THE KITCHEN-GARDEN CONTINUED--THE MANAGEMENT OF FRUIT TREES.
The fruit trees in a kitchen garden are of three kinds: the wall trees,
the espaliers, and the standards. To these may be added the fruit
shrubs, and the vines; which last are generally grown under glass.
_The Wall-Fruit Tree._--There are two things on which the welfare of
wall-fruit trees materially depends, viz. the construction of the wall,
and that of the border. The walls of kitchen gardens are very generally
made too high: a serious fault in many respects, but particularly in
impeding the free passage of the sun and air to the fruit. It has
indeed been found, by experience, that walls about eight feet high,
will produce better fruit than walls of ten feet or twelve feet,
which is the general height; and besides they have the advantage of
not throwing so deep a shadow over the garden. Of whatever height the
walls may be, they should always be in straight lines; as the various
expedients which have been from time to time adopted, of curved or
zigzag lines, have been found not to answer in practice, but to produce
eddies and currents of wind exceedingly injurious to the fruit. The
garden wall should have a slight stone coping; and where the trees are
likely to want protection, strong hooks, or holdfasts, projecting from
the wall, should be built in at regular distances for the convenience
of suspending the mats or bunting that may be employed; or supporting a
deep wooden coping. Hot or flued walls are not desirable, as they are
very expensive and troublesome, and of very little use.
_The walls should be built_ on good, sound, and deep foundations, but
on no account on arches; as it is of importance to the gardener to
confine the roots to the border in front of the wall, which is under
his control, instead of suffering them to spread through the arches to
the other sides, where they are entirely removed from him.
_The essential point to be attended to in the construction of a fruit
border_ is that the soil shall not be more than eighteen inches deep
on a hard bottom. If the subsoil be hard gravel or rock, covered with
mould to the depth mentioned, nothing more can be desired; but if the
subsoil be wet clay, or sand over gravel, or in short anything that
will allow of roots penetrating into it, artificial means should be
resorted to, to keep the roots near the surface of the ground. The
most common method of forming a border is to excavate the ground to
the depth required, and to pave the bottom of the excavation with
large stones or pebbles; but bricks, cement, asphalt, or in short any
other substance may be employed which appears likely to attain the
end in view--taking care, however, to provide effectual drainage, as
otherwise the chamber, as it is called, would become a reservoir of
stagnant water, exceedingly injurious to the plants. The chamber having
been formed, it should be covered with good rich garden mould to the
requisite depth, varying in some instances according to the kind of
tree to be grown in it; but in all cases thoroughly pulverized, so as
to offer no obstruction to the passage of the roots.
_When the trees are planted_ care should be taken to raise each on a
little hillock, at the point of junction between the trunk and the
root, to allow for the sinking of the ground. The collar of a ligneous
plant should never be buried; as any moisture collected round this
tender and indeed vital part, brings on canker, and innumerable other
diseases. All fruit-trees thus treated produce cankered and deformed
fruit, and die in a few years of premature old age.
It can never be repeated too often that the essential point in
growing fruit-trees is to keep their roots as near to the surface as
possible, and never to suffer them to descend so deep as to be out
of the influence of the sun and air. Many persons unacquainted with
vegetable physiology, have an idea that when a fruit-tree, which has
been productive, suddenly ceases to bear, it is because its roots have
reached the gravel, or in other words, the subsoil. This is, however,
false reasoning on true premises. It is quite true that the tree has
ceased to bear in consequence of the descent of its roots; but the
reason this descent is injurious is, that the ground far below the
surface is cold, and frequently impregnated with stagnant water; and
either that the roots thus become swollen and unable to perform their
proper functions, in which case the leaves turn yellow, and the tree
appears to wither, or that they supply the tree with an abundance of
poor thin watery sap quite unsuitable for the production of fruit. On
the contrary, when the roots are kept near the surface, though they
have no air-vessels except in the spongioles, these spongioles imbibe
air and carbonic acid gas from the atmosphere with all the moisture
they take up; and thus the vessels are not only kept in a healthy state
by not being overcharged with water without air, but the sap is so
thickened and enriched with the carbonic acid gas, that it is brought
into a proper state for forming those deposits which lead to the
production of fruit.
_The use of walls_ is to afford tender plants the heat necessary to
mature their fruit, by reflecting the sun’s rays back upon it; and by
giving out to the fruit during the night the heat they have absorbed
during the day. They are also useful in sheltering the plant from cold
winds; and in preventing the branches from bruising each other in
violent storms. This being the use of walls, it is evident that only
those trees should be trained against them that require protection;
and the south and south-east walls being warmer than the others, it
is equally evident that only those trees should be trained against
these walls, that require a great deal of heat to mature their fruits.
There are some fruits, such as the apple, which too much heat renders
mealy and insipid; and these would obviously be injured instead of
improved by a south, or south-east wall; while other fruits, such as
the peach, could not produce good fruit in our climate without one.
Before planting trees against the walls of a garden, it will thus be
necessary to select the trees proper for each wall; and as some of the
finer kinds will be several years before they attain a sufficient size
to fill up the places assigned to them, trees of inferior kinds may
be planted between them, so that no part of the wall may be lost--the
inferior trees being cut in as the others grow, and being finally
removed. This is accomplished by planting alternately dwarf trees of
the kind which is to remain, and trees grafted standard high, which are
called riders, of the kinds which are to be removed. The distance at
which the permanent trees ought to be planted depends upon the nature
of the tree.
