l l
M l - ' J
excessively wet, nor subject to Inundation In winter. Avoid, .as far as possible, very strong clayey and
gravelly soils.” In whatever soil the apple tre e is planted, it will not long continue to thrive unless
the subsoil is effectually drained : if this bo neglected all other appliances will prove of little avail.
The drains should be a t least 4 ft. deep.
4319. Mode q f b earing. “ In all th e varieties of the common apple, th e mode of be.aring is upon small
terminal and lateral spurs, or short robust shoots, from ^ in . to 2 in . long, which spring from the
younger branches of two or more years’ growth, appearing first a t th e extremity, and extending
gradually clown the side : th e same bearing branches and fruit spurs continue many yeai-s fruitful.”
{Abercrombie.').
4320. P r u n in g . “ As, from th e mode of bearing, apple trees do not admit of shortening in the general
bearers,, it should only be pr.actisecl occasionally: first, where any extend out of limits.or grow irregular
and deiormed ; and, secondly, a good shoot contiguous to a vacant sp.ace is shortened to a few eyes, to
obtain an additional supply of young wood from the lower buds of the shoot for filling up the vacancy.
But to shorten without such a motive, is not merely the cutting away of the first and the principal bearing
part of the branches, but .also occasion.? their putting forth m,any strong useless wood shoots where fruit-
spurs would otherwise .arise; and both effects greatly tend to retard the trees in bearing ; whereas the
lertile branches, being cultiv.ated to their natura l length, shoot moderately, and have fruit-spurs quite
to the extremity.” {A be rc rombie .)
4321. E sp a lie rs a n d w a ll tre e s require a summer and winter pruning.
4322. The sum m e r p r im in g . Tra in in the young shoots of the same year, which are likely to be wanted
ill tho figure, and retrench them where ill placed or too numerous ; for as the trees continue bearing
many years on the same branches, they only require occasional supplies of young wood ; therefore, begin
m May or June to pinch off all fore-right, ill placed, and superfluous shoots,, retaining only some of
th e promising laterals'in the more v.acant parts, with a leader to e.ach branch.
4323. The w hUe r p r u n in g may be performed from November till the middle of Fohru-ary. This comprehends
the reguhation of the wood-br.anches, th e bearers, and ofthe young shoots. F irs t, examine the
new shoots trained m the preceding summer; and if too abundant, reUin only a competency of well
placed and promising laterals, to furnish v.acant p,arts, with a leading shoot to each parent branch. Continue
tliese mostly a t full length,, as far as there is room. Cut out close the superabundant and irregular
young shoots ; and where any of th e elder branches appear unfruitful, cankery,.or decayed, cut them
either clean out, or prune short to some good lateral, as may seem expedient. Also prune into order
¿ y branches which are very irregular, or too extended. Carefully preserve .all the eligible n atu ra l
frait-spurs ; but remove all unfruitful stumps and snags, and l.arge projecting rugged spurs ; cutting
close to the old wood. As each esp.alier is pruned, let the old and now branches be laid iu at convenient
distances,, .according to the size of th e fruit, 4 in.,.5 in.,. or 6 in. asunder, and neatly tied or nailed to th e
wall or trellis. {A be rc rombie .)
4324. T r a in in g espaliers. The following mode, as described by Mearns, is th e most general, and by
using stakes, which do not answer so well for any other species of espalier-tree as for apples, is also th e
most economic.al: —In the first stage of tr.aining, th e stakes require to stand .as close togetlier as 12 in.
