214 PERMANENT PLANTATIONS 



should be adapted to the soil, and more particularly to 

 the climate. It is well known that in every section of the 

 country, certain varieties seem to succeed remarkably 

 well, whilst others, of the greatest excellence elsewhere, 

 entirely fail. Our country is so extensive, and embraces 

 such a variety of climate, that it is impossible that the 

 same varieties should succeed equally well in all parts ; 

 and planters should consider this well. Those who have 

 had no experience in cultivation, nor a proper opportunity 

 for acquiring knowledge on this point, should consult 

 others. Any intelligent nurseryman who has a corre- 

 spondence with all parts of the country, and is thoroughly 

 alive to all the branches of his profession, and the re- 

 sults of experience, can aid planters greatly in making 

 appropriate selections. It is true that the amount of 

 knowledge collected on this head is yet comparatively 

 small, and quite insufficient for a general guide, but it is 

 every day accumulating, and what there may be is well 

 worthy of attention. The experience of fruit growers, as 

 elicited at recent pomological conventions, has brought 

 to light a multitude of highly important facts, bearing on 

 this very point. These will be more particularly noted 

 when we come to the description of fruits. 



Varieties should be adapted in their growth to the form 

 they are to be grown in, and to the extent of the garden. 

 For pyramidal trees, varieties should be chosen whose 

 habits of growth are regular, or slightly spreading, the 

 branches assuming more of the horizontal than the 

 upright, and those disposed to branch low down should be 

 preferred to those of an opposite habit. Where the gar- 

 den is small, moderate or slow growers should be pre 

 ferred to rapid and vigorous growers. They should also 

 be well adapted to the stock on which they are worked. 

 This is a very important point, but one on which only a 

 few persons in this country have yet acquired any con- 

 siderable amount of actual experience. Still, many im- 



