Instructions for the Planting and Or­dering of Fruit-Trees.

1. FRuit-Trees are to be considered, either ac­cording to the diffe­rent natures of the Fruits they bear, or ac­cording to the various Figures and Forms into which cultivated Trees are by the Art and Industry of the curious and skilful, for their better advantage and improvement, commonly ordered and disposed.

2. In the first of which Considera­tions, [Page 2] we generally and ordinarily di­vide them into Stone-fruits, as Cher­ries, Plumbs, and Peaches; and Pepin-fruits, as Apples and Pears.

3. In the second, Fruit-trees are raised with good success four seve­ral ways; to wit, in tall Trees grow­ing upright upon their own Bole or Stem, commonly called Standards; in An Espallier is a Hedg-row of Fruit-trees set pretty near to one another, so that their boughs and branches are interlaced and interwo­ven into one another, and in that posture sup­ported by a frame of Wood something like a lattic'd Pale, or with rails, stakes, and other retentions, to keep them firm in the form the Gar­diner has laid them. Contrespallier, a hedg­row planted after the same manner with the other, only differing in this, that the fruit is a­gainst a Wall, and the latter in the open Air. 1. Espalliers along by the walls, in Hay-d'appuy, or Espallier in the o­pen Air, in Con­trespallier, and in Shrubs or Dwarf-trees.

4. After these four ways all sorts of Fruit-trees are successfully to be rais­ed, nevertheless there are that prosper much better in one manner than ano­ther, as we shall observe in treating of [Page 3] every one apart, without speaking in general of Stone-fruits, and Pepin-fruits, for as much as both the one and the other of these kinds are comprised in these four Figures or Postures.

Of Standards.

1. THis Figure is more natural to Fruit-trees, than to any other, for as much as experience has demon­strated to us, that all Apple-trees, Pear-trees and Apricots, as also Cher­ries, and Peaches do of themselves, (when let alone) thrust up a Stem, and rise from the earth to a certain stature, before they begin to form their Heads, and to shoot forth their Branches; for which reason many are of opinion, that the fruits of this sort of Tree, are bet­ter, and of a better tast, than those which are gathered from Espalliers and Dwarf-trees; and they are in the right as to the most part of fruits, par­ticularly [Page 4] the A delicate little Pear so called. Rousselet, which is one of the most excellent and deli­cate sort of fruit we have.

2. Plantations of this sort are very proper for Apple-trees, which ought never to be forc'd into any other po­sture, unless for pleasure, or out of cu­riosity, one would make Dwarf-trees of Pomme de Para­dice is an excellent sweet Apple, that comes of a Pear-main grafted up­on a Quince. Apples of Paradice grafted. They are also very good for all sorts of hard Winter baking Pears, and almost all Summer and Autumn Pears. Plumb-trees also prosper very well after this manner, as also Cherries, particularly those which are grafted upon stocks of the Merise, the small and bitter Cherry. Merisier, as al­so the Quaere Bigarotier, I think a party-colour'd Cherry. Bigaro­tier, and Griotier, a sowre Cherry. Grio­tier. But to do well, you must not mix these different kinds together, by reason they require [Page 5] an unequal distance, Pepin-fruits na­turally requiring to be set at greater distance from one another, than Stone-fruits.

3. And herein there are two things chiefly to be observed; first, the fer­tility of the Soyl, and secondly, the se­curity and shelter from winds.

4. As to the first, a man should ne­ver attempt to make a Plantation of Standards, if the ground he designs for that purpose be not very good; for otherwise it will require very great ex­pence to make them prosper, and oft­times this expence proves fruitless, the Trees then coming to fail, at the time when they ought to be in their perfe­ction, as being more in debt for their growth to the Art and labour have been imployed about them, than to the bounty of the Soyl where they were planted.

5. To insist upon the different na­tures of Moulds, and to explain the marks of their fertility or barrenness, would require a long discourse; and [Page 6] besides, all Gardeners, and others, who have been accustomed to the earth, are by their own experience and observa­tion sufficiently acquainted with them. It will therefore be sufficient to observe in general, that there are Soyls proper for all sorts of fruits, as well Stone-fruits as others, as a black sandy Soyl, when it is fat; and that we call Terre­franche (which is a pure Mould or Soyl of it self, without sand, gravel or stones) when it is not too stiff, and is easie to be stirred, because in these sorts of earth, Trees find a great deal of juice to nourish them, and with great facility extend their Roots and fibers to extract nourishment from all parts. There are also other soyls, that are ve­ry good and proper for some certain fruits, and not for others, as a stiff earth is much more proper for the Ap­ple than the Pear, and yet more for the Pear than for Stone-fruit; as on the contrary, light and sandy soyls, are more proper for stone-fruits.

6. For what concerns covert and [Page 7] shelter from the winds, you are to chuse a situation least exposed to those inconveniences; for which reason na­ked Plains and high Mountains are by no means proper situations for fruit-trees; the hollows of Valleys, or the gentle declivities and easie risings of little Hills, are much more proper: But it is withal to be observed, that the winds are to be suspected for two things; first for the fruits in the Spring, when the Trees are in blossom, and those are the North and Northwest winds, which are the most to be fear­ed in this case: secondly, for their violence and impetuosity, which not only beat the fruit from the Trees, but very often break the Trees themselves, or at least shake them in such sort, that they become crooked and writhen, and can never rise again, nor possibly pro­sper; and this is a West-South-West wind, which Vent d'Aval. is the most pernicious, and of all others the most to be feared for these acci­dents. And as ordinarily we do not in [Page 8] these kind of Plantations, plant other than hardly fruits that are there able very well to defend themselves from the frosts, and that even the wind it self does also often hinder the frost, which it self brings along with it, we ought to be more heedful to secure a fruit-tree from the winds that blow be­twixt the South and West, than from those that blow from the North-West, and the North.

7. These two things being duly ob­served, when you would make a Plan­tation of Standards in a good soyl, you must set them, if you plant Apples on­ly, at eight fadom distance in the Or­der of Quincunx, which forms an Al­ley every way; or in simple, that is, single Alleys only, where the Trees at equal distances, stand directly, and in two right lines opposite to one another. The Quincunx Order is the more de­lightful, provided the Trees be set at a very great distance the onefrom the other, for otherwise they are apt to shoulder and crowd one another in [Page 9] this kind of Order, and to shade one another on every side. If you would mix Pear-trees in equal number with your Apples, six or seven fadom is then distance enough, and for Pears only, six is as much as is required.

8. And although all Planters almost commit an error in not duly observing this distance (for they covet a great number of Trees, and think they should not husband their ground to sufficient advantage, if they did not set them more thick) nevertheless it is most certain, that two Trees set at a fit distance, and that have all day long the benefit of the Sun, without being skreen'd from it by any too neighbour­ing shade, are worth above twenty that touch and offend one another. And when the Plants are set too near toge­ther, it is not discerned at first, but just at the time when they should be in their perfection, they are found to be good for nothing; but when they are placed at the forementioned distance, they still grow better and better, and [Page 10] bear both much more, and far better fruit, as having had greater benefit, both of the Air and Sun. Moreover, they hinder not the Plot where they grow, from being employed to other uses, to the producing of all sorts of Grain, wherein also the labour that is bestowed upon the one, is of very sig­nal advantage to the other.

9. This separation and equal distan­ces of Trees, is very necessary, not only for the pleasure of the eye, which is infinitely delighted with this sym­metry and uniform Order; but also by reason that this equal distance is the cause that the earth equally distributes nourishment to them all alike, and gives them equal strength and vi­gour.

10. The distance of Trees being thus observed, holes are next to be made to plant them in, which are also to be digged and turned up six foot square, or thereabouts, and two or three foot deep; which if they were made a whole year before you plant [Page 11] your Trees, so that the earth which is cast up, and that which remains in the bottom, might receive the Air, the Sun and the Rain, during the four Sea­sons of the Year, the Trees would doubtless prosper infinitely better; the reason of which is, that the earth be­ing cold and dry in its own nature (both of them qualities contrary to generation) can produce nothing of it self, and only becomes fruitful by the mixture of the contrary qualities it re­ceives from the Sun, the Air and the Rain. And therefore it is, that a stiff or stony Soyl produces nothing to pur­pose, by reason they are so thick and stiff, that they cannot be penetrated by the other Elements. It is with the earth in some sort, as with the water, of which the best is that which soonest, and with greatest facility receives the strange and uncouth qualities that are applied unto it, which is the reason that we experimentally see, that the new earth drawn from the bottom of some deep Pit, remains a long time [Page 12] barren, till it has received its fertility from the mixture and participation of the other Elements, and then, that is to say, a year after, or thereabouts, it begins to produce Grass and Simples. And that also is the reason why the up­permost Mould of the earth is always better, more fat and fertile, than that which is lower within. Now if the earth drawn out of these holes, had been in like manner long exposed to all the influences of the Air, without doubt it would assume these good qua­lities, as well at least as that in the bottom (which also in some sort parti­cipates of the benefit) by which means whoever should plant his Trees in this earth, would find it much more nou­rishing, and should have a better ac­count of his Plantation.

11. This Rule may indifferently serve for all sorts of Trees, and chiefly for the Trenches you make for the Es­palliers, because that way of planting, both requires and deserves more care than all the others, but it is neverthe­less [Page 13] seldom or never put in practice; for as much as very few have the pa­tience to stay a whole year after they have once taken a resolution to plant, and have set forth ground for that pur­pose, and they look upon this long pre­paration as a loss of so much time, wherein a Tree might already have taken good root, and have advanced so much towards its perfection. As for what concerns Espalliers, there is yet another inconvenience that hin­ders them, which shall also be spoken of in its due place.

12. The holes being thus made, you are in the next place to cull out Trees all of one and the same stature, and those either already grafted (which is by much the best, for the reasons shal be given when I come to speak of Pepin-fruits) or if those are not to be had, then stocks of the same height to graft upon, that is of six or seven foot on the Bole, and about two or three inches thick (for you must ever be careful to measure the height to this proportion [Page 14] of thickness) which also are to be cho­sen straight, and carefully pulled up with all their roots. In planting of which, it will be very good to give them some help under the root, of fat earth, or dung well rotten, and earth mixt together (wherein you are also to be careful, that the dung do not touch the root) for one may easily assist a Tree already planted from above, but we never rifle again under the root to help it there.

13. Before you place the Tree in the hole designed for it, you must re­fresh the root by neatly cutting off the extremities with your pruning-knife; and you are always to cut them on the under-side, so that the wounds and cuttings may exactly be placed upon the earth; for it is from those cuts that the Tree thrusts out its first rays and fibers, which by this means creep into, and disperse themselves thorow the upper Mould, and cause the Tree to take faster hold, and to stand firm.

14. Dung, fat earth, and all the o­ther [Page 15] improvers which shall be treated of, when we come to speak of plant­ing Espalliers, are also very good for great Trees; but they are not so ne­cessary. And as it would be a matter of great difficulty to employ this par­ticular care in great Plantations, that take up great spaces of ground; so al­so when the Soyl it self is very good, Trees prosper well enough without all these helps.

15. You must not set them too deep in the earth; for besides that, Roots buried too low in the ground, do not sufficiently participate of the influen­ces of the Air, there is another incon­venience in it, which is, that the earth above being always the better, and the Tree receiving the nourishment that comes from thence, as that which is most proper for it; if it be set too deep, it thrusts forth new roots above to attract the nutriment of the better earth, and often suffers those below to decay and perish, which does not only incommodate, but very often wholly [Page 16] destroys the Tree. It will therefore be enough to set the root a foot deep only in the earth, wherein you are to take care to cover it with new Mould that is not lumpy, and with your hand to dispose it all about the little strings and fibers of the roots, that there may be no cavities betwixt the earth and the root; for such vacuities would in­fallibly beget rottenness and ruin.

16. It is good also to shoulder or clod up the Tree for three foot about, and some four foot high, and afterwards in labouring it over again by little and little, to abate the heap, till the earth be again settled to its former level.

17. It is also very convenient to co­ver the Trees by raising straw to a cer­tain height round about the Stem, by which means the bark will retain its beauty, the sap will not be exhausted by the heat of the Sun, and it will be preserved from Moss.

18. If the root of the Tree be not of it self strong enough to withstand the force of the winds, it ought to be [Page 17] propt and supported with a stake, or a good strong Pole almost of its own height; but then you must take heed this prop be not of cloven or sawn Wood with edges, neither gouty, nor full of knots, lest it should hurt the Tree, and gall or wound the bark; but it must be round, and tyed after such manner, that it do not interfere with the Tree; to prevent which, there must also be straw or hay lapt be­twixt them.

19. Some use to prune the Trees be­fore they set them, both by reason it is to be done at greater ease in hand, than when they are planted; and more­over, because the force of pruning is apt to shake them when they are al­ready set in their places; but withal, men usually planting in the beginning of Winter, the frosts and other inju­ries of that rude Season, do sometimes incommodate a Tree so lately woun­ded, and pierce deeper into its heart by such overtures. Wherefore it is better to stay till the Spring before you [Page 18] lop or cut them, especially if year-old graffs, which also must be so done, as almost to leave them no branches at all, to the end, that having so much less Wood to maintain, they may the better recover and take new root with greater vigour.

