CHAPTER IV. 



THE PEACH AND NECTARINE. 



THE only difference between the peach and nec- 

 tarine being the downy skin of the former, and the 

 smooth glossy surface of the latter, the same gene- 

 ral rules of culture will apply to both. 



RAISING THE YOUNG TREES. 



Peach trees are raised by budding seedling 

 stocks with the desired varieties. The stones 

 should be mixed with moist sand or earth within a 

 few weeks after maturity ; they may afterwards be 

 planted either in autumn or spring. The depth 

 should not exceed two or three inches. A few 

 vegetate the first season ; the remainder, more than 

 nine-tenths, the second season. Cracking the 

 stones insures their growth the first year. The 

 distance should be the same as for young apple 

 trees, already noticed. 



If the soil is good, and is kept clean and mellow, 

 a part of them will be fit for budding by the latter 

 part of the first summer. Where it is deferred till 

 the second year, all the stocks should be cut down 

 near the ground, one good bud being allowed to 



