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
whatsoever were desireable for the Furniture of such a Ground with the most excellent and Warantable Fruit I say Warantable because it is peculiarly due to their honnest Industry and so rarely to be met with elsewhere and other Accessories to Gardens of all Denominations as in that Vast and ample Collection which I have lately seen and well consider'd at Brompton Park near Kensington The very sight of which alone gives an Idea of something that is greater than I can well express without an endumeration of Particulars and of the exceeding Industry Method and Address of those who have undertaken and Cultivated it for publick Use I mean Mr. George London chief Gardner to their Majesties and his Associate Mr. Henry Wise For I have long observ'd from the daily practice and effects of the laudable Industry of these two Partners that they have not made Gain the only mark of their Pains But with Extraordinary and rare Industry endeavour'd to improve themselves in the Mysteries of their Profession from the great Advantages and now long Experience they have had in being Employ'd in most of the celebrated Gardens and Plantations which this Nation abounds in besides what they have learn'd Abroad and where Horticulture is in highest Reputation I find they not only understand the Nature and Genius of the several Soils but their usual Infirmities proper Remedies Composts and Applications to Reinvigorate exhausted Mould sweeten the foul and tainted and reduce the Sower Harsh Stuborn and Dry or over moist and diluted Earth to its genuine Temper and Constitution and what Aspects and Situations are proper for the several sorts of Mural Standard Dwarf and other Fruite-trees They have made Observations and given me a Specimen of that long but hitherto wanting particular of Discriminating the several kinds of Fruits by their Characteristical Notes from a long and Critical observation of the Leafe Tast Colour and other distinguishing Qualities So as one shall not be impos'd upon with Fruits of Several Names when as in truth there is but one due to them For instance in Peares alone a Gentleman in the Country sends to the Nuseries for the Liver Blanch Piguigny de chouille Rattau blane c. the English St. Gilbert Cranbourn Pears and several other names when all this while they are no other than the well known Cadillac The same also hap'ning in Peaches Apples Plums Cherris and other Fruit for want of an accurate examination by comparing of their Taste and those other Indications I have mentioned For which Gentlemen complain and not without cause that the Nursery-Men abuse them when 't is their Ignorance or the Exotic Name of which they are so fond I find they have likewise apply'd themselves to attain a sufficient Mastery in Lines and Figures for general design and expeditious Methods for casting and leveling of Grounds and to bring them into the most apt Form they are capable off which requires a particular Address and to determine the best Proportions of Walks and Avenues Starrs Centers c. suitable to the lengths and how and with what materials whether Gravel Carpet c. to be layed They have a numerous Collection of the best Designs and I perceive are able of themselves to Draw and contrive other applicable to the places when busie Works and Parterrs of Imbroidery for the Coronary and Flower Gardens are proper or desired And where Fountaines Statues Vasas Dials and other decorations of Magnificence are to be plac'd with most advantage To this add a plentiful and choice Collection of Orange-trees Lemon Mertil Baies Jassmines and all other Rarities and Exotics requiring the Conservatory after they have embellish't their proper stations abroad during the Summer and for continuing a no less ornament in the Green-House during Winter They have a very brave and noble Assembly of the Flowery and other Trees Perennial and variegated Ever-Greens and shrubs hardy and fittest for our Climate and understand what best to plant the humble Boscage Wilderness or taller Groves with where and how to dispose and govern them according as Ground and situation of the place requires both for shelter and ornament For which purpose and for Walks and Avenues they have store of Elms Limes Platans Constantinople-Chesnuts Black-Cherry-trees c. Nor are they I perceive less knowing in that most useful though less pompous part of Horticulture the Potagere Meloniere Culinarie Gardent Where they should most properly be plac'd for the use of the Family how to be planted furnish'd and Cultivated so as to afford great pleasure to the Eye as well as profit to the Master And they have also Seeds Bulbs Roots Slips for the Flowery Garden and shew how they ought to be order'd and maintain'd Lastly I might super-add the great number of Grounds and Gardens of Noble-men and Persons of Quality which they have made and planted ab Origine and are still under their Care and inspection though at Considerable Distances and how exceedingly they prosper to justifie what I have freely