232 



TRAINING FRUIT TREES. 



to get it. I omitted to say that this low trunk should 

 be protected from the sun during the entire year. 

 Two boards, six inches wide and a little longer than 

 the trunk, nailed together at their edges like a trough 

 and turned over the trunk, will be sufficient. 



I began my experiment with about fifty trees which 

 I raised from pits and budded, but during the pro- 

 cess of learning my lesson, I have lost all but seven. 

 The covering with boards saved these. They have 

 been in bearing three years, and most of them are 

 fine thrifty trees. I am so elated and confident that 



I intend next spring to plant out a lot of young trees, 

 which I budded this season. 



Besides the peach and apricot, the plum and the 

 cherry can be grown in this way where they will not 

 otherwise succeed. It requires some patience to get 

 the trees into bearing, but when the training is fin- 

 ished it is not so much work to cover one of these 

 trees as it is to prune and cover a grape vine ; and 

 who would go without grapes because of the trouble 

 of taking care of the vines ? 



I'ermont. J. T. Macomber. 



TRAINING FRUIT TREES. 



HE European methods of train- 

 ing fruits to trellises and walls 

 are looked upon as wholly in- 

 applicable to American condi- 

 tions, yet they can often be em- 

 ployed to good advantage. It 



■ is true that our climate does 



not demand such pains, nor is 

 the system profitable in most conditions, but one 

 who loves good fruit and finds pleasure in handling 

 plants will be gratified with a few espalier or wall 

 trees. The espalier training is essential in the 

 forcing of most fruits, as the nectarine and peach, 

 but they are comparatively few who force these 

 plants in America. 



Briefly stated, the reasons for definite training of 

 fruit trees are these : to heighten the flavor and 

 color, to increase size of the fruit, and to advance 



P~iG. 2. Pear Trained on Wires. 



the season of maturity. These advantages are ac- 

 complished largely because of the greater amount 

 of heat and light which the indi\idual fruits re- 



cen'e ; but much is no doubt due to the greater at- 

 tention to manuring and tilling which always at- 

 tends an extra endeavor. 



Fig. I. A Wall-trained Pear Tree. 



Training to a wall is a favorite practice. Where 

 late spring frosts are not feared, a wall with a 

 direct southern exposure is desirable. Upon such 

 wall the seasons of growth and maturity are greatly 

 enhanced. But in many places a south exposure 

 is positively unsafe, and a wall facing east or west 

 is preferable. In fact, a north wall, in our hot 

 climate, may give the most gratifying results. 

 There can be no better apricots in this country 

 than those grown at the home of the Hon. James 

 Wood, at Mt. Kisco, N. Y., and his trees are 

 trained upon north walls, where the sun cannot 

 strike the trees before three o'clock. 



If a wall of brick or stone is not available, the 

 side of a building or even a board fence may be 

 utilized. Those who have visited the grounds of 

 EUwanger & Barry will recall a large St. 

 Ambroise apricot trained on the side of a barn. 

 A perfect specimen of wall-trained pear-tree is 

 shown in Fig. i, which is reproduced from a photo- 



