frequent Tilths partly destroy the Ancient Maxims which had Establish'd but one Tillage for every Season and what I like most in them is that at least they establish the Necessity and consequently the Usefulness of them But I add that they are not sufficient unless during their Intervals care be taken to scrape or pull out those ill Weeds which especially in the Summer and in Autumn grow upon Earths and then Multiply ad Infinitum when they are suffer'd to run up to Seed We must say here by the by that the times in which Trees bloslom and the Vine shoots are very dangerous for Tillage it must never be performed at those Times neither about those Trees or Vines the Earth being newly stir'd in the Spring exhales abundance of Vapours which upon the least white hoary Frosts which are common at that Season being stopt near the Surface of the Earth stick upon the Blossoms soften and moisten them in so much that rendring them susceptible to the Frost they contribute to kill them Earths that are not Till'd at that time and consequently are hard about the Surface are not subject to exhale so many Vapors and therefore not subject to so many Accidents of Frost From what I have said heretofore to favour the Nourishment of our Trees it follows that I condemn those who Sow or Plant either many Pot-herhs or Strawberries or Flowers near the Foot of their Trees such Plants being certainly very prejudicial to them The Rule I Practise for the Culture or Tillage that is to be perform'd about our Trees as well in the Winter as in the Spring in dry light Earths is to allow them a large one at the Entrance of the Winter and the like as soon as it is past to the end that the Rains and Snows of the Winter and the Rains of the Spring may easily penetrate into our Earth and as for the strong and moist Earths I give them a small Tillage in the Month of October only to remove the Weeds and tarry to give them a large one at the end of April or the beginning of May when the Fruit is absolutely knit and the great Moistures over thus the Surface of that Earth being kept hard firm and close has left but little passage for the Waters of the Winter and Spring which we have no occasion here for the Snow being melted without having been capable of penetrating remains part upon the Surface where it is converted into Vapors and the rest following the Declivities of the Place descends into the Neighbouring Rivers I must needs say in this Place that nothing moistens so much and penetrates so far as the Water of melted Snow I have seldom known Water to penetrate above a foot deep whereas the Water of Snow will penetrate two or three Foot as well because it is heavier than common Rain Water as by reason that as it melts slowly and by degrees and from the undermost part of the Mass of Snow it soaks in with more ease without being hindred by the Wind or by the heat of the Sun Therefore as much as I dread abundance of Snow upon strong moist Grounds and cause it to be remov'd from about our Fruit-Trees I like it and cause it to be gather'd in dry Earths there to make a kind of Magazine of Moisture and especially in those Earths I cause that which lyes and is of no use in the Walks to be taken up and thrown into the Bordures of the Espaliers or Wall-Trees and particularly to the Expositions of the South which in the Summer time want most moisture and the same into the Exposures of the East even in strong Earths by reason that the Summer Showrs seldom falling upon them the ground of those Expositions remains commonly dryer than the rest and consequently the Trees are thereby expos'd to suffer This Necessity of Tillage which I recommend and advise is sometimes contradicted by the success of certain Trees which being cover'd with Pavement or beaten Gravel about the Foot do notwithstanding thrive well though they are never Till'd to which I have two things to say in answer the First That as commonly such Trees are plac'd under Spouts or Gutters a great deal of Water falls upon them which penetrating through the Crany's of the Pavement or through the beaten Gravel furnishes a sufficient Nourishment for the Roots The Second is That the moisture which has thus penetrated into those Grounds cover'd with Pavement preserves it self much better in it and longer than in others the wind and the heat of the Sun not being capable to destroy it yet notwithstanding I still recommend Tillage as well for the good of the Earth and Plants as for the Pleasure of the Eye the Universal Experience we have of it can never be destroy'd by so small an Objection no more than the use of Bread and Cloathing can be condemn'd although the Savages do not understand it Fig-Trees Orange-Trees and other Plans and Shrubs in Cases sufficiently justifie the Use of Tilling or breaking of the Ground to give a Passage to the Water or Waterings without which they Pine and often Perish CHAP. XXII Of Amendments or Improvements AFTER having explain'd the Motive Use and Manner of Tillage we must do the same thing about Amendments which are nothing but a bettering or recovering of Earth we have already said that this Improvement might be done with all manner of Dung of which we must now explain the Motive Use and Manner As to the Motive it is likewise certain that when we amend or Dung the Ground it is with an Intention of affording Fruitfulness to that which wants it that is that which has many defects and consequently little Disposition towards Production or else to preserve it when it has it and might lose it unless it received from time to time some necessary Reparations according to the Productions we require of it either beyond its Capacity or conformably to its Power and likewise to amend it more or less according to its Temper whether good or bad For Example There must be a great deal of Dung to produce Pot-herbs which grow in a short time abundantly and succeed each other quickly in a small compass of Ground which without that might grow barren on the other hand Trees require but little or none for their Nourishment by reason that being long a-growing they make but inconsiderable Productions compar'd to the Ground they take up and Lastly Though they remain long in one and the same Place yet by means of their Roots which stretch out to the right and left they make a shift to pick up the Nourishment that is proper for them far and near I add that the Earth which has a great deal of Fruitfulness in it self requires less than that which has but little and Finally Cold moist Earth requires more than those that are hot and dry Certainly and no body can be ignorant of it the great defects of Earth consists as
Trees we commonly find but one upon a Stalk and they grow upon the Boughs Chequerwise in little Stories or Steps at a small distance from each other But nevertheless in some Trees we find growing upon one Stalk three five or seven Leaves as in the Elder Walnut and Rose-Lawrel-Tree upon others seven nine or eleven as in the Ash-Tree Nay upon others to the number of seventeen nineteen and twenty one as in the Acacia but always with an odd Number And it is observable that when so many Leaves are found upon one Stalk they never grow in Stories or Chequer'd as I just now affirm'd but are diametrically opposite one to another In Mulberry-Trees we see that in May out of every Eye or Bud that was upon the Branches of the precedent Year there grow ordinarily four or five Mulberries Nay sometimes there appears a new Shoot which is either longer or shorter in proportion to the quantity of Sap that was convey'd to the Bud from whence it sprung In Fig-Trees out of the Navel or midst of every Leaf coming between the beginning of the Spring and the middle of June which is about the time of the Summers Solstice and consequently of the greatest Exuberance of the Sap there constantly grows a Fig at Autumn of that kind we call second Figs But the number of them in our Climate does not exceed five or six or seven at most and that upon every good Branch only I say upon every good Branch only because all Branches have not the advantage of being so For instance such as are weak and those great Suckers that rise out of the foot of the Tree with all that sprout from the extremity of the pruned Stock And lastly even those great Boughs or false Shoots rather that grow out of the Trunk of the Tree must not come under that Denomination So that indeed none are to be esteem'd good Branches but such as at their first shooting are of a due bigness and following the Natural Order of Production in all Branches concerning which we have already discoursed in another place Those Figs which are usually called Figs of the first Sap begin to appear about the middle of April and grow on a suddain to an indifferent bigness before the putting forth yet of any Leaves The Seat where they grow is that very point or place where those Leaves were put forth the Summer before that had not produc'd any of those above-mention'd second Figs which use to be ripe at Autumn These Figs of the first Sap seldom fail of being ripe at the latter end of July or in August if the cold do not happen to pinch them and make them fall Or if during the Summer they escape being spoiled by violent Rains or excess of Heat As for the Figs of the second Sap there is no hope of their coming to perfection except in those which being put forth by Mid June were come almost to their full bigness before the end of July and even then it must be in a hot and dry Soil and when it proves a favourable Autumn and free from Frosts and cold Rains as it was in the Years 1670 and 1676. Neither are Figs the only Fruits that are formed out of the Navel or Middle of their Leaf since it is no more than what is common to them with many others particularly to the Acorn and Jasmin Grapes indeed grow in a quite contrary fashion viz. upon the Reverse or Back-side of the Leaf which is very strange and singular Nor is it less remarkable that in most Vines they grow commonly but at the third fourth or fifth Knot which is at the lower part of the Branch whereas all other Fruits are born throughout the whole length of that Branch which we call the Fruit-Branch and in greater plenty toward the Top than Bottom of it Quinces bear almost in the same manner with Rasberries Azeroliers and Pome-granates viz. at the end of the small Branches sprouting from the Great Ones in March and April But if a Pear-Tree be graffed upon a Quince it beareth only upon those Branches that are of a Year or two's growth In all Plants the greatest part of the Sap as I have often said commonly rises up between the Bark and the Tree and perhaps some of it may ascend through the Wood it self But in the Vine which to speak properly has no Bark the Sap evidently rises through the Substance or Body of the Tree The increasing of the Fruit in bigness is caused by its Nourishment or Sap which being convey'd from the Branch by the Stalk as through a Pipe into the Fruit between the Skin or Paring and the Pulp is there reduced to a thicker and more solid Consistence conformably to its respective Nature And probably both the Wood of the Tree and Stalk of the Fruit receive their Increase in Bulk much after the same manner Nature has observed this Order in her Productions that generally the fairest Fruit grows upon the Top of the Bough that the weakest Boughs are most fruitful in bearing and that they bear but once a year In Fig-Trees she doth not keep to this Rule For First The Fig-Tree bears Fruit twice a year Secondly It bears only upon the bigger Branches so that in Autumn particularly those Fig-Trees bears only that are old enough to be of a sufficient Strength and Vigor Thirdly The earliest and largest Figs grow farthest from the Top the others in proportion to their greater or lesser Distance from it advance more or less in their Forwardness and Bigness and commonly they follow the same Order of Succession in their Ripening that they did at their first growing The manner of the Indian Fig-Tree's bearing its Fruit without the Support of any Trunk or Branches and making use of its Leaves only to multiply and grow upon is in my Opinion as surprising a Phaenomenon as any of those Objects which daily attract our Admiration Ordinarily most of our Plants are some time in the Blossom before they run up to Seed But Purslain runs to Seed almost without any Blossom at all For as soon as the Stem is grown to a sufficient Bigness it begins to rise up in several Stalks all of them separated from each other and produces a Seed which at first is white and tender This Seed which is contained in little Pods as it ripens becomes black and hard and then the Pods opening themselves discover the little Treasure included in them which before they had so carefully conceal'd The Difference of Colours in Fruit Blossoms is very remarkable Pears Abricots Cherries and Orange-Trees have a White Blossom Apple-Trees a Red Pomegranates an Orange-colour and Peach-Trees a light Purple and of these Blossoms some are double some single some great some middle-siz'd and others very small That indented or jagged Figure wherewith Nature has wantonly adorned most sorts of Vigetables and which by its different Cut or Edging in every Species gave Mankind the first Hint that hath
preserving our Height Therefore the same Operation must be perform'd in removing all that is bad under good Earth when the Surface being too high compar'd to the level of the House there is a necessity of sinking it in order to be one step higher than the level of the Garden upon which all People may easily regulate themselves to do it more or less according to the Exigencies of their Ground and its wants but still keeping to the quantity of good Earth propos'd as well as to the distance that must be from the Surface of the Garden to the Door which serves for an Entrance into it The Earth being according to our Wishes both as to quantity and goodness and yet too low in the Surface we must likewise examin how much too low it lyes in order to raise it conformably to our Wants and Wishes it might chance to lay so low that there would be a necessity to raise it considerably above three Foot in which case all the good Earth must be dug up and laid aside and the bottom rais'd sufficiently with what ever could be got good or bad after which the good Earth must be laid over it again with the management and mixture heretofore explain'd I could wish I had better Expedients to propose to avoid the Charges of Transportation but truly I know none There now remains to Examine what is to be done in the fifth Case to correct the over great Moistures some Gardens are subject to which rot every thing and make the Production not only backward but also insipid and bad none but hot and dry Earths are forward those that are moist are always cold and consequently have no disposition for Novelties This cold which is inseparable from Moisture is of all defects the most difficult to be cur'd The Ancients knew it as well as we do and have given it the Name of Deceiver But still since Earth has been submitted to the Industry of Man and that there are but few things labour cannot overcome let us declare what a long Experience has taught us in this Case Moistures are either natural and perpetual in Earth or only accidental and passing in the first case we have two Expedients The first is to turn aside at a distance if possible by Conduits or Gutters the Waters that annoy us and give them a discharge to remove them from us which being done the Ground will not fail becoming dry and when the first is impracticable The second is To raise the whole Plats or only the great Beds upon Ridges and to that end make deep Furrows to serve for kind of Paths The Earth that is taken from thence will serve to raise the Plats or Beds But if those Moistures are only Transitory and for Instance only occasion'd by great Rains and the nature of the Ground not proper to soak them in recourse must be had to the same Expedient of raising of the Earth to drain them and to the making of Conduits or Gutters to carry those Waters out of the Garden Finally The Moisture not being extraordinary the contrary of what we have prescrib'd for very dry Grounds must be done that is the Earth must be rais'd a little higher than the Walks to the end that those Walks may serve as a drain to those elevated Beds just as in the other Case the haughing of the Borders serves as a drain to receive and improve by the Waters of the adjacent Walks In order to raise Grounds nothing can be better than what we have said to raise the Surface and in case Conveniences be wanting for the Transportation of Earth having abundance of great Dung at hand it may be us'd instead of it as I have said about the Kitchen-Garden of Versailles mixing it abundantly at the bottom of the Ground or underneath the Earth in order to raise it as much as is necessary but still great Conduits are of great use I conclude what relates to the Preparation of such Grounds as are defective either in their quality or too small quantity carefully exhorting those who dig the Ground along some Walls to take care first not to approach too near the Foundations and to leave always some solid Banck undug lest the Wall might tumble down by its own weight or by some unexpected showers I exhort in the second place to fill up such Trenches immediately after their being empty'd or rather at the very same time one part after another for want of which and for the same Reasons the danger of tumbling is yet greater After having examin'd what relates to the Conditions that are necessary for the Fruit and Kitchen-Gardens that are to be made viz. The quality and quantity of good Earth the happy Situation and favourable Exposure the convenience of Waterings the level of the Ground the Figure Entrance and Closure of the Garden together with the Proximity of the Place having also propos'd the means to correct the defects of Drought and Moisture there still remains to speak upon the Subject of the Acclivities and Declivities when they are too sleep for the Gardens we are absolutely compell'd to choose CHAP. XIII Concerning the Acclivities and Declivities of every Garden WE have already said what is to be wish'd for certain Inequalities that may be favourable in Gardens and Insinuated what is to be fear'd from the Inconveniences of the great ones let us now speak of what may be proper to remedy such as may be corrected In order to which as soon as the Place of the Garden is resolv'd on upon the Considerations heretofore establish'd the Figure being either very square so that the Sides and Angles may be altogether or at least partly Equal and Parallel which is most to be wish'd for or else Irregular the Angles or Sides being unequal or having perhaps more or less than four Sides or Angles both the one and the other differing in themselves either in length or overture c. are Defects fit to be avoided if possible or at least endeavours must be us'd to rectifie them The Place of the Garden being I say resolv'd upon either Voluntarily or out of Necessity the Enclosure must not be begun until after having taken the Level of all the Ground to know all the Acclivities and Declivities in order to take Measures accordingly otherwise one might fall into many great Inconveniences either as to the Walls that are to be made or in respect to the Allies and Squares It is most certain that every piece of Ground may chance to have different Risings and Falls viz. One Two or Three for as many sides and One for every Diagonal And 't is almost impossible to know the true Level of a Garden without having first taken and afterwards regulated all the Inequalities The Diagonals to speak more Intelligibly in Favour of some Gard'ners are as it were the two Arms of a St. Andrew's Cross which may and ought to be figur'd by Trenches carried from Corner to Corner a cross
