PRUNING WALL TREES. 
147 
Splendens, green, scarlet—Pern, 1842. 
Tenella, scarlet, purple—Chili, 1824. 
Thymifolia, red,—Mexico, 1825. 
Triphylla, crimson—Pinchinchia, 1842. 
Venusta, purple,—Mexico, 1825. 
Virgata, scarlet, purple—Mexico, 1825. 
SUMMER PRUNING WALL TREES. 
I am led to offer some remarks on this subject, by the effects 
of the last month of extremely hot weather upon the fruit of 
trees against walls. In the course of some rambles among my 
gardening friends, I have observed many cases in which the 
tender green fruit of peaches and nectarines are so scorched, as 
to preclude the slightest hope of their ever attaining perfection ; 
the epidermis is marked with circular patches of an ashy pale¬ 
ness, where the direct rays of the sun have acted upon it, and on 
examination, all these places are found to be dead, the vessels of 
the skin are contracted and hardened, in precisely the manner 
that would result from the application of fire ; and wherever a 
paucity of foliage admitted the power of the sun more directly, 
and in greater excess, there the fruit was most injured. 
It is well known to all who have had occasion to give their 
attention to this subject, that through the greater part of May 
the weather was so exceeding hot and dry, as to prevent or stag¬ 
nate the growth of most out-of-door vegetation, and among 
other things, the development of leaves upon wall trees was very 
much retarded ; and in many places, the utmost care could not 
prevail against the spread of insects ; green and dolphin flies 
curled and crippled them so much, that their functions were only 
partially performed, their small size and scanty number afforded 
but little protection to the tender fruit from extremes of any 
kind, and the almost tropical fervour which marked the greater 
part of the month, acting upon their crude juices, may be 
regarded without doubt as the cause of the appearance spoken of. 
I have hitherto been an urgent advocate of early thinning 
upon walls, but the experience of this season, will in future make 
me hesitate till some idea may be gathered of the weather we are 
