156 
CULTIVATION OF THE PEACH. 
with deep red, and ripens from the beginning 
to the middle of September. 
Peterborough. — The latest sort, but only 
of second-rate quality. The colour is green 3 
it ripens in the beginning of October. Chiefly 
valued for its lateness. 
The most convenient mode of treating on 
the cultivation of the Peach, will be to divide 
the subject into distinct sections ; propaga- 
tion, planting, and pruning, will thus take in 
all that it will be necessary to advance in con- 
veying instruction to those who are but little 
versed in the subject, and for whose especial 
use these remarks are written. The cultiva- 
tion of the Nectarine is identical with that of 
the Peach. 
PROPAGATION. 
By Seeds. — The Peach-tree is raised from 
the stone for two distinct purposes ; and these 
are, either to obtain new and improved varie- 
ties, or for the purpose of obtaining stocks, 
with a view towards extending and perpetuat- 
ing the older kinds by means of budding. In 
America, where the Peach is grown in 
orchards, as an open standard tree, it is re- 
corded that they adopt this mode of propaga- 
tion almost exclusively. Their object is not 
so much to secure particularly fine fruit, or 
fruit of rich flavour, as to obtain large quan- 
tities, for the purposes of distillation ; it is 
also said that they use them largely in feeding 
hogs : these being their principal objects, and 
the climate and soil being well adapted to 
bring the Peach to perfection, it is, doubtless, 
the least troublesome and expensive method 
which they could adopt, in order to obtain a 
supply of trees for common purposes. Such 
a course is, however, inapplicable in this 
country ; the means which are required to 
bring the Peach to its perfection here, and the 
esteem in which it is held, Avould render it 
far too expensive a procedure thus to cultivate 
a number of plants, the majority of which 
would, perhaps, be found to be altogether 
worthless. 
Since, therefore, the fruiting of Peaches, 
which have been raised from the stone, is only 
resorted to as a direct means of adding im- 
proved varieties to those already in cultiva- 
tion, the operation becomes at once in a high 
degree scientific, as compared simply with the 
growth of stocks for the purpose of budding 
the established varieties upon. We will briefly 
notice the conditions which it is found neces- 
sary to attend to in order to obtain satisfac- 
factory results. 
The first consideration which should pre- 
sent itself to those who attempt to improve 
the races and varieties of fruit-trees is, a clear 
perception of what would really constitute an 
improvement on the varieties already in exist- 
ence. This will be more clear upon illustra- 
tion ; thus, an early-fruiting variety might 
admit of improvement by obtaining a seedling 
which would secure its precocity, and add to 
it an increased size of fruit, compared with 
what might before have been possessed ; thus, 
too, a large fruit might be improved by com- 
bining with it a higher degree of flavour; and 
thus, again, a high-flavoured fruit would, 
perhaps, admit of improvement by inducing 
a greater degree of vigour and hardiness in 
the constitution of the plant. Now, these 
improvements are not imaginary ; it is pos- 
sible by perseverance to effect some at least 
of them ; and, to speak of this work in its 
connexion with the present day, while there 
is much clone in this way, there is still a vast 
deal more which might be done, if it were 
properly attempted, and perseveringly car- 
ried on. 
On the other hand, it is quite possible, and 
indeed it too often happens, that by inatten- 
tion to points of this nature, new varieties 
may be produced, which display no improve- 
ment upon the original ; as an instance, a large 
fruit might, in a seedling plant, be combined 
with a degree of tenderness in the constitution 
of that plant, which its parent did not possess, 
and which would evidently be a disadvantage, 
rather than an improvement, 
The principal desiderata, in the shape of 
improvements, to which attention might, in 
these days, with very great propriety and 
advantage be directed, would be to secure a 
greater degree of constitutional hardihood in 
trees which produce the finer and higher- 
flavoured fruit, and to increase the size, and 
improve the quality, of the fruit produced by 
those trees which are naturally precocious. 
The manner of carrying out these improve- 
ments into practice would be something like 
the following, which may be taken as an in- 
stance : — In the spring season, just before the 
trees come into blossom, which is generally in 
the early part of March, choose out a healthy 
branch, and remove from it all except two or 
three of the most perfect blossoms; before 
these expand, cover the branch carefully with 
gauze, so that no insect can have access to the 
blossoms : having previously decided on the 
nature of the cress, watch carefully the ex- 
panding of the blossoms; and observe care- 
fully, too, when the summits of the little 
thread-like filaments (stamens) assume a meally 
appearance, and a somewhat larger one in the 
centre of each flower (the stigma) appears to 
be developed ; the stamens should be removed 
before they become meally in the blossom 
which is selected to produce the fruit ; and 
when the stigma of this is fully developed, 
the meally stamens of the variety whose qua- 
lities are to be blended in the progeny should 
