THE CORDON SYSTEM OE FRUIT GROWING. 335 



alluded to in tlie Gardener's Chronicle : — What a vast 

 proportion of controversy and dispute might be saved^ would 

 people only agree as to the meaning to be attached to 

 words. Just now^ as it appears to us^ a great deal of 

 unnecessary discussion is raised as to the word ^cordon.' 

 A wrangle about words is about as satisfactory as an argu- 

 ment to prove a negative. It may serve^ perhaps^ to stop 

 this futile wordy debate to give the opinion of M. Du Breuil 

 himself on the matter. This renowned horticulturist, in a 

 recently written letter, which has been submitted for our 

 inspection, says that he applied the word ^ cordon ' to trees 



Fig. 141. 



Tree with "horizontal branches. This form, verj commonly seen in our gardens, 

 has been called a " cordon" by some writers, but has nothing whatever to do 

 with that form. 



consisting of a single branch, bearing fruit- spurs only, 

 and never allowed to ramify. When there are two such 

 branches, M. Du Breuil applies the expression ^ double 

 cordon.-* In order to be quite accurate, we subjoin M. Da 

 Breuil^s letter verbatim et literatim : — 



Le mot ' cordon ' derive en fL'an9ais de cord : j^ai 

 employe cette expression pour designer les formes d''arbres 

 dont la charpente se compose seulement dWe seule branche 

 qui ne porte que des rameaux a fruit.'' 



Professor Du Breuil states distinctly that, struck with 

 the long period it took to cover a waU by means of the 