20. It is very requisite to rank the Trees according to their kinds: as for example, to set one whole row of Re­nate-Apples, and another of Summer-Pears, and all in such sort, that the principal fruits, and those that are the best, and will longest keep, be in much greater number than those which are planted for curiosity only, and will not keep so long as Summer-fruits, though they are very excellent in their kind.

21. In the whole body of a Planta­tion ranged in this Order, you are by no means to mix any Stone-fruits at all; but you may plant them in the Alleys that are round about it, placing Plumbs, Cherries, Griotiers, A sweet sort of Cherries Guini­ers, and Bigarotiers, at six and six [Page 19] yards distance one from another, or fur­ther off, especially the Bigarotiers, which extend their branches very far when grafted upon the Merisier.

22. Now all these Instructions pre­suppose a good Soyl, without which a man should not over-easily be indu­ced to undertake these kind of Plan­tations, but content himself with Es­palliers and Dwarf-Trees only, which take up less ground, and that conse­quently is with greater ease to be pre­pared, by introducing good earth into barren and ungrateful places: but not­withstanding, if you will needs plant in an ill Soyl, you must then open your holes eight foot square, and three foot deep, and separate the better and more likely earth that is turned out (which is commonly the uppermost) from the rest, and afterwards fill them up with that select Mould, and other that shall be brought in, of the best can be found, with a great deal of very old and rot­ten dung and marl, or the scowring of Pools or Fish-ponds, provided it have [Page 20] lain at least a year before; for it would otherwise be too cold for the Trees, and make them die, as on the contrary, dung is too hot, if not well consumed; and especially (as hath been before ob­served) you must take good heed, that the Roots touch not the dung, but that there be always earth between.

23. With this expence Trees may be made to prosper in any Soyl what­ever. Nevertheless, if it be so stiff a clay, or so stony a ground, that the Trees cannot at all pierce it with their roots, then the forementioned holes will be yet too little to supply a Tree with so much nourishment as is neces­sary for its due and expected growth; and you must make them still more large, for otherwise the roots of the Trees coming to touch the earth, which is so much an enemy to them, stop short, and curl themselves back a­gain into the hole from whence they came, where they work the same effect with Trees planted in boxes, and pre­sently devour all the vertue of the [Page 21] good earth was put into them.

24. Plantations of great and full­grown Fruit-trees, require also to be husbanded as well as the others, and you must bestow labour upon them at least four times a Year; to wit, in the beginning, and at the end of Winter, and then as deep as you can; and twice in Summer only to kill the grass, and to keep the earth from growing hard and parching with the Sun; wherein you are to rely very much upon the la­bourers dexterity and care, to culti­vate all these Plantations with the Plough, & yet there is no other way to turn up so much ground as they possess when they are of great extent, with­out an excessive charge; but you may give the Husbandman caution to bring his Plough within a certain distance of the Trees only to avoid accidents, and to turn up the remainder with the Spade, the Hoe, and the Mattock.

25. Now the deep husbandry or digging that is used to Trees in the be­ginning, and at the end of Winter, [Page 22] produces several good effects; for by this means the good earth, which is al­ways uppermost, is turned down to nourish the Tree, and the lower earth is laid aloft to be made better and more fertile, by the fame reasons; and it will also fall out, that all the moi­sture and fatness which comes from a­bove, will penetrate to the bottom, which by that means will be kept sup­ple and light, and consequently easie to be penetrated by the new roots that put out, which are like so many little emulgent veins by which the Tree ex­tracts its nourishment from all parts.

26. But on the contrary, in Summer you are by no means to stir the earth too deep, lest the heat pierce too far in­to it, and hurt the roots of the Trees; and besides, the Husbandry will be suf­ficient if you kill the ill weeds, and hinder the earth from crusting too much with the heat of the Sun.

27. You may also make Plantati­ons of this sort of Stone-fruits in tall Trees, and they are very pleasant when [Page 23] separated according to their different kinds; as for example, a Cherry-Or­chard in one place, a Plumb-Orchard in another, and a Peach-Orchard in a third, which Plants are also to be cul­tivated after the same manner as the others, observing only the difference of their distances and stations. Plumbs, Apricots, Cherries, Bigarotiers and Griotiers require to be planted at six yards distance betwixt Tree and Tree, and rather more. Cherries not graft­ed, or that are grafted upon other Cherry-stocks, do not require so great a distance, and it will be sufficient to plant them at the distance of betwixt twelve and fifteen foot, and Peach-trees the same: But it is to be noted, that Peaches and Apricots are very im­patient of frosts and great winds, and therefore cannot prosper if not plant­ed in such a place of advantage, as shall secure and shelter them from these assaults.

28. There are two seasons proper for planting, namely, Autumn, and [Page 24] the Spring, for Summer is totally un­fit, both by reason of its violent heat, and also the sap of the Trees being then in their branches, they would wither in transplanting, and cause the Tree it self to die; neither is Winter proper, by reason of the frosts and great rains which deprive the earth of such a disposition as is necessary for the entertaining of Plants, unless in a dry Soyl, where the earth does not clog nor run into morter, and in such a place one may plant even in the rain. The beginning of the Spring, when the earth begins to dry a little, is good for several sorts of Trees; but for Fruit-trees, Autumn is incomparably better, than any other season. One may plant presently after September, that is to say, in the middle of Octo­ber, or about that time, by reason that then the sap retires from the branches into the root, which so soon soever as it shall happen, a Tree is to be remo­ved without any manner of danger, for as much as the sap of the Tree is no [Page 25] longer in the heart, but in the rind or bark only, and that is the reason why we sometimes see Trees totally decay­ed and rotten at the heart, which yet fail not for all that of bearing fair and good fruit, the sap communicating its nourishment to the branches by the bark only; wherefore when the sap shall no more appear in the bark, it is a good time to plant. The advantage of planting betimes is twofold; for in this season one may easily make choice of fair days, and a fair Sun for this purpose, which is a thing that ve­ry much contributes to the making Plants to prosper; and moreover, the earth that is then stirred being sound, and not as yet oversoakt, easily crum­bles and moulders about the root, and keeps it in a good Mould the whole year about. But there is yet another, and a very considerable reason, which is, that Trees early planted, recover themselves before Winter, and find themselves already strong, and well acquainted with the Soyl when they [Page 26] are to put out in the Spring; for the sap which in Winter is retired into the root, does no more lye idle in this Sea­son, than any of the other three, but puts out new threds and fibers from the root, as experience shews; and it is most certain, that plant a Tree in good earth in October, and take it up again in January, and you will find it has put out new roots; and so by this early planting you secure the Tree a­gainst the heat of Summer, and more­over, gain half a year in its growth.

29. Yet is it not all, to have planted Fruit-trees well, and to have prepared the ground with all imaginable pains and care, you must moreover be care­ful to correct them, to take away the superfluous branches, and to hinder the good from being pestered and incommodated with those that are useless and good for nothing. Nature 'tis true, does ever labour towards her perfection, but she cannot arrive at it without being assisted by Art. Trees when planted in a fruitful Soyl, do vo­luntarily [Page 27] dispose themselves towards their most advantageous Figure and Proportion; but you must also help and assist them, that they may arrive at the perfection for which they strive. This, whilst they are yet very young, and that the branches you would take away are small, is to be done with the pruning-knife, and when grown stron­ger, with the Joyners Chizel and a Mallet; but that is never to be done the first year, for it is enough at first if the Tree take, without demanding any more, you must be content to receive all the branches it will present you, and it will be time enough a year after to make your choice, to take away the bad, and to preserve the good. It is with Trees newly planted, as with young Horses, which we never go a­bout to manage in their first years, but are content to see that they feed well and thrive. You must notwithstand­ing begin betimes to cut your Trees, that is to say, the second year, or at the latest, the third; for it is much easier [Page 28] to bring them to a handsom head, when you begin so soon, than if you should defer it longer, and the Tree suffers less when the superfluous bran­ches are taken away in their shooting, than when you shall be obliged to cut them off when thicker, and grown more strong.

30. There is no precise instruction to be given for the cutting of great Trees, and therefore the eye and judg­ment of the Workman must be his rule; only you are in general to ob­serve, whether in pruning young Trees lately planted, or cutting those of longer standing, not to suffer branches to grow over one another, nor to leave too much wood upon the Tree, and so to cleanse it, that the branches may not shade one another; as also to take away a great number of the little bran­ches that grow within the Tree, and that almost never bear any fruit; but withal, you are to have a special care to cut what you take away very even, and close by the trunk of the Tree, to [Page 29] the end that the sap which rises may presently cover the wound with a new bark. For this purpose the Joyners Chizels are exceeding proper, and those you are to have of several bredths, according to the branches you would cut. This instrument is al­so of better use for this kind of work, when helved upon the end of a broken half-Pike, or any other staff of eight, ten, or twelve foot-long, by which means, without climbing a Tree, you may at great ease take away all you desire, and may better chuse out the useless branches mixt with the others, to cut them with much greater facility than with a pruning-knife. You must also evermore observe to cut and prune your Trees always in the wain, espe­cially that of January and February; not but that you may cut strong and able Trees in the wain of November and December also.

31. All sorts of Trees endure the knife, and willingly part with their superfluous wood whilst young and [Page 30] growing; but the Apple-tree will not part with his branches when a little in years, and that he is already arrived at his perfection, for as much as he has much ado to recover, and oftentimes perishes by the wound. The Cherry-tree also, the Bigarotier and Apricot, are impatient of dressing when old, unless totally lopt off, to make them shoot forth new heads. The Pear and Plumb submit better to the knife, especially the Pear.

32. When there is rotten Wood got into a Tree, you must be careful to cut it out with a kind of hollow Chizel the Joyners call a Gouge, which is to be handled after the same manner you do the ordinary Chizel, and is a very proper instrument to enter into the bo­dy of the Tree, and to scoop out all that is dry and rotten, without enda­maging the rest.

33. Moss is prevented from growing round a Tree, by littering them up with straw, as has before been directed; but when it is once come, you must [Page 31] take care to scrape it off with a wooden knife, or by rubbing the bark of the Tree to which it clings, with a new coarse cloth, or a good hard wisp of straw after rain, when it will fall off with greater ease.

34. As Standards have many things proper for them in common, with the others that are raised in different forms, so many of these instruments that are properly made for the one, may indifferently be employed about the other; and it is also certain, that if we would take the same pains, and make the same preparation for the planting of Standards, which ought to be observed in Espalliers, they would prosper infinitely better; where­fore, the curious, who will not spare for cost, would do well to prepare the earth after the same manner, both for the one and the other.

Of Espalliers.

1. WE call those Trees Espalliers which are pallisado'd along the Walls, and are with good reason esteemed above all other ways of planting, principally for four things.

2. First, for their Beauty, for they are an exceeding great ornament to a Garden, when well sustained, and neat­ly kept, and that we see them interwo­ven in good order along by the Walls, and all covered over with their leafs and fruits.

3. Secondly, for the rarity of their fruits, for as much as the best, and those that are most rare, as the Bergamot, the Winter Boncrestien, and most of those Peaches and I take a Pavie to be a Nectrine, though Cotgrave calls it a ba­stard Peach, or a fruit like a Peach. Nectrines, which prosper not in Stan­dards, easily ripen and come to per­fection in Espalliers.

[Page 33] 4. Thirdly, for the quality of their fruits, it being most certain, that even those which prosper best in the open Air, are incomparably better in Espal­liers, both for largeness and colour.

5. Fourthly, for their abundance, which is such, that when an Espallier is well supported, you must always pull off above half the blossoms with which it overcharges it self, and very often a great many more after they are knit, whereas this abundance is very rare in Standards; and if it one year happen by chance, the two following shall either be totally without fruit, or at least they will be very thin.

6. All which advantages proceed from the heat of the Sun, which is ve­ry much augmented by the repercussi­on of the Wall, and from the shelter they receive in such a location from the injury of winds, to the violence whereof these Trees are not subject, as being totally defended on the one side by the Wall, and on the others, being tyed and complicated within one an­ther, [Page 34] they can receive no harm.

7. Espalliers also require more care and labour than all other sorts of Plan­tations, wherefore well to examine all that is necessarily required to bring them to their perfection, it will be convenient to consider, what is to be done before you plant them, both as to the preparing of the earth, and the choice of the situation, which are both to be duly considered in planting this sort of Trees; as also what is to be done after they are planted, to cul­tivate and improve them.

What is to be observed before the Plant­ing of Espalliers.

1. THe first thing that he who will plant an Espallier is to ob­serve, is to expose it to a good aspect of the Sun. Art and labour can effect all other necessary things in any situa­tion whatever, but for this it is impos­sible [Page 35] to have it, if we do not meet him at his first arrival.

