152 Report of State Board of Horticulture. 



at present in spraying for this disease on Mr. George Weeks' orchard, 

 near Salem, which is very badly affected with it. This disease is the 

 cause of so many peach trees being denuded of their foilage, only a 

 few tufts of leaves growing at the ends of the limbs, caused, as I 

 Said before, by the leaf buds being killed along the new-grown wood. 



Now in planting a peach orchard in the Willamette Valley, I plant 

 my trees 20 feet apart each way, I plant one-year-old trees and cut them 

 off, so they are four to eight inches high above the ground, I let 

 only three or four buds grow the first year, rubbing the others off 

 when about an inch long, spacing them evenly around the tree, and 

 the first year's growth I cut back to six or eight inches. When the 

 buds have grown on these limbs to about two inches in length I rub 

 them all off excepting two buds on each brauch, spacing them off so 

 as to balance my tree as evenly as possible. This gives from six 

 to eight limbs to start the future bearing tree from. About the first 

 of August I pinch back the ends of the main limbs from three to four 

 inches, thereby making the main limbs more stocky and stout, by stop- 

 ping the growth in length and throwing it back into the side limbs 

 and roots. The next spring after the buds start I prune out all sur- 

 plus branches thoroughly, cutting the branches left to form the future 

 tree back about one-third. The tree will now be making its third 

 year's growth. Now I keep all water sprouts pulled off and, where 

 the new growth is too dense, thinned out, as the perfect peach has to 

 have plenty of sunlight and air. About the first of August I clip back 

 all branches, cutting from three to five inches from the ends of this 

 year's growth. By doing this I compel the tree to produce an enormous 

 amount of fruit buds and where there are such a great amount of fruit 

 buds there will be from 10 to 15 days' difference in the first blooms and 

 last ones opening on the same tree, and it will be almost a miracle 

 if the frost gets all the buds with 15 days' difference in the first and 

 last buds blooming on a tree. With a peach tree pruned in summer, 

 if one-tenth of the buds survive the winter you will have a füll crop. 

 If a peach blooms out and gets from five to eight days without a killing 

 frost, nine times out of ten it is safe and immune from injury from 

 any subsequent frost. When a peach is from the size of a currant 

 to the size of a gooseberry it can freeze solid and will not be injured. 

 In proof of this I will state that some years ago my peach trees bloomed 

 early in February and when the peaches were about the size of a 

 gooseberry there came a killing black frost and froze them tili you 

 could not cut them with a penknife. I went down in the orchard, exam- 

 ined the peaches, came back and told my wife we would have to do 

 without peaches that year, but the freezing did not hurt them in the 

 least and we had an extra fine crop of peaches that season. Now I 

 think that by following the rules I have laid down you reduce the 

 damage of frost almost to a minimum, and in proof of my theory I 

 will cite you to the fact that I have failed to have a füll crop only 

 once in 29 years. Do you want any better proof? 



Now as to the variety of peaches: In planting a peach orchard for 

 commercial purposes I would not plant too many that ripen at the same 

 time, but would plant desirable kinds and lengthen out the gathering 

 season to about two or three months, for 20 or 30 acres of peaches ripen- 

 ing all at the same time requires an army of help to take care of them 

 before they are too ripe to market. I have a three-year-old peach 

 orchard in which I planted a great many different varieties so as to 

 prolong the gathering season from the first of July tili the middle of 

 October, being three months and a half of continuous peach harvest, 

 which I think is far better than to have a few varieties all ripening 

 inside of 15 or 20 days. Come to my orchard any time from the first 