sow no more Lettuces except Genuz Lettuces after the middle of May because all the rest but only this last sort are too apt to run to Seed We replant Musk Melons and Cucumbers in the naked Earth in little Holes or Trenches filled with mold we also plant Pumpions or Citruls in the like holes at the distance of three Toises or Fathoms they are such as have been raised on Hot Beds and therefore to make them take root again the sooner we cover them with something for five or six days unless it rain the great heat of the Sun otherwise being apt to make them wither and sometimes to kill them quite We continue to sow a few Peas which must be of the biggest sort and if we think good we pull off some of the Branches of the others that are over vigorous after they are well cleared of Weeds Peas that are disbranched bearing a more plentiful crop than others We bring out our Orange-Trees at the first quarter of this Months Moon if the weather begin to be secure from the assaults of the Frost and we put them into boxes that have need of it I referr you for their culture to the Treatise I have composed expresly about that subject It was our care during all the fair days in April to leave open the windows of their Conservatories to accustom them by degrees to the open Air. We trim our Jasmins when we bring them out cutting off all their Branches to the length of half an Inch. At the end of this Month we begin to clip for the first time our palisades or pole hedges of Box Filaria's Yew and Espicia's Above all things care must be taken to water all our plants largely or else they will all roast and scorch whereas by the help of seasonable waterings we may visibly perceive them thrive We also now water new planted Trees and for that purpose we make a hollow Circle of four or five Inches deep round about the extreamities of the roots and pour into it some pitchers of water and when 't is soak'd in we either throw back the Earth into the Circle or else we cover it with dry Dung or little in order to renew our waterings several other times till the Trees have taken fast root again after which we fill it up with Earth again We may begin to replant our Purslain for Seeding towards the end of the Month. We continue to trim Musk Melons but we replant no more of them after the middle of May. But we still continue to plant Cucumbers About the end of the Month we begin to plant Cellery and we use two ways of planting it viz. either in Cold Beds hollowed into the Ground as we do Asparagus planting three ranks of them in every Bed and placing both the ranks and the Cellery plants at about a foot distance one from another and that is the best way for them when they are a little bigger than ordinary that so we may be able to raise the earth about them afterwards with that which was taken out of the furrows and which was thrown upon the next Cold Beds or else we replant them on plain Ground at the same distance as before and at the end of Autumn binding them first with two or three bands these are raised in tufts that we may replant them as nigh as we can to one another that so they may be the more easily covered with long dry Dung and be the better whitened and defended from the Frost Towards the end of the Month we begin to tie our Vines to their props and to nail up such stocks of them as are planted by Walls after we have first clear'd them of all their feeble unprofitable and unfruitful Shoots and Sprigs We likewise plant single Anemonies which flower a Month after and we may have planted some every Month since the last preceeding August they blowing and flowering in the same manner if not hindered by an extream cold Season At the very beginning of the Month or at least as soon as ever we can we pick off and thin our Apricocks when there are too many of them never leaving two close together that so those we leave on may grow the bigger and at the end of the same Month we may pick off and thin our Teaches and Pears if they be big enough and there be two many of them About that time also or at the beginning of the ensuing Month the first bright Cabbages are to be sown for Autumn and Winter the biggest of them which are replanted in July being to be eaten in Autumn and the less vigorous which are replanted in September and October being to serve for our Winter Provision During all the Month of May the shoots of Wall-Trees are apt enough to slide themselves behind their trails or props as I have said in the Month of April and we shall hardly be able to draw them out again without breaking them unless we do it in time and be careful once every Week to take an exact view all along our Walls to remedy so mischievous an inconvenience against which too much caution cannot be used Many Branches grow crooked rugged parched and hooked at the ends and their Leaves also and therefore about the full Moon we must pull off those Leaves so crumpled and hooked and break off as low as we can the parched shoots that there may spring others instead of them that may be better and streighter Fig-Trees too must now be pruned and especially those in Boxes of the method of doing which I have composed a particular Treatise We continue to sow a few Radishes among other Seeds as we should have also done in the two last preceeding Months We also now take the advantage of some gentle Showers or of very cloudy weather to uncover what we have sheltred under Glass Bells or Frames as well for the watering of our Beds as for the inuring and hardening them to indure the open Air. If our Garden be situated in a Sandy and dry Ground we endeavour by the help of some little Dykes or Gutters to carry off all the water that falls sometimes in hastly Storms to those places that are manured that none of it may be unprofitably wasted in the Walks or Allies and if they be situated in Ground that is too strong fat and moist such as that of our new Kitchen-Garden at Versailles we drain it away from those Grounds that are incommoded by it by conveying it into the Walls or Allies to spend it self there or shooting it off into Stone gutters that carry it out of the Garden for which purpose we must raise our Ground into arch'd ridges During all this Month it is good to lay yellow stock Gilliflowers by planting cuttings of them where ever we have a mind or by laying their Branches that still grow to their Plants Those that are curious in Carnations and Clove-Gilliflowers in order to have double ones sow some good Seeds of them about
which is very sower We content our selves only with some borders or perhaps some one single Bed of it to have some of its Leaves to mix now and then among our Sorrel The manner of raising it is the same we practise with Sorrel E. ENdive is a sort of very good annual Plant used in Sallets and in our pottage in the Autumn and Winter Seasons provided it be well whitened and consequently tender and delicate it is multiplied only by Seed There is the Common or Garden Endive and wild Endive called also Succory the common name in French to them both The Common Endive is of several kinds viz. The White which is the most delicate and the Green sort which is the most rustical and best able to resist the Cold as likewise the Curled sort and that which is not Curled All sorts of them agree tolerably well with all kinds of Ground We seldom begin to sow any of them till towards the middle of May and then they must be sown very thin or be very much thinned aftewards in order to be whitened in the places where they first grow without transplanting and we also sow but a little quantity of them at once because they are too apt to run to Seed The season for sowing a greater quantity of them is at the latter end of June and during the whole Month of July in order to have some good for spending in September and we afterwards sow a great deal of it again in August that we may have a sufficient provision of it to supply us all the rest of Autumn and the first part of the Winter When our Endive comes up too thick we cut it or else pull up some of it to thin it that the rest may grow big enough to be transplanted and when we transplant any of it in Summer time it must be placed at the distance of a large foot between Plant and Plant we usually make great Beds of five or six foot broad in order to transplant them afterwards in rows markt out strait with a cord This Plant requires great and frequent waterings and when 't is big enough we must go to work to whiten it for which effect we tie it up with two or three bands according as its height requires and being so tied it whitens in fifteen or twenty days But because it is very apprehensive of the Frost therefore assoon as ever the Cold begins to come on we cover it with long dry Dung whether it be tied up or no At the end of September we plant the stocks of it pretty near together because then it grows neither so high nor spreads so much as in Summer And if we can save any Plants of it in Winter we must transplant them again in the Spring in order to produce Seed that may have sufficient time to ripen Those persons that have a good Conservatory or Green house will do well to house it up there but they which have none must be content to cover it up well with a good quantity of long dry Dung so that the Frost may not come at it Wild Endive or Succory is sown at the very beginning of the Month of March and that pretty thick and in Ground well prepared We endeavour to fortifie it and make it grow big all Summer by watering and cropping it that it may be fit to whiten in Winter There are some People that will eat it Green in Sallets though it be never so bitter but commonly they rather desire it whitened And to whiten it we cover it up with a great deal of long Dung after we have first cut it close to the Earth by which means it been forced to spring up in obscurity and shaded from all light its young shoots grow White and tender The neatest way is by the interposition of some props crossing from side to side to keep the Dung from touching it since it shoots up in the same manner under such a hollow covering as under a close one so that care be taken so well to stop up passages on all sides that no light or Air at all get in Being thus ordered its shoots are much cleanlier and relish not so much of the Dung They which have Conservatories may transplant some of it thither in Winter it sprouting well enough there when it is but a little obscurely placed When it is Green it endures the Frost well enough and at the very latter end of May it runs to Seed Many People eat its young shoots in Sallets when they are young and tender F. FEnnel is one of our Sallets Furnitures which grows only from Seeds and is seldom transplanted It resists the Cold of Winter We sow it either in Beds or Borders It springs again when cut It s youngest and tendrest shoots are the best It s Seed is gathered in August and in fine it agrees well enough with all sorts of Grounds See more of it under Anis Furnitures which are Mint Tarragon Samphire c. See their culture under the several titles of those Plants that compose them G. GArlick is propagated by heads or kernels called Cloves about the end of February which are set three or four Inches deep in the Ground and at three or four Inches distance one from the other They are taken out of the Earth at the end of July and laid to dry in a place free from moisture in order to preserve them from one year to another Goose-berries See Currans H. HArtshorn or Buckshorn Sallet is a little annual Plant whose Leaves when tender are used in Sallet Furnitures they are sown in March very thick it being impossible to sow them thin because their Seeds are so very small which are gatherad in the Month of August The little Birds are very greedy of them as they are of all other small Kitchen Plant Seeds When the Leaves of this Plant are cut there spring up fresh ones as do also from Sorrel Cives Parsley c. Fine or Sweet Herbs See Aromaticks L. LAvender serves to garnish borders in Kitchen-Gardens and yields a Flower which without being separated from its stalks is used to put among clean Linen to perfume it It is multiplied both by Seed and by its Branches or Slips which have taken Root at their joints Leeks are sown at the end of Winter and that pretty thick and in Beds well prepared after which during the whole Month of June we take them up neatly and transplant them into other Beds which are no less carefully prepared in order to which we make with a planting stick holes about four Inches deep and half a foot asunder and after we have a little trimmed both their Roots and Leaves we only slide down a single Plant into every hole without minding to press down the Earth about it as we do to all other Plants however we take care to grub up the Weeds about them from time to time and to water them a little in very dry weather that
Rooted-Plants viz. Artichokes Beet Roots Scorsonnera Parsnips c. Third ARTICLE Of Tillages The most frequent are commonly the best at least in relation to Trees there must be Four Yearly viz. at the Spring and Midsummer at the end of August and immediately before Winter and generally speaking the Ground must never be left unmanur'd and full of Weeds nor trampled or beaten by great Showers of Rain It is very pleasing to the Eye when newly Till'd Your small Plants as Strawberries Lettice Succory c. require to be often Weeded the better to perform their Duty Fourth ARTICLE Directions for Amendments All sorts of Rotten Dung of what Animals soever Horses Mules Oxen Cows c. are excellent to amend the Grounds that are used for Kitchen Garden Plants Sheeps Dung has more Salt than all the others so that a smaller quantity of it must be used It is partly like that of Hens and Pigeons but I would not advise any one to make use of it by reason of a little sort of Fleas they abound with which generally spoil the Plants The Dung of Leaves throughly rotten is hardly fit for any thing but to be thrown over new sown Beds to hinder the Rains or Waterings from beating too much upon the Surface and so hinder the Seeds from rising All the Legumes of the Kitchen-Garden require a great deal of Dung the Plants or Layers of Trees require none The only good place to put the Amendments in is towards the Surface The worst place for Dung in Trenches or places that are Dug in order to plant Trees is in the Bottom As to those Trenches it cannot be said they are good and well made unless they be near six Foot wide and three in depth Fifth ARTICLE As for the common Disposition of Fruit and Kitchen-Gardens in my Opinion the best and most convenient for a Gard'ner is that which is made as much as can be in well regulated Squares so that if it be possible the Length may somewhat exceed the Breadth the Breadth of the Walks must likewise be proportion'd both to their Length and the whole Extent of the Garden The narrowest must not be less than six or seven Foot to Walk in and the broadest though never so long must not exceed three or four Fathom at most and as for the largeness of the Squares in my Opinion it is a Fault to make any above Fifteen or Twenty Fathom on one side to a little more or little less on the other they will be pretty well of Ten or Twelve on one side to Fourteen or Fifteen on the other all which is to be regulated proportionably to the largeness of the Kitchen-Garden The common Paths for the Convenience of Service are commonly of a Foot No Kitchen Garden though never so agreeable in the Disposition of it can ever succeed well without a Convenience for Waterings Sixth ARTICLE As to this Article which relates to the Knowledge of Fruit Trees that are to be planted it suffices and is material to know That a Tree to be worth the Chusing whilst yet in the Nursery must have a clean and shining Bark and the Shoots of the Year Long and Vigorous And if it be already out of the Ground it must besides these Conditions have fine sound Roots and passably thick in proportion to the Stem I seldom take any of those Trees that have nothing besides certain hairy or Capillar Roots The streightest Trees having but one Stem in my Opinion are the fittest to be chosen in order to Planting As to Peach and Apricock Trees those that have not been Graffed above a Year provided the Shoot be fair are better than those that have been Graffed Two or more and yet the Peach