112 



THE GARDENER'S ASSISTANT. 



gardener's art, but which serve no other pur- 

 pose. Mr. W. Robinson has given some good 

 illustrations of the more remarkable of these in 

 his Parks and Gardens of Paris. 



Training single cordons or some similar form 

 across each other at an angle, leaving diamond- 

 shaped interspaces, has been advocated as a 

 means of forming Pear-hedges that might be 

 both useful and ornamental, but the same pur- 

 pose can be more readily accomplished in 

 another way. This is by planting maiden 

 trees, of varieties that grow freely on the 

 Quince, about 2 feet apart, cutting them back 

 and pruning for the first two or three years, 

 when they can be treated in the same way as 

 an ordinary hedge. Some reduction of the 

 growth in the summer is, however, desirable. 

 Free - flowering and fairly compact varieties 

 should be selected, as their appearance is the 

 chief object, though the fruit produced will 

 prove useful in some seasons. One mode of 

 utilizing the Pear need only be mentioned 

 here, as it is referred to at length in another 

 chapter, namely growing the trees as pyramids 

 or bushes in pots in orchard-houses. Where 

 early supplies of fine Pears are required, or in 

 districts where soil and climate are unfavourable 

 to obtaining the fruit in perfection out of doors, 

 this is a most valuable addition to the resources 

 of a garden. The trees also possess much 

 ornamental value in flower and fruit. 



Arrangement and Distances. — If plantations of 

 Pears are to be formed, the methods of arrange- 

 ment suitable for Apples and orchards, of which 

 details are given in their respective chapters, 

 are also applicable. But it is seldom that such 

 are formed wholly of this fruit; they more 

 frequently constitute part of mixed plantations, 

 or are employed as lines or avenues in kitchen- 

 gardens. All Pears on the free stock require 

 a liberal allowance of space, and for orchard 

 standards 30 feet in each direction should at 

 least be allowed. Pyramidal Pears on the 

 same stock should be 15 to 20 feet apart for all 

 the stronger- growing varieties if they are in- 

 tended to remain where they are planted with- 

 out thinning. In the columnar style (fig. 911a) 

 6 to 10 feet will suffice. Either bushes or pyra- 

 mids on the Quince seldom require more than 

 10 or 12 feet, and the weaker growing varieties 

 will succeed for some years at less than that if 

 necessary. But crowding Pears in any form is 

 very undesirable, if it can be avoided. 



As regards trained trees for trellises or walls, 

 much will depend upon the height of the sup- 

 port to which the trees are secured. If these 



do not exceed 8 feet in height, allowance must 

 be made for more lateral extension in the case 

 of all forms of espaliers than where the walls 

 are 10 feet or more high. In the same way the 

 oblique cordons are more fitted for low walls 

 and trellises than the vertical cordons, which 

 demand a greater extent to develop in an 



Fig. 911.— a, Columnar, b, Double Cordon. 



upward direction. For espaliers on walls and 

 trellises, from 15 to 24 feet apart may be 

 allowed, according to the habit of the variety, 

 the space at command, or the demands upon 

 the garden resources. Single horizontal cordons 

 may be allowed from 8 to 10 feet, and double 

 cordons of the same type from 12 to 20 feet. 

 Vertical or oblique cordons will require a distance 

 of from 1| to 2 feet for each stem; thus, double 

 cordons (fig. 911b) should be at least 3 feet 

 apart, and triple cordons about 5 feet asunder. 



Planting. — The directions given respecting 

 the condition of the soil, with the time and 

 method of planting for the Apple, are equally 

 appropiate to the Pear; but this tree starts so 

 early in the spring to produce flowers and 



