make application of my Rules upon Trees or cause some other to do it in his sight Here he will find in short all that which mine own experience and the acquaintance which I have had all my life long with the Masters of this Art could gain unto me after so long a time and will in a few hours make his advantage of that pains which I have daily continued for so many years For it is certain that a long Study and great Practise are required to make Observations in those things which must be learned by Experience and Reason both together and in which a man must often-times attend many years to make one single Experiment especially where scarce any one hath gone before from whom he may take instructions with assurance But he that finds gathered into one all that a man could get by his own experience during his whole Age and that long enough or draw from the communication of others will find these things very easie by making use of his labour to whom at the first they were very hard I say not this as pretending to boast that I have set down all that can be said of this matter for then should I have written more than I know my self On the contrary I am throughly perswaded that I may yet learn many things entirely new wherefore I do with much earnestness intreat all those that are able to adde to my observations or else can correct them as I doubt not but there are many who can I intreat such I say not to envy their skill to those that love Gardening and to my self inparticular since I so freely communicate unto them all that which I my self have gotten I know there are some great Personages of these times who are of the most knowing in this Affair whom as they have all their life long mixed this divertisment with their publick Employments and profound Studies of the highest Sciences I do conjure that they would be pleased not to deny a few hours more of their leisure to instruct such as follow them in their inclination and that they will not refuse to adorn those Gardens which they have alwayes so much loved with the beauties of our Language which they have in such perfection or at least that they will permit somewhat of this subject to fall from their hands amongst so many noble Works which daily proceed thence and do ravish into admiration all such as behold them It is not that I think of entering the lists with them or disputing against them the prize of Agriculture For although I know that it is this sort of Contention which is esteemed good and profitable amongst men by one of those ancient Philosophicall Poets whose Authority I have made use of at the beginning of this Preface notwithstanding I have no other thought in it but that of exciting them to appear in this field being ready to yeild them the pâ—ace so soon as they shall be pleased to take it and shall believe that I have entirely satisfied that passion which I have alwayes â—ad to be serviceable to the Gardiners if I may be so happy as to procure for them so good Masters THE Manner of Ordering Fruit-Trees CHAP. 1. Concerning Nurseries THe first and principall care which they ought to take who would have store of Plants and those faire is to have Nurseries of their own in which they may bring up Trees wherewith to plant their Gardens it being certain that Trees taken from such domestick Nurseries thrive much better then others procured from abroad because that being replanted presently after they have been taken up and meeting with earth of the same nature with that to which they have been accustomed they doe thereby grow again with the greater facility whereas on the contrary Trees brought from afar off are alwayes much changed in the transportation their roots often battered and spoyled and run a hazard of being hurt by Frosts so that they grow again with much more difficulty and ordinarily a great number of them die Besides that it is a great advantage to a Planter to be assured of the goodnesse of his Trees and of the kinde of their Fruit and by that meanes to avoyd the displeasure which often-times befalls those that buy of being forced to re-plant new Trees or to graffe again such as they have bought when they might have expected to enjoy their fruit To which may also further be added that such as bring not up Nurseries of their own cannot make large Plantations without great cost Some judge it more advantagious to take such Trees as have been brought up in a dry and barren soyle to replant them in a better than to chuse them from a good Ground being perswaded that these thirsty trees meeting with a fresh Earth doe immediately perceive that change and spring with the greater vigour But Reason and Experience teach us that Trees brought up in a hungry ground finding but little nourishment there doe likewise put forth but few roots and can therefore have but a small growth of body and that yellowish and mossy And although they be afterwards replanted in an excellent soyle having but few Roots they are not capable of drawing aboundantly that good nourishment which there they meet with and consequently of growing to any purpose Besides that their barke being already dry and withered for want of nourishment by reason of that small moysture which they found in that barren ground cannot easily receive the sap when it begins to ascend into the branches On the contrary Experience lets us see that Trees taken from a good ground have alwayes good store of Root the body strong and vigorous and that when they are re-planted in a soyle as good be it by Nature or Art they doe take againe very easily and sprout with great force CHAP. II. The manner of planting Nurseries and keeping them in order TO make a good Nursery care must be had especially of three things The first is To choose good Plants The second to place it in a good soyle And the third to dresse it well because the want of either of these three renders the two others useless To bring up a Nursery of Pear-trees * Apple-trees for High-standers and proper for the producing of large Trees you must choose Peare and Apple-stocks of one years growth onely These come of the kernels of those fruits which to that end must be sowne in March upon beds of earth well prepared after the same manner that Gardiners sow their seeds These kernels so sowne and weeded during the Summer wil put forth a twig strong enough to be planted in a Nursery the Winter following The way to procure such kernels with ease is to sift the huskes or remainder of Apples and Pears when the Perry and Sider is pressed from them But without taking this trouble you may buy or cause to be brought out of Normandy both these sorts of Plants already grown where they
Almonds to incculate upon them Peaches and Pavies but these are very subject to a gumme which gathers about the Scutcheon or Bud so that if the Gardiner be not very carefull to take it away or prevent it the bud is often-times enoked and killed by it True it is that when they do take they bear very faire fruit and amongst others admirable Nectarines For this cause the best and surest stock for these kindes of fruit is that of Damsons and the S. Julien but especially that of Damsons because it lasts longer and hath the sweeter sap This sort of stock is bred at the foot of Damson-trees and the S. Julien which do put forth many suckers The Almond-tree is likewise not bad for this purpose in such grounds as are hot and sandy but it proves not ordinarily from a Nursery because that being replanted it takes again but very seldom It is for this cause necessary to breed it in the place where it must stand which is done by sowing sweet Almonds there at the beginning of March after they have lyen in sand to bud during the winter and there likewise to inoculate them with a Scutcheon a the bud not shot forth that very year at the end of August or the beginning of September when the greatest force of the sap is past or else the second yeare if they be too weak the first In the same manner the stones of Peaches or Abricots may be sown and inoculated and these without staying for the moneth of March may be put into the ground as soon as the fruit is eaten but the trees graffed upon them last not so long as upon an Almond-stock Peach-trees and Pavies may also be brought up from a stone but they doe very often degenerate and there are no Peaches but those of Pau Persiques Violet-peaches and the common Peaches which doe ordinarily take this way Abricot-trees although they may be graffed upon all sorts of Plum-stocks doe neverthelesse beare the fairest fruit upon those that have the biggest Plums and especially when they are white When they are inoculated upon Damsons their fruit is dryer and more firme those Abricot-trees which come of a stone bring forth lesse Abricots but earlier ripe and of a quicker tast then others wch makes some to esteem them the more but they do not agree with all sorts of ground and are better in those that are hot than in the richer soils The good sorts of Plummes may be graffed upon all kinds of Plumme-trees except such as bear small sower Plums because their sap is too harsh To make Nurseries of Cherry-trees and other red fruits you must plant the Suckers of white and red a Merisiers because their sap is more pleasant and nourishing then that of the black Merisier There is neverthelesse a sort of the red Merisier whose fruit is bitter upon which the ordinary Cherry Hart-cherries being graffed the tree becomes as strong and as bigge as upon other stocks but there growes a great knob about the joynt of the graff which marres the beauty of the Tree and shews that this sort of Merisier hath its sap very sharp and bitter because its stock encreaseth not in proportion to the graff The best stock to inoculate or graffe May-Cherries upon is that of the Suckers of forward Cherries though it be true that thereby the fruit becomes not so bigge or faire nor the tree it selfe so strong as those which are graffed upon good Merisiers The Cherry-stock is also better then the Merisier to graffe a Morella-Cherries upon because that tree ordinarily blooming much and bearing but little it comes by being graffed upon a Cherry-stock to beare more plentifully and preserves its fruit better because the sap of a Cherry-stock is not so plentifull as that of the Merisier It is in vain to have procured good plants if care be not taken to plant them in a good soile To this purpose a soft earth must be chosen somewhat fresh and which is rich enough to be planted upon without dunging especially when in it you would plant Nurseries of Pear-trees and Apple-trees brought up from kernels for the dung