104: 



THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN. 



imperfect ; and espaliers of the Bigarreau and Guigne 

 or Heart tribe are planted and trained along the sides 

 of the garden walks, giving abundance of shoots and 

 leaves, but very little fruit (which the birds appro- 

 priate), and in the course of time give out gum — 

 owing to their having been unmercifully pruned — 

 and die full of years and barren shoots, having given 

 much trouble to the gardener. I have pointed out 

 how cherries may be cultivated in gardens as pyra- 

 mids, &c, and have alluded to fertility in the Bigar- 

 reau and Heart tribe being promoted by double graft- 

 ing ; this mode of culture is also interesting, as leading 

 to suceess in soils that seem unfavorable to cherries 

 under some circumstances. 



Cherries grafted on the Mahaleb are described pp. 

 85 to 90 ; they affect calcareous soils, and, as far as I 

 can learn, do not succeed so well in the sandstone 

 formations, and where iron abounds in the soil ; in 

 such situations, double grafted trees should be planted 

 formed in this way — the common Morello cherry 

 should be budded on the Mahaleb stock, and after two 

 years it should be grafted with some kind of Bigar- 

 reau, Heart, or Guigne cherry ; it will form a small 

 or moderate sized tree, and bear abundantly. In cul- 

 tivating cherry trees in soils inimical to their well- 

 doing, abundance of chalk or lime rubbish should be 

 mixed with the earth to the depth of two feet. 



Double grafting of apples is of very inferior im- 

 portance as compared with the same operation on 

 pears or cherries, for our English Paradise stocks give 

 the most perfect health and fertility in nearly all soils. 

 Still there may be some peculiar positions, where the 



