THE PEAR AS A CORDON. 



359 



Fig. 157. 



that the little trees have no power to push forth a healthy 



graft. If imported in this way they should be allowed one 



year's growth before being grafted. 



The Peak as a Cordon. — Having said so much about 



the Apple as a cordon, we will next turn to the Pear trained 



as an oblique cordon on walls. It does not, 



as applied to this fruit, offer a distinct and 



economical way of producing a better class of 



fruit, as in the case of the Apple. Its ad- 

 vantages are simply quick growth, early fer- 

 tility, and a considerable number of varieties 



from a limited space. Figure 162 will fully 



show the appearance of a wall covered with 



Pears on the cordon system. The plants at 



each end, which display a fuller develop- 

 ment, show the means by which the ends of 



the wall are covered. As will be seen, the 



trees are placed very close together, which 



makes the plantation costly. They, however, 



soon run up to the top of the wall, and yield 



a quicker return than the larger forms. 



Then if one fails it is easily replaced. But 



are these advantages sufficient to justify us 



in adopting this system to any extent for 



our wall Pears ? 



We may secure handsomer trees, less dis- 

 tortion, longer life, and more fruit, by adopt- 

 ing such simple and easily conducted forms 

 as those figured in the account of the Im- 

 perial garden at Versailles, and other 

 medium-sized and simple forms. Those 

 forms are handsomer than the wall or espa- 

 lier cordon for the Pear, yield a great number 

 of kinds from a comparatively small space, 

 and moreover, allow of a somewhat free and natural develop- 

 ment. We all know how comparatively few are the varieties 

 of first-class Pears which succeed to perfection in any one 

 place, and that the necessity of planting a new kind at every 

 eighteen inches along the wall does not exist. For the 



Pear Tree trained 

 as a Vertical Cor- 

 don. This form 

 is best suited for 

 very high walls, 

 &c. 



