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2. Cornell UniversityLibrary The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library.There are no known copyrightrestrictions inthe United States on the use of the text.http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924067905772 3. R.SMITH & CO., Nurserymen& Seed Merchants, "W- oK.O EST E JEb.Mthese KtrssBsixs 12 Acbbb are devoted eztdnsiTely to theonltiTation of BoBK Tbssb, 50 AcBxsto Oomifbbb,EnBa&BBNS, andObhaubntaIi Ssbubb, so Acbbb to Fbuit Tbees alone, and apioportionally large spaceto eaoli other di-rision of XSbxwul andOaviMiaxTili Sbsttbi, Fobebt Tbsib, &e., reqniting 32 Milbs ofWalsb for the oonvenienee of attending to the Stock, mdTwo-and-ra.lt Acbss of Olabb to rear the jronng Plants.ORCHARD HOUSE TREES OF ALL KINDS IN POTS.DesciriptiTe Idsts to be had (Gratis) on Application. Wa.Tza.,OaPdezLi and. Flo-wer Seeds.Sutoh Sno-wer Koots.SVait Trees. Boses. Sjvergreeus and Conifers.Stovei G^eenbousea and Sedding Plants, ECerbaoeoua and .AJpine FlazitB, and Hardy Tems. 4. CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY3 1924 054 701 481 5. , ADVEETISEMBNTS. BOULTON AND PAUL,HORTICULTURAL BUILDERS, NORWICH. Orchard Houses, Peach. Houses. Protectors for Trees on "Walls,all kinds of Horticultural Buildings and Heating Apparatuserected in any part of the kingdom. Beferences in every County. Catalogues a/ad Descriptive Lists free on ctppUcaUon,"WALL B^KXJIT TREK FROTKCTORS.Our Fiotectors for Wall Fruit Tree.are supported on iron brackets, Becured to thewall by bolts. The ligrhts slide in grooves foimed in the brackets, and are held firmly inposition by a clamp; the lights are of a uniform length of 6ft. each, by 2ft. and 2ft. 6in.projection when in position. The lights can be removed in a few minutes from a longlength when desired, as no bolts or screws are used to secure them. This is often a greatadvantage during a shower, as the rain saves syringing, which at the beat cannot bedone BO well or efficiently by aitiflcisl means.Our prices include, the lights which are iiin. thick and made of selected red deal,fflazedwitn Sloz. English sheet glass, also brackets, bolts, &c.i for fixing, all paintedUuree times of best oil-colour, and also rods and hooks for scrim canvas or tiffony^orprotecting the trees from frost (bat does not Include the screens). Length,Width. s. d. Length. Width.B. d.IE ft. 2 ft 11012 S. .Ztt.6in.... 11618 210 18,. .211_.8 6 21.. .S IS 64 2 6 413 119 5IS SIS 6IS18, 6 107137 654.8138 eo 913 Onr Improved Wall Coping is made to project the width stated.The goods are all carriage paid to any railway station in England, also to Dublinand Belfast, on orders amomiting to 40s. and upwards. When ordering give thethickness of the wall where the brackets are to be fixed. Packing cases are charged, andhalf-price allowed for if they are returned in good order, carriage paid to onr works,within fourteen iuja of deUTery of goods, Ejndly give reference with Otiib order ifunknown to us. 6. @$p fuxi ani fHftluvm Introduction.We olaas thesetwo fruits together inasmuch as culturally, constitu-tionally, botanicaUy ^they may be The chief, almost the said to be one.only differences between them, are those of flavour and finish of epidermisor outer skin. Fond as botanists have been and are of nice distinctions,the presence or absence of woolliness on the rinds of fruit and subtletiesof flavouring are rather too uncertainand inconstant foundations onwhich to erect specific distinctions.The peach and nectarine are among the most valuable members ofthe ligneous species of the great natural order Uosaceos, which, withthe apple, pear, plum, cherry, apricot, have been erected into themore modem order DrupaceoB. The almond differs little from thepeach and nectarine, excepting in the thickness of the fleshy envelopethat surrounds the stone, and the sweetness, bitterness, or size of- its internal kernels. The leaves of the peach and nectarine are alsogenerallysomewhat larger than the almond. Both are included in thegenera Aimygdalms, and their generic characters are almost the same; thenut of the almond being generally covered with a dry skin, that of thepeach and nectarine with a soft pulp. This distinction does not, however,always hold good, as occasionally part or the whole of individual almonds,havetheir, stones inclosed in a fleshy envelope, mostly bitter, but.occasionally almost as sweet as inferior varieties of peaches ^iu fact, the-peach-almond seems a sort of intermediate or cross between the peach andthe almond, or an almond on the road of evolution into a peach. Still, it.makes but little progress, and seems to have halted through all the yeara. 7. 172THE PEACH AND NECTAEINE. ithas been tnown to cultivators at about the same half way hoase, between almond-hood and peach-hood.All this may prove useful as well as interesting to those readers daily increasing in number,we trust who may be disposed to plant the peach and nectarine in their shrubberies and pleasure grounds as omrtnental trees. For ornamental purposes they may be held to be almost as h^rdy and as nsefnl as the almond (Arm/gdalm comimmAs), and its several varieties, among which the double flowering and common dwarf almond are the most useful for planting in groups or single specimens in shrubberies, lawns,homeplantations,&c.In warm situationssuch almonds as the common sweet, soft shelled, sweet pistachio, and othersoften ripen capital crops of almonds. In such cases the planter has theenjoyment of one of the most charming of all the trees of the spring, andgrows his own almonds into the bargain. In specially warm and sheltered places some of the hardier peaches and nectarinesmayalso yield a cropoffruit. But thoughthis may beand can occur only in special rarelocalities and under specially favourable circumstances, yet the peachand especially its double and larger flowering varieties is well worth planting forits flowers alone.Such early flowering and beautiful trees were not likely to escape thenotice of ancient writers. Hence we find the almond^tree named byMoses, and its precocity in flowering seemed to be accepted as a sign of-the future devotion of the tribe of Levi for the priesthood. Virgil alsoaccepts the free flowering of the almond as at once proof and omen of afruitful season.The merry month of May must have been more genial inhis day than in these degenerate times, when May makes a ravenous coldsnap or collation of myriads of peach and almond blossoms. All beforethe merry month is cheerful, fair, and beautiful all behind a blighted,blackened wilderness of barrenness and sterility. Still, it must be saidfor Virgil that he wrote of standard almond trees, which did not rush into bloom so early as our peaches and nectarines forced back against hot alls,and there to be half roasted with the fiery heats of spring sunshine,frozen through immediately afterwards with the cold darts of Maynight frosts, without a veil of cloud to tone down the energyof intenseradiation. However, it is hardly fair to merry May to credit her with all our fruitfailures,and with blighting the beauty of our standard or dwarf almondand peachtrees, for March in warmthese flower through February andlocalities,and also inApril. and profusion of bloomingIt is this earliness-that have endeared these plants to man in aU ages, and some types:and forms of peaches and almonds have probably been cultivated- by him:for his pleasure and use since the dawn of civilisation. It is, however. 8. INTKODUCTION. 173doubtful whether the Fersioa of some ancient writersis really the modempeaoh.But there can he no doubt that some species of almond or peachwere well known to the Greeks. It is a beautiful legend that links itsearly flowering to the fervour of a womans love, and that woman thebeautiful Thracian, Queen Phyllis. The story is that Bemophoon, son ofThegeus, when oast on the coast of Thrace, was hospitably received byFhilUs. In return he wooed and won her heart and throne. Becalled toAthens by the death of his father, he promised to return in a month.Detained by cruel fates, which ever mar the course of true love, the lovelyqueen pined and mourned his absence, until she died broken hearted on thesea shore, over which she had wistfully looked and longed for the returnof her husband. Transformed by the pity of the gods into an almondtree, her husband returned in winter, and, learning all that had happenedduring -his absence, rushed to the tree and embraced it with such fervourthat the dead Phyllis felt and returned his love by bursting there and theninto blossom, though the boughs seemed dead and bare a sweet legendiihat may tempt some readers to plant their almonds, peaches, andnectarines in plenty this winter. The Chinese, to whom the peach hasbeen known from time immemorial, connect it with the tree of life those Another traditionthat ate of the fruit of the peach were to live for ever.places the tree on some high mountain guarded by demons. Moore, inone of his sweetest verses, makes the almond tree the emblem of hope : The hope in dreams of a happy hour That alights on miserys brow. Springs faith like the silver almond tree. That blooms on a leafless bough. Exactly After a long and dreary winter, a time of bare boughs and so.deadwhat more cheering or inspiring than a sudden outburst leaves,of beauty from peach, nectarine, or almonds PGrowing these trees mostly for profit, one is apt to lose sight ofand underrate their highly ornamental qualities. The profit need benone the less though we first of all feast our eyes and refresh our heartswith delicate colours, perfect forms, and n. prodigal profusion of theirbeautiful flowers, which are second to noneamongthe entire range offlowering trees and shrubs.In favourable situations on light loamy soils the peach and almonddo well as standards, grow rapidly, and reach a stature of from 15ft.to25ft.,and as much as 30ft. high. The habit of the tree isgenerallysomewhat ragged but this arises largely from the total ;neglect of training, and also not unfrequently from the overcrowdingof other trees. The trees, too, in many localities are rather short lived.This also often arises from neglect. But were it otherwise, they areB 2 9. 