oj Peach Trees in Pots. 247 



beetle of the coleoptera tribe, is at present extremely troublesome 

 in some districts, and whole crops are destroyed. The only 

 preventive is, to destroy the insect in its larvae state, by having 

 every fruit picked up as soon as it falls from the tree, and given 

 to the hogs, or otherwise disposed of, in a manner which shall 

 prevent the insect from passing into the chrysalis state. By giv- 

 ing strict attention to this, its ravages will soon be impeded, 

 and plenty of fruit preserved. The aphides, or aphis, do 

 not touch the fruit, but injure the tree very much, by stopping 

 the growth of the young shoots, and, consequently, prevent their 

 forming flower buds ; the trees also have a very disagreeable ap- 

 pearance. Several methods have been suggested to stop their 

 increase ; but, when the trees are large, it is almost impossible. 

 On trees in pots, however, they can be more easily got rid of — 

 by the frequent use of water, saturated with tobacco, in the pro- 

 portion of half a pound of the latter to a gallon of the former : 

 turn the water on the tobacco, boiling hot, and when it is cold, 

 syringe the trees with it ; if they are very thick upon the ex- 

 tremities of the young shoots, dip them into the mixture for a 

 few minutes, and it will soon destroy them. By continued atten- 

 tion to syringing of the trees with pure water, as we have before 

 recommended, they do not increase very fast, and are not very 

 troublesome to trees in pots. If from neglect, however, they 

 attack them, this remedy should be apphed. 



Diseases. — The peach tree is subject to some diseases, which 

 generally arise from a bad soil, or from injudicious management. 

 That of the most common occurrence is the gum or canker. 

 Trees planted in cold, stiff, wet soils, maybe often observed with 

 half or the whole of the branches covered with gum, which oozes 

 out from around the buds, in most instances, but frequently from 

 the wood between them. We have never been troubled with 

 this disease in the short period which has elapsed since we have 

 given attention to the cultivation of the peach in pots, which we 

 attribute principally to the peculiar kind of soil, which, it will be 

 remembered, was quite sandy and open ; but it may appear where 

 attention has not been paid to the soil, and where there has been 

 mismanagement. The best method of putting a stop to its in- 

 crease, if it once appears, is, to repot the trees in a new soil, 

 made rather more sandy than we have recommended ; cut away 

 some of the large roots, and also head in the branches quite short ; 

 give the trees plenty of air, and, with due attention to water, &c. 

 they will generally recover. It may be well here to observe, 

 that the soil which we have used and which we have recommend- 

 ed, though seemingly too poor for trees in pots, contrary to the 

 general rule, in which the compost is made doubly rich, is one 

 pecuharly fitted for the peach tree, and one in which we have 

 ever had an extremely vigorous growth of wood, and a good crop 