There is, however, one objection to a south or south-east wall for
tender plants which should be carefully guarded against. This is the
danger from spring frosts, to which the blossoms are exposed during
the night, from being brought prematurely forward during the day. To
guard against this, the south wall should have a deep wooden coping,
supported by holdfasts, projecting about a foot from the wall; and
under this coping there should be a row of hooks, on which should be
hung a kind of curtain of bunting, which should be kept on day and
night in frosty weather, while the blossoms are expanded. This is
not only to protect the blossoms from the frost, but to save them
from the withering effect of the sun, which is as injurious to them
after a frosty night as the frost itself. In fact, when tender trees
are covered with hoar-frost, they may sometimes be saved if shaded
till they have thawed; but they are always killed if exposed, while
the frost is on them, to the sun. Bunting is preferable to matting or
canvass; because it is thinner and does not entirely exclude the light
and air, because it is more easily put up and taken down, and takes
up less room when stowed away, and because it is cheaper, four square
yards costing only two shillings at Edgington’s, the marquee-maker.
_Kinds of Wall-Fruit Trees, &c._--The principal fruits grown against
a wall in England are those containing stones; and of these the most
valuable are the peach, the nectarine, and the apricot. The other stone
fruits, such as the plum and the cherry, are frequently grown against a
wall, but they are grown also as standards: as are the kernel fruits,
such as the apple and pear; the apple being very rarely grown against
a wall in England. In the neighbourhood of London, figs and grapes are
grown against walls in the open ground, and in some parts of Devonshire
the orange tribe.
_Stone Fruits._--All kinds of stone fruits are more or less delicate at
the time of forming their stones, or “stoning” as it is called; and the
fruit requires thinning at that period to prevent the greater part of
it being dropped. They all blossom early, and are delicate while their
flowers are expanded. For these reasons their crops are more uncertain
in a variable climate like that of England, than crops of the kernel
fruits, and require more care and attention to bring them to perfection.
_Peaches and Nectarines._--The peach and the nectarine are only
varieties of one species of almond; and instances have been known of
peaches and nectarines growing on the same tree without grafting. Both
peaches and nectarines are divided into two kinds; the free stones,
the flesh of which parts readily from the stone--and the cling stones,
the flesh of which adheres to the stone. Some of the best peaches for
a small garden are the Grosse mignonne, Bellegarde, and Barrington.
The earliest peach is the red nutmeg, which ripens in July; and one
of the latest, the Catherine, which does not ripen till October. The
best nectarines are the Elruge and the Violette hative, with the new
white nectarine, for a variety in colour. Both peaches and nectarines
are budded on plum stocks, or on seedling peaches, or almonds, the
latter being greatly preferred by the French nurserymen. The best soil
for peaches is about three parts of fresh clayey loam, taken from some
field, and one part of drift sand. This soil should be moderately
enriched with vegetable mould composed of decayed leaves, and it should
be laid on the prepared chamber to the depth of about eighteen inches,
rather less than more. Peaches require rather an adhesive soil, not
too rich; as in a rich loose soil they will produce wood rather than
fruit. Peach trees are seldom planted against the wall where they are
to remain, till they have been two, three, or four years trained; and
they are generally removed at the latter end of October, or beginning
of November, just as the leaf begins to fall. They are best trained
in the fan manner; and as they always bear their fruit on shoots of
a year old, these shoots must always be left on in pruning, and the
old wood cut out. Pruning should be performed at two seasons, viz.
winter and summer: the winter pruning is performed at the fall of the
leaf, or in the beginning of February, and consists of cutting out or
shortening the old wood or barren branches; and summer pruning, which
consists chiefly of what is called disbudding, (that is, rubbing off
the buds as soon as they appear,) should be applied to the removal of
all shoots growing right out from the wall, (and which, consequently,
could not be well trained,) or which appear otherwise to be improperly
placed. Experienced gardeners also look over the blossom buds, as
soon as they show themselves, and thin them out, without allowing the
tree to waste its strength in forming fruit which it can never ripen,
and which is of no use in its green state. The disbudding is easily
performed; and watching the trees to find when it will be necessary,
affords a constant source of interest. Thinning the blossoms is
rather more difficult; but with a little practice, a lady could do
it much better than a gardener, as it is an operation that depends
principally on delicacy of touch. When a peach tree is trained in
the fan manner, the first year the little side shoots are left for
producing the fruit, and none of these should be more than a year old.
The next year these shoots must be cut out, (as the same shoot never
bears two years in succession,) and others which have been produced
while they were bearing, must be trained in their stead. The borders
should never be cropped on account of not disturbing the roots, which
should be encouraged to rise up to the surface of the ground by what
is called mulching, that is, covering the ground with straw, dead
leaves, or litter; and when this is objected to on account of its
untidy appearance, the borders should be left bare, and only raked
occasionally to prevent the surface from caking over, and becoming
impervious to air and moisture. No stable dung should be given to
peaches, and when the trees seem exhausted they should be taken up and
replanted in fresh soil; or they should be removed, and trees of quite
a different kind, such as pears for example, planted instead of them in
the same soil. When the borders cannot be spared to be left entirely
bare, a light crop, such as of spinach, lettuces, mustard and cress,
or parsley, should be sown on them, and the remains of this crop, when
done with, should be raked off; but fruit borders should never on
any account be touched with a spade, and even a fork should be used
very seldom and very sparingly; never, indeed, unless the ground has
become too hard and compact to admit the rain, the sun, and the air.
