124 
JOURi\\\L OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ February 18, 1890. 
being shortened back, and the leader laid in to its full length each 
season till the limit is reached. Two-branched cordons can also 
usually be formed from maidens without cutting back, the best 
placed lower branch on the upper side being laid in. This will 
naturally be weaker than the leader for several years, but will 
eventually overtake it. Three-branched cordons may be formed 
by cutting maidens back to within 4 inches of the union of 
graft with the stock, a central and two side branches being selected 
and laid in during the next summer. Young trees that have been 
once pruned, a leader and two side branches being selected and 
trained, can be bought from any nurseryman who prepares horizon¬ 
tally trained trees, and these are well adapted for training as three- 
branched cordons. As a rule, cordons succeed best when trained 
obliquely, the slight depression serving to better regulate the flow 
of sap than is the case when the branches are trained uprightly. 
The buttresses of old walls, as well as various archways and 
numerous blank spaces to be seen on most walls between the old 
horizontally trained trees, ought always to be furnished with 
cordons. Not only will the latter give a finished appearance to 
the walls, but the chances are they will also produce much the 
finest fruit. 
Palmette verriers, which may be described as a combination 
of the horizontal and cordon systems of training, are not nearly so 
often seen as they ought to be. It was Mr.. Luckhurst, I believe, 
who first strongly advocated them in the Journal of Horticulture, 
and it is to be hoped many more have given them a trial than I am 
aware of. Amateurs especially will find them singularly easy to 
train, the start being made either with newly bought-in small 
horizontally trained trees or some of the latter already well estab¬ 
lished, or even maidens may soon be converted into handsome 
trees. Any number of main branches may be laid in, say about 
12 inches apart, the trees being planted so many feet apart accord¬ 
ingly. I consider six main branches a good average number for a 
tree, especially if the walls are upwards of 12 feet high. The 
foundation of a tree may be formed in exactly the same way as 
advised in the case of those horizontally trained, the only difference 
being that no central branch or leader should be laid in when suffi¬ 
cient side branches are obtained, the latter faring better when 
there is no leader to absorb the lion’s share of the sap. Supposing 
there are six or more branches, the central pair would be trained 
12 inches apart and nearly uprightly, the only curve being near 
their starting point. The next pair would have to be laid in 
horizontally, and then trained uprightly at a distance of 12 inches 
on each side of the central branches, and so on until all are given 
their proper position. The lowest branches of all naturally have 
much the greatest distance to travel in a horizontal direction 
before the points are given an upward turn. A very little ex¬ 
amination of the system ought to convince anyone how easily 
moderately large trees now horizontally trained may be much 
improved in appearance and character, the sap being more evenly 
disposed throughout the growth, the lower branches eventually 
becoming nearly as stout as those apparently more favourably 
located near the centre. We have received stiff overgrown, then 
subsequently stunted, trees from nurseries that do not lend them¬ 
selves to this method of training, and we also object to any with 
stems more than 9 inches in length. We have also grown good 
trees from two-branched maidens, and also by cutting down maidens 
in order to obtain two strong shoots, these being laid in right and 
left in a horizontal direction to a distance of 30 inches from the 
stem or centre, and then given an upright turn. The trees being 
fairly vigorous, depressing causes the branches to break strongly, 
and from each two well placed shoots are laid in at regular 
distances, and trained uprightly, a well formed six-branched tree 
being eventually thus obtained. 
Tan-shaped trees are frequently to he met with, and though 
somewhat irregular, and not always pleasing to the eye, many of 
them are yet profitable. If the start is made with a well-branched 
young tree aU that is necessary is to lay all the sound branches in 
to their full length at regular intervals over the wall, young shoots 
being laid in according as the trees widen and more wall space 
requires filling. This plan answers well with such strong growers 
like the Jargonelle, which are not easily trained in a more formal 
manner. If maidens are planted these must be cut back for two or 
three seasons, or till about ten main branches are obtained. In 
each and every case I hold it to be unwise to stop or prune the 
main branches in any way unless for the purpose of obtaining more 
in number. Laid in to their full they are more certain to form 
fruit buds freely and much less wood growth than would result if 
pruning, however lightly done, were resorted to. Stopping strong 
shoots is more likely to favour rather than to check their grossness, 
but early summer stopping of the lateral growth undoubtedly 
strengthens the weaker leaders. Trees on the Quince stock are the 
first to become productive, and are the best in all cases where head 
room is limited, but those on the Pear stock are more constantly 
vigorous, and by timely root-pruning can be brought to and long 
maintained in a productive state.— Fruit Grower. 
