The low-headed tree is most easily sprayed and Dwarf trees will be in full bearing in four or five Trees trained on wire trellis against a wall occupy 

 occupies very little space on the ground years from the bud no ground space at all 



Why You Should Grow Dwarf Fruit Trees-By p. f. Barnes, 



YOU CAN HAVE FORTY KINDS OF FRUIT IN A SPACE TWENTY FEET SQUARE, SAVE SEVERAL 

 YEARS, GET LONGER AND BETTER FRUIT AND EACH TREE SHOULD YIELD A BUSHEL A YEAR 



New 

 York 



WE CAN no longer recommend tall 

 fruit trees for home gardens — at 

 least on small areas. At the present rate 

 the San Jose scale will kill inside of ten years 

 practically every old bearing tree of standard 

 size outside of commercial orchards in this 

 country. But we predict a new and better 

 era. Heretofore amateur fruit-growing has 

 not amounted to anything in America com- 

 pared with Europe, because the commercial 

 side has been extraordinarily developed. It 

 has been too easy to buy cheap fruit. 



But now that the choicest varieties are 

 threatened with extinction the amateurs will 

 come to the rescue. Just as Chicago is a 

 better city because of the fire, so the San Jose 

 scale is a blessing in disguise, because we 

 are now willing to take the trouble to grow 

 better fruit than we can buy. And just as 

 New England never really cared for trees 

 until it had to pay millions to save its elms 

 from the gypsy moth, so we predict a wonder- 

 ful increase of interest among amateurs in 

 growing the varieties of fruit that stand for 

 quality. 



The only practicable scheme is to choose 

 the best flavored varieties, grow them as 

 dwarfs, and control the San Jose scale with 

 miscible oils. These cost more than the 

 commercial sprays but are more convenient 

 on small areas. (The lime-sulphur-salt com- 

 bination is too much bother for the amateur. 

 Don't believe anyone who tells you that 

 dwarfs mean less work. If you neglect them 

 they will go to ruin as sure as fate. You 

 want your trees dwarf so that you can feed, 

 prune, spray and cultivate them more thor- 

 oughly than standards. This new scheme 

 means more work than ever before — and 

 more fun. There is some inducement now 

 to make fruit-growing a hobby! — Editor. 



The advantages of the dwarf fruit trees 



for the small home garden are: (i) they 

 require much less room than standards, thus 

 enabling you to grow all the different kinds 

 in your back yard; (2) they come into bearing 

 from two to five years earlier than standards, 

 often bearing a crop worth considering the 

 second or third year; (3) you can care for 

 them more conveniently and thoroughly, 

 and (4) if they are not put too close together 

 they will not shade the ground too much 

 for other crops such as strawberries and 

 vegetables. 



An ordinary apple tree requires a place 

 forty feet square, so that in an ordinary back 

 yard, which is seldom over fifty feet square, 

 only two or three can be grown and the ground 

 is too densely shaded. In the same area 

 you can grow from twenty-five to fifty dwarf 



1 he beginning of a cordon: it is bent down and tied 

 to a wire 



119 



apple or pear trees of different varieties, all 

 trained to pyramidal form and each tree 

 should ultimately bear about a bushel of 

 fruit every year. Some vegetables can also 

 be grown between the trees. 



It takes about ten years for a large apple 

 tree to come into full bearing — only four or 

 five for dwarfs. Some varieties of dwarf 

 apples, e. g. Bismarck, will fruit the first year, 

 but it is not good policy to allow it. All will 

 bear a partial, but considerable, crop the 

 second or third year. Obviously, dwarfs 

 are the only sensible thing for renters, sub- 

 urbanites and amateurs who want all kinds 

 of fruit on a small area. 



HOW TREES ARE DWARFED 



All the varieties that are grown in the form 

 of large trees can also be grown as dwarfs. 

 Dwarf trees can be had only by inserting 

 buds of the desired variety into a slow grow- 

 ing stock. Practically all the dwarf apples 

 are budded on a small-fruited, wild European 

 apple called the Paradise. A strong growing 

 variety like the Red Astrachan will then 

 grow only eight to twelve feet high. Half 

 dwarfs are budded on Doucin. Half dwarfs 

 come into bearing later than dwarfs, require 

 more room and ultimately bear larger crops. 

 Their main use is in the new type of com- 

 mercial orchard in which standard, half- 

 dwarf and dwarf apples are grown on the 

 same land instead of the old plan of mixing 

 strawberries and other small fruits with 

 standard trees. 



Dwarf pears are budded on quince stocks. 

 Dwarf plums have usually been put on myro- 

 balan roots but Prof. Waugh believes the 

 best stock is the sand cherry. 



Peaches when worked on a plum stock 

 make a shorter growth; they are also much 

 better adapted for growing on wet or heavy 



