362 



Upon forcing the Peach Tree, 



The young wood through all the growing period receives the 

 utmost attention ; every robber is stopped with the finger and thumb 

 as soon as about four eyes or buds long ; every superfluous shoot 

 that is not wanted for the next years bearing, is taken away, and all 

 the inferior shoots, which are much below the proper strength, are 

 trained with the growing points as nearly perpendicular as possible, 

 in order to decoy the sap into them. 



As soon as I perceive the least change towards ripening in the 

 fruit, I stop the points of all the young wood, with the exception of 

 a few of the weakest shoots at the lower part of the tree, and these 

 I keep growing until the end of the season, in order to get, as I 

 before observed, as much sap in them as possible. In the course of 

 their ripening, abundance of air is given both night and day, and 

 every leaf which shades the fruit is entirely removed. I need scarcely 

 add that they cannot ripen too slowly ; the slower they ripen if not 

 absolutely starved the better. Syringing is of course withheld alto- 

 gether, as well as the steaming, but as soon as the last fruit is 

 gathered the tree is completely battered with water morning and 

 evening, and the house shut up early in the afternoon with a ther- 

 mometer of ninety to ninety-five degrees of sunheat when it can 

 be obtained, and this course is persisted in until the leaves turn 

 colour, when the heat by sunshine is allowed to range even higher 

 still ; I have had it as high as a hundred degrees, at three to four 

 o'clock in the afternoon. By these means the wood is most com- 

 pletely ripened, and in pruning cuts more like Oak than wood Peach. 

 During all the ripening process the border inside the house is allowed 

 to become very dry indeed ; in fact water is entirely withheld from 

 the moment the least appearance of change in a single Peach is per- 

 ceived towards ripening. 



An opinion once prevailed very generally, that Peaches would 

 not answer long under glass, unless the lights were removed during 

 the rest season, this is however quite erroneous, as the lights have 

 never been taken off the tree in question since it was planted. 



