FAN OR PALMETTE TRAINING. 169 FAN OR PALMETTE TRAINING. 



each side should have a direction slightly 

 inclined to the stem, and not perfectly 

 horizontal. 



Fan or Palincltc Training^ Verrier'' s: 

 A clever modification of the palmette or 



KIG. 3. PALMETTE IN SECOND YEAR. 



fan form was introduced by M. Verrier, 

 the manager of the fruit farm at Saulsaye, 

 in France, whose name was given to it. 

 With the fifth year's growth the lower side 

 branches will have attained as much hori- 

 zontal extension on the wall or espalier as 

 M. Verrier felt disposed to give them. 

 When he had nailed the branches to the 

 wall, or tied them to the trellis, as the case 

 might be, he gave the end of each termi- 

 nal shoot a gentle curve upwards. Con- 

 tinuing the usual annual process of cutting 

 back after each year's growth, in some 

 eleven years from the graft the tree will 

 have covered a wall 12 feet or 14 feet high 

 and 6 feet on each side of the stem ; each 

 side shoot, when it is within 18 inches of 

 the one immediately below it, receiving an 

 upward direction, until the tree has re- 

 ceived the form shown in Fig. 5. The 

 stem, as well as the side shoots, having 

 reached the top of the wall, the extremities 

 of the branches are pruned back every year 

 to about 1 8 inches below the coping, in 

 order to leave room for the development 

 of the terminal bud, which is necessary to 

 draw the sap upwards for the nourishment 



of the fruit. After 16 or 18 years a healthy 

 tree, properly trained on this system, pre- 

 sents a surface of upwards of 60 square feet 

 of young fruit -bearing wood. The sym- 

 metry of the tree is pleasant to look at, 

 and it is certainly admirably balanced for 

 vegetation, and consequently for fruit 

 bearing. 



One objection to this peculiar modifica- 

 tion of the fan system is that the buds do 

 not always occur at the right spot for pro- 

 jecting new side shoots. When this is the 

 case, the process of shield budding is had 

 recourse to, in August. In other respects, 

 the same principle of pruning is adopted as 

 in pyramid- trained trees, the only modifi- 

 ! cation being the removal of the spurs 

 thrown out between the tree and the wall. 

 ] Another objection to the system is the time 

 which must elapse before the wall is 

 covered ; but this is inseparable from any 

 mode of growing apples and pears on walls, 

 and may be met by planting vines between 

 each, running a central rod of the vine to 

 I the top of the wall, as shown in the ac- 

 | companying illustration ; stopping it there 

 j for the first year, and carrying a shoot on 

 ! each side under the coping, with descend- 

 ! ing rods at intervals, calculated not to 

 | interfere with the side shoots of the pear- 

 i tree. The gain, however, if it be gain at 

 ! all, is more than counterbalanced by the 



FIG. 4. PRUNING OF PALMETTE 

 YEAR. 



ugliness of the arrangement and its con- 

 trariety to nature in all trees except those 

 of the " weeping " class, such as the weep- 

 ing ash and the weeping willow, in forcing 



