The Garden Under Glass

PEACHES AND NECTARINES 167 be put in. If the barrows be filled with a fork it will naturally happen that the larger lumps will get to the bottom, and towards the finish it will be worked so fine that spades or shovels will be needed. I would advise intending purchasers to go to the fruit ground and see their trees before purchasing. That is the only satisfactory method. Choose fan-shaped trees'—the real type of fan-shaped, with all the shoots springing from the middle, not the so-called fan-shaped which has a central branch with others springing obliquely from it all the way up. The former are sometimes called Scotsmen’s trees, and this reflects credit on the discernment of our brothers over the border. Another point to be noticed is that the wood is well ripened. Do not buy a tree which has very thick, long green growths. That means rank growth, which must be cured before there will be much fruit. Planting Peaches and Nectarines As soon as the trees are received from the nursery they should be planted. A suitable hole is made in the border and the tree put in, so that the stem is buried to the same depth as previously. It must be remembered in planting that every encouragement should be given to the roots to run straight away, and for this purpose they should be spread out in all directions and set at their respective le vels. Fine soil should be sprinkled directly over them, as the work proceeds, and the soil should be well firmed. All torn roots should be trimmed off neatly with a sharp knife, and thick, fleshy ones devoid of fibre must be cut hard back. Peach-trees usually need lif ting two or three times until they have wom down their exuberance and settled into bearing. The very faet of lif ting them will often give them a sufficient check, but when strong, fibreless roots