breeds in the ground great white Worms which eat the roots of the Plant and cause it to die Besides that Earth too fat and too much manured breeds Cankers in the bark of the Trees which destroyes them utterly but if the earth be not otherwise good enough of its self without being amended it is better to stay till the Plant hath put forth its third leaf before it be dunged because that after three yeares it will be strong enough to resist those Worms which the dung breeds The ground most proper to plant a Nursery in is such as hath neither been too much cultivated nor too leight but contrarily that is the best which hath a body and provided that you have some short small mould to put about the roots in planting that which is new broke up and hath lain long is the most excellent of all Having then found a good plot of ground proper to make a Nursery you must there open trenches of the largenesse and depth of a spade-bit placing them three foot or three foot and halfe from one another and observe as much as you can to make them so that one of the ends lie towards the South and the other towards the North For being thus disposed and the Nurseries well graffed that is the Graffes set with their backs towards the South which must alwayes be observed if you would graff well or as near it as is possible the trees do the better uphold one another and defend themselves much better from the great Windes of the South The ground being thus prepared you must in the moneth of November or December choose a faire day to plant it in because that in faire weather the earth is short easier to work and better encloses the root of the Plant but in such soyles as are moist and lateward it is better to stay till the end of February before you plant because too much moisture and water corrupt and rot the roots during winter For this reason therefore in cold and moist countreys the water must of necessity be dreyned out the earth heighthened in the form of ridges upon which the trees are to be planted but the hot and early grounds must be planted in November that the roots beginning before winter whilest the warm weather lasts to put forth some small filaments may so unite themselves with the earth that the trees at Spring may thereby grow and flourish much the better Having chosen a good Soyle a proper Season and a faire Day he that would plant a Nursery of Apple and Pear-stocks brought up of kernels must observe to cut off half the root of the Plant and to pare off the top to about seven inches then to place them in the trenches at the distance of seven or eight inches betwixt each twig and to put them no
instead of profiting them You must afterwards put in a second bed of earth of the same depth with the first and half a foot of dung upon it mixing them likewise well together and if there shall be need you may also adde a third bed and so fill the hole till it be half a foot higher than the rest of the ground because the dung settles as it rots This order must be followed as I have said already according as the earth hath more or less need of being amended but alwayes rather profusely than covetously but if a sufficient quantity of dung cannot be procured enough to make three beds care must be taken especially to amend the bottom of the hole because that after it is filled and the tree planted that can be come at no more whereas on the contrary the upper part of the earth is alwayes easily dunged In moist grounds and such as have no great depth it is needless to make holes wherein to plant the Trees but after that the ground is well digged and dunged according as there is need it is best to set the Trees upon it without sinking them in and to cover the roots with the mould of Turfs chopt very small a foot and half high and for the breadth of five or six foot round about the stemm And because in such places the roots ought to be hindred as much as may be from growing downwards towards the bottom especially those of Pear-trees it must be observed in the planting of them that all the undermost roots and such as descend are to be cut flat not aslope like a Hinds foot Those Trees which shall be thus planted above ground may after three years in the moneth of November be conveniently dunged upon the roots To plant Trees well against a wall a Trench must be opened of eight foot wide and three foot deep in the digging whereof care must be had not to come near the wall by half a foot and that side of the Trench also that is towards it must be cut aslope for fear of uncovering the Foundation and causing the ruine of the Wall Whilest this Trench is in digging the good mould must be severed from the bad and all the stones and roots carefully taken out of it if there be any that it may afterwards be filled in the same manner with the holes before spoken of that is to say the bottom of the Trench must be digged then a foot deep of good mould put into it and half a foot of very rotten dung upon it These must be well mixed and the filling of the Trench continued in the same manner with mould and dung until it be half a foot higher than the rest of the ground and because that Wall-fruits must be set with greater care than other Trees the Planter must be curious in causing better mould such as that of Turfs cut small to be brought thither if that which was taken out of the Trench be not good enough and observe to put in a double proportion of mould to that of dung Such as cannot at the first make Trenches so large must be content to open them at first but four foot wide and two or three years after to inlarge them according as the Trees shall have need of it When Dwarf-standers are to be planted sometimes it is necessary to dig Trenches and to fill them with the same care as those for Wall-fruits and sometimes also it is sufficient to make holes of six foot square and to dung them well This difference depends upon the quality of the ground and the goodness of the soyl CHAP. VI How the different sorts of Fruits are to be disposed according to the severall Positions FOr the well-disposing of Trees in a Garden there must be considered The quality of the Soyl its position in order to the Sun and its Situation in regard of the Winds After the reading of the Chapter where the different qualities of grounds are treated of it is easie to judge that such Fruits as are tender and full of moisture are to be planted in those grounds that are most pleasant and dry and the bigger Fruits such as Pears and Apples in those grounds that are stronger and moister Because the first to be tender and of a good tast do require a dryer soyl and the others needing a more plentifull nourishment would have that which is more strong and moist Now as in generall all such fruits as have stones are more tender than those with kernels it is better to plant them in a dryer and softer Earth But to be yet more exact it must be observed that among such Fruits as have stones some are more tender than others and that of Fruits with kernels some are dry and others full of moisture and that they ought therefore to be placed in grounds more or less dry according to their different qualities For this cause such Pears as are very sull of moisture as the Winter-Bon Crestien the Beurré the Bergamot and the other a Beurrées or Butter-Pears are to be placed in the dryer grounds and those Pears which are very dry as the Amadote and others of the like nature in those grounds that are moist because by this means the quality of the ground corrects the contrary fault of the Fruit This is the reason why the same kinds of Fruit are better in one Garden than in another And from hence the Bon Crestien Pears are of a more tender substance and a higher tast when they grow in dry grounds in which the Amadote is not so good becoming too dry and stony which on the contrary is excellent in moist grounds where the Bon Crestien hath neither colour nor tast because of the too much moisture which makes its substance more rude nd gross Some grounds there are of so just a temper and so sweet a constitution that all sorts of Fruits be they dry or waterish tender or gross do com to an equall perfection in them In these happy Situations the Observations which we have now made are useless such as plant in these can never commit an Errour and therefore this advice is onely proper for those grounds which being without that excellent temperament do approach to the one or the other extreme and are either too cold or too hot too dry or too moist Another thing necessary in the disposing of trees is to observe their position in order to the Sun and that especially in Wall-trees Now there are four principall sorts of these Positions One towards the East upon which the Sun shines from its rising untill noon The second contrary unto it towards the West which receives the Sun from noon till night The third is that towards the South which is enlightened by the Sun from eight in the morning till 4 in the afternoon The fourth which hath the least Sun of all is that which looks towards the North and which sees not the Sun but for three hours
