i>£ACH. 311 



'■fhe peich does not remain a bearing tree for a long 

 term ol years, though in iavoura'jle situations il will 

 live I'rom thirty to fifty years. 



The yellows is the most formidable disease of the 

 peach-iree, and is particularly dreaded for its con- 

 tagiousness. On this account, the greatest care 

 should be taken in purcliasiiig trees from nurseries, 

 and introducing them into districts where the disease 

 is unI<.nown,to see that they are free from infection. 

 It does not appear that any remedy has yet been dis- 

 covered ; and the best writers recommend, when a 

 tree is attacked, that it be immediately cut down. 

 One of the earliest indications of the yellows is a 

 premature ripening of the fruit on the whole or a 

 part of a tree, accompanied or followed by a discol- 

 oration of the leaves. If the tree is allowed to 

 stand the succeeding year, bunches of sickly, wiry 

 shoots appear on it, and, if not at once checked by 

 the extermination of the tree, the disease may be 

 now expected rapidly to extend to others. Cold 

 •weather or frosts will sometimes cause the leaves 

 to curl and change colour ; but no danger need be 

 apprehended fronr this source, as, unless the wood 

 itself is injured, healthy foliage will succeed. The 

 peach is very sensitive to frost or cold ; and, being 

 a native of a warm climate, flourishes best in warm 

 exposures, and in Soils that readily acquire a con- 

 siderable degree of heat. 



Mildew sometimes appears on the leaves of some 

 of the more tender and delicate varieties. This in- 

 dicates that such trees require a warmer aspect, a 

 more free circulation of air, and, above all, a drier 

 bottom. Stagnant water about the roots of the 

 peach will most certainly be fatal to the tree, eithei 

 inducing disease or destroying it at once. 'I'he cur 

 culio also attacks the peach, but rarely ; while the 

 Nectarine is very liable to be injured by them, its 

 smooth skin ofl^ering no resistance to their ap- 

 proaches. If they make their appearance, they may 



