WINTER MEETING AT CARTHAGE. Ill 



could not set too far south for peaches, but our peaches in Howell 

 county escaped, while farther south in Arkansas they bloomed earlier 

 and were killed by late spring- frosts. The peach is not a very sure or 

 safe fruit to bear, but I think it is the best fruit that grows, and that it 

 can be made profitable in the right location. 



Pruning — We head our trees about one foot high, cuttiug back to 

 a stick or stump when planting. We want a trunk of one foot, in 

 order that we may get at the borers more easily than if they were 

 branched at the groun^. We do not allow a borer to escape ; we use 

 ashes around the trees to prevent borers and as a fertilizer. The 

 branches should be cut back one-half or one-third the length of the 

 previous year's growth every spring. This method of pruning keeps 

 the fruit nearer to the center of the trees, so they will not break down. 

 Prune from March the first to the middle of April. We take all the 

 old dead peaches from the trees and burn them to kill the spores of 

 rot. Keep the trees as free as possible from weeds, and the surface 

 soil mellow. A lye wash keeps the bark smooth and clean. 



1 think Howell county is better for peaches than Laclede, and also 

 better than Arkansas. There is nothing like ashes for a fertilizer. We 

 are preparing to get ashes from Canada ; I know it will pay. I never 

 bought any potash, and do not know whether it can be applied 

 economically or not. The inside branches should be thinned every 

 year. The branches that bear fruit this year will never bear again. 



It goes against the grain for a man to pull ofi" half or more of his 

 peaches when they are green and small, but it pays. The peaches 

 should be six or eight inches apart on the twigs, or even further, if you 

 want the finest fruit that will sell for three times the price of ordinary 

 ^•ood fruit. We sold peaches in Kansas City for $6 per bushel when 

 poor fruit was difficult to sell at any price. 



If I was ready I would plant peach trees in the fall. I planted a 

 one year tree in ^STovember, and the next year it set twenty-six peaches. 

 I removed half of them and it bore thirteen fine specimens. I think 

 planting in the fall is just as good as in the spring. Your trees will 

 make a better growth planted in the fall. 



The fruit should be thinned before the seed is hard, as the forma- 

 tion of the seed exhausts the vitality of the tree. If you thin, the 

 tree is able to bear a good crop of fine fruit every year. If this is 

 neglected the tree overbears, the fruit is small, and the tree is injured 

 80 that it can not bear a good crop the following year. 



Pick a day or two before the fruit gets soft. If you ship too green 

 it is not well. It will be well to keep a close watch when the fruit is 