It must never be forgotten, that unless the spongioles of the roots
are permitted to imbibe the carbonic acid gas always floating in the
atmosphere, with the moisture they take up, the sap of the tree will
never be rich enough to produce fruit. The fruit and seeds of every
plant are in fact concentrations of carbon, precipitated by the action
of light; and where any plant is deficient in carbon, or deprived of
light, it cannot produce much fruit. The culture of the nectarine is
exactly the same as that of the peach. In both, when the season is
cold and wet, with but little sun, some cultivators remove a few of
the leaves to admit more air and light to the fruit; but this should be
done very sparingly, as unless a sufficient quantity of leaves are left
to carry on the proper circulation of the sap, the skin of the fruit
will become tough and withered, and the flesh insipid. When the fruit
is ripe, it is customary, in large gardens, to suspend a net under the
branches to catch any fruit that may fall, and thus to save it from
being bruised. The peach is supposed to be a native of Persia, and to
have been introduced into England about the middle of the sixteenth
century. Peaches and nectarines on a wall ten or twelve feet high,
should be planted about twenty feet apart; with riders of some kind of
plum, or peach, till the permanent trees spread.
_The Apricot_ is a native of Armenia, introduced about 1562. The
culture is the same as that of the peach, excepting that it is not
trained quite so much in the fan manner, but somewhat horizontally.
It also bears, not only on the side-shoots of the last year, but on
close spurs formed on the two-years’ old wood. The whole of the fruit
is also generally suffered to form, and is thinned out while it is
green, in May or the beginning of June, as green apricots are generally
thought delicious in tarts. The best apricots are the Moorpark for the
table, and the Breda for preserving. This last is frequently grown as a
standard. Large branches, or rather arms of apricot-trees, particularly
of the Moorpark, are very apt to die off without any apparent cause.
The finest apricots I ever saw were grown on a tree trained against
a cottage, the owner of which was an old woman, who took in washing,
and who was in the habit, nearly every day, of pouring down about the
roots of the tree a quantity of soap-suds. Apricot-trees should be
twenty-five feet apart, as the tree spreads rapidly, and does not bear
cutting in.
_The Plum._--No plum-tree, except perhaps the green-gage, should be
planted on a south wall; and, as a north wall is too cold for the
finer kinds, they do best planted against a wall facing to the east
or west. Any common garden soil will suit plum-trees; and when the
soil appears exhausted, it may be renovated by a little rotten dung
laid on the surface, and frequently watered to wash its juices into
the soil, without disturbing the roots. Plum-trees bear on what are
called spurs, which are short rugged-looking little branches, jutting
out from the shoots of two or three years’ growth. The same spurs bear
more than once, and often continue fruitful several years. Plum-trees
are generally trained horizontally. The kinds are very numerous, but
the Green-gage and Orleans are, perhaps, the most popular. Plum-trees
should be twenty feet apart, if all dwarfs; but dwarfs and riders
alternately may be only fifteen feet apart.
_The Cherry._--Only the finer kinds of cherries are grown against
walls; and the tree, in its native localities, delights in a dry sandy
soil, and elevated airy situation. When cultivated, it will thrive in
any common garden soil which is tolerably open; and it is not injured
by manure applied moderately, and in a perfectly rotten state. The
cherry is trained horizontally, and bears on spurs springing from both
the old and the new wood. As the branches are continually throwing
out fresh spurs from their extremities, it is a maxim with gardeners
never to shorten the bearing branches of a cherry-tree. The morello is,
however, an exception to this rule, as its mode of bearing resembles
that of the peach; and it is always pruned and trained like that tree.
The cherry-trees grown against walls are the different varieties of
May Duke, Circassian, the large black Tartarian, the Morello, and the
Bigarreau. Cherries need not be more than fifteen feet apart for the
common kinds, and twenty feet for the morello.
_Fig-trees_ grow and bear quite well in the neighbourhood of London,
and they even thrive and bear in many street-gardens in the City. The
fig requires less care in training and pruning than any other tree;
it should indeed rarely be touched with the knife, and only the ill
placed shoots removed by disbudding. The fruit is produced on the young
wood at the extremity of the branches, but it does not ripen till the
wood on which it grows is a year old. The best soil for figs is a
light fresh loam not above a foot or fifteen inches deep, on a hard,
well-drained bottom. This is essential; as the fig will not grow with
any stagnant water about its roots, though it requires to be constantly
and abundantly supplied with moisture. Many country persons throw
soap-suds on the roots of their fig-trees with very great success. The
tree may be trained in any shape; and the long branches should be bent
backwards and forwards, not only to make them throw out side-shoots,
but to cover the wall. The best figs for general bearing are the black
and brown Ischias and the large blue or purple fig. A tree of the
last kind, which is trained against our house at Bayswater, under the
glass veranda, has never failed, during the last ten years, to produce
a good crop every summer. Fig-trees should be thirty feet apart if
the branches are trained horizontally; but they may be placed rather
nearer, if the branches are bent backwards and forwards to cover the
wall.
ESPALIERS.--Espaliers, though they are nearly as troublesome to train
as wall-trees, have none of their advantages. They are indeed only
superior to standards in taking up less room, in having a neater
appearance, in their fruit being more easily gathered, and in their
roots being more under the control of the gardener. The latter is an
important advantage, and one of which every gardener should avail
himself. It has been already observed, when speaking of the laying out
of a kitchen garden, that beyond the fruit-border there is generally
a walk, enclosing the compartments devoted to culinary vegetables in
the centre. Now where espaliers are grown, there should be a second
chambered border, exactly like the fruit border under the wall, which
should be shut out from the culinary compartments by a low wall under
ground, or flat stones placed edgeways, or boards, or, in fact, any
thing to prevent the roots of the espaliers from spreading into the
ground devoted to the culinary crops. When due precautions have been
taken, the espaliers should be planted near the boundary, and their
roots carefully spread out over the chambered border, those parts being
cut off which cannot be brought to lie flat in the proper direction.
