PRUNING PEACH TKEE3. 293 



to the height of head. I prefer a tree headed low, say twelve inches from the 

 ground. I would shorten it in annually from the fourth year. Keep it within 

 the reach of an ordinary-sized man from the top of a four foot step ladder, 

 and plant them a rod apart, believing that IGO such trees to an acre shortened 

 in annually will yield more fruit than fewer trees a greater distance apart with 

 wide spreading heads supported on long bare arms. 



I know it is said low-headed trees cannot be cultivated closely. I would 

 plow and cultivate as close to the tree as I could without injury, and I believe 

 that will be close enough for the health of the roots. The uncultivated ground, 

 should be hoed enough merely to keep it free from weeds and grass. The 

 shade of the tree and the fallen leaves would preserve the moisture and keep 

 the soil mellow. I am particularly in favor of low-headed trees, because I 

 believe they are the healthiest. The most vulnerable part of a peach tree is 

 from the collar to the head. If that head does not commence at the crotch, 

 but several feet farther up, a number of bare branches, it is all the worse, a5 

 this but multiplies exposed trunks. If the branches are enveloped in healthy 

 foliage, and the crotch and short trunk are protected from the sun by an 

 impenetrable shade, I believe the healthy action of the bark and sap will be 

 uninterrupted. 



WHEN TO SHORTEN IN. 



I would not recommend that peach trees be shortened in in winter time, as 

 laid down by Mr. Downing. If they should be exposed to severe cold shortly 

 after being cut, as they would be liable to in our climate, they would be 

 more likely to be injured. Mr. Engle says late fall or winter is the time. I 

 should say early spring or early fall. Were it not for the harvest I would pre- 

 fer about the first of September. The effect then would be the same as sum- 

 mer pruning on the grape : it would cause a better ripening of the wood. 



Before concluding, I desire to recall some peculiarities of the peach tree that 

 should not be forgotten in considering how it should be pruned. 



PECULIARITIES OF THE PEACH TREE. 



It is of rapid growth ; it is not unusual for a young tree to make a growth 

 of four leet in a single season. Cutting off branches dees not paralyze the 

 action of its roots; the whole top may be cut away and a new top will be 

 pushed out with remarkable luxuriance and health. It is almost as tractable 

 as a vine; in cold climates it has been successfully fruited by being trained on 

 the ground where it could receive winter protection ; in other countries, where 

 the heat of summer is not sufficient to ripen its fruit, it has been trained 

 against walls and upon trellises; it has been dwarfedmerely by severe pruning, 

 and fruited in pots under glass. 



The importance of this subject cannot be over-estimated in this happily sit- 

 uated peninsula, where this rare and splendid product must ever be one of the 

 rich rewards of the horticulturist. The proper mode of pruning should take 

 rank among the first questions with cultivators of the peach. 



