110 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



other varieties, Elbertas and Oceanas. This last is one of the most 

 profitable for shipping that we have had. We really have not had 

 Oceanas enough for our local market. The public is just getting on 

 to the fact that the Oceana is about the best peach that we have. Per- 

 sonally, I think it is the best, qualit} 7 considered, surpassing the Barn- 

 ard and Crawford. The grocers are calling for them very generally. 

 We are also planting the Gold Mine. This is a very good peach and 

 they bushel up very fast. However, there is one objection to them, some 

 years they will shell or drop off before they ripen up. I cannot under- 

 stand just what the trouble is. I think, however, that it is due to the 

 effect of scab, though I am not sure of this. It seems that wheather 

 conditions will cause peaches to drop. They are something like the 

 Barnard, years ago, with which we used to have this same trouble — a 

 long continued cold spell just before ripening, and then comes on the 

 sunshine and they fall to the ground. Some seasons we are not troubled 

 at all that way. Otherwise, the Gold Mine is one of the best peaches 

 we have. 



The next important thing that we should consider is pruning. We 

 like to form our heads from about 20 to 36 inches from the ground. 

 We leave from 3 to 5 limbs scattered on the southwest and west sides 

 of the trees. We cut back every year from 14 to y 3 , all depending 

 upon the growth of the tree. Sometimes we cut back on the east more 

 than others. We throw the top on the side of the prevailing winds. 



A member — Do you prune in the fall or in the spring? 



Mr. Braman — Our young trees, we set in priming just as' soon as 

 we get our work in shape to do it, but bearing trees we do not do any- 

 thing with until the 10th or 15th of March. If the buds set heavy, and 

 they are not injured, we feel it is all right to go on and do our prun- 

 ing. If the buds are thin we do not do so much pruning unless they are 

 all killed. We did not do much pruning on our bearing trees because 

 the buds were so few we did not want to sacrifice the crop. We will 

 start in a couple of weeks and get the dead wood out, which with us 

 is considerable on account of last year's freezing, and then finish early 

 in the spring. 



So far as apples and plums are concerned we would prune any time 

 now. The next important thing is the question of spraying and I 

 want to say that this is a very important factor. About five or six 

 years ago the scale got scattered throughout our orchards. We went 

 at it and thoroughly spraj'ed the orchard with sulphur and lime, one 

 man with one hose on the tank and the other on the ground spraying 

 up, and we practically got the scale under control the first season, and 

 we have not had scale in our orchard outside of two apple trees which 

 I lost this last spring, but not much of the fruit was affected. 



One of the most important features of successful peach growing is 

 the successful spraying of trees. We have made our own sulphur and 

 lime up to the present time, although I would not hesitate* to use the 

 commercial product. We soak the trees so that the spray will run right 

 down the bark. You never want to do a half-way job in spraying. 

 If you do, it is time, material and money thrown away. The first 

 spraying for scale will destroy the "curl leaf" then following that 

 spray again with the second spray just as soon as the shuck falls from 