half a foot Afterwards all the roots must be handsomly extended without forcing or constraining them And if it be a Wall-tree the foot of it must be placed at ten or twelve inches from the wall and so laid that the upper part of the stemm or branches may come within two inches of it that the new branches may by that means be the more commodiously plash'd against it When the tree is so placed the roots must all be drawn outwards as much as may be and brought from the wall that they may thereby find the more nourishment and be more plentifully watered with the rains during the Summer After this the roots must be covered with good mould soft and light mixed with some other mould from a bed throughly rotten if such be to be had for this causeth them to take again the sooner and put forth a greater quantity of fibrous roots Care must also be taken to furnish them well with mould so as no void space may remain betwixt the roots To this end after they are covered with earth the tree must be lifted up a little and shaken with your hand that the mould being short and movable may fall and slip between the roots to fill up entirely all the holes The Gardiner must as I said observe in planting not to sink the trees into the ground more than half a foot for the ground being alwayes better above than downwards the roots do there find the more nourishment and are not so subject to be rotted and spoyled by too much moysture Besides that being near the surface of the ground they are more sensible of the heat of the Sun and do likewise receive advantage by the dews and small rains which fall in Summer whereas on the contrary when the roots are sunk too deep they are never refreshed by all those Summer rains which are neither of such force or continuance to pierce into the earth more than a good half-foot so that the earth which is beneath dries and hardens it self about the roots and affords them no more nourishment From whence it may easily be conjectured that the most ordinary cause which makes trees to grow yellow proceeds from their being set too deep in the earth But seeing the trees so planted near the surface of the earth may for the two first years suffer from the great heat of the Sun having their roots yet too tender to resist it it will be necessary to cover them by making a bank of ordinary mould a foot high above them for the wideness of four foot round about the stemm the top whereof must be laid plain that the waters may the better stop there and pierce to the foot of the tree It is further needfull in March after this earth hath been well stirred to spread upon it some long dung that is not hot the breadth of three foot about the stemm and four inches thick Or if such dung is not to be had to lay some fern upon it at the beginning of June so that the earth may be kept fresh and the roots preserved from the too great heat of the Sun but if neither Dung nor Fern can be had whererewith to cover these banks of earth then they must be stirred four or five times a year onely the depth of half a spade-bit for fear of harming the Rootes and these stirrings must bee continued untill the Trees be strong and so these banks of earth will by little and little be brought lower by stirring them from year to year Now seeing that in trenches and holes filled up with good store of dung the earth settles in proportion as the dung rots and consumes It must be observed in planting to set the roots of the trees level with the ordinary ground because the earth setling in the trench sinks lower and carryes the tree along with it This care must especially be had in the planting of such Pear-trees as are ingraffed upon a Quince-stock and Apples upon a Paradise-Apple because if these two sorts of trees be planted too low so that the Graffs come to be within the ground they will put sorth roots and thereby cause the trees insensibly to partake of the Graff and so to change their nature In cold and moist grounds the trenches must be raised be it for Wall-fruits or a Counter-hedges 2 foot higher than the ordinary ground upon which the trees are to be planted to the end that being further from the water their fruit may be better and fairer coloured for they cannot have a good tast growing in such grounds as are alwayes moyst and wet For this reason it is that the sides of hills and higher Situations are the most advantageous for the goodness of fruits because the waters run from them with the more facility There may likewise be laid in the bottom of the trench a bed of stones of a foot deep or else so much stony and gravelly earth to draw the waters to the bottom and cause them to drain away upon which it must be filled up with sharp Sand or Plaister-stone and Marl mixed with good mould to diminish the too aboundant moisture and make the trees to profit the more and to bring forth their fruits of a better colour and tast it is also very good in such moist soyls at the beginning of November when the earth at the foot of the Wall-trees hath been stirred to spread some Marl upon it half a foot deep and six foot broad which is to be buried at Spring when the Winter-Frosts and Snowes have passed upon it After that the trees are planted with the care above-mentioned if the stems of the taller Plants be any thing feeble it will be needful to strike in a stake at the foot of each of them which must be strong and of the length of five foot above ground to keep the trees steddy and hinder the winds from shaking them But this stake must be shorter than the stemm of the tree lest it wry the branches that shoot forth It is further necessary in such places where Beasts are pastured to put thorns about each tree to keep the Beasts from coming near it or rubbing themselves against it But because these thorns may grate and hurt the bark which is yet tender and so breed Cankers in the trees which kill them their whole stemms must before the thorns are put about them be covered with long litter or fodder and then be bound about with straw The same course must be taken with those trees that have been bred in a Nursery where having been alwayes shaded and covered from the Sun their bark is so tender and delicate that if it be on a sudden exposed to hard Frosts and to the great heats of the Sun especially in a soyl that is dry and hot it becomes withered and base whitish and mossy For this reason it is that to preserve it neat and handsom it must for six years be covered with straw untill the trees
deeper within the ground than they were in that place from whence they were taken the trenches after this must be filled with mould that is soft and small that it may the better enclose the roots of these small Plants and the earth must be digged on both sides and heaped about the Plant that no more of it appear above than the heighth of half a fingers breadth Nurseries of Quince-stocks and such as are designed for the bringing up of Dwarf-trees be they Pear-trees Peaches or Plum-trees must be planted after another manner For these Plants must be placed in the trenches at the distance of two foot from one another and must be cut at 2. or 3. inches from the ground to the end that they may put forth young wood upon which to graff onely the Paradice Apple-tree must not be cut lower then a foot and half from the earth because this kinde of tree being a long time in growing big it will be necessary to preserve its old wood to graff upon in a cleft and to enjoy it thereby the sooner For by this kind of graffing it comes much more quick then by inoculating it with a Scutcheon Nor is it sufficient for the bringing up of fair trees to have procured good Plants and to have planted them well but it is further of very great importance to be carefull in the well ordering of them To this end about the moneth of May when the little Pear or Apple-stock begins to bud you must with your finger carefully take off all the buds but one from each stock so that it may put forth but one shoot onely and at the same time cause all the weeds to be taken away which are grown about them and at the beginning of June in a faire season the Nursery must be digged and laid even the depth of a good spade-bit in the middle of the furrow onely for the Gardiner when he comes neare the Stocks at about a foot distance must carry the spade lightly and not enter it above half so deep as before for fear of hurting the roots This being done it must be covered all over with Ferne while the earth is yet fresh about four inches thick yet so that it choke not the Stocks Afterwards about the end of October the Fern must be handsomely gathered together with the spade and cast into the middle betwixt the rowes of the Plants and the Stocks must afterward be uncovered about the depth of half a spade-bit in manner of a trench that during the Winter the raines and snow may the more easily fall to the roots of the Plants to moisten them In uncovering the Plants the earth that is taken away must be throwne upon the Fern to cause it to rot the better but care must be taken to leave the earth about the foot of the Plants an inch or two thick that they may be preserved from the frost and for fear of cutting or uncovering their roots When the Winter is past the Plants must be covered again in the moneth of March in a faire season and the whole Nursery digged again and laid eeven In digging it the Ferne must be cut with the spade and mingled with the earth because it serves for soyle and hath a particular property to make the Stocks put forth a great many Filaments or small haire-roots It is necessary that the Nursery be thus kept and renued after the same fashion every year untill the Plants have been two years graffed But in those Countreys where Fern is not to be had the Nurseries must be leightly digged thrice during every Summer to keep them fresh and to hinder the weeds from growing These three stirrings must be in March May and July and in the moneth of October the Plants must alwayes be uncovered as I have before shewed If the Nursery being thus digged profit not it must in the moneth of November of the third year be dunged the earth being every where and equally over-spread and covered with good fat half-rotten dung to the thicknesse of four inches and at the same time digged to mix the earth and dung together When the Nursery is to be dunged on this manner in the moneth of November it will be needlesse to dig it or to uncover the Plants in the moneth of October Care must also be taken when the Plants begin to form their stemmes to cleanse them by cutting off all their shoots to the height of six or eight inches onely to prepare a place for the graffe and then to cut off nothing above that height because these young Stock are so tender that no branch can be taken from them or their tops be cut without altering their sap which keeps them back and much hinders their growth For this reason you must observe not to strip or cut off any of the wood of the Quince-stocks Plumme-stocks or Merisiers planted in a Nursery before the moneth of March in their second year but then in stripping them it must be observed that not above one branch or two at most is to be left upon each root which must at the same time be cleansed to the height of about eight inches to make place for the Scutcheons and each stump must be cut close that it may be recovered when it shall be time to inoculate In the same manner the stocks of the Paradice-Apple are to be prepared that they may be graffed upon a cleft The Nurseries of Stocks being in this manner well planted and dressed will be strong enough to be graffed in their third or fourth year those of Quince-trees and Plum-trees in their second Those that would make Nurseries of Wall-nut-trees Chest-nuts or Oakes to be planted in Walks Avenues before their Houses or in their Woods must procure of the fairest Wall-nuts Chest-nuts and Acorns which must immediately be put into beds of sand either in Vessels or else in some Cellar or covered place where the frost may not hurt them untill March when they must be planted in good ground well digged with this difference neverthelesse that the Nuts must be set in trenches made eight foot from one another and seven or eight inches betwixt each Nut. The Nuts being so set and dressed as is before-said for the Nurseries will put forth trees strong enough at 4. or five years to be taken up and set in the places where they are to grow but the Acorns and Chestnuts must be scattered very near to one another and confusedly in the trenches made at two foot distance and covered with earth at the depth of four or five fingers onely afterwards they must be kept with some small slight dressing and digging for three years without pulling or stripping them after which time they are to be taken up and planted in Woods Or if you be desirous to raise them into tall trees for Walks or Avenues they must be set in a Nursery like Peary-stocks And then when they are set into the Nursery they must be cut at an
