174 THE FLORIST. 



THE PEACH. 

 {Continiitd from i^age 131.) 



Thinning the fruit, like disbudding, should be done at two or three 

 times, and should be performed with care, so as to have the fruit finally 

 left at regular intervals over the tree. On young trees, where the wood 

 has been left long, two and even three fruit may be allowed to remain 

 on each, as it is presumed the wood has been left long in consequence 

 of the vigour of the tree. But where the trees have filled their allotted 

 space on the wall, and the young wood has been cut closer in — to three 

 or four eyes — one fruit will generally be sufiicient ; when this is deter- 

 mined on, the leading bud from these short shoots should be stopped, 

 as tw^o shoots to each would only crowd the tree with useless wood ; the 

 leading bud should therefore be pinched back, leaving two or ihree 

 leaves and joints, and allow the shoot at the base to grow for next 

 season's bearing wood ; the lateral shoots made during the summer 

 should be pinched out of the shoot stopped, but care must be taken of 

 the leaves, as they will cause the sap to fiow on freely, and on its return 

 will nourish the fruit. Should these leaves not be left, or become 

 injured, the fruit, although it would swell fully and be to all r.ppearance 

 as good as the rest, would be flavourless, as we have before observed 

 when noticing the importance of having a growing terminal bud to 

 each shoot. It may be recorded, that a rather larger crop of Nectarines 

 than Peaches may be taken from trees, the size and vigour of each 

 being the same. 



It was formerly the practice to thin out the fruit, leaving a still extra 

 quantity to allow for a number to drop off in stoning 1 may here remind 

 your readers that if proper attention is paid to thinning off the crop, 

 and regulating it according to the strength of the tree, no fear need be 

 entertained that any will drop off by the process if the trees are healthy. 

 When you see such to be the case, you may be sure too many has 

 been left on, or the tree is become sickly and cannot accomplish all you 

 have allotted it to do. A tree wh;ch may be healthy enough to give 

 support to and perfect the formation of the seed of 100 fruit, may fail in 

 accomplishing the same for 200, or even 150. But here is the mischief: 

 in this case the whole are supported alike up to a point, and when the 

 energies of the tree cannot go further, the weakest fruit goes first, and as 

 all are more or less affected, there is now no drawing a limit how far 

 this dropping off" may go; much will depend on the rapidity with which 

 the first gives way, as there may yet be time for the tree to rally and 

 perfect the rest. On the other hand, we have seen, particularly when 

 being forced, the entire crop of Peaches and Nectarines fall off"; where- 

 as, had the trees been thinned in time, and those only left which the 

 trees could carry out, the whole would have been saved. 



In regulating the crop, it should be borne in mind that over-cropping 

 has a deal to do with preventing the wood from ripening, for if the tree 

 has to support an extra heavy crop a certain amount of energy is 

 expended to effect this, which should have gone towards maturing the 

 wood and organising fruit-buds for the following year ; and where this 



