Deosmber S, 1867. 1 



JOURNAL OF HORTIOOLTUUE AND COTTAGE GABDENEB. 



117 



TRATNTNG FRT'TT TUEES SLOPINGIA 



HERE is a sn!»<;(>stion l)y 

 " R. F." at pnae •?.'(•>. that 

 fruit trees might be trained 

 r.C'.ir the ground, on liaiiks 

 sloping to the sun, witli 

 great advantage, if ecrtaiu 

 priiuiples were kept in luiinl. In order to corroborate the 

 truth of " K. F.'s " idea, and at tlie same time to warn those 

 who may think of (jarrving it out. will yon allow me to 

 give my experience '.' It is not very perfect, certain!)-, yet 

 it may tend to throw .some light on the subject, and some 

 knowledge may be gained from tlie statement of a few 

 tumple facts, even though they be. ns at present, mnch 

 more nearly allied to failure tlinn success. 



.\t Broughty I'V'rry, in Forfarshire, fruit trees trained 

 against the rocks give earlier fruit than trees against 

 walls ; and in the neighbourhood of I'orfar a nurscr^'inan. 

 many J'ears ago, luid his trees trained down upon stones 

 laid on the side of an abrupt dell, but of his success or 

 non-success nothing can now be said, as all the trees have 

 long since been torn up. 



Having road in one of Messrs. Chambers's works a sug- 

 gestion tliat fi'iiit trees would succeed if grown and trained 

 upon an artificial bmk composed of pebbles properly sloped, 

 and remembering the superior enrliuess of fi-uit grown upon 

 the Broughty rocks, I resolved to put the idea into actual 

 practice. 



Before proceeding further, liowever, it is necessary tliat 

 all requisite information be given as regards locality, &c. 

 We are .'I'iO miles due north of London, Ih mile from tho 

 North Son, aud MO feet above the sea level. Soil red, 

 light, of good quality, upon gravel, and the trees are sub- 

 ject to canker when the roots enter it. No good Pears 

 will ripen on standards, except the Hessle. which in 

 favourable seasons is very good. Against walls some- 

 times "ood Pears may bo had : but as wall-room is scarce 

 here, the suggestion of a slope was at once acted upon, as, 

 from its lowly nature, it would be comparatively little 

 seen. 



Selecting, therefore, a gently sloping bank for the pur- 

 pose, the earth was simply laid back from the front, so as 

 to intensify llie natural slope, which was now vij feet high 

 at back, t^ feet in breadth, and M!) feet in length. It was 

 simply laid with common bricks on the flat, the seams 

 pointed, and all was ready for tlie plant.g. These were 

 obtained during the autumn of IMCl from Sawbridgeworth, 

 and consisted of miiiden trees of the very linest late varie- 

 ties, many of them iiesvly sent out. 'I'liese were all upon 

 Quince stocks, and were laid back upon the bricks ti be 

 trained up with five limbs, or cordons as they must now 

 be called. Some of tJie plants looked c?nsiderably the 



Ko. SlO.-VoL XIII.. New Sciinp. 



worse of the preceding Cliristmas of iHfiO— ever memorable 

 — but on the whole looked well when pegged down, an* 

 my hopes of success were high. 



The very first spring, that of 18Ui. brought a rude sbock 

 to my sensibilities — ten per cent, of the bricks had given 

 way from frost ; the niurtar had frozen, and the naLb 

 and pegs being loose, tlie brandies of my trees were all 

 dangling in the air. The bricks were replaced, and the 

 branches pegged down with wooden pegs diivcn dvwu 

 between the bricks. lind so they looked well again. 



Next year (IHdMl, a few more bricks were spoiled, birt 

 these were easily replaced by better bunted ones. The 

 trees, however, were the greatest annoyance ; they were 

 difficult to train, as the slope was too slight, it ought tft 

 have beou '3{ feet at back instead of :;J feet; the conse- 

 quence was they coidd scarcely be pegged down, ihey 

 tiouhl grow upwards. I-^vcn this diiHculty could hav.^ 

 been surmounted if the trees had boon healthy; but Ig 

 add to the misery of the whole busiues.s, canker made its 

 appearance on almost every tree i'lie fineness of tlw 

 sorts, the exposed position, which, by laying the trees open 

 to tho autumn and winter cold, prevented tlie ripening of 

 young shoots, the soil itself, and. lastly, the northern- 

 climate', each anil all brought the dreaded enemy into 

 existence. In a fit of the most intense disgust I turned 

 my back upon my late favourites, and allowed thera to 

 grow as they liked. 



During I.S64 no care was bestowed upon them — notliing 

 done for theiu. I thought care would be thrown away, 

 yet did not wish to grub them out; and then I thought I 

 might build a wall for them, as it was a pity to grub out. 

 sucli line sorts .Meantime the trees were allowed to grow 

 at their own will, and i;iibeautil'ully they would have em- 

 bellished the garden of the sluggard. 



In tho spring of \Hi]:, a lingering alfectio;i for my dis- 

 cai'ded proleijca induced me seriously to consider whether 

 glass would not be a reinedy ior all the evils of the sloping 

 s\-stem, as therobj' radiation would be checked. About the 

 middle of JIarch a curati 's vinery was placed over a Beurrt- 

 d'Aremberg tree in order to give us an idea ui>on the 

 subject. Tho result was a couple of I'ears of the ordinary 

 sii;e, which ripened in due course, and were of exquisite- 

 flavour. 



Thinking that tho wood might ripen better if the vi"ery 

 was kept on all winter, it was never rennved, and next 

 spring (IMCitl), the tree was covered with the most spienaid 

 bloom, most beautifully developed, yet only two Pears set ; 

 they grew, however, to an immense si/.e. quite as large as 

 French Pears; but although quite melting, juicy, and re- 

 freshing, tho flavour was not so high as in tlie prece ling 

 year, owing, very probably, to the want of exposure bjl'ore 

 pulling, or. perhaps, they had been pulled too soon. 



The result wasof socoinfor.inu anature. tbathalfa doz?n 

 of Mr. Kerrs pattern ('l feet by H\ were provide! for no>ci 

 spring ithatof IWiT), and tb-^ vinery placed over anot'ier 

 tree. The return was sixteen Pears nif BcMire d'Arerab ig 

 tho other trees having been covered too late to do gi'.l 

 this season. The sixteen Reurre dAre nbergs giew (a riy 

 till .July, when tho lights were taken off to expose the fruit 

 No. 1001. -Vol. XXSVni., Old Srnrer. 



