TRAINING. 



now be in its second summer, and will have four horizontal branches on each 

 side of the upright stem as in ftp-. 309 ; and by persevering in this system 



four horizontal branches 

 will be produced in each 

 year, till the tree reaches 

 the top of the wall, when 

 the upright stem must 

 terminate in two horizon- 

 tal branches. In the fol- 

 lowing autumn the tree 

 will have the appearance 

 of fig. 810 ; supposing an 

 apple tree be the plant to 

 be trained, and that it 

 Let it be planted early in autumn, 

 Every bud pushing two or 



Fig. 309. Horizontal training, third stage. 



consists of a single shoot from a bud. 

 and next spring head it down to seven buds, 

 three shoots, the 

 third and fourth, 

 counting up- 

 wards, must be 

 nibbed off when 

 they are three 

 inches in length ; 

 the uppermost 

 shoot must be 

 trained straight 

 up the wall for a 

 leading stem, and 

 the remaining 

 four horizontally 

 along the wall. 



The leading shoot training, fourth year. 



having attained about fifteen inches in length, cut it down to eleven inches. 

 From the shoots that will thus be produced select three, one to be trained as 

 a leader, and two as side branches. In the second autumn the tree will have 

 the appearance of fig 311. Proceeding in this way for seven years, the tree 



will have reached the top of a wall 

 twelve feet high. With weak trees, 

 or trees in very cold, late situations, 

 this practice will not be advisable, as 

 the wood produced from the summer 

 shoots would be too weak, or would 

 not ripen ; but in all ordinary situa- 

 tions the plan will succeed." — {^Har- 

 rison on Fruit-trees^ chap, xx.) 



8O7. Fan-training and horizontal 

 training combined. — In training trees 

 ^^z<:^^y^^' horizontally, we have seen that a 



Fig. 311. Horizontal training, the apple. considerable period must elapse before 

 the wall is filled. It is alleged also that heading-down does not always 

 produce two lateral shoots, and also that it has a tendency to make the 



