352 TRAINING. 



ground, tying and fastening to rods, stakes, or trellises, or nailing to walls 

 (466). The articles more immediately required are hooked pegs, ties, nails, 

 and Ksts (452), with props of various kinds (451 and 452), and ladders (456). 



785. The principles upon which training is founded vary according to the 

 object in view, but they all depend more or less on these facts : — that the sap 

 of a plant is always impelled with the greatest force to its highest point ; 

 that, in general, whatever promotes this tendency encourages the production 

 of leaves and shoots, and whatever represses it, promotes the formation of 

 blossom buds. When a plant is to be trained over the surface of the ground, 

 it must be borne in mind, that, as the tendency of the sap is always to the 

 highest bud, the shoots pegged down should be allowed to turn up at the 

 points, in order to promote their extension. When the object is to induce 

 blossoms or fruitfulness, a contrary practice should be followed, and the 

 points of the shoots kept down, or in the case of upright-grown plants, 

 trained horizontally, or even in a downward direction. This should also be 

 done when the object is to restrain over-luxuriance, and a contrary practice 

 when a weak or sickly plant or tree is to be invigorated. When the object is 

 to economise space, the plants are trained against a trellis, as occupying 

 length, but very little breadth ; and when it is to increase temperature, they 

 are trained or spread out against a wall, which prevents the conduction of 

 heat and moisture from the branches, by acting as a screen against winds ; 

 and increases heat by reflecting the rays of the sun during the day, and 

 giving out heat during the night, and whenever the atmosphere is at a lower 

 temperature than the wall. 



786. Manual operations of training (454). — The tie or the list, by which 

 the shoots are fastened to the trellis or wall, should be placed in the inter- 

 node, and always immediately behind a bud or joint ; because when tying 

 or nailing takes place in the summer season, and near the points of the 

 growing shoots, the latter sometimes elongate after being fastened, and if 

 this elongation is prevented from taking place in a straight line by the 

 fastening being made immediately before a bud or leaf, instead of being 

 made immediately behind it, the shoot will be forced into a curved direction, 

 and the bud and its leaf injured. Ties, which in this country are commonly 

 of bast, are gently twisted before being tied into a knot, in order that it may 

 be the firmer, and the bast not liable to be torn during the operation of 

 tying. Osier ties, which are sometimes used for espalier trees, are fastened 

 by twisting together the two ends, and turning them down in a manner sooner 

 and easier done than described. In fastening shoots with nails and shreds, 

 when any restraint is required to retain the shoot in its position, the pressure 

 must always be agamst the shred and never against the nail, as the latter 

 would gall the shoot, and in stone fruits generate gum. The shred ought 

 never to be placed in the hollow of a bend in the branch to be attached ; 

 for there it is worse than useless. On the contrary, the shreds should be put 

 on so as to pull the external bends inwards towards the direct line, in which 

 it is desirable the branch should be trained. In fig. 263, the straight direc- 



Fig. 263. Bringi7ig a bent shoot into a straight direction by nails and shreds. 