EMIGRATION OF GARDENERS. 
(^Continued from page 105.') 
Prospects. —A competent gardener—namely, a person who 
has served an apprenticeship under a good gardener, been journey¬ 
man or assistant in two or three, and foreman in at least one 
establishment, and possessing satisfactory testimonials, being of 
good health physically and mentally, of good education and 
address, and being furnished with the needful for a start in Ufe,. 
will do well to think twice before emigrating. Our prompter 
states that those expecting to secure charge of large establishments 
with a corresponding staff, will find situations affording scope for 
their energies and abilities very few in the United States of 
America, the President not employing more than a dozen hands in 
gardening at the White House, Washington. There are, of course,, 
a few places, perhaps half a dozen in the environs of New York, 
and others of the older and larger cities, the proprietors being 
millionaires, where the establishment can compare with good gar¬ 
dening establishments in England. Even places keeping a gar¬ 
dener and two or three assistants are not nearly so plentiful 
as here. The greater number of situations are single-handed, and' 
single men are preferred, a wife bfing as much an encumbrance as- 
a large family is to a gardener in England, and the man must be 
utilitarian—namely, able and willing to attend to cows, pigs,, 
poultry, horse and trap (waggon), making himself generally useful. 
In brief, the man most in demand from a gardening point of view 
for private places is a handy fellow that can turn his hand to- 
everything the proprietor requires. Many such are only engaged- 
for the summer months, April to November inclusive, the remainder 
of the year the gardener is left to shift as hest he can. In such 
places 35 to 45 dols. per month are paid with board. There are 
no fixed hours of work, the employed must give up all his time- 
from daylight to dark to the service. In winter employment can 
be had by those not having a permanency at odd jobs or with a 
florist at 1 dollar per day without board, and generally enough can 
be earned in winter for making ends meet, otherwise living must 
come out of the summer earnings. The foregoing remarks apply 
to all large cities on the Atlantic seaboard from Portland in Maine 
to Norfolk in Virginia. 
It is with a florist that the gardener from these shores can do- 
best in America, and acquire work suitable to the English taste,. 
A good all-round hand can obtain ready employment and goodr 
remuneration—namely, 20 cents per hour for jobbing work, which 
of course applies to the summer months only, as in winter only 
occasional employment can be relied on. Professional florists cap 
command high wages, and, of course, constant work, but this- 
applies only to those that bave become acclimatised, have know¬ 
ledge and experience of the American florists’ modus operandi and 
the ins and outs of trade. 
Living is much the same in large cities and their environs as in 
England, rations being plentiful, good, and cheap ; boarding, &c., 
being rather poor and high priced. Clothing, for better class goods, 
is high priced, but the Yankee dresses well and makes a point of 
wearing a thing only so long as it is decent, and then goes in for 
“ spankers.” Warm clothing is, of course, necessary for winter, and 
of this there is an “ immensity of shoddy,” The summers being hot 
and long cotton goods are all the go, as something must be had 
that is light and airy and will wash, as they have to be often 
changed. 
A very large business is done in the large cities, particularly in 
New York and Philadelphia, in cut flowers. Tea-scented Roses 
are prized by everyone and grown extensively, as also are Carna¬ 
tions, Bouvardias and Gardenias, bulbs of aU kinds, Callas, &c» 
Palms for decoration are grown largely, Smilax (Myrsiphyllum) 
taking the place of Adiantum, which with Asparagus plumosus 
nanus afford the requisite greenery and relief. Coloured foliage is 
much in demand for decoration, particularly Ampelopsis Veitchi. 
Easter decorations are much in vogue, enormous quantities being 
grown for that purpose of Lilium Harrisi, along with Spirma 
japonica, Deutzia gracilis, and white (Indian) Azaleas. In spring 
the Violet and Pansy are much appreciated. Pansies do remark¬ 
ably well, being raised from seed sown in spring and grown in 
frames during the winter, similar to Violets, in which they are 
flowered, being highly esteemed for cutting. To summarise, we 
may say the Americans aim at a good display of flowering and 
decorative plants in winter under glass, and use them— i.e., Crotons 
and all stove decorative plants, outdoors in summer, their colours 
coming out finely under the semi-tropical sun. 
Carpet bedding is well, even excessively, done. Alternantheras 
being very bright in colour, also Coleus, Echeverias, and Semper- 