174 THE PEACH AND NECTARIlfE.not expensive to purchase, speedily grow into beauty, and are thereforereadily renewed by planting fresh ones, so that there is Uttle difficultyin filling our shrubberiesand home woods with the showy blossoms ofthese trees early ia the season. The leaves are also unique among plants,and their peculiar form and shades of verdure add to the richness andvariety of shrub or tree scenery, whether deciduous or evergreen.The native country of the peaoh and nectarine, and the date of theirintroduction to this country, are not generally known.The peachisgenerally thought to be a native of Persia, and the nectarineis but avariety of the same species, as is proved by their identiiy of structure inallmain points, by the fact that peaches and nectarines are found to growon the same branch, that fruits have come one half peach and one halfnectarine ; and that peaches have been raised from nectarine seed, andnectarines from peaoh kernels. The nectarine, however, has seldom ornever been found wild, though the peach abounds in a wild state on theHimalayas at an elevation of about SOOOft. The nectarine is also foundrather plentifully in gardens in Northern India. It was supposed to havebeen introduced into Italy in the reign of the Smperor Claudius, and tohave come from Persia. It is probable that the Bomans brought thepeach and the nectarine with them when they took and held possession ofBritain. But if so, these, like many other good gifts of the conquerors,were probably swept away and lost in the wave of barbarism and amidthe din ofciviland social strife that overflowed England after theretirementofthe Imperial power. It ia knownto havebeen incultivation in this country towards the middle of the 16th century, and!has long been in general cultivation against walls, under glass, and hereand there as a standard tree. It is also in commoncultivation as aaorchard tree throughout the warmer parts of Europe and the oooleirjiortions ofAsia and Africa.It is found plentifully in Chma and Japan.It is following the footsteps, or rather has been carried by our colonists,into all newcountries with a climate suitable for its cultivation ; andlarge peach orchards are found in America, Australia, a;ndNewZealand.Peaches in these countries are grown in orchards in very large quantities,so much so, indeed, as to form food for pigs.But the chief use of the peach in England, and in most Europeancountries, is that of For this purpose pea,ches eating for dessert.and nectarines are most highly prized, and justly so. For richnessof appearance, lusciousness of flavour, and wholesomeness they standunrivalled. Green peaches are also used for tarts. For this purposethey should be chosen before the stones harden, in exactly the same.state as walnuts are used for pickling, that is, when a knife passes easilyfhxoTigh the stones. Some persons are very fond of green peach tarts, 10. INTRODUCTION.175but they should be eaten in moderation, as they are strongly impregnatedwith prussic acid, one of the deadliest poisons. In this state theyalso make a unique flavoured jam, and a few of those young fruitor green leaves put into gin or other spirits give them the flavourof noyeau. The ripe fruit are also often preserved in halves, or whole,in boiled syrup for dessert. Peaches and nectarines form a delicioussweet treated thus, and those used for such purposes should not betoo ripe.Peaches may likewise be preserved in gin or brandy likeMoreUocherries ; though treated thus they are rather a strong and headysweet, to be eaten with caution, lest the luseiousness of the peachbetray the eater into an excess of spirit. Bipe peaches are also usedfor pies and compdtes, but the softness and juciness of the flesh arerather against them for such uses, as they need to be rather unripeand to have careful handling.Of course the copious saccharine juiceof the peach speedily undergoes fermentation, and peach brandy haslong been known as one of its products. Peaches have also fatteningproperties of no mean order, and although it does seem , degradationof a noble fruit almost to write it, pigs do remarkably well on them.It seems a pity, howevei!, to connect peaches with pork, while theteeming population of our large towns yet hardly know the sight norflavour of luscious peaches nor nectarines. Attempts have been madeto dry the peach and compress it, as plums are, into preserves. Hithertothose attempts have been almost baffled through the excess of juicein the fruit. The same difficulties have prevented peaches from beingconverted into jellies or jams to any great extent. Attempts have,however, been made, we believe, both in Australia and Hew Zealandto prepare preserved peaches for export to England. It. is hoped thatthese attempts wiU ultimately prove successful, so that thosewhocannot grow theirown peaches may yet have the opportunity, of eatingthose grown at our Antipodes or from the large peach orchards of America.The extreme perishability of the fruit at present prevents its distanttransport in a natural state.But, preserved inspirits or in sugar,and packed in air-tight tins or jars, there seems no reason why peachescould not travel round the world, and be sold at paying prices to theproducer and lowrates to the consumer; for few trees are moreand produce crops with greater certainty and at legs cost thanprolific,the peach, where the climate is favourable and where it can be grownas a standard in fields or gardens. 11. 176 IDE PEACH AND NECTAEINE. Varieties.The varieties of the peaoh are necessarily numerous,inasmuch as thecommon modeof cultivating peaches in congenial climes is to sow thestones merely, and allow them to bring forth fruitin due season. Butthese wilding peaches can hardly be considered as within the pale ofBritish cultivation.Peach space here is too valuable; in fact, gardenspace is too limited and dear everywhere to be furnished by seedlings, from seeds. Hence whenfor the peach does not reproduce itself truegood have been obtained they have been perpetuated by the varietiesusual means, budding or grafting, and so little truth is there in thetheory of the wearing out of species or varieties for that matter, thatit seems probable that some of the peaches cultivated by the Italianswhen Borne was mistress of the world may still survive among us.Be that as it may, it is certain that within the horticultural historicperiods of our own country we have not lost n. good variety of peachor nectarine. Until within the present generation we went on growingthe old peaches and nectarines of our forefathers, and were perfectlysatisfiedwith them.More marvellous still, mostof these old sortsstill hold their own as among the finest varieties. From the fact that both Columella and Fliny caution their readersagainst the deleterious quality of the peach, it may have been thatthose early peaches were probably only enlarged or swollen almonds.These are theEuropean writers who name the peach. Coming to firstour own country, find Turner mentioning peaches, red and white, wein 1673 ; perhaps the Noblesse and the Eoyal George. Coming downhalf a century later, Parkinson enumerates twenty-one varieties ofpeach, among which are the great and small white, the yellow, thered russet and carnation, the black, cherry almond, and nutmeg.Clearly we have made little advance in colour since then; he alsonames the Newington and Boman. Bay, sixty years later, enumerates sixteen sorts, among which arethe red and white nutmeg, the two Newingtons, early and old;thescarlet (royal, and parentto the Royal George) Bloody Monsieur.Miller, overa century since, in 1750, enumerates thirty-one, the wholeof which probably exist at the present day. It is almost like readinga modem nursery catalogue to go through Millers descriptions of thetwo nutmegs, red and white, both ripening early in July, provingat once that July peaches are not thenovelties that many suppose,and that our much-abused climate is not deteriorating so fast andfar as has been too hastily assumed.The early Mignon (we adopt 12. VARIETIES.17?Millers spelling thtongHoat this list) also ripening in theend of Julyor early in Angnst;the white Magdalene, the large French Mignon(Grosse Mignonne),Bed Magdalene, theearly and old Nenington, bothding stones, that is, peaches of which the flesh adheres closely to thestones,nowjustly gone almost out of cnltivation,but stilllargelygrown in France under the nameof Favies; the Portugal, the Moun-tain Farie; the bloody or mulberry peach, so called from the deep redflush extending quite through to the stone ; the Malta, the Chancellor,the Bellegarde (galande), theLisle orsmallVioletteH&tive, theAdmirable, the TStonde Yenus, the Catharine, Boyal and Greorge,Noblesse.In Millers selection from the above of those which he andother authors would prefer to grow 120 years ago, we find the followingwellknown modem sorts :Cbosse Mignonne, Chancellor, Bellegarde,Noblesse, Admirable,Boyal George, BedMagdalene,andEarlyNewington.Loudon, in his " Encyolopsedia of Gardening," published more thanfiftyyears ago, extends thelist to fifty-three varieties of peaches,consisting offorty-six free stones and seven cUng-stone peaches orFavies. Among the more important of his additions are the Acton,Tellow Admirable, Malta, EarlyAdmirable,and BoyalCharlotte.Coming downto modemtimes,we find the list of varieties, as was tobe expected, considerably extended. Dr. Hogg, in his " Fruit Manual,"describes about eighty varieties, exclusive of endless synonyms; andMr. Scott, in his " Orchardist," enumerates, describes, or names about500 varieties of peaches. Fortunately for cultivators the first namedpomologist, in the third edition of his " Fruit Manual," published in1866, condenses his list ofselect peaches into the following nineteensorts,arranged in the order oftheir ripening: Frogmore Golden(Ingram), Early Grosse Mignonne,Dagmar (Bivers), Dr. Hogg (Eivers),EarlyVictoria (Bivers), Early York, Early Albert (Bivers), EarlySilver (Bivers), Alexandra(Bivers),Grosse Mignonne, Boyal George,Noblesse, Bellegarde, Barrington, Walburton Admirable, Gregorys Late,Lord Falmerston (Bivers), Desse Tardive.Thislist is not what will be selected here, but it is given to illustratethe importance of making a rigorous selection among so many. Thisis the more important, as new peaches are still being added, the latevenerable Mr. Thos. Bivers, of Sawbridgeworth, having single handed addedover thirty fine peaches to our modem lists. He has succeeded in fourthings with regard to peaches, in improving the constitution of some ofour finer strains, such as Noblesse and Boyal George ; raising earlier,andand introducing new charactersalso later sorts of superior quality,andflavours by the infusion of fresh blood by the interoroBsing of 13. 