CHAPTER II. 
THE PLANTING AND MANAGEMENT OF PEACHES, PLUMS, ETC. 
THE PEACH HOUSE. 
ALTHOUGH I beg to refer the reader to my ‘Tree 
Pruner’ for full particulars of their pruning and 
training, yet I feel bound to give some directions in 
this work as to when and how to plant Peaches and 
Plums, just as a sort of ready reference. 
The best time to plant these trees is, no doubt, from 
the middle or end of October, or the beginning of 
November, and to prune them during February and 
March, for open walls; but for houses the pruning 
should be done much sooner. In planting Peaches and 
Plums a full south border should be selected; the soil 
should consist of a somewhat sandy loam with chalk 
and some gravel in it; this is necessary for all stone 
fruits, but especially for Plums and Cherries. A soil 
that is totally deficient of any of these is scarcely fit 
for growing any sort of stone fruit. If the natural 
state of the land is lacking in any of these ingredients, 
and the subsoil is a cold clay, one of two things must 
be done, namely, either the border on which the trees 
grow, and for five or six feet direct from the wall, must 
be made as described, and raised fully one foot above 
the common level of the place, or the growing of 
Peaches, Plums, and Cherries must be abandoned. 
