422 



PEARS. 



the ground, the additional warmth it receives adds ma- 

 terially to its ripening in perfection. 



Espaliers. 



Several very valuable sorts of Pears may be success- 

 fully cultivated in Espaliers, which would not succeed 

 on the tall and exposed orchard standard, and such as 

 do not necessarily require a wall. The Quenouille 

 training, which has been explained under the head of 

 Propagation, is admirably adapted for small gardens, 

 and for ripening many of our finest autumnal fruit ; but 

 the Espalier possesses some advantages over that, being 

 less exposed to high winds, and affording greater security 

 to heavy fruit. 



Pears intended for Espaliers, as well as for Quenouille 

 training, should be propagated upon the Quince stock ; 

 and grafted plants, as I have observed before, are pre- 

 ferable to those which have been raised from buds. 

 Horizontal training, as recommended for Apples, is 

 that which is best adapted for the Pear, and the method 

 laid down for forming the tree the same : the horizontal 

 branches may also be trained at nine or ten inches apart, 

 unless it be for those sorts whose fruit are very large ; 

 these will be better if they are allowed a foot. 



In July, the superfluous young shoots should be 

 shortened to two inches, and the extreme ones con- 

 tinued at their full length. By the beginning or middle 

 of September, most of the spurs, which had been cut 

 back at the former pruning, will have thrown out 

 another shoot from the extreme bud of each ; such, 

 therefore, should now be cut back below this shoot, 

 which will then leave the spur one inch instead of two. 

 Should these artificial spurs be nearer to each other than 

 three inches, they should be thinned out, which will 

 finish the pruning for the summer season. 



In the winter pruning, these must be looked over 



