C-NRLF SB bbl fl3fl UNIVERSITY FARM THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN; OH, THE CULTURE OF PYRAMIDAL AND BUSH FRUIT TREES. "There is no kind of fruit, however delicious, that may not be deteriorated, or however worthless, that may not be ameliorated, by particular modes of management." DR.. LINDLKY. BY THOMAS RIVEES. FIRST AMERICAN, FROM THE THIRTEENTH ENGLISH EDITION. NEW YORK: ORANGE JUD I) & COMPANY, 41 PARK ROW. PUBLISHER'S PREFACE. A WOEK by the veteran pomologist, THOMAS RIVERS, needs no commendation. That it has passed through thirteen editions in England, shows the high estima- tion in which it is held there. We republish it without any alteration, and without any attempt to Americanize it. No foreign work can be taken by the American gardener as an absolute guide, and there are many things in this which can have little or no application in this country. Yet the work is full of practical suggestions, and no one who has a fruit-garden can fail to find in it many hints of great value. We have no work that treats in such detail of the garden culture of dwarf pear trees. In this country we plant dwarfs, and are dissatisfied at the results they give in ordinary orchard culture. Mr. RIVERS truly says: "It must always be recollected that pears on quince stocks are strictly garden trees, vi PUBLISHER'S PREFACE. and not adapted to orchards." Those who have only a limited space, and wish to grow pears, apples, and other fruits, can, by the system of pinching and root- pruning combined, keep their trees as small as pot specimens. The selection of varieties given here is that suited to Mr. KIVERS'S climate and locality, and includes some that are not considered valuable with us. The American gardener will, of course, consult home authorities in making out his list of varieties. YORK, April, 1866. INTRODUCTION. MY attention was drawn to the benefits fruit trees derive from root-pruning and frequent removal about the year 1810. 1 was then a youth, with a most active fruit appetite, and, if a tree bearing superior fruit could be discovered in my father's orchard-like nursery, I was very constant in my visits to it. In those days there was in the old nursery, first cropped with trees by my grandfather, about the middle of the last century, a " quarter," i. e., a piece of ground devoted to the reception of refuse trees of such trees as were too small or weak for customers, so that in taking up trees for orders during the win- ter they were left, and in spring all taken up and transplanted to the "hospital quarter," as the laborers called it. The trees in this quarter were often removed they were, in nur- sery parlance, "driven together" when they stood too thinly in the ground; or, in other words, taken up, often annually, and planted nearer together on the same piece of ground. This old nursery contained about eight acres, the soil a deep reddish loam, inclining to clay, in which fruit trees flourished and grew vigorously. I soon found that it was but of little use to look among the young free-growing trees for fruit, but among -the refuse trees, and to the "hospital quarter" I was indebted for many a fruit-feast such Ribston Pippins ! such Golden Pippins 1 yiii INTRODUCTION. When I came to a thinking age, I became anxious to know why those refuse trees never made strong, vigorous shoots like those growing in their immediate neighborhood, and yet nearly always bore good crops of fruit. Many years elapsed before I saw "the reason why," and long afterwards I was advised by a friend, a F. H. S., to write a crude, short paper on the subject, and send it to be read at a meeting of the Horti- cultural Society: this paper is published in their "Transac- tions." I had then practised it several years ; so that I may now claim a little more attention, if the old adage that " prac- tice makes perfect " be worthy of notice. This little work is not designed for the gardens and gardeners of the wealthy and great, but for those who take a personal interest in fruit tree culture, and who look on their gardens as a never-failing source of amusement. In some few favored districts, fruit trees, without any extra care in planting arid after-management, will bear good crops, and remain healthy for many years. It is not so in gardens with unfavorable soils ; and they are greatly in the majority. It is to those possessing such, and more particularly to the possessors of small gardens, that the directions here given may prove of value. The object constantly had in view is, to make fruit trees healthy and fruit- ful by keeping their roots near the surface. The root-pruning and biennial removal so earnestly recommended are the proper means to bring about these results, as they place the roots within the influence of the sun and air. The ground over the roots of garden trees, as generally cultivated, is dug once or twice a year, so that every surface-fibre is destroyed and the larger roots driven downwards : they, consequently, imbibe crude watery sap, which leads to much apparent luxuriance in the trees. This in the end is fatal to their well-doing, for the vigorous shoots made annually are seldom or never ripened suf- ficiently to form blossom-buds. Canker then comes on, and although the trees do not die they rarely give fruit, and in a INTRODUCTION. IX few years become victims of bad culture, existing in a sort of living death. There is, perhaps, no fruit tree that claims or deserves our attention equal to a pear. How delicious is a fine melting pear all the winter months! and to what a lengthened period in the spring may they be brought to table ! Till lately, Bern-re Ranee has been our best spring pear ; but this is a most uncertain variety, rarely keeping till the end of May, and often ripening in January and February. The new Belgian pears, raised many years since by the late Major Esperen, and more recently by Monsieur Gregoire, are likely for the present to be the most valuable for prolonging the season of rich melting pears ; and of these Josephine de Malines and Bergamotte d'Esperen are especially deserving of notice ; they have the excellent quality of ripening slowly. But improvement will, I have no doubt, yet take place ; for pears are so easily raised from seed, and so soon brought into bearing by grafting or budding them on the quince stock, that new and valuable late pears will soon be as plentiful as new roses. In the following pages it will be seen that I strongly advo- cate the culture of pyramidal fruit trees. This is no new idea with me. I have paid many visits to the Continental gardens during the greater portion of my active life of business, and have always admired their pyramidal trees when well managed, and I have for many years cultivated them for my amusement; but, owing to a seeming prejudice against them among some English gardeners, I was for some time deterred from recom- 1 mending them, for I thought that men older than myself must know better; and when I heard some of our market-gardeners and large fruit-growers in the neighborhood of London scoff at pears grafted on the quince stock, as giving fruit of very inferior flavor, I concluded, like an Englishman, that the 1* x INTRODUCTION. foreigners were very ignorant, and very far behind us in the culture of fruit trees. It was only hy repeated visits to foreign gardens that this prejudice was dispelled ; and when I saw the beautiful pear trees in the Jardin des Plantes at Paris under the management of Monsieur Cappe, alluded to in Gardeners' Chronicle, No. 28, 1847, I felt convinced that our neighbors excelled us in the management of fruit trees adapted to the open borders of our gardens. I have, therefore, endeavored to make the culture of pyramidal trees easy to the uninitiated ; and, having profited largely by experience in attending to it with my own hands, I trust that my readers will benefit by the result. A humid mild climate seems extremely favorable to the well-doing of the pear on the quince stock. Jersey, with its moist warm climate, as is well known, produces the finest pears in Europe : these are for the most part from trees on quince stocks. The western coast of Scotland, I have reason to know, is favorable for the culture of pear trees on the quince ; and within these very few years Ireland has proved remarkably so, more particularly in the south, where some of our finest varieties of pears on quince stocks are cultivated with per- fect success. THE MINIATUHE FRUIT GARDEN, ETC., ETC. PYRAMID AL PEAR TREES ON THE QUINCE STOCK. THERE is no description of fruit tree more interest- ing to cultivate in our gardens than the pyramid a name adopted from the French, the originators of this species of culture. The word conical would, perhaps, convey a better idea of the shape of such trees, but as pyramidal trees are now becoming familiar things in English gardens, it is scarcely worth while to attempt to give a new name to these very pretty garden trees. For gardens with a moderately deep and fertile soil, pears budded on the quince stock will be found to make by far the most fruitful and quick-bearing trees ; indeed, if prepared by one or two removals, their roots become a perfect mass of fibers, and their stems and branches full of blossom-buds. Trees of this descrip- tion may be planted in the autumn, with the certainty of having a crop of fruit the first season after plant- ing, always recollecting that a spring frost may de- stroy the blossoms unless the trees are protected. It must always be recollected that pears on quince i 2 THE MINIATURE FEUIT GARDEN. stocks are strictly garden trees, and not adapted for orchards. The most eligible season for planting pyramidal pear trees is during the months of November and De- cember, but they may be planted even until the end of March ; in planting so late, no fruit must be ex- pected the first season. Still, I ought to say here that I have frequently removed pear trees on the quince stock in March and April just as the blossom-buds were bursting, and have had fine fruit the same sea- son, particularly if sharp frosts occurred in May. The buds being retarded, the blossoms opened after the usual period, and thus escaped. The experiment is quite worth trying in seasons when the buds swell very early. If root-pruned pyramidal trees be planted, it will much assist them if about half the blossom-buds are thinned out with a penknife just before they open ; otherwise these root-pruned trees on the quince stock are so full of them that the tree receives a check in supporting such an abundance of bloom. About ten or fifteen fruit may be permitted to ripen the first season ; the following season two or three dozen will be as many as the tree ought to be allowed to bring to perfection ; increasing the number as the tree increases in vigor, always remembering that a few full-sized and well- ripened pears are to be preferred to a greater number inferior in size and quality. In the engraving at the commencement of this little volume I have given a faithful portrait of a pyramidal tree of the Beurre de Capiaumont pear, budded on the quince : this was taken in 1846 ; the tree was then PYRAMIDAL PEAR TREES, 3 about ten years old, and had been root-pruned three times. Nothing could be more interesting than this tree, only six feet high, laden with fruit of extraordi- nary beauty ; for in my soil, pears on quince stocks produce fruit of much greater beauty and of finer fla- vor than those on pear stocks. I have, however, introduced the figure as much to show its imperfec- tion as its beauty : it will be observed that its lower tiers of branches are not sufficiently developed ; this was owing to neglect when the tree was young the upper branches were suffered to grow too luxuriantly. Summer pinching in the youth of the tree is the only remedy for this defect, if it be not well furnished be- low ; and a severe remedy it is, for all the young shoots on the upper tiers, including the leader, must be pinched closely in May and June, till the lower ones have made young shoots of a sufficient length to give uniformity to the tree. This requires much attention. The quenouille, or tying-down system, is not prac- ticed in France at the present day ; and, in. truth, it does look very barbarous and unnatural. The trees trained in this manner in the Potagerie at Versailles are mostly on quince stocks ; they are from twenty to forty years old, and are very productive, but very ugly ; all the shoots from the horizontal and depressed branches are cropped off apparently in July, as M. Puteau, the director, is, I believe, adverse to the pinching system of M. Cappe. I have not for many years observed a single quenouille in Belgium : all are pyramids, even in the gardens of the cottagers, and in general they are very beautiful and productive trees. In many cases, when on the pear-stock, they are too 4 THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN. luxuriant, and require root-pruning ; but this is not understood by continental fruit-tree cultivators. Pyramids and bushes are the trees best adapted for small gardens, and not standards such as are planted in orchards. To those conversant with such matters, I need only point to the very numerous instances of rich garden ground entirely ruined by being shaded by large spreading standard, or half-standard unpruned fruit trees. Now, by cultivating pyramidal pears on the quince apples in the same form on the paradise stock the cherry as pyramids and dwarf bushes on the Cerasus Mahaleb and the plum as a pyramidal tree scarcely any ground will be shaded, and more abundant crops and finer fruit will be obtained. THE YOUNG PYRAMID. If a young gardener intends to plant, and wishes to train up his trees so that they will become quite perfect in shape, he should select plants, one year old from the bud or graft, with single upright stems ; these will, of course, have good buds down to the junction of the graft with the stock. The first spring, a tree of this description should be headed down, so as to leave the stem about eighteen inches long. If the soil be rich, from five to six and seven shoots will be produced p one of these must be made the leader, and if not inclined to be quite perpendicular, it must be fastened to a stake. As soon, in summer, as the leading shoot is ten inches long, its end must be pinched off; and if it pushes forth two or more shoots, pinch oft' all but one to three leaves, leaving the top- most for a leader. The side shoots will, in most cases THE YOUNG PYRAMID. 