9 2 
AMERICAN POMOIyOGICAIy SOCIETY 
first sketched on the wall, are curious, but can scarcely be considered of 
practical value. 
Much of this espalier training if persistently done at the right time does 
not demand the labor or expense that one might suppose, but it is not likely 
to be practiced in this country where land is plenty and labor is dear. 
The good points claimed for it by the French horticulturists are these: 
fl) A good exposure of all parts of the tree to light and air, hence for the 
space occupied a good leaf development. (2) The best exposure for good 
pollination. (3) A convenient form for spraying. (4) Little thinning of 
fruit is required, but if required, the least perfect specimens can be readily 
seen and removed. (5) The injury done by storms is lessened. (6) Fine 
fruit can be more easily covered by paper sacks. (7) The fruit can be 
picked more economically. 
Such are the reasons assigned. Whether they justify the practice or not 
I cannot say. Some of them are plausible. For example: the covering of 
the better grades of fruit with paper sacks is a common practice in French 
horticulture. The finer apples, pears and peaches, as well as dessert grapes, 
are often thus treated. Special sacks are made for this purpose. They are 
put on soon after the fruit is well set, and left on until it is gathered. They 
are usually of paper, although some are made of linen. They are put on soon 
after the fruit is well set, and left on until it is gathered. Some of the sacks 
used are tinted yellow or other colors, it being the belief that a better 
colored fruit results from this colored paper. 
The object of this covering is not merely to protect the fruit from in- 
sects, fungi, birds, etc., but to give a finer shade of color, a wax-like gloss- 
iness and a more delicate skin. When the fruit to be covered is on trees 
trained in the usual espalier form the covering can be done quite rapidly, 
me minute or less for each sack put on. 
Originality in French Operations. 
One feature of French horticulture that can scarcely fail to impress a 
visitor from the United States is a certain individuality or originality in 
their operations. A French horticulturist seems to know almost intuitively 
what should be done to bring about a desired end. He cares little about 
ways and means, or methods, but focuses upon accomplishment. He is not 
shackled by theory, hence his horticultural knowledge has not crystalized 
into a set of recipes and formulas, such as one finds in England and Ger- 
many, and to a less extent in this country also. With him methods never 
wershadow the end in view. He does not as a rule unduly emphasize prun- 
ing or fertilizing or spraying, to the point of thinking that if one of these is 
alone in a certain way or according to a given formula a profitable crop is 
assured. Yet despite this seeming lack of anything like uniform methods, 
the French horticulturist gives to his business painstaking care and watch- 
fulness. Every want of each individual plant seems to be met. And the 
marketing is as effectively done as the growing. 
Fruit growing and gardening (vegetable) are combined in an interesting 
way in many parts of France. These combined gardens are small, containing 
usually from one to three or four acres, and are examples of careful cultiva- 
