IN BRITISH GARDENS. 475 



three or four years trained, which may be removed in November. The fan 

 mode of training, already described in sufficient detail (801), is unquestion- 

 ably the best for forced peaches. In lofty or wide houses it may be neces- 

 sary to introduce riders in order more speedily to cover the upper part of the 

 trellis, and these also should be three or four years trained ; but where the 

 peach has been properly treated on a garden- wall, and its roots encouraged 

 to run near the surface of the border, trained trees of almost any size may 

 be transferred from the open wall to the forcing-house at once, so as even to 

 bear a tolerable crop of fruit the first year. Mr. Errington removed a tree 

 from a wall to a trellis in a forcing-house, where it covered 480 square feet, 

 and ripened eight dozen of peaches the same year in which it was planted. 

 (G. M. 1842, p. 123.) 



994r Pruning. The winter pruning of the peach under glass should 

 take place immediately after the fall of the leaf. The young shoots on the 

 lower branches should be cut back to two or three buds, that the trellis 

 may be furnished from the bottom with young wood. The shoots on the 

 upper or farther extended branches may be shortened back to half or one- 

 third of their lengths, according to their strength, provided they have been 

 well ripened, and are free from canker; but if the tree be anywise diseased, 

 they should be cut so far back as to get rid of the cankered or mildewed part. 

 The riders need not be pruned so much as the dwarfs ; the object being 

 rather to throw them into a bearing state, than to cause them to push very 

 strong shoots, which would not be fruitful. If they make moderately strong 

 shoots, and if these be well ripened in autumn, a good crop may be expected 

 on them next year. " Unless peach-trees be very strong," Mr. Thompson 

 observes, " the shoots should be more or less shortened, according to the 

 vigour of the tree. If this be not attended to, it will be impossible to prevent 

 the bearing wood from becoming naked at the base. The setting and 

 stoning of fruit situated at or near the extremity of a three-year-old branch, 

 having, perhaps, only leaves on the part produced during the last season, 

 is, indeed, very precarious." 



995. The summer pruning consists in pinching off all foreright shoots as 

 they appear, and all such as are ill placed, weakly, watery, or deformed, 

 leaving a leader to every shoot of last year, and retaining a plentiful supply 

 of good lateral shoots in all parts of the tree. If any blank is to be filled up, 

 some conveniently placed strong shoot is shortened in a very early stage of 

 its growth to a few eyes, in order that it may throw out laterals. All lux- 

 uriant shoots should be stopped as soon as their tendency to over-luxuriance 

 is observed, in order that the sap, which would otherwise be wasted, may 

 be forced into the adjoining shoots and branches. 



996. The fruit is thinned before and after the stoning season. There 

 should be a preparatory thinning soon after the fruit is set, leaving, of 

 course, a sufficient number in case of imperfection that may only become 

 apparent at the period of stoning ; because most plants, especially such as 

 have overborne themselves, drop many fruit at that crisis. When this is 

 over, the thinning should be effected with great regularity, leaving the fruit 

 retained at proper distances ; three, four, or five, on strong shoots ; two or 

 three on middling, and one or two on the weaker shoots ; and never leaving 

 more than one peach at the same eye. The fruit on weakly trees should 

 be thinned more in proportion. 



997. The peach border will be partly within the house, but chiefly on 



