266 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



ideal bed for your peach orchard more than to plow under that clover 

 sod? 



Mr. Morrill: If it was a retentive soil I should prepare it very deeply, 

 if a mellow soil about the ordinary depth of running a plow, just as I 

 would fit it for my corn or potatoes, remembering that that is the last 

 thorough fitting that land would get. 



Q: Would you plow that clover sod under deep? 



Mr. Morrill : Yes, sir; I would not subsoil on ideal peach land, because 

 the bottom of an ideal peach farm is mellow clay loam. 



Mr. Palmer: I think you stated you would not use a fertilizer in set- 

 ting out peach trees until they got to bearing. It seems to me it might 

 be well to make some exceptions. We set out trees on poor soil, for the 

 sand on the lake shore is pretty poor, and it seems to me it might be well 

 to use a fertilizer. Would not it be well to make that an exception? 



Mr. Morrill: There are places where I would do that. There are 

 exceptions to all rules, I spoke principally of a general rule, on land 

 well adapted to peaches. I would certainly on some lands use some 

 fertilizers. This is for growing the tree while it is young. 



Mr. Garfield: Will ^ou tell what is your ideal peach tree as taken 

 from the nursery that you would like to buy? 



Mr. Morrill: The ideal tree for me would be a tree that has made a 

 growth of from foi^r to five and a half feet, neatly branched, stocky, 

 sound and ripe, with a good root evenly distributed around the different 

 sides. * That would be my ideal tree. At the same time I secure the 

 varieties I want. 



Prof. Taft: What do you think of June buds? 



Mr. Morrill : I am a little afraid of June budded trees. They have not 

 generally been successful around us. We have tried them and I think 

 they do not mature as well as trees grown in our own country. 



Q: Will trimming close weaken the vitality of the tree at time to set? 



Mr. Morrill : I do not think it does ; I never saw any bad effects from 

 it. I think the thing that would injure it would be to leave too much 

 wood. The plan I detailed this morning was maintaining proper bounds. 

 That is a thing which a man must be able to judge for himself when he 

 steps up to the individual tree. The principal idea that I tried to get into 

 this is to have an ideal from the first and work to it, not wait until it is 

 two or three years old and then get it right. 



CULTIVATION AND CARE. 



I will go back a little on yesterday's work, because there was a very 

 important part that I left out purposely, hoping that it would be called 

 up, but it was not, and that is the very early setting of trees to get a 

 splendid start the first year. I consider it absolutely necessary that it 

 should be the first job done in the spring as soon as the ground settles. 

 Never put it off to get your oats planted because they are annual crops. 

 With an imperfect start you never can have a perfect orchard, and early 

 setting is very essential. Never allow trees to make a start before they 

 are set in the ground. Move them to the place they are to stand as soon 



