HORTICULTURE. 



199 



K :-.- 



roots into and draw nourishment from many invisible 

 crevices. Since shallow planting has been recommend- 

 ed, it follows as a necessary consequence that stakes are 

 indispensable for dwarf standard and half standard trees. 

 From about the end of October, or after the >hedding 

 of the leaf, till the end of November, is considered as 

 the best time for the planting of fruit-tree* in this coun. 

 try, particularly in light soils. The weather is then 

 milil, and the earth has time to settle about the roots 

 during winter, before the first approaches of genial 

 spring. But trees may be transplanted, in open wea- 

 ther, any time from the end of October till the l*gin- 

 ning of March ; and for heavy or wet land, planting in 

 this latter month is accounted preferable. Young wall 

 trees are planted about six or eight inches from the wall, 

 and the part that has been cut at the time of grafting is 

 placed next to the wall. The tree is planted at the same 

 depth at which it formerly stood ; but the roots are not 

 the better for being deeply coveml; if tl*?y be saved from 

 the frost, they can scarcely be too near the surface. At 

 the time of planting, the mould should be moderately 

 dry, so as readily to crumble down. If, however, very 

 dry weather occur, the ground is mulchtd at some dis- 

 tance around the roots, so as to prevent the bad effects 

 of drought. Hatching, it may here be explained, con. 

 tilts in rendering a portion ot the ground thoroughly 

 moist by adding water, and working it like mortar. To 

 increase the retetiti veness at moisture, tone short stable 

 dung, or other litter, is added. When the roots are co- 

 vered, the tree is gently raised and shaken, so a* to 

 cause the earth to apply closely to the roots. The soil 

 is at the same tisne sugbUy pressed down. Wall. trees 

 re not nailed up till the following spring. In this way 

 they settle or subside along with the loose earth of tM 

 bonier. Were they nailed to the wall, they would run 

 the risk of being suspended. 



Garden Training. 



\.-..r :.n-hra<l- 



back to three, 



Towards the end of March, 

 beenplamedoutsinceOctobeTofthel 

 ed .down, or have their shoots shortened 

 five, or six buds, according to their strength, and the par. 

 pose for which they an intended. When the trees have 

 stood two, three, or more yean in the nursery after 

 grafting or budding, the heading down is of course 

 cenaned to the laat year's shoots, and its extent, as well 

 as the thinning out of Hfjssfiaoiii shoots, must be left 

 to the judgment of the experienced gardens, i, it being 

 rales where the rima 



wall-trees that 



to lay down 



W-.J1.UN>, go. The two principTmrthods of training w.-trees 

 which are followed in thai country, are called the /mm 

 awl the fartaoa**/ mods*. In the former, the branches 

 are arranged like the spakts of a fan, or like the hand 

 opened and the fingers spread, In the other way, a 

 principal stem is carried upright, and branches are led 

 from it horiaontaily on either aide. The Dutch style 

 consists in taking a young tree with two branches, and 

 leading these horizontally to the right and left, to the 

 Hiss* perhsy' f twelve feet each way, and in then 

 training the shoots from these perfectly upright to the 

 top of the wall. This is BOW seldom practised here, ex- 

 perhaps with fig-trees, or while currants. In 

 ces, a few of the wall-trees are trained in a stel- 

 late font, the stem being led upright for .trot six feet, 

 branches trained downwards, others la- 



When walls exceed 



seven 



ing the ptcfcreacc to the fan training, variously modifi. 



ed : in this way they find that a tree can much sooner Fruit. 

 be brought to fill its allotted space, and the loss of a Garden, 

 branch can much more easily be supplied at any time. ~ 

 For lower walls, the horizontal method is preferred ; 

 and the same plan is adopted almost universally on r 

 palier rails. Mr Hitt strongly recommends this mode 

 for roost sorts of wall-trees ; and for pears he adopts 

 what is called the tcrtw stem, or training the stem in 

 a serpentine manner, the branches going off horizontal- 

 ly as in the ordinary straight stem. 



In the first volume of the Transactions of the London 

 Horticultural Society, Mr Knijjht has made some inge- 

 nious and excellent remarks on the training and pruning 

 of fniit-trees. His year old plants arc headed clown as 

 usual, early in the spring, and two shoots only are train- 

 ed from each stem in opposite directions, and in an eleva- 

 tion of about 5 J . (I'latelC'CIX.Fig.ti.) To procure the 

 shoots to be of equal lengths, the stronger is depressed, 

 or the weaker elevated. All lateral shoots are destroy- 

 ed. Thus far it may be remarked, Mr Knight's method 

 agrees very much with Hilt's, described in his Treatise 

 on Fruit-trees. This shape, Mr Knight observes, ought 

 to be given to young trees in the nursery, and is per* 

 haps the only one that can be given to them without 

 the risk of subsequent injury. Next season, as many 

 branches are suffered to spring from each plant as can 

 be conveniently trained, without shading each other ; 

 and by selecting the strongest and earliest buds towards 

 the points of the year-old branches, to be trained low- 

 est, *nd the weakest and latest near their bases, to be 

 trained inclining upwards, each annual shoot will IT 

 nearly equal in vigour. (Fig. ?) In the following win- 

 ter, the snoots are alternately shortened, and left at full 

 length. In the course of the third year, ( Fig. 8. ) if the 

 tree be a peach, the central part consist* of bearing 

 wood : And, upon the whole, the size and general health 

 of the trees trained in this way, afford evidence of a more 

 regular distribution of the sap than Mr Knight has wit- 

 nessed in any other mode. 



The distance at which the branches are laid in, in all 

 the different modes, varies from eight to ten inches, ac- 

 cording to the nature of the tree, or the size of its foil. 

 age or fruit. While fan-trained trees are still in pro. 

 grass, a few more shoots are preserved at the summer 

 pruning, than are likely to be ultimately laid in : this is 

 for fear of accidents. Trees that have filled the spaces 

 allotted to them, are disbudded of most of the wood- 

 buds that PPear. Wood-buds on old spurs are always 

 displaced. Trees which are in training for the horizon- 

 tal method, require different management. Tl- 1, ad- 

 ing stem is constantly to be attended to ; all the Inids 

 r on it are carefully preserved, till enough !>e 

 to lay right and loll, ami form the tree. All 

 s on the horijtont.nl branches, excepting the 

 leading one, are displaced. The fan-training is consi- 

 dered as beet for apricots, cherries, and plums, placed 

 against walls, even though the walls be low. None of 

 these kinds of fruit answer well for espaliers ; cherries 

 or plums luccsnd better as half standards or dwarf stan- 

 dards. 



81. The wall-trees which have now been spoken of 

 are called dwarf* by the gardeners. It is a very com* 

 practice to train high standards on the intcrmedi- 

 ces between the dwarf trees ; such trees are in 

 nd termed rider*, (i 63). Plants four or five 

 years old are preferred, because they are but temporary, 

 and the object is to get fruit as soon as possible. Some 

 good judges have condemned this plan of temporary 

 trees as hurtful ; being calculated to deprive the per- 

 manent trees of a proportion of the nourishment which 