5 assume a regular shape ; if not, they may be this first season tied to slight stakes to make them grow in the proper direction. This is best done by bringing down and fastening the end of each shoot to a slight stake, so that an open pyramid may be formed for if it is too close and cypress-like, enough air is not admitted to the fruit. They may remain unpruned till the end of August, when each shoot must be shortened to with- in eight buds of the stem. This will leave the tree like the preceding figure (Fig. 1), and no pruning in winter will be required. The second season the tree will make growth : the side shoots which were topped last 6 THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN. August will each put forth three, four, or more shoots. In June, as soon as these have made four leaves, they must be pinched off to three leaves, and if these spurs put forth shoots, which they often do, every shoot must be pinched down to one leaf, all lut the leading shoot of each side branch; this must be left on to exhaust the tree of its super- abundant sap, till the end of August. The perpen- dicular leader must be topped once or twice ; in short, as soon as it has grown ten inches, pinch off its top, and if it break into two or three shoots, pinch them all but the leader, as directed for the first season ; in a few years most symmetrical trees may be formed. When they have attained the height of six or eight feet, and are still in a vigorous state, it will be neces- sary to commence root-pruning, to bring them into a fruitful state. If some of the buds in the stem of a young tree prove dormant, so that part of it is bare and without a shoot where there should be one, a notch, half an inch wide, and nearly the same in depth, should be cut in the stem just above the dormant bud. If this be done in February, a young shoot will break out in the summer. 1 I have thus far given directions for those who are inclined to rear their own pyramids. Time and at- tention are required, but the interest attached to well- trained pyramids will amply repay the young cultiva- tor. 1 Bare places in the stems of pyramids, and in the branches of espaliers or wall trees, may be budded toward the end of August with blossom-buds taken from shoots two years old. This is a very interesting mode of furnishing a tree with li-uii-bearing buds. THE MATURE PYRAMID. THE MATURE PYRAMID. The annexed figure (Fig. 2) is a pyramidal tree in its second and third year, and such as it ought to be in July before its leading side shoots and leading FIG. 2. upright shoot are shortened. This, as I have said, is best done toward the end of August. The shorten- ing must be made at the marks ; all the side shoots must be shortened in this manner, and the leading g THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN. shoots ; no further pruning will be required till the following summer. The spurs , a, a, are the bases of the shoots that have been pinched in June ; these will the following season form fruit-bearing spurs. The best instrument for summer and autumnal pru- ning is a pair of hooked pruning scissors, called also "rose nippers." SUMMEK PESTCHIKG. As the summer pinching of pyramidal pears is the most interesting feature in their culture, and perhaps the most agreeable of all horticultural occupations, I must endeavor to give plain instructions to carry it out. The first season after the planting, about the mid- dle or end of June, the side buds and branches will put forth young shoots ; each will give from one to three or four. Select that which is most horizontal in its growth (it should be on the lower part of the branch, as the tree will then be more inclined to spread) for a leader to that branch, and pinch off all the others to three leaves (see Fig. 2, a, a, a). If these pinched shoots again push, suffer them to make three leaves, and then pinch them to two leaves ; but if the horizontal branch has a good leader, it will take off all the superfluous sap, and prevent the pinched spurs from breaking; the buds will only swell, and the fol- lowing season they will be fruit spurs. The upper shoots of the tree, say to about two feet from its top, should be pinched a week before the lower shoots : this gives strength to those on the lower part of the tree. SUMMER PINCHING. Fig. 3 is a side branch in June, with its shoots not yet pinched ; Fig. 4 is a side branch with its shoots a, a, pinched in June ; 5 is the leader of the side branch, which should be pinched or cut off at the end of August to o. FIG. 3. FIG. 4. In spring the perpendicular leader of the preceding year's growth will put forth numerous shoots, which must be pinched in June in the following manner : those nearest the base, leave six inches in length, gradually decreasing upward, leaving those next the young leading shoot only two inches long. The 1* 10 THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN. leader of these ready -formed pyramids need not be shortened in summer, as directed for younger trees ; it may be suffered to grow till the horizontal leaders are shortened in August, and then left six or eight inches in length ; but if the trees are to be kept to six or seven feet in height under root-pruning, this leading shoot may be shortened to two inches, or even cut close down to its base. For tall pyramids of ten, twelve, or fifteen feet, it may be left from eight to ten inches in length till the required height be attained ; it may then be cut to within two inches of its base every season. I ought here to remark that pear trees differ in their habits to an extraordinary degree : some make shoots most robust and vigorous ; others, under pre- cisely the same treatment, are very delicate and slen- der. In the final shortening in August this must be attended to ; those that are very vigorous must not have their shoots pruned so closely as those that are less so ; indeed, almost every variety will require some little modification in pruning, of which experience is by far the best teacher. It will, I think, suffice, if I give the following directions for shortening the lead- ers of the side shoots, and the perpendicular lead- ers : All those that are very robust, such as Beurre d'Amanlis, Vicar of Winkfield, Beurre Diel, &c., shorten to eight or ten inches, according to the vigor of the individual tree ; those of medium vigor, such as Louise Bonne of Jersey, Marie Louise, and Beurre d'Aremburg, to six inches; those that are delicate and slender in their growth, like Winter ISTelis, to four inches ; but I must repeat that regard must be COMPACT PYRAMIDS. had to the vigor of the tree. If the soil be rich, the trees vigorous, and not root-pruned, the shoots may be left the maximum length ; if, on the contrary, they be root-pruned, and not inclined to vigorous growth, they must be pruned more closely. COMPACT PYRAMIDS. If pyramidal fruit trees, either of pears, apples, plums, or cherries, are biennially removed, or even thoroughly root-pruned, without actually removing them, summer pinching becomes the most simple of all operations. The cultivator has only to look over his trees twice a week during June, July, and August (penknife in hand), and cut or pinch in every shoot on the lateral or side branches that has made four leaves or more, down to three full-sized leaves. It is just possible that the three buds belonging to these three leaves will put forth three young shoots : as soon as they have made their four or five leaves, they must be shortened to two, and so on with every young shoot made during the summer, shortening the lead- ing shoot also to three leaves. This method of close pinching represses the vigor of the tree to a great extent, and, in soils that are not very rich, trees under it will not require root-pruning. It is a most agree- able method of treating pyramidal trees, for no strag- gling shoots are seen, and in small neatly-kept gar- dens this is a great relief. The pinched shoots in these compact pyramids become too much crowded with blossom-spurs, they should therefore be thinned in winter with a sharp pruning-knife. 12 THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN. ROOT-PRUNING OF PYRAMIDAL PEAR TREES ON QUINCE STOCKS. Before entering on the subject of root-pruning of pear trees on quince stocks, I must premise that handsome and fertile pyramids, more particularly of some free-bearing varieties, may be reared without this annual or biennial operation. If the annual shoots of the tree are not more than eight or ten inches long, no root pruning need be done. I have a large plantation of pear trees on the quince stock, which have been made very handsome and fertile pyramids, yet they have not been root-pruned, neither do I intend to root-prune them. But I wish to im- press upon my readers that my principal object is to make trees fit for small gardens, and to instruct those who are not blessed with a large garden, how to keep the trees perfectly under control : and this can best be done by annual, or at least biennial attention to their roots ; for if a tree be suffered to grow three or more years, and then be root-pruned, it will re- ceive a check if the spring be dry, and the crop of fruit for one season will be jeopardized. Therefore, those who are disinclined to the annual operation, and yet wish to confine the growth of their trees within limited bounds by root-pruning say once in two years should only operate upon half of their trees one season ;* they will thus have the remain- i In The Journal of Horticulture for 1S62. pr;* '. x October 14. Beurr6 Hardy* October 15. Doyenn6 Gris e. October 16. Conseiller de la Cour &. November 17. Winter Nelis* , December 18. Beurr6 d'Anjou 6. December 19. Beurr< Sterckmans January 20. Bezi Mai March to May The above succeed on the quince ? and form excel- lent pyramids. ORNAMENTAL PYRAMIDAL PEAK TREES ON QUINCE STOCKS, There are some few varieties of pears, the trees of which may be made highly ornamental even on a well-dressed lawn, as they grow freely and form natu- rally beautiful cypress-like trees, at the same time their fruit is of first-rate quality. Such are Summer Beurre d'Aremberg, Baronne de Mello, Duchesse d'Angouleme, Urbaniste, Alexandre Lambre, Beurre Hardy, White Doyenne, Gray Doyenne, Louise Bonne of Jersey, Passe Colmar, Zephirin Gregoire, Beurre Leon le Clerc, Delices d'Hardenpont, Prince Albert, Delices de Jodoigne, Doyenne de Cornice, Bergamotte d'Esperen, and some others. 1 This is a most abundant bearer. A pyramid in the garden of Thomas White, Esq., which was root-pruned in the autumn of 1858, bore two bushels in 1859. PEAE TREES AS BUSHES. 17 PEAR TREES AS BUSHES ON THE QUINCE STOCK. It is only very recently that this mode of cultivat- ing pear trees has struck me as being eligible, from having observed the fruit of some of the large heavy varieties, such as Beurre Diel and Beurre d'Amanlis, so liable to be blown off pyramids by even moderate autumnal gales. The trees also of these and several other fine sorts of pears are difficult to train in the FIG. 5. pyramidal form ; they are diffuse in their growth, and, with summer pinching, soon form nice prolific bushes, of which the preceding figure (Fig. 5), from nature, will give some idea. This summer pinching is quite necessary in bush culture, and is performed by pinch- ing off the end of every shoot as soon as it has made four or five leaves, to three full-sized ones ; when the branches become crowded they should be thinned by 18 THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN. cutting out cleanly with a sharp knife, in winter pruning those that are crowding each other. The biennial removal described below is also necessary, unless in very large gardens where large spreading trees are wished for. Although the taking up and replanting a tree may seem formidable work, it is not so, for the roots, from being frequently removed, become so fibrous near the surface, that an active man can lift and replant one hundred trees in a day. I need scarcely add that if root-pruning, as described in page 14, be preferred to removal, it may be prac- ticed. These bushes are admirably adapted for gardens exposed to winds, and if removed biennially they may be grown in the smallest of gardens with great ad- vantage. This biennial removal, or lifting, should be performed as follows : A trench should be opened round the tree the width of a spade, and from twelve to fifteen inches deep ; the tree should then be raised with its ball of earth attached to its root intact. If the soil be light and rich, and the tree inclined to grow vigorously, making annual shoots of more than one foot in length, it may be replanted without any fresh compost ; but if, on the contrary, the soil be poor, and the tree stunted in its growth, the following materials may be used : In low situations near brooks and rivers, a black moor earth is generally found : this unprepared is unfit for horticultural pur- poses, but if dug out and laid in a ridge, and one- eighth part of unslacked lime be spread over it, turn- ing it immediately and mixing the lime with it, it will become in the course of five or six weeks an excellent PEARS ADAPTED EOR BUSH CULTURE. 19 compost for pear trees. It is good practice to add half a bushel of burnt earth, or the same quantity of sand, to a barrowful of this moor earth. Leaf mold (or rotten manure), loam, and sand, equal parts, form also an excellent compost : in planting, one wheelbar- rowful to a tree will be enough. In London suburban gardens, for which these trees are peculiarly adapted, no compost need be given to the trees in replanting, for the soil in them is generally rich. These bush trees oifer two very great advantages they are easily protected from spring frosts when in blossom by covering them with tiffany, and they may be planted from three to live feet apart, so as to be eligible for very small gardens with great facility. In large gardens in situations exposed to the wind, large bushes may be desirable. In such cases the leading shoots on each branch may be pinched, as recommended for pyramids (page 8); but instead of pinching them to three leaves, they may be suffered to make ten leaves and then be pinched, leaving seven. The trees will, if treated in this manner, soon become large, compact, and fruitful. The following varieties are well adapted for bush culture, as they are spreading in their growth and difficult to form into compact pyramids, although they may be made into spreading and prolific conical trees. It ought, however, to be mentioned that those sorts, such as Louise Bonne of Jersey, which form handsome pyramids, make very pretty compact bushes by cutting out the central branch to within three feet of the ground ; so that pyramids may be easily formed into bushes. I may add that these bush 20 THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN. pears produce the very finest fruit, from their being so near the heat and moisture-giving surface of the earth. In situations near the sea-coast, exposed to sea breezes, small fruit-gardens may be formed by inclos- ing a square piece of ground with a beech hedge or wooden fence, and .planting it with bush trees. A piece of ground 500 square feet will be large enough to cultivate 30 trees at 4 feet apart in it, or 25 trees at 5 feet apart. Many a sea-side cottage may thus have its fruit-garden. LIST OF PEAKS ADAPTED FOE BUSH CULTURE. Alexandra Bivort January Josephine de Malines March Marie Louise October Winter Nelis December Beurr6 d'Amanlis September Beurr6 de Kance March Beurr6 Diel December Beurr6 Giflfard August Beurr6 Goubault September Doyenn6 Boussoch , October Jargonelle August Conseiller de la Cour November Victoria (Huyshe) November Prince of Wales (Huyshe) December Dr. Trousseau , December Z6phirin Gregoire January Jalousie de Fontenay August Catillac (for baking) December L6on le Clerc de Laval (for baking) March PROTECTORS FOR PYRAMIDAL AND BUSH PEAR TREES. The weather in spring is often cold and ungenial for the blossoms of pear and other fruit trees ; in such seasons pyramids should be protected. This is best done by fixing four stout stakes round a tree ; these should be a little taller than the tree, and then be sawn off level. A square piece of calico, or any cheap canvas, should then be nailed on the top of the stakes PROTECTORS FOR PEAR TREES. 