and capable to correct its fault but also to plant in it such sorts of trees as are proper for it Because it being impossible so to dung or amend a ground as to make it absolutely to change its nature especially for great Plants it is certain that we must conform to it and set no trees but such as will take in it For to endeavour to force Nature is but to lose our labour Every one may easily know the quality of the earth of his own Garden wherefore I think it sufficient to say what sorts of Fruit-trees will take best upon each ground Garden-Pear-trees will thrive best in a soft earth and of a great depth for their roots grow downwards and alwayes search towards the bottom of the ground so that it is observed as soon as they meet with hard rocky a earth or b Galt they turn yellow their tops dry up and they diminish rather than encrease But for Apple-trees seeing their roots tend not downward but spread toward the superficies of the earth they need not so great a depth of it But then it must likewise be strong so that they may there find store of nourishment and fresh also that their roots may run into it the more easily I deny not but Apple-trees may grow in a sandy ground and bear very good Fruit though finding less nourishment there they cannot put forth so many branches nor have those they do put sorth so strong Quince-trees thrive best in a soft ground and somewhat a fresh because their roots which are tender do there spread without pain and gather together good store of nourishment and because they grow not deep within the earth it is enough for them if they find a good soil of two or three foot deep in strong and moist grounds they encrease much in wood and maintain themselves very green but then the Fruits graffed upon them are harsh and without colour especially Winter-fruits as the Bon Crestien Whereas on the contrary Quince-trees planted in a dry gravelly light ground grow not so much in wood but their fruit is better fairer coloured and more tender The cause of this difference is easie to be known by him who considers that the beauty and vigour of trees depends upon that of their roots and that according as they delight themselves in a ground or else disagree with it so the trees must either flourish extremely or languish since it is from their roots that they draw all their nourishment for this reason when ever you see a tree grow yellow or diminish be assured that its roots are sick Now the roots cannot suffer but either through too much moisture and cold or else through too much drought because both the one and the other of these two extremes destroyes that temper which is requisite in the earth for the nourishment of Plants the water by its cold drives out that heat which animates the earth so renders it dead incapable of production It stops the sap and consequently makes the trees to suffer Hence we see that cold rains in Summer if too frequent make the greenest trees turn yellow but too great heat doth likewise cause the same effect for it dries the earth too much and dissipates all that moisture which should nourish the roots From this seeing that the Sun more easily penetrates such grounds as are dry and without moisture it is easie to judge that Trees growing there must turn yellow and changed sooner than in stronger grounds which defend themselves better from the heat For the same reason must fruits be tender and well coloured in dry ground and on the contrary very harsh and gross without colour or tast in grounds that are cold and moist Because it is the Sun which by its heat dissipates the cold and gross moisture of the Earth and renders it more subtle delicate In those grounds therefore into the which it pierces most the roots finding but little moisture do consequently encrease but little in their wood but that sap which they do draw from thence being well prepared and very pleasant makes their fruit sweet in substance and of a thin skin which takes a better colour and causes them to ripen the sooner Whereas on the contrary the Sun not being able to pierce into strong grounds the trees are there nourished with a grosser moisture which renders their fruit harsh unpleasant and longer in growing ripe And as Winter-fruits are longer upon the trees and do need a greater heat to ripen them so they do the more participate of the harshness of the earth which nourished them Experience confirms this Truth insomuch as we see that in cold and rainy years the fruits have neither tast nor beauty especially in such grounds as are strong and moist After this discourse founded upon Reason and confirmed by Experience it is easie to know what ground is proper for each kind of fruit and I conceive it almost needless to go on to speak more particularly of it nevertheless that I omit nothing I shall adde that the Plum-tree grows very well upon dry and stony grounds because its root is strong and vigorous that the Almond-tree takes well also upon the same sort of ground because it requires but little nourishment and that Cherry-trees with other red fruits are more delighted with a soft and sandy earth because their roots are tender and spread upon the surface of the ground I must end this Chapter as I began it by saying that it is not written for such as have Gardens and Orchards situated in an excellent soyl because that all sorts of Trees prove well in a good ground But the ground not being good every where and men resolving rather to cultivate and plant that place where their lot falls though bad then to quit it seat themselves in a better soyl I conceived it my duty by this advice to help them in making a good use of their ground and to draw all possible advantages from their bad situation by planting such trees as may prosper in it CHAP. V. Of the severall wayes of manuring grounds what dung is proper for them and how it ought to be used HE that knows the fault of his ground whether it be too dry or too moist too hot or too cold may easily judge with what dung it is to be amended provided that he know the different qualities of his dung For it being certain that no fault can be amended but by its contrary he must conclude that if his ground be too dry he must moisten it if too hot and burning he must refresh it as also that ground too cold and moist must be heat and dryed I shall for this reason content my self to speak onely concerning the different qualities of the several sorts of Dung and Soyl wherewith the ground may be manured leaving it to the prudence of the Gardiner how to apply them to make use of them according to the
sow great quantities of them The best Plant to graff such Apple-trees upon as you would have to grow against a wall in Pallisades or Hedges and such as you desire to keep low for dwarf-trees is that of the b Paradise-Apple-tree which grows but little into wood bears quickly and much fruit These kindes of Plants are brought up of spriggs or cuttings put into the ground as also those of Quince-trees whereof I shall speak hereafter The a Sweeting is another kind of Apple-tree which comes very near to that of the Paradice-Apple and which likewise grows from a sprig but the Plant of it is not good for this purpose because it growes too much into wood and cannot be kept low as a dwarf or shrub To graff such Pear-trees upon as are proper to be planted against a wall b in hedges or to be kept low for Dwarf-standers the Plant of a Quince-tree proves the best because the Quince is naturally of a dwarfish stature and may very easily be kept low c Tree-stocks are not so proper for this use because they by nature shoot up too fast and if you cut off any branch to stop their growth and keep them low they put forth divers others with more force and so till they arrive at their full growth do produce nothing but wood and very little fruit And further that small quantity of fruit which they do bear is ordinarily greener more lateward and worse coloured than that of such trees as are graffed upon the Quince-stocks except the Portail which graffed upon a Pear-stock becomes very good provided that it be planted in a hot and gravelly soyle for in rich and cold grounds it hath no tast Next after the Portail those of Bezi-d'heri the a Beurre and the Orange-Pear prove better upon a Pear-stock then any others because they do ordinarily beare much Since then the nature of Peare-trees graffed upon a Peare-stock is to raise themselves into a great tree and to grow much in wood it is easie to be judged that if they be not plashed against very high walls where they may spread themselves with freedome they cannot take effect nor be proper for hedges or walls of ordinary height or be kept low except in a dry stony or sandy soile where meeting with a scant nourishment they cannot shoot upward with much force and therefore in such grounds they will soonest bear Some do more esteem those Peare-trees that are graffed upon a Tree-stock than those that are graffed upon a Quince because they think the fruit of these latter to be harsher and lesse delicate than the others Experience neverthelesse teacheth us that this opinion is not true and that the harshnesse which is sometimes found in those fruits that are graffed upon a Quince is not naturall to them but is either caused by the over-moist and grosse earth which nourishes them or by the too great quantity of dung wherewith the ground was manured when they were planted And indeed we may easily mark that this harshnesse grows lesse and passeth away as the dung consumes and the trees grow older 'T is for this reason therefore that trees ought never to be dunged when they are planted unlesse there be a necessity for it because the dung renders their fruit lesse delicate There are three severall