May a, ioiJ/.j 



I'H.^ rKOPidAL A6^icvi/vvumf, 



'lb^ 



PEACHES AND NECTARINES. 

 Many years ago the peaches aurt nectarines grown 

 in South Australia wore very fine both for size and 

 for flavour, whilst the beauty of theii extnriors couM 

 not be excelled. These fruits were grown chiefly in 

 the gardeus upon the plaius because the rich lanl 

 amongst the hills had not then been taken up so ex- 

 tensively as at present. After a time the fruits 

 began to deteriorate and to decrease in size, the trees 

 became sick, and at last the fruit was worthless and 

 the trees were chopped out of the ground. Why did 

 the trees become diseased, and why did they fail to 

 yield crops of good fruit even when young tre^s were 

 reared in their places? Perhaps it was through 

 neglect of the ordinary rules of the gardeners' art. 

 The trees were allowed to bear at three to four years 

 of age ; to produce excessive crops ; the land was 

 never enriched, but the spade was freely used and the 

 fine fibrous roots were chopped off in the digging ; the 

 trees were never pruned, or, if pruned, the work was done 

 any way and without method. The curl-leaf fungus be- 

 came introduced aloug with new varieties of peaches ; also 

 the shothole fungus and other destroying agents, and 

 no trouble was taken to cure the diseases, so that 

 at last they became so common that no peaches, 

 apricots, or nectarines could be grown with satisfaction 

 anyv^^here. Some people say that these trees are not 

 long lived, and that this is the reason ; but there are 

 trees that are over 30 years old at Kangaroo Island 

 and in the old-settled south district, where the fruit 

 is as good, as large, as handsomo, and as abundant 

 as ever. The growers in these places seem to know 

 the value of mulching, the danger of overdigging, the 

 beneficial effects of jiidicious pruning, and the folly of 

 allowing the tree to produce overahuudantly. Perhaps 

 the opossum performs a beneficial work here, for they 

 knock off large quantities of green fruit. As the cul- 

 tivators had already in their orchards more fruit- 

 trees than they could fairly manage, they were not 

 anxious to introduce new sorts ; and the result has 

 been that in these old and still productive orchards 

 they have no serious disaases amongst the trees. 

 Neither the peach nor the nectarine require exceed- 

 ingly rich soil to grow in, but they must not bo 

 starved, and in summer they must have a sufficient 

 supply of water. Both kinds of flower upoti wool 

 produced the season before, so that in pruning it is 

 necessary to bear this fact in mind. They can be 

 grafted or budded upon almonds, plums, or apricots ; 

 but the union -is never satisfactory, and the only 

 proper plan is work the tree upon stocks of their (twn 

 order. There are a great many varieties of peaches, 

 but it is not advisable to plant more than three or 

 four sorts, including those that are earliest and those 

 that are latest iu ripening. Nectarines are not so 

 numerous in varieties, nor are they so popular as a 

 fruit, from the fact that they are surpassed by the 

 peaches in every respect and are in season at the 

 same time. Still, they are very superior to many other 

 fruits, and are worth a place in a fruit garden. — 

 Adelaide Obsei'vei: 



PRODUCTIVENESS OF THE ORANGE TREE. 



There are bat few trees or plants in nature to be 

 compared to the orange for fruitfulness; very few so 

 prolific and commercially valuable Besides Its deli- 

 cious fruit, enjoyed both by the rich and the poor in 

 nearly all countries, it produces several other most 

 Valuable products. There are five distinct and highly 

 esteemed perfumes obtained from it. Mi'd.^T^he true 

 orange floWer odour, obtained by digesting with fat by 

 the process called enjteurac/e. Secoiil. — Oil neroli petale 

 or oil neroli begarade, by distilling the flowers of the 

 sweet and bitter orange respectively. Third. — Oil neroli 

 petit grain, by distilliug the leaves and unripe fruit. 

 Fourth. — Oil of orange Portugal, obtained by rolling 

 the fruit in a metal cup covered with small spik "S, 

 for puncturing the oil glands. It is called an cciwUe, 

 which wounds the fruit and causes the oil to flow, 

 PtWi,— Commercial oil of oraugCi obtained by express' 

 95 



ing or distilling the orange peel. Besides these valu- 

 able products the dried peel is largely used in medicine. 

