MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 185 



It has been said that mulch draws the roots near the surface. 

 What of it, 80 long as the uiulching is kept up as it should be? But 

 dofiS it f No doubt some upper rootlets are attracted toward the sur- 

 face, but the lower roots will follow the dictates of nature, just as they 

 do in the forest, under their natural mulch of leaves. It has also been 

 said that frequent and shallow cultivation is equal to a mulch, but I do 

 not tind it so; our peach orchard emphatically disproves that assertion, 

 and it is not the only proof I could bring to the contrary. A heavy 

 mulch, added to yearly, gives a tree not only moisture at all times when 

 needed, but also tends to drain the soil of any surplus moisture, because 

 the surface is kept mellow and porous, and the capillary veins are not 

 destroyed by cultivation. Again, others say that mulch attracts and 

 harbors insects. I think that is a fear unfounded. It is the diseased 

 or weakened constitution of trees which attracts borers, for in new, 

 rich soil borers do not attack them, and it is the same condition which 

 draws injurious insects to the fruit. A weakened or diseased tree is 

 -apt to have imperfect, insect-stung fruit. Perfect health repels disease 

 in man. Ill-fed and filthily-kept animals are attacked by vermin, and the 

 same holds true in plant life. Keep a tree at a healthy, normal growth, 

 and it will not be attacked by the borer, nor will its fruit be so apt to 

 suffer from insects and fungi. 



Many writers have proposed the producing and growing of hardy 

 varieties of fruits, and we have sufficient proof that much can be done 

 in that line ; but that alone is insufficient, and we must not overlook the 

 fact that the constitutional vigor may be impaired and weakened by 

 neglect or improper treatment, and that it also can be strengthened, as 

 I believe, by a regular and sufficient supply of moisture throughout the 

 year. And right here I will assert that sufficient moisture is in itself 

 sufficient food. If not, then from where do the century-old hickory 

 and oak derive their substance, to thrive amid crowding competitors, 

 producing increasing crops of fruit on soil where for ages their progeni- 

 tors have done the same? 



We know that peach-buds are not always killed by the same degree 

 of cold. I have noticed that during some winters they were killed by 

 16° below zero, and again in another they withstood 25° and more below 

 2ero. This shows that they were able to withstand more cold at one 

 time than at another. Was it not because they were better, or rather 

 more regularly fed, during the preceding season ? If trees are regu- 

 larly and constantly supplied with moisture, and thus their system 

 strengthened, is it not reasonable to suppose that they can stand more 

 cold '? An added hardiness, withstanding but a few degrees more, would 

 often have given us a crop of peaches. 