sorts of Quince-trees The first is that which is called the Apple-quince-tree which beares a small fruit flat and round like an Apple This kinde is not good to graff Pears upon because its nature enclining to that of the Apple-tree agrees not with the Pear so that we see the Syens which are graffed on it do languish or dye immediately This sort of Quince-tree may be known by its leaf which is round and small and by its wood which is rough and full of suckers as also by its barke which is whitish The other two sorts of Quince-trees though both good to graff Pears upon both bearing fair fruit are yet very different the sap of the one being much sweeter then that of the other and consequently better This difference may be observed at the foot of old graffed trees one of these sorts not waxing big according to the proportion of the graff it beares and therefore makes a knobbe round about the joyning of the graffe in the fashion of a roll which spoyles the shape of the stemme and shewes that this kind of Quince-tree hath not the sap so plentifull nor so good as that which encreaseth equally with the graffe From whence we may easily conclude that this last kind is the best of all the three and that this is the true Quince-stock upon which a Peare should be graffed it being a certaine signe that the sappe is the most pleasant and most conformable of all others to the nature of the Pear-tree because both of them are so perfectly joyned together and do grow equally great this best kinde of Quince-tree may be known by its fruit which is longer and bigger then that of the other sorts it may also be known by its bark which is smoother blacker and clearer and by its leaf which is longer and bigger than the others Quince-stocks may be raised by sowing the kernels as I have said before but the best and more ready way is to have them from Shoots to which end you must plant great stocks of the best sort of Quince-trees about four foot assunder and at the time of the new Moon in March cut them at an inch above ground to the end that they may put forth store of young Shoots which must neither be stripped nor pruned for feare of withering but after they are shot up to the height of about a foot and halfe they must bee covered a foot high with good earth to which must be mingled a little rotten bedmould to make them take root the sooner The Winter following if these young Sprouts have put forth any roots they may be taken away though feeble and planted in the Nursery After these shoots are all taken off it will be necessary to cover the old stocks all the winter with a little earth to uncover them again in February to the end that they may put forth new Shoots which when grown up must be heaped with earth as the former and by this meanes you may gather every year good store of plants There is yet another way of raising Quince-stocks in good ground by couching some of the boughs of the trees in the earth in winter time as they do with Vines The same course may be taken to raise young plants of the Paradise-Apple but they are longer in growing then the Quinces The Plants proper for such Nurseries as are designed for the graffing of Peaches a Pavies Abricots and Plumms are those of young Damson-trees and S. Julien-plums because their sap is more pleasant than that of other Plummes and also because they last the longest Some there are that plant stocks of Abricots and
inch from the ground and so left at liberty to shoot out till March of their second year when they must be stripped to the height of half a foot onely and but one sprigg left upon them After which they must not be touched nor any branch of them be cut till they be taken up to be placed where they must grow Although according to the order of my design I am to speak of no Trees but such onely as bear fruit having enclosed all my Walks within the compasse of a Garden yet hath the beauty of Woods and Walks carryed me insensibly out of it And now I find my self so far ingaged that I believe I may returning to the path from which I have strayed speak a word or two of the different sorts of wild Trees with which Woods and Avenues may be planted and the manner also of breeding them For Avenues men commonly plant Lime-trees Elmes Pines or Firre-trees For the bringing up of Lime-trees and Elmes the seeds of them must be gathered and sown in the moneth of March upon beds of Earth after the manner already mentioned for Quince and Pear-stocks then covered with small mould or rotten leaves of trees For 3. years you must keep them with a slight dressing that the weeds grow not These Seeds thus sown shoot forth Plants which may well be taken up after three years to be planted in Woods or in Nurseries if you desire to have them fair Trees proper for Avenues you may likewise take Suckers of Elms and plant them in a Nursery like the a Tree-stocks or the Shoots of Quince-trees To bring up Pines and Fir-trees you must in the moneth of October sow the seeds of them scattering them without any order in shady places covered with leaves as in Woods that are somewhat open And when they are come up leave them there till they be three or four foot high when you may take them up and set them where they must stand because being removed when they are young they do the more easily take again They may also be brought up in a Nursery but then they must be taken up being very small and if they are to be carried far care must be had of coning them in bags with their Roots well wrapped up in mosse or earth that they come not to the aire and observe to plant them immediately in good ground in the shade three or four foot distant every way from one another that you may take them up with the earth about their roots when they are fit to be set in the places where they must stand CHAP III. The manner of graffing the Nurseries THere being many different wayes of graffing each where of is to be spoken of particularly and apart I suppose that not onely by the order of this Discourse but also according to that of the Seasons I am to begin with that which is performed in a Cleft and to give the Rules which must be observed in it Graffing in a Cleft is that which takes best upon the Pear and Apple-stocks because it comes much sooner then that which is performed by Inoculation When the Stocks of these Plants are strong enough to be graffed the first Rule which is to be observed is to graff them all at one time and to that end to pull upall those Stocks that are too weak and plant them in some other place for they would otherwise choke the Graffs and hinder them from growing Then you must graff them in Febr. or March at the full Moon that they may spring with the more vigour For it is certain that if they be graffed in the Wane they will bear too soon Care must also be taken to cut the Syens from such Trees as are in their year of bearing and full of Fruit-buds and when they are grown they must be cut in the Wane at six or seven foot high to form the head of the Tree To graff well after this way you must cut off the Stock you would graff upon towards the bottom five or six inches from the ground it must be cut aslope like a Hinds foot to the middle of the stemm and the other half flat that thereby the Syen may the better be placed upon it Because the Tree being this cut doth the more easily recover it self You must also be carefull to cut this slope towards the North for two reasons First because it will not dry so soon as if it were exposed to the South and therefore recovers it self the sooner And again because the back of the Graff must as I have said before alwaies be turned towards the South or as near it as may be in as much as thereby it better resists the great winds And on the contrary when turned with the back towards the North it is by the least wind loosened and broken Now that the back of the Graffs may be turned toward the South it is easie to be judged that the slope of the Cut must be on the side exposed to the North It is further necessary to be observed that no more but one Syen be put upon each Stock how big soever to the end it may form but one stemm and also that the Graff may become proportionable to the bignesse of the Stock that is strong if that be strong and little if that be weak As soon as the Tree is graffed it must presently be covered handsomly and without shaking the Syen with clay or galt mixed with very small Hay or Mosse lest it dry and crack This way of graffing in a Cleft is also best upon Paradice-Apple-stocks and Plumm-stocks when you graff other Plumms upon them It is also good for Cherries and Merisiers Inoculating by a Scutcheon with a a Bud not shot forth is better then graffing upon Quince-stocks and upon Plumme-stocks when you put upon them Peaches Pavies and Abricot-trees But the Scutcheon must be placed upon young wood and where the Stock is not too big because when the bark is hard they take with more difficulty are the longer before they be recovered Now for asmuch as these trees are seldom brought up with a high stemm for Standers but are for the most part designed to be planted in Hedges against Walls or kept low as Dwarf-trees and for that reason ought to be branched from the foot there may two Buds be put upon each Stock when they are inoculated onely care must be taken not to put them both upon one side one above the other For by that means they will harm one another and coming to shoot will give an ill shape unto the tree The best way to place them is on both sides and one higher than the other because when they are put over against each other it proves very hard to cut off the head of the tree betwixt the two Buds and the place cut will the more hardly recover it self Some there are who do most esteem the trees that come of one bud onely accounting
