you would by this operation produce and about the mid le or lower end of it for the top will be too tender fix upon a leaf that hath a fresh and fair Bud growing out betwixt it and the Bark and about half an Inch below and above the Bud cut off the Branch and so you will have a piece of it about an Inch long remaining with a Bud and Leaf on this you must cleave just through the midst so as the Bud may be directly in the middle of the one half and then snip off a part of the Leaf and holding it by the remainder clap it to a smooth Straight place on the Stock and with a Pen-knife score out on each side of it so much of the Stock as it covers or rather a little broader because when the Bark on which the Bud is is taken off from it's own Wood and applyed to the Stock it will cover a wider space of the Stock than it did before After you have thus marked your Stock with-draw the Cyen again and cut the Bark through where you had marked it then cut the Bark cross and straight from the uppermost end of one score to the upper end of the other and cut the Bark again cross and straight from one score to the other but not so low as the Lower ends of the scores by a quarter of an Inch then take the oblong square piece of Bark that is cut on every side quite off the Stock and raise up that part of the Bark that remains betwixt the side-scores at the bottom of the work from the Wood till you come to the lower end of the side-scores Take then a Goose-quill cut in the fashion of an Apple-scoop or scraper and having with your Nail a little loosned the upper part of that Bark that is on the Cyen thrust the Quill betwixt the Bark and the Wood that it may separate them and take off with the Bark a little Wood or Root of the Bud over against it If you see a hole on the inside over against the Bud when you have taken the Bark off cast it away that little labour is lost and try another till you find it otherwise Then put in the lower end of that Bark or Cyen betwixt the Bark that was raised on the Stock and the Wood and so bind it on the Stock gently with Woollen-yarn or narrow Shreds of Linnen Cloth or gentle Stuff or with Basses or Bast of which the Russia Matts are made but so that the Cyen may Lye close to the Wood of the Stock that was made bare and have an especial care that you hurt not the Bud. § 3. There are some other ways of Inoculating used differing only in the manner of the cut both in the Bark of the Stock and of the Cyen And first some proceeding in all other things as is before directed cut the Bark out of the whole length of the side-scores and apply the Cyen to the disbarked place § 4. Others cut one slit only down the Bark of the Stock and another cross the the top of it like a great T when this is done they prepare the Cyen or Bark as before directed only cutting it sharp pointed at the lower end before they take the Bud off it's Wood Then raise the Bark of the Stock up on each side the slit and put in the Cyen beginning at the top and sliding it downward gently and let the top of the Bud joyn close to the cross-cut in the upper end and so bind the Bark gently upon it but not just upon the Bud This is the common way used by Gardiners § 5. Others make the cross-cut in the middle of the downright score on the Stock and lifting up the four corners of the Bark and making the Cyen sharp at both ends put it under the Bark of the Stock at both ends and then bind it but in doing this there is danger of hurting the Bud or Cyen § 6. Mr. Rea commends the making the cross-cut at the lower end of the downright cut and having opened the sides put in the Cyen upwards being made sharp at the upper end only You must be nimble and quick in Inoculating and preparing the Bud els the Air by sudden drying the Bud or Cyen and the cut part of the Stock will much be hurt Thus much to satisfy the curiosity of such as have a mind to make tryal of every way but the first is esteemed best Necessary rules and observations on Inoculaing § 7. Lest one Bud fail or any mischance break it put two in every Stock but not directly under one another on the same side of the Stock The Branch or Shoot you cut one Cyen off may yield you several § 8. About a Month after the Inoculating or sooner if you perceive the Bark swell where the binding is cut off the binding If it grow it will fix to the Stock keep it's colour and that part of the Leaf and Stalk that was left will drop off and the Bud appear fair Then sometime before the next Spring cut off the top of the Stock a hands breath above the place it was Inoculated at and all the side-branches that grow any where upon the Stock and at Spring the Bud will put forth and if any other Sprouts or Buds appear on the Stock cut them off § 9. If the first Inoculation fail or the Buds dye the Stocks may be Inoculated again the next Summer and of such as are Inoculated timely in the year it may be sometimes seen whether they grow or not time enough to Inoculate them again the same year § 10. Apricocks will have Buds ready sooner than other Fruit so that you may begin with them and follow with the other § 11. Stocks raised of Peach-stones are commonly big enough to be Inoculated the second Summer sometimes the First after they are set when they or any other stocks are an Inch and half in compass or thereabouts they are big enough to be Inoculated § 12. Those you intend for Wall or Dwarf-trees are to be Inoculated within a handfull of the ground and not Pruned at all till you remove them and then you will better see what 's necessary to be cut off and these you may remove after one years growth or two with more safety If you Inoculate any Plums Pears Cherries or other Fruit that you intend for an Orchard or other place for tall Standards you may do it higher on the Stocks viz. six or seven foot high and Prune these up in the Nursery and let them grow there two or three years according as they grow in hight before they be removed § 13. After Stocks that are Inoculated have made one or two years growth you must cut off the head of the Stock that remain'd above the Bud At your first cutting it cut it close to the new Branches that it may grow over the cut let it be cut a little slope and Clay'd over if
