timber streighter than those that grow in thin Woods or Thickets The Reason whereof may be this That every Tree having a kind of Natural Desire to Enjoy the Benefit of the Sun and as it were Fearing to be stifled by the closeness and over-topping of those next it endeavours to raise its Head so high as to reach the free and open Air And all of them having if I may so call it this Natural Instinct each endeavours to overtop the rest and so all of them grow to a much greater height than those that stand alone And if such a Forest happen to be very thick the Trees growing up too hastily to an excessive height have not a proportionable Bulk whereas such as grow up more at liberty having no such Necessity of growing high on a sudden make the best advantage of their Nourishment grow up leisurely and with a thickness answerable to their height And this may be sufficient to satisfie our Curiosity as well as to Direct the Artist what sort of Trees may be fit and which not for his several purposes in Building CHAP. XXII Reflections upon the Influences of the Moon in its Wain and Full c. I Shall now in the last place consider those Superstitious Observations our Modern Gard'ners make upon the Influences of the Moon in its Wain and Full. I know they will take it ill that I should look upon that as a piece of Superstition nay as downright Folly which they pretend to have been the constant Observation and Practice of all Times and in all Parts of the World They will tell you that according to the Opinion of the Ancients every Friday the Moon is in a kind of Wain and that above all the rest Good Friday is to be made choice of for Sowing all manner of Seeds insomuch that Sowing upon that day such whose Fruit you would have to be early Ripe they will perswade you that they will be Ripe exactly at the time you expect such for Instance as Melons Cucumbers Pease c. As also that those you would not have to come so soon to their Maturity will as exactly Answer your Expectation namely all sorts of Pot-Herbs Coleworts Lettuces Ofeilles c. And all this doubtless out of a profound Respect they bear to the day whereon they were set And that such as are set in any other time of the Moon do quite fail the Gard'ners Expectations This they will not be convinced to be a gross Delusion as are also several others which they have received by a kind of Tradition from the Ancients namely such as these That neither Plants nor Graffs nor Lopped Trees will be quick in Bearing unless they be set or cut in the Wain of the Moon And that so many days as any of these is done after the Full so many years the sooner will the Trees come to their Perfection in Bearing And they
Competes or wet Sweat-meats c. The Pulp in all Plums yellow more or less but of no effect to their goodness Most Plums quit not their Stones whether good or bad Damask Plums quit their Stoues casiliest But four or five sorts fit to be planted by Walls and which they are Empresses and Mirabelles added sometimes and why The Authors sense about Apricocks Standard Apricocks best The Wall-ones larger and fairer The little July Hasting or forward Apricock The Common and larger one about Mid July No green Fruit so good to preserve as Apricocks The Anjou Sweet Kernel'd Apricock The several Expositions repeated Fig-trees where to be placed The regulation of Wall-trees in a little Garden of the extent of ten Toises or Fathoms at one side and a little more on the other A description of the Violet Perdrigon Plum The choice Peach-trees recommended The Admirable Peach described How to cure diseased Peach-trees A Toise is two yards six Foot 〈◊〉 a 〈◊〉 The Minion Peach described and commended Its defects The fair Chevreuse or Goat-peach described The order of ripening of these Peaches The Chevreuse Peach further commended Its faults and their causes The Nivette or Velvet-peach described It s Elogy The Trees advised for the Midling or VVestern Expositions The Purple or Vinous-peach its Character in this and the next Paragraph The Trees advised for the Northern Exposition 4 Pear-trees c. The total supputation of the choice Wall trees advised for the stocking of a Garden of 22 or 24 Fathoms in Compass Continued for a Garden of 60 Toises or Fathoms Compass From which it will be continued still augmenting to the number of 600 Toises or Fathoms of good Exposition and 1200 in all 1200 Toises or Fathoms of Wall-Trees enough for any subject of the greatest quality What quantity of Fruit every hundred foot of Peach-Trees may yield at 5 or 6 Years old c. A remark about Ants. The Persick Peach described with its Character The Violet Brugnon or Nectarin its Description and Character The St. Catharine Plum described The effect of a good Wall c. The Apricock-peach The Sandalie or Yellow Admirable-peach It s Character The latter Violet or Marble peach It s Description and Character The Character of a Bourdin-peach The qualities and Character of an Avant or Forward peach Ripens a Month before the rest It s Description What Figure is best for a fine Garden to be of The effect of the Northern Exposition in Pear-trees The Italian Peach described It is a kind of Forward Persick The Characters and Description of the Peach 〈◊〉 or latter-Admirable The Description and Character of the Rossans The Red Alberge peach It s description and