and capable to correct its fault but also to plant in it such sorts of trees as are proper for it Because it being impossible so to dung or amend a ground as to make it absolutely to change its nature especially for great Plants it is certain that we must conform to it and set no trees but such as will take in it For to endeavour to force Nature is but to lose our labour Every one may easily know the quality of the earth of his own Garden wherefore I think it sufficient to say what sorts of Fruit-trees will take best upon each ground Garden-Pear-trees will thrive best in a soft earth and of a great depth for their roots grow downwards and alwayes search towards the bottom of the ground so that it is observed as soon as they meet with hard rocky a earth or b Galt they turn yellow their tops dry up and they diminish rather than encrease But for Apple-trees seeing their roots tend not downward but spread toward the superficies of the earth they need not so great a depth of it But then it must likewise be strong so that they may there find store of nourishment and fresh also that their roots may run into it the more easily I deny not but Apple-trees may grow in a sandy ground and bear very good Fruit though finding less nourishment there they cannot put forth so many branches nor have those they do put sorth so strong Quince-trees thrive best in a soft ground and somewhat a fresh because their roots which are tender do there spread without pain and gather together good store of nourishment and because they grow not deep within the earth it is enough for them if they find a good soil of two or three foot deep in strong and moist grounds they encrease much in wood and maintain themselves very green but then the Fruits graffed upon them are harsh and without colour especially winter-Winter-fruits as the Bon Crestien Whereas on the contrary quince-Quince-trees planted in a dry gravelly light ground grow not so much in wood but their fruit is better fairer coloured and more tender The cause of this difference is easie to be known by him who considers that the beauty and vigour of trees depends upon that of their roots and that according as they delight themselves in a ground or else disagree with it so the trees must either flourish extremely or languish since it is from their roots that they draw all their nourishment for this reason when ever you see a tree grow yellow or diminish be assured that its roots are sick Now the roots cannot suffer but either through too much moisture and cold or else through too much drought because both the one and the other of these two extremes destroyes that temper which is requisite in the earth for the nourishment of Plants the water by its cold drives out that heat which animates the earth so renders it dead incapable of production It stops the sap and consequently makes the trees to suffer Hence we see that cold rains in Summer if too frequent make the greenest trees turn yellow but too great heat doth likewise cause the same effect for it dries the earth too much and dissipates all that moisture which should nourish the roots From this seeing that the Sun more easily penetrates such grounds as are dry and without moisture it is easie to judge that Trees growing there must turn yellow and changed sooner than in stronger grounds which defend themselves better from the heat For the same reason must fruits be tender and well coloured in dry ground and on the contrary very harsh and gross without colour or tast in grounds that are cold and moist Because it is the Sun which by its heat dissipates the cold and gross moisture of the Earth and renders it more subtle delicate In those grounds therefore into the which it pierces most the roots finding but little moisture do consequently encrease but little in their wood but that sap which they do draw from thence being well prepared and very pleasant makes their fruit sweet in substance and of a thin skin which takes a better colour and causes them to ripen the sooner Whereas on the contrary the Sun not being able to pierce into strong grounds the trees are there nourished with a grosser moisture which renders their fruit harsh unpleasant and longer in growing ripe And as Winter-fruits are longer upon the trees and do need a greater heat to ripen them so they do the more participate of the harshness of the earth which nourished them Experience confirms this Truth insomuch as we see that in cold and rainy years the fruits have neither tast nor beauty especially in such grounds as are strong and moist After this discourse founded upon Reason and confirmed by Experience it is easie to know what ground is proper for each kind of fruit and I conceive it almost needless to go on to speak more particularly of it nevertheless that I omit nothing I shall adde that the Plum-tree grows very well upon dry and stony grounds because its root is strong and vigorous that the Almond-tree takes well also upon the same sort of ground because it requires but little nourishment and that Cherry-trees with other red fruits are more delighted with a soft and sandy earth because their roots are tender and spread upon the surface of the ground I must end this Chapter as I began it by saying that it is not written for such as have Gardens and Orchards situated in an excellent soyl because that all sorts of Trees prove well in a good ground But the ground not being good every where and men resolving rather to cultivate and plant that place where their lot falls though bad then to quit it seat themselves in a better soyl I conceived it my duty by this advice to help them in making a good use of their ground and to draw all possible advantages from their bad situation by planting such trees as may prosper in it CHAP. V. Of the severall wayes of manuring grounds what dung is proper for them and how it ought to be used HE that knows the fault of his ground whether it be too dry or too moist too hot or too cold may easily judge with what dung it is to be amended provided that he know the different qualities of his dung For it being certain that no fault can be amended but by its contrary he must conclude that if his ground be too dry he must moisten it if too hot and burning he must refresh it as also that ground too cold and moist must be heat and dryed I shall for this reason content my self to speak onely concerning the different qualities of the several sorts of Dung and Soyl wherewith the ground may be manured leaving it to the prudence of the Gardiner how to apply them to make use of them according to the
give them their first shape Trees may be pruned all the Winter long but it is better to stay till the hard frosts be over and not to begin till the end of February in the wane and so from that time untill the end of March especially for weak and tender Trees as Peaches and Abricots which are very subject to the Frosts Great Trees standing in the open air may be pruned and cleared of their wood untill the end of April but if any great boughs be cut from them you must observe to cut them close to the body of the Tree and to cap or cover them presently for if the wood where it is cut remain uncovered and open unto the air it rots and causeth a hollowness in the body of the stemm which increasing by little little gets at length into the heart of the Tree and kills it The same accident happens to branches ill cut because of the stumps there left which hinder the recovering of the bark Therefore the Gardiner cannot be too carefull in taking off branches from his Trees to cut them all very smooth and near the stemm and if they be great to cover them immediately with Galt or Clay wrought with Hay or Moss to keep them from the heat and scorching of the Sun which hinders the sap from coming to the cut those Chissels which Joyners use are very commodious to cut off the greater boughs smooth and handsom doing it much better than either Bill or Saw The great trees being thus cleared and discharged of all their confused and useless boughes do ordinarily put forth great store of false sprouts which must every yeare be taken off with great care To plash young trees planted against a wall after that the useless branches are taken off and such as cannot well be brought unto the wall you must begin with the Master-bough which must form the body of the tree this must be placed strait upwards without leaning towards either side and must be left shorter or longer at the top according to the strength of it and of the tree After which all the rest of the branches must be put in order on either side and some of them laid if it may be within half a foot of the ground to cover the lower parts of the wall In plashing of these you must guide them all like the fingers of a mans hand when it is open or like the ribs of a Fan when extended and care must be taken not to force or bend them bowing like a Cats back for if they be so forced they make as it were an Elbow where the sap stopping alwayes puts forth a false