The ground is then pressed firmly upon the roots, and espalier rails,
either of iron or wood, are fixed near the trees to tie them to.
Espalier trees are seldom suffered to grow higher than five feet or
six feet, on account of the trouble of training them when they are of
a greater height; but to make amends for this loss of space, their
branches are allowed to spread as widely as possible, according to the
nature of the trees. Thus apples should be planted thirty feet apart,
and cherries about the same distance; pears thirty-five feet, and
plums twenty-five feet. The finer kinds of fruits are seldom planted
as espaliers; and apples and pears are more commonly thus treated than
cherries and plums. The continual cutting necessary to keep the trees
in a proper shape for training, and the unnatural position of the
roots, are indeed very unsuitable to trees so apt to gum and canker as
the cherry and the plum. The width of the border destined for the roots
of the espaliers is generally five feet; and it should only be cropped
with a few herbaceous or annual flowers, that will not require the
ground to be deeper stirred than can be done with a rake. Some persons
suffer the roots of their espalier trees to extend under the gravel
walks, which are purposely left hollow; but this defeats the purpose
for which they are to be attracted to the surface, for the spongioles
will be as effectually excluded from the air under a compact coating
of gravel, as if they were buried many feet deep in the soil. If an
underground wall is built along the inner side of the espalier border
to confine the roots of the trees, stones should be fixed in it at
intervals, with holes made in them for the reception of the espalier
rails, which should be run in with pitch. These rails should be about
nine inches asunder, and they may be kept together at the top with a
transverse rail, to which they should be nailed. The inconveniences of
espaliers are the very great trouble of training them and keeping them
within bounds; the rough and untidy appearance which their spurs assume
when the trees begin to get old; and the numerous diseases to which the
trees are liable, from their unnatural position and constant cutting
in, and which always render espalier trees short-lived.
STANDARD FRUIT-TREES.--Tall standard trees should never, on any
account, be planted in a kitchen-garden; as from their drip and shade
it is impossible to grow good culinary vegetables under them; while,
on the other hand, the constant digging and trenching necessary to
cultivate culinary vegetables, force the roots of the trees to descend
so far that it is impossible for them to produce good fruit. Dwarf
standards are, however, by many preferred to espaliers; as they are
susceptible of all the advantages, without any of the disadvantages
attendant on that mode of training. A chambered border may be prepared
for the dwarf standards in the same manner as for the espaliers;
and they may be placed in the centre of it, instead of on one side.
The dwarf standards are generally grafted very near the collar of
the plant, and are trained to form bushes rather than trees, but in
various manners. Some are trained round a hoop placed inside, and
others have their branches trained upwards for a few feet, and then
bent downwards like an umbrella; some are trained _en quenouille_, with
a single stem; others _en pyramide_; and others have their branches
spread out horizontally, and supported by stakes placed at a regular
distance in a circle round the tree. In short, there are no limits to
fancy in this respect. The trees generally grown in gardens as dwarf
standards are apples, pears, and morello cherries. The other kinds of
cherries may also be grown in this manner; but they are generally grown
as tall standards in a detached orchard near the kitchen-garden, or
adjoining the pleasure-grounds. The common kinds of plums and damsons
are also grown as tall trees in the same manner, as are the kitchen
and keeping apples. Mulberry-trees are generally planted on the lawn,
as well for the picturesque form of the tree, as for the convenience
of the fruit, which drops as soon as it is ripe, and is spoiled if it
falls on dry earth or gravel. Sweet chesnuts are grown in the park or
pleasure-grounds among other trees; and walnuts in similar situations,
or in a back-court, or stable-yard, for the convenience of their shade.
Filberts and hazels are generally planted on each side of a walk in the
garden or pleasure-ground, which they are trained over; and barberries
and elderberries in the shrubberies; the last four being the only
kinds of trees which should ever be planted as standards in the slips
to the kitchen-garden.
KERNEL FRUITS.--The principal of these are apples and pears, but the
division also includes the medlar, the quince, and the true service.
_The apple_ is universally allowed to be the most useful of all fruits;
and it is certain that there is no fruit more extensively cultivated.
The list of apples is as numerous as that of peas; and it is almost
as difficult to make a selection from. Apples are, however, generally
divided into three kinds; the dessert or eating apples, the kitchen
or baking apples, and the cider apples. The last are good for nothing
but to make cider, and can never be mistaken; the line of demarcation
between the first two is, however, not so strongly marked, as many of
the kinds will serve both purposes. Many dessert apples, for example,
possess the chief merit of a good kitchen apple, viz. that of falling
well, or in plainer terms, of becoming quite soft when baked or boiled;
and many of the baking apples are very good to eat raw. The Ribstone
pippen, one of the best of all apples, but rather a shy bearer, and
the hawthorn dean, a most abundant bearer, but an apple that does not
keep well, are both alike excellent for the kitchen and the dessert.
The best keeping apple is the French crab, of which some specimens have
been preserved quite fresh and plump for more than three years.
