CHAPTER XVI. 

 THE HOME FRUIT-GARDEN. 



IN Chapter II some of the advantages of the fruit- and 

 vegetable-garden to the owner of a home were briefly men- 

 tioned, and as the aim of this book is to give practical in- 

 formation along all lines of outdoor home ornamentation 

 and comfort, a chapter on fruits will not be out of place, 

 for the fruit-garden may be made to serve also as an im- 

 portant feature of the home ornamentation. What can be 

 more beautiful than fruit trees when in bloom, or again 

 when laden with highly colored fruit ? and they may be 

 trained to as perfect and beautiful forms as many of the 

 trees used only for ornament. 



The shade afforded by a broad-spreading apple-tree is 

 quite as dense and satisfactory as that from many other 

 species. In the frontispiece is shown a large spreading 

 apple-tree on the right of the picture which has afforded 

 delightful shade during the summers for a quarter of a cen- 

 tury, and, fruiting every alternate year, has yielded several 

 times 10 bbls. of choice fruit in a single season. The fruit 

 that is obtained from the home garden is so much superior 

 to that obtainable in the markets that it is worth a great 

 effort and considerable annoyance to have on one's table an 

 abundance of such choice, fresh, ripe fruit. 



