March 11, 1893. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
439 
Notes on Vegetables. 
Through the severe weather which we experienced at 
the turn of the year, I hope it may not be considered 
out of place to take stock of our position as to the 
future supply of vegetables. There can be no 
question as to the destruction caused by the iron 
King. So much more then the necessity to en¬ 
deavour to reduce as far as possible the inconvenience 
likely to accrue. This may readily be done where 
cold pits and frames are at command, as only the 
slightest amount of heat is necessary at any time 
in the cultivation of early vegetables and salads. 
Broccoli have suffered terribly, very few being left, 
and those have been so punished that they will per¬ 
force be very small. Even the Scotch Kale has been 
decimated, and the supply even of this is smaller 
than usual. 
To supply the’deficiency extra care must be taken 
and no time must be lost, if not already done, in 
sowing a box or two of Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, 
Dickson’s Early Forcing and Erfurt Cauliflowers, 
Tom Thumb Lettuce, or any other variety most 
fancied. Carefully nurse them on in their young 
state, but don’t coddle them, and harden them off as 
quickly as possible, so that they may not suffer much 
when put into their quarters. The Brussels Sprouts, 
of course will not be of any use for spring gather¬ 
ing, but we find the early sown batch far more 
reliable than those sown out-of-doors in March, in 
fact the latter are never trusted by us. 
Then again, where there are plenty of glass struc¬ 
tures how much maybe done. French Beans may now 
be gathered in abundance two or three times a week, 
in fact, from now onwards they should be considered 
one of the most reliable dishes. Osborn's Winter 
Forcing never fails to fruit freely, and although not 
so long in the pod as some other varieties, we find 
nothing to equal it for pot work. Our first batch is 
over, and for the fourth sowing we have tried 
Williams's Prolific upon advice, and just as a test. 
Many fancy Ne Plus Ultra, but with us it is not to be 
relied upon, especially in early forcing; in pits for 
spring it is all very well. 
Then again, how much may be done by husband¬ 
ing the supply of Seakale. If not already done lift 
all the crowns, storing them away at the back of a 
north wall if possible, introducing only so many as 
may be known to be required, and for the last supply 
placing a quantity in ridges of coal ashes in the 
coolest place available, taking care to exclude the 
light ; litter or fern answers well for the purpose. 
How useful too is Witloef-Chicory. Place the roots 
in any moderately warm place ; they force rapidly, 
and when the crowns are about six inches high they 
make a most acceptable dining-room dish. How 
useful it is for mixed salading, particularly if the 
supply of Endive fails. 
Asparagus, of course, must not be omitted to be 
lifted and placed in heat rather longer than usual 
this season, so as to prevent any break in the supply. 
Radishes must be nursed and induced to come in as 
early as possible, as Celery is so badly cut up. Ours 
are sown in a heated pit, and during the day the 
lights are removed, but still the heat is allowed to 
circulate in the pipes, keeping the atmosphere 
warmer, and we shall draw in a few days. Carrots 
too we treat in the same way. But I must not trespass 
too much upon your space, but hope these few notes 
may be of service to those whose supply is likely to 
run short.— Cor. 
Asparagus. 
The time will soon be upon us for making new 
plantations of this highly esteemed vegetable, and if 
the ground is not already trenched it must be done 
at once. Unless the soil is of a very heavy nature 
it is not necessary to add anything at the time of 
trenching except a good dressing of rotten manure, 
and this should not be buried too deeply. Suppos¬ 
ing the soil to be of a heavy character' anything of 
the nature of burnt refuse will be of advantage, and 
it is then advisable to plant on raised beds; but if 
the soil be of a fairly light nature, I much prefer to 
plant in rows on the level. The planting should not 
be done until several inches of growth is made, and 
a damp or dull day should be selected if possible, 
exposing the roots to the air no longer than is 
necessary. The rows may be 3 ft. or more apart, 
and the plants 18 in. or 2 ft. in the rows. The 
trench should be made the width of a garden shovel 
and 3 in. deep; the roots can then be spread out in 
a natural position. One-year-old plants are the 
best for planting, and all growth should, if possible, 
be secured so that it is not broken by the wind. This 
is particularly necessary when the crowns get 
strong, and the growth is tall and heavy, as, if the 
tops are allowed to fall about and get broken off 
while green, good crowns for the next year cannot 
be expected. Old plantations should have a dress¬ 
ing of well rotted manure lightly forked in between 
the rows, and where the Asparagus is required to be 
blanched it can be earthed up as it starts to grow ; 
a good dressing of salt is beneficial to the plants and 
a great check to the growth of weeds. — G H. S. 
