294 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



June, 1909 



pears on the quince, 

 peaches and nectarines on 

 the plum. 



KIND OF TRELLIS 



Iron posts and galva- 

 nized iron wires make the 

 best trellis because it will 

 last longer than one made 

 of wood. It is somewhat 

 more expensive but will 

 probably" be the cheaper in 

 the long run. If iron posts 

 cannot be used, get locust, 

 stringing the wire by means 

 of a swivel attachment at 

 one end of each strand, so 

 that the slack may be taken 

 up and the trellis kept 

 taut. String the wires one 

 foot apart and make the 

 entire trellis from four to 

 six feet high, putting apples 

 on the higher trellis. 



Set the tree close to the 

 trellis so that it actually 

 touches the wires. It is 

 a mistake to set the tree 

 six inches away (to allow 

 for future growth). Such a tree always 

 has to be pulled over to the trellis and 

 a sacrifice made of all trimness in the 

 appearance. 



The method of pruning is somewhat 

 different according to whether the tree is to be 

 a standard or trained on the trellis. Standards 

 are pruned much the same as other young 

 fruit trees by removing all the inside branches 

 and heading in the leaders. A tree on the 

 trellis must be cut off entirely three eyes 

 above the lowest wires on the trellis. Of the 

 three shoots that develop from the three eyes 

 above the wires, the lower two are trained 

 horizontally in opposite directions along the 

 lowest wire, and the other one is taken up 

 and treated similarly next season to form 

 the branches for the second line of wire. 

 This is perfectly simple and can be done by 

 anyone. 



The secret of the later development of 



One of the greatest advantages of dwarf trees is the ease of gathering, spraying and prun- 

 ing, without ladders, etc. 



the tree is in carefully looking it over when 

 growth begins in the spring and rubbing off 

 every bud that is not positively wanted. 

 The tying down of the young shoots should 

 be done about the first week in August of 

 each year, and at the same time any super- 

 fluous shoots that may have escaped the 

 rubbing-off process are cut out. 



MAKING FRUITING SPURS 



Dwarf trees seem to fruit more abundantly 

 than others but only because they are 

 encouraged to develop a greater number of 

 fruiting spurs. After shoots have been 

 growing horizontally for a few seasons, 

 the formation of spurs will start normally, 

 and every care must be taken not to 

 break any of these in removing the fruit. 

 From these spurs shoots will of course 

 start growing, and each season we rub 

 off two out of every three, and those 



that are allowed to develop 

 are subsequently pruned 

 back in the following 

 spring to about four 

 inches. In due course 

 spurs will develop on these 

 shoots. 



THE FRUITING TREE 



It is an easy thing to 

 over-crop these dwarf trees 

 — a tendency that must 

 be sternly repressed. A 

 reasonable crop for a 

 young apple tree is one 

 fruit to every square foot 

 of trellis. Peaches or pears 

 may carry two fruits to the 

 same space, and after the 

 set each year the thinning 

 must positively be attended 

 to. When trees are well 

 developed — eight or ten 

 years old and thoroughly 

 healthy and vigorous — 

 the load can be increased 

 considerably, the exact 

 proportion being deter- 

 mined in each case by 

 the condition and vigor of the tree. 



Winter mulching of well decayed 

 manure is really a necessary detail in the 

 management of dwarf trees, not because 

 of any tenderness, because they are as 

 hardy as a tall tree of the same kind — 

 naturally so — but because the roots of 

 the stocks used for dwarf trees, being 

 shallow-rooting, are more liable to injury 

 in severe winters. 



As to varieties, any one can be grown, but 

 there are some slight differences in behavior. 

 My experience is that among apples the best 

 are Bismarck, Beauty of Kent and Emperor; 

 of pears, Howell, Worden Seckel and 

 Fertility; of peaches, Early Rivers, Lord 

 Palmerston and Barnard Early. The 

 Bartlett pear, which for quality is unsur- 

 passed, can be successfully grown as a 

 dwarf on a trellis, but it requires more atten- 

 tion than the others named. 



If you want to make your own dwarfs prepare the ground now 



There is some satisfaction in having pears like these to pick as you need them 



