153 



Rivers and the Rev. T. Collings Brehaut 

 about 1860, and has been largely followed 

 in the best gardens in Great Britain, 

 excellent and plentiful fruit being obtained 

 thereby. The method is at its best against 

 a wall, planting the trees, which are on 

 dwarfing stock, about 18 to 20 inches 

 apart. Usually maidens or two-year-old 

 trees are planted, the pears being on the 

 quince stock and the apples on the broad- 

 leaved English Paradise or Rivers' " Non- 

 such." Most cordon trees are planted 

 with their stems set at an angle of 45 deg. 

 against a wall, a trellis or a fence. This 

 arrangement saves space and is considered 

 to encourage lateral rather than terminal 

 growth. But if the wall is high (say 12ft.) 

 they may be planted with their stems 

 vertical. After the trees have set their 

 fruit they are surface mulched with long 

 dung or lawn grass. If they grow too 

 grossly the trees are root pruned, which 

 can easily be done during the winter. The 

 object of the summer and winter pruning 

 is to keep the fruit spurs near to the main 

 stem. Vegetables or flowers should not 

 be grown over their roots : the land s'hould 

 be kept clean and well hoed. Plum and 

 cherry trees are not well suited to this 

 method of growing. Pears are grown 

 commercially as cordons in Jersey on wire 

 trellises, but the climate in that beautiful 

 island is very favourable to their growth. 

 If hops have been grubbed or loganberries 

 discontinued, spare trellises may be avail- 

 able and thus utilised. Growing apples 

 and pears as cordons is a very delightful 

 and interesting method, by which a large 



number of varieties can be grown on a 

 small area; but I do not think they are as 

 suitable for farms or smallholdings as bush 

 trees, because the cost is heavy for the 

 trellis and the large number of trees re- 

 quired; also — at any rate in the case of 

 apples— they do not produce larger fruit 

 than on bush trees. To plant against 

 walls, dwelling-houses or farm buildings, 

 cordons are an excellent form of tree. 



Most varieties of pears are suited to 

 cordon training. With apples one would 

 plant by preference the choicest dessert 

 apples as cordons, such as Cox's Orange 

 and James Grieve if found suitable; by 

 this method the very best use is made of 

 the land for intensive culture, but, con- 

 sidering the price apples and pears realise 

 wholesale here, I do not think the method 

 is economic for commercial fruit growing, 

 unless, when tried on a small scale first, 

 it is found successful. The general dis- 

 tance when planted against trellis is 6ft. 

 from row to row and 2ft. from tree to tree ; 

 this costs about £600 per acre by the time 

 the trees are remunerative. I recently saw 

 a plantation of 5^ acres that in 1919 had 

 yielded £200 per acre of fruit; this was, 

 however, a very exceptional yield and at 

 a good price. 



Orchard Houses. 



Another most delightful and interesting 

 method of growing hardy fruits is in un- 

 heated glasshouses, but this method is a 

 charming luxury and not suited for grow- 

 ing for market. 