said in their behalf And as for the Nursery part in Voucher and to make good what I have said on that particular one needs no more than take a Walk to Brompton Park upon a fair Morning to behold and admire what a Magazine these Industrious Men have provided fit for age and Choice in their several Classes and all within one Inclosure Such an Assembly I believe as is no where else to be met with in this Kingdom nor in any other that I know of I cannot therefore forbear to Publish after all the Encomiums of this great Work of Mounsâ— de la Quintinye which I confess are very just what we can and are able to perform in this part of Agriculture and have some Amaenities and advantages peculiar to our own which neither France nor any other Couutry can attain to and is much due to the Industry of Mr. London and Mr. Wise and to such as shall Imitate their Laudable Undertankings Be this then for their Encouragement and to gratifie such as may need or require their Assistance J. EVELYN CAbala sive Scrinia Sacra Mysteries of State and Government in Letters of Illustrious Persons and Great Ministers of State as well Foreign as Domestick in the Reigns of King Henry the Eighth Queen Elizabeth King James and King Charles Wherein such Secrets of Empire and Publick Affairs as were then in Agitation are clearly Represented and many remarkable Passages faithfully Collected To which is added in this Third Edition A Second Part consisting of a Choice Collection of Original Letters and Negotiations never before published With two Exact Tables to each Part the one of the Letters and the other of the most Remarkable Occurrences Essays of Michael Seigneur de Montaigne In Three Books With Marginal Notes and Quotations of the cited Authors And an Account of the Authour's LIFE To which is added a short Character of the Authour and Translator by way of Letters Writen by a Person of Honour New rendred
Branches as grow and spread on the same side of a Wall-Tree A Mother Branch is a Branch that after its last Pruning has shot forth other new Branches And thus we say that in Pruning no young Branches are to be left upon the Mother Branches but such as contribute to the Beauty of the figure of the Tree Main or whole Branches are called Arms and Limbs Branches Chifonnes Skrubbed or Shrubbie Branches are such as are very small and very short or Skrubbed whether they be of but of one or more years growth and because they do but stuff a Tree with a confused quantity of unless Leaves must therefore be taken clean away Water Branches or Water shoots or Water Boughs are such Boughs that on Standards being shaded and dript upon remain smooth and naked without Buds which are as I suppose those which our Authour calls Jarrets or Hams See Hams A Wood Branch is a Branch that springing out of the last years Pruning in a regular and natural order is reasonably thick A half Wood Branch or Branch of half Wood is a Branch that being too small for a Wood Branch and two thick for a Fruit Branch must be shortned to the length of two or three Inches to make it produce other new ones that may be better either for Wood or Fruit and at the same time contribute to the Beauty of the figure and to spend off and divert some of the over Luxuriant vigour of the Tree Branchss of False Wood are such as shoot from any other part of the Tree than that which was Pruned last year or else suâ—h as though they spring from the last Pruning are thick and gouty in those places where they should be slender The main Running Branches of Melons or Cucumbers are called Vines To break off See pinch and Brout and Brouse To break up Is said properly of plowing or digging up Ground that never was tilled before or at least not a long time To Brouse or Brout in French Brouter is to break off the extreamities of small Branches when they are too long in proportion to their vigour Brugnons See Nectarins Bruised Fruit that is bruised in falling without piercing the skin is called in French Cottii or Squatted A Bud is the Head of a Young shoot that begins to peep out A Young Bud or Eye is a Bud as 't were in its first Seed and principles when it just only appears in the Bark of the Tree before it swells to peep or shoot forth To Bud is to Graff by Inoculation or set a young Bud of one Tree into another an operation to be performed about Mid-summer See Innoculate and Inoculation and Graffing in the fifth part of this Work Well Buddod or well set Trees is said of those Fruit-Trees that have abundance of Fruit Buds and the contrary of those that are not so A Bucket or Tub used by Gard'ners sometimes to sow some choice particular Seeds in they are made sometimes square or oblong but most commonly round and about the bigness of a Barrel The French call them Baquets See Tubs Bulls or Bulbous Roots are all such Roots as are Roundish and Coat upon Coat like Onions as those of Garlick Tulips c. and are mostly propagated by Off-sets And accordingly in French they are called by the general name of Onions Mother Bubs are those which produce Off-sets A Bunch