Walnuts § 1. THere are several sorts of Walnuts some being larger others thinner sheld than the common but differ so little one from another that Men have not much minded giving them Names the largest sort is usually call'd the French Wallnut the best are those of a tender thin shell of a full Kernel and of a middle size For what Walnut Trees are good § 2. Walnuts are much Planted of late and are very proper for Walks in Grounds and a good Fence to shelter Buildings and Orchards the Fruit is useful and profitable if you can spare any to sell or for Oil for Painters if the Markets should be glutted with them and the Timber so excellent for Tables Chairs Stools and the Stocking of Guns c. that it goes off well and takes a good price Way of raising Walnuts § 3. They are raised by Nuts gathered from the same Trees if you can let them have their Green Husks on them for the bitterness thereof will defend the Kernels from being eaten by Worms before they spring up but you must chiefly respect their full ripeness at which time they are apt to shed their Husks you may either set them as they come immediately from the Tree or keep them in the Sand till March. Set them in rich dry warm Land little more than an Inch deep and when you transplant them set them as speedily as you can after taking up and cut off little of the Roots but by no means the Sap or heart-Root as in other Trees and top them not at all if you can help it but if the Tree be so tall crooked or dead at the top before removal then you must put a Peg or some soft Wax into the Pith-Pole or cover the Cut with Clay that wet may not get in and make it dye downward because these Trees have a large Pith when you do cut off the top do it if you can at a side-Branch or Sprig and that will spread under the Clay and cover the tops again you may cut off many side-Branches when you transplant them No Cattle will brouse or peel them by reason of their bitterness so that a Fence that will preserve them from Cattles rubbing it sufficient Soil proper for Walnuts § 4. They will grow in loose Gravelly Stoney or almost Rockey Land and best where they are first set without being removed to which end you may in such a Hillock as is spoken of in Field-Planting but not so broad nor so high set three or four Nuts or more and about two years after they are grown up pluck up gently all but one of them that is likely to make the best Tree CHAP. XVI Of Chesnuts THe best Chesnuts among us are those that come from beyond Sea but of those that grow with us some are larger than others without any difference worth observation Chesnut-trees grow to bâ— very large and bear good Fruit on a hâ—t dry Land they are excellent for a defence â—rom Winds and better then Walnut-trees but of much flower growth It 's not good â—o top them as some do when they transplat them They are raised by setting Nâ—ts an Inch and half deep that come frâ—m beyond Sea at the end of the year or â—rom good Nuts well ripended in England â—hich you may set with the Husks on wherâ— they are fallen or rather kept in Sand till the great Frosts are over these Trâ—â—s grow best likewise without being ever â—â—moved some say that they will grow well being Grafted upon Oaks Beeech or Walnut-trees The Horse-Chesnut growth of Layers and makes delicate Trees for Avenues CHAP. XVII Of Filbeards THere are two sorts of Filbeards distinguisht by the colour of the skin of their Kernells the one being Red and the other White There is another sort call'd the Filbeard of Constantinople the Leaves and Fruit of which are bigger than either of the former And there is besides these an excellent large plump Nut that hath a very good Kernel the best of which have a very thin shell Filbeards and Hazle-Nuts worthy to be Planted in Orchards or Gardens are raised from Nuts set in the Earth or Suckers from the Roots an old Tree or may be Grafted on the common Hazle-Nut-Tree CHAP XVIII Of Quinces their kinds and propagation THere is not a more delicate Fruit for the Kitchin and Conservatory than the Quince whereof there are some sorts though not many somwhat different from each other The Portugal Apple Quince is of best esteem it 's a large yellow Fruit tender pleasant and soon boiled The Portugal Pear Quince is much like the former except in it's form The Barbary Quince is good but small The Lyons Quince is a large yellow and the Brunswick Quince a large white both good Fruit but inferior to the two First The English Quince is the most Stony and a harsh Fruit and covered with a Doun or Cotton The way of raising Quince-trees is by Suckers Cuttings as you are taught in the Eleventh Chap. aforegoing and it 's only to be added that if you have a part of a Tree that growth so low that you can bring it to the Ground either by Plaishing or otherwise you may do it in the beginning of Winter and cover it all with Earth but the ends of