PEA 



[ 686 ] 



PEA 



deiy or still better in pairs, with ten 

 inches interval, and two feet and a half 

 hetween each pair. These will come 

 into production about the middle of 

 March. 



In every instance, as stated above, 

 the rows should be two feet, the seed 

 or plants being set an inch asunder. 

 The plants are ready for moving when 

 an inch or two high. They must be 

 shaded and gently watered until they 

 have taken root. As much earth should 

 be preserved about their roots at the 

 time of removal as possible. 



Transplanted peas are most produc- 

 tive, and run the least to straw in the 

 forcing frames. Air must be admitted 

 as freely as circumstances permit, the 

 same precautions being necessary as 

 for cucumbers. Water must be given 

 at first spaiingly, otherwise decay or 

 super-luxuriance will be occasioned ; 

 but when they are in blossom, and 

 during the succeeding stages of growth, 

 it may be applied often er and more 

 abundantly, as it is necessary for the 

 setting and swelling of the fruit. 



The shading during hot days, and 

 covering at night, must also be particu- 

 larly attended to. From three to five 

 months elapse between the times of 

 sowing and production, according to 

 the fineness of the season, length of 

 the days, &c. 



The temperature may be uniformly 

 kept up throughout their growth, hav- 

 ing 50 for the minimum at night, and 

 70 for their maximum by day. 



PEACH. Pe'rsica vulga'ris. 



Select varieties in the order of their 

 ripening. Those in italics are good 

 forcing peaches. Acton Scot, Pourpre 

 Hative, Grosse Mignonne, Eed Mag- 

 dalen, Royal George, Noblesse, Belle- 

 garde, or (ralande, Late Admirable, 

 Walburton Admirable. 



Propagation : Budding. This is per- 

 formed during July (see Budding}. 

 Some persons plant the stock against 

 the wall in its permanent situation, 

 and bud it there ; but Peaches are 

 principally budded in the nursery. 

 The bud is introduced at about six 

 inches from the ground. It remains 

 dormant until the succeeding spring, 

 the head of the stock is cut off 



close above the bud, and the wound 

 pared off particularly neat, in order 

 that the returning sap may heal and 

 skin it over. It is good practice to 

 apply some white lead, or a similar 

 material, in order to exclude the air 

 and moisture. During this summer 

 the young bud will produce a shoot of 

 some two or three feet in length, and 

 this is headed back in the succeeding 

 spring to about five or six eyes ; thus 

 leaving about five or six inches of the 

 base of the shoot. The bud generally 

 produces laterals during the first sum- 

 mer, especially towards the upper end ; 

 and the point where these commence 

 branching generally dictates the point 

 to which they are cut back. In the 

 summer following they will produce 

 four or five shoots, which must be care- 

 fully trained, and kept totally free from 

 insects, and in the succeeding autumn 

 the tree is fit for removal to a wall. 

 Plants with one shoot, or of the season 

 next after the budding, are termed by 

 our nurserymen Maidens, but in the 

 succeeding summer they are termed 

 trained trees. There is no better stock 

 for general peach-budding than the 

 Plum ; a kind called the Muscle being 

 very generally used. Some persons ad- 

 vocate the use of either Almond Stocks, 

 or Peaches raised from the stone ; but 

 it is scarcely safe to recommend the 

 practice. The Americans, to be sure, 

 raise many of their orchards from the 

 stone, but they have a very different 

 climate to deal with ; and we hear, 

 moreover, many complaints of the 

 short-lived character of their trees. 

 The peach stones may either be sown 

 on heat to expedite them, or otherwise. 

 They should be cleansed and dried at 

 the ripening period, and may be sown 

 late in the autumn, care being taken to 

 preserve them from the mice. The 

 seedlings must be carefully trans- 

 planted like other shrubs ; those raised 

 on heat in pots, and those in the open 

 ground, to the nursery immediately 

 after one summer's growth, unless 

 sowed to remain. Their pruning must 

 be performed as other stocks, and their 

 subsequent culture is similar. 



Soils, &c. The selection of a proper 

 soil, and the securing a sound and dry 