is a common Term as a Bunch of Radishes Turneps c. Bunch is also said of Grapes or any Fruit that produces several Fruit upon one stalk as also of knots of Wood c. Burly-Trees are said to be or grow Burly when a Graff grows bigger than the stock it is Graffed upon which is asign the stock or wilding is not vigorous enough The French term is Burlet Bubo is said of some Fruit Shrubs as a Curran-Bush a Goose-berry-Bush c. Also the tops of Dwarf-Trees are said to be Bushie when the Branches grow into a Tuft Bushel A French-Bushel is a measure containing near a peck and half English or 20 pound weight To Butt See Hillock A Button is a round and turgid swelling Bud containing the Blossoms that produce the Fruit in any Tree in Kernal Fruit every Bud contains several Blossoms and in stone Fruit but one C. CAbbage a known Plant. To Cabbage or Pome is to curl or fold up into a round firm head like a Cabbage or an Apple Thus not only Cabbage but Lettuce is said to Cabbage or Pome and Artichokes are said to Pome See Pome Calebas is a term used for Plums that in the Month of May instead of Plumping or preserving their Green grow broad lank and Whitish and at last fall off without Plumping at all A Canker is a sort of Scurf Scabbiness or dry Rot in Trees which breeds both in the Bark and in the Wood and most infests the little Muscat and Robine and Bergamot Pear-Trees as well in their Stems or Bodies as in their Branches Capers and Capucin Capers see them described in the sixth part treating peculiarly of Kitchen-Gardens Caprons are Straw-berry Plants that have large Velvet Leaves and bear large Whitish Straw-berries which have but a faint taste and are not very Fruitful and therefore not much valued A Carpet Walk is a Green Walk of Grass Camomil or the like kept neat and even with mowing and rolling See Walk Cases or Boxes are conveniences made of Wood to plant some certain rare and tender Plants as Orange-Trees in c. See Boxes To Castrate or Geld is said of Cutting or Pinching of the superfluous shoots of Melons Cucumbers c. Castings of Ponds or Ditches Is the slime or mud cast out of Ponds or Ditches which after it has been a while exposed to the Sun is profitably used to recruit improve or amend exhausted or lean Ground To Chap is said of the Ground or of any Wood or Fruit that cleaves and gapes by any cause whatsoever Chalk and Chalkie Earth See Earth Chassis See Class Frames Cherry-Gardens or Cherry-Orchards or Cherry-Plantations are known terms There are in France some Cherry-plantations in the open fields confining upon the Vine-Yards of some miles extent and the like there are of Plums Olives c. Stock Cherry-Trees are Cherry-Trees sprung from the Roots of others which yet bears good Cherries without being Graffed Chevreuses are Hairy or Goat Peaches so called because they are Hairy like Goats Chevre signifying a Goat Chevreuses are Peachos Hairy like Goats See Goat Peaches Chovons Colly-flower plant in Flowers Cions or Scions are young slips or suckers of any Tree fit to Graff See Scions Circumposion See Baskets A Glass is a rank or order by which things are sorted and in which they are placed Claws or Fangs called in French Patts See Fangs Clay or Clayie Ground are terms well known see Earth Cleanse as to Cleanse a Tree of Moss Scab or Canker Gum Rust Vermin and their Eggs c. Clear as to Clear a Tree of some of its superfluous
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
Pruning I leave long and with Props which I six deep in the Earth I support and keep tight and firm those Branches so laden with their Fruit which by that Artifice acquires that goodness which the open Air only can give it and which we have newly described 'T is true there is some Subjection and Pains required to do this well and the Symmetry and beauty of our Wall-Plantation is thereby a little disfigured whilst the Fruit is on the Trees so that the Eyes of all Persons that look upon it are not so well pleased as otherwise but that fault is amply recompensed as well by the beauty of the colour and the smoothness of the Skin as by that rich taste in the Fruit which cannot be had otherwise And as soon as the Fruit is gathered the Branches are put back again to the Wall and fastned in the same places they were in before so that no Body can see they have been ever medled with I could not forbear mentioning here this Fancy I have had for Branches so drawn forward It is certain then that almost all sorts of Peaches placed in the full Air in such kind of high fenced City Gardens as we have mentioned so luckily hit to produce such rare and delicious Fruit that one would think it grew in some enchanted place rather than in a Garden cultivated by human Art There are only some Avant-Peaches or Forward-Peaches Troy-Peaches White-Maudlins and backward Violet-Peaches which are not so happy as the rest These last not finding heat enough there and the wood of the others being too delicate and tender to endure the open Air. As for those Gardens that are a little exposed to the Winds not only all