THE HARDY FRUIT GARDEN. 



179 



Hence the origin and use of portable copings for 

 employment during what may be called the danger 

 period of our springs. These are formed of slate, 

 wood, thatch, mats, glass, &c. 



Opaque copings of such width must be portable ; 

 the glass ones may be permanent, though they, too, 

 are most efficient when put on in March and removed 

 in May. Glass, however, while possessing the great 

 merit of transparency, is far less efficient as a heat- 

 preserver than wood, thatch, or even slate. 



Glass copings have been extended until they have 

 been converted into glass walls, and these hardly 

 differ, unless in their width, being mostly narrower, 

 from the Peach-cases already described in The Peach 

 and Nectarine undek Glass. As glass copings 

 offer but slight resistance to the radiation of heat 

 from the walls, during clear frosty nights it is safe 

 practice to increase their efficiency by coverings of 

 mats in severe weather. 



Portable wooden copings, consisting of narrow 

 shutters, of two or more nine-inch or foot deals 

 slipped under the permanent copings, and fixed to 

 sloping iron brackets, form most efficient cold-proof 

 portable protectors, as thin planks, or inch deals, are 

 practically impervious to the passage of heat. A 

 thatch of reeds, straw, rushes, or coarse grasses, from 

 six inches to a foot in thickness, is equally im- 

 pervious, and is much used in France as a temporary 

 coping for protective purposes. 



These mats roll up by day, and are replaced at 

 nights. No interstices must be left between the 

 upper side of the coping and the wall, as otherwise 

 the heat will escape, or the cold rush in behind and 

 sweep off the bloom, notwithstanding the thick- 

 ness and efficiency of the copings. The temporary 

 copings should have a sharp pitch, for the double 

 purpose of draining themselves dry quickly, and 

 also keeping the trees and the base of the wall dry. 



Should the Peach-blossom get frozen the safest 

 remedy is a gentle sprinkle, several times repeated 

 — for too much at once, or applied too violently, is 

 fatal to success — of quite cold water an hour or 

 two before the sun hits them. The water draws out 

 the frost gradually, and so the blooms are saved. 

 The blooms are more frequently destroyed in the 

 thawing than by the freezing, and hence the 

 rationale of the cold-water cure. But prevention is 

 better than cure, therefore, in unfavourable seasons 

 or localities, protection may be carried much further 

 by screening the whole front of the walls with thin 

 canvas bunting ; woollen, or other netting ; rough 

 straw bands, with long straws projecting, stretched on 

 poles, placed within a foot of the walls, the ends of 

 one band almost touching those of the next ; a thin 

 thatch of Spruce, Yew, or other boughs ; Bracken, or 

 Asparagus-tops, on the wall itself ; or any other sub- 



stance or means of checking the energy of radiation, 

 and so husbanding heat, and saving the bloom from 

 destruction. Bunting, or canvas, made portable 

 by suspension on rings, or rollers, to be promptly 

 removed, and placed over the trees at pleasure, 

 is, on the whole, the most sure and satisfactory 

 arrangement for protecting the trees against the two 

 extremes of heat and cold. 



Great benefit is also often derived from protecting 

 the stems and even the main branches of Peach- 

 trees in the early spring. The sun often fills both 

 to repletion with a rising tide of sap, and should this 

 be frozen at night, ruptures of bark and wood, re- 

 sulting in disease and death, frequently follow. A 

 loose straw band twisted round the stem, and con- 

 tinued to the chief and most exposed portions of the 

 side and main branches, would render such incidents 

 impossible, and also keep the main limbs and trunk 

 of the tree much cooler during bright days. 



Were climate constant in the open air, there 

 would be nothing to add to Mr. Coleman's articles, 

 and for most details of culture we refer to them. 



Planting. — A dry bottom is, of course, vital. Where 

 the soil is naturally wet, the best plan is to raise the 

 border right above the natural level of the ground, 

 and to make sure of the roots not penetrating the wet 

 earth, concrete the old surface before forming the 

 border, and place at least six inches of drainage over 

 the concrete. Of course this is in extreme cases; 

 where the subsoil is porous, or can be readily 

 drained, the original soil may be removed, and the 

 borders made either perennial, or at once, as pointed 

 out in The Peach and Nectarine under Glass. 



As gross growth is far more difficult to deal 

 with out of doors than in, none of the stimulants, 

 such as bones, &c, recommended for " Peaches under 

 Glass," should be added to outside borders. Good 

 loam, assisted when the trees get into full bearing 

 with mulchings, and liquid or solid manure if 

 needful, will prove sufficient. As to depth and 

 width of border, that may vary according to rainfall 

 of locality, height of wall, character of trees grown, 

 &c. For full-sized fan-shaped trees, borders two 

 feet deep, and the width of the height of the wall, 

 are a safe mean, and have yielded better and more 

 durable results than any other. On dry soils and 

 subsoils, a border three feet in depth may not prove 

 excessive ; while in damp localities, on stiff subsoils, 

 eighteen inches deep would be more likely to result 

 in that moderate-sized, thoroughly matured, nut- 

 brown wood desired by the most successful Peach- 

 growers. Strong vigorous wood may at times be an 

 advantage in-doors, where heat to finish it is at 

 the disposal of the cultivator. But in the open air 

 no more nor stronger wood should be made than can 



