as healthy and as vigorous as ever. And yet, the old wood is literally dead, sur- 

 rounded by a ring of new, healthy wood. Whether the trees will remain healthy, 

 is a problem yet to be solved. 



The writer, having a large fruit farm at Peach Haven, near Niagara Falls, natu- 

 rally feels much solicitude in regard to the culture of the peach ; and has been a 

 close observer in regard to the best treatment of the trees. The centre branches of 

 the trees are very liable to perish at an early day ; and, after a few years, the trees 

 present the unsightly appearance of all being dead, except the ends of the limbs. 

 Yery close pruning has been found a partial remedy for this evil ; and it has been 

 a question, whether it would answer to cut off the whole top of the tree at once ? 

 Would the tree be able to withstand this shock, and send out fresh shoots and 

 form a new head ? But this is no longer an experiment. 



Last spring, Mr. Burdett, who has a fine peach orchard in our vicinity, suppos- 

 ing his trees were all dead and worthless, with axe in hand cut away all the tops 

 of many of his trees, leaving only an unsightly trunk, with perhaps a few rough 

 prongs of a few inches in length. As the season advanced, and the trees seemed 

 to put out fresh shoots, he concluded to wait a little before clearing the ground. 

 The result is, that all of these trees have put out numerous, vigorous, healthy 

 branches, and formed complete, dense tops ; in most cases, far superior to the 

 old ones. I am so well satisfied with this, that, should the severity of the winter 

 or spring destroy the prospect of the peach crop for next season, I should, on the 

 opening of spring, cut off the tops of some 2,000 peach-trees, now five or six 

 years old. By the way, I am anxious to learn whether any of our New Jersey, 

 or other peach growers, have ever tried this method. 



The pear-tree is so tenacious of life, that you may cut it back with impunity. 

 A tree twenty feet high, may be cut down to within six feet of the ground, and in 

 two or three years it will again form a handsome head. The only remedy that I 

 have ever found for that mysterious disease, Jire-blight (and which, in my judgment, 

 is a sort of pear cholera), is to cut off all the diseased branches at least one foot 

 below all marks of discoloration of the bark. We had no fire-blight here until 

 about five or six years ago ; and then it came in true cholera desperation. In a 

 single month, hundreds of trees in this neighborhood were completely destroyed, 

 and hundreds of others very badly injured. 



Towards autumn, I directed my gardener to go through my grounds, and to 

 cut off every diseased branch or tree at least one foot below the appearance of 

 blight. He obeyed my orders to the very letter ; and I was not a little surprised 

 the next day, in going over my grounds, to find that he had cut down even with 

 the ground several valuable trees, of some eight or ten inches in diameter, and 

 which, I supposed, were not very seriously affected. But, on examination, they 

 were found badly affected in the trunks of the tree as well as in the branches. 

 Others were left merely unsightly stumps, all, or nearly all, the tops being com- 

 pletely cut away. I was quite heartsick, and almost inclined to cut down to 

 ground these mere wrecks of my once beautiful trees. However, two or 