The most common way of propagating apple-trees is by grafting the best
kinds on crab-stocks, either standard high, that is, on stocks suffered
to grow to the height of about six feet; or as dwarfs, that is, about
six inches or eight inches from the collar of the stock. Sometimes
trees intended to be grown as dwarf standards in a kitchen-garden
are grafted what is called half standard high; that is, about two
or three feet from the collar. When apple-trees are planted in the
kitchen-garden where they are to remain, each tree should always
be placed on a little hillock; as no tree is more liable to become
cankered from having its collar buried. The tree succeeds best in a
deep strong loam, provided it be well drained, and rich rather than
poor; and when the soil appears exhausted, it may be renovated by
laying on it what the farmers call a top-dressing of manure, taking
care not to bury or even to touch the collar of the tree. Apple-trees
will, however, flourish in any soil except sand or gravel. They are
very apt to become cankered, and to be attacked by the woolly aphis,
sometimes called the American blight. Canker is generally caused by
some defect in the drainage or the soil, and of course no remedy can be
efficacious till the cause of the disease is removed; when, however,
the soil has been renovated or drained, the effects of the disease may
be obviated by heading down the tree, when it will produce new and
healthy branches; or cutting out the cankered part, if they should be
so low as to make it inconvenient to cut off the trunk of the tree
below them. The American blight is best cured by brushing the parts
affected all over with soft soap and water; and repeating the operation
whenever any fresh insects appear.
_The Pear._--The culture of the pear as a standard differs very
little from that of the apple; and though it is naturally rather a
deeper-rooted plant, it requires its fibrous roots to be kept near the
surface. There is a general complaint in gardens against pear-trees
as bad bearers, and very healthy-looking trees have been known to
exist twenty years in a garden without ever even showing any blossoms.
Various causes have a tendency to produce this effect. The pear
being naturally inclined to send down its roots, will do so, unless
effectually prevented by a chambered border, or a hard rocky sub-soil;
and if the spongioles of the roots are allowed to descend out of the
reach of the air, the stagnant moisture of the sub-soil will produce
the same effect on them as on those of the apple. Planting pear-trees
in a very rich stiff soil has a similar effect. Injudicious pruning,
particularly in summer, is another cause; as cutting in young shoots,
while the sap is in motion, has a tendency to make the tree throw out
two new shoots in the room of every one removed, and thus to exhaust
itself in producing branches. Summer shoots should either be checked by
disbudding as soon as they appear, or suffered to remain till winter,
when they may be cut in, without exciting the tree to fresh efforts
to replace them. Much of the fertility of pear-trees also depends on
the habit of the stock being similar to that of the graft; and much
also on a judicious manner of training. As a wall-tree, the pear is
always trained horizontally, and spurs are left on all the branches
for producing fruit. These spurs used formerly to be left large, and
standing out a foot or eighteen inches from the wall; but they are now
found to bear best when kept short. According to this plan, every spur
is allowed to bear only once, viz.--in its third year; and after this,
it is cut out to give place to another spur, which has been trained to
succeed it. By this mode of treatment, a constant succession of young
spurs is kept up, and fruit is produced all over the tree; whereas, by
the old method of pruning and training, in the course of a few years,
the projecting spurs became barren, and fruit was produced only at the
extremity of the branches. Pears are frequently grafted standard high,
when intended for training against a wall, in order that they may be
used as riders between dwarf plums or peaches. Pear-trees generally
bear better as espaliers, or dwarf standards than against a wall, and
this has been attributed to rather a curious reason. The stamens of
the pear have naturally very little farina; and where the blossoms are
exposed to great heat, and have little air circulating round them, as
is the case with wall-trees, the pollen is very apt to dry up without
fertilizing the stigma. The blossoms of espaliers and dwarf standards
are exposed to less heat and more air than those of wall-trees; and
thus their pollen is more likely to perform its natural functions. The
truth of this observation has been proved by shading the blossoms of a
wall pear-tree during the whole period of their expansion, and fanning
them with an artificial current of air by means of bellows, when it was
found that more than twice the usual quantity of fruit was produced.
Espalier pear-trees have generally a very rough appearance, from their
rugged projecting spurs; but dwarf standards both look and bear well.
It has, however, been asserted by some gardeners, that riders on the
walls, and tall standards in the orchard, come into bearing earlier
than dwarf standards, unless the branches of the dwarfs are suffered
to grow very long, and are curiously bent and twisted to produce
depositions of sap. Probably, however, the true cause of the dwarf
standards not bearing is, that, in some cases, they have been planted
in the deep rich soil of the kitchen-garden, intended for culinary
vegetables; while the trees in the orchard, compared with them, were in
poor light soil, and those against the wall in a prepared border.
There is perhaps no fruit that has been so much improved by cultivation
as the pear; and this extraordinary improvement has been principally
effected by the exertions of Professor Van Mons of Louvain, near
Brussels. This gentleman, towards the latter end of the last century,
having turned his attention to the culture of fruit-trees, conceived
the idea that new varieties of pears might be raised scientifically;
and the result of his first experiment was that he obtained four pears
very superior to the kinds previously known: these kinds were the
Passe Colmar, the Beurré Spence, the Beurré de Ranz (commonly called
the Beurré Rance), and the Beurré d’hiver. Encouraged by this success,
the Baron Van Mons repeated his experiments every year, and thus
raised above a hundred thousand new kinds of pears; and though by far
the greater part of these proved in the end not worth growing, many
very valuable pears have been obtained. Van Mons’s theory is to sow
the most perfect seed of the best pear of any given sort that he can
procure; then to force the seedling as soon as possible into fruit,
and to sow the best seed it produces, and thus to proceed till the
fifth or sixth, or tenth or twelfth generation. In this manner coarse
but highly-flavoured fruits were softened down, and produced some of
exquisite flavour; and among others, the well-known Marie Louise is
said to have been the descendant, in the fifteenth generation, of a
very coarse and harsh-flavoured parent. The Glout morceau, one of the
very best of the Flemish pears, if kept till it is quite ripe, is
another variety, said to be similarly descended; and the Duchesse
d’Angoulême a third.
