68 THE FRUIT GROWERS GUIDE. 



should have clay marl mixed with it, and be made firm ; in fact, a soil too light for 

 peaches may be made suitable by no further trouble than ramming it hard, keeping it 

 moist by a covering of manure, and supplying potassic and phosphatic top-dressings. Stiff 

 clay is too stubborn, cold, and wet ; but take off the top spit more or less ameliorated 

 and lay it on one side, and then burn the next spit so that it crumbles, mix it with the 

 whole, and the result is 2 feet in thickness of the very best soil for peach and necta- 

 rine trees. 



Borders. Without a wall with a favourable aspect, proper and sufficient depth of soil, 

 and efficient drainage, peaches and nectarines cannot succeed in the open air generally. 

 It is usual to provide borders as wide as the height of the walls, because such borders 

 are useful for other crops, as well as the trees.- Nothing is worse than to attempt to 

 grow two crops and have neither good. Peach and nectarine trees, with their roots 

 running riot in heavily manured vegetable borders, cannot produce other than unhealthy 

 and fruitless growths. 



An excavation 3 feet deep, parallel with the wall and not more than half its height, is 

 ample. Place a 3-inch tile drain near the outside edge, but 6 inches lower than the bottom 

 0f the border, which should incline to the drain, this having a proper fall and outlet. 

 Concrete the bottom if the subsoil is unfavourable, but this is seldom necessary, and 

 cover the drain with clean rubble, level with the concrete. Place in 9 inches of rubble 

 about the size of half-bricks, then 3 inches the size of road metal, preferably of old brick 

 and mortar rubbish from a building, excluding pieces of wood and the finer particles by 

 sifting. The surface of the drainage should be as fine as a gravel path, and covered 

 with thin sods, to prevent its being choked with soil. 



Peach borders are often made too rich and deep. Substantial loam is the best 

 rooting medium, and 2 feet in depth ample. If the loam is considered too strong or 

 deficient in calcareous matter, sufficient opening material must be added to render it 

 porous. If the loam is deemed too sandy, supply enough marly clay, dried and pounded, 

 as will make it properly retentive. Aim at porosity with compactness, the former being- 

 essential for the percolation of water, the latter for the retention of food elements and 

 the division of the roots into numberless fibres. Charred rubbish or wood ashes, 

 and crushed bones are useful additions to compost for peach borders. 



The following formulae for the preparation of a suitable compost will be useful to 

 the inexperienced. 1. Yellow, hazel, or red loam, stiff and deficient in gravel or grit, 

 and calcareous matter, four parts ; burnt clay, one part ; old mortar and brick rubbish, 