the Branches and let it continue so one year and then uncover it and every Twig will have put forth Roots in the Earth which being cut off and transplanted will make you a Tree And this is the way of propagating Fruit-trees by Layers How to propagate by Layers And you may here take notice that all such Trees that may be propagated by Cuttings as Currans Quince Goosberries Raspherries Barberries Figs Vines Mulberries c. may be raised likewise by Layers and this way takes more sure than by Cuttings Trees generally have large Pith that will grow by Cuttings and Layers Quince-trees delight and bear best in a fat moist rich Land where some Sinck or Gutter that carries away the soke or Wash of a Dunghil or House is a place usually chosen for them and is such as they like very well in Some will Graft or Inoculate Quince-stocks with Grafts or Buds from Quince-trees of good bearing kinds which will cause them to bear more early CHAP. XIX Of Mulberries MUlberries are distinguished by their Colours for there are Black Red and White The Black Mulberry-tree never fails of Fruit after it 's grown up but the White seldom bears well They are raised by Suckers Layers or Cuttings from the Branches or sides of the Tree These following Trees and Shrubs are very apt to grow of Cuttings or Slips as Codlings Gennetings Brets Gennet-Moils Quinces Goosberries Currans Figs Vines Tamarisk Honeysuckles and Roses in some Grounds By Laying almost any sort of Trees or Shrubs will grow if a little Incision be made as the beformentioned and Mulberries Cornelions Lime-trees Gelder-Roses Roses of all sorts The Season for setting of Cuttings of Trees to grow
by holding open your Stock till you have set your Graft or Cyen exactly in its place in the Cleft of the Stock This represents the Form thereof Instead of this Instrument you may use a Wedge of hard wood about a Foot long especially for great and large stocks You are also to have a sharp Pen-knife to shape your Grafts or Cyens with and also a Whet-stone to quicken the edge of your Knives when dull and a Basket to carry your Tools in and another to carry your Grafts or Cyens in Also you are to have Ruches Bastes or soft Flags to bind Grafts or Buds to the Stock You may be furnished therewith at the Mat makers The manner of preparing clay and how to clay grafts Also you must have Clay prepared with Horse-dung very well mixed and workt together as Mortar about two parts Clay If it be not well temper'd and wrought together it will be apt to fall from your Graft in case of much wet or chop or cleave if dry weather happen and so you 'l lose your labour in Grafting for you must Clay your Grafts close on every side an Inch above the top of the Stock and an Inch below the bottom of the Clefts that no Air get in to wither the Graft and keep Clay on the grafted part until the stock be covered over with the Graft For Clay is as a Salve to a Wound which heals it up and it rather keeps out moisture than otherwise if well closed and also preserves from dry winds Sun and other annoyances Therefore keep on the Clay a year or two till the head of the stock be cover'd with the Graft and the cleft healed up Choice of Grafts or Cyens § 3. These Cyens or Grafts you get ought to be the last years Shoots strong and very well grown that grow on the top or out-side of a Tree that several years experience of those that know it can faithfully assure you bears very well and good fruit of its kind and cut not off the tops of the Cyens until that you graft them for so they will keep better but immediately after grafting the tops of Grafts are to be cut at a Bud that they may spread the better and of such as are but short if there be Blossom-buds on the top as it 's commonly seen in Pearmain-Cyens and many other good bearing kinds Grafts that are very small and slender commonly fail therefore choose the fairest fullest and strongest shoot of the last years growth and fullest of Buds and of good bearing kinds else you may have fair Trees and little or no Fruit on them and so fancy you have an Orchard though seldom Fruit for some Trees will grow and blossom very well yet rarely bear Fruits the reason is for that they were grafted from bad bearing Trees and are of bad bearing kinds A shoot or Branch of the year next foregoing makes the best Cyens or Graft and thrives best though in Herefordshire when they graft old Trees they commend and use Cyens of two or three years growth yet those are seldom found to have convenient Buds to put forth at and often times have blossoming Buds on them and make not so good a growth neither have they so good a joint to graft at as those of the last year When you get Grafts you had best cut off at least three Inches of that which grew the year before with them besides the last years Shoot for so they will keep the better and you may use about an Inch and an half of that old Wood in every Cyens when you Graft it Perhaps you may not have several sorts of Plums Cherries or Pears so near you as that you may get Buds fresh enough for Inoculation In this case you may procure Cyens and graft them and they will continue fresh though you should send for them from beyond Sea These Cyens or Grafts of any kind may be grafted immediately after they are gotten and that successfully or they may be kept three Weeks or a Month before they are used and there ought to be a Fortnight or three Weeks betwixt the time of their being cut and their being grafted that the Stocks in that time may be replenished with Sap and the Cyens more empty of it