PARIS. #79 



peach-trees, in their first and second years. In the first 

 year, he docs not at all cut or shorten the two original 

 or principal branches, called the mere-branches . The 

 young tree lias only to be fixed to the wall or trellis, re- 

 quiring no other treatment till the fall of the leaf. By 

 leaving these mere-branches at full length, and only disbud- 

 ding late in the autumn, the vigour of the young tree is 

 greatly promoted. He trains these principal branches to a 

 much wider angle than the Montreuil gardeners, — perhaps 

 60° or 65°, instead of 45°. At the approach of winter he 

 practises " Tebourgeonnement a sec, 1 ' leaving only four 

 buds on each branch, and removing the rest neatly with a 

 sharp knife. At Montreuil, the mere-branches are cut-in 

 or shortened in the first year, and disbudding is delayed 

 till the leaves be developed in the following year. By dis- 

 budding at this season, the young tree not only suffers 

 an unnecessary check or injury, but the consequence is that 

 the buds left, instead of forming good shoots, develope 

 themselves into numerous brindilles. Late in the autumn 

 of the second year, Sieulle cuts-in, to the extent of one- 

 third, the four lateral branches produced on each of his 

 mere-branches. In the following year, he disbuds the la- 

 teral branches to the extent of one-half; and in the future 

 management he practises winter 1 disbudding greatly in place 

 of pruning, — a practice long ago strongly recommended by 

 Nicol in his horticultural writings. By Sieulle's method, 

 M. Du Petit-Thouars remarks, the young tree is more 

 quickly brought to fill its place on the espalier ; it is after- 

 wards much more easily kept in regular order : many fewer 

 flower-buds are allowed to unfold themselves ; but the ne- 

 cessity of thinning the fruit is thus in a great measure su- 

 perseded, and the peaches produced are larger and finer. 



It is well known that M. Du Petit-Thouars is an acute 

 physiologist ; and it may here be mentioned, that he has 