2. There are two good Positions which ought always to be observed in the planting of Espalliers in Gardens, and that may also indifferently serve for all other sorts of Plantations; of which the first is that which has the Sun full upon it at his first rising, or presently after, and retains it till two or three of the clock in the afternoon; the second is that which begins to re­ceive the Sun about ten a clock in the morning, and loses it not till it go down. These two Positions are almost equally good, for they have the one as much heat as the other, though there is notwithstanding a certain principal vertue observed in the rising Sun, which causes those Espalliers which are exposed unto it, to be both sooner ripe, and of a better colour than those in the other Position; which also proceeds from this, that at the end of Winter, and in the beginning of the Spring, the Sun dwells much [Page 36] longer upon this Position, than upon the other, for it almost continually shines upon it, from the rising to the setting. The second Position has also another advantage particular to it, which is, that it is less exposed to the danger of frosts than the other, by reason that the frost does little harm to Trees in the Spring, unless the Sun dash upon them whilst the frost is yet hanging on; for then the two contra­ry qualities of heat and cold beget a conflict, which the Tree is so sensible of, that the leafs and blossoms thereof appear stricken and blasted; but when the frost dissolves of it self, before the Sun comes to shine upon it, it does no harm at all, and afterwards drops off as innocently as dew. The first Positi­on receiving the Sun from its first ri­sing, if there have a frost hapned in the night upon the Trees, they are then subject to this accident; but on the contrary, the Sun only beginning to shine upon the second at ten or ele­ven of the clock, if a frost have hapned [Page 37] in the night, it is absolutely thawn and dissolved of it self before the Sun comes to strike upon it. There are al­so some Soyls so burning, that the first Position is too hot, so that oft times the fruits by the excessiveness of the heat, cannot arrive at their full pro­portion and fairness. But, to conclude, all things duly considered, the first is the better for fruits that require a very hot Sun, as A Musk Cherry al­so a Muscadine grape. Mus­cats and Peaches; and the second is as much to be e­steemed for Pears.

3. These two Positions are the best of all others, not only in respect to the heat of the Sun, which is doubt­less the principal reason; but also be­cause they defend the Espalliers from the North and Northwest winds, which are the worst for frosts, especi­ally the Northwest, which commonly blows in the Spring, and which is so much the more dangerous, because it very often brings with it a frost after little rains, which soften the Trees, and [Page 38] render them more penetrable, and apt to freeze. Of these two Positions the first is totally covered from that, and the second from the North.

4. All the principal and most deli­cate fruits, as Peaches, Pavies, Bon­chrestiens and Bergamots, ought to be plac'd in these Positions. There are o­thers nevertheless which are not whol­ly to be rejected, and may do very well for more hardly fruits, as all Summer-Pears, and some Winter-Pears also, as shall be explained in the Catalogue of Fruits.

5. The place being thus chosen, the Wall which is to support the Espal­lier, must be twelve or thirteen foot high, to the end the Tree may have its utmost stretch when it shall come to perfection. It ought also to be parget­ed or rough-cast, either with Plaister or Lime, not for ornament only, and to make it more handsom; but also by reason that a thousand mischievous things, snails, worms, and other cor­ruptions, breed in Walls that are made [Page 39] of mud only, and Rats, Mice, and o­ther Vermine, shelter themselves in the holes and cavities which they there find, and very much annoy the fruits. If in building these Walls you would there place little Sheep-shancks in the Order of a Quincunx, the Lo­zenges whereof to be four or five inches square, and those to peep an inch only out of the rough-cast, you would find them of great use, and the Pallisado of your Trees would be made at much greater ease, and much less expence. 'Tis true, one may make shift to fasten them into the Walls al­ready made, but never in so good or­der, as if plac'd in building the Wall. The use of these Sheeps-bones shall be explained, when we come to speak of the manner after which Espalliers ought to be Pallisado'd.

6. These things thus done, nothing more remains, but only to prepare the earth, of which there is some so good of it self as seems to require no man­ner of help, and to be capable of pro­ducing [Page 40] fruits in their greatest excel­lence, without other assistance than the ordinary pains and culture. There is also on the other side some Soyls of so malevolent a nature, as can never be made to produce any thing that is good; and that a man is forc'd total­ly to remove, to bring better into its place, if he intend to have his Trees to prosper. However, that which is contained in this Article, ought not­withstanding to be equally observed in all sorts of Soyl, if not in that which is so abominably bad, as that it must be totally removed. But a man ought never so much to presume upon the bounty of a Soyl, as to neglect any part of his preparation; for if it be able of it self to produce fruit that is very good, it will produce incompara­bly better if seconded and assisted, and that to its own fertility it shall receive all the advantages and improvements, the Art and industry of the Gardiner can add unto it. You are then to open a Trench eight foot wide, and three [Page 41] foot deep, and to dig it sloping, that is, wider at the top than the bottom, on that side next the Wall, to the end that this overture may not endanger the Walls foundation; and in casting out the Earth, you must separate the good from the bad, that the Trench may only be filled up again with the best, and that the worst may not again be thrown into it. If you could leave this Trench open a whole year before you fill it up again, undoubtedly the earth, at the bottom, by so long lying exposed to the open Air, as also that which has been thrown out, would re­ceive a very great advantage, for the reasons before given, in the tenth and twelfth Articles of the Chapter con­cerning Standards: But besides, that a man can very hardly perswade himself to so much patience, it is to be feared, that the Wall in the mean time would fall, or be very much weakned, the foundations of it being in a manner wholly laid open. The earth being thus thrown out, you should then lay [Page 42] in the bottom of the Trench a bed of half a foot or eight inches thick of good fat earth, drawn a year or two before out of the bottom of some Marish or Fish-pond, and well con­sumed in that time; or Turf digged out of some green high-way, where there is only short grass, and no twitch­grass, nor other sorts that devour the fatness of the earth. This Turf ought not to be flead off above four inches thick, and being got betimes in the year, is excellent for Trees; for the salt of this earth, which has long lain idle, still mounts upward, and is at­tracted by the heat of the Sun, and the little nourishment that short grass requires, has nothing wasted its sub­stance, so that it remains entirely in the Turf; but then you must break and mince it in the Trench, till it be in a manner reduced to powder. You are then to lay a bed of old dung very well rotten, and well wasted, of four inches, or half a foot thick, and an­other bed of the best of the earth that [Page 43] was turned out of your Trench; which three different beds must be wrought with very great labour, and such as shall shuffle and mix them with one another (which is to be done with the spade) until all these different things make up one body together; after which you are also to lay three other distinct beds of the same substances, which must also be laboured after the same manner, till the Trench be heapt up half a foot above the level of the Alley, forasmuch as the earth so tost and tumbled will shrink so much at least, when the Winter or the rains have deprest and washt down the Hus­bandry. If you have none of this fat Soyl of Pond-earth or Turf, you must then put in so much the more dung, you may also throw in the shovlings of some old ditch exposed to the South-Sun, which are commonly very good, or the sweepings of Courts, and any thing whatever that Gardiners know to be good to mend the Soyl, provided it be well wasted, and is not [Page 44] too hot: but you shall have a particu­lar Chapter of what is to be observed in the choice of all sorts of Dung and Manure.

7. It is of very great importance to give all these Manurings to the earth you prepare for Espalliers at the first, to the end that the Trees being once planted, you may not need to give it any more improvement, at least of a very long time after; and by this means also, when the Trees shall come to bear, the Dung being totally con­sumed and turned to earth, will give no ill relish to the fruits they shall pro­duce, which oft-times falls out, when they lay a great deal of Dung to Trees already settled in their place.

8. If peradventure you shall not have sufficient store of dung plentiful­ly to furnish the bottom, and your up­per bed too, you must then dispose the greatest quantity into the bottom, still reserving some, but the lesser share for the bed above, because you may at ease, at any time, supply that defect in [Page 45] the upper part of the earth, and as oft as you shall think fit; but the Trees being once planted, you can no more dive under their roots to give them any improvement there.

9. It is good to lay the Alleys of your Espalliers round and high ridged in the middle, so that the midst of your Walk may lye higher than your Espal­lier, to the end that the rain which shoots from the Alley may run into it; and also, that the helps you give it may remain, and not be washt away.

10. This way of preparing the earth is principally for Pear-trees; for Pea­ches and Apricots are to be planted with less ado, and do not indeed re­quire so much dung; but you must not fail, even for them as well as the other, to open the earth the same wideness and depth, though you turn in the same earth simply as it came out, with­out any mixture or help at all, for as much as the roots of the Trees delight in this rifled and lightned earth, and come on more in one year, than they would do in any other in many.

Of what is to be observed in Plant­ing Espalliers.

1. ALl these things being thus or­dered and disposed, you are next to observe the distance at which your Trees are to be set; wherein also you are to be guided by the nature of the Trees themselves, and are to plant them at several distances according to their different kinds: For Plumbs, Apricots and Cherries are to be plant­ed at six yards distance from one ano­ther, by reason that their branches ex­tend themselves very far; and Pear-trees at the distance of fifteen foot, or four yards at the least, because they do not spread so wide.

2. In the earth prepared after the manner prescribed in the foregoing Chapter, you are to make little holes of about three or four foot square, and a foot deep, in such sort that it may [Page 47] easily receive all the roots of the Tree you design for that place; which being done, you must take old dung very rotten, or fat earth that has lain very long, and mix it very well with twice as much earth, and put part over, and part under the roots of the Tree, which you are to set half a foot within the earth, and a foot from the Wall, slo­ping and leaning towards it, so that the Bole appearing above ground, may not be above three inches from the Wall; for to tye and fasten the bran­ches as they ought to be, it must not be too far off, and the root being more remote, extracts also some nourish­ment from the earth, that is betwixt the Wall and it. You must also refresh the roots with the Pruning-knife, af­ter the manner set down in the thir­teenth Article of the Chapter of Standards, leaving all the hairy Fi­bers you can possibly save; and be sure the roots be well covered with that mixt earth, so that no vacuities re­main, as has been said before.

[Page 48] 3. You are also to have a care, that the Dung touch not the roots, because it would heat them too much, and the Summer following peradventure make them die, unless it be so old and rotten, as that it has lost all its heat, and that it be in a manner reduc'd to earth. It is good to forbear cutting the Trees you set, till after the great colds are past, that is to say, till the wain of January and February, and set them at first entire, without taking away any of their branches, for the reasons al­ready given, in the tenth Article of the forenamed Chapter of Standards.

4. When you prune Trees, you are to cut them sloping in form of a Hind's foot; and observe, that the Cut be on that side next to the Wall, to the end it may not be exposed to the Sun, which otherwise would make a cleft and a wound, that would hurt it very much; which place so cut, should also be plai­stered and covered over with the purest earth, or that and hay tempered and mixt together, or plaistered with a [Page 49] certain Gum the Embroiderers com­monly use.

5. You ought to leave but very few branches upon the Trees you plant af­ter this manner; for those that shall sprout out new will be much better, and more easie to govern, than those you take away.

6. You may begin to plant imme­diately after the Month of September, that is to say, in the beginning, or in the middle of October, and the sooner you begin the better; but if the earth should then prove too dry, and not yet soakt enough with the rain, you must then abundantly water the Trees that are set so soon.

7. Some there are, who in planting have a great regard to the Moon, and believe the wain to be much more pro­per for this work than the increase; but experience shews this Observation to be vain: It is much better ('tis true) to prune in the decrease, than the in­crease; but you may (as I have said elsewhere) defer pruning a long time [Page 50] after they are planted.

8. You ought to be very curious and careful in the choice you make of those kinds of Fruit you intend for Espal­liers, and never should plant any, but those that can prosper no other way, or that are so excellent you desire they should never fail, or that you would have in greater perfection; for they thrive to a greater largeness, and come to a better colour in Espalliers, than otherwise, and infallibly bear every year. Of these the Bonchrestien, and the Bergamot are the chief; the Rous­selet, and the little Muscat of the Sum­mer-Pears, the Amadoste, the Portail, and the Saint Lezin of the Winter-Pears are the next. All which diffe­rent kinds shall be more fully handled in the Catalogue of Pears, in which every one shall find the kinds he most affects, and has the greatest desire to have, and how they are to be planted for their better propagation. Only you may in the mean time observe, that the Bonchrestien being without compari­son [Page 51] by much the best of all Pears, as well by reason of its beauty, as be­cause it keeps longer than any other, you ought to plant in your Espalliers six times as many of them, as of any other kind.