21 to form the roof, the like material brought round the sides and fastened to the stakes by small nails or tacks, from within eighteen inches of the ground to within eight inches of the top, thus leaving a space between the top and side covering for free ventila- tion, as the air when heated by the sun will rush out of the aperture at top in a continual stream. These flat-roofed square tents will generally insure a crop of fruit. Pea-sticks i. e., stakes with the small brushwood on them stuck round each tree, and spruce or other fir branches where these can be procured, are also good protectors. For bush trees hay is a capital protector, particularly from those still hoar frosts which are gen- erally so destructive ; it should be strewed lightly over them when they are just commencing to blossom. If some brushwood sticks are placed round the bush so as to lean over it, the hay will adhere to the spray, THE TIFFANY-HOUSE PROTECTOR. Section of Tiffany-house. and remain undisturbed by the wind. Tiffany may be used to throw over pear bushes ; it is so light that it does no injury to the tender blossoms ; it should be taken 0ff on sunny days. There is, perhaps, no better 22 THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN. protector than old or new netting ; if woolen, all the better. This should be thrown over the trees two or three times thick, and suffered to remain on till the fruit is safe from frosts i. e., till the end of May. Houses built with stakes or slight timber, and the roofs and sides covered with tiffany, have very re- cently been introduced and found efficient in protect- ing half-hardy plants from severe frost. I now propose to erect temporary houses of the same materials to protect dwarf and pyramidal fruit trees while they are in bloom, and I have no doubt but that they will lead to a new era in fruit garden- ing among amateurs, offering as they do a very cheap method of protection. A border or bed of fruit trees may be eight feet wide and planted with three rows of bush fruit trees as shown in the above section, one row in the centre, and the other rows three feet from it, and the trees three feet apart in the rows, thus oc- cupying six feet of the bed. A tiffany-house to cover the trees in a bed of the above width may be eight feet wide, three feet high at the sides, and five high in the centre. The roof of tiffany should be fastened to the rafters with shreds three or four times double, so as to make a thick pad, and either nailed on with short nails or fastened with screws, so that it may be easily taken to pieces annually the first week in June, for till then we are not safe from spring frosts. The tiffany-house should be placed over the trees the first week in March, unless the season be unusually early, when the middle of February would be better. The sides should be loose, and be turned up night and day in mild PEAR TRIES FOR WALLS. 23 weather while the trees are in bloom ; but in cold, sharp, windy weather in the blossoming season they should be kept down, and fastened to the upright stakes by tying or otherwise. A tiffany -house twenty-four feet long and eight feet wide will thus shelter twenty-four trees, either bushes or pyramids ; if for the latter, the sides of the house should be four feet, and its centre seven to eight feet in height. If it be thought desirable to keep the trees in a comparatively small space, they may be re- moved biennially in October. If larger trees are desired, the house may be enlarged as the trees grow. A tiffany-house may be from one to 500 feet in length, and twenty in width if desirable, for there are no par- ticular limits to its extent, only the effects of a " March wind" must be thought about when lofty and exten- sive houses are put up. As measures of economy, the timber and tiffany should be placed in a dry place when removed, and the rafters fastened to the plate and ridge board with screws. A tiffany-house thus treated "kindly and gently" will last for several years ; and in places where the climate is sufficiently warm to ripen apricots, plums, pears, cherries, and even early peaches, in the open air, they will, I have no doubt, be extensively employed. PEAK TKEES ON THE QUINCE STOCK TRAINED AS UPRIGHT CORDONS. The French gardeners employ the term cordon for the branch of a fruit tree on which the shoots have been pinched in so as to form a succession of blossom- buds. The term, as used by them, is expressive, and 24: THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN. lately an interesting work Las been published by the Rev. T. C. Brehaut, of Guernsey, on this mode of training, nnder the title of " Cordon Training of Fruit Trees." It is simply the pinching off the ends of the shoots on a branch, so as to make them form blossom- buds, and fruit trees under this mode are planted in an oblique position on walls. With pear trees on the quince stock there is no occasion for this, and the up- right or vertical cordon will be found the most con- venient mode of training, for which see Fig. 6. To carry out this mode of training, in April, 1849, I planted one of each of some new and esteemed pears on quince stocks against a boarded fence, so that they would quickly come into bearing. The usual method of horizontal training I found would take up too much space, and I could not find room for half the number of trees I wished to plant. In this strait, an old idea came to my assistance that of cutting pyramidal trees flat, and planting them against walls ; and then a modification of the idea came to hand viz., to plant horizontal espaliers, and to make them perpendicular. In the next page is a figure of one of my vertical cor- don pear trees. (Fig. 6.) The shoots, a, a, should be eight inches from the central shoot, and those marked &, 5, the same distance from those marked a, a. This tree with five branch- es will thus occupy thirty-two inches say three feet of wall room ; a tree with seven branches will require four feet, but as some space ought to be allowed for the spurs on the outside branches, say five feet. If the wall be of a moderate height eight feet for instance a tree with seven branches will produce quite PEAR TREES FOR WALLS. 25 fruit enough of one sort. This method offers a strong contrast to espaliers on pear stocks, planted in the usual manner, twenty- four feet apart, and trained hori- zontally ; nearly five trees for one will give so many A VERTICAL CORDON PEAR TREE. additional chances to the pear cultivator ; the single tree may fail, or its fruit may become imperfect, ow- ing to an adverse season ; but out of his five trees, he will in every season stand a good chance of having some good pears. A few words will suffice for their man- agement: summer pinching of the shoots to three leaves all through the summer as recommended for pyramids (page 8), and root pruning, or biennial re- 26 THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN. moval, these operations like Dr. Sangrado's bleeding and warm water will do all. Vertical cordon trees, not only of pears but of cher- ries on the Mahaleb stock ; of plums, and of Ameri- can apples on the Paradise stock (peach trees are too vigorous in their habit), may be planted against walls in gardens, if of a moderate size, to great advantage. As so much variety may be had in a small space, let the reader imagine himself to have a brick wall with a southern aspect, 20 feet long and 8 or 10 feet high. According to old notions, this would afford space for one tree, but with vertical cordon training, I repeat, Jive trees maybe cultivated, and thus give five chances to one. If upright trained trees on the quince stock can not be procured, those that are trained horizontally, with five or seven branches, may be planted against the wall or fence destined for them ; and their young shoots, #, #, and 5, 5, in Fig. 6, be made to curve gently till they are perpendicular the young shoots of pear trees are very pliable, and will easily bend to the required shape. The lower part of each shoot in such cases must be fastened to the wall with shreds and nails, in the usual way, and the remaining part brought round to an upright position. If they are more than two feet in length, each of these shoots must then be shortened to it. These shortened branches will, in May, each put forth two or three shoots. As soon as they have made four leaves, pinch all but one on each branch to three leaves, leaving the topmost one to each shoot, a, a, and 5, 5, as above, also to the leader. You will thus, if your tree be five branched, PEAR TREES FOR WALLS. 27 have five young leading shoots. As soon in June as they have attained to eight inches in length, pinch off the end of each ; and when they break into two or three shoots as before, pinch so as to leave the spurs with three leaves, and the leading shoot unpinched to each branch. This may be repeated, if the soil be rich, two, three, or four times in the summer. Your tree will soon reach the top of the wall, and every bud in the five branches will be perfect either a blossom- bud, or one in embryo. When every branch has reached the top of the wall, commence root-pruning (or biennially lifting them) in autumn, the directions for which are * given in treating of pyramidal trees. These may be followed exactly ; and if so, the trees will be kept in a stationary bearing state. It must be recollected that the spurs on the branches will often put forth shoots even while bearing fruit ; these must be pinched in to three leaves. I may as well hint to the reader that, if larger trees are wished for, so as to give more fruit of each sort, trees with nine upright branches may be planted seven feet apart, or trees with eleven upright branches, nine feet apart. Trees, however, can seldom be purchased with shoots so numerous ; young trees must, therefore be planted, and cut back annually for two or three years, till the proper number of perpendicular shoots are supplied. It may happen that trained trees with five or seven branches can not be procured, perhaps trees with only three shoots, two horizontal and one leading shoot ; in such cases they must be cut back, leaving five buds to each shoot, and the young shoots in June trained as required. 28 THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN. Pyramidal trees cut flat on the side to be placed next the wall, and planted against walls or fences, will give almost a certain crop. Their shoots must be pinched, and trained so as to form a handsome semi-pyramidal tree, which, when it has reached the top FIG. 7. of the wall, must be subjected to biennial removal, so as to keep it in a stationary fruitful state. Annexed I give a figure (Fig. 7) of a young pyramid planted against a south-east fence. It will, I trust, be seen how economical of space are PEAR TREES TOR WALLS. 29 these methods of training pears to walls ; and I know of nothing in fruit culture more interesting than a wall of upright espaliers, or of pyramids full of fruit. Let us only consider that a wall 100 feet long will ac- commodate four trees on the pear stock, trained in the usual horizontal mode ; the same wall will give " am- ple room and verge enough " to twenty trees on the quince stock, trained perpendicularly ; if their young shoots (all but the leaders) are pinched in to three leaves all the summer, no root-pruning will be needed. They are also invaluable for planting against walls between old trees where there are bare spaces, as is so often the case ; for they soon fill up such vacancies, and bear abundance of fine fruit. A selection of va- rieties for wall trees will not here be out of place. UPRIGHT TKAESTED TREES ON QUINCE STOCKS. FOB SOUTH OB SOUTH- WEST WALLS. Crassane* Glou Morceau* Summer Doyenne* Beurre Hardy Chaumontel Van Mons (Leon le Clerc) Passe Colmar Gansel's Bergamot 2 FOR WEST OK NORTH- WEST WALLS. Beurr6 Diel* Beurr6 Superfin* Beurre d'Amanlis Marie Louise* Beurre de Ranee Louise Bonne of Jersey Beurr Sterckmans* Josephine de Malines* FOR EAST OR SOUTH-EAST WALLS. Beurre Easter* DoyennS d'Alencon Beurre d^remberg* Beurre de Caen Bergamotte d'Esperen Consellier de la Cour Winter Nelis* Beurre d'Anjou* The above varieties grafted on pear stocks are 1 This will ripen on walls toward the end of June, quickly followed by Citron des Cannes. 1 It is not generally known that this fine variety, proverbially a shy bearer, be- comes, when double grafted on the quince stock, one of the most abundant bearers. 30 THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN. equally adapted for their several aspects. In shallow, gravelly, or chalky soils, pears on pear stocks are to be preferred for walls. It is almost useless to plant dessert pears against north or north-east walls, as the fruit, unless in very warm seasons, is generally deficient in flavor. The only varieties that offer the least chance of success, and that only in a warm climate with a dry soil, are Marie Louise, Louise Bonne of Jersey, and Beurre Superfin. It is far better to plant against such as- pects baking or stewing pears, such as Catillac, Bel- lissime d'Hiver, and Leon le Clerc de Laval ; the Vicar of Winkfield is also a good north wall pear it bears well and stews well. In the north the finer sorts of pears must be cultivated on south walls. In recommending pears on quince stocks as py- ramidal trees for cold soils and situations, even in the far north, I may appear theoretical ; but from my own experience, in some very cold and clayey soils in this neighborhood, I feel sanguine as to the result, for I have observed in my frequent visits to the pear gardens of France that many sorts are often too ripe. Now, this is just the tendency we require. In our cold and moist climate, most certainly, pears will not get too ripe, more especially in the north of Eng- land and Scotland. Some years since I received a letter from a correspondent living in a hilly part of Derbyshire, from which I give an extract : " I have tried Beurre Diel, Beurre de Capiaumont, Marie Louise, and Williams's Bon Chretien, on pear stocks, all of which bear well as standards, but their fruit does not come to perfection always remaining quite CORDON PEARS ON TRELLISES. 