Trees require more exactness in this than the Apricocks and you must never take a Peach Tree unless it has fine sound and whole Eyes or Buds at the lower part of the Stem The thickness of an Inch or somewhat more in such Stems is what is particularly to be esteem'd in Peach Trees Peaches Graffed upon Almond Trees thrive better in a dry light Ground than in that which is Loamy and Moist But the clean contrary is to be observ'd for those that are Graffed upon Plum-Trees In all other Dwarf Trees the thickness must be between Two and Three Inches Circumference about the Lower Part. Only excepting Apple Trees Graffed upon Paradice Stocks for which the thickness of an Inch is sufficient The Thickness of high Standards is to consist of Five or Six Inches on the Lower Part and the height of about Six or Seven Foot The Graff of little Trees must be applied within two or three Fingers from the Ground And when it closes again it argues much Vigour in the Foot as well as a great deal of Skill in the Gard'ner who has had the Ordering of it All manner of Pears succeed in Dwarfs and Wall-Trees and upon free Stocks as well as upon Quince but it must be Noted they must only be Graffed upon free Stocks in Light Grounds as well as in those that are but of an ordinary Goodness Winter Bon Chrestien Pears can hardly attain that Yellow and Carnation Colour which is to be desired in them either upon Dwarfs or Wall Trees being Graffed upon free Stocks and therefore must be Graffed upon Quince Your Virgouteé and Robines upon Free Stocks are hard to bear but yet there is a Remedy for it they always bear much sooner upon Quince Your Bargamots and little Muscat Pears seldom succeed upon Dwarfs especially in moist Grounds The Principal kinds of Fruits either Pears Apples Peaches or Plums are sufficiently known but whereas the making of a very well contriv'd Plantation is of great Consequence Our new Curioso will do well to consult the Treatise I have written with a great deal of Exactness upon the Choice and proportion of all sorts of good Fruits to be planted in any Garden whatever either Dwarfs High Standards or wall Trees otherwise I dare affirm that he will be liable to commit abundance of Faults that will very much vex him In the mean time he ought to know that as to Pears the best for the Summer are the Little Muscats the Cuisses Madam or Lady-Thigh the Skinless Pear the Blanquettes or White Pears viz. the large the small and the long Stalk'd one the Robine the Cassolette the Musk Bon Chrestien the Rousselette and the Salviati The Chief for Autumn are the Beurré Burgamots Vertelongues Crasana Blossom'd Muscat Lansac and Loiiise Bonne For the Winter the Virgoule Leschasseris Espine or Thorn Pear Ambrette St. Germain Winter Bon Chrestien Colmar Bugy St. Austin and some Dry Martins As to Apples the Chief are the Calvilles both Red and White Reinettes both Grey and White all the Courpendus or short stalk'd Apples and the Fenellets As to Plums the principal are the Yellow Hasty the White and Purple Perdrigon the Mirabelles the several sorts of Damask the Rochecourbon the Emperasses the Apricock Plums the
St. Catherine the Imperial the Royal c. As to Peaches the most considerable are the Early Peach the Troy Peach the Maudlins White and Red the Rossanne the Minion the Chevreuse the Bourdin the Violets both Early and Late the Persiques the Admirable the Purple Peach the Nivet the Smooth Yellow Peaches and the Latter Yellow Peaches And as for the Pavies or Bastard Peach the Purple Nectarin the White Pavie the Cadillac and the Rambouillet As to Figs those that are White both Inside and Outside viz. the Long and Round are best for this Country As to Grapes the Muscat is chiefly to be esteem'd whether White Red or Black Long Muscat being well plac'd and in a good Ground is admirable the Chassolas succeeds more constantly than any As for Cherries every Body knows that the Latest and the Griote and even Bigarros are very good Fruits upon Standards Early Cherries are of no Value unless upon Wall Trees Seventh ARTICLE To prepare a Tree both as to the Head and Roots before the planting of it I am of Opinion that all the Capillar Roots must be taken away Only preserve a few thick Roots especially the Youngest that is the Newest These are Commonly Reddish and have a more lively Complexion than the old Ones they must be kept short in proportion to their Thickness The Longest in Dwarfs must not exceed Eight or Nine Inches and in high Standards about a Foot you may allow them more Extent in Mulberries and Cherry-Trees The weakest Roots must be satisfied with one two three or four Inches at most according as they are more or less thick One Rank of Roots is sufficient when placed as they should be that is when there are Four or Five Roots round about the Foot especially when they are partly like so many Lines drawn from a Centre to the Circumference and even Two or Three being good are better than Twenty mean ones I have often planted Trees with one single Root which indeed was extraordinary good and they succeeded well you may easily see what I mean by a Rank of Roots in the Treatise of Plantations where I have caused Plates to be Ingraven to that End Eighth ARTICLLE In order to Plant well you must chuse dry Weather to the End that the Earth being very dry it may easily cling about the Roots and leave no vacuity and particular Care must be taken lest it grow to the Consistence of Morter which afterwards coming to harden might hinder the Production and the Shooting of the New Roots The best Season for Planting is from the beginning of November until the End of March yet in dry Grounds it is very material to Plant at the very beginning of November but in moist Soils it is better to stay till the beginning of March The Disposition of Roots requires that the Extremity of the Lowest should not be above a full Foot deep into the Ground and the nearest to the Surface must be covered with Eight or Nine Inches depth of Mould In a dry Soil it will not be improper to make a little But or Hillock over those Roots to hinder the Sun from spoiling of them and when the Tree has taken Root into the Ground it must be Levell'd again After having Prun'd the Roots of a Tree you must cut the Steem of the Length it is to remain before you Plant it and never stay to cut it till after 't is Planted In Dwarfs I regulate that height to be about Five or Six Inches in a dry Soil and about Eight or Nine when Moist And in high Standards the proper height is between Six and Seven Foot in all manner of Soils In Planting care must be taken to turn the best Roots on that side which has most Earth and that none as much as is possible may incline streight downwards but rather look towards the Horison Those who after planting shake or trample on little Trees do them a great deal of Injury whereas on the contrary it is absolutely necessary to trample and raise the Ground about the great ones to secure them against the Impetuosity of the Winds The Head or Top of Espaliers or Wall Trees must lean towards the Wall yet so that the Extremity of the Head must be at Three or Four Inches distance from it and the Wound must not appear The distance between them is to be regulated according to the Goodness of the Earth and particularly according to the height of the Wall they must be nearer to one another against high Walls and at more distance against low ones In this particular Case of the common distance of Wall Trees it is to be regulated from Five or Six Foot to Ten Eleven or Twelve The Walls being Twelve Foot high or more you must always let one Tree shoot up to garnish the Top between two that shall garnish the Bottom in which case the Trees must be planted within Five or Six Foot of one another But against Walls that are not above Six or Seven Foot high the distance must be about Nine Foot The distance of Dwarfs must be from between Eight and Nine Foot to Twelve or even a little more being Plum-Trees or Kernel-Fruit upon Free Stocks In high Standards from Four Fathom to Seven or Eight for great Plantations In good Soils the Trees must be at a greater distance than in bad ones because there their Heads or Tops spread more When Trenches are newly made the Earth will sink at least Three or Four large Inches This is a very necessary Observation to make in order to the keeping the Earth about them higher than the Neighbouring Surface and to avoid falling into the Inconveniency of having Trees sunk too deep into the Ground For the Success of Kernel Fruit it matters but little whether the Graff be above or under Ground But as for Stone Fruit it is better not to be in the least cover'd with Earth Yet for the Beauty of both it is to be wish'd that it may appear but the main point is to have the Roots well plac'd so that neither the great Heat nor great Cold nor the Iron of the Spade may prejudice them As for the Understanding of the Expositions that are most proper for the different kinds is an account which will be best learned in a Treatise written on purpose upon that Subject Yet generally speaking I may say that the best of all in our Climates is the South and the Worst is the North the East is almost as good as the South especially in hot Soils and lastly the Exposition of the West is not amiss for Peaches Plums Pears c. but is stark nought for Muscat Chasselas and all manner of large Grapes Ninth ARTICLE To have a reasonable Insight into the Pruning of Trees it is necessary at least to know the Time and Cause and especially if possible the Manner As to the Time it is always good to Prune from the Beginning of the Fall until the New Leaves grow
not pretead to correct that defect absolutely I am of Opinion still to make the Walk regular with strait Angels that is square beginning it at four foot distance from that part of the Wall which advances most into the Walk and making it Square on the Extremity where it is to end it shall be garnish'd to the right and left with fine Bordures that shall mark it and as for those parts which shall chance to be much broader with Earth than they should be according to our usual Disposition it may be imploy'd usefully either in Straw-berries or other Plants that are not capable to offuscate the Wall-Trees There are sometimes lengths of three or fourscore Fathom and even more to eighteen or twenty in breadth which we are speaking of in which case that length must needs be divided into three or four equal Portions by cross Walks and whereas such a length bears no Proportion to the breadth I would stop the Prospect of our Garden within forty or fifty Fathom from the House by some Wall or at least by some Pallisade such a Wall might be proper to multiply the Espaliers or Wall-Fruit or that Pallisade for Grapes or other Fruit-Trees and thus we should gain on all sides either as to the Advantage of Production or the Pleasure of the Eye Although the space of a Garden should contain five and twenty thirty or thirty five Fathom in breadth I would make no other distribution of it than what we have already made to a breadth of fifteen or twenty unless it were to make the Walks somewhat broader in proportion to their length CHAP. XIX Of the Disposition or Distribution of Gardens of an extraordinary size IF the breadth of such a Garden should amount to threescore threescore and ten or fourscore Fathom or more I would divide it into four equal Portions as I have done at Versailles and in several other Kitchen-Gardens or else I would make Counter-Walks garnish'd with Dwarfs upon the flat Bordures as I have done at Rambouillet for his Grace the Duke of Montausier upon condition that in those two Cases the two Walks parallel to the Chief which we suppose in the middle about three Fathom broad should not be allow'd above eight or nine foot In my Opinion it were a pitty to make them broader since that would employ too much Ground in Walks We have already mention'd the bigness the Squares of a Kitchen-Garden ought to consist of and thus without repeating it we will find that those two Walks will afford us fine ones either as to their breadth or length for the same Rule we prescribe for the dividing of the breadth must serve for the division of the length and we must needs be persuaded at all times that when a space of Garden approaches fourscore Fathom in breadth and passes them in length as the great Square of the King's Kitchen Garden does it really composes a large Kitchen-Garden since it contains at least seven or eight Acres of Ground in which case the Squares may have fourteen or fifteen Fathom one way to eighteen or twenty on the other I do not think there is any necessity of inlarging farther in what relates to the Disposition or Distribution of the Ground of Fruit and Kitchen-Gardens what we have already said suffices which is that when one may have or afford variety of such Fruit and Kitchen-Gardens as Princes or great Lords do who have occasion for them it is proper to make little particular Gardens in Places adjacent to the great one as I have done at Chantilly at Seaux at St. Oüen c. or round about the great one as I have done at Versailles or else the Overplus of the Place we would have Cultivated must be employ'd in High Standard Trees for to speak the Truth over large Kitchen-Gardens are attended with great Inconveniences and liable to great Charges which very often do not answer our Expectations for want of due Cares CHAP. XX. Of the manner of Cultivating Fruit-Gardens ALthough this Culture taken in the whole contains all what we have Explain'd in several particular Treatises my Intention notwithstanding is to reduce it here to Three Things only First to the Tillage the Earth stands in need of Secondly to the Neatness Gardens require at all times The remainder of the Culture of the Earth shall be examin'd in the Treatise of the Kitchen-Gardens Therefore we must conclude that as the Earth as often as it is hot and moist always finds it self in an approaching disposition to Act that is of producing some Plants good or bad and sometimes of no use for Man because it can as it were never remain Idle the Production it makes of one thing must of necessity be prejudicial to another The Reason is First that the Interior Salt of it that is its Fertility or Capacity of Acting is no wise Infinite and is exhausted by often producing as every Body knows So that several Plants lying near one another it always happens that all or a great part of them grow the smaller because that which was to serve for the Nourishment of all being divided into many the share of each must of necessity be the smaller and the Nourishment of all of them the slenderer or else it happens that some of them being more lively either by being grown Naturally or being of a Temper more suitable to that part of the Earth which nourishes them this Plant has suck'd a greater quantity of the Nourishment that was in that Place ready prepar'd for Vegetation than any of the rest It is not only the Inside of that Earth which appears exhausted to us in its Productions when too great a quantity of different Plants have exhausted it by their Roots we say besides that this Earth is dry and wants Moisture when it is hindred from receiving the Benefit of the Night-Dews and of those small Show'rs which have the Gift of repairing and amending that Earth provided they may be able to penetrate to the Internal Parts thus when the Leaves of all those Plants which cover the Ground come to receive those kind of Moistures they hinder them from descending lower and so they remain expos'd to the Sun which rarifying them as soon as it lightens and heats them converts them into Vapours and so consequently for that time prevents their being of any use to that Earth It follows from thence that when we would have our Trees and particularly our Dwarfs and Tall Standards well fed and consequently very Vigorous and thereby agreeable to sight we must take care First That they be not too near one another to the end that the Nourishment may be the less divided Secondly That there may be no sort of Plants near them which may inwardly steal their Nourishment or outwardly hinder the Refreshings and Helps they are certainly to receive by Rain and Dew Thirdly Care must be taken to keep the Earth always light and consequently often Cultivated as well that the
