360 



TRAINING. 



leader will present the most vertical channel for the sap, the strongest shoot 

 will form there, and thus afford the means of continuing the leaders to a great 

 height and for a great length of time, without crossing or 

 obstructing each other, or throwing out useless collaterals ; 

 at the same time, by the depressed position of the leading 

 branches, enough sap will be pushed out on their sides to 

 form and maintain vigorous fruiting spurs. As trees trained 

 in this manner need never exceed the bounds allotted them 

 on a border or bed, a greater number of trees may be 

 planted, and a greater quantity of fruit produced, in a given 

 space, than can be the case when they are trained in any other 

 manner. But as pear and apple trees on free stocks may be 

 Fig.274. Spiral train- found to grow too rude and large after a few years, those 

 lhon ' best answer which are grafted on dwarf-growing stocks ; that 

 is, pears on quince stocks, and apples on paradise stocks. However, to keep dwarf 

 trees from growing too luxuriant and rude, it is a good practice to take them 

 up and replant them every three or four years ; if this is done with due care 

 as soon as the leaves are off the trees in the fall of the year, it will not injure 

 them nor prevent them bearing a full crop of fruit the following year. (In- 

 quiry into the Fruitfulness and Barrenness of Plants and Trees, &$c. p. 238.) 

 796. Standards in the open garden are, in France, sometimes trained with 

 heads in similar shapes to those we have mentioned as adopted for dwarfs ; 

 but those in most general use, where the natural form is departed from, are 

 the spurring-in system, the conical or pyramidal system, to either of which 

 may be applied the quenouille system ; a term which is sometimes applied 

 to the distaff or conical form of the tree, and sometimes to the mode of 

 tying down the current year's shoots, like the fibres of flax on a distaff, so 

 as to stagnate in them the returning sap. Trees trained in any of these 

 manners are generally grafted on dwarfing stocks so as to keep their growths 

 within moderate bounds. 



797. The spurring-in system. Choose a tree that has a 

 leading shoot in an upright direction, fig. 275, a ; having 

 planted it, shorten the side shoot, leaving only two or three 

 buds, and shorten also the leading shoot, according to its 

 strength, so that no more buds may be left on it than 

 will produce shoots, as at b. The first summer the produce 

 in shoots will be as at fig. 276, c ; and if before Midsummer 

 Fig. 275. Spurring- the leading shoot be shortened as at d, it will probably throw 

 t side shoots the same s eas on, as at e. At the winter 

 pruning all the side shoots may be shortened to two or three 

 buds, and the leading shoot to such a number as it is believed will be de- 

 veloped. These 

 are to be short- 

 ened as at// and 

 the process of 

 shortening is to 

 be repeated every 

 year till the tree 

 has the appear- 

 ance of fig. 277 ; 

 or until it has 



Fig. 276. Spitrriny-in, progressive stages. 



