April  9,  1896. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTULE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
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Grass.  We  also  grow  the  striking  Liatris  or  Blazing  Stars,  Pent- 
stemons,  and  autumn  Chrysanthemums.  A  bed  of  the  white  and 
yellow  Marguerites  with  Cannas  is  very  striking.  We,  of  course, 
admit  Asters,  Stocks,  Zinnias,  and  all  good  annuals  to  a  share 
in  the  borders,  also  Potentillas,  Columbines,  patches  of  Lavender, 
and  a  whole  host  of  Michaelmas  Daisies,  from  the  brilliant  Aster 
bessarabicus  to  the  taller  Robert  Parker,  the  delicate  turbinellus, 
and  the  best  pure  white  kinds. 
Roies  are  not  a  success,  they  need  purer  air  ;  and  our  soil  is  too 
dry  for  Rhododendrons  and  Azaleas.  Last  summer  a  very 
interesting  long  bed  was  made  up  by  edging  with  silver-leaved 
Geraniums  and  making  panels  about  6  feet  wide,  in  which  alternate 
beds  of  Petunias  double  and  single,  Heliotropes,  and  Verbenas 
from  seeds  were  introduced.  The  sturdy  informality  of  this  was 
very  pleasing,  and  it  is  evident  that  the  seedling  Verbenas  are 
much  more  robust,  and  to  be  depended  on  than  are  plants  from 
cuttings. — Flora  K. 
PEACH  AND  NECTARINE  TREES  CASTING 
BLOSSOM  BUDS. 
( Concluded  from  page  297.1 
This  difference  in  the  conformation  of  the  buds  is  not  confined  to 
the  large- flowered  varieties  exclusively,  but  they  are  more  prone  to 
form  the  buds  early  than  the  small-flowered,  yet  there  is  a  point 
quite  apart  from  inherent  tendency  or  race  proclivities  which  seems 
to  govern  the  whole  question  of  bud-casting,  which  is  imperfect 
bud  formation,  or,  as  it  is  sometimes  termed,  over-maturity, 
especially  in  the  case  of  early  forced  trees  of  both  Peaches  and 
Nectarines.  The  latter  being  but  smooth-skinned  Peaches — the 
red  varieties,  Madeleines  and  Mignonne  Velont^e,  and  the  white  or 
yellow  of  the  Noblesse  races — what  applies  to  one  is  relevant  to 
the  other,  hence  that  part  of  the  subject  need  not  be  farther 
pursued,  as  there  is  no  difficulty  in  seeing  that  Elruge  Nectarine  is 
only  a  Royal  George  Peach  with  a  smooth  instead  of  a  downy  skin. 
All  the  large-flowered  very  early  varieties,  such  as  Alexander 
and  Waterloo,  are  liable  to  cast  the  buds  when  early-forced  in 
consecutive  years,  and  when  trained  on  the  orthodox  trellis  system. 
On  the  other  hand  the  small-flowered  varieties,  such  as  Early  Louise 
and  Early  Albert,  retain  the  buds  well,  as  a  rule,  and  set  the  fruit 
capitally.  The  flowers  of  these  varieties  are  Madeleine,  and  carry 
enough  pollen  to  fertilise  as  many  acres  of  blossoms  as  the  trees 
occupy  yards.  Here  then,  if  anywhere,  is  eagerness,  energy, 
potency  of  pollen,  hence  the  value  of  such  varieties  for  impregnating 
those  producing  pollen  sparingly,  such  as  the  Grosse  Mignonne  and 
Noblesse. 
The  buds  of  Alexander  and  Waterloo  are  of  the  close-scaled  kind, 
not  particularly  large  and  downy  coated  like  Early  York,  indeed 
they  are  closely  knit  like  Royal  George  and  Elruge  Nectarine,  the 
first  of  these  being  a  late  forming  and  good  bud  retainer,  while  the 
latter  is  an  early  bud  former  and  a  great  bud  shedder.  The  form  of 
the  bud,  therefore,  makes  little  difference  as  to  the  bud-casting  or 
bad  retention,  but  the  time  makes  all  the  diversity,  for  when  a 
tree  is  pent  on  extreme  fertility  it  usually  over-shoots  the  mark, 
and  is  capable  of  bearing  nothing.  This  is  seen  every  year  in 
many  other  fruits  besides  Peaches  and  Nectarines,  there  often  being 
a  profusion  of  blossom,  but  little  or  no  fruit.  Peaches  and 
Nectarines  improve  on  this,  and  do  not  burden  themselves  with 
abortions  in  bnds.  There  is,  however,  usually  some  fruit  where 
there  is  a  considerable  amount  of  bud-casting  ;  and  where  is  it  ? 
Where  these  buds  are  retained.  Of  course,  and  where  is  that  ?  On 
the  stoutest,  and  to  all  intents  and  purposes  best  part  of  the  growth. 
