FARMERS INSTITUTES. 



219 



wood (that which grew the previous season) the branches, if long, are 

 hable to break off under a good crop of fruit. Such trees are much 

 mangled by pickers in drawing down the branches to reach the peaches 

 and also by ice storms in winter. It might almost be said that it is a 

 fortunate thing that peach buds are occasionally killed by severe win- 

 ters. This will give the grower an opportunity to cut the trees back 

 quite severely and thus reduce their size and induce a new supply of 

 thrifty wood growth. All pruning should always be done in late winter. 

 After the little trees have had one summer's growth after being 

 planted, they will be branched in all directions and will require shaping. 



Fig. 6.— A closer view of the first tree shown in Fig. 5, and how it looked after 

 being pruned for thinning the fruit. 



This is done by trimming oft' perhaps one-third of ihe new growth, 

 thus giving a rounded head to the trees. In Fig. 3 is shown a tree 

 after two years' growth in the orchard and Fig. 4 shows the same after 

 being properly pruned. The third season in the orchard should see the 

 trees producing some fruit and in another year there should be peaches 

 in paying quantities. 



When the trees have reached bearing age, the pruning is necessary 

 for the thinning of the fruit as well as for directing the shape of the 



