224 IHB PBA.CH AND ^NECTAKINE. 



that can rival the soft pink of the peaoh blossom. Some of the larger 

 flowering varieties are also highly ornamental. The foliage is also 

 of a pleasing form, and a very distinct and refreshing green colour j 

 and the frnit, in form, colour, finish, is very handsome. There i? no 

 reason why, on the highest principles of horticultural taste, the peach 

 should not take its place with the rose, jasmine, honeysuckle, pyracan- 

 thus, cotoneaster, wisteria, &o., on houses and outbuildings, as an orna- 

 mental plant. Bun up as a tall cordon among or between other plants, 

 it would furnish a new pleasure in the spring and the autumn, and also 

 bring a fresh shade of green, one that may be said to be wholly wanting 

 in our present race of plants for the clothing of our dwelling houses 

 throughout the summer. Fink cordon peaches and nectarines, standingr 

 up as pillars of beauty between golden panels filled with bursting bud& 

 of Mar^ohal Kiel rose, would add a new sensation as beautiful as it is. 

 rare to many a garden. 



General Cultivation. 



In addition to the instructions already given in the chapters on pro- 

 pagating, pruning, training, and planting the peach, a good many more 

 details of culture remain to be noticed. It will probably be moat con- 

 venient alike for reference and a handy guide to practice to include all 

 these in this portion, with the exception of insects and diseases, which 

 will have a concluding chapter to themselves. This division will, there- 

 fore, treat of such important matters as protection in all its phases, root 

 and top watering, and mulching and super-cropping the roots. 



/. — Protection. 



The peach being at once a precocious and tender tree, its due protection 

 against the vernal rigours of our climate claims our first notice. If wet 

 can save its blossoms and young fruit from destruction in the spring it 

 can generally take care of itself throughout the rest of the year. The 

 foundation principle of all protective expedients rests on their efficiency 

 as heat conservers rather than cold excluders, using the latter term in a 

 popular and not a scientific sense. Froteption shuts the heat in rathec 



