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JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB. I September 17, 1868. 



ground becomes dry tread it firm, and give a top-dressing of 

 cow dang or littery stable manure to the depth of 2 inches, and 

 do not crop the border, but keep the surface firm, and enriched 

 with good Burface-dresiings of rich compost. Turf taken from 

 a pasture where the soil is a good loam, laid up for six months 

 in alternate layers with cow dung, will form an excellent top- 

 dressing. The deficiency of light soils in respect to openness 

 and dryness must be counteracted by rendering them more 

 firm, and affording top-dressings of cool composts retentive of 

 moisture. 



If the soil is naturally a good, friable, yellow or hazel loam, 

 all that will bo required v;ill be to drain it effectually, trench it 

 to the depth of 2^ or 3 feet, and work in a liberal quantity of 

 manure, 3 or -t inches in thickness being a good dressing. 

 Almost any good fresh soil will grow the Peach, but soils that 

 are from long cropping worn out, by adding fresh soil, turn- 

 ing the top soil to the bottom of the trenches, and bringing the 

 bottom to the top, may often be made as suitable as they were 

 before unsuitable, and the trees will become as vigorous as they 

 were dwindling when the exhausted black soil was at top. Old 

 borders long occupied by Peach trees are not suitable for plant- 

 ing fresh trees. The soil must be changed, or a considerable 

 quantity of fresh soil should be added, and the greater part of 

 such fresh soil ought to be turfy loam. 



If the soil is wholly unsuitable — a stiff clay, or a poor, sandy 

 gravelly soil — and excellent crops and well-covered walls are 

 wanted, a good border must be made. The soil ought to be 

 taken out to a depth of 3 feet next the walk, and 2 feet close to 

 the wall, which should go as deep as the border. The border 

 will slope to the front, and there should be a drain about a 

 yard from the edge of the walk. If the subsoil is a stiff clay, or 

 cold and wet, it would be advantageous to concrete the bottom 

 with fine gravel and lime, two parts gravel and one part lime, 

 brought to the consistency of mortar, putting on a3ineh layer, 

 and then ramming firm, then an inch layer, which need not 

 be beaten, but which when it hardens must be rolled firm and 

 left to dry. If it then crack run it with Portland cement, and 

 make it emooth. Not a root will pass through this ; it will | 

 keep out the roots of trees growing near which notunfrequently ' 

 pass under walls, andencroach on their neighbour's domain. Six i 

 inches of rough gravel, stones, or brickbats, may be placed on 

 the concrete, and then a layer of turf, grass side downwards. 

 For the border 2 feet G inches of soil may be put in, consisting 

 of the top 3 inches of pasture where the soil is a good yellow 

 loam, neither light nor heavy, and it need not be chopped fine, 

 bat nsed roughly, adding to every ten loads a load of marl or 

 chalk in pieces from the size of a walnut to that of a hen's ! 

 egg> and a load of cow dung or rotten farmyard manure, adding 

 as many bushels of half-inch bones as there are loads of loam, 

 and well mixing and incorporating the whole. The border 

 should be made at least inches higher than the intended 

 depth, and should elope from the wall to the front or walk; 

 an incline of 1 foot in 12 will be sufficient. The surface 

 ought to have a covering of 3 inches in thickness of the loamy 

 soil without turf. This border will be quite rich enough anil 

 very durable. 



The width of the border shotild equal the height of the wall, 

 which may be of any height between 7 feet and 12 feet ; but in 

 the case of an artificial border being formed, part may be made 

 at first not less than 6 feet wide, and then increase the width in a 

 corresponding degree to the advance of the roots. Borders, 

 especially Peach borders, are so valuable for early crops, that 

 they rarely escape the ruinous practice of cropping with veget- 

 ables. In that case they ought to be wider than when they are 

 not cropped, as the upper part of the border is of very little 

 value to the roots, from the digging or disturbing of the surface. 

 The border, therefore, may be 15 feet or 18 feet in width, ac- 

 cording to the extent of the garden. It would be well, however, 

 in all cases to have a border of proper extent solely devoted to 

 tlie trees, and in no case to crop it or digit ; but if this cropping 

 cannot bo avoided, it vrill be well once the system of cropping 

 is begun to continue it, for the alternate digging and cropping, 

 and then not digging tor an equal length of time, are injurious. 

 I have seen splendid trees where the border was annually 

 cropped ; but I have also seen the same border go without a 

 crop two or three years with evident improvement in the crop 

 of Peaches, and on a return to cropping the border the trees, 

 from the loss of roots consequent on the digging, received a 

 check they did not recover for three years. 



