Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 12.djvu/257

245 TRAINING.] HORTICUL T U 11 E 245 vertical shoot v has been cut back nearly to its base in order to furnish from buds there situated the rudiments of other branches. The sap flows with much greater force into the upright or nearly upright branches than it does into those having a horizontal position ; therefore branches radiating at equal distances, like those in the figure, would soon become very unequal in point of vigour ; cc would of course be strong, act comparatively weak, whilst bb would main tain a somewhat intermediate condition. If, instead of training the shoots cc in a straight direction, we depress them at del and bend them in the growing season as indicated by the curved line towards bb, we shall greatly check their orer-luxuriance. On the other hand, by elevating the horizontal shoots at cc, and training them in the direction of the dotted line towards bb, those shoots will be thereby greatly invigorated. In short, by curving the upper branches downwards and the lower ones upwards, the flow of sap is checked in the former and promoted in the latter ; and the con sequence is that aa and cc are equal to the medium bb and to each other.&quot; By these and other expedients, and by the prudent use of the knife, fruit trees may be readily trained into the forms indicated below, which are amongst the best out of the many which have been devised. FIG. 78. Pyramidal Fio. 79. Training Training. en quenouille. The training of standard and bush trees in the open ground has been already referred to under the section Pruning. When the growth of pyramids is completed, the outline is something like that of fig. 78, and very pretty trees are thus formed. It is better, however, especially if the tendency to bear fruit is rather slack, to adopt what the French call en quenouille training (fig 79), which consists in tying or weighting the tips of the branches so as to give them all a downward curve. Pear trees worked on the quince stock, and trained en quenouille, are generally very fertile. fff-K^TJ 1 **^***^-- i.- -^ t r^-^ TTTC=7r**T ^ -v^^o*- FIG. 80. Horizontal Training. Wall trees, it must be evident, are placed in a very un natural and constrained position, and would in fact soon be reduced to a state of utter confusion, if allowed to grow unrestricted ; hence the following modes of training have been adopted. Horizontal Training (fig. 80) has long been a favourite form in England. There is one principal ascending stem from which the branches depart at right angles, at intervals of about a foot. Horizontal training is best adapted to the apple and the pear ; and for the more twiggy growing slender varieties, the forms shown in fig. 81 have been recommended. In these the horizontal branches are placed wider, 18 to 20 inches apart, and the smaller shoots are trained between them, either on both sides, as at a, or defiexed from the lower side, as at b. The latter is an FIG. 81. Forms of Horizontal Training. excellent method of reclaiming neglected trees. Every alternate branch should be taken away, and the spurs cut off, after which the young shoots are trained in, and soon produce good fruit. In Fan Training (fig. 82) there is no leading stem, but the branches spring from the base and are arranged somewhat like the spokes of a fan. This mode of training is com- FIG. 82. Fan Training. monly adopted for the peach, nectarine, apricot, and Morello cherry, to which it is best adapted. Though sometimes adopted, it is not so well suited as the horizontal form for apples and pears, because, when the branches reach the top of the wall, where they must be cut short, a tete de saule, or hedge of young shoots, is inevitable. A modifica tion of the fan shape (fig. 83) is sometimes adopted for Fia. 83. Modified Fan Training. stone fruits, such as the apricot In this the object is to establish a number of mother branches, and on these to form a series of subordinate members, chiefly composed of bearing wood. The mother branches or limbs should not be numerous, but well-marked, equal in strength, and regularly disposed. The side branches should be pretty