9. As to what concerns Stone-fruits, besides what shall be said of them in their Catalogue, you are to observe the two same things in your choice of them. Apricots prosper no other way but in Espalliers only; but although their fruit be beautiful and very good, you are not notwithstanding to plant many of them, for they bear in too great abundance, and continue but a very little while. As for Plumbs, they prosper very well in the open Air, and well enough resist the frosts and winds, and therefore it would be to no pur­pose to usurp the place of Espalliers for them, if not for the white and red Pordrigon only, which are the tender­est of all Plumbs, and of which the Fruit is also preferred before all the rest. Peaches of all other Fruit-trees, [Page 52] do most require all the advantages of an Espallier, that is to say, a very hot Sun, and a good shelter against the agi­tation of the winds, for which reason there are very few places where they can come to their perfection, unless they be clapt up close to a Wall; wherefore as their fruit is of the best sort, both for relish and beauty, so it ought to make up the greater and more principal part of your best Espal­liers, if not an entire Espallier of themselves. Those therefore who have a great many Walls, would do well to make a whole Espallier of Peaches only, on that side where the Sun is most violent, which is the first of the two Positions observed in the foregoing Chapter, and plant the Pear-trees in the second. And being that Peach-trees require a greater distance for the extention of their branches, one may with great ease, and very good success, make an Espallier of Peaches and Muscat Grapes. Mus­cats, of three foot [Page 53] high along by the Wall, which is the ordinary height of the stocks of Vines, and plant Peaches of three foot of the Stem, which will begin to extend their branches over the Muscats; but then for this purpose you must chuse Peach-trees raised from the stone, or that are grafted upon stocks of Almonds or Apricots, which are raised from the stone, and not upon Plumb-stocks, by reason that the roots of the Plumb-trees too much importune their neigh­bours, and run out so soon every way to seek for nourishment, as even to thrust new sprouts or suckers out of the ground, which would very much endamage the Muscats growing near them.

10. Such as are well acquainted with the difference betwixt Pear-trees grafted upon Quinces, and those which are grafted upon wild stocks, always chuse the first for their Espalliers; for ir is certain that the Pear-tree grafted upon a Quince-stock, Pallisado's much better, puts not out so much wood, [Page 54] bears twenty times more fruit, and nourishes them incomparably larger and fairer, than that upon the wild stock; and moreover, the Trenches and improvements have been added to the earth in which they are planted, continues much longer with the Quin­ces, than the others, by reason they spread not their roots so far, and yet attract every whit as much nourish­ment, as appears by their putting out many more hairy suckers and fibers. It is true, that the Beure, the Orange-Pear, the Bezidery and the Portail, prosper as well upon the wild stock; but they are much better upon the Quince, though the Portail (to say the truth) is not so tart upon the wild stock, and has ordinarily a better tast. As to what concerns the choice of Ap­ple and Pear-Quinces, and their diffe­rent natures, you are to consult the Chapter of Pepin-fruits.

11. Pear-Quinces not yet grafted, are sometimes planted in Espalliers to graft them afterwards upon the place, [Page 55] which is done the second year, in the Month of August, en Which is by way of Inoculation. oeil dormant, which is the best way for Pear-Quin­ces, after the manner set down in the Chapter of Nurseries for Pepin-fruits. In case it be grafted after this manner, the Quince that is planted is not to be above an inch, or two inches higher than the earth, for as much as you are to set the oeil dormant upon the first years shoot; and when you plant Trees already grafted, you must take good heed, that the Graft be always four fingers above the earth, lest the Tree should take root from the graft, by which means it would loose the ad­vantages it receives from the root of the Quince, in having others of ano­ther quality, and such as would make it bear a great deal more wood than fruit; which Observation may also serve for all sorts of Trees grafted up­on the Quince, and for Apple-trees grafted upon a stock of a Pepin, of the Pomme-de-Paradis, which are exceed­ingly [Page 56] subject to take root from the Graft; wherefore, if the Trees have been planted too deep at first, so that the Graft be covered with earth, you must have a care at the time when you give them the greatest culture, in the beginning and at the end of Winter, to bare them, to see if they do not put forth some threds and little roots from the Graft, and if they have, always to cut them away.

12. Those who at first only plant Quinces afterward to graft upon, may deliver themselves from the impati­ence of expecting so long till their Walls were covered, and their Espal­liers come to bear fruit, if in separa­ting their Quinces fifteen foot from one another, which is the usual di­stance, they would plant a Peach be­tween, which shoots much sooner, and presently surnishes the Wall, both with his leaves and fruit; by which means one may stay very well till the Pear-trees come to perfection, enjoy­ing the Peaches in the mean time, and [Page 57] by that time the other shall be arrived at their perfection, the Peach-trees, which are not so long-liv'd, will be­gin to decline, and in a few years easi­ly yield them their whole room.

What is to be observed in cultivating Espalliers already planted.

1. THe principal care you ought to have the first year the Trees are planted, is that they take well be­low, and put out above with vigour; and therefore it is, that you are not so much to think of taking away their superfluous branches, as of guiding and conducting them in this begin­ning, and to preserve them from the great droughts and ardours of the Sun, from the grass that would choak them, and other things that often make them die in Summer, if not preserved by the Gardiners care. In case there­fore that the Trees do not shoot with [Page 58] very great force and vigour, I would not meddle with their branches, if not gently, and without violence to ply and bend them towards the form they are afterwards to receive; as also, when you see their branches shoot straight up, and that they are lusty and liking shoots, you may sometimes stop their progress by nipping off the ex­tremities with your nail only, to the end that they may fork out below, and put out to furnish the two sides: but generally speaking, you are to observe touching Espalliers, what has been said concerning tall Standards, in the third Article of that Chapter.

2. The chief care of him who cul­tivates an Espallier in this first year, after he has given it its due labour in the beginning of March, ought to be to defend it from dryness, which some­times in that Month is very great, and to that degree, that the drought of March is oft times more dangerous than the heat of the whole Summer by reason that the Trees are not at [Page 59] that time yet enough establisht in the earth; and therefore are by so much the more obnoxious to the accidents contrary to them, by how much they are of less power to resist them. The remedy of which is, to put about the Tree, for four foot, or thereabouts, half a foot thickness of dung not yet sufficiently consumed, upon the new­stirred earth; which covering will keep the earth in the same condition it finds it, and defends it well from the drought: but in case you may not have dung enough to cover all your Trees, you may lay heaps of grass and weeds; but then they must have no roots, lest they should take hold of the earth; or for need you may also sup­ply that defect with Hay, and in the Month of June there is nothing better for this purpose, and to keep the great heat of the Sun from overdrying and parching the earth, than to lay Fearn, that is yet green, and not much wi­thered; a covering that does very much defend the earth, both from this [Page 60] dryness, as also to keep it supple, and to hinder it from washing away, if there should happen any violent rain. The dung does however more befriend the Soyl, in that its saltness and fat still sinks into the earth, especially when the rains fall, and makes it still more and more fertile.

3. As to the several labours that are necessary for the prosperity of your Plantation, all Trees, whether new­ly planted, or of older standing, require at least four every year. The first at the end of Winter, that is to say, in the beginning of March, which ought to be very deep; the second in May, after a little rain, which is not to be deep, and wherein half a Spades depth is enough only to kill the grass, and by a little stirring the surface of the ground, to hinder that the heat of the Sun and dryness do not too much crust and bind it; the third in July, after the same manner, and for the same reasons; and the fourth in October, and then you are to dive as deep into the [Page 61] earth as you can, as you may see in the 26th. Article of Standards. In case the earth shall put out grass in great abundance (as it oft falls out in that which is prepared after the manner re­quired for Espalliers) you are then to take it away by giving it a little la­bour, which shall only, as it were, scratch the earth so oft as the grass shall begin to appear; for above all things you must take good heed, that the fat of the earth does not spread it self in unprofitable productions, that it may be wholly preserved for the nourishment of the Trees and their Fruits.

4. You are the second year to begin to bend your Trees well to their right posture, and to prune them in such sort, that no superfluous branches may re­main, and that all those that are to be spared from the Knife be laid into good order.

5. Pallisado's are made three ways, either with Poles set Lattice-wise a­long by the Walls, or by fastning the [Page 62] branches to the Wall with leather and nails, or by fixing Sheep-shancks in the Walls, and afterwards fastning the branches to them.

6. Of these the first way is the most antient, and the only one that was in use at first; which to make such as they ought to be, the Poles are to be tyed very fast together, and the open­ings of the Lattices no more than half a foot square at most, and there must be hooks in the Wall from four foot to four foot, and three inches out, of which there are to be three ranks in the height of ten or twelve foot, to sustain and suspend the Poles in the Air, so that none of them may enter into the earth, or at least very few; for thus they will continue much lon­ger, which is a thing to be desired, not only for the saving of expence, but also because it is very hard to put new Poles or other pieces of wood into an Espallier, without the Trees running a hazard of being broken, or very much incommodated. You are to chuse [Page 63] your Poles for this purpose, of Chest-nut, or of Elm, which also are to be pill'd, and without any Bark; and it would moreover be very good to lay them a long time in water before you use them, for Elm, especially, grows very hard after having been seasoned in water, and lasts much longer: you may also make use of Sallows, and all other sorts of wood, provided the Poles be very straight. Great laths of Oak painted green, and fastned with Wire, are likewise sometimes made use of in this kind of Work.

7. The second way, which is done with leathers and nails, is more pro­per, because it is not at all discerned when the Tree is again covered with his leaves; and moreover, one may by this means more easily place the branches exactly as he desires; but this cannot be made use of but upon Walls that are shot over with plaister, for as much as otherwise the nails can­not hold; and moreover, it costs thrice the time the others do, and therefore [Page 64] is by no means proper for those who have a great many Espalliers to or­der.

8. The third way, which is done with Sheep-shancks fastned in the Walls, is doubtless the best and most commodious of all, and that which is done with least charge; but the bones must be set so near together, as not to be above four or five inches from one another, to the end that they may every where be met with, where a branch is to be tyed, otherwise the Trees can never be laid in any tolera­ble order. These ought to be placed in the Wall, in the order of Quincunx, and set so far in withal, that they may not stand out above an inch, or very little more, which is sufficient to fa­sten a Branch to, with an Ozier, a Wi­thy, a Bull-rush, or Spanish Broom; and it were to be wisht that they were placed in building the Walls, for they can never be so rightly placed, when they are already built. There are, who instead of these bones, make use of [Page 65] little sticks of Dog-tree, or heart of Oak; but the bones are much better, smoother, and more commodious, and cost less than all the rest.

9. You are to raise the Trees you pallisado, after the Figure of an ex­panded hand, or of a Fan spread out to the utmost, so that the middle branch be always higher than the rest; and that ought never to be bowed, but to be stopt in its speed at the top, when it aspires too high, for fear, lest in drawing too much nourishment, the Tree should want it below, and not put out branches enough to furnish the sides; after which you must draw out, and spread the branches in such sort, that the extremities be always ty'd higher than the place where they part from the Tree; that is to say, you are never to bow them downward; for naturally all Trees tend upward, and shoot their branches that way, so that if you should force them to return to­wards the earth, that contrariety would exceedingly hurt them. You [Page 66] are also to take heed, that the middle of the branch be not bowed in such sort, that the two extremities be low­est, and by no means suffer the bran­ches to cross, or be laid over one ano­ther, which is commonly seen in Espal­liers that are not very carefully lookt to; and in the mean time, it is impossi­ble the Trees should prosper, when put into so incommodious a posture. The branch is therefore to be extended in a right line, from the Stem where it comes out, to its utmost extremity, still mounting a little upward, but very little; for if it were carried up too straight, the bottom of the Tree would be wholly disfurnisht, and disspoyled of its due ornament and propor­tion.

10. You must begin to pallisado the lower branches, within half a foot of the earth, and so continue them up to the top; and to the end that the Tree may furnish it self in the lower parts, and shoot forth branches on either side, you ought to stop the extremities of [Page 67] the Graft in pinching them with your nails, so soon as it shall be shot up two or three inches high, as shall be better explained, when we come to speak of Pepin-fruits.

11. Rightly to understand how to raise a Tree, you are necessarily to know how it is to be cut, and in that principally does consist the care that is to be taken about Espalliers. To which end you are to consult the 30th. Arti­cle of the Chapter of Standards; for although the pruning of those, and of Espalliers, are very different in many things, they have nevertheless some relation, and the Gardiner, who knows what Figure his Tree ought to bear, knows also very near, what branches ought to be taken away. In the first place, you are never to suffer any branch on the back-side of the Tree, that is to say, betwixt the Wall and it, nor on the fore-part neither, but on the two sides only. Secondly, you must take away, or stop all the branches that shoot out in length, without putting [Page 68] out on the sides, and that are not suf­ficiently furnisht with leaves, and lit­tle springs in their extention; for other­wise it will fall out, that the middle of the Tree will be in a manner naked, and cannot recloath it self with leaves or fruit. Which Rule is to be observed for all sorts of Trees, but principally Peaches; as to which, if this particu­lar care be not taken, you will present­ly see neither fruit nor leaf, but at the extremities of the branches only.

12. The principal pruning of Trees ought to be in the decrease of the Moon in January and February; and if the Trees be weak, you are always to stay till the decrease of February, lest the cold should pierce into the wounds after they are cut; nay, it is oft-times better to stay till the decrease of March; for the cutting of the Tree it imports not, though it were already in the blossom.

13. In this Season you are to take away all the superfluous branches that would deface the Figure of the Tree, [Page 69] stop the good that shoot out too far, and prune away all the ill wood which was of the August-shoot, that never bears fruit, and does only burthen and incommodate the Tree, because it has not had heat to mature it, and (accor­ding to the Gardiners phrase) is not sufficiently Augusted. In a word, to speak properly, there is only this one Season for pruning, for as much as du­ring the rest of the year, we never cut off any branches, but only stop and hinder them from shooting irregularly and to ill effect.

