116 



CASSELL'S POPULAR GARDENING. 



the trellis, and proceed with the arrangement of the 

 minor shoots. As every branch and shoot starts 

 from one centre, the minor growths should run 

 nearly parallel with each other, but in such a way 

 as to increase the distance between them as they 

 extend from the centre, or there will be confusion 

 when the next set of laterals is laid in. . 



Avoid tying tightly, particularly in young trees, 

 and never attempt to draw a crooked shoot straight 

 by tying a piece of matting round the point and 

 then tightening it to the next wire ahead. This is 

 often done ; but it is a bad practice, as the point of 

 the yearling shoot thickens during the summer, and 

 the tie cuts it nearly through, or rather, prevents it 

 from swelling when the sap begins to descend, 

 Some Peach -growers prefer laying in the leaders, 

 and leaving all the fruit-bearing wood loose imtil 

 the blossoms are nearly open, asserting as their 

 reason that the sap flows through loose shoots with 

 more freedom. There can be no doubt as to the 

 soundness of this view ; but where a great number 

 of houses require attention it is not always con- 

 venient to do this work piecemeal. Whenever the 

 young wood is tied in, whether before or after the 

 flowers open, one thing should alwa}'s have atten- 

 tion, and that is, their arrangement in such a way 

 that their foliage will shade the older shoots and 

 branches. If practicable, it is a good plan to tie 

 young wood quite on the top of old branches for 

 this purpose, as many fine limbs go off quite sud- 

 denly in hot summers ; and no wonder when we con- 

 sider what they endure, with every leaf and shoot 

 spread out on a trellis to the full blaze of the sun 

 within twenty inches of a fiery glass roof, and with 

 every square foot of trellis carrying a Peach, all to 

 be supplied with moisture through these bare old 

 stems, while the root-supply of water is sometimes 

 administered with a niggardly hand. 



Preparation of the Borders. — Assuming 

 that trees in early houses have good internal borders, 

 and that the external arrangement is Hmited to a 

 few feet of compost, it will be necessary to do all 

 that can be done for the hard-worked and often 

 badly-treated roots, at least once a year. Where 

 any root-lifting or rearrangement takes place at 

 the fall of the leaf, all top-dressing is generally done 

 at that time ; but if nothing of the kind is needed, 

 then about the same time all surface dressings, con- 

 sisting of inert or washed-out manure, should be 

 removed quite down to the border. If the latter has 

 become heavy and pasty, and the trees are old, an 

 inch or two taken away from the surface and re- 

 placed with sweet calcareous loam and old lime 

 rubble will stimulate the surface fibres into the 

 formation of new spongioles before the house is 



closed for forcing. Some defer top-dressing until 

 after the trees are tied in ; but the best time to 

 replace the old with new is immediately after the 

 crop is gathered. Shortly before the house is 

 closed, a quantity of fresh fermenting leaves, laid in 

 a ridge along the centre or front of the borders, will 

 give off moisture, and facilitate the swelling of the 

 buds in mild weather without the aid of much fire- 

 heat. External borders, it is scarcely necessary to 

 say, should be well covered with dry leaves or litter, 

 and protected from cold, rain, and snow by tarpaulin, 

 or, best of all, sheets of corrugated iron. This 

 material is now coming largely into use, and may 

 be considered one of the indispensables, where early 

 forcing is carried on, as it is cheap, durable, and 

 easily stowed away in small compass when not 

 wanted over the borders. 



Temperature. — One of the great secrets of 

 success in forcing first-class Peaches is bound up in 

 the word *' patience." An easily-excited tree which 

 naturally flowers early can be brought on quickly, 

 but with what result § The embryo flowers existing 

 within their hoary coverings are excited too fast at 

 first, when they either drop off or open in an im- 

 perfect form, and are incapable of performing their 

 funetions. Sometimes all the parts of the flowers 

 are present, but weak, and the anthers are destitute 

 of pollen, without which fertilisation is impossible. 

 To avoid this dilemma, time must be given to the 

 trees through the early stages, by starting them at 

 a low temperature, by coaxing them forward on 

 bright days with gentle fire-heat and ventilation, 

 and allowing them to rest at night. The flowers 

 will then keep in advance of the wood-buds, which 

 is not always the case, particularly in young frees, 

 when they are brought on in too high a temperature. 



During the first fortnight after the early house is 

 closed, no more fire-heat should be given than will 

 be necessary to prevent the temper ature from falling 

 below 45° at night. In mild weather, it will range 

 much higher with ventilation : and when very cold, 

 a few degrees lower will be preferable. When the 

 house has been shut up about fourteen days, and 

 fermenting Oak-leaves have been placed in a ridge 

 along the border, warm the pipes every morning, 

 always with a little air on the ventilators, to raise it 

 to 55° or 60° under the influence of gleams of sun- 

 shine. Shut it off in the afternoon, and let it again 

 descend to 15° on cold nights, and 50° when the 

 external air is soft and mild. "When the buds 

 begin to swell freely, apply just enough fire-heat to 

 maintain a steady minimum of_ 45° to 50°, and a 

 maximum of 55° to 60°, always with a chink of an- 

 on the top and bottom ventilators, and let external 

 conditions be the guide in departing from these 



