!|l'
a tree of this description happens to die, it is cut out, and the position of those adjoining is altered so as
to supply its place.
4413. The s um m e r m a n a g em en t o f M r . S e ym o u r 's tre e s is thus given by his so n :—“ In the spring, as
soon as the young shoots have grown to about 1 in. long, we begin to disbud or thumb-prune them by
taking off all the young shoots where there is no blossom or fruit, except the lowest one upon the bearing
branch, and th at at the extreme point of it: this end shoot is allowed to growabout 3iu., and is then
stopped; and the buds by the fruit ali broken off to about four of their bottom leaves, so as to make a
cover for the young fruit until the time of thinning, when those little spurs are taken away with the fruit
that is not wanted, and the others are retained along with the fruit that is left. By so doing, we are only
growing th e shoot that we shall want next year for bearing fruit, which gives our trees an opportunity
of extending themselves, and making good wood. Instead of taking off the summer laterals or water
shoots (as they are sometimes called), as is generally done, we lay them in at regular distances, the same
as we should a natunil spring sh o o t; and, if they do not bear fruit the next summer, they will produce
line bearing wood for a future y e a r; so that we have not to shorten those strong shoots, but lay them in
their whole length for secondary leading branches, as we have a t this time shoots laid in above lift, long,
of last year’s growth, with fruit upon th eir laterals. When the young shoots at the base of the fruit-
bearing ones, or th e extending part of the leading branches, have grown 4 in. or 5 in., they are tied down
to the other branches as close as they will admit without breaking or pinching them, and kept close to
the wall through the summer. There will be found, when disbudding, a t the base of the shoots, small
buds that are not likely to make a shoot that season ; but they must be retained, as they will produce a
shoot in a future year, and then bring the young wood nearer home.” (G a rd . M a g ., vol. vi. p. 4.36.)
The merit of Sejnnour’s method consists in the great regularity of the principal branches, and in per-
initting brunches,winter <
which experience proves requisite. On referring to the figure it will be observed that the lower branches
proceed almost in a direct line from th e upright portion of the stem, and nearly a t right angles. But the
'lg only bearing and succession shoots to grow between th e principal brunches.
There, after the
r pruning, no tw'o-year-old shoots are left. It is, however, necessary to point out a modification
.vill not freely diverge to this extent, at a tangent to its upright course; and the consequence i; ,
these branches become weak, and are apt to perish. The branches should therefore be allowed to take
th eir natural divergence, about 45°, in the lirst instance, and then gradually bring them to th e required
^°4414*.” sfe«//e, gardener at Vaux Praslin, adopts a mode of training and pruning, which, however, is
applicable only to very young .rt peach . trees,. in thcir first and second a years.year
In the first year ho does not
.......................‘ n t h e t w .....................................................................................................
at all cut or sliorten tiie’ two original or prmcipal branches, called the m è r e branches. T h e young tree
has only to be fixed to the wall or trellis, requiring no other treatment till the fall of the leaf. By
leaving these m è r e branches a t full length, and only disbudding late in the autumn, the vigour of the
young tree is greatly promoted, lie trains these principal branches to a much wider angle than the
Montreuil gardeners, perhaps 60° or 65°, instead of 45°. At the approach of w inter he practises l'éb o u r -
g eonn emen t à sec ,\eay \ng only four buds on each branch, and removing the rest neatly with a sharp
knife. At Montreuil the m e r e branches are cut in or shortened In the first year, and disbudding i.s
delayed till the leaves be developed in the following year. By disbudding a t this season, the young tree
not only suffers an unnecessary check or injury, b u t the consequence is, th a t th e buds left, instead of
forming good shoots, develope themselves into numerous brindille s. l.ate in the autumn of the second
year Hiculle cuts in, to th e extent of one third, the four lateral branches produced on each of his mèi-e
hranclics. In the foUowing year, he disbuds th e lateral branches to the extent of one half ; and in the
--------- - —aotioe long ago
future management he practises winter disbudding greatly in place of p ru n in g ; a practice ago
strongly recommended by Nicol in his horticultural writings. By S
Sieulle’s method, Du I P etit Thouars
Thouars
remarks, the young - tree ‘-- --is i------------- more quickly l-Ul..-I.------ brought U» »to rt cn fill iits »rt place on on the espalier = ; it is afterwards much
.uv.
A.W.U ......... - » . - - - ® allowed to unfold themselves ; tiie r
cessity of thinning the fruit is thus in a great measure superseded, and the peaches produced are larger
and-finer. (H o r t. T o u r , p. 479.)