their Peach-Blossoms are frost-bitten every year and so afford the owners no satisfaction but also the wood of their Trees either dies or grows so scabby and ugly that they are little better than if they were quite dead for which Reason after I had obstinately continued a long time to bring up Dwarf-Peach-trees in several Gardens in the Country as I had done at Paris I was at last forced to renounce all hopes of making them turn to account that way and trust only to our Wall Trees But to return to the pursuit of the Contestation of Fruits concerning the point of Precedence in Wall-Plantations I do not believe any Body would offer to put up Pears here to pretend to Precedence in the good places in dispute to the prejudice of the Muscat-grapes Peaches Figgs c. whatever merits Pears may otherwise have and which we readily acknowledge in them and particularly in the Boncretiens that are fair large long and coloured with a lovely red for we have other Fruits that undoubtedly far excell them much less still will any pretend to propose in this Dispute either Apricocks or Early Cherries or Azerolls or Garden-Haws They would have the disgrace of a repulse if they should engage them in it but we shall do all of them that honour which is their due when their turn comes so that their Protectors if there should appear any to put in any such claim for them shall have no reason to be discontent There are few persons that have yet thought of declaring in favour of good Plums in this Contestation I do not say all sorts of Plums but only four or five of the best sorts and that may perhaps be because they have not yet proved with what incomparable delicacy what exquisite taste and what sugred sweetness Wall-Plums are enriched not only in comparison of those of their own Kind that grow in the open Air but even of all other Fruits a difference very surprizing in it self but still more when we consider how difficult it is to render a good reason why a Wall should produce so contrary an effect in Plums to what it do's in other Fruits it being very certain that Plums very considerably improve in goodness by the Wall whereas other Fruits no less considerably impair theirs in the same situation Perhaps I would put my self willingly at the head of those Gentlemen that in the present Competition would be for giving to the good Wall-Plums the Precedence before all other Fruits And to make good my Cause I would readily produce a Basket full of good Violet-Perdigon-Plums full ripe and curiously dewed or flower'd mixed with some white Perdigons some St. Catharine Plums and some Apricock-Plums being well assured that the eyes of all the Spectators would be much moved to favour my Plea by so lovely a sight that their taste would almost convince them of its Justice and in fine that all that would procure me a great many Backers and make my party considerably strong CHAP VIII A Treatise of Figs. BUT good Figs put a peaceable end to all these Contestations carrying away the prize without Contradiction as being assuredly the most delicious Fruit that can be had in a Wall-plantation I do not say that 't is in strict truth the most considerable Fruit the Earth produces in this Country no in my Judgment no Fruit can vie for excellence with a Musk-Melon that is perfectly good and well qualified a thing so rare and especially in this Country that it has given occasion to take a Proverb from it to express the rarity of all that may be good But the Musk-Melon has nothing to do here it 's Business is to creep on the Earth whereas our dispute here is only among those Fruits which may be brought to any perfection by us in Wall-Plantations A good Fig then is that which above all Fruit deserves among us the best place in a Wall-Plantation though in hot Countries a Wall might incommode it But to Judge by outward appearances both of its excellency and by consequence of the high esteem it deserves we need but only observe the shrugging up of the Shoulders and the motion of the Eye-brows of those that eat them and what great quantities of them may be eaten without at all indangering the Health Besides it has the advantage to bear twice a year that is to say first in the Months of July and August which first Figs are called Fig-Flowers and the second time in September and October which are called Second Figs. This Advantage I say is of wonderful importance to the maintaining them in the first Rank which they so rightfully ought to Possess I might here tell you by the way this truth that among the second ones those which ripen in the beginning of September before there come any Frost have in my Opinion both a more sugred pulp and a richer taste and consequently are better though a little lesser than the first the reason of which is palpable enough it being because the September Figs were formed in the fairest Season of the Year and nourished with a juice well concocted and wrought up to a great Perfection whereas the Fig-Flowers have had all the cold and all
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.
