66 THE FRUIT GARDEN 



and the cuts in nearly every case heal over. Occasionally, some regulation of 

 the shoots is necessary ; this can be done by tying. A stake to a tree will, at 

 times, be an assistance in keeping it erect ; again, a slender stick only will be 

 needed to keep the leader straight. Lateral shoots are not encouraged except 

 to replace any failures, or when a tree is being rapidly developed. 



Cropping, Thinning the Fruit. — The number of fruits to be borne by 

 the tree will depend upon its vigour, its size, and the size of the pot. As a rule 

 forced trees ought not to ripen quite so many fruits as those not forced. Trees 

 in 1 2-inch pots will carry from twelve to fifteen fruits easily. Those in 

 1 0-inch pots may bear six to eight fruits. Larger trees, standards with bushy 

 heads, in 13 or 14-inch pots, will ripen from fifteen to twenty fruits. A tree that 

 has borne a heavy crop for two or three consecutive seasons should have a rest by 

 being allowed to mature a light crop only. It is a good plan to label each tree 

 with the number of fruits it last produced as a future guide and for comparison. 

 We do not thin the fruits too freely at first, for the simple reason that we dread 

 the London fogs ; these often do the thinning for us, and far too freely. The 

 final thinning is done when the stone is hardening, and when it is clearly seen 

 by the character of the fruits that they are fairly safe. As the fruits are seen to 

 change colour they are exposed as much as possible to the light, but not until 

 the first fruits are ripe do we alter the treatment as regards ventilation ; then the 

 house is kept slightly cooler and the atmosphere more buoyant by the ventilation 

 being continued day and night. For gathering the fruits a pair of strong vine 

 scissors is much better than performing this operation (with force in some 

 instances) by the hand only. Take Early Rivers Nectarine, for instance. The 

 base of this variety often grows back upon the wood, and the slightest twist 

 when ripe will cause a bruise. The assistance of the scissors, so as to cut off 

 the fruit with its stalk, will avoid this. With a little practice this method will 

 recommend itself. 



Longevity of the Trees. — The question is often asked, "Do not pot 

 fruit trees soon die, or soon become practically useless ? " The answer to these 

 inquiries is, " Not at all ; in fact, just the contrary ! " Confirmation of this 

 can readily be obtained at Sawbridgeworth, where for more than a quarter of a 

 century some of the trees have been exclusively grown in pots. (See illustra- 

 tion.) Pot culture, rather than leading to premature decay, has generally quite 

 the opposite efi^ect. 



The culture that has thus far been detailed will apply to nectarines, peaches, 

 cherries, plums, pears, and apples. In the case of figs and the Citrus family, as 

 represented by the orange, lemon, citron, &c., somewhat different treatment is 

 necessary. 



Fig Culture in Pots. — It is sometimes remarked that fig trees, particularly 

 some varieties, have a tendency to bear only partial crops of fruit. Grow them 

 in pots, however, and any such illusion will be quickly dispelled. We do not 

 repot these every season, but, as a rule, carefully remove the surface soil one 

 season and repot the next. The earliest forced trees are potted in August, and 

 the late ones in November, or as soon as they have ceased to fruit, which in the 

 case of some is not until about Christmas. None of these, however, is left 



