476 FKUIT 



be kept thin and perfectly open, so as to admit 

 plenty of sun and air, without which the fruit 

 produced will be small, and good for little : the 

 middle of the tree, indeed, must be kept quite 

 open from the first to the last, taking care 

 that all the surrounding branches lead out- 

 wards, and preserve a regular distance from each 

 other. In pruning the supernumerary shoots, 

 they should be cut down to within an inch of 

 the bottom, which will generally cause the sur- 

 rounding eyes to form natural blossom spurs ; 

 but where the tree is in a vigorous state of 

 growth, branches will probably be produced in- 

 stead of spurs; if so, they must all be cut out 

 close except one, which must be shortened as 

 before. In all the winter primings care must 

 be taken to keep the spurs short and close, 

 none of which should at any time exceed 3 

 inches — cutting out clean all blank spurs, which 

 have produced fruit the previous summer, to 

 the next perfect bud below." 



In pruning the apple and pear, every means 

 should be taken to encourage the formation of 

 natural spurs in preference to artificial ones; 

 and it may be here remarked that some kinds 

 are naturally disposed to produce the former at 

 an earlier age and in greater abundance than 

 others, and these should have a preference in 

 the formation of a selection, particularly in 

 small gardens. The Keswick codlin may be 

 given as an example of the one, and the Clare- 

 mont or Easter pippin of the othei\ The 

 former of these produces natural spurs profusely 

 at an early age, while the latter rarely produces 

 them until the tree has attained a considerable 

 size and age, and even then but sparingly. 



This mode of training occupies more surface 

 space, certainly, than that of espaliers, about to 

 be noticed ; but, on the other hand, it gives a 

 much greater surface of exposure to the sun 

 and light to the leaves and fruit. We rarely 

 encourage artificial spurs, but cut out all lateral 

 shoots close in to the wood from whence they 

 arise; and it is curious to see that young natu- 

 ral spurs will protrude from the smooth clean 

 bark on the wood of one, two, or more years' 

 growth, and especially so from the little callosity 

 formed at the places from which the laterals 

 were cut. The varieties which do not send out 

 a sufficient number of natural spurs from the 

 surface of the main shoots rendered bare by 

 this system of pruning, are easily made to be 

 clothed with fruit-bearing spurs by selecting 

 young wood well placed, and laying it in upon 

 the naked branches referred to. And again, by 

 following out Mr Fleming of Trentham's prac- 

 tice, we side-graft shoots near the base of those 

 naturally devoid of fruit-buds, and by either of 

 these simple plans have fruit (the attacks of in- 

 sects in the blossoms excepted) from near the 

 surface of the ground to near the top of the 

 trees. By this mode of pruning the fruit is 

 much less liable to be blown from the trees by 

 winds than if they were produced from buds 

 formed on spurs often a foot or more in length. 



Pruning the apple and pear in the conical or 

 pyramidal form. — When the trees are so pruned, 

 and the horizontal branches form stages above 

 one another, they are termed en girandole, or 



chandelier-like, a form in much repute on the 

 Continent. These are, in general, produced by 

 cutting in the side branches, as shown at fig. 

 207, which shows the tree in three successive 

 stages. Fig. 208 shows such a tree when mo- 



Fig. 207. 



GIRANDOLE TRAINING. 



First stages. 



delled to the desired shape, and fig. 209 the 

 same tree with the branches of the current 

 year's growth tied down in the quenouille man- 



Fig. 208. Fig. 209. 



GIRANDOLE TRAINING QUENOUILLE TRAINING. 



Complete. 



ner. Trees may be trained in this manner to 

 the height of 12 or 15 feet, but for small gar- 

 dens from 6 to 10 feet will be found a preferable 

 size. The effect of bending down the branches 



