572 



FRUIT GARDEN. 



shading during growth, and a full exposure to 

 the sun during the ripening period, are an 

 important consideration, if fine, large, and high- 

 flavoured fruit is a thing cared for. If planted 

 in quarters by themselves, which certainly offers 

 some important advantages, they may be set in 

 rows 6 feet asunder, and the plants 5 feet apart 

 in the rows. This admits of occasional irrigation, 

 as well as of covering the crop, when ripe, with 

 netting. The plants, in favourable soils, will 

 continue productive for many years, but as they 

 greatly exhaust the soil, and may, as has been 

 stated by a writer in the " Gardeners' Magazine," 

 vol. x., p. 14, poison the ground they are long 

 grown in by the excretions exuding from their 

 roots, repeated replanting is a matter of consi- 

 deration; and our own opinion is, that it is the 

 exhausting principle, and not the excretions 

 they give off, that renders change of soil neces- 

 sary. New plantations should be made every 

 third or fourth year, and this is the more neces- 

 sary in proportion to the lightness, dryness, and 

 poverty of the soil. In the generality of soils, 

 the finest fruit is produced the second and third 

 year after planting; and where fruit of a large 

 size is required, no doubt timely thinning should 

 be practised, and a stimulating effect given to 

 the roots by copious applications of liquid 

 manure. Besides this, all suckers should be 

 removed as soon as they appear above ground ; 

 and no more than four or five canes or young 

 shoots should be permitted to grow, which will 

 be sufficient for producing wood for bearing the 

 following year. This, however, destroys the 

 chance of a succession of young plants, which in 

 private gardens is a matter of little consequence, 

 as a supply can be porcured from the nurseries ; 

 or if deemed important, a portion of the planta- 

 tion set apart for dessert purposes can be so 

 treated, while in that from whence the supply 

 for preserving purposes is taken, a supply of 

 suckers may be allowed to grow. 



Winter pruning and training. — Early in Sep- 

 tember (that is, as soon as the crop is gathered) 

 cut away all the old bearing- wood (that is, the 

 wood that has produced the crop for the season) 

 close to the ground, leaving from four to five of 

 the strongest and best of the young shoots, or 

 canes, as they are usually called, — that is to say, 

 if the plants are very strong; if weakly, half the 

 number left will be sufficient. If pruned so 

 early as the middle of September, the whole of 

 the shoots left should be shortened ; but if the 

 pruning be delayed till the middle of November, 

 defer the shortening of the shoots till the end of 

 February, as they are sometimes in cold climates 

 liable to be injured by frost. It is the usual 

 practice to shorten the whole of the shoots to 

 the same length, but some with greater propriety 

 shorten them at different lengths, according to 

 their strength — say two of the strongest at 4 

 feet in height, two at 3 feet, and one or two at 

 2 feet. This depends, however, a good deal 

 upon the kind, some growing to a much greater 

 height than others, but the above will form a 

 scale. By this means the young bearing-wood 

 of next year is equally divided over the plant, 

 and prevents that crowding and confusion which 

 occurs when they are all cut to the same length. 



Their height depends also on the strength of 

 the plants; the stronger they are, the longer they 

 should be left. In regard to training, some tie 

 the canes merely to an upright stake; others 

 dispense with stakes, and bring the tops of the 

 two nearest plants together, having them in 

 form of an arch. Many of the London growers 

 run long rods or laths, supported by poles, from 

 end to end of the rows, and train the canes to 

 them in a sort of open-fan manner ; while some 

 very orderly persons train them to a regular 

 espalier, which latter is certainly the neatest, 

 and with the last exposes the fruit better to the 

 sun and air. Indeed, either of these modes is 

 equally proper, and any one of them may be 

 adopted to suit peculiar circumstances. Al- 

 though we have stated above that four or five 

 canes should be left on each plant, this applies 

 only to such as are very strong, and in soils 

 highly favourable. Weak plants should not 

 have more than two or three rods retained, and 

 when, from accident or other causes, the plants 

 are very weakly, the canes should be cut down 

 altogether in order to strengthen the plants for 

 the ensuing season. No canes should, however, 

 be left longer than 6 feet, at which height we 

 have often had the Felstof, which is one of the 

 strongest growers. No fruit-bearing plant dis- 

 agrees more with having its roots disturbed 

 than this ; therefore digging about them should 

 be carefully avoided, and enrichment given to 

 the roots by the application of liquid manure 

 and top - dressings of the richest kind; and in 

 the removal of root-suckers, it is better to pull 

 them up than to dig them up, as in the latter 

 case the roots may sustain injury from the 

 spade. 



A late crop of fruit is often obtained by cut- 

 ting down all the canes early in spring to within 

 6 inches of the ground; they will then shoot up 

 new wood, and produce fruit in September and 

 early part of October, and this more especially 

 with the variety called Double-bearing; or these 

 latter may have each alternate plant cut down 

 annually, which will cause a continuance of the 

 ripe fruit till the end of September. By this 

 process more light and air is admitted to the 

 plants that produce the fruit, or the same end 

 may be effected by cutting down each alternate 

 row. 



Summer pruning. — This chiefly consists in the 

 removal, while they are quite young, of all 

 superfluous young shoots arising from the root 

 of the plants, leaving three or four for the 

 bearing wood of next season. Much depends 

 on the size and strength of these, and con- 

 sequently a plant will be better enabled to pro- 

 duce that number than a greater. The light 

 and air also are permitted to act upon them, and 

 hence the sap in them must become much 

 better elaborated, and the buds from which the 

 fruit of the succeeding year is to be expected 

 will be more fully matured. When the fruit is 

 gathered, the wood which produced it should 

 be cut down close to the ground as no further 

 beneficial to the plant. The shoots left should 

 be carefully preserved, and secured to whatever 

 supports may be used, nor should the terminat- 

 ing points be at present interfered with. It is a 



