THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



59 



or tobacco crops, hindering; the formation of carbo- 

 hydrates in the former, preventing' ready crystalliza- 

 tion of sugar in beet, an<l in tobaccn impairing the 

 qualit}-. 



VEGETABLE CULTURE A WORTHY STUDY. 



liv Dlxcax McIn r\Hi':, Xkw Jicushv. 



The advance in horticulture which made itself con- 

 spicuous towards the end of the nineteenth century 

 was not limited to any division or class, while an im- 

 mense \\ave of popularity enveloped hardy flowers, 

 fruit growing received a ])iiwerfid impetus, and vege- 

 table culture moved f(_)r\vard with accelerated speed. 

 There was nothing more conspicuous than the in- 

 creased attention devoted to truck farming and in the 

 improvement of vegetable culture in j)rivate estab- 

 lishments both large and small. This good work was 

 supplemented by the efforts of food reformers, who 

 by showing the beneficial eft'ects on the health of the 

 community of pure fruit and wholesome vegetables 

 encouraged a greater demand for garden products. 

 There is still much to be done in the latter direction 

 when we consider the multitudes of people who feed 

 their families on cheap tinned meats, rather than 

 better themselves to learn and practice the cooking of 

 sound vegetables. No person will deii)- that the na- 

 tional dietary must be the better if abundance of vege- 

 tables are included in it. I-^very truck farmer who 

 studies his material interests must be a good reformer 

 of a moderate common-sense type. 



He will not arouse the o])position of the ])ublic by 

 excessive prices for his vegetables, l.)Ut he will help 

 on any step which encourages the cooking and con- 

 sumption of sound vegetables. When we consider 

 the value of vegejiables is there not reason to fear in 

 the majority of private gardens too much is left to 

 the laborers? Is there not a tendency on the jiart of 

 the young ])rofessional gardener nowadays to neglect 

 the study and still more the practice of vegetable 

 growing? If so, it is regrettable in a measure, perhaps 

 it is excusable, but in the degree to which some carry 

 it is unpardonable. Admitting that the development of 

 hardy flowers, by creating an entirely new system of 

 flower gardening, has formed a new field of study : ad- 

 mitting further that gardening has been sjiecialized 

 to some extent, notably in the matter t)f orchid cul- 

 ture, thereby adding a fresh item of study to the al- 

 ready long list which the ambitious young prac- 

 titioner has prepared for himself, it nevertheless re- 

 mains essential that vegetable culture as one of the 

 stock sections of garden work should have due atten- 

 tion. As a class young gardeners comjiare favorably 

 with any other that could be named in earnestness 

 and devotion to duty; with few exceptions they are 

 genuinely interested in and bent on mastering the se- 

 crets of the old and noble craft, but some of them suc- 

 cumb, not unnaturally perhaps, to the temptation of 

 dismissing vegetable culture as a poor, even con- 

 temptible, study hardly worthy of educated people. 

 In their reckless, vulgar and silh- language a kitchen 

 gardener is nothing but a cabbage grafter ; this is very 

 mischievous, for it nourishes the false impression that 

 the plants we call vegetables are an inferior race. 

 There is as much interest in studying the varieties of 

 potatoes as of phloxes; as much honor in growing a 

 good cabbage as a good cattleya. Then again, in all 

 our cities and towns we have the various flower shows 

 in which vegetable collections have of late been one 



of the leading features, and for wdiich very handsome 

 prizes are offered ; this alone should arouse the young 

 gardener to great deeds. 



Young gardeners will assured!}- do well to give the 

 same earnest study to the kitchen garden as their 

 predecessors of the old school did. It is not suggested 

 that they should strive to spend all their time among 

 vegetables, but it is advised with all seriousness that 

 they should learn soil management, manuring, manip- 

 ulation of tools, rotation of crops and the every-day 

 routine of the kitchen garden. \\ilhout this knowl- 

 edge, how can they properly supervise their laborers ? 

 When they secure head places, will they not be abso- 

 lutelv in the hands of their inferiors? So in the in- 

 terests of our noble profession, let us devote a little 

 more energy in the matter of vegetable culture. 



THE TIME TO PRUNE PEACH TREES. 



The ])roper time to prune peach trees, according to 

 the United States Department of Agriculture's spe- 

 cialists, is during the dormant period, preferably late 

 winter or early spring, just before growth starts. 

 This is true except in regions where bleeding from 

 wounds is likely to occur, when it should ])robabl_\- be 

 done in early winter. 



If the fruit buds are endangered during the winter 

 by adverse temjieratures, it may be advisable to delay 

 pruning as much as economic cemditions permit until 

 settled spring weather arrives. This is especially ad- 

 visable if heavy heading in of the previous season's 

 growth is involved, since the proportion of live buds 

 may determine the extent to which the cutting back 

 should be carried. 



There is a wide difference of opinion regarding the 

 ])ractice of ])runing trees, but the most successful 

 fruit growers usually prune their trees. The princijial 

 objects may be sunimed up briefly as follows: 



1. To modify the vigor of the tree. 



2. To keep the tree shapely and within bounds. 



3. To make the tree more stocky. 



4. To open the tree top to admit air and sunshine. 



5. To reduce the struggle for existence in the tree 



top. 



6. To remove dead or interfering Ijranches. 



7. To aid in stimulating the development of fruit 



buds. 



8. To thin the fruit. 



9. To make thorough si)raying possible. 



10. To facilitate tlie harvesting of the fruit. 



Obviously the i)runing which a tree receives during 

 the first two or three years after it is planted has much 

 to do with its future.' Mistakes in foriuing the head 

 or the results of neglect during the early years in the 

 life of a tree are practically irreparable. On the other 

 hand, if the tree is well formed and properly pruned 

 during its first years, the foundation for a good tree is 

 established ; subsequent errors in pruning, if they oc- 

 cur, may admit of correction without permanent harm 

 to the tree. 



A great many practical pointers on renewing the 

 tops of peach trees, changing the top by budding and 

 grafting, thiiming the fruit, controlling insect pests, 

 and on growing some annual crop in between the 

 trees, are included in Farmers" Bulletin (No. 632), which 

 may be obtained bv api)lving to the Editor and Chief, 

 Division of Publications, United States Dejiartment of 

 Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 



