r your Orchard, if you be
a niggard of your fruit. For as liberality will saue it best from
noysome neighbours, liberality I say is the best fence, so Iustice must
restraine rioters. Thus when your ground is tempered, squared, and
fenced, it is time to prouide for planting.

CHAP. 7.

_Of Sets._

There is not one point (in my opinion) about an Orchard more to be
regarded, than the choyce getting and setting of good plants, either for
readinesse or hauing good fruite, or for continuall lasting. For
whosoeuer shall faile in the choyce of good Sets, or in getting, or
gathering, or setting his plants, shall neuer haue a good or lasting
Orchard. And I take want of skill in this faculty to be a chiefe
hinderance to the most Orchards, and to many for hauing of Orchards at
all.

{SN: Slips.}
Some for readinesse vse slips, which seldome take roote: and if they doe
take, they cannot last, both because their roote hauing a maine wound
will in short time decay the body of the tree: and besides that rootes
being so weakely put, are soone nipt with drought or frost. I could
neuer see (lightly) any slip but of apples onely set for trees.

{SN: Bur-knot.}
A Bur-knot kindly taken from an Apple tree, is much better and surer.
You must cut him close at the roote ende, an handfull vnder the knot.
(Some vse in Summer about _Lammas_ to circumcise him, and put earth to
the knots with hay roaps, and in winter cut him off and set him, but
this is curiosity, needlesse, and danger with remouing, and drought,)
and cut away all his twigs saue one, the most principall, which in
setting you must leaue aboue the earth, burying his trunk in the crust
of the earth for his root. It matters not much what part of the bough
the twig growes out of. If it grow out of or neere the roote end, some
say such an Apple will haue no coare nor kirnell. Or if it please the
Plantor, he may let his bough be crooked, and leaue out his top end, one
foote or somewhat more, wherein will be good grafting, if either you
like not, or doubt the fruite of the bough (for commonly your
bur-knots are summer fruit) or if you thinke he will not couer his wound
safely.

{SN: Vsuall Sets.}
{SN: Maine rootes cut.}
{SN: Stow sets remoued.}
{SN: Generall rule.}
{SN: Tying of trees.}
{SN: Generall rule.}
{SN: Signes of diseases, Chap 13.}
The most vsuall kind of sets, is plants with rootes growing of kirnels
of Apples, Peares, and Crabbes, or stones of Cherries, Plumm