and then they will quicker incorporate by more greedily attracting the Sap out of the Stock To keep your Cyens or Grafts after they are cut you need not as some direct bury them in moist Mold for this may be a means to make them swell and bud forth by receiving moisture from the Earth and then when by grafting they are exposed to the cold open Air they will be in danger to wither and die before they have nourishment from the Stock You may lay them in a dry house so it be near no heat or under the shade of an old Tree or Hedge and cover them all over with dry Mold that the Air may not have too much Influence upon them though they seem somewhat dry yet if they cut with a fresh colour and be not much withered they will not grow the worse but rather the better yea some that have seemed withered being carried 70 or 80 Miles have grown well And they may be carried hundreds of Miles in a Box of Mold or their ends stuck in Clay or a Turnip and wrapped about with green fresh Moss that they bruise not bind not many together for if so those in the middle will dry and be spoiled in certain days but rather lay them thin in the Mold Be very careful that the Buds be neither hurt or rub'd in the binding or carriage of the said Grafts In providing Cyens or Grafts of Pears Plums and Cherries you must cut them in the beginning of February having respect to the forwardness or backwardness of the Spring and the warmth or coldness of the Country you live in but you must be sure to cut them before the Buds have any speck of white appear on them Cyens or Grafts for Apple-Trees will seldom be too forward any time before the beginning of March Grafts of Cherry and Plum-Trees must be grafted soonest because they bud earliest and you are to begin with them ere they bud forth then with Pear-trees and lastly with Apple-trees Elect the fairest and largest Grafts on the top Branches of a Tree and of the last years growth and on the Sun-side of the Tree which will bear sooner than those got on side-branches Of joints and height of grafting § 4. There be some indifferent whether they graft at a joint or no but forecast to have a Bud directly behind the shoulder of the Cyen if Cyens with joints were scarce you might practice so on small Stocks that will speedily be cover'd but if Cyens can be had with joints never graft with others for these will cover the Stocks sooner However this is the opinion of many yet I always grafted at one of the lowest Buds on the thicker end of
viz. Slope off the Cyen or Graft a full Inch or longer and do the like to the Stock and tye the one upon the other both the Stock and Cyen ought to be cut at the smoothest and straightest place You may if you will make a Shoulder on the Cyen and cut the top of the Stock to suit with it and then bind them together and Clay them about the place If you joyn the Inner Bark of the Cyen and Stock exactly together at either side it will grow tho not so well as where the Cyen and Stock are of an equal proportion This way call'd Whip-grafting is successful enough so that special care be taken that both Stock and Cyen suit exactly where they are joyned together which is somewhat troublesome to do and so is it to find Cyens and Stocks of an equal bigness besides the head will be apt to overgrow the Stocks all that can be done to prevent it is to Graft these very low or if high to give the Stock more liberty to thicken by slitting the Bark of it with a Knife almost to the wood In this way of Grafting there is another little Knack may be added to very good purpose and that is when the Stock and Cyen are prepared as you heard before to be joined together to make a slit or Notch with a Knife in the bare place of the Stock downward beginning towards the top of the slope and so slitting or Notching it a little way and doing the like in the sloped face of the Cyen but beginning at the same distance from the lower end of it as you did before from the top of the Stock and so carrying it upwards and then joyn them by thrusting the one slice into the other till the bare place of the Cyen cover the bare place of the Stock This may be done likwise in Grafting by Packing and in both conduceth much to strengthen the work and is called by some Lipping or Tounging In Whip-grafting the cut parts both of the Graft and Stock must joyn and answer one another from the top to the bottom This way of Whip-grafting is commended by some not only for the same reason as slitting or Packing on is but also because the Graft soon covers the Stock which is not impaired by slitting or cleaving and the Graft having it's Wood as well as it's Rind bound to the Stock is not so apt to break off as that which is Grafted only in the Rind nor is the Graft apt to be top heavy the Stocks being smaller afford not so plentiful Nourishment Grafting in the Cleft or slit § 4. The next way of Grafting is call'd Grafting in the Cleft which is the most Antient and common way of Grafting and if carefully managed not inferior to any other way of Grafting tho the modern Planters do somthing slight it You may Graft any Stock this way from half an Inch to three Inches Diameter and that if the Stock be no bigger than the Graft too if you have neat Tools and be ready in the managery thereof and with good success as I have frequently experienced The manner is thus viz. Cut off the top of the Stock in some smooth and striaght place that may be answaerble to the straightness of the Graft that is put into the Cleft if you do it with a Hand-saw cut it smooth afterwards with a Knife