120 



THE GARDENER'S ASSISTANT. 



upright, or oblique — the cultivator's aim is to 

 obtain a regular and uniform disposition of 

 fruiting spurs from the base to the apex of the 

 cordon. The Jargonelle, for instance, though 

 a very free -bearing variety even in a young 

 state, requires persistent pinching in of the 

 side-shoots, as well as frequent stopping of the 

 leading shoot, in order that a regular forma- 

 tion of fruiting spurs may be secured; Louise 

 Bonne of Jersey, on the other hand, will form 

 spurs regularly if the leading shoot is pinched 

 only once in the season. In all cases let the 

 side-shoots be closely pinched in. 



One advantage derived from training Pear- 

 trees as horizontal cordons is that the trees, 

 when in blossom, can be readily protected from 

 early spring frosts, which are so destructive to 

 our crops of choice Pears. Various methods 

 suggest themselves to accomplish this object, 

 such as hoops bent over the trees and covered 

 with mats, Hessian canvas, or some similar 

 protecting material ; glass ridges have also been 

 used. 



The remaining forms of cordon are more 

 adapted for covering wall surfaces, but in all 

 cases the summer treatment already described 

 is necessary. One of the best is the double 

 oblique (fig. 919). The trees are worked on 

 the Quince stock, and in the illustration both 



Fig. 919.— Double Oblique Cordons. 



shoots are trained from the place of union, that 

 is, close to the surface of the ground. The 

 shoots ought also to be of equal strength, as 

 if one is weak and the other strong satisfactory 

 results will not be obtained. If the trees be 

 trained at an angle of 45°, and the leading shoot 

 of each be stopped once, twice, or thrice, ac- 

 cording to the habit and the tendency to pro- 

 duce fruit-buds, they will come into bearing in 

 the second year after planting, and in a few 

 seasons cover the walls with healthy bearing 

 wood. In rich and somewhat light soils, not- 



withstanding persistent summer pinching, some- 

 times a few of the more vigorous trees will not 

 bear; in this case lifting the tree in the autumn 

 and replanting it in fresh loam will generally 

 induce fruitfulness. 



The double vertical cordon, trained in the 

 form of the letter U, requires much care in 

 training. The leading shoots grow rapidly and 

 draw the sap past the side -shoots; attention 

 must therefore be paid to this tendency and 

 the leading shoot stopped, in order that the 

 trees may be well and uniformly furnished. 

 Either the above or a single upright cordon may 

 be planted as a division-line between the usual 

 fan or horizontal -trained wall -trees, and if a 

 careful selection of varieties be made a good 

 supply of valuable fruit may be obtained. 



Dwarf Bushes. — For some sorts of Pears, 

 especially those with large fruits, such as 

 Beurre Diel, Beurre d'Amanlis, Triomphe do 

 Jodoigne, and Beurre Ranee, the bush form is 

 better adapted than the pyramid. The fruit is 

 not so liable to be scattered about by the autum- 

 nal winds when it is fit for gathering. The 

 training and general management of the trees is 

 similar to that recommended for the Apple. The 

 branches must be sufficiently far apart not to rub 

 against each other and injure the fruit, and the 

 centre of the tree must be kept open, so that air 

 and light may have free access to it. This is 

 absolutely necessary to secure the proper ripen- 

 ing of the fruit. 



Pruning and Training Trees against Walls. — 

 The modes of training usually adopted are the 

 Horizontal (fig. 920) and the Fan (fig. 921). 

 The former is to be preferred for walls of ordi- 

 nary height; but in the case of trees planted 

 against the ends of houses and other walls 

 which are much higher than those of gardens 

 usually are, fan -training is the more advan- 

 tageous, for by it the upper part of the wall can 

 be much sooner covered. Ample instructions 

 for obtaining the requisite number of branches 

 at the proper distances from each other have 

 been already given in the chapters on pruning 

 and training, as regards both horizontal and fan- 

 trained trees. 



The branches of a Pear-tree intended to be 

 trained horizontally against a wall should be 

 the distance of four courses of bricks apart. 

 At this distance the tree will sooner reach the 

 top of the wall than if the branches were trained 

 at three courses or 9 inches apart; but it may 

 be said that, although the wall is sooner covered, 

 it will not be covered thickly and efficiently. 

 There will be a greater extent of uncovered 



