THE PEACH AND NECTARINE UNDER GLASS. 



31 



ELEVATION 



our own. Then, again, the Peach is so tender, so 

 easily injured when ripe, and so completely spoilt 

 by the taint of a bruise going through it, as to 

 render it very difficult for Continental packers to 

 send it to this country in anything like satisfactory 

 condition. The possession of a house full of ripe 

 Peaches in May or June gives pleasure to the owner 

 as well as the grower, and the maintenance of a con- 

 tinuous supply of this delicious fruit throughout 

 the season, is one of the best 

 tests of the horticulturist's skill 

 as a cultivator of an Eastern 

 fruit, and that during the worst 

 months of the year, in a cli- 

 mate considerably too cold and 

 treacherous for the hardiest 

 native of the flowery land. 



Fifty years ago it was not 

 usual to find more than one 

 Peach-house in a large establish- 

 ment, and that heated by means 

 of a flue, and strange as it may 

 appear to the rising generation 

 of gardeners, who now rarely 

 see a flued house, excellent 

 crops of fruit were produced in 

 structures that 

 were dark and 

 heavy, but fairly 

 ventilated, as 

 every lap in 

 the miniature- 

 squared roof let 

 in a small stream 

 of air and kept 

 the atmosphere 

 of the interior 

 in constant cir- 

 culation. At 

 that time, Royal 

 George, Grosse 

 Mignonne, and 



Noblesse Peaches were considered the earliest 

 varieties for forcing. At the present time we 

 have houses that are light, bright, perfectly venti- 

 lated, and efficiently heated with hot water, and 

 it may be, ere long, thanks to Dr. Siemens, con- 

 stantly lighted by means of electricity. Add to 

 these advantages the command of such early kinds 

 as Early Rivers, Early Louise, Early Beatrice, Early 

 York, Early Grosse Mignonne, and Hale's Early 

 Peaches ; Lord Napier, Stan wick Elruge, and Early 

 Orange Nectarines, all, with one exception, raised 

 by the late Mr. Thomas Rivers, of Sawbridgeworth. 

 Of more recent introduction, from America we have 

 Amsden June, Waterloo, and Alexander, which ripen 



Fig. 1.— Lean-to House, with Parallel Trellis, 

 a, Area beneath path ; b, border ; c, drainage ; oo, pipes ; a, c, d, 



their fruit in an unheated orchard-house, early in 

 July, and we have all the means for setting the 

 elements at defiance, and the most suitable va- 

 rieties for producing the finest and best Peaches 

 and Nectarines that wealth can command. The 

 means whereby the different varieties of Peaches 

 and Nectarines can be distinguished have been 

 already indicated in describing the Orchard -house 



treatment. 



PEACH-ROUSES. 

 To have really good forced 

 Peaches by the early part of 

 May, which is quite as early as 

 they can be had worth eating, 

 under the best of management, 

 and to keep up a continuous 

 supply until the end of Sep- 

 tember, a set of houses, similar 

 to those recommended for Vines, 

 will be needed. These will 

 consist of the ordinary lean-to 

 facing the south, the span-roof 

 running from north to south, 

 and the Peach-case, which may 

 be erected against existing trees 

 on south or west walls. 



For very early 

 forcing, a sound, 

 well-built, light 

 lean-to — that is, 

 a house built 

 against a sub- 

 stantial brick 

 wall — facing- 

 due south, is the 

 best. A few 

 points east or 

 west do not 

 make much dif- 

 ference ; but as 

 forcing has to 

 be carried on in 



the dark winter months, shelter from the north and 

 east should, if possible, be secured by planting ever- 

 green trees behind, but not so close as to interfere 

 with the light. If shelter of this kind cannot be ob- 

 tained, the wall may be raised a few feet higher than 

 the glass, and well coped with broad stones, sloping 

 slightly to the north side, where a spout should 

 be placed to catch the drip, and convey the water 

 to the tanks. In old gardens, existing houses or 

 ranges of houses, not always well placed, are divided 

 into sections for giving a supply of fruit ; but 

 where they no longer answer the purpose, or new- 

 ones have to be built, the site should be well drained, 

 elevated, and entirely open to the south, as light is 