leaving the top flat and even Then cleave the Stock with a strong Knife or the Chisel before described at Sect. 2. in Chap. 2. Let the slit run about two Inches deep and let it be as near the middle of the Stock as you can but not in the Pith or heart and let the slit be on the somothest sides of the Stock Have in readiness the Steel Iinstrument before mentioned at Chap. 2. Sect. 2 or els a Stick of hard Wood near a foot long at one end made like a Wedge when you have taken out the Cleaver put one end of the Instrument or els the Wedge into the slit or cleft of the Stock and open it so wide as to put in the Cyen when it is prepared and made ready for that purpose Which is by cutting the Graft or Cyen from the joynt knot or seam if it be straight or els from some Bad on the thicker end of the last years Shoot or Sprout down aslope on both Sides The slope cut off the Graft should be an Inch and half long at least if the Stock be big enough to allow it somthing more than an Inch long making it thin at the bottom and in shape like a Wedge very smooth and even without dints or risings that it may joyn close all along so far as it goes into the Cleft of the Stock let the outside of the Graft or Cyen be somewhat thicker than the inner side unless the Stock be so big as to pinch the Cyen or Graft much then make the Cyen or Graft as thick on that side that goes into the Stock as on the outside which will prevent the Stocks hurting the Sappy part and Bark of the Cyen or Graft by preserving the outside from being pinched too much You may let the Graft or Cyen have on the uppermost part of the slope a shoulder on one side or both or neither all these ways are used but shouldering takes up more time and makes the Cyen or Graft weaker and so apter by chance to be broke off then with your sharp Pen-knife cut away any Jags or roughness or blackness that remains after cleaving on each side of the Cleft of the Stock within and so put in either one or two Cyens or Grafts if the Stock be large place them so as the passage of the Sap betwixt the Bark and Wood both of the Stock and Cyen or Graft may meet and joyn all along the Cleft as near as you can for you must be sure always to joyn the inner side of the Bark of the Cyen or Graft to the inner side of the Bark of the Stock all along the Cleft that the Sap may come out of the Stock to feed the Graft and make it grow The Graft being thus placed in the Stock draw forth the Instrument or Wedge and Clay them close on every side and an Inch above the top of the Stock and an Inch below the bottom of the Cleft and keep Clay on about the Grafted part untill the Stock be covered with the Graft and it will be the sounder Tree If you put but one Graft or Cyen in which is best unless the Stock be large then cut off a piece with a slope cut from the top of the Stock about an Inch and half deep on the worst side of the Stock the Graft being to be put on the straightest and smoothest side in cutting the Stock thus the Graft will cover over the sooner Many cleave big Stocks crosswise again and put in two more Cyens but cleaving hurts the Stocks so much that it 's better
the Land you intend for it be a Turf or Green-sward you ought to Plow it two years before you set your Trees in it to make it mellow and loose that the Trees may be better take Root and you may then lay on Manure which by Plowing will be well mixt with the natural Soil and use such Manure as will best suit to amend it and if you sow the Ground about ten days after the Midsummur before you Plant with Turneps and when they are got off which will be about November if you please then set your Trees they will like well § 10. Where the natural Soil is not good of it self whether it be in Garden Orchard or Field there it ought to be by skill assisted and better'd at least wise for such a compass as the Roots of every Tree take up for some time if not so far round as they are ever like to extend themselves And this must be done by mixing such Manures with the Soil as suit best with it's temper If the Soil be Clay or Clay mixed with Gravel or wet heavy Land hot Dung as that of Horses or Poultry or for want of that of Oxen or Cows is best to mix with it to bring it to a due temperament And if the Soil be light hollow esky or sandy Land Marl Mud out of a Pond Ditch or River or shovelings of Dirty yards or Highways if they be not Sandy and be well Mellowed by lying on heaps and especially if those heaps are mixed with Lime are proper to mend it If this last Soil be barren likewise you may properly add a mixture of Neats Dung. It hath been seen that an Apple-tree on a Hemp-but which was constantly Plowed and Manured to a great richness bore more Apples than four such Trees in an Orchard would do and it 's constantly seen in Barren hungry Land Trees thrive poorly grow Mossey or Bark-bound bearing seldom and that a poor Fruit Only Walnut-trees and Pear-trees do not necessarily require a very rich Ground and will prosper best on Stony and light Land If your Land be too rich which is seldom seen you may mix Coal-ashes with it Moist Land to order § 11. If your Land is very flat that wet is apt to stand upon it or be a shallow Soil you may somthing help it in Plowing also by gathering the Land always up in and near the place where you intend the Rows of Trees shall afterwards stand which in two years time will somthing raise it and thicken the Soil and the Furrows so made will help to carry off the Water or which is better raise the Land on broad Ridges that the middle of them