94 



CASSELL'S POPULAR GARDENING. 



ing. Such fructiferous varieties as Louis Bonne 

 of Jersey will frequently not advance more than two 

 inches a year either in height or breadth. 



In cutting back the leading shoots of Pears, either 

 in the autumn or winter, they should be cut to a 

 bud, as near as may be in a line with the main stem. 

 AVhen this is attended to, established Pears show few 

 or no signs of the frequent beheadings to which they 

 have been subjected, and may be as perfect in form 

 and have as clean straight stems in the garden as on 

 paper. 



Neither must cutting back to a bud be interpreted 

 too literally. It is safer to make these cuts a quarter 

 of an inch, or even a half-inch, above the bud, and 

 when the latter is strongly started, towards the end 

 of the succeeding April, cut this bit of protruding 

 wood off at a sharp angle at the base of the growing 

 shoot. The wound will then heal quickly, and the 

 leader be kept clean as well as straight. 



Bush Pear-trees. — There is but little to say 

 ■about these, only that, as a rule, they are mostly less 

 regular and a little more rugged than our bush 

 Apples (p. 18, Yol. III.). But unless for Pears under 

 glass, or made portable by pot culture, the bush 

 culture of the Pear needs specially favourable sites 

 and localities for its successful prosecution. When 

 bush Pears are attempted, those on the Quince, 

 or double-grafted, or rooted cuttings, the cuttings 

 taken from trees already in full bearing, are likely 

 to be the more successful. (See Pears, in The 



OltCH AK.D-HOUSE. ) 



Best-formed Pear-trees for Walls and 

 ^Espaliers. — As a rule, horizontal-shaped trees of 

 various sizes and forms are those most generally 

 used, with or without a straight or twisted centre 

 stem, with an open centre, or two furnishing rods. 



A great point in this mode of training is the direc- 

 tion of the lower branches at first, so as to give them 

 a strong start somewhat in advance of the others. 

 Once this is secured it is mostly kept, and one way of 

 securing it consists in raising the shoot somewhat 

 above the horizontal lines during its first season's 

 growth. 



The fan system of training is more difficult and 

 also more mobile than the horizontal. Admirable as 

 the latter is, it is obvious that should a limb or large 

 branch succumb, the symmetry and beauty of the tree 

 is marred for years, if not ruined for life. Culturally 

 the merits of the two chief modes of training Pears 

 may be pronounced of equal merit. Most Pear- 

 growers, however, prefer the horizontal for walls 

 and espaliers. But, structurally, the fan system is 

 the best. The branches all radiate from the root- 

 stock, or stem of the tree, near its base, and spread 



out like the limbs of a fan towards the sides and the 

 top of the wall, and hence the name. And it is 

 obvious, were one of these to fail, a very slight shift- 

 ing of the remaining ones would suffice to fill up the 

 blank, and thus re-mould the tree into perfect form. 



To furnish fan-shaped trees with fruit-spurs, the 

 leaders must be stopped, or pinched back during the 

 process of growth, so as to furnish sufficient breaks 

 on the sides to be developed into fruit-buds. And as 

 the tendency in fan-shaped trees is to throw most of 

 the strength into the centre, it is well during all the 

 prehminary stages to keep the centre of the fan open. 

 This will enable the sides to be well developed before 

 the centre is filled. There is never any danger of 

 not finding material in plenty to furnish the latter 

 when desired. 



General Treatment of Breast-wood on 

 Horizontal and Pan-shaped Trees. — This 

 does not greatly vary from that so carefully de- 

 scribed for pyramidal trees of various forms and 

 sizes. Only trees on walls and espaliers having 

 fewer branches, being in fact more of skeletons than 

 trees, need more frequent stopping and vigorous sup- 

 pression. The centre of fan-shaped trees may also 

 need more stopping than the sides. Again, espaliers 

 being smaller, seldom more than six feet high, will 

 probably require more frequent pinching and stop- 

 ping than wall trees, which are mostly allowed to 

 run further and climb higher. Much will, however, 

 depend on the stock and the treatment, and more 

 especially on root-pruning. The main branches on 

 espalier trees should never be closer than six inches ; 

 nine inches is preferable, and some adhere to a foot 

 on espaliers as on walls. 



It is obvious, however, that Pears may be closer on 

 espaliers than on walls, and for the self-same reason, 

 to keep them warmer. The bare interstices on brick 

 walls are warming-pans for the Pears. The open 

 spaces in espalier rails are cooling ventilators for the 

 reduction of temperature. Hence the wisdom of 

 placing the branches of Pear-trees on espaliers so 

 closely that when fully furnished the whole should 

 form almost a living wall of verdure, in which the 

 branches, leaves, and fruit-spurs should well-nigh 

 touch each other. As light and air have free access 

 to the trees on each side, and the trees themselves are 

 but single-branch thick, it is obvious that the whole 

 tree may be converted into a verdant or fruitful 

 screen with comparative impunity. 



The closer the branches, however, the more severely 

 the fruit-spurs must be reduced, alike in size and 

 numbers. A safe and most profitable mean distance 

 between fruit-spurs, or nests of spurs, is that of six 

 inches. In such exaggerated cases of fertility as 

 that illustrated in Fig. 39, the joint products of 



