CULTUEE OF PEACHES AND NECTARINES ON THE OPEN WALL. 309 
much earlier, and this may be determined by the character of the young wood, which will 
of course point out the amount of vigour in the tree. 
The mulching then being applied under these circumstances, I invariably seize the chance 
of giving the trees one thorough soaking of water ; indeed for my long wall I generally 
employ three men carrying water for nearly half a day, for I regard one thorough satura- 
tion of the soil of much greater import than several slight waterings. 
I ought here to observe, that I suffer the newly-applied mulch to become heated with . 
the sun's rays before I apply the water, and this I always endeavour to do on a sunny day, 
when the mulch is heated with the sun's rays. 
It is truly astonishing to witness the vigour imparted to the trees under the above 
circumstances , and all the robbers, or gross shoots, having been stopped previously to the 
application, an impulse is given to the lower and inferior parts of the tree, which I regard 
of the utmost benefit. The powerful root action hitherto excited by the growing principle 
in the superior parts, being now rendered available to the augmentation of those which are 
in a weaker condition, especially those at the bottom of the wall. 
In removing large limbs from Peach and Nectarine trees, when such amputation 
becomes necessary, it is particularly essential that some material be emploj^ed to cicatrise 
the wound ; for no tree is more impatient of amputation than these. Some use grafting 
wax ; others paint the wound over, or rather, I might say, apply a coating of white lead to 
it : for my part, I have generally used a mixture of lime, cow dung, and strong clay, well 
kneaded together, putting a screen of cloth or linen over the whole, to prevent rifting. 
On no account, however, should limbs more than two years old be removed, unless in 
cases of sheer necessity ; it is better to be content with a branch which possesses but few 
shoots, than to cut it away. However, cases will arise in which an operation of the kind 
must be performed. Operations such as this should be anticipated : the finger and thumb 
applied judiciously, in a timely way, will, for the most part, supersede the bill-hook 
and the saw. 
It is a common complaint that the Peach is short-lived, and there appears much reason 
for it. Those, however, who make use of the privilege so freely accorded of visiting the 
magnificent seat of Chatsworth, the residence of his Grace the Duke of Devonshire, will 
feel compelled to revise their pre-conceived notions in this respect. I had the pleasure, a 
short time since, of doing so ; and although I have in my time been accustomed to see fine 
Peach trees, I could scarcely have conceived it possible for any amount of horticultural 
skill to have preserved so long, and in such splendid condition, so noble a Peach tree as at 
this moment exists in one of the houses there. The exact measurement of this extra- 
ordinary Peach tree I did not inquire, and I lament the omission.* 
The tree appears to be of some twenty or thirty years' standing, and its huge arms 
extend right and left over a space which, under ordinary circumstances, would require half- 
a-dozen trees to cover. It has borne most remarkable crops, as I was informed ; and no 
wonder, for the young wood appears as if disposed by a mathematical precision, and, I may 
add, about equal in strength in all parts of the tree. 
Judging from its present appearance, this noble tree is likely to endure some half- 
score years longer, and I must confess that I never saw, in any tree, so triumphant a 
refutation of the idea of a Peach tree being necessarily short-lived. 
To conclude my long remarks, I may observe that no maxims of planting, training, 
pruning, or stopping, will prove of any avail, if insects be permitted to ravage the leaves 
of the Peach and Nectarine. No tree suffers sooner from such depredators. This, 
however, is a wide question, and may form the subject of some future remarks. 
* " We visited besides four large Pine-houses, one Strawberry and Cherry-house, and Peach-houses — one of 
which contains the finest ' Royal George ' Peach tree in the kingdom, the branches extending 70 feet in width, 
and the height from 17 to 20 feet, and of the most perfect symmetry. In 1842, seventy dozen fruit were 
obtained from it." — From the '^Description of Buxton, Chatsworth, and Castleton, Abridged from Adam^s 
Gem of the Peak, 1847." 
