August 26. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
331 I 
Durham, Sept. 8. 
Forfarshire (Eastern), Sept. 15 (Arbroath). 
Glasgow, Sept. 10. * 
Hampshire, Sept. 9 (Southampton), Nov. 18 (Winches¬ 
ter). (Sec. Rev. F. Wickham, Winchester.) 
Hexham, Sept. 15,16. 
Hull, Sept. 16. 
Kirkcaldy (Fifeshire), Sept. 9. 
Lincoln, Sept. 14. 
Liverpool, Sept. 2 (Botanic Garden). 
London Floricultural (Exeter Hall, Strand), Sept. 14+, 
28, Oct. 12+, Nov. 9+, 23, Dec. 14+. 
Maidstone. In-door Show. Sept. 8. (Sec. Mr. J. G. 
Smith, Week-street.) 
Mid Calder (Parish school-room), Sept. 10. 
Newbury, Sept. 3. 
North London, Nov. 23, Chrysanthemum. 
Northampton, Sept. 27, Dahlia. 
Oxfordshire (Royal), Sept. 23. (Secs., C. Tawney and 
W. Undersliell, Esqrs.) 
Peebleshlre, Sept. 14th. (Sec., J. Stirling.) 
Ponteland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne), Sept. 8. ( Sec. Rev. 
J. M. St. Clere Raymond.) 
SouTn Devon Botanical and Horticultural, Sept. 7. 
(Sec. J. Cree Hancock, Esq., Stonehouse.) 
South London (Royal), Sept. 2+, 8, Oct. 14+, Nov. 11+, 
Dec. 9+, 16. 
Shacklewf.ll, Sept. 1. 
Surrey Amateur (George Canning, Grove Lane, Camber¬ 
well), Sept. 15, Dahlia. 
Turriff, Sept. 17. 
Whitehaven, Sept. 17, Dahlias. 
POULTRY SHOWS. 
Birmingham and Midland Counties, 14th, 15th, 16th, 
and 17th December. 
Bristol Agricultural, December 7th, 8th, and 9th. 
(Sec. James Marmont.) 
Bury and Radcliffe (Lancashire), Sept. 3 (Radcliffe). 
Cornwall (Penzance), about a week after the Birming¬ 
ham. (Secs. Rev. W. AY. Wingfield, Gulval Vicarage, 
and E. H. Rodd, Esq.) 
Manchester and Liverpool, Sept. 23. (Sec. Mr. FI. 
AVhite, Warrington.) 
Royal North Lancashire, Aug. 26th, at Preston. 
THE LAST EFFORT IN FRUIT-TREE CULTURE. 
This may appear a strange title, hut, nevertheless, 
one more apposite to the subject in hand could scarcely 
be selected. It is well known, that the line-spun-systems 
of training adopted some twenty years since, have lapsed 
into a state of comparative disuse, and shrunk into insig¬ 
nificance before the much more important question of 
ripening the wood. And now, “ a word and a blow” be 
the maxim ; the blow first, if you will. Those who have 
acted on the oft-repeated advice in The Cottage Gar¬ 
dener, as to an early dressing of the wood, will have 
little now to perform; hut for the sake of those who 
have procrastinated, and young beginners, we feel in¬ 
duced to go over some of the fruits in detail. 
1st. The Peach, including, of course, the Nectarine. 
1 Gross trees will produce more lateral spray through 
i August than at any other period, providing the weather 
j has been moist and warm. If they have been well 
stopped betimes, they will, in endeavouring to hurst 
their bondage, spawn forth branches of young twigs at 
their terminal points, more like a willow stool than 
aught else. Let not our readers feel alarmed at this 
wantonness, hut continue to pinch away until a ces¬ 
sation of this over-active condition takes place, which 
will he the ease in September. At the same time, and 
on the same tree, let care bo taken to encourage growth 
to the very last on all weak portions. This is the time, 
and these are the circumstances under which the equili¬ 
brium of the branches is established. Every gross 
shoot that is stoppod hut relinquishes a portion of the 
strengthening fluid to its weaker neighbours. Now, is 
not this better by far than the plan of former days, 
when we might see trees with shoots a yard long on the 
one portion, and others dwindling into utter insig¬ 
nificance before the gigantic power exercised by these 
vegetable monopolists'.’ And what was the practice at 
the winter-pruning in those times? “Oh!” said the 
man of the bine apron and crooked knife, “ you must cut 
these stray shoots back to an eye or two, or they will 
‘ run away with the tree ! ’ ” AVell may the old priming- 
knife he ashamed to show itself in broad daylight after 
such monstrous revelry. In those days, it might he 
seen poking its impudent nose from a slit in the cor¬ 
duroys, just above the hip of the king of spades; now 
it rests quietly concealed in the pocket of a neat kersey 
vest, and dignified, forsooth, with a dainty white handle, 
the emblem of innocence, we suppose, as compared with 
its ancestry. It need hardly be repeated here, that 
whatever shoots remain loose from the wall should he 
fastened close to it, without a moment’s delay, for all the 
heat of the wall will be required, henceforth, to carry 
out the solidification of the wood. This is the way to 
provide against the blossom-castings, &c., of the ensuing 
spring. There can be little doubt that not only the 
wood itself, but the very parts of fructification are 
thereby rendered capable of enduring a much lower 
temperature. 
And now, the fruit must be considered; in all our 
more northern comities, of course ripening. In order 
to get the fruit of high colour and good flavour, a 
degree of sunlight, acting immediately on the fruit, is 
requisite. It is not with the peach as with the grape : 
in the latter case, the immediate action of sunlight 
would be prejudicial to size, colour, and flavour. That 
such is best adapted to the end in view, is best attested 
by the natural habits of the trees respectively. In their 
natural clime, the peach, subdued in its grossness by a 
sunlight far beyond that of Britain, is not productive of 
that profusion of green spray that the British peach is 
liable to; hut the vine—who has not heard of the vine¬ 
dresser? Every part almost of the Sacred volume con¬ 
tains beautiful similes, in which the vine and the vine¬ 
dresser play a most important part. The fair infei-enee, 
then, is, that the vine, unsubdued by intense solar light 
and heat, produces a profusion of spray ; need we add, 
that the fruit must be subject to a considerable amount 
of shade. 
It is the practice with all good peach growers to take 
extra measures, whilst ripening, to throw sunlight on 
the fruit; and in order to carry this well out, it becomes 
requisite to remove a few of the leaves around each 
peach, sometimes totally plucking them away, and occa¬ 
sionally pinching halves away. This course is more 
particularly necessary with the late kinds, and in our 
northern districts. The best time, we think, to com¬ 
mence this operation, is the moment the fruit commences 
colouring; thus pointing to the time when nature uouhl 
have it done. To totally unshade the fruit earlier would 
be to lessen its size, and, indeed, detract from its quality 
in many cases, by hurrying the ripening process in an 
inordinate way. About the end of August, then, we say, 
stop every shoot on your peach-trees which lias made a 
foot of growth. This is meant to apply to the early- 
made wood; as to the late and watery spray, and all 
those secondary shoots, the result, in the main, of former 
pinchings, off with their heads from this time forth, as 
soon as they have grown three inches. This persisted 
in, the roots will gradually acquire a degree of torpidity, 
and the certain result will be, larger fruit, and an earlier 
sinking to rest—productive, of course, of firmer wood 
and increased hardihood during the ensuing year. 
Apricots. — By the time these remarks reach our 
readers the fruit will he all gathered ; and generally, 
