SUMMER MEETING. 15 



orchards as to hold them back in the spring thereby preventing their 

 early development f Along this line I will say that I had a plum tree 

 that I had piled rocks around it, or mulched it, and it did not put out 

 its buds until after all the others were out. If we could only hola our 

 trees back in the spring we would be sure of a crop of apples every 

 year. I think this could be accomplished, or rather their early bloom- 

 ing could be arrested to a certain extent, if we would mulch with rock. 

 We have plenty of them here. 



Mr, Gilbert — A part of my orchard is mulched with rock and they 

 bloom there just as early as anywhere else. Of course they are not 

 piled up in piles over two feet high. It is not over all of my ground, 

 but several acres. I tried holding back some peach trees this winter 

 when the ground was frozen and I mulched two trees with straw, 

 putting the straw about 2 inches deep over the snow, and these trees 

 bloomed just as early as those not mulched. The snow laid probably 

 for ten days, but I could not see any difference in the time of bloom- 

 ing or leaving, and there are no more peaches on these trees than on 

 trees not mulched. Here in South Missouri we have a great many 

 different kinds of climate, and our friend Kirchgraber's paper recom- 

 mends that the head of the apple tree be not less than 3 ft. and from 

 that to 4. Now this may be the best at or around Springfield, but 50 

 or 60 miles south of there, we think that the low-heads are the kind we 

 want, and I beleive, from my observation in visiting orchards and 

 gathering fruit, that the heads of apple trees should start about 6 

 inches high. It they were properly branched when taken from 

 the nursery they would need very little pruning, and the per cent- 

 age of trees dying from root-rot and f)om the effects of borers, will 

 not be so large. In fact, I never have seen trees of bearing age that 

 the limbs touched the ground on all sides of the trees but what were 

 clear of borers. I have yet to find the first tree that had a borer in it 

 or had died from root-rot. The rabbits will not injure the trunk of a 

 tree if they can get at the limbs. They prefer the limbs. There would 

 be no water sprouts if the pruning was done at the proper time. Now, 

 as to the distance of planting. On rich land I think about 2 rods or 

 25 feet about the proper distance. 



President — I think it is a mistaken idea some of the fruit-growers 

 have that mulching a tree around tUe roots will keep it back. I think 

 if you would mulch the top of it you would come nearer hitting it. If 

 you plant a tree in an ice-house, that tree would bloom at the proper 

 time, provided the tops were out to the sunlight. 



Mr. Smith — In regard to the heading of apple orchards, it appears 

 to me that Mr. Gilbert is a little extreme. My idea would be to start 



