3U TRAINING. 



reflecting the rays of the sun during the day, and giving out heat 

 during the night and whenever the atmosphere is at a lower tempe- 

 rature than the wall. 



Manual Operations of Training. The tie or the list, by which 

 the shoots are fastened to the trellis or wall, should be placed in the 

 internode, and always immediately behind a bud or joint ; because 

 when tying or nailing takes place in the summer season, and near the 

 points of the growing shoots, the latter sometimes elongate after being 

 fastened, and if this elongation is prevented from taking place in a 

 straight line by the fastening being made immediately before a bud or 

 leaf, instead of being made immediately behind it, the shoot will be 

 forced into a curved direction, and the bud and its leaf injured. 

 Ties, which in this country are commonly of bast, or woollen, linen, 

 or cotton, twine, osier, &c., are gently twisted before being tied into a 

 knot, in order that it may be the firmer, and the tie not liable to be 

 torn during the operation of tying. Osier-ties, which are sometimes 

 used for espalier trees, are fastened by twisting together the two ends, 

 and turning them down in a manner sooner and easier done than 

 described. In fastening shoots with nails and shreds, when any 

 restraint is required to retain the shoot in its position, the pressure 

 must always be against the shred and never against the nail, as the 

 latter would gall the shoot, and in stone-fruits generate gum. The 

 shred ought never to be placed in the hollow of a bend in the branch 

 to be attached ; for there it is worse than useless. On the contrary, 

 the shreds should be put on so as to pull the external bends inwards 

 towards the direct line, in which it is desirable the branch should be 

 trained. In fig. 262, the straight direction in which it is desired to 



Fig. 262. 



Bringing a bent shoot into a straight direction by nails and shreds. 



train the shoot is indicated by the dotted lines ; a represents the 

 shreds and nails put over the shoot to bring it to its place over the 

 dotted lines, and b, dotted lines indicating the points which will be 

 covered by the shreds and nails when the shoot has been rendered 

 straight, by drawing both shoots from a to b. The nails used, whether 

 of cast or wrought iron, should have round shanks and small "round 

 heads, as being less likely to injure the branches than sharp-angled 

 nails. Nails an inch in length are sufficient for ordinary branches, but 

 twice that length is necessary for very large ones. Cast-iron nails 

 are most generally employed, and they are so cheap, and, besides, 

 not liable to bend in the points, that they are generally preferred to 

 nails of wrought iron. They seldom break when being driven into 



