HOW TO TRUAT PEACH TREES. 



BY AN OLD DIGGER. 



Now is the time to " shorten-in" your peach, 

 apricot, and nectarine trees, both for the 

 sake of the fruit they will bear this season 

 and the health and good condition of the 

 trees. I suppose everybody understands 

 the difference between shortening-in and 

 common pruning. If not, I must make a 

 long story|short by saying, that shortening- 

 in is nothing more than cutting off the ends 

 of the last year's shoots. 



Suppose, for instance, the case of a young 

 peach tree just coming into bearing. The 

 growth of last year consists of shoots, all 

 over the outside of the head, or top of the 

 tree, each shoot from ten to twenty inches 

 long. Well, in the case of such a tree, I 

 should shorten-in every shoot one-half, that 

 is, I would cut off five inches of the end if 

 the shoot is ten inches long, or ten inches if 

 it is twice that length. If the tree has 

 made but a moderate growth, then I would 

 take off only a third ; or the same if there 

 is but a scanty store of blossom buds. But 

 if the tree is strong and healthy, and shows 

 an abundance of blossom-buds, then half 

 the length of the last year's shoot is not too 

 much.* The fruit will be larger, you will 

 have as many bushels, and the flavor will 

 be much richer ; and what is of great con- 

 sequence, the constitution of the tree will 

 not be impaired by overbearing. 



In the case of large, or old peach trees — 

 especially if they have been neglected, or 

 badly pruned — something must be done that 

 will bring them within bounds again and re- 

 store them to good condition. This, as I 

 have satisfied myself, may be done by 



* I mean, of all the Wrongest shoots. The weak ones may be 

 left two-thirds their whole length. 



" heading-in," which is nothing else than 

 cutting back the ends of the principal 

 limbs — say from two to four feet — in order 

 to make the tree throw out a new head of 

 young, healthy bearing wood. Of course, 

 this proceeding loses you the crop of fruit 

 for this year ; so, that if that is important, 

 you must take one side of the tree this year, 

 leaving the other side to bear, and next 

 year head-in the other side. In this way I 

 have restored old apricot and peach trees 

 that were " given up by the doctors" as su- 

 perannuated and worn out in service, to a 

 pretty respectable condition of youth again; 

 good at least for half-a-dozen years more. 



It is the fashion now-a-days, when the 

 chemists and doctors wish to know what is 

 to be done to help a plant or tree, to exa- 

 mine its ashes. It is, in truth, not a bad 

 plan, and is evidently founded on the old 

 doctrine that the new grows out of the old ; 

 " ashes to ashes and dust to dust." Exact- 

 ly what the elements of the peach tree ash 

 are I don't know, for I have not been able 

 to find any analysis ; but I conclude they 

 are pretty largely lime and potash, for I 

 have found by repeated trials that ivood- 

 ashes is the very substance, (along with suf- 

 ficient manure in the soil, mind,) to main- 

 tain a healthy, substantial and productive 

 habit in a peach tree. 



Don't be so foolish, (as many persons are, 

 when they are going to give an extraordi- 

 nary relish of new fangled manure to a plant,) 

 don't be so foolish as to content yourself 

 with sprinkling four or five handfuls of 

 ashes around a peach tree and expect its 

 leaves to turn colour with a lease of new 

 life. Take half-a-peck of leached ashes to 



Vol. iv. 



33 