shoot which takes away all the strength from the remainder of the bough and hinders its growth For this reason the tops of the boughs must never be fastned lower than the place out of which they grow but must still be conducted along somewhat ascending Observe likewise that the branches must not be crossed nor passed one above another nor two fastned in one place but they must be separated from each other and set a convenient distance according to the number of them and the strength of the Ttree Sometimes nevertheleless the Gardinar is constrained when the trees are old and unfurnished with boughs in the middle to turn the smaller branches upwards and to bring them towards the stemm to preserve the beauty of the tree and hide such places as are void and unfurnished This want of boughs doth ordinarily befall to the tree through the ignorance of the Gardiner for want of his guiding them well at the first or through his negligence in pruning them taking away their shoots and plashing them in such seasons as are proper for them For it is certain that most trees become not unfurnished of boughs but onely because they have been neglected or else cut and plashed inconveniently and out of season And Experience lets us see that it is easie with a little care and skill to keep them alwayes fair and well furnished with boughs and to make them last a very long while bearing fair fruit In pruning and stopping the growth of the boughs care must be taken further to cut one short betwixt two long ones that being unequall when they come to spring the middle of the tree may be the better furnished In the same manner must the branches of Dwarf-standers be cut because that each branch which is cut doth put forth many more and therefore being cut all of the same height they cause a confusion of branches on the top of the tree and the midst of it in the mean while remains unfurnished because the sap desires alwayes to ascend and runs more willingly into the higher boughs than into those that are lower For which reason it must be stopped by this unequall cutting of the branches The pruning depends principally upon the prudence of the Gardiner which he ought diversely to practise according to the different qualities of the trees according to their strength It being certain that they must be cut more or less short according as their force is I have seen some trees which the Gardiner durst not cut nor stop very much because that being in very good ground their sap was so plentifull that if it were stopt never so little it would cast it self into the buds which would have born fruit and make them grow into wood For this cause the pruning must be performed with skill and judgement and not without great care for it contributes very much not onely to the fairness of the Fruit but is further absolutely necessary for the keeping of the trees a long time strong and vigorous The importance of this care is not so visible in the first years because at the first the trees do alwayes spring with great force and do appear fair although they be not well ordered But when this first vigour is past men may presently begin to perceive a great difference for they see such as have been neglected to diminish and come to nought in a short time and the others on the contrary to maintain themselves alwayes in their strength It being an effect of their cutting which renews the trees by little and little from year to year Pear-trees may be pruned all the Winter long but the best season of doing it is as I said before that of the Wane in February This pruning is to be put in practise diversly according to the quality and condition of the trees for sometimes the boughs must be cut short when they shoot forth too abundantly sometimes also it is necessary to take off the young wood and to preserve the old that they may bear the sooner and sometimes it is not amiss to cut off the old worn-out boughs which have no strength left and to let the young ones grow in their places that the trees may be renewed and as it were made young again And again sometimes it is sufficient to clear them by taking away
Almonds to incculate upon them Peaches and Pavies but these are very subject to a gumme which gathers about the Scutcheon or Bud so that if the Gardiner be not very carefull to take it away or prevent it the bud is often-times enoked and killed by it True it is that when they do take they bear very faire fruit and amongst others admirable Nectarines For this cause the best and surest stock for these kindes of fruit is that of Damsons and the S. Julien but especially that of Damsons because it lasts longer and hath the sweeter sap This sort of stock is bred at the foot of damson-Damson-trees and the S. Julien which do put forth many suckers The Almond-tree is likewise not bad for this purpose in such grounds as are hot and sandy but it proves not ordinarily from a Nursery because that being replanted it takes again but very seldom It is for this cause necessary to breed it in the place where it must stand which is done by sowing sweet Almonds there at the beginning of March after they have lyen in sand to bud during the winter and there likewise to inoculate them with a Scutcheon a the bud not shot forth that very year at the end of August or the beginning of September when the greatest force of the sap is past or else the second yeare if they be too weak the first In the same manner the stones of Peaches or Abricots may be sown and inoculated and these without staying for the moneth of March may be put into the ground as soon as the fruit is eaten but the trees graffed upon them last not so long as upon an Almond-stock Peach-trees and Pavies may also be brought up from a stone but they doe very often degenerate and there are no Peaches but those of Pau Persiques Violet-peaches and the common Peaches which doe ordinarily take this way Abricot-trees although they may be graffed upon all sorts of Plum-stocks doe neverthelesse beare the fairest fruit upon those that have the biggest Plums and especially when they are white When they are inoculated upon Damsons their fruit is dryer and more firme those Abricot-trees which come of a stone bring forth lesse Abricots but earlier ripe and of a quicker tast then others wch makes some to esteem them the more but they do not agree with all sorts of ground and are better in those that are hot than in the richer soils The good sorts of Plummes may be graffed upon all kinds of Plumme-trees except such as bear small sower Plums because their sap is too harsh To make Nurseries of Cherry-trees and other red fruits you must plant the Suckers of white and red a Merisiers because their sap is more pleasant and nourishing then that of the black Merisier There is neverthelesse a sort of the red Merisier whose fruit is bitter upon which the ordinary Cherry Hart-cherries being graffed the tree becomes as strong and as bigge as upon other stocks but there growes a great knob about the joynt of the graff which marres the beauty of the Tree and shews that this sort of Merisier hath its sap very sharp and bitter because its stock encreaseth not in proportion to the graff The best stock to inoculate or graffe May-Cherries upon is that of the Suckers of forward Cherries though it be true that thereby the fruit becomes not so bigge or faire nor the tree it selfe so strong as those which are graffed upon good Merisiers The Cherry-stock is also better then the Merisier to graffe a Morella-Cherries upon because that tree ordinarily blooming much and bearing but little it comes by being graffed upon a Cherry-stock to beare more plentifully and preserves its fruit better because the sap of a Cherry-stock is not so plentifull as that of the Merisier It is in vain to have procured good plants if care be not taken to plant them in a good soile To this purpose a soft earth must be chosen somewhat fresh and which is rich enough to be planted upon without dunging especially when in it you would plant Nurseries of Pear-trees and Apple-trees brought up from kernels for the dung breeds in the ground great white Worms which eat the roots of the Plant and cause it to die Besides that Earth too fat and too much manured breeds Cankers in the bark of the Trees which destroyes them utterly but if the earth be not otherwise good enough of its self without being amended it is better to stay till the Plant hath put forth its third leaf before it be dunged because that after three yeares it will be strong enough to resist those Worms which the dung breeds The ground most proper to plant a Nursery in is such as hath neither been too much cultivated nor too leight but contrarily that is the best which hath a body and provided that you have some short small mould to put about the roots in planting that which is new broke up and hath lain long is the most excellent of all Having then found a good plot of ground proper to make a Nursery you must there open trenches of the largenesse and depth of a spade-bit