280 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



C October 10, 1867. 



good. If means of beating the house had existed, I would 

 have applied artificial heat and admitted more air during cold, 

 cloudy weather, and, as a consequence, the fruit would have 

 been higher-coloured, whilst, doubtless, its flavour would have 

 been improved. 



Sudden changes of temperature are very injurious to the 

 trees, from the time the blossoms expand until the fruit is ripe, 

 especially if the pots are not plunged for any part of their 

 depth in the ground. I do not approve of plunging the pots, 

 and for this reason — I surface-dress the trees in the autumn, 

 also during the growing season, and this surface-dressing is 

 apt to deceive even experienced cultivators, as it may appear 

 quite moist, although the tree at the time may be suffering 

 from want of water, and if the pot is plunged it may be passed 

 orer, and the mistake will only be discovered by the drooping 

 of the leaves and young shoots. If the pots are not plunged, 

 a slight tap on the outside will tell which require water, by the 

 difference in sound between those in which the soil is dry and 

 those in which it is sufficiently moist. 



Another danger to bo guarded against is, when a few days of 

 cloudy wta'her are succeeded by bright sunshine, and that 

 sometimes accompanied by a drying wind. The orchard-house 

 cultivator must be watchful at such a time, as the trees will 

 require water more frequently. I have watered them three 

 times a-day, and sprinllsd the paths with water as often, and 

 if any of the trees hung their leaves I spriulrled them overhead 

 as well. This season we had tvvo very hot days, the 1-ith and 

 loth of August, when the thermometer was at 85° and 86° in 

 the shade, and this with a drying wind. All our trees were 

 ■watered before eight o'clock in the morning, and when I went 

 into the house at eleven in the forenoon, the greater part of 

 them were hanging their leaves because of insufficient water 

 at the roots and a dry atmosphere in the house, and the result 

 was a number of cracked and rusted-lookiug fruit among the 

 Nectarines, although the Peaches did not suffer much, the 

 downy covering on the fruit acting, I suppose, as a protection. 

 One of the disadvantages of growing these trees in i)ots is the 

 continual demand for the watering-pot ; an hour or two of 

 neglect will spoil the labour of months of care and watchful- 

 ness ; but then, an orchard-house full of fine healthy trees 

 bearing a good crop of fruit, is worth months of care and at- 

 tention. 



I have pot trees here, their ages varying from three to ten 

 years. The smallest pots are 10 inches in diameter, inside 

 measure, and the largest two men can only move with diffi- 

 culty ; but I shall place no more Peach and Nectarine trees in 

 such large pots. I now prefer those measuring 11, 13, and 

 14J inches, inside measure, but I have had large fruit from 

 three-year-old trees in 10-inch pots. Any trees that require 

 repotting are shifted as soon as convenient after the fruit is 

 gathered. Those that are not repotted I surface-dress in Oc- 

 tober, after removing as much as possible of the old exhausted 

 soil in the pot. This year I turned a number of trees out of 

 doors as soon as the fruit was gathered, and they seem to have 

 ripened their wood better than those that have been kept inside. 

 Some that were turned outside in July to ripen their fruit out 

 of^ doors, have shorter young shoots and are better studded 

 with flower-buds than any of the others ; so that it is a question 

 if confining them to the orchard-house all the year round is the 

 best treatment for them after all. I intend shortly to place all 

 the trees outside, and plunge the pots over the rims in cocoa- 

 nut fibre refuse, in order that the house may be filled with 

 Chrysanthemums and other greenhouse plants. The practice of 

 moving the trees out of doors in winter is invariably followed 

 by Mr. John Fraser, of the Lea Bridge Road Nurseries, with 

 the best results, although I have no doubt that the fruit would 

 be earlier if the trees were kept iu a house from which frost 

 was excluded by artificial heat during the whole of the winter 

 season ; but if the house is not heated, then the later the trees 

 come into bloom in the spring, the less chance will there be of 

 the flowers being cut off by frosts. 



We had the first ripe fruit on Early York Peach this year on 

 the 10th of August, and I consider this the best early Pe.ach 

 we have ; if there are better I have not had the chance of 

 trying them. Early Victoria is not so good, and later. Early 

 Grosse Mignonne is a large fruit of excellent flavour, but it is 

 ten days later. The White Nectarine was the next to ripen, 

 on the 15th, followed by Acton Scot Peach on the 17th, Early 

 Victoria on the 19th, and Early Grosse Mignonne on the 20th. 

