68 CORDON TRAINING. 



tern, with the same intervals between the leaders, 

 is the best suited for this tree. If grown out of 

 doors on espaliers, thick straw palliasses behind 

 the espaliers are necessary until the fruit be half 

 grown, and then removed to give free circulation. 

 But at best, in England, the tree bears only at 

 long intervals. The spring frosts ruin the tender 

 blossoms. It is far best cultivated under glass, 

 except a few hardy varieties, the names of which 

 are given in the list of trees at the end, which 

 are useful for preserves, but not very enticing in 

 flavour. 



The shoots on the leaders should be pinched to 

 four inches as soon as they are six inches in 

 length, and the successive growths on them 

 pinched to one inch more, as soon as they become 

 two inches long. In winter pruning cut back in 

 order to develop the buds at the base of each 

 shoot, and as these are numerous, and more easily 

 developed than in the case of the peach, there is 

 no difficulty whatever in replacing a shoot as 

 soon as worn out, or unsightly from pruning. 

 The appearance of an apricot shoot at the first 

 winter pruning is like that at Fig. 3. In this 

 figure the shoot is shortened in by one-third ; the 

 fruit-buds are seen about half-way up the sides, 

 and the latent butfs appear at the bases. 



The second growths in Fig. 4, which will 

 eventually grow out from these buds, having the 

 appearance as seen in this last figure, must be 