placing them three foot or three foot and halfe from one another and observe as much as you can to make them so that one of the ends lie towards the South and the other towards the North For being thus disposed and the Nurseries well graffed that is the Graffes set with their backs towards the South which must alwayes be observed if you would graff well or as near it as is possible the trees do the better uphold one another and defend themselves much better from the great Windes of the South The ground being thus prepared you must in the moneth of November or December choose a faire day to plant it in because that in faire weather the earth is short easier to work and better encloses the root of the Plant but in such soyles as are moist and lateward it is better to stay till the end of February before you plant because too much moisture and water corrupt and rot the roots during winter For this reason therefore in cold and moist countreys the water must of necessity be dreyned out the earth heighthened in the form of ridges upon which the trees are to be planted but the hot and early grounds must be planted in November that the roots beginning before winter whilest the warm weather lasts to put forth some small filaments may so unite themselves with the earth that the trees at Spring may thereby grow and flourish much the better Having chosen a good Soyle a proper Season and a faire Day he that would plant a Nursery of Apple and Pear-stocks brought up of kernels must observe to cut off half the root of the Plant and to pare off the top to about seven inches then to place them in the trenches at the distance of seven or eight inches betwixt each twig and to put them no
without colour and of a flatter tast This care is very necessary in cold and moist soyls where the Fruit being more rude and gross hath need of a greater heat to ripen it well and to give it a higher tast Every one may easily know the time that is the most proper for the gatherring of Summer-fruits But for those of the Autumn and the Winter they must be left upon the tree as long as may be because so they will keep the better Except notwithstanding some of the Butter-pears as the common Beurré the Bergamot the Summer Bon Crestien which must be gathered before they be fully ripe for so they may be kept the longer and are better and less harsh That Winter-fruits may keep well they must be gathered in a fair season and carried into the room where they are to be kept such as are the best and most delicate must be laid in rows upon the boards and the rest laid on heaps and so left the windows of the room being open for about a moneth untill they have sweat and cast forth all their water then the Fruits must be dryed again all the windows shut opened no more untill all the Fruit be gone out But as soon as the room is empty it must be carefully cleansed and all the windows set open that the air may carry away and dissipate the smell of the Fruit The Winter Bon Crestiens being well wiped and dryed must be laid without touching one another in Presses close shut and care taken not to handle them but by the stalk lest they grow black A warm Fruit-chamber makes the Fruits to grow yellow and ripe the sooner as on the contrary when it is cold they keep the longer and ripen later It ought to be so placed that it freez not within it no more than when Orange-trees are kept in Winter But if the Fruits happen to be laid up in such a place where the Frost may enter they must be covered with straw when the Frost begins and wet Clothes be laid upon that the windows close shut and not be touched till the Frost and Thaw be wholly passed and the Fruits throughly dryed again CHAP. XI Concerning the Diseases of Trees THe Diseases of Trees do alwayes begin from their Roots and are never caused but by the ill qualities of the Soyl which nourishes them it being easily judged that since from the ground they draw all their Nourishment if that be good they must necessarily profit and on the contrary must languish when that either wants moisture or else supplies them with such as is bad For this reason when a tree droops it may be concluded that the soyl wherein it is planted is not proper for it and therefore either its place must be changed or the fault of the earth must be amended I know very well that the cause of the languishing of a Tree proceeds sometimes from the ill kind of plant upon which it is graffed and sometimes also from having been ill planted and ordered But having already shown how good Plants may be chosen and how Trees ought to be cultivated I suppose that he which plants hath been carefull to choose none but good Trees and that he orders them well and therefore that they cannot be sick but through the fault of the Soyl which either hath not been enriched enough at the first or else is now worn out Trees do easily shew their maladies by their Leaves which grow yellow and by their Shoots which are weak languishing and dry at the ends Now seeing that Trees cannot suffer but either from the too great drouth of the Earth or else from its too much moysture it is easily known that if they complain for being planted in too moist a Soyl they must be kept dry either by stones or some other of the means heretofore mentioned But on the contrary when they suffer in dry and hard grounds it is necessary for their cure that they have the earth taken from them in November and all their Roots being laid bare must have Hoggs-dung mixed with good Mould spread upon them because this sort of Dung being cold refresheth and moistneth the Ground which is too dry and takes away consequently the cause of the Disease Drooping Trees may also be helped by opening the Ground at the foot of them and when the mould is well stirred covering it with Pidgeons-dung spread two or 3 inches thick over all the extent of the Roots Which Dung must be left so spread untill March and then be wrought in and mixed with the Mould but none of this Dung must be spread within a foot of the Stemm Yet this is not enough for the recovery of diseased Trees to have thus amended the Ground about their Roots but it will be necessary likewise in the months of February or March in the new Moon to cut them very short and so let them shoot out all the Summer at full liberty without pinching or plashing them except it be very little untill they be fully recovered When Trees grow dry and die at the top it is certain that their evil proceeds from their Roots therefore must these be uncovered and if they be yet sound and strong the ends of each of them must be cut and good Mould of Turfs well mixed with Dung must be laid upon them and the top of the stemm must be cut off to the quick for so the Tree having strength remaining not being as yet in its time of decay shoots forth again and renews it self in a short time But if its Roots be rotten and spoyled there is no other remedy but to stock it up and to plant another in its place after the Earth hath been changed and dunged which cannot be otherwise than much vvorn out Seeing that the end and perfection of Fruit-trees is to bear Fruit it may be said that such as are in their full strength and yet bear none are defective This default comes either from their having bin inconveniently graffed or else by reason of the too great plenty of nourishment which makes them put forth nothing but Wood and no Fruit the remedy for which is to weaken them by taking away from them this their too great vigour To this end the Earth must be taken from the foot of them in March in the Wane of the Moon and the half of some of their principall Roots must be cut off And if they be great Trees the stemms of them may be bored through the middle with a Wimble near the ground and the hole filled with a pin of dry Oak For by tormenting the Trees on this manner they lose their too great force and bear more but the better and more assured vvay vvhen these sorts of Trees are capable of being graffed again is to re-graff them in a Cleft There are some sorts of Trees as the Amadote and some others which do bear no Fruit be it against a Wall or as Dwarf-trees untill
