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CHAPTER XVI. 



TRAINING. 



Training is veiy much better understood in France than 

 in the British Isles. In France the commonest labourers 

 frequently possess a knowledge of pruning and conducting 

 a tree, which we might look in vain for anywhere in this 

 country ; and by way of illustrating their skill in this way, 

 we cannot do better than examine their means of forming 

 two of the most popular forms of fruit trees — the Palmette 

 Verrier and the Pyramidal Pear trees — chiefly after Du 

 Breuil. The Pear will serve to illustrate training and 

 pruning as well as any other tree, or better, and the 

 principles laid down will apply equally to other fruit trees. 

 The Palmette Verrier. — Wherever large wall trees are 

 grown, the simple and beautiful form known to the French 

 as the Palmette Verrier is sure to obtain a place among 

 them. It is indeed the finest of all large forms, and is pre- 

 ferred by many of the best French cultivators to any other. 

 They use it for other trees besides the Pear ; and by far the 

 finest Peach tree I have ever seen was trained after this 

 method near Lyons. The English reader may think it im- 

 possible to attain such perfect shape as is shown in the ac- 

 companying plate, and such perfect equalization of sap as 

 it suggests ; but I have seen several trees even more beau- 

 tifully finished than the one represented. This figure also 

 shows the advantages of the kind of support used in 

 France for espalier trees as compared with our own ugly 

 method of using rough wooden and iron posts and strong 

 bolt-like expensive wire. It will be seen that the tree 

 differs radically from the usual form of Pear tree that we 

 are in the habit of placing against walls, and it is easy to 



