966 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Kearly 10 i>er cent of the peach orchards visited were found to Ik- in a cDinplctoly 

 frozi'ii condition and entirely dead. With others there was nUj^litly less injury, 

 while about a third of the trees were only moderately frozen. The trees most 

 injured were usually those which were planted at low elevations. The injury was 

 <,'reatest a])ove the snow line. It is believed that all those trees on which the bark 

 is stuck tifjlit about 2 ft. above the <;round may be expected to live, and many which 

 have the bark i)artially loosened may recover. Moderate pruning is recommended, 

 to be followed by good cultivation, and unless the land is in very good condition a 

 moderate amount of fertilizer should be added. It is believed that if the buds can 

 push out in the tops growth will extend downward, and in many cases a complete 

 covering of new sound wood can be obtained even over the most injured part on the 

 trunk. Such trees even with dead, black hearts have been found to produce very 

 satisfactorily in Michigan orchards. 



"The aim should be, with good cultivation and fertilization, to grow the tree out 

 of the injury. Stable manure will probal)ly answer the requirement in some cases. 

 Nitrate of soda at the rate of 200 lbs. per acre may be preferable in other cases. 

 The choice of the writer Mould l)e a complete fertilizer consisting of nitrate of soda, 

 acid j)hosphate or bone meal, and muriate of potash. Such a fertilizer applied just 

 at the time growth is starting would result in the best possible benefit from the 

 nitrate." 



Japanese plums were injured to about the same extent as jieaches, and should be 

 handled in about the same manner. Domestic plums were not injured to any great 

 extent. Injury to grai)es was noticed to some extent, 2-year vines which reached 

 above the snow line being apparently killed in some cases. In the nursery peach 

 trees were frozen down to the snow line, and all that portion above the snow killed. 

 Such stock is considered perfectly satisfactory for low-headed trees. Where the trees 

 have less than 6 in. of live wood it may be desirable to allow one sprout to grow, 

 and train uj) a new tree from this sprout after planting in the orchard. Japanese 

 plums in the nursery were killed to about the same extent as peaches. They should 

 be treated in the same way. 



Only a few nursery apple trees were hurt sufficiently to cause their rejection. 

 Pear trees were found very severely damaged in the Hudson Valley, ajjparently to 

 a greater extent than peaches. Pear trees do not possess the same ability to over- 

 come the effects of freezing that peaches do. It is recommended, therefore, that 

 trees under 2 or 3 years of age which are badly frozen should be cut off below the 

 snow line and allowed to sprout. 



"All the sprouts that start may be permitted to grow the first year, and if a tall 

 head is preferred they may be pinched back, except the one which is to form the 

 new stem, when they have grown a foot or so. The foliage from these pinched 

 shoots will help contribute to the life and vigor of the tree. In case of badly frozen 

 bearing trees, where the tree is dead and the bark is discolored, of course, they 

 should be dug out; but where there is any vitality left in the bark it may be well to 

 allow the trees to remain at least the first season until it can be determined to what 

 extent they are injured. It takes several years to bring a pear tree into bearing — at 

 least two or three times as long as a peach tree — and one should therefore be corre- 

 spondingly cautious in cutting down pear trees." 



Securing hardy apple roots, A. T. Erwin {Orange Judd Farmer, 36 {1004), ^'o. 

 9, p. 252). — Attention is called by the author to the serious problem of the root kill- 

 ing of apples in the Northwest. In the East apples are propagated for the most 

 part on French stocks. Experiments are cited in which it is shown that American 

 stocks are much hardier in the Northwest than French stocks, and that the roots of 

 seedling apples grown from Vermont seed are more vigorous and hardier than 

 imported French seedling roots. Farmers are urged to save their apple seeds, 

 especially of the varieties Duchess and Wealthy, and dispose of them to nurserymen 

 who in general are alive to the greater value and hardiness of American stocks. 