 On the 22nd we had Noblesse and Royal George Peaches ; 

 Bowden, Cricket, and Murrey Nectarines.- On the SOth the 

 last fruit of the Early York Peach was gathered, and the first 



Pied Magdalen Peach ; also Pitmaston Orange, Downton, ani 

 Elruge Nectarines. On the 29th Galande Peach was ripe ; on 

 the 30th, Hardwicke Nectarine ; on the 31st, Pine Apple Nec- 

 tarine and Kivers's Orange ; Bellegarde Peach came in and 

 finished, also Acton Scot Peach and Bowden Nectarine. 



On September 2nd Prince of Wales Nectarine came in ; and 

 on the 3rd we gathered Royal Charlotte, Violette Hative, and 

 Grosse Mignonne Peaches, and finished the last Noblesse 

 Peaches. On September 5th Victoria Nectarine came in, and 

 the fruit were well ripened without fire heat, being the best 

 flavoured Nectarines in the house, although some of them 

 cracked ; but I ought to say that Pitmaston Orange and Prince 

 of Wales Nectarines also cracked to as large an extent as the 

 Victoria. On the 10th we finished Pine Apple and Pitmaston 

 Orange Nectarines, and Teton de Venus Peach ; on the 11th we 

 had the first Prince of Wales Peach, and on the 13th Princess 

 of Wales Peach — this is rather earlier than the Walburton Ad- 

 mirable, and is one of the finest Peaches we have, being of ths 

 largest size and of excellent flavour. On the 24th we had tha 

 last of the Walburton and Late Admirable Peaches ; so that 

 we began to gather on the 10th of August, and finished (all 

 except Salway, which will probably ripen about the first week 

 in November), on the 24th of September. 



I have said nothing about Plums, Pears, and Grapes, which 

 are also grown in the house. The Vines are trained round the 

 pillars wliich support the roof. The sorts are Trentham Black 

 and Black Hamburgh. Trentham Black is earlier than tha 

 Hamburgh, but it is not such a good setter, and the berries are 

 more liable to crack and "damp off." All the bunches on the 

 Treuthara Black Vines were under 1 lb. in weight, while one 

 bunch of the Black Hamburgh weighed 1 )'.>. 15 ozs., and most 

 of the oihers were about the same size. The Vines are .all in 

 pots. The Trentham Black ripened in the first, and Black 

 Hamburgh in the second week in September. 



Mr. Pearson says in the Journal of October Brd that none 

 of the new varieties of Poaches are nearly so good as Grosse 

 Mignonne, Noblesse, and French Galande [a synonym of Bel- 

 legarde]. I advise him to give Princess of Wales a fair trial. 

 If I were to select six Peaches and six Nectarines, the sorts 

 would be — Peaches : Early York, Royal George, Teton de Venus, 

 Bellegarde, Princess of Wales, and Walburton Admirable. 

 Nectarines : Hunt's Tawny, because it is the earliest we have, 

 and hangs longer on the trees than any of the others ; but it 

 is only second or third-rate as regards flavour, and is more 

 liable to mildew than any of the others ;— Violette Hative, 

 Eivers's Orange, Pine Apple, Downton, and Eivers'a Victoria, 

 which is the latest. — J. Douglas. 



WINTERING TENDER PLANTS IN COLD PITS 

 AND FR.IMES. 



A CHAPTEH FOR AM.VTEUHS. 



In many cases cold pits and frames are all that can be com- 

 manded for wintering tender flower-garden plants. There is 

 sometimes an outhouse, sp.are room, or how-window that can be 

 used as an auxiliary to a pit or frame. With such convenience, 

 indift'ereut as it may be considered, and really is, it is astonish- 

 ing how much can be accomplished by judicious management 

 and earnestness of purpose. 



In the construction of cold pits to be used for wintering such 

 things as Pelargoniums, Verbenas, &c., the principal object to 

 be secured is dryness, because damp is a far greater enemy to 

 such jjlants, and one more difficult to combat, than frost. On 

 this account I have an objection to sinking below the ground- 

 level, unless the walls below ground be made'perfeotly water- 

 tight by cement, and the bottom should be as thoroughly drained 

 as possible. Indeed, it is a good plan either to pave or cement 

 the bottom of the frame or pit to prevent water rising by ca- 

 pillary attraction, in which case there must be holes for the 

 escape of all moisture that maycoUectinsida; and the foundation 

 of the inside sliould be of open ruljble, with a drain to take the 

 water away. Pits sunk a little into the ground and constructed 

 iu this way are warmer than when raised above the ground- 

 level ; but I would rather have all above the level, and con- 

 struct the w.all5 hollow, enclosing a stratum of air, which is the 

 best non-conductor. 



One of the principal points necessary to success in wintering 

 plants without the aid of fire heat, is that of preparing the 

 plants in autumn. I have already recommended for all cases 

 early and the coolest system of propagation, but this is most 

 ■especially ai^plicablo to the case of these who have no better 



