PROCEEDINGS OF THE SUMMER MEETING. 75 



half. Some growers advocate the practice of maintaining a center growth 

 or leader. This is good practice in the south, where protection from the 

 scalding sun is needed; but in this state it is decidedly wrong, in my opin- 

 ion, as I find that the peach needs all the sun and air it can get to secure 

 a full development and a rich color. The practice of cutting back annual 

 growths I consider of great importance. It causes the development of 

 abundant fruit-spurs all along the limbs, gives hardier buds and more of 

 them, makes the tree stocky and beautiful, able to carry heavy loads of 

 fruit without props or artificial support. It may thicken the growth so 

 that some thinning becomes necessary, but the remaining growth is all the 

 better for that. Of course, a proper thinning of the fruit must be practiced 

 with this system, otherwise the free-bearing varieties would soon be ruined 

 by over-production. 



Thinning may be delayed until the peaches are nearly half grown, if you 

 have plenty of help with which to do the work quickly, but by all means 

 get them thinned to four to six inches apart before the pit begins to harden, 

 as the process of seed formation is what draws upon the vitality of the 

 trees. As many bushels of peaches, and many more dollars, can be realized 

 from an orchard thoroughly thinned as from one not thinned; besides, the 

 trees are not exhausted and will bear annual crops, which they will not do 

 if allowed to over-bear. 



INSECT ENEMIES. 



The insect foes of the peach are comparatively few, the only ones requir- 

 ing much attention being the borer, which attacks the trunks of the trees 

 at the surface of the ground; and the curculio, which stings the fruit. The 

 former can be prevented from doing any damage by the banking of the 

 trees up to the height of a foot, about June 1, and leaving the earth there 

 until about September 1, then hoeing it down and away from the body of 

 the tree, rubbing or scraping the body of the tree clean to dislodge any of 

 the eggs that may have been deposited there. If this plan is carefully fol- 

 lowed, it is usually an entire success; but the trees must be watched, and 

 if any borers begin to work on or inside the bark they must be dug out 

 with a sharp knife. 



There are several successful methods of fighting the curculio, but I 

 think the plan of jarring them upon sheets is by far the safest and best. 

 There is a trap manufactured, called the wheelbarrow trap, which carries 

 the canvass like an inverted umbrella, with a tin hopper or box under- 

 neath, holding about a bushel. With this trap one man can do as much 

 work as four can with the old-fashioned hand sheets, and their cost should 

 not exceed $20. With one or more of these traps at hand, the cherry, 

 plum, and peach crops are easily saved from the ravages of the '' little 

 Turk." When the trees are jarred in this manner, many stung peaches 

 are collected in the box. These should be boiled or roasted in some man- 

 ner, to insure the destruction of the larvae, thereby reducing your trouble 

 for the following year. 



The only serious diseases which trouble the peach are yellows and curl- 

 leaf. In regard to the former we will say, without entering into any 

 scientific discussion of the matter, that with our present knowledge of the 

 disease I consider its existence a blessing in disguise, for, without it.. 

 peaches would be cheaper than potatoes, and entirely profitless. As it is 

 now, the shrewd grower is always on the lookout for the disease and 



