THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 3 



them. Against a boarded fence such trees soon come into hearing, and 

 instead of nailing them in they are allowed to make breast- wood, which is 

 kept regular by pinching, and* a larger surface is thus secured for the pro- 

 duction of fruit-spurs, and the trees can be as] conveniently root-pruned as 

 in the open quarters. At five feet apart these half pyramids would give 

 greater variety, a greater aggregate produce, and come into bearing earlier 

 than standards at fifteen or twenty feet apart, which will continue to 

 extend themselves for years before producing a single sample of their 

 fruit. But the prettiest of all the suggestions in this valuable work is one 

 for the culture of pears on trellises under glass, which gives all the advan- 

 tages of an orchard-house without one of the small difficulties that attend 

 the culture of the fruit-trees in pots. Mr. Eivers says : — 



" About ten years since a very ingenious method of growing peaches 

 and nectarines on trellises, over which were placed moveable glass lights, 

 was invented by Mr. Bellenden Ker. In warm and sheltered gardens this 

 mode of culture answers very well for peaches, but in cool climates 

 there is not day -heat enough stored up, as in houses, to act upon the fruit. 

 Cheap orchard-houses are, therefore, to be preferred to these cheap 

 trellises for the above kinds of fruits, unless the garden be small and much 

 sheltered. Soon after I had built my trellis for peaches, it occurred to 

 me that the system applied to pear-culture would do well, and so I built 

 a trellis sixty feet long and seven feet wide ; on this I planted upright 

 espalier pears on quince stocks. Here is a section of this trellis, and also 



a front view of a pear-tree trained to it in the upright method. My trellis 

 was planted eight years ago, and has now on it twenty fine trees, 

 about ten years old, and in full bearing. They were planted three feet 

 apart, as it was my first experiment, and are now a little crowded ; four 

 feet apart will be found the proper distance. I have never seen anything 

 more interesting in fruit-culture than this trellis covered with pears, for, 

 owing to its being near the ground, the radiation of heat and moisture 

 gives the fruit a size and beauty rarely seen even on walls. The 

 lights should remain over the trees till the beginning of July, and then 

 be removed, suffering the fruit to ripen fully exposed to the sun and 

 air. It seems that the glass over the fruit in its young state serves to 

 develop its growth in a remarkable manner, for rarely is a spot seen on 

 pears grown on these trellises ; they have a clear, beautiful appearance, 

 much like those grown in the warmer parts of France. I ought to add, 

 that in cool climates such as the north of England and Scotland, the 

 lights may be suffered to remain on till the beginning or middle of August." 

 After describing the culture of fruit-trees on dwarf walls, and the 

 management of pyramid and espalier pear-trees, Mr. Rivers treats of the 

 apple, plum, and cherry at length, showing how, in each case, the greatest 

 variety may be collected in a very small garden, made as manageable as 

 trees in pots at four feet apart, and rendered productive of fruit of the 