Early Lettuce. 
Where these may be required in May or sooner, the 
demand will be most readily met if a stock of 
autumn-sown plants of Bath Cos, or All the Year 
Round, has been pricked out where frames could be 
placed over them. A portion of these can be thinned 
out and transplanted in the open, and, provided space 
can be spared, a number of them might well be left 
in the frame till ready for use. If hand glasses are 
available, some of the thinnings might with 
advantage be planted under each light. By this 
means I have known Lettuce cut soon after the 
middle of April in a moderately good spring. For 
early summer supplies, plants that may have 
survived the winter on a sheltered border may be 
transplanted to the foot of south walls, where they 
will make rapid progress on well enriched soil. 
Where these have been destroyed by frost, plants 
raised under glass may have to be relied on for a 
first crop. Sown in a brisk temperature and an abun¬ 
dance of strong seedlings will soon be at command. 
These when pricked off and afterwards well hardened 
preparatory to planting out, will turn in for use much 
sooner than those sown in the open if they are 
afforded good soil and a favourable situation— M., 
Ayrshire. 
About Parsley. 
Those who have been equal to the task of maintain¬ 
ing a good supply of Parsley daily during the last 
three months, when frost prevailed almost constantly 
for the greater part of that period, may congratulate 
themselves on the accomplishment of this feat, if 
such a word is permissible, and a few notes on their 
mode of procedure would no doubt be valuable to 
many readers of your esteemed journal. In order to 
secure a handful once in two days since Christmas, 
we have had to draw on a frame sowing made about 
the beginning of July and never in my experience 
has a supply—limited though it has been — come in so 
opportunely. ,The sowing referred to might well 
have been made a fortnight sooner, as a much better 
crop would doubtless have been realised. The lights 
should be kept off the frame till frost sets in and 
good soakings of water afforded if necessary.— M., 
Ayrshire. 
-- 
PEACHES AND NECTARINES. 
(Continued from p. 418) 
The borders and trees being ready, planting is easily 
accomplished. A dry day should be selected for doing 
the work, and the autumn undoubtedly is the best 
time, just when the leaves begin to fall ; the trees 
then make a few roots before the hard weather sets 
in, which are of great service to them in the spring, 
especially in the case of the Peach, as it starts into 
growth very early. 
Eight or nine feet apart is a good distance at which 
to plant young trees ; very little wall space is then 
lost, and in four or five years, when the trees over¬ 
grow each other, every second one should be removed, 
leaving the more promising to occupy the whole 
space. 
Before planting the roots should be examined, and 
any very strong ones of a downward tendency cut 
back, any that are bruised or broken must also be 
shortened, as a clean cut will heal much quicker than 
a bruise. In planting the stem of the tree should 
be kept 3 in. or 4 in. off the wall, and care taken not 
to plant too deeply, if the uppermost roots are 3 in. 
below the soil it will be quite sufficient, and they 
must all be laid out horizontally to their full length, 
making the soil about them very firm as the work 
proceeds ; and the trees ought only to be temporarily 
fastened to the wall until spring, when they can be 
properly nailed. 
