DWARF STANDARD PEAR-TREES. 
ill 
led in straight lines ; near the ground another 
hoop, ten feet in diameter, should be fixed 
more permanently than the others, and to this 
the points of the branches are to be fastened 
down by strings. The plant will thus be 
surrounded by three hoops at different alti- 
tudes, and gradually increasing in size down- 
wards ; the branches are to be led directly 
from the central stem to the uppermost hoop, 
and from this downwards to the other two in 
direct lines. The first series of branches will 
need to be cut back, with a view of producing 
two leading shoots, or more, in place of one ; 
this, however, will depend entirely on the 
strength of the variety, and the actual diameter 
given to the tree. It will be quite sufficient 
to state that enough branches must be secured 
to train in at about one foot apart. The first 
year after planting trees furnished with eight 
or ten shoots each, which will be at least 
three years from the graft, these shoots should 
be cut back to about two-thirds of their length, 
so that another season will elapse before they 
extend outwards to the upper hoop ; they may 
be fixed horizontally by temporarily tieing a 
straight stick to the hoop and the stem of the 
tree, for each shoot ; and this temporary sup- 
port may be removed when no longer required. 
After pruning the trees for the purpose of 
securing a sufficient number of branches, of 
which nearly the full number should be pro- 
vided by the time the shoots reach the upper 
hoop, the pruning and management of the 
individual branches will be just similar to that 
spoken of under the head of pyramidal train- 
ing, viz. to cut back the leading shoots each 
year, to secure other strong leading shoots, 
and then to spur in closely all the side shoots 
that are produced ; the object is to cover each 
of these pendent branches with fruit-bearing 
spars, and, except on the top of the tree, there 
is little difficulty in producing them. The 
points of the pendent shoots may either be led 
downwards by fixing a temporary stick from 
hoop to hoop, to fasten each to, or a piece of 
string may be tied (not quite tight) near the 
point of the shoot and fastened below, thus 
pulling the shoot into its proper position; 
either way will do. When the skeleton of the 
tree is formed, all except the lower hoop 
may be removed. It is the general practice 
to do much of this even without hoops at all, 
or, if they are used, they are altogether re- 
moved ; but, for the sake of securing the 
symmetry of the tree, the lower hoop might 
be permanently retained, and the points of the 
shoots fastened to it ; this would keep them 
more regularly placed than they would remain 
were the hoops entirely removed. "When the 
hoops are dispensed with, the branches are 
kept from springing upwards into their natural 
position, by circumscribing the whole by a 
band of packthread, which is passed round 
each of the shoots, and thus keeps them ;ill 
tolerably steady; this plan mill do, of coin-'-, 
as well as any other, but the orderly appear- 
ance secured by retaining the hoop is to be 
preferred. 
The side shoots which are produced on 
these principal branches, are easily converted 
into fruit-bearing spurs ; and this may all In; 
done by summer pruning better than by 
pruning in the winter ; the buds, by means of 
summer pruning, are better organized, and 
a season is often gained ; besides, the work is 
much more easily performed. The process is 
thus : — As soon in the spring as the shoots 
have extended two or three inches, or so far as 
to develop three or four leaves, pinch off the 
top of the shoot beyond the fourth leaf, using 
the thumb-nail for the operation ; thus all the 
force that would have been expended in the 
formation of the shoots becomes concentrated 
in the three or four buds which are formed in 
the axils of the leaves which are left. By 
chance one of these buds may afterwards break 
forth, and produce a shoot ; but if such is the 
case, it should be treated in a similar way, 
and then, at the winter pruning, if the whole is 
found (as it probably will be) to be incon- 
veniently long, the spur can be cut back to the 
bud next behind where the shoot started from. 
The greatest difficulty is with the crown or 
upper part of the tree ; in this part the force 
of the ascending sap will be continually in- 
ducing the production of vigorous shoots. 
Under these circumstances but little fruit is 
obtained from this particular part of the tree ; 
nor is there any very ready means of checking 
the production of this useless wood ; if the 
tree is in vigour, the sap will have vent some- 
where, and it is in this upward direction that 
its tendency is the strongest. There is one 
advantage in having vigorous shoots produced 
at this part of the tree, for they furnish a 
supply from which to choose young shoots, to 
replace any of the older branches which may 
become diseased, or require removal. Much 
may be done towards lessening the drain they 
cause on the sap, by carefully attending to 
stopping them back in the early part of the 
season, as well as after Midsummer, when the 
second growth takes place ; and there is no 
doubt but that, with assiduity, much of this 
part of the trees might be reclaimed, and 
rendered productive. This would not be the 
case, however, unless the trees were quite as 
they should be at the roots ; any undue vigour 
at the root would be sure to be developed in 
the branches, and thus the object would be 
defeated by the production of quantities of 
wood buds, instead of fruit buds. It may 
appear strange to speak of undue vigour in 
the trees, but it must be borne in mind that 
