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FRUIT GARDEN. 



pruning to counteract. The fruit is produced 

 mostly on the extremities of the shoots, and 

 where they are fully exposed to light and air. 

 The branches should be kept moderately thin, 

 and the centre of the plant open. The head is 

 formed much in the same way as the red or 

 white currant, and is accomplished by selecting 

 four or five shoots, which are well placed, and 

 these may be obtained in any number by head- 

 ing back those first produced, and this heading 

 back and training must be continued until the 

 bushes have attained the height of 6 or 7 feet, 

 which is quite sufficient within the limits of a 

 garden. In winter pruning, some discrimination 

 must be used, for the filbert, unlike the goose- 

 berry, currant, &c., is what is called by bota- 

 nists montBcious ; that is, having the male and 

 female flowers separately, but on the same bush. 

 The male blossoms are readily distinguished 

 in spring hanging in catkins 2 or 3 inches 

 in length, profusely covered with a fine yellow 

 dust, which is the fertilising pollen. On the 

 other hand, the female blossoms are rarely seen 

 without a careful search being made for them. 

 When in bloom, they are of a brightish pink 

 colour, very small, and closely set on the sides 

 of the mature wood. They do not appear until 

 three or four days after the male flowers have 

 opened. " Now, it so happens," Mr Errington 

 observes, " that trees at a certain age, or under 

 certain conditions of culture, will sometimes 

 produce either almost entirely male blossoms, 

 or otherwise females. Those with the males 

 alone must of necessity be barren for that year ; 

 but if only female blossoms appear, branches 

 should be cut bearing catkins of male flowers, 

 and suspended or tied amongst those possessing 

 female blossoms only. Occasionally, too, on a 

 sunny day, a branch of the dusty catkins may be 

 carried in the hand like a rod, and brushed 

 lightly over the tips of the female-bearing 

 bushes. Many good crops of nuts have been 

 lost for want of this precaution : it is vain to 

 think of the female blossom yielding fruit, 

 without the catkins have been near them in 

 February ; then the blossoms may be readily 

 distinguished, and then it is that pruning may 

 be successfully carried out. The fruit is pro- 

 duced principally on the former year's wood, 

 and generally form compact side-shoots, the 

 produce of leaders of a short-jointed and ma- 

 ture appearance. Such lateral fruit-bearing 

 branches may be induced in greater abundance, 

 by shortening back strong shoots of this char- 

 acter. Thinning out is, however, one of the 

 principal matters, for unless this be duly at- 

 tended to, the bush will become crowded with 

 spray worse than useless. A great deal of small 

 spray will be produced on the inner portions of 

 the branches ; and these, although of the char- 

 acter of bearing-wood, are generally unfruitful : 

 most of these must be pruned away. Any one 

 who observes the habit of the nut closely, will 

 soon perceive that the shrubs are most disposed 

 to bear at the extremity of the branches, thus 

 evincing their partiality to plenty of light and 

 air. These, then, are the portions of the tree 

 where the eye must be directed as to fruit-bear- 

 ing properties. Such leaders, however, must not 



be encouraged so thickly as to cross each other ; 

 and in order to prevent the lower portion of the 

 head from becoming naked, a good, strong, well- 

 placed shoot may be occasionally encouraged, 

 heading it back in due time, in order to keep it 

 producing side branches. After duly thinning 

 away superfluous shoots, the principal leaders 

 should be all shortened. As a general rule, we 

 would say, remove about a quarter of the length ; 

 this, as before observed, will cause the tree to 

 produce abundance of side spray, from which, 

 in the future spring, the fruiting shoots may be 

 selected." 



The fllbert is in no part of Britain grown to 

 the same extent, or in the same degree of per- 

 fection, as in the county of Kent. The Kentish 

 peasantry practically understood the manage- 

 ment of this tree long before its habits were 

 studied or known to gardeners. The principle 

 of the Maidstone pruners appears to be to 

 "check and control the natural growth, and 

 thereby bring forth the fruit-bearing principle 

 in greater force and energy." Each plant should 

 have one strong upright shoot, of not less than 

 3 feet in height, this being necessary in order to 

 the future form of the head ; and this, early in 

 the spring, after the trees have been put out in 

 their final stations, is cut down to about 18 

 inches from the ground. This height will admit 

 of a clear stem of 12 inches below, and which 

 part must be at first, and ever afterwards, kept 

 free from shoots, as well as suckers from the 

 roots. This deprivation of shoots and suckers 

 will cause the buds left at the top to push with 

 greater vigour. If eight strong shoots be pro- 

 duced in the first summer, they must be care- 

 fully preserved, as that number is required to 

 form the head; but if less than this number 

 come forth, then two or three of the strongest (or 

 the whole if necessary) must be shortened back 

 to half their length at the next pruning, in 

 order to obtain the requisite number. These 

 branches are to be carefully preserved and 

 trained outwards and upwards, at first nearly 

 horizontally, but curving gradually upwards at 

 the point. The easiest mode of doing this is by 

 using a hoop of the proper size, placed within 

 the shoots, and to which the latter are tied in a 

 star-like order, and at equal 12-inch distances. 

 Such a laterally curving position may be much 

 assisted by the pruner always cutting at an out- 

 side bud, which, when grown sufficiently far 

 outwards, naturally turns up to form the per- 

 manent branches. The points of the branches 

 are allowed to rise to the height of 6 feet, but 

 never higher ; and the middle of the tree is 

 always kept free from shoots and branches, so 

 that a well-trained head resembles a large bowl. 

 The subsequent management of the trees, both 

 while gaining the desired form, and after having 

 gained it, consists in preserving all the short 

 spurs which will be produced on the branches, 

 and cutting away or shortening the laterals, 

 which rise every year from the same. The 

 management of these laterals is of great conse- 

 quence. If they exceed the length of 6 inches, 

 they may be cut back to a few buds ; but if less, 

 they should be preserved, as their points are 

 generally fruitful. The grand object with the 



