apart, should keep the wires in position. The lowest wire should
be about 18 inches from the ground, the wires above at least 12 inches
apart. Six feet is a sufficient height for the top wire. Otherwise the
garden is shaded and the trees require a ladder. Oak posts 7 to 8 feet
long, 4 to 5 inches through, tarred or charred at the bottom, are
perhaps cheaper at first. These also require stays. In three or four
years the wires are almost covered, and good crops in a fine season
follow. Leave openings at intervals for gardeners to go through.

ARCHES

(with a cordon on each) may also be formed over paths and wires
stretched from one to another. But beware of bringing them very near to
each other. Sun and air are essential to success. A shoot allowed to run
along a high horizontal wire will often bear fine fruit. Walls too
should be covered with cordons rather than horizontals. Double the crop
is often secured in half the time. Visitors to the Chiswick Gardens of
the R.H.S. may see a large number on a high wall bearing in a hot
gravelly soil good fruit. The treatment of all such trees is simple. If
against a wall and on light soil, they must be fed well. Stable manure
should be given in the autumn and left to decay; liquid manure when the
fruit begins to swell. Summer prune in July, pinching or cutting new
growths back to the sixth leaf, reducing these in autumn to two or three
eyes, but leaving fruit buds untouched. Root prune when necessary in
late October or November. In winter, look over the trees, see that all
are tied properly, reduce with a small saw any large lumps of wood
formed in the course of years, and prepare the trees for spraying or
washing.

PRICES OF TREES

The cost of Standards is usually from 1s. 6d. to 2s. 6d.; Maidens or
Yearlings 1s. 6d. each, 12s. per dozen; Bush and Pyramids on Pear or
Quince 1s. 6d. to 3s. 6d.; cordons, 1s. 6d. each, 12s. per dozen;
double-grafted trees 2s. 6d. to 3s. 6d.

GARDEN ORCHARDS

Bush trees on the Quince are best for these. They come soon into
bearing, are interesting and sometimes profitable. Heavy fruits have a
better chance than those on standards or on pyramids. These latter
require more time, and are more exposed to the wind. Pyramids can soon
be converted into bushes by cutting out the central branch within 2 or 3
feet of the ground. Begin by enclosing your orchard with a wire fence,
then form a hedge of damsons. Plant your pears 8 to 12 feet apart. Ke