60 



THE GARDENER'S ASSISTANT. 



without moving the trees When the soil is 

 fairly dry, light treading only is needed to render 

 the trees sufficiently firm, and it is better to let 

 the process be effected gradually by the sinking 

 of the soil than to tread it hard. 



Treatment after Planting. — The first considera- 

 tion after planting a well-developed Apple-tree, 

 either a standard or dwarf, is whether the 

 branches shall be cut back immediately or left 

 for a season. Opinions and practice differ on 

 this question, and varied experience as to the 

 merits of each method has no doubt resulted 

 from the different circumstances under which 

 each may have been carried out Cutting back 

 at once after planting is supported by the view 

 that in reducing the branches the balance 

 between those and the roots which have suf- 

 fered in the removal is maintained. There is, 

 therefore, less demand upon the latter until 

 they have had time to become established and 

 can perform their proper functions, than if the 

 branches are allowed to remain their full length 

 and produce a larger number of leaves. Another 

 point in favour of this plan is that the lower 

 buds on the branches are later in starting to 

 grow, and this gives the tree a better chance 

 to recover before the foliage is fully expanded. 

 Those who advocate postponing the cutting 

 back for a season do so on the ground that the 

 greater number of leaves produced by the 

 unpruned branches assist the formation of 

 roots, and this helps to restore the tree more 

 quickly. In moist, cloudy springs this is pro- 

 bably true, but in hot, dry weather the benefit 

 derivable from the leaves is reduced by the 

 great evaporation which takes place from them, 

 and the ill effects are visible both in the dying 

 back of the young shoots and in the shrivelling 

 of the wood unless the roots have become well 

 established. In a general way, therefore, we 

 have found it safer to cut back at once, better 

 formed and more compact trees being usually 

 the result. 



For further directions for transplanting see 

 chapter xx. 



General Pruning and Training. 



In the following directions the procedure 

 necessary to secure well-balanced trees is de- 

 tailed for each form of training, and the treat- 

 ment is traced in most cases from the maiden 

 stage, though it is more usual and convenient 

 in gardens to purchase trees which have passed 

 through the first degrees of training in the 

 nurseries. 



Standards. — It is highly important that these 

 should be reared with clean straight stems; 

 that the stem should be self-supporting; that 

 the head should be commenced at the proper 

 height; and that it should be formed with 

 regularity. The mode formerly adopted to ob- 

 tain clean stems rendered continuous staking 

 essential; and a tree for which staking is 

 absolutely necessary in its youth will always 

 be liable to lean and twist after it has attained 

 a considerable size. When the maiden tree 

 had been well transplanted, and was in a 

 vigorous state, it was not an unusual practice 

 to keep the stems well trimmed, that is to say, 

 every shoot that appeared upon them was cut 

 closely in till the desired height was attained. 

 A few shoots at the top were only to be seen, 

 and a slender stem unable to keep itself upright 

 was the consequence. This is an artificial stem, 

 for the Apple does not grow in a natural state 

 to the height of 6 or 7 feet without side 

 branches, which bear leaves to thicken and 

 strengthen the lower part of the stem. When 

 the tree with the artificially-formed stem is 

 transplanted, it has, however, this advantage, 

 that though liable to bend from feebleness, it 

 can be easily lashed straight to a stake, and so 

 far some good comes out of evil; but on the 

 other hand the stem will require support for 

 years. Rather than have crooked trees, it is 

 better to make sure of straight ones by supply- 

 ing a fresh set of stakes, and by the time these 

 become decayed, the trees, on their removal, 

 will exhibit straight and apparently self-sup- 

 porting stems; but left to their own strength 

 to support their tops, now large enough to be 

 acted upon with considerable effect by the 

 wind, the stems bend, and cannot then be well 

 straightened. 



To rear a straight substantial stem incurs 

 little additional trouble in the first instance — 

 much after expense is saved — and at the same 

 time a satisfactory result is ensured. It has 

 been explained in the chapter on Pruning that 

 roots and w^ood are produced in proportion to 

 the amount of foliage. In rearing a properly- 

 constituted stem we must bear in mind that im- 

 portant fact. We cannot by any means get so 

 much work done by a few leaves at the top of a 

 stem as we can by ten- times the number pro- 

 duced partly at the top and partly along the 

 sides. We want thickness of stem, for if we 

 have that, the desired height will be attained 

 in one or two seasons; but if the stem is tall 

 and disproportionately slender, it is very difficult 

 to render it inflexible. A slender stem, 6 or 7 