14. In pruning you are evermore to spare those Branches which are nearest to bearing, which after you have been a while used to Trees, will easily be distinguisht from others. Those who covet to have long fruits, ought to con­sider the little branches which are short and well-liking, and full knotted with Blossoms, and that grow nearest to the Bole of the Tree, as fittest to gratifie their desire; of which knots or buttons, they must also nip off so [Page 70] many, as to leave no more than one or two only, and also be careful that there still remain some knots for leaves over, and at the extremity of the lit­tle cut branches, to the end that they may make a little tuft of leaves to de­fend the fruit it is to bear, from the heat of the Sun, and also the branch from withering. This little cutting so made, will cause the sap which would otherwise have disperst it self to the nourishment of a great many buttons, to bestow its vertue upon those only which remain: but you are yet to take notice, that as commonly there are se­veral blossoms in every knot or but­ton, so also there remain several Pears; wherefore to have them very large and fair, you are again to take away the greater number, and leave no more than one or two at most.

15. Notwithstanding, that you have pruned your Trees in the fore­named Season, you are nevertheless yet to take care to stop them in the de­crease of May and June (for the de­crease [Page 71] of the Moon is evermore to be observed in this Work) which is to be done, to the end that the Tree may fork into several little branches and sprays, and to hinder it from disfur­nishing it self; which besides that, it preserves the ornament and beauty of a Tree, does also very much contri­bute to the liberal bearing thereof, for those little branches commonly are they which are most charged with fruit. Peaches and Apricots require to be often poll'd, even every decrease of the Moon during the Summer, and so long as the sap is in them, and that they shoot; for you are to have an especial care no more to touch the Trees before Winter when their sap is staid, or that they have not much re­maining in them, for as much as they then can never again cover the wound they have received, but the injuries of the Season, and the Winters piercing cold would mortifie the part in such sort, that you will soon after be com­pelled to cut off the whole branch. [Page 72] Pear-trees grafted upon wild stocks and not upon Quinces, require as fre­quent dressing, as either Apricots or Pears, otherwise they shoot all into wood, and bear no fruit at all.

16. The abundance which every one covets in all things, is exceedingly hurtful to Espalliers, for as much as it is naturally too usual and over-exces­sive in these kind of Trees, if good heed be not taken to prevent their over-bearing; wherefore, the Trees will neither long be preserved, nor fair and large fruit gathered from them, if care be not taken to take away a great number so soon as they are knotted, and before they have taken much nou­rishment from the Tree; and you are ever to leave some fewer than it is able to maintain, that it may not find it self opprest, and may not disperse and wast its force in this production. This Rule ought chiefly to be observed for Trees that bear long fruits, as the Bon­chrestien, and the Bergamot; but you are to make choice of the fruits you [Page 73] take away, and of those you leave you are never to suffer any at the ex­tremities of the branches, not so much as a blossom, for they never prosper in that part; and yet though they cannot arrive at their just greatness and perfe­ction, they nevertheless totally drain the whole branch, and hinder it from thriving; you are therefore also to leave the fruit the nearest to the thick branches, and to the trunk of the Tree.

17. When you disburden a Tree from an over-abundance of fruit, you are not to tear them, or pull them off with your hand, by reason that in so doing you would lay open the branch in those parts where the stalks of the fruits are fastned, and so cause the sap to evaporate, which often makes the neighbouring fruits to wither, or at least hinders them from thriving to their just growth; but you are to cut the stalk as far off from the Tree as you can, which may be most commo­diously done with a pair of sissers.

[Page 74] 18. These observations principally serve for Pear-trees, nevertheless Peach-trees do also require to be dis­charged of part of their fruits, that the remainder may come to grea­ter perfection, and that the Tree may longer endure.

19. You are never to spare dung, nor any of the other helps and im­provements which are necessary for well enriching the Soyl wherein you intend to plant Fruit-trees, it being to be wisht that it were in such a conditi­on at first, that it may stand in no more need of their help when the Trees come to bear, it being impossible but that the mixture of this strange body, must of necessity evermore give some ill relish to the fruits, or at least take away something from the good savour of the earth, and render them more wallowish and faint: but when the dung is well consumed, both by time, and by frequent labouring and stirring, it assumes it self the same quality of earth, leaving only its salt and fat­ness, [Page 75] so that the natural excellency of the fruit receives no manner of dimi­nution; wherefore you are to have a great care to preserve this fatness, and not suffer it to be squandered away in unprofitable productions, that you may not afterward be obliged to renew your improvement. To which end you are never to sow good herbs, nor suf­fer ill ones to grow near your Trees, but are always to weed them up, that the earth may only labour for them, by which means it will not be necessa­ry of a long time to supply them with any more dung, the earth being once well enricht, if it be not of it self so burning, as in a short time to consume all these improvements; for when you perceive that it no longer retains its vertue, that the fruits dwindle from their ordinary largeness, and that the Trees visibly languish from their usual vigour, it will then be necessary again to supply it with new helps.

20. When you perceive a Tree to languish, that the leaves turn yellow­ish, [Page 76] and no more retain their natural and usual verdure, it is good in the beginning of Winter, after having well stirred the earth, to lay Pigeons dung, two or three fingers thick upon the earth, and four foot compass a­bout it, and so let it lye all Winter there to spread its force and too great heat, and afterward in labouring the Tree when the cold season is past, to turn it into the earth, which will re­store it to its former vigour. It is also very good to apply a great quantity of Swines dung, but for that itis presently to be buried in the ground, and you are not to leave it on the top, for as much as it is not too hot, but on the con­trary, the coldest of all other improve­ments. In turning up the earth, you will often find some parts of the root of the Tree diseased and decaying, which with the pruning-knife is neat­ly to be cut, to make it thrust out new fibers, and so to recover new strength, in which case you are to cover the root anew, with good fat soyl well con­sumed, [Page 77] and old dung well mixt with mould, and take heed not too much to bare the root of the Tree, or lay it too open, lest intending to relieve, you totally destroy it.

Of Espalliers in the open Air, cal­led Hay-d'appuy.

ALl that has been directed for the raising Espalliers against Walls, may also be indifferently ob­served in Espalliers in the open Air, for they require the same prepa­ration of the earth, the same man­ner of planting, the same way of cut­ting, and the same extention of their branches. They have not indeed the advantage of the Wall the others have, which by repercussion very much augments the heat of the Sun, and by its shelter secures them from the vio­lence of the winds; but if they are not so well skreen'd as the first, they [Page 78] are yet in much greater security than the Standards, and even than the Dwarf-trees and Shrubs, for as much as the Poles to which they are fastned, keep them firm from being shaken with the wind; for which reason, the large fruits they bear stand in greater secu­rity, than in other Trees; and more­over, this kind of Plantation being ordinarily set over against the Espal­liers, which are planted against the Walls, to make an Alley betwixt them (and for that reason called a Contre Espallier) they still in some measure participate of the advantages those enjoy which are planted by the Walls, and therefore delicate fruits succeed very well in this posture, the Bergamot excepted, and some of the tender Pavies, which constantly re­quire to be planted against a Wall. This sort of Pallisado is not to be made but with Poles, and that after the man­ner set down in the sixth Article of Espalliers. In planting this sort of Trees, whether Stone, or Pepin-fruits, [Page 79] the same distance is to be observed with Espalliers against Walls; and for what concerns Pear-trees, it is much better to plant those grafted upon Quinces, than any other.

Of Shrubs or Dwarf-Trees.

THis sort of Trees costs much less than the two former, and yet the fruits nevertheless fail not to pro­sper very well, some of the more deli­cate and tender Trees only excepted.

Pear-trees succeed very easily this way, if grafted upon Quinces, and not otherwise, the others being hard to be made submit to this little stature, by reason they thrust out so much wood, and the more you cut them, the more they put out, and besides, natu­rally aspiring to be tall; they never bear fruit to purpose, if deprest and subdu'd to another Figure. They are to be prun'd in the same season with the Espalliers, their form ought to be [Page 80] round, you must take from them the branches that cross one another, not leave them too much wood; take heed that the branches do not shade one an­other, and that they are not too thick, especially within of the Tree, which is evermore to be discharged of wood, for as much as it is useless in that part, and never bears any fruit. The Pear-trees of this sort ought to be planted at the distance of twelve, or at least ten foot from one another; they may be planted in the Contre-Espalliers in­stead of Pallisado's, or you may make entire Plantations of them, being set in the Quincunx order, at the fore­named distance. Apricots are by no means to be planted after this manner, by reason that, besides, they will not have sufficient security from the winds, their Trees will not be subje­cted to this Figure. Peaches do better this way, and yet they extend them­selves too far, and put out such abun­dance of wood, that it is much better to leave them to their natural liberty [Page 81] in Climates where they can prosper in the open Air.

Cherries and Plumb-trees are very beautiful, and bear exceeding well in Dwarf-trees; but you must then set them at six yards distance from one an­other, for as much as they stretch out their branches very far, and so far ex­tend their heads, that they bow back again towards the earth, as if they were raised in tall Standards.

The Plumb-tree is much more pa­tient of the knife, and suffers his su­perfluous wood to be taken from him, much more willingly than the Cherry, from which nevertheless it is also re­quisite to prune away a little in the middle of the Tree when it is too thick; and to bring it into this Figure, you must stop the Grafts betimes, so soon as they have shot three or four inches, and make them turn down a­gain towards the ground. The Cher­ry-tree will not be so often cut as the Plumb, and it is sufficient to take away his superfluous wood from the middle [Page 82] of the Tree only, when you perceive it to be too thick. Apple-trees do also very well in bushes, when grafted up­on a stock of Paradice; but those which are grafted upon ordinary crab-stocks will be raised in Standards, and come to be great Trees; but those which are grafted upon the Paradice-stock, put out very little wood, and nevertheless bear plentifully well; these are to be planted at two yards, or at the most, at seven foot distance only from one another, if you will make the best use of your ground, for they require no greater extent than that little space will allow; they will hardly endure to be cut at all, neither do they need, for as much as they put forth no more wood than is necessary for their bearing.

As to all the rest, that is to say, for what concerns planting, labouring and cultivating Dwarf-trees, you are to observe the same Rules, or very near, that you do for your Espalliers.

Of Composts.

OVer and above the foregoing Ob­servations, in the Chapters for the Manuring of Trees, and for di­stinguishing the Soyls wherein they are planted, it will not be amiss to ob­serve something in general touching the nature of Composts in their diffe­rent qualities.

Cow-dung then well rotten, is of all others the best for Trees, both be­cause it continues longer than any other, and also by reason that it is not too hot; and therefore is to be turned into the earth in labouring the ground at the beginning of Winter.

Sheeps-dung is hotter, and there­fore not so proper for dry and burning Soyls, if not first very well consum'd, but then may be turned into the ground at the same Season.

Horse-dung is yet hotter than the other, and not very proper for any [Page 84] but moist places, and in such Soyls it is of all other the best; 'tis true, that when it is very well wasted and decay­ed, it may be used in all places, and put to all uses; but, generally speak­ing, it is much more proper for pot­herbs and for Pulses, that is, all sorts of Pease and Beans, than for Trees; and is best to be laid upon the earth in the beginning of Winter, that the rains and forsts may perish it, and make it lose its too great heat; after which, when you give your Trees the first Husbandry in the Spring, you may turn it in.

Swines-dung is of all other the cool­est, and consequently very proper for Trees, especially in a burning Soyl. It ought ever to be turned in at first, and not to be laid upon the earth, and not being too hot, may as well be made use of in the Spring, as the beginning of Winter.

Pigeon-dung is the most violent and hot of all, but its ardour being onceex­tinct, does wonders in reviving the vi­gour [Page 85] of a Tree, & helping it to put forth large and well-coloured leaves; but it is never to be turned into the earth, till first it has been long exposed to the frost and rain; and to do well, you should always spread it upon the earth in the beginning of Winter, and not turn it in till the Spring; but as its effect is prompt and sudden, so its ver­tue is but of short duration; for no dung whatever so soon spends it self in the earth as this; and when you have used it with all the Art you can, in a year or two the Soyl will be as poor as before, and receive no manner of advantage by it.

Of Creatures that infest Trees and Fruits, as also sundry accidents that are hurtful to them.

1. IT is not enough to set a Tree in a good place, and to husband and cultivate it well when it is planted; [Page 86] but you must also preserve it from se­veral accidents to which it is subject, and defend it from a thousand little enemies that attack it. Caterpillars, Locusts, Cantarides, Ants, and a num­ber of other sorts of little animals, de­nounce open War against your Trees, with innumerable armes without, and Moles, field-mice, & certain litle white worms that eat the roots, persecute them within the earth. Nay, there are certain little worms that breed in the very substance of the very Tree it self, and in the most vital part of it, which is betwixt the wood and the bark, which cause the branches to wither, and by little and little, if not lookt unto, will totally destroy it. The Rats and the Wasps will also make profit of their Spoyls, and in a short space de­vour and corrupt the fruits for which the Gardiner has laboured the whole year about. Take here then the reme­dies which are to be used against all these different sorts of Vermine.

