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Show ry very beft in its proper Seafon: There are fome who admire the Mefire Jean, for the Firmnefs of its Flefh, which to others is a great Objection againft it; fo that as fome efteem the Breaking, and others the Melting Pears, I havediftinguifh’d them by their Defcriptionsin fucha Manner that every one may make Choice of the Kinds of Fruits which are agreeable to their Palates ; and the different Seafons in whicheach Kindis in eating, being exhibited, (allowinga little for the Difference of Seafons, Fruit will be cut away 3 and this cannot be avoided, where the Trees have not Room allow’din their firft planting. The Manner of preparing thefe Trees for Planting, is the fame as hath been diregte d for other Fruit-trees, viz. To cut off all the finall Fibres from the Roots, and to fhorten fome of the longeft Roots, and cut off all the bruis’d ones, or fuch as fhoot downright: This being done, you fhould plant ’emin the Places intended at the before-mention’d Diftanc e, The beft Time to plant thefe Trees, (if upon whichare earlier fome Years than others) it is not very difficult fora Perfon to makea Col- a middling or dry Soil) is in Offober, leaving le€tion of good Pears to fucceed each other their Heads on till Spring, which fhould be throughout the Seafon of thefe Fruits, both for faften’d to the Walls or Stakes, to prevent the Eating and Baking. ; Windfromdifturbing their Roots; and in the Pears are propagated by budding or grafting beginning of March their Heads fhouldbe cut them upon Stocks of their own Kind, which off, inthe Manner already direéted tor Peaches are commonly call’d Free-Stocks, or upon and other Fruit-trees 3 obferving alfo to lay Quince-Stocks, or White-Thorn ; upon all which fome Mulch upon the Surface of the Ground thefe Fruits will take; but the latter fort of about their Roots when they are planted ; as Stock is now feldomufed, becaufe they rarely hath been feveral times already dire¢ted for keep Pace in their Growth, with the Fruit other Trees. budded or grafted upon them ; asalfo becaufe Thefirft Summerafter planting, the Branches the Fruit upon fuch Stocks are commonly drier fhould be train’d to the Wall or Efpalier and more apt to be mealy than when they are (againft which they are planted) in a horizontal upon Pear-Stocks. Quince-Stocks are greatly Pofition, as they are produc’d without fhortenufed in the Nurferies for all forts of Pears ing of them; and the Michaelmas following which are defign’d for Dwarfs or Walls, in thefe Shoots fhould be fhorten’d downto five order to check the Luxuriancy of their Growth, or fix Eyes, in order to obtain a fufficient fo that they may be kept within Compafs bet- Quantity of Branches to furnith the lower ter than upon Free-Stocks: But againft the Part of the Wall or Efpalier : But whenthis general Ufe of thefe Stocks, for all forts of is done, the Shoots ought not to be fhorten’d Pears indifferently, there are very great Ob- unlefs where there is want of Branches to fill a jections: rft, Becaufe fome forts of Pears will Vacanc 3 for whenev the Shootsare ftopp’d , er y not thrive upon thefe Stocks, but in two or it occafions the Buds immediately the three Years will decay, or at moft will but Cut, to fend forth two or more Shootsbelow , wherejuft keep alive. 2dly, All the Sorts of hard by there will be a Confuf ion of Branches, and breaking Pears are render’d {tony and good for rarely any Fruit is produc ’d with this Malittle 5 fo that whenever any of thefe Sorts nagement. are thus injudicioufly rais’d, the Fruit, altho’ The Diftance which the Branches of Pears the Kind be ever fo good, PY ie is condemn’d as good for nothing by fuch as are not well acquainted with it, when the Fault is intirely owing to the Stock on which it was grafted. fhould be train’d muft be proportion’d to the Size of their Fruit: Such Sorts whofe Fruit are fmall, may be allow’d five or fix Inches; but the larger Sorts muft not be lefs than feven On the contrary, all melting buttery Pears or eight Inches afunder: If this be duly obare greatly improv’d by being upon Quince- ferv’d, and the Branch es carefully train’d hoStocks, provided they are planted on a ftrong rizontally as they are produc’d, there will be Soil ; but if the Ground be very dry and gra- no Occafi on for fo much cutting as is commonvelly, no fort of Pearwill do well upon Quince= Stocks in fuch Places, Thefe general Directions being given, there is no Occafion to repeat any Part of the Me- thod in which thefe Stocks are rais’d, and the Fruits budded or grafted thereon ; which has been already mention’d under the Article of Nurferies. The Diftance which thefe Trees fhould be planted either againft Walls or Efpaliers, muft not belefs than twenty Feet; but if they are planted twenty-five Feet, it will be better ; for if they have not Room to fpread on each Side, it will be impoffible to preferve them in good Order, (efpecially thofe on Free-Stocks) for ly prattis’d on thefe Trees, which inftead of checking their Growth, does, on the contrary, caufe them to fhoot the ftronger. It is very furprizing to read the tedious Me- thods which moft of the Writers on Fruittrees have direétéd for pruning of thefe Trees5 for by their prolix and perplex’d Methods, one would imagine they had endeavour’d to render themfelyes as unintelligible as poffible: And this am fure may be affirm’d, that it 18 next to impoffible for a Learner ever to arrive at any tolerable Skill in Pruning, by tedious and perplex’d Direétions which are publith’d by Monfieur Qzintiney, and thole who haye copied from him 3 for thefe have the more thefe Trees are prun’d, the more all fet out wrong in the Beginning, by allowthey will fhoot ; and, as I before faid, many ing their Trees lefs than halt the Diftance 3¢ pain ees do produce their Bloffom buds which they fhould be planted ; and then ye ¢ Extremity of the former Year’s