inconsiderable that it is hardly worth mentioning The great Animals in question do not alone contribute by their Excrements to the Composition of Dungs and the Amendments of the Earth all the parts of their Bodies being once rotten nay their very Nails and Bones serve to fatten it The Leaves of Trees which are gather'd in Autumn being put in a moist Place and especially under the drein of a Stable or Pen being also rotten may likewise be of some use in Places where Straw and Animals are not common The very Ashes of all combustible Matters are of a very good use in this Case for the small quantity that can be had of them and not only Ashes but also rotten Wood and generally all things which being come out of the Earth are corruptible becomes Dung for the Ground when put into it again and there corrupts Nay there are some People who in order to multiply the number of Dungs or Amendments maintain that Turf and the Earth of high Ways is proper for it I will speak my Opinion of it in the Sequel and will only say in this Place that that kind of whitish Earth which is met with in the Bowels of some piece of Grounds which we call Marle and seems to be inclin'd to become Stones must be consider'd as an amendment to help towards the Production of some things as I will explain in the Sequel Now we have explain'd the diversity of Dungs it will be proper to see what are their particular Qualifications to the end that this knowledge may teach us to make a good Choice according to the occasions we have for it There are two peculiar Properties in the Case of Dungs the one is to fatten that is to fatten the Earth and better it or render it more fruitful and that is common to all manner of Dung being well rotten only some more and others less The second Property is to produce a certain sensible heat capable of producing some considerable Effect The Ancients knew the first and have not known the second this last is seldom met with in any but Horse and Mule Dung when newly made and still a little moist and indeed those sort of Dungs are of a wonderful use in our Gardens and particularly in the Winter at which time they seem to perform the Office of the great Planet which animates and enliveâ—s all things really performing there the same Function which the heat of the Sun is us'd to dispense there in the Summer as for Instance being laid in the form of Couches it serves to afford us all the Novelties of the Spring viz. Cowcumbers Radishes small Sallads and Melons and all that long before Nature can give it it serves in great Frosts to furnish us with Greens and Flowers and that which is yet more singular very green Asparagus and those better than the Common ones it likewise serves to advance considerably the Maturity of Strawberries of Figs in Cases Pease c. and finally it serves to make Mushrooms grow at all times And if new Dung has a peculiar Goodness and Faculty when it stands possess'd of its first heat it has another when without being Rotten it is old and dry the heat being altogether past which is to preserve against or from Cold that which Frosts might indamage and destroy and therefore it is us'd in the Winter time to cover Fig-Trees Arâ—â—chokes Succories Selery c. Which are all Manna's of great Value in Gard'ning which would perish without the help of Dung to cover them Which is not all that Dung is useful for for after having serv'd in so many Places as according to the Condition of all Sublunary Beings it rots at last it then serves again to the last Use which I treat of here and that is to amend the Ground This Amendment or Improvement supposes two considerable Conditions the one relating to the time which is proper for the doing of it and the other to the manner of doing it well As to the time we must not imagin that all the Seasons of the Year are proper to employ Dung none but the five moistest Months of the Year are good for it viz. from the beginning of November till towards the end of March those Dungs would be of no use in the bosom of the Earth unless they perfectly made an end of rotting there and nothing but Rain can cause that Consummation those that are employ'd at other times only grow dry and musty and so far from being favourable to Vegetabels they are pernicious and fatal to them especially when there is a considerable quantity of it abundance of large white Worms engendring in it which remain in the Earth and gnaw all the tender things they meet with whereas the great Moistures of Autumn and Winter making an end of rotting by the degrees the gross material substance of that Dung the Salt which lyes in it passes into the interior parts of the Earth and thus this Salt spreads it self in those Places whence the Plants draw their Nourishment that is in the Neighbourhood of the Roots which alone have the Tallent of improving the benefit of Dung and thereby Vegetables make an end of acquiring all the Perfection which is proper for them as thickness largness and the rest c. It follows then that the Winter is the only Season fit for great Amendments therefore it behoves able Gard'ners not to lose a time which is so precious for their Occupation In order to which they need neither to mind the Quarters of the Moon nor the Winds whatever they be notwithstanding the Traditions of some of the Ancients and whatever may be said in some Books of Gard'ning they are only troublesom Observations and altogether Useless and are only proper to afford Matter towards the Imbellishment of Poetry or perhaps to set off some Visionary talkative Gard'ners Let us now proceed to the manner of Employing this Dung to the purpose This matter ought to afford us two Instructions the one is to point out those Parts where the Dung is to be laid and the second to mark out partly the true quantity As to the first it is to be noted that sometimes there is a necessity of Dunging largely and pretty deep into the Ground and sometimes it suffices to turn the Surface lightly As to the first I am not of the Opinion of those who make Beds of their Dung at the Bottom of Trenches whatever care they take of Tilling every Bed largely in order to mix the Earth and Dung together and my Reason confirm'd by a long Experience is that whatever is good in that Dung so employ'd soon becomes Useless since it passes too low with the Moistures which force it along and drive it to such Parts where the Roots cannot penetrate besides that the Motion which is made in Tilling those Three or Four Beds in the Trenches instead of contributing to make the Earth lighter which is one of the most material
the same Months 14. The Louise-Bonne or good Louise November and December 15. The Verte-Longue or Long-Green-Pear middle of October 16. The Marchioness October 17. The St. Augustine end of December 18. The Messire-John middle of October 19. The Cuisse-Madame or Lady-thigh entrance of July 20. The Great Blanquet the same Months 21. The Muscat-Robert otherwise called the Queen-Pear the Amber-Pear the Great Musked-Pear of Coud the Princess in Poitou the Maiden of Flanders and the Maiden of Xaintonge is Ripe in the middle of July 22. The Skinless-Pear about the Twentieth of July 23. The Flower'd-Muscat middle of October 24. The Long-tail'd-Blanquet July 25. The Orange-Green-Pear August 26. The Besi de la motte end of October 27. The Dry Martin middle of November 28. The Bourdon or Humble-Bee-Pear end of July and beginning of August 29. The Sugar-Green or Green-Sugar-Pear or Sucre-verd end of October 30. The Lansac in the same time 31. The Maudlin-Pear entry of July 32. The Espargne or Reserve-Pear end of July 33. The Bugi February and March 34. The Little Blanquet or White Pear 35. The unknown Chaineau September 36. The Little Muscat 37. The Portal January and February 38. The Green-Satin-Pear January 39. The Red Admiral July 40. The Vine or Damsel-Pear middle of October 41. The Non-common or Dead-Mens-Pear November 42. The Great Musk-Pear January 43. The Almain or German-Muscat March and April 44. The Amadotte November and December 45. The St. Lezin March 46. The melting Brest-Pear August 47. The Russelin October 48. The Pendar or Hanging-Pear September 49. The Cassolette or Friolet or Green Muscat or the Eche-Frion 50. The Ronville or Martin-sire January Indifferent Pears 1. THE London-Pear November 2. The Brown Orange-Pear or Monsieur-Pear August and September 3. The Musked Summer-Boncretien or Graccioli at the same time 4. The Doyennee or Dean-Pear or St. Michael's Pear middle of September and October 5. The Cat-burnt-Pear October and November 6. The English-Pear September and October 7. The Ambrette of Bourgeuill or Graville thirteenth of October 8. The Besidery a Baking-Pear October 9. The Pastourelle or Bag-pipe-Pear of Autumn November 10. The Topinambour or Potato-Pear or Musked Finot December 11. The Arch-Duke March 12. The Naples Pear same Month. 13. The Summer-perfume same time 14. The perfume of Berny the Twenty Third of September 15. The Spanish Boncretien November 16. The Crapaudine or Toady-Pear otherwise the Grise bonne or Graygood and Summer-Ambrette August 17. The Portugal Summer-Pear or Prince-Pear or Admiral-Pear July 18. The Villain-Pear of Anjou 19. The Black Sugry-Pear or Sucrin-Noir December and January 20. The Cat-Pear October 21. The Jessamine-Pear November 22. The Besi de Caissoy or Russet of Anjou November 23. The Musked Onion-Pear the same Month. 24. The Limon-Pear November and December 25. The Etranguillon Vibray or Vibray-Choak-Pear December 26. The Round Milan-Pear January and February 27. The Queen of Winter the same time 28. The Carmelite-Pear March 29. The Winter-Russelet 30. The Jasmin and Frangipane August 31. The Thorn less Ambrette November 32. The Gold-Pear of Autumn the same Month. 33. The Nameless-Pear of Monsicur Le Jeune 34. The Caillot-Rosat or Rosie Pebble-Pear or Rose-water-Pear or otherwise Pera del Campo August and September 35. The Rose-Pear August 36. The Milan de la Beuvriere or Summer-Bergamot August the Twelfth 37. The Winter-Orange-Pear March and April 38. The Tuliped Fly-Pear September 39. The Brutte-Bonne or Chaw-good-Pear or otherwise the Pope-Pear 40. The Finor of Orleans common in August Reddish and like a Russelet it must be gathered green to make it Mellow and more Juicy 41. The White-Butter-Pear August the Twentieth 42. The Double-Flower March 43. The Morfontaine the Twenty Fifth of September 44. The Tibivilliers or Bruta-Marma March and April Bad Pears 1. THE Dumas or Christalline or Marin-gout-Pear of the shape of the Gilogiles February and March 2. The English-Burket-Russet September and October 3. The Sain-Pear or Sound-Mans-Pear August and September 4. The Summer-Certeau end of September 5. The Belle-Bonne or Fair-good-Pear October the Tenth 6. The Catillac-Pear October and November 7. The Cadet-Pear October November and December 8. The Thick-tail'd-Pear October 9. The Fin-Oin-Pear 10. The Passe-Bonne or Past-good-Pear 11. The Chambrette these three last all in October 12. The Winter-Caillot or Pebble-Pear to bake November 13. The Carmelite Mazuer or Gilogiles November 14. The Baking Pound-Pear November 15. The Ros-Pear November and December 16. The Sicilian Musked Bergamot or Dove-Pear December 17. The Citroli-Pear same Month. 18. The Caloët or Winter-Caillot or Pebble-Pear December 19. The Lady Joan or Rousse de la Merliere December and January 20. The Pernan January 21. The Miret February 22. The Gourmandine or Liquorish-Pear March 23. The Foundling of the Mountain the same Month. 24. The Supreme July 25. The Gros Fremon or Great Fremon December and January 26. The Macarius-Pear April 27. The Bernardiere April and March 28. The Betterave or Beet-root-Pear August 29. The Red Orange-Pear August 30. The Burgundy Dry-Martin November December and January 31. The Bellissime or Super-fair-Pear August 32. The Martineau October 33. The Legat-Bouge or Bens-Pear the same Month. 34. The Cyprus-Pear November 35. The Fontarabie-Pear January 36. The Malta-Pear November 37. The Constantinople or Borgueil-Pear December 38. The Orange-Pear of St. Lo the same Month. 39. The Winter-Jargonnelle January 40. The Gastellier January 41. The Estoupe or Stopple-Pear March 42. The Bete-bir the same time 43. The Monrave the same time 44. The Gambay April 45. The Summer-Jargonnelle August the Twenty Second 46. The Lombard-Pear August 47. The Sanguinole or Bloody-Pear August 48. The Hasty-Pear same time 49. The Double-headed-Pear August and September 50. The Onion-Pear of Vervan August 51. The Musked Certeau 52. The Winter-Villain January 53. The Stergonette the same time 54. The Green-Pear of Pereus January February and March 55. The Toad-Pear January 56. The Scarlet-Pear August 57. The My-God-Pear August 58. The Belle-Vege same time 59. The Courtreau or St. Giles's Pear August 60. The Red Pairmain-Pear 61. The St. Francis-Pear 62. The Bequêne 63. The Love-Pear 64. The Marine or Thomas-Pear 65. The Carisie 66. The Chair-à -Dame or Lady-flesh-Pear August There are some Pears among these good to Bake c. which are The Carmelite The Caloët The Great Fremont The St. Francis The Bequêne The Love-Pear The Thomas or Marine-Pear And the Ros-Pear Besides the Bad-Pears which I know not here is a particular List of those which I know to be so Bad that I Counsel no Body to Plant any of them Summer-Pears 1. THE Summer-Certeau 2. The Belle-bonne 3. The Poire de Sain or Sound-Man's-Pear 4. The Sanguinole or Bloody-Pear 5. The Betterave or Beet-root-Pear 6. The Red Orange Pear 7. The Bellissime 8. The Jargonnelle 9. The Lombardie 10. The Windsor-Pear August 11. The Musked Vally-Pear 12. The Odorant or sweet-smelling-Pear 13. The Scarlet-Pear 14. The My-God-Pear 15. The St. Giles or Courtreau-Pear 16. The
the Rain of the Spring-time to weather and go through which are two no very favourable Circumstances to any Fruits for their acquiring a sugred delicious and exquisite taste I know several sorts of Figs that probably are all good in hot Countries because they all ripen there but we in this Country have but two sorts which may properly be said to be admirable and they are the Great White ones of which some are Round and some Long. The Round ones come in more abundance and the Long ones are especially most admirable about the end of Autumn when they can attain to their due Ripeness because they are not so subject to split and chap towards their Crown as the Round ones are Which fault ordinarily proceeds from some hot Rains that fall in the Month of October that make those poor Round Figs so swell that they gape towards the head with Clefts enough to fright one and thereby vent and let out all their sweetness and perfume so that the Long ones which are of better proof against those Rains than the Round ones have in truth at that time a most Exquisite and Miraculous Tast which the others have quite lost I have had against one Southern-Fruit-Wall Twelve or Fifteen sorts of Figs all of different kinds to convince me that in this Country we ought assuredly to keep only to the white ones as well for their being brought quickly to bear and for the abundance of the Fruit they yield as for the delicacy and sweetness of their Pulp most of the other sorts excepting two which are the great Long Violet-Fig the worst sort of all and the Flat one which is but little better are not only hard to be brought to bear but bring Fruit that is but small and that is neither Delicate Marrowy nor Sugred enough for those are the qualities of a good Fig to be Delicate Marrowy very much Sugred and of a rich and exquisite taste Among those which are of a lower degree of Goodness for we cannot well say among the bad ones the Black Fig holds the first Rank It is very long and pretty big and so coloured with a dark Red that thence it derives its Name of Black It is not quite so red within as without it is very much Sugred but is a little drier than our excellent White ones I preserve some stocks of it for rareties sake There are great Yellow ones that are a little Red and Flesh-coloured within they bear little Fruit in the Spring but a good deal in Autumn but to my taste they are not very delicate neither in the First nor latter Season There are also great Violet-Figgs both Long and Flat which we just now mentioned whose Pulp is very course I prize them not There is also the Green Fig which has a very long Stalk and a Vermilion Pulp and is pretty Sweet and well Sugred but yields little increase Also the little Grey Fig almost of a Tawny Colour called Mellete in Gascony its fault like that of the others is to bear but little Fruit and that not very delicate Also another sort called a Medot which is yellow within and without Also another sort which is pretty black having only its Skin a little whipt with gray Its pulp is red Also a small white sort whose tast is rather faint than sugred it is called a Hasting or forward Fig though it be so but a very little time Also the little Bourjassote which is of a blackish or rather of a dark Violet colour like that of some Plums It is very delicate but bears little Fruit in the Spring and seldom any that ripens in Autumn Lastly There is also the Angelick-Fig which is of a violet colour and long but not very big Its pulp is red and reasonably good Having examined all these sorts of Figs I think it will be most for our profit to banish the greatest part of them and keep only to the good white ones which constantly prove better with us here than the rest But yet if there be any curious Gentleman that is fully resolved to have in his Garden all sorts of Figs as well as all sorts of Pears Apples Peaches Plums Grapes c. So that as one may say he would keep a general Hospital open to receive all Fruits as well Passengers and Strangers as others let us pardon him that spirit of Charity nay if you please let our Complaisance go so far as to praise such an unbounded Curiosity that knows no limits But let us have a care of imitating him no Exiguum Colito i. e. Let us cultivate a little Ground and a few Plants but good Thus you see the choice made and the excelling Merit determined in Favour of Figs in regard to Precedence of place in Wall-Plantations as far at least as the Disposal of that honour depends on Me. Afterwards when I shall come to garnish our Walls I shall tell you what reasonable Quantity I counsel every one to Plant of them in proportion to the bigness of his Garden CHAP. IX A Treatise of Peaches LET us pass on to the other Fruits that pretend to the Honour of the Wall that is to say to Peaches and Plums to see which of those two next to the Figs ought to have the Precedence And let us begin with the Peaches Here is an account of all the sorts I know of them according to the Order of their usual ripening every one of which I shall describe according to the same order as fast as I shall speak of them The first of all is The little Avant-white-peach or Forward White-peach which being well exposed ripens at the beginning of July and will yield Fruit during the whole Month if the stocks of it be Multiplied in several Expositions The Troy-peach follows it but a little aloof off how advantageously soever it be exposed and ripens not tell the end of July or at least in the beginning of August It is a wonderful good little Peach to stir up in us the Idea and Remembrance of the excellent ones we had the Years before The Yellow Alberge Peach and the little yellow Pavy Alberge ripen almost at the same time with the Troy-peach or a little after and are both of them far from being qualified with that goodness which makes us so much Esteem the other The White Maudlin Red Maudlin the Minion and Italian Peach which is like a Hasting Persick ripen almost all together about the Middle of August with the White Pavie In which Season we may truly say we find choice enough to satisfie our nicest Palates The little Violet Alberge Peach and the little Violet Pavy Alberge together with the Bourdin Peach ripen towards the end of the same Month and play their parts incomparably well The Druselles and Cherry Peaches especially those with the Yellow Pulp present themselves at the same time to bear them but Bad and Nauseous Company