2. As to Caterpillars, you are to [Page 87] have an especial care during the winter season, to take away all the Kells, or web-like receptacles that hang upon the Trees, wherein the seed of this pernitious vermine is concealed; in doing of which, it will not be enough to cleanse the fruit-trees only, and those that chiefly require the Gardi­ners most particular care; but you are moreover to cut all the hedges, and the branches of the other Trees that grow within three or four hundred yards round about, the vicinity whereof would otherwise infallibly within a little space, infect your more pretious plants with this fatal pestilence, so soon as the vermine should come to disclose. You are also to take care to burn all those Kells, it being not suffi­cient to cleanse them from the Trees, and still to leave them upon the ground, where they would breed as well as upon the Trees themselves. Of these there is a certain sort, that breed in little rings, which wrap themselves about the smaller branches of the [Page 88] Trees, and are by so much the harder to take away, by how much they are almost invisible till they are disclosed, and then it is that you are to dispatch them as well as the others, that are im­mediately engendred by the impression of the Air, when the evening and morn­ing cold makes them to knit and crowd together. To remedy which, 'tis said, that if you bind a Tree with green Rye, or tye the branches of Elder or Dane-wort amongst those of the Tree, the Caterpillars will not come near it. Some also sprinkle the branches and leaves of the Tree with water, where­in salt-peter has been infused, or the juice of bruised Rue to kill this sort of Vermine.

3. Touching Locusts, if you have not the patience to wait for the first great rain that shall fall, you need do no more but shake the Trees only to which they cling, to make them fall off, and you may then crush them to pieces.

4. Cantharides may be destroyed [Page 89] after the same manner, or otherwise by sprinkling the Trees with water, wherein Sage or Rue have been boyl­ed, after it is cold, which will kill them. 'Tis also said, that Rose-trees secure their neighbours from this sort of Vermine, and that they will never come into a Pallisado where they are planted.

5. As for Ants, saw-dust powdered and strewed about the Tree they spoil by their frequentation, totally hinders their access, by reason that these little Creatures dare not pass over the pow­der they feel stir under them. Also a pretty broad circle of pit-coal ashes drawn round the Tree, does the same thing, by reason they can have no footing, by which to come to climb the Tree so fenced about; a circumfe­rence of Glue or Bird-lime, does also keep them off.

6. For what concerns Moles and field-mice, the Gardiner must be care­ful to take them with certain traps made for that purpose. 'Tis also said, [Page 90] that a certain Simple called Horti pal­ma, has the property to chase away the Moles from all places where it is planted.

7. The branches of Ground-Elder fresh gathered, and mixt with those of the Tree, also hinder Rats from coming near them.

Of Nurseries.

1. SUch as are curious in planting, ought betimes to take care to raise great and spatious Nurseries of all sorts of fruits, for as much as one is much more assured of the vigour of Trees, and the rightness of the sorts he desires, when he has them of his own raising, than when he is constrained to look out for them in other places; and besides, it is much better to be in a condition to supply others who stand in need, than to be obliged to buy for ones own use.

2. Nurseries seem to be chiefly pro­per [Page 91] for Pepin-fruits, from whence the word Pepiniere, a Nursery, derives it self; nevertheless, under this denomination is comprehended all sorts of Plantati­ons of young Trees, after what man­ner soever raised, to be transplanted afterwards into other places.

3. To make a good Nursery of Ap­ple-trees and Pear-trees, you are to make choice of a light and easie Soyl, to the end that the roots may with greater facility penetrate into it, and put out a great number of hairy fibers. You are then to make little rigots or trenches of a Spades graft only, and three foot distance from one another, and there in November, and a fair Sea­son, plant your little Pear, and Apple plants, which you are to chuse well of the most kindly and hopeful shoots, and of no more than one, or two years growth at most, and plant them at se­ven or eight inches distance from one another in the Trenches, and take heed withal not to set them deeper in the earth, than they were before in the [Page 92] place from whence they were drawn, to cut off half of the roots in planting them, and not to meddle with the tops till after Winter; and after you have well supplied the roots with small and light mould, and filled up the trenches, you are to bank them up handsomly with earth in their rows or ranks, so that the Plant be scarcely seen; and after Winter is past, when they begin to put out in April, you must cleanse them with your fingers, so as to leave no more than one Burgeon, or upright shoot only.

4. About three weeks before Mid­summer, when Fearn is yet tender, it is very good to lay it green and fresh got about the ranks or rows, at the same time you have laboured them, to preserve the freshness of the earth, and to hinder the heat of the Sun from incommodating those little Trees, that, have not yet strength to defend themselves; but then in the la­bour you bestow upon them, you must be careful not to touch the roots; it [Page 93] will therefore be sufficient to stir the earth half a Spades graft near unto the rows, provided you give them in the middle their due and usual depth. When Winter shall be come, you should bury this Fearn in the middle of the Trenches or Gutters, to the end it there may rot and bare the Trees, by taking away part of the earth by which they had been shouldered and moulded up; yet so, nevertheless, that there still remain something above the ordinary level of the Plot, to defend the Trees from the frosts of the Sea­son.

5. You must the Spring following take the first fair weather in March to labour this Nursery, and in labouring it, the Gardiner is with his Spade to chop and mince the Fearn that was bu­ried in the beginning of Winter, and that will then be half rotten; with which, mixt with earth, he shall again bank up the Trees after the same man­ner he did with simple earth at the planting of them, and is to continue [Page 94] so to do three or four years successive­ly, till the Trees shall be grown of suf­ficient strength to be grafted.

6. As the Plant increases in growth, you are still to cleanse it from all the little branches it shoots forth for half a foot above the earth, to keep that part clean, where the graft is to be placed; but you are to cut nothing higher than that, nor by any means the stock, that being to no purpose at all, for as much as it imports not after what manner the wood grows that is to be cut off, when the Tree shall come to be grafted; and it would mightily hinder its growth, by reason that the sap evaporates by the wounds you make in cutting the little branches, and the substance of the Trees as yet but small and weak, instead of preser­ving and fortifying it self, wasts and consumes away to nothing.

7. If your Pepin-stocks are planted in a good Soyl, and husbanded after this manner, they will in the fourth year be ready to be grafted, and then [Page 95] you must observe to put but one graft upon a stock, how thick soever it may be; which graft ought also to be pro­portioned to the thickness of the stock, and be chosen bigger or less, according to the strength of the other.

8. You are to cut the stocks you graft upon in the form of a Hinds­foot, for as much as after this sort the Tree is more apt to bark over again, and does much sooner cover the wound.

9. You are ever to observe to place the backside of the cut towards the South, that the Sun may not dart plum down upon it, and cause it to rift or chop; for which reason also you are to take good heed, that the clay you put upon it be so well temper­ed, as not to crack off, and leave the part where it is grafted open, and na­ked. A Maxim which is also to be ob­served in all sorts of Trees whatever that you cut.

10. The graff in cleft being the best and the most usual for Standards, we [Page 96] do not commonly think of any other for these sort of Nurseries; not that inoculating is not very good, especi­ally for Pear-trees, but it is more pro­per for Stone-fruits and Quinces, than for Apples and Pears upon Pepin-stocks; and Apple-trees come on very slowly when grafted after this man­ner.

11. There is hardly any Season in the year wherein you may not graft; for all Summer long, and in Autumn you may inoculate, and in Winter you may graft after the ordinary way; nevertheless, the best and most certain Season for this sort of grafting is in March, and then in the decrease of the Moon: but for gathering your grafts, you may indifferently do it, either in the wain, or the increase.

12. You are ever to cull your grafts from well-liking Trees, and that are in their year of bearing; that is to say, that are well knotted with blos­soms; for the Tree you graft will ever­more retain the estate and condition in [Page 97] which the Tree was, from which he de­rives his graff, at the time it was taken from it, and will commonly bear ex­ceedingly well, if the Tree (which imparts its whole nature to it) was then well set with fruit; as on the con­trary, it will remain barren, and very rarely bear any fruit, if the Mother-Tree was then in her year of repose.

13. When the graff begins to put out, you are to clean it with your fingers, so that only one sprout remain, to the end it may not fork, and that the entire vigour of the Tree may go to maintain the branch you would pre­serve; but after that, you are no more either to cleanse, or cut any thing from the Tree, what branches or sprouts so­ever it may put out, till the third year; and then you are not only to take away the unprofitable ones, but moreover, form the Tree into the Figure wherein it ought to be, which is chiefly to be understood for Trees that you raise in Standards.

14. In your Nurseries your Apple-trees [Page 98] ought to be separated from your Pear-trees, and to observe an exact de­corum indeed; your different fruits ought to be distinguisht by the several ranks or ranges of Trees. In the fol­lowing Chapter, I intend to speak of the several sorts of fruits, together with the manner of chusing and dis­posing of them.

15. You may also graft after the same manner, observing the same rules, Apples of all sorts, upon little Apples of Paradice for Dwarf-trees, which prosper exceeding well, and prove ve­ry great bearers; but as this sort of stock shoots out but very little wood, if those you shall plant in your Nurse­ries be of any thickness, you are not to meddle with pruning the root, and are to preserve half a foot, or there­about, of the Bole, to the end, that when it shall sprout, you may place the graft upon the old stock; for if you should be obliged to expect till the new wood it shall put out be of sufficient thickness to bear a graft, it would too [Page 99] much stretch your patience, and defer your Plantation too long. You are al­so to be careful not to graft too low, lest the Tree (which Apple-trees are very subject to) should take root above the graft, which, should it so fall out, it would no more be a Dwarf-tree, but would assume the nature and form of an ordinary Apple.

16. All the same Rules are also to be observed for Apricots, Plumbs, Pea­ches and Cherry-Trees, when you graft them in cleft to raise tall Trees, excepting that you are to take notice to graft them sooner, and in the de­crease of the Moon in January or Fe­bruary. It is very true, that most of the forenamed fruits (especially Peaches) delight more in inoculation; but in case you purpose to extend them into Espalliers, or to plant them in Shrubs, you are then to observe the Rules al­ready prescribed for Pear-trees design­ed for those Figures.

17. Grafting or inoculating in Es­cutcheon, is proper for all Stone-fruits, [Page 100] but in truth, less for the Cherry, than any other, by reason that they usual­ly spew out much Gum from the part which is opened to receive the shield, which very often suffocates the eye or bud, from putting out in the Spring; for which reason it is much better to inoculate Cherries in the decrease of May or June, for as much as the Es­cutcheon put in at those Seasons, im­mediately sprouts upon the inocula­tion. You may also make use of this way of grafting for other fruits, but not with so certain success; and in so doing, you are always to cut the stock at the same time you inoculate. Such as chuse to graft after this manner, are evermore to take heed never to place two graffs over against one another, on both sides the Tree, by reason that one cannot afterwards conveniently come to cut away the superfluous part of the stock, when the grafts have taken and made their shoots, so that there would still remain a part of the old wood be­twixt them; wherefore you are al­ways [Page 101] to place the grafts in such sort, that the one be always higher, and the other lower.

18. When you have inoculated a Tree, you are not by any means to cut away any thing of the stock above, till the Winter be past, and when in the Spring the eye of the graft shall begin to sprout, you are then to cut off the stock two or three inches above, but no nearer, for fear of killing the graft, for want of sap to nourish it; and the following year, when the graft shall have well retaken, you may cut away the stock close by the shield.

19. Inoculation is evermore to be performed, or in the decrease of July, or sometimes in June, if it be pretty well advanc'd into the following Month of July; for you are always to inoculate at these times, or else in the end of July, or in the beginning of Au­gust.

20. If you shall perceive that the eye of the Escutcheon will put out be­fore Winter, you may check it by [Page 102] early slackning the ligature of the Es­cutcheon or shield.

21. For ligament, Cotton, or Wool­len thread is much better than that of Hemp or Flax, both by reason it doth not press so hard upon, nor so eat into the bark, and that it stretches and gives way as the branch swells and en­creases.

22. Cherry-trees grafted in cleft prosper exceedingly well, as also in Escutcheon, if inoculated at Midsum­mer upon the red Merisier; for the Black cherry is not so well stored with sap, and they prosper better after this manner, than if planted upon old root­ed stocks, especially if you would raise them in Standards, which has also the same effect in Bigarotiers and Grioti­ers; only when you design them for Dwarf-trees, you are to take notice to graft them very low, and to check the graft so soon as ever it shall begin to put out, to the end that it may spread into branches, and the Tree may form his head from below.

[Page 103] 23. Apricots are usually grafted upon stocks of their own kind, raised from the Stone, as also upon Plumbs, Peaches and Almonds, and prosper well upon them all. 'Tis said, that they will also take upon the Mulberry, and that they are not subject to frost being so grafted, that sort of Tree being na­turally exceeding slow, and not encli­ned to put out till after the frosty Sea­son; but it is hard to believe that two so different saps can ever agree and mix together, and several who have tryed the experiment have lost their labour.