Character The Apricock Plum described and compared with the St. Catharine The Red Maudlin-peach described No different kinds of it It s Character The Bellegarde Peach described The Roche-Couron Plnm excellent The White Pavie described The Red Great Pompons Pavie called the Monstrous Pavie described It s Elogy The Corinthian Grapes The White Andilly Peach It s Description and Character The Bourdelais Grape called in Paris the Verjuice Grape described The Empress Plum What. When Apricock or Plum-Trees may be mixed with Peach-Trees and when not The Azeroll or Garden Haw Described The Early Grape or Black Morillon Described It ripens in the beginning of July Tiger Babbs How to order a Plum or Cherry Garden Sixteen choice Sorts of Plums good every way Plums good only to Dry Preserve c. The Plums the Author most preferrs and their order of precedence Which only to be reared on Standard-Trees A Plum Garden of 80 or 100 Trees affords Plums enough for all uses Guignes or Guings their Character The second Forward Cherry Their Character chiefly good for Early Compotes c. Monmorancy Coulardy or Large Preserving Cherries The best sort of Common Cherry described The same Tree bears Long and Short Stalk'd Cherries The Bigarro described and commended The Griot or Agriot described Merises of common Black-Cherries described Where to plant standard Mulberry Apricock and Almond-Trees What number to plant of each Almonds commended Their Season July and August when green Some few Medlar Trees also to be added in places least in view As also some Quince-Trees And lastly a few Azeroll or Garden Haw Dwarf-Trees Fruit Trees to be bought of none but Gard'ners of known skill c. When Tree Stocks and plants are to be chosen And Directions what chiefly to consider in them Marks of Vigorous Plants Marks of unsound Plants Marks of Bad Peach Plants Of what thickness and Age they should or should not be The thickness and Age required in Plum-Trees Apricock-Trees and Azeroll or Garden Haw-Trees The proportion of Apple-Trees grafted on paradise stocks The proportion and other good qualities required in Standard Plants How Trees should be shaped and fashioned Now to choose Trees when already taken up Marks of Trees spoiled Good qualifications required in the roots of young Trees Marks of a Dying Tree What caution is to be used in taking up Trees Other signs of decaying or Dying Plants taken from their Roots The Author's Method in Triming the Roots of Trees How to order the Roots of a Tree that has been longer pulled up What the Author means by Good and bad Roots Notes how to distinguish them and instructions how to deal with them Pivot a Hinge or Axel-Tree Of what length the good Roots are to be left in Dwarfs Standards c. Fifteen Engâ—â— en different Figures of Trees with their Roots most difficultly disposel for cutting inserted by the Author in this Book taken from the Life All difficult disposures of roots may be Learnt and ordered by those Figures The Author's Regulation of the height or Length fit to be left to the Bodies of Trees above Ground A necessary caution about Peach Trees The fourth to make convenient Holes or Trenches to plant them in c. The Author's Method of Dwarf-Trees c. Of What Depth Trees are to be planted The use of Dung about Trees A bed of Weeds or fern may serve in want of Dung. In very dry weather to be watered every 15 days in the hot months How to be plaâ—â—d How the Baskets must be made and proportioned Columella Theophrastus Xenophon Qui cum judicio putat Arborem efficit ut quod Arbor sponte voluit facere Justâ—iâ violentâ cogatur ut id agat Crescentius Terrae imperamus soli nequaquam Omnis Arborum putatio quandocunque fieri potest à tempore casus foliorum Crescentius Aspices curvatos Pomorum pondere ramos Ut sua quod peperit vix ferat Arboronus Fundusque mendax Arbore nunc aquas culpante nunc torrente agros Sidera Horatius Nec sen'ire sitim patitur bibulaeque recurvas radicis fibras labentibus iâ— rigat undit Ovid. Vim tamen agrestum metuens pomaria claudit Intus accessus prohibet Idem Juniperi gravis umbra nocent frugibus umbrae Virgil. 10 Ecl. Hortus nullas amat
St. Catherine the Imperial the Royal c. As to Peaches the most considerable are the Early Peach the Troy Peach the Maudlins White and Red the Rossanne the Minion the Chevreuse the Bourdin the Violets both Early and Late the Persiques the Admirable the Purple Peach the Nivet the Smooth Yellow Peaches and the Latter Yellow Peaches And as for the Pavies or Bastard Peach the Purple Nectarin the White Pavie the Cadillac and the Rambouillet As to Figs those that are White both Inside and Outside viz. the Long and Round are best for this Country As to Grapes the Muscat is chiefly to be esteem'd whether White Red or Black Long Muscat being well plac'd and in a good Ground is admirable the Chassolas succeeds more constantly than any As for Cherries every Body knows that the Latest and the Griote and even Bigarros are very good Fruits upon Standards Early Cherries are of no Value unless upon Wall Trees Seventh ARTICLE To prepare a Tree both as to the Head and Roots before the planting of it I am of Opinion that all the Capillar Roots must be taken away Only preserve a few thick Roots especially the Youngest that is the Newest These are Commonly Reddish and have a more lively