31 hard till they decay at the core. I have placed the fruit in a hot-house, but have never succeeded in ripening them. Williams's Bon Chretien we can only use for stewing." This seems to show that cold hilly situations are not favorable to the cultivation of pears as standards. I have recommended some pears on quince stocks, and have heard of a favorable re- sult. CORDON PEARS ON TRELLISES UNDER GLASS. Some few years since a very ingenious method of growing peaches and nectarines on trellises, over which were placed movable glass lights, was in- vented by Mr. Bellenden Ker. In warm and shel- tered gardens this mode of culture answers very well for peaches, but in cool climates there is not day-heat enough stored up, as in houses, to act upon the fruit. Cheap orchard-houses are, therefore, to be preferred to these cheap trellises for the above kinds of fruits, unless the garden be small and much sheltered. Soon after I had built my trellis for peaches, it oc- curred to me that the system applied to pear culture would do well, and so I built a trellis 60 feet long and 7 feet wide ; on this I planted upright espalier pears on quince stocks. Fig. 8 is a section of this trellis. FIG. 8. and Fig. 9 is a front view of a pear tree trained to it 32 THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN. in the upright method. My trellis was planted eight years ago, and has now on it twenty fine trees, about ten years old, and in full bearing. They were planted three feet apart, as it was my first experiment, and FIG. 9. are now a little crowded ; four feet apart will be found the proper distance. I have never seen any thing more interesting in fruit culture than this trellis covered with pears, for, owing to its being near the ground, the radiation of heat and moisture gives the fruit a size and beauty rarely seen even on walls. The lights should remain over the trees till the beginning of July, and then be removed, suffering the fruit to ripen fully exposed to the sun and air. It seems that the glass over the fruit in its young state serves to develop its growth in a remarkable manner, for rarely is a spot seen on pears grown on these trel- lises ; they have a clear, beautiful appearance, much like those grown in the warmer parts of France. I ought to add, that in cool climates, such as the north of England and Scotland, the lights may be suffered to remain over the trees till the beginning or middle of August. This will hasten the ripening of the fruit, but it should be exposed to the air in early autumn for some weeks before it is gathered (unless the cli- mate be particularly cold and stormy), or it may suffer in flavor. Pears ripened under glass are apt to suffer CORDON PEARS ON TRELLISES UNDER GLASS. 33 in this respect. I have, however, very recently re- ceived the following communication from a very clever fruit-cultivator living in Ireland : " Let no one persuade you that pears grown in a well-ventilated orchard-house are not equal to those outside ; I can give strong evidence to the contrary. In my house there was a small Louise Bonne on the quince stock, in an 11-inch pot ; it bore 23 splendid pears, as far superior to the same fruit grown in the open air, as it was possible to be. They were not, I admit, high-colored, but they attained a richness and flavor that I thought Louise Bonne did not possess." The pear trellis, of which the section and front view (Figs. 8 and 9) will give a correct idea, is of the most simple description. A row of larch or oak posts must be driven into the ground 6 feet apart, and another row in front ; on these should be nailed plates, 3 inches by 2, and then bars, 3 inches by 1, placed flat- wise, from front plates to back, 3 feet apart ; across these, common tiling laths should be nailed, six inches asunder. This will form the trellis, as seen in Fig. 9. The supports for the lights are formed in the same manner, by a row of posts at the back, and the same for the front, on which are nailed plates of the same dimensions as those for the trellis ; a cross-piece should be nailed to front and back plate at each end, to keep the supports for the lights from giving way. The structure with the lights, when resting on the back and front plates, has exactly the appearance of a large garden frame without back, front, or ends. Under the lights the trellis is formed with a sharp slope up- ward to the back ; for unless the front of the trellis 34: THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN. is within six inches of the ground, it will be difficult to bend the trees to the required position. By this simple contrivance, pears (and even peaches and nec- tarines, in warm gardens) may be grown in any cor- ner of the garden, with a south or southwestern expo- sure for it is scarcely necessary to add that the lights should slope to the south or south-west^ so as to have all the sun-heat possible. The most eligible dimensions for a trellis, I find from experience to be as follows : Glass LiyJits. Eight feet long, three feet wide. Height from ground at back, three feet six inches. Height from ground at front, one foot six inches. Trellis. Height from ground at back, two feet six inches. Height from ground at front, six inches. Distance from glass lights, one foot. The front border should be raised to a level with the front of trellis ; this will leave twelve inches between the front ends of the lights and the surface of the front border, which will be quite enough for ventila- tion ; indeed, the draught in windy weather is inclined to be too sharp. I find, therefore, furze, or other ever- green branches, placed along the front, between the glass and the border, and a mat nailed at the back, excellent checks to excessive ventilation in cold frosty weather. They may remain there till the beginning or end of June ; the latter, if the weather be cold and stormy. The lights are fastened to the plate, back and front, by a hook-and-eye ; they are thus easily removed to prune the trees and gather the fruit. I was induced, as I thought, to improve upon Mr. OOUDON PEAR TREES ON DWARF WALLS. 35 Ker's plan, by having my first trellis within eight inches of the glass for I calculated, the nearer the glass the better the chance of success in early ripen- ing ; but I suffered for my innovation. My peach trees were planted in March, 1848 ; they made during the summer, with the lights constantly on, beautifully matured shoots, and in March and April, 1850, were gay with blossom. The winds were cold, the nights frosty ; but, owing to the extreme ventilation, which kept every bud and shoot dry under the glass, not a blossom was injured by the sharp winds, and the trees were covered with fruit. On the fatal 3d of May, however, in 1850, a still hoar frost the thermometer down to 23 destroyed all my hopes, for, owing to the trees being too near the glass, every fruit was blackened and destroyed : a single mat would have saved them ; but I was not at home, and my pet trees were forgotten. Do not, therefore, have the trellis nearer the glass than twelve inches. It will be seen that I employ smaller lights, which are easily removable for purposes of culture, and a smaller trellis than that described by Mr. Ker in the seventh edition of this work. I find from experience this smaller edition of the Kerian trellis much to be recommended for small gardens. HORIZONTAL CORDON PEAR TREES ON DWARF WALLS. Having had occasion within these two years to erect a large number of four-inch brick walls on which to train young peach trees, I have been much struck with their eligibility for pear trees on quince stocks. A very large number of trees may be cultivated in this manner on a small piece of ground. 36 THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN. My walls have a nine-inch foundation of three courses of brickwork in the ground, and they are carried up to four feet above the surface (it is scarcely safe to build them of a greater height), with nine-inch piers fifteen feet apart. The coping for them is made of boiling coal-tar mixed with lime and sand to the consistence of mortar, which is placed on the top of the walls thus -^ so as to carry off the water. This is a most cheap and efficacious covering it can scarcely be called a coping, as it does not project over the edge of the wall. A coping of Portland cement is even better, as it holds the wall together. The best description of bricks for these light walls are the patent perforated bricks, but common stock bricks will do. The very best lime should be used (I have found the gray Dorking lime excellent), but any kind of lime made from limestone will answer well; that made from chalk in this county is not strong enough. Their cost, as I learn from my bricklayer, is about six shillings the yard in length ; thus a wall of the above height, twenty yards long, should cost six pounds. In places where bricks are cheap, they may be built for less ; if they are dear and at a dis- tance, their carriage will add to the expense. My walls are six feet apart, and stand endwise, N. E. and S. "W. ; so that one side of each wall has a S. E. aspect, the other a N". W. ; on the former may be grown the late-keeping pears, on the latter the earlier sorts, that ripen from October till the end of November. We thus have one excellent aspect the S. E. ; and one tolerably good the IS". W. : so that no wall space is lost. CORDON PEAR TREES ON DWARF WALLS. 37 The pear trees for these dwarf walls should be grafted on quince stocks, and trained horizontally. They may be planted five feet apart at first, and when their branches meet they should be interlaced, as in Fig. 10, and if necessary i. 0., if the shoots be long enough they may be trained over the stems, so that the wall is completely furnished with bearing branch- es. At the end of five or six years every alternate tree may be removed, leaving the permanent trees ten feet apart. I advise planting thus thickly, because I FIG. 10. know from experience, that the temporary trees will fill the walls, will bear a good quantity of fruit, and look more satisfactory than if they are planted thinly. When removed they may be planted out for espaliers, or fresh walls built for them. I have some trees that have been planted six years ; but I find that, owing to the soil not being rich, they have not grown rapidly, and need not yet be removed, as their branches only just cover all the fence to which they are trained. If, owing to the soil being rich, the trees are inclined to grow vigorously and not bear, they should 38 THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN. be lifted biennially ; but pears on quince stocks will be sure to bear abundantly. These dwarf walls, when covered with well-trained trees, have a neat and charming effect ; and the trees may be so easily protected by sticking branches of evergreens in the ground and letting them rest against the wall, or by wooden shutters, placed on the ground at an angle so as to rest against the wall; but I intend to be more luxurious, and to have cheap glass lights, in lieu of shutters, placed against the walls, and suffered to remain, so as to cover the trees till the fruit is fully formed, or till the first week in June, when all fear of damage from frost is over. Where two or more walls are built, or a square piece of ground devoted to them, a cross wall or walls should be built at the north-east end, to prevent the sharp current of wind from the north-east, which would blow up the intervals between the walls with great violence. It is surprising what a quantity of fruit may be grown on a small space of ground with the aid of these walls ! Peaches, nectarines, and apricots may be grown on the S. E. aspect, but the trees must be kept in check by biennial removal. I have at this moment more than two thousand yards in length of them, and I intend to add to them annually, so convinced am I of their economy and utility. They seem to me most particularly suited to suburban, or what are commonly called cockney gardens. How pleasant to be able to have a brick wall twenty yards long for six pounds, or ten yards long for three pounds ! and how delightful to be able to grow one ? s own " wall fruit !" On a wall ten yards long, five CORDON PEAR TREES ON DWARF WALLS. 39 peach and nectarine trees may be trained, and many dozens of fruit produced annually. These dwarf walls for the cultivation of peaches, nectarines, and apricots must, however, differ from those for pear trees, and be built so as to give a south or south-west aspect for the front, a north or north-east for the back. The latter may be planted with Morello cherries. To carry out the cultivation of the above-mentioned trees on dwarf 'walls, it is absolutely necessary to take them up biennially in November, and replant them in the same place. 1 They will not require any com- post to their roots, for peach, nectarine, and apricot trees are generally by far too vigorous in their growth. In some of the London suburban gardens the soil is so rich, that annual removal, particularly with apricots, may be found to be quite necessary. In country gardens where the soil is poor, a dressing of manure on the surface over the roots two inches deep will be of service. The peach trees on my experimental wall are removed biennially. The soil is not rich, yet they are almost too vigorous ; they bear fine fruit and give good crops. A matter of great consequence in peach tree cul- ture on walls is to keep the surface of the soil solid ; if, therefore, the trees grow too vigorously, so as to require removal, say in October, the soil, after the tree is planted, should, after becoming dry, be ram- med with a wooden rammer, so as to be as solid as a common garden path. In spring this hard surface should be covered with a slight deposit of thoroughly 1 It is a prudent practice in all cases of biennial removal to remove half the number of trees in alternate years, for in dry seasons those recently removed may be too much checked in their growth. 40 THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN. decayed manure, which will be all the culture required. ESPALIER PEAKS ON QUINCE STOCKS. Pears on the quince may be cultivated as horizontal espaliers or cordons by the sides of walks, or trained to lofty walls with much advantage, as less space is required. Horizontal espaliers, or wall trees, on the pear stock, trained to walls of the usual height i. e.j from ten to twelve feet require to be planted twenty feet apart, while those on the quince may be planted only ten feet apart ; this in a small garden will allow of much greater variety of sorts to supply the table at different seasons. With these the same high culture, if perfection be wished for, must be followed ; the trees carefully planted, so that the junction of the graft with the stock is even with the surface of the mound formed as directed for pyramids. The pruning of wall pear trees has always been a subject of controversy with gardeners, as they are inclined to grow too vigorously. If it be thought desirable to have trees of large growth, so as to cover a high wall, and yet be highly fertile, it is much better to root-prune than to prune the branches. With such trees it need not be done so severely : biennial root-pruning will be quite sufficient, com- mencing at eighteen inches from the wall, after the tree has had two seasons' growth, cutting off the ends of all the roots at that distance from the wall, and in- creasing it by six inches at every biennial pruning, till a distance of six feet from the wall is reached. When this is the case, the roots must be confined ESPALIER PEARS ON QUINCE STOCKS. 