44 TRAINING. 



wail. Peach and Nectarine trees are not of 

 so luxuriant a habit as the other kinds of 

 r fruit trees, and of the methods of training 

 them, none is equal to the fan way; by this 

 I mean, that the strong arms of the tree 

 should resemble in form the ribs of a fan 

 when expanded. Some persons have strongly 

 recommended other modes of training as pre- 

 ferable to this for Peaches and Nectarines, I 

 have tried them, but have not found them 

 to possess such merits as to make them wor- 

 thy of being recommended. Under other 

 modes of planting or pruning from that which 

 I practice, they may have their advantages ; 

 but from near forty years experience of the 

 fan shape, I can strongly recommend it, and 

 if properly attended to from the first plant- 

 ing and training, it will very rarely happen 

 that there will be a vacant part upon the 

 wall, however far the tree may extend; 

 except it be caused by accident, and every 

 part of it will be supplied with fruit bearing 

 wood. 



When a Peach or Nectarine tree is weakly, 

 I let all the branches, particularly the lower 

 ones, have considerably more elevation for 

 a year or two, and remove them to their 

 former direction when the tree has regained 

 its strength. Also when trees are newly 

 planted I allow all the branches to have a 

 good degree of elevation for two or three 

 years, regulating this according to the vigour 



