1264 



FORCING 



FORCING 



gathered. The object of this is to improve the flavor 

 of the fruit. 



One should not think that after gathering the fruit 

 the house needs little or no attention. The temperature 

 will not need close watching, but the fruit-buds have 

 to form and develop, and good attention to watering 

 and spraying the foliage is a wise step toward success 

 for the following season. Cut away any useless wood 

 after the crop of fruit has been picked, thus allowing the 

 remainder of the wood to become well ripened. Well- 

 ripened wood will withstand any reasonable amount 

 of frost during the dormant state, and fruit-buds will 

 respond when called upon with 

 abundance of healthy strong blos- 

 soms. Winter-pruning may be 

 done any time after the trees have 

 cast their foliage. This means 

 removing any weak growths, 

 shortening back extremely strong 

 growth and training the young 

 wood so that it will spread over 

 the space about 5 inches apart. 



Varieties. 



For forcing there are many 

 varieties to choose from. The 

 peach crop may be extended at 

 least seven weeks for one house, 

 but if the compartments are at 

 command a season of five months 

 or more may be had by planting 

 early, midseason and late varie- 

 ties. The following varieties may 

 be relied upon for early, mid- 

 season and late: 



Early forcing peaches. Duch- 

 ess of Cornwall, Duke of York, 

 Peregrine. . 



Early forcing nectarines. 

 Cardinal, Early Rivers, Advance, 

 Lord Napier. 



Midseason peaches . P e r e- 

 grine (Alexander, Noblesse), 

 Bellegarde, Grosse Mignonne. 



Midseason nectarines. Stan- 

 wick - Elruge, Rivers, Orange- _ 

 Chaucer. 



Late-house peaches. Crawr 

 ford Late, Thomas Rivers, 

 Princess of Wales. 



Late-house nectarines. New- 

 ton, Spencer, Humboldt, Vic- 

 toria. 



Numerous other varieties 

 could be added to this list. How- 

 ever this will be found sufficient 

 for all practical purposes. 



Pot-fruits. 



1552. Pear in fruit under glass. The 

 Hardy. 



This method of producing fruit has found favor with 

 many growers throughout the country, particularly 

 in private establishments. It requires no specially 

 built houses for the purpose, providing the house 

 receives full sunlight with abundance of ventilation. 

 There are two or three advantages of this concentrated 

 method of growing: first, the house may be used for 

 other growing crops after the fruit is gathered, as the 

 trees may be placed outside or, as severe winter sets in, 

 they may be stored away in a coolhouse close together 

 until such time as they are needed for bringing into 

 growth again; second, a large variety of fruits is 

 adapted to this method of culture, such as peaches, 

 nectarines, pears, plums, figs and the like. These 

 trees may be grown into either pyramid or half-stand- 

 ard forms. Pyramids, as a whole, make a more attrac- 

 tive appearance in a house than any other form of 



training. A house for pot-fruits requires about the same 

 treatment as that recommended for peaches planted 

 in a permanent border. Care and watchfulness are 

 required as to watering, particularly when first start- 

 ing into growth, as at that stage there is not much 

 foliage, consequently an over-abundance of water 

 would have a tendency to sour the soil. Potting the 

 trees is very important. There is no better time for this 

 operation than early fall, or just as they are casting 

 their foliage. Also a serious error is placing them in too 

 large pots or tubs. They should be repotted every fall, 

 but it is not always necessary to give them a larger 

 tub. Often the ball may be re- 

 duced and placed into the same- 

 sized tub. The soil should consist 

 of a good fibrous loam used in 

 a fairly rough state, if possible, 

 as this will allow free action for 

 . the water to pass off. Firm pot- 

 ting is of great importance-. 

 Three parts of soil to one of 

 thoroughly decayed rich manure 

 with a little bone mixed in would 

 be an excellent compost for the 

 purpose. Careful watering after 

 repotting is very important. 



When the trees come into 

 bloom, keep a fairly dry bracing 

 atmosphere. Pears and plums 

 will refuse to set their fruit other- 

 wise. As the growth advances, 

 frequent pinching or stopping 

 the shoots should be attended to. 

 Some growths will doubtless be 

 much in advance of others. 

 When the young growths reach 

 the length of 5 or 6 inches, they 

 should be pinched and again 

 when they have extended another 

 similar growth and so on. Usu- 

 ally in the case of pyramid trees, 

 growth will be found more ad- 

 vanced at the top, hence those 

 shoots should be stopped, result- 

 ing in more vigor for the lower 

 branches. 



Surface-dressing when the fruit 

 is swelling is of great benefit. 

 Either manure or a concentrated 

 fertilizer may be mixed with the 

 soil and added as a top-dressing, 

 but by all means do not apply 

 this until the fruit is swelling 

 away freely. 



Pot-fruit that has been 

 properly cared for during the 

 season of growth in regard to 

 pinching and summer-pruning 

 requires little winter -pruning 



aside from removing the very weakest growths. 



Varieties. 



The following varieties are the best: 



Pears. Souvenir du Congres, Madame Treyve, 

 Hardy, Fondante d' Automne, Louise Bonne, Con- 

 ference, Magnet, Pitmaston Duchess, Durondean, 

 Princess. 



Plums. The Czar, Blue Rock, Oullins Golden, 

 Early Transparent, Gage, Mallard, Denniston Superb, 

 Belgian Purple, Golden Esperin, Transparent Gage, 

 Green Gage, Grand Duke. 



Figs. Brown Turkey, Negro Largo, White Mar- 

 seilles, Violet Sepor. 



Apples and apricots also may be added, although they 

 are not so profitable as the others mentioned. 



WM. TURNER. 



