Statistical, Historical and Political Description of the Colony of New South Wales and its Dependent Settlements in Van Diemen's Land / With a Particular Enumeration of the Advantages Which These Colonies Offer for Emigration, and Their Superiority in Many Respects Over Those Possessed by the United States of America

by W. C. Wentworth

APRICOTS may be budded upon peach stocks.

The ENGLISH MULBERRY upon the cherry; or Cape; and ORANGES will succeed best upon lemons; and all tender trees are better to be budded in summer than in spring.

It may be here proper to observe, for the better information of those who have not given themselves the trouble of dividing the year into seasons, and which it would indeed be difficult to do by a comparison with those to which in Europe we were accustomed, that the spring months are, September, October, and November; the summer months, December, January, and February; the autumn months, March, April, and May; and the winter months, June, July, and August. Hence it is observable, that our wheat harvesting begins in the last of the spring months, November, and is entirely over before the end of summer.

In March, all fruit trees should be examined, and the broken or decayed limbs taken off.

In May, all fruit trees should be pruned, except evergreens, and such branches as are necessary to be taken off cut close to the tree, that the wound may heal the sooner, and thus prevent the tree from injury by rain or dew.

In May, orange trees may be safely transplanted, as well as in

June; which is the general season for transplanting fruit trees: in doing which, the roots should be carefully taken up, and planted as near to the surface as possible, taking care at the same time that the whole be covered, being first spread out like an open hand; after which the covering may be thickened with a little rich manure; and when the hole is filled, the earth about the root should be trodden gently, so as to fix the position of the plant.

June is also the best time for making layers, and planting cuttings from hardy trees.

In July, such fruit trees as were not transplanted in June should be removed, and stocks to bud and graft upon transplanted.

In August, evergreens may be transplanted, in which great care must be observed, as they are very tender; and as their roots will not bear exposure to the sun, they must be so carefully dug round as to admit their being taken up with as large a ball of earth clinging to the root as can be done, in which exact state they always should be fresh planted.