Management of thejiner Sorts of French Pears. 2.69 



being fewer in number, till it is entirely lost. The branches 

 which in the first place were left, are now in their turn to be 

 taken off, as the others were in the first place, and the same 

 system is to be again followed : good crops will once more for 

 two or three years be obtained, which will, however, after 

 this time rapidly decrease, from the cause already named. 

 Thus you have alternate advantages and disadvantages; on 

 the whole, however, much more fruit will be produced than 

 by the old mode of horizontal training. From this plan the 

 one shortly to be described is in some measure taken, it will 

 however be found materially different, and greatly superior. 



The plan, combining both the fan and horizontal, commenc- 

 ing in the former, and terminating in the latter, possesses the 

 beauty of neither ; it is, nevertheless, superior in one respect 

 to the first, and in another to the last. It is better than the 

 fan, because after a sufficient number of branches are obtained, 

 no terminal shoot is of necessity shortened ; and it is preferable 

 to the horizontal, because the wall is much sooner filled ; but 

 this advantage is not of so much importance as to make 

 amends for its want of beauty, especially as in productiveness 

 it will be found very little superior. For although the wall 

 will be sooner filled, yet from the shoots being shortened till 

 the desired number of branches are obtained, it will come 

 very little earlier into a bearing state. If the average of a 

 given number of years, say ten or fifteen, were taken, the 

 fruit produced on the shy-bearing sorts by any of the fore- 

 going plans would be found not to exceed half the quantity 

 which may be obtained by the way of training about to be 

 described. 



In the first place, having prepared the border, plant the 

 trees against the wall, at the distance of fifteen feet from each 

 other. If they have three shoots properly placed, they may 

 all be retained ; we will, however, suppose each tree to have 

 only one strong healthy shoot. In the spring the first tree is 

 to be headed down within nine inches of the ground, the 

 next is to be left one foot nine inches high, the next to that, 

 nine inches, and so on alternately, till you get to the other 

 end of the wall. In the summer train three shoots from the 

 three uppermost eyes of each tree, rubbing off all the rest; 

 nail in one to the right, one to the left, and the other perpen- 

 dicularly. The two side branches should not be trained in a 

 horizontal position till the second year, for being somewhat ele- 

 vated for a short time will increase their vigour. In the follow- 

 ing winter the centre shoot of each is to be cut off two feet 

 above the first pair of lateral branches. In the next summer 



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