_Of the Nurserie where you shall set all manner of Kernels, and Stones,
for the furnishing of the Orchard._
Although great persons, out of their greatnesse and abilitie, doe buy
their fruit trees ready grafted, and so in a moment may plant an Orchard
of the greatest quantitie, yet sith the Husbandman must raise euery
thing from his owne indeauours, and that I onely write for his profit, I
therefore hould it most conuenient to beginne with the nursery or
store-house of fruits, from whence the Orchard receiueth his beauty and
riches.
This Nursery must be a piece of principall ground, either through Art or
Nature, strongly fenced, warme, and full of good shelter: for in it is
onely the first infancy and tendernesse of fruit-trees, because there
they are first kernells, or stones, after sprigs, and lastly trees.
Now for the manner of chusing, sowing, and planting them in this
nursery, I differ some thing from the french practise, who would chuse
the kernells from the cider presse, sow them in large bedds of earth,
and within a yeere after replant them in a wilde Orchard: now for mine
owne part, though this course be not much faulty, yet I rather chuse
this kinde of practise, first: to chuse your kernells either of Apples,
Peares, or Wardens, from the best and most principallest fruit you can
taste, for although the kernell doe bring forth no other tree but the
plaine stocke vpon which the fruit was grafted, as thus, if the graft
were put into a Crab-stocke the kernell brings forth onely a Crab-tree,
yet when you taste a perfect and delicate Apple, be assured both the
stocke and graft were of the best choise, and so such kernells of best
reckoning. When you haue then a competent quantitie of such kernells,
you shall take certaine large pots, in the fashion of milke-boules, all
full of hoales in the bottome, through which the raine and superfluous
moysture may auoyde, and either in the Months of March or Nouember (for
those are the best seasons) fill the pots three parts full of the
finest, blackest, and richest mould you can get, then lay your kernells
vpon the earth, about foure fingars one from another, so many as the
vessell can conueniently containe, and then with a siue sift vpon them
other fine moulds almost three fingars thicke, and so let them rest,
filling so many pots or vessells as shall serue to receiue your
quantitie of kernells of all sorts. Now if any man desire to know my
reason why I rather desire to set my kernells rather in vessells then in
beds of earth, my answere is, that I haue often found it in mine
experience, that the kernell of Apples, Peares, Quinces, and such like,
are such a tender and dainty seede that it is great oddes but the wormes
will deuoure and consume them before they sprout, who naturally delight
in such seedes, which these vessels onely doe preuent: but to proceede.
After your kernells are sprouted vp and growne to be at least seauen or
eight inches high, you shall then within your nursery digge vp a border
about two foote and an halfe broad, more then a foote deepe, and of such
conuenient length as may receiue all your young plants, and hauing made
the mould fine and rich with Manure, you shall then with your whole hand
gripe as much of the earth that is about the plant as you can
conueniently hould, and so take both the plant and the mould out of the
vessell, and replant it in the new drest border: and you shall thus doe
plant after plant, till you haue set euery one, and made them firme and
fast in the new mould: wherein you are to obserue these two principles,
first that you place them at least fiue foote one from another, and
secondly, that such kernells as you set in your vessels in March, that
you replant them in borders of earth in Nouember following, and such as
you set in Nouember to replant in March following, and being so
replanted to suffer them to grow till they be able to beare grafts,
during which time you shall diligently obserue, that if any of them
chance to put forth any superfluous branches or cyons, which may hinder
the growth of the body of the plant, that you carefully cut them away,
that thereby it may be the sooner inabled to beare a graft: for it is
euer to be intended that whatsoeuer proceedeth from kernells are onely
to be preserued for stockes to graft on, and for no other purpose.
Now for the stones of Plumbes, & other stone fruit, you shall vnderstand
that they be of two kindes, one simple and of themselues, as the
Rye-plumbe, Wheate-plumbe, Damson, Prune-plumbe, Horse-clogge, Cherry,
and such like, so that from the kernells of them issueth trees of like
nature and goodnesse: the other compounded or grafted plumbes, as the
Abricot, Pescod, Peach, Damaske, Verdochyo, Emperiall, and such like,
from whose kernells issueth no other trees but such as the stockes were
vpon which they were grafted. Now, for the manner of setting the first,
which are simple and vncompounded, you shall digge vp a large bedde of
rich and good earth a month or more before March or Nouember, and hauing
made the mould as fine as is possible, you shall flat-wise thrust euery
stone, a foote one from another, more then three fingars into the mould,
and then with a little small rake, made for the purpose, rake the bedde
ouer and close vp the holes, and so let them rest till they be of a
yeeres groath, at which time you shall replant them into seuerall
borders, as you did your Apple-tree plants and others.
Now for the kernells of your compounded or grafted Plumbes, you shall
both set them in beddes and replant them into seuerall borders, in the
same manner as you did the other kernells of Plumbes, onely you shall
for the space of eight and forty houres before you set them steepe them
in new milke, forasmuch as the stones of them are more hard, and with
greater difficulty open and sprout in the earth, then any other stone
whatsoeuer: and thus hauing furnished your Nursery of all sorts of
fruits and stockes, you shall when they come to full age and bignesse
graft them in such order as shalbe hereafter declared.