they be old I have taken notice that the best way to make them bear is when they are fit to be removed to take them wholly up in November in the Wane and presently to plant them again in the same or another place with all their roots onely a little refreshing the ends of them and cutting the tops of the boughs a little as much as you would have done had they not been taken up Experience having taught me that after this change they do in a short time bear good store of Fruit There are some trees also which are subject to a contrary fault to that now mention'd which ruine and consume themselves within a few years by too much bearing To diminish this ruinous and mortal fruitfulness their heads must be cut off or their boughs shortened to the half two or three dayes after the new Moon in March and for two or three years all their Fruit-buds must be taken off for by this means provided that their roots be lively they will grow much into wood Trees are also subject to other Maladies as Cankers which breed in their bark and eat it so that they cause the death of the bough whereon they are Peach-trees and Abricot-trees are more ordinarily taken with this Disease than Pear-trees because of the too great abundance of their Sap To heal them of it you must as soon as it appears cut off all the bark which is eaten with it and even the wood that is infected by it and if it hath eaten round about the bough must be cut off under-neath it to the quick and the Cut must immediately be covered with fresh Cow-dung or Hogs-dung and wrapped about upon that with Flax or Linnen so that no air come to it By this means will the Canker be stopped from going further and the bough will recover There are also certain Worms bred betwixt the Bark and the Wood of Trees which do them much harm when they are perceived they must be followed their track discovered with the point of the Pruning-knife untill they be found And if they be at the end of a bough it must be cut off below them and the opening which is made upon the bark rubbed with Cow-dung or Hogs-dung that it may the more easily recover Caterpillers are very hurtfull to Trees or Fruits for which cause the Gardiners cannot be too carefull to take them away in the Winter and to take heed that in wall-Wall-trees no old leaf remain betwixt the Tree and the Wall because in such they shelter themselves In the Spring when the Trees begin to blossom and grow green an exact search is very necessary to take away the Caterpillers for then they run upon the blossoms and spoyl the Fruits as fast as they knot they are the cause of the unhandsomness which we see upon may Pears for on that side where they have bitten or eaten them the skin profits no more so that the Pears increasing but upon one side become hunch-back'd and of an extravagant shape The time of the day most proper for the taking away these Caterpillers is betwixt nine and ten in the morning when the Sun shines because then they run upon the Blooms and the new Shoots A principall Advice concerning all Trees The CONCLUSION IT would be to no purpose to have examined the nature of Trees with so much care and to have given so many Instructions for the well ordering of them if I should not conclude with that advice which I hold to be the principall and most important of all should I not shut up all with this truth that No man can have fair Plants unless he love them For it is neither the goodness of the Soyl nor the quantity of Dung nor the advantageous Situation which make trees to grow well but it is the Affection of the Master which animates them and renders them strong and vigorous Thus we see that if this Affection be wanting if they be neglected though they be planted in the best Grounds they languish and become unfruitfull Men are no longer in the earthly Paradise where they might eat the most admirable Fruits without labour they must till the Ground they must cultivate the Trees if they will gather the fruit of them Nature no longer yields any thing of her own accord she must be wooed and flattered if vve vvould obtain vvhat vve desire at her hands vve must love Her if vve vvould be loved by her 'T is this Affection which alone hath given me the skill I have in Plants 'T is that vvhich made me note those faults I committed about them at the first 'T is that vvhich made me search out the causes of them and vvould give no repose unto my mind till I had perfectly knovvn them And therefore if this love of Plants be not to be found in the heart of the Master or at least in that of his Gardiner I vvould not counsel him to plant because his labour vvill remain unprofitable and vvithout Fruit Nor have I vvritten these Memorials for others than those that have this inclination and are lovers of Plants for having this affection they need but small assitance besides to do vvonders And although I knovv vvell that my vvork is very rude little considerable I hope notvvithstanding that it vvill prove usefull for them in their vvork by laying open unto them the vvay to nevv Knovvledge so that being already good Gardiners they may make use of it as a vvild-stock upon vvhich they may put good Graffs and gather from them excellent Fruits FINIS Courteous Reader these Books following are printed for Humphrey Moseley at the Princes Armes in St. Pauls Church-yard Various Histories with curious Discourses in humane Learning c. 1 HIstoricall relations of the united Provinces of Flanders by Cardinall Bentivoglio Englished by the Right Honorable Henry Earle of Monmouth Fol. 2. The History of the Warrs of Flanders written in Italian by that learned and famous Cardinal Bentivoglio Englished by the Right Honorable Henry E. of Monmouth The whole worke Illustrated with a Map of the 17. Provinces and above 20 Figures of the chiefe Personages mentioned in this History Fol. 3. The History of the Warrs of the Emperor Justinian with the Persians Goths and Vandalls written in Greek by Procopius of Caesaria in eight Bookes translated into English by Sir Henry Holcroft Knight Fol. 4. De Bello Belgico the History of the Low-Country Warrs written in Latine by Famianus Strada in English by Sir Robert Stapylton Illustrated with divers Figures Fol. 5. The use of passions written by I. F. Senalt and put into English by Henry Earle of Monmouth 8o 6. Judicious and Select Essaies and observations by the Renowned and learned Knight Sir Walter Raleigh with his Apology for his Voyage to Guiana Fol. 7. The Compleat Horsman and Expert Farrier in two books by Thomas De Grey Esquire newly printed with additions in 4o 1656. 8. Unheard-of curiosities concerning the Talismanicall Sculpture
Quince-stocks cannot be fit to be re-planted till after their second third or fourth year when their bark is well recovered But Peaches and Pavies when they are strong and have shot well are better to be taken up after their first year than after their second or third leaf because as they come very quickly so are they sooner fit to be removed than others Besides that being of a dry wood they spring again the better when they are young and have a tender bark For which reason also care must be taken in the re-planting of them to cut off the stump which remains above the Graffe and then to cap it with galt or clay mixed with hay by which meanes the bark will the more easily be recovered The order of graffing differing sorts of Fruit in the same Nursery depends upon the Ingenuity of the Master But the best in my opinion is either to graffe the same kinde of fruit upon a whole row of Stocks or if but a part then next to one another and at the same time to write in a book the names of the Fruits the quantity of stocks that are graffed with them and in what Row they be And if in the same row there be divers stocks graffed with different fruits to marke with a great stake the beginning of each sort to the end that when you would take up a Tree you may not be mistaken in the kind of fruit which you desire Such as are curious to procure from all parts the best sorts of Peares must when they graff their Nurseries graff many fruits of the largest kind such as Pound-pears Summer Bon Crestiens and others which have store of sap upon which afterwards they may graff in a Cleft other sorts of rare Pears whereof the Syens cannot be had in Summer either because they are at too great a distance or else because their wood is too tender and delicate to be inoculated Those that are curious may likewise re-graff upon the same trees Winter-Bon Crestiens and Bergamots which will thereby become bigger and fairer Graffing may be practised all the year long that is in a Cleft in the moneths of February March and April by inoculating with a bud shooting forth in May and June with a bud not shot in July August September and the beginning of October upon Almond-stocks and Peaches grown from a stone And again in a Cleft in the moneths of November December and January But in these last seasons they do not ordinarily take so that it is alwayes better and surer to graff in the proper seasons Curiosity hath perswaded some to invent extraordinary Graffs by mingling the species of trees entirely different that thereby they might prevail with Nature to bring forth new monstrous Fruits They were perswaded that by passing the branch of a Vine through the body of a Walnut-tree pierced with a Wimble and afterwards exactly stopping both ends of the hole this branch would take its nourishment from the Nut-tree and so might produce Grapes full of Oyl instead of Wine they believed that by graffing a Rose-bush upon a Holly-tree or a Broom it would bring forth green or yellow Roses that having graffed the a Calville-Apple upon a black Mulbery or Peach-trees upon Quinces they might gather black Apples and Peaches without stones But Experience hath taught them that Nature is most chast in her Alliances and most faithfull in her