them handsomer then others Wherefore in the inoculating of them they put but one bud upon each stock for my part though I am of their opinion so far as to think those trees which have but one stemm to be more naturall and consequently more beautiful than others especially Dwarf-standers which to be well fashioned ought to have their stemm about a foot high yet I would counsel the putting of two buds alwayes upon every stock because if either of the two take the Stock may not fail But then too it is onely upon condition to leave onely the best growing and to take off the other at the beginning of the second year This kind of inoculating with a bud not shot forth is to be performed in the wane of the Moon in June July or August alwayes upon young wood because it hath more sap and the bark by consequence more tender and easie to be taken up For this reason in the planting of Quince and Plumm-stocks they must be cut at two inches from the ground as I have said before to make them put forth new wood but not inoculated untill their second year to the end that they may be strong enough For if they be weak the Graff cannot shoot forth but with difficulty and doth but languish There being no more certain means of procuring fair trees than by graffiing and inoculating upon a Stock that is strong and vigorous The time proper for inoculating depends upon the quality of the Territory because according as that is early or late so must the work there be earlier or later it being easie to judge that in hot Countreys where the sap begins to ascend betimes it descends also sooner and on the contrary that it lasts longer in moist grounds where the Spring is more lateward For this cause the Gardiner must not alwayes stay for the second sap but often inoculate after the first especially upon Plum-stocks It is true that it is better to stay for the second when Abricot-stocks Almonds and Peach-stocks are to be inoculated upon Because their first sap is so aboundant that if while it is in force the bark be cut to put in a bud it issues out and causeth a Gumm about the Scutcheon which oftentimes chokes and kills it To hinder this mischief the Gardiner must be carefull to untye the Scurcheon betime to give way for the passage of the sap but the best and most assured remedy is not to inoculate these sorts of trees untill the end of their second sap after that the greatest force of it is past He must also be carefull not to inoculate them but in a dry season for the rain mischiefs the bud and hinders the taking of it Peaches and Pavies must alwayes be inoculated with a Scutcheon upon Damson-stocks or the St. Julien Abricot or Almond-stocks But as I said before the Almond-tree if re-planted very seldome takes again wherefore such as would put Peach-trees and Pavies upon it must sow Almonds in the place where they desire their trees should grow and those sweet Almonds onely because they have a better sap to nourish the Graffe than the bitter ones The Almond-tree takes much better than the Plumm-tree in dry and hard grounds because having but few roots it needs not so much nourishment it is also not so subject to put forth many suckers from its foot as the Plumm-tree and wears not out the ground so much But it decayes and dies much sooner then the Plumm-tree Plumm-trees may be graffed upon other Plumm-trees both by Inoculation and in a Cleft but the Graff upon a Cleft comes to its perfection very much faster than that which is inoculated Abricots may be inoculated upon all sorts of Plumm-stocks but they bear the fairest fruit when they are put upon such as bring forth the biggest Whiteplumms because these are somewhat of their nature And by the same reason when they are inoculated upon the stock of a small black Damson their fruit is dryer firmer and more proper for the Confectioner Cherry-trees and other red Fruits may both be graffed in a Cleft and inoculated a with a Budd not shot forth but it is a better way and more assured to inoculate them b with a Budde shooting forth This kind of inoculation is like the other by a bud not shot save onely that it must be done about mid-June and that presently upon it the Head or Branches of the tree must be cut three inches above the Scutcheon to the end that the sap finding no other course may come freely to it and cause it to spring There is another sort of graffing like unto that which is performed in a Cleft which they call a Taking out a piece because in this manner of graffing the stock is cleft but very little instead whereof a place is cut in the wood to enter the Graff This way of graffing is principally put in practice upon great trees because they cannot wholly be split without harming them much and in graffing them it must be observed not to cut off their heads too short nor too near the stemm because they recover not without great difficulty and being so wounded do very often die You must also observe to leave them some small branches here and there upon the top of the tree uncut off to receive a part of the sap for when that begins to ascend and instead of meeting great branches as it was wont in which to spread it self meets with nothing but small Graffs too weak to receive it all it chokes them through its aboundance and causeth them to dye But then after the Graffs are taken and have well shot forth you must in March the next year after take away wholly all those boughs which were left and cut them as close as may be to the stemm of the tree that their places may the more easily be covered again This kind of graffing must be put in practice in February as well as the other which is in a Cleft If these great trees have their bark too hard and their wood too stubborn to be graffed upon it will be better to cut off their heads somewhat high to make them put out young wood and new branches upon which you may graff in their third year But seeing these great trees cannot be graffed but very high and at the end of the boughs care must be had to put some twiggs about the Graffs as soon as they are put in for coming to grow their shoot is so tender and so full of leaves that during the two first years they are very subject to be broken with the least wind These twigs also serve to hinder the Birds from setling upon the Graffs and spoyling them There are besides these mentioned divers other different wayes of graffing as that which is called a En flusteau or In a Flute which is used for Chestnut-trees about Midsomer when the trees are in their full sap And that which is made
different quality and necessity of his ground Cow-dung which is of all the most common being throughly rotten is also the best because it is the fattest of all others and so doth the more correct the most ordinary fault of grounds which is that they are too dry and hungry It preserves it self a long while in the earth and not having too much heat it must be carried and buried before Winter which is the best season for dunging because the Dung upholds the Soyl makes it more movable and light and causes the Snow and Rains which fall in the Winter to sink the deeper into it and by their moisture to render it the more fruitfull Sheeps dung is also very fat but being hotter than Cow-dung it is more proper for cold grounds this must be laid and buried in the moneth of November before the depth of Winter Horse-dung is the least fat of them all and therefore is not very proper for Trees which have alwayes more need of fat and nourishment than of heat for this reason it is most ordinarily used for Kitchin Gardens to heat the ground and thereby to bring up the herbs quickly it is upon the same account exceeding good in such grounds as are very moist to dry them and thereby to make them more light and short It may notwithstanding be employed for all uses when it is throughly rotten or when mingled with other sorts of dung that is when it hath lost all its heat This must be spread betimes and buried in the beginning of Winter to the end that all its heat may be dissipated before the Spring For if you should stay till Winter is past before you make use of it it might heat too much and even burn the roots of the Trees Hogs-dung is the coldest of all and therefore best for the hottest soyls and seeing that trees do ordinarily turn yellow by reason of too much drought it is very proper to cause them to flourish again it must be buried as soon as ever it is spread on the ground Pidgeons-dung is too hot to be used when it is fresh but when its heat is extinguished it doth wonderfully re-enliven Trees and give them a new vigour It loses its force and is consumed in the earth in two years it must be spread in the beginning of Winter and not buried till the Spring by reason of its heat It may nevertheless be carryed fresh as it comes out of the Pidgeon-house to the foot of old trees to renew them but then it must be spred in the beginning of November two inches thick onely and care must be had to lay it no nearer than within afoot of the stemm and not to bury it untill Spring that during the Winter it may receive all the Snow and Rains In those Countreys where Dung is hard to be procured it is very good to make use of the cleansings of Pools or Lakes and of the earth of Turfs out upon the High-wayes the scourings of Ponds being very fat and moist are excellent good for such Lands as are light and which have no Body nor Moisture But they are not to be used before the Sun and the Frost have passed over them for a year or two The mould of a Turf out upon the High-way is alwayes the fattest and the best of the whole Countrey both because it it is least used and also because it receives the dung of the Beaâ—ts that pass over it there must be taken of it but the depth of half a foot or a foot at most according to the goodness of the soyl It must be well out and chopt into small morsels before it be buried that it may mix the better with the naturall mould and communicate its goodness unto it This sort of Earth being very soft without heat and extremely nourishing is very excellent to be put into the holes about the roots of trees when they are planted that it may lye close about them and fill up all the vacuities for which end it must be made very short and small Every one knowing the quality of his Ground and that also of all sorts of Dung and other Manure which may be used will easily judge with which sort his ground is to be amended but this knowledge will be to small purpose if at the same time he know not how to make good use of it For if the Dung be not employed as it ought to be it may hurt the Trees very much and spoyl them instead of doing them good A man can never take too much care in preparing a Ground well before it be planted because the beauty of the Trees depends absolutely upon it and the faults which are there made at the first become afterwards irreparable It being almost impossible to search under the roots of a Tree or to bring any soyl thither when it is once planted For this reason it is that to prepare the ground well for great Plants the holes must be opened greater or less according as the ground hath more or lesse need of being amended In the richest soils they must be made six foot square if for Pear-trees they must be digged two foot deep for Apple-trees but one foot for if the holes be made deeper the roots will follow the good mould and descend to the bottom when being straitned and not finding sufficient nourishment they languish whereas being planted very high their roots spread upon the surface of the Earth which is alwayes the best they profit with pleasure and bring forth their fruit bigger and better nourished Now seeing that in digging these holes all the earth that is taken out of them is not equally good and none but the best must be taken to fill them again it is fit to be known that the uppermost earth is alwayes the most exexcellent not onely where stone gravel or galt lie very near the sword but also even in the best grounds because the deeper earth having never felt the heat of the Sun nor received that pleasant moisture which the Rains bring with them is as it were dead and incapable of production and therefore must never be put again into the hole where it would remaine unprofitable For the same reason if such as plant could have the patience to leave the holes open for a year it is certain that the soyl would thereby become the better and that the earth which was taken out of them would be made more capable of production when it had for that space of time received the heat and influences of the Sun These holes being thus digged before you fill them you must work the bottom well and then put in of the best mould the depth of a foot and spread upon that half a foot of rotten or chopt dung which must then be wrought together with the mould twice or thrice over untill they be well mixed because if the dung should remain all together it would grow hot and spoil the roots of the trees
