By this mode of training, Mr Knight remarks, the bear ing branches being small and short, may be changed every three or four years, till the tree he a century old, without the loss of a single crop, and the central part, which is al most necessarily unproductive in the fan mode of training. and is apt to become so in the horizontal, is rendered in this way the most ft uitful. Where it is not meant to change the kind of fruit, nothing more, of course, is neces sary, than to take off entirely the spurs and supernumerary large branches, leaving all blossom buds which occur near the extremities of the remaining brat cites. In some varie ties, particularly the crassane and colmart, the dependent bearing wood must be longer than in others.
The training the bearing shoots downwards, has also been found to throw young trees much sooner into a pro ductive state. Fruit is in this way generally obtained the second year: even the colmart tree, which seldom pro duces sooner than six or seven years from the time of graft ing, yields fruit by this mode in the third season. Mr Knight recommends giving to young trees nearly the form above described in the case of the old St Germain, only not permitting the existence of so great a number of large lateral branches. In both cases, the bearing wood should depend wholly beneath the large branches which feed it ; for, in Mr Knight's opinion, it is the influence of gravita tion upon the sap which occasions an early and plentiful produce of fruit.
121. TO destroy old pear-trees, if they be tolerably healthy, is in any case very injudicious, because, by proper management, they may again be brought into a bearing state. If the soil be bad, it may be mended : if the tree be full of worn-out spurs, new horizontal branches, or new dependent shoots, as above exemplified, may be procured : if the sort of fruit be bad, grafts of more approved kinds may, as we have seen, be introduced. Mt James Smith, gardener to the Earl of Hopetoun, at Hopetoun House, has written a very sensible paper (published in the fist volume of the Scottish Horticultural Memoirs) on the cultivation of French pears in Scotland. It contains some judicious remarks on the means of bringing into a bearing state such full grown trees as are nearly barren of fruit, although in a luxuriant state of growth. In the same volume there is a communication from Mr Thomas Thomson, an experi enced gardener, on this subject. In order to check unpro fitable luxuriance, he particularly recommends cutting some of the roots of the tree, at the distance of about four feet from the stem, especially such roots as incline down wards. He mentions his having brought a crassane tree into a bearing state by cutting it two-thirds through with a hand-saw, below the level of the earth, and above the ihrk ings of the root. From being very luxuriant but ban-en, it was thus rendered less luxuriant but ft uitful, yielding next season, " at one gathering, forty-seven dozen of hand some fruit." If horizontally trained trees have become
full of old spurs and breastwood, the most effectual reme dy (as described by another judicious Scottish gardener, Mr Alexander Stewart at Valleyfield, in Hort. Mem. i. 459 ) is found in cutting out every second branch on each side, within a few inches of the stem. New shoots are trained along, in place of the former branches; but in the mean time a number of side-shoots from the remaining branches are laid in ; these, Mr Stewart remarks, form fine fruit spurs, equal to the young wood from the stem of the tree ; and they also tend to lessen the production of breast wood : they are however removed, as the regular new hori zontal branches advance. In waking use of these side shoOts, it may be remarked, Mr Stewart had very nearly hit on the mode of management now adopted and recom mended by Mr Knight.
In managing prepared borders, planted with the finer sorts of pear trees, it is important, that, during the sum mer, particularly if the soil be strong or inclined to clayey, they he occasionally forked over, or that the light crop supposed to be on this border be frequently hoed. If the season prove dry, and at the same time the soil be light, water is given to the trees. A hollow is formed around the stem, and two or three pailfuls of water poured into it once a-week, or oftener; some mulch being at the same time formed to prevent rapid evaporation. In this way the fruit, while in progress, is kept constantly and uni formly in a growing or advancing state. When ripening approaches, the water is withheld, lest the flavour should suffer.
Quince.
122. The Quince tree is the Pyrus Cydonia of Lime, the coignassier of the French. This not being very much cultivated in Britain, it may be mentioned, that the tree is of low growth, much branched, and generally dis torted ; and that there are dilTerent varieties of the fruit,— globular, or appie-quince; oblong, or Portugal quince ; and peat or pear quince. The quince is a native of some parts of Germany. It was known in England in the time of Gerarde, and probably long before. The fruit has a peculiar, rather disagreeable smell, and an austere taste when raw ; but when prepared, it is by many held in esteem. A small portion of it added to stewed or baked apples, is useful for giving quickness and flavour. Quince marmalade is commonly sold in the confectioners' shops. The Portugal quince is the best, but the fruit is produced sparingly. Like the others, it is of a yellow colour ; but the pulp has the property of assuming a fine purple tint in the course of being prepared. The quince tree is propagated by layers, by suckers, or by cuttings. It thrives best in a moist soil, but the fruit is superior in a dry one. In this country, the fruit scarcely ripens unless the tree be trained to a wall ; and, even then, it is not ready till November.