Productions and that she cannot be debauched or corrupted by any Artifice Indeed it is but a vain imagination to believe that the Syen can quit its Species to take that of the stock upon which it is graffed it being certain that it takes nothing from it besides its nourishment And as every one knows that things which are contrary in their nature endeavour alwayes to destroy each other and that they can never be perfectly united together because union cannot consist but betwixt things of the same nature so may every one easily judge that Syens cannot prove or take effect except upon stocks of the same kind or which have a sap conformable to them Experience shewing us that they either grow or languish according as the sap of the stock that nourisnes them is more or less proper for them For this reason a Pear-tree can never take upon an Apple-stock nor Peaches upon Quince-trees because their Species are wholly different I deny not but the stock or foot of trees which are graffed doth in some manner communicate its quality to the Graffs it bears but it never causes them to change their kind The Winter Bon Crestiens being graffed upon the a Gros Rateau the Pound-Pear or the Summer Bon Crestien bear alwayes the same kind of fruit but they bring forth bigger Pears because the sap of those trees upon which they are graffed is very aboundant For the same reason Peaches become very fair being inoculated upon an Abricot Hart-Cherries and b Guisnes are bigger upon a Merisier than upon a Cherry-stock And the Morella-Cherries set upon a Cherry-stock prove better than the Hart-Cherries so put because of the likenesse and conformity of their sap wherefore it may be concluded that to graff well you must never put any trees but upon such stocks as are proper for them As the great kind of black Mulberrie upon that of the small kind it being certain that it takes better upon that than upon the white Mulberry the Almond-tree upon the black Damson the small Medlar upon the white Thorn or Quince-tree the a green Oaks must also for the same cause be graffed in a Cleft upon the common Oak but somewhat late because their sap is more lateward CHAP. IV. Of the severall kinds of Ground and the Trees which prove best upon each of them AFter you have brought up fair Trees in your Nurseries before you can have Fruit of them you must of necessity plant them somewhere else be it against a wall or in the open air But as the best trees cannot prosper unless they meet with a good soyl very great care must be taken before they be planted to prepare the earth well for them and to make it good According to this order therefore having already treated of Nurseries I come now to speak of the different sorts of earths and of those trees which agree best with each of them Those who have Gardens and Orchards situated in a very good soyl need not all these instructions because the excellent nature of their ground does more of it self and without any pains than that which is amended with the greatest care The onely design of this Discourse being but onely to help Nature presupposes her to be sick and to have need of succours from abroad Those then that would plant must above all things observe the quality of their ground and know whether it be strong or light whether it be too dry or too moist soft or stony not onely that he may give it such helps as are necessary
instead of profiting them You must afterwards put in a second bed of earth of the same depth with the first and half a foot of dung upon it mixing them likewise well together and if there shall be need you may also adde a third bed and so fill the hole till it be half a foot higher than the rest of the ground because the dung settles as it rots This order must be followed as I have said already according as the earth hath more or less need of being amended but alwayes rather profusely than covetously but if a sufficient quantity of dung cannot be procured enough to make three beds care must be taken especially to amend the bottom of the hole because that after it is filled and the tree planted that can be come at no more whereas on the contrary the upper part of the earth is alwayes easily dunged In moist grounds and such as have no great depth it is needless to make holes wherein to plant the Trees but after that the ground is well digged and dunged according as there is need it is best to set the Trees upon it without sinking them in and to cover the roots with the mould of Turfs chopt very small a foot and half high and for the breadth of five or six foot round about the stemm And because in such places the roots ought to be hindred as much as may be from growing downwards towards the bottom especially those of Pear-trees it must be observed in the planting of them that all the undermost roots and such as descend are to be cut flat not aslope like a Hinds foot Those Trees which shall be thus planted above ground may after three years in the moneth of November be conveniently dunged upon the roots To plant Trees well against a wall a Trench must be opened of eight foot wide and three foot deep in the digging whereof care must be had not to come near the wall by half a foot and that side of the Trench also that is towards it must be cut aslope for fear of uncovering the Foundation and causing the ruine of the Wall Whilest this Trench is in digging the good mould must be severed from the bad and all the stones and roots carefully taken out of it if there be any that it may afterwards be filled in the same manner with the holes before spoken of that is to say the bottom of the Trench must be digged then a foot deep of good mould put into it and half a foot of very rotten dung upon it These must be well mixed and the filling of the Trench continued in the same manner with mould and dung until it be half a foot higher than the rest of the ground and because that Wall-fruits must be set with greater care than other Trees the Planter must be curious in causing better mould such as that of Turfs cut small to be brought thither if that which was taken out of the Trench be not good enough and observe to put in a double proportion of mould to that of dung Such as cannot at the first make Trenches so large must be content to open them at first but four foot wide and two or three years after to inlarge them according as the Trees shall have need of it When Dwarf-standers are to be planted sometimes it is necessary to dig Trenches and to fill them with the same care as those for Wall-fruits and sometimes also it is sufficient to make holes of six foot square and to dung them well This difference depends upon the quality of the ground and the goodness of the soyl CHAP. VI How the different sorts of Fruits are to be disposed according to the severall Positions FOr the well-disposing of Trees in a Garden there must be considered The quality of the Soyl its position in order to the Sun and its Situation in regard of the Winds After the reading of the Chapter where the different qualities of grounds are treated of it is easie to judge that such Fruits as are tender and full of moisture are to be planted in those grounds that are most pleasant and dry and the bigger Fruits such as Pears and Apples in those grounds that are stronger and moister Because the first to be tender and of a good tast do require a dryer soyl and the others needing a more plentifull nourishment would have that which is more strong and moist Now as in generall all such fruits as have stones are more tender than those with kernels it is better to plant them in a dryer and softer Earth But to be yet more exact it must be observed that among such Fruits as have stones some are more tender than others and that of Fruits with kernels some are dry and others full of moisture and that they ought therefore to be placed in grounds more or less dry according to their different qualities For this cause such Pears as are very sull of moisture as the Winter-Bon Crestien the Beurré the Bergamot and the other a Beurrées or Butter-Pears are to be placed in the dryer grounds and those Pears which are very dry as the Amadote and others of the like nature in those grounds that are moist because by this means the quality of the ground corrects the contrary fault of the Fruit This is the reason why the same kinds of Fruit are better in one Garden than in another And from hence the Bon Crestien Pears are of a more tender substance and a higher tast when they grow in dry grounds in which the Amadote is not so good becoming too dry and stony which on the contrary is excellent in moist grounds where the Bon Crestien hath neither colour nor tast because of the too much moisture which makes its substance more rude nd gross Some grounds there are of so just a temper and so sweet a constitution that all sorts of Fruits be they dry or waterish tender or gross do com to an equall perfection in them In these happy Situations the Observations which we have now made are useless such as plant in these can never commit an Errour and therefore this advice is onely proper for those grounds which being without that excellent temperament do approach to the one or the other extreme and are either too cold or too hot too dry or too moist Another thing necessary in the disposing of trees is to observe their position in order to the Sun and that especially in Wall-trees Now there are four principall sorts of these Positions One towards the East upon which the Sun shines from its rising untill noon The second contrary unto it towards the West which receives the Sun from noon till night The third is that towards the South which is enlightened by the Sun from eight in the morning till 4 in the afternoon The fourth which hath the least Sun of all is that which looks towards the North and which sees not the Sun but for three hours
