108 



FRUIT UARDEN. 



there be no young shoot below, and the bearing branch 

 be short, the shoots at the point of the latter are pruned 

 for fruit ; but this must be done cautiously ; and if the 

 bearing branch be long, it is better to cut it back for 

 young wood. It is the neglect of this which constitutes 

 the principal error of the English fan system as it is 

 usually practiced. Several times during summer the 

 trees are regularly examined ; the young shoots are re- 

 spectively topped and thinned out : those that remain 

 are nailed to the wall, or braced in with pieces of peeled 

 willow, and the whole trees are occasionally washed 

 with the force-pump. 



The 3Iontrueil form is described at length in the 



Fi- 12. 



:::2^ 



Horticultural Tour, p. 249, or in the Qah Hort. Mem., 

 voh iv. p. 145. The principal feature constitutes the 

 great principle of all French training, the suppression 

 of the direct channel of the sap. Four, more commonly 

 two, mere branches are so laid to the wall that the cen- 

 tral angle contains about 90°. The other branches are 

 all treated as subordinate members. 



The form a la Dumoutier (so called from its inventor 

 and described at great length by Lelieur), is merely a 

 refinement on the Montrueil method. It will be suffi- 

 cient to mention to the experienced trainer (and none 



