THE PEACH AND NECTARINE. 



179 



with it, no place can be bruised. The fruit is 

 often well coloured next the sun before it is 

 ripe, the part next the wall being still green ; 

 but afterwards the green acquires a yellow 

 tinge, by which the ripening can be known. 

 Peaches may be gathered in the heat of the 

 day without suffering any deterioration as re- 

 gards flavour. They may be kept for a week 

 or more after they are gathered by placing 

 them in a cool, dry room or cellar. The 

 flavour is easily spoiled if they are placed 

 near anything with a strong smell, such as 

 deal boards, damp hay, or moss. Clean paper 

 shavings are best for laying them on. 



Diseases. — If the Peach-tree is treated as we 

 have recommended, it will generally be healthy. 

 Under the best management, however, some 

 trees will become diseased. 



Gumming is the most to be dreaded, and is 

 very difficult to cure; indeed, if it pervades 

 the tree to any considerable extent, the sooner 

 it is removed and replaced by a healthy one the 

 better. If the symptoms are but slight, the bark 

 should be frequently well washed with a brush 

 and water; this ought to be done in moist weather. 

 The disease is apt to occur when the trees are 

 planted in soil too richly manured, and whenever 

 strong shoots are allowed to grow as much as 

 they will, and are then cut back. It is not well to 

 use any manure below the surface when plant- 

 ing the tree, but if that has been done, and the 

 tree is inclined to over-luxuriance, the greater 

 care must be taken to divide the sap among the 

 branches by judicious summer-pruning, so that 

 there may be no large pieces to cut out at 

 the winter-pruning. It is also advisable to lift 

 the whole of the roots as soon as the foliage 

 commences to decay in the autumn, preserving 

 all the fibres possible, and pruning away any 

 long straight pieces which are devoid of fibre, 

 also all that strike downwards into the subsoil. 

 See that the drainage is perfect before replant- 

 ing; use fresh soil if the other has proved un- 

 suitable (see "Soil", p. 167). Large wounds 

 which are accidentally caused on the branches 

 of Peach-trees are apt to cause trouble by gum- 

 ming, and must be pared off evenly and covered 

 over with Lefort's Mastic. 



Mildew is also very destructive, but may be 

 got rid of by means of flowers of sulphur, 

 which should be applied on the first appearance 

 of the disease. Indeed, it is a good plan to dust 

 the trees over before mildew makes its appear- 

 ance at all. 



Blistered leaves are occasioned by cold, par- 

 ticularly when this occurs after a spell of 



warm weather. The growth of the midrib is 

 arrested, and the circulation of the .sap being 

 obstructed, the leaves, or part of them, become 

 swollen inert masses. There is no cure. The 

 preventive is, of course, warm covering. The 

 leaves that are most affected should be taken 

 off at once, if they can be spared without in- 

 juring the growth of the tree. If the disease 

 is very prevalent remove only the worst, and 

 leave the others until later. 



Yellows is a disease little heard of, except in 

 America, where it destroys whole orchards in 

 a few years. It most often manifests itself in 

 trees growing on the Peach stock, and conse- 

 quently, in order to avoid it, they should be 

 worked on the Plum or on the Almond (see 

 also " Propagation ", p. 188). One of the causes 

 of this disease in this country is a cold and un- 

 genial soil. It may exist a long time before it 

 attracts attention. Its presence may be sus- 

 pected on any diminution in the green colouring 

 of the leaf, and should the border be properly 

 drained and the soil warm and sweet, other 

 causes must be sought, such as excessive root- 

 pruning, deficiency of plant food, mildew or other 

 disease, possibly occurring the previous season. 

 Experiments made by Sachs some years ago 

 proved that this disease is sometimes due to a 

 deficiency of iron. This proved to be the case 

 with a tree at Ketton Hall Gardens, as recorded 

 in the Gardeners' Chronicle in 1889, as follows: — 



u Ferrous Sulphate for Chlorosis or 'Yellows'. — 

 I have tried this remedy as recommended by 

 you in remarks on Sachs' experiments by Pro- 

 fessor Marshall "Ward, and am very much 

 pleased with the result. Owing to the drain- 

 age being badly laid when one of our Peach 

 houses was built, I found it necessary to lift a 

 number of large old trees in November, 1887, 

 and put in fresh drainage. One of these trees 

 was a Princess of Wales Peach, which was 

 severely checked and weakened by being lifted, 

 and early this spring it was badly affected with 

 chlorosis or 'yellows'. I accordingly removed 

 the soil, about 1 foot in depth immediately over 

 its roots, and dissolved J lb. of sulphate of iron 

 (green vitriol) in water, at the rate of f oz. to 

 5 pints of warm water. This was poured over 

 the roots, and washed in with a plentiful supply 

 of clean water whilst the soil was moist. The 

 surface soil was then replaced, and in about a 

 fortnight the tree had improved considerably, 

 and is now quite healthy." This tree was still 

 alive and healthy in 1894. 



Sun-burning. — The bark of Peach-trees be- 

 comes scorched in consequence of exposure to 