4415. T h in n in g the f r u i t . According to th e ordinary practice; the blossoms often set more fruit than
the trees can support, or than have room to attain full growth ; and if all were to remain, it would h urt
the trees in their future bearing: therefore they shouldbe timely thinned, when of the size of large peas or
half-grown gooseberries. There should be a preparatory thinning before the time of stoning, and a final
thinning afterwards; because most plants, especially such as have overborne themselves, drop many of
their fruit at that crisis. Finish the thinning with great regularity, leaving those retained at proper
distances, three, four, or five, on strong shoots, two or three on middling, and ouc or two on the weaker
slioots ; and never leaving m ore thau one peach a t the same eye. T h e fruit on weakly trees thin more
in proportion. (A b e r c rom b ie .)' ,
4416. lle n o v a tin g old d ecaying tre e s. Head down, and renew th e soil from an old upland pasture;
and, if the bottom of th e border is moist, or if th e roots have gone more than 2 ft. downwards, pave the
bottoni or otherwise render it dry and impervious to roots a t th e depth of 2 ft. from the surface. In
general, however, it will be found preferable to plant new trees, as peach trees, when severely cut, are
ap t to exude gum to an injurious degree.
4417. P ro te c tin s blossoin. This may require to be done by some of th e various modes already enumerated
(2644. to 2656.). Forsyth recommends old netting as the best covering. Jn the garden of the Horticultural
Society woollen netting has been used, and also Scotch gauze and bunting, and both with the
greatest success.
4418. H a r r iso n protects his trees from the frost, in tliemonth of January, by branches of broom: these
are previously steeped in soap-suds, mixed with one third of urine, for forty-eight hours, in order to
clear them from insects, and. when dry, disposed thinly over the whole tree, letting them remain on only
until th e trees begin to break into leaf. At the time of the blooming and setting of the fruit he applies
cold water in the following manne r; viz.: —If, upon visiting th e trees, before the sun is up, in the
morning, after a frosty night, he finds that there is any appearance of frost in th e bloom or young fruit, he
waters the bloom or young fruit thoroughly with cold water, from th e garden-engiue ; and he affirms,
th at even if the blossoms br young fruit are discoloured, this operation recovers them, provided it he
done before the sun comes upon them. He fa rther says, that he has sometimes had occasion to water
particular parts o fth e trees more than once in the same morning, before he could get entirely rid of the
effects o fth e frost. Dr. Noehden remarks (i/o?t. T r a n s .,v o l. ii.) “ th a t this operation of watering before
sunrise, in counteracting the frost, seems to produce its effect in a manner analogous to the application
of cold water to a frozen joint or limb, which is injured by the sudden application of w a rmth.” Harrison
discovered this method by the following accident:—“ In planting some cabbage plants, among the rows
of some kidneybeans, very early in the morning, after a frosty night, in spring, before the sun was high
enou°-h to come upon the frosted beans, he spilt some of th e water upon them which he used in planting
th e cabbage-plants; and, to his surprise, he found that the beans began immediately to recover.” “ Cold
water,” Mr. Thompson observes, “ may be applied with some good effect, when the vegetable tissue is
not too far injured, or ruptured by the fro s t; but it will not prove a remedy for any thing beyond a very
slight affection. It will, however, be of considerable service, not only as a medium by which the thawing
is more gradually accomplished, b u t also in consequence of th e moisture it supplies ; for evaporation
operates in a most powerful degree in clear weather in spring; and at that season, when there is no
ciinopy of clouds, such weather is most likely to occur.”
4419. R ip e n in g peaches o n leajless branches. Whenever the part of the bearing branch, which extends
beyond the fruit, is without foiiagc, the Iruit itself rarely acquires maturity, and never its proper flavour
and excellence. This Knight conjectured to b e owingto the w antof the returning sap which would have
been furnished by the leaves ; and he proved It experimentally, by inarching a small branch immediately
above ih o fruit. The fruft, in consequence, acquired the highest degree of maturity and perfection.
4420. S um m a r y o f cu ltu re . The following is from an admirable paper on the culture of the peach and
nectarine, by Mr. Callow, in the tenth volume of the G a rd en e r's M a g a zin e :—“ Although so much has
been written on the pruning, training, and management of peach trees, all that is necessary to be known
may be reduced to a very few words, and carried into effect by any person who will attend to the follow-
ing sliort directions: — Use a strong loam for the b o rd e r; never crop i t ; add no manure; keep tlie trees
thin of wood by disbudding and the early removal of-useless wood; shorten each shoot according to its
strength at the spring, or rather autumn, p ru n in g ; elevate the ends of the leading branches so that they
may all form the same curvilinear inclination with the hori'zon ; and, what is of the utmost importance
in the culture of the peach, a t all times keep the trees in a clean and healthy state.” Mr. Callow’s mode
of training will be understood fromjfg. 804. (See Gard. M a g ., vol. x. p. 37.)
4421. G a th e rin g . Use the peach-gatherer, and gather a day or two before the fruit is to be used,
and before it be dead-ripe, laying it on clean paper in a dry airy part of the fruit-room. Peaches are
much best gathered carefully by hand
AAOO Tm.'totote 'I'!,« IrtrtTr4422. In s e c ts . The lea«v»e rst i*o ffl ,t«h er t peach, nectarine, and apricot are very liable to be attacked by the
acarus, or red i spider,.
which is their greatest enemy, and also by a particular species of aphis, known
among some gardeners a; the chermes,, ,, which causes the leaves to rise into unsightly .
red tubercles. They
are also liable to the attacks of the common green aphis, a black species, and the coccus, or scale. Th'e
latter pest should be washed off with soft soap, made into a strong lather, and applied with a hard brush;
and the different species of aphis may be destroyed by watering the trees, and afterwards dusting them
with powdered tobacco leaves. Mr. Jamieson destroyed the aphis on his peach trees against walls, by first
watering the tree over the leaves, and then burning gas ta r in a vessel a t the bottom of the wall, on a
mild day, moving it backwards and forwards so as to involve the leaves in a cloud of black fetid smoke.
