Februflry  Hi,  1809. 
JOURIiAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
127 
PEACHES  AND  NECTARINES. 
(.Concluded  from  page  101.) 
We  now  coino  to  the  fruit  thinning,  which  should  be  done  with 
discretion.  If  the  trees  are  healthy  there  is  not  much  fear  of  the 
fruit  dropping  during  the  stouing  process,  especially  if  they  are  not 
allowed  to  suffer  for  want  of  water.  Therefore  I  should  not  advise 
many  more  fruit  being  left  to  go  through  that  period  than  are  to 
remain  to  ripen.  If  the  fruits  are  about  9  inches  astinder  each  way  the 
■crop  will  be  a  good  one,  and  will  be  quite  sufficient  for  an  ordinary 
tree  to  carry. 
As  soon  as  the  fruits  commence  to  swell  after  stoning,  frequent 
applications  of  liquid  manure  will  be  beneficial.  If  liquid  cannot  be 
had,  a  little  chemical,  such  as  a  handful  of  guano  spread  round  the 
trees  and  well  w^atered  in  about  once  or  twice  a  week,  will  be  of 
assistance.  A  mulching  of  half-decayed  manure  will  help  to  retain 
the  moisture  in  the  soil  in  hot  weather.  Eemove  all  foliage  covering 
the  fruit,  so  as  to  encourage  the  development  of  colour,  and  when  signs 
of  ripening  are  apparent  syringing  must  cease,  the  trees  being  kept  as 
dry  as  possible  to  prevent  cracking  of  the  skin. 
Gathering  ripe  Peaches  requires  the  utmost  care,  the  slightest 
bruise  will  show,  and  the  value  will  be  lessened  proportionately. 
Nectarines  are  not  quite  so  tender,  but  they,  too,  must  be  judiciously 
handled.  Some  growers  prefer  to  gather  the  fruit  before  it  is  quite 
ripe  and  thus  obviate  damage,  but  I  do  not  agree  with  that  except  for 
packing  purposes,  as  the  fruit  has  not  the  flavour  it  would  have  if  left 
on  the  tree  to  finish.  The  best  plan,  I  think,  is  to  have  a  shallow 
box  lined  with  wood  w’ool.  When  picking  get  the  fingers  well 
under  the  fruir  and  gently  raise  it ;  if  it  is  ripe  it  will  fall  into  the 
palm  of  the  hand  and  can  be  placed  in  the  box,  not  allowing  the 
fruit  to  touch  one  another.  In  a  cool  house  or  room  they  will  keep 
for  several  days. 
I  will  now  say  a  little  regarding  enemies  and  diseases,  taking  the 
black  fly  first,  which  will  .appear  as  soon  .as  the  buds  be2in  to  burst. 
Out  of  doors  this  is  difficult  to  combat,  especLally  when  it  appears  so 
early.  I  have  found  that  a  sheet  over  the  tree,  and  fumigating  as  well 
as  possible,  if  not  a  sure  cure,  will  keep  the  little  intruders  at  bay 
until  liquid  insec'icides  can  be  ured.  Green  fly  is  the  next,  but  it 
-does  not  appear  until  the  shoots  commence  to  push.  It  is  frequently 
encouraged  by  a  check  through  cold  winds  and  draughts.  The 
pest  can  be  eradicated  by  carefully  syringing  with  some  approved 
insecticide.  Timips  and  red  spider  are  easily  kept  away  by  frequent 
syringings  of  clean  water  during  hot  weather,  while  brown  scale  can 
be  dealt  with  when  the  trees  are  dormant  by  painting  with  a  solution 
•of  softsoap  and  paraffin  thickened  with  clay  or  cow  manure.  Weevils 
are  very  destructive,  and  must  be  searched  for  at  night  and  picked  off. 
Mention  having  been  made  of  the  insects,  I  will  turn  to  the 
diseases,  and  mildew’ — to  which  some  sorts  are  more  addicted  than 
others — must  have  primary  attention.  Cold  damp  w’cather  is  the 
most  general  cause  of  this  disease,  or  a  cold  border,  but  in  either  ca.se 
flowers  of  sulphur  dusted  over  the  affected  parts  is  .a  good  and  simple 
remedy.  Syiinge  the  trees  thoroughly  to  wash  the  sulphur 
from  the  fruit.  Gumming  is  often  caused  through  too  rich  a  soil, 
which  is  conducive  to  sappy  wood  that  does  not  rinen  sufficiently. 
