34 



THE OECHAED A^'D TEUIT GAEDEX. 



back ill summer form fruit-bearing spurs the following 

 season. After the shortening of leading shoots in 

 August, no ^Yinter pruning is required. 



The same system of pruning and training. /. e.. con- 

 tinually nipping back all the shoots, except the leading 

 shoots, through the summer, leaving the leading shoots 

 until the sap begins to descend, and then shortening 

 them, |ucceeds well with any dwarf trees, and produces 

 most abundant crops of fruit under almost any circum- 

 stances. In dwarf trees grown as bushes, winter thinning 

 out of any branches that become too crowded is often 

 necessary. 



In the August shortening of leaders, pear trees of very 

 vio^orous growth, such as Beurre d'Amaulis. ]\Ionsieur 

 le Cure, Buerre Diel, and others, should have them 

 shortened back to eight or ten inches ; pears of medium 

 vigour, such as Louise Bonne, Marie Louise, Buerre 

 d'Aremberg, and such like, shortened to six inches : and 

 pears of puny growth, like AVinter Xelis, to only four 

 inches, because the abundant sap of the rampant growers 

 will expend itself in a too crowded growth, if necessary 

 scope be not allowed. Difference of soil, difference in habit 

 of trees, even of the same kind, situation, and many other 

 circumstances, will often make a considerable difference 

 in the vigorous growth of particular trees. 



Cordon training, so much spoken of during the last 

 few years, is a name introduced by French fruit-growers 

 for the system which is the very soul of good fruit cul- 

 ture, pinching in all the shoots, to form a succession of 

 flower-buds. The ends of all the shoots on a branch are 

 pinched off*, and thus made to produce bloom, so that 

 each tree or each branch is kept to a single, unbranching 

 stem. 



In cordon training, the whole tree is sometimes kept 

 to a single stem. These trees are planted very close 

 together against a wall, and are trained diagonally, at 

 an angle ot" about 45°, all the trees being kept parallel 

 with each other. Another models to train the branches 

 in this manner, all starting from one upright centre 

 stem. 



