Then with your knife raise the barke gently from the trée, without breaking, cracking, or brusing: then take your graft, and putting it vnder the barke lay it flat vnto the sappe of the trée, so as that little sappe which is left in the leafe, may without impediment cleaue to the sappe of the trée, then lay downe the barke close againe and couer the graft, and with a little vntwound hempe, or a soft wollen list, binde downe the barke close to the graft, and then couer all the incisions you haue made with greene waxe: by this manner of grafting you may haue vpon one trée sundry fruits, as from one Apple-tree, both Pippins, Peare-maines, Russettings and such like, nay, you may haue vpon one tree, ripe fruit all summer long, as Ienettings from one branch, Cislings from another, Wibourns from another, Costards and Quéene-Apples from others, and Pippens and Russettings, from others, which bringeth both delight to the eye, and admiration to the sence, and yet I would not haue you imagine that this kinde of grafting doth onely worke this effect, for as before I shewed you, if you graft in the cleft (which is the fastest way of all grafting) sundry fruits vpon sundry armes or bowes, you shall likewise haue procéeding from them sundry sorts of fruits, as either Apples, Plumbes, Peares or any other kind, according to your composition and industry; as at this day we may dayly sée in many great mens Orchards.
[Grafting on the toppes of trees.] There is yet another manner of grafting, and it is of all other especially vsed much in Italy, and yet not any thing disagréeable with our climate, and that is to graft on the small cyons which are on the toppes of fruit trées, surely an experience that carryeth in it both dificulty and wonder, yet being put to approbation is no lesse certaine then any of the other, the manner whereof is thus: you shall first after you haue chosen such and so many grafts as you doe intend to graft, and trimd them in the same manner as you haue béene taught formerly for grafting within the cleft, you shall then mount vp into the toppe of the trée, vpon which you meane to graft, and there make choise of the highest and most principallest cyons (being cleane barkt and round) that you can perceiue to grow from the trée, then laying the graft, and the cyon vpon which you are to graft, together, sée that they be both of one bignesse and roundnesse: then with your grafting knife cut the cyon off betwéene the olde woode and the new, and cleaue it downe an inch and an halfe, or two inches at the most: then put in your graft (which graft must not be cut thinner on one side, then on the other, but all of one thicknesse) and when it is in, sée that the barke of the graft both aboue and below, that is, vpon both sides, doe ioyne close, euen, and firme with the barke of the branch or cyon, and then by foulding a little soft towe about it, kéepe them close together, whilst with clay, mosse, and the in-most barke of Osyars you lappe them about to defend them from ayre, winde, and tempests. And herein you shall obserue to make your graft as short as may be, for the shortest are best, as the graft which hath not aboue two or thrée knots, or buddes, and no more. You may, if you please, with this manner of grafting graft vpon euery seuerall cyon, a seuerall fruit, and so haue from one trée many fruits, as in case of grafting with the leafe, and that with much more spéede, by as much as a well-growne graft is more forward and able then a weake tender leafe. And in these seuerall wayes already declared, consisteth the whole Art and substance of Grafting: from whence albeit many curious braines may, from preuaricating trickes, beget showes of other fashions, yet when true iudgement shall looke vpon their workes, he shall euer finde some one of these experiments the ground and substance of all their labours, without which they are able to doe nothing that shall turne to an assured commoditie.
The effects of Grafting. Now when you haue made your selfe perfect in the sowing, setting, planting and grafting of trées, you shall then learne to know the effects, wonders, and strange issues which doe procéede from many quaint motions and helpes in grafting, as thus: if you will haue Peaches, Cherryes, Apples, Quinces, Medlars, Damsons, or any Plumbe whatsoeuer, to ripen earely, as at the least two months before the ordinary time, and to [continue] at least a month longer then the accustomed course, you shall then graft them vpon a Mulberry stocke: and if you will haue the fruit to tast like spice, with a certaine delicate perfume, you shall boyle Honey, the powder of Cloues and Soaxe together, and being cold annoynt the grafts there-with before you put them into the cleft, if you graft Apples, Peares, or any fruit vpon a Figge-tree stocke, they will beare fruit without blooming: if you take an Apple graft, & a Peare graft, of like bignesse, and hauing clouen them, ioyne them as one body in grafting, the fruit they bring forth will be halfe Apple and halfe Peare, and so likewise of all other fruits which are of contrary tastes and natures: if you graft any fruit-tree, or other trée, vpon the Holly or vpon the Cypresse, they will be greene, and kéepe their leaues the whole yéere, albeit the winter be neuer so bitter.
