PLANTING.] 



PKACricE OF HOirnCULTURE. 



[t»\i>ino. 



limits. Peacli trees und lU'ctariiicH, from 

 fit'ieeu to tweuty lo<ft. l''!-^ trt-t's, from 

 eightt'cix to tweuty iW't or more, as the bfar- 

 er8 are uot to be short eueil. Apricot treeH, 

 fiiieen feet, fur the dwarf early aorta ; eiphteuu 

 to twenty-four leot for the free-j^rowers, as 

 tliis plant does uot boar the knife well. 

 Ciierry trees, from lit'lt»oii to twenty feet; the 

 stroug-j^rowiug, large-leaved sorts requiring 

 the wider distauee. Pear trees, tweuty feet, 

 if on dwarf stocks ; twenty-four to thirty 

 feet, if on free stocks. Plum trees, from 

 fifteen to twenty-four feet, Apple trees, if on 

 dwarf stocks, lifteeu feet ; if on free stocks, 

 from twenty-five to thirty feet. Mulberry 

 trees, fifteen or twenty leet. Along the line 

 of the walls only nine feet high, increase the 

 intervals to one-lifth as much again ; and of 

 walls six feet high, to one-fourth." 



PLANTING. 



It is generally agreed that November is the 

 best month to plant in, as at that time the 

 leaves have mostly fallen to the ground. It 

 is also agreed, that about the middle of De- 

 cember is the period when the tree should be 

 headed back. Before planting, the root of 

 each plant should be trimmed, cutting ofi" the 

 points of those which have been braised in 

 the taking up, and moderately thinning them 

 out, if too thick, or too much crowded. I 

 Maiden trees do not often require this opera- 

 tion ; but plants which have, for several years, 

 stood in the nursery, or which have been 

 trained against walls or pales, and have 

 strong roots, frequently requu'e thinning 

 out. The roots should, in some degree, be 

 rendered proportionate to the tops ; and as 

 the shoots and branches are to be headed 

 down, or to be considerably shortened or 

 thinned out, as a consequence, the roots 

 should also be moderately thinned and 

 pruned. In performing this operation, how- 

 ever, great care must be taken that the most 

 promising plants, and those furnished with 

 the most fibres, be retained. The spot for 

 planting being determined, a pit, no deeper 

 than that from which the plant has been re- 

 moved, should be prepared, and the future 

 tree placed just as deep, and no deeper, in 

 the ground than it was before. The roots and 

 fibres should he spread out, and carel'uUy 



bedded in Huilablo corupost. Then the com- 

 mon earth should bo tilled ^n, pently trod 

 upou rouud the »Um\, prcMervinp it a irw 

 inciieH clear of the foundation, and Becuriii^ 

 the plant from tlu) injuridUB rlloctH of high 

 winds, by nailing it to tlie wall. Thus, 

 sbouhl tree alter tree be planted ; and ihev 

 will require? no further atlLMition till th»? fol- 

 lowing ]\larch, when they should bo headed 

 down. 



TRAINING. 



In training, the knife is the grand inntru- 

 ment; and he who has had 8uflicientexperien3e 

 and practice to be able to apply it with skill. 

 mav be said to have a jjerfect command over his 

 trees. The points wiiich most essentially belong 

 to the operation of training are, tliat they 

 should be as simple as possible, and the work 

 of amputation or lopping be not too frequently 

 carried on ; that it should accord with the 

 growth of the tree ; and that it should be 

 such as to render it more easy for the fruit 

 to come to perfection. That these points may 

 the more certainly be secured, it has been laid 

 down as a maxim, that the knit'e should be 

 used with some degree of reserve, as nothing 

 is more injurious to the health and fructifica- 

 tion of fruit trees of every descriptiou, than 

 frequent and injudicious cutting. 



In placing a fruit tree against a wall, it is 

 evident that it is put into a constrained and 

 unnatural situation, from which it would 

 endeavour to make its escape by every means 

 in its power. Much care is, therefore, neces- 

 sary to check this tendency, as the more it is 

 permitted to exert itself, the more unsightly 

 must become the form of the tree. He, 

 therefore, to wliom the charge of a garden is 

 assigned, should be well acquainted with the 

 theory ot vegetation ; should make the manner 

 in which dift'erent sorts of trees grow a study ; 

 and, above all, should never forget the real 

 eud or object of all training — the production oj 

 hearing loood. Perhaps one of the greatest 

 difficulties is to preserve equality in the growth 

 of the several points of the same tree. It 

 should thereibre be known that a shoot will 

 push itself forth more vigorously when 

 enjoying a free situation in the open air, 

 than when it is nailed against a wall. Con- 

 sidering this fact, it naturally suggests that, in 



951 