24. The Peach desires to be grafted upon a Plumb, a Peach raised from the Stone, an Almond, or an Apricot, and chiefly delights in Inoculation. You may also raise very good Peaches from the Stone, and there are certain sorts, as the Peaches of Pau, and several o­thers that succeed every whit as well, and bear as good fruit from the stone as by grafting. Those grafted upon a Plumb, prosper marvellously well; but [Page 104] the root of the Plumb-stock is a very ill neighbour, both by reason that it devours too much ground, and also shoots forth suckers on every side; but Trees so grafted, continue longer than on a Peach. As to those that are in­oculated upon an Almond, they con­tinue also very long, and in a sandy Soyl are much better than any other; but they very unwillingly retake when transplanted: for which reason it is much better to sow the Almonds in the stations themselves you design for the constant standing of your fruit, and afterwards to graft them upon the place, then to sow them in Nurseries for future transplantation. Such as are grafted upon other Peaches, do yet bear longer and better fruit than any other, because being of the same na­ture, they more easily unite, and bet­ter agree together; but they are much shorter liv'd than any of the rest. The Apricot stock is also very proper for a Peach, especially for early Peaches; and yet they are sometimes subject to [Page 105] spue out Gum, as well as the Cherry, when inoculated, though that does but rarely fall out.

25. Plumbs are ordinarily grafted upon stocks of their own, unless you design to plant them near other Trees; and then to avoid the inconvenience of their putting out too many suckers from their roots, you may graft them upon Apricots or Almonds raised from the Stone.

26. Apricots are grafted, either up­on other Apricots raised from the Stone, or upon Plumbs, and sometimes even upon Peaches and Almonds.

27. You must note, that your black Damson-Plumb, and that of St. Julian, are incomparably better than all others to graft upon, and such as are curious in their Plantations, will never store their Nurseries with any other, where those two sorts are to be had.

28. The distances before set down for Plants in Nurseries, are proper for those Trees you design for Standards, and for such as you intend for Espal­liers [Page 106] and Dwarf-Trees, the same di­stance betwixt the rows and ranks may be indifferently observed; but in the order of the ranks themselves this dif­ference is to be noted, that the latter must always be planted at two foot di­stance the one from the other, where­as for those you design for Standards, six or eight inches will suffice. The reason of which is, that you are be­times, and at first, to extend the Trees you intend for Shrubs and Espalliers, into their destined Figure, whereas, if they were crowded and shouldered in the Nursery, they would shoot up­ward, instead of spreading into the o­ther form. A Rule, that may indiffe­rently serve for both Stone and Pepin-fruits, according to the office for which they are designed.

29. Pear-trees destined for Espal­liers or Bushes, are ordinarily grafted, either upon Wildings raised from the Pepin, or upon Quinces; as to the first of which, you may indifferently either graft or inoculate; but for the [Page 107] Quinces, they prosper infinitely bet­ter being inoculated; and being graft­ted in cleft, do very hardly recover.

30. Quince-stocks are much more proper for all sorts of Dwarf-pears and Espalliers, than the Wildings, by rea­son that they naturally encline to that Figure, whereas the other are ever­more aspiring, and must be eternally cut and slasht, to subdue and correct them; and experience has made it plain, that Pears grafted upon Quin­ces, bear much more and fairer fruit, and are more easily perswaded into the Figure for which they were designed, than the others, which are apt to spend themselves into wood. It is true, that at the first bearing, the fruit that comes from the Quince-stock, does often re­tain a smatch of its kind, especially in a stiff sturdy Soyl; but that is soon gone, and the two or three first years so carry it off, that there afterwards remains no difference in the tast. The following Chapter shall set down some sorts of fruits, that will succeed well [Page 108] in this Figure, being grafted on the Wilding; but of those there are very few: In the mean time, you are only in this place to observe, that in a light Soyl, you are to make use of no other Trees for Shrubs and Espalliers, but such as are grafted upon Quinces only, in stiff and sandy situations; I confess those raised from the Wilding do sometimes better succeed.

31. There is a vast difference be­twixt the Apple-Quince and the Pear-Quince, of which the first has a grey­er bark enclining to white, more smooth and sleek, his branches thicker and more forked, the leaves not so large, and the fruit less, and more full of core. The Pear-Quince shoots out his branches more straight, has a black­er bark, and downy withal, the leaves much larger, and the fruit fairer, and not so full of core. And this is it you are to chuse to graft upon, for the Tree will ever retain all the good qualities of the stock, will put out a much finer head, and will bear a much better fruit; [Page 109] whereas on the contrary, the Apple-Quince stock, not being able to keep pace with the graft you put into it, when the Tree arrives at its stature, and has formed his head, it will ap­pear that the foot, which is the stock, does by no means answer to the growth above, but leaves a deformed tumor in the part where the graft and stock are united; which not only disgraces the beauty of the Tree, but moreover gives us to understand, that the stock is not able sufficiently to nourish the parts above. There is of late found out a sort of Pear-Quince, called the Portugal-Quince (I believe for being brought from thence) that bears an exceeding broad leaf, and is by much the best of all others.

32. When you plant Pear-Quinces in Nurseries, or in the place where you design to graft them, you are to cut them within an inch of the earth, that they put a new Bole from the foot, by reason that it is upon that new shoot, that you are to inoculate; which [Page 110] also you are to observe in the planting of such Plumb-stocks in your Nurse­ries, as you intend to inoculate.

33. The same Tree may be several times inoculated, and it is convenient to have very large fruits for that pur­pose, and to graft them of several kinds. As for example, to inoculate Pound-pears, or Summer Bonchrestiens upon the Quince-stock, and afterwards to reinoculate the Winter Bonchre­stien, and the Bergamot. You are espe­cially to have evermore in your Nur­series a great many stocks of Pear-Quinces grafted with the forenamed large fruits, or with those de valée, of which sort the sap is excellent to en­tertain and nourish all sorts of grafts; by which means you may graft upon the branches of those Trees in cleft, grafts that are sometimes brought from very remote places, and have been long in coming, and even from parts so distant, as Escutcheons are not to be brought in Summer, neither indeed does the Quince prosper very well grafted in cleft.

[Page 111] We have only here made mention of three ways of grafting, to wit, in cleft, in Escutcheon (which latter is to be performed in the decreases of May and June) and in Oeil dormant; not that there are not yet several other ways of grafting, which may also be made use of with very good success; but these, as being the principal, shall suffice. Many are of opinion, that it is not good to plant Nurseries in a fruitful Soyl; for which, the reason they give is, that the Trees being drawn out of such a Soyl, and not finding elsewhere so good entertain­ment, cannot prosper, having been used to a better diet, and on the con­trary, thrive and come on to a mira­cle, if transplanted from a lean and hungry Soyl, to a better and more fruitful. Nevertheless, experience makes us see and know, that Trees raised in a bountiful Soyl, and parti­cularly in a light mould, are much bet­ter to transplant into any Soyl what­ever, than the other; of which the [Page 112] reason is also most evident, for as much as those Trees have manifestly ever­more fairer Roots, and more hairy Fi­bers; and moreover, a more generous sap, and more force in a good Soyl, which gives them a great deal more vi­gour in any place to which they shall be removed, than the other; which be­ing taken out of an ill Soyl, have ne­ver good Root, and are always lan­guishing and sickly.

Now let me tell you, that in order to great and continual planting, it is not sufficient to have Nurseries only, but you must have Nurseries of Nurse­ries, that is to say, you are to have sufficient out of your own stock, where­with continually to furnish and supply your Nurseries. To which purpose you are to sow Apple and Pear-Pepins (but separately, that they may not be pro­miscuously confounded together) in a Plot, or Plots well prepared to that effect; to do which, you need only to strew the pulse of Cider or Perry upon the earth digged and made ready for [Page 113] it, and afterward rake it in, as Gar­diners do their ordinary Garden-seeds, and a year or two after you may draw them thence, and plant them in your Nurseries. As for Peaches and Apri­cots, they are always raised from the stone, and Plumbs are to be taken of the suckers which shoot out from the roots of black Damsons, or the St. Ju­lian Plumb. And for what concerns Quince-stocks, you are to raise great ones to no other end, but to shoot forth suckers, which is done by cutting them close by the ground, and nipping off the branches they put out from the top every year, by which means those that shoot from within the earth, or layers covered with it, will take root enough to be transplanted the year following, into any place for which they shall be designed. Plumbs of Paradice are also raised after the same manner.

Of the different kinds of Fruits, and after what manner they best prosper.

THere are some who are of opini­on, that all the fruits that were not known a hundred years ago are not worth planting, and good for no­thing; and on the contrary, some others, who are curious to have of all sorts indifferently good and bad, and think they excel all other Planters, when they have got into their Plantations a great number of uncouth names, and such as peradventure were by most o­thers never heard of before: But both these extreams are equally to be avoi­ded, for as much as it is most certain we are in this age acquainted with a great many excellent fruits, that were either totally unknown, or utterly neg­lected by our Fore-fathers; as also, because they who are over-curious to have of all sorts, do unprofitably fill [Page 115] up good and choice places with many bad Trees, which would be much bet­ter bestowed upon those that are good. It will therefore be convenient to take notice of such as are the best, & best de­serving the Gardiners pains and care, whether stone Pepin-fruits, and ac­cordingly to furnish our selves with such, from which most pleasure and profit are reasonably to be expected.

Of the different kinds of Stone-Fruits.

ANd first, concerning Cherries, there is no great Observation to be made, by reason there are not ma­ny kinds of them, and those to every one sufficiently known. Of which there are principally these five sorts.

• Cerises precoces, or the early May-Cherry.
• Cerises Hatifs, the early Hasting-Cherry.
• Cerises a feüille de sauge, which I take to be the Duke-Cherry.
• [Page 116] Grosses Cerises a court queüe, perhaps our Carnation-Cherry.
• Cerises tardifs a longue queüe, the Clu­ster-Cherry.

Of these the Precoces seem to be but of late years taken notice of, or at least in request, and not considerable for any thing, if not for being ripe the soonest of all other fruits; which yet, to make more early, are to be grafted upon the Hasting-Cherry-stock, and planted to the utmost benefit of the Sun, in Espalliers against a Wall, to the end that the extraordinary heat may yet advance their maturity.

The Guigne, or Guscon-Cherry, the Bigarreau, or motley-Cherry, and the Griote, or Crab-Cherry, are of the same nature with the other Cherries, and therefore merit no particular Observa­tion, if not that Cherries and Griotes are very proper for Shrubs and Dwarf-Trees, as we have already observed in the Chapter of Shrubs and Bushes; but the Bigarreaux and the Guignes, do not prosper so well that way, by [Page 117] reason the Trees run too much into wood, and therefore would be raised in Standards. Of Guignes there are three sorts, white, red, and black, which are called Hearts; but of Bigar­reaux and Griotes, we know but one kind of each only.

Of Apricots we know no more than two or three sorts, namely the little Musk Apricot, another whose Almond or kernel is sweet, and the ordinary Apricot; all which require a very great shelter and security from the weather, and are more proper for Es­palliers, than either Dwarf-trees or Standards. There are many more dif­ferent kinds and sorts of Plumbs, than of Cherries and Apricots, of which these are the chief.

• Petit Damas noir de Tours, the little black Damson.
• Gros Damas noir, the great black Damson.
• Petit Damas blanc, the little white Damson.
• [Page 118] Gros Damas blanc, the great white Damson.
• Damas gris musque.
• Damas violet ordinaire, the violet Plumb.
• Gros Damas violet.
• Damas verd.
• Damas gris violet.
• Damas gris blanc.
• Perdrigon blanc.
• Perdrigon violet.
• Brignoles violettes.
• Grosse Imperiale, the great Imperial Plumb.
• Imperiale Tardive.
• De Gaillon.
• d'Attilles de Gouvar.
• d'Attilles du Mans.
• Prunes de Naples, autrement
• Damas gris de Caihan.

All which sorts of Plumbs are exceed­ing good to eat raw, and these that fol­low, proper for Prunella's and sweet­meats.

• Moyens de Bourgongne, an excellent preserving Plumb.
• [Page 119] Mirabelle, sainte Catherine.
• Diapree de la Roche Courbon.
• Prunes d'Apricot, de Tours.
• Mirabons transparans.
• Montmirot, d'Attille jaune.
• l'Isle verd.

All these Plumbs prosper very well, both in Dwarf-Trees and Standards. But the Perdrigon is by much the most delicate of them all, and therefore deserves to be planted in a good Sun in Espalliers.

Of Peaches.

PEaches deserve to be husbanded with the greatest industry and care, as well out of respect to their beauty, which surpasses that of all o­ther fruits, as also to their natural de­licacy and tenderness.

