220 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



ojd stock will be covered, and the holes should be deep and wide enough 

 to take in the roots without cramping them. Upon soil with a stiff hard- 

 pan, it is well to dig the holes considerably wider than is needed by the 

 roots, as it will give them a better opportunity to develop. 



In setting the trees, the soil should be carefully worked in among the 

 roots and firmly packed around them, taking pains by first filling the hole 

 half full of soil, that they are not bruised. The fine surface soil should be 

 used for the lower half of the hole, and then, after the roots have been 

 well covered, if they are partly rotted the sods can be put in, filling up 

 the hole with the subsoil. 



The surface should be left level or slightly sloping toward the stems of 

 the trees. The < 'pposite plan of mounding the soil around the trees is not 

 a good one except for fall-set trees, or in localities where mice are trouble- 

 some, when they may be banked up in the fall and the soil leveled off in 

 the spring. 



SELECTION OF TREES AND VAEIETIES. 



One of the pivotal steps in peach-growing is the selection of the trees 

 and the varieties, as, however well the location may be chosen, or with 

 what care the orchard may have been handled, there will be no fruits to 

 reward one's toil unless a judicious selection has been made. 



If the grower has the necessary knowledge and can wait two years for 

 his trees, it will be as well, perhaps, if many trees are wanted, for him to 

 propagate them for himself, but the average person will do better to pur- 

 chase his trees of a nurseryman, who knows how and has the time to grow 

 and care for them in the best manner. Everything else being equal, it is 

 better to obtain nursery stock of all kinds from a nurseryman in the same 

 locality, or where the soil and climate will be similar to that of the orchard. 

 If purchased near home it will enable one to select the trees in the nursery, 

 and there will then be a better opportunity to get trees that are satisfac- 

 tory. In case the local nurseries are not patronized, the next best thing 

 is to write to some of the large nurseries of this or adjoining states, 

 giving the number and age of the trees, the names of the varieties desired, 

 and any other facts, and ask for prices. Before giving a large order it will 

 be well to have samples sent on for examination, and if everything is 

 satisfactory the trees could then be ordered from the man who furnishes 

 the lowest estimate, with a fair degree of safety. With all nurserymen, 

 however, this will not be a safe thing to do, as a low price may mean 

 inferior or worthless trees, and (although there should be a distinct under- 

 standing that there is to be no substitution) inferior var.ieties. If one is 

 familiar with the standing of the different firms, and if the samples are 

 satisfactory, it becomes a plain business transaction, and the trees ordered 

 will be most likely true to name and up to the standard in size and general 

 appearance. 



Many persons advocate the purchasing of trees from local tree agents who' 

 are known to be honest and reliable, but if a large number of trees are wanted 

 you can obtain them from the nurseryman, at as low a price as can the 

 agent who must charge for handling the trees, and besides, since they must 

 pass through the hands of a third party, there is the increased risk that 

 the varieties are incorrect, or that the trees will become dry or injured in 

 some way. The fruitgrower has little use for the average traveling tree 

 agent; although many of the so called tree peddlers are honest, understand 