half a foot Afterwards all the roots must be handsomly extended without forcing or constraining them And if it be a Wall-tree the foot of it must be placed at ten or twelve inches from the wall and so laid that the upper part of the stemm or branches may come within two inches of it that the new branches may by that means be the more commodiously plash'd against it When the tree is so placed the roots must all be drawn outwards as much as may be and brought from the wall that they may thereby find the more nourishment and be more plentifully watered with the rains during the Summer After this the roots must be covered with good mould soft and light mixed with some other mould from a bed throughly rotten if such be to be had for this causeth them to take again the sooner and put forth a greater quantity of fibrous roots Care must also be taken to furnish them well with mould so as no void space may remain betwixt the roots To this end after they are covered with earth the tree must be lifted up a little and shaken with your hand that the mould being short and movable may fall and slip between the roots to fill up entirely all the holes The Gardiner must as I said observe in planting not to sink the trees into the ground more than half a foot for the ground being alwayes better above than downwards the roots do there find the more nourishment and are not so subject to be rotted and spoyled by too much moysture Besides that being near the surface of the ground they are more sensible of the heat of the Sun and do likewise receive advantage by the dews and small rains which fall in Summer whereas on the contrary when the roots are sunk too deep they are never refreshed by all those Summer rains which are neither of such force or continuance to pierce into the earth more than a good half-foot so that the earth which is beneath dries and hardens it self about the roots and affords them no more nourishment From whence it may easily be conjectured that the most ordinary cause which makes trees to grow yellow proceeds from their being set too deep in the earth But seeing the trees so planted near the surface of the earth may for the two first years suffer from the great heat of the Sun having their roots yet too tender to resist it it will be necessary to cover them by making a bank of ordinary mould a foot high above them for the wideness of four foot round about the stemm the top whereof must be laid plain that the waters may the better stop there and pierce to the foot of the tree It is further needfull in March after this earth hath been well stirred to spread upon it some long dung that is not hot the breadth of three foot about the stemm and four inches thick Or if such dung is not to be had to lay some fern upon it at the beginning of June so that the earth may be kept fresh and the roots preserved from the too great heat of the Sun but if neither Dung nor Fern can be had whererewith to cover these banks of earth then they must be stirred four or five times a year onely the depth of half a spade-bit for fear of harming the Rootes and these stirrings must bee continued untill the Trees be strong and so these banks of earth will by little and little be brought lower by stirring them from year to year Now seeing that in trenches and holes filled up with good store of dung the earth settles in proportion as the dung rots and consumes It must be observed in planting to set the roots of the trees level with the ordinary ground because the earth setling in the trench sinks lower and carryes the tree along with it This care must especially be had in the planting of such Pear-trees as are ingraffed upon a Quince-stock and Apples upon a Paradise-Apple because if these two sorts of trees be planted too low so that the Graffs come to be within the ground they will put sorth roots and thereby cause the trees insensibly to partake of the Graff and so to change their nature In cold and moist grounds the trenches must be raised be it for Wall-fruits or a Counter-hedges 2 foot higher than the ordinary ground upon which the trees are to be planted to the end that being further from the water their fruit may be better and fairer coloured for they cannot have a good tast growing in such grounds as are alwayes moyst and wet For this reason it is that the sides of hills and higher Situations are the most advantageous for the goodness of fruits because the waters run from them with the more facility There may likewise be laid in the bottom of the trench a bed of stones of a foot deep or else so much stony and gravelly earth to draw the waters to the bottom and cause them to drain away upon which it must be filled up with sharp Sand or Plaister-stone and Marl mixed with good mould to diminish the too aboundant moisture and make the trees to profit the more and to bring forth their fruits of a better colour and tast it is also very good in such moist soyls at the beginning of November when the earth at the foot of the Wall-trees hath been stirred to spread some Marl upon it half a foot deep and six foot broad which is to be buried at Spring when the Winter-Frosts and Snowes have passed upon it After that the trees are planted with the care above-mentioned if the stems of the taller Plants be any thing feeble it will be needful to strike in a stake at the foot of each of them which must be strong and of the length of five foot above ground to keep the trees steddy and hinder the winds from shaking them But this stake must be shorter than the stemm of the tree lest it wry the branches that shoot forth It is further necessary in such places where Beasts are pastured to put thorns about each tree to keep the Beasts from coming near it or rubbing themselves against it But because these thorns may grate and hurt the bark which is yet tender and so breed Cankers in the trees which kill them their whole stemms must before the thorns are put about them be covered with long litter or fodder and then be bound about with straw The same course must be taken with those trees that have been bred in a Nursery where having been alwayes shaded and covered from the Sun their bark is so tender and delicate that if it be on a sudden exposed to hard Frosts and to the great heats of the Sun especially in a soyl that is dry and hot it becomes withered and base whitish and mossy For this reason it is that to preserve it neat and handsom it must for six years be covered with straw untill the trees
those branches that are too confused But that which the Gardiner in pruning of his trees is principally to look after is that he leave neither the foot nor the body of the trees too much unfurnished For this reason he must cut them rather too short than leave the boughs too long taking most from the highest branches such as are towards the top of the wall because these draw all the sap to themselves and leave the bottom of the tree unfurnished This is the cause that peach-Peach-trees are so difficult to be kept Experience teaching us that if the Gardiner do not perfectly understand the way of cutting them and taking their sprouts away as they ought to be they will be ruined in six or seven years although that being well ordered they may last more than twenty years Trees to be well pruned must have their boughs every year refreshed more or less according to their force by cutting away the wood that springs in the moneth of August which being the shoot of the latter sap cannot be ripened unless it be necessary to preserve it for want of better or that it be found to be strong and well nourished Those boughs also that shoot too fast be stopped and kept shorter than the others for they draw all the sap to them and wrong the rest which are weaker but the Master-bough must alwayes be preserved being that which grows strait upwards so stopping it from year to year that it may always be the strongest and maintain the shape of the tree Those boughes also which are weak and small must be shortened and those which are disposed to bear fruit the year following to the end that they may grow strong and that their buds may be the better nourished It is further necessary to prune those