18 CORDON TRAINING. 



Bj keeping close to the centre of our work, instead of 

 •wearing out the whole, we refresh and stimulate incessantly 

 the latent energies of the tree, because we seek for them in 

 their chief source, where nature has placed them — the main 

 stem. On the contrary, it is evident that an irregular excita- 

 tion of particular and distant portions, while the remaining 

 (and far more important parts) are left languishing and 

 inert, must end in confusion, inferiority of production, and 

 diminution of the flavor of fruit. As to the tree itself, it 

 cannot fail to decay in some place or other, and be finally 

 condemned as a disfigurement to the garden. 



Another radical defect in fruit culture is the vicious cus- 

 tom of too rapidly inclining the bearing branches towards 

 the horizontal line. By this plan the lowest stage must inev- 

 itably become the sliortest and the most feeble, while, by all 

 the rules of harmony, it should be the longest. This defect 

 once commenced is fatal and irremediable, and some of the 

 best portions of the wall and tree are lost for ever. 



Many trees are trained fan-wise, and this, with proper pre- 

 cautions, is suitable only for strong growing varieties, and 

 for those which, like the pear, are of long duration. 



But, on the authority of M. Dubreuil, even the pear re- 

 quires about sixteen years to reach to the top of an ordinary 

 wall, admitting the necessity of a proper lateral extension. 

 On the same authority, it is certain that the life of the peach 

 is not valuable after twenty years, and if half of that period, 

 ai least, be spent in raising it to the summit, it is evident that 

 it only arrives there when on the point of diminishing in pro- 

 duction. During the time, therefore, that these trees, and 

 others also, are reaching to the utmost limits assigned to 

 them, the valuable wall space is unoccupied and useless. 



This very serious defect has led to the introduction of the 

 "Cordon system," by which the space of time required to 

 cover a given superficies is abridged by two-thirds. As life 

 is too precious to be wasted, and we naturally look for speedy 

 returns for all the care and money which we bestow, if this 

 system can really shorten the period of fructification, without 