The goodness of all these pears, however, depends a great deal on the
stocks upon which they are grafted; and thus the fruit produced does
not always answer the expectations of its growers. Another point to be
attended to is the thinning out of the fruit, that more may not set
than the tree seems able to ripen, as, if the tree is suffered to bear
too large a crop, the fruit will be small, hard, and without flavour.
_The Quince_ is a low tree which thrives best near water. It is always
grown as a standard; and the fruit, which is very ornamental when ripe,
is never eaten raw. It requires no particular care, except that of
planting it in a moist soft soil; and, if possible, where its roots can
have access to water. There are four or five kinds grown in nurseries,
but they differ very little from each other.
MISCELLANEOUS FRUIT TREES.--Under this head I shall include all those
trees usually grown as standards in pleasure grounds or orchards; but
which, as their fruit is eaten, appear properly to belong to the
department of the kitchen-garden.
_The Medlar._--There are three or four kinds of medlars, one of which
is much larger than the others. The medlar will thrive in any soil or
situation not too dry; but, like the quince, does best within the reach
of water. The fruit, which is never eaten till it is in a state of
decay, is not of much value, but the flowers are very large and rather
handsome.
_The Mulberry._--There are three distinct species of mulberry, besides
innumerable varieties. The distinct species are the white, only used
for feeding silk-worms with its leaves; the black, which is generally
grown in gardens for its fruit; and the red, or American mulberry.
Many persons are not aware of the difference between the black and the
white mulberries, and they think that if they have a mulberry tree in
their garden, they cannot do better than feed their silk-worms with its
leaves; though the fact is that the white mulberry is scarcely ever
grown in England, and the leaves of the black mulberry are positively
injurious to the worms. Lettuce leaves are indeed better than any
other food for silk-worms reared in England. The fruit of the red
mulberry is eatable, but not very good; and its leaves are injurious to
silkworms.
The black mulberry is said to be a native of Persia; but if so it must
have been brought to Europe at a very early period, as it was common
in Italy when ancient Rome was at her zenith. It appears to have been
introduced into England long before 1573, as some old trees, still in
existence, are said to have been of considerable size in that year. The
mulberry has several peculiarities in its habits, which distinguish it
from most other trees. The most striking of these is that it may be
propagated by truncheons: that is, if a large limb of a tree, as thick
as a man’s arm or thicker, be cut off, and stuck into the ground, it
will grow without any further trouble being taken with it; and probably
the next year, or the year after, it will bear abundance of fruit.
This I believe is the case with no other tree except the olive. The
mulberry also is later than any other tree in coming into leaf; but
when it does begin to open its buds, its leaves are expanded, and its
young fruit formed, in an incredibly short time. Another peculiarity
is that old trees frequently split into five or six different parts,
each of which in time becomes surrounded with bark, so that a very old
and thick trunk appears changed into five or six slender new ones:
the branches also, if they lie along the ground, take root and become
trees; and if an old mulberry tree be blown down, every branch sends
down roots into the ground, and in a very short time becomes a tree.
When apparently dead, a mulberry may in most cases be resuscitated
by cutting it down to just above the collar, when it will send up a
number of young stems, which will very soon be covered with fruit. The
mulberry, in other respects, needs very little care from the gardener;
it requires no pruning; and even the fruit does not require gathering,
as it drops as soon as it is ripe.
_The Elder_ is rather a shrub than a tree; and from its very
disagreeable smell, and straggling habit of growth, it is rarely
planted except in cottage gardens. There are several kinds, one
with white berries, another with green, and a third, which is very
ornamental, with scarlet berries. There is also a very handsome kind
with cut leaves: a ptisan made of the flowers is reckoned excellent in
France for producing perspiration in cases of colds and fevers; and the
fruit of the blackberried kind is used for making wine, and also a kind
of jam.
_The Pomegranate._--If the elder be considered a plebeian fruit,
the pomegranate may be called an aristocratic one, as it is rarely
seen in England except in the gardens of persons of rank and wealth.
Notwithstanding this, it requires but little care from the gardener,
and it is only necessary for him to spare the knife; since it is on
the points of the shoots, and on short slender twigs projecting from
the branches, which are exactly what a gardener, whose only care was
to make his tree look neat, would think it advisable to cut off,
that flowers are produced. Pomegranates require very rich and well
pulverised soil, and to be trained against a wall with a south, or
south-east aspect. When it is wished to throw them into fruit, their
blossoms should be shaded during the whole time of their expansion.
_Nut Trees._--The principal kinds of nut trees cultivated in British
gardens are, the walnut, the sweet chestnut, and the filbert. The
American hickories and the black walnut are sometimes grown, though but
rarely; as are the Colurna and other nuts. The almond also, as it is
grown only for the kernel of its stones, may be classed among the nuts,
though it is, properly speaking, a kind of peach.