branches that are full of fruit-buds for the too great quantity of blooms consumes the trees Besides that from thence the fruits do become less fair but in the pruning of these it must be observed to cut them above a leaf-bud and as near to it as may be for two reasons The first is because by that means the fruit will profit the more for when it is not covered with leaves it dries and seldom arrives to its naturall perfection or to be so good as others The second because so the branch will recover it self that very year whereas if it be cut higher and far from a leaf-bud there will remain a little stump at the end of the twigg which dries up and cannot recover it self in two or three years As for such boughs as are taken wholly off they must as I have often said be cut as near the stemm as may be for so they will recover the sooner and that without making any knot The pruning of Peach-trees must be the last of all and then when they begin to spring and are ready to flower because their young wood is so tender that if it be cut it will be dried and spoyled upon the least frost from whence a great many of the smaller twiggs dye and must oftentimes be cut again the second time Dwarf-standers which are planted in open aire must be pruned as those that are planted against a wall that is such boughs as grow too fast must be shortened those that are vveak must be stopped to make them grovv bigger those that are useless must be taken avvay and if they shape not the tree vvell they must in their first years be fastened unto frames to give unto the trees that roundness and fashion vvhich you desire Some Gardiners there are so ignorant that they clip their Dvvarf-trees vvith shears to shape them into a bush and to keep them the more neat not knovving or considering that by this means there is a confusion of branches caused upon the tops of their trees vvhich dravv all the sap unto them and leave the foot unfurnished and that the same confusion of branches so chokes up that little fruit vvhich they bear that it can neither prosper nor have a good tast For this reason these sorts of trees must alvvayes be cut vvith a pruning-knife those boughs being kept lovv vvhich do shoot up too much and those taken away which are superfluous to preserve thereby those in the midst of the tree being those that ordinarily do bear fruit Plum-trees Cherry-trees must not be cut or stopped on the top but onely cleared and discharged of their useless wood within the tree and for this reason they are not proper to be kept as bushes or dwarfs The trees being thus pruned and plashed with care as soon as the sprouts begin to appear and during the moneths of May June July and August you must in the Wane of the Moon break the false shoots and sprouts which come before and behind the stemm and cut off those that shoot upon the elbow of such boughs as are bent because that these false shoots do carry away all the sap of tree and the nourishment of good boughs you must likewise pinch such as rise too high to make them fork and furnish the body of the tree but then you must be carefull to do it seasonably before they be too long and too hard for then they put sorth spriggs onely at the second or third last leaf-buds and do not furnish themselves towards the foot but if the Gardiner hath not been carefull to take off the false shoots from his trees in season so that they are now grown too hard he must be content to cut them at two or three inches from the bough to retain that sap within the body of the tree which these would carry away and stay till the Winter following before he take them quite off for so long as the tree is in its sap you must never except in case of great necessity cut off any branch from it nor make the least incision upon it for fear of harming it The Gardiner must be carefull as I have said in pruning his trees taking off the shoots not to leave them too naked it being as dangerous to take away too much wood from them as to leave them too confused he must therefore consider the goodness of his ground the force of the tree and the manner of its springing whether it be with more or less vigour It being certain that if he pinch or stop those too much which are of great strength he destroys all their Fruit-buds and makes them spring to wood and on the contrary he alters and dries up those that are weak and languishing It is also of importance that he take notice of the kind of the tree which he is to prune for as there are some sorts of Pear-trees which do not so well furnish themselves with boughs as others such as the Rousselet the Cuisse-Madame and the Jargonelle it is easie to be judged that he must stop and pinch them shorter and oftener to force them to put forth and to furnish themselves with a greater store
make application of my Rules upon Trees or cause some other to do it in his sight Here he will find in short all that which mine own experience and the acquaintance which I have had all my life long with the Masters of this Art could gain unto me after so long a time and will in a few hours make his advantage of that pains which I have daily continued for so many years For it is certain that a long Study and great Practise are required to make Observations in those things which must be learned by Experience and Reason both together and in which a man must often-times attend many years to make one single Experiment especially where scarce any one hath gone before from whom he may take instructions with assurance But he that finds gathered into one all that a man could get by his own experience during his whole Age and that long enough or draw from the communication of others will find these things very easie by making use of his labour to whom at the first they were very hard I say not this as pretending to boast that I have set down all that can be said of this matter for then should I have written more than I know my self On the contrary I am throughly perswaded that I may yet learn many things entirely new wherefore I do with much earnestness intreat all those that are able to adde to my observations or else can correct them as I doubt not but there are many who can I intreat such I say not to envy their skill to those that love Gardening and to my self inparticular since I so freely communicate unto them all that which I my self have gotten I know there are some great Personages of these times who are of the most knowing in this Affair whom as they have all their life long mixed this divertisment with their publick Employments and profound Studies of the highest Sciences I do conjure that they would be pleased not to deny a few hours more of their leisure to instruct such as follow them in their inclination and that they will not refuse to adorn those Gardens which they have alwayes so much loved with the beauties of our Language which they have in such perfection or at least that they will permit somewhat of this subject to fall from their hands amongst so many noble Works which daily proceed thence and do ravish into admiration all such as behold them It is not that I think of entering the lists with them or disputing against them the prize of Agriculture For although I know that it is this sort of Contention which is esteemed good and profitable amongst men by one of those ancient Philosophicall Poets whose Authority I have made use of at the beginning of this Preface notwithstanding I have no other thought in it but that of exciting them to appear in this field being ready to yeild them the pâ—ace so soon as they shall be pleased to take it and shall believe that I have entirely satisfied that passion which I have alwayes â—ad to be serviceable to the Gardiners if I may be so happy as to procure for them so good Masters THE Manner of Ordering Fruit-Trees CHAP. 1. Concerning Nurseries THe first and principall care which they ought to take who would have store of Plants and those faire is to have Nurseries of their own in which they may bring up Trees wherewith to plant their Gardens it being certain that Trees taken from such domestick Nurseries thrive much better then others procured from abroad because that being replanted presently after they have been taken up and meeting with earth of the same nature with that to which they have been accustomed they doe thereby grow again with the greater facility whereas on the contrary Trees brought from afar off are alwayes much changed in the transportation their roots often battered and spoyled and run a hazard of being hurt by Frosts so that they grow again with much more difficulty and ordinarily a great number of them die Besides that it is a great advantage to a Planter to be assured of the goodnesse of his Trees and of the kinde of their Fruit and by that meanes to avoyd the displeasure which often-times befalls those that buy of being forced to re-plant new Trees or to graffe again such as they have bought when they might have expected to enjoy their fruit To which may also further be added