STATE HORTICULTUBAL SOCIETY. 31 



That some provision should be made whereby the excess of moisture may be freely carried 

 away from sub-soils that are boo wet, Beemi apparent ; and when orchards arc planted on wet 

 land*, thorough onderdraining, or ridging ui> must be resorted to In order to secure the health of 

 the trees. The annual reproduction of small roots which are saturated In water until they are 

 killed soon tells on the trees In a marked degree. Especially will this apply to the Peach. After 



the trees are once heavily cropped, nothing can be more ivincingon this point than to compare 



the rigor and productiveness of old trees on well drained soil with others in the same field, stand- 

 ing on flat and retentive ground. In the former localities it is not une million to sec i he trees 

 annually bearing a fair orop of fruit; and at the same time retain their health and vigor, while 

 those trees on fttt land are filled with disease 1 1. ranches. Even the leading and terminal shoots 

 which in healthy trees should longest resifll decay, tare but little better than the interior branches. 



For a number of years we have bad several peach and plum trees standing near a pond. 

 These trees grew well at first, but after their roots had penetrated deep in the soil, thej became 

 unproductive, and on digging them up, as was done this last Bummer and fall, their roots were 

 f.uud to be In the condition explained in Mr, Pullen's letter. We think when the peach is sub- 

 jected to the conditions named thai they are then most susceptible to the yellows. These re- 

 marks art; not designed to apply exclusively to the localities mentioned. During the past summer 

 we have visited many places to which they would apply equally as well, and have seen but few 



i planted to orchards that would not be benefited by a system of thorough under-drainh 

 While on the subject of roots there is one other point mentioned on a former occasion, to which 

 we would again refer. Roots of trees are divided into two natural divisions. 1st. The kted 



or fibrous rooted; and, 2nd, Those with long tap roots, denominated the tap rooted or deep feed- 

 ers. It is to this last class that the peach belongs. These tap roots are well adapted to derive a 

 large share of nourishment from a depth so low as not to be subject to the influence of the sudden 

 changes that so often occur in our climate. To change a tap rooted tree to a surface feeder is to re- 

 turn to the English practice, which in the management of our trees we seem bo closely to imi- 

 tate. In England the temperature of the air greatly exceeds that of the earth, hence it is that 



find them reducing the roots of all their trees to the forciculated or surface feeders, that they 

 may not penetrate to any great depth below the surface. 



In England if the peach wore allowed the freedom of the soil, the short season of lie"Rr at mid- 

 summer would cause the tree to root so deeply as to be below the Influence of the sun's rays, 

 when, owing to the coldness of the soil in their climate, the deep roots could not aid the growth 

 of the tree in the early part of the summer, nor receive nourishment during the latter part of the 

 in. Therefore, t lie deep roots in their cold soil would fare much the same as they would in 

 our climate when standing in retentive ground. Thanks to our moie genial climate, the neoes- 

 sity of changing the roots of our trees to surface feeders is not incumbent on us. On the con- 

 trary, were we railed upon to iiistanet; a single condition of success to which we would attach the 

 most importance in the treatment of the Peach, we should say do all in your power to encour- 

 theirdeep rooting. So much Importance indeed do we attach to this point, thai w* would 

 t he English practice, it it was possible, and would induce the fibrous roots to become deep 

 feed- 



THE YELLOWS. 

 Robust and vigorous growing trees are generally the last to be attacked by the yellows, but 

 when thej once become affected thej are soonest Killed. The ends of the branches cease to grow, 



the leaves become of a yellowish hue and drop off, when numerous small branches like tOOM from 

 which they sprang, are also in like maimer checked In their growth, and in turn produce from the 

 axil Of their leaves other and much smaller branches, Until some of the maSSM or clusters of 



branches so produced become so Bplndllngand compact aa to resemble some oi the larger m 



more than branches Of the peaoh. In this manner the trees at midsummer or later become leaf- 

 lets and die. while the roots, to all appearance, are In a state of comparative health. Trees at- 