replanting that every one might see what a Tree well prepared and well planted should do to thrive and succeed well and wherein it may have been faulty if it prospers not And when I have done all that I think fitting to the roots then I endeavour discreetly to judge what depth the lowest roots require in the Ground and what quantity of earth the highest roots must have laid over them for they must be secured and put out of the reach as well of the Injuries of the Air as of the delving tools c. and then I determine of what length or height the Tree must be above Ground that I may have no occasion to touch it any more after 't is planted for we must needs shake and loosen it when we let alone cutting it till after 't is planted and that shaking seems to me to be very dangerous to the Tree We need not fear the Frost will do any harm to the place where the Tree is cut off and shortned there assuredly never hap'ning any inconvenience that way as I can maintain to you by certain experience which you may venture to believe upon my word The length of the Bodies of the Trees to be left above Ground to all sorts of Trees is to be regulated as follows If they be little and to be planted in a dry Soil they must be allowed six or seven Inches because that in Summer their head or top may be able to skreen their foot or rooting from the burning heat of the Sun In moist Grounds they may have ten or eleven or twelve at most that their head or top may not too much hinder the heat from imparting its influence to the foot or root which there has need of it As for the height of the Bodies of Standards that is always to be about six or seven Inches in all sorts of Grounds for taller ones would be too apt to be shaken or torn up by the roots by the Winds and shorter would be unpleasing to the sight unless it were a whole entire Plantation of Half Standards as is often practised for Plum-Trees Cherry-Trees c. We must have a great care in Peach-Trees to leave them two or three good Eyes or Buds in that proportion of length that is to remain to them otherwise they will be in danger of producing nothing but wild Shoots I have already told you that for all sorts of Trees and especially for Dwarfs I would chuse plants consisting but of one straight stick As for Standard-Trees I am not much against their having some Branches and I willingly leave those Branches long that being the feeblest cannot so well contribute to the beauty of the Figure but yet may yield fruit soonest and of the thick ones I leave two or three or sometimes four which when well placed may serve to begin the forming of a fair round top and I shorten them to the length of seven or eight Inches CHAP. XX. When and how to plant Trees when ready fitted and prepared for it THE first thing to be observed here is that in the season of planting which as all the world knows lasts from the end of October to the middle of March that is from the time that the Trees quit their Leaves till they are almost ready to begin to put forth new ones we must choose dry and mild weather without troubling our heads to take any notice of the Age of the Moon as formerly was practised rainy weather is not only incommodious to the Gard'ner in his Work but also hurtful to the Trees that are then planted because the mold is then too apt to be reduced to a mortar-like consistance which makes it not so proper to settle all cleverly down round about and close to the roots without leaving some hollow between which it is very expedient to prevent Now though all those months be equally fit to plant in so that it may seem the sooner it be done the better yet as I willingly affect to plant presently after Martlemas in dry and light Grounds so I care not to plant neither till the end of February in cold and moist ones because the Trees in these last can do nothing all Winter and may more likely be spoiled there than be able to preserve themselves whereas in lighter Grounds they may begin even that very same Autumn to shoot out some small roots which is a great advance to them to put them in the way of doing wonders in the following Spring The second observation is that we are to regulate exactly all the distances which are to be between one Tree and another whether they be Wall-Trees Dwarfs or Standards that we may know perfectly both the number of Trees to be planted in general and how many there are to be of every particular kind The third is to regulate exactly the places to be assigned both to each sort of Tree and to each particular Tree I liking best that all the Fruits of the same season should be placed in the same Canton or Parcel of Ground The fourth is to make even by a line holes about the wideness and form of a hat for I suppose trenches to be well made and if so the Hole though little will be big enough to plant the Tree in and it would be but time expence and Labour lost to make it bigger The fifth is to order every Tree to be carried and laid near its hole before we begin to plant any of them and if there be occasion to plant any Dwarf-Trees about any Squares or to form a Quincunce I would have the fairest and best qualified placed particularly at the corners of the several Squares or Ranks and likewise in Wall-plantations It 's most convenient always to plant the sinest Trees and those that bear the finest Fruits in the most eminent places and the most visited as near the Gates and along those Fruit Walls near the fairest Walks Yet though I here make choice of the fairest it do's not follow that we are never to plant any but such as are fair and accompanied with all the hopeful appearances of thriving Though it be true enough that after we have taken all the care we can to choose none but sine ones yet some of them will be always siner than the others The Trees then being all carried and laid every one near its assigned place if we be to plant Dwarfs I begin with the corners of each Square that they may serve to guide us to place the others direct in the same Lines and if the Soil has been newly dug up and moved and mixed with a good quantity of long dung so that it seems not to be so firm and close as it should be I take care to sink my Trees but about half a foot meaning that the extreamity of the lowest root of the Tree is but half a foot deep in the Earth because as I reckon the Ground will sink at least half
c. The Reason which made me imagine this way of Pinching these two sorts of Trees and that makes me use it pretty often is that it being most certain that Fruit seldom grows upon thick Branches and commonly upon the weak ones I thought if it were possible to order Matters so that the Sap which is wholly employ'd in producing but one thick Branch which proves either useless or cumbersom I say if it could be order'd so that this Sap might be so divided as to produce several Branches there is no Question to be made but in the Quantity there would be some weak ones or perhaps many which consequently would be proper to bear Fruit instead of that and as we have already said the thick Branch would have produc'd no good Effect I have found the thing possible and that it is requir'd not only in May but sometimes in June and July to break the thick new Shoots of those kind of Trees while yet tender and as easie to break as Glass which is most true This Operation is founded upon a Reason which I have explain'd in my Reflections and therefore is not necessary here Having then at the time heretofore mention'd broken some of those thick new Shoots within two or three Eyes or Buds I have often obtain'd what I desir'd by it that is as many Branches as I had left Eyes and indeed a vigorous Tree cannot have too many provided they be good and well plac'd Among the Branches proceeding from such Pinching if I may use the Expression commonly some have prov'd weak and those have born Fruit some have prov'd pretty strong and have been Branches for Wood If the Sap which produc'd such thick Branches and form'd them with a lively vigorous Action met in its way an Obstacle to stop it short in the heighth of its Action and consequently hindring it from following its Course in continuing to rise as it would do not being hinder'd in such a Case this Sap which in the mean time cannot cease acting being forc'd to get out one way or other would burst out by as many Cranies or Overtures as it would find near that place where it was stop'd or upon necessity would make some of it self But it must be noted that this Pinching is seldom to be practis'd upon any but the thick Branches of the Top which would remain useless by their Situation and yet would consume abundance of good Sap superfluously and therefore it ought to be very seldom us'd upon the thick Branches of the lower part it being always very necessary to preserve them until the Winter Pruning in order to their shooting some others the following Year sit to fill such places as naturally and for the most part are but too subject to be thin It is likewise to be observ'd that this Pinching or Breaking off must never be perform'd upon weak Branches which having no more Sap than they want to be good would only produce slender Sapless ones in that place where the small Portion of Sap which Nature allows them should be divided And therefore nothing must be broken upon such Trees as produce but too many of those weak Branches and few of those good thick ones There are some of this Character to be found among all kind of Peach-Trees The best time for Pinching particularly in cold Climes like ours of Paris and the Neighbourhood of it as we have already said is at the End of May and the Beginning of June and when necessary to be perform'd a second time the time of the Solstice or longest Days of the Year is admirable for it as well as to Water some Trees in a dry Soil when Rain is wanting at which time there is a wonderful re-doubling of Action in the Roots and consequently in the Branches that being indeed the time of the greatest Effort of all the Spring We have already observ'd that the first Fury of Stone-Fruits begins to appear at the Full-Moon of April which commonly falls out in May and we are going to see another kind of Fury at the First Quarter of the Moon of the said Month of May both which times are good for Pinching And indeed we observe that all the Branches of every Tree do not begin to shoot vigorously at the same time so that what has not been Pinch'd or broken off at the first Season may be done at the second I have said that the best time to Pinch the thick new Branches of Peach-Trees was at the time they are easie to break at the least pull without being oblig'd to use a Knife to shorten them From thence it is easie to judge that I have found it dangerous to use Instruments to cut such Branches which is true for as I have said heretofore the Extremity or End of such Branches so cut is apt to blacken and die it certainly not producing the same Effect with that which proceeds from the Action of Pinching The same thing may be said of the thick tender Branches proceeding from the Graff's of Pear-Trees made upon a thick vigorous Stock however Experience teaches us that the Knife is not so dangerous upon these as upon those of Peach-Trees CHAP. XXXV Of what is to be done to some Trees being extraordinarily vigorous not Bearing of Fruit. THere still remains to see what is to be done in relation to some Trees being extraordinary vigorous to that degree that they remain sometimes many Years only producing much Wood and little Fruit and pretty often none at all as most Pear and Apple-Trees are being Graffed upon free Stocks and particularly how to preserve a Tree producing only small Shoots and most of them of false Wood or which yearly shews its Infirmity at the end of iss Branches and by the colour of its Leaves As to the very vigorous Tree particularly in question here many People propose as soveraign and infallible abundance of Expedients and Remedies which I have tried a long while with great Application yet upon my Word without the least Success To bore a Hole through the Stem of a Tree and put a Peg of dry Oak into it to split one of the main Roots and put a Stone into it to Prune at the time of the Declinings of the Moon c. are wretched Secrets of good old People infatuated with old Maxims People who have but little Skill in Vegetation and are easily satisfy'd For my part besides my being persuaded by Experience that my manner of Pruning often prevents the Difficulty now in question I have moreover in case of great Obstinacy recourse to what I have said elsewhere it being really the best thing that can be done which is that as constantly the Fruit on Trees is only an Effect or at least a Mark of a certain moderate Weakness it is necessary without minding a thousand Trifles to go to the Source of the Vigour of the Tree that is to the Roots uncovering half of them and cutting off one two or three of the thickest
possession until the end of June and towards the middle of July for the early Cherries which seldom appear but in China-Dishes and in small quantity are follow'd close by Strawberries with this difference that these to endear themselves the more above the Cherries that have preceeded them appear with a Charming scent and in prodigious quantity that is in full Basons and would think themselves disgrac'd to appear as poorly attended as their Predecessors Among these Strawberries some are Red and others White the last are seldom Ripe until they are grown yellowish and the others are never good until they are perfectly and Universally Red and neither of them are eatable until they have attain'd a Considerable size I may say by the by that those Strawberries that are soonest Ripe are those that have Blossom'd first and that those that are nearest to the body of the Plant are those that Blossom'd first I will draw some Instructions in the Treatise of the Kitchen-Garden in order to our getting of them always Finer Larger and Better from that part than otherwise we should do The Strawberries that grow Naturally and of themselves which most People are fond of are accompany'd towards the middle of June with Red and White Raspberries Currans Hearts and Plain Cherries of which some are somewhat earlier and not so good others later which are larger and sweeter and better either Preserv'd or Raw Bigarreaux also come in among them and even Morrello's but commonly they both tarry until the hurry of Red Fruits is somewhat over not but they might appear sooner for really those Bigarreaux and Morrello's are admirable Fruits The first are Ripe as soon as they are half Red but the others do not attain their perfection of maturity until they are almost Black The order of the maturity of all those Fruits is the same with what we declar'd for the Strawberries that which has Blossom'd first in every Tree likewise Ripens soonest Here 's the Month of June provided for it is call'd the Month of Red Fruits and with Reason For those kind of Fruits are met with wherever one goes we have said that the marks of their maturity is that Red Colour which surrounds them it commonly begins at that part which is most immediately expos'd to the Sun and is soonest Ripe In fine by degrees that Colour spreads all over and when the liveliness of that Red begins to turn to an obscure Red excepting only the Morello's they draw towards Corruption Among Red Fruits those that have Stones tho' never so ripe do not easily loosen from the Branch as other Fruits do they wither upon it instead of falling they must be pluck'd off and that with some Violence All those kind of Red Fruits should be the only ones during the whole Month of June to fill up the Stage of the maturity of the Fruits of that Season but that some Espaliers expos'd to the South in Dry Sandy Grounds begin to produce towards the end of June some little Muscat-Pears and some early Musck-Peaches Those small Pears are Extraordinary good if they be allow'd the time of Ripening the first marks of their maturity appear in them as in all other Pears of every Season that is near the Stalk which part must appear a little yellowish and somewhat Transparent and afterwards for a greater mark of full maturity that yellowness must appear a little through a certain Tan'd Colour and a certain Red which covers the remainder of the Rind and Lastly they must begin to drop of themselves without any exterior violence at which time it will be proper to gather and eat them I have sufficiently declar'd my Opinion as to the goodness of that Pear in the Choice of Fruits When People do not allow themselves the time of examining about the Stalk of the Pears to judge of their maturity they must as I have said judge by the natural dropping of those kind of Pears but then the Worms must have no share in it and they must neither be grown upon a sick Tree nor upon a sick Branch Pears that are infected with Worms drop soonest and soonest seem Ripe without really being so their defect is not much conceal'd it appears generally in the middle of the Eye of the Pear and when it does there 's no depending upon it for good Fruit. All manner of Fruits borh Stone and Kernel Ripen sooner upon sickly Trees than upon sound ones but we must not suffer our selves to be deceiv'd by the size for it often happens especially in relation to Peach-Trees that the Fruits of those languishing Trees are larger than those which grow upon Vigorous Trees but then that Largeness as I may say is only a swelling or a kind of Dropsie which is the Reason that the Pulp of those Fruits that are larger than they should be is generally insipid or bitter and disgusting Peaches that drop of themselves are contrary to what we have been saying of Pears by reason that Peaches which drop thus of themselves or loosen are commonly pass'd and consequently naught in so much that they should not be presented as good to any body tho' not bruis'd by the fall as it happens commonly But that Rule does not commonly extend to small Peaches in their kind nor especially to early or late Purple Peaches nor to Pavies those kind of Fruits which can hardly ever be too ripe are commonly very good when they drop insomuch that when they drop without being shook it is a good mark of their Maturity as well as Goodness The same thing may be said of Plums since we always shake Plum-Trees in order to get good Plums tho' indeed this Method is more particularly for common Plums than for Perdrigons Rochecourbons and other Principal Plums by reason that one of their Chief Excellencies consisting in the Flowry Beauty of their Complexion the which excites the Appetite of the most moderate A fall or their being finger'd too much spoils that Flower which should be preserv'd carefully therefore those that are really Curious never touch them otherwise than with the extremity of two Fingers Let us now return to our early Peaches and say that the Part which ripens first in them as well as in all other Fruits Pears Peaches Plums Apricooks Melons c. is commonly the inward part I mean that which is nearest to the Stone and moreover that which in relation to them appears first ripe to the eye is directly contrary to what we have said of Pears for whereas in Pears that part which is nearest to the Stalk ripens first in these it is commonly the Extremity which is opposite to the Stalk by reason that that part enjoys the benefit of the Sun sooner and longer than any other but when the Beams of the Sun lay upon no part of these early Peaches it seems that the heat which Reigns in the Air ripens them all over equally We begin to Judge of their approaching Maturity when we perceive that they begin
