74 On the Management of Fruit Trees.[Aug.

produce good grapes in quantities; whilst the vines in Eng- land, even planted against walls, and in favourable aspects, have yielded but few grapes, and those of very indiflerent quality. i

The same remark holds good respecting peach, apple, and pear trees. In other branches of horticulture we bave generally the advantage over the French, which evinces that climate is not of such very great consequence as has been stipposed in conducing to those products.

On a visit lately to her Serene Highness the Margrayine of Anspach, at Brandenburgh Höuse, Hammersmith, 1 found her employed in examining a plantation of espalier fruit-trees,| made a few years ago in front of the house. I noticed that though these trees were very low and near to each other, yet they bore very considerable crops of fruit, and that the trees were in a very healthy state.

This led me to a conversation with her Highness upon the| subject, and occasioned s0 many judicious remarks from her respecting the management of fruit trees, particularly in prun- ing them, that 1 now take the liberty of requesting they may i be noticed in your Magazine, as likely to be of much public utility.|

It appears that the same ideas had a long time past occurred to her Highness, that I have just noticed, respecting our cli- mate and management of fruit-trees; and that in conse- quence of such consideration on ber parl, she bad, in her travels over a great part of Europe, minutely examined the management of fruit-trees in different kingdoms, and made| the following observations:

That in France, the management of fruit trees was a bu- siness regular and distinct from that of a common gardener; that it was usual to have one person, known by the distinction of tailleur des arbres, in each village or district, whose whole employment was that of superintending all the fruit trees in that district, and was fully engaged in pruning and other

_necessary work to them, and well skilled in the business.

That it was found to be an injurious system to have lofty standard fruit trees, and wide expanding branches; as, in the

first instance, the sap was exbausted in wood and leaves 1n- stead of fruit, and that the extending branches, by the violent action of the wind and their great length, were liable to be split and injured, and thereby the trees became cankered and decayed.

That even in fruit trees in espaliers and against walls, it 1s improper to have extensive branches, either perpendicular or horizontal; as in such long branches the sap is subject to