may be about 24 or 30 Foot distance according as you intend to Plant your Trees Let the Intervals between the Ridges be about eight Foot broad and the Earth taken up between about a Foot deep and cast on the Ridges which will make the Ground thicker of the best Soil than before it was that the Roots of the Trees you Plant on the Ridges cannot run down nor spread into the bad Soil which otherwise it would do by this means the Trees will thrive and prosper well as may be perceived on the Banks of some Land and the Hedges that Apple-trees will thrive better there than on the Level-land Moist Land to order § 12. If it be a Springey moist or spewy Land you must Trench it at the head of the Spring and that deeper than the chanel of the Spring runs in the Earth which you may leave open and yearly cleanse or fill it up with Alder or Oler-boughs and cover them with the Turf and Earth that came forth much higher than the other Land for the Wood and loose Earth will sink very much by degrees or you may dig several narrow Trenches one between each Row of Trees descending to some Ditch at the lower end of your Ground and lay in the bottom of it Alder-frith or Faggots of Beech and fill the Trenches again on the said Frith or Faggots with Earth as aforesaid and the Water will insinuatingly pass through the said Wood to the lower side of the Ground leaving the rest dryer but if you cannot easily do this order it as at the foregoing Section § 13. If it be Springey but only lye so low and flat that in the Winter Rain or Land-floods will lye upon it and that it hath been lately Plowed or that you 'l not lose two years time by Plowing it before you set your Trees or if it be shallow or ebb Soil you may set your Trees by Tumping Hot dry Land to order § 14. If your Ground be a hot dry Sandy shallow Land Marl laid on the surface and there spread will cool sadden and make it rich or if you can cause the Current of some Rill of Water or rather Water that runs from Pools Ponds or Dunghills to over flow it somtimes which will not only moisten but make the Ground fertile also and the Trees prosper well Fern or any other vegetables nay Stones covering such Land will preserve it cool and moist Gravelly-ground to order § 15. Gravel-grounds are as bad as any because a Tree in them cannot Root to any great bigness and if Muck or other Soils be laid to the Roots of Trees in such Land the Gravel will in a few years eat it up and convert it unto it's own nature but if a little Stony a mixture of Mold among the Stones and at the digging to pick our the largest Stones then Trees will Root indifferent well in such Grounds Over-flown Land § 16. If Land be subject to be over-flown by the inundation of Rivers or other falls of Water so as the Water stand not too long upon it nor the Land be of a stiff cold nature it 's very good for Fruit-trees Of uneven Ground § 17. If there be any unevenness in the Land some direct to level it by carrying the Banks into the low places but this will not only be very chargeable but hurtful by making the high places too barren and the low Ground too rich But that your Trees may grow somewhat level in their tops and not one overshade another and also appear comly you may fore-cast to set such Trees as grow pendant or are not apt to grow tall Trees on the highest Ground and such as are aspiring in the lower places The Fence and Order of Trees in an Orchard § 18. Enclose your Orchard with a good double Ditch about four Foot high and plant thereon two Rows of good Hawthorn or Whitethorn which will be an excellent Fence by the time that the Fruit-trees bear to keep out Cattel from cropping the tender Twigs of the Fruit-trees and rubing against their Stems and unruly People from destroying the Fruit. Good White-thorn being the best Quick-fence for your Orchard when it 's grown up may be plaished the better to prevent Hogs or Sheep for creeping into
falling down by degrees some of the best Roots may be left bare or very little Earth upon them The way of preparing Plants for this purpose is by Circumposition c. as is directed in the 11 Chap. of Dwarf-trees Make choice of Cuttings or Stems as big as a Mans wrist if you can towards the lower end before you set them prune them out of the reach of Cattle and leave but little top on them when you set them neither let them be very long if the tops be out of the reach of the Cattle its enough Planting in Fields by long Crab-tree Stocks § 8. There be some that get long Crab-tree-stocks out of Woods or else dress some up in their Nurseries to grow tall and set them in their Fields or Hedges and at three years standing Graft them which may do well and is better approved of because there needs no removal after they are Grafted which is of great advantage as to make both good-bearing and sound Trees but some inconvenience there is in this way the long Stocks out of Woods being commonly very old their Bark thick their Roots big they thrive but indifferently and those raised in Nurseries will seldom be taper grown or strong enough to bear a large top well after they are Grafted so high as they ought being set in Fields You will also be longer in raising Stocks to that height and any considerable strength as is necessary for this purpose than in raising Trees if your Stocks be Grafted young in your Nursery because they thrive more after Grafting than before and in both Cases if you Graft them high the Stocks will be continually putting out sprouts of their own kind below the place they are Grafted at which will require