length of a Toise or Fathom and to throw up upon the bordering Alley all the Earth that is taken out of that Gage which will be all the Earth we shall need handle twice because at the end of the Trench there will remain one Gage empty which must be filled up with the Earth that came out of the first when the first Gage is made we must fill it up with the Earth that is to be dug up to make the next throwing that part of it into the bottom which was at the Superficies and making a new Superficies of that which was at the bottom This kind of moving the Ground makes a natural Slope before the Workman and in case the Soil must be Dunged we must have Dung ready placed all along the side of the Trench and whilst two or three men are at Work in turning up the Earth and throwing it before them there must be one at the side of the Trench to scatter Dung upon that Slope by which means the mold is well mixed and not at all trampled on as it is by common Gard'ners that first lay a layer of Dung and then a layer of Earth and afterwards dig the whole over again continuing this way of laying of layers of Dung and mold and to turn up one over another till their Trench be quite filled up as 't is to remain Works to be done in February IN this Month we continue the same works we were doing in the last if we have had the foresight and convenience to begin them then or else at least we set upon beginning them now in earnest Therefore we set to manuring the Ground if the Frost permits us and about the end of the Month or rather to wards Mid-March or later that is towards Mid-April we sow in the naked Ground those things that are long a rearing as for Example all sorts of Roots viz. Carrots Parsnips Chervils or Skirrets Beet-Raves or Red-Beet-Roots Scorzoneres and above all Parsly-Roots We sow now also Onions Leeks Ciboules Sorrel Hasting Peas Garden or Marsh-Beans Wild Endive or Succory and Burnet If we have any Shell-Lettuces that were sown in Autumn last in some well sheltered place we now replant them on Hot Beds under Bells to make them Cabbage betimes And particularly we take care to replant on them some of the Curld Bright Lettuces which we sowed last Month because they turn to better account than the others We begin at the latter end of the Month to sow a little green Purslain under Bells the Red or Golden sort being too delicate and tender to be sown before March We replant Cowcumbers and Musk-melons if we have any big enough and that upon a Hot Bed in some place well sheltered either by Walls Straw or Reed Hedges or some other Invention to keep off the Wind. We also sow towards the end of the Month our Annual Flowers in order to replant them again at the latter end of April and the beginning of May. We also sow our first Cabbages if as we should we have not a provision of some in a Nursery under some good shelter which we should have sown at the beginning of August and replanted in October in the Nursery we replant these latter in the places they are designed for taking care not to replant any that begins to run to Seed We begin to Graft all sorts of Trees in the Cleft and we prune and plant them we plant also Vines and about Mid-February if the weather be any thing fair is the proper time to begin all sorts of Works We only make now the Hot Beds which we have occasion to make use of for Radishes little Sallets and to raise those things which we are to replant again in the Cold Beds We take care to maintain the necessary heat about our Asparagus and to gather those that are good As also to maintain the Heat in the hot Strawberry Beds We unnail our Wall-trees in order to prune them the more commodiously and then nail them up anew At what time soever Radishes are gathered they must be tied up in Bunches and put to steep in Water or else they will wither and retain too biting a taste We also continue to plant Trees when the Weather and the Soil will permit us Works to be done in March AT the beginning of this Month it appears who are the Gard'ners that have been idle by their not furnishing us with any thing which the diligent and skilful ones supply us with and by their having neglected to sow their Grounds which lie for the most part as yet unsown though the weather has been favourable for it There is now no more time to be lost in delaying the sowing of the first Seeds that are to be sown in the naked Earth and of which we have spoken in the Works to be done about the end of February Good Gard'ners ought to cover with Mold the Cold Beds which they have sown with their designed Seeds for fear the waterings and great Rains should beat down the Earth too much and render its Superficies too hard for the Seeds to pierce and shoot through they should also bank up their cold Beds tightly with a rake that so the Rain water or that of their waterings may keep in them and not run out of them into the Paths and in fine if they have never so little of the Spirit of Neatness in them they will not fail to take away all the Stones the Rake meets with in its way The way to cover well all these Seeds with Earth is to harrow or rake that is to move it extreamly to and fro which is commonly done with an Iron Rake About Mid-March at furthest we make the hot Beds in which we are to replant the earliest Musk melons We sow in the naked Earth in some well sheltered place all those things which we are to plant again in the like as for Example both our Spring Lettuce and that which we are to replant again at the latter end of April and at the beginning of May viz. the Curl'd Bright Lettuce and the Royal and Bellegarde Lettuce the Perpignan Lettuce which is greenish the Alfange the Chicons and the Green Red and Bright Genua Lettuces are near two Months on the Ground before they grow big enough to be replanted And we also sow Cabbages for the latter Season and Collyflowers to plant them in their proper places about the end of April and beginning of May and if they come up too thick we take out some and replant them in a Nursery to make them grow bigger c. We sow Radishes in the naked Earth among all the other Seeds we are sowing because they do no harm there but are fit to be gathered at the beginning of May before either the Sorrel Chervil Parsly Ciboule c. be grown big enough to suffer any incommodity by them We sow Arrach or Orage in the naked Earth About Mid-March we sow Citruls or Pompions upon
Planting Trees both in their fixed places and in Baskets We bestow the first manuring upon all sorts of Gardens as well to render them agreeable to the sight during the Easter Holy-Days as to dispose the Ground for all sorts of Plants and Seeds We set in the Ground Almonds that have sprouted breaking off the sprout before we plant them We sow in the Flower Plots or Parterres some Seeds of Poppy and of Larks Heels which will flower after them that were sown in September We plant Oculus Christi Towards the twentieth day of this Month we sow some Capucin Capers or Nasturces to Replant them again a Month after in some good Exposition or at the foot of some Tree Works to be done in April THere is no Month in the year wherein there is more work to be done in Gardens than in this for now the Earth begins to be very fit not only to be manured but to receive whatsoever we have a mind to plant or sow in it as Lettuce Leeks Cabbage Borage Bugloss Artichokes Tarragon Mint Violets c. Before the Month of April it is as yet too cold and after April it begins to be too dry We furnish those places where any new planted Trees give but little marks of their prospering whether it be by Gum in stone Fruit or by pitiful small shoots in all manner of Fruit-Trees But for this important Reparation we must have brought up ready to our hands some Trees in Baskets which an understanding curious Person will never fail to have made provision of who will have the pleasure to plant some of them near those that thrive not so well as they should do when he is not well assured they will absolutely die for when we are sure of that we pluck them up quite to make room for them we should substitute in their place for which purpose we make choice of close and rainy weather We perform now our second pruning of the Branches of Peach-Trees I mean only the Fruit Branches in order to cut them off short to that part just above where there is Fruit Knit and if any of those Peach-Trees have produced any very thick shoots upon high Branches as sometimes it happens after the full Moon of March we pinch them to make them multiply into Fruit Branches and to keep them low when there is occasion that they may not run up too high before their time Peas sown in a good Exposition at the very middle of October should begin towards the middle of April to put forth at least their first Blossoms and consequently must be pinch'd the Blossom springs out commonly in Peas from the middle of the fifth or sixth Leaf from which same place there springs an Arm or Branch that grows exceeding long and produces at each Leaf a couple of Blossoms like the first and therefore the more to fortify the first we cut off that new Arm or shoot just above the second flower We continue to trim Musk Melons and Cucumbers to new heat our Hot Beds and make new ones and to sow Cucumbers that we may have some to replant that may ripen about the end of Summer and beginning of Autumn We make some hot Mushroom Beds in new Ground the manner of doing which I have already described elsewhere 'T is the Moon of this Month that we vulgarly call the Ruddy Moon it being very subject to be windy cold and dry and to be fatal thereby to many new planted Trees unless great care be taken to water them about the Foot once a Week For which purpose we make a round hollow circle or small Trench round about their foot just over the part where the Extremities of their roots are and then pour into the said Trench or Circle a pitcher full of water if the Tree be little or two or three if it be bigger and when the water is soak'd in we fill up the Circle again if we think good with Earth or else we cover it with some dry Dung or Weeds newly pluck'd up that we may the better repeat our watering once a Week during the extream dry Weather We weed up all the ill weeds that grow among good Seed we take the same course with Straw-berries Peas and replanted Lettuce and we howe all about them the better to loosen the Earth and open a passage for the first rain that shall fall About the middle of April we begin to sow a little White Endive in plain Ground to whiten it in the same place and provided it be thin sown no Seed comes so easily up as this sort of Endive At the middle of April we also sow in their places the first Spanish Cardons and the second at the beginning of May the first are commonly a Month in coming up and the others about 15 days We also still sow in this Month some Sorrel if we be not sufficiently provided with it before and we sow it either in Cold Beds in little furrows which is handsomest or else scatteringly on the plain Ground which is most common or else upon the sides of Squares to serve for an edging we likewise replant in rows or furrows that which we remove from other places and is but about a year old and especially of that of the large sort whether our necessities have obliged us to break up some Bed of it and that we be not minded to lose it or whether we do it designedly We use the same method with Fennel and Anis and if the high winds and Cold hinder us not we begin to give a little Air to our Musk Melons under Bells and continue to give them a little more and more of it by degrees till the end of May when if we be in a good Climate we take off the Bells quite And we lift up each Bell with three little forks otherwise the plant hurt by its sides would dwindle and grow lank And if after we have given it a little Air the Cold continues still sharp enough to spoil the branches and Leaves of it that are sprouting we take care to cover them with a little dry Litter At the end of the Month we replant the Radishes we have removed from the Hot Beds where we first raised them to make a good provision of Seed choosing for that purpose those that have the Reddest roots and the fewest leaves and we need only make holes at a foot distance one from the other in one or more Cold Beds with a planting stick and thrust in the Radishes into those holes and then press down the Earth about them and afterwards water them if the rain do's not spare us that labour We choose apart of the fairest of the Cabbage-Lettuces as well the Winter ones which are the Shell and Jerusalem Lettuces as the Curles Bright Lettuce raised upon Hot Beds and under Bells to plant them all together in some Cold Beds at a foot distance one from another to let them run to Seed which we also perform with a
are gathered and Endive is sown for the provision of Autumn and Winter We also sow Royal Lettuce to have it good for use at the end of Autumn We also still continue to sow some Ciboules and white Beets for Autumn and some few Radishes in cool Places or such as are extreamly well watered to have them fit to eat at the beginning of August If the Season be very dry we begin at the latter end of the Month to graff by inoculation of a Dormant Bud upon Quince-trees and Plum-Trees We begin to replant White or Bright Cabbages for the end of Autumn and the beginning of Winter We sow more Lettuce Royal. We sow for the last time our Square Peas in the middle of July that we may have some to spend in October In this Month particularly Peach-Trees produce several shoots About the middle of July we begin to lay our Clove-gilliflowers and Carnations if their Branches be strong enough to bear it otherwise we must stay till August or the middle of September From the very middle of August we begin to sow Spinage to be ready about the middle of September and Mâches for Winter Sallets and Shell-Lettuces to have Provision of Cabbage-Lettuces at the end of Autumn and during the Winter Season We replant Strawberry Plants in their designed Places which we had raised in Tufts We gather Lettuce and Radish Seeds as soon as ever a part of their Pods appears dry and then we pull up their Plants and lay the whole a drying We also gather the Seeds of Chervil Leeks Ciboules Onions Shalots and Rocamboles or Spanish Garlick We sow Radishes in the naked Earth for Autumn At the latter end of the Month we sow some Cabbage in some good Exposition to remove into a Nursery in some other well sheltered place where they are to pass the Winter in order to be replanted in their designed places in the following Spring We also sow all the Month long some Shell-Lettuces in some good Exposition as well to replant at the end of September or beginning of October in the places where they are to remain under some good shelter as to have some ready hardned to the cold to replant again after Winter either in the naked Earth in the Month of March or upon hot Beds at the very beginning of February and if the Winter be very cold they must be covered with long Litter We may sow Onions to have good ones the next year at the very beginning of July which it is best to replant in the Month of March next following We now water liberally We replant a great deal of Endive at a large foot distance between Plant and Plant as also Royal and Perpignan Lettuces which are very good in Autumn and Winter We sow Mâches for Lent We still continue to replant Winter Cabbages We shear our Palisade's the second time We continue to nail up our Wall-Trees and by little and little to uncover those Fruits which we would have tinged with much Red as Peaches Api Apples c. We tye up our Endive with one two or with three bands if it be very high but the uppermost Band must be always looser than the rest otherwise the Lettuce will burst in the sides whilst it is whitening At the middle of August we begin to cover with compost the Sorrel that was cut very close to recruit its vigour a good Inch's thickness of Compost is enough to strew all over it because they would be apt to rot if we should use more to them We still continue sowing of Sorrel Chervil and Ciboules We pluck off the runners of Strawberry Plants to preserve their old Stocks in the greater vigour and when their Fruit is past which is about the end of July or the beginning of August we cut away all the old stems and old