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-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
shoot many precious Branches that deserve to be preserv'd with much Care These last Prunings we are now explaining are of great use for the grand Pruning that is to be perform'd the following Year in cleansing a Tree from all superfluous and half-dead Branches which wou'd only create a Confusion They Strengthen other Branches that will be of use in the Sequel by affording them the Sap which wou'd be wasted on those scurvy ones that can never be of any use and must of Course be taken away the Winter following It likewise contributes towards the Beauty and Goodness of the Fruit and serves to keep a Tree equally well furnish'd so that by that means seldom or never any Defects wou'd appear upon any of those Peach-Trees unless they were persecuted by that cursed Gum. These are the Consequences of those kind of Branches upon which the above-mention'd Prunings are perform'd I desire all Gard'ners to follow this Discussion exactly These Branches which I have a particular regard for in relation to Fruit shall have perform'd one of these six things First They may either have produc'd almost in their whole Extent a great deal of Fruit and fine Branches or much Fruit and ugly Branches By fine Branches here I mean such as are thick enough to prove Fruit-Branches the following Year and in the mean time bear abundance of fine Leaves And on the contrary I call those poor and ugly that are short and slender and are incapable of bearing Fruit only producing small Leaves Secondly Those Fruit-Branches may chance only to have born Fruit upon part of their Length for Example the fourth part third or half c. and to have shot either fine or ugly Branches every where or in some part and all this perchance towards the upper end and sometimes towards the lower Thirdly They may chance to have produc'd no Fruit but abundance of fine Branches or many altogether ugly and useless Fourthly They may only have produc'd a single Branch on the Extremity with abundance of Fruit every where or without any Fruit any where Fifthly They may only have produc'd one single Fruit on the Extremity with some Branches in part of their Extent Lastly They may be kill'd with Gum or Cold in their whole Extent or only towards the Extremity I have had the Experience of all these Cases several times in all which I have held the following Method In the first part of the first Case in which the Fruit-Branches shall have produc'd Fruit and fine Branches in the best part of their Extent we may rejoice at the Abundance for without doubt all will go well since the Appearances are so fair as far as the Month of May Some of the Fruit only must be taken away where it lies so close that we may have cause to believe that in growing they might obstruct each other for that wou'd spoil it And likewise in case any Confusion be threaten'd by that Multitude of new Branches some of the meanest and worst plac'd may be remov'd It is always to be wish'd that the Lot of being retrench'd may fall upon the farthest In the second Part of the first Case in which the Branch has produc'd a great deal of Fruit but no fine Branches on the contrary all weak and useless the best part of the Fruit must be taken away since it wou'd neither grow beautiful nor good only some of that which looks best and is best plac'd may be preserv'd that is that which grows in the lowest part of the Branch At the same time the said Branch must be very much shorten'd to reduce it to the second or third Eye or Bud of the bottom in order to strengthen some of the best Branches that are upon it for the next Year In the second Case in which the Fruit-Branch only produces Fruit upon part of its Length if the Fruit be grown upon the lower part of it the Branch must be preserv'd and shorten'd close to that among the new ones which appears finest and nearest to that Fruit it is enough when there remains one or two passable good ones In case the Fruit be pretty abundant and towards the upper Extremity that having likewise pretty fine Branches that Fruit must likewise be preserv'd and all the useless Branches remov'd in the manner abovesaid only preserving one or two of those that appear the finest whatever part they be in especially being in the lower part where we are always desirous of them for as to the Fruit 't is always well plac'd where-ever it be even at the end of the Branches provided always that in preserving one or two fine Branches on the Extremity of a Fruit-Branch that has been kept of a great length you must resolve the following Year to retrench both the Mother and Daughter or Daughters otherwise one part wou'd grow too thin In the first part of the third Case in which the Branch has really produc'd no Fruit but to make amends has shot a great many fine new Branches in such a Case I say it is fit as much as can be to preserve the best of those Branches being careful of not letting any of them grow stronger than the