278 THE PEACH. 



at once perceived by examining the shoots of bearing trees 

 late in spring. 



When stocks are not budded till the second summer, it is 

 very important to cut them down the previous spring, and 

 suffer but one ascending sprout to grow, which will form a 

 fine thrifty shoot for the reception of the bud. 



In raising stocks, select the seed of hardy and late varie- 

 ties. The stones are not injured if kept dry in a cellar till 

 winter. If they become water-soaked for a length of time, 

 they are spoiled. But soaking in water for a day or two, 

 and subsequent exposure to freezing, facilitates the crack- 

 ing of the stone. One of the best modes of treatment is to 

 keep the stones in a moist cellar till near spring, then to 

 soak them in tubs or barrels, till the shells are well swollen 

 with moisture. They are then placed in thin layers on the 

 surface of the ground, and exposed for two or three weeks 

 to the action of the frost, being protected from drying by a 

 covering of soil, leaf-mould or muck. About the time the 

 frost disappears from the ground, they are taken up and 

 cracked by hand, placing the stone on the end of a wooden 

 block, and striking a gentle blow on the side edge with a 

 hammer. The kernels are thus taken out uninjured. They 

 are then planted one or two inches deep, (a. light thin soil 

 needing more depth than a heavy and moist one,) and if 

 they have been previously uninjured, nearly every one will 

 grow. Care is needed that the seeds do not become dried 

 nor mouldy before planting. 



When it is intended for them to come up evenly, as they 

 are to remain in the nursery row, the most certain way to 

 avoid vacancies or failures, is to sprout them before plant- 

 ing. This is effected by mixing the kernels with sand and 

 leaf-mould, and spreading them in a thin bed in the sun. 

 When sprouted, a line or cord, permanently marked at equal 

 distances of eight inches with a touch of paint, is stretched 

 on the ground, and a sprouted kernel carefully inserted at 

 every mark of the line, by means of a transplanting trowel. 

 This insures great regularity in the rows. Accidental va- 

 cancies may be filled from a seed bed when the plants are 

 not more than two inches high. To prevent drying, the 

 sprouted seeds should be kept covered with a flake of wet 

 moss or a wet cloth, until deposited in the ground ; and if 



