338 VILLA GAKDENING part iv 



or three days before they are quite ripe, and be placed in a cool 

 room to finish off. When gathering the fruit from the tree, place 

 the hand over the fruit so that the tips of the fingers clasp it at 

 the base, and bring a gentle pressure there to dislodge it from the 

 stalk. If a gentle pressure does not suttice, leave that particular 

 fruit a day longer. When the fruits are ripening they should be 

 looked over daily, and the ripest gathered. If they fall, even when 

 nets are placed to receive them, they often get injured. When 

 the fruits are all gathered throw the house open by the removal of 

 the lights if practicable — at any rate all the air possible should be 

 given to complete the ripening of the wood. At the same time 

 the syringe should be brought into requisition again to keep the 

 foliage clean and healthy as long as possible, in order that the 

 leaves may die off naturally, and not l)e forced off prematurely by 

 red-spider. 



Varieties kor Early Peach-House. — Hale's Early, a highly- 

 coloured and good-flavoured American variety, whose merits have 

 been well tested in this country ; Royal George, a good old forcing 

 kind ; Eariy York — this is also a good old sort ; Noblesse, a well- 

 known, pale-skinned Peach, of excellent flavoiu-. In order to give 

 variety and i)rolong the season it is often desirable to plant rather 

 late varieties in the early house. When none but early kinds are 

 planted there is a glut for a fortnight or so, and then a scarcity 

 till the next house comes in ; but with one or two trees of later 

 kinds planted, this difficulty will be removed. Prince of Wales 

 and Condor are two good varieties for planting in the early house 

 to prolong the season. There should also be a proportion of 

 Nectarines planted, though the tastes and Avishes of the proprietor 

 should be considered in this respect. Unless there should be some 

 reason to the contrary, a house containing six trees shouhl have two 

 of them Nectarines. Lord Napier, Pitmaston Orange, and the 

 Pine Apple are good Nectarines. The Elruge also forces well, and 

 is a free bearer, the tree possessing a hardy constitution. 



CHAPTER V 



The Late Peach -House. — As I shall have a chapter on the 

 Orchard-house, I reserve the cultm-e of Peaches in pots for con- 

 sideration under that head. The late Peach -house may have 

 various definitions, and include any kind of glass structure in which 

 Peaches can be grown. It may be heated or unheated, though it 

 is always advisable to have a couple of 4-inch pipes run through 

 the house, even if we do not require to use them, as they give a 