P1.ANTISG. — The height of the wall, and mode of training will 

 determine the distance between the trees. Against a 12-feet 

 wall the trees should be 18 feet apart ; on a 10-feet wall, 21 feet ; I 



and on an 8-feet wall, 21 feet apart, if fan training, which is 

 the best for the Peach in this country, is practised. The best 

 time to plant is autumn, as soon as the leaves have fallen, or 

 are falling. In selecting the trees, give preference to those 

 which are healthy and moderately vigorous, and that have 

 side shoots of corresponding vigour. See that they have no 

 strong leading shoot or shoots, for if their upper shoots are 

 more vigorous than the lower ones, no one can make good 

 trees of them ; and see that there is no appearance of gum. 

 Avoid the vigorous plants, they never have good roots, and are 

 sure to disappoint by their growth after planting. Do not be 

 afraid of making too large a hole at planting, but let it be wide 

 enough to admit of the roots being laid out straight. The hole 

 ought not to be deep, at least the tree should not have its roots 

 more deeply covered than 3 or 4 inches, and it would be well 

 to place a few inches of rich soil under and over the roots. 

 The stem should be kept 4 inches from the wall, the head 

 slightly inclining towards it, and the root portion of the stem 

 inclining from the wall. The ground should be mulched with 

 littery manure as far as the roots extend, and beyond their 

 extremities. The shoots ought to be loosely nailed to the wall. 

 The trees should have clear, straight stems ; the first pair of 

 branches about 9 or 10 inches above the surface, but this 

 stem ought not be a portion of the Plum or other stock, but 

 that of the Peach worked on it. 1 can perceive neither benefit 

 nor ornament in the Plum stock being seen above ground. As 

 it does not increase in thickness in proportion to the Peach, it 

 is quite as well to have the Plum stock budded so low that its 

 stem may safely be buried, and the ugly swelling formed at the 

 point of union will then have the appearance of being the 

 stem. — G. Abbey. 



JERSEY FRAGMENTS. 



A LITTLE girl, after reading the epitaphs in a country church- 

 yard, all extolling the excellencies of those they commemorated, 

 asked very naturally, " Where are the bad people buried ?" 

 And I had often considered mentally, until I voyaged the other 

 day to Jersey, where disagreeable people go in their periods of 

 holiday. I now think tlaat they are to be found on board 

 steamers at pitch-and-heave times in the British Channel. 

 However, those who are then disagreeable improve wonderfully 

 soon after they get on shore ; and I think all must, for even 

 the most disagreeable man ou board the " Cygnus " steamer 

 was actually sprightlj- so soon as he re.iched the Imperial Hotel 

 at St. Helier's. I would not mind being sea-sick, which I never 

 am, and I should cease from being ill-tempered, but I never 

 am, to be at a hostelry so excellent as the Imperial. It is a 

 palace, and has befitting gardens with long shady walks, and a 

 Mulberry tree loaded with fruit. Think of that, ye who, like 

 Sbakespere, love Mulberries so well that you plant Mulberry 

 trees without even a hope to live to partake of their fruit. 



Then the Fig trees — these you see all over the island — 

 20-feet-high standards, and branches extending as far, so that 

 people literally realise the blessing of " sitting under " their 

 own Fig trees. 



I shall say nothing about the island's Pear trees, because 

 every one has heard of its Chaumontels, though every one 

 does not know that if he asks a friend to send him some he 

 asks for a present that makes his friend come down handsomely 

 — that is, if his friend does what he is asked to do. A Pear 

 weighing 12 ozs. costs about 9(1, and one weighing 1 lb. about 

 Is. CmI. But I will say something about the island's Apple 

 trees, for these are not talked about so much as they deserve. 



I know of no space of similar extent that contains so many 

 Apple trees as Jersey. You may travel far through an almost 

 unbroken series of orchards. In 18C(J were exported from the 

 island 170,687 bushels of Apples, and this year the crop is 

 abundant, and the exportation probably will be larger. Last 

 year the crop was light, yet 7.5,275 bushels were exported. 

 "Notwithstanding those exports there were also exported in 1866 

 of cider 33,995 imperial gallons, and 36,662 in 1867. How 

 many more bushels of Apples were required to produce that 

 eider others are better judges than I am. 



Of other fruits of all kinds, 15,589 bushels were exported in 

 1866, and 19,876 in 1867. 



Of Potatoes, 4080 tons were exported in 1866, and 6251 tons 

 in 1867. This year the crop is above an average, and quite 

 free from disease. 



The Parsnip crop this year is an average, for though the 

 roots are rather smaller than usual, they are of superior sweet- 

 ness, and the crop of Parsnip seed both here and in Guernsey 



