T L . ati
lato as November and December, to stand wholly over the winter, in rising growth,
for early crops and for main crops the following summer; such as peas, beaus, cabbages,
aud cauliflowers. To obtain early crops of favourite esculents which lu-c more tender,
sevei-cil kinds arc soivn and planted in hotbeds in winter and spring.
2930. The quantify sown and planted is to be cletovmineil jointly by th e demands of the family and the
portion of ground that can be spared; but it shouldbe always a rule, to sow and plant more than probably
enough for the family, as more may happen to be wanted than expected, and a cross season or other
accident may occasion a failure. As exact rules cannot be laid down, th e exercise of a little judgment
will be necessary, in order to proportion crops a lik e ; for to have too much of one thing, and too little of
another, is di.sagreeable and discreditable. Ilcspect should be paid to th e natural duration of crops, some
poingoff soon,and others being lasting, and th a t too according to the season in which they are propagated.
Th e pea requires the greatest breadth of surface; and n ex t to this th e cabbage tribe. The spaces for
asparagus, artichokes, strawberries, sea-kale, &c.. are in some degree fixed from the comparative permanency
of these crops. Pot and sweet herbs require th e least space, and, ascending from these to
breadths necessary for the pea and th e cabbage tribe, the proportions are as various as the kinds to be
grown ; and these can only be acquired properly by experience, and observation of what takes place in
liffeient gardens.
2931. Seeds and plants slioidd he adapted as much as possible to the soil and situation
which best suit them; for in the same garden some difference will be found, not only as
to sun and shelter, but the e a rth ; as some wiU be richer, some poorer, some deeper,
some shallower, some perliaps heavier, and some lighter, in due attention to which
advantage is to he reaped. (Marshall.)
2932. The ordering o f seeds from the seedsman is generally a matter of some difiiculty
to the young gardener, and Abercrombie is almost the only author who has endeavoured
to remove it. The information afforded by his work, entitled The Seed Estimate, will
be found in the Horticultural Catalogue; where, under every culinary vegetable raised
from seed, will be found the quantity, either stated in weight or measure, requisite for a
certain space of g ro u n d ; aaid this space generally that which is deemed sufficient for a
considerable garden.
S e c t . IV . Thinning.
2933. The thinning o f seedling crops, Marshall obseiwcs, “ should be done in time,
before the young plants have drawn one another up too much. All plants grow stronger,
and ripen thcir juices better, when the air circulates ireely round them, and tlie sun is
permitted to have an immediate iiiilucnco upon them ; au attention to ivhich should be
paid from the first appearance of plants breaking ground. Iu thinning close crops, as
onions, carrots, turnips, &c., he sure that they are not left too neai*; for, instead of reaping
a greater produce by so doing, there would be a less. When they stand too close,
they will make tall and large tops, but arc provcntctl from swclliiig in. their roots : it is
better to err on the wide side, for, though tlierc arc fewer plants, they will be finer aud
better fliivoured.”
2934. Thinning the leaves o f fr u it trees. “ The leaves,” Abercrombie observes, “ have
too essential an office as organs of growth to the entire plant, to be lightly parted w ith ;
and, when the climate is not deficient in heat, comi>iu*cd with the habitat o fth e plant, or
the portion of the year iu which its season for vegetating falls, their shade is more likely
to be serviceable than detrimental, even iu the last stage of iruiting. Thus, cherries, rasp-
bciTics, strawberries, currants, and other species whose full term of fructification is more
tliau comprehended in our summer, reach perfect maturity, and acquire the colour proper
to each, though ever so much covered with loaves; whereas, for those kinds ivhich ripen
with difficulty here, because the direct rays, and most intense reflection of the sun, can
scai-ccly be equal to the heat in the shade during the full summer of thcir native climate,
— it is proper, when the fruit has nearly attained its full size, and is natm-ally losing its
absolute greenness, to remove some of the leaves which shade it too much. Were the
leaves thinned sooner, it would prejudice the growth of the fru it; aud should they even
now be swept off unsparingly, the growth of the year’s shoots might be aiTCStcd. Tho
leaves which cover the fruit, whether poaches, grapes, late pears, or other exotics, must
be removed gradually, that is, at two or three times in tho course of five or six days ;
othenvise the unusual full heat of the sun darting upon tho fruit would occasion tho
rind to crack.”