other especially towards the Extremity for such a Branch wou'd ruin all the lower therefore such a Branch must be wholly taken away and Pinch'd or broken within two or three Eyes or Buds as we have heretofore explain'd In the second Part of that third Case in which the Fruit-Branch has neither been fortunate in Fruit nor in Wood of a favourable Growth you must wholly shorten such a Branch to a single one of those it has produc'd and chuse the lowest in hopes to strengthen it to make it good for the next Year or take it quite away it not answering our Intentions In the first Part of the Fourth Case in which the Fruit-Branch has only produc'd a single Branch on the Extremity with abundance of Fruit every where I am of Opinion that such a Branch shou'd be preserv'd provided it does not incline to become a Branch for Wood in which case it must be broken pretty short So that in case such a Branch be but moderately thick it promises much for the following Year and as for all the little diminutive Branches that grow among the Fruit it bears we Prune them as we have declar'd in the Exposition of the second Case Therefore there is yet more reason to use all the little Branches we meet with here without Fruit in the Extent of the Branch in debate in the same manner being certain that for the generality they shoot no more being all at a stand in the Month of June So that all our Comfort for the following Year lies in the fine Fruit-Branch that offers it self here on the Extremity of the Branch that has blossom'd to no purpose in all its Extent In the fifth Case in which the Branch that was left long to bear a great deal of Fruit has yet been so unfortunate or
during all the time of it's Tenderest Infancy Shade being so very necessary at that time that without it the Peach might perish being uncover'd before its being come to some Maturity Autumn and Winter Pears especially such as are recommendable for the largeness of their Size for instance Beurre or Butter-Pears Bon Chretiens Virgoulee c. do likewise stand in need of that Picking or culling of Fruits by reason that too many of them being left together upon one Knob they will seldom prove very fine one will suffice upon each or two at most and even those must appear pretty large according to the Season and both of an equal Size for the one being less than the other will always remain so and consequently ill favour'd which far from deserving to be preserv'd since it could not attain the Size it ought to have only serves to wrong the other which would have thriven the better had it remain'd alone upon that Bud. As for Summer Pears for instance small Muscat Robins Cassolets Rousselets c. there is no such absolute necessity to Pick them they must only be us'd like Plums and Cherries they are Fruits of an Ordinary and Regular Size and are commonly good of all Sizes provided they be Ripe and not tainted by Worms Thirdly It must be noted that when the Branches of Peach-Trees upon which in Pruning we have left as many Blossoms as we thought fit which as we have already noted is always to some Kind of excess when those Branches I say do not appear in the Month of May to receive Considerable Succors of new Sap so as to thicken or to shoot fine Branches on their extremities In that Case as I have declared more at large in the Treatise of Pruning we must not only take away a great part of the Fruit which is aready knit upon them but even shorten the Branch extreamly and that to that part from which the finest Shoot proceeds for otherwise certainly the best part of the Fruit would drop before its being Ripe or at least would remain very small and Consequently bad it being most certain especially as to Stone Fruit that unless they approach to that Size which is proper to their kind they never attain the delicacy they ought to have The Peaches remain Shaggy and Green and do not quit the stone they are Sowrish and Bitterish the Pulp is Rough and Course and often Mealy the Stone is much larger than it should be all which are certain Marks of an ill Peach Fourthly The Pears which remain in too great a Number are apt not only to hinder each other from thickning but likewise to Rot the Air and the Wind not having a free passage about them this Inconveniency is sufficient to Inform us that part of them must be taken away that the remainder may be at more Liberty and Ease In my Opinion it is very necessary to Observe in this Place that it is absolutely necessary especially in relation to Winter Bon Chrestien Pears in the Months of April and May which is the time in which they begin to appear Knit and Form'd to be greatly Careful to destroy small Black Caterpillars which are very numorous at that Season which otherwise would gnaw the Rind of those Pears which is the Reason we often meet with them crooked and uneven CHAP. II. To Learn to uncover at a proper Time certain Fruits which require it FRUITS being thus pick'd upon every Tree they thicken by degrees under the Leaf some more others less every one according