€2 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



convinced us that such a location offers very little protection against 

 those " spring frosts" that come about the middle of January when thie 

 thermometer gets down to 10 below zero. In fact, I believe it would 

 be better for them to move down the side of the hill, or even into the 

 "valley on such occasions. So I would not be so particular to have my 

 peach orchard on the very top of the hill, especially if it was rocky, 

 but would prefer lower lands without rock and a location that had 

 some lower land adjoining, though the difference in altitude need not 

 be great, just enough to give the air a chance to circulate so the heavy 

 cold air will pass off'. A good strong soil, with little or no rock, and 

 with a mean altitude, as compared with the surrounding country, would 

 be my choice of a location for a peach orchard. 



Pruning should commence as soon as the trees are planted, or be- 

 fore, by shortening in the roots, cutting the longest ones back one-half. 

 I believe this is an advantage, but from my experience this season I 

 cannot recommend root pruning to the extent our friend Holtzinger 

 would have us practice it. In the spring of '94 I took two trees, one 

 peach and one apple, and trimmed off all the side roots close up to the 

 axis or tap root, and then shortened it to 5 inches. I then sharpened 

 the root end and cut the top back about one-half and planted them in 

 the nursery row by just pushing them into the ground without digging 

 a hole. The peach tree made a growth of 3 feet, and the apple did 

 well, too; both grew more than the average of those planted in the 

 field with all the roots left on. When I dug them up I found such a 

 perfect, smooth, even set of new roots that I ventured to treat half a 

 row across the field in my spring planting in a similar manner. The 

 result of this experiment, at present, is not so encouraging, 20 per cent 

 have failed to make a start, so I am satisfied that peach trees do need 

 some roots. However, I should shorten the roots where they are long 

 or crooked. I had occasion to dig up two rows that had been planted 

 two years, and they showed plainly the evil effects of planting care- 

 lessly, and with ail the roots left on and crowded together in a small 

 hole. They had grown but very little, especially the roots, having 

 made only a few small fibres. 



The top should be pruned after planting by cutting off all side 

 branches and heading back to 3 or 3i feet. I experimented with one 

 row in my planting last spring by not pruning the tops, and the results 

 were nearly, though not quite, as convincing as the root-pruning ex- 

 periment. I also went over my planting a few days ago and cut off 

 the sprouts and branches that came out near the ground. I want at 

 least 18 inches of a trunk or body to a peach tree. I don't know that 

 they will make any better trees treated in this way or produce any 