The pruning and training of Peaches is one of the 
most pleasant operations connected with our craft, 
and it is also one of the most important. The Peach 
is very accommodating in the matter of training, and 
lends itself very readily to any ornamental designs, 
of which the French horticulturists take full advan¬ 
tage. But the form usually adopted in this country 
and to be recommended is the fan-shape. A maiden 
Peach usually has one straight shoot of from 2 ft. to 
4 ft. long, this to produce a fan-shaped tree, must be 
cut down to within eight or nine buds of the base. 
And in the spring when these buds push out, the 
best placed shoots must be selected, and trained outat 
about equal distances, to lay the foundation of the 
tree, if six can be obtained they make a fair sized 
tree the first year. But a few nicely placed shoots are 
preferable to a greater number of awkward ones. 
If the tree is in good health the shoots will grow 2 ft. 
or 3 ft. during the summer; these in the following 
winter must be again shortened, those in the centre 
rather severely to furnish more growths to fill up 
the side should only be cut back to well-ripened 
wood. 
The main point in training a fan-shaped tree is to 
maintain an equal distribution of sap amongst the 
branches. Careful watching is needed to prevent 
any of the central branches growing too strongly at 
the expense of the others ; stop them whenever they 
show such a tendency, this will cause them to make 
several lateral growths, but will produce a better 
balanced tree than letting them grow unchecked. The 
lateral growths will help to fill up the centre of the 
tree and do away with the necessity of hard pruning; 
the result of hard pruning is always more strong 
growths, and as they are very undesirable objects in 
a Peach tree, the less hard cutting practised the 
better. 
At the end of the second season a tree treated as 
described will be well furnished with bearing wood, 
and ready for its annual journey without any winter 
pruning, save the removal of a branch if they are at 
all crowded ; 3 in. or 4 in. should be allowed between 
each. 
Disbudding consists in the removal, while very 
small, of all the young shoots not required to furnish 
the tree with bearing wood for the ensuing year. 
Too many shoots must not be removed at one time; 
the operation should extend over two or three weeks 
being partly done at intervals of five or six days. As 
soon as the buds have grown sufficiently that you 
can get hold of them with the finger and thumb, is 
the time to start; all the foreright shoots should be 
removed first, then those on the opposite side, that 
is, next the wall. 
We now have left the buds on the right and left of 
the shoots; at the next turn about half of these should 
be removed, reserving the terminal one and two of 
the best at the base of the shoot. 
At the next going over the most promising bud at 
the base ought to be selected, as it is the growth on 
which next season’s fruit will be produced. This 
and the terminal one are generally sufficient, but 
should there be room more can be left at intervals 
along the branch. At the final look over, when the 
shoots are about 6 in. long any that are likely to 
cause crowding can then be removed with a sharp 
knife. 
Overcrowding of the shoots is one of the greatest 
evils in Peach-culture, and should be avoided, as it is 
of the utmost importance that the wood be thoroughly 
ripened, and it is only by full exposure to the light 
and air that this can be effected. 
Referring now to established trees which are in 
bearing condition, they must be constantly tended— 
from the time the first flowers begin to open until 
the trees are nailed the following spring there is 
always something to do. The protection of the 
blossoms from frost first calls for attention, and the 
shelters used for this are of various descriptions. 
What is wanted is a shelter from frost only, there¬ 
fore a contrivance to cover the trees at night and 
which can be removed in the day is far preferable to 
any fixed form of shelter. 
Light tiffany or herring nets hung in front of the 
trees will ward off a lot of frost and will not exclude 
the light, which is very important. More harm is 
sometimes done by injudicious covering with heavy 
material, than if the trees were left to take their 
chance. Permanent copings of a foot wide or more 
should not be tolerated, but a very narrow one is an 
advantage when the trees are in flower. Of the two 
materials mentioned tiffany is, I think, the best for 
covering low walls of from 6 ft. to 8 ft. high ; it should 
be furnished with small rings at about 3 ft. apart 
along both edges, it is then easily hung on nails or 
