488 



FRUIT GARDEN. 



the lightest nature to grow upon them, was re- 

 commended by Justice nearly a century ago. 

 Gardeners, in general, look upon this practice 

 as a loss of ground, which no doubt it is; but if 

 a sacrifice is to be made, it is certainly better to 

 choose the least evil, and rather leave the bor- 

 ders entirely uncropped than injure the fruit 

 trees, for which both they and the walls were 

 constructed. Too deep, too damp, and too rich 

 borders have been more disastrous to the peach 

 than all the other ills that befall it, as under 

 these circumstances the wood can never ripen, 

 but will continue growing on till the winter 

 frosts arrest its progress ; and without properly 

 ripened wood all our other efforts are in vain. 

 The more the border slopes from the wall to- 

 wards the walk in front the better, as the surface 

 is presented at a better angle of elevation to the 

 sun than were it fiat. Again, all peach-borders 

 should be elevated above the general surface, 

 and this the more so as the situation is cold, 

 damp, and late. No manure whatever should 

 be dug into peach-borders, nor mixed with the 

 soil on their first formation, unless, in the latter 

 case, the soil be poor indeed, and the manure 

 very much decomposed. Enrichment is better 

 applied by mulching during the warm months 

 of summer with pretty good manure, the essence 

 of which is washed down by rains, and the eva- 

 poration and drought counteracted while it is 

 lying on the surface. Rank manure is highly 

 injurious to all fruit trees. Better have a 6-feet 

 border uncropped, than an 18-feet one cropped 

 in the usual manner. 



Planting. — From the remarks offered in the 

 article Transplanting, p. 356, it will be seen 

 how important a matter early autumnal planting 

 is ; and if it is so as regards trees in general, it 

 must be especially so in the case of our most 

 valuable and tender ones, amongst which the 

 peach and nectarine stand so high. The im- 

 portance of shallow planting is there also en- 

 forced, p. 365. In regard to arrangement, 

 peaches and nectarines should be placed together 

 on the same wall. Such an arrangement gives 

 the appearance of system ; it offers great faci- 

 lities in the formation of the borders, and in 

 covering the fruit from the attacks of wasps and 

 flies, the blossom in spring from frosts, and ad- 

 mits of the walls being heated with hot-water 

 pipes, &c. In planting, regard should be had 

 to keeping the early-ripening kinds together, the 

 medium-ripening sorts by themselves, and the 

 late ones next each other. Weak and vigorous 

 growing sorts, in each of the sections, should be 

 planted alternately; and riders or standards of 

 the same sort as those immediately under 

 them, as dwarfs are to be considered the per- 

 manent trees; so that, when the former are 

 removed to make way for the latter, no confu- 

 sion may arise in the collection, and no one sort 

 be entirely removed. The permanent trees 

 should be planted not less than 20 feet apart 

 from stem to stem, and the riders placed exactly 

 between them, on all walls from 10 to 12 feet in 

 height, the intention of the riders being to cover 

 the top part of the wall while the dwarfs are 

 filling up below. On walls of less height the 

 distance should be greater to allow the trees to 



extend horizontally. A good deal, however, as 

 to the distance depends on the soil and climate. 

 If these be congenial, a peach tree will cover 

 double the distance, as they often live to a con- 

 siderable age, and attain a large size. In regard 

 to the age of the trees at final planting, some 

 cultivators prefer maiden plants, while others 

 give a preference to those which have been 

 trained for two, three, or four years in the nur- 

 sery. Those who are good trainers, and parti- 

 cular about their trees, will choose the former; 

 while many, and by far the most, prefer the 

 latter, especially when it is desirable to have the 

 walls filled speedily, or to make up blanks occa- 

 sioned by deaths, &c. Maiden trees are those 

 of the season next after budding, and have only 

 one shoot. The season after, they are called 

 trained trees, and have several shoots. Healthy 

 and moderately vigorous young trees only should 

 be selected for planting. 



Shallow-planting is of much importance in 

 peach culture,— indeed, what is called surface- 

 planting, in most soils, is to be recommended ; 

 that is, spreading out the roots on the prepared 

 soil no deeper than the general level of the 

 border, and laying over them 6 or 8 inches of 

 soil, leaving it in form of a slightly raised mound. 



Taking up and replanting trees of ordinary 

 dimensions is often requisite, more especially 

 when they either have got into a too vigorous 

 state of growth, making too strong shoots, and 

 showing a deficiency of flower-buds ; or when, 

 in an opposite condition, making small wood, 

 and showing symptoms of debility — in the one 

 case indicating that the roots are throwing into 

 the system too large a supply of sap, and in the 

 other a deficiency. Taking up in autumn, and 

 replanting, is a remedy in both cases : in the 

 former, the strongest roots should be shortened 

 back, and in the latter fresh and suitable soil 

 should be afforded them, and that of a richer 

 nature than that in which they have formerly 

 been growing. Judicious replanting and root- 

 pruning, adding or diminishing the supply of 

 food by the roots, will in a great degree obviate 

 the necessity of branch-pruning ; for if a reci- 

 procity be not maintained between the roots 

 and branches, by placing the roots in the condi- 

 tion we have here described, pruning will as- 

 suredly, in most cases, rather aggravate the com- 

 plaint than alleviate it. 



Pruning and training on the open walls. — So 

 much has been written on pruning and training 

 these trees, and so little remains to be added to 

 the excellent rules laid down, that it appears to 

 us to be mere egotism to profess to lay down 

 rules which may have novelty only to recom- 

 mend them. We deem it, therefore, far more 

 useful to recapitulate the substance of what 

 has been already written, especially of late years, 

 than to confine our observations to our own 

 practice alone ; for, in truth, we have been act- 

 ing for the last forty years upon one or other 

 of the systems pursued with the utmost degree 

 of success by those who have made the culture 

 of the peach their particular study. The peach 

 is also cultivated under such a variety of circum- 

 stances that no one method recommended can be 

 wisely considered universal in its application. 



