312 



EXPERIMENTAL FARMS. 



PEACHES. 



Like the Nectarines and Apricots, the peaches suffered very severely from the 

 cold winter. Almost every tree lost the growth of 1892, and several trees of the 

 previous spring's planting died. This did not, in many cases, appear to be due to 

 tenderness of the variety, as in several varieties one tree died and the other lived 

 (in most instances there are only two trees of a variety) and made in some cases a 

 very vigorous growth. 



Fig. 2 represents a peach tree, second year from planting, from a photograph. 



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Fig. 1. CHERRY TREE, SECOND YEAR FROM PLANTING, EXPERIMENTAL FARM, 



AGASSIZ, FROM A PHOTOGRAPH. 



Where the trees were severely pruned back early in spring, they appear to 

 have recovered sooner, and have made better growth than when the pruning was 

 light. 



The curl leaf in the peach and nectarine trees was worse this year than it has 

 ever been before, the Malta being the only variety on the level land that was 

 entirely healthy. 



The varieties received in spring from England and planted on the level land 

 were just as badly affected as the others. Among those affected, those that suffered 

 least, were : Crawford's Early, Eedcheek Melocoton, and Lemon. The first and 

 second bench orchards suffered alike with those on the level ground, but the orchard 

 highest up at an elevation of about 800 feet had no curl in any case, and the trees 

 appear to have suffered less from the cold than those lower down. 



The varieties of peaches in this oi'chard are : 



Early Crawford, Hilborn, Mountain Eose, Crane's Early Yellow, Lewis Seedling; 

 of Nectarines the Boston is the only sort planted there. 