178THE PEACH AND NECTAEINE.free stonesand cling atones peaches, and nectarines.For example,by fumisMng the Alexandra Noblesse with glands and smooth leaves,we have amagnificent Noblesse peach, with a constitution mildewproof. In the Early Louise, Early Beatrice, Early Leopold, EarlySilver, Early Bivers, we have early peaches of unusual excellence andvariety. Efforts in this direction have alsostimulated others, hencethe Americans have sent over the Early Alexandra and Early Jun^,both reputed to ripen in June in the openair.In thelate peaches.Princess of Wales, Eadolyffe, and Lord andLady Palmerston, aregrand additions to late desserts. The nectarine peach again has asmooth skinlike a nectarine, almost thus exploding the popular beliefthat the downy covering is in some mysteriouswaythe cause of thedifference of flavour between the two.The Stanwick Early Tork againhas a distinct Stanwick nectarine flavour, and the Early Alfred peachwas produced from Hunts Tawny nectarine, one of the most deliciousin cultivation. With such a parentage no one will ,be surprised toread of this peach that it ismost delicious, peculiarly richandagreeable.Wepurpose distinguishing Mr. Bivers peaches with hisname in the following lists. With aU this peach wealth to choose fromit must be obviously a workof much difficulty to compress our Hst ofpeaches into the best six,best twelve, best eighteen, and best twenty-fbnr varieties respectively. Itwould be much easier toname anddescribe flfty or a hundred varieties from printedlists, than this limitednumber, from experience of their qualities. But as this would throw theburden of selection on our readers, it will be far better to select a fewsterling good ^orts for them.In naming so many as even two dozen, itis by no meansto be inferred that those that haveroomfor somanypeach trees should grow so manysorts. On the contrary, it very oftenproves at once easier and more profitable to grow three or six treesof one sort than somany varieties. The following is a descriptive list of the best six Peaches ;, Noblesse. Thisisstill the very best peach in cultivation. Theflesh is white, sweet,juicy, melting, luscious, parting freely from thestone. The fruit forms a large pale green or whitish globe, richlymarked with red streaks and blotches next the sun. The flowers arelarge blush colour, the leaves deeply serrated and without glands. Inseason in the end of August, or in late seasons thefirst fortnight inSeptember. Bivers Alexandra Noblesse was raised from a this variety,andistrue Noblesse, with even larger fruit a^richer itcannot be thanperfectly ripened Noblesse. The tree is, however, said to be hardier, theleaves smooth, with round glands, and not subject to mildew, which the 14. VARIETIES.179Noblesseis apt to be in vmfavonrable localities. It also ripens earlies, orin the middle of August.Boyal George. This is also a noble peach, high colonied, downy,pale green, dotted with red on the shady side, as if the intense red onthe sunny side which pierces the flesh through to the core broke throughin spotson the oppositeside of the fruit,whichis large and globular.The floweiB are small, of adull red colour, the leaves ample, serrated,and without glands. This variety has no fault, unless it be a weaknessfor mildew. Inlocalities subject to this troublesome pest itmight beadvisable to substitute the far toolittle known and seldom grown Georgethe Fourth for the Boyal George^The generalfeatures of this fine peachare a good deal like the other, but the leaves have glands, it has astronger constitution, and is not subject to mildew.The fruit is of greatsize, of a dark crimson colour on the sunnyside.The flesh pale yellow,with red rays passing through to the stone,, which is smaller than that ofthe Boyal George.This fine peach ripens early in September, andalthough the quality is perhaps a trifle coarser than the Boyal Gteorge,it is melting, rich,and sweet, in all respects a noble fruit. Orosse Mignonne. This is a late August or early September peach,with a large roundfruit, somewhat depressed at the summit. Skin paleyello#, mottled with red on the shady side, dark red nest the sun. Fleshpale yellow, a sure sign of a rich, vinous fiavour, which in this case isamply realised, for a more tender, melting, ju^cy peach it is impossible to$nd than a well-finished specimen of this popular Grosse Mignonne, withits score or more of aliases.Only, when you order Grosse Mignonnes,and, in fact, any and all of onr selections, see that you get them. Andthe onlywayto makesure of thisisto order only of the best firms,whose characters will guarantee the goods true to name. YioletteBAtive, BeUega/rde, or Galcmde.Inthis caseit is almostimpossible to avoid giving synonyms, as this same peachissold underthese three or more names. The fruit is large and globular ; skin verydark purple next the sun, pale green slightly suffused with yellow on theshady side ; flesh pale yellow, melting, rich and juicy ; fiowers small,reddish pink, leaves crenated with globose glands, habit robust, healthy,free from mildew,and remarkably vigorous.Bwrrington.This is a noble large fruit, deep red next the sun,pale yellowish green on the shaded side. Flesh greenish white, slightlyrayed with red to the stone, from which it parts freely, and is rich, jaicy,melting, and of high flavour; the flowers are large, of a bright red colonr,the leaves crenated with globose glands, the tree is vigorous and seldomattacked with mildew; in season the middle of September.Early York or Chancellor. ^If an early peach is wanted,let it bo 15. :; ;180THE PEACH AND HECTARDfE.Eivers Early York, a most beautiful early peach, ripening in the openair early inAugust ; butif earliness isnot considered ofmuch moment,the sixth peach shouldbe Chancellor, ripening about the middle ofSeptember. This is a large roundish oval peach of the highest qualitydark purple, or crimson coloured nezt the sun, pale greenish yellow inthe shade, freely mottled with red at the meeting of the two colours ; theflesh is also pale yellow,rayed with red to the stone.The quality ia rich,melting, -vinous; flowers small red, leaves crenated with glands; habitfree, strong,and healthy.For alist oftwelve Peaches add the following six to the above:Titon de Tenus.Large pale yellowish white, sugary and very richin season the end of September.Bwymackers. A noble peach, a sort of late Noblesse, remarkablyrichand melting ; end of September.Lord Palmerston (Eivers). One of the largest and best of all latepeaches ; in season end of September and October flowers very largo;and beautiful ; flesh firm, melting, sweet, requires to be quite ripe or itclings slightly to the stone.Swlhamstead. Large,melting,rich and excellent ; resembles theNoblesse; pale red next the sun;end of August and beginning ofSeptember a very fine peach.; Crimson Galcmde, This is another of Mr. Eivers valuable seedlings,a free stone peach of the most vigorous habit and the highest quality,ripening in August; deep crimson colour; flesh tender, melting, rich,anddelicious.Dr. Sogg (Eivers).A large-flowered free-growing variety, ripeningin the middle of August ; large, firm, melting; stained with red, the fleshrich and sugary.For aselection of eighteen peaches, to the foregoing add thefollowing sixBoyal Oha/rlotte.Large,roundish, oval ; skin pale white to deepred; rich, juicy, melting,vinous ; ripens beginning of September.Princessof Wales (Eivers). One of the largest andfinest of alllate peaches; cream colour, with rich rose next the sun ;rich, melting,anddelicious;end of September.A Bee. Thisisa remarkably rich early peach, ripening about themiddle of August.Flesh white, juicy, tender and melting ; colour, palelemon, dotted with crimson next the sun ; glands, round ;flower, large.A very useful delicious variety. Golden Bathripe.This is the best early yellow-fleshed peach incultivation,coming in about the middle of August, about the same time asthe much-famed American peaoh, Crawfords Early. It is superior to that 16. VAKIBTIES.181variety, and isvery large, melting and rich, of a bright orange and redcolour, presentinga rich contrast on the dessert table to most othersorts.Early Beatrics.Thisand Early Louise, Early Leopold, and EarlyEivers, is one of the most valuable of all Mr. Eivers seedlings, comingin in the open air from the middle to the end of July, in favourablelocalities.The Early Beatrice is a medium sized yellowish peach,almost covered with bright red, has a rich, juioy, melting flesh, anda good flavour.8tvm/p the World. ^A rough, rude name, but afine,tender, riohjdelicious peach, of large sizeand pale yellowcolour, dotted with red.For acollection of twenty-four of the best peaches addEa/rVy Grosse Mignonne. ^Eipens in August,and in other respectsresembles the Orosse Mignonne ; one of the finest ofall early peaches. Ycmguard. ^Arobust and hardy variety of Noblesse, and lesssubject to mildew than that fine variety.Mctgdala (Biverg). This isa fine, almost smooth-skinned peach,raised from Bivers Orange Nectarine, and it combines the flavour of thepeach and nectarine;the colour is a creamy white, marbled withcrimson; ripe from middle to end of August.Lady Palmerston. Thisfinepeach was raised from a stone of theFine Apple Nectarine, and partakes, to some extent, of its rich vinousflavour. It isH, largehandsome peach, a greenish-yellow colour,ofmarbled with crimson ; it ripens towards the end of September, and is arobust grower.Late Admirable.^Thisisstilloneofthebest latepeaches in and is a much snrer cropper than the Walburton Admirable,cultivation,often recommended in preference to it ; October. SaVixanj. ^A fineyellow late peach, of excellent quality, ripening aslate as the beginning ofNovember, and yet having a rich, juicy, meltingflesh and a vinous flavour.Fortunately there are far fewer nectarines than peaches, and thereforethe work of selection is less difficult.Parkinson enumerates six varieties,the Musk, the Boman Bed,the Bastard Bed, the Yellow, the Grreen, andthe White. To these Bay adds the Murrey, the Tawny, the Busset,the Fainted, the Variegated, and the Algiers Nectarine.Millerenumerates ten varieties Fairohilds Early, Elmge,Newington, Scarlet Mignon, orBed Boman, Mnrrey, Golden,Italian,Temples, and Peterborough. To these Loudon adds the Violette H^tive,White Flanders, Early Newington, White Geux, Bogers Seedling, andClaremont. 17. :82THE p:^ach and nectahine.Dr.Hogg enumerates or describes thirty nectarines, and makes theallowing selection of a dozen sorts:Albert, Balgowan, EarlyNewington, EIrnge, Hardwick, Prince ofValea, Eivers Orange, Homer, Stanwick, Victoria, VioletteHitive,liversWhite.Mr. Scott, in his " Orchardist," names and describesixty varieties, and makes the same selection as above.Thefollowing are the best six nectarines:Violette Sdtive. ^Frnit large, roundish, ovate, skin green, yellowish1 the shade, dark purple, red mottled with brown on the sunny side,flesh,ellowish green, deep red against the sun, rich sweet vinous ; one of thenest nectarines, a sure cropper, and a good constitution.Ebrwge. Finefull-sized fruit, pale in the shade, deep red next the[in ; flesh pale, rich, and juicy;habit of tree robust and strong.PinewppXe Necta/rme.Thisis the richest and most luscious of all theellow fleshy nectarines, and isbetter than the Fitmaaton orange, orlivers orange, both fine nectarines of this class.Perhaps this nectarineught to have been placed first on the list, only that a good manyobject> the rich piquant flavour of these orange fleshed nectarines, and preferle mildersweetness of the Violette H&tive and the Elruge. Eipehs ineptember.iJoumiou.This is one of the largest and finest nectarines grown,3 might be expected from its parentage, a cross of Mr. Knights, be-iveen the Elruge and Violette Hsltive. The tree is a vigorous grower,le fruitripens in August; pale green in the shade, deep red on themnyside,fleshgreen, red at stone ;highly flavoured, juicy, andlelting.SardMiiehe. Fruit" very large, almost round, akin pale green thicklyjvered with red next the sun ;flesh rich, juicy,and melting ; habit of the:ee,excellent ; ripen^ in the middle of August.Lord Na/pier.This an excellent early nectarine of Mr. Elvers,lised from the early Albert peach. It has a pale cream colour with aslicate red cheekflesh rich and melting ; ripens early in August. ; Those who wish to grow twelve choice varieties of nectarines may addlefollowing sixBalgoyxm. Thislarge,flnevarietymay be brieflydescribed as a,rgerand hardier Violette HSitive. G-reater praise is needless. It is a,rge, rich,melting fruit of great merit.Btan/wicTc El/ruge (Eivers). This partakes most of the character ofs latter parent, but has, nevertheless, a dash of the rich, vinous flavour: the Stanwick and the latter is to nectarines what the greengage is to ;sher plums in superiority of flavour. Hunts Tawny. This is perhaps the richest and beat of all the earlier 18. PROPAGATION. 