TRAINING. 



39 



ficient to ripen fully the fruits of temperate climates, so that the whole, 

 art of training, at once the trial and triumph of skill with English fruit- 

 gardeners, is quite dispensed with ; and in the place of long lines of 

 brick w^all and espalier rails, surrounding and dividing the fruit-garden, 

 all covered with carefully trained trees, we are proud to show the open 

 orchard, and the borders in the fruit-garden filled with thrifty and pro- 

 ductive standards. Notliing surprises a British gardener more, knowing 

 the cold of our winter, than the first sight of peaches and other fine 

 fruits arriving at full perfection in the Middle States with so little 

 care ; and he sees at once that .three-fourths of the great expense of a 

 fruit-garden here is rendered entirely needless. 



Training fruit-trees, in this country, is therefore confined to the 

 colder districts north of the 43° of latitude, and to the gardens of ama- 

 teurs. There can, however, scarcely be a more beautiful display of the 

 art of the horticulturist than a fine row of trained trees, their branches 

 arranged with the utmost symmetry and regularity, and covered, in the 

 fruit season, with large and richly colored fruit. 



North of the 43° latitude (or north of the Mohawk) the j)each does 

 not ripen well, and this, as well as soem other rather tender trees, will, 

 in such situations, generally yield abundant crops when trained on a 

 common upright trellis, or espalier rail, seven or eight feet high.* Still 

 farther north, as in Maine or Canada, a wall must be resorted to ; but 

 our own observation leads us to believe that, generally, the espalier rail 

 will be found not only cheaper and more easily managed in training, 

 but really preferable to a wall, as full exj)osure to light is sufiicient with- 

 out much additional heat. With regard to walls themselves, in the 

 middle portions of the Union a southern aspect is almost always the 

 worst, being too hot in midsummer ; a wall running north and south, 

 and affording east and west aspects, is much the best. The western as- 

 pect is indeed preferable for all tender fruits, as the blossoms are not 

 there liable to injury from early frosts. A. north wall is useful for pro- 

 ducing a later crop. 



The objects of training are, by a more complete exposure of the 

 leaves and branches to the light and sun, to ripen fruits in a naturally 

 unfavorable climate ; to render them more fruitful — lessening vigor and 

 excessive growth by the lateral or horizontal arrangement of the 

 branches ; and lastly, economy of space, as trees when trained on a flat 

 surface occupy much less space in the fruit-garden than standards, and 

 leave the borders more open for cropping with vegetables. 



Training conical standards. A very easy and simple mode of 

 training fruit-trees, which has lately come into great favor with amateurs, 

 is the conical standard, or Quenouille (pronounced kenool) of the French. 

 It is applied chiefly to pears, which when treated in this way may be 

 planted about eight feet apart, and thus a great variety of sorts may be 

 grown in a small garden. A great number of the specimen trees in the 

 London Horticultural Society's Garden are trained in this manner ; and 

 Loudon remarks, that in 1840 the Royal Kitchen Garden of Versailles 

 contained two hundred trees trained in the conical manner, with the 



* Cedar or locust posts, set four or eight feet apart, with horizontal bars let 

 in, and crossed by light perpendicular strips of pine from six to twelve inches 

 apart, will form an excellent and durable trellis for espaliers. See Fig 28. In- 

 deed many gardeners here prefer having a light trellis a few inches from the wall 

 upon which to traia, instead of nailing directly on the wall. 