Fruit  cracking  at  the  stone,  as  in  the  previous  case,  is  the  result  of  rich 
soil,  or  over-supplies  of  food,  or  damp  w’eather  at  the  period  of  the 
second  swelling. 
Having  dealt  with  outdoor  culture,  let  us  turn  to  the  forcing  house. 
If  w’e  require  Fetiches  ripe  about  the  first  week  in  May,  the  house  must 
by  closed  by  Christmas.  The  trees  should  be  pruned,  painted  if  neces¬ 
sary,  and  tied  back  in  their  jilaces.  Rake  off  the  old  surface  soil,  or 
if  this  is  too  full  of  roots,  lightly  loosen  with  a  fork,.and  apply  a  coat¬ 
ing  of  loam,  mixintr  with  it  a  little  lime  rubbish,  wood  ashes,  and 
chemical  manure.  This  having  been  done,  the  borders  should  have  a 
thorough  watering.  If  the  house  is  closed  a  w’eek  or  so  l^efore  Christmo.', 
heating  can  commence  with  the  new  year,  and  must  be  done  sparinsly 
at  first,  the  temperature  not  being  allowed  to  rise  higher  than  50’  to  55° 
by  day,  and  45°  to  48°  by  night. 
Frequent  syringings  of  tepid  water  should  be  given  to  aid  the  buds 
in  swelling,  and  little  if  any  air  will  be  rec  juired,  unless  the  sun  is  very 
warm,  until  the  floweis  are  open,  when, the  syringing  must  stop,  and 
the  house  be  kept  as  dry  as  possible.  .  Abundance  of  air  should  be 
admitted  when  the  weather  permits,  but  avoid  draughts.  Gently  shake 
the  trees  about  midday  until  the  fruit  is  set.  ■  When  this  period  is 
reached,  the  temperature  can  be  slishtly  raised,  renewing  the  sprinkling 
to  remove  the  decayed  flowers.  The  disbudding  and  tying  must  be 
done  precisely  the  same  as  with  trees  out  of  doors,  while  syringing 
ought  to  be  attended  to  twice  daily,  dcampiiig  round  the  pipes  and  dry 
•corners  to  prevent  red  spider  and  thrips. 
Watering  should  not  be  neglected,  trying  as  nearly  as  possible  to 
use  water  of  the  sam.e  temperature  as  the  house.  Discretion  must  be 
exercised  in  thinning  the  fruit,  retaining  those  on  the  top  of  the  trellis 
where  they  will  get  most  sun  and  light  for  colouring.  As  soon  as  the 
stoning  process  is  over  a  little  harder  forcing  cjiix  be  commenced. 
feeding  the  trees  occasionally.  If  .good  stable  manure  is  available 
shake  out  the  droppings  and  put  a  layer  of  straw  on  the  border,  as  it 
saves  thfe  fruit  from  bruising  if  it  should  drop,  and  keeps  the  borders 
moist  during  hot  weather.  .  As  soon  as  the  fruit  shows  sisxnsof  rijienin.g' 
syringing  must  cease,  and  all  leaves  covering  fruit  should  be  removed. 
Admit  air  night  and  day,  as  Peaches  develop  a  better  fl  ivour  when' 
steadily  ripened.  When  the  trees  are  cle.ared  of  fruit  cut  out  all  old 
be.iring  wood  and  shorten  long  slender  shoots.  Apply  plenty  of  water 
at  the  roots,  and  well  wash  down  with  a  hose,  if  available,  three  or 
four  times  a  week.  If  root-pruning  is  thought  necessary  it  ought  to 
be  done  as  soon  as  the  wood  is  ripe  and  the  leaves  fall, — S.  FI.  Sneli., 
Fniit  Farm,  Torquay. 
SOIL  ANALYSES. 
On  my  introduction  of  the  subject,  under  “  The  Soil,”  page  455, 
previous  volume,  I  had  hoped,  on  feeling  myself  supported  by  the 
Editor  in  his  footnote,  that  correspondents  would  have  enriched  the 
field,  instead  of  that  a  side  issue  seems  to  have  been  introduced. 
In  respect  to  “English  Gardener,”  instead  of  chopping  words  I 
prefer  to  limit  my.self  to  referring  him  to  my  earlier  suggestion,  on 
page  48,  that  the  utter  want  of  homogeneity  of  the  soil  he  works,  as 
judged  Irom  his  experience  from  ten  analyses,  all  varying  materially, 
would  render  the  application  of  a  gardener’s  instinct  requisite  to 
direct  the  management,  in  place  of  analysis  primarily. 
