266 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTDEE AND COTTAGE GAKDENER. 



I October 8, 18£8. 



Statement relative to the foliage of this Gesnera. The leaf 

 the; sent is most beautiful, and seems formed of thick crimson 

 purple Genoa velvet. — Eds.] 



PHYTOLACCA DECANDRA OUT OF DOORS. 



A PLANT of Phytolacca decandra has grown here (Usk, Mon- 

 moathshire), unsheltered, for several years. It regularly bears 

 its grape-like spikes, has luxuriant foliage, and attains a height 

 of 7 or 8 feet. Having lost one plant through the heavy rains 

 of winter causing it to rot, a little long litter was last year placed 

 over the crown when the stems died. The Phytolacca is ad- 

 mired by all who see it. A plant sent to a friend at Hamp- 

 stead, has done well there. It has survived two winters. — 

 H. W. E. 



PEACH CULTn'ATION.— No. 3. 



Tkainisg. — The best method of training the Peach tree is 

 in the fan form, but it requires care and knowledge, for without 

 these all the vigour of the tree will be expended on the upper 

 part, and the bottom will necessarily be weak. The grosvth, 

 too, is often very irregular from the branches being badly dis- 

 posed, and the means taken to promote an equal distri- 

 bution of the sap ; but notwithstanding these disadvan- 

 tages, I consider fan-training by far the best — indeed, 

 the only eligible mode of training Peach trees against 

 walls. Seymour's mode of training is by some pre- 

 ferred. I shall, therefore, treat of both methods. 



Fan-trainwg. — Having a maiden plant with a single shoot, 

 it should be cut to two buds, as close to each other as possible, 

 but not nearer the ground than 9 inches, nor farther from it 

 than 10 inches. The buds ought not to be on the front or at 

 the back of the shoot, but on opposite sides. This pruning 

 ought not to be performed later than February, and not when 

 the shoot is frozen. Any buds below the point of heading-over 

 need not be rubbed off until the two buds have pushed shoots 

 a few inches long ; then remove all buds and shoots except the 

 two referred to. 



The shoots, as they grow, should be brought down nearly to a 

 horizontal position, but with a slight incline upwards to the 

 length of 12 inches, and then taken in a curve upwards, in 



The intermediate shoots, stopped in the first instance at the 

 second joint, must, if they again push, have their points 

 pinched out when they have grown one joint beyond the point 

 where they were stopped, and afterwards keep them closely 

 pinchedin to one joint or leaf. 



In autumn the tree will have the appearance ol /i<r. 2, rj, ij, 

 being the shoots left at i\ inches distance on the branches c, d, 

 fig. 1 ; and on the under side of the branches, also between the 

 shoots on the upper surface, there will be short stubby shoots, 

 caused either by stopping or naturally produced, both calculated 

 to afford fruit the following season. The disposition of the 

 principal shoots is shown by /;, /(, and i, /, fig. 2 ; the lowest, 

 /i, /(, being trained with their points curving upwards, so as to 

 cause a more vigorous growth than if they were trained hori- 

 zontally. The shoots ;, ;, ought to be trained straight, and if 

 they grow more vigorously than the shoots h, h, either they 

 must be depressed, or h, h be trained more upright, so that the 

 latter may have, if anything, greater strength than t, ?. The 

 present year's growth must be shortened according to strength, 

 one-third if strong, one-half if moderately vigorous, and two' 

 thirds if weak. The bearing shoots, ;;, g, must not be pruned 

 at all, unless the laterals on them are of greater length than 

 2 inches, then shorten them to the last joint, or that next the 

 shoot ; and the short stubby shoots between the shoots .'/, g, and 



Fig. 1. 



order to encourage growth as much as possible, so that by the 

 end of summer the tree will have two 



vigorous shoots, as shown in ./if'- !•«■ 'j- lu , 

 autumn, or by February, these should be 

 cut back if strong to one-third of their 

 length, if moderately vigorous to one-half, 

 and if weak to two-thirds of their length. 

 Bring them down nearer the horizontal 

 line, but let the extremities still curve up- 

 wards, as shown by the dots c, d. fig. 1. 



In spring a number of shoots wUl push from the shoots for 

 branches we must now term them), c, d. Four of these are ot 

 ie retained as principal shoots — namely, one from the end of 

 each of the branches, c, d, and one on each of those branches, 

 as shown by the dotted lines, e,f, springing from the base of 

 the branches c, d. On the upper part of the branches c, d, at 

 every 9 inches a shoot is to be left, and not shortened until it 

 has grown 10 inches, then take out the points of such shoots, 

 but all others are to have the point pinched out at the second 

 leaf if they grow more than 1 inch ; but if they only produce 

 a bunch of closely set leaves, leave them entire. If any 

 laterals appear on the shoots on the branches c, d, stop them 

 at the first joint, and this repeatedly throughout the season. 



Fig. 2. 



on the under side of the branches, are not to be pruned oi 

 shortened unless they are longer than 2 inches, then cut them 

 back to the joint next the branch whence they arise. 



The branches and shoots are, after pruning, to be trained an 

 shown in fig. 3. The lowest branches are to be brought down 

 to the horizontal line, so far along it as the bar and figure 2, 

 which is at the end of the second cutting-back, and the shoot 

 (now headed and a branch), above it cught he exactly 1 foot 

 from the lowest branch — that is, at the point wnere tue figures 

 2 and 3 are situated. The distance from the sitm of the tree 

 to 2 should be 2 feet 6 inches, and the same length at 3. That 

 may seem a great length to compass in two seasons, but with 

 vigorous trees it often occurs. It is, however, immaterial 

 whether this length be made in one or two years, if the branches 

 originate at the proper place, and the bearing shoots along them 

 at the proper distances apart. 



In the third season shoots must be originated at all the points 

 on the main branches, whence the dotted lines (fiig. 3) proceed ; 

 but their treatment not difiteriug from that of those of the 

 preceding year, it is unnecessary to repeat it. I may, however, 

 explain that the dotted lines show shoots originated the third 

 season — namely, j, J, the third series of main branches ; k, U, 



Fig. 8. 



the continuation of the second series ; I. I, the continuation of 

 the first series ; and m, m. sub-branches on the first series 

 of branches, there being 2 feet (^ inches from their origin 

 to the stem, and 12 inches between the first and second series 

 of branches where these sub-branches, m, m, are produced. 

 The short dotted lines are the bearing wood. 

 The future years' training will he easily understood from 