_The Walnut_ can hardly be mentioned without bringing with it a host
of classical recollections. The Greeks dedicated this tree to Diana,
and held fêtes under its shade; and the Romans called its fruit the nut
of Jove. In modern times its wood has obtained rather an unpleasant
kind of celebrity, as being generally used for making the stocks of
muskets. In villages and country places, however, the walnut recals
more agreeable associations; as its noble leaves and spreading branches
render it a delightful tree for shade; and formerly it used to be
frequently found at the doors of cottages and farm houses.
There are several kinds of walnut-trees cultivated for their fruit; all
varieties of one species, and differing principally in the hardness
or comparative softness of their shells. Walnut-trees are generally
propagated by sowing the nuts; and if the young trees are planted in a
light, sandy, and well-drained soil, they will grow rapidly, and bear
at an early age.
The custom which prevails among the country people in some parts of
England and France, of beating a barren walnut-tree to make it bear, is
efficacious, as the beating breaks off the points of the too luxuriant
shoots, and makes them send out those short spurs which alone produce
fruit; though the end would be attained with more certainty by pruning.
A decoction of walnut-leaves and husks is said to be very efficacious
in protecting plants against insects, if sprinkled on the leaves.
The nut of the black walnut (Juglans nigra) is so hard as to be of
little use for the table; and only two or three of those of the
hickories can be considered as fruit. The best of these is the peccane
nut (Carya olivæ formis), of which Washington is said to have been so
fond that he was rarely without some in his pocket, which he used to
be continually eating during his campaigns. The white hiccory (Carya
sulcata), the outer rind of which is very thick, is also good to eat.
_The sweet chestnut_ is frequently called the Spanish chestnut, because
the best sweet chestnuts were formerly brought to the London markets
from Spain. The tree can, indeed, scarcely be considered as an English
fruit-tree; though some of the chestnuts sold for the table are grown
in Devonshire. In France, chestnut-trees are more common; and they are
divided there into two kinds: the chataigniers and the marroniers; the
former bearing about the same relation to the latter as the crab does
to the apple. The best chestnuts in France are those called les marrons
de Lyons. The sweet chestnut is a native of Asia; but it has also been
found in the north of Africa and North America. It is always propagated
by seeds, and thrives best in a deep sandy loam; it will grow in even
the poorest gravel, but it never does well in either a calcareous
soil, or a stiff clay.
There are several celebrated chestnut-trees of enormous size and great
age; the most remarkable of which are the Castagna di Cento Cavalli on
Mount Etna, and the Tortworth chestnut in England. Till within the last
eight or ten years it was believed that the wood of the chestnut was
good timber; but it has lately been discovered that it is absolutely
worthless, except while quite young: the wood that was supposed to be
chestnut, having been proved to be that of the English chestnut oak
(Quercus sessiliflora). The wood of the chestnut, when the tree attains
a large size, becomes what the English timber-merchants call shaky, and
what the French call dialled; that is, instead of forming a solid log
of timber, the trunk when cut down is found to fly off in splinters,
or to divide into a number of angular pieces, as if shivered by a blow
from the centre.
_The filbert_ is only a variety of the common hazel; and it is supposed
to derive its name from the words “full beard,” in allusion to the
length of its husk. The varieties of the hazel are indeed divided into
two classes: those with long husks which are called the filberts; and
those with short husks which are called the nuts. All the varieties
grow best in calcareous soils, like those of Kent; in which county the
best nuts grown in England are raised. When either filberts or nuts are
grown in gardens they are generally planted in rows from five feet to
ten feet apart from each other in the row, according as they are wanted
to grow high, or to spread. Filberts are generally propagated by sowing
the seeds, and nuts by suckers, which the trees throw up in abundance.
“The principal art in the culture of the filbert as a fruit-tree,”
says Mr. Loudon in his _Arboretum Britannicum_, “consists in training
and pruning it properly, as the blossom is produced upon the sides and
extremities of the upper young branches, and from small young shoots
which proceed from the bases of side branches, cut off the preceding
year. The tree requires to be kept remarkably open, in order that the
main branches may produce young wood throughout the whole of their
length. In the filbert orchards about Maidstone, the trees are trained
with short stems like gooseberry-bushes, and are formed into the shape
of a punch-bowl, exceedingly thin of wood.” When the trees are pruned,
care is taken to eradicate all the suckers. Filberts are always kept in
their husks, and if they lose their colour and appear black or mouldy,
their appearance is renovated by the dealers, by putting them into iron
trays pierced with holes, and gently shaking them over a chafing-dish
full of charcoal, on which a little powdered sulphur has been thrown
while the charcoal was red-hot.
_The Constantinople nut_, or Colurna hazel, is a large handsome tree,
and the American hazels are shrubs grown occasionally in plantations,
but not cultivated in England for their fruit.
_The almond_ is in fact a peach-tree, with a fruit having a leathery
pericardium instead of a fleshy one; and what are called almonds
are the kernels of the stones of this fruit. The bitter and sweet
almonds are varieties of the same species; and there are several
other varieties differing principally in the degree of hardness of
the stone. The other part of the fruit is in all the varieties quite
worthless; except for the prussic acid it contains. The prussic acid
used in medicine is, however, made principally from the kernel of
the bitter almond, though it does not exist in that of the sweet
variety. Almond-trees are propagated by grafting either on almond
or plum-stocks; they are frequently planted for the beauty of their
flowers, which appear before the leaves, but they are seldom grown
in England for their fruit; most of the almonds sold in London being
imported from Italy or Spain. The Jordan almonds, which are considered
the best, are brought from Malaga. The almond requires a dry soil,
either sandy or calcareous; and the situation should be sheltered,
as the branches are brittle and apt to be broken off by high winds.
