530 
TRAINING PEACHES AND NECTARINES. 
Such a soil, whatever its colour may be, is a desirable one for this 
class of trees. 
It may not be amiss to remark in this place, that the darker the 
colour of the soil, if it possesses the before-mentioned property, the 
more powerful will the influence of the sun operate upon it. 
That particular attention is required in selecting a soil of the 
above nature will appear evident from the following circumstances :— 
Trees planted in a very gravelly or sandy soil uniformly produce 
weakly shoots, such shoots may be well supplied with blossom 
buds when every other advantage is afforded the trees in manage¬ 
ment, but the blossoms are usually single ones, (that is, not twin 
blooms,) and it will be found that the far greater portion of the shoots 
will be destitute of any growing bud excepting the terminal one; 
from this circumstance, such shoots cannot be shortened at winter 
pruning, because if no growing bud be upon the shoot, the fruit con¬ 
sequently drops off. When the shoots are long, and of necessity 
allowed year after year to proceed onwards, the trees will soon become 
naked, and run out. On the other hand, when the soil is a very 
strong bodied one, the trees will produce gross long jointed shoots, 
but which will seldom ripen well; and if even blooming buds are at 
all produced, it will often be found that they are imperfect, wanting 
the parts of fructification. 
The depth of a fruit tree border, composed of a soil as recom¬ 
mended, should not exceed twenty inches; and a substratum of 
broken stones, gravel, or similar materials, should be spread over the 
whole to the depth of six inches. This prevents an accumulation of 
water in very wet seasons, but yet it is not so open as to prevent a 
retention of a sufficient degree of moisture for the necessary purposes 
of the trees. 
The substratum of the border should be formed so as to slope 
from the wall, and parallel to it along the front of the border, an 
open drain should be constructed to take away any superfluities. 
It is desirable in selecting compost for the border to obtain turf 
soil, not digging deeper than six or eight inches. This, when pro¬ 
cured and well chopped to pieces, and having about one-sixth of well 
rotted manure mixed with it, will be found to realize every desirable 
advantage; and when the trees are treated as hereafter described, 
they will be found equally distant from either luxuriance or weak¬ 
ness. The compost should be mixed and chopped together for six 
months previous to planting, so as to give plenty of time for it to 
properly settle. 
My experience has taught me, that a border should, for a twelve 