Leaves that they may produce new ones We also cut away all the old Stems of Artichokes when the Artichokes are taken off We still continue sowing of Spinage for the beginning of Winter We take our Onions out of the Ground as soon as their Stems begin to dry and we let them lie ten or twelve days a drying in the Air before we lay them up in our Granary or some other dry place or else we bind them up in Ropes because otherwise they would ferment and rot if they were laid up before they were dry We gather our Shalots at the very beginning of the Month and draw our Garlick out of the Ground At the end of August the Florists set into the Earth their Jacinths fair Anemonies and Ranunculus's or Crow-foots Junquills Totus Albus's and Imperials We destroy both ordinary Flies and Wasps which eat the Figs the Muscat Grapes and other Fruits and for that effect we tye some Bottles or Cucurbit-glasses full of water mixed with a little Honey to some of their Branches by which means those insects being allured by the sweetness of the Honey enter into the necks of those Glasses and so perish in that mixture but they must be emptied and shifted with new Water as often as they begin to fill with those little unlucky insects Though the first Bud of a Clove-gilliflower or Carnation is beautiful and Promising it do's not follow thence that all the rest will be so too The Beauties of a Carnation are to be high and tall well burnisht and garnisht well ranged of a lovely colour well plumed and displayed and of a perfectly Velvet-like softness to the Touch. At the beginning of this Month we tread down the stems of Onions and the Leaves of Beet-raves or Red Beet Roots Carots Parsnips c. or else we take off their Leaves quite to make their Roots grow the bigger in the Ground by hindering their Sap from spending it self above Ground It is still a good Season enough to lay Clove-gilliflowers and Carnations Works to be done in September THE Ground in Gardens in this Month should be universally covered all over so that there should be not so much as the least spot in it without some Kitchen and Esculent Plants whether sown or replanted which is not altogether so necessary in the preceeding Months both because we then reserve a good part of our Ground for Winter Plants such as are Lettuces Endive Peas c. and because some plants require a very considerable time to arrive to perfection in and would not have enough if they were allowed less than to the end of Autumn We still continue the works of the preceeding Month. We make hot Beds for Mushrooms We replant a great deal of Endive and that closer together now than in the foregoing Months that is we place them at half a foot 's distance one from the other because now their Tufts grow not so large as before They must be replanted in almost all the spare places from the very beginning of the Month till the fifteenth or twentieth day At the latter end of the Month we sow Spinage the third time which will
that grows in the Woods and consequently that loves the shade we therefore plant it along by the sides of our Northern Walls at the distance of about one foot between one plant and another the more we strip it of its Leaves which is one good quality it has the more fresh ones it shoots forth It is enough to set it two Inches into the Ground it lasts three or four years without being renewed and to renew it we need do no more than to separate or slip out the great Tufts of it into several little ones and replant them again immediately which is to be done in the Months of March and April a little watering in very Hot weather and especially in sandy Grounds is a very great and welcome help to them Anis and Fennel are commonly sown pretty thin either in surrows or borders their Leaves are used in Sallets among other Furnitures They run to Seed towards the Month of August and when their stalks are cut down they shoot out new Leaves the next year that are as good as the first but however it is best to renew them every two years Arrach Orrach or Orage is propagated only by Seed and is both one of the quickest both in coming up and in running to Seed which latter it does at the very beginning of June It is sown pretty thin and to have good Seed of it we must transplant some plants of it in some separate place The Leaf of this plant is very good both in pottage and in stuffings or farces we use it almost as soon as it peeps out of the Earth for it passes away very quickly and to have some the more early we sow a little quantity of it upon a Hot Bed It thrives well enough in all sorts of Grounds but yet it grows always fairer in good Grounds than in but indifferent ones Aromatick or sweet or spicy Herbs such as are planted in Edgings of Borders as Marjoram Time Sage Rosemary c. See their Culture under the several Titles of each of those particular Herbs Artichokes as we have already elsewhere told you are multiplied by their Eyes Suckers Slips or Off-Sets which every plant of them usually shoots out every year in the Spring round about its old Root and which must be taken off as soon as they are grown big enough leaving only at each place three of the best and furthest distant one from the other For the planting them we commonly make little Trenches or Pits about half a foot deep and three foot distant one from another and filled with Mold and we place two rows of them regulated by a line in each Bed which is to be full four foot broad and parted from the next Bed by a path-way of one full foot these Trenches of Pits are to be made at about half a foot 's distance from the edge of the Bed and Checquerwise one towards the other we place two Slips in a right Line in each space containing between Nine and Ten Inches in Length We must renew them once every three years at least cut off their Leaves at the beginning of Winter and cover them with long dry dung during all the very cold weather till the end of March when we must uncover them and slip them if their Slips be yet big enough or else stay three Weeks or a Month longer till they be then we must labour and move the Earth well about them and dung them with the rottenest part of that Dung that served them for a covering we water them moderately once or twice a Week till about the end of May their Fruit begins to appear and from that time we must water them plentifully that is two or three times a Week during the whole Summer allowing half a Pitcher full of Water to each plant and especially in Grounds naturally dry those planted in the Spring should bring their Fruit to perfection in Autumn following if well watered and they which do not ought to yield their first Fruit in the next Spring after in case they be strong enough to resist the sharpness of the Winter Artichokes have not only the hard weather and excess of wet to fear but they have the Field Mice likewise for their Enemies those mischievous little Animals gnawing their Roots in the Winter-time when they find nothing better in the Gardens and for that reason it 's good to plant one Rank of Beet-Chards between two Ranks of Artichokes that the Field-Mice finding the Roots of these last the tendrer of the two may fall upon them instead of the others as they never fail to do There are three sorts of Artichokes viz. the green or otherwise white ones which are the most early the violet ones whose Fruit is almost of a pyramidal Figure and the red ones which are round and flat like the white ones The two last sorts are the most delicious Artichoke Chards See Chards Asparagus are sown at the beginning of the Spring like other Seeds that is they are sown in some Bed well prepared they must be sown indifferent thin and raked with an Iron Rake to cover them with Earth About a year after if they be big enough as they will be if the Ground be good and well prepared or if not at least at two years end we must tranplant them which is to be done about the end of March and all the Month of April and for that effect we must have Beds between three and four foot broad and separated one from the other if it be in ordinary Ground we dig these Beds hollow with a good Spade throwing up the Earth we take out of them upon the Path-ways and as to strong heavy and moist Grounds I would have them ordered as I have done the Kitchen-Garden at Versailles that is to say I would not have the Beds in them at all laid hollow but on the contrary raised and kept higher than the Path-ways too much wet being mortal to these Plants Asparagus thus sown shoot out Tufts of Roots round about their Eye or Mother Root that is to say round the place from whence all their shoots are to Spring which Roots spread between two Earths and in order to transplant them either into a hollow Bed or a high raised Bed we bestow a good thorough Tillage on the bottom of the Trench and if the Ground be not very good we dung it a little and afterward we plant two or three stocks of these young Plants orderly in ranks upon the Superâ—icies of the Bed prepared for them without needing to trim the extremity of their Roots or at least but a very little and if our intention be to force these Asparagus by an artificial heat when they are grown big enough we place them at a foot distance one from the other and if they be to remain to grow after the usual manner we allow them at a foot and a half 's distance but in both Cases we place them Checquerwise and when they
it a great deal of good to water it in Summer There is but one sort of it whose Seed is gathered at the end of Summer C. CAbbages of all sorts of Kitchen-Plants take Root again the easiliest when transplanted as they are likewise the most known and most used of any in our whole Gardens They are multiplied by Seed and are of several sorts and Seasons There are some called White or headed Cabbages which are for the service of the latter end of Summer and for Autumn There are some Curled called Pancaliers and Milan Cabbages which produce small headed Cabbages for Winter there are some of a Red or Violet Colour and some called long sided Cabbages whereof some are Bright or White and very delicate ripe in Vintage time and others Green and are not very good till they be Frost-bitten Lastly there are some called Choux Fleurs i. e. Cabbage Flowers and by the English Collyflowers which are the most noble and valuable of them all and are not used in pottage but in choice intermesses they cannot endure the Frost and therefore assoon as they begin to form their heads they must be covered with their Leaves tied up for that end over them with Straw bands to guard them from the insults of the Cold that spoil and rot them They are for our Winter spending and must be sheltred in the Green house or Conservatory whither they must be carried and there planted with a turf of their old Earth about them where they commonly are used to perfect the full growth of their heads All other Cabbage-Plants yield Seed in France but only these whose Seed we are fain to have brought up from the Eastern Countries which makes them ordinarily very dear To make Cabbages run to Seed we use every year either in Autumn or Spring to transplant some of the best and fairest of them which run to Seed in the Months of May and June that is gathered in July and August You are by the way to remark two things The first is that all thick Plants that run to Seed and grow pretty high as Cabbage Leeks Ciboules Onions Red Beet-Roots Carrots Parsnips Cellery c. must be supported either with upright props or croâ—s sticks to hinder the wind from breaking down their stems before the Seed be Ripe The second is that we seldom stay to let any Seeds dry upon their Plants as they stand it being enough to let them only Ripen when we cut down their stems and lay them to dry upon some Cloth after which we beat them out and fan and cleanse them and lay them up when they are fully dry And thus we do with the Seeds of Cresses Chervil Parsley Radishes Borage Bugloss c. Ordinary Capers grow upon a sort of small Shrub that is raised in niches made purposely in well exposed Walls for that end which are filled with Earth to nourish the Plants and every year in the Spring we prune their Branches which afterwards shoot out buttons or swelling buds which are pickled up in Vinegar to be used in Winter either in Sallets or in pottage Capucine-Capers or Nasturces are annual Plants which are usually sown in Hot Beds in the Month of March and transplanted again in the naked Earth along by some Walls or at the foot of some Trees where their mounting stalks which are but weak and grow pretty high may take some hold to support themselves They are also planted in Pots and Boxes in which some sticks are set up to support their stalks Their Buttons or round Buds before they open are good to pickle in Vinegar Their Flower is pretty large of an Orange Colour and very agreeable They must be carefully watered in the Summer to make them shoot vigorously and so long time as they should Their Seed falls to the Earth assoon as ever 't is ripe as well as that of Borage and Bugloss and therefore must be carefully gathered up Caprons are a sort of large Straw-berries not over delicate which ripen at the same time as those of the better kind Their Leaves are extraordinary large velveted and of a darkish Green Colour They are little to be prized and are found in the Woods as other Straw-berries are Spanish Cardons or Cardoons grow only from Seed They are sown at two several times The first is commonly about the middle or latter end of April and the second at the beginning of May. They must be sown in good and well prepared Ground and in little Trenches or pits a full foot wide and about six Inches deep filled with Mold We make Beds of four or five foot wide in order to place in them two ranks of those little Trenches or pits checker-wise We put five or six Seeds in every hole with intention to let but two or three of them grow if they all come up taking away those that are over and above that number either to throw away or to new stock those places where there perhaps are none come up or where we may have sown some few upon a Hot Bed for that intention And if in fifteen or twenty days we do not see the Seed come up we should uncover them to see whether they be rotten or begin to sprour that so we may fill up their places with new ones in case of need The Seeds of the first sowing are generally three weeks coming up and those of the second fifteen days Cardons must not be sown before the middle of April for fear they should grow too big and run to Seed in August and September and then they are not good Great care must be taken to water them well and when towards the end of October we have a mind to whiten them we take the advantage of some dry day first to tie up all their Leaves with two or three bands and some days after we cover them quite up with Straw or dry Litter well twisted about them so that the Air may not penetrate to come at them except it be at the very top which we leave open These Cardoon Plants thus wrapt up whiten in about fifteen days or three weeks and grow fit to Eat We make an end of tying up and wrapping or covering all that we have in our Gardens when we perceive the Winter approach and then we take them up with the Earth about them to transplant them in our Green House or Conservatory Some of those Plants are good to transplant in the naked Earth in the following Spring to run to Seed in June or July or else some Plants of them tied up in their first places will serve for that three or four times together Carrots are a sort of Root whereof some are White and others Yellow that grow only from Seed and require the same care and ordering which we have already described under the head of Red Beet-Roots Cellery is a sort of Sallet produced by Seed and is not good but at the end of Autumn and during the Winter Season We sow