If  I  now  abandon  mitters  as  unprofitable,  and  of  no  advantage  to 
horticulture,  I  thus  should  like  to  resume  that  common  sense  tells 
me  about  the  existence  of  various  soils  from  the  remote  recesses  of  the 
creation  as  well  as  from  disintegration  and  denudation.  Hence  analysis 
of  the  soil  becomes  an  interesting  question. 
In  this  we  have  no  need  to  go  the  length  of  the  materials  used  for- 
pot  experiments.  There  are  manifestly  large  stretches  of  alluvium, 
composed  of  endless  variety  of  materials  from  disintegration  of 
manifold  rocks  filling  river  areas  from  encircling  watersheds,  as  is 
done  to  this  day  in  the  annual  Nile  deposits  pi  E’gypt,  and  there 
analysis  of  the  soil  is  destined  to  figure  usefully,  as  it  liiay  in  number¬ 
less  other  areas. 
The  “Times”  of  15th  September  last  said,  in  reference  to  agricul¬ 
tural  research,  that  the  feature  deserving  of  special  mention  was  the 
arrangement  made  by  the  Dorset  County  Council  for  an  exhaustive 
series  of  analyses  of  typical  soils  by  the  Agricultural  Department  of 
the  Reading  College.  I  presume  such  varying  analyses  would  be 
fliscussed  as  part  of  the  instruction,  and  the  most  fernL  among 
these  be  extolled,  which  in  any  inquisitive  mind  would  result  in 
the  querv  :  “  I'  wonder  what  my  soil  would  prove  to  be  like  were 
I  to  analyse?” 
Mr.  Cousins  himself  thinks  necessary  to  say  in  his  primer  that, 
if  his  little  book  has  a  special  gospel  to  preach  it  is  that  of  lime  ; 
and  when  asking  wht'  are  these  or  other  crops  deficient,  the  answer 
is,  because  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  lime  is  deficient,  which,  he  adds 
further  on,  is  the  chief  basis  of  fertility  ot  the  soil.  It  is^  thus, 
according  to  this  authority,  a  fact  that  not  more  than  one  in  ten 
gardeners,  when  deficiency  of  crops  occurs,  have  thought  of  lime  in 
time.  I  presume  beciuse  analysis  was  considered  unnecessary. 
I  find  some  authorities  holding  that  analysis  of  the  soil  is 
analogous  to  the  utility  of  the  eompass  to  the  sjiilor.  Indirectly 
yes.  But  the  sailor  requires  his  chart  and  sextant  to  render  his 
compass  most  useful,  and  it  is  rather  these  that  are  the  equivalents 
of  an  intelligent  sy.stem  of  analysis  of  the  soil.  In  the  result  of  this 
di.>^cnssion  I  should  like  to  find  my  place  among  a  body  of  gleaners  in 
all  that  the  soil  produces  on  that  broad  expanse  of  common  sense, 
broader  than  ti;e  British  Empire. 
It  may  bo  interesting  generally  on  this  topic  to  hear  what  Professor 
Meldola  wrote  a  couple  of  years  ago  as  to  the  character  of  contri¬ 
butions  bv  writers  w’ho  are  not  experts.  He  said  that  they  were  often 
capable  of  taking  a  wider  and  more  philosophic  grasp  of  a  problem 
than  a  pure  specialist,  and  ideas  of  lasting  value  bad  sometimes 
emanated  from  such  sources.  He  adds  that  his  object  is  to  claim 
more  consideration  for  such  writers  as  a  class  on  the  part  of  practical 
workers,  and  thinks  that  the  philosophical  faculty  is  quite  as  powerful 
an  a^’ent  in  tiie  .advance  of  science  as  the  gift  of  acquiring  new  know¬ 
ledge"  from  ob^ervation  and  experiment,  and  ihat  it  is  not  often  that 
the  laculties  are  combined  in  one  individual. 
My  aim  in  contributing  is  of  a  constructive  order  to  the  edifice, 
and  not  d.'Structive,  except  to  rule-of-thumb  methods.— II.  H.  R., 
Forest  Hill. 
rWe  have  abridged  this  communication  as  we  have  all  others  on 
the  .subject.;  a.pd  as  we  think  “An  English  Gardener  ”  will  find  as 
much  in  the  present  rejoinder  with  which  he  may  be  disposed  tq  agree 
as  he  would  be  likely  to  find  if  tne  controversy  extended  over  six 
months,  and  as  it  has  already  reached  the  “Nile,”  it  may  well  cease.] 