These are commonly distinguished into Pavies, that do not part from the stone, and are the males; and Peaches [Page 120] which do cleave from the stone, and are the females. I am of opinion that there is no male, that is to say, no Pa­vie, who has not his female, that is to say, a Peach of the same sort; nor on the contrary, no Peach that has not his Pavie; for we know and distinguish both the one and the other in most of the different kinds we have, which makes me conclude, that it is the same in all the rest, which we are not yet ac­quainted with, or at least but with the one or the other of them; Nature ha­ving doubtless alike coupled all these sorts of Fruits. The principal Peaches and Pavies that we know, following their order and nature, are these:

• Avant Pesche blanche, Pavie, ripe at the end of June.
• Monsieur, Ferrant.
  Avant Pesche d'Italie, that parts from the stone im­mediately after.
• Pesche de Troix, blanche, that parts from the stone at the same time.
• Pesche de Troix, jaune, fort musquée, [Page 121] parts at the same time.
• Pesche de Troix double, parts from the stone also, and both of them at the same time with the white.
• Alberge, which is the Pavie to the Peach of Troix, is ripe immediate­ly after, and does not part from the stone.
• Pesche Magdeleine, parts from the stone, and is ready in the end of July, or the beginning of August.
• Pesche blanche batifue, ready immedi­ately after.
• Pavie blanc hatif, which is the male to the one or the other of these two last kinds.
• Pesche Cerize, or the Cherry-Peach, parts from the stone, and is ripe at mid-August.
• Pesche violette licée, parts from the stone at the same time.
• Brignon violet, ou musqué.
• Pavie, male to the Violet-Peach, im­mediately after.
• Monsieur le Petit Marest.
  Brignon jaun, Pavie at the same time.
• [Page 122] Pesche Royale, or the Peach-Royal, parts from the stone, and is exceed­ing red at the same time.
• Grosses Roussanes, Pavies ready at the same time.
• Petites Roussanes, extreamly muskt, Pavies ready at the same time.
• Monsieur Martin.
  Gros Pavies jaunes & rouges, at the same time.
• Persiques, part from the stone, and are ready in the beginning of Septem­ber.
• Monsieur de Lamegnon.
  Pesches de Pau, ou Persiques ronds, at the same time.
• Grosses Pesches jaunes, or the great yellow Peach, part from the stone in the middle of September.
• Pesches Bourdes.
• Pesches Abrigotines, or the Apricot-Peach.
• Pesches Ollieres.
• Pesches de Corbiel, part from the stone, and are good at the same time.
• Monsieur Montrecot.
  Pesches blanches, & ver­meilles.
• Pesches de Narbonne, & Pesches admira­bles, [Page 123] an excessive great fruit, part from the stone at the end of Sep­tember.
• Monsieur de Choisin.
  Pavie admirable, which is the male to the two former, a very large and coloured fruit, en cul de lampe, in the begin­ning of October.
• Pesche violette tardifue, ready at the same time.
• Pavie de Chinon, an exceeding large fruit.
• Brignon violette tardifue, at the same time.
• Millecotons vermeils, red within a­bout the stone, excellent Pavies ready in the beginning of Octo­ber.
• Pesche blanche & rouge, an excellent fruit also in October.
• Pavies blancs tardifs, in the middle of October, there are several kinds that are ready about the same time, which are hard to distinguish, of which some are earlier, others later.
• [Page 124] Pesche tout blanche, that parts from the stone, and comes at the end of October.
• Au Val sainct Germain.
  Pesche beste-rave, gray, and downy, and sanguine within, parts from the stone at the end of October.
• Brignon Beste-rave, a Pavie of the same sort, excepting that it has a smooth skin.
• Brignon tout noir, a Pavie ready at the end of October.

You are to take notice, that Peaches which part from the stone, do sooner and more easily ripen, and are more hardly to endure the frost and nipping air, than the others. And amongst them none so strong as the Persiques and Pau-Peaches; for which reason, you would do well to raise a great many of these two kinds in Standards in the open Air (but withal, in as much security from the winds as is possible in such a posture) for they have a much better tast, and are much a finer fruit from [Page 125] the Standard, than the Espallier. But all the other sorts are much more pro­per for Espalliers and Contre-Espal­liers, than for any other Figure.

Of Apple-Trees.

APple-Trees are to be raised in Standards in the open Air, by rea­son it is the strongest and most hardly of all other Fruit-trees; but if you have a fancy to raise them in Dwarf-trees, you are then to graft them upon an Apple of Paradice, and by that means they will be very proper to plant against Walls, or in such other places as have not Sun enough to ripen other fruits. And of these it will be sufficient to have the best kinds only; for being a fruit that keeps long, one should not be so covetous of many several kinds, as curious of those that are good; which are,

• Passe Pomme blanche hatisve, ripe in [Page 126] the beginning of August.
• Passe pomme Cotellée.
• Calville d'Esté, Rambour blanc.
• Rambour rouge, Cousinette.
• Pomme de violette.
• Pomme de neige.
• Calleville blanc.
• Calleville rouge.
• Pomme d'Apict.
• Renette blanche.
• Meillieur Renette rousse.
• Renette toute grize.
• Petit Courpendu gris.
• Courpendu vermeil.
• Gros Courpendu Bedeau.
• Francatu.
• Pomme-Poire.
• Chataigner.

Of Pears.

THere are of Pears more different sorts, that deserve to be culti­vated, than of any other fruit; which that you may the better know, I shall distinguish them according to the sea­sons of their maturity by the Months, beginning with that of June, at which time the earliest Pears begin to be ripe; acquainting you withal, on what sort of Tree, and in what situation every of them does best succeed; as also, which are good to eat raw, and which to bake. Wherein you may by the way observe, that all Pears, especially Winter-pears, which are good raw, are also excellent to bake.

• Petit Muscat, in the open Air, grafted either upon a Wilding or a Quince, prosper very well in Dwarf-trees, pro­vided [Page 128] they be well sheltered from the weather; but marvellous well in Standards in the open Air.
• Petit Certeau d'Esté, either in Dwarf-tree or Espallier.
• Janet, the same.
• Pucelle, or Palme, in all Figures.

• Gros Muscat ordinaire, prosper well in the open Air, either upon a Wilding or Quince.
• Muscat a longue queüe, the same.
• Muzette, the same.
• Gros Muscat, or Belissime, the same.
• Muscat Robert, the same.
• Cuisse Madame, the same, and some of them in Espallier not to fail.
• Rousselet hatif, the same, and some in Espallier.

• Orange Commune, in all Figures.
• Orange Musquée, in all Figures.
• Amiral commun, the same.
• [Page 129] Amiral musquée, the same.
• Petite Blanquette, the same.
• Grosse Blanquette, ou Poire de Perle, ou
• Cornicapre, the same.
• Oigonnet, the same.
• Poire de Prince, the same.
• Poire Royale, the same.
• Poire au deux testes, the same.
• Poire raze, the same, but better in Espallier, or dwarf-Tree, by reason that having a long and slender stalk they are apt to fall.
• Fin, or hatif, prospers well in all Fi­gures.
• Poire Carmesine, the same.
• Friolet, prospers well in all Figures.
• Moüille-bouche d'Esté, the same.
• Bon-Chrestien d'Esté, the same.
• Franc-Sureau, or Poire de Papes, the same.

• Rousselet ordinaire, prospers well in all Figures.
• Gros Rousselet de Rheims, the same.
• Jargonette, the same.
• Caillau Rozart, prospers best in Stan­dard, [Page 130] and grafted upon a Quince, has a kind of unpleasant tartness.
• Parfum, prospers well in all Fi­gures.
• Poire sans Pepins, the same.
• Poire de Sain, the same.

• Beuré rouge, prospers well in all Fi­gures.
• Beuré blanc, the same.
• Moüille-bouche d'Automne, or Jonguet, the same.
• Rozar d'Ingrande, succeeds best in Dwarf-trees or Espalliers.
• Bergamotte d'Esté, Summer Bergamot, in Espalliers only.
• A Chilly, chez Mon­sieur de Seves.
  Oignon Rozar, o­therwise called Brutte-bonne, in Dwarf-trees or Espal­liers.
• Poire d'Angleterre, succeeds well in all Figures.
• Poire d'Ambre-gris, succeeds best in Dwarf-trees, or Espalliers.
• [Page 131] Poire de vigne, prospers well in all Fi­gures.
• Petit Oing gris, the same.
• Chat Brullé, the same.

• Messire Jean ordinaire, succeeds well in all Figures.
• Messire Jean blanc, the same.
• Ruel.
  Bezidhery, the same.
• Damadote, the same.
• Grosse queüe d'Hyver, the same.
• Bergamotte ordinaire, is to be planted in Espalliers only,
  A caution not very necessary to us in England.
  but then to have them keep till January, you must have one place in your Espallier, where there is little Sun.
• Martin sec, succeeds well in all Fi­gures.
• Bergamotte musqué, or Poire de Sicile, thrives best in Espalliers and Dwarf-trees.

• [Page 132]Micet, prospers best in Espalliers, and keeps till January.
• Poire-Figue, prospers well in all Fi­gures.
• Rousselet d'Hyver, the same.
• Bon-Chrestien, d'Anche cottelé, does best in Espallier, or in a good shelter from winds, in Standard.
• Bon-Chrestien rond, the same.
• Bon-Chrestien long, the same.
• Bon-Chrestien doré sans Pepins, the same.

And note, that you are to have as many Bon-Chrestiens alone in an Es­pallier rightly plac'd, as of all other Winter-fruits put together; both be­cause it is in tast incomparably better than all the rest, and also it begins to be fit to eat in November, and keeps good till the end of August following.

[Page 133] Poire de Froment, an excellent baking Pear, does well in Standards.

• Fin Or, or Franc-real, in tall Stan­dards, a few in Dwarf-Trees.
• Dame Jeanne, the same.
• Bon Evesque, the same.
• Foulon, the same.

• Ramboüillet, & Monsieur de Noy­ers à Paris.
  Gatellier, or the Win­ter Beuré, prospers well in all Figures.
• Monsieur Ga­land, & Monsieur de Money.
  Bergamotte d'Hyver, to be eaten in February and March.
• Bon-Chrestien, of all sorts.
• Orange d'hyver, prospers well in all postures.

• [Page 134]Poire d'Argent, does very well in great Standards.
• Ratcau, the same.
• At Ponthoize.
  Herpiene, the same. Angobert, or Languedoc, the same. Gros Certeau, the same.

• Sainct Lezin, as also in March and April, prosper well enough in all po­stures; but are subject to fall, if not planted in Espalliers, and moreover, require a very great Sun.
• Sainct Lezin Beuré, a very
  Monsieur Ferrant.
  rare and excellent fruit, will be planted in Espallier.
• de la Chenaye.
  Messire Jean tardif, ei­ther Dwarf-tree or Espallier.
• Bon-Chrestien, the same.

• [Page 135]Petit Certeau, prospers well in Stan­dards or Dwarf-trees.
• De la Domville, in tall Standards.

• Portail, would be planted in Espalli­ers, and rather grafted upon a Wild­ing than a Quince, by reason it is not apt to run into much wood.
• Ponthoize, la Chesnaye.
  Gros Muscat d'Hyver, a grosse queiie, does well ei­ther in Espalliers or Dwarf-trees.

• Poire de livre, or Pound-pear, in tall Standards.

• [Page 136]Bergamotte de Beugi, in Espalliers, or Dwarf-trees.
• Aux Gobelins du Fauxbourg St. Marceau.
  Poire d'Estranguitton, an excellent fruit, the same.
• Monsieur Ferrant.
  Virgoulette, the same, an excellent fruit.

• Liquet rond, in tall Standards.
• Parmain, the same.
• Bouvart, or Chesne Galen, the same.

• Double Fleur, prosper very well in [Page 137] Dwarf-trees in the open Air, but bet­ter in Espalliers.
• Ponthoize.
  Fontarabis, in Espalliers.

• Ponthoize.
  Girolle.

Of the Times wherein Fruits are to be gathered.

ALl Stone-fruits, and Summer-Pears, would not be separated from the Tree, till they are first arri­ved at their full maturity; but for the Autumn-Pears, as the Messire Jean, the Beuré; nay, even the Summer Bon-Chrestien, and the Bergamotte, if you desire to have them keep any time, it will be convenient to gather them be­fore they be wholly ripe, to the end they may compleat their maturity in the place where they are to be bestow­ed; by which means they will both keep much longer, and also tast much sweeter and less tart, than those ga­thered ripe from the Tree. As to the Winter-fruits, whether to eat raw, or to bake, and whether Apples or Pears, you are to let them hang so long as ever you can upon the Tree, even to [Page 139] the end of October, and then take heed always to gather them in fair weather, and a bright shining Sun, to the end the fruit may be very dry, and with­out any kind of moisture upon them at the time of their gathering.

You should also be careful not to break the stalk of the fruits you intend to keep, and in gathering to touch them as little, and as nicely as you can.

The same thing is done to Fig-trees, that is done to the Espalliers, both in planting and Pallisadoing; and they are to be cut after the same manner with Apricots and Peaches in the de­crease of the Moon in March, for as much as they are pithy and tender, and are impatient of the cold.