602 On presei-ving Plums. 



Venerable cultivators of the peach in olden time, what say 

 ye to this ? The tree on which it would have been sacrilege 

 for a young gardener to have lifted his knife, is now simplified 

 to the same principle that guides the pruning of the humble 

 and unpretending raspberry vine. 



In forcing the peach, the greatest care is necessary to pre- 

 serve a gentle atmosphere, excess of dry heat is ruinous at any 

 period ; and every leaf of a peach tree under glass ought to be 

 moistened with a very fine syringe at least twice a day, the first 

 thing in the morning, and before sunset in the evening. When 

 the fruit begins to ripen, this may be lessened ; and, when all is 

 gathered and the house thrown open, the leaves ought to be 

 syringed in dry weather, every night, till the fall of the leaf, 

 to keep down insects, and invigorate the leaves to form fine 

 plump flower buds. When the trees are in bloom, of course 

 there will be no syringing over the blossoms, but the walls and 

 pathways, as well as the pipes or flues, must be regularly 

 moistened, in order to supply vapour. 



In forcing this, as in many other stone fruits, a free circula- 

 tion of air, and a temperature nicely adjusted, of from 5b° to 

 65° : the former gradually got up is, in my opinion, the best 

 for flowering and stoning ; and the latter, gradually raised (say 

 by 2° a week), for swelling the fruits. 



The sorts I should cultivate for forcing are, Elruge and Fair- 

 child nectarines. The Noblesse, Violet hative, Early purple, 

 Montauban, and Old royal George peaches. The nectarines 

 I should plant in the hottest part of the house. These, with 

 perhaps the Late admirable peach, and the small late New 

 white nectarine, may answer every purpose, for an ordinary 

 supply, out of doors. And here, as connected with the peach, 

 I may mention a ready way of picking and cleaning old wall- 

 nails, communicated to me by a friend. He never uses old 

 shreds, for fear of insects ; and, as soon as the trees are unnailed, 

 he bundles nails and shreds into a fire of wood, and sifts the 

 ashes from the nails, which he afterwards scrubs and washes 

 with a broom in a trough of water. 



Alderslei/, Cheshire, 1838. 



Art. IX. On preserving Plums. By M. W. C. Bosse, 

 Nurseryman, Quedlinburg. 



(Translated from the " Garten Zeitung" of Feb. 3. 1838, by J. L.) 



I have for several years tried to preserve different kinds of 

 fruit for a greater length of time than they are generally kept, 

 and by this means have obtained several very 

 results. 



