AUGUST. 247 
PYRAMIDAL FRUIT TREES FOR ORNAMENTAL PLANTIN G 
IN VILLA GARDENS. 
I AGREE with your correspondent ‘‘ Malus” that fruit trees in shrub- 
beries ought to be more abundant than they are, for they are quite as 
ornamental as most of our deciduous trees and shrubs at present in 
use, both in spring when in bloom and in autumn when laden with 
fruit; for who is there who does not admire either Apples or Pears, 
whether planted as standards, espaliers, or pyramids—whether in 
gardens, orchards, or anywhere else; besides, the value of the crop 
must be taken into account. For villa, and small gardens in general, 
I know of nothing to equal either Apples or Pears for ornamental 
planting, either as pyramids or bushes, intermixed with a few ever- 
greens, to give the garden a furnished appearance in winter. Plums 
also look well as pyramids, and produce a nice effect in autumn, when 
the fruit is ripe, particularly the large and high-coloured varieties. 
Pears are, however, in my opinion, most striking, but they must not 
be neglected ; if they are wanted to look well and be productive they 
must be removed every two years or so, and have a little fresh soil 
added if the ground is poor; avoid over stimulant manures; if the 
trees grow too strongly without fruiting they require to be lifted annually 
and their strongest roots cut back, carefully preserving all the small 
fibres ; as the trees get old, they will not require lifting so often, and 
will produce a good crop of fruit in most seasons; when young and 
growing they require watching, so as to stop all strong shoots, tying 
them wherever they are wanted, to maintain a perfect shape. A fruit 
tree, well managed, does as much credit to its owner as a pot plant on 
an exhibition stage, and is equally beautiful on a lawn as in a shrubbery. 
Anyone who does not care about the trouble of training them can buy 
large trees fit for immediate effect at most nursery establishments, and 
at reasonable prices. By using fruit trees for ornamental purposes, 
people with small means may in most seasons enjoy a good Pear or 
Apple for dessert during the greater part of the year, merely by taking 
care to thake a judicious selection of sorts. The last plage I lived at 
we had upwards of 70 Pears and Apples in the shape of pyramids 
and bushes, planted in a small space of ground, and a most beautiful 
effect they made, and were admired by everyone who saw them. 
On trees five and six feet high, I had Pears as large and of as good 
shape and flayour as ever I obtained from a large tree, and that not 
one kind only, but twenty or more sorts—growing on a stiff clay on 
the north slope of a hill, four miles north of London from the General 
Post-office. This therefore should encourage others to try the experi- 
ment, 
‘ a BB 

GISHURST COMPOUND. 
In the last number of the ‘Cornhill Magazine ” there is one of the 
amusing “Roundabout Papers” by Thackeray, entitled “Thorns in 
the Cushion,” in which he humorously shows the pains and anxieties 