The  leaves  are  largest  there,  and  the  buds  are  boldest  because 
they  get  the  most  nourishment,  but  it  all  counts  for  nothing,  for 
it  is  at  the  base  of  the  shoot,  where  the  leaves  are  smallest,  and 
at  the  extremity,  where  the  growth  is  latest  made  and  most  sappy, 
that  the  buds  are  retained,  and  it  is  on  these  parts,  if  anywhere, 
that  fruit  is  obtained  when  bud-casting  occurs,  or  otherwise  on 
spurs,  which  on  the  orthodox  trellis  training  system  are  few  and 
far  between. 
Thus  the  crucial  point  is  reached  at  last,  and  it  becomes  a 
question  of  management — of  system  versus  Nature.  Ah,  but 
Peaches  and  Nectarines  have  been  grown  successfully,  and  still  are, 
on  the  trellis  system.  So.  also,  have  they  been  grown  on  the 
natural  mode  from  time  immemorial,  as  they  are  now  grown  in 
orchard  houses  and  some  few  Peach  houses  in  this  country,  on  the 
Continent,  and  in  California  and  elsewhere.  What,  standards  ! 
Exactly,  it  is  Nature — fruit  produced  on  wood  of  the  preceding 
year  and  on  spurs,  a  bow  with  two  strings.  If  fruit  fails  through 
bud-casting  on  the  stout  young  wood  there  is  sure  to  be  some  of  it 
on  the  spurs,  as  the  buds  there  are  not  surfeited  with  nutrition  up 
to  the  fruit  nearing  ripening, and  then  have  it  very  much  diminished 
so  as  to  be  unable  to  form  the  essential  parts, 
To  clench  this  argument,  the  following  description  of  success 
in  growing  Alexander  Peach  where  there  had  been  failure  by 
simply  adopting  a  different  course  of  training  may  be  interesting. 
It  was  not  carried  out  by  a  novice,  but  by  a  thoroughly  practical 
gardener,  and  proved  satisfactory.  He  Bays  :  “  Having  a  tree  of 
Alexander  Peach  in  our  earliest  Peach  bouse,  which  when  first 
planted,  after  becoming  established,  gave  nice  fruit  for  a  year  or 
two  during  April,  quite  three  weeks  before  Hale’s  Early  and  six 
weeks  before  Royal  George  was  ripe,  being  much  esteemed  at  table. 
I  was  much  chagrined  at  finding  that  it  did  nothing  but  cast  its 
buds  all  along  the  young  wood  of  the  preceding  year  (fig.  57,  a,  at  a) 
and  produced  but  little  fruit,  and  that  at  the  extremity  of  the 
growth  (6),  there  not  being  a  quarter  of  a  crop.  Noticing  that 
some  trees  in  pots  generally  gave  fruit  on  the  spurs  when  there  was 
not  any  on  the  young  shoots  of  last  year,  I  resolved  to  allow  the 
orthodox  trained  tree  more  freedom,  or  rather,  to  make  more 
shoots,  cutting  out  some  branches  to  make  room  for  the  increased 
FIG.  57.— ALEXANDER  BEACH,  BEARING  (FEBRUARY  §TH). 
A,  Extension  and  side  growths  :  a ,  Youn»  wood  of  the  preceding  year;  b,  Extremity 
of  last  year's  wood;  B,  Spur  ;  0.  Stubby  shoot. 
growths,  and,  as  you  will  see,  I  got  a  number  of  spurs  through  not 
disbudding,  also  a  number  of  shoots,  both  of  which  have  retained 
the  buds  and  have  set  the  fruit,  there  being  little  difference  between 
the  spur  (b)  and  the  shoot  (c)  in  this  matter.” 
Upon  the  premises  foreshadowed  and  guided  by  this  instance 
of  confirmation,  which  is  that  every  grower  of  Peach  and  Nectarine 
trees  in  pots  and  on  the  standard  or  natural  system,  I  have  come  to 
the  conclusion,  rightly  or  wrongly,  that  bud-casting  is  solely  due  to 
fitness  or  otherwise  of  the  subject  to  the  conditions  imposed,  and 
so  eager  thereunder  to  maintain  a  place  in  the  struggle  for 
existence  by  an  effort  at  perpetuation  as  to  frustrate  the  effect  of 
the  desired  aim,  which  the  cultivator  accelerates  by  confining  the 
subject  to  hard  and  fast  lines.  It  must  be  understood,  however, 
that  there  is  a  distinction  to  be  made  between  bud-castiDg  through 
defective  bud  formation,  and  bud-dropping  through  deficiency  of 
water  and  other  cultural  causes.  In  the  latter  case  the  buds,  if  cut 
open,  will  be  perfect  in  every  essential  particular,  but,  of  course, 
dried  ;  while  in  the  other  they  are  not  and  never  were  there,  or  if 
they  were  they  have  been  completely  eaten  up  of  something. 
— G.  Abbey. 