to its kind some sooner and others later each according to the time Nature has design'd for their Maturity but whereas the Red or Carnation Colour are necessary to certain Fruits which may receive it if not hinder'd or not have it if hinder'd for there are some which absolutely can never attain it what ever may be done for Instance White Peaches Verte Longue or Long-Green Green Sugar Pears White Figs c. there are likewise others which thonever so cover'd ever receives the Colour of their Kind for example Cherries Rasberries Strawberries c. Whereas I say Colour as to certain Fruits is a very material condition in order to render them the more valuable and that they can never attain that Colour in Ripening unless the Rays of the Sun light directly upon them it is proper at certain times to remove some Leaves which shade them too much and consequently are prejudicial to them in relation to that Colouring nay more they are prejudicial as to the Maturity of those Fruits it being most certain for the generality that a Fruit much cover'd with Leaves cannot Ripen altogether so soon as another which is more expos'd and moreover has not so much delicacy But a great deal of Prudence and Discretion must be us'd in this case and care taken not to uncover Fruits until they have almost attain'd their proper size and begin to lose the great Greenness they had till then Fruits begin to thicken from the moment they are Knit until the beginning of June and afterwards as Gard'ners say they remain for a considerable space in a kind of Lethargy without thickening at least Visibly for I do not question but they thicken a little and that above all some Matter enters into the Inside of the Body of the Fruit since the Roots are continually preparing some and sending it immediately upwards this matter indeed remains press'd under the Rind which is the reason Fruit is so hard at that time but finally the time which is regulated for their Maturity approaching this very matter tho' condens'd begins to rarify and to extend in few days whereby the Fruits begin to sosten and thicken more and consequently to approach to Maturity This is the only proper time to uncover them at two or three different times and that during the space of five or six days for if they wereuncover'd sooner or all at once the great heat of the Sun would certainly occasion a great disorder upon that tender Rind not yet accustom'd to the open Air this truth is confirm'd by too many Experiences when either through the Ignorance of an unskilful Gard'ner or by some unlucky Frosts the Fruits are uncover'd before that time the same cause which splits the Rind of Fruits likewise dries up the Stalks and Consequently the Fruit Withers and Rots as it happens pretty often in Vinyards which at the beginning of Autumn are afflicted with some over hastly Frosts Let us return to the Colour which is desirable for most Fruits and say that it Imprints it self in few days on those that have been long cover'd as it appears by Peaches Apricocks and especially on the Quince Apples c. and that therefore those are much to blame who neglect the procuring of so great an advantage to their Fruit when it is so easily done Moreover in order to render that Colour more Bright and Lively it is not improper to use a kind of Seringe made on
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
the Earth is light and hot than they do at Versailles where the Ground is cold and course All those places are too near one another to impute those differences in point of Maturity to the Sun besides there is a difference between the immediate heat of the Sun in respect to the maturity of Fruits and the immediate heat of the Fire in respect to the Meat it Rosts or Boils Fire first affecting the Exteriour parts of the Meat which are nearest to it before it performs its Function on the inside which is at more distance whereas the Sun Ripens the inward parts before the Exteriour in effect the inward part of Fruits always Ripens first and soften first and likewise commonly is the soonest spoil'd If I may be allow'd to declare the Reason which to me seems most plausible in this Point I shall say in the first place that Maturity proceeds from two Causes the one near and immediate which is the heated Air the other not indirect and distant and that is the Sun which heats that Air so that the Function of the Sun is to heat the Air as much as the Winds will allow and the Function of the Air so heated is to impart its heat to the Earth and so to all the Plants this Earth thus heated causes first the Principle of Life which lies near the Root to Act and then the Root it self which consequently prepares Sap as soon as it is put in Action and that Sap at the same time rises to perform its Function into all the Superiour parts where it can penetrate In the second place I shall say that the Air of every Climate is in probability compos'd or at least considerably mix'd with the Vapours and Exhalations which rise from the Earth of that Climate