prefcribed Rules to keep them within te Shoots, fo that when they are fhorten’d, the , Compafs, which is what cannot be effected wale PY where Perfons are defirous of having Plenty of on Fruit-ttees$ and this, I am fure, can never Fruit. I thall therefore only lay down a few neceflary Directions for the Pruning and Managing of thefe Trees, which fhall be denein astew Words as poffible, that a Learner may the more eafily underftand it, and which (together with proper Obfervations) will be fuffi- cient to inftruct any Perfon in the right Management of them, Pear-trees do generally produce their Blof- be wanted, where Trees have been rightly planted, and regularly trained, while young. The Seafon for pruning of thefe Trees, is any time after the Fruits are gathered, until the Beginning of March; but the fooner it is done, after the Fruit is gathered, the bet- ter, for Reafons already given for pruning of Peach-trees ; though indeed, the deferring of thefe until Spring, whete there are large Quantities of Trees to prune, is not fo in- fom-buds firft at the Extremity of the laft jurious to them, as to fome more tender Year’s Shoots, fo that if thefe are fhorten’d, Fruits. the Bloffoms are cut off: But this is not all All the Sorts of Summer Pears will riper the Damage, for (as I before fuid) this occa- very well, either on Standards, Dwarfs, or fions the Buds immediately below the Cut to Efpaliers ; as will all the Autumn Pears, upon put forth two or more Shoots, whereby the Dwarts or Efpaliers : But where a Perfon is Number of Branches will be increas’d, and very curious in his Fruit, I would always adthe Tree crowded too much ‘with Wood ; vite the Planting thm againft Efpaliers, in befides, thofe Buds which by this Manage- which Method they take up but little Room ment do produce Shoots, would have only in a Garden, and if they are well m: naged, produced Curjons and Spurs, upon which the do appear very beautiful, and the Fruit is Bloffom buds are produced, if the leading larger and better tafted than thofe produced Branch had not been fhorten’d ; therefore on Dwarfs, as hath been already obferved. thefe fhould never be ftopped, unlefs to furnifh But all the Sorts of Winter Pears mutt be Wood to fill a Vacancy. planted againft Eaft, South-Eaft, or SouthIt isnot neceffary to provide a new Supply Welt Walls, otherwife they feldom ripen well of Wood in Pear-trees, as muft be done for in England. Peaches, Neftarines, €8c. which only produce In the Gathering of Pears great Regard their Fruit upon young Wood ; for Pears do fhould be had to the Bud whichis formed at produce their Fruit upon Curfons or Spurs, the Bottom of the Footftalk, for the next which are produced upon Branches which are Year’s Bloffoms, which by forcing off the three or four Years old, which Curfons do continue fruitful many Years; fo that where thefe Trees have been skilfully managed, I have feen Branches which have been train’d horizontally, upwards of twenty Feet from the Trunk of the Tree, and have been fruitful their whole Length. And if we do but arefully obferve the Branches of a healthful Standard Tree, which has been permitted to tow without Pruning, we fhall find many that are ten or twelve Years old, or more, which are very full of thefe Curjous, upon which is annually a good Number of Fruit produced, During the Summer Seafon thefe Trees fhould be often look’d over, to train in the Shonts as they are produced, regularly, to the Wall or Efpalier, and to difplace fore-right and luxuriant Branches as they fhoot out, whereby the Fruit will be equally expos’d to Pear, before it be mature, is many times fpoiled ; for during the Time the Fruit is growing, there is always a Bud formed by the Side of the Foorftalk, upon the fame Spur for the next Year’s Fruit; fo that when the Pears are ripe, if they are gently turned upwards, the Footftalk will readily part from the Spur without injuring of the Bud. The Seafon for gathering all Summer Pearsis juft as they ripen, for none of thefe will remain good above a Day or twoafter they are taken from the Tree ; nor will manyof the Autumn Pears keep good above ten Days or a Fortnight after they are gathered. But the Wixter Fruits fhould hang as long upon the Trees as the Seafon will permit; for they muft not receive the Froft, which will caufe them to rot, and render their Juices flat and illtafted ; but if the Weather continues mild until the Middle of Ofober, it will then be a good the Air and Sun, which will render them More beautiful, and better tafted, than when they are fhaded by the Branches ; and by thus Managing the Trees in Summer, they will Seafon for gathering them in, which mutt always be done in dry Weather, and when the always appear beautiful, and in Winter they will want but little Pruning. Where Pear-trees are thus regularly trained, Without {topping of their Shoots, and have full Room for their Branches to extend on fach Side, there will never be any Occafion avoid the Roots, (as hath been direéted by feveral Writers on Gardening) which Methods, how- Time the Windows fhould be open, to admit the Air, in order to carry off al] the Moifture which is perfpired from the Fruit ; after this, the Pears fhould be taken fingly, and wiped dry with a woollen Cloth, and then pack’d Trees are perfectly dry. In the doing of this you ought carefully to bruifing them, therefore you fhould have a broad, flat Basket to lay ’em in as they are gathered 3 and when they arecarried into the Store-Room, they fhould be taken out fingly, and each Sort laid up in a clofe Heap, onadry Place, in order to fweat, where they for disbarking of the Branches, or cutting off may remain for eight or ten Days, during which ever they may anfwer the Intention for the Prefent, “yet will certainly greatly injure the Trees, as muttall violent Amputations, which *hould ever be avoided, as much as poffible, up in clofe Baskets, obferving to put fome tweet |