PUMPKINS. 



406 PYRAMIDAL FRUIT-TREES. 



surrounding them with a cord, pegged 

 down a short distance from the ground, 

 and attaching the tips of all the branches 

 to it. 



Pumpkins. 



These are used, when young, as a vege- 

 table. When ripe they form a valuable 

 esculent for soups and " pumpkin pies " in 



TYPE OK PUMPKIN, 



winter. The young shoots in summer are 

 an excellent substitute for asparagus. 



There are several varieties, the names of 

 which may be ascertained from the cata- 

 logues and price lists of the leading 

 nurserymen and seedsmen. One of the 

 latest introductions is " Potiron Jaime," a 

 very large yellow-fleshed pumpkin of 

 American origin, the fruit of which is 

 said to attain a weight ranging from 50 to 

 80 Ib. For culture see Gourds, Vegetable 

 Marrows. 



Pyramidal Form for Fruit- 

 Trees. 



No form in tree growth is more graceful, 

 perhaps, than that known as the pyramid, 

 and it is profitable as graceful, inasmuch 

 as double the number of trees may be 

 planted in the same space without crowd- 

 ing. This mode of training is now ex-, 

 tensively adopted in small orchards and 

 gardens, with pear-trees, apples, cherries, 

 and plums, and with the more delicate 

 kinds of fruit-trees in orchard houses. 



The form is, of course, the result of 

 pruning, as well as training, a young tree 

 with a single strong leader, which may be 

 obtained at any of the nurseries, though 

 the best and surest way would be to plant 

 stocks where the trees are to stand, and 

 graft them with suitable varieties for the 

 purpose, taking care that one shoot only is 

 allowed to spiing from the graft. 



First Year. If the newly grafted trees 

 are procured from the nursery, plant them 

 in properly prepared stations, supported 

 by a strong stake driven firmly into the 

 soil, and leave them for a year, in order 

 that the roots may have a secure hold of 

 the soil, and send up plenty of sap, when 

 the growth commences, to push the buds 

 strongly. We will assume that the young 

 trees have plenty of buds, nearly down to 

 the graft ; then, in the following autumn, 

 cut off the top of the 

 shoot at A, in Fig. 

 i, about i 8 or 20 

 inches from the 

 ground, with a clean 

 cut. " The termi- 

 nal bud reserved at 

 the top," says Du 

 Breuil, should be on 

 the side opposite to 

 that on which the 

 graft has been 

 placed upon the 

 stock at B, in order 

 to maintain the per- 

 pendicular direction 

 of the stem. 



Second Year. At 

 the end of the se- 

 cond year it will 

 have made several shoots, and will 

 probably, in many respects, resemble 

 Fig. 2 ; but as we still require vigorous 

 growth, it will be necessary to cut in 

 again severely at A and B, B. The 

 summer following the side shoots will 



FIG. I. PYRAMID IN 

 KIRST YEAR. 



