TRAINING. 



59 



de scwle is inevitable. It would be better to adopt the 

 modification of the fan shape used for stone fruits (Fig. 9) ; 



Fig. 9 



to establish a certain number of mother branches, and on 

 these to form a series of subordinate members, chiefly 

 composed of bearing wood. The mother branches or 

 limbs should not be numerous, but well marked, equal in 

 strength, and regularly disposed. The side branches 

 should be pretty abundant, short, and not so vigorous as 

 to rival the leading members. To insure regularity, train- 

 ing should commence with maiden plants, or such as have 

 only one year's growth from the graft ; leaders of equal 

 strength should be selected, and encouraged to grow out 

 longitudinally as much as possible, and all crowding among 

 the inferior shoots should be prevented. In riders, this 

 form passes into the stellar arrangement. The French 

 have made considerable improvements in this mode of 

 training, some of which will be noticed under the article 

 Peach. 



Intermediate between horizontal and fan-training is the 

 half-fan, described in the first volume of the Caledonian 

 Horticultural Society 's Memoirs, by Mr. Smith, gardener 



