1042 EXPERIIIENT STATION RECORD. 



est branches ma}" be liberally shortened, leavinjr the side l)i-anches to 

 spread so as to niaKe a broad low head. In ease it seems best not to 

 cut a leader entirely awa}', never cut back to a dormant })ud, ])ut alwaj's 

 to some side branches; these will slowly take on growth and fruiting 

 strength and check the upward tendency of growth that is sure to fol- 

 low the cutting back of a strong peach limb to a dormant l)ud. Not 

 much attention need be paid the side branches; they will never make 

 leaders, and in the author's opinion it is a mistake to do so. A tree 

 pruned as here suggested should give three fourths of its fruit near 

 enough to the ground so that it can be gathered without a ladder. 



Winter irrigation of orchards, A. J. McClatchie {Arizona Sta. 

 Rpt. 1900, pp. 162^ 163). — Previous experiments along this line have 

 been contiiuied (E. S. R., 11, p. 84T). Water was withheld from 

 orchards heavily irrigated during the winter, from June to December, 

 and irrigated again from December to March. The March irrigation 

 was followed l)y plowing and harrowing and the orchard harrowed 

 again after two slight showers in April to break up the crust that 

 formed over the surface. 



"Though having passed through the driest liot period of which there is a record 

 in the valley, the trees are now (July) in the best of condition. The apricot trees 

 have made a young growth of 3 to 6 ft., and the peach trees a growth of about 4 ft. 

 The apricot trees all matured a good crop of fruit, and many of the peach trees are 

 unusually heavily loaded." 



A peach and apricot orchard was sown to clover dui'ing October and 

 from then until April was irrigated sufficiently to keep the crop grow- 

 ing well. Samples of soil in this orchard taken to a depth of 33 ft. 

 showed that it had been wet to as great a d(>pth as in an adjoining 

 orchard in which nothing had been sown. The results of these experi- 

 ments are believed to prove "that green manuring and winter irriga- 

 tion may go hand in hand to excellent advantage." 



Gro-wing and grafting resistant vines, F. Gillet {Pacific J2ural 

 Press^ 61 {1901)^ No. 8, p. 116). — The author reports his experience in 

 bench grafting resistant stock. The best results have been obtained 

 on Riparia. One or two year old rooted cuttings are used in prefer- 

 ence to plain cuttings because of a gain of one 3^ear in time, and 

 because a larger percentage will grow. Tn field practice the author 

 used rooted cuttings just grafted and rooted resistant stock in alternate 

 rows. While succeeding with 85tot>()per cent of the former, only 

 60 per cent of the grafts of the latter grew, and these produced hardly 

 any grapes that year, while on the former from 8 to 11 lbs. per i)lant 

 were secured. On the whole, bench grafting resistant vines is con- 

 sidered the best, cheapest, and (juickest way of reconstructing a vine- 

 yard or stai"ting a new one. 



Fertilizer experiments ^vith nitrate of soda in the red vrine 

 district of the Ahr Valley ( /Av. A'. L<hi'<iiisi. <)}»<(, ]!>/;? u. Gar- 

 tenbau^ Geinoihciiu, 1899-1900., pp. 10J~107). — Experiments were made 