 The essential oils enter into the following perfumes : — 



Essence of Orange Flowers. — Orange flower pomade 

 Iti ounces; pure spirit of wine, q.s. or 16 ounces. 

 Place the poma<le and alcohol into a Jar of half-gallon 

 capacity. Digest by m^ians of a water-bath until the 

 pomale is barely melted ; shake well together, and 

 repeat the shaking frequently until cold. Allow this 

 to stand a fortnight, then drain off the essence. If 

 this falls short of one pint, repeat with a sufiicienfc 

 quantity of spirit to make up that measure. A second 

 washing can be done aud another pint of essence 

 obtained, which though much weaker will be fouud 

 useful in a cheaper perfume. 



Spirit of Neroli. — This is made by mixing oil 

 neroli petale, 4 drachms; pure spirit of wine, 16 

 ounces. Rlix and dissolve. 



Eau de PoRTUGAr.. — Tbis was at one time a very 

 popular perfume. Essential oil of orange peel, 8 ounces j 

 essential oil of lemon, 2 ouuces; essential oil of bergamot, 

 1 ounce ; otto of rose, ^ ounce; rectified spirit at 75^, 1 

 gallon. It is most charming and refreshing during the 

 heat of summer or in the heated ball-room, Iu the 

 ever-popular perfume "Eau de Cologne," as is well 

 known, the predominating odour is lemony-orange. The 

 following formula for which is given in the new French 

 Oodex : — 01. Portugal (orange flowers), 10 parts; ol. 

 bergamot, 10 parts; ol. lemon, 2 parts; ol. neroli petali, 

 'A parts; rosemary, 2 parts; alcohol, 1,000 parts. Dis- 

 solve and filter. This is much simplified, and may 

 with age give a better result than the old com- 

 plicated formula?. Throughout the whole range of 

 perfumes known to us we think there is no perfume 

 so fully answers the word "refreshing" as the lemon 

 and the orange. The violet aud the jasmine may be 

 lovely, the rose ami sweet-brier delicious, the musk 

 and others, when artistically blended, charming, but 

 none have the invigorating effect upon the olfactory 

 nerves as that possessed by the orauge, lemon, aud 

 citron family. There are very few compiund perfumes 

 (bouquet) of any merit that do not contain one or 

 more of these odours as part of their composition. — 

 Burgoiine, i^- Co.'s Month!;/ Export Prices Current. 



THE TREE TOMATO. 



So much interest has been expressed with reference 

 to this fruit, which is occasionally seen in our own 

 markets, that we have thought it desirable to copy 

 a coloured illustration which appeared in the Revue 

 Hoitirole in 1830, p. 150 (see p. 383), and to request 

 Mr. Morris, the Assistant-Director at Kew, to give us 

 the benefit of his experience. This he has kindly 

 done in the subjoined letter : — 



" A full account of this plant was given by myself 

 in the Gardeners' Chronicle, vol. xxi.,n.s., April 19, 

 1884, p. 510. It is of shrubby habit, with broadly 

 cordate anil pubescent leaves, sometimes a foot long. 

 The flowers are borne in sub-axillary cymes, of a palo 

 fleshy colour with bright yellow stamens. They have 

 the odour of Violets. The fruit is about 2 to 2| inches 

 long, and about 2 inches in diameter. When ripe it 

 is of rich orange colour. In the "West Indies it is 

 called Tree Tomato; in Peru (its native country) it 

 is known as Tomato de la Paz. It sometimes appear.9 

 in Covcnt Garden Market, as I am informed by the 

 Eli''or, under the erroneous name of Granadilla, a3 

 an importation from the Azores. 



" \Vhen in Jamaica I wis very favourably impressed 

 with the value of this comparatively little knoWd 

 fruit, as it answers in every respect the purposes of 

 the ordinary Tomato, while the plant itself is peren- 

 nial and easily grown. The fruit is also produced 

 abundantly during the winter months, from November 

 to March, when ordiuary Tomatoes are not easily ob- 

 tained. Unfortunately the plant is not hardy in Eng- 

 Uul or in corresponding latitudes, nor will it stand 

 extreme tropical heat. It is, therefore, sub-trepical, 

 and flourishes best in hilly districts in the tropics, 

 with a mean annual temperature of ?ibout 68' ?ftbr, 