If you graft either Peach, Plumbe, or any stone-fruit vpon a Willow stocke, the fruit which commeth of them will be without stones.
If you will change the colour of any fruit, you shall boare a hole slope-wise with a large auger into the body of the trée, euen vnto the pith, and then if you will haue the fruit yealow you shal fill the hole with Saferne dissolued in water: if you will haue it redde, then with Saunders, and of any other colour you please, and then stoppe the hole vp close, and couer it with red or yealow waxe: also if you mixe the coulour with any spice or perfume, the fruit will take a rellish or tast of the same: many other such like conceits and experiments are practised amongst men of this Art, but sith they more concerne the curious, then the wise, I am not so carefull to bestow my labour in giuing more substantiall satisfaction, knowing curiosity loues that best which procéedes from their most paine, and am content to referre their knowledge to the searching of those bookes which haue onely strangnesse for their subiect, resolued that this I haue written is fully sufficient for the plaine English husbandman.
Chap. VI.
Of the replanting of Trees, and furnishing the [Orchard.]
As soone as your séedes, or sets, haue brought forth plants, those plants, through time, made able, and haue receiued grafts, and those grafts haue couered the heads of the stockes and put forth goodly branches, you shall then take them vp, and replant them, (because the sooner it is done the better it is done) in those seuerall places of your Orchard which before is appointed, and is intended to be prepared, both by dungging, digging, and euery orderly labour, to receiue euery seuerall fruit. And herein you shall vnderstand, that as the best times for grafting are euery month (except October and Nouember) and at the change of the moone, so the best times for replanting, are Nouember and March onely, vnlesse the ground be cold and moist and then Ianuary, or February must be the soonest all wayes, excepted that you doe not replant in the time of frost, for that is most vnholsome.
The taking vp of trees. Now when you will take vp your trées which you intend to replant in your Orchard, you shall first with a spade bare all the maine branches of the roote, and so by degrées digge and loosen the earth from the roote, in such sort that you may with your owne strength raise the young trée from the ground, which done, you shall not, according to the fashion of Fraunce, dismember, or disroabe the trée of his beauties, that is to say, to cut off all his vpper branches and armes, but you shall diligently preserue them: for I haue séene a trée thus replanted after the fall of the leafe to bring forth fruit in the summer following: but if the trée you replant be olde then it is good to cut off the maine branches with in a foote of the stocke, least the sappe running vpward, and so forsaking the roote too sodainely doe kill the whole trée.
When you haue taken your trée vp, you shall obserue how, and in what manner, it stoode, that is, which side was vpon the South and receiued most comfort from the sunne, and which side was from it and receiued most shadow and bleaknesse, and in the same sort as it then stoode, so shall you replant it againe: this done you shall with a sharpe cutting-knife, cut off all the maine rootes, within halfe a foote of the trée, onely the small thriddes or twist-rootes you shall not cut at all: then bringing the plant into your Orchard, you shall make a round hole in that place where you intend to set your trée (the rankes, manner, distance and forme whereof hath béene all ready declared, in the first Chapter:) and this hole shalbe at least foure foote ouerthwart euery way, and at least two foote déepe, then shall you fill vp the hole againe, fiftéene inches déepe, with the finest blacke mould, tempered with Oxe dunge that you can get, so that then the hole shalbe but nine inches déepe, then you shall take your trée and place it vpon that earth, hauing care to open euery seuerall branch and thrid of the roote, & so to place them that they may all looke downe into the earth, and not any of them to looke backe and turne vpward: then shall you take of the earth from whence your trée was taken, and tempering it with a fourth part of Oxe dunge and slekt sope-asshes (for the killing of wormes) couer all the roote of your trée firmely and strongly: then with gréene soddes, cut and ioyned arteficially together, so sodde the place that the hole may hardly be discerned. Lastly take a strong stake, and driuing it hard into the ground neare vnto the new planted trée, with either a soft hay rope, the broad barke of Willow, or some such like vnfretting band, tye the trée to the stake, and it will defend it from the rage of winde and tempests, which should they but shake or trouble the roote, being new planted, it were inough to confound and spoyle the trée for euer.