Round the Year in the Garden 



no serious expense incurred. It is a different matter 

 with fruit trees. In the first place, they are expensive ; 

 secondly, they will often outlive the planter ; and thirdly? 

 he has to wait a few years, even when conditions are 

 most favourable, for a fair return in fruit. The con- 

 sideration of such points as these ought to make one 

 pause before embarking upon the planting of fruit trees 

 without having gained some knowledge of the subject 

 or sought advice. It used to be said that "He who 

 plants Pears, plants for his heirs," and, with the same 

 degree of truth, a similar statement might be made 

 regarding Apples. Fortunately, it is not wholly true, 

 for much depends upon the kind of trees obtained. If 

 standards or bushes of Apples on the Crab stock, and 

 standards or pyramids of Pears on the Pear stock, are 

 planted, then the old adage may be said to contain a 

 good deal of truth ; if, however, bush Apples on the 

 Paradise and pyramid Pears on the Quince stock are 

 obtained, a fair crop of fruits may be expected within 

 two or three years, although the trees will not be at 

 their best until much later. Trees on the Crab and Pear 

 stocks are valuable chiefly for planting in orchards, or 

 where plenty of space is available, while those on the 

 Paradise and Quince are used for planting in cultivated 

 soil of the garden, especially if the garden is of limited 

 extent. Those on the Paradise and Quince form fibrous 

 roots near the surface; consequently smaller bushes are 

 developed, which come quickly into fruit-bearing. The 

 others spend the early years of their lives chiefly in 

 making growth, but they are longer lived, and, once well- 

 established, will last for generations. For the average 

 amateur, bush trees on the dwarfing stocks (as the 

 Paradise and Quince are called) are preferable; they 

 take up comparatively little room, and soon begin to 

 give a satisfactory return. 



There are many and various kinds of dwarf Apple 

 and Pear trees. There is the ordinary bush Apple 



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