58 



TRAINING. 



.Fruit-bearing trees and shrubs should be trained according to their 

 natural habits of giowth, the peculiarities of climate, and the special 

 requirements' of cultivators. In the United Kingdom and other parts 

 of Europe, various methods of 

 training are practised to effect par- 

 ticular purposes, but in this part of 

 the world trees are mostly grown 

 as standards, and to a great extent 

 allowed to develop their natural 

 forms. There are no reasons for 

 resorting to various expedients to 

 counteract climatic conditions in 

 this part of the world as in colder 

 countries. But, at the same time, 

 our fruit-growers should train, as 

 far as possible, so as to mitigate 

 the effects of extreme heat with 

 which they often have to contend 

 In the case of all standard trees, 

 the pyramidal or globular form 

 will, as a rule, be the most service- 

 able in this part of the world. 

 Some cultivators favour the thin- 

 ning out of the centres of the trees 

 to allow the stronger exposure to 

 sun and light, but the writer 

 strongly condemns this treatment. 

 This " e e8" cu P " s y s tetn is all very 

 well in a cold country, where it is 

 necessary to make the most of the 

 sun's power, but in this part of the 

 world more shade and less ex- 

 posure will be of greater advantage 

 to the trees. For this reason, trees 

 should also be trained with low 

 heads, which afford a more perfect 

 shade to the stems than taller one?, 

 a matter of some importance in 

 this part of the world. Low- 

 headed trees are also less liable to 

 injury from the effects of high 

 winds than tall ones, and they 

 afford greater facilities for pruning 

 and gathering the fruit. All these 

 are advantages that should not be 

 overlooked by the cultivator. Tree trained as a pyramid. 



