606 NOTES OF A HORTICULTURAL TOUR. 



were in perfect condition. This speaks for itself, and tells 

 us, with many other things I have seen in France, that it is 

 to well-managed walls we must look for the main improve- 

 ments in the culture of our finer fruits. Here the French 

 actually find that walls are not only a benefit but a necessity 

 for some hardy fruits, yet we have been going on for years 

 planting Pears in quantities away from walls, and paying 

 little proportionate attention to the kinds that ought to be 

 planted against them. 



As the place is very much exposed to storms, peculiar 

 expedients have been resorted to, so as to secure the trees 

 against their influence. The practice of training trees with 

 the branches crossed and intertwined by way of mutual 

 support, was to be seen here in a large way, both in the 

 case of Apples and Pears. Cheap laths and sticks are first 

 used to train the trees into shape, and after they have 

 attained their full size, crossing and supporting each other, 

 the other supports are removed or allowed to rot. There 

 were many Apple trees trained on this principle, and so well 

 and firmly that there could be no doubt whatever that it is 

 perfectly practicable and good, and that the objections which 

 have been urged against it were entirely groundless. It 

 was said by some that the branches would destroy each other 

 by friction ; there was ample evidence here that this was 

 not the case, even with the strong winds that are nearly 

 always blowing. When I mentioned the objection to the 

 chief he was much amused, and simply pointed to a fine 

 line of Apple trees, eight feet high, mutually supporting 

 each other without the slightest injury. It is thus clear 

 that we may not only much improve the appearance of 

 our espaliers by adopting the system which I have 

 figured and described elsewhere, but make the trees self- 

 supporting. Better formed or more presentable espaliers 

 than these could not be seen, and, as they were well inter- 

 laced one with the other, the strong wind blowing on one 

 of the first days of July did not affect them in the 

 least. 



In the case of very large pyramids planted here, another 

 expedient to protect them from the wind was adopted. As 



