April  2,11896. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
308 
NOTES  ON  OUTDOOR  PEACHES. 
Haying  read  with  considerable  interest  Mr.  A.  Young’s  paper 
on  “Open  Air  Peach  Culture”  in  recent  numbers  of  the  Journal, 
I  can  endorse  all  that  is  there  stated.  I  consider  it  is  a  mistake  to 
suppose  that  growing  Peaches  in  the  open  air  cannot  be  carried  out 
satisfactorily,  or  that  open  air  Peach  culture,  as  some  would  have 
us  believe,  is  on  its  last  legs,  if  not  a  thing  of  the  past.  It  is  no 
more  impossible  now  than  fifty  years  ago  to  grow  good  Peaches  on 
the  open  wall.  Certainly  our  seasons  are  no  worse  now  than  they 
were  then,  and  perhaps  not  so  bad  as  when  our  grandparents  were 
young,  judging  by  the  tales  we  have  sometime*  heard  them  tell 
about  the  weather  and  the  crops. 
If,  then,  the  cultivation  of  Peaches  and  Nectarines  in  the  open 
i»  becoming  a  thing  of  the  past,  we  must  look  to  other  causes  than 
bad  weather  or  bad  seasons.  In  the  garden  at  present  under  my 
care  is  a  number  of  young  Peach  trees  that  are  coming  into  bearing 
condition,  which  I  found  on  my  advent  had  not  been  managed  so 
required  lifting,  and  added,  after  removing  a  quantity  of  the  old 
subsoil,  about  three  good  barrowloads  of  turf,  a  peck  of  old  mortar 
rubbish,  and  one  of  wood  ashes  to  each  tree.  I  do  not  consider  it 
advisable  to  incorporate  farmyard  manure  with  compost  for  Peach 
trees  ;  it  causes  them  to  make  wood  too  gross,  which  does  not 
become  fruitful.  In  trenching  the  border  manure  was  used,  but 
none  was  allowed  to  come  within  6  feet  of  the  trees.  I  need  not 
add  the  result  has  proved  highly  satisfactory.  True,  they  did  not 
produce  much  fruit  last  year,  but  they  have  all  made  good  growth, 
which  is  thoroughly  well  set  with  fruit  buds  this  time,  so  that 
there  is  every  prospect  of  a  good  crop  this  year. 
The  trees  are  nailed  and  protected  with  nets,  which  are  hung 
over  them,  to  counteract  the  influence  of  frost,  should  any  occur. 
I  do  not  adopt  the  old-fashioned  plan  of  unnailing  the  trees  in  the 
autumn  and  keeping  them  away  from  the  wall  until  the  flowers 
expand  in  the  spring,  as  I  have  never  yet  been  able  to  see  the 
utility  of  it ;  besides,  it  is  impossible  to  nail  up  again  without 
injury  to  the  blossoms,  if  nothing  more.  The  principal  varieties 
Fig.  53.— ORCHIDS 
well  as  I  could  wish,  and  accordingly  I  set  to  work  determined  to 
improve  them.  It  was  in  the  month  of  March  when  I  took 
charge,  and  finding  them  rather  dry  and  unsatisfactory  at  the 
roots,  but  very  well  set  with  fruit  buds,  and  having  a  good  supply 
of  liquid  manure  at  hand,  they  were  treated  to  several  good 
waterings  with  it.  I  may  add  that  the  garden  is  not  more  than 
2  feet  deep  in  soil,  which  rests  on  a  deep  bed  of  gravel,  so  that 
drainage  is  rather  too  plentiful,  especially  in  such  seasons  as  1893  and 
1895.  After  the  watering  a  good  mulching  of  half- decayed  stable 
manure  was  given  to  each  tree  to  retain  moisture  about  the  roots. 
The  result  of  these  applications  was  highly  satisfactory,  for  the 
trees  set  a  good  crop  of  fruit,  which  had  to  be  thinned  considerably, 
and  which  grew  to  a  large  size  and  coloured  well — in  fact,  my 
employer  told  me  one  morning  that  during  the  more  than  forty 
years  he  had  been  here  he  had  never  seen  such  a  dish  of  Peaches 
from  the  garden  as  those  I  had  sent  in  the  previous  evening,  and 
added,  “  You  must  have  taken  great  care  of  them.”  This  speaks 
well  for  the  liquid  manure  applied  during  the  spring  and  early 
summer.  I  will  state  further  on  how  I  took  care  of  the  fruit. 
But  my  ambition  did  not  allow  me  to  stop  at  the  watering,  it 
extended  to  the  roots  and  the  border.  Accordingly  as  early  in  the 
autumn  as  practicable  I  set  to  work  with  them— had  the  border 
carefully  dug  up  two  spits  deep,  got  to  the  roots,  lifted  any  that 
TAPTON  COURT. 
grown  are  Hale’s  Early,  which  does  net  grow  large  ;  Royal  George, 
Crimson  Galande,  two  very  good  varieties,  which  colour  well ; 
two  or  three  other  varieties,  besides  Nectarines. 
One  of  the  troubles  with  these  Peaches  is  the  splitting  of  the 
stone,  to  obviate  which  I  use  the  lime  and  wood  ashes,  there  not 
being  enough  of  lime  in  this  light  soil.  I  find  also  that  ants  and 
earwigs  are  very  troublesome.  The  latter  are  trapped  in  Bean 
stalks.  But  in  order  to  prevent  these  and  other  insects  injuring 
the  fruit  I  adopt  a  plan  that  my  father  practised  when  I  was  a  -boy 
to  prevent  wasps  attacking  his  fruit,  which  is  to  wrap  a  piece  of 
cotton  wool  round  every  fruit.  Of  course,  it  is  a  little  trouble  and 
takes  time,  but  it  pays  where  a  limited  number  of,  say,  a  dozen 
trees  are  grown,  besides  the  cost  is  not  great,  as  about  3  yards  of  the 
wool  will  be  sufficient  for  that  number  of  trees,  unless  they  be  very 
large.  To  have  to  carry  out  such  a  plan  on  a  very  extensive 
scale  would  mean  a  serious  item,  and  other  means  might 
have  to  be  resorted  to.  Nevertheless  I  have  proved  it  to  be  a 
capital  system,  and  always  practise  it.  Besides,  it  gives  thorough 
satisfaction,  for  this  was  the  care  my  employer  spoke  of. 
I  can  endorse  all  Mr.  Young  has  said  about  the  glass  copings, 
as  I  have  seen  very  marked  effects  from  their  use,  but  it  is  not 
every  employer  who  will  go  to  the  cost  of  such  means  of  protection. 
A  thin  board  about  a  foot  wide  may  be  used  with  advantage  for  a 