41 to the border of that width by digging a trench bien- nially, and cutting off all the ends of the roots at that distance from the wall. I may, perhaps, make this more plain by saying that a tree planted in November, 1860, should have its roots shortened to eighteen inches in November, 1862; to twenty -four inches in 1864 ; to thirty inches in 1866; to three feet in 1868; and so on, leaving six inches biennially, till, say, a distance of six feet from the wall is reached in 1880. This border, six feet wide, 1 will then be full of fibrous roots. It should never be dug or cropped, but annually have a sur- face dressing of manure about two inches in thick- ness; and, as I have before said, have a trench dug biennially eighteen inches deep, six feet from the wall, and the end of every protruding root cut off. If this method be followed, summer pinching to three leaves the first time, and to one leaf afterward, of the spurs on all the leading branches, may be practiced, and scarcely any winter punning will be re- quired. In forming borders for wall pear trees on quince stocks biennially root-pruned, the soil should be well stirred with the fork to a depth of eighteen inches, and if it be poor a good dressing of rotten manure or leaf mold should be mixed with it. Pears on quince stocks are much better adapted for this mode of cul- ture than those on pear stocks. If the latter be planted, the border, six feet wide, should have a 1 If the wall to which the trees are trained be twelve feet and upward in height, the border should be eight and even ten feet in width. Wide and shallow fruit tree borders are much to be preferred to those that are deep and narrow. 42 THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN. thick layer of concrete at bottom, to prevent the roots striking downward ; or it would be good practice to place, eighteen inches deep, tinder each tree, a flat piece of stone, three feet in diameter this would force the roots to take a horizontal direction, and facilitate the operation of root-pruning. For fine specimens of wall pear trees grafted on the quince, I may refer to those on the west wall of the Royal Horticultural Society's Gardens at Chiswick. These are now about forty years old, and are pictures of health and fertility, thus at once settling the ques- tion respecting the early decay of pear trees grafted on the quince; for it has been often very often urged as an objection to the use of the quince stock, that pears grafted on it are, although prolific, but very short-lived. I have seen trees in France more than fifty years old, and those above referred to may be adduced to confute this error. PEAK TREES TRAINED SINGLE AS VERTICAL CORDONS. The French gardeners have a curious yet interesting mode of training pears on the quince stock, about which a book was published in France a few years since. The system, I have recently learnt from some French cultivators, is now largely practiced in the south of France with the peach apricot. It is called training " en fuseau," or distaff training ; and is the most simple of all modes. A young tree, one year old from the bud, is planted, and every side shoot, as soon as it has made four leaves, has its top pinched off, leaving three. This is the first pinching early in June. These pinched shoots all put forth young A PEAR TREE HEDGE. 43 shoots, which must be pinched to one leaf; and so on with all the young shoots during the summer, and the like practice every season. When the leading shoot has grown twelve inches, its top should be pinched off, and as soon as two or three break out at this point, all should be pinched in but one for the leader. A very compact distaff-like tree is thus formed. For small gardens, where the cultivator wishes for a large collection of pears in a small place, this (which is, in fact, the cordon system applied to single stem- med trees) is to be recommended. A PEAR TREE HEDGE. A few days since, when visiting a friend at Fonte- nay aux Roses, near Paris, I was much struck with a hedge formed of pear trees on the quince stock. He smiled when he told me his method of cultivation and pruning, the latter being simply clipping his hedge in July, with the garden shears, 1 and thinning out the spurs in winter, when they become crowded. A few days since (July, 1862), my friend paid me a visit, and I inquired, with some interest, about his pear tree hedge. He assured me that it was perfectly healthy, and generally gave him large crops of fruit. The sorts proper to form a hedge are Louise Bonne of Jersey, Beurre d'Amanlis, Beurre Hardy, Conseiller de la Cour, Beurre d'Aremberg, Beurre Superfin, Delices de Jodoigne, Doyenne du Cornice, Duchesse d' Angouleme, Prince Albert, and Yicar of Winkfield. These are all free growers on the quince stock, and if 1 An English cultivator would employ pruning scissors to shorten the shoots, and thus make his hedge look as if cared for. 4i THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN. planted in a favorable soil and climate would soon form a fruitful hedge. They should be planted about thirty inches apart, and in masses, i. e., planting, say ten of each sort together. A hedge may be formed, varying more in its aspect by planting one or two trees of each sort in succession this is a mere matter of taste. A pear tree hedge when in full bloom must have an agreeable look, and when full of fruit be very profitable. PYRAMIDS ON THE PEAR STOCK. There are some dry, warm, shallow soils, more par- ticularly those resting on chalk or gravel, which are unfavorable to the pear on the quince stock : it is difficult to make them flourish, unless great care is taken in mulching the surface, and giving them abund- ance of water and liquid manure in summer. In such soils, pyramids on the pear stock may be cultivated with but little trouble. To those who wish to train them as they should grow, one-year-old grafted plants may be selected, which may be managed as directed for young pyra- mids on the quince stock. If trees of mature growth are planted, they will require the treatment recom- mended for pyramids on the quince stock, as regards summer pinching. There is no occasion, however, to make a mound up to the junction of the graft with the stock, as the pear does not readily emit roots. Annual root-pruning is almost indispensable to pyra- mids on pear stocks in small gardens, and it will much facilitate this operation if each tree be planted on a small mound, the roots are then so easily brought PYRAMIDS ON THE PEAR STOCK. 45 to the surface. This annual operation, which should be done in November, may be dispensed with in soils not rich, if the trees be lifted biennially in that month and replanted, merely pruning off the ends of any long roots. Annual surface manuring, as recom- mended for pyramids on the quince, is also necessary, if the trees be root-pruned or biennially removed. Trees of the usual size and quality may be planted, and suffered to remain for two years undisturbed, unless the soil be rich and they make vigorous shoots (say eighteen inches in length) the first season after planting, in which case operations may then com- mence the first season. Thus, supposing a tree to be planted in November or December, it may remain untouched two years from that period ; and then as early in autumn as possible a circumferential trench, twelve inches deep, should be dug, and every root cut with the knife and brought near to the surface, and the spade introduced under the trees, so as completely to intercept every perpendicular root. The treddle spade used in this part of Hertfordshire is a very eligible instrument for this purpose, as the edge is steeled and very sharp. The following year, the third from planting, a trench may be again opened, at fifteen inches from the stem, so as not to injure the fibrous roots of the preceding summer's growth, and the knife and spade again used to cut all the spread- ing and perpendicular roots that are getting out of bounds. The fourth y^ar the same operation may be repeated at eighteen inches from the stem ; and in all subsequent root-pruning this distance from the stem must be kept. This will leave enough undisturbed 46 THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN. earth round each tree to sustain as much fruit as ought to grow, for the object is to obtain a small pro- lific tree. I find that in the course of years a perfect mass of fibrous roots is formed, which only requires the annual or biennial operation (the former if the tree be very vigorous) of a trench being dug, and the ball of earth heaved down to ascertain whether any large feeders are making their escape from it, and to cut them off. But it must be borne in mind that this circular mass of soil -will in a few years be exhausted ; to remedy which, I have had left round each tree, eighteen inches from the stem, a slight depression of the soil, or, in other words, the trench has not been quite filled in. This circular furrow I have had filled, in Decem- ber and January, with fresh liquid night soil, cover- ing it with a coat of burnt earth two inches thick, which has had a most excellent effect. Any other liquid manure would undoubtedly have been equally efficacious, but my soil was poor, and I thought it required strong manure. As it did not come in con- tact with the roots, no injury resulted from using such a powerful raw manure. There is no absolute necessity for liquid manuring in winter, as common dung may be laid round each tree in autumn, and suffered to be washed in by the rains in winter, and drawn in by the worms. In mentioning liquid manure, I give the result of my own practice. The great end to attain seems (to use an agricultural phrase) to be able " to feed at home ;" that is, to give the mass of spongioles enough nutri- mont in li small space. A tree will then make shoots ROOT-PRUNING ANH REMOVING. 4Y from eight to ten inches long in one season (for such ought to be the maximum of growth), and at the same time be able to produce abundance of blossom- buds and fruit. On trees of many varieties, the for- mer will be in too great abundance: removing a portion in early spring, cutting them out with a sharp knife, so as leave each fruit-spur about three inches apart, is excellent culture. I have riot yet mentioned the possibility of root- pruning fruit trees of twenty or thirty years' grow r th with advantage. Irregular amputation of the roots of too vigorous fruit trees is, I am aware, an old prac- tice ; but the regular, and annual or biennial prun- ing of them, so as to keep a tree full of youth and vigor in a stationary and prolific state, has not, that I am aware of, been recommended by any known author, although it may have been practiced. In urging its applicability to trees of twenty or thirty years' growth, I must recommend caution : the cir- cular trench should not be nearer the stem of a standard tree than three feet, or, if it be a wall tree, four feet, and only two-thirds of the roots should be pruned the first season, leaving one-third to support the tree, so that it can not be blown on one side by the wind and these, of course, must be left where they will best give this support. The following season half the remaining roots may be cut, or, if the tree be inclined to vigor, all of them ; but if it gives symp- toms of being checked too much, they may, on the. contrary, remain undisturbed for one, or even two seasons. If, as is often the case in pear trees, the roots are nearly all perpendicular, the tree must be 3* 43 THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN. supported with stakes for one or two years after com- plete root-pruning. The following extract from a letter recently re- ceived from C. Koach Smith, Esq., the archaeologist, is interesting, as showing the prompt effects of root- pruning of trees : " I have only been a horticulturist for three years ; I took to two very beautiful old pear trees, which must have cost no end of nailing, cutting, and staking. On inquiry, I found that one (a Sum- mer Bon Chretien) had never produced more than one pear annually ; the other, upon a north wall, had never given a single pear. I could get no aid from any one what to do with these trees, and no book then accessible helped me. I reflected on the natural habit of the pear tree, and, coming to the conclusion that the cause of barrenness was exuberance of roots, I resolved to cut them. Before the leaves had fallen, a friend sent me ' The Retired Gardener,' an old book, translated from the French. In it I found an account of some experiments made in England, which fortified me in the resolution I had taken. The first year the Summer Bon Chretien * produced nine fruit. I pruned the roots more closely, and this year (1859), in spite of the ungenial spring, I saved fifty-nine pears. The other tree yielded thirty-six, but of so vile a quality that I have re-grafted the tree. A large plum, treated in the same way, produced, the season after being root-pruned, 2000 fruit." It will not, perhaps, be out of place here to enume- rate a few of the advantages of systematic root-prun- ing and removing or lifting of pear, apple, and plum 1 This is one of our oldest varieties, find remarkable fur being a very $Ly bearer ROOT-PRUNING AND REMOVING. 4.9 tress, and of growing them as pyramidal trees and bushes. 1st. Their eligibility for small gardens, even the smallest. 2dly. The facility of thinning the blossom-buds, and in some varieties, such as Garisel's Bergamot and other shy-bearing sorts, of setting the blossoms, and of thinning and gathering the fruit. 3dly. Their making the gardener independent of the natural soil of his garden, as a few barrowfuls of rich mold and annual manure on the surface will sup- port a tree for many, very many years, thus placing bad soils nearly on a level with those the most favorable. 4thly. The capability of removing trees of fifteen or twenty years' growth with as much facility as fur- niture. To tenants, this will, indeed, be a boon, for perhaps one of the greatest annoyances a tenant is subject to, is that of being obliged to leave behind him trees that he has nurtured with the utmost care. My gray hairs tell me that I am not a young gar- dener, and yet I feel that in judicious root-pruning and annual manuring on the surface, so as to keep our fruit trees full of short, well-ripened fruitful shoots, we are all inexperienced. At this moment I am remind- ed of a wall in a neighboring garden covered with peach and nectarine trees in the finest possible health. For more than twenty years a healthy peach tree was never seen in this garden, as the subsoil is a cold white clay, full of chalk-stones. This happy change has been brought about by biennially pruning the roots of the trees early in autumn, as soon as the fruit is gathered ; in some cases lifting the trees and sup- 50 THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN. plying their roots with a dressing of leaf-mold, sand, and rotten manure, equal parts. Powdered charcoal, or the ashes of burnt turf and rotten manure, also make an excellent root-dressing for cold heavy soils ; but if the soil be dry and poor, and unfavorable to the peach and nectarine, loam and rotten manure is the best dressing for the roots, and also for the surface. PLANTING AND AOTEK MANAGEMENT. Pyramidal pear trees of from three to five years old on the quince stock, root-pruned, and full of blossom- buds, may now be purchased. Trees of this descrip- tion should,. if possible, be planted before Christmas; but if the soil be very tenacious, the holes may be opened in the autumn, and the trees planted in February ; the soil will be mellowed and benefited by the frosts of winter. 