other Infirmities you may easily discover by Cutting or Peeling a little of the Rind of the Stem Branches and Roots which should be pretty firm and close and of a yellowish Green the Bark also loosen'd a little from the Wood should be found of an Oily Moisture which is the Effect of the Sap's being plentifully in it On the other side if the Bark be too soft or rather rotten or very rough hard and dry they are Mortal Symptoms and you 'll commonly find the Wood underneath the Bark to appear blackish and spotted and such are only fit for the Chimney Those Trees which are brought us without the Earth or any Clod about the Roots and have yet perhaps other good Marks are to be Trimm'd from Head to Foot The Head that is to say the Branches being commonly Naked and Bare of Leaves should be sufficiently Prun'd and Abated and so order'd that new Shoots may Spring from their Tops fit to be form'd into beautiful and handsom Heads round and full as we shall shew in due place As to the Roots be sure to â—eanse them well from their Hairy Fibers which for the most part you 'll find quite dry'd and shrunk up and take so much off the other Roots that you leave not the very largest and best grown above four or five Inches in length and in proportion the least also Cutting those that are spoil'd by any Galling or Bruise quite off to the very Quick And this done plunge the Roots for five or six hours into common Water and then Plant them in Baskets Tubs Cases or Pots fill'd with good Mould a little lighter than that which is compos'd for Grown Orange-Trees such as you have had a good while and that have their Clod about them For these new Plants therefore there needs not be in the Composition of the Mould above a quarter part of the grosser Earth at most the rest being of the above-mention'd Ingredients When this is done place the Baskets or Vasas in a moderate Hot-Bed made in some shady Place where the Sun does but a little Peep through or if more expos'd to its Heat which may dry and injure the tender Plants during the first hot Months in this case you must cover them with Matresses or Canvas so as preventing these Inconveniences you may yet give them Air in Rainy Close and Cloudy Seasons being also careful to Water them from time to time moderately and with discretion so as the Mould may remain always a little Moist yet so as that the Earth in the Case may enjoy some be it never so little since a very little is sufficient of the warmth and comfort of the Hot-Bed But by no means too much for that were worse than none at all Arm'd with these Cautions you will be able to save most Orange-Trees so In-Cas'd Potted or in Baskets leaving them in the same Bed all the rest of the Year until towards the middle of October when you are to remove them to such a Green-House as we have recommended or else made them a warm Cover as they stand with dry Dung and Litter well Matted c. sufficient to preserve them from the Cold of Winter to the end of April or the beginning of May when you shall take them out of this first Case or Pot together with Earth and all or if in Baskets which commonly you 'll find Rotten at the Years end put them as they are into new and proportionable Cases without troubling your self about taking any of the Rotten Basket-Twigs away lest by letting in the Air you prejudice the tender Râ—oâ—s This done give them the ordinary Dressing and Culture as hereafter we shall direct from henceforth beginning to form the Head till it arrive to the utmost Beauty it is capable of Thus much touching Orange and Lemon-Trees brought to us with the Clod Branches and Leaves about them As for such as come with all this Furniture you are First To Examine whether the adhering Clod be Natural because they are sometimes Artificially Clump'd and Daub'd about the Root with Clay after the Root is Cut but this is easily discover'd by the manner of the small Roots clinging to it for if it be Natural it will stick very firmly to them but if loose 't is a certain sign of Knavery And if it be only such as has apparently been thus applied take it all clear off if otherwise â—abating very little let most of it remain since 't is likely to be no great quantity and then you need only refresh the Roots by pairing and shortning them discreetly But for the others they are to be Treated as has already been shew'd where we speak of such Young Orange-Trees as arrive without their Clod. Having thus perform'd what is necessary about the Clod you are in the next place to Work about the Head and consider how to give beginning to the most agreeable Figure which you shall do by taking away a great part of the little small straggling Branches you find to grow Confus'dly Cutting also the grosser ones off which you see hinder the Symmetry and Beauty of the Head which should be reduc'd to a perfect Round and Full. This done Bathe the Root a good quarter of an Hour namely so long as that being quite under Water you perceive any Air-Bubble to rise and then set it as long to Drain Lastly Place it in your Case after the same manner we commonly do Orange-Trees out of an Old Case CHAP. VI. Of the Size and Bigness of good Cases and other Circumstances relating to them THERE needs no great Directions about the Bigness and Shape of Cases which ought to be of Capacity made proportionable to the Growth and Substance of the Trees which you would Plant in them A small Tree would appear as ridiculously in a large Case as a great Tree in a small one but with this difference in the mean time That the latter would Languish and be in danger of Perishing for wâ—nt of competent Nourishment it being impossible a great Tree together with all its Roots should find sufficient to maintain Life in a Vessel that contain'd but little Matter whereas a little Orange-Tree in a great and large Case would run no such danger but be in effect the same as if it had been Planted in the wide and open Field I am not of some Curious Mens Opinion who hold that large and ample Cases hinder the Growth and Thriving of young Orange-Trees unless they also imagine they would grow and be worse in the plain Earth and open Field 'T is a great mistake to think that a single Root produces nothing of it self let it be never so throughly heated it will never exert any thing if it be not Animated with a certain Vital-Principle as I have fully demonstrated in one of the Chapters of my Treatise of Reflections Now the Impression which must promote this Activity seems to proceed more Naturally from the Superficies than from the sides What remains
tells us being Boil'd and coming after to be expos'd to the fresh Air grows more susceptible of Cold than 't was before and consequently shall sooner Freeze than that which has never been near any Fire at all So as to the Impressions of Cold in relation to the Air this Fire kindled in the Green-House â—enders the Air more obnoxious and dispos'd to receive the Cold which environs it on every part than that which never was thus alter'd with any Artificial Heat The Heat of Char-coal and the like whether in some hidden Stove or Earthen Pan though it may perhaps encounter and hinder some Effects of Cold offensive to living Creatures who will receive no more than they need and have a mind to yet Orange-Trees have not that Gift to distinguish and know the just degree of a Foreign Heat necessary to protect them against the rigour of Winter The truth is to derive any advantage from Artificial Fire in favour of the Green-House one should first understand the just Measure of the Need which these Trees have of it whether only to defend them from the Cold or so to recover the Heat which they have lost as that afterwards no Infirmity may be the consequent of it but we have not this Sagacity an Orange-Tree which has once been attack'd by the Frost Infallibly loses its Leaves remaining Sick and Indispos'd a long time after In the second place it were necessary that through the whole extent of the Green-House the Heat were always Uniform and of the same Temper which it neither is nor can be for it can neither be equal as to its continuance nor as Philosophers speak perfectly Regular as to its Intention That is as all the World has sufficiently Experienc'd maintain a constant Heat and of the self same Tenor especially during the Night which is the Time that the Cold is most Intense and Penetrating and when the Gard'ner is commonly fast asleep so as the Fire which at the Beginning or when newly kindled was but moderate does afterwards Increase the Fuel at last being all spent and consum'd it does either extreamly diminish and abate of its Heat or is altogether extinguish'd Such Fire I affirm therefore creates great Disorders in the Green-House Spoiling the Boughs that are nearest to it Parching the Leaves and above all Altering the Air which produces all the Good and all the Mischief accordingly as 't is well or ill qualified My Opinion therefore is that the very best Expedient for the Preservation of Orange-Trees thus Inclos'd against the Cold which is so funest and deadly to them were as we have shew'd a good Situation and Exposure That the Doors be made of sufficient Thickness and exactly Shutting The Windows very Close with good Chassis double and well Cauk'd Especially that the Walls of the House be Substantial But in Case the Conservatory should not have purposely been built for this Purpose as now and then it may happen and that perhaps one is oblig'd to make use of a Room that has been formerly some Hall Cellar or Stable c. as occasion prompts till a Better be made In such exigence the best way is to build either within or on the out-side as shall be found most Convenient some Counter-Wall of a full foot in thickness as high and long as is the old Wall if you suspect it not thick enough and this should be built of good Masonry Or in case of Necessity one may Cloath an Old Wall with Litter of a dry Dunghill beating it very close together as you heap it up and to the end it may stand and not slide down to drive in some stout quarters of Wood at Competent distances from the Wall about four foot of each other joyning to the Counter-mure of the Litter Indeed such Litter-Counter-Walls are not so sightly and sweet within Doors Besides they will be a Retreat for Rats and Mice which may be apt to gnaw and disbark the Trees not sparing the Roots themselves But besides that there are many remedies and ways to destroy most of those Vermin They are not such deadly and pernicious Enemies to Trees which are Inclos'd as the Frosts against which such Counter-Walls of Dung are made use of 'till a more commodious House can be built This therefore may serve to answer the Objection of Unsightliness and ill Odor I wish no body who is a Lover of Orange-Trees may be reduc'd to this Extremity but may have timely prevented it by erecting a good Conservatory for this purpose only But if notwithstanding all these Precautions we discover the Ice in our Inclosure as 't is easily done by hanging a Linnen Rag moistned or setting some small Dishes of Water in several Places of the House in the Winter-time and especially near the Doors and Windows on the edges of the Cases and Boxes to observe whether the Frost against which one cannot be too Watchful and Jealous have gotten any entrance In this Exigence the most Infallible Remedy to maintain a Sweet and uniform Warmth and which may last as long as one pleases is to Hang up lighted Flambeaux or Lamps which will be sure to last either between the Chassis against the Windows if it be there the Cold enters or near the Doors or all along the whole House taking care the Flame touch none of the Trees and that the Warmth continue of the same Temper as is easily done The Experience of setting a small Wax-Candle lighted in a Coach close shut up or of more than one in a very close Chamber may serve to Confirm this Expedient as they have me to Justifie this Imagination CHAP. X. What there is to be done to the Heads of Orange-Trees as well in order to the Recovery of such as have been long Neglected Ill Govern'd or Spoil'd either by Cold Wet Hail as also how to Attain the having such Trees as shall be always Beautiful and Agreeable both in Shape and Figure Health and Vigour TO satisfie the Importance and Extent of this Comprehensive Chapter I think first to propose the Idea which I have conceiv'd of the Beauty of the Orange-Tree whether it be a Well-grown Tree a Small or Moderate one for there are very fine ones both of the one and other sort as well as among all the Species of Animals there are fair ones of all Ages and Growths But the Truth is there is nothing more Rare than to find Orange-Trees such as are Great and Perfect at the same time whilst it is easie enough among the ordinary and moderate sort to meet with such as are both Fair and extreamly handsom There are also I confess very beautiful Orange-Trees in Bush that is such as produce Branches from the very bottom but indeed those which maintain an upright strait and fair Stem of about two feet and an half to Three or Four or at most to Five Feet in Height are much statelier and carry a certain Majesty much Superior to the Shrub and Bush I am
great deal that lies neglected Palladius Res Agrestis est infidiosissima cunctanti Columella Imbecillior ager quam Agriola esse debet quomam cum sit cum eo colluctandum si fundus praevaleat allidit Dominum Ibid. Gravem patitur Tributis creditorem qui Agrum colit cui sine spe Absolutionis astrictus est Palladius Non aliter qui adverso vix flumine lembum remigiis subigit Virg. Georg. 1. My Taste and Judgment in Pears What is to be thought of Fruit Pyramids and how they are to be order'd In this and the two next Paragraphs Whether it be fit to Plant any Dwarf-trees in little Gardens What Sorts of Dwarf-fruit-trees are fittest to be Planted in little Gardens And first what Trees not proper and why The Pear-tree of all the most proper to be Planted in little Gardens and why What the Author advises to Gentlemen over hasty for Fruit with the Inconveniences following it What Method may be taken in spacious Gardens to have Fruit both soon and fair while their principal Garden is growing to Perfection The Effects of the Difference of Climates As also of the Difference of Soils and Tempers of Years in the same Climate Autumn and Winter-fruits not to hang too long on the Trees The Ripening of Muscat-Grapes a certain Rule to know the temper of th◠Year and Soil and the Ripeness of other Fruits by Four several Seasons of Fruits and how reckoned Of the Summer-Season Fruits in June Fruits in July Fruits in August Fruits in September Fruits in October Fruits in November Fruits in December Fruits in January Fruits of February March and April Precedence of Maturity according to the difference of Expositions The ordinary lasting of the Fruits of every sort of Tree And first of Summer-Fruits Secondly of those of the beginning of Autumn and Thirdly of the Fruits of the latter Season and of Winter A Winter Boncretien preferr'd to the first place Reasons for the Preference of the Winter Boncretien It s Antiquity It s old Roman Name Volemum or Crustumium It s Modern Name The Description and Praises of this Pear Tyger-babbs a pernicious Insect infesting Wall-pears No really different kinds o 〈…〉 Winter-Boncretien The Description and Commendation of the Butter-pear The Conditions necessary to constitute an Excellent Pear The Autumn Bergamot It s Description and Character The second place adjudged to a Dwarf-pear-tree wherein the Butter-pear is to be prefered to the Virgoulee How to prevent the ill Taste in Virgoulee-Pears and from what Cause that Taste proceeds The Marks of goodness or badness in Virgoulee-pears A singular Remark about Virgoulee-pears November December and January November December and January November December and January November December and January The Russelet or Russetin-pear described Compote Fruit stew'd in Sugar after a manner peculiar to the French August and September The several Names of the Robine-pear The Robine-pear Described and Commended Its Desects The Crasanne its Names and why given It s Description The S. Germain-pear Its Names and Description The Marchioness Pear described The Colmar-pear its Names It s Description The Petit-oin its names It s Description and Character The Louise-bonne or Good-Louise-Pear Described The Verte-Longue or Long-green-Pear Its Names It s Description The Lansac-Pear Its Names It s Description A. November and December B. November C. November December and January D. November December January and February E. November and December F. Middle-October G. October Directions how to accommodate our ground to all sorts of Trees The Dry Martin its Names It s Description The Messire-John described The Portal-Pear It s Description and good Qualities The St. Augustin-Pear Several different sorts of it It s Description The End of December A. Mid October B. September and October The Little Muscat-pear It s Praise A. The Beginning of July B. The Beginning of July The middle of July The Muscat-Robert its names It s Description The Vine-pear its Names It s Description Mid July The Skinless-pear its Names and Description The Flowry-Muscat describ'd The Musked Summer Boncretien described The Orange-green-pear described The Doyenne or Dean-pear its names It s Description Besi de la Motte a new Pear Described The Summer-Pear-trees Specified The Autumn-Pears Specified The Winter-Pears Specified August End of October Mid November Entrance of July End of July February and March The Summer-Pear Specified Those of Autumn Specified Those of Winter Specified The Bourdon or Humble-Bee-Pear Described The Espargne or Reserve-Pear Described The Maudlin-Pear Described The Sugar-green-Pear Described The Bugi or Easter-Bergamot Described Mid July October and November The Double-Flower or Double-Flower'd-Pear Described The Frank-Royal Pear Described The Angober-Pear Described The Besidery-Pear Described The Great-Onionet or Onion-Pear Its Names and Description The Ronville-Pear Described Its Faults The Sranish-Boucretien-Pear described The Salviatipear described The Musked-Blanquet or White-pear Its Season and Description The Pastourelle pear described The English Butter-Pear described The Cat-burnt or Maiden-Pear described * It s Description is after that of the Pound-pear The Pound-pear its Names and Description The Russelin-pear its Names It s Description * See its description next to that of the Bouchet after the end of the fourth hundred of trees The Bouchet-pear described The Pendar or Hanging-pear described The Cat-pear its Season and Description The Besi de Caissoy-pear or Russet of Anjou its Season and Description The St. Francis-pear described in short The Musked Orange-pear described The Greai Frement described i. e. Commend if you please large Fields but chuse but little ones to cultivate The Carmelite-pear described * Though these three last kinds are here counted in the number of the Dwarf-trees for Winter-fruit yet they come in Season all three in Autumn but that need not disturb the order here observed The Rose-pear described The Caillot-rosat described The Villain-pear of Anjou it s other Names and Description What Summer-Pear Standards are fit to be Planted What Autumnal ones and what Winter ones Bakeing and Preserving Pears with Cherries c. and Apples c. best Planted apart in separate Orchards Standards to be much less Trimmed in their Heads than Dwarfs to make them bear so much the sooner * That is places near High-ways where many People pass To what Pear-Trees the Wall is absolutely necessary Seven principal sorts of Fating and Preserving Apples Other sorts less valuable but yet good Apples described in general The Two sorts of Pippins Gray and VVhite Their Season and Character The Summer and Autumn-Calvills described Their Season and Character The Fennellet Fennell-Apple described It s Season and Character The Cour-pendu or short-stalk'd Apple described It s Season and Character The Api described It s Season and Character The Violet-Apple described It s Character and Season Other pretended Violet-Apples The Black Ice-Apple described The Rambour described The Cousinottes described The Orgerans of little worth The Star-Apple described Jerusalem-Apples described The English-Pairmain described Golden-Pippins described Ice-Apples described The Francatu's