Propagation of Peach Trees 51 



pits run about 7000 seeds to the bushel, while those from 

 budded trees may drop as low as 2200 to the bushel on 

 account of their larger size. 



In planting the pits there is wide variation in the prac- 

 tices of different nurserymen and in different sections. Per- 

 haps the simplest method is when the pits are planted in 

 the autumn in drills where it is intended to grow the nursery 

 trees. When this is the case, the site needs to be selected 

 with discrimination. A thoroughly well-drained site is essen- 

 tial ; the soil needs to be abundantly supplied with humus, 

 and fertile, otherwise the trees will not make adequate 

 growth. A heavy soil is objectionable, as is usually a very 

 sandy one. Moreover the soil must be deep, else the roots 

 will not develop w^ell. The drills are usually placed 3i or 

 4 feet apart. The pits may be dropped by hand 6 or 8 inches 

 apart in shallow furrows that have been opened to receive 

 them or the dropping may be done with a peach-pit-planter 

 — usually so constructed that it will drop two rows at once. 

 The quantity of pits used to the acre may vary from 7 or 

 8 bushels to a much larger amount, depending primarily 

 on the size of the pit. The usual type of peach-planter 

 will drop 150 bushels a day of the smaller sized seed. 



The pits are planted about li or 2 inches below the level 

 of the surface. In covering, when planted in the fall, espe- 

 cially in the North, the rows are commonly ridged slightly 

 so that the pits are covered with about 3 inches of soil. In 

 the spring the ridges are leveled down, leaving the pits 

 covered with 2 inches or a little less of soil. 



The moisture in the soil aided by the freezing (in the 

 colder parts of the country) will crack the pits during the 

 winter and early spring, and with the return of the growing 

 season the kernels will germinate. 



