ON THE DIFFERENT METHODS OF TRAINING FRUIT-TREES. 131 
allowing them to shade too much of the ground below, or give the 
garden a wild woodland look. This plan, besides being favourable to 
the natural growth of the trees, offered another advantage, namely, the 
chance of bearing greater crops of fruit from the more numerous 
branches, and more extended spray of the head. 
This method of planting and treating fruit-trees has been neatly and 
successfully executed in many gardens, and during the first ten years 
of their growth really look very well; and, while in bloom, or bending 
with fruit, are beautiful. 
The dwarfest growing varieties of the different sorts should be chosen 
for this mode of training. We say training, because, although the 
trees be allowed to take their natural form of head, its regularity, as to 
thickness or thinness, and proper position of the branches, must be 
regulated by the pruner. Such shoots as have a tendency to grow out 
of bounds must be stopped ; and so must those which are not suffici¬ 
ently furnished with spurs. Those which may grow across others must 
be brought into their right places by ties; and the whole head be so 
thinned by pruning out, or thickened by cutting back, that a rotund 
and well-balanced head may be always maintained. 
When the trees have arrived at the required height, say five or six 
feet, (for they should not grow higher,) and have got into a bearing 
habit, they may be easily kept in order and in good form ; but such 
trees are aspiring, and have a natural tendency to grow larger ; and, if 
not fruitful, this tendency to luxuriance is still further prompted by 
the necessity of keeping them in regular order by the knife. Such 
vigorous growth can only be checked by severe stopping and disbudding 
in the months of May and June ; or by lifting the tree, and replanting 
it in October, or by the old custom of “ ringing.” Speaking advisedly, 
and from long experience, we know that summer stopping and timely 
disbudding will check luxuriance ; but we know, |also, that this busi¬ 
ness is very often neglected at this busy season (May and June) of the 
year; and as the best alternative, we know that ringing the stem 
close to the ground is the most effectual expedient which can be had 
recourse to in order to bring pear and apple trees into bearing as soon 
as possible. 
Our own practice was as follows:—The trees, which had been twice 
headed down in the nursery, were planted in well prepared loamy soil, 
about fourteen inches deep, lying upon a hard gravelly bottom, at the 
distance of about seven feet from each other in the row. They were 
dwarfs, with clear stems of a foot high. The first shoots were pruned 
down to obtain a sufficient number of branches to rise all round, and at 
proper distances from each other; and always with a view to the bush 
