344 
January 28, 1899. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
INTS FOR 
MATEURS. 
MAKING A PEACH BORDER. 
Generally speaking, there is no fruit easier to culti¬ 
vate under glass than the Peach ; and, perhaps, 
there is no subject that is more often woefully mis¬ 
managed. Not a season passes but we hear 
complaints from almost all parts of the country, 
complaints that cover almost all phases and stages of 
the life cycle of the tree. The flower buds drop in 
one quarter, the flowers w’ll not set in another ; in 
another case the fruits begin to drop just after they 
have made their appearance ; somebody else has to 
lament the falling of fruits, after the stoning process 
is supposed to be completed; and later on in the 
season, yet another cultivator wonders why the wood 
of the trees has not ripened so well as the wood of 
his neighbour’s tree on the other side of the wall. 
Then tbe general complaints that the trees won’t 
flower and won't bear fruit, and that they are 
attacked by all sorts of creeping, crawling, hopping, 
and flying things come up each season with remark¬ 
able regularity. Surely a tree such as this, that 
seems to have either a complaint or a parasite for 
every day in tbe year, must be difficult to grow, 
thinks the amateur, and the result is that, if he has 
trees, he allows them to take care of themselves; 
and if he hasn't any trees, he refrains from planting 
them because he thinks that by doing so he would 
only be laying up for himself a store of trouble and 
discontent. 
Like everything else under the sun, the Peach has 
its likes and dislikes ; and the man who thinks he is 
going to grow Peaches on the hit or miss system may 
just as well save himself the trouble of trying, for 
there will probably be very little “ hit ” about it, but 
it will be mostly all “miss,” after which,of course, he 
will proceed to abuse the Peach as an intractable 
and unreasonable tree. 
In order to have good Peaches it is, at least, 
necessary to go to the “ root ” of the matter at the 
commencement. No matter how well the cultivator 
may understand the treatment of his trees above 
ground, he cannot do very much with them if the 
roots are in a bad state. The making of the border 
is, therefore, the first thing. In this respect, at least, 
it is the truest economy to do the thing thoroughly, 
for a badly or carelessly made border is an endless 
source of vexation and trouble. A good deal of 
variety of opinion exists as to the best way to make 
a border, more particularly as to its depth, and the 
materials of which the compost is to be made. 
First of all, with regard to depth, various cultiva¬ 
tors have recommended depths varying from 3 ft. to 
18 in. of soil, exclusive of drainage. A good depth of 
soil will be-from 18 in. to 2 ft. : deeper than this is 
not to be recommended, for we must have the border 
as porous and as well aerated as possible, if we are to 
get the best out of the trees. 
Drainage naturally suggests itself as a most impor- 
that point, as, indeed, it is. During the growing 
season Peaches need abundant supplies of water, and 
in the case of established trees that are carrying good 
crops of fruit, liberal doses of liquid manure. The 
drainage must, therefore, be capable of taking all the 
surplus away since stagnant water in the border is 
productive of many evils, amongst which may be 
included uuripened wood with its consequent 
dropping of the young fruits, and splitting of the 
fruits at a later stage. These evils may usually be 
traced to an ill-drained border. The treatment given 
the bottom of the border must depend upon circum¬ 
stances and locality. If the soil is naturally heavy 
and clayey, it will be well to concrete the bottom of 
the border at once, in order to prevent the roots from 
getting into an unsuitable rooting medium, and also to 
insure the thorough draining of the border. With a 
concrete bottom there is no doubt about the latter. 
On ordinary sites the concreting is not necessary, 
but if there is any doubt about it, the extra expense 
of the concrete is well repaid. 
