132 FRUIT GARDEN. 



that is, plants having the growth of one year from the 

 graft ; but if good trees, trained for two or three years, can 

 be procured, so much the better. It is important to ascer- 

 tain that 'the stock and stem be clean and healthy, and to 

 take great care that no injury be done by bruising or tear- 

 ing the roots in lifting and removing. The young trees 

 may be planted at any time, in mild weather, from the fall 

 of the leaf to the beginning of March. Wall-trees require 

 from 25 to 30 feet of lineal space when on free-stocks, and 

 from 15 to 20 feet when dwarfed. Standards on free-stocks 

 in the orchard should be allowed at least 30 feet everyway, 

 while for dwarfs 15 feet may suffice. When the trees are 

 trained en pyramide or en quenouille, they may stand 

 within eight feet of each other. It is very desirable that 

 the pear orchard should be in a warm situation, with a soil 

 deep, substantial, and well drained, or free from injurious 

 latent moisture. Without attention to these circumstances, 

 pear trees seldom succeed. 



The fruit is produced on spurs, which appear on shoots 

 more than one year old ; the object of the pruner, therefore, 

 ought to be to procure a fair supply of these spurs. The 

 mode of training wall pear-trees most commonly adopted is 

 the horizontal; but each of the forms already mentioned 

 (pp. 52, 53) has its advantages, and is peculiarly adapted 

 to some particular habit of growth in the several varieties. 

 For the St. Germain and other twiggy sorts, the fan form 

 is to be preferred ; for the G-ansel's Bergamot and other 

 strong growers, the half-fan or the horizontal. In the latter 

 form the trees may often be found fifteen, twenty, or even 

 thirty years old, during which time they acquire an undue 

 projection from the wall, and become scraggy and unman- 

 ageable. On the other hand, the finest fruit is produced 

 on young spurs, clearly indicating the necessity of a fre- 



