i88i.] HORIZOxNTALLY TRAINED PEACH-TREES. 183 



record that Carnations and Picotees should be included in a border of 

 plants without stakes 1 And from this I inferred that he condemned 

 the practice of staking all herbaceous plants, whatever be their stature; 

 and the non-use of stakes would virtually exclude from the flower- 

 garden all the plants I named in my paper in the February issue of 

 the ' Gardener.' Perhaps, however, the " rank and file " of " the Hardy 

 Brigade" do not endorse the teaching of their commander. Be that 

 as it may, I have done with the subject, as further discussion of this 

 point would be of little practical benefit to any one. J. H. B. 



HORIZOITTALLY TRAinSTEB PEACH-TREES. 



In "Hints for Amateurs'^ last month, " M. T." says : "Horizontal train- 

 ing answers capitally for every kind of fruit we know. Pears, Plums, 

 Peaches, and Apricots we have trained in this form with the view of 

 reducing labour." As I am interested in such matters, I shall regard 

 it as a favour if " M. T." will furnish me with the address of any garden 

 where good examples of Peach-trees of mature age (say from ten to 

 thirty years) trained on the horizontal system are to be seen. Youth- 

 ful examples are of no value. I never yet have seen a good horizon- 

 tally trained Peach-tree in this country, nor a Plum either ; and those 

 which I have seen in French gardens had been raised with much la- 

 bour and difficulty, and were not of a kind to encourage any one to 

 attempt the plan whose object was fine trees and good crops of fruit. 

 The labour and time spent over them were out of all proportion to the 

 results obtained. J. S. 



[We sent " J. S.'s " question to " M. T.," who replies :— ] 

 " I have for a number of years trained trees as described in ' Hints,' 

 but I do not know of any good examples of Peaches trained in any 

 form at the maximum age named by your correspondent 'J, S.' Neither 

 do I know why horizontally trained trees should not remain in healthy 

 condition as long as when trained into any other form. Those I train 

 as fans are treated the same as the horizontals — the bearing wood all 

 on one side, current year's shoots taken from base of that of the pre- 

 vious year : the latter is cut out, and its successor takes its place. To 

 keep the trees vigorous and free from disfigurement, a system of in- 

 troducing young leaders is practised, so that the substance of the tree 

 never really becomes old. I believe in this practice with every kind 

 of fruit-tree with which I am acquainted. I would not object to send 

 branches of horizontal training to your correspondent. M. T." 



