REPORT OF THE APPLE AND PEAR CONFERENCE. 



37 



care. They were but moderately fruitful, though models of 

 form, and as handsome in leafage as camellias. In the course of 

 time, my friend having left Taunton, a portion of his beautiful 

 garden, of which many of the pyramid trees were occupants, 

 came into the possession of Mr. Godding, nurseryman, of that 

 town. This gentleman soon discovered that the pyramids would 

 never pay rent for the land they covered, and he determined that 

 they should pay liberally, and cover no land at all. He cut them 

 back to sheer stems, of seven to ten feet or so, according to their 

 form and stature, and allowed them to form free heads over the 

 gravel walks. They have done this ; he crops the borders under 

 them to their very stems, and they arch over the walks, forming 

 rustic bowers, and their fruitfulness is such that it is necessary 

 to provide artificial support to save them from self-destruction. 

 You have never seen pinched pyramids in the deplorable con- 

 dition of needing artificial support. 



Of wall and cordon trees I do not propose to say anything at 

 this time, except that they must be amenable to common sense, 

 and nature must have some freedom even where the trees are so 

 fettered. Of one thing I am satisfied, that any system of pruning 

 that promotes a late summer growth is pernicious, for it is not 

 possible in this clhnate that fruit trees can make and mature 

 useful wood after the passing of Midsummer day. 



Discussion. 



Mr. Peabson thought Mr. Hibberd rather meant to talk about 

 bad priming r. good pruning than the non-necessity of any prun- 

 ing at all ; indeed, his own arguments proved that the pruning 

 knife is required. What use was it to have pears hanging like 

 ropes of onions, for if they were as thick as all that they would 

 certainly not be worth much when you had got them. To get 

 really good fruit it was absolutely necessary to give a space of 

 nine inches between the branches, both of wall and bush trees, 

 and to do this the side shoots must be pruned off to let in air and 

 light. The trees Mr. Hibberd condemned were not "pruned," 

 but clipped more like yews for a hedge. If the pear trees in the 

 Society's gardens had been left as Mr. Hibberd would have them 

 they could not possibly have borne better crops ; for he noticed, 

 in passing through to the Conference, that although they had 

 many of them been somewhat severely pruned, they were bearing 

 very heavy crops of excellent fruit. 



Mr. Wright said the longer he lived the less he should use 

 the knife in pruning if his object was to get the greatest possible 

 amount of fruit; but if pruning was skilfully conducted, you cer- 

 tainly obtained finer fruits. He referred to the pear trees at 

 Cardiff Castle, planted on the pear stock, and said they had been 

 allowed to assume their natural habits, the only pruning they had 