2935. Thinning stone-fruits. Thinning the over-abundantly set fruit on apricot, nectarine,
peach, and plum trees is a necessai-y d u ty ; as many of these, in good seasons,
set more than they can nom-ish or bring near to perfection. I f the fruit be very thickly
set all over the tree, let it be generally thinned off’ to half its extent the first tim e ;
deferring the final thimung till the stoning be over, that is, till the shells be quite hard,
and tho kernel be formed. Most trees, especially those anywise unhealthy, drop many
of tlicir fruit at the time of stoning; so that the thinning had better be performed at two
or three different times; always observing to reserve the fullest, brownest, aud best -formed
fruit. (Nicol.) If tlie bearing shoots of stoiie-frnits be properly shortened, there is little
danger of many falling off, iiiilcss the kernel has been injm-cd by uutimcly spring frosts,
or excessive droughts (which, however, ought to be guarded against). The first thinning
should, therefore, be fearlessly gone ab o u t; and the second should not he too long
delayed.
2936. With respect to the quantity nrnumher of f r u it proper to be left on a tree, “ much,” according to
Nicol, “ m ust depend on its size and strength, and whether it be full grown, or be yet in training. A lull-
grown tree, in a healty state, may bo allowed to produce considerably more than one in a weak condition.
And if a tree yet in training, that is, one not having lilled the space allotted to it, be allowed to
ripen all the fruit it may set, its extension will be much retarded in consequence. On the Moorpark
apricot, and the larger kinds of peaches in a healthy full-bearing state, a fruit to every foot square o fth e
superficial content, or surface of the tree, maybe taken as a good mcilium ; that is to say, a tree covering
a space 1.5 ft. by 12 ft., may be allowed to ripen about two hundred fruit. T h e smaller kinds of apricots
and peaches, and of nectarines in general, may be allowed to produce a third part more, if in a healthy
state. The larger and better sorts of plums may bo thinned in proportion, and according to their sizes ;
and A may OT- IxOT be thinned 41. 1OTOT „,1 out .4 4<\to from O 3 ?in.ot 4ot to /!6 in in. apart,ft4 if'if .1...on 4tVh. e— shoots of4 .l as't y e a r; or so as •to» h ang qui.<te
free of one another, if on spurs. I am aware that manv many wi”will
think thinning to this extent an cxtraordi-
nary m easure; but I would have such be convinced of the e propriety p
of doing so, by comparison. Ifth e y
have two trees of a kind, both healthy and well loaded, let th e one be thinned ’ . . . . .
other to produce as it has been wo n t;_ (
nu wen iu<un5u,lev mtj uue uu viuuiieu as above, and allow the
thin it oven to half the extent. It will be found that tho tree
fully thinned will produce an equa l, if not a greater weight of fruit, and these incomparably more beautiful,
and higher in flavour. Observe, the comparison must be made the same season, else it would not
be fair ; as the size and flavour of the fruit might bo very difTcvent, according to the goodness or badness
o fth e weather in different years.”
2937. Apples and pears should be moderately thinned, and good account would be found
in the practice. Thi.s should be done when tlie fruit is about half grown, or when
all apprehension of its dropping is over. Nothing tends more to keep fruit trees
in good health than regularly to thin their oirar-abundant crops, and that always before
they begin to swell off for ripening; for if this be delayed till they arc nearly full
groivn, the mischief is, in a great measure, already done, both to the tree and to the
fruit left. (Nicol)
S e c t . V. Prumng and Training.
2938. Pruning and training, being frequently practised together, and in aid of each
other, may be advantageously treated of uiidcr the same head.
2939. Pruningncwly-planteddt t)r ccs. Trees planted c
be pruned as though still in tho nursery, in order to furnish them with a
e year from the graft, or two from budding, m ust
Liish a head. At the end of March, or
th e begmning of April, as the wood-biuls begin to shoot, one of these courses must be tak en ; cither
shorten the shoots of the preceding summer, or head down the tree to two, three, or four eyes, taking all
those shoots off. The latter course is most commonly expedient on the peach tree, or nectarine, or apricot.
