Chap. VII
Of the Dressing, Dungging, Proyning, and Preseruing of Trees.
Sith after all the labour spent of ingendring by séede, of fortefying and inabling by planting, and of multiplying by grafting it is to little or no purpose if the trées be not maintained and preserued by dressing, dungging and proyning, I will therefore in this place shew you what belongs to that office or duty, and first, for the dressing of trees: you shall vnderstand that it containeth all whatsoeuer is méete for the good estate of the trée, as first, after your trée is planted, or replanted, if the season shall fall out hot, dry, and parching, insomuch that the moisture of the earth is sucked out by the atraction of the Sunne, and so the trée wanteth the nutriment of moisture, in this case you shall not omit euery morning before the rising of the sunne, and euery euening after the set of the sunne, with a great watring-pot filled with water, to water & bath the rootes of the trées, if they be young trées, and newly planted, or replanted, but not otherwise: for if the trées be olde, and of long growth, then you shall saue that labour, and onely to such olde trées you shall about the midst of Nouember, with a spade, digge away the earth from the vpper part of the rootes and lay them bare vntill it be midde-March, and then mingling such earth as is most agréeable with the fruit and Oxe-dunge and sope-ashes together, so couer them againe, and tread the earth close about them: as for the vncouering of your trées in summer I doe not hold it good, because the reflection of the sunne is somewhat too violent and dryeth the roote, from whence at that time the sappe naturally is gone: you shall also euery spring and fall of the leafe clense your fruit trées from mosse, which procéeding from a cold and cankerous moisture, bréedeth dislike, and barrainenesse in trées: this mosse you must take off with the backe of an olde knife and leaue the barke smooth, plaine, and vnraced: also if you shall dunge such trées with the dunge of Swine, it is a ready way to destroy the mosse.
Proyning of Trees.
After you haue drest and trimmed your trées, you shall then proyne them, which is to cut away all those superfluous branches, armes, or cyons, which being either barraine, bruised or misplaced, doe like drones, steale-away that nutriment which should maintaine the better deseruing sinewes, and you shall vnderstand that the best time for proyning of trées, is in March and Aprill, at which time the sappe assending vpward, causeth the trées to budde: the branches you shall cut away are all such as shall grow out of the stocke vnderneath the place grafted, or all such as by the shaking of tempests shall grow in a disorderly and ill fashioned crookednesse, or any other, that out of a well tempered iudgement shall séeme superfluous and burdensome to the stocke from whence it springs, also such as haue by disorder béene brooken, or maimed, and all these you shall cut away with a hooke knife, close by the trée, vnlesse you haue occasion by some misfortune to cut away some of the maine and great armes of the trée, and then you shall not vse your knife for feare of tearing the barke, but taking your sawe you shall sawe off those great armes close by the trée, neither shall you sawe them off downeward but vpward, least the waight of the arme breake the barke from the body: And herein you shall also vnderstand that for as much as the mischances which beget these dismembrings doe happen at the latter end of Summer, in the gathering of the fruit, and that it is not fit such maymed and broken boughes hang vpon the trée till the Spring, therefore you shall cut them off in the Winter time, but not close to the trée by almost a foote, and so letting them rest vntill the spring, at that time cut them off close by the trée. Now if you finde the superfluitie of branches which annoy your trées to be onely small cyons, springing from the rootes of the trées, as it often hapneth with all sorts of Plumbe-trées, Cherry-trées, Nut-trées, and such like, then you shall in the winter, bare the rootes of those trées, and cut off those cyons close by the roote: but if your trées be broused or eaten by tame-Deare, Goates, Shéepe, Kine, Oxen, or such like, then there is no help for such a misfortune but onely to cut off the whole head and graft the stocke anew.
Of Barke-bound.
Next to the proyning of trées, is the preseruing, phisicking, and curing of the diseases of trées: to which they are subiect as well as our naturall bodyes: and first of all, there is a disease called Barke-bound, which is when the barke, through a mislike and leperous drynesse, bindeth in the trée with such straitnesse that the sappe being denied passage the body growes into a consumption: it is in nature like vnto that disease which in beasts is called hide-bound, and the cure is thus: at the beginning of March take a sharpe knife, and from the toppe of the body of the trée, to the very roote, draw downe certaine slits, or incissions, cleane through the barke, vnto the very sappe of the trée, round about the trée, & then with the backe of your knife open those slits and annoint them all through with Tarre, and in short space it will giue libertie vnto the trée to encrease & grow: this disease commeth by the rubbing of cattell against the trée, especially Swine, who are very poyson vnto all plants.
