PEACH AND NECTARINE 89 



and often become branched, but all subsidiary shoots must be 

 cut out so that only the original one remains. 



As the fresh shoots grow they must be loosely tied to the 

 trellis, to nails in the wall, or to older branches, purely as a 

 temporary measure to prevent their being broken in high winds 

 and to keep them straight, until they can be nailed to the wall 

 to replace those bearing fruit ; the latter will be cut out as 

 soon as the crop is gathered. 



Thinning the fruits needs attention, especially if the crop 

 is a heavy one. It should not be practised too early, for pro- 

 bably many of the small fruits will fall off in due course. Let 

 them be at least as large as Walnuts before the final thinning 

 is given. The fruits ought eventually to be left in such 

 numbers that there is about one to each square yard of wall 

 area. 



Watering is usually required during hot, dry weather, for 

 as the trees are planted against a wall the soil there does not 

 get the full benefit of rain that falls. Indeed, it often happens 

 that when the open part of the garden is quite moist the soil 

 at the foot of a wall is dry. Dryness at the root is often the 

 cause of the fruits falling off in large numbers ; it is also a con- 

 tributory cause to attacks of red spider and thrips, two minute 

 insect pests which do great damage to the foliage of the trees 

 and seriously weaken them. When the fruits are swelling, 

 watering once every ten days or so with diluted yard manure 

 does much good. It is equally important to see that the 

 trees do not suffer from lack of water in late summer and 

 autumn ; if this attention is neglected the buds may fall in 

 spring. 



To assist the fruits to ripen and to colour well it is a good 

 plan to press back or to take off a few of the leaves that shade 

 them. Peaches and Nectarines require to be gathered very 

 carefully ; if they are squeezed or roughly handled a bruise 

 will soon show and decay will set in. 



Good Varieties. A few of the best varieties for amateurs 

 are : Stirling Castle, Royal George, and Violette Hitive. Good 

 Nectarines are Early Rivers, Elruge, and Pineapple. 



Peach and Nectarine Under Glass. The preparation of 

 the border is of great importance ; it should be made in the 

 same way as is detailed in the chapter dealing with the Vine. 

 Care must be taken to make the soil thoroughly firm round 



