148 
apple and pear trees in cold countries, it is better adapted for vines, 
and as it is unsuited for this climate I shall dispense with describing 
the method of thus shaping trees. 
2. LEspaliers, a popular method of training apples, pears, 
apricots and peaches alongside walls in the Northern climate of 
Europe, where specimens of this system of shaping trees, illus- 
trating the skill and handiwork of the European gardener, can be 
seen in public and private gardens. In warmer. climates, this 
method of training has nothing to recommend itself, and needs no 
description. 
The pyramid shape of training was, until not very long ago, 
when the low standard or “vase” system supplmented it, much in 
favour for trees grown in the 
' open air in the cooler climates 
of England and Central Europe. 
It is more especially suitable 
for pears and cherries. This 
form of training takes at least 
five years to bring to perfection, 
and it often happens that, either 
before or after this work has 
been satisfactorily completed, a 
fieree gust of wind, a snow- 
storm, or some other unexpected 
aecident, will destroy in one act 
the work of years of patient 
training. Trees trained pyramid 
shape require besides a good 
deal of ground to fully develop, 
and for the easy working of 
teams and implements; for this 
purpose the interval from tree 
to tree should be at least 30 
feet. One advantage it presents 
over the “vase” system, which is 
Fyramidal training of a Pear Tree. next described, is that the limbs 
are well knit to the central 
stem, and not liable to split under the load of fruit. To sum up: 
Every variety of fruit-tree is not equally suited to this system of 
pruning; it takes too long to form, it occupies too much space, it 
is too high for pruning, spraying, and picking, and is too much 
exposed to winds. 
4. The low standard or “vase” system has been found by long 
experience to be the form best suited to the Australian climate; it 
is also the one best adapted to Californian conditions. Unlike the 
pyramid shape, which has the cone pointing upwards, the “vase,” 
“eoblet,” or “wine-glass” form, rests on its cone, and directs its 