Of the Gall.
There is another disease in fruit-trées, called the Gall, and it eateth and consumeth the barke quit away, and so in time kills the trée: the cure is to cut and open the barke which you sée infected, and with a chissell to take away all that is foule and putrefied, and then to clappe Oxe dunge vpon the place, and it will helpe it, and this must be done euer in winter.
Of the Canker.
The Canker in fruit trées is the consumption both of the barke and the body, & it commeth either by the dropping of trées one vpon another, or else when some hollow places of the trée retaineth raine water in them, which fretting through the barke, poysoneth the trée: the cure is to cut away all such boughes as by dropping bréede the euill, and if the hollow places cannot be smooth and made euen, then to stoppe them with clay, waxe, and sope-ashes mixt together.
Of worme-eaten barkes.
If the barkes of your trées be eaten with wormes, which you shall perceiue by the swelling of the barke, you shall then open the barke and lay there-vpon swines dunge, sage, and lime beaten together, and bound with a cloath fast to the trée, and it will cure it: or wash the trée with cowes-pisse and vinegar and it will helpe it.
Of Pismiers and Snailes.
If your young trées be troubled with Pismiers, or Snailes, which are very noysome vnto them, you shall take vnsleckt lime and sope-ashes and mingling them with wine-lées, spread it all about the roote of the trées so infected, and annoint the body of the trée likewise therewith, and it will not onely destroy them but giue comfort to the trée: the soote of a chimney or Oake sawe-dust spread about the roote will doe the same.
Of Caterpillers, and Earewigges.
If Caterpillers doe annoy your young trées, who are great deuourers of the leaues and young buddes, and spoylers of the barke, you shall, if it be in the summer time, make a very strong brine of water and salt, and either with a garden pumpe, placed in a tubbe, or with squirts which haue many hoales you shall euery second day water and wash your trées, and it will destroy them, because the Caterpiller naturally cannot indure moisture, but if neuerthelesse you sée they doe continue still vpon your trees in Winter, then you shall when the leaues are falne away take dankish straw and setting it on fire smeare and burne them from the trée, and you shall hardly euer be troubled with them againe vpon the same trées: roules of hay layd on the trées will gather vp Earewigges and kill them.
Of the barrainenesse of Trees.
If your trées be barraine, and albeit they flourish and spread there leaues brauely, yet bring forth no fruit at all, it is a great sicknesse, and the worst of all other: therefore you shall vnderstand it procéedeth of two causes: first, of two much fertillitie, and fatnesse of the ground, which causeth the leafe to put forth and flourish in such vnnaturall abundance, that all such sappe and nutriment as should knit and bring forth fruit, turnes onely vnto leafe, cyons, and vnprofitable branches, which you shall perceiue both by the abundance of the leaues and by the colour also, which will be of a more blacker and déeper gréene, and of much larger proportion then those which haue but their naturall and proper rights: and the cure thereof is to take away the earth from the roote of such trées and fill vp the place againe with other earth, which is of a much leaner substance: but if your trée haue no such infirmitie of fatnesse, but beareth his leaues and branches in good order and of right colour and yet notwithstanding is barraine and bringeth forth little or no fruit, then that disease springeth from some naturall defect in the trée, and the cure thereof is thus: first, you shall vnbare the roote of the trée, and then noting which is the greatest and principallest branch of all the roote, you shall with a great wimble boare a hole into that roote and then driue a pinne of olde dry Ashe into the same (for Oake is not altogether so good) and then cutting the pinne off close by the roote, couer all the head of the pinne with yealow waxe, and then lay the mould vpon the roote of the trée againe, and treade it hard and firmely downe, and there is no doubte but the trée will beare the yéere following: in Fraunce they vse for this infirmitie to boare a hoale in the body of the trée slope-wise, somewhat past the hart, and to fill vp the hoale with life honey and Rose-water mixt together, and incorporated for at least xxiiij. howers, and then to stoppe the hole with a pinne of the one woode: also if you wash the rootes of your trées in the drane water which runneth from your Barley when you stéepe it for Malt, it will cure this disease of barrainenesse.
Of the bitternesse of Fruit.
If the fruit which is vpon your trées be of a bitter and sootie tast, to make it more pleasant and swéet you shall wash your trée all ouer with Swines dunge and water mixt together, & to the rootes of the trées you shall lay earth and Swines dunge mixt together, which must be done in the month of Ianuary and February onely, and it will make the fruit tast pleasantly. And thus much for the dressing and preseruing of trées.