183nectarinea. The flesh isdeep orange and more piquant than either ofthe other orange-fleshed nectarines. The tree is also remarkably hardyand prolific.The trait ismediumorange in colour, and deepsized, palered next the skin. Those who prefer larger nectarines of similarcharacter may substitute Rivera Orange or Stanwiok Orange for thisbeautiful and delicious variety.Rivers New WMte. ^Very pale and delicate and lusciousone of ;the most delicious and useful of all nectarines when variety of dessert isrequired ; a great improvement on the old white nectarine.Victoria. This is another grand seedling of Mr. Elvers, larger andequal to the Stanwiok in quality, but without its weakness or tendencyto crack, which ruins that variety in so many places. It also ripens earlier, orabout the middle or end of September ; very large, roundishoval, green, purplish red, melting, rich, sugary, and vinous when quiteripe.Albert Victor (Rivers).One of the largest nectarines in cultivation,in season through the earlier half of September;colour of fruit green,with a dull red cherry coloured flesh, melting and good. Propagation. I.BySeed.Thereare three methods of propagating peachesby seeds, by budding,and bygrafting.Seeds are mostly sown for the raising of stocks, theproduction of newvarieties, and. as ahandy mode of increase wherepeach trees are grown in quantitiesin^ orchards, asin America,Australia, and other countries. No doubt a good many of the seedlingsare comparatively worthless.But this is of littlemoment where peachesare so cheap and plentiful as to be used for feeding bullocks or fatteningpigs. The chief point undei? such circumstances is the production ofquantities of trees at the least possible cost.There is no mode of pro>ducing peach trees at once so rapid and so cheap as that of sowing themin nursery beds, or dibbing in several seeds at distances of8ft., 10ft.,or 15ft. apart, or such distances as the future peach trees are wished tobe. But this is a compressed mode of propagation and planting simul- 19. 184 THE PEACH ASD NECTAMNB.taneoualy whdlly unsuited to this country. Here the propagation ofpeaches from their Btones for the production ofa, peach orchard wouldhe labour lost and land wasted. The chief objects in view by thosewho propagate peaches from seeds in Great Britain are improved varietiesand the manufacture of stocks for furnishing root power for the multi-pHcation of superior varieties.Success in the first can only be reason-ably expected when skill and care have been exercised in theselection ofthe seedsand even in producing them.No doubt chance seedlings dooccasionallyspring up possessing extraorffinary merit. Of such onesuccessmay come to vary themonotony of ten thousand failures. But,by careful selection and skilful cross-breeding, success becomes almostacertainty.Likeproduces like only infruits the successiontoprimitive or primeval types is so strong as to break the above law of more often, perhaps, than keep it. StUl, the more care in selectionlifeand crossing superior varieties the more success. This is abundantlyproved by the experience of Mr. Thos. Eivers, of Sawbridgeworth, whohas more than doubled the number of good peaches and nectarines.Some of his most successful hits have been made by the inter-crossing ofpeaches with nectarines and vice versA.By such methods he has suc-ceeded in impartingmuch of the luscious quality of such nectarines asthe Pitmastom Orange and Stanwiok to several of his peaches, and ingiving moreof thesize ofthe peach to such grand nectarinesas the Victoria and others. Those who sow seeds for improved varietiescan hardly do better than take a leaf out of his book in regard to suchmatters.By crossing and sowing only the seeds of the finest fruits ofthe best varieties success becomes well-nigh certain.Asto the time and manner of sowing, Nature affords the bestlessons.The autumn before the leaves, and its pulp fruit falls in theand the covering leaves keep the stones moist with u covering ofloose friable material through the winter. The pulp especially hastensthe decomposition of the hard covering of the seed ^the shell or stone and the covering of leaves retains moisture and excludes frost.Bythe time the warmth of the spring returns the kernel is in anactive state of growth, ready to burst its shell and to begin growth.Hence, upon the whole, the best time to sow peach stones is in theautumn. Choice hybridised seeds should be sown in pans, pots, orijoxes, and wintered in a cold pit in a temperature of 40 or so.So treated they will mostly vegetate early in the spring, and mayeither be potted off or planted out towards the end of May. Orchoice seedsmay be stored in pits or cellars, in damp sand or earth,in a low temperature, and either planted in the open air in the spring, orin cold or other pita or frames. The growth of such seedsmay also be 20. PKOPAGATION.185hastened by storing as above, bieaHng the stones and removing them,and sowing the kernels only in a gentle heat. Cleared of the hard barrierof the stone, the seeds start at once and make rapid progress, and may,mth liberal treatment, be fostered into a niceplant in a few months.As it isof greatmoment to be able to prove seedling peaches as soon aspossible, this mode of fostering their rapid germination and early growthmay beQpme exceedingly useful to the raisers ofnew and improvedvarieties.The peach may befruited the second season from seeds with alittle special treatment.It will fruit the third or fourth year withoutany special hurrying or extra care.Some forwardthe fruiting of seed-lings by buds on the top of the shoots of the first selecting the forwardestseason for budding into established trees. These often produce fruitingwood the secondseason. By grafting the ripest shoots on to suitablestocks in the spring, the fruit buds,if any, of such shoots, may ripenfruit the first year, plentifully the secoad.It is said that some peaches come true from seeds in America, or withbut little variation. Such has not been found to be generally the case inEurope, though in the latter it must be admitted a new element and causeof variationthat of the stocks^is introduced. It is ciuite possible thatpeaches on theirown roots would come more true from seeds than those budded or grafted on the plum or the almond. Be that as it may, it is found that there is little constancy in seedling peaches or nectarines in.Europe. If there were, the crop of new and superior varieties from seeds would be scantier than it is. It is also extremely doubtful whether, if peaches and nectarines came true from seed, that would prove the best mode of propagating them for garden purposes. On the contrary, ezpe-:jience seems to prove, what could hardly have been anticipated, that thepeach thrives better on the plum than on its own roots, or its dose ally,the almond.This fact may well curtail our instructions for the raising of peachesfrom seeds for stocks, though it may be useful and interesting to some togive such information.The seeds may be sown in rows 2ft. or ayard apart, and Sin. deep ; if sown rather thinly they may remain wheresown until budded, which may be m the next autumn if the plants have grown well certainly in the second season. They may be sown inthe autumn or spring, as is most convenient, and a light rich soil, on a.dry bottom and in a warm situation, are the likeliest conditions to com-mand success. The plants, however, sown in this way, where they areto remain, are apt to run very much into tap root. They grow freelyandwhen removed afterwards often fail to thrive for lack ofrapidly, but.-sufficient fibres. To force the development of these, the peach stones may be sown in beds of rieh easth, or in pans or boxes. As soon as 21. 186THE PEACH AND NECTABINE.fairly up they may belined out in rows, at oonyenient distances, forbudding.This early removal of the young plants checks the develop*ment of tap roots and causes a more fibry habit, which is of great advan-tage to the futurefertility and well-doing of the tree. Almonds may be raised from seeds for stocks exactly in the same wayas peaches ; in fact, an almond may almost be said to be a peach, withlittle or no pulp outside its stone or kernel.That little is mostly also-hard, bitter, and comparatively worthless. But itis obvious thatthe amount;or quality of this external covering can affect the seed or plant produced,from it little or none. Hence it is found that almond stocks are as goodor better for peaches than the peach itself. They are extensively usedfor this purpose in Franceand other warm countries. It is, therefore,,probable that the almond might prove a suitable stock for the peach inthe more southern counties in England. One great drawback to theuse of almonds for stocks istheir precocious habit. With such fickle^springs as prevail throughout the greater part of the country, any stock thatwould check rather than foster early growth would prove useful. Thisis apoint that has not yet received the attention it deserves. Itisobvious that:the stock on which peaches are worked exert a powerful influenceon their general health and character. For example, peaches mountedon peach and almond stocks are weaker, narrower leaved, of a paler-colour, and shorter lived than those worked on plums.This provesbeyond controversy the potency of the stock over the scion. Surely advan-tage might be taken of this power to force peaches to flower and grow-later in the season. But the fact is, the choice of stocks has been almostwhoUy left in the hands of the sellers of peaches and other fruit trees.Their primary, almost only interest,may often be the getting up of the-greatest number of saleable trees in the shortest possible time.But, toreturn toalmonds it Seems aU are not equally suitable for peachstocks.The French, who use almonds extensively for peach and necta-rine stocks, prefer the hard-shelled sweet almond to aU others. Ofcourse, the peach takes freely on the almond, and there is less disparitybetween the growth of the scion and the stock than between the peach,and most plums that are used as stocks for it. The incongruity betweenthese two is made only too obvious by the huge overgrowths of the peach,,overlapping the point of union between stock and scion like a huge-vegetable wen.These monstrous growths, arising from the inabiliiyof"the stock to keep pace with the scion, often become the fruitful sourcesof gum, canker, and most of the other evils that the peachis heir to or-rather, that upon it by the fatal mistakes of cultivators, are forcedwho are, perhaps, never more at sea than in the choice of stocks onwhich to work their favourite varieties. Mistakes here, like those in- 22. PROPAGATION.187matrimony, are mistakes for a lifetime.Onoe the union is effected itcannot be disoonnected without destroying the tree, whence the importanceof making the hest possible match between the scion and the stock. Thepeach and the almond ought to be