o r 14 in., .and to be arranged in reguhar order to the full height of 5 ft., with a rail slightly fastened
on the top of them for neatness’ sake, as well as to steady them. If stakes of small ash, Spanish chestnut,
or th e like, from coppices or thinnings of young })hant.ations, be used, they will last for th ree o f
tour years, provided they .are from l^ in. to 2 in. in diameter, at 1 ft. from th e bottom. They need
not be extended farther in the first instance than the distance to be considered prob.able the trees
m.ay retyh in three years’ growth : a t th.at period, or the following season, they will all require to be
renewed ; and the new ones may be placed on each side, to th e extent th.at the trees may be thought to
require while these stakes last, finishing th e top, as before, with a ra il. As the trees extend th e ir
horizontal branches, .and acquire subshanco, th e two stakes on each side of the one that supports th e
centre le.ader of the tree can he sp.ared, and removed to any of the extremities where wanted. And as
th e tree extends farther, and acquires more substance, every other stake will be found suflicient ; .and
the centre shake c.an be spared also, after the leader has reached its destined height, and is of a sufficient
substance to support itself erect. When such a form of training is completed, and the branches of
sufficient magnitude, about six, eight, or twelve stakes will be sufficient for the support of the horizontal
br.anches, even when they have the burden of a full crop of fruit. At any other time, about six stakes tu
each tree will be all that are necessary.
4325. I n selecting trees fo r the u su a l h o r izo n ta l t r a in in g , lookiout for those which have three fine shoots.
Or It IS better to plant them one year where they are to remain to get th e ir roots well established, and
then to head them down to withm 8 in. or 9 in. of the ground, and to encourage three shoots from the
top of each stool (Jig. 792. a ), so th a t tho first and lowermost horizont.al shoots may bo tied down within
10 in. of the ground.
_ 4.326. In the pruning season cut down the middle shoot of the three, reserving what is left .as an up right
leader, its length being about 12 in. from the base of the other two, and tr.ain these in a horizontal
position (h ), fixing the middle shoot, which was cut down, perpendicularly to th e stake it is planted
against. But if it is against a wall or pales, it may be better to zigzag the upright leader,- for the more
regular distribution of the sap; and when th a t is intended, the leader should be left a little longer, to
allow of its being bent. In espalier training this zigzagging is not so readily done, nor is it necessary
where th e trees are not intended to rise high. It is always necessary, in the course of training the young
wood across th e stakes, in summer, to have large osier or similar rods, to tie them to, in order to guide
th e shoots o fth e year in a proper direction. The proper ties .are small osier twigs.
4327. T k e fo llow in g sum m e r e n c om a g e th r e e other shoots in the same w.ay as the season before (c).
then cut off the middle shoot at 10 in., 12 in., or 15 in. above th e base of the other two, and train these
l.^ t as in the former season ( d ) ; and so continue training, year after year, till th e trees have reached
their destined height. {M earns, in U o r t. T ra n s ., vol. v. p. 46.) An improvement on this mode consists
in cutting down the leading shoot during summer, in the manner practised by Harrison, of Wortlev
Ila li, as described in the succeeding paragraphs.
4328. T r a in in g a g a in st a w a ll. The horizontal mode is unquestionably to be preferred for so vigorous
a growing tree as the ap p le ; and Harrison’s mode of conducting the process { T r . o n F r u it Tre e s 1823
ch . XX.) appears to us much th e best. T h e peculiarity of his method is, that, instead of training the
leading shoot m a serpentine or zigzag manner, with Ilitt or Mearns, to make it send out side shoots he
adopts the much more simple ami effectual mode of cutting down the current year’s shoots in June ; by
which means he gams annually a year, as side shoots are produced on the young wood of th a t vear. as-
well as on last year’s wood which it sprang from.
4.329. The tr e e being a m a id en p la n t is the first year headed down to seven buds. Every bud pushing
two of the shoots, the third and fourth, counting upwards, must be I'iibbed off when they are 3 in. in
len g th ; the uppermost shoot must be trained straight up the wall for a leading stem, and the remaining
four horizontally along the wall. The leading shoot having attained about 15 in. in length, cut it
clown to l l in . From the shoots th a t will thus be produced select three, one to be trained as a le.ader,
and two as side branches. Proceeding in this way for seven years, the tree will have reached the top
of a wall 12ft. high. With weak trees, or trees in very cold late situationsj this practice will not be
advisable, as the wood produced would be too weak, or would not ripen ; but in all ordinary situations,
i t is obviously a superior mode to any that has been hitherto described in books. In pruning th e spurs
of .apple and other trees, Harrison differs from many gardeners in keeping them short, never allowing
one spur to have more than three or four fruit buds, and in cutting off the spurs entirely, or cutting them
down for renewal every fourth or fifth year. Every practical gardener, desirous of excelling in the
training and spurring of fruit trees, ought to possess Harrison’s treatise.
