December 9, 1876. ) 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



S09 



from tha Orleans Bome forty-five years ago by Mr. Chapman, 

 a market gardener of Syon near Brentford, and on account of 

 its bearing qualitiea it has in the interval become very widely 

 distribated amongst the market-gardening community. The 

 frait is rather above the medium size and of roundish form 

 inclining to oval, and having a distinct suture. The skin is a 

 bright reddish purple or purplish pink dotted with yellow dots 

 and covered thickly with an azure bloom, which produces a 

 tint very dilBcult to reproduce in artiUcial colours, and of 

 which our figure perhaps shows too little of the bloom. The 

 tlesh is rather coarse-grained, separating freely from the stone, 

 yellowish in colour, with a sweet juice and brisk flavour. The 

 fruit ripens at the end of August or the early part of Sep- 

 tember. The Princa of Wales is one of the best culinary 

 Plums grown, and is besides regarded by Dr. Hogg as a 

 second-rate dessert variety. Thompson says it may be used 

 like the Orleans both for dessert and kitchen purposes. The 

 tree is of vigorous growth ; the young shoots long and 

 covered with a smooth bark, in which respect it differs from 

 the Orleans ; and the leaves are oval with a crenated margin 

 and smooth upper surface. 



" The tree is very hardy in character and a most profuse 

 bearer even while young, which is perhaps partly owing to 

 the large foliage acting as a protection to the blossoms. The 

 fruit usually hangs thickly all up the branches, which at an 

 early age are well furnished with fruit-bearing spurs. Of late 

 years the trees in the market gardens about Loudon have 

 suffered nonsiderably from the dying-off of large branches, 

 but the cause of this malady has not been ascertained. It 

 may possibly be due to exhaustion owing to the excessive 

 crops it produces." — [Florist and Pomologist, 3 a. viii., 253.) 



PEACH FORCING.— No. 5. 



Fertilising the Blossom. — Shortly after the flowers are 

 fully expanded the anthers will be carrying ripe yellow pollen, 

 and the stigmas will be viscid. It is necessary that the pollen 

 come in contact with the stigma of each flower, and its effect 

 be complete upon the ovary. This primary cause of the fruit 

 arriving at maturity is of paramount importance, for unless 

 the seed be formed, and not only formed but perfected, it will 

 not in the case of a Peach or Nectarine ripen; and though we 

 may not ascertain how many pollen grains are needful for im- 

 pregnating, we do know that by some agency or other the 

 pollen must be made to act upon the stigma. Naturally insects, 

 those with nectar-sipping pollen-gathering proclivities, the dis- 

 turbance of the atmosphere by the wind, oven gentle rains or 

 dew, may aud naturally do cause the distribution of the pollen, 

 some of which perforce must be disposed upon the stigmas, 

 and fecundation thereby be effected. 



Natural agents, however, but little avail the Peach-forcer. 

 Insects are drowsy in winter, and a hive of beea in a Peach 

 house, valuable as the bees may be in February and onward, 

 are little good in December or January, whilst light syringing 

 converts the pollen into paste and destroys the viscidity of 

 the stigmas. Lightly aud sharply tapping the branches with 

 the hand (tor a stick bruises, whilst the hand does not), the 

 treUis or stems of the trees will cause the pollen to be cast as 

 so much golden dust, and this practised every day after the 

 pollen is yellow until the petals drop in the middle of the fore- 

 noon, or after air has been admitted, will in most instances be 

 effective. Instances, however, of non-setting occur after re- 

 course has been had to the distribution of the pollen by the 

 shaking process, which may arise from the flower, though 

 perfect in every other manner, being defective in the anthers — 

 sterile of pollen. It is difficult to account for a deficiency of 

 the pollen substance, but I have noticed the deficiency to pre- 

 vail most in those kinds having large flowers, as Early York, 

 Early Grosse Mignonne, Grosse Mignonne, Noblesse, Early 

 Alfred, Early Rivers, itc, whilst those with small flowers, as 

 Royal George, Bellegarde, Violet Hdtive, Early Louise, Elruge, 

 and Violet Hdtive Nectarine, are very productive of impreg- 

 nating matter. It is well to note carefully the trees at the 

 time of blossoming, and any defective in quality of pollen may 

 be fertilised with the superabundancy collected from other 

 trees. 



