426 



THE IMPERIAL ERUIT AND 



fruit_, especially as regards tlie finer varieties of Pear 

 trees. 



It should be borne in mind that the good opinion of espalier 

 trees given by British cultivators has been won by them under 

 great disadvantages^ for nothing can be uglier or more ineffi- 

 cient than the usual mode of supporting and training espaliers 

 in our gardens. It is generally so costly and disagreeable to 

 the eye^ that it has been done away with for these reasons 

 alone in many gardens. I know some important ones near 

 London, and indeed in many parts of Britain, where the 

 espalier support is the most unworkmanlike and discredit- 

 able affair to be seen in the place. Great rough uprights 

 of wood, which soon rot and wabble out of position, thick 

 and costly bolt-like wire, cumbrous and expensive construc- 

 tion, and, in a word, so many disadvantages as would suffice 

 to prevent the prudent cultivator from attempting anything 

 of the kind. The form of tree used, too, is such that the 

 lower branches become impoverished, and often nearly useless. 



To support his espalier fruit trees the Emperor^s gar- 

 dener, M. Hardy, has largely adopted a system which is at 

 once cheap, neat, and almost everlasting. Instead of em- 

 ploying ugly and perishable wooden supports he erects up- 

 rights of T-iron, and connects these with slender galvanized 

 wire. These are tightened with the little raidisseurs before 

 alluded to, and then there is an end of all trouble. He 

 manages to erect this trellising nine feet high for less 

 than a shilling a yard run; but it could not be done 

 so cheaply in smaller quantities. Then, instead of adopt- 

 ing the common form of espalier tree, with horizontal 

 branches, he more frequently uses trees of which each 

 branch ascends towards the top of the trellis, and thus 

 secures an equable flow of sap through the tree. The 

 accompanying figure (243) will give a better idea of both 

 trellis and tree than any description. There is no more 

 important matter connected with our fruit culture than this 

 very point, and therefore I should be much obliged to all 

 my readers, both amateur and professional, if they will give 

 the subject attention, as I am sure that by doing so they 

 will be led to largely adopt it^ and much improve their fruit 



