THE ORCHAED-HOUSE. 



129 



A. cristata. — This is a very singular plant, some- 

 times found under the erroneous name of Tacca 

 integrifoJia ; it is of dwarf habit, with an under- 

 ground rhizome ; the petioles are purplish-black, 

 bearing large oblong-acuminate leaves, which are 

 winkled on the surface, and purplish-green. Scape 

 a little longer than the leaves, and like the petioles 

 dark purple, terminating in a four - leaved large 

 involucre of a blackish - purple hue ; within this 

 involucre are numerous dark purplish flowers fur- 

 nished with long tail-hke beards. Summer months. 

 Malay Islands. 



THE ORCHAED-HOUSE. 



By William Colemaii. 



MANAGEMENT OF PEACHES AND NECTARINES IN 

 THE SECOND TEAS. 



ALTHOUGH fruit-trees of all kinds are gTOwn 

 in the orchard-house, there is but little doubt 

 that the Peach and Nectarine stand first 

 in point of interest and value, and on 

 this account their treatment during 

 their first fi-uiting season. must receive 

 our earliest attention. 



Housing. — Xot later than the end 

 of January let ail the trees be taken 

 into the house. Wash the jpots and 

 examine the drainage to ascertain that 

 it has not been clogged by worms ; then 

 lay the trees on their sides, and with a 

 soft brush wash every shoot and stem 

 with warm soap-water, to cleanse them 

 from accumulations and the larvae of 

 insects. If scale or spider have been 

 detected, wash a second time, always 

 working the brush outwards from the 

 base to the points of the shoots, so 

 that the buds maj not be injured 

 in the performance of the operation. 

 Grive each tree a thorough soaking 

 •with clear water, and if the house 

 is not otherwise occupied, place them 

 at once in position in the order 

 named in directions for the first year's management. 



Pruning.— The experienced gardener who can 

 distinguish wood-buds from flower-buds will perform 

 this trifling operation either before the trees are 

 taken under glass, or as soon as they are washed ; 

 but the amateur who cannot distinguish them at a 

 glance will do well to defer pruning until they 

 begin to swell, otherwise he may commit an 

 irreparable error by cutting away the only wood- 

 57 



bud contained on a blossom-bearing shoot, when 

 the shoot will die back to the wood-bud at the base. 

 It may here be necessary to remind the novice who 

 thinks he must commence cultivation by cutting 

 away two-thirds of eveiy shoot, that properly 

 pinched pyramids and bushes require very little 

 pruning indeed, and that it is better to defer cutting 

 into shape until the blossoms are well advanced, than 

 to risk the loss of his best fruit -bearing shoots by 

 cutting away the terminal, which is always a wood- 

 bud, at random. In order to prevent the pos:<ibility 

 of a mistake the sketch (Fig. 8) will show at a 

 glance the character of the different kinds of buds : 

 acf, are wood-buds; ee, blossom -buds ; b, a triple 

 bud, in which the centre is almost invariably a 

 wood or shoot-producing bud, while those on either 

 side of it are flower-buds, as shown. It is gene- 

 rally, but not always, safe to prune to these ; but, 

 all things taken into consideration, deferred pruning 

 of Peaches and Nectarines is the safest coui'se for 

 all cultivators to pursue. 



Ha\'ing arranged the trees belonging 

 to the different sections — all of them, 

 we may assume, well furnished with 

 flower-buds — keep the house as cool 

 as possible by ample ventilation, both 

 by day and night, but do not let tlie 

 soil in the pots approach drj'ness. To- 

 wards the end of February will be 

 quite early enough to commence coax- 

 ing the trees into activity by shutting 

 up the house in the afternoon, an I 

 perhaps throughout the night, that is. 

 provided artificial heat can be sup^Dlied 

 in the event of frost or damp dull days 

 setting in when the blossoms begin to 

 open. If this provision has not been 

 made, endeavour to escape danger by 

 abundant ventilation, whenever the 

 elements are favourable. When the 

 earliest flowers begin to show colour, 

 fumigate the house once or twice on 

 calm days with tobacco-paper to destroy 

 aphis, which may have been introduced 

 with the Strawberries, and sjTinge 

 with tepid water the following morning. 

 If properly performed, two smokings should destroy 

 every fly, when the trees will be safe from this pest 

 until after the fruit is set. If neglected until after 

 the flowers open the crop will be endangered ; as 

 fumigation that -will kill the fly will ruin the deli- 

 cate organs of the flowers before tliey have time to 

 perform their office of fertilisation. 



Temperature. — The Orchard-house in the gene- 

 ral acceptation of the term is not a forcing house ; 



Fig. 8.— Fruit and Wood 

 Buds. 



