322 Methods (/Forcing Peaches in Denmark. 



severe in Denmark, we are obliged to cover our forcing- 

 houses very thickly, particularly when we begin to force so 

 early ; mats made of haulm or straw are fastened on the top 

 of the house to roll down over the lights, and over these, we 

 lay mats made of reeds. 



The wall behind the house is protected with a large lining 

 of leaves which have been collected in the previous autumn : 

 beneath the leaves, we usually scatter a layer of horse-dung to 

 accelerate the heating of the leaves. After the leaves have 

 been placed there three weeks, they will have sunk much, and 

 should then be renewed ; they must always be kept as high as 

 the top of the house ; the mass must be three feet thick, at 

 least ; the wall will, by this means, be kept warm the whole 

 winter, and consequently, in mild weather, the top covering 

 of the lights may sometimes be lessened. 



The principle on which I act is, to commence forcing slow- 

 ly, as well as to end slowly. When the trees begin to unfold 

 their blossoms, which is about the end of February, I admit 

 no more air, for the sap at that period being much in motion, 

 and the shoots and blossoms tender, they would, by expo- 

 sure, risk suffering from cutting winds. As a protection from 

 the strong influence of bright sun, I shade the glass with 

 branches of trees, thus moderating the sun's heat. I do not 

 allow the thermometer, when placed in the shade, to rise 

 higher than sixteen degrees, (68° of Fahrenheit. ) 



After the fruit has set, and when the blossoms have fallen, 

 the warmth is increased, by increasing the coverings, till 

 the Peaches begin to stone. When the Peaches are so far 

 advanced as to be stationary, preparatory to stoning, or, in 

 other words, when they are forming their stones, (which may 



