THE FRUIT GARDEN. 



457 



OCTOBER. 



GENERAL CARE OF WALL AND ESPALIER-TREES. 



The season of pruning and training these trees is now over, 

 for what is called the summer pruning ; and towards the end 

 of the month, that of the winter pruning will be commencing. 

 Those trees which have been disloaded of their fruit, should 

 now be gone over with a light birch-broom, or straight switch 

 or cane, and all the ripe or decaying leaves brushed off. This 

 will greatly forward the ripening of the wood, and the matura- 

 tion of the blossom-buds for next year. This brushing should 

 be cautiously performed, never brushing much at a time. The 

 shoots from which the leaves are to be displaced should be 

 gently stroked upwards and outwards, but never the reverse 

 way of the buds, for fear of injuring them. Standard-trees 

 exposed to the wind seldom require this care, but as the wind 

 has not the same power on wall and espalier-trees, it becomes 

 essentially necessary. 



GATHERING AND STORING WINTER-FRUITS. 



Most apples and pears will be fit for gathering from the 

 first till towards the end of the month. This, however, will 

 depend on the season being early or late, and likewise the 

 situation. These fruits, under most circumstances, will be 

 in general ripe by the end of this month. Apples and pears 

 will be fully ripe for gathering when their seeds change from 

 a white to a darker color, and they should be gathered by the 

 hand, and not allowed to fall of their own accord, nor yet to 

 be shaken off the tree by force. They should be picked both 

 from walls, espaliers, and standard-trees, individually, and 

 carefully put into baskets; this, with the convenience of proper 



