Dwarf fruit trees

by F. A. Waugh

One row of peach trees on St. Julien plum roots set fruit buds in abundance the first year, but they were killed by the freeze of the following winter. The second year the experience was the same, except that the tops froze with the fruit buds. New tops were grown at once, however, and the following year nearly every tree bore a small crop of fruit. Dwarf peach trees are worth while.

This garden has also a row of cherry trees, including Morello, Richmond and Montmorency; but these trees were set the second year of the garden making and have borne only a small crop of sample cherries.

The last planting in this garden consists of one row of nectarines, twenty-two trees.

This little garden, containing considerably less than a quarter of an acre of land, has now growing upon it 548 fruit trees of the kinds named. And I am not yet done planting. There are various other things that I want to put in,—quinces, apricots, and perhaps raspberries, dewberries, and other bush fruits. In fact, I should like to make it a "Paradise" like good old Gerarde's or Dodoens', in which all the fruits "good for food or physic" might be brought together and represented in a little space.

It would be quite wrong to close this experience meeting without giving the observations and quoting the opinions of some other and better men. Patrick Barry, in his delightful "Fruit Garden," recorded his belief that dwarf fruit trees were well worth while. "The apple," said he, "worked on the Paradise, makes a beautiful little dwarf bush. We know of nothing more interesting in the fruit garden than a row or little square of these miniature fruit trees. They begin to bear the third year from the bud, and the same variety is always larger and finer on them than on standards." Speaking of pears, he said: "On the quince stock the trees bear much earlier, are more prolific, more manageable, and consequently preferable for small gardens."

The late Mr. E. G. Lodeman, who wrote the most comprehensive American monograph on dwarf apples, concluded his essay rather pessimistically in these words: "From all the evidence which I have been able to collect, therefore, I cannot advise the planting of dwarf apple trees for commercial rewards, but it seems to me, nevertheless, that they are worth experimenting with for this purpose." Mr. Lodeman recorded and endorsed the common opinion "that apples grown on dwarf trees are handsomer and of better quality than those grown upon standards"; but he did not seem to consider that fact of much importance.

Those who are acquainted at the Lazy Club in Cornell University, and especially those who know Bailiwick, have heard of Professor L. H. Bailey's dwarf apples. (Fig. 44.) These were planted six or eight years ago, and most of them are now in bearing. There are a good many different varieties, nearly all French. My understanding of the scheme is that it was as much as half intended to be a commercial venture; but up to the present time little else but confusion and fun have been gathered with the fruit from those dwarf apple trees. When last I asked the proprietor for his experience with dwarf apples he said that he was having a lot of experience, only he didn't know what it was.

Dwarf pears have been planted frequently, especially in Western New York and Michigan. I asked Professor S. A. Beach for his observations of them, to which he replied: "With regard to dwarf pears I will say that the variety which is most generally grown in commercial orchards is Bartlett. Almost without exception this is grown as a standard. Other important commercial varieties are Seckel, Bosc and Winter Nelis. All these are generally grown as standards. The variety commonly grown as dwarf is Angouleme. A few fruit growers of my acquaintance are making some money from orchards of dwarf Angouleme. The other varieties which are often propagated on dwarf stock as Clairgeau, Anjou and so forth, are seldom profitable. In fact I have heard it stated that outside of Ellwanger and Barry's orchard there is not a profitable orchard of Anjou in this State. From these statements I wish you to derive the conclusion that in New York State under present conditions there is little encouragement for planting dwarf pears commercially."