June 5, 1884. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
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COMING EVENTS 
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Linnean Society at 8 P.M. 
Trinity Sunday. 
Royal Horticultural Society. .Fruit and Floral Committees at 11 A.M. 
ESPALIER APPLE TREES. 
lUp? EATNESS, economy of space, full exposure to 
light, and air, facility of culture in training, 
pruning, shelter, thinning and gathering the 
fruit, are the chief points of excellence in espa¬ 
liers ; and now that the adoption of improved 
forms for these useful fruit trees is becoming 
general, there is little if anything to detract 
from what it must be owned are not inconsider¬ 
able points of merit. It was not always so. 
Fine as the crop of fruit undoubtedly was upon the old style 
of espalier, yet its inherent weakness of form invariably led 
to premature barrenness and decay in the lower branches. 
The vertical stem with its horizontal branches was so faulty, 
so clearly opposed to natural laws of growth, that it is 
surprising it alone should so long have been the only method 
of training such useful trees, and the fact of its being so may 
be taken as an illustration of the too common tendency to 
run in a groove and to take things for granted. 
The modern forms which have ousted the faulty horizontal 
espalier from our gardens are the single cordon and palmette 
verrier. The cordon consists of j ust a single stem with the lateral 
growth kept pruned to form fruiting spurs, and for this pur¬ 
pose is invariably trained diagonally at an angle of 45°, and 
they are planted 18 inches apart if on dwarfing stocks, and 
2 feet or 2 feet 6 inches apart if on free stocks, in order to 
afford ample space for spur-development, concerning which 
it may be useful to add one or two hints here. The develop¬ 
ment of spurs is a process requiring much care and some 
common sense. We should make the growth of each tree a 
special study, and never apply a rigid system of close pruning 
to all alike. Stout free growth is an indication of robust 
vigour, upon which it is wasteful to put Undue restraint, only 
take especial care to have all spur wood well furnished with 
fruit buds, and then it matters not if the spurs are an inch 
or two or a foot or more long. If the latter, so much the 
better ; for, depend upon it, if we are to have a really useful 
supply of fruit from espaliers we must have something more 
than the trim pigmy spurs to which the lateral growth is so 
often and so wrongly restricted. Only remember that long 
spurs must be kept far enough apart to admit light and air 
freely to the branch and all round each spur, or barrenness 
will soon be visible upon parts much shaded, and this is to 
risk barrenness all over the spurs, a hard winter often proving 
fatal to the outer parts, especially if the young growth is at 
all immature in autumn. Many spurs of espaliers suffered 
severely in the last two severe winters we had, some of the 
most robust trees losing several inches of every spur, and 
attention will be called to some striking examples of this 
spur canker farther on. 
Palmette verriers, the other modern form of espalier, are 
compound forms—partly horizontal and partly vertical—each 
branch starting from the vertical stem at right angles and 
turning upwards vertically, so that the end of every branch 
is on a common level at the same height as the top of the 
stem. By this excellent method of training we secure an 
C. -> 
No. 206.— Von, VIII., Third Series, 
equal distribution of vigour throughout the tree, and so long 
as that tree continues healthy the bottom branch is as 
vigorous and fruitful as the top one. If a shoot is allowed 
to grow untrained from the end of a horizontal branch, does 
it not at once turn upwards ? Let, then, those who have hori¬ 
zontal espaliers, taking this clear hint from Nature, apply it 
to the trees, and convert them into palmette verriers, or, to 
coin a descriptive term, horizontal verticals. In doing this 
the branches would have to be shortened sufficiently to afford 
space for the vertical extension, as shown in fig. 100, page 438. 
It is questionable whether the whole of them should be 
shortened at once, or whether it would not be better to let 
the new growth from the two bottom branches have at least 
a year’s start of the others, and thus become sufficiently 
vigorous to reach the top with or soon after them. 
Of the espalier palmette verriers which I planted thirteen 
years ago fourteen are Apples. They have repeatedly 
afforded useful matter for cultural hints to readers of the 
Journal, and are now an interesting study individually and 
collectively. They form part of a large selection of choice 
dessert sorts made by Dr. Hogg, and the original intention 
was to have them on Paradise stocks; but the late Messrs. 
William and Thomas Osborn strongly advised me to give 
preference to the free (Crab) stock for espaliers, and experi¬ 
ence, gained long previous to the planting, convinced me 
that I should not do wrong in listening to them. Yet, not¬ 
withstanding the vigour imparted by the stocks, three of the 
trees have succumbed to the attacks of canker. Pine Golden 
Pippin was the best and most finished specimen of them all. 
Its growth was remarkably vigorous, the whole of the branches 
being fully grown and well furnished with spurs in full bear¬ 
ing, the fruit being highly valued for its tender juiciness and 
delicious flavour ; but this valuable tree is dead from canker, 
which destroyed the bark at the bottom of the stem at the 
point of union of scion and stock when it was grafted. Ross 
Nonpareil and Golden Reinette both had the branches so 
badly cankered that the whole of them are cut back close to 
the stems, which are so much enfeebled that they will pro¬ 
bably have to be destroyed. I particularly regret the loss of 
Golden Reinette, for it is an old favourite, and its seventeen 
synonyms are a sure indication of its popularity both in this 
country and on the continent. The other trees, apart from 
some canker, may be described as fairly healthy and in full 
bearing. All of them are now setting an abundant crop of 
fruit. 
Pearson’s Plate is perhaps the finest specimen, the tree 
being 20 feet long and 6 feet 6 inches high. It has canker 
blotches scattered thinly upon the branches, and the tips of 
the spurs have all been destroyed by canker caused by the 
severe weather in the winters of 1879-80. By pruning the 
cankered parts the damage was got rid of, for the canker did 
not spread inwards, and the spurs are now apparently healthy 
and have been very full of blossom. Cox’s Orange Pippin 
has been crowded with blossom, and the fruit is setting so 
thickly that it will probably require thinning. The tree is in 
perfect health and is very robust, yet the tips of the spurs 
have all been pruned for canker, which shows that this 
troublesome disease is sometimes caused by severe frost. Of 
many trees which I have planted of this excellent Apple this 
espalier on the free stock has been the slowest in coming 
into fruit-bearing. Others on the Paradise, also had from 
the old Fulham Nursery, bore plenty of excellent fruit long 
before it; but for early and abundant crops the palm must 
certainly be given to a dozen trees on Paradise stocks which 
I had from Messrs. Rivers of Sawbridgeworth. That delicious 
Apple Reinette Van Mons is well represented here by a tree 
even more robust than Orange Pippin; but it has suffered 
equally from spur canker by cold, almost all the spurs having 
been shortened an inch or two. It has been very full of 
blossom, and will probably carry a full crop. Melon Apple, 
of American origin, answers fairly well here and the fruit is 
much liked, answering perfectly to its description in tli8 
hjjjjw No. 1862.— Yol. LXX. Old Series. 