which in my Opinion is the Reason of Peoples saying that the Air of such a Country is good and the Air of such another is bad Thirdly I shall say that it follows from thence that that Air is more or less easie to be heated according as the Earth from which those Vapours rise is more or less cold and material for those Vapours participate altogether to the Nature of that Earth and therefore that as in light Earths the Air sooner receives the impression of heat by reason of its being form'd by more subtle Vapours it consequently the sooner heats both that Earth and the whole Body of the Tree and the Plant it nourishes which is the Reason that it is the Roots being sooner heated at such times and in such Earth and consequently the Saps being sooner prepar'd which form inwardly in those Fruits the first degrees of Maturity Therefore it is certain that the Air according to its being more or less thick is also more or less apt to receive heat and that according to its degrees of heat it either advances or does not advance Maturity as it has advanc'd or not advanc'd the heat of the Earth Therefore the forwardness or backwardness of Maturity depends on the Conditions above explain'd in so muuch that they must all Combine that is that Fruit in order to Ripen betimes must Knit betimes and next must meet with a favourable Exposure a hot Clime and light Earth CHAP. VI. Of the Particular Marks of Maturity in every kind of Fruit and first of Summer Fruits which Ripen altogether upon the Tree ACcording to the Natural Order of the Maturity of Fruits of every Season the Honour of Eldership certainly belongs to early Cherries and next to Strawberries Raspberries and Goosberries c. The first commonly begin to appear in the Month of May and that a little sooner or a little later according as the Conditions we have Explain'd are more or less favourable Strawberries begin to Blossom about the middle of April or a little before in good Situations and in cold places not before the latter end of April or in the beginning of May and happily none of those small Frosts which are apt to blacken and spoil those first Blossoms intervening Ripe Strawberries may be expected at a Months end And as for early Cherries that have Blossom'd about the middle of March we may expect to have them about the beginning of May not altogether Ripe but half Red with which Colour they may serve as well as if they had attain'd a full Maturity since they are only considerable and valued for their Novelty especially by Ladies for after all at that time it is only a little colour'd Cloak which only serves to cover a little sower Pulp and a large Stone and therefore they stand in need of the assistance of a Confectioner to require an Excellency which the Gard'ner or rather the Sun has not had time to afford them The Trees of a pretty Cold Climate Blossom almost as soon as those of a Climate that is somewhat hotter by Reason that the opening of those Blossoms seems to be perform'd independantly from the Action of the Roots witness the Branches that Blossom being Cut the bare force of the Rarefaction caus'd in the Bud by the presence of the first Rays of the Sun is capable of producing this Effect but as for the maturity of every Fruit it can only be perform'd and perfected First by a great Concurrency of the Operation of the Roots and Secondly by a certain degree of Heat in the Air which is necessary for the Perfection of that Master-piece Now this Heat both in the Earth and in the Air can only proceed regularly from the Rays of the Sun and yet I dare affirm that I have been so happy as to imitate it in little for some small Fruits I have made some to Ripen five or six Weeks before their time for instance Strawberries at the end of March and Pease in April Figs in June Asparagus and Cabbage-Lettuce in December January c. But we can find no facilitations to imitate this Heat in Great to cause the Fruits of Large Trees to Ripen in an extraordinary manner therefore it is apparent that tho' Nature has abandon'd the Earth to us leaving it in our Power to Heat some Portion thereof to make it produce against its will by means of a Foreign borrow'd Heat what we have a mind to has notwithstanding reserv'd to it self in a particular manner the Universal Faculty of the maturity of Fruits this maturity in relation to us is the Finisher and Perfection of the production of the Earth in so much that without it all our Cares and Industry for the generality only afford us some hopes which often prove false and deluding I have said heretofore that we may begin to have some early Cherries in the Month of May those small Fruits have an open Field at that Time they are the only that appear in our Gardens and that grace our Tables they are Rival'd by no others until the end of the Month which is the time of the displaying or opening the Grand Magazine of the other Red Fruits and these remain in
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
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