4330. Heading down apple trees that are much cankered, is strongly recommended by Forsyth, who
gives an example of one {Jig. 793.), after it had been headed down four years, which bore plenty of fine
fruit. The point a t which it was headed down (a ) was within 18 in. of the so il; and uncler it, on the
stump, were two large wounds {b and c) made by cutting out tho cankery part, and which being
covered with the composition were soon nearly filled up with sound wood. Very Httle pruning is at first
given to trees so cut, but afterwards a regular succession of bearing wood is kept up by removing such as
have borne for three or four years. Thus, one branch (d), which has done bearing, is cut off, and
succeeded by another ( / ) , and when that is tired also, it is cut off, and replaced by a third (e), and
80 on.
4331. G ra ftin g old apple tre e s of different sorts with superior varieties, fs an obvious and long-tried
improvement. In this case, if the tree is a standard, it is only headed down to standard height ; in old
subjects, m ost commonly the branches only are cut over within 1 ft. or 2 ft. of the trunk, and then grafted
in the crown or cleft manner, or by the usual mode of whip-grafting.
4332. The in ju r ie s done to apple trees generally originate either from other vegetables or from insects.
T h e first are few, and may be easily overcome by removing the mistletoe and the different mosses and
lichens which have been allowed to fix upon the trees through negligence.
4333. The in ju r ie s f r o m im e c ts are much more numerous, and are of so many descriptions, that they
require all th e watchfulness of the gardener to detect their first approach, and his judgment afterwards
to administer suitable remedies. The greatest enemy to this tree is the Eriosbma lanígera ( A'phis lanígera
H I.), commonly known b y th e various names of woolly aphis, apple bug, coccus, or American blight.
The origin and history of this fearful pest was investigated by Sir Joseph Banks. Although it first
a[)peared in a nursery in Sloane-street so recently as the year 1787, it is now found in every p.art of the
kingdom. It is a minute insect, covered with long cotton-like wool; it makes its habitation in the chinks
of the bark, and there multiplies very fast. It may be effectually extirpated in two ways; either by
anointing th e infected trees with spirit of tar, or, as Sir J . Banks recommends, and in fact proved on his
own trees, by taking off all the ragged and dead bark, and then scrubbing th e tru n k and branches with a
hard brush and strong lime water. Where it attacks th e young shoots, a powerful engine isnecess.ary to
dislodge it by the mechanical action of the water : except by this action water has no effect upon this insect.
4334. IVhat a r e called blights, produc ed by insects, are particularly common among apple trees. Early
in the spring, and immediately on the opening of the buds, they are attacked by the caterpillars of two
o r three small moths, which conceal themselves in the opening leaves while yet tender, which they
cause to curl or roll up. Whether the eggs of these insects are deposited early in th e same year, or late
in the preceding autumn, has not been ascertained. Himdpicking in this case is clearly of no nse, unless
on low and choice trees. The operation described by M r. Samuel Curtis, of Glazenwood, near Coggeshall,
Essex, that is, watering the trees and dusting them with quicklime (see 1872. and 2667.), appears to have
been directed against insects of this description; and, as it was attended with complete success, his simple
process deserves particular attention.
4335. When tk e leaves a r e fu l l y expanded, other c ate rpillars feed upon them, as the larvæ of th e figure-
of-eight moth (Rombyx cæruleocéphala F .) , and some few others, but rarely to produce serious injury :
these may be annoyed, and in part destroyed, by the smoke of burning weeds, litter, moist straw, &c., or
by violently shaking the trees. Judicious culture and pruning will do much to prevent all vegetable
diseases, such as canker, &c., but will have little or no effect in warding off the injuries occasioned by
insects. (See an interesting paper on this subject in Gard. Ma g ., vol. ix. p. 441. ; also vol. iii. p. 215. ;
IV. p. 363. ; V. p. 363. ; vii. p. 327. and 368. ; viii. p. 539. 580. and 587.)
I '-
:
' ’II ; . 1
I ' I I i l
I I ’ ■' ’1
I -VÉ
i M \