Complexion than the old Ones they must be kept short in proportion to their Thickness The Longest in Dwarfs must not exceed Eight or Nine Inches and in high Standards about a Foot you may allow them more Extent in Mulberries and Cherry-Trees The weakest Roots must be satisfied with one two three or four Inches at most according as they are more or less thick One Rank of Roots is sufficient when placed as they should be that is when there are Four or Five Roots round about the Foot especially when they are partly like so many Lines drawn from a Centre to the Circumference and even Two or Three being good are better than Twenty mean ones I have often planted Trees with one single Root which indeed was extraordinary good and they succeeded well you may easily see what I mean by a Rank of Roots in the Treatise of Plantations where I have caused Plates to be Ingraven to that End Eighth ARTICLLE In order to Plant well you must chuse dry Weather to the End that the Earth being very dry it may easily cling about the Roots and leave no vacuity and particular Care must be taken lest it grow to the Consistence of Morter which afterwards coming to harden might hinder the Production and the Shooting of the New Roots The best Season for Planting is from the beginning of November until the End of March yet in dry Grounds it is very material to Plant at the very beginning of November but in moist Soils it is better to stay till the beginning of March The Disposition of Roots requires that the Extremity of the Lowest should not be above a full Foot deep into the Ground and the nearest to the Surface must be covered with Eight or Nine Inches depth of Mould In a dry Soil it will not be improper to make a little But or Hillock over those Roots to hinder the Sun from spoiling of them and when the Tree has taken Root into the Ground it must be Levell'd again After having Prun'd the Roots of a Tree you must cut the Steem of the Length it is to remain before you Plant it and never stay to cut it till after 't is Planted In Dwarfs I regulate that height to be about Five or Six Inches in a dry Soil and about Eight or Nine when Moist And in high Standards the proper height is between Six and Seven Foot in all manner of Soils In Planting care must be taken to turn the best Roots on that side which has most Earth and that none as much as is possible may incline streight downwards but rather look towards the Horison Those who after planting shake or trample on little Trees do them a great deal of Injury whereas on the contrary it is absolutely necessary to trample and raise the Ground about the great ones to secure them against the Impetuosity of the Winds The Head or Top of Espaliers or Wall Trees must lean towards the Wall yet so that the Extremity of the Head must be at Three or Four Inches distance from it and the Wound must not appear The distance between them is to be regulated according to the Goodness of the Earth and particularly according to the height of the Wall they must be nearer to one another against high Walls and at more distance against low ones In this particular Case of the common distance of Wall Trees it is to be regulated from Five or Six Foot to Ten Eleven or Twelve The Walls being Twelve Foot high or more you must always let one Tree shoot up to garnish the Top between two that shall garnish the Bottom in which case the Trees must be planted within Five or Six Foot of one another But against Walls that are not above Six or Seven Foot high the distance must be about Nine Foot The distance of Dwarfs must be from between Eight and Nine Foot to Twelve or even a little more being Plum-Trees or Kernel-Fruit upon Free Stocks In high Standards from Four Fathom to Seven or Eight for great Plantations In good Soils the Trees must be at a greater distance than in bad ones because there their Heads or Tops spread more When Trenches are newly made the Earth will sink at least Three or Four large Inches This is a very necessary Observation to make in order to the keeping the Earth about them higher than the Neighbouring Surface and to avoid falling into the Inconveniency of having Trees sunk too deep into the Ground For the Success of Kernel Fruit it matters but little whether the Graff be above or under Ground But as for Stone Fruit it is better not to be in the least cover'd with Earth Yet for the Beauty of both it is to be wish'd that it may appear but the main point is to have the Roots well plac'd so that neither the great Heat nor great Cold nor the Iron of the Spade may prejudice them As for the Understanding of the Expositions that are most proper for the different kinds is an account which will be best learned in a Treatise written on purpose upon that Subject Yet generally speaking I may say that the best of all in our Climates is the South and the Worst is the North the East is almost as good as the South especially in hot Soils and lastly the Exposition of the West is not amiss for Peaches Plums Pears c. but is stark nought for Muscat Chasselas and all manner of large Grapes Ninth ARTICLE To have a reasonable Insight into the Pruning of Trees it is necessary at least to know the Time and Cause and especially if possible the Manner As to the Time it is always good to Prune from the Beginning of the Fall until the New Leaves grow