166 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



July 



FRENCH MANAGEMENT OF PEAH TREES. 



We have before had occasion to remark, that the 

 French understand the culture and management of 

 garden fruit trees better than any other people in the 

 world, and we have often wondei-ed why England, so 

 industrious, so persevering, in gleaning materials 

 from all parts of the world for the advancement of 

 horticulture, should so long have neglected to benefit 

 by their beautiful and perfect system. In no other 

 country has the subject of fruits and fruit trees re- 

 ceived more attention than in England. Walls, 

 borders, training, pruning, fee, have been unceasing 

 themes of investigation and discussion among their 

 best practical and scientific cultivators, for centuries. 

 No pains or expense have been spai-ed in experiments 

 on the subject ; but as yet their success is very lim- 

 ited. To be sure their climate, for some fruits, is 

 very unfavorable : but at the same time their system 

 is defective. The fruit garden at Chiswick shows 

 this at a glance, and it seems they begin to feel con- 

 scious of it now. They would have felt it long ago, 

 if the nurserymen and cultivators had taken a trip 

 now and again across the channel, and examined the 

 fruit trees of France and Belgium. It unfortunately 

 happens with too many of the English cultivators, 

 that they imagine whatever is not known of garden- 

 ing in England, is not worth knowing at all. This 

 feeling of self-sufficiency operates injuriously on 

 nations as well as individuals, and is no doubt one 

 of the causes why a great many nice points in conti- 

 nental horticulture seem quite unknown in England. 

 Mr. Rivers, whose name is now quite familiar to 

 us all in this country, having a greater share of en- 

 terprise than most of his contemporaries, commenced 

 visiting the continent a number of years ago, and 

 ever since, almost alone, has been urging upon his 

 countrymen the adoption of the French mode of man- 

 aging garden trees. He was at first laughed at and 

 ridiculed by British gardeners ; but his trees soon 

 spoke for themselves, and confounded all the wise 

 arguments of "practical" men. Mr. Rivers has 

 consequently, for the last seven years, done more 

 business in fruit trees than all tlie other English nur- 

 serymen besides. At length the Horticultural Soci- 

 ety of London — the greatest institution of the kind in 

 the world — has actually condescended to consider the 

 subject, and after mature deliberation, agreed to send 

 the conductor of their fruit and kitchen department 

 to inspect the French gardens, and l»ok into their 

 system of management. Accordingly, Mr. Robert 

 Thompson started on the 27th of February last, 

 crossed the channel, and made a visit to the Jardin 

 des Plantes and the Gardens of the Lnxembourg. 

 No man could have been sent better qualified to un- 

 derstand and appreciate what might come under his 

 notice, consequently he has presented the Society 

 with a very excellent and valuable report, which has 

 been published in the Society's Journal.^ We have 

 not space now for all of the report relative to fruit 

 trees, but give the following extract, which being 

 mostly on summer management, seems at this time 

 seasonable : 



The pyramidial trained pear trees are from 1 lo 1.") ffci 

 high, or more, having a regularly tapering oiitlirio iVom ihc 

 base to the top, wiiere they terminate in a single shoot. — 

 The young plant is stopped according to its strength, and so 

 as to fnrnisli side branches. These are not in stages at nni- 

 form distances along Itie stem ; on the contrary, almost 

 every shoot which breaks out from the stem is allowed to 

 grow : but the laterals jiroduced on tliese are pinched in 



summer, and even such of the leading shoots as appears 

 likely to become too strong for the others are stopped. 



Ail the cultivators from wliom I had an opportunity of ob- 

 taining their opinion on the subject, admitted the advanta- 

 ges of summer pinching : whilst some regretted that circum- 

 stances prevented them from practicing it to the extent they 

 could wish. It is however well followed up by M. Cappe. 

 He pinches all the young shoots not required to form 

 branches, when in a very young state ; when they have 

 scarcely pushed a finErer's length, they are shortened to 

 .about an inch, or from that to an inch an<i a half. The por- 

 tion left forms the basis of one or more fruit buds, bearing 

 fruit in the following season, or a spur on which blossom 

 buds are formed for bearing in the second season. 



