CHAPTER II. 



THE PLANTING AND MANAGEMENT OF PEACHES, PLUMS, ETC, 

 THE PEACH HOUSE. 



ALTHOUGH I beg to refer the reader to my ' Tree 

 Primer' 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. 