1 Pear trees grafted on the quince stock offer a curi- ous anomaly, for if they are removed quite late in spring say toward the end of March, when their blossom-buds are just on the point of bursting they will bear a fine and often an abundant crop of fruit. This is sometimes owing to the blossoms being re- tarded, and thus escaping the spring frosts ; but it has so often occurred here when no frosts have visited us that I notice it in fact, no trees bear late removal so well as pears on quince stocks. 1 The roots of pear trees on the quince stock, and, indeed, of all root-pruned trees are very fibrous. In planting, it is good practice to give each tree two shovelfuls of fine earth or mold rather dry to place it on the roots and shake the tree, so that the mold is well mixed with the mass of fibrous roots. Before the soil is all filled in, three or four gallons of water should be poured in, so as to wash the earth into every crevice. The roots should not be crammed into a small holo. A tree, with its roots 18 inches in diameter, will require a hole 2 J feet in diameter, and so on in proportion. PLANTING AND AFTER MANAGEMENT. 51 In planting pear trees on the quince stock, it is quite necessary that the stock should be covered up to its junction with the graft. This joining of the graft to the stock is generally very evident, even to the most ignorant in gardening matters ; it usually as- sumes the form as given in Fig. 11, a. If the soil be not excessively wet, the tree may be placed in a hole, say three feet in diameter and eighteen inches deep, in the usual way, so that the upper roots are slightly above the level of the surface, as the tree will always settle down two or three inches the first season after planting. Some of the light compost recommended in page 19 should be filled in, and the tree well shaken, so that it is thor- oughly mingled with its roots. The compost must then be trodden down ; and so far the planting is finished. The earth should then be placed round the stem, and formed into a mound, which should cover the stock up to, but not abow, the junction of the graft with the stock, in order to encourage it to emit roots into the surface soil, and to keep it (the stock) from becoming hard and " bark-bound." To make this emission of roots more certain, the stem may be tongued, as usual in layering i. e., the bark must be cut through upward from the root, and a slip about one inch in length raised (see Fig. 11, 5, S, which are the raised pieces of bark) ; and these raised pieces of bark must be kept open by inserting FlQ. 11. 52 THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN. a piece of broken flower-pot or slate. Several of these tongues may be made, and by the end of the first year after planting every incision will have emitted roots ; the stock, owing to its being kept constantly moist, will swell and keep pace with the graft, and the tree will flourish and remain healthy. As the mound will subside by the heavy rains of winter, pre- suming that the trees have been planted in autumn, fresh compost of the same nature must be added in spring, and every succeeding autumn. A quarter of a peck of soot, strewed on the surface in a circle three feet in diameter round each tree in March, is an ex- cellent stimulant. The great object in the culture of the pear on the quince stock is to encourage the growth of its very fibrous roots at the surface, so that they may feel the full influence of the sun and air. The slight mounds recommended may be made orna- mental if required, by placing pieces of rock or flint on them, which will also prevent the birds scratching at them for worms; but the stones selected must not be very large and heavy they should be about the size and weight of a brick. In light friable soils, the mounds may be from three to four inches above the sur- face of the surrounding soil ; in heavy retentive wet soils, from six to eight inches will not be found too high. In soils of a light dry nature the pear on the quince requires careful culture. I therefore recommend the surface round the tree to be covered, during June, July, and August with short litter, or manure, and to give the trees once a week, in dry weather, a drench- ing with guano water (about one pound to ten gal- PLANTING AND AFTER MANAGEMENT. 53 Ions), which must be well stirred before it is used. Each tree should have ten gallons poured gradually into the soil ; by this method the finest fruit may be produced ; and as it is very probable that, ere many years elapse, we shall have exhibitions of pears, this will be the mode to procure fine specimens to show for prizes. Our oldest gardening authors have said, that "pears ingrafted on the quince stock give the fairest fruit ;" and they are correct. It has been as- serted that the fruit is liable to be gritty and deficient in flavor. I can only say, that from my trees, grow- ing on a cold clayey soil, I have tasted fruit of Marie Louise, Louise Bonne of Jersey, and others, all that could be wished for in size and flavor. In the course of my experience, and since the above recommendation to plant on mounds was written, I have found it good practice in very dry soils to plant pear trees on the quince stock with the junction of the graft just level with the surface, so as not to re- quire mounds round their stems. The first season they should have some manure on the surface, laid in a circle round the stem ; and the second year a shallow basin, two feet in diameter and four inches deep, should be dug round the stem, and filled with some manure about half rotten. This basin thus filled will keep moist even in the most dry and hot weather, and will become full of fibrous roots. This is also an excellent method of renovating pear trees that have exhausted them- selves by bearing too abundantly, or that appear un- healthy by their leaves turning yellow. In such cases, when the trees are of advanced growth, a basin of the same depth, but three or more feet in diameter, 54 THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN. should be formed and filled with manure : in all cases for this purpose this should be but slightly decom- posed. BUSH PEAK TREES FOR A MARKET GARDEN. There are many favorable sunny spots which the amateur gardener may turn to profit accompanied by pleasure, simply by planting bush pear trees grafted on the quince stock. The plantation should be a sort of nursery, and for this purpose they should be plant- ed in rows, three feet row from row, and three feet apart in the rows ; a piece of ground planted after this method will contain 4,840 trees per imperial acre. By pinching every shoot to three leaves all the summer, the trees form compact fruitful bushes ; this constant summer pinching has a remarkable effect in moderating the vigor of fruit trees. They will com- mence to bear the second year after planting, and if each tree give but ten or twelve fruit, one acre will pro- duce a large quantity. They may be suffered to re- main at the above distance un root-pruned, and unre- moved for seven, eight, or ten years ; and then, as they will nearly or quite touch each other, every alter- nate tree should be removed, and another plantation formed. The removal of the trees should be done care- fully, so that those left will stand four feet and a half apart and in quincunx order, thus, ** *. This may be done as follows : Presuming the first row to consist of ten trees, begin at the first row by removing the 1st, 3d, 5th, Yth, and 9th trees ; in the second row, remove the 2d, 4th 7 6th, 8th, and 10th ; in the third row, again 1st, 3d, 5th, 7th, and 9th trees, and so on BUSH PEAR TREES FOR A MARKET GARDEN. 55 with all, and through all the rows however long ; at this distance they may remain for fourteen, eighteen, or twenty years. At the end of one of these periods, every alternate row of trees must be removed, leav- ing the permanent trees six feet apart : the periods of removal must, to a certain extent, depend upon the nature of the soil ; if this be of high fertility, the re- moval of the trees must be commenced at the earlier period. It may sound strangely to the routine gar- dener to advise the removal of fruit trees when twenty years old ; but I say this advisedly, for the trees in a plantation of Louise Bonne pears on the quince stock, planted here twenty years since, in rows five feet apart, were recently removed and have succeeded well, commencing to bear fine crops the second season after being transplanted. When pyramidal trees from ten to twenty years old are removed, their branches should all be shortened to at least one-half their length. Although these trees were planted only five feet apart and have grown well, they did not and those left un- removed do not touch each other ; this is, of course, owing to their young shoots having been pinched in every summer for so many seasons. From closely observing these trees for many years, and even to-day (July 20th, 1864), upon measuring the shoots of the unremoved trees, and finding they do not meet by at least fifteen inches, I have based the idea conveyed by the heading of these paragraphs, p. 54. It may be asked, why not plant pyramids, which are handsome and productive ? Experience furnishes me with a reply : When my 2,000 pyramids of Louise Bonne pears commenced to bear their large 56 THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN. crops of fruit, I found so many displaced by the wind that supporting them with stakes became expensive and troublesome ; I therefore recommend all those, who wish to make their pear-tree plantations profita- ble as well as pleasurable, to plant bush trees. 1 In sheltered gardens the amateur may without hesitation continue to plant pyramids, for no description of fruit tree can be more interesting ; but when profit is to be attached to cultivation, and fruit trees cultivated by the acre, the bush form must be adhered to. The varieties best adapted to this mode of culture are, first and best, Louise Bonne of Jersey, Fondante d'Au- tomne, Beurre d'Aremberg, Beurre Superfin, Williams's Bon Chretien, Beurre Bachelier, Winter Nelis, and Bergamotte d'Esperen. If more robust growing sorts are planted, such as Beurre Diel, Beurre d'Amanlis, Beurre Hardy, and some others, the plantation should be commenced with rows four feet apart, and the trees four feet apart in the rows. The ground occu- pied by the plantation should be stirred with the Parkes' steel fork every season, in February or March, but not deeper than from four to five inches, and the weeds carefully turned down. In the summer the weeds must be kept under by hoeing, which will keep the surface loose and promote the health of the trees ; without this stirring with the fork in early spring, the soil would become too hard during the summer for hoeing with facility. GATHERING THE FEUIT. The fruit of pears, more particularly those on 1 These may be with advantage a sort of hybrid bush tree, partaking a little of the pyramid, and allowed to grow to a height of four or five feet. GATHERING THE FRUIT. 57 quince stocks, should not be suffered to ripen on the tree ; the summer and autumn varieties should be gathered before they are quite ripe, and left to ripen in the fruit room. 1 The late pears should be gather- ed before the leaves take their autumnal tints ; if suf- fered to remain too long on the trees, they frequently never ripen, but continue hard till they rot. In most seasons, the first and second week in October is a good time ; but much depends on soil and climate. The following passage from that very excellent work, Downing's " Fruit Trees of America," is appropriate to this subject : " The pear is a peculiar fruit in one respect, which should always be kept in mind viz., that most varie- ties are vnuch finer in flavor if picked from the tree, and ripened in the house, than if allowed to become fully matured on the tree. There are a few excep- tions to this rule, but they are very few. And, on the other hand, we know a great many varieties which are only second or third rate when ripened on the tree, but possess the highest and richest flavor if gathered at the proper time, and allowed to mature in the house. This proper season is easily known, first by the ripening of a few full-grown but worm- eaten specimens, which fall soonest from the tree ; and, secondly, by the change of color, and the readi- ness of the stalk to part from its branch on gently raising the fruit. The fruit should then be gathered or so much of the crop as appears sufficiently ma- tured and spread out on shelves in the fruit-room, 1 Pears that ripen in September and October should not be gathered all at one time, but at intervals of a week or so, making, say, three gatherings; their season is thus much prolonged. 58 TEE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN. or upon the floor of the garret. Here it will gradual- ly assume its full color and become deliciously melt- ing and luscious. Many sorts, which, if suffered to ripen in the sun and open air, are rather dry, when ripened within doors, are most abundantly melting and juicy. They will also last for a considerably longer period if ripened in this way, maturing grad- ually as wanted for use, and being thus beyond the risk of loss or injury by violent storms or high winds. " Winter dessert pears should be allowed to hang on the tree as long as possible, till the nights become frosty. 1 They should then be wrapped separately in paper, packed in kegs, barrels, or small boxes, and placed in a cool, dry room, free from frost. Some varieties, as the Beurre d'Aremberg, will ripen finely with no other care than placing them in barrels in the cellar, like apples. But most kinds of the finer Avinter dessert pears should be brought into a warm apartment for a couple of weeks before their usual season of maturity. They should be kept covered, to prevent shrivelling. Many sorts, that are compara- tively tough if ripened in a cold apartment, become very melting, buttery, and juicy, when allowed to mature in a room kept at the temperature of 60 or 70 degrees." The following is from Mr. Glasses u Gardening Book," as given in the Gardener's Chronicle : HOW TO STOKE WINTER PEARS IN SMALL QUANTITIES. " Get some unglazed jars garden pots will do ; 1 I feel compelled to differ from Mr. D. in this respect ; for in the autumn of 1S55 I suffered many pears to hang on the trees till the end of October, and they never ripened. I believe the first week in October to be the best period to gather winter pears in. KEEPING- PEARS IN A GREENHOUSE. 