RATIONAL FRUIT CULTURE 



CHAPTEE I. 



THE CONDITIONS NECESSARY FOR FERTILITY. 



WHILE nearly everybody with a small patch of ground 

 realises the importance of the proper cultivation of 

 vegetables, there seems to be a common idea that fruit 

 trees can take care of themselves. So Apples, Pears and Plums 

 are bought without any regard for the suitability of the varie- 

 ties chosen or of the positions which they are to occupy; they 

 are planted in the least laborious manner; they are given little 

 or no attention afterwards; and they are expected to bear good 

 crops regularly. The inevitable result is disappointment. 

 Eather late in the day, their owners set about looking for a 

 remedy. What manure shall we apply to make them fruit, ask 

 some? How shall we prune them to bring them into bearing, 

 ask others? Both questions show complete ignorance of the 

 position, for neither manuring nor, with certain reservations 

 which will be explained later, pruning will hasten fruiting. 

 Before buying and planting fruit trees, it is important to under- 

 stand the conditions necessary for success, and a brief survey 

 of these conditions will serve as a general introduction to the 

 subject. 



DIFFERENT CLASSES OF FRUIT TREES. 



For our present purport, fruit trees may be divided into 

 thtee classes — those which fail to flower, those which flower 



