August '2,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
99 
Tlie  Cultivation  of  Peaches. 
It  may  not  be  generally  known  that  the  Peach  was  originally 
classed  as  poisonous.  In  “  Rhind’s  Vegetable  Kingdom”  Sickler 
considers  Persia  as  the  original  home  of  the  Peach,  which  in  Media  was 
Fig.  27. — Schomburgkia  Saxderiana. 
considered  unwholesome,  but  when  planted  in  the  alluvial  soil  of 
Egypt  became  pulpy  and  delicious.  According  to  Columella  also, 
when  first  brought  irom  Persia  into  the  Roman  Empire,  the  Peach 
possessed  deleterious  qualities.  This,  however,  Knight  considers  to  be 
owing  to  the  fact  that  they  were  only  almonds  swollen,  or  imperfect 
Peaches,  which  are  known  to  contain  prussic  acid.  In  most  parts  of 
Asia  the  Peach  has  been  grown  from  time  immemorial.  The  date  of 
its  introduction  into  Greece  is  uncertain,  but  the  Romans  seem  to  have 
introduced  it  into  their  country,  direct  from  Persia,  during  the  reign  of 
the  Emperor  Claudius.  It  is  first  spoken  of  by  Columella, 
and  afterwards  by  Pliny.  The  Peach  was  introduced  into  • 
England  in  the  sixteenth  century. 
Linnaeus  divides  the  Peach  into  two  sections.  That  with 
the  downy  fruit  as  the  Peach  commonly  so  called,  and  that 
with  the  smooth-skinned  fruit  as  the  Nectarine.  There  are, 
however,  various  instances  of  fruit  of  both  descriptions 
growing  on  the  same  plants.  For  example,  trees  raised  from 
seeds  h've  not  only  borne  both  the  downy  and  smooth¬ 
skinned,  but  fruits  have  been  produced  which  have  been 
smooth-skinned  one  side  and  downy  on  the  other.  Ti  e 
French  consider  them  identical,  and  arrange  them  in  four 
divisions  —  namely :  1,  The  freestone  Peach,  the  flesh  of 
which  separates  readily  from  the  skin  and  stone ;  2,  the  free¬ 
stone  Nectarine  or  smooth  Peach  ;  3,  the  clingstone  Peach, 
whose  flesh  adheres  firmly  to  both  skin  and  stone ;  and  4,  the 
clingstone  smooth  Peach  or  Nectarine.  The  Peach  is  more 
grateful  to  the  palate  than  perhaps  any  other  fruit  raised 
in  England,  either  naturally  or  by  art,  with  perhaps  the 
exception  of  the  Pine  Apple.  It  surpasses  the  Grape  in 
richness,  and  is  more  delicate  than  the  Melon 
It  has  ofien  been  said  that  the  Peach  will  not  pay  for 
outdoor  pulture.  Of  course  some  protection  from  frost  must 
be  provided,  particularly  when  blooming  in  the  spring,  I  do  M 
not  say  that  they  can  be  grown  successfully  as  standards  ^ 
or  otherwise  in  the  open,  but  planted  against  a  south,  or  ^ 
west,  or  south-east  wall,  thev  will  give  admirable  results,  / 
particularly  if  the  same  care  is  extended  to  them  as  is 
bestowed  on  those  grown  under  glass.  For  instance,  under  ^ 
glass  the  tree  is  planted  in  a  specially  prepared  border;  it  is 
properly  attended  to  in  the  matter  of  syringing,  tying,  and 
watering;  it  is  kept  fiee  from  all  insect  pests,  and  all  its 
requirements  well  looked  after. 
How  often,  may  I  ask,  does  the  tree  outside  receive  this  treatment  ? 
It  is  frequently  planted  in  the  ordinary  soil  of  the  garden,  perhaps 
where  some  other  tree  has  been  growing  for  years ;  it  is  nailed  to  the 
wall,  or  whatever  it  is  planted  against ;  the  young  shoots  are  tied  or 
nail^  in  and  allowed  to  remain  until  the  ties  decay,  instead  of  being 
detached  from  the  wall  annually,  as  would  be  the  case  with  trees 
growing  under  glass.  In  the  latter  case  it  would  be  syringed  at  least 
three  times  a  day  in  the  growing  season,  but  outside  it  would  probably 
have  to  depend  on  the  rain,  even  this  being  frequently  diverted  by  a 
coping  on  the  top  of  the  wall  to  keep  the  spring  frosts  away.  If  this 
coping  remain  too  long  sufficient  moisture  is  not  obtained  by  the  tree, 
and  it  will  become  infested  with  red  spider  and  green  fly,  and  will 
eventually  be  an  eyesore  to  everyone. 