Whether concreted or not, the bottom of the border 
should slope gradually downward from the point at 
which the trees are to be planted, so as to give a 
sufficient fall to the drain at the opposite side by 
means of which the water is to be carried off. From 
4 in. to 6 in. of broken bricks and clinkers should be 
placed on the sloping bottom, and then a layer of 
freshly cut turves, with the grassy side downwards, 
should be placed evenly over all, and the drainage 
system is complete. Such a system of drainage as this 
will remain in working order for almost any length of 
time, certainly until the whole border requires to be 
entirely re-made. It can always be depended upon 
and will never become so choked as to make the soil 
in the border sour and uncongenial by reason of stag¬ 
nant water. 
When we come to the soil and its composition we 
are at once confronted with a fair amount of variety 
in the advice emanating from different sources. 
Some cultivators go the length of recommending 
elaborate mixtures; whether they employ them 
themselves is another matter. Certain it is that if 
some of the recipes given for the compost fora Peach 
border ate followed, the poor Peaches are apt to 
come badly off. 'Generally speaking, too rich soils, 
that is to say, soils artificially enriched with animal 
and other manures, are not only unnecessary, but 
positively harmful. They induce over-gross growth, 
and gumming and other evils follow. The trees grow 
quickly enough on being placed in rich soil it is true, 
and the amateur is apt to congratulate himself upon 
tbe progress that is being made—progress, however, 
that it ultimately turns out has been made in the 
wrong direction. What is wanted in Peaches is short- 
jointed, firm growth that will set well with flower 
buds and ripen well,and to this end an unduly rich com¬ 
post does not tend ; in fact, it is actually the reverse. 
All the manurial stimulant that is necessary may be 
given subsequently in the form either of liquid or of 
top-dressings of manures light pricked and watered 
in, or of top-dressings of soil enriched with manure. 
Under this system the cultivator is able to regulate 
both the time of giving and the quantity of food given 
to his trees. Should they be growing too vigorously 
he can withhold it, should they be in need of it, there 
it is in readiness ; in fact, he has the trees absolutely 
under hts control. On the other hand, the grower 
who pit's his plants into soil that has been unduly 
enriched with manures, finds that they are out of his 
control, and he is obliged to resort to lifting and 
other manoeuvres in a desperate attempt to remedy 
the evil, and even then the attempts are rarely 
crowned with success. 
The base of the compost must consist of good cal¬ 
careous loam. The top spit of an old pasture is first- 
rate, but the turves should be stacked for at least six 
months before they are used. To every cartload of 
the loam, a barrowload of old mortar rubbish should 
be added. This is all that is absolutely necessary, 
although a little wood ashes or charcoal may be 
added if the loam is inclined to be strong. Some 
growers recommend the addition of crushed bones in 
the proportion of about 1 cwt. of the bones to six 
loads of the soil. As crushed bones give out their 
goodness very slowly, and will thus supply stores of 
nutriment for many years, and as, moreover, they are 
not likely to cause undue grossness of growth, they 
may be employed with absolute safety, and with 
excellent results ; but the amateur should remember 
that the loam and the mortar rubbish are the 
essentials. The wood ashes, charcoal and bones may 
be added at pleasure, and if they can be easily 
obtained. All chemical manures should be rigorously 
avoided, for no matter how useful they are in their 
proper place, and used with a definite object in view, 
at the right time, and by experienced men, they are 
only calculated to do harm when mixed with the soil 
in which young Peach trees are to be grown. 
Size of the Borders.—Where early forcing is to be 
carried on, the roots of the trees should be wholly 
confined to the inside border, otherwise there will be 
too great a difference between the temperature of the 
soil in which the roots are running and that of the 
house. In the case of houses whose occupants are to 
furnish main or late crops, the houses are usually 
built on arches so as to let the roots pass through ; 
so that there is an outside as well as an inside border. 
Of course, where “ wall cases ” and other narrow 
structures are employed, the root-run covered by the 
glass is too restricted, and the roots must pass out¬ 
side. On the other hand, if the inside border is of 
fair width, say about 12 ft., this will be quite suffi¬ 
cient root-run except in the case of very large and old 
trees. 