59 make them perfectly clean, if they have ever been used. The best way is to half burn or bake them over again. " Gather your pears very carefully, so as not to rnb off the bloom or break the stalk. On no account knock them about so as to bruise them. Put them on a dry sweet shelf, to sweat. When the sweating is over, rub them dry with a soft cloth, as tenderly as if you were dry-rubbing a baby. " As soon as they are quite dry, put them, one over the other, into the jars or garden pots, without any sort of packing ; close up the mouth of the jar loosely, or of the garden-pot, by whelming the pan or placing a piece of slate over it, and stow them away in a dark- ish closet where they cannot get the frost. " Open the jars now and then, to see how they are getting on. " Do not put more than one sort in the same jar, if you can help it. Mind the warmer they are kept, the faster they will ripen." KEEPING PEAKS IN A GREENHOUSE. I have but very recently found that pears may be kept in a greenhouse, in great perfection, all the winter. The greenhouse in which my experiment has been tried is a lean-to house with a S. "W. aspect, twelve feet wide, with a path in the centre, a bench in front, of common slates laid on wooden bars, and a stage at back, full of camellias. My pears have been laid on the front bench, the glass over them shaded till the end of November, the house ventilated, and the 60 THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN. camellias watered just as if the pears were not there. In severe frosts, the temperature was kept just above freezing. The autumn pears under this treatment ripened slowly, and were of excellent flavor. The late pears kept till April ; but then, owing to the power of the sun, the air of the house became too warm and dry, and they shrivelled. I should therefore recommend winter pears to be kept in the greenhouse in covered pots or jars (I now use large clean flower-pots with wooden covers), placing them in early in December, Mr. Tillery, of the Wellbeck Gardens, keeps his choice pears and apples in boxes of bran with great success. The bran, before it is used, should be thoroughly dried and sifted, so as to take from it all the small particles of meal. With this treatment pears and apples may be placed in it as soon as they are gathered. The boxes should be quite shallow, so as to admit of only one layer of fruit, which should be covered with the bran, and no lids placed on the boxes. The bran is apt to become musty. PYRAMIDAL APPLE TREES ON THE PARADISE APPLE STOCK. Apples as pyramids on the Paradise stock are ob- jects of great beauty and utility. This stock, like the quince, is remarkable for its tendency to emit numerous fibrous roots near the surface, and for contracting the growth of the graft, causing it to become fruitful at a very early stage. On the Continent there are two varieties of the apple under this denomination viz., the Doucin and the I?omme de Paradis ; these are PYRAMIDAL APPLE TREES. 61 called Paradise stocks in England, but on the Conti- nent the first and last are used for distinct purposes the first for pyramids, the latter for dwarf bushes. The Doucin stock is, I am inclined to think, the same as that called " Dutch Creeper," or "Dutch Paradise," by Miller, in his Dictionary, folio edition of 1759. It puts forth abundance of fibrous roots near the surface of the soil, and is not inclined to root deeply into it like the crab. Apples grafted on this stock are more vigorous than when grafted on the true Paradise stock, and less so than those on the crab ; it is, therefore, well adapted for garden trees, for they are easily lifted, their roots thus kept to the surface, and the tree consequently kept free from canker. There is another surface-rooting apple, also well adapted for stocks the Burr Knot. This, like the Doucin, will strike root, if stout cuttings, two or three years old, are planted two-thirds of their length in a moist soil : it is a large, handsome, and very good culinary apple. At Ware Park, in Hertfordshire, this is called Byde's Walking-stick Apple, owing to Mr. Byde, the former proprietor of the place, often planting branches with his own hand, which soon formed nice bearing trees. Among apples raised from seed, some will occa- sionally be found with this surface-rooting nature ; and this is, I suspect, the reason why the Doucin stock, under the name of the Paradise, common in the Eng- lish nurseries, differs from the sorts used as Doucins in France : there are also two or three varieties culti- vated there. About forty years since, I raised a large number of 62 THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN. apples from the pips of the Golden Pippin, Golden Reinette, Ribston Pippin, and other esteemed sorts. These, in course of time, all bore fruit, but, as not one was found superior to its parent, I did not cultivate them. Why I mention this is, that among my seed- lings were several that put out roots near the surface, and the cuttings of which struck root. It is only within these few years that I have had my attention drawn to two of these, one of which has very broad leaves, and a most healthy and vigorous habit ; the other, a habit equally vigorous, but with a great tend- ency to form fruit-spurs. The former I have named the Broad-leaved Paradise, the latter, the Nonesuch Paradise ; they are likely to form a revolution in ap- ple culture, as the varieties of apples grafted on them form such healthy and fruitful trees. The Pomme de Paradis seems identical with the " dwarf apple of Armenia," referred to in the " Jour- nal of the Horticultural Society," Part 2, Vol. 3, page 115. It is exceedingly dwarf in its habit, and too tender for this climate, unless in very warm and dry soils. Out of 2,000 imported in 1845, more than half died the first season, and two-thirds of the re- mainder the following. They were planted in fine fertile loam, favorable to the growth of apples, and on which the Doucin, planted the same season, grew with the greatest vigor. The same result attended an importation of 2,000 in 1846. I have now potted some plants, and owing, as I suppose, to the roots being warmed through the pots by exposure to the sun, they seem inclined to make very nice little fruit- ful bushes in fact, real miniature apple trees, bearing PYRAMIDAL APPLE TREES. 63 fruit when only nine inches in height. My trees are in eight-inch pots ; but, to have healthy fertile trees, I should recommend them to be gradually shifted into fifteen-inch pots. The citizen may thus have his apple orchard on the leads of his house. The English Paradise stock, much like the Doucin, and those above-mentioned as my seedlings, are most deserving of our attention as stocks for forming fruit- ful pyramids, the culture of which is very simple. Grafted trees of one, two, or three years' growth, with straight leading stems, well furnished with buds and branches to the junction with the stock, should be planted. No manure should be placed to their roots, but some light friable mould should be shaken into them, the earth filled in, trodden down, and two or three shovelfuls of hall-rotted manure laid on the sur- face round each tree. This surface-dressing may be given with advantage every succeeding autumn. If the soil be very wet and retentive, it will be better to plant the trees in small mounds ; and if symptoms of canker make their appearance, their roots- should be examined annually in the autumn, as recommended in root-pruning of pears on the quince stock, introdu- cing the spade directly under the roots, so as to pre- vent any entering deeply into the soil, and bringing all as nearly to the surface as possible, filling in the trench with light friable compost ; or the tree may be lifted and replanted, which will be found more effi- cient. I firmly believe that canker may be entirely prevented by this annual attention to the roots. If, therefore, the soil be unfavorable, and apt to in- duce a too vigorous growth in apple trees, followed by 64; THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDE*. canker, the roots should be annually root-pruned, or the trees lifted i. e., taken up and replanted. If, however, the trees make shoots of only moderate vig- or, and are healthy and fruitful, their roots may remain undisturbed ; and pinching their shoots in summer, as directed for pyramidal pears, page 9, and training them in a proper direction, is all that they will want. Pyramids on the Paradise stock may be planted four feet apart in confined gardens; five feet will give them abundance of room ; but if, owing to the soil being of extra fertility, they are found to require more, the trees, if they have been root-pruned, may be removed almost without receiving a check, even if they are twenty years old. This is a great comfort to the ama- teur gardener, who amuses himself with improving his garden ; for how often does a favorite fruit tree, which cannot be removed, prevent some projected im- provement ! Apples differ greatly in their habits of growth ; some are inclined to grow close and compact, like a cypress these are the proper sorts for pyramids ; others, horizontally and crooked these should be grown as bushes ; others, again, are slender and thin in their growth, so that, to form a good pyramid of these slender-growing varieties, it is necessary to be- gin the first year with a young tree, and to pinch the leader as soon as it is six inches long. If by any neg- lect the lower part of the pyramid be not furnished with shoots, but have dormant buds, or buds with only two or three leaves attached, a notch must be cut, about half an inch in width, just above the bud from which a shoot is required. This notch must be cut PYRAMIDAL APPLE TREES. 65 through the outer and inner bark, and alburnum, or first layer of wood ; and if the shoot or stem be young say from two to four inches in girth it may be cut round half its circumference. If this be done in spring or summer, the following season a shoot will generally make its appearance ; sometimes even the first season, if the stem or branch be notched early in spring. This method of producing shoots from dormant buds may be applied with advantage to all kinds of fruit trees, except the peach and nectarine, which are not often inclined to break from a dormant bud. Varieties of apples inclined to be compact and close in their growth form very handsome pyramids ; but they are apt to be unfruitful, as air enough is not ad- mitted to the interior of the tree. This may be easily avoided, by bringing the lateral shoots down to a hori- zontal position for a year or two, and fastening the end of each shoot to a stake ; an open pyramidal shape will thus be attained, which the tree will keep. Other varieties put forth their laterals horizontally, and some are even pendulous. The leading perpendicular shoot of varieties of this description must be supported by a stake till the tree is of mature age. Iron rods, about the size of small curtain-rods, are the most eligible : these, if painted with coal-tar and lime, sifted and mixed with it to the consistence of very thick paint, put on boiling hot, will last a great many years. Apple trees in confined gardens near large towns are often infested with "American blight," aphis lanigera : this makes its appearance on the trees gen- erally towards the middle of summer, like patches of cotton wool. There are many remedies given for 66 THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDES'. this pest; the most efficacious I have jet found is soft soap dissolved in soft water, two pounds to the gallon, or the Gishurst Compound, sold by Price's Candle Company, one pound to the gallon, and applied with an old painter's brush. Many remedies, such as train oil, spirits of tar, &c., are apt to injure the trees: it must be recollected that soft soap will turn the leaves brown in fact, kill them ; but it need not be applied to them, as the aphis generally fixes itself on the branches. Here let me impress upon the lover of his garden, liv- ing anywhere within reach of smoke, the necessity of using the syringe : its efficacy is not half appreciated by gardening amateurs. As soon as the leaves of his fruit trees are fully expanded, every morning and every evening, in dry weather, should the attentive gardener dash on the water with an unsparing hand not with a plaything, but with the perforated common syringe, such as a practical gardener would use, capa- ble of pouring a sharp stream on the plant, and of dislodging all the dust or soot that may have accumu- lated in twelve hours. For apple and pear trees in pots, or in small city gardens, this syringing is abso- lutely necessary. Pinching the shoots of pyramidal apple trees, and, indeed, exactly the same method of managing the trees as given for pyramidal pears on the quince stock, may be followed with a certainty of success; and the pro- prietor of a very small garden may thus raise apple trees which will be sure to give him much gratifica- tion. To have fine fruit, the clusters should be thinned in June ; and small trees should not be overburdened, APPLES AS BUSHES ON THE PARADISE STOCK. for they are often inclined, like young pear trees on the quince stock, to bear too many fruit when in a very young state ; the constitution of the tree then receives a shock which it will take two or three sea- sons to recover. For varieties with large fruit, one on each fruit-bearing spur will be enough ; if a small sort, from two to three will be sufficient. There are so many really good apples that it is dif- ficult to make a selection : the following sorts will not disappoint the planter ; but fifty varieties in addition, quite equal in quality, could be selected. Twenty dessert apples, ripening from July to June, placed in the order of their ripening : 1. White Joanneting* 2. Early Red Margaret 3. lied Astrachan 4. Early Strawberry 5. Irish Peach* 6. Summer Golden Pippin 7. Kerry Pippin* 8. Margil 9. Kihston Pippin* 10. Cox's Orange Pippin* Twenty kitchen apples, June : 1. Keswiek Codlin* 2. Large Yellow Bough 3. Hawthornden* 4. Cellini 5. King of the Pippins 6. Blenheim Pippin* 7. Calville Blanche 8. New Hawthornden 9. Striped Beefing* 10. Waitham Abbey Seedling 11. Mannington's Pearmain 12. Golden Drop (Coe's)* 13. Ash mead's Kernel* 14. Nonpareil, Old 1.5. Reinette Van Mona* 16. Syke House Russet 17. Keddleston Pippin 18. Golden Harvey 19. Winter Peach Apple 20. Stunner Pippin* fit for use from July to 11. Herefordshire Pearmain* 12. Winter Pearmain 13. Bedfordshire Foundling* 14. Greaves' s Pippin 15. Durnelow's Seedling* 16. Forge Apple 17. liymer 1. Baxters Pearmain* 19. St. Sativeur* 20. Gooseberry Apple* APPLES AS BUSHES ON THE PAKADISE STOCK. There are some varieties of apples that do not form, even with care, well-shaped pyramids ; such sorts may be cultivated as bushes when grafted on the Paradise 68 THE MIXIATURE FRUIT GAEOEX. stock, and are then excellently well adapted for small gardens. I have, indeed, reason to think that a great change may be brought about in suburban fruit cul- ture by these bush trees. -I have shown, ia pp. 17 and 18, how bush pears on quince stocks may be cul- tivated. Pears are, however, a luxury : apples and plums are necessaries to the families of countless thousands living near London. Apple bushes, always very pretty and productive trees^ may be planted three feet apart, row from row, and three feet apart in the rows. If two or three years old when planted, they w T ill begin to bear even the first season after planting. They should be kept from the attacks of the green aphis in summer by dressing the young shoots with the quassia mixture, given in a note to p. 89, and from the woolly aphis by Gishurst compound mentioned in page 66. The principal feature in this culture is summer pinching, which must be regularly attended to, from early in June till the end of August : this is done by pinching or cutting off the end of every shoot as soon as it has made five or six leaves, leaving from three to four full-sized ones. Some varieties of the apple have their leaves very thickly placed on the shoots ; with them it is better not to count the leaves, but to leave the shoots from three and a half to four inches in length. If the soil be rich, and the trees inclined to grow too vigorously, they may be removed biennially, as recommended for bush pears, by digging a circular trench one foot from the stem of the tree, and then introducing the spade under its roots, heaving it up so as to detach them all from the soil, and then filling in the earth dug from. APPLES AS BUSHES FOR MABKET GARDENS. 