Summer Meeting. 81 



In this State it would be highly desirable if we could produce hardy 

 strains of peaches. Very frequently the fruit buds of the peach are in- 

 inred by cold weather of winter. At the experiment station we are at- 

 tempting- to produce varieties of the peach which will less frequently 

 winter kill. Could we secure commercial varieties whose buds would 

 fail only half as often as do those of varieties now in cultivation, it would 

 be worth millions of dollars to the State. 



The first step has been to attempt to determine what constitutes 

 hardiness in the peach, and what, if any, outward characteristics are 

 correlated with' hardiness in the difterent varieties. 



Observations in various orchards for a series of years have shown 

 us that the winter killing of peach buds, while due directly to low tem- 

 peratures in winter, is usually due indirectly to the premature starting 

 into growth of the buds on sunny days in winter. Sometimes late culti- 

 vation in an orchard, especially if. it is not carrying a heavy crop of 

 fruit, induces a late autumn growth, so that the trees go into winter with 

 unripened w^ood and buds which are very easily stimulated into activity 

 or growth on warm winter days. This premature growth renders the 

 buds and twigs tender, so that they will not withstand the subsequent 

 cold. Sometimes a midsummer drouth causes peach trees to cease growth 

 abnormally early, particularly if thorough cultivation is not kept up to 

 conserve the moisture in the soil during the dry time. If warm autumn 

 rains subsequently occur, the trees frequently take on a second period of 

 growth in autumn, which is somewhat akin to the spring awakening. 

 Occasionally, even fruit buds which should normally remain dormant 

 during the winter, come into blossom in the autumn. Buds which do 

 not actually blossom, often swell sufficiently to cause them to be rendered 

 tender. 



The ability of a peach tree to withstand cold, then, often depends 

 upon its being thoroughly dormant. The same thing may be observed 

 in seeds. Seeds may be subjected to extremely cold temperatures with- 

 out injury, provided they are dry and dormant. After they have sprouted 

 and made a little growth, however, they may be killed by even a much 

 higher temperature. 



At the experiment station we have observed that there is an apparent 

 correlation between the color of peach twigs- and their ability to pass the 

 winter safely. We might say, in other words, that there is a correlation 

 between color and hardiness in the peach. It was first observed that our 

 hardiest varieties usually produce lighter colored twigs than do those 

 varieties which frequently winter kill. The Snow type of peaches, for 



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