This section is from the book "The Gardener V2", by William Thomson. Also available from Amazon: The New Organic Grower: A Master's Manual of Tools and Techniques for the Home and Market Gardener.
Sir, - The interesting remarks on this subject by your correspondent, Wm. Chisholm, in last month's 'Gardener,' will be interesting to all fruit-growers, but more especially to those who have had this year to make up their dessert without a dish of fine Peaches. Without a doubt, there is truth in what he says, about retarding the blooming of the Peach till there is less likelihood of a continuance of cold weather, such as we had this spring after the trees were in bloom. And his experiment goes far to prove the truth of what he says. The difficulty is, how is the desired end best to be effected, at the least expense, and with the least labour 1 Many winters may pass over our heads ere we see see such another February, and followed by such a March.
And it would certainly be very provoking for one to put up a screen of double, or even single, mats (on a large or small scale), and after having secured them against wind, Arc. (no easy matter on some exposures), to find that in three years out of four they would not be required to hide "nature from nature's sun." And, worse still, it might be found that to allow such protection to remain (except applied at a greater distance than 2 feet) would be to hasten what it was intended to retard. If dull close sort of weather occurred instead of the dreaded sunshine, which is just as likely, I am afraid the protection, unless removed, would do more harm than good. What we want is protection that can be removed and replaced when required (for either bright sun or frosts) in as short time as possible. The custom of fixing canvas or netting over Peaches, etc, permanently, from the time they came into bloom till the end of April or middle of May, has long been practised, and, no doubt, it is very essential in its way, especially in the north of England, in all low-lying places, and in Scotland. But it would be of more value could they remove it when not required; for whatever is thick enough to throw off four or five degrees of frost must deprive the trees, when expanding into leaf, of light and air, so necessary to their wellbeing.
On arriving here (in a rather bleak corner of Northumberland) last February, my employer expressed a desire that some plan should be got for the easy removal and replacing of the canvas, which, in former years, had always been immovable, for the time, much against his will. The desired plan was produced, and 80 feet of a south aspect wall done as an experiment. The result was, that one man could cover or uncover this 80 feet of wall in the short space of four minutes, and bright suns could be kept off as well as the late spring frosts. The few Peaches we have here had a fair crop on them, and the crop of Apricots was all that could be desired. But I don't mean to say that the protection saved them; on the contrary, I must confess that a branch extending beyond the canvas had as good a crop as any other part of the tree. But because of this single instance, I think it would be rash to say the thing is useless till further trial is made. With the permission of the Editor, I shall in another number give a short sketch of our mode of protection, hoping that others may try the same, or something better on the same principle.
R. I., G. P.
 
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