When the stones are sown, care should be taken to press the sharp ends
downwards. The young plants will not bear transplanting, as they will
send down tap-roots two feet long the first season.
FRUIT-SHRUBS.--The principal fruit-shrubs grown in gardens are
gooseberries, currants, and raspberries; to which may be added
barberries and cranberries.
_The gooseberry._--The number of varieties of this useful fruit
almost exceeds belief, and fresh kinds are originated every year.
The principal reason of the great number of gooseberries thus raised
may be traced to the gooseberry shows now so prevalent in different
parts of the kingdom. At these shows the largest and heaviest berries
gain the prize; and it thus becomes an object with the exhibitors to
grow berries that shall be as large and as heavy as possible. For
this purpose they raise a great many new kinds; and when they have
obtained one likely to suit their purpose, they plant it in very rich
soil, water it well, and picking off all the berries except three or
four, they nourish these by putting saucers filled with water under
each. By these cares gooseberries have been produced weighing above an
ounce and a half each; and one weighing very nearly two ounces; though
gooseberries generally, even of large size, seldom weigh above half an
ounce.
Gooseberries may be propagated either by seeds or cuttings; and they
will thrive in any good garden soil, if it be well drained, well
manured, and not under the drip of trees. When gooseberries are wanted
large, the ground between the rows should have a coating of rotten
manure laid on it every third year. Gooseberry-bushes are generally
planted in rows, the rows eight or ten feet apart, and the bushes
six feet from each other in the rows. They are pruned twice a-year:
in winter to remove the branches not likely to produce fruit; and in
summer to clear away the cross shoots which shade the fruit from the
sun, and prevent the access of air to every part of the tree. It is a
very good plan to thin the fruit; which is easily done when gathering
green gooseberries for pies and puddings, by taking a few from every
branch and never gathering from the same tree twice. The gooseberry
bush produces fruit both on the old and young wood; but in the summer
pruning all the long slender shoots which the tree sends out beyond
the part which produces fruit should be cut off, to prevent the plant
from wasting its strength. The best red gooseberries for general use
are perhaps the following: the Warrington, which is a great bearer,
and retains its fruit a long time on the tree; the Champagne, an early
gooseberry of very fine flavour; the early Rough-Red, small, but
remarkable for its sweetness; the Roaring-Lion, the largest gooseberry
grown, a good bearer, the berries of which are oblong, and have a
smooth skin; the Ironmonger, the fruit of which is almost black; the
Crown-Bob, a very large gooseberry, equally good for using green or
ripe; and the Top-Sawyer, a large, round and rough gooseberry, with a
very thin skin, and agreeable flavour. The best white gooseberries,
are the White Dutch, the Whitesmith, Wellington’s Glory, and the
Cheshire Lass, the last two being of very large size; the best yellow
are Rumbullion, and Rockwood, the first of which is reckoned the best
of all gooseberries for preserving; and the best green are Ocean, a
large early gooseberry, and the Pitmaston Greengage, a late variety,
remarkable for its extraordinary sweetness, and for its hanging on the
tree till killed by frost.
_Currants_ are very seldom raised from seed; as there is no particular
desire for the production of new sorts. The usual mode of propagation
is by cuttings, which are taken off the strongest shoots in autumn or
early in spring, and planted in rich soil. The cuttings are generally
about a foot long; and all the buds are taken off except five or six
at the top: the cutting is then firmly inserted in the soil about six
inches deep. No other care is required but pruning the young trees
every year. The currant bears on spurs of the old and new wood; and
as currant-trees, when pruned, are generally cut into these spurs, a
currant-bush after its winter pruning looks like a worthless stump,
fit only for the fire. The currant is very hardy, and will grow in any
soil or situation, even under the drip of trees. In open situations
and rich soils, currants have been grown to a very large size; but not
proportionately large to gooseberries. The red, white, and striped
currants are varieties of the same species; but the black is another
species. All belong to the same genus as the gooseberry.
_Raspberries_ are, what are called, travelling plants; that is to say,
if left to themselves, they would, by the old plants dying off, and
being succeeded by suckers every year, soon travel over a considerable
extent of ground. The raspberry thrives best in a light, free loam,
moderately rich; and in an open situation. It always bears on the young
shoots, so that the principal art required in pruning it consists in
cutting out the old wood, and shortening the young. The height at which
the bearing shoots should be left is three feet, or four feet. The best
raspberries are the red and yellow Antwerp. Raspberries are propagated
by suckers, which are produced in great abundance every year. The
raspberry belongs to the same genus as the bramble, or blackberry.
_Barberries._--No fruit-tree or shrub requires less care in its culture
than the barberry, or, as it is more properly called, the berberry. The
sorts usually grown for their fruit are all varieties of the common
sort: they are the common red, the stoneless, and the sweet. Several
varieties of the Mahonia or Ash berberry bear excellent fruit, but
the trees are at present too rare, and of too high a price, to be
cultivated for that purpose. The berberry will grow in any soil and
situation, and it does not require any pruning.
_The Cranberry_ will only grow in moist soil, or peat earth. It
succeeds very well on the muddy margin of a pond; particularly if a row
of stakes be driven into the water two or three feet from the edge, and
lined with stones, on which is laid a quantity of bog earth. In this
earth the cranberries are planted, and they will require no after-care
except the occasional trimming into shape of their long runners. The
common cranberry is a native of England, Scotland, and indeed of all
the north of Europe; but its fruit is much smaller than that of the
American cranberry, which has also a more delicate flavour.