47 



PEAR TREES TRAINED AS SINGLE 

 VERTICAL CORDONS 



This is, perhaps, tlie most simple of all methods for 

 ecjonomising space, and is in reality a very primitive 

 form. Plant either one- or two-year-old trees, three 

 feet apart, in quincunx or rows. If the trees are weak, 

 and cannot make an upright growth without assistance, 

 fasten them to a stake. Prune, when planted, about 

 three or four buds from the top, and leave them for the 

 first year without further pruning until October, when 

 the summer shoots of the trees must be pruned to the 

 lowest wood bud nearest the stem ; the pruning is then 

 complete for the first year. The second year the trees 

 will produce lateral shoots from all parts of the main 

 stem. In June, pinch the terminal bud of all these 

 shoots when they have arrived at six to seven leaves, 

 and prune no more until the end of September, when 

 the leaf begins to fall. 



For small gardens, where the cultivator wishes for 

 a large collection of pears in a small place, this — which 

 is, in fact, the cordon system applied to single-stemmed 

 trees — is much to be recommended. 



Mg. 20 is a single cordon apple tree from a speci- 