frequent cutting off if you Graft them not very high you will find it difficult to defend them from the nipping of Cattle and from the Cyens being broke out of the Stocks by some casualties or other to which they are more exposed in Fields that lye common to Cattle than Nurseries that are inclosed Planting in Fields by Graâ—ting old Crab-treestocks § 9. The way most used in Planting-Countries is by Grafting such Crab-trees as grow in the Hedges or Grounds and this is the speediest way to have Fruit because the big Trees have Bodies already and in four or five years time well ordered will have good tops to bear and if you Graft small Stocks in your Ground that have grown of their own accord there and Fence them they will speedily bring on Grafts being so well Rooted The mischiâ—f of Grafting the bodies of old Trees § 10. Many cut off the tops of old Crab-trees or Apple-trees and Graft the body or Trunk but the Cyens could never cover the Heads of those Stocks and by that time the top was a little grown up the body was ready to perish with rottenness The best way for big Crabtrees or if you would change the kind of any Fruit-trees is to Graft them in the Boughs where they are not bigger than a Mans Arm making use of none but those that grow handsome at convenient distance one from another cutting off the others smooth and even close to the Body of the Tree To do this that Winter that you cut or plaish a Hedg order the Workmen to trim up but not to lop or top the Crab-trees unless it be the tops of the Boughs two Foot above the place you intend to Graft them at and then in March following saw off the Heads at proper places and Graft them Of Grafting old Trees in the Cleft § 11. Many are for Grafting these in the Cleft because they think the Cyen hath best hold and will not be so subject to be broke off or out by the Wind as those Grafted in the Bark but many times those in the Cleft are broke out by the Wind neither can you perceive that the Wood of the Cyen in the Cleft did ever cement with the Wood of the Stock but only on the outside as the others do And those in the Cleft are not so apt to grow all of them nor to make so great a growth as those in the Bark which with a little wariness may be preserved from danger of the Wind and full as much care must be had about those Grafted in the Cleft if you will preserve them all from the same prejudice How to Graft old Trees § 12. You may observe the following difference in Grafting these great Foughs from all the forementioned varieties of Grafting and look upon it as a thing well worthy to be taken notice of and observed When you have prepared the Cyen as you are directed to do when you Graft in the Bark apply it to the place you design to put it in and slit the Bark of the Bough through on both sides the Cyen close to it beginning at the top of the Bough and not carrying the slits much above half length of the slope of the Cyen separate that little portion of the Bark between the two slits from the Wood with your Instrument thrusting it a little lower than the slits to let in the Cyen as far as it is sloped and then stick the Cyen in having first taken off from the edges of the Cyen any unevenness not cutting through the Bark that all may the better fit together and you may put in two three or four Cyens in every head having respect to the bigness of it or you may in the biggest put in two Cyens in the Cleft and two others in the Bark doing one of the later on the West-side of it for then the Wind blowing it towards the Head is not so apt to break it out as if it drove it from the head bind the heads and Clay them as you heard before and continue to do so yearly till the heads are almost covered At first Claying stick in Feathers or long Escures to prevent Birds lighting on the Cyens In July following whether you Graft these big Stocks in the Cleft or Bark pick off most of the Leaves of the Cyens and cut off such sprigs as growing inward will make the head thick and all stragling out Boughs that the Wind may not have so much force upon them to break the Branches out of the Stocks Cut off also some of the biggest Shoots the Crab-tree puts forth of its own kind but for the first three years you must not cut off all left the Tree not having liberty to vent all the Sap that cometh up surfeit and dye the small Grafts not being able to receive near so much Sap as the old top did the year before Thus many Country-men when they take off the head of an old Oak have sometimes found it dye and therefore in some Countries they leave one big Bough to grow for one year to draw up the Sap as they term it whereas it is indeed that the Sap may have liberty to vent it self for Trees that
which is the only Tree that endures it best We must take nought from these three first Trees but the dead Wood unless we will form them at first for Bush-trees or Espaliers Because the Corand-tree has much Pith and that it comes easily of a slip its nature does not endure it to be Lopt in the middle of its Branches no more than the Peach-tree above all we must take good care of cutting it when we set it We ought in an old Corand-tree to cut near the Root a Branch past bearing in order to renew it and to cut also from the lower part some young shoots of the year to hinder it from being too much confus'd The young shoots which we preserve serve to renew it when we cut it in its old Wood. Nevertheless tho' it does not delight in being Lopt we make Bushes of it and form it in an Espalier which is beautiful to behold at the time that it