that such as bring not up Nurseries of their own cannot make large Plantations without great cost Some judge it more advantagious to take such Trees as have been brought up in a dry and barren soyle to replant them in a better than to chuse them from a good Ground being perswaded that these thirsty trees meeting with a fresh Earth doe immediately perceive that change and spring with the greater vigour But Reason and Experience teach us that Trees brought up in a hungry ground finding but little nourishment there doe likewise put forth but few roots and can therefore have but a small growth of body and that yellowish and mossy And although they be afterwards replanted in an excellent soyle having but few Roots they are not capable of drawing aboundantly that good nourishment which there they meet with and consequently of growing to any purpose Besides that their barke being already dry and withered for want of nourishment by reason of that small moysture which they found in that barren ground cannot easily receive the sap when it begins to ascend into the branches On the contrary Experience lets us see that Trees taken from a good ground have alwayes good store of Root the body strong and vigorous and that when they are re-planted in a soyle as good be it by Nature or Art they doe take againe very easily and sprout with great force CHAP. II. The manner of planting Nurseries and keeping them in order TO make a good Nursery care must be had especially of three things The first is To choose good Plants The second to place it in a good soyle And the third to dresse it well because the want of either of these three renders the two others useless To bring up a Nursery of Pear-trees * Apple-trees for High-standers and proper for the producing of large Trees you must choose Peare and Apple-stocks of one years growth onely These come of the kernels of those fruits which to that end must be sowne in March upon beds of earth well prepared after the same manner that Gardiners sow their seeds These kernels so sowne and weeded during the Summer wil put forth a twig strong enough to be planted in a Nursery the Winter following The way to procure such kernels with ease is to sift the huskes or remainder of Apples and Pears when the Perry and Sider is pressed from them But without taking this trouble you may buy or cause to be brought out of Normandy both these sorts of Plants already grown where they
sow great quantities of them The best Plant to graff such Apple-trees upon as you would have to grow against a wall in Pallisades or Hedges and such as you desire to keep low for dwarf-dwarf-trees is that of the b Paradise-Apple-tree which grows but little into wood bears quickly and much fruit These kindes of Plants are brought up of spriggs or cuttings put into the ground as also those of Quince-trees whereof I shall speak hereafter The a Sweeting is another kind of Apple-tree which comes very near to that of the Paradice-Apple and which likewise grows from a sprig but the Plant of it is not good for this purpose because it growes too much into wood and cannot be kept low as a dwarf or shrub To graff such Pear-trees upon as are proper to be planted against a wall b in hedges or to be kept low for Dwarf-standers the Plant of a Quince-tree proves the best because the Quince is naturally of a dwarfish stature and may very easily be kept low c Tree-stocks are not so proper for this use because they by nature shoot up too fast and if you cut off any branch to stop their growth and keep them low they put forth divers others with more force and so till they arrive at their full growth do produce nothing but wood and very little fruit And further that small quantity of fruit which they do bear is ordinarily greener more lateward and worse coloured than that of such trees as are graffed upon the Quince-stocks except the Portail which graffed upon a Pear-stock becomes very good provided that it be planted in a hot and gravelly soyle for in rich and cold grounds it hath no tast Next after the Portail those of Bezi-d'heri the a Beurre and the Orange-Pear prove better upon a Pear-stock then any others because they do ordinarily beare much Since then the nature of Peare-trees graffed upon a Peare-stock is to raise themselves into a great tree and to grow much in wood it is easie to be judged that if they be not plashed against very high walls where they may spread themselves with freedome they cannot take effect nor be proper for hedges or walls of ordinary height or be kept low except in a dry stony or sandy soile where meeting with a scant nourishment they cannot shoot upward with much force and therefore in such grounds they will soonest bear Some do more esteem those Peare-trees that are graffed upon a Tree-stock than those that are graffed upon a Quince because they think the fruit of these latter to be harsher and lesse delicate than the others Experience neverthelesse teacheth us that this opinion is not true and that the harshnesse which is sometimes found in those fruits that are graffed upon a Quince is not naturall to them but is either caused by the over-moist and grosse earth which nourishes them or by the too great quantity of dung wherewith the ground was manured when they were planted And indeed we may easily mark that this harshnesse grows lesse and passeth away as the dung consumes and the trees grow older 'T is for this reason therefore that trees ought never to be dunged when they are planted unlesse there be a necessity for it because the dung renders their fruit lesse delicate There are three severall sorts of Quince-trees The first is that which is called the Apple-quince-tree which beares a small fruit flat and round like an Apple This kinde is not good to graff Pears upon because its nature enclining to that of the Apple-tree agrees not with the Pear so that we see the Syens which are graffed on it do languish or dye immediately This sort of Quince-tree may be known by its leaf which is round and small and by its wood which is rough and full of suckers as also by its barke which is whitish The other two sorts of Quince-trees though both good to graff Pears upon both bearing fair fruit are yet very different the sap of the one being much sweeter then that of the other and consequently better This difference may be observed at the foot of old graffed trees one of these sorts not waxing big according to the proportion of the graff it beares and therefore makes a knobbe round about the joyning of the graffe in the fashion of a roll which spoyles the shape of the stemme and shewes that this kind of Quince-tree hath not the sap so plentifull nor so good as that which encreaseth equally with the graffe From whence we may easily conclude that this last kind is the best of all the three and that this is the true Quince-stock upon which a Peare should be graffed it being a certaine signe that the sappe is the most pleasant and most conformable of all others to the nature of the Pear-tree because both of them are so perfectly joyned together and do grow equally great this best kinde of Quince-tree may be known by its fruit which is longer and bigger then that of the other sorts it may also be known by its bark which is smoother blacker and clearer and by its leaf which is longer and bigger than the others Quince-stocks may be raised by sowing the kernels as I have said before but the best and more ready way is to have them from Shoots to which end you must plant great stocks of the best sort of Quince-trees about four foot assunder and at the time of the new Moon in March cut them at an inch above ground to the end that they may put forth store of young Shoots which must neither be stripped nor pruned for feare of withering but after they are shot up to the height of about a foot and halfe they must bee covered a foot high with good earth to which must be mingled a little rotten bedmould to make them take root the sooner The Winter following if these young Sprouts have put forth any roots they may be taken away though feeble and planted in the Nursery After these shoots are all taken off it will be necessary to cover the old stocks all the winter with a little earth to uncover them again in February to the end that they may put forth new Shoots which when grown up must be heaped with earth as the former and by this meanes you may gather every year good store of plants There is yet another way of raising Quince-stocks in good ground by couching some of the boughs of the trees in the earth in winter time as they do with Vines The same course may be taken to raise young plants of the Paradise-Apple but they are longer in growing then the Quinces The Plants proper for such Nurseries as are designed for the graffing of Peaches a Pavies Abricots and Plumms are those of young Damson-trees and S. Julien-plums because their sap is more pleasant than that of other Plummes and also because they last the longest Some there are that plant stocks of Abricots and