(G a rd . M a g ., vol. viii. p. 580.) The emigration of ants may be induced in consequence of their habitations
being demolished by frequent hoeing close to the bottom of the wall. Earwigs and wood-lice are
very troublesome to peach and nectarine trees, especially when the fruit is ripening, and they are to be
collected by bundles of bean-stalks or reeds, or by the earwig trap (Jig. 488. § 1870.). Bean-stalks have
an exceedingly soft pithy lining ; and therefore earwigs prefer them to all other tubes destitute of
such an internal comfortable substance. The common wasp and the large blue fly, which are also great
enemies of these fruits, may be caught by bottles of sweet water, or some of the methods described,
§ 1871.
4423. T k e diseases o f peach a n d n e c ta rin e trees are, the honey-dew, mildew, gum, and canker,-which
are chiefly to be kept under by regimen: dusting with sulphur has been found to destroy the mildew
(R o b e rtso n , in H o rt. T ra n s ., vol. v. p. 184.); but the only certain way of removing it is by a renewal of
the soil, which will commonly be found old mould long in use and too rich; and by abundance of air.
J . Kirk (Caled. I lo r t. M e in., vol.iv. p. 159.) has tried renewing the soil for fifty years, and always found
it an effectual remedy for the mildew. If this is inveterate, there need be no hesitation in taking up the
tree in autumn ; then trench and renew th e border, and replant tlie tree, giving it a close pruning at
the same time.
4424. The M o n tr e u il peach g row e r s pick off wrinkled, blotched, and mildewed leaves, and cut out
canker and gum, and cover the wound with o n g u cn t de S t. Fiaci-e, i.e . cow-dung and loam. The mildew
is produced by an immense number of minute iungi, which are an indication of a sickly state of the plant.
4425. B la c k spots o r blotches are very apt to appear and spread on th g young wood of th e peach tree ;
and these Kinment proved to b, e, p^ roduced b_y over-rich soil. He ssanyi-sc, ““ s?or>mmen tHimrvieo in ttUheo bUeogcirninnniinr.g« o«fr
winter, 1811, I collected together a rich compost heap (No. 1.), consisting of one third light loam, one
sixth strong clay, one twelfth lime, one sixth hotbed dung, one sixth vegetable mould, and one twelfth
pigeon dung. At the same time, I collected another heap (No. 2.), much less rich, consisting of one half
light loam, one fourth strong clay, one eighth earth from scourings of ditches, one sixteenth lime, and
one sixteenth hotbed dung. Tliese heaps I turned over occasionally, in order th a t they might be well
meliorated by th e frosts. About the middle of March, 1812, I planted the trees, and applied to the roots
of a few of them the rich compost of No. 1.; but the greatest number of them were planted with the
compost No. 2. About the latter end of June, I examined the young trees all o v e r: the shoots that they
had made were nearly all of the same size ; but 1 was no way disappointed when I found those I had
planted with the rich mould sadly infested with black spots ; while those planted with No. 2. remained
whole and sound; there being only the few which were planted with N o .l. infested with the black
■;s. With my knife I cut the blemishes entirely o u t; and about the latter end of September I found
wounds completely whole. Early in the spring, 1813, I cleared oft' the rich mould entirely from their
spots.the f ' ’ ’
roots, and supplied ’■ ’ the vacancy with No. 3 2 .; and at f
the end of last season I had the happin
them succeed to the utmost of my wishes, free of black spots.” (Caled. Hort. M em ., vol. ii. pp
4426. F orc ing, a n d the use o f hot-walls. The peach tree forces well under glass (See Cha]
>f bla
peacl
______________________________________ . .lap. VII. Sect.
H I.), and its ripening may be accelerated in the open air, when planted against a hot-wall, by the apjili-
, _ . ; ope____, ............................„ .
pp. 79, SO.)
cation of gentle fires in cold moist weather, in August and September. This will ripen the fruit and
and
wood, but attempts to accelerate the blossoms early in spring are very dangerous, as without the protection
of glass they are almost certain of being cut oft'. Somo very instructive discussions on the subject
of peach and nectarine trees will be found in the first seven volumes of the Gardene r’s Magazine , by
Hiver, Newington, Errington, Craig, Kendall, Seymour, Smith, and others. The great value of these
discussions is, that they point out numerous errors in culture, which gardeners are apt to fall into, and
assign the proper reasons for the injurious results. The most important truths are thus presented with
th e greatest force by being opposed to thoir corresponding errors.