172 



TRUITS. 



[chap. 



260. Espaliers are managed in the following manner : suppose 

 it to be an apple-tree which has been grafted in the manner be- 

 fore directed, and which has a good strong shoot coming up from 

 the graft. Take the tree up, and plant it in the manner directed 

 under the head of Planting in this chapter. Whether planted in 

 the fall or in the spring, let the tree stand in the spring till the 

 buds begin to break, then cut the shoot down to within three buds 

 of the bottom. Cut sloping, and let the cut end pretty near to the 

 point where the top bud of the tree is coming out. These three 

 buds will send forth three shoots, and all the three will take an 

 upright direction. About the middle of July, take the two bottom 

 shoots, one of which will be on one side of the stem or trunk, as 

 it must now be called, and the other on the other side, place a 

 couple of little stakes to each of these shoots, and tie the shoots 

 down to the stakes so that they may lie in a horizontal direction, 

 suffering the top shoot to go on ; but, about the latter end of July, 

 take the top off from that shoot. Thus, when winter comes, you 

 will have one upright shoot and two horizontal ones. In the 

 spring, cut off the top shoot again, leaving five buds ; two of 

 which you will cut out in order to prevent them from sending out 

 shoots. You W'ill again have two side-shoots, and the top shoot 

 will again be going on upright. You must now have longer 

 stakes in order to give these side-shoots a horizontal direction ; 

 but the stakes that serve for the new- shoots will serve also for 

 those of the last year ; but then, as the shoots of the last year wdll 

 be going on, there must be additional stakes to tie them to. The 

 next year you proceed in the same manner ; and if you do the 

 work carefully, you w ill finally have these lateral shoots in perfectly 

 regular order, and they should be at about from seven to nine 

 inches asunder, the lowest w-ithin a few inches of the ground, and 

 the highest just according to your fancy ; but it is not desirable to 

 carry the tree to a height beyond that of about five or six feet. 

 As these side-shoots or limbs increase in size and length, they will 

 need loftier and stouter stakes ; and this, like the growing of peas, 

 in a neat manner, and to produce fruit most abundant in quantity 

 and most excellent in quality ; this staking, as in the case of peas, 

 has been the great obstacle to the cultivation of espaliers. A 

 stake of any ordinary wood will last not above two years, and 

 especially in garden ground ; it rots off at the point where it be- 

 gins to touch the earth, and there is an everlasting trouble and 



