146 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
gummy state. To prevent such a misfortune, he should always place his 
fingers round the nail and hit them instead of the shoot. However, in many 
good gardens the walls are wired at from 6 to 8 inches apart, and the shoots 
are tied to these wires. This, in some respects, is a better plan, because the 
ties do not harbour insects like the common cloth shreds, and there is no 
danger of bruising the shoots with the hammer ; but there is another danger, 
and that is, if the shoots are tied-in tight at first, the shoots swell and increase 
in thickness, and become strangled at that part: hence, at pruning-time, they 
are apt to break at that part, and thus disappoint the hope of fruit from such 
branches. Let the grower, then, beware of this evil, and watch over the ties; 
and when they are approaching to being too tight, cut them, and re-tie them 
more loosely. 
As soon in summer as the young shoots have grown long enough, let them 
be secured to the wall to prevent their being blown off by the wind. This is 
of consequence, as, after the superfluous shoots are rubbed off, the loss of any 
branch required is difficult to be repaired. Therefore, secure such shoots as 
soon as they can be handled; place them in the most open space, so that every 
leaf may have its full share of light, yet not shade the fruit-bearing shoots. I 
consider here and there a part of the wall should even be unshaded, to gather 
heat from the rays of the sun: that heat helps to ripen the fruit and the wood 
also. 
Summer Treatment. —This season commences when the trees are coming 
into bloom, and ends when the leaves are fallen from the trees. The attention 
they require consists in, first, protecting the bloom ; next, disbudding; third, 
thinning the fruit; fourth, watering; and lastly, destruction of insects and 
mildew. 
Protection. —The shelters used for this purpose are various. Some use 
Spruce Fir branches tied to the main shoots, others use branches of Beech 
with the dry leaves on ; but these shelters are of but little use, and sometimes 
injurious. What is needed is a shelter from frost only; and, therefore, a con¬ 
trivance whereby the trees may be covered at night, and exposed during the 
day, is far superior to a fixed one like the branches of trees. The best kind I 
ever used was made as follows :—A long board projecting from the top of the 
wall over the trees was fixed first, then to it a sufficient number of pulleys, 
through each of which a rope was threaded ; one end was fastened to a pole on 
which was nailed a length of canvas, or netting, wide enough to cover the wall 
when let down. Another pole was fixed on posts near to the ground about 2 feet 
from the wall. To this pole the other edge of the canvas or netting was fixed. 
To keep the covering from the wall some rough larch poles were reared up at 
6 or 8 feet apart. During the day, in mild weather, this shelter was let 
down, resting upon the lower pole by means of a rope, and early in the after¬ 
noon it was drawn up, thus covering the trees completely. By this contrivance 
we sheltered the blossoms from frost by night, and exposed them to the warm 
sun during the day. In another place we used frames of wood the height of 
the wall, made about 3 feet wide. These had thin canvas nailed to them, and 
when in use rested under a piece of wood nailed to the top of the wall, and on 
another laid on the ground. The frames were light, and easily moved. A 
young man in half an hour could remove them from a long wall in the morning, 
and lay them down in the walk on two pieces of wood to keep them from the 
damp, and replace them in the afternoon in the same time. This mode is rather 
troublesome, and, perhaps, expensive at first; but with care the frames last 
many years, and the protection they afford is most effective. The late Mr. 
Errington always advocated the putting on of these shelters early, for the pur¬ 
pose of retarding the blossoms from expanding too early whenever a warm 
