THE HARDY FEUIT GARDEN. 



177 



treatment, and with such temperatures, the fruit 

 would be ripe jn September. Peaches under glass, 

 or under any forcing conditions on walls, may be 

 finished in a little more than four months from the 

 bloom. But in the open air it takes five months as 

 a rule, and sometimes nearer six. A good deal 

 depends on local circumstances, and also the latitude 

 of the place. The best latitude for the Peach may 

 be found within the ten degrees included between 

 35" and 45°. Beyond a latitude of 60° the earth ia 

 too cold for the roots of the Peach, under one of 30° 

 the air is too warm for its top. Being deciduous 

 it cannot be grown to perfection in tropical climates, 

 and does best in the temperate latitudes of Europe 

 and America. It is a curious fact, that one could 

 hardly have anticipated, that the fine-looking French 

 Peaches are by no means equal in fiavour to those 

 grown in the open air in England. 



Like all other trees and plants, the ability of the 

 Peach to resist cold is largely determined by the 

 maturity, or immaturity, of its wood. The riper the 

 wood the hardier, and vice versd. And, singularly 

 enough, the flowers on ripe wood being stronger, 

 seem to have more power to resist cold than the 

 weaker ones, on unripe wood, and thus culture may 

 add to the hardiness and consequent safety of the 

 bloom of the Peach in the spring. 



Retarding the Period of Blooming. — As 

 we have seen that its early blossoming is one of 

 the chief causes of danger, it follows that if the 

 bloom can be kept back there is a much better 

 chance of obtaining a full crop. Among such means 

 the following deserve consideration : the raising and 

 cultivation of later-blooming varieties; the later 

 pruning of existing sorts; the detachment of the 

 trees from the walls in winter ; the working of aU 

 Peaches for the open air on Plum-stocks, and on 

 later varieties of Plum ; root-pruning ; frequent lift- 

 ing, and partial shading. 



As' regards the raising of late-blooming varieties, 

 nothing seems to have been done in this special 

 direction; and though much earlier and later Peaches 

 have been added to our collections, comparatively 

 little has been done to alter the season of blooming. 

 Late pruning, deferring it indeed until the blooms 

 have set into fruit, retards blooming considerably, 

 and does not result in any serious consequences in 

 the case of the Peach. 



Detachment from the wall by unnaiHng the trees, 

 and tying the branches up to stakes a yard or more 

 from it, will retard the blooming period by a fort- 

 night or more. It has also other advantages, and if 

 done the moment the leaves fall, helps to more tho- 

 roughly ripen and mature the wood. By thus de- 

 taching the trees, the wall is exposed to the winter 

 84 



frosts, and unusual facilities are afforded for its 

 thorough cleansing and repair. The plan involves 

 no risk of injury to the trees, which, in a dormant 

 state, bear the severities of our climate with impu- 

 nity. But should a winter of unusual severity, that 

 is, frosts ranging from 20° to zero ensue, nothing is 

 easier than to throw a mat over, or wind a wisp of 

 straw round the trees. The only objection to this 

 most effective method of retarding the blooming 

 of Peaches in the open air, is the extra labour it 

 involves. But the greater cleanliness, and more tho- 

 rough maturity, and overhauling of the trees, suffi- 

 ciently compensate for this ; while a full crop of fruit 

 is not seldom the result of this detachment of the 

 trees from the wall for four months out of the twelve. 



The relation of stock to the fostering or retarding 

 of growth on the tops of fruit-trees has not received 

 the attention it deserves. 



In this country Plum-stocks of some sort are the 

 most generally used, though on the Continent and 

 in America the Almond and Peach are more popu- . 

 lar. The chief objection to the Plum-stock is that 

 it does not keep pace with the Peach, and the latter 

 overlaps the stock so as to form a large knot or wart 

 at the point of union, and the wart not seldom be- 

 comes an active centre of canker and other diseases. 

 But the Plum-stock is more desirable than the Peach, 

 and thrives better in our cold soil. Were later 

 varieties of the Plum used, such as the Ickworth 

 or Blue Imperatrice, Golden Drop, Late Gage, Belle 

 de Septembre, Wyedale, Autumn Compote, Grand 

 Duke, and Late Rivers, it might be quite possible to 

 retard, the blooming of Peaches and Nectarines in 

 the open air tiU the middle of April ; and this gain, 

 or rather loss, of a fortnight or three weeks in the 

 time of blooming would, as a rule, save the crop. 



For modes of working the Peach, &c., see The 

 Peach and Nectarine under Glass. It may, how- 

 ever, be added here that budding is preferable to 

 grafting for Peaches and all other stone fruits, as it 

 necessitates the making of fewer and smaller wounds, 

 and the less these are wounded, wood or bark, the 

 better, as wounds are. apt to beget gum and canker, 

 two of the worst evils that can afflict the Peach or 

 Nectarine in the open air. 



Root-pruning, to have a retarding effect, should 

 hardly be performed until the middle of November. 

 If pruned too early, the roots wiU get so thoroughly 

 established before winter, that the trees may bloom, 

 as early as if they had not been disturbed. But 

 late-pruned roots fail to forward the same amount of 

 supplies throughout the winter, and.the trees bloom 

 later in consequence. 



Frequent lifting is even more effective than root- 

 pruning, inasmuch as it prunes and detaches every 

 root from the soil ; and this separation of course 



