56 COKDON TRAILING. 



this experience a man must be dull indeed who 

 could not manage to get his wood compact and 

 short somewhere. There is no danger of not 

 having superabundant shoots of all kinds, and 

 you can cut them clean out of the spur when- 

 ever you like ; besides, they may have grown 

 into two shoots, as many do, immediately from 

 the leader itself, and then you have abundance 

 of room. Let my readers be assured of all 

 this, and practise it fearlessly : (i cut boldly and 

 fear not." As Mr. Rivers says of potted trees, 

 fe Any one can manage them ; " and I daresay 

 any lady could manage a Diagonal Cordon 

 easily and successfully after reading these in- 

 structions. 



As to the getting the third leader to grow, it 

 is now easily seen ; and when the three leaders 

 are fully grown, all that is required is to allow 

 a foot or two of the extremities, as in vines, to 

 grow upwards, and then to bend them down- 

 wards gradually, and cut them off in the au- 

 tumn. This exhausts the superfluous sap, and 

 keeps the upper shoots fruitful. Nevertheless, 

 I must beg to say that it is the lower shoots 

 that are likely to languish first, and there- 

 fore they must not be too rigorously pinched in, 

 but rather favoured, and rested from time to 

 time. The finest fruit will be near the top, which 

 proves the abundance of the sap and juices at 

 that part. 



