206 THE KITCHEN-GARDEN, [chap. vii. 
ning the blossoms is rather more difficult; 
but with a little practice, a lady could do it 
much better than a gardener, as it is an 
operation that depends principally on deli¬ 
cacy of touch. When a peach tree is trained 
in the fan manner, the first year the little 
side shoots are left for producing the fruit, 
and none of these should be more than a 
year old. The next year these shoots must 
be cut out, (as the same shoot never bears 
two years in succession,) and others which 
have been produced while they were bearing, 
must be trained in their stead. The borders 
should never be cropped on account of not 
disturbing the roots, which should be encour¬ 
aged to rise up to the surface of the ground 
by what is called mulching, that is, covering 
the ground with straw, dead leaves, or litter; 
and when this is objected to on account of 
its untidy appearance, the borders should be 
left bare, and only raked occasionally to pre¬ 
vent the surface from caking over, and be¬ 
coming impervious to air and moisture. No 
stable dung should be given to peaches, and 
when the trees seem exhausted they should 
be taken up and replanted in fresh soil; or 