The system of Peach border making here treated 
upon, is both simple and safe ; and if the instructions 
given are followed, the amateur may, at least, be cer¬ 
tain that the roots of his trees are p'aced under suit¬ 
able conditions. There are other systems, of course, 
and amongst them the plan of building tbe border on 
the top of the existing soil, and lifting and replanting 
the trees every season, is one of the most remarkable 
and—fantastic. The extra trouble thus involved 
annually must be enormous; certainly far greater 
than that of making the border properly in the first 
instance.— Rex. 
Correspondence. 
Questions ashed by amateurs on any subject pertaining 
to gardens or gardening will be answered on this page. 
Anyone may give additional or more explanatory answers 
to questions that have already appeared. Those who desire 
their communications to appear on this page should write 
"Amateurs' Page " on the top op their letters. 
Road Scrapings.— Cab : The road scrapings will be 
of the greatest value to your garden. No only do they 
contain a large proportion of niirogenous matter, 
but being sandy they will improve the condition of 
the soil mechanically. You should allow them to 
dry before putting them on, as they spread more 
easily when dry. 
Mildew in Vines. — A. I. 0 .: As mildew attacked 
your Vines last year, it will probably do so this 
season, and hence you must be on the watch for it 
presently. As soon as you see a spot, dust it over 
with flowers of sulphur and be careful with the 
watering and ventilation so that the plants may not 
receive a check. If you adopt these precautionary 
measures the fungus should not be so rampant as it 
was last year, for then you lost time at the com¬ 
mencement. You can obtain a sulphur blower very 
cheaply at your local stores. The same instrument 
will do for applying tobacco powder. 
Large-leaved Iyy .—Aralia: You may take your 
choice between Hedera Helix dentata and H. H. 
regneriana, both of which are large-leaved, handsome 
sorts. The former has rich glossy green leaves, and 
the latter has foliage of the same colour, but the 
veins are lighter and rather more prominent. Both 
varieties are about the same price. You will have 
to pay from is. to is. 6d. for each plant of either 
variety. 
Coal Aahes.— Geo. T.: The coal ashes should not 
hurt the bulbs beneath if you do not put them on too 
thickly. Spread them evenly over the surface of the 
bed, taking care, meanwhile, to avoid injuring any of 
the young growths of the Hyacinths. Of course, it 
will be impossible to fork the ashes in now. You 
must wait until the Hyacinths have done flowering, 
and then you can give another dressing of ashes, 
mixing the ashes and the soil together by means of a 
thorough forking. The treatment will, undoubtedly, 
improve your heavy soil, both for bulbs and other 
plants. 
The Best Snowdrop. — A.R.: There are several 
very fine Snowdrops. Our common British species 
Galanthus nivalis is not to be despised. G. cilicicus 
is the best of the early flowering ones. It has been 
in bloom since soon after Christmas. G. Elwesii is 
probably the best of all. It is a huge flower and 
very hardy. It flowers later than G. cilicicus. Its 
bloom-buds are now beginning to show. 
Ficus elastica.—On p. 328 “ Rex ” says that the 
" Indiarubber plant is rather an intractable subject 
during the dull and cold months of the year." I have 
only lost one during the past ten or twelve years, and 
that was due to carelessness in leaving the plant 
close to the glass of a dwelling room during severe 
frost. Plants obtained in spring can be acclimatised in 
a window during the summer months. In winter keep 
them on the dry side, as “ Rex ” says, and take them 
away from windows during hard frost.— A. M. 
Violets Damping. — Violets : Although the tempera¬ 
ture has not as yet been very low this winter we 
have had an unusual amount of moisture in the 
atmosphere and many things in frames have shown 
a greater tendency to damp than usual. As your 
Violets went off last j ear in the same way as they 
did this season you are probably treating them 
wrongly. Violets must not be coddled, and when 
put in frames they must be given plenty of air 
during mild weather ; in fact, the lights should be 
pulled right off whenever it is fine and mild. Dur¬ 
ing wet, mild weather such as we have been having 