69 the trench and treading it gently on to the roots. The following sorts are well adapted for this bush culture, but the upright varieties recommended for pyramids form nice compact bushes. 1 Brabant Bellefleur, kitchen April Cornish Aromatic, dessert May Early Harvest, dessert August Emperor Alexander, kitchen October Gravenstein, kitchen or dessert November __ ,. , ( August to Hawthornden, kitchen I I November Joanneting (white), dessert July Melon Apple, dessert February Mere de. Menage, kitchen December Nonesuch, kitchen October Pom me Koyale, kitchen or dessert April Reinette du Canada, kitchen or dessert May Eibston Pippin, dessert December South Carolina Pippin, kitchen December Spring liibston Pippin, dessert Miiy Victoria, dessert April Walthara Abbey Seedling, kitchen December There is no mode of apple culture more interesting than bush culture. On the next page I annex a sketch of a plantation of Cox's Orange Pippin (Fig. 12), of one hundred trees ; they were planted in the spring of 1862. They bore a fine crop in 1863 of most beautiful fruit, and in 1864: gave a crop almost too abundant. APPLES AS BUSHES FOB MARKET GARDENS. Our market gardeners, as a rule, are very deficient in their knowledge of fruit-tree culture, and they have much to learn. The usual practice with them is to plant standard or half standard trees in rows, some twenty or thirty feet apart, and between them goos'e- 1 These dwarf bushes are liable to be gnawed by rabbits and hares in exposed gardens. The best of all preventives is to paint them with soot and milk, well mixed; or make a fence with galvanized wire netting, round the garden in which they are planted. 70 THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN. berry and currant trees. The ground is dug between the trees in spring deeply, and often carelessly. ^No- thing can be more barbarous, for the ground is so shaded that no surface roots can have the benefit ot air and the heat of the sun ; and if by any chance they could come to the surface, they are, as a matter of course, destroyed by the spade. It is true that in APPLES AS BUSHES FOR MARKET GARDENS. 71 some of the rich market gardens near London large quantities of fruit are grown in spite of the uncouth treatment the trees receive, but this does not alter the case. In a well-ordered fruit garden, every kind of fruit should have its department, and instead of seeing, as in Kent, a row of trees of all sorts, mixed in the most heterogeneous manner, no mixture of species should be allowed ; every kind should have its allotment apples on the Paradise stock, ditto on the crab stock, pears on the quince stock, the same on the pear stock. Morello cherries as pyramids on the Mahaleb stock the best of all methods for their culture and the various kinds of Duke cherries on the same kind of stock. Heart and Bigarreau cherries on the common cherry stock, plums as bushes, pyramids, or half stand- ards, should all be separated, and not planted hig- gledy-piggledy, as they have been and are now. The sound-headed market gardener will, when his mind is turned to improved fruit-tree culture, see all this, and make his fruit garden a pattern of order. I have been led into these remarks on market gar- den fruit-tree culture by my own experience, and es- pecially into a consideration of the great improvement that may be made in the culture of apples on the English Paradise stock. On referring to p. 69, the reader will find that I allude to my plantation of Cox's Orange Pippin apple trees on the Paradise stock (see Fig. 12) ; these trees will this season (1864), the third of their growth in their present quarters, and the fourth of their age, give an average of a quarter of a peck from each tree, so that we might 4* 72 THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN. have from 4,840 trees, growing on one acre of ground, 302 bushels of fine apples, worth 5s. per bushel, or 75. In 1866, the trees then averaging half-a-peek each, would double this sum, and make an acre of apple trees a very agreeable and eligible investment. The kinds likely to sell best in the markets, and which are most productive, are the following : Cox's Orange Pippin, Reinette Van Mons, Eibston Pippin, Sturmer Pippin, Scarlet Nonpareil, and Dutch Mi- gnonne ; these are dessert apples. The following are valuable kitchen apples, and abundant bearers : Hawthornden, New Hawthornden, Small's Admi- rable, Cox's Pomona, Keswick Codlin, Dumelow's Seedling, Lord Suffield, Norfolk Bearer, Duchess of Oldenburg, and Forge Apple. Such large varieties as Bedfordshire Foundling, Blenheim Orange, and Warner's King, should have more space, and be planted four feet apart, and be thinned out by remo- val, as recommended for pear trees, three feet apart, for which see p. 54:. The proper method of planting and managing these bush apple trees is exactly that recommended for bush pear trees on quince stocks. It may be by some made a question of expense, for although the return must be large and profitable, the purchase of nearly 5,000 apple trees would involve a large outlay. To this I reply first, that stocks cost- ing only a small sum per 1,000 may be planted and grafted where the trees are to grow permanently; and, second, that a large demand which my method of planting would create will also create a cheap sup- ply. The preparation of an acre of ground should be as follows : It should previous to planting, be forked APPLES AS BUSHES FOR 'MARKET GARDENS. ?3 over to a depth of twenty inches (if very poor and ex- hausted, from thirty to forty tons of manure may be forked in) not more, as trees such as I have recom- mended, viz., pears on the quince stock and apples on the English. Paradise stock, do not root deeply this ought to cost 6 13s. 4d. The annual expenses are forking the surface in spring, 1 6s. 8d., and hoeing the ground, say four times during the summer, 1 4s. I give the amounts paid here for such work. Then comes the summer pinching of the shoots by a light- fingered active youth, and this may, at a guess, be put down at 1, making the aggregate annual expenses 3 10s, 8d., or, say 4 per acre. The large return will amply afford this outlay, even adding, as we ought to do, the interest on capital, and rent. It will be seen that what I propose is in reality a Nursery Orchard which may be made to furnish fruit and trees for a considerable number of years. To fully comprehend this, we must suppose a rood of ground planted, as I have described, with 1,210 bush apple trees. In the course of eight or ten years, half of these, or 605, may be removed to a fresh planta- tion, in which they may be planted 6 feet apart ; they will at once occupy half an acre of ground. At the end of sixteen or eighteen years, every alternate row of trees in the first plantation the rood will require to be removed, which will give 302 trees to be planted, 6 feet apart, leaving 303 in the original rood. The 1,210 trees will, by this time, occupy one acre of ground at 6 feet apart. "With proper summer pruning or pinching, they will not require any further change, but continue to grow and bear fruit as long 74 THE MINIATURE FRUIT GA11DKN". as they are properly cultivated. The great advantage reaped by the planter is the constant productiveness of his trees; from the second year after planting they will be always " paying their way." The unprejudiced fruit cultivator will quickly find out the great advantage of my mode of apple and pear cultivation. In the usual old-fashioned mode, Standard apple trees are planted in orchards at 20 feet apart, or 108 trees to the acre ; if the soil be good and the trees properly planted, and the planter a healthy, middle- aged man, he may hope, at the end of his threescore and ten, to see his trees commencing to bear, and may die with the reflection that he has left a valuable orchard as a legacy to his children, but has not had much enjoyment of it during his life. Now, although, like most fathers, I have a strong wish to benefit my children, I hold the idea that one ought also to think of one's own gratification ; and so I have planted, and recommend the planting of such as will give me some satisfaction, yet leave a fertile legacy to my chil- dren. A French pomologist, who paid me a visit last year, said, " Ah ! now I find an Englishman planting for himself as well as for his children :" and went on to say that he was struck by seeing in England so many Standard trees in market gardens, the planters of which could have derived but small benefit from them ; and the apparent ignorance of fruit gardening as a lucrative occupation. This he, in fact, imputed to our climate, which, Frenchman-like, he thought totally unfit for fruit culture in the open air, yet felt APPLES AS SINGLE LATERAL CORDONS. 75 much surprised to see here the produce of a well-cul- tivated English fruit garden, in a climate not nearly so favorable as the valley of the Thames. I have only to add that, besides my plantation of Cox's Orange Pippin, I have another of upwards of 400 trees, which has now been in existence upwards of ten years, so that I am not theorizing, but dedu- cing facts from a sound basis. APPLES AS SINGLE LATERAL CORDONS. The French gardeners often train an apple tree " en cordon horizontale," as an edging to the borders in their kitchen gardens, after the following mode: A FIG. 13. tree grafted on the Paradise or Doucin stock, with a single shoot, is planted in a sloping position, and the shoot trained along a wire, about ten or twelve inches from the surface. (Fig. 13.) To carry out this method of training, oak posts, about three inches in diameter and two feet in length, should be sharpened at one end and driven into the ground, so that they stand one foot above the surface ; they may be from thirty to forty yards distant from each other. From these a piece of galvanized or common iron wire if the latter, it should be painted about the thickness of whipcord, should be strained, and sup- ported nine inches from the ground, at intervals of six 76 THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN. feet, by iron pins eighteen inches long, the size of a small curtain-rod, or smaller, flattened at the top and pierced with a hole, to allow the wire to pass through ; these should be stuck into the ground, so as to stand on a level with the straining-posts. The trees should be planted six feet apart, and when the top of one tree reaches to another the young shoot may be grafted on to the base of the next, so as to form a continuous cordon. This is best done by merely taking off a slip of bark, two inches long, from the under part of the young shoot, and a corresponding piece of bark from the upper part of the stem of the tree to which it is to be united, so that they fit tolerably well. They should then be firmly bound with bast, and a bunch of moss a handful as firmly bound over the union ; the binding as well as the moss may remain on till the autumn. The trees do not grow so rapidly as common grafts, so that the ligatures will not cut into the bark. Every side shoot of these cordons should be rigor- ously pinched into three leaves all the summer, and the fruit, from being near the earth, and thus profit- ing largely by radiation, will be very fine. The double lateral cordon, see Fig. 14, which is a great improvement on the French single cordon, requires the same training, pinehing-in, and manage- ment. The great change in fruit culture that may be brought about by training these double lateral cordons under glass ridges is obvious enough. The figure (15) will give some faint idea of the advantages of this new system of culture they are endless ; for not only can peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums, apples, and pears APPLES AS DOUBLE LATERAL CORDONS. be rescued from spring frosts, but their fruit be ripeii- ed in great perfection. There is no doubt but that in some of our cold and cloudy places in the north of England arid Scotland? where even the Eibston Pippin will not ripen, it may be brought to perfec- tion under the glass fruit ridge. The figure (Fig. 15) gives but one tree trained to one wire ; two rows of wire may, however, be trained under one ridge, which should be three feet wide at base, and the wires ten inches asunder. It is quite possible that this method of training to galvanized wires may, in some situations, be better adapted to vine culture than allowing the vines to rest on slates or tiles. I now, by permission, copy the de- scription of my new glass fruit ridge from my article in the Gardeners Chronicle for April 8, 1865, from which I have also derived the plate kindly lent to me : " There are no cross-bars, but merely a frame three feet wide at the base. On the top bar, a, is a groove half an inch deep ; in the bottom bar, J, is a groove a quarter of an inch deep ;' in the end bars, c and rf, are grooves half an inch deep. The pieces of glass, which should be cut so as to fit, are pushed into the upper groove, and let fall into the lower one when all are 1 An improvement on this is to have a rebate at bottom instead of a groove ; the glass is more easily fitted in. 78 THE MINIATURE FRUIT GARDEN. fitted in ; the two end pieces are pushed inwards, so as to drive all of them into close contact. A little putty is required at the bottom to prevent water lodging, and some at each end to keep the pieces from moving lat- erally, e, e, are the straining-posts of oak, four inches square ; /", the upright pieces of wire stuck in the ground, flattened and perforated at top to pass the wire through and support it ;