POT FRUIT CULTURE AND ITS ADVANTAGES 129 



systematic feeding a 20-inch tub can support a large tree. While the trees 

 should be repotted every year, they do not therefore require a larger shift each 

 time; they can often go back into the same size pots if the ball is reduced some- 

 what. This may seem a waste of labor, but if a tree which is kept for ten or 

 fifteen years is given a larger shift each time, the tub would soon be an ungainly 

 one, and the tree would not thrive so well as when the ball is reduced somewhat 

 each time it is repotted. By all means repot once a year. The new soil around 

 the roots seems to give the tree a new lease of life, for the enormous quantity of 

 water required during the growing season naturally exhausts the soil. 



I need hardly dwell on the fact that this kind of fruit needs close attention. 

 Any neglect or any carelessness as to watering or feeding will soon become appar- 

 ent, but if proper care is given to the trees, they will yield a rich harvest. If 

 the orchardhouse is the only house on the place, fruit may be gathered for at 

 least ten weeks, if there has been a proper selection of varieties. When the 

 Peaches and Nectarines are over, then come the Plums and Pears. 



As to the expense, a good-sized house maj- be stocked for a nominal sum. 

 There is, moreover, no border to be prepared, for the tub fruit may be grown in 

 any decent house, and with care and judgment a good crop is assured each year. 

 Many of our best fruit growers are beginning to realize the advantages of pot 

 fruit culture, and this branch cf our profession is growing apace. A large number 

 of private establishments today have their collections of pot fruit, and 

 the popularity of fruit thus produced will increase as its requirements become 

 better understood by our growers. The grower who follows closely the lines 

 laid down in this book will surely be rewarded by good crops. 



As to the fruit that can be grown successfully in the orchardhouse, Plums 

 and Apples may be removed into a somewhat cooler house when the fruit is 

 fully grown and commencing to color, or be taken even outside, if protection is 

 provided against destruction by birds; they will finish up to perfection, especi- 

 ally Apples, which acquire a more intense color, the finishing touch so 

 desirable before we can pronounce the fruit perfect in everj- detail. 



HOUSE SUITABLE FOR POT FRUIT 



While the success or failure of pot fruit depends to a great extent on its 

 cultural treatment, yet the style of house and its construction should be care- 

 fully considered. Good pot fruit may be produced in almost any glass structure, 

 if the house is light and in a position where the trees receive the full benefit of 

 the sun. Orchardhouse fruit is impatient of any dry atmosphere, therefore do 

 not use much cement for unnecessarj- walks. The plainer and more simple the 

 interior construction is, the better it is for the health and vigor of the trees. No 

 benches are needed. The best flooring for setting the trees on is the natural 

 border. If the soil is inclined to be soft, give it a good coat of coal ashes, or 

 any other material that will hold moisture. This will give to the border a neat 

 and clean appearance. One walk in a house of this kind is sufficient. Bear in 

 mind that the orchardhouse is for the sole purpose of producing high-class 