The advantages consequent on properly managing fruit 

 trees with regard to summer pinching, are so important that 

 attention to the subject cannot be too strongly urged. On 

 the whole, it occasions little or no loss of time ; for the con- 

 fusion which would otherwise accrue is prevented ; and 

 tins being tlie case, it is only doing that in summer which, 

 if neglected, would occasion as much loss of time in winter. 1 

 am aware that many have more time to attend to trees in win- 

 ter than in summer ; but let the advantages of summer 

 pinching be experienced, and doubtless, in most cases, due 

 provision will be made for its performance. By the opera- 

 tion, the shoots necessary to be retained have the great ad- 

 vantage of more light and air than would be the case if 

 crowded by a multiplicity of laterals, retained till the time of 

 winter pruning, when they must obviously be cut off, either 

 so close as to leave no bud to push, or shortened to within a 

 few eyes of their bases. In the former case the bronch is 

 left naked ; in the latter, when the tree is sufficiently vig- 

 orous, the eyes left generally push other shoots to be again 

 cut back in winter ; and thus crops of shoots are annually 

 produced, instead of fruit, for many years, or until the tree 

 approaches the state of old age. 



The plan which M. C-1ppe pursues succeeds admirably 

 in the climate of Paris. The fruit on the pyramid pear trees 

 uniler his management is stated, on competent authority, to 

 have been last year exceedingly abundant, large and fine. — 

 This season the trees are healthy and vigorous, and well 

 furnished w ith blossom buds. It may be said that the gen- 

 erally dry, clear air of Paris, is very difl'erent from the 

 cloudy and moist climate of many parts of Britain ; the one 

 being favorable for the formation of fruit buds, whilst the 

 other favors the growth of wood and leaves ; and therefore, 

 circumstances being dilTerent. the same practice may not be 

 equally proper for both. There are, moreover, instances of 

 circums Unices differing so widely as to require opposite meth- 

 ods ofctilture. But this does not hold good as regards sum- 

 mer pinching. In England the drawback is a dull atmos- 

 phere ; the shoots and foliage want more air and light. Sum- 

 mer pinching affords this, inasmuch as it prevents the 

 crowding and shadrng of wood and leaves necessary to be 

 retained, by that which is superfluous ■ and therefore it must 

 be considered of still greater utility in dull climates than in 

 bright, more necessoi*y in England than in Krance. It is 

 gcnerilly admitted that '" where nature docs mo^t. man docs 

 least ;'■ but with regard to the monag.-ment of fruit trees an 

 exception must rest till summer pruning receives as much 

 attention in England as it does in the Jardin des Plantes, and 

 elsewhere in France. 



Supposing the branches of a tree are properly thinned and 

 regulated at the winter pruning, and that so far as they ex- 

 tend, their number is quite sufficient for the space they oc- 

 cupy ; presuming, also, that the tree is in good health, a 

 number of laterals are sure to spring. They are, of course, 

 superfluous ; and every one of them should be pinched as 

 already mentioned. If the last year's shoot has been short- 

 ened at the winter pruning, then, besides the terminal one 

 on the part left, one, two, or three nsxl to it are almost sure 

 to push ; and these, M. Cappe commences to check, by 

 pinching, when about three inches in length ; but those 

 nearer the base of the shoot he allows to grow till they at- 

 tain the length of six or eight inches before he shortens 

 them. Ttie terminal bud is of course allowed to go on for 

 the prolongation of the branch. It frequently happens in 

 France, and the lial.tility will be still greater in the climate 

 of England, that after a shoot is pintaied back, the newly- 

 formed buds on the jjart left will push a secondary shoot in 

 the same season. When this is the case with those under 

 the care of M. Cappe. he also pinches these secondary shoots 

 to an inch or an inch and a half from where they originate. 

 They rarely push again , but if they do, their growths are 

 again reduced as before. 



