270 VILLA CtARDEXIXG taet III 



frixit, is it not more protitable to have that ^yeight in a smaller 

 numl3er than in a large one '? It will be seen from what I have 

 written that no rule can, or should be, laid down. The load must 

 be proportionate to the strength of the tree and the amount of 

 assistance which can be given it. The best form for that assist- 

 ance to assume is in 



Mulching and Watering. — The mulch should consist of 

 half-decayed manure, be allowed to cover a large portion of 

 the space occupied by the roots, and placed on 3 inches thick. 

 The keystone of the culture of stone fruits (and for that matter 

 all other fruits) is in enticing the roots to come up near the 

 surface, and by judicious feeding to keep them there. It is 

 only in this way that thick, strong, dark -green foliage, capable 

 of nourishing stout, plump, fertile buds, can be had, and then 

 there will be but little superfluous growth, as all the wood 

 made Avill be full of blossom buds, and any tree which carries its 

 rightful load of fruit does not get out of hand and run wild. The 

 mulching should not be put on before it is needed, as we do not 

 want to keep out the sun's warmth and the warm au- till the 

 weather becomes settled, say in Jmie. The beginning of the 

 month will be the time in the average of seasons, and it should be 

 removed again as soon as the fruits are ripe, so as, by the end 

 of August, to let in the sunshine to warm the roots, which will 

 have a maturing influence upon the buds and foliage. 



Winter Pruning. — This shoidd be delayed in the case of the 

 Apricot and Peach till the sap is on the move, to show where the 

 blossom buds are ; and in the pruning operations the crop can, as 

 far as possible, be left in a position to receive all the shelter from 

 the wall Avhich it is capable of giving. In training the branches 

 great care shoidd be taken that no injury is done to the bark, to 

 lay the foimdation for canker and gumming. The ties and shreds 

 should be loosely arranged, to leave room for the branches to swell. 

 Young hands very often, for want of thinking, make mistakes that 

 produce serious mischief. Apricots, if well attended to in summer, 

 do not need much winter pruning; in fact the less the knife 

 is used at that season the better. As regards aspect, they 

 succeed very well on east or west walls in the Southern coimties, 

 and also in the Midlands ; but in the North they should be planted 

 on the south wall, to ensm-e the wood being well ripened in 

 autumn. 



Protecting the Blossoms. — Apricots flower earlier than 

 other fruits, and the blossoms are very tender — more so than the 

 Peach. No one who wishes to secure a crop (and I suppose all 

 wish that) will leave the trees exposed. I have tried a good many 



