332 



JOURNAL OP HORTIODLTUBB AND COTTAGE GARDENEH. 



( AprU 29, 1875. 



they are not injured, and there is every prospect of an abundant 

 crop of fruit. — G. E. Allis. 



PEACH FORCING.— No. 3. 



Planting. — It has already been stated that the trees for 

 house planting ought to be of fruiting size, and planted in 

 their stations as early in autumn as the state of the growth 

 permits, which ia when the leaves begin to fall. If a few 

 leaves remain at planting there is no harm, if the wood be ripe 

 and the buds prominent. As the trees, however, will not be 

 available for early forcing the first season there ia no need to 

 be in a hurry in planting, the leaves may be all fallen, though 

 when moved with a few leaves there is a prospect of adven- 

 titious roots being formed by the descending current of sap, 

 which gives an advantage to sach trees over those moved in 

 a decidedly dormant state. In planting, allowance must be 

 made for the lowering of the soil, which will settle to a greater 

 or lesser extent according to the lightness or firmness of its 

 nature ; even if the border be made as hard aa possible it will 

 sink, and this I have known to vary from G to 9 inches. In any 

 ease the trees should be planted high — at least G inches above 

 the present level, the seUiug-on of the roots being that height 

 above the level of the border, which will be equal to planting 

 the trees on a slight mound ; and this ought to be continued 

 some distance outwards from the stem, so that the mound 

 wUl scarcely be apparent. This may seem a small matter, 

 and yet it ia one which unattended to renders surface-dress- 

 ings impracticable, as these only sink the stems lower in the 

 soil when the trees are planted with the setting-on of the roots 

 level with the border ; and yet surface-dressings are very im- 

 portant, and equally so is the keeping of the stem of the trees 

 from being buried deeper than they were at planting. The 

 burying of the stem is preventive of successful culture and 

 healthy trees, as a multitude of suckers are sent up from the 

 roots, and the growths of trees become weak and die back. 

 Avoid deep planting and low planting, and spread out the roots 

 near the surface, and make the soil firm about them. It is 

 useless to rectify any evils of planting in after years. Forced 

 Peaches do not lift as readily as outdoor trees, and require no 

 check after they are once forced, but rather need encourage- 

 ment by judiciously applied artificial stimulants and support. 



In planting, the space to be allotted to each tree will neces- 

 sarily have to be considered. It is remarkable what a large apace 

 a Peach tree will cover, but then some time must elapse before 

 it does so. I am not an advocate of monster trees, though 

 where they exist by all means retain them, but do not plant 

 with a view to them, unless prepared to have lost space for a 

 number of years. Moderate-sized trees are in every way aa 

 good as large ones, and there is an advantage in the allotted 

 space being covered in a shorter time. The width of the trellis 

 will have much to do with the distance of the trees ; 15 feet 

 apart is ample for a trellis 12 feet in width, 18 feet for a 

 10-feet trellis, and 3 feet increased distance for every 18 inches 

 decrease in width of trellia. Those are the distances I con- 

 sider most desirable, but as the trees have in their horizontal 

 parts — the lower parts of the trellia — a tendency to grow leas and 

 weakly, I do not advise increasing the distance, as that would 

 be to extend the horizontal surface, but on the other hand I 

 would lessen it if any departure were made from the distance 

 named. 



After planting, the trees should be thoroughly watered, and 

 during the period of rest the border should bo kept in a moist 

 condition. It is a mistake to think trees in a dormant state 

 require a " dry as dust " state of the soil ; nothing of the kind 

 have they in nature, and in practice it is undesirable, aa it often 

 causes the buds to be cast when they are expected to expand 

 into flower. Not that the soil requires to be saturated to 

 soddenness, but to be kept in a moist state, and this will be 

 the case if the lights are removed when the trees are at rest, 

 or the borders partly within and partly outside. If entirely 

 within they should be occasionally examined, and watered. 



Preparing fob Forcing. — When the leaves have all fallen 

 the trees should be loosened from the trellis, the woodwork be 

 thoroughly cleansed with soap and water, and the glass with 

 water only. If the house requirea painting it ought to be done 

 as well, or any required repairs, the structure being thoroughly 

 scrutinised and be put into good order. The trees will next 

 require to be pruned, and this done they should have every 

 part dressed with tobacco juice, adding to every gallon 1 lb. of 

 soft soap. This will destroy the red spider and the brown or 

 Peach aphis, which is troublesome upon the wood of Peach 



trees in a dormant state and in the early stages of growth. 

