WINTER MEETING. 159 



J. C Evans — Our hardiest peach tree comes from Texas. I 

 don't believe you can get a tree from the north that will prove hardy 

 in this climate. 



Mr. Baxter— I believe that Mr. Murray's point of late blooming 

 is the best made here today. Late blooming varieties are the best for 

 apple, peach and everything. 



Mr. Murray — As to peaches never being killed after coming into 

 bloom, the trouble is they are most liable to be killed by hard frosts 

 before they come into bloom. Early blooming varieties swell early. 

 Warm spells in the fall or winter swell the buds, making them liable to 

 be killed. 



Mr. Gilkerson — The peach is sometimes killed in December, as a 

 result of fall swelling. 



Mr. Russell — To keep the buds from swelling in warm, wet fall 

 weather, I believe that something spread under the tree to keep the 

 ground dry would be beneficial. 



Mr. Fell — I think the sun shining upon the branches has a great 

 deal to do with the swelling of the buds. Trees upon the north side 

 of houses sometimes bear when others fail. 



J. C. Evans — We can never raise peaches commercially with what 

 kinds we have now. We must have new kinds, hardier than those we 

 now have. All these appliances are not practicable upon a commercial 

 scale. 



Mr. Murray — Shading the ground does no good. There is enough 

 sap in the branches to start the buds, even if the ground is frozen. I 

 have seen trees bloom early on the north side of a hill, where the sun 

 could hardly touch them. 



Mr. Chubbuck — In regard to breeding a hardy peach tree, Prof. 

 Clark has a peach orchard in Massachusetts. He has observed that 

 those trees which suffered from the cold have a peculiar form of blos- 

 som. [ don't think we can make a hardy tree by crossing two varieties. 

 I do think we would have to go north for such a tree. 



Mr. Baxter — Each kind is true to its characteristics wherever it 

 may have been grown. The Virginia seedling grape is not hardy in 

 cold climates, though it is late in blooming. Ives seedling will swell 

 in February, and still prove hardy. So it is with the apple and pear. 



Mr. Goodrich, of Illinois — We have tried artificial protection a 

 good deal and have been disappointed. Covering with cloth gave no 

 practical results. In Southern Illinois peaches are sometimes killed 

 when as large as the end of my finger. I was disappointed ; I failed 

 to see that Mr. Russell tells us where we have made any advance 

 toward a hardy peach. My orchard of pears, cherries and peaches is 



