ON A METHOD OF TRAINING FRUIT TREES. 



137 



light comes almost perpendicularly on 

 the glass, it is important to know by 

 what elevation of the roof the greatest 

 quantity of light can be made to pass 

 through it. Toascertain thispoint,hemade 

 many experiments, and the result of them 

 has satisfied him that that the best eleva- 

 tion in the latitude of 52 degrees, is about 

 that of 34 degrees, considering the dif- 

 ferent periods of the year. The vinery 

 which he has made, is placed at this ele- 

 vation, and the building, which is forty 

 feet long, is heated by a single fire place; 

 the flue goes entirely round without 

 touching the walls, and in the front, a 

 space of two feet is left between the flue 

 and the wall, in the middle of which 

 space the vines, which are trained to 

 the roofs, about eleven inches from 

 the glass, are planted; and as both the 

 wall and the flue are placed on arches, 

 the vines are enabled to extend their 

 roots in every direotion, the air is 

 usually admitted at the ends only, where 

 all the sashes are made to slide, but in 

 the roof only about four feet of the 

 upper end of every third light is made 

 to Jift up by hinges, to give air in the 

 event of very hot, and calm weather, and 

 this method of giving air is preferred to 

 the usul one of letting the lights slide 

 down, because when the former plan is 

 adopted, no additional shade is thrown 

 upon the plants. 



He recommends that no upright glass 

 be used, and that, where the roof is ex- 

 tended, the front part of the interior of 

 the building may be made sufficiently 

 low at the floor to give the required room 

 between that and the roof. 



Mr, Knight uses the following sub- 

 stances to stop the bleeding of vines 

 when pruned, viz: Four parts of scraped 

 cheese, and one of calcined oyster shells, 

 and presses this composition sti'ongly into 

 the pores of the wood, and it instantly 

 stops the flowing of the sap; the largest 

 branches may, of course, be taken ofi" at 

 any season of the year with safety. 



Remarks, — Agreeably to the princi- 

 ples above stated, which appear to be 

 founded on the immutable laws of optics, 

 the elevation most proper for the roof of 

 a forcing house, may be easily ascertain- 

 ed in any latitude, by placing it so that 



the rays of the sun shall pass through the 

 glass at about the same relative direction 

 as that above described. 



ON A METHOD OP TRAINING FRUIT 

 TREES. 



The account which is here given by 

 Mr. Knight, is confined to the Peach- 

 tree, though he thinks thatthe same mode, 

 with a little variation, is applicable, even 

 with superior advantages to the cherry, 

 plum, and pear; and observes, that 

 when trees by any means are de- 

 prived of the motion which their branches 

 naturally receive from winds, the forms 

 in which they are trained operate more 

 powerfully on theirpermanent health and 

 vigor than is generally imagined. 



The peach-trees which are the subject 

 of this paper were plants of one year old 

 only, and were headed down as usual 

 early in the spring, and two shoots only 

 were trained from each stem in opposite 

 directions, and in an elevation of above 

 five degrees; and when either of the 

 two shoots did not grow with equal luxu- 

 riance, Mr. K. either depressed the 

 strongest or gave a greater elevation to 

 the weakest; by whicli means both were 

 made to acquire, and to preserve an equal 

 degree of vigor. These shoots grew 

 with great luxuriance, as they received 

 the whole sap of the plant, and in the 

 pourse of the summer attained the length 

 of four feet. Many lateral shoots being 

 also emitted from the luxuriant branches, 

 which however were all pinched off'at the 

 second leaf, and in the succeeding winter 

 were pruned down close. This form, it 

 is observed, might be advantageously 

 given to trees in the nursery, as it would 

 require very little trouble .or expense. 



As many branches were suffered to 

 spring from each shoot in the succeeding 

 season as could be conveniently trained 

 without shading each other; and by se- 

 lecting the strongest and earliest buds to- 

 wards the points of the last year's 

 branches, and the weakest and latest near 

 their base, nearly an equal degree of 

 vigor was obtained to each shoot in the 

 year, and by this method also a greater 

 surface -of leaf was exposed to the light, 

 without placing any of the leaves so as to 

 shade others, than could have been effect- 



