14 



ESPALIER AND WALL TREES. 



in a wild state. Fig. 8, page i6, shows a twig and flower 

 of this tree, natural size. 



The foregoing brief sketch covers about all of the 

 pomaceous group peculiar to Japan which can be classed 

 as fruits of sufficient interest to merit mention here. 

 Based upon the extent of their culture and general ap- 

 preciation, this group will, as already intimated, rank 

 only third or fourth in their catalogue of fruits, being 

 preceded by the persimmon, the orange and, perhaps, 

 the grape. But aside from these leaders there are many 

 other fruits peculiar to the country, of more or less local 

 habitation and culture, which, though without any recog- 

 nized status in the market, will have more less interest 

 to us. I will mention a couple of these here. One of 

 them is already known to some extent in the south. I 

 refer to 



THE LOQUAT. 

 Photinia Japonica, Fran, and Sav. (^Mcspilus Japan, 

 ica, Thunb. ; Photinia Erlobotrya, J. Hooker; Eryohoirya 

 Japonica, Lindl). Jap., Biwa. — This is an evergreen 

 fruit tree. It is not a large tree, as it is rarely seen 

 taller than twenty-five or thirty feet, but it has a thick, 

 spreading, rounded head. The illustration (fig. lo, page 

 ig) shows a twig with some leaves and a few fruits of 

 the native variety, natural size. These top leaves are 

 somewhat small and narrow ; further down the stem 

 they are considerable larger and broader. All are thick, 

 dark green, rough and crimped. The young wood is 

 very woolly, the shoots short and thick, and the branches 

 crooked. One fact peculiar to this tree, which may not 

 be generally known in America, is that it blooms in the 

 fall, and for this reason it cannot be a success as a fruit 

 tree where the winters are at all severe. It stands the 

 cold, and fruits well at Tokio and some distance further 



north, and we have seen that the temperature falls there 

 to about 20° F. at times, hence it cannot be called ten- 

 der ; and but for this peculiarity it might no doubt be 

 fruited much farther north in this country than is the 

 case. I do not recall having seen it in fruit further 

 north than central Texas. It begins blooming in No- 

 vember, when the small yellow flowers form in thick 

 clusters on the ends of the branches, and the young 

 fruit, which takes shape a month later, remains all winter 

 almost stationary, after having thus started, ready to 

 take advantage of the first warm spring weather. It 

 ripens in June. It is a yellow, globular or slightly ob- 

 long berry, with a thick woolly skin, and containing four 

 large seeds, though often one or more seeds are abortive. 

 The small amount of yellowish flesh in which the seeds 

 are embedded is very juicy and exceedingly refreshing 

 and pleasant. Besides the one shown in the illustration, 

 which is the biwa proper, they have another variety 

 called the To-biwa, said to have been introduced from 

 China. It has a larger fruit, but the seeds being also 

 larger, there is no gain in flesh, and what there is is of 

 a less delicious quality. The leaves of this variety are 

 also larger and coarser than those of the native. The 

 peddlers tie the fruit in bouquet-like bunches, surround- 

 ed by a rosette of leaves. It is a favorite with every- 

 body while it lasts, but the season is short. 



I have never seen the trees planted in orchards, but 

 only a few specimens here and there about the dwell- 

 ings, apparently as much for ornament as for the fruit. 

 In proper places it is an effective ornamental tree, but 

 in dry, dusty locations the rough leaves soon become 

 loaded with dust, and the result is not happy. It is 

 propagated by seeds. 



A'ansas Agricii/iiiral College. C. C. Georgeson. 



ESPALIER AND WALL TREES. 



in this country. 



^ OME time last year an article 



appeared in The American Gar- 

 den (April, p. 232) briefly describ- 

 ing the methods of training es- 

 palier and wall trees in Europe, 

 and stating that, although the 

 methods were excellent there, 

 they are usually impracticable 

 It has occurred to me that in 

 many instances the methods could be successfully 

 employed in this country. In the south of 

 France the sun is sufficiently powerful to injure 

 the bark of the trees, and so the employment 

 of means to protect them is necessary. The 

 injury to the bark is often urged as a drawback to 

 growing the trees in this country, yet we often see 

 apple trees that are held up as models of pruning 

 or training that have naked stems two feet or so in 

 height and three or four branches three or four feet 



in length without a single leaf, and the ends of the 

 branches much resemble a half dozen twigs. I 

 am puzzled to see how it is that such trees pass 

 through the summer without injury. I would 

 rather have twenty-five espaliers than sixty such 

 leafless or limbless trees. 



In France many of the finest varieties of pears 

 are entirely cultivated upon the espalier system., and 

 it is generally acknowledged that the fruit of all 

 varieties when grown upon the espalier system is far 

 superior, both in size and quality, to that produced by 

 trees growing on the natural or standard system. When 

 the producers of choice fruits become more numerous, 

 and the attending competition renders it more difficult 

 to obtain high prices for extra fine samples produced on 

 the natural or let-alone plan, an endeavor will be made 

 to produce still finer samples that shall be the very best 

 of their kind, as well as the highest achievements of 

 skill. How will this be done ? Why, growers will begin 

 cutting their trees, and then some one will find that this 



