i 56 Encyclopaedia of Gardening 



FRUIT, PEACHES continued. 



Planting may be done from November to March inclusive. It is 

 an excellent plan to fix a wooden coping about a foot wide just 

 below the top of the wall above the trees. It serves as a protection, 

 and in spring, when the trees are in bloom, light canvas (tiffany or 

 scrim) , or even tanned fish netting, may be fixed to it and allowed 

 to hang down in front of the trees on frosty nights. Peaches under 

 glass Training: Peaches and Nectarines are sometimes grown on 

 walls under glass, and sometimes on wire frames fixed under the 

 roof of a lean-to house. With a wide house against a high, strong 

 wall both methods of training may be adopted. In each case a flat, 

 fan-shaped tree is used. Little heat is required, unless early fruit is 

 wanted, and a flow and return 4-in. pipe will suffice. For the 

 roof, the trees will be planted near the front, that is, at the lowest 

 part, of the house; and the branches will follow the rise of the roof 

 a foot below, where wires will be strained for the shoots to be tied 

 to. In the case of the back wall the trees will, of course, be planted 

 against it, and the shoots attached to wires fastened to it, or secured 

 by shreds and nails. The fan system will be adopted. Early 

 pruning will be desirable, as in the case of outdoor trees, if they are 

 bought quite young.' It is easy to get older trees, already in an 

 advanced stage of training, and ready to give fruit the first year, but 

 the cost will be rather high. Unfortunately, some people spoil 

 good trees by neglecting to train up new wood from the base when 

 the older branches get bare near the base, yet the work is simple if 

 taken in hand at the proper time. Soil and planting : If decayed 

 turf is available no manure need be used, even should the natural 

 soil be poor, for a barrow-load of good loam for each tree will contain 

 all the nutriment which it requires. But half a bushel of wood 

 ashes and a quart of broken bones may be mixed with the loam. 

 In planting, the subsoil should be loosened, some of the decayed turf 

 spread on it in a lumpy state, the tree set in position, the roots 

 covered, and the top soil trodden well round them. Planting may 

 be done up to the time the buds begin to swell. Pruning : When 

 the necessary amount of wood to form the framework of the tree has 

 been secured by early shortening, the grower may proceed to fill in 

 with fruiting wood. The best placed of the summer shoots should 

 be chosen for this purpose. If the tree is healthy more will push 

 than are needed, and a selection should be made among them, 

 cutting away the front shoots first, and retaining such of the others 

 as are well placed for tying in between the main branches without 

 crowding. These young shoots may be neatly laid in when the leaf 

 falls, and will bear fruit the following year. They will also push 

 side shoots of their own, but these must be gradually pinched out 

 while small, with the exception of one at the base and one near the 

 top. The former may be allowed to extend unchecked, because it 

 will provide a fruiting shoot for the following year; but the latter 

 may be stopped at the second leaf. Watering and syringing : 

 Peaches soon suffer from dryness, either at the root or in the 

 atmosphere. If the air gets very parched, red spider may attack 

 the trees. If the soil is kept moist throughout the growing 