setting them at the distance before-mentioned it is also very convenient to intermix severall kinds of Pears and to plant Winter-pears amongst the Summer ones those that are early among such as are lateward whereby the pleasure may be had of seeing the walls alwayes furnished with fruit The same order may be kept in Wall-trees of Peaches and Abricots and also when Pear-trees are planted in a Counter-hedge over against the wall except that in such hedges there must be planted neither the Bon Crestien Bergamot nor the Petit Muscat because these sorts prove not so well in a Hedge as against a Wall One may also plant Muscats against a wall and betwixt them at every fifteen foot a Peach-tree having a stemm of four foot high without branches that they may be plashed above the Muscat and cover the rest of the wall but then care must be had of planting onely such Peach-trees as are inoculated upon other Peaches or Almond-stocks for such as are set upon Plumm-stocks â—o feed too much upon the ground will rob their Muscats of their nourishment Pear-trees may be planted also in the same manner provided they be graffed upon Quince-stocks and that the stemm be four foot high without branches as before In the planting of Avenues leading to Houses and Walks two things are to be observed The largeness of the Allyes and the distance betwixt the trees It is is a thing very difficult to give a certain rule for the largeness of Allies because it ought to be proportioned to their length and the Situation of their Avenues It depends therfore wholly upon the ingenuity and prudence of him that orders them For the distance betwixt the trees it must be different according to the diversity of their kind Elms and Lime-trees must be planted two fathoms from each other Chest-nuts Walnut-trees Apple-trees and Pear-trees at four five and sixe fathoms As for Oaks and Beeches wherewith they do ordinarily plant their Avenues in the Countrey of Caux they must be set at no further distance than nine foot from one another But Pines and Fir-trees at four fathoms asunder by reason of their spreading of their branches CHAP. VIII The manner of planting and keeping Trees well TRees are not fit to be re-planted till their sap be wholly spent for if there be any in them when they are taken up having now no more nourishment they fade and their bark which is yet tender grows riveld and dry so that it is less capable of receiving the new sap when it begins to ascend in the Spring The Fall of the Leaves in all sorts of trees informs us when the sap leaves them for it is that by which they are nourished and we see that if trees grow yellow and sick having but small store of sap they presently cast their leaves Now seeing that the sap fails sooner in dry grounds than in those which are moist it is certain that in such grounds trees may both be taken up and also re-planted earlier But to speak in generall All Plantations are to be made in the moneths of November and December and such as are soonest made are alwayes the best except in such grounds as are too moist and full of water where you must stay till February or the beginning of March to the end that the roots of your Plants be not rotted by the water in the Winter which having not yet taken again are not strong enough to resist too much moisture A fair day as I said before when I spake of Nurseries is alwayes to be chosen to plant in because the earth is shorter and better to be handled when it is dry and therefore for this reason Plantations are never to be made in the time of Rain or Snow to both which the moneth of January being moâ—t subject is therefore the most unfit to plant in The first care which must be taken before you begin to plant is to take up the trees well without spoyling any of their roots because that all their vigour depends upon them they must therefore be preserved as whole and as entire as is possible Care must also be had in taking up a tree out of a Nursery not to lay naked the whole root for fear of harming those trees that are about it But after that some earth is taken away from about the foot of it it may be turned downward half-way towards the ground and drawn long-wayes gently by strength of arms For by this means the roots are preserved entire from breaking and the trees not endammaged that are left behind The tree being thus taken up with care you must before it be re-planted pare off the ends of all its roots taking away onely such as are too confused and strip well from them all their small fibers or filaments where there are too many of them because these when the tree comes to be planted would otherwise clogg together and hinder the mould from falling easily between the principall roots and so from filling up all their vacuities For this reason the Gardiner cannot be too carefull in taking away the small threds for the greater and middle sort of roots never fail of putting forth new ones and those which he leaves being too confused do alwayes harm the tree more than they profit it and the great roots must also in the paring of them be left as long as may be and the cut must be at the end of the root on the lower side of it so that the cut may be upon the mould The roots being all on this manner refreshed and cleared if it be a tree with a high stemm and designed to be planted in the open air the stemm of it must be pared off at seven foot high and all the small branches and buds which remain upon it must be taken off with exactness for those shoots which open themselves a passage in the bark and come out of the body of the tree do alwayes grow up with the greatest vigour But if the tree be designed for a Wall or a Dwarf-tree it must be left shorter or longer according to the strength of its foot the quantity of its roots and the goodness of the soyl the judgement whereof depends upon the prudence of the Gardiner Nevertheless seeing it is necessary that such trees should put forth branches near the ground to cover the lower part of the wall in which the beauty of Wall-trees doth chiefly consist it will be best if the foot be not well furnished with branches to cut it very short that it may put forth many It is true that a tree thus stopt having no old wood remaining upon it cannot so soon bear fruit As for Peach-trees they being very subject to want boughs in the middle must alwayes when they are planted be cut very short The tree being thus cut must presently be planted either in the hole or in the trench prepared for it and must not be sunk into the ground above the depth of
have gotten strength and are accustomed to the open air Such as are curious may further observe when they plant trees whose bark is not well recovered again to turn the back of the Graff towards the South and the cut towards the North because in that position it will the more easily recover and if they remove such kinds of trees as are tender and difficult to grow again such as are Fir-trees and Pines they must be carefull to set them in the same Situation and so to turn them that they may be exposed to the Sun and Frosts in the very same manner that they were before they were taken up because that by this means these tender trees receiving the same impressions of the air to which they were accustomed are scarsely at all sensible of their change For this reason when they are taken up they must be marked upon their stemm which fide stood North and which South that in re-planting them they may be put again in the same Situation The first care which must be taken in the ordering of such trees as are newly removed is to take off all the buds from the High-standers when they begin to shoot forth till you come to the heighth of a foot and half above which no shoot is to be taken from them untill the third year when in the moneth of March they must be cleared of some of their branches by cutting off such of them as are weak and uselesse In doing whereof the stubs or stumps must be cut to the quick and smoothed and then immediately capped over with clay that the bark may recover with the more facility But Wall-trees and Dwarfs must be let alone and suffered to put forth their sprouts at liberty without taking any branch from them during the first year except that if they shoot upwards too fast it will be necessary to stop them at a foot high by pinching them once to make them grow big and strong and also to make them put forth such other small branches as may furnish the bottom of the Wall The Earth at the foot of Wall-trees and such as are planted in Counter-hedges over against Walls must be stirred four times in a year for the breadth of six foot in March and October to some depth but in May and July the depth of half a spade-bit onely to kill the weeds and to keep the mould short and capable of receiving the Rain in Summer In great Plantations where Beasts are pastured the Earth must be stirred four foot wide about the stemm of each tree four times a year Bvt where the Beasts come not all the ground must be ploughed or digged in such places where the plough cannot passe and sown with Wheat or Oats