the fittest stocks for peaches and nec-tarines, as far as the laws of consanguinity are concerned. But otherthingsmust be studied as well as blood, and prominent among these aresoil and, climate, and experience seems to prove that the temperature ofthe earth is too cold for the roots of the peach and nectarine, whence,possibly, the fact that the plum proves the better stock for the peach inthis country. Plums for peach stocks may be raised from seeds orlayers ; suckers,Fio. 1. Fis. 3. Fia, 2.which are plentiful at times, may also be used for stocks. The firstmode is identical with the raising of stocks from peaches andalmonds. The commoner and more free growing plums are generallyused tor these purposes. These also come more freely from seeds thanthe fiaer varieties. The March plum, and what is called the white pearplum, and damsons, are those most generally used. The St. Julien, BlackDamask, the Brussels, Magnum Bonum, Orleans, and other plums arealso used for stocks.Of late years the MyrobeUa has also been muchemployed as a stock for dwarf or small trees. These may be sown inthe open ground in the autumn in beds of rich earth, and transplantedinto lines as soon as they reach a few inches high. This removal maysomewhat check growth fora time, but is needful for the laying thefoundation of fertile roots for the peach and nectarine. Fig. 1 furnishes c 23. ..188 THE PEACH AND NECTAKINE.a good example ofsterile, Fig. 2 of fertile roots.The expression maysound singular to many ;but the one lesson that recent adTaueements inhorticulture has enforced more emphatically than any other isgthat fertilityis more a matter than top form or naanagement.of root characterLayers (Pig. 3) have thus an advantage over seedlings they form anet- ;work of fibrous roots, and seldom or ever any tap roots. Of course layeringinsures the variety wanted. Each rooted shoot must be a facsimilein miniature of the stock.Other modes are often adopted to insurethe best roots for the future trees. The stones of plums are sownthickly in beds, or more thinly in rows, and are left to make one ormore seasons growth, without any attempt to work them.Theseseedlings are then planted out in lines, 2ft. or 3ft. apart, in November.The plants are cut down to the ground in January or February they:then throw up one or more shoots, the best one being mostly selected,which furnishes good budding wood the same season. //. ByGrafting and Budding.Thotjoh grafting isnot to be recommended generally, it may yet be prac-tised successfully.The olderdown close plum stocks, instead of being cutto the ground,may in such cases have a few inches of wood left (Fig. 4)The stocksmay be cut down in March and grafted with scions selectedpartly of old and partly of young wood. "Whip or a sort of dovetailside grafting is the most suitable.Aclose fit in every way is of greatmoment, so that the union may be as perfect aspossible.By choosingscions partially of oldwoodit is a comparatively easy method to getthe scions and stocks of almost equal sizes.The wounds should alsobe as small as possible, so as to reduce the risk of gumming to a minimum.The lower the stocks can be grafted, also, the better, so as to allow of thepointof unionto be coveredover with earth until the union iscompleted (Fig. 5) .have any part of unionIt is not well, however, topermanently under ground to encourage the peach to root over the stocks,as in the case of pears. Longstocks for tall trees, or riders for the upperparts of walls, may begrafted at any desired height and clayed orpitched over in the usualway (Fig. 7)Budding is by far the safest and best method of propagating peachesand nectarines. Having provided the stocks, and encouraged them tomake a free growth, they wUl be ready for budding from June toSeptember, according to the time of plantingthestocks,modeoftreatment, character ofsoil, local climate, &c.As soonas the bark onthe stock runs freely, and the buds of thescions are sufiiciently 24. PEOPAGATION.189formed to maintain an independent existence while uniting with thestocks, it is also essential that the bark of the scion should havereached a certain stage of semi-maturity, so as to enable it to separate readily from the wood without bruising or breaking.Thelatter readily happens with peaches, which havea far more brittlebark than roses. Theleafof the peach should also be cut throughin themiddle, as, if left whole,the wood has too much purchaseon it, and is apt to injure the bud at its base (Pig. 8).Besides, thesurface ofthe entireleaf causes excessiveevaporation, and in thebark and in the buds. The smaller the openingift the stock, if it onlyadmits the bud with its sheath of bark, the better.The cross out at IFig. 4.Fis. 5,the top of the slitshould likewise be avoided (Fig. 9).With a littledexterity the bud is easily placed without and the fewer and smallerit,the woundsmade the less risk, and the sooner an^ sounder the unionof thebud with the stock. Ties ofthevery softestbast orof worsted should be used.Everything, in fact, should be scrnpulotiBlyavoided that would bruise the parts.Even tight tying is a frequentcause of the future failure and breakdown of the tree. Stone fruits areso subject togum andcanker that anything likely to produce eithershould be scrupulously shunned. In nine cases out of ten, probably,these diseases are directly produced by careless manipulation in buddingor grafting, or subsequent training. Ties are spoedUy made, and evenmore speedily forgotten.They are, as a rule, too close atfirst. As thescions or shootsgrow theties bite into and through the bark.Wherenails or shreds areused the caseis worse, the risks greater, the injuriesmore severe and more numerous.Gum or canker follows in the track ofwounds, bruises, as surely as night succeeds day. Hence the moment thebuds take or unite with the stocks the necessary ties should be firstloosened and speedily removed. c 2 25. 190 THE PEACH AND NECTAUINE. The best season to bud will mostly be Jiily tie place for dwarfs;within6iri. and ISru. of the ground. But for its being somewhatmore difficult, it would often be better to bud peaches and nectarinesclose to the ground. The peach would thus be simply supported by theroots of the stock, and escape the risks and weakness of the inter-mediary stem of the stock. This often gets into a diseased and stuntedcondition, partly through its not keeping pace with thegrowth of thescion,and alsofrom other causes, such as the leaving of no independentbranches, &c. By budding low (see Pigs. 8 and 9) all these risks andcauses of disease thaf originate in the stock would be got rid of.In the case of riders for furnishing the tops of walls,it is common tobud at a height of from 4ft. to 6ft. (See Pigs. 10 and 11).Theresult is^rio. 7. Eio. 6. Fig. 8.too often as seen in Pig.6. These warty excrescences mostly become. sources of weakness or the seat of disease. It is easy to avoid these bythe simple expedient of budding at the earth s line, as with dwarfs, andleading up the young peach shoot to the height required, as in Pig. 10.The whole tree branches and stems are thus of one uniform quality andcharacter. There is no check to the flow of the sap by contracted sapvessels or channels, consequently no extra deposit of living nor concen-tration of dead matter in any part of the tree. Neither is there theslightest practical difficulty in reaching the desired height by the peachalone. Most peaches grow vigorously on suitable stocks and in propersoils ; and the growth of the future stem of the tree from the budquickens and sustains the vigorous action of the loots, and, in fact,lays the base of the futnre health of the tree. 26. PKOPA.GATION.191As peaches andnectarines are generally buddedin the open, and notseldom start into growth the same season,it is needfnl to supportthe young shoots with a on the stem as soon as theystake tiedstart, to prevent them from being broken or twisted out. by the wind.But many of the buds remain dormant. These, as soon as they are Fie. 9.properly united, should be wholly untied, so that the bark may get quitehealed and hardened before winter.In the case of very late buds, aslight tie might be left on to give them the necessary support, and also a, Fib. is.small amount of protection.In no case should newly- budded trees and especially those with dormant buds ^be removed till they have madeone seasons growth.The best timeto cut back the stock to thebud of the scion (Pig. 12) isin the following spring.The top is generally painted or pitched over toprevent bleeding. To be more definite, peaches budded in July and re-maining dormant should not be out back till the suooeeding February.Those that start within a month and make shoots during August and 27. 192THE PEACH AND NECTAKINE.September may be out back within six weeks of the time of budding.These plants, however, seldom do so well on the whole as those frombuds that rest through the winter and gather up their vital force for abold start the succeeding March. Hence the precocious developmentof buds should be rather guarded against thanencouraged. Ithas been the usual practice to allow the shoots of peaches and necta-rines produced and may often yield a crop of fruit almost as Taluable as that of thatrees on the wall. Bead mulchings may also be of two kinds, which maybe designated as active and passive. The latter may consist of litter ofany sort, such as rotten straw, fern fronds, cocoa fibre refuse, long andweather washed manure, &c. Its chief or only function is to resist the^extremes of cold and heat andconserve the strength of the soil,. Active.mulchings consist of manures more or less rich, that feed and enrichthe soil in addition to performing all the functions of the passive ones.They are of great service on poor exhausted soils, and often reinvigorate.exhausted trees or minimise the evils of overcropping.Either characterof mulching, that of conserving, or enriching, may be best, under differentcircumstances. This mode of enriching peach borders by the employmentof rich top dressings is far better than the use of any manure in theoriginal, composition of the border.The soU itself may be , converted into an equivalent for mulching bysimply keeping an inch or two of its surface loose by frequent stirring.The mass of the borders for peach trees should be pretty firmly consoli-dated. They should neither be dug nor forked up at all deeply. But inthe absence of any proper enriching or surface croppingit is often veryuseful to the trees and conservative of the best qualities of the soil topreserve a loose surface.CROPPING.7.Setting.Thisis generally effected ^without any direct help from the cultivator inthe openair. In districts where bees are scarce, however, it may be wellto go over the blossoms a few times, touching each lightly with a dry camelhair pencil.This wiU be sure to distribute the pollen freely. If beesare seen on the flowers leave thework to the bees, as they wiU do itbetter.During dry weather,too, several overhead syringingsmay begiven when the trees are in flower.For fear, however, of adding to thepower of frosts over the blossoms, such syringings should be given about 67. 