ESPALIERS. 



164 



EUCOMIS. 



of vertical stakes or on trellis. In some 

 situations this kind of training is not only 

 extremely neat, but possesses peculiar 

 advantages. The trees are more fully 

 exposed to the influence of light and air, 

 and in small gardens it is useful on account 

 of the little space which the trees occupy, 

 and because they will bear fruit earlier 

 than when left as standards. The training 

 of jespalier is very simple. When the trees 

 are young, one shoot must be trained per- 

 pendicularly and two others horizontally, 

 one on each side ; the two last must not be 

 shortened, but the perpendicular shoot is 

 to be shortened in the following year to 

 three good buds ; two of which are to form 

 new side branches, and the other a leader 

 as before, and so on every year, till the 

 trees have attained the desired size : from 

 6 inches to 9 inches is about the proper 

 distance between the horizontal branches. 

 Trellises are best made of wjod (iron 

 causes canker in the trees), and young 

 larch the thinnings of the plantation 

 is the best wood for the purpose. 



Espalier Training for Goose- 

 berries. 



The espalier system, namely, training 

 on rows of stakes, is one of the very best 

 that can be adopted for gooseberries, 

 because the fruit on trees grown in this 

 manner is better exposed to the influences 

 of light and air than when grown on 

 bushes, and can be manipulated and 

 thinned all the more easily by picking 

 in a green state. The mode of training 

 is very easy but somewhat different to that 

 adopted in the case of fruit trees. Rough 

 stakes are driven into the ground at the 

 distance of about 3 inches or 4 inches apart, 

 and connected at top with a capping of the 

 same. Two lateral branches are then led 

 from the main stem, one in one direction, 

 and the other in the opposite direction, 

 from these laterals, which should be close 



to the ground, branches are led upwards 

 vertically, a branch on each stake. Goose- 

 berries and currants, trained on this prin- 

 ciple, should be planted about 4 feet to 5 

 feet apart, and lateral boughs first trained 

 along the bottom in each direction, from 

 which vertical boughs should be carried up 

 the stakes from the laterals. Far finer 

 fruit can be produced in this manner than 

 on the bush system, and it is a more handy 

 way of bordering pieces of garden ground 

 than by apple and pear-trees. 



Espalier Training for Roses. 



Roses, as espaliers, may be made to 

 assume a striking feature in the economy 

 of an ornamental rose-garden. The es- 

 paliers should be formed of galvanised 

 iron, 5 f ee t r s high an d of propor- 

 tionate width. Hurdles of this material, 

 if the bars be close enough, will answer 

 very well j- but the bars should not be 

 more than 6 inches apart. This form of 

 rose-training is especially suitable for 

 varieties with weak footstalks, notably 

 Marechal Kiel. The plants used should 

 be of strong-growing habit, on their own 

 roots or the Manetti, and planted upon the 

 southern aspect, or as near to that as pos- 

 sible. Intertwine and mix the branches as 

 thickly as may be, and tie them to the 

 cross-bars with wire or tarred string. To 

 construct a rose-terrace, let such espaliers 

 as described above form the back rows of 

 sloping beds ; an ascent may thus be 

 charmingly laid out in stages, with path 

 and terrace alternately to the level ground. 

 Any of the so-called climbing roses may be 

 utilised for this purpose. 



EllCO'inis (not. ord. Lilia'cese). 



A very ornamental half-hardy bulb, with 

 curious turf-crowned spikes of flowers. 

 They do well in any good garden soil, 

 and, like all bulbs, are increased by offsets 

 from the paient bu}b. 



