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moreover, pears, and apples in some localities are left quite 

 untrained. 



So, it is not uncommon in our orchards that pears, date 

 plums, chestnuts and citrous fruit trees have acquired the de- 

 fective habit of fruiting in alternate years. Such a state of 

 things, the majority of our growers believe due to Nature and 

 irreparable by man. 



Even if quite abandoned, some kinds of fruit trees . as 

 loquats, mandarins and chestnuts make rather handsome trees,; 

 being regular in their modes of branching. But they bear in 

 alternate years ; uniformity of size and quality of fruits, it is 

 clear, are impaired in such an unpruned tree. So long as 

 growers remain indifferent to modern methods fruit growing in 

 a strict sense is nowhere seen in this country. 



Of most irregular shape, are date plums, ume ti'ees. 

 apricots and plums. They have crooked stems straggling in a, 

 most curious manner. Trunks are often decayed and hollow, 

 in the centre. It has long been admired as an ornament by 

 some people. Such a diseased condition of trees is not only, 

 worthless but rather injurious to the welfare of fruit trees. 

 Indeed, our gardeners always turn their attention to the 

 pruning and training of ornamentals while quite neglecting 

 the care of our fruit trees. 



Training trees for ornaments or the pruning of flo'A^ering 

 plants have advanced through a long period among our gar- 

 deners. Topiary works on ornamental evergreens and pot- 

 grown plants have already had a wide reputation in the world. 

 Our people admire some fruit trees for flowers rather than for 

 fruits. Gardeners always devote care to novelties to meet their 

 demands, while neglecting attention as to their pomological 

 value^ For example, our peaches, ume trees and quinces flourish 

 in flowering varieties but are markedly poor in those for fruits. 

 Such a circumstance would have induced our fruit grow • 

 ing to remain in its infancy and has at least partly checked the 

 progress of our orchard work. 