232 THE PEACH AUD NECTAEINE.flight oclock in the morning, and are by no means to be oonfonnded withthe summer shower bath already commended. Such sprinklings havebeen held by some to be uaefal in washing the pollen home. But theirpotency, i any, is far more likely to arise from their refreshing effect onthe stigma and embryo fruit. Close observation over a series of yearsshows that the finest sets of peaches have mostly followed a showeryflowering time.There seems, therefore, good reason for creating arti-ficial showers when the clouds withhold them, and experience isinfavour of doing so. 11. Thinning.This, of necessity, follo-ws a free set of fruit ; for a peach tree fuUyfurnished with bearing wood will probably set ten or twenty times as manyfruit as shouldbe allowed toswell. The French, who have asuperiorclimate in the southern parts, and are altogether more skilful and moreventuresome in peach-growing than British cultivators, boldly practisebud-thinning to prevent such excessively profuse sets of fruit. But thisshould not be indulged in in our climate. What with the frosts and thebirds, our fruitbuds are not seldom over thinned. And even after thefruit are set they are by no means out of danger. As seasons havegone of late years, peaches should not be thinned till the end of May-It is hardly possible to pronounce any of them safe till then.Neitherdo the, young fruit drain the trees much at first. The severe cases ofovercrowding may be so much thinned as to prevent injury or malformationfrom mechanical pressure. Beyond that, leave the young peaches till alldanger from killing frosts is past.During their earlier stages of growththey perform functions analogous to leaves, and drawlittle strength outof the trees. Atthe firstthinning, towards the end of May, it is also wise to leavealmost a double crop, for peaches not seldom take the matter of thefinal thinning into their own keeping. TTufortunately, too, our selectionand thetrees final selection after or during the stoning period is notalways identical.So that ifwe thin a crop before stoning, and the treewhich is probable casts some of our fruit in the process, wemay beleft with a light crop at the last.As soon as the fruits are stoned theoultivator should proceed with a firm hand to his final reduction. The exact distance to leave peaches apart can seldom be determinedor carried out with mathematical precision faults in the setting and;the chapter of accidents prevent that. Peaches also vary much in sizeand weight at a rough guess it may be stated that a peach to every;three square inches is a heavy crop and from four to six is preferable. ;With larger sorts 9in. or a foot apart would not prove excessive. Fine 68. CROPPING.233frnit, rather than many, should be the rule.Four peaches the weightof twelve will probably contain double the amount of edible fruit, besidesbeing immensely superior in their appearance.In thinning, too, the most perfect fruit only shonld be left, and thoseposted in the best positions where they may swell freely withoutcontacl^iWith other peaches, branches, bricks, &c. Often the finest fruitsare spoilt for lack of attention to such trifles, or the foresight to anticipatethe space required as they reach full size. III.Swelling and Stoning.This is often rapid, should the tree be healthy and the weather genial.Care must, therefore, be taken, especially during the first swelling, thatthe young peaches are not allowed to bruise each other. Towards the endof the first swelling is suitable time to assist the tree with manurewater, top dressings, &c., as the process consumes much food. Duringthe second swelling the fruit makes rapid progress and the strain onthe tree is great.The process is much facilitated and the peachesgreatly enlarged by overhead and root waterings during the earlier andgradual growth of the peaches towards full size and maturity. It willnow also readily be seen whether an excessive crop has been left, and ifso, part of it, though so late, may still be removed. Stoning tries the patience of cultivators, especially amateurs.IXotonly is no apparent growth made, but a good many fruits areoftenthrownoff. Ko direct effortsare possible, i either to hurry peachesthrough this halting,criticalprocess,or prevent the fruits fromfalling.Thelatter is generally a proof that too heavy a crop has beenleft,or something isamiss at the roots or wrong in the treatment.Masterly Inactivity isthe safest practice now. The peach is exceedinglybusy, forming and fortifyingits seeds within, and therefore resents allinterference from without. When this process is completed it is moreamenable to external influences, and the cultivator, as already stated,may do much to help it during its second swelling, which begins themoment the stoning process is sufficiently advanced,IV. Ripening.Insuitableand genial oUmes the sun and the atmosphere localities little aid from the cultivator.complete this process with A few leavesmay be pushed aside from the fruit to allow of more light and heat todevelop the full lusciousness ofits flavour.In less favoured localitiespeaches would often be much better finished were alittle extra trouble 69. 234THE PEACH AND NECTABINE.taken. Where flued walls are employ eel their aid for a few weeks in the,autumn would prove as serviceable as in the spring. Glass screens, again,to resist the frost,would be of equal servicein giving the finishingtouches to the maturation of the fruit.Common garden frame lightswith or without the frames mayup against peach walls in often be setthe autumn with the happiest results. Such contrivances are easilyapplied and result in the most complete success. A good deal may alsobo done by placing common roofing tiles on the borders in front of thewalls.This reflects more heat on to the trees and helps to mature thefruit. These may also be so placed as to shed off the water, and rootdryness, if not carried to an excess, assists the perfect ripening of the fruit.Neitherthe peach nor nectarineshould be grown in unfavourablelocalities, orsome special means must be used for ripening them, asin a semi-ripe condition the fruit is simply uneatable. F. Gathering.This apparently common operation isquitea, delicate art. There ishardly a better test of skill in a practical horticulturist than his modeof handling such fruits. The statement may excite surprise to many,for perhaps in the majority of gardens peaches and nectarines are notgathered atThey are allowed to fall into a net, or muslin, or canvasall.screen, set for them at or near the base of the wall. This practice is oneof the most fatal mistakes in peach culture.Each peach ripe enough tofall of itself has already passed its meridian of perfect flavour. Theglory of its flavour, the indescribable richness and sparkling freshness ofits aroma, have already departed. It is like a stale glass of champagne.Every hour, every minute, it lies there in the sun and air it becomes morefit to be food for pigs than a delight to the epicure and a pleasure to allwho know what a peach or nectarine should be. Each fruit should begathered a day or two before it would fall if it is to be eaten inperfection.As to the mode of gathering, it is difScult to describe, though easy inpractice to the initiated.The hand should be specially clean and soft,and if not soft covered with a kid glove. The peach is then embracedby the fingers and taken into the palm of the hand, grasped lightly thoughfirmly, so as not even to bruise its delicate down.The fruit thenreceives a gentle wrench, and should be laid in a basket lined with cottonwool, and carried carefully in single layers to the fruit room.Even the time of gathering is important. Peaches and nectarinesshould not be gathered when heated with the sun. From 7 to 9 a.m., before 70. CEOPPIHG.235the dew ia hardly ofE them, ia the best time. The fruit are then freahand cool, and if stored in that state will appear at table in higher per-fection than gathered at any other time or in any other way. VI. storing and Paeking.MXBTwill object alike to the phrase and the practice. Both are,however, of great importance.These frnits are seldom best eaten off thetree. The majority of peaches gathered as above described will beimproved by several hours or days keeping. Nectarines keep longer thanpeaches.Late ones not perfectly ripened on the trees may often bebrought to the highest perfection by storing for a fortnight or threeweeks in a warm room or vinery. The writer has also kept Octoberpeaches for three weeks after gathering and found them excellent.Withthe majority of peaches and nectarines such long storage is neitherpossible nor desirable.But neither are most of them so perishable as isgenerally assumed. They should be covered over with tissue paper whenin the fruit room, and no sharp current of air allowed to pass over them. The roomfor storing peaches that are ripe CEuinot well be too cool, and peaches kept a day or two in such rooms are almost as grateful in warm,weather as ice, and form a striking contrast to that insipid mixture ofhot peach juice and stale sunbeams which is characteristic of toomany peaches hurried off to the house as soon as gathered on warm after-noons, and placed at once on the dessert table. Packing is also a delicate operation. Each fruit should be enveloped insoft tissue paper and placed in a round or square hole, a Uttle larger thanthe circumference of the fruit. It should be surrounded on aU sides witha soft elastic buffer of wadding or cotton wool. Thusprotected by parti-tions from pressure or contact with all other frnits, and sheltered fromthe tin or wooden trays by an elastic buffer of wool, peaches may be sent-throughout all parts of the United Kingdom with little or no injury. Thevgeneral method is to have a series of trays thus furnished with fruit ;packed one above another in a strong box mae of tin or wood, eachfruit has its own separate oompattmentand, if gathered before they ;are dead ripe, they travel well.VII. Serving.Custom has gone on for years building these fruits up into a pyramid.Beginning with any sized base, according to the size of the dish and the-party and the number of fruit at command, layer after layer is buUt up. 71. 