is laden with Fruit. I say the same of the Mulberry-tree and of the Fig-tree which cannot endure the knife by reason of the abundance of their Pith the last especially is visibly damnified by it unless we Lop from them great useless Branches for rendring them regular and neither of them can be made to grow low they love too much the free and open Air. Medlar-trees and Service-trees naturally grow high the former endure the knife much more than the latter The Portugal Quince-trees and the Pomegranate-trees of Spain will not be Lopt because they bear their Fruit at the end of their Branches Nevertheless we may take from them entire Branches which cause a confusion and which are old and cut near the Trunk the useless Prodigals which are usual enough in these sorts of Trees As for the other Prodigals which embellish the Tree and which in four or five years will yield Fruit we ought not to Lop them Care must be taken to cover the great Wounds of Trees with a Plaister made of a pound of Drogue a flambeau four Ounces of Rosine and two Ounces of Sheeps Sewet When we walk in our Garden in a fine day of the Month of April we must have in our hand a Magdaleon of the Plaister ev'n now mentioned we must cut a little of it with a knife and after having wrought it betwixt the moistn'd Fingers for rendring it a little soft we must apply it on the great Wounds which we had forgot to seal in the Month of March. And to the end that this Plaister may keep the longer on the Wounds we must put on it a bit of paper as a binder which we must press on softly with the Finger to the end that the heat of the Summer making the Plaister melt the paper may press it stay it and glew it more to the Wood it is what we ought to do in the two other Loppings following CHAP. II. The Lopping of Fruit-trees at the beginning of the Month of May. PRoperly speaking it is not a Lopping that is done to Trees at this time they are as yet in the motion of their Sap. We cut but Scions which tho' Fertile of themselves bring in the mean time a great prejudice to the Fruit at the beginning of May we must therefore take a particular care to cut away the useless Branches which grow by the Buds for Fruit and especially in Pear-trees that is to say to cut away at the second knot a little Scion which comes among the clusters of Pears to delay this is not good the Sap which ought to Communicate it self to the Fruit is carried into the shoot which draws a part of the humour of the Fruit-bud where the Pears are fastn'd which causes either that their Stem drys for want of Sap or that they come very small You may see what I mean in the following Figure Fig. 7 A. A shoot which comes on the Fruit-bud through the abundance of the Sap. B. The place where you must cut it CHAP. III. The Lopping of Fruit-trees at the beginning of June IN the Decrease of the Moon of May which happens often in June you must Lop Trees for the second time but with more moderation than in February for we ought never in June to cut great Branches and properly speaking it is but a relopping of Trees We must wait above all till the Sap be ended according to the Maxim which we have alleag'd before and it will be good to repeat it here Lop in Fair weather in the Decrease of the Moon at the end of the Saps or rather when Trees are at rest The rest of a Tree is known by a bud Garnish't ordinarily with two Leaves which forms it self at the end of the Branches and we observe chiefly this bud at the end of May or at the beginning of June that is to say after the first Sap or shooting The second Sap or shooting of Trees begins ordinarily in the middle of June and ends a Month after towards Magdalen-tide so that betwixt the end of the first Sap and the beginning of the second there is about a Month and it s at this time that we must cut Trees again The effect of this re-cutting is to make the Buds of the first Sap to fill up to force Trees to make Fertile Branches or to form Flower-buds for the following year whereas the Lop of February furnishes but Wood to yield Fruit three years after if we except the Orange the Bergamot the Double-flower the Summer Bon-Chretien and some others You ought here to call to mind that we have distinguisht the Branches of Trees Into Prodigals Indifferent and Fertile There are few Trees Grafted on cultivated Trees and on Trees come of Kernels which do not yield some Prodigal in the first Sap and which do not continue even to yield of them in the others Care must be taken therefore to cut them at the second Leaf-bud and thus to correct the shoot which transports it self and which draw a great part of the Sap of the Tree Oâ— this matter you may see the fourth Figure As for Trees Grafted on the great Quince trees they have not often of these sorts oâ— Prodigal shoots and some Gardiners are ev'n of the mind that they ought not to be Lopt at this time and that the tops of them ought only to be pincht off with the Nails We must not deal with the Indifferent Branches as with the Prodigal for we ought to keep the best without touching them and observe exactly those which we permitted to run on in the Month of February If these have good marks for proving Fertile we must cut nothing there but if they have not they must be cut short enough to make them yield some that is to say they must be cut at the fifth or sixth knot for Leaves As for the other Indifferents we ought to cut them at half a foot or ev'n a foots length for rendring them Fertile the year following The Indifferents which we must not cut have particular marks