APEICOTS. 



107 



home, or are purchased in a nursery. The little trees 

 should have been trained three years, or two at the 

 least, and they should have an equal growth, a centre 

 shoot, and not less than two from each side, of about 

 equal thickness, length, and strength. The Brompton 

 stock is not good, neither is the Brussels, unless to 

 make trees for covering high walls. If you have stocks 

 and wish to bud them, getting well-grown trees is only 

 a work of time, and the training can be taken in hand 

 very early. The stocks may be from the apricot or 

 plum, or a kind of wild plum, sold for the purpose. 

 For dwarf trees bud eight inches above the ground, for 

 half-standards bud at three feet, and for standards at 

 five feet. 



The best soil for apricots is a good, sound, unctuous 

 loam, with a mixture of vegetable mould, but use no 

 manure, except on the surface, in the form of occasional 

 mulching. Eighteen inches is sufficient depth of soil. 



In warm situations far south, east and west are the 

 aspects which often produce the finest apricots, as a 

 hol'ter place is apt to make the fruit mealy ; but in cooler 

 localities, in the north, or even as far south as London, 

 a south wall is best. In warm, sheltered localities 

 standards may be grown, and the fruit on them is often 

 abundant and fine in flavour; but the trees are long 

 before they bear, and the fruit, of course, smaller. 



Mr. Elvers states that the small Alberge Apricot, 

 raised from the stone, makes a capital pyramid, pro- 

 ducing small but highly flavoured fruit ; and that the 

 Breda also does well for the same training, if lifted or 

 planted biennially. 



An apricot may be trained as a fan, or with the 

 branches spread out horizontally. 



For training fan-like the tree should, to begin with, 

 have a centre shoot, and two or three side-shoots on each 

 side. J Train the centre shoot straight upright, the two 

 lowest quite horizontally, and those above them in a 

 slanting direction. 



Horizontal training is more exact and handsome in 

 appearance. The centre branch is quite upright, and the 



