VILLA GARDENING 333 



CHAPTER IV 



The Early Peach - House. — When well grown and ripened 

 few things are superior to a good Peach, and Avith the aid of glass 

 it is not a difficult matter, to keep up a succession from May till 

 October. The old-fashioned lean-to is still the most useful form of 

 house for early forcing, as well as the most economical. A good- 

 sized house would be about 30 to 40 feet long, and from 16 to 

 18 feet wide; height of back wall about 15 feet, and height of 

 front to gutter 5 feet, the upper 3 feet of the front to be glass. 

 The ventilation must be ample, and should include openings near 

 the apex of the roof, and also near the ground line. It is very 

 desirable to secure plenty of openings for changing the air, even 

 though all may not be required except in very hot weather. Good 

 Peaches and Nectarines have been grown trained in various ways, 

 with the trellises ranged at different angles and at varying 

 distances from the glass. I had for a number of years the 

 management of a house where the trees in front were trained on a 

 flat trellis; they grew and bore well, and the trees on the 

 back wall had full light. If the trellis is fixed near the glass the 

 back wall is too much shaded for the trees to do well. To make 

 the best use of the early house the front trellis should be half 

 circular, and far enough from the glass and the back wall to permit 

 sufficient light to reach the back trees and flavom- and colom- the 

 fruit ; or else the trelhs should be fixed to the roof, and about a 

 foot from it, reaching through to the back wall, utilising it for the 

 growth of Oranges or Lemons, or something that will produce 

 flowers for cutting. One advantage of having a shorter trellis in 

 front and a set of trees on the back wall, is the greater variety 

 which may be planted. A Peach tree, where it does well, will 

 cover an immense surface, and bear many dozens of fruit ; but if the 

 family is small this is not an unmixed good. No one cares to have 

 twenty or thirty dozens of Peaches ripe at once. It is more useful 

 to have trees of smaller size, producing a greater variety of fruit of 

 a successional character. Of course the expedient of budding 

 several sorts on one tree may be adopted, but I still think it is 

 better to have them separate. Having decided how the trees are 

 to be trained and fixed to the trellis, the next business is to 

 prepare the border, which should consist of maiden loam from an 

 old pasture if possible. I know there is often a great difiiculty in 

 obtaining this. If it has to be purchased there may be some 

 excuse, as one may hesitate at the expense ; but if it can be had 