236THE PEACH AND NECTAMNE.constantly diminiBhing in numbera nntil the pyramid is crowned with asingle fruit. Eleven or twelve fruits make a pretty dish ^thus, six orseven in the bottom layer, four in the next, and one on the top.Theeffectis prettyif vine, peach, or other leaves are liberally used andskilfully placed.And if the fruit are all eaten at once it matters littlehow they are served. The pyramidalstyle also affordsa good opportu-nity for the setting of the colours with good effect in relation to eachother, as rose-coloured peaches like the Boyal George, to contrastwith the delicate cream or milk-coloured fruit of the Noblesse, &c.Thepyramid, however, at best and formal style, and seriously is a stiff bmises the fruit and prevents it from keeping or being fairly presentable a second time. Peaches served in single layer, each laid on and encircled,with a cushion of green moss or foliage, are less striking to the eye, but in better taste and more easily selected.These flat arrangements of thefruithave the additional merit of not bruising it. This latter is a pointof great moment in regard to such fruits as peaches, for not only do theslightest bruises hinder the fruit from keeping, but they likewise lowertheir quality at once. The bruising of the flesh immediately affects theflavour. The advantages of so serving such fruits might readily besecured by the using of silver, golden, glass, or china baskets, or flattishvasesfilled with moss or leaves, so as to raise them considerably in thecentre.The peaches could be disposed in single layers,and would showup withexcellent effect. Single peaches, when extra fine,might also bearranged insmall dishes orbaskets aroundthetable, and suchdispositionsof fruitindetail might occasionallyatleast take-the place ofthe universalflower glasses,which are apttoweary one by their monotony and endless repetition. Whatmore beautiful or pleasing than lines of single peaches, or groupsof four or five here and there, within easy reach of the diner ?Theforms and colours would show to good advantage on the white cloth andagainst the usual ornaments of plate and flowers. Fruit ought, in fact,to take a far higher place than it has yet done in the substantial decora- tions of the diimer table ; flower and plant decoration have well-nighrun to seed in dining rooms. Old-fashioned diners out are horrified on sitting down, as they fondly hope, to dinner, to find instead the latest example of carpet bedding sub-tropical gardening or bedding out,cooled down by rocks of ice, as if the latest style of flower gardeninghad lost its way amid the giddy mazes of fashionable caprice thathas ruinedthe repose of our lawns and terraces, and had stumbledby accident on tothe centre ofthe dining table.But by using-fewer such tawdry devices, and plants and flowers, and more fruits,ofTisitors would see before them a good dessert, though the dinner might 72. . CULTURE UNDER GLASS.237still be hidden till it appeared on their plates, a thing of shreds andpatches.For open-airfStes and garden parties what more novel ordelightfnlmode of serving peaches and suchlike beautiful and delicatefruits, than for the yonngest ladies to be furnished with the preHybaskets full of peaches for distribution PWho could doubt the genuinefavons with which such a method of serving would be received fCulture under Glass.The greatuse of glass is to render the cultivator independent of climate.It is, therefore, impossible to exaggerate its influence or importance inhorticulture. It enables capitaland skill to defy outward conditions,and to grow the plants andfruits of the Tropics in temperate or evenArctic climes. To illustrate theimportance of glass in peach culture, itis only needful to note howgenerally of late years the rigours of ourharsh springs have blighted all prospects of fruit, and left trees in ucrippled, half dead condition. It must,however, be admitted that glassaloneis not sufficient to protect peaches against the rigours of our springsThe glass must be occasionally covered with frost-proof materials, eitheror the heat of the inclosed atmospheremust be added to on all occasions-when the external air sinks to 22deg. or 24deg. Fahr. Peaches in flowercannot be exposed to more than Sdeg. of frost with impunity, and theresisting powersofglassagainstcontinuous frost must not bereckoned at more than Sdeg. more.Thisa popular but hardly isacorrectwayof putting the matter.For it must be obvious toanyone who will give a, moments reflection to the subject, that theresisting power of glass is weU-nigh nil.The heat of the sun,the cold of the open sky, alike pass freely through glass, leaving little ofeither behind in its substance. The potency of glass as a conserver ofheat arises from its power of inclosing a body of air. That air is ofsuperior temperature to the general atmosphere. It follows that theresisting power of glass houses will depend upon such considerations asthese The size of the house, or rather its depth, that is, the number of :cubic feet of air for each foot of radiating and conducting surface the;disparity between the temperature of the outside atmosphere and theinternal air ; the duration of that disparity ;the freedom or otherwiseof the exchanges of heat between the two, and whether or not anyinternal source of heat is available to counteract the lossby radiation f2 73. ;238 THE PEACH ASD SHCTAEIHE.and obndnfition. and now to go mnoh further into It isfnot needful hereit was necessary to say so muchthese somewhat difScult matters, thoughby way of warning. For if these principles are sound, they explain good deal that is often very puzzling and distressing, especially toamateur cnltiTators, whom we are most anxious to guide and instruct inthis seriesofmanuals.Not a fewofthese mayhastento buildglass houses for their peaches; many have, in fact, already done soand fancy themselves quite safe. The year 1877 showed many that thiswas by no means the case. Not a few unheated orchard houses werealmost as bare of fruit as the open walls that season. And the samehouses were wrecked again the same year by the intense frost of fromISdeg. to 17deg. that ushered in the 1st of April, The diversity ofexperience in regard to the protecting power of glass houses has seemedlike an enigma or a game of chance to not a few.Here a house hasbeen frozen, though close by another has escaped unhurt. The foregoingepitome of the principles or laws of cooling explains these mysteries.In general terms, the larger the house the greater its power of con-serving heat. Much also depends on the state of things at the start.A grate full of coals bums longer than a few embers;so unheatedhouses, shutupearly in the afternoon,and filled to repletion with solarheat, will take longer to cool than those left open till the sun has set, andthen closed with a temperature little, if at all, superior to the outsideair. Nodoubt this wider difference between the internal and externalatmospheres intensifies the energy and adds to the rapidity of the ex-changes between the two ; but there being a far larger store of heat todraw upon, it takes longer time to reduce the inside temperature to thelevel of the external air.And in this matter time is everything.Duringclear nights,when the danger from frost is greatest, the gain of an houror so in the equalisation of the two temperatures may save the crop.As a rule, the cultivator may calculate on having his houses filled withheat by day.Of course, induU weather this source of supply is notavailable, andit is needful to save every degree of heat with miserly carebut dull days are mostly succeeded by dull nights, and these are safe.It is the clear nights, when the whole atmosphere from bank to sky isrobbing the peach house of its heat, that the danger of freezing theblooms is imminent. And the readiest antidote is also one which costs nothing a house full of heat, secured by early closing.The next simplest way of conserving warmth is by shuttingit in.The glass does this to some extent being transparent, however, it;offersbut a feeble barrier to the radiation of heat into the open sky. Place anartificial cloud over the glass in the form of a covering of felt, a mat, a rollof. reeds or straw, and the loss of heatis at once arrested.True, radia- 74. CULTUEE UNDER GLASS.239tion is not stopped, bat its energyis arrested and the length of its linesso shortened thatlittle or no heatis lost.The heatof the house isradiated to the opaque coTering and back, and so the temperature of thehouse is preserved sufficiently high to insure the safety of the trees.It is surprising that the use of covering for peach and other housesisnot morecommon. Peaches might be grownon low ground wallsor borders sloping to the south or west, and trained on trellises about thesize of common garden frames of one, two, or three lights wide.Theselights might be placed over the trees from January to the end of Hay,and then removed. Or, should the season set in cold and wet, and thefruit seem toolate to ripen, the portable frames might be again placedover them in September, and kept on till they were ripe.The greatadvantage of these low trees and portable frames consists in the facilitywith which mats, litter, and other coverings conld be thrown over them.Low peach houses also afford excellentfacilities for covering.Bolls ofreed mats, the entice length of the roof, are admirably adapted for thesepurposes, and will carry any peach house safely through the severest springfrosts. Coverings are almost impracticable on the higher forms of peachand orchard houses. These ought, therefore, to be provided with themeans of heating in cases of sudden and severe depressions of tempera-ture. A 4in. flow and return pipe will generally suffice for this purpose.Even the old-fashioned flue run along, in or against, the back wall wouldrender such houses frost-proof. WhUe strongly advocating that cool peach houses, and especially smallones, should be furnished with facilities for heating, or bnUt so as to beeasily covered, it is needful to add that the heat should not be usedunless wanted ; and it is only during spring and, it may be, autumn,that it is likely to be required. At other times and seasons a close glasshouse affords such facilities for the utilisation and concentration of solarheat that no artificial warmth is needed. So that the expense for fuel islikely to be almost nil ; while the capital invested in boiler, pipes, orflues will yield a good interest in a sure and certain crop of fruitannually. This means of saving a crop from the rigours of our climate,must not be confounded with the forcing of the peach under glass. To have ripe peaches in March, April, May, and June, sufficient heatingsurface must be provided to command a temperature of 55deg., 60deg.,65deg. inside, be the external temperature what it may.To do thiseffectually a good boiler, and four, six, or eight 4in. pipes, would beneeded, according to the size of the house, the locality, the time thepeaches were wanted, &o.The truesteconomy inall such cases is toprovide a liberal supply of heating surface. The more pipes, as a rule, theless fire is wanted, and hot-water pipes, though dear to purchase, are only 75. 240THE PEACH AND NECTAEINE.Ijouglit onoe in a lifetime ooal every year.Peach houses for forcingshould also be well built and closely fitted in every part, so that no heatcan readily escape. This is the more needful, as the greater the disparitybetween the internal and external atmospheres, the greater the danger ofthe heat ot the house being wasted. Heat is subtle and difficult to confinein any case it is far more so when we add to its natural subtlety with such ;a wide divergence of temperature as, say, 40deg. SOdeg. inside andlOdeg. out.Unless houses are well built, the loss under such conditionsthat often occurs in the early forcing of the peach is ruinous. Fis. 52. /. Peach Cases.Glass-houses for mere protective purposes (Fig. 52) are very appropriatelycalled peach cases. They are mostly erected against walls, and vary inwidth from 5ft. to 10ft. About 7ft. at bottom may be considered aconvenient width. They are sometimes furnished with a row of bushtrees in front, and if these are kept low they do little injury to the backwall, and add greatly to the amount of produce ; the majority of peachoases, however, merely inclose the wall, protect the blooms from thefrost, and further the growth of the fruits. Such cases placed against 76. CUITTJEB TJMDER GIASS.241flued walla are all that is needful to inBore the safety of the frnit.In the case of nnheated walls something more is needed the glassmnst either be covered orsome means of warming the atmosphereprovided.One of the simplest peaoh oases that contains the merits of, a fixed ormovable permanent wooden and glass coping as well is that shown inFig. 