THE PEAR. 



483 



wood should be left ; and now, when the knife 

 must of necessity be passed over the trees, in 

 order to correct the omissions of the past sum- 

 mer, let us again advise that every short-jointed 

 shoot with plump eyes or buds be tied down to 

 the old wood — not more, however, than one, or 

 at most two, at a given point — and thus proceed- 

 ing from the root-stock to the extremities to 

 clothe the wood from end to end. When this 

 plan is adopted, all barren-looking spurs may at 

 once be cut clean away, unless they give pro- 

 mise of blossom-buds. The hobby, however, 

 must not be ridden too hard; still preserve the 

 genuine fruit-spurs with the utmost care. Under 

 this system let there be no spurring back, as it 

 is called, of young and green shoots, in order to 

 create spurs. Such, we know, may sometimes 

 be generated, but it is the exception to the 

 rule. By this tying-down mode, when estab- 

 lished, plenty of natural spurs will be produced; 

 and, moreover, the tendency to produce ' breast- 

 wood ' will be lessened exceedingly." — Cottage 

 Gardener. 



Training the apple and pear in a pendant 

 form, referred to before, has the effect of pro- 

 ducing fruitfulness without having recourse to 

 much pruning or mutilation. For this purpose 

 trees are sometimes planted on one side of a 

 wall or espalier, and trained to a single stem to 

 the top, and are there headed back for the pur- 

 pose of producing shoots to be trained in a 

 downward direction on the opposite side. A 

 modification of this is to train a single stern to 

 the top of the wall or espalier, and from thence 

 to carry two leading shoots in a horizontal 

 direction to the right hand, and also to the 

 left, as recommended by Mearns, and from 

 these to train the shoots proceeding from them 

 downwards on the same side of the wall or 

 espalier. Another modification is to train two 

 similar horizontal branches along nearly to the 

 bottom of the wall or espalier, as recommended 

 by Rivers, and to train the shoots from them 

 upwards, in either a perpendicular or some- 

 times in a diagonal or spiral direction. The 

 flow of the sap is considerably checked by hav- 

 ing to travel in a horizontal line ; but the evil in 

 the latter case is, that the upright or diagonal 

 branches nearest the centre of the tree become 

 much stronger than those towards its extre- 

 mities. 



Training to horizontal trellises forming a plane 

 with the horizon, and also on inclined walls, 

 has no doubt the effect of moderating the 

 rapidity of the flow of the sap, but both place 

 the blossoms in a position more liable to sustain 

 injury from frosts than where the trees are 

 trained vertically. They are, nevertheless, under 

 such circumstances, more readily protected by 

 artificial coverings. 



Summer - pruning the apple and pear when 

 trained as espaliers. — Mr Robert Thompson thus 

 speaks of this important operation : " Unless 

 summer-pruning be duly attended to, fruitful- 

 ness need scarcely be looked for. If neglected 

 in summer, a mass of shoots will give the espalier 

 the appearance of an untrimmed hedge ; and the 

 question is, What is to be done with these super- 

 abundant shoots ] If they are left to the winter- 



pruning, and then cut close to the horizontal 

 branches, the latter will be rendered naked, and 

 must remain weak, for they cannot increase in 

 thickness if they are not furnished with sufficient 

 foliage. If, on the other hand, the shoots are 

 shortened back to within a few buds of their 

 bases, almost every one of these buds will push, 

 and a greater thicket than that produced in the 

 preceding summer will be the result. The alter- 

 native is summer-pruning. The leading shoots 

 must not be meddled with in summer, at least 

 not until the branches of one tree meet those of 

 the adjoining ; but all other shoots produced 

 along the branches must be checked. When 

 the most forward of these have pushed about 6 

 inches, shorten them to 3 inches. The rest may 

 be allowed to go on a little longer ; but in the 

 first fortnight of June, all of them should have 

 their points cut off. About midsummer com- 

 mence at the upper part of the tree, and shorten 

 more than half the shoots to within 3 inches of 

 their bases. About a week after, treat nearly 

 half of those which have pushed from the lower 

 branches in the same manner ; and a few more 

 of the shoots on the upper part may be also 

 shortened to 3 inches. Reducing thus the su- 

 perfluous shoots by degrees, the tree does not 

 experience a shock like that which is the con- 

 sequence of a sudden and an extensive privation 

 of foliage. If trees have been neglected till mid- 

 summer, the shoots must not then be swept off 

 close, or nearly so, at once. In such a case, 

 shorten them all a little, and then keep on re- 

 ducing them in a gradual manner. No entire 

 shoots should be left throughout the summer, 

 but a sprinkling of those shortened to stubs of 

 6 or 8 inches in length may remain till the 

 winter-pruning. Their leaves will elaborate sap 

 for the benefit of the tree, whilst, from their 

 shortened condition, they occasion no injurious 

 shade as regards the adjoining parts where fruit- 

 spurs are being formed." This mode of summer- 

 managing espalier pear and apple trees has a 

 direct reference also to such trees trained against 

 walls, and to a very great extent to such as are 

 grown as standards. It is a part of practice 

 which merits the attention of every fruit culti- 

 vator. 



Thinning the crops. — It is common with most 

 people to remark, that the apple and pear bear 

 well and the reverse in alternate years. The cause 

 of this, for the most part, is allowing the trees to 

 exhaust themselves by carrying more fruit in one 

 season than they can well bring to full maturity. 

 The trees become greatly weakened, and the 

 extraordinary draught made by their roots upon 

 the soil in which they grow extracts from it all, 

 or nearly all, the food it contains suitable to 

 their existence. The organisable matter stored 

 up by the tree for its natural support is also 

 exhausted in its efforts to perfect the crop ; 

 and hence in the succeeding season, with a de- 

 ficiency of elaborated sap in the tree itself, and 

 a deficiency of food in the soil within reach of 

 the roots, we need not wonder that a season of 

 sterility results. Fruit cannot be expected un- 

 less the buds are stored with the necessary 

 amount of elaborated sap for their full develop- 

 ment, the production of blossom, and much 



