58 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 
work of the peach borer, which is most troublesome when 
forcing these fruits under glass, they should be budded upon 
plum stock which is immune to the peach borer. Forced 
peaches and nectarines may be brought into fruit during 
May and continued until the outdoor crop is in season, pro- 
viding sufficient houses and varieties are at one’s disposal. 
Various types of houses may be used, such as the lean-to, 
the three-quarter span, and the even span. In a lean-to the 
plants should be trained to the wall facing south so as to 
obtain all possible sunshine and warmth. In a three-quarter 
span they should be trained up under the glass. The even- 
span house is by far the best, since here the plants may be 
either trained up under the glass or upon espaliers through 
the middle of the house. This latter method produces by far 
the best results from the standpoint of crop production, since 
the plants obtain all the sunshine that is available and 
accessibility to all sides of the plant makes insect control 
possible. A greenhouse twenty-five feet wide, the length 
being governed by the number of plants to be grown, is 
most convenient. The supports or trellises should be eighteen 
feet wide, allowing a space of three feet on each side for 
walks and steam pipes. 
Despite the fact that peaches require an abundance of 
water during the growing season, they do not thrive in heavy 
soil, but prefer a sandy or medium loamy soil, which suggests 
that they are sensitive to poor drainage. Therefore in pre- 
paring the peach bed it is necessary to guard against souring 
of the soil, otherwise root decomposition will affect both the 
foliage of the trees and flavor of the fruit. The soil should 
not be too rich, on account of the rapidity of growth of 
young wood during the first season. Slowly acting fer- 
tilizers, such as half-inch bone, may be added in the propor- 
tion of one part to fifty parts of soil. Later, potash and 
hard-wood ashes may be used as a top dressing and cultivated 
into the soil. Where humus is lacking farmyard manure may 
be applied as a top dressing. Excellent temporary results 
have been obtained from borders three feet wide and only 
one and a half feet deep. It is much safer, however, in order 
to insure permanent annual crops, to extend the depth to 
three or even four feet in order to cuard against the drying 
out of the roots which ramify the soil. 
