DIAGONAL SINGLE CORDONS 51 



necessity of ' laying in ' shoots, and pruning and nailing 

 in winter; if not tied to wires fixed to the wall the 

 diagonal cordon can be fastened by three or four shreds, 

 care being taken that the shreds are not lurking-places 

 for insects. 



Peaches and nectarines trained as diagonal cordons 

 against walls with a south or south-west aspect are 

 worthy of a trial, but only in the warmer parts of 

 England. 



The system of single diagonal training is so simple 

 that one feels assured of its being widely spread among 

 amateur gardeners, who seem likely to lead the sound 

 gardening taste of England. It must, however, be 

 recollected that, although .such trees trained against a 

 wire fence are pleasant to look at, they require protection 

 from spring frost, our great enemy. 



The making of these wire fences for diagonal 

 cordons is very simple. Straining posts of oak, five 

 inches by two and a half, are placed firmly in the 

 ground, twenty feet apart ; between these, at six feet 

 apart, are the perforated, flat, slight iron bars used to 

 support wire fences : the wire may be stout iron wire 

 the thickness of whipcord, which should be painted 

 with coal-tar and lime, or if galvanised no painting 

 will be required. The lowest wire is eighteen inches 

 from the surface of the soil, and the other wires are 

 one foot apart, as high as required; but six, seven, 

 or eight feet will be found high enough. Pig. 11 will 

 give an idea of diagonal cordon training on a wire 



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