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 trees from mosse,
which proceeding from a cold and cankerous moisture, breedeth dislike,
and barrainenesse in trees: 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 trees with the dunge of Swine, it is a ready way
to destroy the mosse.

{SN: Proyning of Trees.}
After you haue drest and trimmed your trees, 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
trees, is in March and Aprill, at which time the sappe assending vpward,
causeth the trees 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 seeme superfluous and burdensome to the stocke from
whence it springs, also such as haue by disorder beene brooken, or
maimed, and all these you shall cut away with a hooke knife, close by
the tree, vnlesse you haue occasion by some misfortune to cut away some
of the maine and great armes of the tree, 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 tree, 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 tree till the
Spring, therefore you shall cut them off in the Winter time, but not
close to the tree by almost a foote, and so letting them rest vntill the
spring, at that time cut them off close by the tree. Now if you finde
the superfluitie of branches which annoy your trees to be onely small
cyons, springing from the rootes of the trees, as it often hapneth with