 The brown scale is not an unfrequent infeator of Peach trees 

 under glass. It may be destroyed by adding to the above ad- 

 mixture of soft soap and tobacco juice two wineglassfuls of 

 spirita of turpentine. In either caae the composition is best 

 applied at a temperature of between 00' and V20', and to be 

 effectual it requirea to be thoroughly applied, not putting it 

 on the face of the branches and shoots only, but on the back 

 as well as the front, every part being thoroughly wetted, angles 

 as well as smooth parts, but at the same time being careful 

 not to dislocate or injure the buds by too heavy brushing, and 

 especially in a downward direction. A stiff brush ia not suit- 

 able, but what would be considered a good tool by a painter 

 answers perfectly. 



Tying of the trees will need to be done neatly, and loosely 

 rather than tight, and the matting twisted once round the wire, 

 which will not allow of the shoot being displaced, and at the 

 same time will keep the wood from coming in contact with the 

 wire. The border if it have a hard caked surface should be 

 loosened very lightly with a fork, not disturbing any roots. 

 See that the soil is closed to the walls, the front wall being 

 arched make the soil close up to their crown, and have all 

 fine on the surface. Top- dress with 2 inches thickness of 

 equal parts turfy loam and short manure, completing, if the 

 lights are not to be removed, with a thorough watering to the 

 inside border, which wUl be sufficient to keep the trees in a 

 moist state at the roots until forcing is commenced; if the 

 lights are removed the watering will be unnecessary, and yet 

 any parts not likely to be reached by rains should be thoroughly 

 watered. — G. Aebby. 



PRIMULA ACAULIS AND ITS VARIETIES. 



Why people do not take the trouble (for it consists in 

 nothing else) of obtaining the beautiful varieties of this plant 

 I cannot understand. Surely Primula japonica and P. cortu- 

 soides amcena, to say nothing of P. denticulata, P. vertioillata, 

 &a., undeservedly in comparison have so much more care 

 bestowed on them, in consequence, I presume, of their greater 

 scarceness and novelty, and also, perhaps, because of the 

 labyrinth of rubbish in which the beautiful kinds of Primula 

 acaulis are unfortunately involved, due to the extravagant 

 amount of tinta to which the flower ia subject by seed. All 

 blossoms with washy and indistinct colours should be at once 

 discardffd, and those with decided, and more especially clear 

 and bright shades, should separately be selected, and having 

 been propagated in sufficient quantity for massing they would 

 display their beauty to advantage, varying in shades of crim- 

 son, yellow, purple and white. Thus, what a choice the single 

 and exquisite double-flowering Primula acaulia offers ua. The 

 latter more intrinsically beautiful, but wanting, for the moat 

 part, greater nicety of treatment, whilst the former positively 

 require little or no attention, and yield a greater diversity of 

 hue, affording also a wider interest by increasing themselves 

 from seed, and thus more perfect varieties still may be rightly 

 expected. 



A bed of nearly three hundred plants of Primula acaulis pur- 

 purea in my garden has been a mass of colour since the end of 

 February. What an effect could be produced by other beds 

 massed in the same way with other distinct shades. 



The common yellow Primrose varying in its wild state but 

 little in colour, may often be found differing in form, some 

 having more, some less, lobes to the corolla, the edge of which 

 may bo either notched or smooth, occasionally forming an 

 almost unbroken circle, which strain is much to be desired. In 

 this case the lobes partly overlap each other, giving apparently 

 more substance to the flower. 



As a pot plant for the greenhouse (for which purpose I 

 think it is as well taken from the open border when required 

 with a tolerable amount of earth clinging to_ its roots), it 

 blooms without artificial heat some weeks earlier than when 

 unprotected. I think nothing can be more attractive. Whilst 

 out of doors, whether under the shade of trees or in the open 

 ground, it lit rally hides its foliage with bloaso-cs, forming as 

 it were a cushion of nearly every shade of colour. 



Primula elatior is so nearly allied to Primula acaulis that 

 I have known their seedlings sometimes partake of both forms. 

 The Oxlip in its natural state I can vouch for as growing in 

 many a Suffolk wood, and produces somewhat the effect of a 

 cluster of Primroses issuing from a Cowslip stalk. 



The Polyanthus, more especially valued for its beautiful 

 lacings and minute pencilUngs, will always claim its special 



