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THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, March 30, 1858. 
five on eacli side ; and eight or nine pots of Begonia 
round each group ; the Begonias were flowered in No. 
16-pots, and, with the pots, stood from two feet and a 
half to three feet high, and from one foot and a half to 
two feet across the middle—all in full bloom in the 
autumn. 
At the beginning of April is the right time to begin 
them—they have large “ roots ” like Cyclamens, and 
five of them put into a No. 16-pot, at once, is as good 
a w T ay as any—if they could get a little assistance in a 
warm pit, or house, at first, they would flower sooner; 
but with a cold frame, or even without a pane of glass, 
I have seen them in cottages, year after year, as fine as 
on the said terrace. I once had a clever framing-ground 
man, who insisted on it, that Balsams and Begonias were 
the only plants worth an honest man’s attention; he 
used to give them a first start in the frames, and, after 
that, grow and flower them at his cottage, and pride 
himself in excelling the flower garden by long odds, 
although the said flower gardener had the run of many 
hothouses, pits, and frames. 
In the summer of 1831, I saw a bed of the Italian 
Tuberose in full bloom, in the open ground at Drop- 
more, and from that day to this, I have not seen the 
Tuberose better done ; this is just the time to think of 
them also. Then come the old crimson and scarlet 
Lobelias , and there is not a man in fifty, or perhaps 
in five hundred, who has a notion of preparing them for 
bedding out; they spawn like the Chrysanthemum, and 
I this is the time to look after them. The way they do 
them for pots will not do at all for the flower garden. 
After providing for pot plants, by potting the strongest 
suckers now in No. 60-pots, parcel out the rest into 
two sizes, and use the larger size for permanent plants, 
as it were, and the small size to be afterwards planted 
out, at regular distances, in the bed between the per¬ 
manent plants ; put three and three of them into No. 
! 48-pots, and when they are just six inches high, kill or 
cut out the leading point, and every eye will be a spike 
of bloom, come in succession, and last a long time. 
D. Beaton. 
THE PEACH AND NECTARINE IN SPRING. 
Although these luscious fruits are somewhat of an 
ephemeral character, as compared with such lasting 
fruits as the Pear, yet they lose not in importance, 
but rather acquire a greater; as evinced by the prices 
they realise (when forced especially) in our markets. 
But apart from their luscious character as to the palate, 
what a glorious dish is a pile of well-coloured Loyal 
G-oryes, or bouncing Galandes, on a dessert table ! be 
what there may besides, the eye is speedily attracted 
to fine and well-coloured Peaches. Yet strange to say 
that, notwithstanding the advance made in the culture 
of other fruits, the culture of the Peach and Necta¬ 
rine has almost remained stationary. That this is, in 
part, owing to the ravages of insects, there is little 
doubt; but no small part of the affair is attributable 
to the use of the spade. This severe cropping of 
borders is, indeed, a serious injury to these tender 
trees ; as they are, perhaps, more susceptible of injury 
than most fruits, and love to possess a good body of 
fibres nestling just below the surface. Besides, I do 
not think that proper soils are afforded them in very 
many cases. Some gardens are so good as to texture 
and condition of soil, that little extra is needed ; but 
loose and light soils will never afford stability to the 
Peach : by dint of rich mammal matters they may be 
made to flourish exceedingly for a time, but durability 
is another affair altogether. 
It is very common to hear people say, that a Peach 
is naturally a short-lifed tree ; but I beg to differ 
considerably from this opinion. That they are rather 
short lived, in point ot fact, is true enough ; but it is 
simply because they are so susceptible of injury, both 
in root and branch. If anyone will plant a hardy kind 
(say Loyal George) in sound turfy loam, with an ad¬ 
mixture of one-third half-decayed leaves, the whole 
well mixed, placed half a yard deep on a dry and 
impervious substratum, and keep the tree constantly 
free from insects, and duly trained, I will engage that, i 
if it be naturally healthy, it will last thirty years or 
more; but the spade must not pass overHts fibres 
annually. This limited duration arises from adverse 
circumstances, before adverted to. 
As there may be persons, readers of The Cottage 
Gardener, who still want to plant, I maybe excused 
for offering a few words of advice. I, therefore, at once 
say, take the proper pains in planting, secure good soil, 
choose a sound and healthy tree, and keep away spade 
culture. But as to after management, by all possible 
means, let insects be kept down : and, this is not all: 
there comes disbudding, stopping, training, &c. Loam 
of that character which is slightly adhesive, even when 
tolerably dry, is the soil they most affect; and it 
should be fibrous. Without loam, and planted in old 
and worn garden soil, they cannot be relied on for 
many years; with it (other conditions being equal), 
and proper culture observed, no man may fix a dura¬ 
tion for them. The depth of the soil I have before 1 
referred to ; also, that the bottom or subsoil be sound 
and dry, or rendered so ; and that stations be used, in j 
order to keep the roots from descending below a given 
depth. 
Thus much for principles of planting; let us now j 
proceed to consider after culture. I have in former 
papers spoken of the propriety of using surface dress¬ 
ings, and I again recommend them as of much im¬ 
portance; that this, if applied, should not be before 
the soil is warmed—say the middle or end of May. 
But, I may here observe, that there are other ways 
of raising the condition of the trees, if in need of 
strength, than the surface affair. One of the best prac¬ 
tices, I think, is to throw out a trench in front of the 
tree, at such a distance, as to just cut off the extremities 
of the roots ; and to introduce fresh loamy compost in 
the trench, constituting a kind of zone of new soil 
around the tree. This excavation is not obliged to be 
circular, or any other set form; the operator should j 
dodge in and out, with his spade, accommodating the 
roots all he can. As to depth, it should be not more 
than two feet, and the fibres disengaged should be 
spread out nicely on this material. Where trees are 
weak, this compost may be rich in manurial matter, j 
taking care that the loam be sound. This trench may j 
be of any width, according to the needs of the trees ; 
but, if the soil had been prepared for the trees originally, j 
from a foot to half a yard will generally suffice. The 
month of March, or the very beginning of April, is an 
eligible time for the operation, if omitted in the 
previous autumn. About the first week in November 
being, in my opinion, the best time of all. Of course 
the trees will receive a slight check for a few weeks, 
but this will be amply repaid by the time the fruits are 
swelling, for by Midsummer abundance of fresh fibres 
will have taken possession of the new soil, and these 
will probably furnish more nourishment than the old 
roots, for it will be found they multiply exceedingly. 
I may now refer to the use of the water-pot, on soils 
known to be affected with drought; for although the 
Peach and Nectarine, like the Vine, abhor stagnated 
moisture, they equally delight in a proper amount of j 
moisture at certain periods. It is always to be pre¬ 
sumed that the earth is moist enough for their needs, 
until the fruit is as large as Marroiofat Peas; water 
applied before this period, out-doors, under any circum¬ 
stances, is doubtless more or less an injury, as tending 
