178 THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN 



dency on the part of the tree to produce many nn- 

 ripened spurs. This mode of training for the pear 

 and apple is already well known ; and when applied 

 to peach and nectarine trees, the only deviation from 

 established practice will be to treat every horizontal 

 branch as a cordon, and to practise summer pinching 

 instead of allowing gross upright shoots to be made. 



Fig. 31 is a single vertical cordon in a pot ; and if an 

 orchard house or glass shed is available, these will be 

 found very useful and interesting trees. Pear, apple, 

 cherry, and plum trees may be potted into 10- or 12-inch 

 pots, and moved into a glass shed, or, indeed, any shed 

 open to the sun, while in bloom, and kept under 

 cover until all danger from spring frost is past. They 

 should then be removed to a border prepared for them — 

 the warmer and more sheltered the better. The pots 

 must be plunged to within one or two inches of the rim, 

 stable litter partly decomposed and spread over the pots 

 and the soil ; as the trees will require watering they 

 should be placed near water. One-year-old dwarf trees 

 may be bought at a cheap rate and potted. The fruit 

 wUl be produced in the second year after potting. The 

 soil for the trees should consist of good, strong, cal- 

 careous loam mixed with a third of its bulk of decom- 

 posed manure. An old cucumber or melon bed may be 

 used; or, if not convenient, stable manure thrown up 

 and fermented for some time will answer very well. 

 The soil must in all cases be made very firm and solid 

 in the pot. The border or bed for their summer 