I  have  never  known  a  tree  that  was  treated  in  a  proper  and  rational 
manner  fail  to  give  satisfactory  results  over  a  series  of  years.  To 
make  a  good  start  in  Peach  growing,  either  indoors  or  out,  great  care 
must  be  taken  to  secure  suitable  trees.  They  must  be  well  balanced, 
that  is,  the  clean  branches  should  be  as  nearly  as  possible  equal  in 
numbers  and  size  on  each  side,  and  in  the  shape  of  a  fan.  It  is 
important,  too,  that  the  variety  be  true  to  name,  as  nothing  is  more 
annoying  than  to  find,  after  cultivating  a  tree  and  paying  special 
attention  to  it,  when  the  fruit  appears,  that  it  is  another  and  perhaps 
inferior  variety.  If  trees  three  or  four  years  old  are  planted  in  the 
autumn,  just  as  the  leaves  are  falling,  a  crop  of  fruit  will  be  obtained 
in  the  succeeding  year.  If  maiden  trees  are  bought  the  grower  will 
have  to  wait  at  least  a  year  or  two  for  fruit.  Before  planting  all 
damaged  roots  should  be  cut  away  with  a  sharp  knife,  and  when  the 
tree  is  place!  in  position  the  roots  must  be  carefully  spread  out, 
allowing  no  two  to  touch,  so  that  they  are  free  to  make  a  proper  start. 
A  good  position  for  a  Peach  tree  indoors  is  where  the  branches  can  be 
trained  about  9  inches  below  a  glass  roof,  facing  south,  west,  or  east. 
They  do  fairly  well  on  the  back  wall  if  the  light  is  not  obscured,  but 
I  prefer  the  first-named  system.  In  training  a  Peach  tree  it  should 
be  borne  in  mind  that  it  bears  its  fruit  upon  the  previous  year’s  wood, 
and  consequently  the  production  of  well  matured  wood  is  of  great 
importance.  Each  healthy  leaf  bud  that  is  permitted  to  grow  will 
produce  a  shoot  which  will  in  its  turn  give  others  which  are  termed 
lateral  growth,  and  these  will  produce  the  fruit  and  leaf  buds  for  the 
continuance  of  growth  in  the  following  season. 
In  tying  or  nailing  in  the  growth  nothing  is  gained  by  overcrowding, 
and  4  inches  should  be  allowed  between  each.  In  my  opinion  no  mode 
of  training  is  equal  to  the  fan-shape.  If  properly  attended  to  from  the 
first  it  will  rarely  happen,  that  however  far  the  tree  may  extend,  there 
will  be  a  vacant  place  on  the  wall,  and  every  part  of  it  will  be  supplied 
wdth  fruit-bearing  wood.  Care  must  be  taken  that  the  sides  of  the  tree 
be  as  nearly  equal  as  possible,  both  in  strength  and  the  number  of 
branches.  All  weakly  and  exhausted  wood  should  be  removed  at  the 
commencement  of  each  season,  when  the  only  pruning  that  is  necessary 
should  be  done.  All  the  growth  ought  to  be  regulated  by  disbudding 
in  the  spring  and  early  summer.  The  Peach,  if  trained  against  a  wall, 
or  in  fact  any  position,  will  form  much  more  growth  than  is  required. 
Fig.  2S. — Maxillaeia  scurrilis. 
and  it  is  much  better  to  remove  all  unnecessary  growth  at  once  than 
to  allow  it  to  grow  and  so  exhaust  the  tree.  Thus  we  have  recourse 
to  disbudding.  In  carrying  out  this  operation  all  growths  starling 
straight  from  the  wall  should  be  removed,  only  being  allowed  to  remain 
for  which  there  is  room  for  development.  The  tree  should  be  looked 
over  two  or  three  times  during  the  early  part  of  the  season,  and  the 
