638 



THE GARDEN AND FIELD. 



July, 1913 



Mop-Headed Peach Trees. 



Quite often one sees in suburban 

 gardens peach trees which have 

 obviously got away from their 

 owner's control. A short trunk 

 with five or six long bare poles 

 each carrying a more or less dense 

 m.ass of twiggv growth. They evi- 

 dentlv began life in the way they 

 should go but latterly have seri- 

 ouslv departed therefrom. This 

 running up is of course a develop- 

 ment to which the peach is parti- 

 cularly- liable. In very small gar- 

 dens it is not perhaps entirely un- 

 desirable, for by growing, or rather 

 allowing them to grow in this 

 fashion one can arrive at a sort of 

 double deck garden, some fruit up 



CURLEW BRANDY. 



For years ibe Unly liranuy umoU 

 in th« Adelaide Hospital. 



Sole Ag>eiiti — 



DOWNER & 00. 



Wine and Spirit Merchants and 

 Aerated Water Manufacturers. 



4,^ WA^HMOUTH ST., CITY. 



above, and if the tops arc not too 

 thick, some vegetables or flowers 

 underneath. Many people who 

 own such trees think them beyond 

 redemption and do not attempt 

 anv pruning or more drastic treat- 

 ment. Some improvement, how- 

 ever, shotild in such cases be at- 

 tempted. Unless it is wished to re- 

 new the whole tree, the best me- 

 thod would be to cut out at least 

 one-third of the bunch of leaders, 

 choosing of course the wor.se placed 

 and least healthy ones. ' Shorten 

 back the remainder and cut back 

 to three buds, half the twiggy 

 growth which remains. The quality 

 of the fruit next season will be 

 much improved and there will be a 

 good growth of wood for renewing 

 the head or heads. A more tho- 

 rough method, but one involving 

 the loss of a season's fruit, would 

 be to cut down the tree to about 

 2ft. 6in. from the ground, the 

 height depending on the build of 

 the tree, and as it is somewhat 

 risky to depend on natural shoots 

 in an old peach tree, it is better 

 to msert a few" bark grafts on each 

 of the limbs to ensure the forma- 

 tion of a new head. This should 

 be done after the sap has com- 

 menced to rise freely so that the 

 bark can be raised without difficul- 

 ty. The scions of the same or any 

 other or any number of varieties 

 should be prepared now and kept 

 in a moist cool place. If the work 

 is done properly the buds start 

 awav directly, the shoots can be 

 nipped back and made to branch 

 or to form fruit spurs as desired, 

 and in the one season a fine, 

 shapely head will be formed, cap- 

 able of bearing a nice crop next 

 season. If it be desired for any 

 reason to keep the tree high, the 

 limbs should be grafted at the 

 height de.sired. Another plan is 

 to put in dormant buds or side 

 grafts round the branch in the 

 summer, cut off the branch above 

 them in the winter, paint or wax 

 the end , and in the spring the buds 

 will put out and form a new head 

 to the tree. This obviates the dif- 

 ficulty there always is when cut- 

 ting down an old tree in getting 

 new shoots to put out just where 

 they are wanted. 



♦ 



Fowl manure should be spread 

 thinlv so as not to heat or fer- 

 ment, and allowed to dry in the 

 air. Its value is double that of 

 the fresh droppings, and is worth 

 four times as much as stable or 

 farmyard manure. 



Preparation of Grafting 

 Wax. 



A useful recijie for the prepara- 

 tion of grafting wax was lately 

 given in the American Journal of 

 Agriculture. It is as follows :-- 



The best grafting wax is made 

 from 4 parts of resin, i parts of 

 bees' wax, and i part of tallow, all 

 by weight. An iron vessel of some 

 kind should be used for melting 

 the components of the mixture, 

 which should be done over a slow 

 fire. The resin is melted first, then 

 the bees' wax is added, and finally 

 the tallow. The three ingredients 

 are gently stirred so as to bring 

 about a thorough mixture. 



The melting process will take 

 from twenty minutes to half an 

 hour, and care must be taken to 

 avoid burning the melted mixture. 

 \Vhen properlv mixed, a small por- 

 tion is poured into a bucket of 

 cold water, and in a short time? it 

 will be cooled sufficiently to be 

 lifted out with the hand and work- 

 ed in any way desired. During this 

 process, the hands must be kept 

 moderately greased with tallow to 

 prevent sticking. 



When the colour of the grafting 

 wax mixture has become pale yel- 

 low, it has been worked sufficient- 

 ly, and may be made into rolls of 

 convenient size — 3 or 4 inches long, 

 by about i inch in diameten — and 

 placed in another vessel of cold 

 water to harden. 



More of the melted mixture is 

 now poured into the cold water 

 and treated as before, and this pro- 

 cess is repeated until the whole lot 

 is worked up. The rolls of wax 

 soon harden, and can be put away 

 until required in grafting. 



This wax, when applied to the 

 trees, will not melt and run down 

 in warm, weather. If, however, the 

 weather is very warm at the time 

 grafting is done, it is well to allow 

 the wax to lie in cold water for 

 a time before using in order that 

 it may be of the proper consist- 

 ency. 



In appl)^ng the wax around the 

 grafts it should be pressed very 

 closely. It is advisable also that 

 the hands .should be rubbed, with a 

 very little tallow before starting 

 the grafting process. This, how- 

 ever, must be done with judgment, 

 since if the hands are so greasy as 

 to affect the wax, it will not stick 

 properly to the cut surfaces of the 

 grafts. 



