THE PEACH AND THE NECTARINE ] 317 



temperature which may interfere with fertilization, or 

 to a too dry condition of the soil and subsoil owing to 

 shortage of rain. To obviate partly to this irregularity 

 of production, it is advisable to plant two or three sorts 

 of peaches or nectarines in alternate lines in order to 

 promote the fertilization of the flowers by cross-polli- 

 nation. 



PROPAGATION. The peach is propagated by seed 

 and by budding or grafting on its own seedlings, on the 

 almond and on the wild or half wild plums. 



The stones of the peach or of the nectarine intended 

 for sowing may be stratified, or rather put up in layers 

 with ordinary garden soil or leaf-mould, in pots or boxes. 

 They are sown in November- January at a depth of about 

 5 c. m., and may be sown in the place where they are to 

 remain, or in beds or large pots or pans where they can 

 be tended more carefully. It is a good plan to sow them 

 in small pots, putting one or two stones in each pot, and 

 then leaving only one plant if both stones germinate, as 

 this method will permit the young plant to be transferred 

 to the ground in the following winter simply by opening 

 a little the ball of roots, without much loss of rootlets. 

 Germination takes place in March or April. The seed- 

 lings are trained on one stem until they reach the height 

 of at least 50 c. m. before being allowed to ramify. 

 Seedlings grown in a bed may be left there for two years, 

 as generally they will be too weak in the first winter; but 

 those grown together in pots or pans must be potted off 

 singly in the first winter before their roots become pot- 

 bound, as then it will be difficult to extricate them without 

 much injury. By the following winter most of the seed- 

 lings which have been potted off separately will be 

 sufficiently strong to be planted out or may be shifted 

 into larger pots to become stronger if desired. 



If the seedlings are allowed to fruit they are found 

 generally to vary more or less from the type, and may 

 turn out good or improved forms deserving propagation 