If the first shoots happen to be unexceptionahly placed for beginning tho figure, instead of heading
down the stem, cut these into two or three eyes. Ou wall trees and espaliers, rub off the fore and back
wood-huds.
2940. Seasons fo r pruning newly-planted trees. On all trees during the tender stage of infancy, spring
is th e fittest time of pruning, oven for wood, and for proceeding in the formation of a head, as successive
sets of new branches arc yearly obtained by shortening the last. Something may also be done in summer
to promote this object. If between the end of May and the end of June, a pair of shoots have not started
as desired, one on each side from a stem headed down, or from the mother branches shortened; and, in
lieu of such, one solitary shoot has arisen, or two, both on one side, or not equally proper to be retained,
th e desired end may yet be attained, and a season saved. Pinch down the solitary shoot two or three
eye s: this will force out new shoots in th e course of the summer. In th e case of two shoots, one of
which is evidently unfit for beginning tho head, take off the one rejected without delay, and pinch down
the other to two or three eyes. Of two shoots on the same side, equal in regard to strength and direction,
to preserve the lower on wall trees and dwarfs is a rule to which an exception can scarcely
be imagined. T h e summer pruning of heads progressively forming will afterwards fall in with that
of established trees.
2941. Summer p runing o f trees in bearing. The buds and shoots to be preserved claim the first attention;
for, if the precious germs of future fruit or wood arc carelessly destroyed, the work of reparation is
difficult and tedious ; whereas the removal of spray not of service as branches or bearers, though necessary
to prevent confusion, and to strengthen the plant, is to be conducted in subservience to tho vital
object of fertility. In some kinds, to avoid the destruction of wood-buds, or the germs of fruit-spurs, the
disbudding ought to be postponed until the wood-shoots can be distinguished from spurs, and pinched off
without injuring the fruit-buds. The species which alternately produce spurs in the one-year-old shoots
are, the apple, pear, apricot, cherry, and plum. T h e peach and nectarine rarely emit spurs. While you
avoid displacing infant spurs on plants which bear on such, be as careful to discourage the wood-lnuis and
shoots on old spurs, for shoots from these are cumbersome and unprofitable. If any spray that
displacing has got woody, use the knife, lest the bark of tho mother branch be torn.
2942. The mode o f bearing, and the duration o f the bearers, are the first things to be adverted to for
regulating the proportion of new wood to be retained. Thus, in the kinds which bear on spurs, a less
quantity of advancing wood is necessary for future supply, according to the time that a bearing branch
continues fru itfu l; but as the fruit-shoots on some of these kinds are two, three, four, and even five
years in coming into bearing, the difficulty of exercising apropcr foresight is increased. Of the sorts which
bear on the shoots of last year, although a great reserve and constant annual succession arc wanted, it is
more easy to suit the provision to the expected vacancy. In both classes, the leader to a stem yet under
training as a wall tree is to be carefully preserved; also a surplus number of buds to the right and left
must be suffered to sprout, till it can be known whether shoots will spring a t the desired places ; and
afterwards a selection from these must be left for forming the tree ; further, tho leading shoot to each
side branch should be always left, if the limits admit. Wcll-placed shoots, between the origin and the
extremity of a lateral, are to be retained in pairs, until a good leader has sprung, and is sufficiently
established to be laid in; when they are to be cut away close, unless a vacancy requires their pennanont
cultivation. As the new laterals fit to be preserved extend, lay them close to the wall in a straight easy
direction, a t a convenient average distance, nailing them farther onward as th e extremities want
^'^294X*^ V/ir<’c revisions ardncluded in a summer’s pruning; one beginning at the end of April, another iu
July, and the third in September; ail which have a preparatory reference to the w inter p nunng. Stone-
fruit trees, if much wounded in summer, are apt to g um ; so that, if supiTlluous shoots have not been
removed before they get woody, it is host to defer th e retrenchment of these to the winter pruning. A
■weak tree is strengthened by reducing its sp ra y ; let it, however, be low and compact, ra th e r than naked.
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