The best aids to impregnation are a clear sky, a dry atmo- 

 sphere, and a light breeze as will be generated by free air- 

 giving consequent upon the sun's heat expanding the mercury, 

 and this with lightly shaking the trees already mentioned is 

 often sufficient (care being taken to prevent, by a Uttle air left 

 on at night, the atmosphere from becoming close and stagnant) 



to secure a good set. The chances of having bright weather 

 at the time of the blossoming are about evenly balanced, and 

 should the weather be dull and wet or foggy, the necessity for 

 artificial impregnation may arise, and in case of a deficiency of 

 pollen is absolutely necessary. So convinced am I of its utility, 

 that I always resort to the disposition of the pollen by a 

 oamel's-hair brush. It is best done with a rather loose and 

 spreading one than one with the hair closely set, and bringing 

 the brush crosswise the anthers the act of disturbing them will 

 cause the pollen to be dispersed, some of which will bo caught 

 by the brush soon becoming coated beyond its power of re- 

 tention with the golden dust, and as we draw the brush across 

 the anthers the stigmas must hold some of the pollen. 



The blossoms do not all attain full expansion at once, aud 

 the fitness for impregnation varies in different individuals; 

 therefore, the trees should be gone over frequently, and only 

 those having ripe poUen should have the brush drawn across 

 them. Any trees with deficient pollen may be gone over with 

 the brush after using it upon those with abundance of pollen, 

 and whilst those are being done a sheet of white paper held in 

 the left hand whilst the brush is employed with the right, and 

 beneath where operating enough pollen will fall from a treo 

 well furnished therewith sufficient to impregnate the trees de- 

 ficient thereof. To go over the trees every other day whilst in 

 blossom is not a very serious affair, and may make all the 

 difference in the crop. Care should be exercised in the appli- 

 cation of the bruah, fur if used roughly and heavily the style 

 of the pistil may be injured or the viscidity of the stigma re- 

 moved ; but done with a light hand and at the right time it is 

 desirable, it is certain to be beneficial, and is a process which 

 I should not feel easy in omitting when the trees are in 

 blossom at tha dullest period of the year. In the fertilisation 

 of the blossom notice will be made of some with two pistils, 

 notably Noblesse, Grosse Mignonne, Early York, and the 

 Peaches and Nectarines with large flowers, and these give 

 twin fruit, not one in twenty of which do other than fall alter 

 setting, rarely passing stoning. They should be removed, and 

 this may as well be done at blossoming as any other time. 



The adventitious or twice-flowering or more of some fruits 

 has been noted, but I do not remember the Peach and Nec- 

 tarine being included. About four years ago an Early Y'ork 

 had several blossoms late in September, and set the fruit well, 

 swelling to about the sizo of Peas, and again this year a Nec- 

 tarine we had for Elruge, but it is the Roman, of which Par- 

 kinson wrote in 1029, " It has a large or groat purplish blossom 

 like unto a Peach ; " and Dr. Hogg says, " la one of the oldest 

 if not the oldest Nectarine in cultivation," which had in the 

 middle of November a fruit the size of a pea. This adventitious 

 flowering I have found when prevaihng to only a small extent 

 a good augury of future prospects. 



I will now allude to the advancement by stages of the fruit 

 of the Peach and Nectarine. Tha first stage is that immedi- 

 ately following setting. Many fruit after setting swell to the 

 Diza of peas and become stationary, swelling very little for 

 near a fortnight; some fruits swell rapidly, aud with others 

 the footstalk shrivels and the fruit falls. If cut through these 

 fruits are found to be imperfect. I was under the impression 

 that this dropping of the young fruit was duo to over-sotting — 

 too many fruit for the trees to support ; but acting upon it 

 by reducing the fruit after setting convinced me of my error, 

 for some fell just the same, whilst others swelled. Inspection 

 of tha flowers prior to impregnation led to its being attributed 

 to the defectiveness of the female organ on the one hand 

 and of the inertness of the pollen on the other, but in most 

 instances the former. I allude to this because it has been 

 advised in cases of a prepoaderauce of flowers to thin them, 

 resolving itself into a question of which may and which flowers 

 may not be removed. It is easy in tho case of Apple, Pear, 

 Plum, Cherry, to tell the flowera by their want ot ovary aud 

 smallness as non-setters, and the large blossoms, with largo 

 ovaries and stouter footstalks, as the setters ; but in the nato 

 of the Peach and Nectarine the large flower showing the ovary 

 very clearly at the base set only to drop when tho size of a 

 pea ; whilst the medium-sized flower upon weaker wood, with 

 the ovary prominent, sete and retains its hold with a tenacity 

 exceeding that of tha larger flowers on strong wood, whilst 

 small flowers with no apparent nectary almost invariably drop 

 with the petals. It is clear that the flowers to be thiuned are 

 the weakest, but in what way their removal can contribute to 

 the setting of those retained is, to say the least, (juestionable 

 and uncertain. The only good I think that a removal of super- 

 fluity of blossom can effect is the diversion of matter from 