53.Common frame lights may readily be used for this purposeand be fixed to a few splines of wood, proceeding from the coping to the Pio. 53,ground, ora. stud raised 9in. or a foot abfve it. The lights may bescrewed down to these, and a movable board used to fill in the bottomspace at night, to be removed by day for ventilation.The Messrs.Messenger and other horticultural builders have improved this roughand cheap case by raising a plinth of brick, slate, or wood atthebottom, and either providing for the sliding of the lightsfor ventilation, or the raising of a 6in. board between the lights, leaving afrom base to summit of the wall, or its movement to eitherclear space open on the opposite side to the wind. Suchside as required, so as tocases answer remarkably well, and are, of course, rather more easily 77. 242THE PEACH AND NBCTAEINE.worked aa well as more ornamental than those formed with spare glasslights. They generally partake more of the character of glass walls thanglass cases, the lights being almost yerticaJ.Hence they inclose bntlittle air, andthis is one of their greatest weaknesses.All narrow glasscases heat,and consequei^tly also cool, with greatrapidity, thus requiringUberal and prompt ventilation and the covering of the glass, to renderthem efficient, otherwise the glass draws the flowers forward into abnormaltenderness by day, and exposes them to so mnch cold at night that theglass proves of bnt donbtfnl advantage.It is, in fact, highly problematicalwhether the extra liabUity to injury induced by day forcing is baJanoedby the extra protection afforded by a mereglass screen at night. II. OrchardHouses.Themajority of these are span-roofed (Fig. hi); bnt lean-to orchardhouses also abound. It is obvious that the termis applied rather to formof treesand style of culture than toanyspecial variety of glass house.Fia. 51.The termis alsoused by many cultivators to designate houses that areeither unheated, or to a less extent than peach houses.Mostof thesedistinctions are^ however, arbitrary, and as orchard houses increase andmultiply, they will probably lose their present significance, for thereseems no good reason why a peach orchard under glass :that is, an orchard house should not be forced or treated exactly like other peach houses.Orchard houses also differ broadly from glass oases, inasmuch as theyare seldom erected against walls already furnished with peach trees, butratherfilled with trees of a more free style of growth.However, thereare also orchard liouses filled with cordons and trees trained on trellises. 78. ; CULTURE UNDEB. GLASS,243Still,they are more generally fuTnished with standard, pyramid, or bnslitrees in pots or planted ont.The chief merit of orchard houses as opposed to peach cases is theirsize,varying in width from 10ft. to 20ft., 30ft., or more, and in heightfrom 6ft. to 25ft. It is obvious that they inclose a g^eat mass of air,. and, cdtasaquently, they are muchlonger in being cooled than smallerhouses. Hencetrees in unheated orchard houses not seldom escapeinjury from frosts that prove quite fatal to trees in glass cases, thoughthe latter have a large reserve of stored up heat in the brick wall,which the other has not. Treesmay also be keptmuch later in orchardhouses than in glass cases, being generallyspan-roofed, with ampleventilation in the apex, and the whole of each side frequentlymade toopen so as to create a through draught. The hottest spring sunshine has comparatively little influence in heating the air of orchard housesor exciting the trees. All these retarding conditions are entirely reversedin glass cases.Withthe utmost possible ventilation, the close proximityof the glass to the wall seems toendow the solar rays with greater forceand new power, and thebloom in consequence. trees rush the faster intoThere is often a difference of amonth between the floweriiig of peachesin glass cases and inorchard houses, and hence the chief reason why acrop nlay often be safe in the latter afterit is cruelly wrecked in theformer. orchard houses are just as useful in retarding crops ofIn fact,peaches as in rendering them safe, or fostering them by a superiorclimate.Keither is tiiis retardation by any meansconfined to theflowering season.Peaches and nectarines may be kept much cooler, and,consequently, later, in orchard houses than on brick walls. WithsufScient meansand nectarines of ventilation, the later sorts of peachesmay up to ITovember from orchard houses.readily be gathered right Of course, too, such structures may be heated to any desired extentand it is safer to have some means of heating all orchard houses, thoughfor late fruit it would seldom be needful to use fire heat. Peaches dowell in a low temperature. The flowers set freely, unless actually frozen,ina temperature of 45deg.SOdeg. should not be exceeded until they ;are set.Andas regards ventilation, though means of giving air on thecrown of the ridge or highest part of the roof, and also along each side,should always be provided, yet they need not be used unless whenrequired. Only those ventilators on the sheltered side should be1opened during cold winds ; and, of course, by early closing and ajudicious use of fire heat the trees in orchard houses may be brought onas fast as in others, though, as a rule, they are generally so managed asto come in either between the fruit in the peach house and the open walls,or after the latter. 79. 244 THE PEACH AKD NECIAEINE.III. Peach Houses,These are generally devoted to the cnlture of the peach and nectarinegrown on trellises. Of course, they may be heated or nnheated span,;half, or quarter span, ridgeand furrow, curvilinear (see Fig. 55) or lean-toroofed (Pig. 56).Generally, however, they are lean-to houses, varying inwidth from 7ft. to 12ft., in height of back wall from 8ft. to 14ft., and infront from the ground line to 5ft. Part of the front wall is generallyconverted into a glass light, from1ft. to 3ft. in height, which is used as Fio. 55.a ventilator. Top ventilation Is either in the back wall by means ofsliding lights, ormore generally of a glass ventilator offrom 9in. to 30in.wide, running the whole length of the house, and lifted at once by meansof a simple lever or crank.The trees are either trained on trellises infront,on the back wall behind, or along the roof itself. (See Figs. 55 or 56.)The pitch of the roof and the size of the peach house varies widely,according to the season when the peaches are required. For earlypeaches, rather narrow houses, with steep roofs, are preferred say,9ft. [wide and 10ft. high at the back.For later or snccessional 80. CULTUEE TTNDEE GLASS. 245peaches, houses 12ft. wide and 12ft. or 14ft. high are more suitable.Early peaches, flowering in November ajid December, require alltheBcanty rays of the sun to enable them to set freely. Less importanceis, however, now placed upon the mere form of roof thanused to bethe case ; still, there can be no doubt the form of the house may prove eithera help ^i a hindrance to early peach culture. More direct sunlight andheat will pass through a roof at an angle of 45deg. than through one of30deg. Consequently, the former is the best for an early peach house ;the latter the more suitable for a late one. The wider the house, andthe less the difference between the height of the front and back wall, the Tib. 66.flatter the roof ; the narrower and greater the difference between the twowalls, tiie sharper the angle of elevation. This is well shown in the glasspeach case(Fig. 52).The wider houses also afford more apace, and are less liable to extremesof temperature.The latter is more dangerous in peach culture thanwith almost any other fruit.The flowers often faU in showers after anysudden and severe elevation of temperature. The embryo fruit are almostequally liable to wither up or shrivel from the same causewhile during;the stoning period any excess of heat favours the casting of the fruit ina very wholesale manner. Houses of considerable area, with ampleventilation, are the surest antidotes against extremes of heat and cold. 81. 246 THE PEACH AND NECTABINE.Thecurvilinear peach house is an excellent form for early peach houses,or in nnfayonrahle climates or localities. It admits more and clearerlight than almostany other.The trees may betrained according to thecurve of the roof, or, rather, increasing the distance from the roof as itascends, as shown in (a. Fig. 55), or the trees may be planted onthe backwall, and also trained over a curved trellis, as shown, extending fromthe front of the house to the path at back(b, Fig. 55). The Ught is soIntense in these houses that the trees do well on the low trellis, whichleaves almost the whole of the back waUs available for another set of"trees. Of course, where the roof trellis is used, as shown by the dottedline under the roof of Fig. 56, no trees are planted on the back wall, forthe whole area of the glassis already occupied.IV. Trellises.Ths general cultivation of the peach under glass differs but littlefrom that in the open air. The subject, however, naturally dividesitself into two parts, that may be designated the permanent andthe portable, thatthe trees may be either planted out or grown is,in pots or tubs. The more common method is to plant out thetrees near the front of the house, and train them upon a roof trellis,about 18in. or 2ft. from the glass. This trellis is often carried up thewhole length of the roof. (See Fig. 56.) At other times it is carried upabout two-thirds of the length of rafters. This mode of cutting off theroof trellis is considered the most provident of space. Assuredly itimproves the appearance of the houses.A rooftrellisstretching frombase to summit of a wide peach housea noble sight, and peachesiscolour and flavour to more perfection on such trellises than grown in anyother way. But the bare back walls have a, bald and barren look. Bycutting off part of the roof trellis the back wallmay also be clothed withtrees. Biders, with clear stems of 3ft. to 6ft. high, according to the.height of the walland the length of the roof trellis, may be used forthis purpose. Suchtrees often do exceedinglywell, as they have thefree run of the borders lying all in front of their roots.The trees on the trellis, unless allowed to run outside, which is oftendone by building the peach house on arches, are rather placed at adisadvantage in this matter, for it is found that roots do not travel sofreely to the north as to the south. The sun seems to draw the roots asmuchor more as the tops of plants.To meet this objection in earlypeach houses, in which the roots are generally confined to theinside, halfstandards are frequently employed. These are planted ab