each other year one and care must be taken to dung it well that year when it is to be sown with Wheat and to stir it four times in the year wherein it lies fallow This course is to be continued until the trees be grown so big that their shadow hinders the profiting of the corn then the tillage of the whole may be let alone and used onely about the foot of the trees according as there shall be need The often stirring of the ground hath this advantage that it hinders richer grounds from chapping and keeps those alwayes fresh that are light and sandy In Plantations where the trees stand at the distance of eight or ten fathoms so placed because the ground may alwayes be tilled and sown there is no further care to be taken for that which is used about ordinary tillage but onely that such as plough them must take heed that the plough spoyl not the trees by coming too near them For the well-ordering of Dwarf-standers it is necessary to stir all the ground about them four times a year with a spade or a forked pick-axe not sowing any grain upon it save only in the midst of the Alloys where it may be sown and nearer the trees to the distance of four or five feet from them may be made beds of Strawberries and other small Sallad-herbs for other herbs and flowers being planted in the tillage above their roots do wrong the trees except onely Anemone's and Ranunculus which may be set at the foot of the Wall because they have but few leaves and roots For the same reason there may be planted upon the border of the tillage at six foot from the trees a row of Strawberry-plants Such as plant Pear-trees and Apple-trees in Avenues along the wayes or about the sides of their grounds should put none there but such as have a very high stem such as are the Apple-trees which they call De Manerbe and Hautbois or the Long-Apple-tree For besides that these two kinds have alwayes a fair stemm they do alwayes form their heads round with tall and strait boughes so that loaden Carts cannot touch them and their Fruit is not subject to fall yet excellent for Sider Another care must be to plant there no Fruits which are good to be eaten in Summer lest instead of fruits they receive nothing but a displeasure For the well planting and ordering of Avenues be they Elmes Lime-trees Chest-nuts Wallnut-trees Pear-trees or Apple-trees the same care must be had which is used in great Plantations of Fruit-trees but as for Oaks and Beeches the manner is very different for these must be planted whole without heading them so as you must be content onely to prune them and to cut off their branches at two or three inches distance from the stemm untill you come within three foot of the top then you must put them in the ground with all their roots and cover the foot of each with a bank of earth two or three foot high rising to a point towards the stemm which must be pressed close and beaten to uphold the foot of these trees and to hinder them from being shaken by the winds because that being planted at twelve or fifteen foot high with all their top they are subject to be overturned by them For the same reason these banks of earth must not be taken away nor stirred till after five or six years when the trees have taken a firm root but it will suffice to open a small trench about them which may retain the waters to moisten and nourish the roots Fir-trees and Pines being very difficult to take root again when they are removed must of necessity be replanted while they are very young when they are not above four or five foot high their branches also must not be taken off nor their roots be cut unless such as have been hurt but they must when they are planted be banked with earth as the Oaks and Beeches not be pruned before they are grown very big And even then you must observe in the cutting any branch from them in the moneth of March to rub the wound immediately with Hogs-dung or Cow-dung to hinder the gumm from issuing out because that doth very much wrong
they be old I have taken notice that the best way to make them bear is when they are fit to be removed to take them wholly up in November in the Wane and presently to plant them again in the same or another place with all their roots onely a little refreshing the ends of them and cutting the tops of the boughs a little as much as you would have done had they not been taken up Experience having taught me that after this change they do in a short time bear good store of Fruit There are some trees also which are subject to a contrary fault to that now mention'd which ruine and consume themselves within a few years by too much bearing To diminish this ruinous and mortal fruitfulness their heads must be cut off or their boughs shortened to the half two or three dayes after the new Moon in March and for two or three years all their Fruit-buds must be taken off for by this means provided that their roots be lively they will grow much into wood Trees are also subject to other Maladies as Cankers which breed in their bark and eat it so that they cause the death of the bough whereon they are Peach-trees and Abricot-trees are more ordinarily taken with this Disease than Pear-trees because of the too great abundance of their Sap To heal them of it you must as soon as it appears cut off all the bark which is eaten with it and even the wood that is infected by it and if it hath eaten round about the bough must be cut off under-neath it to the quick and the Cut must immediately be covered with fresh Cow-dung or Hogs-dung and wrapped about upon that with Flax or Linnen so that no air come to it By this means will the Canker be stopped from going further and the bough will recover There are also certain Worms bred betwixt the Bark and the Wood of Trees which do them much harm when they are perceived they must be followed their track discovered with the point of the Pruning-knife untill they be found And if they be at the end of a bough it must be cut off below them and the opening which is made upon the bark rubbed with Cow-dung or Hogs-dung that it may the more easily recover Caterpillers are very hurtfull to Trees or Fruits for which cause the Gardiners cannot be too carefull to take them away in the Winter and to take heed that in Wall-trees no old leaf remain betwixt the Tree and the Wall because in such they shelter themselves In the Spring when the Trees begin to blossom and grow green an exact search is very necessary to take away the Caterpillers for then they run upon the blossoms and spoyl the Fruits as fast as they knot they are the cause of the unhandsomness which we see upon may Pears for on that side where they have bitten or eaten them the skin profits no more so that the Pears increasing but upon one side become hunch-back'd and of an extravagant shape The time of the day most proper for the taking away these Caterpillers is betwixt nine and ten in the morning when the Sun shines because then they run upon the Blooms and the new Shoots A principall Advice concerning all Trees The CONCLUSION IT would be to no purpose to have examined the nature of Trees with so much care and to have given so many Instructions for the well ordering of them if I should not conclude with that advice which I hold to be the principall and most important of all should I not shut up all with this truth that No man can have fair Plants unless he love them For it is neither the goodness of the Soyl nor the quantity of Dung nor the advantageous Situation which make trees to grow well but it is the Affection of the Master which animates them and renders them strong and vigorous Thus we see that if this Affection be wanting if they be neglected though they be planted in the best Grounds they languish and become unfruitfull Men are no longer in the earthly Paradise where they might eat the most admirable Fruits without labour they must till the Ground they must cultivate the Trees if they will gather the fruit of them Nature no longer yields any thing of her own accord she must be wooed and flattered if vve vvould obtain vvhat vve desire at her hands vve must love Her if vve vvould be loved by her 'T is this Affection which alone hath given me the skill I have in Plants 'T is that vvhich made me note those faults I committed about them at the first 'T is that vvhich made me search out the causes of them and vvould give no repose unto my mind till I had perfectly knovvn them And therefore if this love of Plants be not to be found in the heart of the Master or at least in that of his Gardiner I vvould not counsel him to plant because his labour vvill remain unprofitable and vvithout Fruit Nor have I vvritten these Memorials for others than those that have this inclination and are lovers of Plants for having this affection they need but small assitance besides to do vvonders And although I knovv vvell that my vvork is very rude little considerable I hope notvvithstanding that it vvill prove usefull for them in their vvork by laying open unto them the vvay to nevv Knovvledge so that being already good Gardiners they may make use of it as a vvild-stock upon vvhich they may put good Graffs and gather from them excellent Fruits FINIS Courteous Reader these Books following are printed for Humphrey Moseley at the Princes Armes in St. Pauls Church-yard Various Histories with curious Discourses in humane Learning c. 1 HIstoricall relations of the united Provinces of Flanders by Cardinall Bentivoglio Englished by the Right Honorable Henry Earle of Monmouth Fol. 2. The History of the Warrs of Flanders written in Italian by that learned and famous Cardinal Bentivoglio Englished by the Right Honorable Henry E. of Monmouth The whole worke Illustrated with a Map of the 17. Provinces and above 20 Figures of the chiefe Personages mentioned in this History Fol. 3. The History of the Warrs of the Emperor Justinian with the Persians Goths and Vandalls written in Greek by Procopius of Caesaria in eight Bookes translated into English by Sir Henry Holcroft Knight Fol. 4. De Bello Belgico the History of the Low-Country Warrs written in Latine by Famianus Strada in English by Sir Robert Stapylton Illustrated with divers Figures Fol. 5. The use of passions written by I. F. Senalt and put into English by Henry Earle of Monmouth 8o 6. Judicious and Select Essaies and observations by the Renowned and learned Knight Sir Walter Raleigh with his Apology for his Voyage to Guiana Fol. 7. The Compleat Horsman and Expert Farrier in two books by Thomas De Grey Esquire newly printed with additions in 4o 1656. 8. Unheard-of curiosities concerning the Talismanicall Sculpture