132 THE MINIATUEE FEUIT GAEDEN 



Gansel's Bergamot; the grafts flourislied, and became 

 so prolific that when three or four years old, they each 

 bore from three to four dozen of fruit — a most unusual 

 thing with that fine variety. This settled the question 

 as to the fertility given by double grafting ; which since 

 this experiment has become here an extensive branch 

 of culture. The cultivator has something to learn, for 

 there are many pears of the finest quality, but of a 

 delicate and infertile habit, that maybe much improved 

 by double grafting. 



Our garden culture of cherries is, as yet, rude and 

 imperfect ; and espaliers of the Bigarreau and Gruigne 

 or Heart tribe are planted and trained along the sides 

 of the garden walks, giving abundance of shoots and 

 leaves, but very little fruit (which the birds appro- 

 priate), and, in the course of time, give out gum — owing 

 to their having been unmercifully pruned — and die full 

 of years and barren shoots, having given much trouble 

 to the gardener. I have pointed out how cherries 

 may be cultivated in gardens as pyramids. Sue., and 

 have alluded to fertility in the Bigarreau and Heart 

 tribe being promoted by double grafting ; this mode of 

 culture is also interesting as leading to success in soils 

 that seem unfavourable to cherries under some circum- 

 stances. 



Cherries grafted on the Mahaleb are described in 

 pp. 109 to 114; they affect calcareous soils, and, as far 

 as I can learn, do not succeed so well in the sandstone 

 formations, and where iron abounds in the soil ; in such 



