

TwEN'TT-FiRST DAT OF Marcii, and vTQ are still ice-bound here in "Western New York. 

 The greater part of our February snows have disappeared from open places, but on the 

 east side of the fences, and in all the cross roads and lanes running north and south, solid 

 beds yet remain. Fur two weeks past, spring has been promised, — a fine, bright sun and 

 a bland atmosphere, for a day or two, and then a freeze, heavy clouds, and perhaps 

 violent gusts of wind. "We await the growing season impatiently, because until then it 

 will be impossible to determine the extent of damages sustained by the extraordinary cold 

 of the 6th and 7th of February. Already we know that not only are the Peach fruit-buds 

 almost totally destroyed through "Western New York, but thousands of old trees are dead, 

 dried up, seasoned as thoroughly as cord-wood that was cut six months ago. This is the 

 case over a very large tract of country — indeed the entire Peach district of "Western New 

 York, from Oswego to Buffalo. "We think that nearly all aged trees, and those bordering on 

 decline, must perish ; but there is yet hope for the young trees. They too have suffered ; 

 but the vigor and elasticity of youth may enable them to recover.* This shows what we 

 may expect when the thermometer descends to 20^ or 25" below zero. Peach troes never 

 could be better prepared to resist the effects of intense cold. The dry season of 18.j4 

 ripened the wood and matured the buds in the most perfect manner. Neither could any 

 intense cold be accompanied or succeeded by more favorable circumstances — a perfect calm 

 during the entire two cold days and nights, at the same time cloudy, and remaining so until 

 a day or two after the cold period had passed. 



A correspondent of the Rural Xeic Torl-er advances the opinion that the Peach buds 

 have not i)erished by the cold alone, but from being unusually well matured and fully 

 developed by last season's drouth and heat; that when we have cool, moist seasons, allow- 

 ing the Peach to grow late, the buds are able to withstand a much greater degree of cold^ 

 In our opinion this reasoning is not sound. Give us well-ripened wood and buds to resist 

 cold. "We see that in tlie case of young Peach and Apricot trees that grew until a late 

 period in the fall, the points of the shoots are quite winter-killed, while young, ripe 

 shoots, in older trees, are comparatively safe. Buds may get into a stage of develojjment, 

 as in spring, towards blossoming time, when they would certainly be more easily injured 

 than even imperfectly matured buds. But this state of things does not exist in winter. 



Fortunately, there was a good covering of snow on the ground, so that Peach and all 

 other buds of last summer's working in the nursery are safe. In examining some nurser- 

 ies of young Peaches budded last summer, we found al)Out half the stock above the snow, 

 quite discolored, and what is usually called winter -hilled; while below the snow, all is 

 safe and sound. It is surprising, too, how thin a covering of snow has proved to be a com- 

 plete protection. In some cases we find branches of evergreens that were covered not 



Pear fruit-buds are considerably injured ; Cherries but slightly, as far as we are able to judge at present. 



DowNiNo informs us that at Newburgh the vhermometer was not lower than 14° below zero, yet three-fourths of 



each buds are destroyed, and Cherries considerably injured. 



