THE APPLE. 



53 



of trees, the different forms of training and 

 their particular merits, the character and ad- 

 vantages of the various stocks, are matters 

 which come within the experience of all, and 

 therefore demand prior attention. 



The natural form of the Apple-tree, that 

 which permits the fullest development and the 

 greatest durability, is the standard on the Crab 

 or free stock. For orchard purposes these are 

 obtainable with clean stems 5 to 6 feet high 

 from the root to the head; but for ordinary 



Fig. 848.— Dwarf Tree on Paradise Stock. 



planting, or at least where cattle will not have 

 access to the trees, low or half standards, with 

 stems 3 to 4 feet high, are often preferred. 

 Usually these form their heads more quickly, 

 and they are more convenient for cultural 

 attendance. The main objection to standards 

 in gardens, or wherever fruit is in urgent 

 demand, is the length of time the majority of 

 varieties in this form require before profitable 

 cropping commences. Ten years or more will 

 elapse with some varieties before fruit is pro- 

 duced in quantity, and Blenheim Pippin is a 

 notable example of the extreme in this respect, 

 as the above limits are sometimes exceeded. 

 Some of the more prolific Apples reach a bear- 

 ing state much earlier, such as Lord Grosvenor, 

 which we have known to produce good crops 

 when five or six years old. As a permanent 

 plantation, and for the improvement of an 

 estate where the future has to be regarded as 

 well as the present, standard Apples are cer- 



tainly desirable, as if well grown and in suit- 

 able soil they will often continue bearing profit- 

 able crops for over 100 years. The value of a 

 finely -developed Apple-tree that yields 20 

 bushels and upwards of good fruit can be 

 easily estimated. 



For gardens and plantations where early 

 returns from the land are essential, and as a 

 portion of an orchard of standards where live- 

 stock is not admitted, dwarf trees on Paradise 

 stocks (fig. 848) are by far the most useful. 

 In any case of short tenancy it hardly 

 pays to plant standard Apples, as though 

 compensation may be secured at the ter- 

 mination of the occupancy for the then 

 value of the trees, this does not represent 

 the loss to the growers in the land they 

 have occupied unprofitably as regards 

 actual returns in the meantime. Either 

 as bush or pyramid trees on suitable 

 stocks, Apples will produce fine fruits in 

 the second and third year, and with the 

 best cultivation and attention the more 

 robust can be relied upon for twenty to 

 thirty years, and under very favourable 

 circumstances for longer periods. For 

 general purposes the dwarf Apple on the 

 best English stocks is one of the most 

 useful trees that can be grown. The bush 

 form is naturally adapted to the habit of 

 most varieties, and if grown with clean 

 stems 1 to 2 feet high, handsome freely- 

 branched trees can be formed in a few 

 years. The pyramid form can be adopted 

 with many varieties that naturally grow 

 with a stout leading stem, but the Apple does 

 not retain this form so well as the Pear, In 

 addition to the early fruit -bearing, dwarf 

 trees offer many advantages. They are con- 

 venient for pruning, for fruit gathering, for 

 spraying and cleaning. A large number of 

 trees can be planted in comparatively small 

 spaces, and the produce of thriving fruitful 

 dwarf Apple-trees has exceeded 500 bushels per 

 acre in a few years from planting where the 

 conditions have been favourable. Bush Apples 

 of some varieties are grown on the Crab or free 

 stock, and prove very satisfactory. 



The more formally trained trees are exclu- 

 sively adapted for gardens, and are especially 

 suited for planting near walks and as divisional 

 lines in kitchen-gardens. The larger of these are 

 the espalier in the horizontal or vertical forms, 

 the first — the horizontal espaliers — having the 

 lateral branches trained at right angles to the 

 central stem (fig. 849); the second — the vertical 



